That Was Vegan?

Yes, the “P” in these BLPTs stands for PICKLES! I’ve probably eaten about a million BLTs in my life (vegan, not vegan) but none ever blew my hair back until earlier this year when I had some at a party my friend Jamie threw.

She put little dill pickle chips in there and it made all the difference.  You could add pickles to a full-size sammy, or make adorable little appetizers like I did.

I left the tops off just so there’d be less bread (translation: I could eat more before getting full), and used Smart Bacon which is quick and easy to cook and chop. Plus I think it works better for this type of thing better than tempeh bacon.

And the bread?

Ohhhh the bread! Just look at it. Dave’s Killer Bread, Good Seed to be exact, lightly toasted. I’ve been living on Dave’s since I discovered it last winter.  The company has a great story, and even better bread. The Good Seed is a little sweet, and is my favorite. According to their website, the company sells 12 varieties of bread in 16 Western states, so check near you! Ol’ Dave might be headed back to prison though, so let’s hope the bread continues without him!

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Vegan BLPT Appetizers (makes 16)

Ingredients:

• 6 slices of Smart Bacon
• non-stick spray
• Smoked applewood sea salt, if desired
• 2 slices of Dave’s Killer Good Seed (or your favorite, hearty bread)
• Vegan mayo
• 2-3 large leaves of thick lettuce (iceberg always works well)
• 16 dill pickle chips
• 16 tomato slices

Directions:

Coat a frying pan with some non-stick spray, then cook the bacon per package instructions, minus a minute or so. You don’t want them to burnt and you want to be able to cut them without them splintering. I like to sprinkle some applewood sea salt on there to make them a bit more “bacony”. When they’re done, cut into thirds

Lightly toast the bread (and use double if you want tops!), then slice off the crusts and cut each slice into 8 little squares. Add a little mayo, then top with the bacon, lettuce, pickle and the tomato. A toothpick will help hold it together nicely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Before you call the ASPCA, I don’t make him wear the hood up all the time, just when he’s posing for pictures…  And sure, okay, I take a lot of pictures of him (speaking of which, you should be following me on Instagram!) but he’s just sooo darn cute!

Okay, I just had to share that picture and maybe brighten up your Thursday a little bit 🙂

SO! I am a very lucky little vegan and am soon to depart on the most amazing trip to SE Asia. I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand (especially the Elephant Nature Park, where I’ll be spending 3 whole days feeding, bathing and hiking with the elephants, ohmygawd!), and we’re also visiting Cambodia and Southern Vietnam. This is the biggest trip I’ve ever taken, and I’m beyond excited! And don’t worry, I’ll bring back lots of pics to share with ya!

I’ll schedule some some of my own posts for while I’m gone, but I could also use a few guest bloggers to help out. Email me if you’re interested, thatwasvegan (at) gmail (dot) com.

Let’s see… what else? Nasoya requested more content for Tofu U, so I’ve been working on other delicious tofu-related creations… here’s a sneak peek at some lettuce cups:

Please head over there, check it out, and show us some love!

Welcome to the Virtual Vegan Potluck! I’m glad you decided to start with appetizers, because I’ve whipped up something extra special for you today… my Vegan Sweet Potato and Korean BBQ Bites!

Boy oh boy! If you haven’t tried my Korean BBQ-Style Seitan yet, you’re in for a treat. Also, where have you been and what the heck have you been doing? You’ve been missing out! This seitan is sticky and chewy, and the sauce (I do a homemade but you can totally cheat and buy a bottle at the grocery store) is a beautiful mixture of sweet, spicy and just a little bit tangy. It can be served all sorts of ways (in tacos with sriracha pineapples is a personal favorite of mine, although the pizza version is just as yummy!) and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be happy just eating it with your fingers straight out of the pan!

Since today is special (it’s the potluck, yo!) I fancified the seitan a little bit, with some Alexia waffle cut sweet potato fries and chopped banana peppers.  Nothing too spicy or too sweet, just the perfect combination of both. The seitan is sticky and so flavorful, and really, what is more fun that food you eat with your fingers!?

These were inspired by something I saw on pinterest… it was very much not vegan, had nothing Korean about it, and (if you ask me) couldn’t possibly have been as good as these. Although, to be fair, at this point the only thing they have in common is the waffle fries, haha.

Before we get to the recipe, a friendly little reminder to check out all the other wonderful blogs participating in today’s potluck. You can go to Vegan Blogs United who is hosting the event, or use the buttons to go forward or backward and check out allll the blogs in our little chain. Enjoy!

