EUROPE This recipe makes a lot, which makes it great for family get-togethers, potlucks, or just rationing out sack lunches.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 large sweet potato
Olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons white wine
½ cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup arborio or risotto rice
3 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
½ teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Dash of liquid smoke
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black peppercorns
2 tablespoons shredded Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake your sweet potato for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender.
Spray your Dutch oven with olive oil cooking spray and add the white wine. Heat the wine to a boil over medium heat. Toss in your onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in the rice.
Mash 1 cup of the sweet potato into a paste and add it to the Dutch oven. Mix with a wooden spoon until blended. Stir in ½ cup of the broth. Continue to stir your rice and broth until it begins to bubble. Then stir in another ½ cup of the broth. Repeat this process until you have added all the broth. Continue to stir until your rice is tender. It should take 20 to 30 minutes.
Mix in the Bragg’s, rosemary, nutmeg, onion powder, and parsley. Add liquid smoke, hot sauce, salt and pepper until you like the flavor, and then serve hot with a pinch of vegan cheese over the top.
Vegan cookbooks and food blogs are full of these kinds of all-purpose lentil and vegetable recipes. We try to give you recipes you can’t find anywhere else, but while writing our blog, we got a ton of requests for lentil recipes. Which is fine with us. I actually love lentils. So here’s a recipe for a big pot of delicious lentils that you can cook up Sunday night and enjoy for your lunch all week, over rice, or just alone. I suggest eating it with some whole-wheat toast, a glass of iced tea, and a loved one—because if you really love someone, you feed them lentils.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
1 cup baby kale leaves
1 cup dry green lentils
½ cup pearl barley
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup sliced celery
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 parsnip, sliced
1 rutabaga, cut into small cubes
¼ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
6 cups Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
1 teaspoon capers, drained
Pinch of rubbed sage
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen green beans
1 teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 inches of leek, sliced
1 cup dry white wine
Set the kale aside.
Put the remaining ingredients into your handsome little slow cooker and heat on high. Mix your ingredients with a large spoon every half hour. Cook for 3 hours, and then add the kale. Mix your kale in and cook for another 3 to 4 hours. Once your lentils are tender—you’re done!
Let’s be honest here: Betty Crocker’s “international cuisine” is often unlike anything actually related to its purported country of origin. I’m pretty certain they don’t actually have “Mexican pizza” in Mexico.
But authenticity isn’t the point. The point is that Betty Crocker exposed a generation of American cooks to the basic concepts behind a variety of different cuisines from around the world—things many of us might never have been exposed to otherwise. So, no—Betty Crocker’s pad Thai doesn’t taste like anything you would order in Bangkok. But now millions of us know it exists and are a bit more likely to roll the dice on that Thai place in the city the next time we’re in the area. Betty Crocker is all about expanding people’s horizons—even if it’s incremental.
In addition to being vegan, we believe our versions of these international staples should be a lot closer to the real deal than you’d find in a Betty Crocker cookbook. Today’s everywoman is a little worldlier, after all.
EUROPE I think we all get a little rose-colored-glasses-y during the holidays. We recall with a warm heart our favorite childhood memories of Christmas morning surprises or piles of colorful cookies, and hope that this year will be just as memorable. That’s what this dish does for me. Back in the day when I was a little eater (so small I needed to be carried), my family used to go out to an Italian restaurant that I can’t recall the name of but can picture in my head perfectly. I remember white tablecloths and wooden chairs hanging on brick walls ready to be pulled down to turn a four-top into a five. I remember the tacky red, orange, and green Christmas lights, paper Santa decorations, and tables packed in so tight that you couldn’t put your coat on the back of your chair. You had to give it to the hostess. Sounds fancy, but really it was just small and authentic. My parents always ordered me a bowl of Risotto alla Milanese and a ginger ale. I was pretty much the happiest kid ever. This recipe is so easy you can whip up a batch on a snowy afternoon or to serve as a side for a holiday dinner with something like our Vegan Venison with Cranberry and Wine Sauce (here) or the Citrus and Garlic–Basted Holiday Roast (here).
