ecoVegan!

One of the sponsors of the recent Compassion Over Killing Launch
Party and maker of two hit products used there, ecoVegan has stepped
out on to the scene.

I had many people inquiring about their amazing tofu product, not to
mention the Black Pepper Island Veggie Meat Gyoza that were gone
in seriously 10 minutes.

For those of you that were unable to make it out to the party or were
there and were wondering what that deliciousness was dancing around
inside your mouth-- here is a closer look at some of what ecoVegan
has to offer!

Before the actual event they sent me an awesome sample pack so I
could decide what to use in my featured dishes.

In the pack they sent Spicy Bits



They really were spicy, not that fake heat so
many products now use. Perfect for kabobs!

Vegan Shrimp

Soooo real tasting to me!

Q-slip Tofu




Black Pepper Island Patties




Though everything was great I ended up choosing to use the Q-slip
Tofu and Black Pepper Island patties.

These products (except the Spicy Bits) are currently wholesale,
though they do have a number of retail products available.
You may be able to find some of these products cooked up a your
nearest Loving Hut.

The Black Pepper Island Patties are a soy and gluten based product
and not like a burger like it may sound. They remind me more of the
patties and faux meats of yon that I grew up on before the days of
Boca. They have a realistic texture and a peppered flavor. Similar
to some ‘chic’ patties have had before, but not rubbery like I’ve
found many to be.

I grilled up the patties and shredded them. Mixed with some stir
fried veggies in a thai black bean sauce.


It all got stuffed into some potsticker wrappers and cooked.








They were such a huge hit at the party, they did not last more than 10
minutes tops once they hit the tables.

The Q-Slip Tofu got cubed, grilled, and mixed into Thai Rice Noodles
with a thick Peanut Sauce.







This tofu is pre-seasoned and not the same texture of the tofu that
immediately comes to mind. It has the smoothness and softness of
silken tofu, but is spongey too. Cooked up you have to be careful to
retain the shape, but if you let it go and just fry it-- it yields
an amazing scrambled egg texture.

In fact, it is exactly like scrambled egg. More so than any tofu scramble
I’ve ever had. They should definitely make a hard boiled egg product.
But I had tons of people asking me about this product at the party,
so I hope to see it one day on the retail market as well as the wholesale.

In sum, everything from ecoVegan was really awesome and I am
honored that I got to cook it all up for the Compassion Over Killing
Los Angeles Launch party. Look for their products on their distributor
location page!

Plethora of Panini: Fajita Panini

I'd like to say that the majority of our meals are planned, but that
would simply not be true. It is part of what I want to focus more of
my energy on this year-- planning ahead. But then life happens.

I was planning on doing a Middle Eastern Panini last night, but
Monkey-man ended up doing a quick fix of a Mexican seasoned panini
instead. Our plans were changed because on the way to the grocer,
we passed a small dog that had been hit and left.

At first I though he was dead because his legs were in the air as
if he was going through rigor mortis, but when we swung around I saw
him shaking. By the time I had him in the car and we had decided to
take him to our vet to see how bad it was he had relaxed and was much
more awake. Not sure if they clipped him or actually ran him over
because there were tire marks across his abdomen.

But now he's upstairs in our bathroom, healing his broken pelvis.
Pretty sweet guy. So if anyone wants a dog! Ha ha, just let me know.
He is not micro-chipped and not fixed (for long...)

Needless to say our dinner was little late, but this is what Monkey-man
magically mixed up for us.



Fajita Panini!

Saute a bell pepper, onion, a bit of jalapenos and a few cloves of
sliced garlic with chili powder, salt, pepper, a little bit of lemon
juice and cumin. Add water as it drys out and then add some olive oil
and half a pack of sliced tofu. Flip to grill both sides.

While that is being cooked, heat up your grill.
On your chosen bread add vegan pepper jack (galaxy rice cheese),
avocados and fresh tomatoes. Add some hot sauce, salsa or bean spread
to make it a little more exciting-- Grill and enjoy!