 

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Sweet Potato and Korean BBQ Bites

Adapted from non-veg recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf homemade seitan
• 1-2 T Korean hot pepper paste (Gochujang)
• 3 T brown sugar
• 2-3 T soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos
• 1 t rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon hot chili oil
• 10-12 Sweet potato waffle fries
• 1 T hot chili oil or sesame oil
• Banana peppers, chopped

Directions:

1. Shred or dice the seitan, and set aside. Mix the gochujang, sugar, soy sauce, oil and vinegar together in a medium bowl, and add the seitan. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes, longer if you have the time.
2. Bake the fries per package instructions, taking them out 2-3 minutes earlier so they’re crisp but not to the point where you couldn’t bite one in half without it splintering. While they’re in the over, heat the chili (or sesame) oil over medium heat and add the seitan, reserving the sauce. Stir often enough that it doesn’t burn or stick to the pan, and after 2-3 minutes you can start to pour the extra sauce (Slowly! A little bit at a time, you might not want to use it all!) over the seitan as it cooked. This is what makes it so damn sticky and good. Total time in the pan should be at least 8-10 minutes.
3. When the fries are done, top with the seitan and a few bits of banana pepper, and serve warm!

Enjoy!

Yes, the name is a mouthful, but what better kind of mouthful than a stuffed mushroom? Especially when the stuffing is this tasty!?

These baby bellas are full of New England-Style Stuffing, which means there’s lots of cranberries, chopped apples and nuts in there along with celery and the usual “stuffing spices”. It’s my very favorite type of stuffing and I make it every year for ThanksLiving (and a couple other occasions as well).

I’ve shared a couple other stuffed mushroom recipes over the years (Bacon and Cream Cheese and a Butternut-Sausage that works just as well with phyllo cups) but this one right here is my favorite. I can’t get enough of this stuffing, and the baby bellas hold so much more than a white button mushroom would.

I just love including the fresh cranberries, the bright tartness of them keeps these appetizers from feeling too heavy.

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New England-Style Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms (makes 15-18 “baby bellas”)

I used baby bellas which are smaller than baby portabellos, but larger than white button mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon vegan butter
• 1/2 cup celery, sliced in half lengthwise, then sliced fairly thinly
• 1/3 cup finely chopped (but not quite diced) onion (I used sweet)
• 1 small apple, finely chopped
• 8 baby bella stems, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried parsely
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• a couple dashes of dried thyme
• 1/2 cup veggie broth
• 1.25 cups dried bread crumbs
• 1/8 cup fresh cranberries, chopped (or more, if you’d like!)
• S&P
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, if desired
• 15-18 baby bellas, cleaned

 

Directions:

1. Saute the onions, celery and chopped stems in the butter (and a couple Tablespoons of water, as needed) until soft. Add the chopped apple and cook 2 more minutes. Reduce heat to low, then stir in the seasonings, broth, bread crumbs and cranberries. Cover and let simmer (on low!) for 7-8 minutes. Fluff with a fork, taste, and add the nuts and S&P as needed.
2. Stuff the mushrooms and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them! You’ll know they’re done with the mushrooms start to get soft.

Enjoy!

Just to be clear… these Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bites are for your dogs…

You could eat them if you wanted to, I suppose. They are made with human-grade ingredients (whatever that means), but you’ll probably find them a bit bland.

Your pooch on the other hand? He’ll do flips for them! He’ll stand up on his back legs and walk around, he’ll roll over and play dead, he’ll do whatever you want him to, except pick up after himself.

Speaking of which, have you ever noticed how your dogs will take all the toys out of their toy box, but never put them back in? My Cooper was always like that, but I finally trained him to put his toys away. On second thought, maybe I trained him too well because now he even puts himself back in the toy box!

Isn’t he so cute in his little red sweater? You can’t really tell from that shot, but it has a little hood that actually fits over his head! Squee!

Anyhoozle, if you love your dog as much as I do, you simply must start making their treats from scratch. We’ve all read the horror stories of beloved pets dying from contaminated treats, and besides- making them at home allows you to control the ingredients and save money. Win-win!

This recipe makes a dough that can be rolled out and cut with bone-shaped cookie cutters, which I sometimes do, but since my dogs are little-ish and I like to treat them a couple times a day, I went for a smaller serving size. And the ingredients are all easy to find any and grocery store, which means all you need to commit to is an hour or so in the kitchen to make a couple weeks worth of treats.

I made mine on Sunday while watching football and drinking some strange vodka concoction I had invented out of necessity… the necessity being that I was completely out of any normal sort of mixers. My point being that if I can successfully bake anything while hopped up on vodka and <ahem> crystal light, it’ll be a piece of cake for you!