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 tablespoon margarine
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ red onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup uncooked arborio or risotto rice
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the directions on the package
½ cup nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns, plus more if desired
¼ teaspoon dried basil leaves
Dash of grated nutmeg
1 cup frozen peas
Crushed pink Himalayan salt
In your deepest nonstick skillet, heat the margarine and olive oil over medium heat until the margarine is melted. Cook the red onion and parsley in the warm olive oil for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the red onion is tender.
Stir in the rice. You’re going to want to stir the rice constantly while it cooks. Once the tips of the rice are translucent, stir in the white wine. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes. You are waiting for the white wine to be absorbed by the rice. Once it is, reduce the heat to a simmer.
Stir in 1 cup of the broth. Cook uncovered for around 5 minutes while you stir constantly, making sure your rice doesn’t stick to the sides. Once the rice has absorbed the broth, pour in another cup of broth. Stir the rice constantly, and when the second cup of broth has been completely absorbed, add your final cup of broth. Continue to stir the rice and scrape the sides of your skillet to make sure the rice isn’t sticking anywhere. Each cup will take a little longer to absorb. Remove your skillet from the heat once your final cup of broth has been absorbed. Make sure your rice is tender and the mixture is smooth and creamy. If your rice still looks a little soupy, it’s not ready.
Stir in the nutritional yeast, black pepper, basil, nutmeg, and frozen peas. At this point, check for flavor and add a few dashes of salt and pepper to taste.
The night we first made this recipe, Hurricane Earl was at Norfolk’s doorstep. Trees were waving in the wind, and the birds and squirrels who were usually up at dawn were being all crazy, hiding away in the courtyard of our apartment building waiting for it to pass. We Shannons were hiding away as well, watching the G.I. Joe movie and playing Xbox. Obviously that meant we had to make a fancy French dinner to go along with our evening of high culture. I mean, what goes better with a movie that literally shows the Eiffel Tower being eaten than some vegan Bordelaise? This dinner was so easy and good, I fell in love with it. We made a side of steamed green beans to go with it.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
1 (9-ounce) package Gardein beefless tips or beef seitan, defrosted
2 tablespoons margarine
1 large red onion—you’ll need 1 full slice; dice the rest
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
½ cup Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
1 cup red wine
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon olive oil
teaspoon lemon pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Coat an 8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Put your vegan beef in the dish, turning the pieces a few times to make sure they have a light coating. Bake the vegan beef for no more than 10 minutes. You just want it cooked enough to be hot and have a light crispy skin. This will keep your vegan beef from getting soggy in the sauce. Making the sauce takes only around 15 minutes, so if you plan it right, you should be able to add the vegan beef right from the oven into the sauce. If not, just turn off the oven and let the vegan beef stay warm until you’re ready to use it.
In your bien-aimé cast-iron skillet or frying pan, melt your margarine over medium heat. Cook the red onion slice in the melted margarine, stirring constantly, until tender. Remove the red onion.
Stir the flour into the melted margarine until smooth. Lower the heat to a simmer and whisk in the broth and red wine. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the thyme, parsley, chopped onion, and bay leaves. Heat to a boil while stirring constantly for 1 minute. While you’re doing this, add the Bragg’s, olive oil, and lemon pepper. Mix in your hot vegan beef.
Make sure you heat up some French bread to serve with this. You need it to dip in your sauce or else you’ll be stuck licking your plate to get it all. That kind of thing can ruin a date night… or make you closer… every relationship is different.
Bon appétit!
