Beer Braised Brussel Sprouts & Greens

Your blog doll has been super busy lately. Sorry for not often posting. Quicky recipe!

Beer Braised Brussel Sprouts & Greens

Instagram Photo (User: veganmiss)

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil  
• 1/2 small yellow onion, sliced
• 1 cup brussel sprouts, ends trimmed, cut in half
• 1 cup greens, packed*
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce*
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke*
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup beer*
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and onions. Cook until they start to become translucent.
2. Add the brussel sprouts. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the start to become tender. Add in the greens and garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the liquid reduces almost all the way or until the brussel sprouts can be pierced with a fork.

* Note: For greens, I used a package of turnip, mustard, and collard greens. Feel free to use whatever greens you like. You can find vegan Worcestershire sauce at health food stores and online. Liquid smoke gives dishes a smokey taste (similar in effect to if you add bacon to a dish). Make sure your beer is vegan! I used a wheat beer.

Country Fried Steak with Gravy

As I mentioned in my review of Chicago Health Foods store, I go there somewhat frequently. Worthington brand vegetarian foods is kind of a retro company... it's been around for decades and is owned by Loma Linda Foods. A lot of their products are not vegan and you usually just don't see them in stores. Chicago Health Foods store carries a few of their canned items and several frozen items. The multigrain cutlets are vegan, so I thought I would check it out. First, these are basically seitan steaks in a can. Second, canned seitan? Yeah... I mean, I guess it could be worse! So, I thought the best way to tackle canned seitan would be by making a country fried steak and breading it. I will also be posting a recipe for beefless beef stroganoff that I made with these multi-grain cutlets too. Now, I have to say, as far as canned seitan goes, this is really good! It was awesome in both dishes I made (I used half a can per dish). So, breaded or non-breaded, I enjoyed it. I imagine it would be really good breaded sort of like katsu or pork tenderloin and put in a sandwich too. Oh, and despite in the picture on the can the cutlet is breaded, it is not. It is seitan steaks in juice. Just FYI.

As a note, I'm not sure what you could use to replace these Worthington cutlets. I'm not aware of anything quite like them that isn't something like a Gardein chick'n patty. All seitan products I know of are crumbles and pieces, not cutlets. You could do this if you make your own seitan, though! Here is my recipe of cutlet-style seitan.

Country Fried Steak with Gravy 

* Prep Time: 1 hour
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for country fried steak):

• 1/2 can (4) multigrain cutlets, drained
• 1 cup non-dairy milk*
• 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 1-2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 tsp paprika
• 1-2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 egg replacers, follow box directions*
• peanut oil, for frying*

* Ingredients (for gravy):

• 2 tbsp peanut oil, from frying cutlets
• 2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp soy butter*
• 3/4th cup non-dairy milk
• salt and pepper, to taste 

* Recipe (for country fried steak):

1. Prepare butter milk by combining the milk with vinegar. Let stand in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Soak the cutlets in the butter milk for a minimum of an hour, the longer the better. 
2. Using 2 bowls, add half of the flour and spices to each. In a third bowl, mix the eggs according to box directions. Set up bowls in a line: flour, eggs, flour.  
3. Add enough oil to a frying pan to come up half an inch and bring to medium to high heat.  
4. Once oil is hot, place cutlet in first flour bowl and coat completely, shaking off excess. Then place it in the egg bowl, again coating completely and shaking excess. Place in final flour bowl, once coated, shake excess and place in oil. Repeat for each cutlet. If the egg mixture seems too thick, add a little extra water to thin it out. 
5. Cook until each cutlet is golden brown. Place on a wire rack with a paper underneath it to catch excess oil (or place on plate with paper towels to drain oil). 
6. Reserve about 2 tbsp of oil for gravy, keeping the dripping from the dredge. 

