That Was Vegan?

I’m stealing a page from JL’s playbook and calling this “intuitive cooking”! I know, I know, stealing isn’t nice, but I’m pretty sure she’ll forgive me. And if not, I’ll beg for her forgiveness with these Easy Vegan Grilled Endive!

These are actually Belgian Endive, which is the only type of endive I’ve cooked with. Am I just leading a sheltered life? Maybe. Or, maybe I’ve just found the most delicious type of endive and have no need to look further?

Anyway, all you do is wash your endive, trim off the woody end, slice them in half and top with a little homemade marinade. I used a mix of S&P, powdered garlic, oregano and balsamic vinegar. Grill for 3-4 minutes and you have one delicious side dish! I highly recommend serving it with some grilled homemade seitan… Mmmmm.

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Okay, so I’m going to skip over the Vegan Hawaiian Pizza for just a second so I can blabber about H Mart, aka My New Favorite Place.

They have approximately 47,001 different kinds of produce, and while there’s not a huge organic selection, the prices are great. Also? They make their own tofu!

Look at all those flavors! Anyway, that place was enormous and had such a great selection, I highly recommend it. There were a couple smaller stores that I used to frequent when I lived in the Springs, but this store (in Aurora) blows them away! They’re a national chain, so check and see if there’s one near you! Just, you know… remember that it is an Asian Market so there’s going to be a lot of, umm, deceased animals. So, yah. Anyway…

Pizza! Hawaiian Pizza! Delicious, sweet, crispy Hawaiian pizza.

There’s no real recipe for this (although I do have a great recipe for pizza dough!), simple use your favorite vegan cheese, chopped pineapple (canned or fresh both work) and Yves Meatless Canadian Bacon. Bake on a stone for 12-14 minutes at 425, and you have yourself one delicious pizza!

Mmmm…. cheesy!

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I know there are many vegans out there who don’t like to eat at meat-centric restaurants, even when there are plant-based offerings on the menu, and I get it. I’m not usually that way, but I get it.

Where am I going with this? Well, any vegans who are avoiding Larkburger for that reason are missing out!

If you like mushrooms, you’ll love the Amy Burger:

Vegetarian roasted portabella mushroom with sauteed onions… begins with a large portabella mushroom slow roasted with garlic, parsley and our savory marinade. Accompanying the portabella is fresh leaf lettuce, house ripened tomato and crispy onions…

Sounds delish, right? Two caveats: you need to order the Amy Burger with the dairy-free bun and “hold the sauce”, but it’s still wonderful! I always enjoy mine with a side of edamame (they call ’em plain old ‘soy beans’) but you can also get french fries, with or without truffle oil.

I haven’t tried them yet, but I see they’ve added new salads to their menu, two of which appear to be vegan (the Baby Kale Salad and the Bibb & Quinoa Salad).

Beyond the food, I love how inclusive Larkburger is. Their website clearly explains which ingredients and dishes contain known allergens, and they’ve marketed the heck out of their dairy and gluten free bun options.  So yah – you’re still going to have the dudes at the table next to you chowing down on meat burgers, but with this Amy Burger in your face, I don’t think you’re even going to notice.

And, good news for my non-Colorado readers: They’re finally expanding nationally! Here’s a bit of trivia for you… did you know that many popular, national chains got their start in little ol’ Colorado? Chipotle, Quiznos (the very first store is a block from my office!), Qdoba, Red Robin, Village Inn, Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill and Noodles & Company, to name some of the most famous.

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

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I have this thing with sweet summer corn… I literally cannot stop myself from eating it. Grilled, boiled, I don’t care. Just let me put it in my belly.

When I was a young lass, we lived near a small farm that grew “cow corn” in a field directly across from my house.  I’ll never forget the first time I snuck into that field to steal an ear of corn. I thought I had discovered the secret to happiness! The meaning of life! Whatever you wanted to call it, I was pretty sure that I’d be eating all the corn I wanted for the rest of that summer.

Unfortunately, cow corn tastes nothing like people corn. It was so gross, and not sweet, and not good at all. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. To say I didn’t sneak in again a week later, just to make sure, would be a lie.

It’s entirely possible that I wasn’t the smartest kid ever.

Fast forward 15 20 25-ish years and I no longer steal my corn – I buy it from a farmer’s market or grocery store like a nice, upstanding citizen. The best part? No more cow corn! Also, no more climbing through rusty old fences.

I feel like this post has gotten way off topic, so let me circle back around to where I began: I love corn. And in an effort to consume as much corn as possible, I had to look for different ways to prepare it. Now, you might be thinking that corn and pasta seem an odd match, but as soon as you try this Vegan Summer Corn Fettuccine Alfredo, all your doubts will fly right out the window. I promise.

The corn is sweet, and the vegan alfredo sauce is oh so creamy! Did I mention there’s tempeh bacon in there, too? Well there is! Top with a little basil and you have the perfect summer pasta dish!

Just don’t use cow corn.

Summer Corn Fettuccine Alfredo (makes 4-5 servings)

Adapted from this non-vegan/non-vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces fettuccine
• 4 slices tempeh bacon
• Applewood smoked sea salt
• 3 ears of corn, shucked and all the fibers rinsed off
• 1 Tablespoon safflower oil
• 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped (I used red, any would work)
• Half small red onion, diced
• S&P
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 batch Happy Herbivore alfredo sauce (when preparing, I recommend using AP flour and adding salt!)
• Basil leaves, for topping.