Pleasing with Paninis

I really think that if you're cooking to tempt omnis, sandwiches and
paninis are definitely one of the best things you can make. Honestly
everybody likes sandwiches and you can pack in so much flavor with
veggie patties, spreads and marinades that you snag people with the
familiar.



I marinaded a pack of extra firm tofu in this marinade, but
added a 1/3-1/2 cup of red wine.

For bread, I made a single batch of whole wheat focaccia.
While that was baking I briefly sauteed 2 sliced yellow squash,
1 zucchini, and 1 green bell pepper. I caramalized a sliced onion
in the remaining marinade that was left over from the tofu. (I used
most of the remaining marinade to actually cook the tofu in).

Once the focaccia was cooked I cut it into 3x6 pieces. I used
guacamole and veganaise on one half and hummus on the other.
Usually when I make paninis I add a splash of balsamic vinegar
or a good slather of pesto. But these spreads were flavourful
enough to enhance the flavour of the veggies.

When assembling put the smaller stuff on the spread so it sticks
and doesn't fall out when you're grilling the sandwiches. I also
added some raw tomatoes and some moz daiya when stacking on the
squash, onions, peppers and tofu. When grilling the paninis you
need to either be using a press or lay something heavy on top of
them. I use another pan with a heavy mixing bowl set inside of it.
Monkey man says to pull a Martha Stewart and use bricks covered
with foil.

Grill each side on med-hi heat for 3-5 minutes with a bit of
olive oil or earthbalance.

I served mine with some oven-baked garlicy frenchy fries.
I ended up with about 8 paninis and some left over veggies.

Peachy-Keen Bars

I recently nabbed a vegetarian cookbook at a thrift store:
The American Vegetarian Cookbook by Marilyn Diamond. It would
be vegan if not for the honey factor. So far it seems like an awesome
book and huge to boot (over 400 pages).

It was published in 1990, so I'm thankful there are no photos.
Older cookbooks have the most ugly, dated looking food pics. I'm not
sure what it is, but everything looks orange and fresh out of a
microwave.

Flipping through it I saw a recipe that looked pretty good, but I
wanted to twist it to my own immediate dessert needs. Here is the
resulting experiment. The original called for 1 egg replacer, honey
and carob. I veganized it with raw sugar and had some peaches I
needed to use. I also added a drizzle of brandy to make the flavor
of the peaches pop.

And then I got a little fancy...



Peachy-Keen Bars

1/3 cup vegetable oil or earthbalance
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 pack of silken tofu
1/3 cup agave
1 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
3 peaches sliced
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp brandy

In a food processor first process the oil/earthbalance, sugar,
ginger and flour until crumbly. Press half off flour mixture
into a 9x9 tray. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Next process the tofu with the remaining ingredients, except for
the peaches and brandy.


After the bottom crust is cooled, pour the tofu
over baked crust. Arrange sliced peaches on top of that layer
and sprinkle remaining flour mix over peaches.



On top of that I arranged some roses out of super thinly sliced
peaches...



Finally, sprinkle alcohol over everything and bake for 20 more
minutes at 350F. Slice and serve alone or with whipped soycream
or vanilla nondairy ice cream.

Tater Scramble

I guess we were on a roasted mexican potato kick. But I especially liked
this because it was one of my favorite meals... tofu scramble.
However, not the way we normally serve it up. Instead we used our
marinating tofu feta from the uncheese book to jazz to twist it around
as a tater scramble with tofu instead of a tofu scramble with a side
of taters.



We went by the same seasonings of chili powder, cumin, salt, and
pepper but also threw in some jalapenos and bell peppers. The tofu
feta cooks up nicely, gets a little puffy, but crunchy.

We loved it on pizza and it was just as good with potatoes.

We always have our scrambles with earthbalanced toast, but also had
some yummy avocados on hand! The avocados on the 'buttered' toast
perfectly balanced the spiciness of the peppered scramble.

Independence Day: Freedom from flesh

The fourth of July has never been on my favorite's list, but if I'm
heading up the party it can be. When we get invited to summer bbqs
and the parties of non-vegan friends, I am usually very tentative
to attend. Not that our friends and family are not good at providing
some vegan options.

