Classic American Goodness and some Asian Inspiration

Beef stew.
I have such fond memories of it.  We would go over to my grandmother's house and she'd make it for me, because she knew it was my favorite.  Tender pieces of beef, chunky vegetables, and a sauce you could sop up with a piece of buttery white bread... it was heavenly.  To this day, it brings back a rush of happiness when I think of it.  But how will I live without it?  As it turns out, with most new vegan options on the market-- I don't have to!

At VegFest 2011, I was introduced to a product by Gardein:  Home Style Beefless Tips.

I tried it as a free sample in a stir-fry style dish, and it was good, but my first thought was "I bet you any money I can make beef stew out of this."  And so I set off on my mission to find a great recipe.

It turns out it was super easy to find a recipe-- in fact, Chef Tal Ronnen had one of his own!

Chef Tal Ronnen's Beefless Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 package Gardein beefless tips (available in grocery stores nationwide)
• 3 tbsps vegetable oil
• 10 ozs pearl onions, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, 1/2 inch diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3 tbsps flour
• 3 cups vegan "beef" broth (try Better than Bouillon brand) or roasted vegetable stock
• 1 cup dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2 medium potatoes, 1/2 inch diced
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat, add beefless tips and brown on all sides. Remove from saucepan and set aside. Add pearl onions, garlic and celery to saucepan and cook for 3 minutes. Add carrots, thyme and rosemary and continue to cook for an additional 3 minutes. Sprinkle in flour, then slowly add broth and wine while stirring. Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add beefless tips back in and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

____

This recipe was different from my grandmother's, but I figured I would try it Ronnen's way first and then perhaps attempt my grandma's recipe later on, subbing only the beefless tips.  But the verdict here?  It came out great!

The wine and broth reduced to a delicious stewy sauce, perfect for dipping with some crescent style rolls.  Add a big salad on the side and you have the classic American dinner, the kind way.  I really cannot stress how much Walt and I absolutely loved this meal (let's just say we didn't have any leftovers whatsoever.)  Sitting at the dinner table together, saying grace, and sharing this homecooked, healthy and delicious meal with our kiddo... it was just great.

And we're off to the Far East...

So as a kid, I completely hated Stir Fry.  There were few things that skeeved me out more than Chinese vegetables.  I mean, what's with the baby corn?  You can eat the core?  I just didn't get it.  The texture of water chestnuts freaked me out.

However, this must fall under the category of "things you learn to love over time," because I do love it now.  I absolutely adore Asian food, so I decided to throw a little something together for dinner this week using

and

and

I basically sauteed the chik'n breasts in a wok with the Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce until it was nice and tender, then threw in the stir fry veggies to heat through, meanwhile making a pot of white rice.  The result:

This was pretty good, but not great.  I think it could have been better if the chik'n were cubed/ diced and added to more vegetables.  The texture of this chik'n wasn't the greatest to me, but the flavor was nice and I think this dish has potential.  I'm going to keep this idea in my recipe box and work on improving it for next time.

Generally, I'm noticing that the most convincing and delicious items are highly incorporated into things, versus just being out on their own like this chik'n breast.  Perhaps my cooking just needs to adapt to a new style, but so far that's the theme with faux meats.  I'm really impressed with Gardein products as a whole, though, and I will absolutely continue to purchase them.

Til next time!

VegFest 2011 and Simple Lunches

It's been a while since I popped back in here to update my journey.  We've begun our spring cleaning, and now everything has been busy around our house!

I'm feeling so great these days.  Better than ever, really.  I have decided in the future when Lent has ended, I will likely continue eating vegan at home, and vegetarian while out of the house-- but I'll always take the vegan option, if available.  Who knows, maybe one day I will convert entirely.  All I know is that this is getting easier and easier -- and tastier, too.

VegFest 2011 Expo


On Sunday, my mom, my sister and Natalie and I attended VegFest 2011 sponsored by VegMichigan.  It featured chef Tal Ronnen, the man who catered Ellen's vegan wedding.  When I asked the two of them to accompany us to the Expo, we were thinking there would be a few people there, but nothing crazy.  We couldn't have been more wrong!  It was insanity.  Like, North American International Auto Show crowded.  Like the mall on Christmas Eve.  Wall to wall people.