When most people think of Betty Crocker recipes, they think of chicken-fried steaks, green bean casseroles, and impossible rainbow sprinkle layer cakes. But this just isn’t the case. Much to my pleasant surprise, Betty Crocker’s Big Red has quite a few fancy French dishes in there—and if you read our blog, you know how much I love being fancy and pretend French. Coquilles St. Jacques is a fancy French dish that I now have an excuse to make vegan. It was also one of Julia Child’s favorite dishes—probably because it was French, and because it included loads of heavy cream, Swiss cheese, and a whole stick of butter. With artichoke hearts, white wine, a light savory sauce, hearts of palm “scallops,” and of course our favorite vegan shrimp balls from May Wah, ours is still a bit rich for vegan food, but I’m sure it doesn’t even come close to the real deal. So let’s enjoy this more compassionate, infinitely lighter, and still super-fancy French dinner. Bon appétit!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 tablespoons margarine
1 (14-ounce) can hearts of palm, drained
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup vegan shrimp, defrosted (we recommend May Wah shrimp balls cut in half)
½ red onion, diced
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1 cup dry white wine
2 green onions, diced
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
½ cup dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
½ cup shredded smoked cheddar Sheese or Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese
In a saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat and toss in the hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, vegan shrimp, red onion, and mushrooms. Let them brown a little. Once they’re tender, add the wine, green onions, parsley, herbes de Provence, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and Bragg’s. Simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Set the oven to broil or turn on your broiler.
In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, and sesame seeds.
Fill 4 (4-inch) tart dishes with the vegan shrimp mixture. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture and vegan cheese over each serving. One at a time put your dishes in the broiler for the count of 10—just enough to melt your vegan cheese a little and brown the bread crumbs.
May I suggest you enjoy this with a glass of the white wine you were using earlier…? Um—yes, I may.
I’ve eaten a lot of Italian food in my life—probably more than most people who don’t live in Italy. I still remember one of the first times I realized the world was not Italian. I was at a friend’s house and saw her dad cut his spaghetti with a knife and fork and eat the tiny pieces like rice. (Insert shudder here.) But one Italian dish we never had at my house is osso bucco, and not just because it’s a Milanese dish and that’s basically a world away from my mother’s beloved Palermo. The reason: veal. See, no matter how Italian my mom is, and how not down with the whole vegan thing she might be… she didn’t believe in eating veal because of how the baby cows are treated. Some things just aren’t right. What happens to baby cows to make veal is one of them. Ironically, this was my introduction to how awful the world can be to animals—and much to the frustration and disapproval of my mother, it’s what started me on this lifelong mission to make the world a more compassionate place for animals.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
6 medium red potatoes, chopped but not peeled
½ cup soy milk
¼ cup margarine, softened
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
¼ cup whole wheat flour
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 package Gardein beefless tips or beef seitan, defrosted
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple juice
cup dry white wine (you’ll want to have some extra in case your sauce reduces too much)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 pinches of onion powder
1 cup Better Than Bouillon vegan beef broth, made per the instructions on the label
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 dried bay leaves
Crushed pink Himalayan salt to taste
Vegan Parmesan
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
First make the mashed potatoes. Boil the potatoes in a 2-quart saucepan, making sure you have enough water to cover them. Once the potatoes are tender when you stab them with a fork, drain them through a colander.
Pour the cooked potatoes back into the saucepan and blend with a pastry blender. Add the soy milk, margarine, and pepper. Blend with an electric hand mixer until they are perfection. It takes less than 5 minutes. Be sure to get all the lumps out.
To make the osso bucco, in a shallow bowl or deep dish, mix the flour and pepper. Coat the vegan beef with the flour mix.
In a 4-quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the vegan beef in the oil until the outside gets a crispy coasting—you need to keep the extra coating from sticking to the bottom, so scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula a few times while cooking.
When the vegan beef is brown on all sides, stir in the apple juice, white wine, garlic, and onion powder. Reduce the heat and stir. The sauce will start to thicken in less than a minute. Once it starts to thicken, add the broth, Bragg’s, and bay leaves. Simmer uncovered. If you cover it, the vegan beef will get mushy.
Once it comes to a boil, remove from the heat… taste it really quickly to see if it needs salt or if it has reduced too much. If that has happened, add white wine 1 teaspoon at a time until the flavor mellows. Then you’re ready to serve!
