So… you’re probably vegan, or vegetarian, or thinking about it. I mean, why else would you read this blog? Intellectual curiosity… perhaps… but I digress.

One of my VERY FAVORITE things… is great RANCH DRESSING. And the mixes have TOOOO many ingredients (and often one of them is milk or milk by-products). So I set out to find the very best one.

This one is a combination of a few that are out there – with our own special twist. We used it as a special topping on Spaghetti… mmmm. Was really good. I’ll bet it would be great on Pizza, too.

And SOOOOO easy. I think I’ll make some more RIGHT NOW!!

PopVegOnline
Fantastic Ranch Dressing!! YES It’s Vegan!!
–
1 cup Vegan Mayo
½ cup almond milk, Don’t use FLAVORED VARIETIES (e.g. Vanilla)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried parsley
Method

So easy… so wonderful. Just dump everything in a bowl… and mix it up.

Chill before serving. And put the dressing in the refrigerator for a while, too. LOL.

Seriously – NOTHING could be easier… or more pleasing… than this.

Of course… you can adjust the thin/thick-ness with more / less almond milk.

From VITAMIX website… I haven’t made it… but will soon!

A quick, easy alternative to traditional fondues!
Spinach and Artichoke Fondue

Yield: 4 1/2 cups (1.1 l)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 3-4 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
1 garlic clove, minced
6 canned artichoke hearts, drained and diced
3 ounces (85 g) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed “dry”
3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine
3/4 cup (180 ml) water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces (340 g) cubed Monterey Jack cheese
3 ounces (85 g) grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces (113 g) crumbled feta cheese

Directions
1. Heat butter in saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, artichokes and spinach. Saute for 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. Place rest of ingredients into the Vita-Mix container in the order listed and secure lid.
3. Select Variable 1.
4. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
5. Blend for 3-4 minutes until mixture is smooth and warm.
6. Pour mixture into fondue pot.
7. Stir in spinach and artichoke mixture.

For Dippers
Cubed country French bread, mushroom caps, steamed or grilled asparagus spears, steamed or grilled broccoli and cauliflower

Health Classification: Low Carb, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Meal Type: Fondues

From the Vitamix site… mmmmm.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups (840 ml)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (20 g) chopped onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 pound (277 g) fresh spinach, washed
2 cups (480 ml) low sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 ounces (85 g) tofu

Directions
1. In a large fry pan, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent, about 4 minutes.
2. Add spinach and cover. Stir periodically to make sure spinach wilts evenly. Cook for about 5 minutes or until all spinach is wilted slightly.
3. Place all ingredients into the Vita-Mix container in the order listed secure lid.
4. Select Variable 1.
5. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
6. Blend for 3-4 minutes or until heavy steam escapes from the vented lid.

Health Classification: Low Cholesterol, Heart Healthy, Vegetarian, Vegan

Meal Type: Soups

Vegan Mofo Continues!!

Grilled Artichokes

I made this for the first time today… and the basis for the recipe came from VegWeb.com – but I have changed it up a bit. They’re an amazing resource… of course… but here’s my take.

Serves 4 people.
–
2 Artichokes
Olive Oil (not EVOO)
1 large Lemon
1 teaspoon thyme, dried
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup Olive Oil (not EVOO)
6 cloves Garlic, pressed or microplaned
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
½ cup veganaise, for dip

Method

Prepare the Artichokes
==============
Cut off the sharp times on every leaf using kitchen shears.
Chop off the tops and the stems with a chef’s knife.
Cut the artichokes lengthwise and “work” all the leaves a bit… just to loosen it up.
Using a serrated spoon or knife, remove the hairy part near the heart while leaving the meat intact.

Using the lemons, rub a small amount of juice over the tips of the leaves where they were trimmed, and put juice on the meat and inside leaves.

Preheat the grill to medium high. Outdoor gas grills work great.

Make the Marinade
============
Take the 1/2 cup olive oil, 6 cloves garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, and fresh ground pepper, … and combine in a small to medium bowl. Whisk together until combined and smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix the Veganaise and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the marinade mixture together. Whisk until smooth and consistent in texture and color.

Pre-Cook the Artichokes
===============
Fill a large pot with water about 5 inches deep. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, 3 cloves crushed garlic, the leftover lemons, and a tablespoon of dried (or sprig of fresh) thyme.

Put the artichokes in the water, stem side down. Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes or more, until the outer leaves move fairly easily. Too short a time, they won’t come off… to long, they’ll come off on their own.

Remove them from the water and drain in colander. Leave them for a few minutes.

GRILL ‘EM
======

Brush the outsides of the artichokes with the marinade and place them outside down on the grill, and baste the insides with marinade. Grill at medium high heat for 3 to 5 minutes.

Flip them over and do it again for another 3 to 5 minutes, inside-down. Re apply the marinade prior to flipping.

EAT ‘EM UP!
=======

Serves 4 happy people.

There won’t be much left… except a pile of artichoke leaves.

ENJOY!

So… I’m asked – a lot – “so, you’re vegan?!?” Sometimes followed by “…so do you eat fish? or eggs?”

