Vegan Food

Ingredients:
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 orange, peeled and quartered
3 inch wide circle of wheatgrass
1 cup of ice
1/2 cup of water

Directions:
Put all of the ingredients into your vitamix in the order listed and blend. Increase or decrease the amount of water depending on how thick or runny you like your smoothies. Serve.

(Source: mightyvegan.com)

serves 4

1/2 c fresh orange juice
1/2 c white vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c soy sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce*
1 T brown sugar
1 T allspice
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1 T fresh ginger, minced (or 1 t ground ginger)
3 t fresh thyme leaves
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 scallions, chopped
8 oz tempeh*, cut in half widthwise and then into 1/2” x 2” strips
4 whole-wheat wraps
2 c chopped lettuce/vegetables (carrots, radish, etc)

In a glass baking dish, combine all ingredients from orange juice through scallions. Stir well and add in tempeh strips, in a single layer. Place in fridge and marinate 20-30 minutes. 

Heat a large sauté pan, over medium-high. Add tempeh, in a single layer, and most of the scallions, reserving marinade. Cook 10-12 minutes, flipping tempeh (or shaking pan) every few minutes, until (golden) brown on all sides.

To assemble, top each wrap with 1/2 c lettuce/vegetables, 4-6 strips of tempeh and a few T of reserved marinade. Roll up wrap from one side, and cut in half.

*NOTE: Worcestershire sauce isn’t vegan since it contains anchovies. You can make your own sauce courtesy of Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley:

(Source: fresh365online.com)

Ingredients:

8 ounces drained seitan

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons Earth Balance organic buttery spread

2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/3 cups soy milk

2-3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons fresh herbs – basil, oregano or Italian parsley in a combination of your choice, along with salt and pepper

13.25 ounces Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti prepared as directed

Method: In a non-stick or lightly oiled pan, lightly brown seitan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and set aside. Boil water and prepare pasta as directed. In a large pan, heat a little olive oil and melt the margarine, add the mushrooms and saute until soft and dark in color. Turn heat to low and add the milk and flour, stirring until smooth. Add basil, oregano, seitan, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauce will thicken upon standing — you may thin it with water or soy milk as needed. Serve immediately.  Serves 4-6.

(Source: sunnyvegan.com)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 6 small eggplant (or one regular eggplant or 2-3 Japanese eggplant)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 clove garlic
• 4 strands saffron soaked in a few teaspoons of water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar or wine vinegar
• salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Saute onions over medium low heat until browned around the edges.
2. Trim tops of eggplant. Cook eggplant over gas burner until all sides are browned, using tongs to turn the eggplant. Place in a cast iron pan and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat until tender, about 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the eggplant. Remove to a plate and let cool. Cut eggplant open and scrape out inside flesh. Place in food processor bowl.
3. Add walnuts, garlic, saffron, coriander, fenugreek, cayenne pepper, vinegar and salt to eggplant. Process until smooth.
4. Stir in sauteed onions and cilantro.

(Source: jeanetteshealthyliving.com)

serves 1 ish (I like a heaping post-work-out shake)

total time: about 5 minutes, plus subjective chill time*

Ingredients:

• 2-4 tbs of your favorite protein powder (I, clearly, used Nutiva Hemp Protein Shake, vanilla)
• 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened vanilla is wise) or other non-dairy milk
• 1 banana, the riper the better…but I’ve rolled with a little green and it blended right in (so many puns!)
• 1-2 tbs flaxseed or flax meal (you pretty much end up with the same state of flax either way)
• handful spinach, kale, some kinda nutrient-powerhouse greens
• 2-4 tbs almond butter (I love thick shakes, so I opt for 4)
• 1/4 cup oats (optional, though why wouldn’t you? Unless you go by Krisla and want to eat ostrich)

*you can freeze the banana (sliced) ahead of time, or use frozen greens instead of chilling the shake 

Directions:

1. Grab your sexy (or non-sexy; I’ve worked with a crazy machine from the ’70s that got the job done…ahaha) blender.
2. Forgive my incessant dirty jokes and puns. Pour a cup of almond milk into your blender.
3. Add protein powder, sliced banana, flax, greens, nut butter, oats and blend your way to gettin’ yolked!*
4. Chill, if none of the ingredients were previously frozen, for about 20-30 minutes. I generally take this time to ignore the dishes (sorry, mom) and eat an apple with almond butter. As if I didn’t give my family enough reasons to admire me.
5. Enjoy every animal-part-less spoonful!

(Source: hungrygnomes.wordpress.com)

serves: makes one 8.5-9 inch round cake
special equipment: a 8.5-9 inch spring form pan, food processor and a blender (you might be able to do the filling in the food processor too)
notes:  I think the cashews could get pulverized enough in a food processor. I haven’t tried it, but it seems likely. Omit the diced beet if you’re using the processor for the filling though (it’s mostly for colour anyway).

crust:
2.5 cups raw almonds
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 cup dried sour cherries
8-10 pitted medjool dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

mousse:
2.5 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
1 2/3 cups almond milk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup frozen pitted cherries, thawed
1 small beet, scrubbed and small diced

Lay overlapping sheets of plastic wrap inside the ring of a spring form pan. Place the bottom disc on top of the wrap and snap the ring into place. Set aside.

Make the crust: place the almonds in the bowl of the food processor. Flip machine to high to break the nuts a bit. Stop the machine. Add the cacao powder, salt, sour cherries, dates, vanilla and coconut oil. Pulse the mixture a bit to begin the mixing. Flip the machine to high until the almond pieces look quite small and the dried fruit is evenly chopped up/distributed throughout the mix. Stop the machine and pinch some of the mixture together with your fingers. If it holds, you’re set.