I get physically ill at the smell of cooking flesh, so if there is
to be alot of animal grilling I would rather not go at all.
On the other hand...
I love being 'the vegan in the room'. The best way to positively
impact people is to offer excellent, delicious vegan grub.
This Fourth of July I certainly did that.

I started with some marinated veggie/tofu kabobs....
First remember to soak your skewers so they don't catch fire!


Marinate your veg before skewering them.


I used some green bell peppers, onions, zucchini, tofu, tomatoes,
and some mushy-roomie-rooms.


Veggie Kabob marinade

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp agave
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
3 cloves chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp mustard

Marinade overnight or at least a couple hours. Brush the skewered
kabobs before grilling. Grill for about 5-10 minutes to perfection!
Plus stick to firm or extra firm tofu. Tempeh would be just as
yummy though.

Here are our cooked Kabobs. Mine atop a slice of pineapple
destined for my veggie burger. I had a boca burger. Not really
loyal to any kind of packaged veggie burger. I prefer to make my
own. You guys know that! But once in a while these things come up.


My evil little homemade bun is dastardly awaiting his burger.

Pizza Pizzaz Part Eight: BBQT Pizza

Finally, summer has begun for me. I can breathe freely for a few
months without the impending doom of 30-page papers, a thesis, or
massive exams hanging over me. Instead I have crying kittens, a messy
house and a big deadline for my cookbook.

First I have to set my place up to incorporate a more creative flow.
So I'm spending my day cleaning and rearranging my little place.

Beside that I want to start off my summer showing you another awesome
pizza. Summer is the time of bbqs and outdoor parties. But not all
of it has to include dead flesh or a grill. You can get the amazing
flavor and familiar sensations all with a little imagination.

Experimenting with different sauces got me to whipping up this pizza.
I wanted to do one with my delicious barbecue sauce (which will be in
the book) and also bring in the use of some baked/grilled tofu.





With a smaller, thickly rolled crust you have your favorite
barbecue sauce topped with sweet bell peppers, walnuts, roasted garlic,
baked beggin' tofu, olives, and some chedder daiya. I should have
added some sliced tomatoes.... I used to use this recipe for
'bacon', but now I use a marinade of more maple syrup, less water,
braggs instead of soy sauce, a little bit of salt, smoked paprika,
and a wee bit of garlic powder. Marinate at least a couple hours
before using.









This pizza is a little sweet, very savory, and its got a little kick
from some hot spice in the sauce. Its good to balance the sauce by a
thick crust and lots of toppings or else all you're going to be tasting
is bqq bqq bqq.

So now its officially summer for me I will be posting and updating
much more. You'll be seeing more of my book and getting lots of juicy
photos. If you're interested my tester site will be completed soon and
is invite only. I will be needing testers for book recipes, so I hope
to generate some help and interest. Happy eating!

Pizza Pizzaz Part Four: Strawberry Fields Forever

Cooking is easy with minds closed, boring foods are all you see.
It's getting hard to be different, but it all works out.
It really matters much to me...

Let me take you down cuz we're going to Strawberry Fields.
I promise it's real. Not thing to get weird about.
Strawberry Fields Forever.



It still strawberry season here in California and I've been
hitting up the local vendors every week now. We've been having a
lot of strawberry smoothies and I've been adding them to my
cereal for weeks now. I plan to make some preserves too, but need
to find all my jars. But somewhere along the way I figured, why
not pizza?

Why not indeed. We put all sorts of sweet stuff on our pizzas right?
Well, some of us do. Pears, pineapple... ok thats all that really
comes to mind right now, but we need to try more sweet stuff. I'm
not saying throw gummi bears on your pizza, but more naturally
sweet stuff.



That's where this pizza comes in.
Its topped with a delicious red sauce, kale (although, I'd sub out
chard instead), grilled strawberries, pecans, and tofu feta.
Seriously, that is it.



We used the Tofu Feta from Jo Stepaniak's The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook.
It was good. Better baked than raw, but tasted a little too much of
miso when you think about it. I'll try the recipe again without so
much miso, while looking around for better recipes that I can incorporate.



