You can't win friends with salad, or can you?

Now that summer is here and we are all out of hibernation, it seems that our social calendar has exploded! Does this happen to anyone else? Increasingly I find myself looking 4-6 weeks ahead to book time to "relax" with friends. Because of this it seems we are always planning everything. My iPhone calendar is synced with my better half and if something doesn't get entered, it literally doesn't exist. What does this have to do with vegan food? Read on, friends!

I'm sure we aren't the only family with a freezer full of veggie burgers and veggie dogs on stand-by for the "Oh shit! I forgot that was tomorrow" BBQ, or the "I'm on strike, I'm not cooking" lunch/dinner. (Or just a regular day - I'm not judging!) But if you're anything like me (God help you and your family...) veggie burgers and veggie dogs just don't hit the spot on their own. So today I am going to talk about my favourite side dishes that are easy to make large batches of on the fly. We all know that while

Potato Salad:

There are so many types of potato salad, how do I choose? Let's start with my basic rules. 

1. Potatoes!

Red skinned potatoes are my fave, so they are all I work with. I'm sure there are others, but they pale in comparison and aren't worthy of my attention.  I'm stubborn like that. And by stubborn, I mean awesome.

2. Texture!

I hate pasty, mushy potato salad. I like there to be a ratio of 4:1 for firm potato to mushed potato. In addition, I also require crunch and another variable texture. Acceptable add-ins to achieve the desired texture(s) include, but are not limited to; green onions, red onions, chopped jalapenos, corn, relish, chopped dill pickle, chopped peppers and chopped kale.

Tip: BBQ the corn, peppers or jalapenos to add extra depth!

3. Flavour & Colour!

The only thing that rivals pasty, mushy potato salad for the worst ever is pasty, mushy, flavourless potato salad. Lucky for you, if you're reading this post and are taking my advice to heart, you've added texture from my handy-dandy list which also conveniently adds flavour AND colour. Damn you're good. 

4. Sauce!

If you read the last post, you know what sauce means to me. It can make or break the potato salad. I have good news, and bad news. Much to the chagrin of my family, I've never made the same potato salad twice. Partly because when I make it I'm using up the dregs of the fridge (appetizing huh?) but more accurately because I'm not paying attention. The good news is that every time I've made it it's been delicious! A good potato salad dressing MUST include the following: Vegenaise, Mustard (Dijon, Bold 'n Spicy, Plain, etc.) and apple cider vinegar. Just close your eyes, spoon indiscriminately and  hope for the best!

Coleslaw:

Creamy or vinaigrette? I'm 50/50 on this one. If it's creamy, it must have raisins and heat, though. Check out my recipe from my previous blog post for Jalapeno Wasabi Slaw. As a bonus, that's also my rib recipe link. 

The thing about vinaigrette's is that they require a lot of sugar. Unless you like to pucker up from the vinegar, but I for one can't afford any more wrinkles! I think I lied to you. I just changed my vote to creamy all the way!

Coleslaw isn't always ideal for making the day that company is coming because it often tastes a heck of a lot better the next day. But in a pinch, dress your slaw, put it in a sealed container and flip upside down to store. That way there's less mixing to do when you turn it upright. 

Chick'n Salad

This is actually a recipe that I find revolting, but my family loves it. In the interest of freedom and democracy and all that other good stuff, here goes...but don't way I didn't warn you. It's also super quick and easy to make.  President's Choice makes vegan chick'n breasts. You can bake, broil, BBQ, microwave or fry them. Once cooked, you can either hand tear them or chop them into 1" cubes. Here comes the texture, colour and flavour again! Salt and pepper the plain chick'n. Add in chopped red onions, green relish and stir well. Now mix in vegenaise, mustard and a healthy bounty of fresh dill. Eat alone or on sandwiches. Enjoy!

Cold Rolls <-- This is an old post of mine. Cold rolls are a solid go-to because you can fill them with anything you've got. Glass noodles, veggies, pickled ginger. Go nuts. 