Dump the crust mix into the prepared spring form pan. Spread it around evenly and start applying pressure to firm it into the pan. I use the bottom of a measuring cup to make the crust a bit smoother. Set aside.

Make the filling: Combine the cashews, almond milk, coconut oil, honey (or maple syrup), lemon juice and salt. Bring blender to high slowly. Blend the mixture on high until smooth and liquified. Pour all but 2 cups of the mixture into the prepared spring form pan. To the remaining filling, add the pitted cherries and diced beet. Blend on high until smooth. Pour remaining mixture quickly and confidently into the centre of the cake. Then, with about 1 cup of filling left, start to lightly drizzle the hot pink filling around, creating a marble effect within the cake.

Cover the cake with plastic wrap (it will be quite liquid at this point) and gently slide it into the freezer. Let it firm up for about 2 hours. Transfer to the fridge once solid so that it’s ready to serve whenever the craving strikes.

(Source: thefirstmess.com)

2 c fine bulgar (#1), dry (Found in Mediterranean stores and Whole Foods. I found mine at Pita Kitchen in Arden.)
4 medium tomatoes (Or more to taste. We used our garden gems.)
1/2 can tomato paste
1 bunch green onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1-2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped small
2-3 lemons, juiced
1/2 c olive oil
salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

Mix tomatoes, parsley, green pepper, green onion, tomato paste and lemon juice.  Mix in bulgar and let sit in refrigerator for about 1/2 an hour.  Before serving add the olive oil and season with salt and red pepper to taste.

Note: The ratio between bulgar and parsley varies among cultures for this dish. Many do a much higher ratio of parsley than you see pictured above. It is a matter of taste.

Bonus: this is already raw and vegan!

(Source: eatwelllivefree.com)

Folding wontons isn’t hard, so as long as you can find the wonton skins, you’ll be good to go. The brand I used here is called Twin Marquis, and I know they make both vegan and non-vegan wonton skins and gyoza wrappers. Look for the white (not yellow) square wrappers. The round ones are gyoza skins, much better for pot stickers; even though they’re similar, they’re a good deal thicker than the wonton skins. Either way, check the label for eggs.

If you have leftover wonton skins, you can make extra wontons and freeze them in one layer on a cookie sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag for long-term storage. Just drop them directly into boiling water when you’re ready to cook them. You can also wrap the skins up tightly and store them in a fridge for a day or two. Fill them with anything you like (spinach and tofutti cream cheese? Tempeh sausage?), fold in half and seal shut. Pan fry them in 1-2″ of oil until cripsy and golden brown on both sides. It’s a wonderfully tasty and quick appetizer or snack.

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in a Light Ginger-Soy Broth
Serves Four

16 Wonton Skins

Filling
1 Tbs Oil
1-2 tsp Fresh Ginger, minced
1 Cup Chinese Broccoli, thinly sliced
3/4 Cup Seitan, chopped fine
1/2 tsp Hot Chili Sauce, more if desired (like Sriracha)
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Tamari or Soy Sauce

Ginger-Soy Broth
4 Cups Water
5-6 Fresh Ginger Slices
1 Tbs Mirin
2 Tbs Tamari (or soy sauce)
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Rice Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt, plus more to taste
1/4 Cup Chinese Broccoli Leaves, packed (sub: spinach or collards)

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
makes 7 large patties

2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning (salted)
1/4 cup wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast)

plentiful Panko crumbs
safflower oil for pan

burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, olive oil, pepper

Directions:

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings.

Note: yes this patty does fall kind of apart as you eat it. But that is OK because it tastes yummy. 

(Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com)

Hasperat is supposed to be really spicy and salty. Those of you who don’t like eye-watering food can easily make the mild version of this (I just had it, and it was delicious), but the addition of horseradish flavored hummus, or tabasco sauce, would make a more authentic dish. Well, if a recipe I made up to resemble imaginary food eaten by imaginary aliens on an imaginary planet can be called “authentic”.

For Two

2 10″ Wheat Tortillas
1/2 Cup Hummus (Any flavor, plain or horseradish is nice)
1 Small Cucumber, sliced very thin (about 1/2 cup)
1 Carrot, shredded (about 1/3 cup)
1 1/2 Tbs Tamari (or regular soy sauce)
1 1/2 Tbs Rice Vinegar
Black Pepper
2 Small Handfuls Baby Spinach
Hot Chili Sauce/Tabasco, optional

(Source: veganyumyum.com)

vegan, makes 2 servings

1 cup blackcurrant juice (I found some at Whole Foods)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup ice cubes (or coconut water ice cubes, my fave)
1/2 cup plain or vanilla soy yogurt
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2-3 dashes of cayenne
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
garnish: thawed frozen blueberries

optional: 1/2 cup frozen blackberries (add a tad more juice to compensate)
optional: 1 frozen banana for a thicker, less-sweet/tart flavor)
optional: sub frozen with fresh berries, (your smoothie will be less frozen, more silky)

Directions: Blend until smooth. Pour. Garnish. Serve.

(Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com)

2 frozen bananas, pre-sliced before freezing

1 1/2 Tbsp pure cocoa powder (unsweetened, dairy-free)

1 cup vanilla non-dairy milk (soy, almond, rice, hemp..)

1 Tbsp agave or maple syrup (or to taste)

1 heaping Tbsp peanut butter or almond butter

Blend in a high power blender for best results. Serve!