Dad's Chili Recipe - Veganized

I always loved my dad's chili recipe and have missed it since becoming vegan.  I have tried different ground beef substitutes and have been disappointed by the aftertaste.  Gardein's Beefless Ground is the best I have tried.  I found it at Target.

There is some chopping involved but it is a really easy recipe.  When I made this batch, all the memories of yesteryear came back.  Loved it!  I hope you do too.  Here is dad's recipe veganized.

Dad's East Coast Chili

2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups water
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 t. celery seed
1/4 t. cayenne
1 t. ground cumin
1 small bay leaf
2 T. chili powder (yes, tablespoons!)
1 t. dried basil
1  1/2 t. salt
---
13.7 oz. bag of Gardein Beefless Ground, defrosted
1  1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 - 15 oz. cans kidney beans (including their juice)


Add the first 13 ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Stir and lower heat to low-medium and simmer for 45 minutes.  Add the last 3 ingredients and simmer for another 1/2 hour.

Bravo Costco!

 

 

These Gardein sliders are delicious!  I'm so happy Costco is adding more and more vegan products to their shelves.

I took these sliders to a birthday party and they were a huge hit.  I topped them with lettuce, tomato and a mixture of Vegenaise and Siracha.  Definately serve these to your non-vegetarian friends.  They won't know they are not really chicken.  Seriously!

Vegan Options in San Francisco

On our latest trip to San Francisco, I had some great vegan food.  I was the only vegan in our traveling group, so we tried to find places that appealed to all of us.

Johnny Foley's Irish House satisfied us all.  We had a great waitress who helped me with my selections.

This was a terrific spinach and endive salad with sour cherries, red onions, toasted almonds, and a sherry vinaigrette.  I ordered the small portion for $6 but it was very large.

I also had the Vegetarian Irish Stew.  It was incredible and large!  It consisted of a potato mash, portabello mushrooms, asparagus, barley, mint, cauliflower, onions, boiled potatoes, broccoli, and vegetable broth.  Really delicious.  This large portion was $15.

Everyone in my group was happy with their meals.  Foley's is a bar atmosphere.  Wednesday through Saturday nights, they have dueling pianos.  They have entertainment the rest of the week also.  Johnny Foley's is located at 243 O'Farrell Street. 

Here is a link to their home page:  http://www.johnnyfoleys.com/

Ladies Card Night - Vegan Style

My buddies came over for our monthly card night.  They brought some great vegan goodies.

Patty brought this fantastic corn and avocado salsa from Weight Watchers.  Seriously good!

Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

• 3 medium corn on the cob, grilled, cooled to room temperature*
• 1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), white and green parts, chopped
• 1 medium jalapeno pepper(s), cored, seeded and minced**
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 medium avocado, ripe, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice, from 1 medium lime
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, minced

Instructions

• Break each ear of corn in half; place flat end on cutting board and using a sharp paring knife, slice kernels off cob (to watch a video of this technique, click here). Place kernels in a medium bowl; add scallion, jalapeno, red pepper flakes, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate if not using right away.
• Just before serving, stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

Notes

 *To grill corn, remove husks and silk and coat with cooking spray. Grill over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned in spots.

**Don't touch seeds with bare hands.

You can make this recipe with 1 1/2 cups of frozen, boiled or steamed corn that has been well-drained.

If you want more info on Weight Watchers, here is a link:  http://www.weightwatchers.com/plan/www/index.aspx

Leslie made a fantastic salad of sliced cucumbers, carrots and vegan salad dressing.

Danielle brought great vegan cookies from Whole Foods.

Tofu Lettuce Wraps are Vegan

I love the Tofu Lettuce Wraps at P.F. Changs.  Vegetarian Times had a recipe in their January 2009 issue.  I changed it a little to make it easier and to my taste.  The recipe calls for low-sodium soy sauce.  This is important.  I used regular soy sauce once and had quite the headache.  Here is my version.

