Shaking things up.

I know, it's been awhile! But I've decided to change this blog a bit. I'm broadening the scope of focus. I want to add general day to day projects, not just recipes. All around diy stuff, and crafts and whatnot. But still focusing on veganism at the core. I will be back! With fun stuff!

Vegan French Toast and Vegan Omelet

I love breakfast food! The combination of sweet and savory is heaven. Smokey soy sausage and sweet maple syrup, drool. The recipe for the omelet is the same one from the breakfast sandwich from an earlier post, I just made this one slightly bigger and filled it with saute'd veggies and soy sausage. You can fill it with whatever you want (spinach, onions, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, vegan cheese (have you tried daiya?), or just leave plain and enjoy as is.) The potatoes are just southern hash browns, potatoes cut into tiny cubes and quick fried in olive oil. The recipe that follows is for the french toast.

5-6 Slices of day old bread (I used sourdough but you can use whatever you have on hand)
3/4 cup Flour
1 cup to 1 1/4 cup cold soy milk (I used soy cream because I love decadence, use what you have on hand)
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 TBS Maple Syrup
dash salt

Preheat non stick skillet (cast iron is amazing!) over a medium heat. Whisk all ingredients, minus bread, in a shallow bowl (wide enough that your bread will fit in laying flat). Dredge both sides of bread slices in mix. Cook on each side for about 2 mins, till brown but not burnt, repeat on other side. Repeat process till all bread is gone. Smother in maple syrup and enjoy.

Praise Seitan!

Having a good basic seitan recipe is key. I used to be really intimidated by the idea of making wheat meat but it's actually really simple. The hardest part is waiting for it to simmer and cool before you can fry it up for wings or stir fry it with some veggies.

For the seitan:
2 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
4 TBS all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup cold Veggie Stock
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS garlic
splash of lemon juice

For the broth:
12 cups cold Veggie Stock ( bouillon is the cheapest route here)

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix the wet into the dry with a spatula. Once mixed, knead the dough till spongy and elastic. Allow dough to rest a few minutes. While it's relaxing prepare the broth in a large pot. Keep everything as cold as possible it'll help the seitan to set up.
Cut the dough into the shapes you desire, nothing too large tho'. Drop all your pieces into the cold broth and cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 1 hour. After this I just stick the whole thing, pot and all, into the fridge to cool overnight. It's important to let it cool all the way through. Once cool you can cut it up and do with it what you like. Batter it and deep fry for wings or eat cold in a salad.

Vegan Curry Tempeh Salad

I have to try to at least get one post a month. I no longer have any valid excuses. Although lately I've gotten into sewing quite a bit, but that is way way more frustrating than cooking. Tonight I watched Julie and Julia, so I'm a tad inspired.

And with summer fast approaching I find a chicken salad recipe appropriate. I've never actually written this one down so every time I make it, it seems different. But it's really simple and easily adaptable to suit your tastes.






1 package Tempeh
1/4 cup vegan mayo
3 TBS pineapple juice
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp garlic
about half an onion chopped
1/4 cup cashew pieces
1/4 cup dried cherries (or raisins, or currants, or apple chunks)
1 tsp lemon curry powder (optional, I just really like the flavor)
salt and pepper to taste
1 chicken style bullion cube or about 1 cup veggie or chicken style liquid stock

Crumble the tempeh into a small skillet, pour in your stock or 1 cup water and your bullion. Turn to med low and allow to simmer till all water is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool. Then mix in all other ingredients, chill and enjoy on crusty bread or crackers. ( I said it was easy.)

Vegan Pineapple Cashew Noddles

This is a pretty simple recipe but really delicious. It comes together easily, the only wait time is while the tempeh and noodles are cooking.

For the sauce:

1 cup Pineapple Juice
2 tbs Soy Sauce
2 tbs Rice Vinegar
1 tbs grated Ginger
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp finely chopped Garlic
1 tsp Wasabi
1 tbs Agave Nectar

Everything else:

1 cup Pineapple Pieces
1 cup Cashews
1 package Udon Noodles (or Rice Noodles if you want wheat free)
1 package Tempeh
Sesame oil for tempeh
Black Sesame Seeds for garnish (regular sesame seeds are fine too)

Whisk everything for the sauce together adjusting garlic and wasabi to taste. Prepare noodles of choice per package directions. Cut tempeh into cubes and steam, if you don't have a steam basket you could just boil tempeh in a small fry pan with about a cup of water with the lid on till all the water is absorbed. Then brown all sides of the tempeh in sesame oil. I left the pineapple and cashews raw but you could toss them in with the tempeh and stirfry them, you could also throw in some veggies like broccoli or kale if you like. Once everything is finished, assemble it all. Noodles then pineapple, cashews, tempeh, pour a little sauce over then sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Makes 4 average portions or 2 large portions.

Vegan Egg and Sausage Muffin

This isn't so much a recipe as an assemblage of foods to create a higher delicious. It is also in honor of my grandfather who passed away this morning. When I was a kid he would watch me on Tuesday mornings when my mom worked, and every Tuesday we would go to a certain international chain restaurant, famous for its hamburgers, for breakfast. This recipe for eggs is a slightly altered version of the omelet recipe found in Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

For the sausage;

1 package either prepared sausage patties or I used LightLife's Gimme Lean Sausage Crumbles and mixed in 1 tsp of ground sage and about 3 tbs of maple syrup
English Muffins, I used store bought

For the egg;

• 1 package silken tofu, either refrigerated or aseptic
• 1/4 cup flour, either wheat or garbanzo
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2-4 tbs soy milk
• 1 tbs cornstartch
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black salt (this is a really pungent, sulfery salt, most likely found in an International market)
• pepper to taste
  

Mix all egg ingredients in food processor and process till smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Heat a non stick skillet or lightly oiled pan on med-low. Pour in about a 1/4 cups worth of egg mix and tilt skillet from side to side to spread out mix, you want it thin to cook evenly and not leave a squishy tofu middle. Cook a few minutes on each side till it starts to brown. While the tofu eggs are cooking, mix up your sausage and cook in a separate skillet. If going to LightLife route and you want a really maple flavor, pour a little maple syrup on patties as they cook. The syrup will caramelize and make a glaze. Toast the english muffins and butter for an even richer and decadent breakfast sandwich. Once everything is done assemble and serve with a big glass of orange juice.

Vegan Baked Shells and Cheese

I think I love shells and cheese more now than I ever did before I went vegan. I've held on to this secret recipe for a while but a good vegan shells and cheese recipe needs to be shared. This sauce would work well for any recipe where a melted cheese sauce is needed. You can spice it up for nachos with some cayenne, hot sauce, or jalapeños.

1 package shell shaped pasta (I use the Bella Terra organic shells in a bag)
1/2 cup Earth Balance or vegan butter product
1/3 cup flour
2 tbs red miso
1 tbs tahini
1 tbs lemon juice
1 1/4 cup soy milk
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch salt
black pepper to taste
home made parmesan (recipe is in last post (stroganoff))
1 cup bread crumbs (if baking)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Cook pasta to package directions. In a medium sauce pot on low, melt your butter. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Once mixed add in the miso, tahini and lemon juice. Once all that is well mixed in, pour in the soy milk. Now whisk in the yeast, mustard, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk till the sauce thickens. If baking the pasta you can leave it a little thin, the additional heat from the oven will thicken it more. If not baking, allow it to get to a thicker consistency, mix in your pasta and sprinkle on the pepper and parm. If baking mix sauce and pasta together and pour into baking dish. Sprinkle on breadcrumbs and bake for about 20-30 mins, till the breadcrumbs brown. Portion out and garnish with pepper and parm.