* Recipe (for gravy): 

1. In the frying pan you used to make the country fried steak, add the flour to reserved oil from frying and whisk together until slightly thick. It should be a pudding consistency. If it is too thin, add more flour a teaspoon at a time until thick.  
2. Add butter and allow to melt.  
3. Whisk in milk. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat and allow to thicken. If too thick, add more milk, constantly whisking until the gravy is slightly thinner than desired. Do this because it will thicken as it cools. 
4. Pour over mashed potatoes and country fried steaks. Serve with greens.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I used almond milk. Feel free to use whatever kind you wish. For egg replacer, I used Enger-G. Peanut oil has a high heat capacity and it is really great for frying things. If you have a nut allergy, you could still use regular vegetable oil. For soy butter, I used Earth Balance with olive oil.

For sides to this recipe, I made mashed potatoes and greens. I have recipes for these on Vegan Miss: mashed potatoes & greens.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurant Review of Soul Vegetarian East

Like many other Groupon users, I waited until the last night to use my Groupon to Soul Vegetarian East Restaurant over on the south side of Chicago. There are a number of soul vegetarian type restaurants on the south side, but this one is the most talked about and the oldest. Other restaurants include: Sistah's Vegan Restaurant, Brother Tim's Vegetarian Fast Food, and Yah's Cuisine. 

Both times I've been to Soul Veg the wait has been awfully long. I will admit the first time was also with a Groupon within a week of it expiring and this last time was the night it expired, so my wait time may have been altered due to that. From reading Yelp reviews, though, it seems like the service is always pretty slow and the servers are rather scatter-brained. 

Aside from the restaurant, there is a juice bar and a take out bar. The take out bar has various kinds of salads, seitan, greens, etc. The juice bar is pretty much your standard juice bar with carrot juices, green juices, and additives of wheatgrass and spirulina.

Before I begin, let me just say that this is southern cooking. It isn't healthy, even if it is vegetarian. A lot of it is fried or it is made of seitan. They do have salads which are pretty awesome. More on that later.

To start, my friends and I split the battered cauliflower. Pretty much most vegetables battered and fried are tasty and the cauliflower didn't disappoint in this aspect. It is definitely something to be split among 3-4 people, though, because it would be too much fried food for just two people. Other appetizers on the menu are more battered things like mushrooms, onion rings, fries, and tidbits (seitan).

We got a side of carrot supreme salad which was absolutely amazing. If you get anything at this restaurant, get this salad. For $4.50, it could have been a meal! It was gigantic and packed full of awesome veggies. We got the creamy garlic dressing with it and I'm thinking they use fresh garlic because it was super garlicky, but the creaminess balanced it out.

For sandwiches, we had the East Coast BBQ Roast Sandwich and the Hand Burger. The BBQ sandwich was as to be expected: messy. They use their signature seitan tidbits and coat them in their own bbq sauce. Overall, it's a good kind of messy sandwich. I'd get this again for sure. My friend had the Hand Burger and he said it's the best veggie burger he's ever had (and he's an omnivore)! It is made out of lentils and various spices. My only problem with the sandwiches are that they come with no sides. It feels a bit like an incomplete meal to just have a sandwich. Of course, you can order a side, but you get what I mean. The last time I was at Soul Veg, I got the gyros and I didn't care for them too much. It was too dry for my taste. They sell their Jerusalem Steak sandwich and Tofu Salad Sandwich at the local Whole Foods here and those are pretty good even pre-packaged. I imagine having them fresh at the restaurant is even better. 

My other friend had the dinner special. This dinner was something like $12 and for that price, there was SO much food. All three of us could have eaten this for dinner and been stuffed. It came with greens, steamed broccoli, breaded tofu (think catfish fillet style), a whopping piece of lasagna, and a choice of soup or salad (he got the soup, bean curd veggie, with fresh cornbread). I've had the greens from Soul Veg before and I always find them a bit too musky from the liquid smoke they use. I only use a pinch of it when I make greens and that may be why (if I even use it). Otherwise, they are perfect. The steamed broccoli was pretty standard, tender and healthy. Now, this breaded tofu business. Wow, you would think it was real breaded catfish strips the way they have it done up. I've never had breaded fish like that in my life (what? I grew up in San Francisco. Fresh fish from the ocean... who breads that?!). One of my friends who was with me is from the south and the other grew up eating breaded catfish and both of them were as impressed as I was with the breaded tofu. They have a breaded tofu sandwich and I bet that thing is amazing. The lasagna was alright. I didn't love it or hate it, but I wouldn't order it again. Just wasn't my thing - something about the taste of it. My friends liked it though. Lastly, the soup and cornbread were really tasty. I've never had bean curd soup before (I've had bean curd in Chinese dishes at restaurants before, though) and this was a great introduction. The cornbread passed the Southerners test from my friend meaning it was pretty damn good.

