That Was Vegan?

Recipes so delicious you'll never think twice!

Chik’n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios

Chik'n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios #vegan

Oh man, do I love sandwiches. Love ‘em! And quite possibly, the one I love most of all is this Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich, complete with chewy cranberries and crunchy pistachios!

Back when I was an omnivore, chicken salad was always a favorite of mine, but thankfully those days are long behind me.

Long side story: I still remember the last time I ate chicken, it was chicken schnitzel in Heidelberg, Germany right before climbing the hill to tour Schloss Heidelberg (in flip-flops no less… I don’t recommend it). Such a beautiful city, and an amazing castle. Everything I saw of Germany was wonderful, actually. I would absolutely go back again (any German readers that want me to come visit? I’ll cook for you! ;) )

It’s funny I remember that, isn’t it? I was still transitioning to vegetarianism (this was mid 2008), and had managed to eat veg my whole trip up till that point. Thankfully I was traveling with a co-worker who spoke a lot of German and had a wife who was vegetarian, so he was able to help me out with ordering. I don’t know why I had chicken that day, certainly I could’ve chosen a salad. I suppose this is why I’m so supportive of people who are transitioning slowly – my own journey absolutely had its starts, stops, detours and cliffs!

I also remember the last time I ate pork. We had gone out for bbq, and I hadn’t eaten meat in a couple of months. Let’s just say it didn’t agree with me, and from that day forward I was pescatarian, which lasted for about a month. I live in Colorado for crying out loud, so the only fish in my life was from McDonald’s and that seemed a pitiful reason for hanging on to eating any flesh at all. In fact, the last fish I ate was from McDonald’s. We had ordered a pizza which never showed up at the house and I was a starving, grumpy mess. And still used to relying on fast food. I know, I know, excuses… but like I said, detours and cliffs! Anyway, that was the last little fishy (or parts thereof) that I’ve knowingly consumed.

Which (somehow?) brings us back around to the Vegan Chik’n Salad Sandwich pictured here:

Chik'n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios #vegan

It’s truly delicious and, in my humble opinion, good enough to make an omnivore ask “That was vegan?”. Soy curls are so chicken-esque it’s a little scary, and as I’ve said before, there are some great vegan mayos out there!. And oh my lordy, those chewy sweet cranberries, crisp apples and crunchy pistachios are the star of the show anyway! This truly is a chik’n salad sandwich, all grown up!


Chik’n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios (makes 4-5 hearty sandwiches)

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups dry soy curls
  • 1 small granny smith apples diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 2 scant dashes of apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
  • 5-6 Tablespoons vegan mayo (more or less, depending on how creamy you want the salad to be)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (such as Craisens)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • a pinch of thyme

Directions:

  1. Soak the soy curls in very warm water for 10 minutes. Squeeze all excess water out of them, then roughly chop the larger pieces and set aside.
  2. While the soy curls are soaking, mix the diced apple and vinegar, draining out any excess.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the apples with all other ingredients, stirring well. Check for seasoning, then chill for at least 30 minutes, covered. Serve as desired (sandwich, on crackers, etc)

Enjoy!

Hot Weather Recipes: Grilled Cranberry-Pistachio Quesadillas

Vegan Grilled Cranberry Pistachio Quesadilla

Grilled Cranberry Pistachio Quesadillas

Yah. You read that right. I put cranberries, pistachios and some Diaya Jack cheese together in a quesadilla.

And then I grilled it.

Vegan Grilled Cranberry Pistachio Quesadilla

And then I ate more of them than I care to admit.  But I’m not sorry, because they were really, really good. You know that taste explosion you get when you mix salty, sweet and rich together? This was that, times a gajillion. Truly, the salty nuts, sweet (dried) cranberries and rich gooooey jack cheese are the perfect combination, expected or not.

The second best part about these is that I made them on the grill. Look at those grill marks!

Vegan Grilled Cranberry Pistachio Quesadilla

My only regret is that I didn’t think these up myself. If I had, I’d be taking out ad time just to let the world know that I am, in fact, a genius. Sadly (for me), that honor goes to Andrea Chesman who wrote The New Vegetarian Grill. My hat’s off to you, Andrea!

Maybe I get points for veganizing it, though?


Grilled Cranberry-Pistachio Quesadillas (Makes 2 quesadillas)

Ingredients:

  • 4 large tortillas (I used burrito-sized)
  • 6 ounces Daiya jack cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped salted pistachios

Directions:

  1. Schmear approximately 1.5 ounces of cheese on one side each of two tortillas, then sprinkle with the dried cranberries and pistachios. Schmear the rest of the cheese on one side each of the remaining tortillas, and press together.
  2. Grill over medium/medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, then flip. Leave on for another 5 minutes, then cut and serve.  When you first put the quesadillas on the grill, shift them around a bit so they don’t stick (you can also use non-stick spray, but I haven’t needed it).

Enjoy!