Directions:

1. Cook fettuccine according to box, set aside.
2. Cook tempeh bacon w/ a little no-stick spray, and sprinkle with the smoked sea salt, 2-3 minutes per side. Once it has some color, remove and chop into bite-sized pieces.
3. Cut the corn off all three cobs. Add oil to the pan and when it’s heated (over medium-high), add the corn, bell pepper and onion. Add a little S&P and stir until everything is warm, 2-3 minutes. Add the bacon back in and leave on for another 2 minutes. Add pepper flakes, then taste and adjust. Stir in alfredo sauce and pasta, and reduce heat to low. Top with basil leaves, and serve warm.

Enjoy!

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Growing up, fast food was always a treat for me, mostly because we lived in a rural area without any nearby. Well, until I was in high school, when our small town “finally” got a Dunkin’ Donuts and a McDonalds (an interesting study would’ve been how the town’s population experienced an increase in cholesterol, T2 Diabetes, heart disease, etc… but I digress).

On the rarest of occasions, the family would dine at KFC, and my very favorite item on the menu was their coleslaw. I loved the texture, the way the cabbage and carrots and onion were all diced into the tiniest of pieces, and the flavor! Oh the sweetness of KFC coleslaw…

Of course it’s been years since I’ve visited a KFC, but every so often, when I drive by one and happen to notice it, I remember that delicious coleslaw… Then I saw one of those copycat recipes on Pinterest, and decided to veganize it. The result? YUM! Pretty much the way I remember it, sweet and a little zingy.

Bee-tee-dubs, this isn’t the first fast food fave I’ve veganized… check out my Crispy Potato Soft Tacos, a’la Taco Bell and my Spicy Chick’n Sandwich which is even better than the one at Wendy’s!

Vegan KFC Copycat Coleslaw (makes 5 side servings)

Adapted from this vegetarian recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups roughly chopped cabbage
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 1/4 onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4+ teaspoon salt
• Dash freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup almond milk, divided in half
• 1 dash apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegan mayo, plus 1 or 2 Tablespoons
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Put cabbage, carrot and onion into food processor with S-blade, and pulse until everything is evenly diced.  Remove with a slotted spoon, discarding any extra fluid. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup milk and the apple cider vinegar, and set aside for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, then add the vinegar mixture.
3. Add the cabbage mix and stir well. You might want to add a bit more S&P (I did!!), and more mayo if you want it creamier. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

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Admittedly, it’s been a long time since I’ve had chicken (Heidelberg, July 2008 to be precise), but I’d still put money on the fact that these Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips are surprisingly authentic tasting!

Even better, they’re:

• Gluten-Free
• Dairy-Free
• Egg-Free
• GMO-Free
• Hormone and Antibiotic-Free

The texture was especially “real” to me, and when you grab a piece and peel it apart, it’s even more “chicken-like”. I enjoyed my strips in a stir-fry, in my Buffalo Spring Rolls, and in tacos:

They make AMAZING tacos, let me just tell ya. I even tried them cold one day, just to see. I think they’d be amazing in a cold “chicken” salad, or something similar.

They’re available in Lightly Seasoned, Southwest (my fave!) and Grilled (pictured). They’re available at Whole Foods nationwide. Check out their website to find a location near you!

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

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Where should you take your BFF for her birthday? Somewhere that serves delicious vegan pizza and vegan mac n’ cheese, of course! Which is why Jamie and I recently headed over to Hops and Pie to (literally) stuff our faces…

The first thing on the menu we had to try? Vegan mac & cheese!

I’ve never had mac n’ cheese with mushrooms in it before… and I’m not sure I’ve had it with miso either, but ohmygosh have I been missing out!

It was so creamy and decadent and the breadcrumbs added a lovely crunch. In short, it was damn near perfect.

We followed up with 2 different kinds of pizza (one with smoked tofu, one with seitan sausage), and both were delicious. Lots of Daiya cheese on there, my friends, and the sausage was so flavorful. I’m not sure what brand they were using… gotta find that out. The sausage is sourced from the Denver Seitan Company, seriously delicious!

Did I mention they have beer?

As you can probably tell from that framed beer menu, the place was very eclectic, a mix of thrift store chic and industrial, all very comfortable.  And the menu is very friendly for both vegans and omni’s, so this is a great place to go with a mixed group. We both loved it, can’t wait to go back!

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

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Just a few odds n’ ends for you today as I prepare to head out of town for a long weekend… Of course, if you follow me on Instagram this should all look familiar to ya!

My dinner last night was AMAZEBALLS! Grilled beets, turnips, asparagus, seitan and tofurky sausage! It was fast, easy, delicious and used up a lot of what was in my fridge! The turnips were probably the best part – I owe you guys a post on how I prepared them.

I bought this chocolate bar last week at Nooch – It’s “Smoky Corn on the Cob” flavor! WTH!?

I honestly still haven’t decided if I like it. When I tried it I was really in the mood for something sweet – and this wasn’t it. I’ll give it another shot when I’m craving something a bit more savory, and keep you posted.

Finally… HOLY SHIT! I was sitting outside a few weeks ago, reading and enjoying a glass of wine, when I saw a few storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Before long, this was right over my head:

I wish I had thought to press the video button on my phone, because that sucker was swirling. It looked like a tornado trying to form! After a few minutes it suddenly dissipated, sending out a gust of wind that blew the table and chairs over, and lots of hail. Yikes!

And yes… I’m the brainiac who stayed outside through the whole thing taking pictures. <sigh>

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Sometimes you just need some carbs, amirite? I did the other day, so I whipped up this ridiculously easy Vegan French Bread in my bread machine, and before I knew it I was reading to start dipping!

The recipe comes from food.com (by way of Pinterest, obvs). Just looking at those soft, chewy chunks of bread is making my hungry all over again!

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