Thanks to VEGAN DAD for the basis of this recipe. It’s a family pleaser… and fantastic… and EASY!!

PREHEAT OVEN to 450 degrees f.

INGREDIENTS:
6 whole wheat wraps
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 cup TVP
1.5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Refried Beans (canned)
tomatoes
letuce
Vegan Sour Cream
Guacamole
Salsa (a bunch)

So – simple. Just brown the onion… then add the TVP, Spices, Water… cook for about 5 minutes.

Take a wrap… schmear it with 1/6 can of refried beans… dump a heavy tblsp of salsa and 2 of the TVP mixture… wrap it like a chimichanga (ends folded in)… place fold-side-down on a non-stick cookie sheet.

When you’ve got all six done… brush with oil.

Pop those babies in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

IN THE MEANTIME…

Make a salad.
Heat some refried beans.
Put out bowls of: Salsa, jalepenos, lettuce, tomatoes, vegan sour cream
Have a glass of wine.

Serve hot – mmmmm!!!

Serving idea: you can make it more like chimichangas… smaller… and do 12 with the same ingredients (just more wraps)… but we like them a little bulkier.

Special thnaks to @LinzSeiber for giving me the heads-up on this one. I should have known, right? I mean, my office is IN LA… how could I miss that?!

Anyhow… it’s a really cool concept. Bloggers all over the world… focusing each day during October… on Vegan food and cooking and stuff.

I do that MOST days, anyhow… but I’m going to make a concerted effort to do more in October. Every day… at least something… on popvegonline.

So… here’s a link to KitteeKake’s roundup: Cake Maker to the Stars: Vegan MoFo Roundups! MoFo Maps ‘n More More More!!!

Here’s a link to the LA Times article in today’s paper on Vegan MoFo.

So I’m going to get all Julie and Julia on you. Every day a note. Because I’ve got so much free time. Not really. But I do think it’s important.

Look for more on this… well, every day this month!

This is a link to a great video where Bobby Flay was featured on CBS and talks about Eggplant. The recipe he makes has cheese in it, but looks (to me) like it would be amazing without (therefore, vegan).

Thought it was great – and wanted to share!

BOBBY FLAY VIDEO

Thanks to PETA for this recipe… from Cooking with Peta.

Filling – from Cooking with PETA…

1/4 c key lime juice
2.5 c soy milk
1 c. sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tsp lime zest

Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan… then turn on medium heat and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick and creamy. Allow to cool slightly then pour into a 9 inch pie crust and chill until firm.

PopVegOnline notes…
Wow. This was easy. Was pretty amazed that A: it was so easy to do, and B: it tasted so great (and so much like the “original”.).

Note that when you’re baking vegan… or cooking vegan for that matter, taste should be the prime objective. There will be a desire to “compare” to something you ate / ordered / cooked before you were vegan… but the ingredients are all unique… and so is the outcome.

That said – this is an amazing, simple, great key lime pie. If you live in Florida and grow key limes in your yard… this should be something you keep close at hand.

I like cooking with gadgets and tools and toys – that work, that make sense, and that don’t add unnecessary clutter. We’ve put together a list of items either used in our test kitchen – or similar to those used. We’ll continue to grow this list. See something you like? I don’t think you’ll find it cheaper… but check it out!

I thought this was a great and insightful post on vegetarian.lifetips.com.  If anyone ever asks… which they often do…

I know, right?

Gourmet… Grilled cheese?

You betcha.

So – you start with the RIGHT bread.  You can use French or Sourdough… depending on what you want to end up with.  But the magic – is in preparation and ingredient.  The first time I made this… my family went from “oh, we’re going to have a low-key night…” to amazed and confused and overjoyed.  Seriously.  This is some good stuff.

Start with

INGREDIENTS

Fresh Loaf French Bread (will make smaller sandwiches, you’ll have to give everyone TWO!  They won’t mind…)
– Could use Sourdough.  But don’t. Unless you must.

8 oz Havarti Cheese
8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (1 brick)
8 oz Cheddar (or WHITE cheddar) cheese
6-8 oz pepper jack (or monterey jack)
2 tblsp Mayonnaise
1 stick of butter
1 fresh tomato

THE PROCESS

Grate the hard cheeses into a bowl.  Large grating is fine.  I love to use my SALAD SHOOTER… works great.

Add the mayonnaise and the cream cheese.

Mix it together with a large spoon.

SLICE the bread.  A bit thick is nice.

Soften the butter in the microwave… about 25 seconds should do the trick.

Okay – time to assemble the sandwiches.  IDEAL way – butter one side of the bread, apply a generous portion of cheese mixture to the unbuttered side, butter another slice of bread, make the sandwich SET ASIDE on a plate.  Make them all first.

Then – turn on the heat!  Using a griddle or pan, turn heat to 4 out of 10… and add a few pats of butter to get things rolling.

place the sandwiches… intact… on the hot griddle.

DON’T FLIP OUT (or flip the sandwiches) for a good 4-6 minutes.  If they burn – it was too hot.  Most people try to microwave their slices of cheese on bread (meaning go too fast)…

When they’re done… cheese is melting… bottom is golden… FLIP ‘EM.

Another 5 minutes… and you’re done.

SUGGESTION:  Buy extra bread.  The mixture goes a long way.  AND they’re great in the microwave the next day.

TOMATO: The tomato… is amazing… if sliced VERY thin and placed on the bread before the cheese mixture.

SERVE WITH TOMATO SOUP.  You can make it from scratch… or buy a high quality organic in the green aisle at your grocery store or whole foods.

You’ll LOVE it!

Let me know what they think.

Okay… every kitchen needs great knives, a variety of bowls, a Blend-Tec, a KitchenAid Professional Mixer, and All-Clad Cookware.

But there’s something else. And it’s a LOT cheaper.

It looks like this (this one is from Williams Sonoma.. a FAVORITE store of mine):

It’s about 30 bucks.. and it turns DICING ANYTHING into the easiest thing ever. Get consistent, perfect sized diced whatever… even measures it for you!

You can see it on their site – by clicking here

Check it out… and pick one up. You’ll be glad you did.

If you don’t have one… BUY one! This chopper is used NEARLY every time I cook.

There are many brands out there… and they’re all pretty good. Look for one that’s easy to assemble – and DISHWASHER SAFE!

You can buy them at Target, at Publix and most grocery stores… and Pampered Chef has a great one.

But if you don’t have one – buy one. Today.

Here’s a link to one at Target
Here’s the one at Pampered Chef (this is the one I have – it’s fantastic)

Buy one today – you’ll use it every time you cook.