Raw Beet Citrus Salad: <-- This has been a fave recipe of mine for years. If you don't already know, shredded raw beets are the bomb. So sweet and crunchy, and the orange pairs amazingly. 

Moroccan Carrot Salad <-- This is another great salad if you want to try something different. The combination of spices are sure to please a mature crowd :)

Sauce; The Final Frontier

If you're anything like me, sauce is everything. It can make or break a dish. It needs to have depth, the right texture and consistency and of course - HEAT! OK, now I know not everyone has a penchant for spice, but the beauty of all recipes is that you can increase or decrease any ingredients that you'd like! Seriously. Love garlic? Double it! Wimpy taste buds? Half the chili flakes!

At Niagara Vegfest I was lucky enough to run into an old friend (hi Deb!) who mentioned to me that finding a good base sauce was where she struggled. So I figured I'd make an entire blog post dedicated to my top sauce go to's. In no particular order...

1. Dreamy Cream Sauce.

This isn't an actual sauce. But if you want something that is ULTRA creamy you need to look no further than soaked cashews. (I usually soak them in a sealed bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes while I prep. If you have lots of time, good for you. Soak them overnight.) Make sure you buy the raw, unsalted.

The key is that you need a blender/bullet with a nut blade so that it doesn't have any small chunks left. For every one cup of cashews, blend with one cup of water or broth. If you want it thinner, just add more liquid. On its own it's a great base for cream of "anything" soups.  Once you have your basic cream, then you can add in the flavour for other dishes!

Alfredo: 
Add in some garlic, parsley and vegan Parmesan.

Cheez:
Add in some lemon juice, nooch, mustard and onion powder

The possibilities are endless. Blend it with roasted red peppers. Or cut the liquid in half and add jalapenos to make a kick-ass dip. Play around! If the dip doesn't work, add some corn, cilantro, beans and broth and make a Mexican-style soup. Have fun!

2. BBQ Sauce.

BBQ sauce is so easy to make you'll never buy it again. That's not true. You'll just learn to quadruple the recipes and bottle it while rationing each drop. Then again, not everyone is a sauce-whore like I am. Seriously, I'll do anything for sauce.....

Moving along...

A BBQ sauce base is tomato (sauce or ketchup. If you go with sauce, you'll likely want to add sugar), onion powder, garlic, lemon juice/vinegar, mustard (powder or wet is fine). I always like to add brown sugar and whiskey into mine because, let's be honest -  sugar and whiskey make everything better. If it's too thin, just add tomato paste. Too thick, no such thing.

What can you do with this amazing BBQ sauce base now that you've made a gallon of it? Well, let me tell you. It is a great beginning for:

Sloppy Joe's:
Mix the BBQ sauce base with some fire roasted tomatoes and molasses. Add in your joe mix (lentils, TVP, veggie ground round) and slop away friends!

Pulled Not-Pork:
You can buy soy curls, or make your own wheat meat to sauce. Great on mashed potatoes or sliders.

BBQ Seitan Ribs:
If you haven't seen my previous post about seitan ribs - go find it and read it now. Then head to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients. Make this for dinner. Crunchy, saucy, heaven. You're welcome.


3. Curry.

Curry should be renamed to something more regal. Because it's fricking amazing. You can buy curry paste, and curry powder. I usually like to mix them up. There is nothing you can't do with curry.

Scramble:
Dice and fry up some onions and veggies, sprinkle (drown) with curry powder and paste and then add in soft or silken tofu. Scramble, top with fresh scallions, top on toast and inhale.

Soup:
Coconut curry red lentil soup. One of my faves. Fry some diced up onions, add garlic and some nutmeg and both curries and when 2/3 cooked add in 2:1 coconut milk and vegetable broth. Add in one or one and a half cups of rinsed red lentils and a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. Let simmer for 20 minutes and then eat it all in one sitting.

Stew:
Stew that sticks to your ribs is exactly what we need in Canada during our 8 months of winter. You know what stews amazing? Butternut squash and spinach. Throw in some chick peas and you've got yourself a pot of heaven.

