BBQ SEITAN

the makings of a good quick Southern Vegan sandwich

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. seitan strips

1/2 red onion, sliced thin

1 Tbsp. oil

barbecue sauce, as needed

whole wheat roll, grilled

coleslaw

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium skillet heat the oil.  Saute the onions till soft. 

Add the seitan slices and cook about 5 minutes.

Add the barbecue sauce, stir all together.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes. 

ready to add the BBQ sauce

Serve on a toasted roll, topped with coleslaw.



CHILI DOGS

serve on a whole wheat roll

INGREDIENTS:

rolls, grilled until lightly brown

vegan hot dogs, cook according to pkg.

sliced vegan cheese

leftover vegan chili OR taco soup (posted previously)

Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS:

If using the round rolls, slice the cooked dog into 4 pieces.

Put one slice of cheese on the hot roll.  Spread the mustard on the other side of the roll. 

Layer on the hot dog pieces and the warmed chili. 



GRILLED EGGPLANT SANDWICH

grilled eggplant sandwich

serve on a toasted whole wheat roll

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole eggplant, peel lengthwise, every other row (creates stripes)
1 large onion, cut in half and sliced thin
1 medium red onion
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow pepper pepper, cut into strips
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1/4 cup pesto sauce
Whole wheat rolls, grilled till toasted
Vegenaise


DIRECTIONS:

Salt the eggplant and let it sit in a strainer for 30 minutes.  Wipe these slices off and put them into a bowl and baste both sides with the pesto sauce.   Cook these on a medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.

I prefer the George Forman electric grill

grilled eggplant n' pesto

Meanwhile sauté tog. The onion and peppers, till soft. Salt and pepper.

I buy peppers in bulk at Costco, cut into strips

and freeze for last minute meal planning.

sliced fresh mozzarella cheese and sauteed onions and peppers

Spread the roll with Vegenaise, lightly on both sides.  Layer on the eggplant, fresh mozzarella and onions and peppers.

SAUSAGE SANDWICH

 

a very good product

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 white onion, cut in half and sliced

1 red onion, cut in half and sliced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Vegan Italian Sausage

Vegenaise

Pesto sauce

whole wheat rolls, lightly grilled

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Combine the oil and onions and saute either in a skillet on the stove top OR in a pan on the grill.  Cook till well done and start to brown.

 

Grill the sausage.  These don't take long.  Towards the end of the cooking time, grill the rolls.

 

For the sandwich: 

 

Spread one half of the roll with pesto, the other with Vegenaise.  Cut the sausage in half lengthwise and crosswise.  Layer on your roll.  Smother the sausage with the cooked onions.

 

DELICIOUS

TUNA (LESS) SANDWICHES

garbanzo beans that have been mashed take on the appearance of flaked tuna

This was hard for me to imagine but this mock tuna salad is GREAT.  Snagged this recipe at Summerfest from Allison Rivers Samson's food demo.  I made this for lunch yesterday, liked it so much, ate it again for dinner with fresh grilled peaches with blueberries.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 cup dill pickle, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. nori seaweed flakes
1/2 to 1 cup of vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper, ground

for the sandwich: whole wheat rolls and fresh tomato slices

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mash the beans with a potato masher or the back of a fork.

Fold the onion, celery, garlic, pickle, nori, mayonnaise, salt, and black pepper into the beans.  Combine thoroughly.

Serve either on a sandwich, stuffing a tomato or as a cracker spread.  DELICIOUS

the "tuna" salad

my second helping was simply served atop fresh tomato slices

BEAN AND CHEESE QUESADILLA

I was craving Mexican food and didn't have a can of vegetarian re-fried beans.  Don't let it stop you.  A can of white beans OR pinto beans easily convert into a delicious quesadilla. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 onion, cut in half and sliced thin
1 can white beans, drain and rinse and then roughly mashed
olive oil
taco seasoning
black pepper
cheddar cheese or vegan cheese
2 flour tortillas / for quesadilla being made
salsa

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the onion in the oil till it starts to brown. 

