Honest!
You don’t have to have a bunch of exotic ingredients in your pantry. You don’t have to shop at hippy stores. You can eat out in just about any restaurant. It just takes some practice.
Butterscotch Sauce – seriously
Because I didn’t gorge myself enough on esfihas (I did, though. I made a total pig of myself.) Kalisa made me her butterscotch sauce over coconut milk ice cream.
Sweet jeebus!
I wish this were harder to make and I wish it took a long time to cook and I wish it were made of exotic ingredients.
It’s NONE of those things and you may be finding yourself making this way too often because I can pretty much guarantee that you have all of these ingredients on hand (save the last one.)
Blame Kalisa. 
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan butter)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup vanilla “milk” or ”creamer” of your choice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
- whiskey (optional, to taste – approx 2-3 tbsp)
Melt the Earth Balance in a saucepan. Stir in sugar, milk or creamer, vanilla and salt (if desired). Bring to a low boil and cook a few minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from heat and add a splash of whiskey if you’d like.
Let cool to room temperature and drown your ice cream in it!
This can be stored in an air-tight container in the refridgerator. Again, I’m sorry – blame Kalisa!
Esfihas
My dear friend, Kalisa, made these Lebanese-from-Brazil “fast food” delights when I visited last weekend. They are amazing! Esfihas are like little Middle Eastern pizzas and the spices are super interesting!
- 1 package frozen dinner rolls (she used Rhodes – they’re vegan!)
- 1 lb ground beef substitute
- 1 large white onion chopped fine
- 1 large tomato chopped fine
- 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- salt & pepper to taste
- lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Thaw dinner rolls and let rise according to package instructions.
Saute onions until carmelized. Add ground beef substitute, tomato, parsley and spices and heat all the way through.
Take one thawed and risen roll and cut the dough in half. Roll into a ball and flatten with the bottom of a juice glass. Try to make them as thin as possible.
Place flattened dough rounds on a cookie sheet and press a spoonful of filling into the dough. (This keeps the filling from falling off the final product.)
Kalisa, the hostess with the mostest!
Bake in a 400 degree oven until dough is slightly browned.
Serve with lemon wedges – a squeeze of lemon adds that perfect little bite of acid - and maybe a side of tabbouleh.
Make A LOT of them! You’ll want to eat A LOT and they reheat in the oven beautifully!
Day of Food August 5, 2012
Since I have TOTALLY sucked at cooking original food lately – and since this blog is really meant to show that being vegan is not difficult or time consuming – I had the bright idea to just show my daily food intake!
(Of course, when the lazies take leave or when the icky weather returns I will post recipes.)
Let me know if this is as good idea as it sounds in my head! 
Breakfast: vegan chorizo, avocado, onion and herb greens sandwich on whole wheat toast (with coffee – DUH!)
Snacks: cherries, carrots and hummus, soy yogurt with frozen berries, sugar-free iced soy chai latte
Dinner: zpizza Provence pizza with tomatoes, artichoke hearts, basil, capers and vegan cheese
Dessert: Coconut Bliss pineapple coconut ice cream
Spicy sweet potato and bulgur salad
I will admit – this has more ingredients and requires a scosh more effort than usual, but my family will tell you that it’s absolutely worth it!
- 1-1/2 cup bulgur (dry) – cooked according to directions
- 3 sweet potatoes, skinned, diced and boiled until just soft
- 3 bell peppers, diced
- large onion, diced
- 1 can of sliced olives
- olive oil
Place diced peppers and olives in a large mixing bowl. Cover with cooked bulgur. This will cool the bulgur and soften the peppers slightly.
Mix up vinaigrette:
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp chipotle powder (adjust all spices to taste! this is pretty spicy)
Pan fry sweet potatoes and onion in a little olive oil until they are brown and crispy.
Add potatoes and vinaigrette to the mixing bowl, toss well, chill and serve! (or if you’re a hungry hippo like us – eat it right away!)
This keeps in the fridge remarkably well and would be a fantastic lunch!
Potaaaaaahto
Even the poorest college student with limited funds and facilities can have a super filling and nutritious meal!
Microwave a potato, add some black beans, cheeze sauce, olives, salsa, avocado and or whatever else your heart desires!
Potatoes are not only super filling and CHEAP but are packed with nutrients!
There’ll be no more asking “where’s the beef?”
You know me. I love sandwiches.
My lovely husband brought home this enchanting product…
First off, it does not taste like roast beef – and that’s ok! I did find the taste to be palatable and a perfect base for a sandwich – as well as nice and high in protein content.
The trick to adding deliciousness to lunch “meat” is to pan fry it with a little cooking spray until it’s warm and browned.
From there you can PILE on the delicious toppings! Here I layered Vegenaise, avocado, tomato and cheeze sauce.
I might have died for a second when I ate it.