At first, I was annoyed by how crowded it was (and all the people who just decided they were important enough to cut in line!  But I digress...) Then I realized something.  If all these people showed up to this expo, that means awareness is growing.  It means more and more people care about their bodies, about the planet, and about the welfare of animals.  It means the lightbulb is going off for more people than I ever imagined ten years ago when I was 18, a new vegetarian, and unable to find faux turkey slices anywhere.  I used to think, "why am I bothering to do this?  I'm not affecting change in the world.  Animals are still dying.  Nothing will ever be different."  That's part of the reason I fell off the wagon for a good five years.  But look!  Things *are* changing, and I'm so happy I'm back a part of it, this time with my husband and baby in tow.

But enough warm fuzzies!  On to the food.



Simple Lunches


This week, we tried BBQ Pulled Shreds Sandwiches  and "Ham" and "Cheese" Sammies.


The BBQ sandwiches were out of control.  Bonus, they were so easy!  We used:

So simple and so yummy.  Meat eaters would absolutely be fooled by this product.  The chik'n texture was so similar to the real thing, and the flavor of the bbq sauce was delicious.  During the 2 minute microwaving time, I prepped some buns with lettuce, tomato, and:

.. and just a tiny smear of.. 

The next thing you knew, we had:

A heck of a delicious sandwich!

I did add a bit of hot sauce to it, because I just love spicy things.  When I went back to vegetarianism, this was one of the things I thought I would miss most-- shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches.  Now that I know I can have it whenever I want, cruelty-free and super fast, I'm really stoked!  My next project with this product is an attempt at a BBQ Chik'n Pizza... I can't wait to see how it comes out!

"Ham" & "Cheese" Sammies

The quintessential simple lunch:  A cold cut sandwich with chips and an apple.  Except it's (you guessed it!) totally vegan!

It's made with lettuce, tomato, the Vegenaise and Veggie Slices pictured above, along with:

(aka The Greatest Bread in the World)

and

along with an apple and some locally grown potato chips, we have:

A fantastic vegan lunch.  :)

More to come, dinner posts are on their way!

Vegan Comfort Food

Today was a nice and quiet day in our home.  Walt went to work, I spent the morning singing and playing games and sharing time with Natalie.  I had a simple oatmeal breakfast.  Then for lunch, I decided on leftover Mexican.  As I've posted before, Mexican is my favorite food.  It just so happens that our next door neighbor owns the local Mexican place right up the street.  It also just so happens that it's the best Mexican food I've ever had!  I used to send Walt up there twice a week towards the end of my pregnancy.  I have flat out told my neighbor that I single-handedly increased his quarterly sales during my third trimester.

Over the weekend we'd had some guests over so we ordered from our neighbor's place, and I decided to bust out the leftovers today.  I always order something called a Botana, which is a crunchy layer of house-made chips topped with refried beans, shredded lettuce, fresh avocado slices, onion slices, tomato wedges, green olives, jalapenos, house-made salsa, and green pepper slices-- optionally including melted cheese, a meat of your choice, and sour cream.  It's the greatest thing ever.  Seriously.  We usually get the cheese and sour cream, but I left that off of my order this time to veganize and then added a dollop of Sour Supreme.  (I know from speaking to the owner that all of the botana's other ingredients, including his refried beans, are vegan-friendly.)

Hello, gorgeous!

When Walt got home, I began to think about what to make for dinner.  It has been overcast and rainy the last day or so, and it just feels like a comfort foods day around here.  Thankfully, I'd found and customized a recipe for Vegan Shepherd's Pie.  I have to be completely honest when I say that I wasn't sure how this would come out.  I was worried that it would taste off, or just not be appealing.  I couldn't have been more wrong about it.  It was absolutely insanely delicious.  It satisfied every craving I've had not only since becoming vegan for Lent, but since becoming a vegetarian.  It's the best and most original thing I've made in my own kitchen in months.  It's definitely going in the permanent rotation file.

(And it's easy to revert back to vegetarian for those who want it that way!)