Place one or two scoops of mashed potatoes on a plate, and then ladle the vegan beef and gravy on top. Sprinkle with vegan Parmesan, grated lemon peel, and chopped fresh parsley. Be sure to get a lot of the gravy… it is really the best part. I was kinda-sorta licking my plate after I finished dinner to get it all.
Some say Coq au Vin can be traced back to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar; others speculate that this story might be an attempt to add a little distinction and history to a rustic old French farm dish. After all, anyone who has been to Paris and seen all those statues of generals with laurel wreath halos and paintings of women in robes knows the French really love themselves some Romans. But that’s not the only controversy surrounding Coq au Vin. See, coq is French for “rooster,” and if you’re making this dish with any other central ingredient, you’re supposed to address it as such. So out of respect for the French, whom I adore (except that waiter in Paris who was super-rude to us when we ordered glasses of wine rather than a bottle so we could sample a bunch of different types), please enjoy our Seitan Coq au Vin.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
2 cups defrosted large vegan chicken chunks
Olive oil cooking spray
Olive oil for cooking
8 slices vegan bacon or smoked tempeh, chopped
Dash of liquid smoke
¾ cup pearl onions
3 cups sliced white mushrooms
1 cups Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
1 cup red wine
2 to 3 teaspoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 cup sliced fresh carrots
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery seed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bouquet garni (½ teaspoon dried thyme, 2 large sprigs fresh parsley, and 1 dried bay leaf in a small organic cloth bag or tea infuser)
Vegan Parmesan to sprinkle over the top
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a shallow dish, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Put your vegan chicken in a glass baking dish and spray it with olive oil. One at a time, dip your vegan chicken pieces in the flour mix and, flip a few times to coat. Once all your vegan chicken is coated, bake the coating on for 10 minutes.
In your cast-iron skillet or deepest frying pan, heat the olive oil. Cook the vegan bacon until it reaches the desired crispiness. Place it on a plate with a paper towel to soak up extra oil. Carefully throw a dash of liquid smoke in the hot olive oil and mix it in. Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet if you lost a lot of it while making your vegan bacon. Cook the vegan chicken in the smoky oil. Keep turning it till you get a crispy coating over all the vegan chicken, and then move it to the plate with the vegan bacon. The extra flour from the vegan chicken will mix with the oil to make a kind of faux roux, and that’s a good thing, so don’t worry about the oil getting cloudy.
Add the onions and mushrooms to the hot, smoky oil. Stir and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Add the broth, red wine, Bragg’s, carrots, onion powder, garlic powder, celery seed, garlic, and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil. Simmer for around ½ hour, or until the carrots reach the desired tenderness. You can add another teaspoon of olive oil here if you want to re-create the oiliness this dish would get from the bacon and rooster fat.
Chop up the vegan bacon. Right before you serve, add the vegan chicken and vegan bacon pieces to the onion-mushroom sauce and mix. To garnish, sprinkle with the vegan Parmesan and chopped fresh parsley. It is a stew-ish kind of dish, so it won’t be pretty… but there are more important things than looks. This dish has a good personality.
This dish is a spin-off of a traditional French salad made popular in the United States by none other than Julia Child herself. While a traditional Niçoise salad wouldn’t contain any cooked vegetables at all, this fully cooked dish is more of a main-course meal than its traditional salad counterpart—something you can enjoy on a fancy Friday night when you want to have a pretend France stay-cation.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1¼ cups dry white wine
1 cup vegan chicken, defrosted (we recommend Gardein Chick’n Scallopini)
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup pearl onions
¼ teaspoon chopped fresh basil leaves
¼ teaspoon fresh oregano
¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon celery seed
Pinch of onion powder
1 green bell pepper, diced
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted
1 warm baguette
In your bien-aimé cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat the white wine over medium heat to a boil. Place the vegan chicken in the wine and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. You’re going to want to flip it a few times to make sure it gets a soft golden color.