We had tons of food and took a lot of it home so we couldn't possibly have dessert. I had a Beta Green juice drink from the juice bar, so I suppose that was my dessert (carrot and spirulina juice). They do have soy ice cream and a variety of cakes and pies for dessert, though.

Our fair city of Chicago is blessed with the Vegan Food Truck. It is run by the people over at Ste Martaen (one of the best vegan cheese companies out there, trust!) and Soul Veg. You can get a number of Soul Veg's sandwiches and entree's on the food truck. Also on the truck are goodies from Canary Confectionery, a local vegan baking team. It is run during lunch and dinner hours and their menu changes daily. Find them in the city or request they come to your area through their Twitter account or Facebook account. They also sometimes make Saturday day trips up to Milwaukee. Check their Twitter and Facebook to find out when.

One last note: the Soul Veg mac 'n cheese. Aside from their carrot salad, this stuff is addictive. It is, hands down, the best vegan mac 'n cheese I have ever had. I challenge someone to find a better one. Seriously, this stuff will change your life.

Miss Lexy's Top 15 Vegan Miss Recipes (To Date)

I've been blogging Vegan Miss since 2009 and while I wish I posted more frequently with recipes (real life interferes, blast!), I do have some of my favorite gems. Here is a list of recipes that I think back to fondly (in no particular order):

1. Homemade Grilled Potato, Onion, & Cheeze Pierogies: These babies are well, bad ass. I have yet to find frozen vegan pierogies for sale in store. If you make a huge batch of this, it'll freeze and keep nicely for later use. Pair with some Polish braised red cabbage and sour cream for a very tasty Polish delight.
2. Balsamic Sage Butter Tortellini: I have yet to find vegan tortellini's anywhere as well. Someone should really just make tortellini's and pierogies in the frozen vegan variety. And cheese sticks. They would be a huge hit, I think! If you are feeling adventurous, these little guys will definitely rock your world. As with the pierogies, you can make a big batch and freeze them for later use. I would serve this with raw kale salad for a perfect meal!
3. Pumpkin Curry Soup: This soup is magnificent. Perfect fall weather soup. Even my mother who declared she hated pumpkin before trying this was converted. She had me make another batch just for her and my dad and again at Thanksgiving dinner. Serve with fresh brown bread.
4. Tiramisu: One of the desserts I crave still is tiramisu. I made a regular version for Valentine's Day 2011 and then a raspberry version for this past Valentine's Day. It's kind of like crack. Really delicious crack. Warning: you may want to eat way more than one serving.
5. Balsamic Baked Tofu Caprese Sandwich: One of my first recipes for Vegan Miss. The trick to this is to let the tofu marinate for preferably 24 hours. It'll really take in that flavor (tofu being like a sponge and all).
6. Deep Dish Pizza: Ah, vegan deep dish pizza. Living in Chicago for almost 7 years now, I've never had the traditional deep dish. This is my solution. It's an awesome, awesome solution. It was even my competition dish for the Chicago Vegan Chef Showdown. nom nom nom!
7. Italian "Beef" Sandwiches: Once again, in all my years in Chicago, I have never eaten an Italian beef sandwich. And trust me, they are mighty popular, originating here and all. This would be my vegan version which has been a hit with vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores a like. Don't forget the giardiniera!
8. Ginger, Carrot, Beet, & Sweet Potato Soup: This is the best winter soup. If you don't like beets, you will now. It is just the right combination of different root vegetables to have only a hint of that earthy beet taste. Don't blame me if you go back for seconds!
9. Vegan Horseshoe Sandwich: Most people don't know what a horseshoe is, so basically it is Texas toast with whatever meat you want on top and then cheese fries on top of that. Not healthy. The cheese sauce I came up with for this is still my go-to cheese sauce when I need to make nachos or anything cheezy like that. Even my omni, cheese loving friends liked it.
10.Chick'n Divan: Ah, 1950s food. This is recreated from the book, Dishes Men Like. I've been told this tastes a lot like the real thing sans all that gross meat and dairy. Serve with Caesar salad.
11. Chick'n Scallopini with Wild Mushroom Risotto: This one of my favorite romantic dinner recipes on my blog. It would be perfect for Valentine's Day or an anniversary. Gardein is such an amazing mock meat product that is ever expanding on the markets. I keep a package of their chick'n scallopini's in my freezer at all times! Serve with a bowl of French onion soup.
12. Chick'n Katsu: Did I not tell you that I keep those Gardein scallopini's in my freezer at all times or what?! I really adore Japanese culture and cuisine. I did my undergraduate minor in Japanese and studied in Japan as well. ♥ One of the nation's favorite dishes is katsu. Serve with some veggie miso soup.
13. Spinach & Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo: Several of my followers have remade this dish and all have fallen in love with it like I have. This is another one of those romantic dishes I enjoy. Serve with a heaping bowl of Italian wedding soup!
14. Vegan Fried Rice: This is an oldie recipe, but a goodie. It has something like 12,000 hits on VegWeb. It is a great recipe to whip up during the week and have plenty of leftovers.
15. Southern Food Gone Vegan: Country fried seitan steaks? Check. Mashed potatoes? Check. Southern greens? Check. Biscuits and gravy? Check! If you want a simple gravy, you can dumb down what I have to a black pepper gravy. This is one of Vegan Miss' most popular entries over the course of the last three years. Another southern favorite is my chick'n & buckwheat waffles with preserves recipe. No one ever said southern food was healthy for you! ;]

