Party Food!

Summer is here and you know what that means... party time! Heat up those barbeques for some veggie burger madness. It is my goal to have a wine and cheese party at some point this summer with the most amazing cheeses ever, Dr. Cow and Ste Martaen.

Below is a list of some Vegan Miss party food recipes:

• Animal Shaped Chick'n Nuggets
• Baked Crab Rangoon
• BBQ Seitan
• Cheese Sticks
• Coleslaw 
• Eggless Egg Salad
• English Muffin Pizzas
• Fried Pickles  
• Herb Roasted Macadamia Nuts
• Jello Mold
• Mystery Cheese Ball Spread
• Pickled Fried Green Tomatoes
  
• Potato Skins
• Raw Kale Salad
• Salmon Mousse Mold
• Shaved Golden Beet & Mustard Green Salad
• Shrimp Canapes
• Sonoma Chick'n Salad
• Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Stuffed Zucchini Cups
• Stuffed Bacon and Cheese Veggie Burgers
• Tempeh Crab Cakes 
• TSP Burgers

For the burgers and crab cakes, I would make them small in size so they are like sliders.

Looking for some retro cocktails? Check out this book, Highballs High Heels: A Girls Guide to the Art of Cocktails. I have it and it's divine! If you need some fancy, vintage invitations to send out (you know, by snail mail like they used to), you must get them from Fenderskirts Vintage Imagery & Stationary. And, of course, there is always Etsy for all your other needs. xo

Lemony Orzo with Asparagus & Shiitake Mushrooms

Vegan Miss is on Pinterest! Check it out. 

This recipe is a lot like a risotto. Orzo is a pasta but people often mistake it for rice. I had a bunch of asparagus that my friend brought me from his orchard as well as tons of rhubarb. Still having some asparagus left, I thought making a risotto-style orzo would be neat. 

Lemony Orzo with Asparagus & Shiitake Mushrooms

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 cup orzo
• 1-1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10-12 stalks asparagus, end trimmed, sliced in pieces
• 1/3 cup dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup frozen peas and carrots, optional
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp vegan Parmesan*
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

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1. Dehydrate the dried mushrooms in boiling water until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and slice. If you are using fresh mushrooms, skip this step.
2. Bring the vegetable stock to a soft boil and then turn down the heat.
3. In a skillet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and sautee onions with salt until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Then add the asparagus, shiitake, and pepper, cooking until the asparagus and mushrooms are soft. (If you are adding peas and carrots as I did, do it at this step, cooking with the other vegetables.)
4. Next, in a small pot add the orzo, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and Parmesan. Add a ladle full of broth at a time, stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Repeat the process until all the broth has been used.
6. Add the vegetable mixture from the skillet to the orzo. Mix. Top with more Parmesan if desired when serving. 

* Note: For vegan Parmesan, I use Galaxy topping.

Chinese Chick'n Salad

As a child in the Bay Area, I ate a lot of Chinese food. Asian culture was a huge part of my upbringing and influenced me in many ways (including minoring in Japanese in college & studying in Tokyo). My father retired when I was 6 years old, so we had many, many adventures in San Francisco's Chinatown and Japantown. We also went out to eat a lot! Our favorite spot for Chinese food was Lotus Garden in Foster City, my hometown. It was this little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant run by a small family. For appetizers, we always ordered Chinese Chicken Salad. I've never seen this dish in the Midwest. Perhaps it is just a West Coast dish? Either way, I loved this salad growing up. So, I was bound and determined to remake it vegan. Let's just say I had a lovely taste of childhood when I created this recipe! 食飯 (sihk faahn)!

Chinese Chick'n Salad

* Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 package (7 oz.) chick'n strips*
• 1 small head lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup napa cabbage, chopped
• 2 large green onions, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced into sticks
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp shaved almonds
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 oz. saifun noodles*
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp sugar*
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tbsp peanut oil, for frying

* Recipe:

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1. Heat a medium pan to medium heat. Add half the peanut oil. Fry the chick'n strips until golden brown.
2. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cabbage, green onions, carrots, cilantro, shaved almonds, and sesame seeds. Mix.
3. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients: rice vinegar, sugar, white vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. 
4. When chick'n is done cooking, add to the salad bowl. With the remaining peanut oil, fry the saifun noodles. They should only be in there a few seconds and immediately puff up when they hit the hot oil. Dry on paper towels to get rid of excess oil.
5. Add the salad dressing to the salad mixture. Toss in the large bowl.
6. On a large plate or bowl, lay the crispy saifun down, then top with the salad.

* Note: For chick'n strips, I used the prepackaged Gardein strips. You could also cut their scallopini's up for the same effect. Morningstar Farms also carries vegan chick'n strips one could use. For a good chick'n salad, one needs crispy noodles. If you can find crispy wonton noodles, that will also work in this recipe. Make sure your sugar is vegan!