Fruity Quinoa Salad with Pecans

Vegan Fruity Quinoa Salad with Pecans

Fruity Quinoa Salad with Pecans

This is one of my favorite summer dishes, and probably my absolute favorite thing to make when serving a large group. We all know how insanely good-for-us quinoa is, and this dish combines that goodness with crisp celery, sweet apples and raisins, tangy cranberries, crunchy pecans and just a hint of cilantro. Oh, and because I made it, you know there’s some chili powder in there too ;)

I highly recommend it for your next summer gathering or office potluck- or even just whip some up this weekend and enjoy it all next week! If you follow the directions, the apples stay crisp and fresh for days in the fridge, I promise!

Before I share the recipe though, I wanted to share some shots of the crazy storms we had last week- Thunder and lightening, rain and hail. I read that we got 4 inches in less than 3 hours on Wednesday night, and on Thursday we got hammered (literally) with ping pong sized hail. Insane!

This was the view from my front door:

(Those Salvia plants lost pretty much all their purple :( )

This was my view out the back door:

(those potted flowers absolutely did not make it)

And here’s a close-up of a piece of the Wednesday-night hail:

We had hail that size for almost THREE HOURS! Thankfully the cars were in the garage, but some of the neighbors were caught a little more off guard- I could hear an alarm going off down the street. Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I rushed out to try and save my basil plants (which died anyway) and got bonked on the head a few times by those monsters… And that wasn’t even the worst of it- the following night they were even bigger! Here’s a shot of one, that had already started to melt. Not sure if you can really tell, but it was almost twice the size:

Yikes.

Anyway, back to the Quinoa Salad…

Vegan Fruity Quinoa Salad with Pecans


Fruity Quinoa Salad with Pecans (5 servings)

Adapted from this Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup dried quinoa, prepared per package instructions
  • 2 apples, chopped (but not peeled)
  • 3/4 T white rice vinegar
  • 2-3 T lemon juice
  • 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery, sliced in half lengthwise, then chopped
  • 3/4 cup mix of dried cranberries (I used Craisins), white raisins, and regular raisins (many stores carry a mix like this in their bulk section, or near the produce section)
  • 1 t chili powder (I used a NM blend)
  • 2 T oil (I used Sesame, but you could sub EVOO)
  • Sea salt as needed
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

  1. Prepare your quinoa, per package instructions, then set aside to cool.
  2. In a tupperware, mix your chopped apples with the vinegar and lemon juice. Make sure there’s enough liquid to coat the apples, but not enough to cover them. Put the lid on, shake lightly (you don’t want to bruise the apples), and set in the fridge.
  3. In a large bowl mix the cooled quinoa with the onions, celery, cranberries, chili powder and oil.  Taste, then add salt as needed.
  4. You can now mix the apples and the vinegar/juice back in with the salad. The salad will keep for days in the fridge, but don’t add the cilantro and pecans until you’re about to serve it for the first time.

Enjoy!

“Rum-nog” Pound Cake with Cranberries

Vegan "Rum-nog" Poundcake with Cranberries

Mmmmmm.... Rum-Nog...

I’m totally in the holiday spirit, but something was missing… this pound cake!

Yesterday was a snow day (according to me, when I called in to work), so I took that opportunity to do some baking, and… ta da! It was difficult to not just drink all the So Delicious nog, but I managed to save some for this scrumptious pound cake. And some rum, too ;)   The cake itself doesn’t taste overly rum-y, but boy oh boy can you taste the rum in the glaze! Rum = Yum in my book! My cake came out a bit dense, but that could be blamed on my lack of baking skills or even just the fact that I live at 6,700 feet. FYI, you wont find a ton of baking recipes on this blog for that very reason. Baking at this altitude will break your heart! Anyway, I know most of you don’t live waaaaay up here with me, so please make any necessary adjustments. I want this cake to turn our beautifully for you!

I hope you’re all enjoying your holidays and stuffing your faces with as much vegan goodness as you can get your hands on!


“Rum-Nog” Poundcake with Cranberries (15-20 small slices)

Recipe adapted from Technicolor Kitchen (non-vegan)

Don’t forget to make any altitude adjustments!

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 ¾ cups AP flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  •  ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup Earth Balance , room temperature (approximately 2 sticks, plus a little more)
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • Ener G replacement for 3 eggs
  • 1 cup So Delicious Nog (you could totally mix some rum in here, if you’re inclined!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup dried cranberries, tossed with 1 teaspoon AP flour

Crystal rum glaze:

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dark rum
  • 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup capacity ring or bundt pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream EB on medium-low speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar then continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the side of the bowl.
  4. Beat in the egg replacer, one third at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in four additions alternately with the ‘nog in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the cranberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
  5. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the cake is golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes – in the meantime, make the glaze: place the sugar, rum and water in a small bowl and mix to combine.
  6. Carefully unmold the cake onto the rack and, using a pastry brush, coat the top and sides of the cake with the glaze. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Check out this shot… you can see my cute little counter-top mini tree in the background!

Vegan "Rum-nog" Poundcake with Cranberries

Vegan "Rum-nog" Poundcake with Cranberries

Vegan "Rum-nog" Poundcake with Cranberries

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