When my friend Tinya from the Vegan Society of Colorado Springs emailed and asked if I’d be willing to drive down and join the presentation team at one of their upcoming Plant Strong classes, I said “Heck yah!”

Okay, confession time. I may have gulped and worked up a bit of nervous sweat first, but then I rallied and said “Heck yah!” And I’m so glad I did!

Honestly, I was never that nervous. I do a lot of public speaking and training for my day job, so I’m pretty comfortable with that aspect. And you know I love to talk about food 😉 Plus, my old kitchen was actually set up almost like a food demo – I used to love having friends over who would sit at the bar and drink and chat with me while I stood there and prepped our meal.

The entire Plant Strong class was amazing. You can see the full list of topics here, but some of my favorite topics were Keeping a Social Life in a Carnivorous World and Everyday Super Foods. That last one has actually motivated me to re-read my Dr. Fuhrman books and stop being such a ‘junk food vegan’. Jacqueline, one of the organizers and fellow blogger, also did a bad@ss food demo right before lunch.

Mine was after lunch, as part of multiple breakout sessions. In hindsight there were certainly things I’d do differently, but overall I’d say it was a success! I was lucky to have my pals JL, Bianca and Christy  (who are all seasoned food demo-ers) to pass along some great advice before hand, and then I had my friends Jamie and Sarah there in person to ask me some helpful leading questions during the demo if I was forgetting to say something important!

But the most important thing… what did I make? Well, for the lunch (before my demo) I brought a big ol’ crockpot full of my Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup (2 full batches, all of which were eaten right up!)…

And for my actual demo I made my Chik’n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios (also a hit!)…

And I finished up by telling them a little bit about my homemade seitan, which would also be delicious in that chik’n salad if you don’t have soy curls. Of course I also brought a few loaves with me, which I chopped up and let them try.

I’m happy to report that everyone seemed to enjoy my food in all 3 demos that I did! And I’ve been invited back to do more, which is certainly the biggest vote of confidence possible 🙂

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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:

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!

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Last year when my mom and I went to Asheville on an eating-binge vacation I popped into the Mellow Mushroom on my last day, right before heading to the airport. At the time I didn’t realize it was a chain, and I’m glad I didn’t because if I had I would’ve skipped it… and I would’ve missed out. The funny part is there’s a Mellow Mushroom here in Denver and I never realized it. In fact, it’s just a free shuttle ride down the 16th street mall from my office, so I could’ve been eating lunch there all the time! Sheesh!

I still haven’t been to the Denver location, but I have looked at their menu about a billion times, and there was this one (non-vegan) pizza that really stood out- called (obvs) the Red Skin Potato Pie. Their menu describes it as:

“Olive oil and garlic base with sliced roasted red potatoes, applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Garnished with chives then drizzled with sour cream and spicy ranch dressing.”

Sounds intriguing, right? And you guys know I’m always down for a pizza that stretches (ha ha, get it?) the boundaries of “what a pizza should be” (as evidenced here, here, here, and here.) So, I veganized it, and here’s a close up shot.

Vegan Red Skin Potato Pie

It’s got all the toppings: roasted red potatoes, tempeh bacon (cooked in applewood smoked sea salt), and olive oil and garlic base, caramelized onions, mozzarella… and I even topped it with a spicy sour cream and ranch mix!

It’s an unusual flavor profile, but it’s really delicious. The smoky, salty tempeh bacon and the sweet onions play very nicely together, and you can make the sour cream/ranch mix as spicy as you like, which adds a little oomph.

Mmmm, you know what this would be good for? Stuffing your face while you watch the season premiere of G.O.T this Sunday! I cannot wait to see the dragons now that they’re bigger, and even though I’m already having nightmares about the White Walkers, I’m looking forward to them as well.

Is anyone else as excited as I am?  What will you be eating while you watch??

Red Skin Potato Pie (makes one 14″ pizza)

Adapted from Mellow Mushroom menu

Keep in mind that you’ll have to start caramelizing the onions well ahead of time!