You can almost taste summer
About 5 minutes of prep work will yield you summery vegetable-y deliciousness.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wash and prep veg – in this case cutting the ends off the asparagus, rough chopping kale and cutting tomatoes in half.
Toss asparagus in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in oven.
15 minutes later open up a can of chili beans and put on heat to warm.
Top tomatoes with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Turn oven to broil and put tomatoes under broiler. Leave asparagus in oven while tomatoes broil.
Saute kale in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. As soon as it’s done add some red pepper flakes. The tomatoes and asparagus will be done now, too!
Finish kale and asparagus with some fresh squeezed lemon juice.
We finished up some left over potato salad and it really made it feel like summer. The only thing that would have made it better was if the chili beans were cooked over a fire!
ENJOY!!
Do you miss ranch dressing with the power of a thousand suns?
I have a friend who is a master vegan cookery wizard of the 11th order. She is so good that I actually followed her recipe to. the. “T”.
Pick your jaw up off the ground now…
- 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon dill
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for spicy food lovers!)
Put in a Mason jar (or if you’re a big cheapskate – er, frugal – like me, an old salsa jar). Screw on the lid tightly and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!
It’s thick, creamy, delicious, rich and coats greens fabulously!
BONUS: no artificial mystery powder (yes, I’m talking to YOU, Hidden Valley!)
I encourage you to check our V*gan Rocker Girl!
Easy oil-free pesto
Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE olive oil and I am a big fan of fat – but sometimes it’s fun to change up a classic a little. I wanted to lower the oil and keep the flavor so I leaned on my old friend, the versatile and delectable garbanzo bean!
Can you tell garbanzo beans were on super sale and I stocked UP??
Pesto is mostly the sweetness of basil, the nuttiness of pine nuts and the bite of garlic… traditionally, parmesan cheese is really a salt element and the oil is a vehicle for the rest so they leave a lot of room for veganizing.
(I REALLY needed to use this basil so it was a bit on the dark side. Don’t be a slacker like me and use your basil right away – the color will be much more vibrant. HA!)
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (always – no one likes to taste can!)
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 3-4 cups basil – pick off leaves and discard stems
- 1/4 cup pine nuts – toasted in a 350 degree oven
- 1-1/4 cup vegetable stock
- salt, pepper
Puree all ingredients in a blender on high until completely smooth – about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste – but be sure you add at least a teaspoon of salt as it really perks up the flavor!
I never used any salt in my cooking as I did not like the flavor and my body was very sensitive to it (hello, water retention!) Due to obscenely low blood pressure my doctor advised me to learn to like it and make a concerted effort to acquire a taste for it. It’s still a bit of an effort, but I must admit that food tastes way better with a bit of salt!
This will make six generous servings – 106 calories, 3.4g fat, 4.2g protein, 13.3g carbs.
Traditional pesto is about 230 calories, 21g fat, 3g protein, 6g carbs.
First we tossed the pesto with some cappellini and diced wheat roast.
If you miss topping your pasta with Parmesan cheese you will be thrilled with this alternative: toast a little Italian flavored Panko in a dry pan! Keep it moving so it gets toasty but doesn’t burn. It adds a perfect little flavorful crunch to the the softness of pasta.
A little red pepper flake really made this yummy!
The rest of the pesto was tossed with rigatoni and sauteed red, yellow and orange bell peppers and red onions. A little pan roasted spicy veggie tempeh topped it off.
Tip: if you want a HUGE dish of pasta without all the calories, toss it with an equal amount of veg – like these peppers – cut to a similar size. It will double the size of the serving without adding hardly any calories (and more veg is always a good idea!)
If you’re a fan of garlic this would also make an excellent dip for veggies or bread. Yummmm, bread.
Breakfast scramble
You officially have no excuse not to have fabulous breakfasts! This is super easy, fast and reheats well!
- 1 package of extra firm tofu, mostly drained (just cut a slit in the package and drain – no need to get all the water out. a little bit of water makes it easier to mash)
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder (I am a garlic scorcher – feel free to use real garlic if you’re not like me)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- olive oil, salt, pepper
Mash tofu with a fork. I do it while still in the package because I’m lazy and hate dishes.
Saute onions and bell pepper in 1 tbsp olive oil for a few minutes – until just starting to soften. Add garlic (powder or fresh), smoked paprika, salt and pepper – saute one more minute. Add mashed tofu to pan, mix well, and spread out evenly over pan. Let cook on medium-high heat until water cooks out and tofu starts to brown. Stir well and let cook again until lightly browned.
I browned a whole wheat tortilla and sliced into strips, then piled on scrambled tofu, some black beans (from a can, again because I’m lazy), some reheated Cheezy Sauce, sliced avocado and some spicy salsa.
1/3 of the tofu scramble batch is less than 200 calories and this entire breakfast has 30g of protein. Vegans really have no problem getting protein.