Well, there you have it. My original intent was to have 5-10 recipes, but I just couldn't stop at 10! If you ever decide to recreate any Vegan Miss recipes, please email the pictures at veganmiss@gmail.com or post pictures on VM's Facebook and post a review of the recipe on VegWeb for me! 

Southwestern Skillet

I've never actually had a traditional Southwestern skillet before, vegan or otherwise. I'm not a huge fan of spicy foods, Tex-Mex-style food, and I never ate eggs prior to being vegan. My friends wanted to try and make this for a brunch, so behold the Southwestern Skillet.

Southwestern Skillet

* Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients (for potatoes):

• 5-6 red potatoes, cleaned and cubed
• 1/2 medium red pepper, diced
• 1/2 medium green pepper, diced
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp parley
• salt & pepper, to taste
• olive oil, to coat entire bottom of skillet

* Ingredients (for scramble):

• 1 package (16 oz.) firm tofu, water pressed out
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp tumeric
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup vegan cheddar cheese, shredded*
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 medium tomato, diced

* Ingredients (for sausage):

• 1 box (8 oz.) vegan sausage crumbles*
• 1 tbsp olive oil

* Recipe (for potatoes):

1. Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add onion, garlic, and peppers, and sautee for 1 minute.
2. Add potatoes and seasonings. Cook until brown and tender.

* Recipe (for scramble):

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Sautee onions until soft.
2. Add garlic, crumble tofu into skillet, and add spices.
3. Slightly brown tofu and add diced tomatoes. Sautree for 3-5 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked.
4. Top with cheese and cover with lid to melt.

* Recipe (for sausage):

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the sausage crumbles with olive oil and cook until brown.

* Recipe (for assembly):

1. Assemble by layering potatoes on the bottom of a plate then the sausage and "scrambled egg" and cheese.
2. Top with salsa and chili peppers if you like spice. Serve with a side of toast. Perfect for brunch for two or as hangover food!

* Note: For cheese, I used Daiya cheddar shreds. One could shred other brands by hand. The sausage crumbles were Upton's Natural's brand that I chopped up fine. One could use Boca crumbles, Yves, or Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage in replacement. Lastly, feel free to add some veggie bacon to this too such as Yves Canadian Bacon or Lightlife Smart Bacon.  

