Fake Sausage and Real Mushrooms

I’ll never be a big fan of fake meat but I like to buy different types on rare occasions. Today there was a special occasion: my first visit to our local co-op. Yes, I’ve lived here for almost three years as a vegan (and vegetarian for part of that time) and never made it to our co-op. Turns out the co-op is ridiculously close to where I live. It is about a 5 minute drive which is much better than driving 20 minutes to Whole Foods. It is more expensive than Whole Foods (yes, that is possible) but I’m oddly ok with that.

I had a frozen bag of mirepoix mix and some quinoa on hand for lunch. I cooked up one portobello mushroom cap and the fake sausage from the co-op. I’ve tried a few bites of Tofurkey Italian Sausage but never actually purchased it on my own before. It has a lot of flavor and browns easily in pan on the stove. I’ve been adding it to salads all week which has worked out pretty well. I used a little bit of marinara sauce, some curry seasoning and Asian seasoning. I couldn’t really decide which way to go but somehow the odd mix of flavor was delicious. It’s an easy and cheap meal to throw together so I will have to make this more often! And I am definitely returning to the co-op to find more vegan treats!

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Hummus Pizza

Sidenote: I was supposed to fly out to New York City today to visit a couple of my friends. Unfortunately, I had to reschedule my trip due to unforeseen weather complications. Perhaps you’ve seen the weather reports. Honestly, how should I have known that a hurricane would strike Manhattan shortly before my November trip? I decided to make this pizza long before the hurricane appeared on weather radars but I like to think that a pizza dish is very fitting for New York. Of course, the weather affected many locations and I hope everyone reading today is safe and unharmed. Now, on to the main course…

It’s every vegan’s fear. You are hanging out with your non-vegan friends and someone suggests you all order pizza. Doesn’t everyone know that there is no mainstream pizza that vegans can eat? Your friends try to order cheese pizza for you and you politely pick off the cheese and lick the tomato sauce off the crust. Mmm… dinner of champions.

I’ve found hummus to be the “cheese” of my vegan life. It’s my replacement for cheese on sandwiches, chips, and, yes, now pizza. The concept of vegan pizza seemed like a loss to me until I discovered a delicious hummus pizza dish from a local restaurant named Thr3e Wise Men (ask for it without the feta!). The concept of using hummus on pizza is brilliant. Too often, veganized dishes overuse fake vegan products as substitutes. The dishes end up tasting… fake. I love using something completely different instead of trying to replace cheese. Allow me to profess my love for hummus in the form of one fabulous pizza.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (roughly 14 ounces) of store-bought vegan pizza crust or your own favorite homemade pizza dough
• 1 cup roasted red pepper hummus (homemade or store-bought)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1 portobello mushroom cap, stem and gills removed
• 1/2 large zucchini
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 roma tomatoes, sliced thin
• 4-5 large basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a 14-inch round pizza pan with cooking spray.

2. Roll out pizza dough on your pizza pan. When oven has heated up, bake the pizza dough for 8-10 minutes.

3. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and add minced garlic and red onion. Cook until onion is translucent and fragrant.

4. Cut up mushroom, zucchini and red pepper into thin slices and place into a collander. Toss with salt, pepper and 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.

5. Add mushroom, zucchini and red pepper to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes.

6. Remove the pizza from the oven and brush crust with 1/2 Tbsp olive oil. Spread onto the pizza crust an even, thin layer of hummus. Add the toppings: garlic, red onion, mushroom, zucchini, red pepper, tomatoes, and basil.

7. Bake pizza for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden brown.

8. Slice and enjoy!

This meal is part of the fabulous Virtual Vegan Potluck created by Annie and hosted at Vegan Bloggers Unite. Continue your journey or go back to the previous post using the links below. Bon Appétit!

Vegan Potluck: Bruschetta

I attended a vegan potluck last week for the movie Peaceable Kingdom. Going to a potluck where I know I can eat everything served is always amazing so I try not to pass these events up. However, trying to figure out what to bring is always another matter. Normally when I cook vegan food for other people, those “other people” are omnivores. So, I know that if I forget to drain the tofu before cooking it, no one will even notice. But when you’re cooking tofu for other vegans, it’s like, “dammit, now I have to rinse it, drain it, marinate it, bread it, season it, braise it, and poach it.” And somehow make it taste delicious.

So I made bruschetta instead of tofu. Attendees are encouraged to bring a list of ingredients because vegans love reading ingredient lists even if it’s just a bottle of water. You never know when Aquafina might add chicken stock to their purified drinking water. I normally don’t even read the ingredient lists that others include with their dishes. As long as it’s vegan, who cares what’s in it? Gluten-free people care. But I’m not quite one of them.

P.S. The movie Peaceable Kingdom was good. On a scale of graphic imagery from zero graphic images to Earthlings, it was right in the middle. A few bits were difficult to watch but overall I enjoyed the stories from the movie. We had a great discussion after the movie that lasted almost an hour. There were 15-20 vegetarians who stayed till 10:30 on a Friday night talking as a group about everything from abused elephants in the circus to Whole Foods’ meat section. Nerdy, yes, but this is what life after college is like, I guess.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf vegan French bread
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic seasoning
• 15 grape tomatoes
• 1/2 Tbsp balsamic
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice French bread 1/ 2 inch thick and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle on garlic seasoning.

3. Toast bread in oven 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

4. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl.