Ingredients:

• Pizza dough of your choice, rolled out
• 1 small vidalia onion, caramelized
• 2 red skin potatoes, cleaned and sliced 1/4″ to 1/3″ thin
• Non-stick spray
• 8 strips Tofurky smoky maple tempeh bacon
• Applewood smoked sea salt
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Daiya mozzarella (I used a half cup, use more for a cheesier pizza. You can also add in some cheddar to make it more “authentic”)
• 4 Tablespoons vegan sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons vegan ranch dressing
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (or more, to taste)
• 2 Tablespoons dried chives
• S&P

Directions:

1. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick. Lay out your sliced potatoes, sprinkle with S&P and spray again. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then flip them. Add another sprinkle of S&P and a touch more spray, then bake for another 6-8 minutes.
2. In a medium skillet, cook the tempeh bacon according to directions, sprinkling with the applewood smoked sea salt (this is important, it really gives it that “bacony” flavor!). When it’s done, set aside on a paper towel, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
3. In a small bowl mix the oil and the garlic, then spread evenly across your dough. Top with the onions, potatoes, bacon and cheese. Bake at 425 (on a pizza stone) for 12-14 minutes or until the crust is done and the cheese is melted.
4. Whisk together the sour cream, ranch and sriracha (and maybe a pinch of salt!?), and when the pizza comes out of the oven drizzle over the top right before serving. Sprinkle with dried chives and a bit of ground pepper, and serve!

Enjoy!

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Mah furbabies got their hair did last weekend, and they’re just so cute!

Sally was resting her head on top of Cooper, and then… they switched!

Also, TWV? is now on Instagram! Please follow me 🙂 http://instagram.com/thatwasvegan

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Vegan Drunken Beenie Weanies

Yah, yah, yah, mock me if you must, but I just veganized the favorite meal of 5-year olds everywhere.  Except I also made them fit for adults! So please, open your minds for a moment and check out these Vegan Beanie Weenies, complete with beer-marinated kielbasa!

My Gramma Josie used to make these for me when I was a little kid (it was a fave, in line behind mac n’ cheese with hotdogs and ketchup all mixed in, and vanilla ice cream microwaved until it was pretty much soup. (Don’t ask – I was a strange child))

They fell out of rotation as I became an adult, but back in 2007 while the kitchen in my last house was being renovated, I had to learn to put dinner on the table with only a microwave, a grill and a small hot plate. This was before I was vegan, and actually right before I went vegetarian, and I’ll admit there was a lot of pizza ordering going on, but hotdogs were my other go-to. They were cheap (hello, that kitchen was pricey!), they were easy, and most important of all, they left little to clean up (because who likes to wash dishes in the bathroom?)

So hotdogs were consumed in buns, wrapped in tortillas, cold with just a squirt of ketchup <blushes>, and most deliciously… in a bowl of baked beans. I’m not bragging (at all, I realize how this must sound), these were simply meals of convenience and necessity.

So now that I’m ready to act like a grownup again and have a functioning stove and all that jazz, I thought I’d revisit them. And, you know, add some beer.

I also switched out the band-aids and broken glass hot dogs for Tofurky Kielbasa, and made my own baked beans.  It was easier than I thought it would be, and quite delicious! You could up the Sriracha and make this an even more grownup dish, if you like. Either way, I thought it was kind of a fun comfort food that I wanted to share.

What was your favorite weird food as a child?

“Drunken” Beanie Weenies (2 hearty servings, or 3 modest)

Ingredients:

• 2 links Tofurky Kielbasa
• 1 can or bottle of your favorite vegan beer (I used 90 Schilling cuz I love me some Colorado beer!)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 1/2 vidalia onion, well-chopped but not quite diced
• pinch of applewood smoked sea salt
• 1/2 cup water (plus more if it’s still too thick)

Directions:

1. Poke holes in your kielbasa with a fork. Mix the beer and garlic in a tupperware large enough for the sausages, then add them. Let sit for at least 2 hours.
2. Mix the beans and all remaining ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat and bring to just barely a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Slice the kielbasa and add to the pot, then continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Vegan Spicy Grape Jelly Meatballs

Football season is over, as are all the awards shows. The remaining sports (basketball, baseball and hockey – which is apparently played year-round now) are all great but they don’t really scream finger-food to me. They don’t feel like a valid excuse to spend an afternoon on the couch devouring pickle wrap dip or loaded baked potato dip. Yet here I am, still craving appetizers. What to do, what to do?

Just make them anyway, you say? Ok! And honestly, you have a good point. Appetizers are a great addition to any sunny spring or summer evening while you’re relaxing on the patio with a drink and a book.  Who needs sports on the TV when you’ve got a good book on your lap?