Baked at 450F for about 10-15 minutes we served it topped with
balsamic vinegar-- very important! Come on! Get out there and try
something new for god's sake!

Breakfast Burrito Bamboozle

There are these really large flour tortillas sold at trader joes,
one of the only wraps or tortillas that are vegan. They tend
to tear pretty easy, but they are soo good- especially if you
get them on a fresh day.

They are one of the things I always seem to have around, showing
you just how often I eat burritos and wraps. I have to say that
I like them because they are cleaner than sandwiches and you can
be more exciting with what you put in 'em. I like throwing left-
over curry or salad in a wrap.

Not that I only eat white flour tortillas, they are just the most
accessible and the only ones near that don't have over 20 ingredients.

But hands down, I love breakfast burritos the most. When I'd get
taken to a fastfood mexican place as a kid, I always wanted to
order french fries with my burrito to stuff in to attempt to simulate
a breakfast burrito.

It is also one of the only ways I would eat eggs or red sauce.
Now I love mixing it up with different beans or just doing some
spicy taders.

My latest joy as been getting the vegan tofu eggs down.
I'm not talking about a tofu scramble here, very different.
Think plain scrambled eggs, now we're talking.


I just cooked the potatoes with some chili powder, cumin, salt,
pepper, garlic, onions, basil and a tomato. I don't have any
hot peppers right now, so I just added a splash of some hot
chili thai sauce that gave it a bit of tabasco fiasco.

Now the eggs are super simple. Cooked in a nonstick pan, dry...
Mash half a block of tofu add a squirt of mustard, 2 tablespoons
of braggs, black pepper, and a good sprinkling of kala namak-
black salt.

I got it at the Punjab market a couple miles away.
Basically its carbonized salt (pink, not actually black) that has
a strong sulfuric essence. I picked up the idea from the Vegan Crunk
who posted a recipe for some tofu deviled eggs a while back.
Haven't made the deviled eggs, but I've been using the salt in my tofu
salad sandwiches and scrambles. One smells screams eggs, try it
and you will understand. The pack was only $1, so there is no reason
not to.

So, cook the tofu over medium heat until it starts to dry out a bit
and brown. Throw it furiously into your tortilla and eat with voracity.



Like I said, any kind of beans are awesome in these guys, or
peppers. Vegan cheese, I'd recommend Follow My Heart's Pepper Jack
to grab a little spiciness. If you asked my brother, he'd say it
needed catsup. What is your favorite thing to put in burritos?

P.S. Since I mentioned the Vegan Crunk, I have to add that she is
having a giveaway right now for a copy of Tamasin Noyes' cookbook,
American Vegan Kitchen. So check that out!

7 Days of Irish Luck, St. Paddy's Day: Irish Boxty

It was a while back that I made potato cakes that bordered on
hashbrowns. The potatoes were shredded with onions and seasoned.
Although good, not traditional like Irish Boxty where the potatoes
are blended before cooking.

The supposedly became a staple during the famine when food had to
be stretched. I like to think of them as something more decadent
though, like Irish Crepe! They're rolled with hot savory filling
and gulped down!


Our were filled with cooked cabbage in a mustard sauce with tofu
bacon, grilled to a crisp. (The Irish love their bacon, tofu for me!)
Here is the original post on tofu bacon marinade, I add
paprika and garlic powder now when I have it and cut out all but
1 tablespoon of the soy sauce or use braggs.

Irish Boxty~ Potato Crepes

Ingredients
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup soymilk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Blend your potatoes, adding soymilk if you want to make it easier
on your blender. Add the flour and salt and mix well. You can
adjust these depending on how thick you want your boxty to be.
I like my thin thin, so hopefully you can go from there.

Heat a teaspoon of earthbalance on a skillet at medium to high
heat. Pour about a quarter cup into the skillet, swiveling it
side to side to make sure it spreads evenly and round.


Once it starts to brown just around the edges, you can flip it.
You might have to free it a little, so as not to tear.
After the first, depending on your pan, you may not have to
reoil. To keep them warm, put them on an heat safe plate in the
oven.


Roll up with whatever fillings you like and enjoy.