5. Remove toasted bread from oven and spoon tomato mixture on to each slice.

Seitan and Sun Dried Tomato Couscous

I tried couscous for the first time when I was in the fifth grade. I didn’t eat it again until tonight. Obviously I was scarred for life (or, like, 15 years) after trying it originally. I can’t remember how it was prepared or seasoned but it tasted exactly like airplane food. I finally decided to give it another try and I’m so glad I did. This dish tasted nothing like airplane food. Even better, it is absolutely packed with protein and so quick to make.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup couscous, dry
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned seitan (I used Upton’s Naturals Italian Seitan)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil)
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 1/4 of a lemon, juiced
• Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the couscous and the seitan according to the respective packages.

2. Heat the garlic and oil in a medium saucepan until fragrant. Add the pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, and a little of the flavorful oil from the jar (roughly 1 Tbsp or to taste). Cook on low heat until the sun dried tomatoes are cooked through and the pine nuts are lightly toasted.

3. Mix the couscous and seitan in with the garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Top with fresh roma tomato, lemon, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and serve. May also be served chilled.

Yields: two servings

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Raw Tomato Zucchini Lasagna with Basil Pesto

This post is my contribution to the Virtual Vegan Potluck and it includes some serious lasagna. When I was a kid, lasagna had meat and cheese in it and it was baked perfectly in the oven. I loved meat and being a vegetarian was impossible and something I would never consider doing in a million years.

Then I became a vegetarian. I no longer cared for lasagna because it needed to have meat in it. Lasagna without meat just wasn’t lasagna. Eventually I started eating veggie lasagna packed with spinach and zucchini and tomato sauce and cheese and cheese and cheese. I could never give up cheese. Ever. I loved cheese. I could totally do this whole vegetarian thing forever but giving up cheese would be impossible and something I would never consider doing in a million years.

Then I became vegan. And suddenly there was no way I was eating lasagna without cheese. That would be crazy! If you don’t have meat in the lasagna, you should at least have cheese. Eventually I started eating lasagna made with tofu instead of cheese. Had I truly gone mad? Would I someday… dare I say it… eat completely raw, vegan lasagna?!

Today is that day. And today I know that my history with vegetarianism and veganism is proof that I can never say never (ugh, Justin Bieber has ruined that phrase forever). Someday I could become a raw vegan. Or a magician. Or a princess. Or an inflatable couch. I can accomplish anything because, after all, I’ve already completed the impossible twice.

Ingredients:

Ricotta Cheeze

• 1/2 cup untoasted pine nuts, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• Dash of salt

Marinara Sauce

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes (or 1 small ripe tomato, diced)
• 1/8 cup onion, chopped
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Dash of salt
• Dash of red pepper flakes

Basil Pesto

• 1/2 cup packed basil leaves
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Dash of salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 1 Tbsp water

Lasagna Noodles

• 1/2 medium zucchini, cut widthwise
• 1 large tomato
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

1. For the cheeze, marinara, and pesto, blend the listed ingredients together and set each of the three sauces aside. A blender will work faster and more effectively than a food processor for this step.

2. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin, long strips for the noodles. I found using a chefs knife to be the easiest way to do this although you could use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler. You only need about 6 strips so it’s ok if a couple slices don’t turn out beautifully.

3. Slice the tomato into three large round slices.

4. Lay a couple zucchini noodles flat on a plate side-by-side for assembly. Brush the zucchini with olive oil. Top with 1/3 of each of the three sauces prepared earlier. Place one slice of tomato on top and sprinkle with oregano and thyme. Repeat the stacking process twice more until you have a little tower of raw lasagna to stand back and admire. Garnish with basil leaves and enjoy!

Yields one lasagna slice

Adapted from: New York Magazine & The Pink Avocado

You might also like…

      

Pasta Primavera                 Kale-a-flower Pasta

Pasta Primavera

Spring is here which means it’s finally time for lemon, asparagus and pasta primavera. This pasta is light, refreshing and packed with colorful vegetables. It was the perfect complement to my 5 mile run today. I unexpectedly ran the last 2 miles of my 7 mile run yesterday in the pouring rain. There’s something about running in the rain that just feels carefree and fun. And then the reality sets in that you are soaked from head to toe and your iPhone might be damaged beyond repair. Since my run yesterday, both my clothing and my phone have survived to tell about the April showers. Despite the rain, I’m glad it’s springtime because the weather has been mostly perfect for running. And the running gives me an excuse to carb-load, which is always ok in my book.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium-sized zucchini
• 10 stalks of asparagus
• 10 baby carrots
• 1/4 of a red onion
• 1/2 of a red pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp Italian herbs
• 2 cups uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 15 grape tomatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Cut zucchini, asparagus, carrots, red onion and red pepper into bite-size pieces.

3. In a large bowl, toss veggies with oil, salt and pepper, and herbs. Arrange veggies flat on a baking sheet.

4. Bake veggies for 20 minutes. Stir halfway through.

5. Cook pasta until penne is al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta.

6. Toss veggies with pasta, lemon juice, parsley and grape tomatoes.

7. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serves 3

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pasta-primavera-recipe/index.html

Italian Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables are beautiful. Compare this image to the following items: Twinkies, chicken nuggets, Coke, mashed potatoes… It’s crazy that people find these foods delicious when visually they are so admittedly bland and unappealing. I love including a wide range of colors in my meals. With fruits and vegetables, this task is easy to accomplish. With a meat and potatoes diet… not so much. I love making roasted veggies because I can throw bite-size pieces of veggies into a pan, stick it in the oven, and then eat. Easy enough.

Italian Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fresh vegetables, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp basil
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables in a pan

3. Put vegetables in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

4. Stir the veggies halfway through.

5. With five minutes remaining, add all spices and mix well in the pan.Return pan to oven until timer is up.