Right now I’m reading Whitey: The Life of America’s Most Notorious Mob Boss, Foreign Faction – Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet? and listening to When the Killing’s Done on CD while I commute. I’m a bit schizo in my reading habits, I like to have at least 2 or 3 going at once so I can bounce back and forth depending on my mood.

So, back to the meatballs…

I used Nate’s classic flavor, which are the same as the TJ brand if you happen to live near one of those wonderful stores. A little spicy and a little sweet, these make the perfect party appetizer or cocktail hour snack at home.

You guys do have cocktail hour at home, every night, right? It’s not just me?

Make me feel better. Tell me what you’re drinking or at least what you’re reading 😉

Spicy Grape Jelly Meatballs (makes 21 meatballs)

This will give you extra sauce for dipping, and it’s great on crusty bread, Ritz crackers, your finger…  ALSO, this is the quick-cooking method, but you can also do them in a slow cooker.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Nate’s classic flavor meatballs (or vegan meatball of your choice)
• 1 10 oz jar of grape jelly
• 5-6 oz Chili sauce (I used Thai Kitchen sweet red chili sauce),
• 2+ teaspoons Sriracha sauce (to taste)

Directions:

1. Set your meatballs out to defrost. Mix together the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add the meatballs to a large pot, and stir in the sauce. Heat over medium stirring occasionally until the meatballs are heated through.

Enjoy!

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Image from www.veganissimo-a-z.com

This contest is now closed, and the lucky reader is… Greg A! Greg thinks this book would be especially helpful for cosmetics as their ingredients can be unclear.

Are you a Veganissimo? According to Reuben Proctor and Lars Thomsen, authors of Veganissimo A to Z: A Comprehensive Guide to Identifying and Avoiding Ingredients of Animal Origin in Everyday Products, a Veganissimo is “one who is vegan to the highest possible standard“, or “the most vegan“.  I’m not sure I’m there yet, but it sounds like something great to aspire to!

If it sounds great to you too, this book can certainly help you get there. Small enough to fit in most purses, this handy little guide can accompany you on all your shopping trips and help you be more informed about what you’re buying.

Broken into 3 main sections: Ingredients, Product Labeling and Vegan Alternative to Animal Ingredients, the book uses easy-to-understand icons and verbiage, making it an easy read (although it’s not the sort of book you would just sit down and read, it’s more of a reference manual).

The Ingredients section was my favorite. The icons, broken down into ‘always/often’ or ‘sometimes/rarely’ include:

• Vegetable
• Animal
• Synthetic
• Mineral
• Microbiological

They also make the distinction between animal ingredients sourced from live or killed animals, in case that’s important to you.

The Labeling section was also very informative. As we all know, labels can be both confusing and misleading, and they’re often designed to be just that. Animal agribusiness and many producers profit from the ignorance of customers, and try to keep them in the dark. This book shines a helpful light!

Finally, the Vegan Alternative section gives some great ideas for those who are transitioning or just looking for more information.

I think this book would make a great gift for a vegan pal or someone who’s trying to educate themselves about what, exactly, is in the products they’re buying. I guess my only “complaint” (although it’s not really a complaint!) is that I’d love to see this book condensed into an App that I could just pull up on my iPhone while I’m at the store. For those of us with smartphones that might be an easier alternative. Just a thought!

And now for the GIVEAWAY! The fine folks at The Experiment Publishing want to send YOU a copy of this great book, too! Because the book is very US-specific in terms of products, names and legislation, we are limiting this to US readers only. The good news though is that they are planning to release a Canadian version at some point!

The Giveaway

One lucky reader, to be chosen randomly from the comments below, is going to win a copy of Veganissimo A to Z! 

The contest is open until Midnight (Mountain time), Sunday 3/24. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced the following day. To Enter: All you gotta do is leave a comment below telling us how you’d use this book the most. At the grocery store? Shopping for vegan shoes? As a gift to a new vegan in your life?

Want more than one chance to win? Go ahead and do any or all of the following, and leave a separate comment for each, letting me know you did it. (Multiples grouped into one comment will only count once!)

• Follow TWV? on Twitter
• Tweet about the giveaway (make sure you tag me!)
• Like TWV? on FB
• Like Veganissimo on FB
• Like The Experiment Publishing on FB
• Follow The Experiment Publishing on Twitter

Good luck!!

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

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Didn’t I just say something about not posting too many pasta recipes? Ahh well.