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Pumpkin Pie Bites For Pups (makes 50 or so “bites”, or 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, water, coconut oil, and cinnamon. Whisk until coconut oil is broken up. Stir in the oats, then slowly add the flour. You’ll probably need to use your hands towards the end.
2. If you’re making cookies, roll out to 1/4″ thick, then cut with the cutter (use a 3″ cutter to get the full 2 dozen cookies), or if you’re making “bites” just roll small pieces between your palms.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 20-15 minutes (bites), 35-40 minutes (cookies), stirring or turning over halfway through.

This giveaway has now ended, and the winner is… Sarah! She says she makes a mean tofu bacon, and I for one would like to try it 🙂 Thanks to everyone who entered, and I have another cookbook giveaway coming soon! 🙂

Who wanst to win a copy of The China Study Cookbook?

That’s a silly question, EVERYONE does! Seriously though, if you’re looking to add more healthy, low-fat and oil free meals to your repertoire, this is the book for you.

If you want to eat Plant Strong, but still want to enjoy dishes like French Toast, Pumpkin Gnocchi, and Vegetable Dumpling Stew, this is the book for you.

If you’re determined to consume delicious yet healthy desserts, this is the book for you! (And if that strawberry pie picture speaks to you, the recipe is below!)

This is a great book with a wide variety of recipes, many of which are super simple to make. There are tons of pictures as well, which can help you narrow down the choices.

So far I’ve made a couple of things and loved them all!

I made the Ceviche Beans:

And I made the Tasty Tostadas (which were so tasty I had to instagram them):

And I also made the Coconut Oatmeal Cookies(to which I added cranberries):

I don’t always eat the healthiest (I’m known to add too much salt to my dishes from time to time, haha), but I love having a cookbook on my shelf that I can turn to when I really want to cook as healthy as possible, yet still enjoy the meals.

So, don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom for the recipe, and now…. <drumroll>

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The Giveaway

One lucky reader will win a copy of The China Study Cookbook!

This contest is open until Midnight (Mountain time), Sunday November 10th. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced the following day. To Enter: Leave a comment below sharing one of your favorite plant strong dishes… Oatmeal with fresh berries? Pasta with a cashew cream sauce? A good ol’ fashioned salad?

Contest is limited to the US and Canada only. Good luck!!

*The sponsors provided me with free product to review, but the opinions are 100% mine!

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Fresh Strawberry Pie  Preparation and cooking time: 25 minutes | Chilling time: 2–3 hours

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 recipe G-Mom’s Nutty Pie Crust (below)

1 ½ cups sliced fresh strawberries

¾ cup water

1 cup frozen (or fresh) whole strawberries

4 tablespoons (organic) cornstarch

⅓ cup Sucanat

Directions:

1. Layer fresh, sliced strawberries on top of the graham cracker crust. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, boil 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries in ¾ cup water until they start to dissolve. Mix cornstarch and Sucanat, and add to boiling strawberries. Boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes, until mixture thickens.
3. Once mixture is thick, pour into pie dish over sliced strawberries.
4. Refrigerate 2–3 hours before serving.

 

G-Mom’s Nutty Pie Crust  Preparation time: 10 minutes | Baking time: 12 – 15 minutes

 Makes 1 pie crust

 

Ingredients:

1 cup ground low-fat graham crackers

¼ cup ground pecans

¼ cup unsweetened, low-fat coconut

6 tablespoons applesauce

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Blend graham crackers and pecans in a food processor.
2. Transfer to a bowl and add coconut and applesauce. If mixture does not form into a ball, add additional applesauce. Press into a 9-inch nonstick pie pan and bake for 12–15 minutes.

(Updated 11/2015 – the original blog this recipe is from has since gone dark, so I’m sharing the recipe here!)

This Black Bean Coconut Soup is wonderful, you guys.

I first discovered this recipe on Vegan Yum Yum back in… 2008? 2009? I made it once and fell in love, then I made it like 17 more times over the next two months.

Then I never made it again.

Well, for a long time, anyway. When I finally got around to making it again last week, I sure was kicking myself in the pants for waiting so long! This soup is amazing, it’s rich (but not too rich!) and thick and kind of creamy. Best of all, it’s simple to make and uses ingredients you already have in your pantry and freezer!

It’s basically beans, corn, coconut milk (the culinary kind), some diced tomatoes and smoked paprika! I wasn’t sure how coconut milk would taste mixed with black beans, but it’s perfection. Perfection in a bowl!

It takes just a few minutes to throw everything into a pan and then let it simmer on the stove while you wrangle kids/dogs/dirty laundry. It’s pretty much the perfect weeknight meal for when you don’t feel like cooking! Plus it’s delicious and healthy. And it doesn’t have any “weird” ingredients, so it’ll please even the pickiest eaters.