4. Ethiopian "Berbere" 

I recently made my own spice blend and I'm really, REALLY glad that I quadrupled the recipe. Seriously. I made a half litre of the dry mix. It it super spicy, but has such depth. It is great for marinades, bbq, stews and more. Check out my previous post for Ethiopian Stew and you'll find the recipe.


5. Vegenaise

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is overdependent on vegenaise. I know I should be sorry, but I'm not. You know why? Because THIS:

Spread:
Add lime juice, cilantro and sriracha into a base of vegenaise. Now put it on sandwiches, dip your chips into it, or eat it with a spoon.

Dip:
Mix 2:1 vegenaise and a bold mustard. Add in some lemon juice and crunchy fried onions. (Costco sells a massive bag, full of carcinogens but vegan!) Again, chips are optional for dipping. You may just prefer to eat with a spoon.


I'm sure there's more and as I think of them I'll try to remember to update this blog. Until then, go make sauce! SAUCE ALL THE THINGS!

Cheers!

So Sloppy, Sloppy Joe!

Holy mackerel it's been a long time since I've blogged! So much has happened! I swear I'm not just slacking, I swear! 

I had a bakesale for the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, which was AWESOME! R&R Cafe was super super amazing and let me take over for a day and between the cafe sales and home sales I was able to donate $900 to Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary. ❤️️👍

Then it was time to gear up for Niagara Veg Fest! I baked my little heart out and made about 350 Macaroons! Good grief!! Once they were all stuffed into a bin they looked so sad and cramped! Poor BB's. Eventually most were eaten, which is a strangely better fate. 

Now, let's get to the sloppy joes! You'll have to forgive me and use some of your own judgement because I'm not 100% sure how these happened but hot darn they were good! 

So Sloppy, Sloppy Joes!

Ingredients:

Onions, diced

Peppers, diced

Fire roasted tomatoes

Green lentils, rinsed, boiled and "ready"

Garlic salt

Smoked paprika 

Powdered Habanero (aka THE FOOD OF THE GODS!!! I add it into everything!)

Vegetable oil 

BBQ sauce (I used a no name plain)

Black Strap molasses 

Sauté the onions and peppers in the olive oil and add the spices. Use as much as you like. I used Swedish chef amounts. (Mutter "horgy porgy" and toss in indiscriminately until you feel you've added enough) Reserve the habanero!

Then add in the fire roasted tomato and lentils and stir well. Douce with BBQ sauce and molasses. I did a ratio of about 4:1, respectively. 

Shake the habanero on top and let cook down on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken, but if it doesn't you can always add a tablespoon of tomato paste. 

I had previously made the cole slaw. It was in a basic vinaigrette which was a mix of:

Apple cider vinegar

Raw cane sugar

Bold mustard

Vegetable oil

Garlic powder... And I think that's it. Haha

The final product? Once the Joe mix was spooned over a whole wheat toasted bun... TA DA!!

Creamy Mushroom Soup

After a butt kickingly AMAZING yoga class tonight, it was back to the kitchen to really relax. And by relax, in my crazy world I mean cook. Or bake. But my waistline begged me to take a baking break (at least until the bake sale!). 

So, after scouring the fridge I realized that I had a pound of fresh mushrooms that needed to be used ASAP. I also had cashews soaking that were ready to transform into something creamy and delicious. 

I don't know about you all, but when I grocery shop my FAVE thing is to buy the reduced produce/products. There's the obvious factor of saving money, but I also like that it forces you to get creative. (And if you have a mental block you can always google "XYZ + recipe"!)

Anyhow, no google needed tonight- creamy cashew + mushrooms? Soup was in the cards! 

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 lb yellow onions, diced

1.5 tsp garlic powder

1.5 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2-3 tbsp earth balance

1.5 cups cashews, soaked

4 cups vegan 'chicken' broth 

In a sauce pan melt the earth balance. Add in the onions and when about half done add the mushrooms. Sprinkle with all of the spices, cover and let simmer until mushrooms are soft and onions are cooked through. 