Chick'n Schnitzel

The schnitzel's origin lies in Austrian and German cooking and is primarily made of pork or veal. It is also prominent in Israeli cooking. Having relatives in Israel, I grew up eating schnitzel, but of course, made from chicken. I loved vinegar as a child, so I ate it with malt vinegar, but ketchup is very tasty with it usually. This is my vegan chick'n version. It is very simple to make and super tasty (definitely a treat food, though). Americans would liken it to chicken fried steak probably. It essentially is that, but saying schnitzel is way more fun, haha!

Chick'n Schnitzel

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

• 1 package of Gardein chick'n scallopini, thawed*
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp paprika
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 3 egg replacements, preparing according to package instructions*

* Recipe:

1. Combine the breadcrumbs and spices onto a plate. In a small bowl, beat the egg replacements until frothy and clumps are gone.
2. In a frying pan, add vegetable oil and bring to medium heat.
3. Smash out the chick'n patties as much as you can without tearing them (the idea behind schnitzel is that it is thin patties).
4. Coat the patties in flour, then in egg replacement thoroughly, then cover in breadcrumbs.
5. Fry both sides until golden.
6. Serve with ketchup or hummus and a side of french fries or mashed potatoes.

* Note: Gardein is a great mock meat alternative to chicken. For egg replacement, I used Ener-G.

Homemade Pickled Fried Green Tomatoes & Fried Pickles

Once and awhile, I have pickling parties. Yes, pickling parties. Pick what you would like to pickle and we go to it. Two months ago or so, we pickled beets, cauliflower, white pearl onions, button mushrooms, pickle spears, pickle slices, cherry tomatoes, and green tomatoes. Thus was born the idea of pickled fried green tomatoes and fried pickle spears. 


Homemade Pickled Fried Green Tomatoes & Fried Pickles

 * Prep Time: 15 minutes
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp citrus spice*
• pinch of cayenne
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cup non-dairy milk*
• 1 tbsp white distilled vinegar
• 2 egg replacers, followed to box instructions*
• vegetable oil, for frying
• pickle spears
• pickled green tomato wedges

* Recipe: 

1. Make sure the pickled green tomatoes and pickles are cold. Keep them in the fridge until you need them.
2. Heat the oil you'll need for frying either in a large skillet on medium heat or in a deep fryer (which I used).
3. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, paprika, citrus spice, cayenne, and salt and pepper.
4. In another large bowl, combine the milk and vinegar. Place in fridge and let chill for at least five minutes.
5. Combine the egg replacer in a small bowl and add to the bowl with the buttermilk. Mix well.
6. Coat the green tomatoes and pickles in the dry mixture, then the buttermilk mixture, then coat in the dry mixture again until completely covered.
7. Fry in oil until golden brown.
8. Drain on a paper towel.
9. Serve with vegan ranch or hot sauce and a lemon wedge.

* Note: I used a citrus spice I got at Whole Foods. I love it! It's so good. For non-dairy milk, I prefer almond milk. For egg replacer, I use Ener-G.

I'm not sure if you can find pickled green tomatoes in stores, but you could always use fresh tomatoes. These were so fantastic - a real southern treat!

Super Bowl: Pulled Pork Sandwiches & Loaded Nachos

I do not follow football, but I do cook! These are a few things I whipped up just in case other people actually watch football and would like to eat vegan grub. Also, check out Mercy For Animals blog post on what one can conjure up for the big day: Score Big by Hosting a Vegan Super Bowl Party.


Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Bourbon BBQ Sauce

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes (without cooking seitan - make ahead of time)
* Ingredients (for pulled pork):

• seitan pieces, cooked according to these directions, pulled a part
• 2 tbsp brown sugar*
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• hamburger buns, for sandwiches

* Ingredients (for bourbon BBQ sauce):

• 1/2 small onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp bourbon*
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp tobasco
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tsp butter, softened*
• 5 tbsp brown sugar*
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

* Recipe (for pulled pork): 

1. Make the seitan according to the directions given in a previous post. Squeeze the juice that the seitan cooked in out of the seitan pieces.
2. In a bowl, pull a part the seitan so it resembles "pulled pork". 
3. In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients (aside from the buns!). Throw it in the bowl with the seitan and mix well. 
4. Place the seitan mixture in a pot on low-medium heat. Let the seitan brown a bit (not a lot) so that the spices set in on it sort of like a rub, if you will.
5. Keep warm while you make the BBQ sauce.