Add the garlic, onions, fresh herbs, celery seed, onion powder, bell pepper, and olives and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. You’re going to want to keep flipping and stirring it a bit to make sure everything gets evenly cooked.
Don’t forget the bread. You’ll need that bread to get all that sauce.
When Dan’s sister Lisa was studying abroad in Spain, Dan visited her and had authentic Spanish paella for the first time—and it blew his mind. At least, we think it was authentic. To hear Dan tell it, the restaurant had a heavily designed brand logo and a menu that was all bright, bold colors and cutesy names, and the whole place seemed just a little too “neat.” It’s possible he ate at the Spanish version of, like, Chili’s. Either way, Dan fell in love with the vegetarian paella—the kind of dish that leaves you pining after it for years like an old flame. That is, until this recipe!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup vegan shrimp, defrosted (we recommend May Wah shrimp balls cut in half)
2 Tofurky Italian sausages or Field Roast Italian sausages, cut into coins
½ cup hearts of palm, drained
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons saffron threads
2 tablespoons dry white wine
4 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh green beans
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups cooked jasmine rice
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Spray a glass lasagna dish with olive oil cooking spray. In a medium bowl, toss the vegan shrimp and Italian sausage together, and then put them in your baking dish. Spray on another coating of olive oil cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. You want a light, crispy coating to form on your mock meats so that they don’t get spongy later.
In another mixing bowl, toss the hearts of palm and artichoke hearts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of the saffron threads. Cover and refrigerate.
In a saucepan, heat the wine, broth, turmeric, paprika, bay leaves, and remaining saffron threads to a boil over medium heat. Take out the bay leaves.
In your very favorite Dutch oven or stewpot, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and shallots and cook while mixing from time to time until your shallots are tender. Stir in the red bell pepper, green beans, tomatoes, and artichokes–hearts of palm mixture. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring frequently. Mix in the rice. Spread half of the artichoke-rice mixture evenly in the hot lasagna dish you cooked your vegan shrimp and Italian sausage in. Spread an even layer of vegan shrimp and Italian sausage over the artichoke-rice mixture, and then sprinkle your frozen peas over the top of that. Spread the remaining artichoke-rice mixture over the top. Pour the broth mixture over the top of the rice.
Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes. Your paella should have a light, crispy crust on the top.
Serve with fresh parsley over the top and maybe a glass or two of that white wine you were cooking with.
This is one of the recipes I brought with me to the great merger that was our marriage. I’m pretty sure it was part of my allure. I debated calling it Siren Song Lasagna, but I thought that might sound a little like I had led Dan to his doom or something. And if that were the case I’d just go all in and call it Temple of Doom Lasagna. This recipe makes a huge fancy lasagna that will fit in perfectly on any holiday table or schmancy dinner party.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles (the kind you need to boil)
1 package extrafirm tofu
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons roasted red peppers in oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (save a little extra to sprinkle over the top)
2 teaspoons vegan Parmesan
2 (24-ounce) jars of your favorite pasta sauce
½ cup red wine
3 Tofurky Italian sausages or Field Roast Italian sausages, cut into coins
½ cup sliced white mushrooms
½ cup baby spinach leaves
½ cup fresh basil leaves
¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted
1 Roma tomato, sliced
2 teaspoons capers, drained
1 cup shredded Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
Cook your lasagna noodles per the instructions on the package.
In a large bowl, use a fork to mash your tofu. Mix your mashed tofu with the garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the Bragg’s, roasted red peppers, red pepper flakes, and vegan Parmesan.
In a saucepan, heat your pasta sauce.