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

1 T. sesame or vegetable oil
1 T. minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. extra-firm tofu
1 8-oz an water chestnuts
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
3 T. hoisin sauce
2 t. sriracha or red chile sauce
1 large carrot, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, finely chopped
2 heads of butter lettuce or iceberg

Drain the tofu and pat dry.  Slice and chop into very small pieces about at 1/4" or smaller.  Set aside on a paper towel to drain a little more more.  Drain and chop the water chestnuts to the same size as the tofu.

In a large skillet, add the oil and then saute the ginger, garlic, tofu, and water chestnuts for about 5 minutes.  Add the soy sauce, hoisin and sriracha.  Stir to coat the tofu and cook a couple more minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and add the carrot, green onions, cilantro, and peanuts.  Stir and transfer to serving bowl.

Fill a lettuce leaf with a couple spoons full of tofu mixture.  Eat.

Easy Vegan "Chick'n Piccata"

It's so easy to have a quick meal thanks to Gardein.

"Chick'n" Piccata

2 pieces of Gardein's Chick'n Scallopini
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup white wine or vegetable broth
1 T. capers
1 t. minced garlic
2 T. lemon juice
salt
pepper

In a frying pan, saute Chick'n in olive oil for 2 minutes per side.  Remove the Chick'n to plates.  To the pan add white wine, capers, garlic and lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until sauce reduces to half it's original volume.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over Chick'n.

Serves 2

"Rice" Restaurant in Ventura

I really like Rice Thai Cuisine in Ventura.  It has quite a few dishes which can be veganized but I couldn't resist the Drunken Noodles for a second time. Tofu and veggies - Yum!  And only $8.

My meal also came with soup and salad.  The only disturbing part was that it is vegetarian soup but the cook on this day used chicken broth.  I tasted it and had to question the staff.  They asked the cook and he admitted it but I was still sad about the whole thing.  Hopefully, they will be more vigilant in the future.

My friend had a great eggplant dish.

Here is a link to their website:  http://www.riceonmain.com/.  They are located at 387 East Main Street, Ventura, CA  93001.

Sugar Bear's Cupcakes in Ventura

Sugar Bear's features a vegan cup cake on the weekends.  It's different each day and delicious!

Friday, they had a chocolate cupcake with orange frosting!

Sugar Bear is located at 451 East Main Street, #8, Ventura, CA  805-641-9944.  They have started at webpage:  http://sugarbearscupcakeshack.com/

4th of July Vegan Food Ideas

Here are a few of my past posts with their recipe links.  I'm thinking about cooking some of them up for the 4th of July festivities.

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/02/convenient-vegan-food.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/02/wasabi-potato-salad.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/02/fancy-pasta-salad.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/02/roasted-jalapenos.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/03/roasted-cauliflower-salad-with-caper.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/03/fruit-salad-with-twist.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/03/avocado-chimichurri-bruschetta.html

http://speakvegantome.blogspot.com/2011/04/chef-chloes-vegan-beach-cookies.html

Vegan Stuffed Shells!

I have always loved stuffed shells!  So now I make them vegan and they are still fabulous.

Below is my basic recipe but sometimes I just roast whatever vegetables are in my fridge.   Mix them with some Daiya cheese and stuff the shells.  It's nice that it comes out a little different.  Try squash, asparagus, etc.  It's always good.

Well, I have tried including a tofu "ricotta" and I did not care for it very much.

Jumbo Stuffed Shells

1 package Jumbo shells
2 T. vegetable oil
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced or chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 package of your favorite vegan sausage
16 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. fresh basil, chopped
2 cups Daiya cheese
30-40 oz. pasta sauce

Cook the jumbo shells according to package directions (you really only need about 20 shells).  Drain and set aside to cool.  In hot oil, saute mushrooms until liquid is released and cooked away.  Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Saute until onion is translucent.  Break/crumble the sausage and add to pan.  Saute another couple of minutes.  Add tomatoes, parsley and basil.  Cook until heated through.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1 cup of cheese.

Pour pasta sauce into glass baking dish.  Sauce should be about 1 1/2 inches deep so adjust for whatever type of baking dish you are using.  Fill cooked shells with mixture.  Arrange shells, filling side up, in pasta sauce.  Sprinkle each shell with a little of the remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.