* Recipe (for BBQ sauce):

1. Chop up the onions and mince the garlic. In a small non-stick pan, cook the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients and put on a medium sized pot on the stove. Add the onions and garlic. Stir on low-medium heat until reduced, about thirty minutes.

* Recipe (for sandwich):

1. Mix the BBQ sauce with the seitan.
2. Put pulled pork on hamburger buns, serve. 

* Note: For the bourbon, make sure it is vegan on Barnivore. I used Earth Balance for the butter. For the sugar, make sure it is vegan!

Loaded Nachos


* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes (with cheeze sauce)
* Ingredients (for nachos):

• 1 (14 oz.) can vegetarian refried beans, warmed
• cheeze sauce, cooked according to these directions
• 1/2 package (4 oz.) Upton's Naturals ground beef style seitan, crumbled*
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• several dollops vegan sour cream*
• 1/2 jar salsa*
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 2 stalks green onion, sliced thin
• tortilla chips, to serve

* Ingredients (for guacamole):

• 2 avocados, pits remove
• 3-4 limes, squeezed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 one poblano pepper, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup, fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt, to taste

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Crumble your seitan and mix together the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and chili powder with it.
2. Brown in a non-stick pan on medium heat.

* Recipe (for guacamole):

1. In a bowl, mash the avocados and add the lime juice. Mix.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

* Recipe (for building nachos):

1. Lay chips on plate.
2. Layer order: seitan, beans, cheeze sauce, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, garnishments.

* Note: Upton's Naturals is a local Chicago seitan company. They sell their faux meats here in Chicagoland. You could use other seitan-style meat crumbles such as Boca Ground Crumbles,Gimme Lean Sausage by Lightlife, or Yves Meatless Ground Round Original. I used Tofutti vegan sour cream. For salsa, my favorite brand is Green Mountain Gringo with medium spice.


For good measure, you could also make my cheeze stick recipe, my chili cheeze fries, stuffed crust pizza, deep dish pizza, stuffed cheese and bacon burgers, or horseshoe sandwich dishes! Phew, so much vegan fast food!

Po Boy Sandwich

Many moons again, I had a Po Boy Sandwich for the first time at the Chicago Diner. It was SO good. Alas, they took it off their menu. This is my attempt to recreate it, although the Diner's is better (as always!).

 Po Boy Sandwich

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours (2 hours for seitan, 1/2 hour for au jus)
* Ingredients (for seitan):

• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 block tofu (5 oz.)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour
• salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste rubbed on the seitan loaf

• 1 cup vegetable broth, add more if runs out while steaming

* Ingredients (for au jus):

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 cup vegetarian chicken broth*
• 1 cup vegetarian beef broth*
• water, if necessary
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for building sandwich):

• 4 hoagie buns
• vegan mayonnaise, to taste on each sandwich

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Combine wheat gluten and nutritional yeast flakes in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix well. Let the wheat gluten mixture rise for a few minutes.
4. While you wait, add the vegetable broth to a medium sized pot. Do not turn on stove yet.
5. Form the wheat gluten mixture into a log and rub the top with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Wrap the seitan log in foil.
6. Put the seitan into the pot and now turn on the stove to low heat. Place pot cover on, but allow some room for the steam.
7. Steam seitan for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Make sure you don't run out of broth as you steam. Add more if you need to as you steam.
8. To store, keep the seitan in the foil you steamed it in.

* Recipe (for au jus):

1. In the pot you steamed the seitan in, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and carrots.
2. Once the onions begin to brown, add the rest of the au jus ingredients. After you add the broths, add enough water to cover 3/4th of the seitan log.
3. Baste the top of the seitan log and rotate here and there. Keep on extremely low heat during this time. You may choose to just let the seitan "soak" in the broth rather than have it on low heat.
4. Remove seitan after about 30 minutes. Take out the bay leaf then blend the onions, carrots, and broth in a blender.
5. Return back to pot and add in bay leaf again, let heat on medium heat for 30 more minutes.
6. Take out bay leaf before serving.