But even after explaining that… I’m often met with a blank stare – and the silliest of questions: “So, what do you eat?? Beans and rice?”

And while beans and rice is, somtimes, on the menu… I wated to let you know what I’ve had to eat today.

Just because.

Amaze your friends.

So… it was a birthday day… we started out with a pretty serious brunch.

Oatmeal… with strawberries and organic cane brown sugar.

And – before you ask – NO! That was NOT it.

We also had the Tofu Scramble w/ Vegan Sausage that’s mentioned on this site… nomnomnom.

And we had the Biscuits from this site. More nomnom.

And we had a NEW dish – DINER POTATOES (recipe to come soon)… much nomnomnom.

And we were FULL!! and HAPPY!

So… we were going to skip lunch (since we ate at 11:30 a.m.) and just do an early dinner.

But noooooo. We were hungry mid afternoon.

So – I made grilled artichokes. First time. With lemon, and olive oil, and garlic, and balsamic vinegar, and garlic, and a little more garlic. Boiled ‘em. Grilled ‘em. Ate ‘em. Amazing. Incredible. RECIPE ONLINE.

Then we were again temporarily satiated.

So what to do for dinner? It’s a bit cold out, so we decided to make a new recipe for CHILI with a cornbread topping!

And, wow! It was nomnomnom good, too!

Had organic kidney beans… and tomatoes and tomato sauce… and organic corn… and a bit of cocoa powder, and more great stuff.

It turned out FANTASTIC!! The corn bread topping was really cool – I’m amazed that it stayed intact. You do the first part on the stove… then finish it off in the oven. MMMMMM.

That recipe’s coming, too. Soon.

But I just wanted to put it out there. I got my protein, my carbs, my nutrients, my mmmm feeling… all from veggies and veggie stuff. Very little of what I make comes out of a box or a bag… as you know if you read this blog. I didn’t eat tree bark and sand. I’m not relegated to beans and rice for every meal to make the “magic formula” work and keep me alive.

So what do Vegans eat, anyway?

Food that helps us live longer, healther lives… while helping to offset global greenhouse gases, reduce rainforest destruction, and resource exploitation. Oh, and then there are the animals. Those helpless animals that depend on humans for humanity. And they just don’t get it. I won’t even begin to discuss the abysmal conditions they’re subjected to – even in the best of circumstances. We’ll save that for another blogger… or at least another post.

The options available to Vegans are rich, flavorful, and fulfilling – and are fantastic for our bodies and our lives. They help us live healthier and happier today… and contribute to better health every day in the future.

In case you wanted to know!

So – I made this pizza the other night for the fam.  It ROCKED!!!   I used to love barbecue chicken pizza – so I veganized it.  I made barbecue tempeh with LOTS of carmelized red onions on a homemade pizza crust – topped with vegan cheese.  I found that if I use Follow Your Heart cheese and shred it on smallest section of the grater – it will melt.   This was so freaking good…..will get the recipe together and put it on the site.

Ok – not very good at this blogging stuff yet – so just adding the recipe to this post.  Patrick will have to do the “official” post to the site later.  I apologize now for any typos….:)

Enriched Pizza Dough:

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 Cup warm water

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup soy flour  ( I didn’t have any so I used Rice flour)

1 1/2 T ground sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

Pinch of sugar or natural sweetener

1 T olive oil plus more for spreading

1.  place the yeast in a small bowl.  Add 1/4 cup of the water and stir to dissolve.  Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.

2.  To make the dough in a food processor, combine the flours, sesame seeds, salt and sugar pulsing to blend.  With the machine running, add the yeast mixture through the feed tube, along with the olive oil and as much of the remaining 1/2 cup water as necessary to make the dough hold together.

To make the dough by hand, combine the flours, sesame seeds, salt and suger in a large bowl.  Stir in the yeast mixture, olive oil, and remaining 1/2 cup water until combined.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large oiled bowl.  Spread a small a small amount of oil on top of the dough, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk.  About 1 hour.

4.  Use immediately or store for up to 8 hours in the refrigerator or for 3-4 weeks in the freezer.  Make sure it is tightly wrapped in plastic.

So  now for the tempeh.  If you are used to it – you know that you must steam or poach the tempeh first – for about 20 minutes.   If you poach – you must drain/dry off the tempeh…OK – so now on with this recipe  I made it up – so this is a little loosey goosey.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

2 8 ounce packages tempeh steamed and cut into 1/2 inch x 1 inch pieces

LOTS of purple onion…I used 1 giant – and I mean GIANT onion cut into whatever shape makes you happy  :).

olive oil for pan frying

barbecue sauce – whatever you like – just as long as it is vegan – and you will need about 2 cups of it

in a large skillet/saute pan –  pan fry your tempeh in olive oil in batches so that you can brown each side.  Start with 2 T of olive oil – and add more if you need.  Set aside.

In the same pan, saute your onions until soft.  Add the tempeh to the onions and then pour barbecue sauce over mixture.  Gently stir making sure that everything is coated.  Reduce to a low heat and simmer for about 15 -20 mintues – making sure the tempeh has soaked up the sauce..