MAKE IT! You wont be disappointed.

Tell me: Do you have any recipes that you just LOVED, then stopped making and forgot about?

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Going just by Happy Cow, a person could be forgiven for thinking Castle Rock is a vegan wasteland. Seriously… they list one restaurant and two grocery stores, and that’s it. The next closest listings are in Parker and Lone Tree! Even a general Google search doesn’t turn up much. So, based on that… how much would it surprise you to learn that there’s a restaurant in Downtown Castle Rock that offers (wait for it… wait for it…) a special vegan menu!?

Well it’s true! Siena at the Courtyard offers two separate menus at dinner, one of which is entirely vegan! They have pizzas (greek and thai, both cheeseless), pastas and a quinoa dish. They also have a vegan sorbet for dessert. And while there’s no actual vegan menu at lunch, they do have plenty of dishes that are easily veganized. For some reason there’s no mention of the vegan menu on their website, but I promise it exists!

I recently spent a sunny Saturday afternoon lunching on their beautiful patio (dog friendly!) where I enjoyed a Greek Pizza (hold the cheese), and the Pear and Arugala Salad, a delicious concoction of lettuce, fresh berries, toasted crostini and spiced almonds tossed with a vanilla pear viniagrette (hold the brie!). Oh, and some wine too…

The salad was amazing, the berries were perfectly ripe:

The pizza was great too, covered with grilled zucchini, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, olives and fresh rosemary:

They also have a grilled rosemary bruschetta that’s great, but keep in mind that they bring you tons of bread while you’re waiting for your meal, so you don’t necessarily need to order a bread-based appetizer.  Even without it, I still stuffed mah face…

So please keep this spot in mind if you find yourself in Castle Rock! It’ll never be listed on Happy Cow because they do serve that extra sad meat dish that starts with a “v”, but I don’t believe you should let that stop you from ordering off their delicious vegan menu!

Want more Denver-area restaurant reviews? Check out my Mile High Vegan Eats page!

 

When cold wintry weather calls for a hearty, warming soup, this is the one to reach for! My Vegan Taco Soup combines everything you could need or want: it’s healthy (beans and peppers and onions, oh my!), it’s easy (you can even make it in the slow cooker if you want), and most of all, it’s delicious. And you can make it as decadent as you want! I added some Daiya to mine, but you could also go with avocado or sour cream, or whatever you might usually put on your handheld tacos. How about some jalapenos?

Side note: Did any of you ever watch Trailer Park Boys? I’ve seen every episode (although not in years) including the movie and all the specials. I even bought the extra special version of the movie that came with its own Conky finger puppet! What does any of this have to do with my soup? I’m physically incapable of pronouncing jalapeno the right way anymore, at least in my head. In my head it always comes out the way Ricky says it, with a hard “j”, like “jalopy”.

I should maybe be embarrassed to admit all that, but I have a wonky sense of humor and oh lordy does that show make me laugh! Okay, fine, back to this yummy, gooey, spicy soup?

Oh! And check out this beautiful bowl my sweet bestie Jamie brought back from her recent vacay in Old Mexico, it’s handpainted and I just love it! All my souvenirs were plates and bowls and all are wonderfully bloggable. Does that girl know me or what?

 

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Vegan Taco Soup (makes 4-6 servings)

If you want to make this in a slow cooker, prep the veggies and mix everything together in there and cook on high for about 4 hours. Leave out the final cup of hot water until it’s done and you’ve checked the consistency.

Ingredients:

• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 package Gimme Lean hamburger (or your vegan crumble of choice… or just replace with an extra can of beans!)
• 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15oz can hot chili beans (don’t rinse or drain!)
• 1 cup sweet corn (frozen or canned)
• 1 smallish jalapeno, diced (plus more for topping if desired)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Vegan cheese shreds (I used Daiya cheddar)
• Tortilla chips
• Avocado, green onions and/or sour cream for topping

Directions:

Water saute the peppers and onions for 2-3 minutes in a large stock or soup pot, then crumble in the Gimme Lean. Use a wooden spoon to break it down into little bits. Increase heat and stir in the tomatoes, beans, corn, jalapenos, seasoning and 2 cups of water. Simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can let it simmer for longer if you want to, you’ll just need to add a bit more water.

When you’re ready to serve, you might want to stir in an additional cup of hot water. It just depends on the consistency you’re going for. If you’re using cheese, sprinkle it over the top now, and give it another minute or two (covered) to let it melt.

To plate, line the bottom of your bowls with chips, and cover with the soup. Top with avocado, sour cream or green onions… all work perfectly!

Enjoy!