In a blender, blend the cashews with equal parts stock. Pour into the pot, and top with the remaining broth. Stir well and cook for another 3-5 minutes on low heat. 

I like my soup with a rich base and good sized "chunks" of vegetable. I used an immersion blender to break up most of the mushroom and onion while still leaving pea sized pieces. You could blend it completely, to your taste.

I had a small taste bowl- divine! 

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the soup in any sort of appealing presentation. I did get a picture of it cooling in a storage jar. 

Good enough? It'll have to be, folks! This hot mess is tired! 

Cheers! 

Chocolate Mudpies

I've been really slacking on posting recipes and blog posts lately. It's so much easier to point and click the iPhone before chowing down than it is to type out recipes! #firstworldproblems! 

Tonight I decided to try the 6 ingredient Chocolate Mudpies that I saw on Finding Vegan! Boy am I glad I did!!!

This is raw, vegan, GF and gluttonous!

Crust:

1 cup pitted dates, soaked

1.5 cups walnuts

3/4 cup cacao powder

Mudpie Filling:

1 package silken tofu

1.5 cups melted vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup of coconut milk

First pulse the walnuts and cacao in the food processor until finely ground. Then remove into a bowl and drain and pulse the dates. Fold the nut mixture back in and blend.

I lined muffin tins with Saran Wrap and equally portioned balls of the mix into each one, then pressed into the bottom evenly. In the freezer she goes!

Now, clean the food processor and et ready for the filling. Add the tofu and coconut milk into th food processor.  In a double boiler (or microwave) heat the chocolate chips. Add the melted chocolate chips into the food processor and while they're still warm turn on high until it's consistency is fluffy! 

Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and add two to three dollops of the filling onto each crust. Place back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and Voila! Amazing chocolate mud pies!!

Whoopie Pies!!

I have this bake sale coming up, and to be honest I'm freaking out a little. I flip flop between "oh god, what if no one comes" and "oh god, what if no one likes the food". A little ridiculous, I know. 

The biggest feedback I got about my baking was really that I needed more gluten free options. But the problem is that gluten free food sucks!! Ok, that was harsh. But honestly, so much of it is really bland with dry or unappealing textures. I do have my gluten free macaroon, which is damn good but I wanted something else to sell on May 3rd. So I asked the land of Facebook and lots of suggestions came. 

I made a chocolate quinoa cupcake with whipped buttercream frosting that was pretty good. The people who ate my test batch loved them, but when a recipe calls for 6 eggs the egg replacer falls a little flat, in my opinion. 

Those are the quinoa cupcakes above.

Tonight I thought I'd try another recipe went to me. It only called for one egg and was a one bowl dessert which is my fave. It's actually all made in a food processor which is even better. I doubled the recipe to make 10 joe louis sized whoopie pies. Because I'm gluttonous like that.

The ingredients:

2 cups of black beans

6 tbsp cacao powder

2 "eggs" (I used Ener-G GF replacer)

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of agave nectar

3 tsp baking soda 

Here's where it gets easy. Preheat oven to 350. Throw all ingredients into a food processor and process until smoothe. 

Spoon about 1.5 of batter at a time onto cookie sheet and leave room for spreading. Bake for 20 minutes and voila!!

While they're cooling, make the icing. 

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup earth balance

3.5 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp cacao (if you want chocolate)

1 tsp vanilla 

1/4 cup almond milk

Mix the earth balance and shortening together, add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Then use electric beater and whip into a beautiful sugary dream.

When cookies are cool, pipe onto one side of a cookie and press together. BAM! Whoopie pies straight from heaven!!

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale!!

I am very excited about an upcoming event that Veganhotmess is hosting! It brings my heart great joy to partner with Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary and raise funds for the animals. Have a look at the poster, mark your calendars and come ready to stuff your face with all kinds of delicious vegan treats!