 * Recipe (for building sandwich):

1. Split hoagies 3/4th of the way, leaving a hinge. Slather on vegan mayonnaise on both sides of bun to taste.
2. Slice the seitan log into thin deli style slices. Add to hoagie and top with generous amounts of au jus.

* Note: I used Frontier vegetarian beef and chicken broths. 

Chicken and Buckwheat Waffles with Mixed Berry Preserves

Happy 2011! For Christmas every year, I hand make all my presents. This year, I sewed some Christmas ornaments with cute vintage holiday tags attached, sewed some cat nip toys for people with cats, made homemade dog cookies for people with dogs, prepared my own spice mix using spices from a local spice house near my place, made my own preserves from scratch, pickled my own pickles and cocktail onions, and made my annual variety of vegan cookies for everyone. I start sewing around October and do the pickling, spices, and preserves before Thanksgiving. The cookies I make in December and freeze them until I can give them to everyone. I used my mixed berry preserves for the waffles in this recipe!

Chicken and Buckwheat Waffles with Mixed Berry Preserves 

* Prep Time: 24 hours
* Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours (2 hours for seitan, 1 1/2 for rest)
* Ingredients (for seitan):

• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce 
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour  

• 10 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup soy sauce

* Ingredients (for fried chicken):

• 1 1/2 cup self rising flour*
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp season salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pepper, to taste
• 3 "eggs" via egg replacer (follow box instructions)*
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1/2 cup water
• peanut oil, for frying

* Ingredients (for buckwheat waffles):

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 "egg" via egg replacer (follow box instructions)*
• 1 cup almond milk*
• 1 tsp white distilled vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp soy butter, melted

• fresh berries (raspberries and blackberries), to top waffles

* Ingredients (for mixed berry preserves): *

• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1 1/2 cup sugar*
• 1/2 lemon, seeded
• 1 pound of mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Combine wheat gluten and nutritional yeast flakes in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix well. Let the wheat gluten mixture rise for a few minutes.
4. While you wait, add the vegetable broth and soy sauce into a big pot. Mix. Do not turn on stove yet.
5. Form the wheat gluten mixture uneven semi-round masses. You want it to somewhat resemble a "steak" for the rest of the recipe.
6. Put the seitan into the pot and now turn on the stove to medium heat. Place pot cover on, but allow some room for the steam.
7. Cook for 2 hours, rotating the seitan here and there.
8. To store, keep the seitan in the broth mixture and refrigerate. 

* Recipe (for fried chicken):

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the prepared mustard with the water. Add in the egg replacer and mix well. Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to this mustard mixture and blend until all bumps are gone.
3. Drain the seitan of all its liquid by squeezing it firmly.
4. Coat each seitan chicken piece with the mustard mixture completely then the flour mixture completely. Do this for each piece until finished.
5. When done, wrap in cling wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 24 hours. This helps the seasoning stick better when you fry it.
6. Heat up a semi-deep skillet with peanut oil. Once hot, place chicken in the skillet, enough that they all fit (if you have to do batches, do that). Cover and fry all sides until golden.
7. Drain in a strainer lined with paper towels. 

 * Recipe (for buckwheat waffles):

1. Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a cup, combine the almond milk and vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes. This is your "buttermilk".
3. Combine the milk, butter, water, and egg replacer in another bowl. Fold into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Heat up the waffle iron. Add 1/2-3/4 cup batter into the iron and close. Wait for the iron to stop steaming. The waffle should be slightly brown and crisp.
5. Pry the waffle out of the iron with a fork. Set aside. The recipe makes 2 waffles.
6. Add the fresh berries and the preserves to top the waffles!

* Recipe (for mixed berry preserves):

1. In a large saucepan, toss the strawberries with the sugar and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 hour.
2. Squeeze the lemon over the strawberries, add it to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the strawberries are just softened, 5 minutes. Add the mixed berries and cook over moderate heat until the liquid runs off the side of a spoon in thick, heavy drops, 20 to 25 minutes.

* Note: If you can't find self rising flour at your grocery store, try this recipe. For egg replacer, I used Ener-G. Feel free to use another non-dairy milk other than almond milk. The preserve recipe came from this website. For the preserves, make sure the sugar is vegan!