Traditional Style Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients
Mashed potato layer:
5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup margarine
3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese substitute (such as Tofutti)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Main layer:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup frozen or canned peas
1 tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (or similar)
1 clove garlic, minced, or more to taste
1 pinch ground black pepper to taste
1 (14 ounce) package vegetarian ground beef substitute
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar-style soy cheese

Pie Crust:

Use your favorite vegan pie crust recipe or use a frozen, pre-made crust.  (Pie crust is entirely optional.)


Directions

Preheat the oven to 400*.

1. Boil the potatoes in a large pot of water until tender, about 25 minutes; drain.

2.  Stir the vegan mayonnaise, soy milk, margarine, vegan cream cheese, garlic powder and salt into the potatoes, and mash with a potato masher until smooth and fluffy. Set the potatoes aside.

3.  Spray a pie plate with cooking spray OR use a frozen, pre-made pie crust or homemade crust to line the pie plate.  (I personally use the crust because I like the way it holds the food together, and hey... I just like pie crust.)

4.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion, carrots, celery, peas, and tomato until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the seasoning, garlic, and pepper.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, and crumble the vegetarian ground beef substitute into the skillet with the vegetables. Cook and stir, breaking up the meat substitute, until the mixture is hot.

5. Spread the vegetarian meat substitute mixture into the bottom of the baking dish (or into the crust), and top with the mashed potatoes, smoothing them into an even layer. Sprinkle the potatoes with the shredded soy cheese and a sprinkling of black pepper.

6. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and slightly browned and the casserole is hot, about 20 minutes.

And here it is!

MmMmM!

A little closer up...

And this one's messy, but I wanted to show the layering.

Served with a spinach salad and some rolls, it was the most satisfying vegan meal of all time.

Product Review-- Tofutti Cuties

Ice cream is one of those foods I just love.  I have so many happy memories of it-- chasing down the ice cream man's truck, having a cone in the summer while swinging on the swing set, going to the Dairy Queen in high school, having a Mickey Bar in Disney World on my honeymoon, or getting some from a little shop in Manhattan with my daughter... sigh, good times.  

And now I'm vegan for Lent.  ENTER:  Tofutti Cuties.

Um, yum!  They're quite good.  My only complaint is that they're super small, but that's actually a good thing when you are trying to be healthier.  It is a small portion, but that stops me from going all nuts and eating 600 calories worth of ice cream-- not that I've ever done that... :)

Until next time!

It IS possible to order in vegan!

Over the weekend, I wasn't feeling quite like myself.  I felt light headed and just worn out in general.  Everything seemed to catch up to me on Monday, and wham... I felt awful.  Thank you to Mother Nature for that one.  So sweat pants and the couch awaited me, and I played with Natalie at home for a good portion of the day.

For lunch, I decided to have a little bit of comfort food to help me feel better:

It was really good.  I enjoy every single Amy's product I've ever tasted.  They're just wonderful!  It's nice to support a family business who is so dedicated to meet people's needs while still offering satisfying and delicious foods.  My favorite Amy's product, although not vegan, is:

Um, yes please!  SUPER delicious.

When Walt came home from work, I was still feeling really sluggish and so I asked him if pizza sounded good.  By doing a quick ingredients search and confirming these ingredients on a couple of trusted websites, I found out that a few pizza places have vegan crusts and sauces.  One of those places is Pizza Hut-- their Thin n' Crispy crust is vegan.  (The other two places are Little Caesar's and Papa John's, both of their regular crusts are vegan.)

I ordered a Thin n' Crispy pizza with extra sauce, no cheese, and toppings of onions, green peppers, and mushrooms.  A couple of pieces along with a giant salad made for an awesome vegan meal, delivered right to my front door!  Here is a picture of my pizza slices:

I was really worried I would miss the cheese on this pizza.  I figured if I really missed it, I have Daiya mozzarella-style shreds in the fridge that I could melt on top under my broiler.  But, I didn't miss the cheese very much at all!  The tomato sauce is so much more flavorful when the cheese isn't covering it.  It tastes so fresh and delicious.  And bonus:  I didn't get that sluggish feeling I usually get after eating a few slices of pizza.