In a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the red wine over medium heat. Once your oil is warm, toss in the vegan Italian sausage and mushrooms. You’ll want to cook them evenly in the red wine. As they cook, you’ll notice a deep red coating form on the vegan Italian sausage and mushrooms from the red wine reducing. Remove them when they are browned and have a heavy, even coating.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Build your lasagna by ladling a thin layer of a quarter of the sauce across the bottom of a glass baking dish, followed by a layer of a third of the lasagna noodles and all of the tofu ricotta. Add another layer of a third of the lasagna noodles. Ladle on another quarter of the pasta sauce, followed by the spinach and basil leaves. Top that with the vegan Italian sausages and mushrooms, the olives, tomato slices, and capers. Ladle another quarter of the pasta sauce over the top. Sprinkle half the vegan mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Then place your last layer of lasagna noodles. Ladle more pasta sauce over the top and the rest of your vegan cheese over the top of that.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until your vegan cheese is melted. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes over the top of your lasagna.
This is a nice date-night recipe. These savory little pies seem really impressive and hard to make, even, though they are super-simple and will give you a ton of time to clean your apartment. Recipes like this are today’s busy cook’s best friend.
MAKES 2 PIES
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (9-ounce) package Gardein beefless tips or beef seitan, defrosted
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ cup sliced baby portobello mushrooms
½ cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 teaspoons red wine
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
cup chopped spinach leaves
1 puff pastry sheet, defrosted
¼ cup apple juice
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Once your oil is hot, sear the outside of your vegan beef until it turns golden brown and has a light crust. When you remove your vegan beef from the skillet, place it on a plate, but don’t dab off any oil. Brush a light, even coating of Dijon mustard over your vegan beef.
In a large bowl, mix the mushrooms, peas, Bragg’s, red wine, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, vegan Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and spinach. Gently mix in your vegan beef. Fill 2 (32-ounce) ramekins with your beef and vegetable mix.
Fold your puff pastry sheet in the middle and then cut it in half. Gently fold the corners of your puff pastry under so that each piece fits into the top of a ramekin. Use a butter knife to tuck any edges into your ramekins. Gently cut a tiny X in the top and brush with apple juice. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tops of your pies are golden brown and hard.
Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving or you might burn your face off.
This pretty, fancy, wonderful dinner is a mock meat lover’s dream come true! It has it all. Beautiful colors, rich, unique flavors… and olives. This dinner makes enough for two people, with leftovers for a few days—but there weren’t any in our house, because it was too good to stop eating. No regrets. Well, one regret: that we didn’t have any leftovers to eat the next day.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
2 cups vegan chicken (we recommend Gardein Chick’n Scallopini)
Olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 package Tofurky Italian sausages or Field Roast Italian sausages
2 tablespoons red wine
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 teaspoons cumin
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
½ cup Spanish green olives, pitted and sliced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked brown rice
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Put your vegan chicken in a glass baking dish and spray with a light, even coating of olive oil cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Halfway through, flip your vegan chicken once to make sure it bakes evenly. Remove the vegan chicken from the oven once it is golden brown.
In your loyal cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat your olive oil over medium heat. Once your oil is hot, add the vegan sausages and red wine. You’ll want to cook your vegan sausages evenly in the red wine. As they cook, you’ll notice a deep red coating form on the vegan sausages from the red wine reducing. Remove your vegan sausages when they are browned and have a heavy, even coating. Add your red bell pepper, garlic, diced tomatoes, oregano, Bragg’s, and cumin to the olive oil and what is left of the red wine. Stir constantly. Once your sauce begins to bubble, add the artichoke hearts, olives, and red pepper flakes and then cover and cook for another minute.
To serve, place the vegan chicken and vegan sausages over your rice and cover with your sauce.
In our house at Christmas, manicotti might be as popular as Santa Claus. It’s a fancy centerpiece dish that pulls off that rare combination of being both impressive and simple. People who know me know I am a slave to olives. I love them all and try to work them into every meal. I like olives in my tofu scramble just as much as I love them in a salad, tossed with pasta, or in a taco. Is there anything an olive can’t do? Maybe geometry. Olives seem bad at math.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 package (10 to 12) manicotti tubes
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
3 tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
cup red wine
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
cup chopped fresh basil
cup baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and crushed black peppercorns to taste
1 package extrafirm tofu, drained
½ cup baby spinach leaves
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
15 kalamata olives, pitted
5 to 6 white mushrooms
1 ½ teaspoons toasted pine nuts
2 teaspoons sun-dried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Olive oil cooking spray
½ cup shredded Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan
Red pepper flakes and dried oregano to sprinkle over the top
Cook your manicotti per the directions on the package. You want them to be a little firmer than al dente so they don’t get mushy when baked with the sauce and to keep them from tearing while you’re filling them.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put all the sauce ingredients in a large pot and heat over medium heat. Stir periodically.