Mongolian Beefless Beef and Szechuan Snow Peas with Shiitake Mushrooms

One of my favorite dishes at Chinese restaurants is Mongolian Tofu (formerly it was Mongolian Beef). If it's an option on the menu, I usually get it. VegeUSA makes these dehydrated beefless beef strips that I thought would be spot on for a mock Mongolian Beef recipe. They also make dehydrated chicken and duck slices. I found these products at my local Asian groceries over in the Uptown area of Chicago. I usually go to Broadway Supermarket, but Tai Nam Food Market has a large amount of faux meat products as well. I'm not sure where you could get these otherwise. I found some of their other products like the duck and pork slices on Amazon. You could probably use just slices of seitan from West Soy or LightLife Steak Style Strips. You could even do this recipe with just slices of tofu or tempeh if you have a wheat allergy or just don't dig on that much gluten.

Mongolian Beefless Beef

* Prep Time: 30 minutes - 1 hour
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce*
• 1 tsp hoison sauce*
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar*
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine*
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 2 cups vegetarian beef slices
• peanut oil, for frying
• 1-2 oz. saifun

* Recipe:

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1. Rehydrate the beefless beef slices (if you are using VegeUSA - otherwise skip this step) in boiling water. Strain.
2. Combine the marinade ingredients (first 9 ingredients) in a baking dish. Add the rehydrated beef slices (or seitan, tofu, tempeh, etc.). Cover all slices in marinade completely.
3. Marinate for at least 30 minutes up to 1 hour.
4. In a large frying pan or wok, add the peanut oil over medium heat. Cook the onions until translucent. Add in the marinated beef slices with the marinade sauce to the wok.
5. Cook for about 5-10 minutes. Add the green onions and cook for another few minutes.
6. Remove the Mongolian beef from the wok. Add a tiny bit of peanut oil and then the saifun. It should immediately puff up and get crispy. It only needs to be on the oil for seconds. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
7. Serve the Mongolian Beefless Beef over the saifun and with rice. Top with a few extra green onion slices.

* Note: Dark soy sauce is a thicker soy sauce often used in marinades. You don't need a lot of it. I found mine at my local Asian grocery. I got my vegetarian hoison sauce at Whole Foods. Make sure your sugar is vegan! Chinese sherry is basically cooking wine. You could sub regular cooking sherry instead. 


Szechuan Snow Peas with Shiitake Mushrooms

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce*
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/8 tsp five spice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cups snow peas
• 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste

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* Recipe:

1. In a large frying pan or wok, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, snow peas, and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes.
2. In a bowl, combine the vegetable broth and cornstarch until no clumps remain. Add to the pan.
3. Let the broth reduce for another few minutes. Then add the cooking wine, red pepper flakes, chili garlic sauce, sugar, five spice, salt, and pepper. 
4. Cook until the sauce is thick.

* Note: Chili garlic sauce is often found at Asian restaurants and grocery stores. You can usually find it in the Asian section of your grocery store.

Black Forest Cake

I don't usually post dessert recipes on here because I feel like there are so many amazing cookbooks and blogs already dedicated to vegan baking and desserts. I'm not expert in that area so I leave it to the professionals. Sometimes, I do feel like trying to make my own goodies and I don't think I've ever seen a vegan black forest cake. So, I went with it! I modified the recipe off of this one. Also, excuse the frosting in these pictures. I should have put the cake in the fridge to let it set before I took the pictures!

Black Forest Cake

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
* Ingredients (for cake batter):

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder  
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar*
• 2 egg replacers, follow box directions*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk*
• 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar

* Ingredients (for frosting materials):

• 1/2 cup kirsch*
• 1 cup soy butter*
• 7 cups powdered sugar
• 2 pinch salt
• 2 tsp brewed coffee
• 2 (14 oz.) cans pitted cherries, drained
• 1 can vegan whipped cream, to top*
• maraschino cherries, to top
• 1 bar semisweet chocolate, shaved, to top  

* Recipe (for cake batter):

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
3. Combine the non-dairy milk with the vinegar. Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. 
4. In another bowl, whip the sugar and vegetable shortening until combined. 
5. Mix the egg replacers in a small bowl until frothy. 
6. Combine the dry ingredients with the sugar mixture, egg replacers, butter milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until batter is smooth.
7. Line the bottom of two round 8 in. pans with parchment paper. Pour half the batter in each. 
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
9. Let cool completely and remove the parchment paper. Cut each cake in half horizontally making 4 cakes total. 

* Recipe (for frosting materials): 

1. Sprinkle each layer with the kirsch.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee. Beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice. 
3. Roughly chop up the cherries.
4. Spread the frosting over each layer. Add cherries. Repeat for all layers except the top one (so two more times).
5. Top one layer with another layer of cake until all 4 are on top of one another.
6. Continue frosting the entire cake.
7. Shave chocolate and cover the cake with it.
8. Top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

* Note: Make sure all your sugar is vegan. For egg replacers, I used Ener-G. The non-dairy milk I used was almond milk. Feel free to use whatever you prefer. Kirsch is cherry liquor. You can find it in the alcohol section with other liquors. For soy butter, I like Earth Balance with olive oil. Lastly, Soyatoo makes an amazing canned whipped cream. I can usually find it at Whole Foods here.