Today I had the leftovers for lunch, and they were very good.  Tonight, Walt was running out for a class meeting, so we just had some quick black bean taco roll ups with Daiya and Sour Supreme, with salad and refried beans on the side, in order to get him out of the door on time tonight.

Since I'm home alone, I decided to treat myself to a delectable treat that has been hiding in my pantry, waiting for the perfect night-- it's the box on the left!

Look kids!  VEGAN BAKING MIXES!!!!

Pricey, but really delicious, and perfect for any vegan compassionate family or a family with food allergies.  Totally worth it!

More to come soon... I'm attempting a vegan shepherd's pie this week!

Day Two

I woke up bright and early this morning with visions of cheesy scrambled eggs dancing in my head.  Normally, this would be great, as they're one of my favorite breakfast foods, easy to make, and Natalie loves them too.  I could almost smell them as I was getting out of bed, but by the time my feet hit the floor, I remembered:  It's Lent, and I'm a vegan.

What to do?  Well at first, I won't lie... I was really, really bummed I couldn't have my cheesy eggs.  But then I remembered why I chose to do this.  The conditions most chickens are kept in and treated like machines.  To be grateful for the food I do have.  To remember the sacrifices Jesus made for me.  To honor the earth.   So I felt a little more on track after that, and I sent a quick morning prayer of gratitude toward the sky.

After my morning chores and getting Natalie situated, I made myself my breakfast:  A strong cup of Newman's Own black coffee, brewed piping hot in under a minute thanks to the Keurig we received from my parents for Christmas (thanks mom & dad!!) along with sprouted wheat toast covered in Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese and topped with homemade red raspberry jam, made by my best friend's mom.

Now if that doesn't scream "good morning," I don't know what does. :)  It was great.  I love, love, love cream cheese, and I can honestly say the Tofutti had me satisfied.  The jam took me back to a time and place that brings me a lot of happiness (love you CBU and Carol!)  And the coffee?  Well, it was strong as all get-out, just the way I like it. 

I noticed the same issue with the cream cheese substitute as the sour cream one:  it has a bit of a "funny" aftertaste when sampled alone.  But, they both taste identical to the real thing when ON something or mixed with something. 

On to lunch!  

So I finally got the kiddo down for her afternoon nap and I was famished!   A mediterranean lunch called my name:  Vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, tabbouli salad, couscous, and pita.  (I meant to have hummus but Walt ran off with it today in his lunch bag!)  Everything here was what I expected it to be-- tasty, but not AS tasty as when you get it from a restaurant.  However, I think we're pretty spoiled in these parts due to the large amount of outstanding Middle Eastern restaurants.  I liked the grape leaves a lot, and the pita was very good.  The couscous did nothing for me, and the tabbouli is better from Trader Joe's, but you win some, you lose some.  BONUS:  All of these products were made locally in the Metro Detroit area! 

And on to dinner.

This is actually a favorite around our house:  Vegetarian Tortilla Stew with Sweet Corn Cake on the side!

Recipe: (adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com)

1 large or 2 small cans green enchilada sauce (you can also use red enchilada sauce, but be warned-- this makes it much spicier!)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (with or without green chiles, your preference)
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything into a crock pot or a stock pot and heat through-- it really is that easy!

Toppings:

While eating vegetarian, we topped with sour cream, Mexican shredded cheese, and crunched tortilla chips.

To veganize, I substituted with Tofutti Sour Supreme and Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds on top of Baked Tostitos Scoops, crunched up a bit.

The sweet corn cake is so easy and made with 1 can of cream style corn and 1 package of this:

Substitute margarine instead of the butter in the instructions on the back, and voila:  a delicious and decadent vegan treat!

Although I started the day with a brief craving struggle, I have to say I really didn't want for anything by eating vegan today.  I feel great about making it another day in this adventure!

Ash Wednesday

On Ash Wednesday, it's customary for Catholics to fast.  This basically means you can eat 1 small meal as your dinner while fasting throughout the morning, or you can eat small snacks that add up to 1 small meal throughout the course of the day.

I thought it would be best to make lunch my meal for the day so that I wasn't going too long without food.