Put the ingredients for the tofu ricotta in a food processor or blender one at a time, and blend each one into a smooth paste. Don’t worry about wiping out the machine after each ingredient—you’ll be mixing them anyway. Put all the processed ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a rubber-tipped spatula so you can scrape the sides until blended. If you have a pastry bag set or decorating gun, fill that with the tofu filling and set it up with the largest tip.
Spray a lasagna dish with olive oil cooking spray. Fill your cooked manicotti tubes with the tofu ricotta—either with your pastry bag or a decorating gun, or just use a spoon and be gentle. After you fill each one, place it in the lasagna dish. You should end up with just the right amount of tofu ricotta to fill your manicotti tubes.
Pour 2 ladles of the sauce over the top and sprinkle with vegan cheese and vegan Parmesan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when your vegan cheese is melted and your sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle red pepper flakes and dried oregano and more sauce if you’d like over the top when you serve. We put at least another ladleful of sauce on each plate.
Given that the key ingredients in a traditional soufflé are egg yolks and egg whites, this has been without question one of the more difficult dishes to veganize. But we never back down from a challenge. It took many attempts and many rounds of kitchen cleaning and dish doing, but we finally got these bad boys down. The Mount Everest of veganizing has been ascended—and we stuck a big fat SHANNON flag at the summit.
MAKES 4 SOUFFLÉS
Margarine to grease your ramekins
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (you’ll need a little more to coat your ramekins)
2 tablespoons soy milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
¼ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
¼ teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
½ cup baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons Ener-G egg replacer, just the powder, not prepared as instructed on the package
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease 4 (10-ounce) ramekins with margarine and then lightly dust with all-purpose flour.
In your newfangled food processor, blend all the ingredients to create the batter. Fill your ramekins to the lip and slide them into the oven directly on the rack.
Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the tops of the soufflés are a light golden brown.
I have so many fond memories of Beef Stroganoff. For nights when my dad was in charge of dinner, this was one of the most impressive recipes he knew how to make. He actually had a few “secret” recipes he picked up from his bachelor days in college. They all involved cans of soup—but this one was the best. Of course, he had enough Eastern European in his blood to know how to doll up a simple Stroganoff recipe and make it exceptional. A few years ago, I hosted a ladies’ night dinner party where we randomly picked “Russian” as the theme for the food and booze. We drank an improvised cocktail I made with apple juice and paprika vodka we’d brought back from Budapest. I veganized my dad’s Stroganoff. And after a few cocktails, we spoke in pretty terrible accents that made us sound like villains in a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon. Eeet vas da vunderfal night…
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 package whole wheat farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
2 tablespoons margarine
2½ cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 large red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup sliced black olives
2 teaspoons Bragg’s liquid aminos, plus more if desired
2 teaspoons freshly ground black peppercorns
1 cup Better Than Bouillon vegan beef broth, made per the instructions on the package
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup red wine
¾ cup vegan sour cream, plus more if desired
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Make your pasta per the instructions on the package.
In a your much loved cast-iron skillet or saucepan, melt your margarine over medium heat. Once your skillet is hot, toss in your mushrooms and onions and mix. Cook while tossing repeatedly till your vegetables are tender. Add the garlic, olives, Bragg’s, and black pepper and mix.
In a Dutch oven or soup pot, mix the broth, olive oil, red wine, and vegan sour cream and heat over medium heat. Stir continually. Once the broth begins to thicken a bit and bubble, pour in the mushroom mix. Try to get as much oil and garlic and all those little flavorful parts in there as possible. Stir and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for no more than a minute, and then give it a taste test. If the sauce is too salty for you, add 1 teaspoon of vegan sour cream; if you want more flavor, add 1 teaspoon of Bragg’s.