Add the beans and some taco seasoning to taste (1 to 2 tsp.).  Add pepper. You may want to add a couple of teaspoonsful of water if too thick.  Cook and occasionally stir. 

making the re-fried beans

Place one tortilla on heated grill, layer on the bean mixture.  Sprinkle on the cheese.  At this point you can add vegetables, cut up shrimp, green chilies, etc.

pile it on before topping with the 2nd tortilla

Top with the second tortilla.  Continue to cook until bottom is crispy.  Flip and cook till second side is crispy.

Remove from grill and cut into fourths.  A pizza cutter works well.

Serve with salsa (guacamole / sour cream  if you have and/or want them)

nice and crispy

ROASTED RED PEPPER SANDWICH

after the oven-roasting process; it can get quite messy

STILL quicker than the stove-top method

I ALWAYS roasted my red peppers on the stove-top.  It is very time consuming and stove-top clean up is definitely very labor intensive.  This oven method works well.  (just a bit messy)

INGREDIENTS:

4 large red peppers

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

5 cloves garlic

pinch of salt

2 tsp. capers

DIRECTIONS:

First preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Place the washed whole red pepper a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  The skin will start to blacken.

Remove the sheet from the oven and immediately cover with foil, sealing all.  Leave these set for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil.  Work on the peppers:  cut out cores and stems, remove seeds, strip off ALL skin.  It should easily be removed.  Cut peppers into strips.  Prepare the marinade.

roasted red pepper strips before any marinade

after the marinade

Mix together the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and capers (fresh torn basil can also be added).  Pour this mixture over the peppers.  Allow the flavors to marry. 

FOR THE SANDWICH:

For the sandwich I toasted whole wheat rolls and served these open-faced with a layer of herbed goat cheese, thinly sliced red onion and a few slices of roasted red pepper.  I also really like fresh mozzarella served with these peppers on served atop semolina bread.  YUM

I served my open-face sandwich with roasted fennel (previous post)

BLACK BEAN BURGERS

These amazing black bean burgers are simple to make and delicious.  These, to date, are my favorites.  I love everything served on them: vegan cheese, red onion, fresh tomato slices, vegenaise, relish AND ketchup.  All on a toasted bun, of course.  Yep, the works!

                                       use a food processor to keep this recipe simple and quick

 



INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp. garlic

1/2 onion

2 cans black beans

2 Tbsp. cilantro

2 tsp. parsley

1 egg

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a food processor, pulse together the garlic and onion.

2. Add ONE can of drained and rinsed black beans.  Pulse along with the cilantro, parsley, egg and red pepper.

3. Put this mixture into a bowl and stir in 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans, the bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste.

4. Form patties, grill on medium to medium low heat using PAM.  Handle carefully.

Makes 6 good sized patties.

Use quality ingredients.  Instead of regular bread crumbs, I use seasoned Panko crumbs.  Goya are the best beans.

patties are a bit fragile, use two spatulas to turn

they turn a lovely brown color

 

I find it easier to cook these on my stovetop griddle rather than my outside grill.

Yields 6 good size burgers.

GOOD USE OF THE HERBS/BASIL PESTO

AHHHHH fresh basil from the garden.

                                    very few ingredients called for in this very easy quick recipe

                                                             a simple bowl of pesto

                                    in this meal, used as a condiment on a grilled veggie sandwich

BASIL PESTO

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshley grated Pecorino cheese  (I recommend Veggie Grated Topping by Galaxy Nutritional Foods)  http://www.galaxyfoods.com/galaxy-products/soy-cheese/veggie/veggie-grated-topping/

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

2.  IF using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth.  Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

3.  IF freezing, add only 1/2 of the oil while mixing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top.  Freeze for up to 3 months.;  Thaw and stir in the cheese.