I happened to be at one of my favorite places, Panera Bread, for lunch with my mom and my daughter.

(Panera Bread, WOOT!)

Now while I was dining as a vegetarian, Panera Bread was an awesome choice for eating out.  I absolutely adore their tomato and mozzarella panini and Greek salad.  However, I knew both of those options would be out due to the cheese factor, so I used my phone to look up the vegan options at Panera.  All of their ingredients are available on their website (and although this seems standard, most people would be floored to know how many restaurants refuse to disclose their ingredients.  It really makes you wonder what exactly they're afraid of, doesn't it?)

As it turns out, one of my other favorite sandwiches called the Mediterranean Veggie is vegan if you ask for no feta.  The black bean soup is vegan, but unfortunately wasn't on the menu, so I looked for the other veganized option:  Garden Vegetable with Pesto, but without the pesto (it's stirred in I suppose?  But you can ask for the vegetable soup without that addition.)

The Mediterranean Veggie has cilantro hummus, salt & black pepper, fresh cucumber, green leaf lettuce, red onions, fresh tomatoes, zesty peppadew piquant peppers on tomato basil bread.  However, a few other bread choices are vegan, including my favorite-- sourdough.

(The sandwich above is pictured as it's listed on the menu, with feta on tomato basil.)

The veggie soup is hearty and fulfilling with a tomato base and chunky vegetables-- a comfort foods classic.

My experience at Panera was great.  While my choices were somewhat limited, they were delicious and satisfying.  I'm used to having only a couple of options due to being vegetarian, and most of my favorites were still available with slight modifications.

Thank you, Panera, for offering some choices for vegans! :)  Day one, so far, so good.

My Very First (Intentionally) Vegan Meal

I decided today that I was going to give the whole vegan thing a trial run before Ash Wednesday.  (I fully intend to scrap those plans tomorrow and stuff myself stupid with paczki but that is another story entirely!)  So I decided to start in familiar-- and favorite-- territory:  Mexican food.

When I decided to go vegetarian (and before I discovered Mediterranean and Indian foods), I quickly figured out that the two easiest cuisines to transform for my needs were Mexican and Italian, and many of my recipes are still based on those genres.

Tostadas are a weekly favorite for us.  Crispy shells topped with refried beans, salsa, hot sauce, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream... it's one of my most loved foods.  We typically pair it with a "Mexican salad," a homemade version based on the salad at our favorite south-of-the-border eatery in town, which includes fresh avocado slices, tomato wedges, onion, green pepper, and green olives.  It was easy for me to "vegetarianize" this meal-- I simply removed the beef and doubled up the beans on the tostadas.  And luckily, this one was easy to "veganize," too.



I started with the same shells, beans, and salsa I typically use.

(salsa pic coming soon!)

Then, instead of shredded Mexican style cheese, I used Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds.

 The lettuce, tomatoes, and hot sauce were next, followed by Tofutti's Sour Supreme, a dairy-free sour cream alternative.

Forgive the picture and the messy plate-- it was taken on my phone during my second helping after I realized I should probably be visually documenting this experiment as well, but here is one of my tostadas:

YUM!

My rating: 9/10

It was really, really good.  I was shocked at the way the vegan cheese melted and stretched.  Thanks for the Daiya recommendation to my bff Carrie, who is a vegan.  I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong!  When I tasted the Sour Supreme straight out of the package, it did taste a little odd to me, but when used in a dish it was nearly indistinguishable from regular sour cream.  (Also, my cat wanted to lick the plastic seal after I removed it, so I figured if he thought it was real sour cream, maybe I would too. :) )

Walt's comments:  "How is this one different from mine again?"  Meaning he couldn't figure out which products on my tostada were replacements and which weren't.  I take this as a good sign.  He also used the word "delicious."

I'm not adding a recipe for this one because I think the process is pretty self-explanatory, but just to note-- I usually throw the shells with the beans, salsa, and cheese on them into the oven, then top them with the hot sauce, sour cream, lettuce and tomato once they're hot.  Today, I was tired and dinner was later than usual, so we just microwaved them.

I'm really happy and impressed so far, and I'm looking forward to this vegan journey.  I'm feeling a lot less anxious!