Vegan Swiss Chard Pasta with Field Roast Sausage

Sorry for the crummy picture but I really really really wanted to share this recipe! It comes from the fabulously talented Laura Beck of VegNews/Vegansaurus/Jezebel fame and I suggest you make it immediately. I followed her recipe almost exactly, except I water sauteed my swiss chard and skipped the oil. Here’s the recipe.

Also, here’s your last chance to see my Cocker Piddlers with their winter fuzzies, cuz they’re getting groomed this weekend! By a veeeeegan groomer!! (How happy does that make me? I think you know!)

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Vegan “BLT” Baked Spaghetti

Technically speaking, this isn’t actually BLT Baked Spaghetti, it’s more of a TKT Baked Spaghetti – Tempeh bacon, Kale and Tomato, that is. I used Tofurky maple tempeh bacon which I love, sprinkled with a bit of applewood smoked sea salt to get it sooo good and salty, and I just felt like kale would hold up better than actual lettuce.

I made my first spaghetti pie about a year ago and really liked it, although for some reason I just never made it again. Actually, I think that’s pretty common for food bloggers. We need to keep churning out the new content for you ravenous readers 🙂

I suppose that I also try to limit the number of pasta dishes I make and post. I know that a lot of omnivores think we eat nothing but pasta and that’s just not true! That said, I do love me some spaghetti.

In my thinner younger days when I was an undergrad and working 3rd shift at a lightbulb factory (that sounds like the setup for a joke, but I swear it’s the truth!) my friend Ellen and I used to eat spaghetti every day during the summer, when we didn’t have classes. We’d get out of work at 6am and as soon as we had procured our Kahlua and skim milk (bad, bad choices but what can I say? Working overnight makes you a very strange person!) we’d head to my mother’s house because a.) that was where I was living after a gnarly breakup, and b.) she had the nicest kitchen we knew of. Well, it was nice until we got there, anyway. See, I was convinced that the only way you could tell when pasta was done cooking was by throwing it against the ceiling. And I couldn’t reach the ceiling, obvs, so how was I supposed to get it back down afterwards?

If you haven’t figured out yet, my mama is a saint. She’d come home and ask “Why can’t you just throw ONE strand? Why do you have to throw HANDFULS!?” She also had some commentary about why we refused to cover the sauce pot to keep it from splattering all over her cabinets, but she never banned me from her kitchen. I guess a mother’s love really is unconditional 😉

In case you’re wondering how the rest of the day would go, it was a whole lotta Kahlua, skim milk, carbs and Clueless on VHS (hey, this was the 90s!) until 2 or 3 in the afternoon when it was time to go to bed again. I don’t miss working third shift or skim milk, but now that I’m thinking about it I’d like nothing more than to go home and put my jammies back on and visit with Cher and Dionne and the gang. There might be some Kahlua and So Delicious mixed in there as well, but I’m not telling.

Ooooh, and look at my pretty dish! $2.98 at a local thrift store, thankyouverymuch! I love the detail of the little flowers inside where you don’t even see them until the food is all gone.

Anyway, file this one away for when you need a simple meal and or some serious comfort food, cause it’s both.

“BLT” Baked Spaghetti (makes 4-5 servings)

I used a 1-qt baking dish which worked out perfectly. If you don’t mind an extra dirty dish, I recommend mixing everything together in a large mixing bowl and then transferring to your baking dish before topping with the extra vegan cheese!

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 1 cup torn kale, packed
• a couple pinches of garlic powder
• 8 strips Smoky Maple Bacon Tempeh
• Non-stick spray
• Applewood smoked sea salt
• 1/4 cup Daiya mozzarella shreds, plus more for sprinkling on top
• 1.5 – 2 cups your favorite red sauce
• Oregano, to taste
• Herbamere or sea salt, pepper to taste
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

1. Put pasta in boiling water, cook per package instructions, minus 1-2 minutes.
2. Water saute kale with a couple pinches of garlic powder for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and cook tempeh 2-3 minutes on each side over medium heat, until browned. Sprinkle with applewood smoked sea salt if desired. Remove from pan and chop into medium bite-sized pieces.
4. Drain the pasta and add to the baking dish along with the sauce, oregano, S&P, 1/4 cup Daiya shreds, chopped tempeh and kale. Mix and check for flavor, then add the tomatoes and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 6-8 until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

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