WHEW – OK – while the tempeh is simmering slowly – soaking up the goodness….go get the pizza dough.  Punch it down then roll it out on a lightly floured surface.  It makes a pizza approx 12 in round.  (you decide the thickness)  Gently place on a pizza pan and bake on the lowest rack in your preheated 450 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Once pizza crust is ready – I spread the barbecue tempeh and onion fabulousness over the pizza crust – and then grated Follow Your Heart cheese over the top.  I used both the mozzerella and cheddar styles.   Bake in the 450 oven for approx 10 minutes.  Watch it carefully to check the cheese.  I think I baked this for more like 20 minutes – but cook to your hearts desire.  ENJOY!!!

HELLOO world.  This is Shana – adding my thoughts and experiences now that I am officially a vegan WHOHOOOO.  Today is also my birthday – so I thought I would start this year right.  Last year was full of sickness and surgeries, but now I am uterus free and ready to start a new life!!!  During my down time from surgeries I read the book Skinny Bitch….and it has changed my entire perspective on many many things.  I highly recommend it.  I look forward to sharing recipes and possibly bringing back our cooking show…..thoughtsssss??????

So… someone sent me a link to this recipe today:

VEGAN TURKEY THAT LOOKS LIKE TURKEY (or Flounder)

It looks pretty good! For a vegan Turkey.

I wrestle with that – only because as I get further into my Vegan-o-licious life… I find I want meat substitutes less frequently. And I think that’s a good thing. Because generally, when you’re eating MOST of the sub’s, you’re eating processed stuff. Sure, it’s Vegan, so it’s better than a box-o-brownies with a shelf life longer than military MREs… but still.

Whole foods… has kind of a nice ring to it (and I mean the food, not necessarily the store, though I do like the store… when I’m flush with cash).

One of the recipes on this site… the Rustic Cabbage Soup… is all veggies, and beans, and, well, soup. AND – you can make it in like 40 minutes or less – and it tastes like you’ve been cooking it all day.

But then there’s the Chick’n and Dumplings. It’s amazing, and a family favorite, but I wonder. Does it HELP things by using the fake chick’n? Or would chick PEAS be just as yummy? And more whole-food-y.

BY the WAY… on the Chick’n and Dumplings… I totally cut the prep time (and, more importantly, the CLEAN UP time by … like… a lot.

How? I’m sure you’re begging to know?

Well.. the recipe calls for rolling out the dough on a floured surface (not a weeknight joy)… and then cutting and dumping in the soup.

So… I kneaded in the bowl… and pinched off… and put it in the soup. Fantastic! Brilliant! I am SO impressed!!

I can assure you we’ll make more of THAT meal now that I’ve taken the EASE level up a lot.

But I digress.

I’m curious… what are your feelings about eating meat substitutes? Do you have any? Feelings, that is? About it, I mean?

Me? I’m not going to cut them out entirely… but I definitely don’t have them at every meal, either. Well, not at most meals. Okay, at quite a few… but I watch it.

I do eat a lot of whole foods… but still do opt for the ease, the convenience, and – dare I say – the comfort… of a good substitue meat.

But Morningstar Farms still sucks for putting eggs and milk BACK in their previously Vegan stuff.

First of all… you can read it on this great blog from quarrygirl.com

BUT… how ridiculous?!? The Crumbles that WERE vegan – now may not be?!? How Terrible! They’re ADDING milk and eggs to it?

I’m stunned. Flabbergasted. Pissed off.

I just sent a note asking them to explain… you can, too.

CLICK HERE to SEND A NOTE OF DISAPPROVAL to MORNINGSTAR FARMS for this terrible move!!

I’m pretty bummed.

But I guess I didn’t need their over-produced, ingredients I can’t pronounce, processed packaged stuff anyhow.

Still, send them a note.

So… had an interesting and strangely unusual circumstance today. Our son was home working on homework with two friends (that’s not the unusual part)… and they announced that they were hungry! So… what’s a Vegan dad (no reference to the awesome Vegan Dad website and blogger extraordinaire…) to do?

I ran to the store to get BBQ tofu bites… and was going to make the wraps that he loves – he thought they’d like them, too. But these things are from a small shop (a good thing)… and they were out.

So… I decided to do the Yves Vegan Hot dogs… with vegan buns… chips… salsa… and cole slaw (left over from yesterday!).

It was the first time I fired up the grill … I think since going vegetarian a couple of years ago. It was a little strange, but a good feeling to be putting that apparatus to work in a healthier way.

The kids loved (okay, 2 loved, 1 liked) the vegan dogs… and the chips and salsa. Not surprisingly, the cole slaw – with it’s super healthy organic components… wasn’t chosen by the kids. But we loved it.

I was excited to be able to cook something easy, super fast, and fun for the kids… with almost no effort.

And the conversation around the table… was quite interesting. Our son (newly vegan, long time vegetarian) threatened to tell his com padres what was actually IN hot dogs… and cheese… and milk. One of his friends already knows the score, and is herself considering veganizeing. But the other friend basically threw up her hand and said “NO!” … asking him to please not tell her.

They chatted… and concluded that all was well with the world.

And it is. At least for this moment.