Serve your sauce over the top of your pasta and with some fresh parsley sprinkled over the top.
In the spring of 2008, Dan and I spent a week in Budapest. One of our many quests on this trip was to track down a legendary restaurant rumored to have the best vegan pizza in Eastern Europe. You might think that’s a dubious claim to fame, but Budapest is an extremely vegan-friendly city. We trekked for what felt like miles, through a biblical downpour… until we finally found the restaurant, Napfenyes Izek, on the darkest, most random street possible. We got there right as they were supposed to be closing—but taking pity on these weary travelers, they agreed to serve us. While we waited for the famous pizza, we had two bowls of vegan Hungarian goulash and some cups of tea to warm us up a little. This was the night I found a new appreciation for paprika. Not all paprika is the same. It’s one of those spices that is very regional. If you’ve never been impressed with paprika in the past, we recommend picking up some Hungarian or smoked paprika. The sweet and subtly hot flavors of these spices will change your mind about this red powder forever. You’ll need that positive attitude toward paprika to truly appreciate this wonderful stew. Oh, and the pizza was amazing.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
5 red potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 (14-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup pearl onions, defrosted
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon caraway seeds
¼ teaspoon marjoram
¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan beef broth, made per the instructions on the package
1 package Gardein beefless tips or beef seitan, defrosted
½ red onion, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
¼ cup baby spinach leaves
4 to 6 tablespoons vegan sour cream (1 tablespoon per bowl)
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped fresh chives (½ teaspoon per bowl)
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black peppercorns
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Spray your beloved slow cooker with a light coating of olive oil cooking spray. Toss the potatoes, carrots, beans, pearl onions, both paprikas, garlic, caraway seeds, marjoram, onion powder, nutritional yeast, parsley, whole wheat flour, and broth in the cooker and stir until well mixed.
Cover and cook on medium heat for 3 hours.
While your slow cooker is, well, cooking, spray a glass baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and arrange your vegan beef in the dish. Spray another coating of olive oil cooking spray over the top, and then layer on the red onion. Roast for 20 minutes. Check on it to make sure your vegan beef is cooking evenly.
After your stew has been in the slow cooker for 3 hours, stir the peas and spinach into it, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes. You’ll be cooking your vegan beef while your peas and spinach are in the slow cooker.
Give your goulash a taste test and add any needed salt and pepper. To serve it, first ladle in the stew, add the vegan beef and onions, and then top with a tablespoon of vegan sour cream and some chives.
Jó étvágyat!
A scaloppine is a basic, traditional Italian dish consisting of thinly sliced meat covered in flour, sautéed, and served with sauce. This dish uses vegan chicken for the meat base and incorporates a superfood (kale) to healthy it up a bit and also add some extra flavors. All in all, this is a fairly simple but still impressive recipe that’ll make for a great family dinner.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 package whole wheat spaghetti
3 slices stale baguette
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
2 cups vegan chicken, defrosted (we recommend Gardein Chick’n Scallopini)
Olive oil cooking spray
1 to 2 lemons, cut into slices
1 cup Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
¼ cup lemon juice
1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup kale, chopped
¼ teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons capers, drained
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black peppercorns to taste
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package.
In a blender, blend the baguette slices into crumbs. Dump into a bowl and mix with the lemon pepper, salt, and nutritional yeast.
Spread your vegan chicken out in a glass baking dish and spray with olive oil cooking spray. One piece at a time, dip your vegan chicken in the bread crumbs and flip a few times until lightly breaded. Place the vegan chicken back in the baking dish. Once all your vegan chicken is coated, spray your glass baking dish with a light, even coating of olive oil cooking spray again. Place a lemon slice on top of each piece of vegan chicken. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the vegan chicken is a light golden brown.
In a saucepan, heat the broth, lemon juice, beans, kale, parsley, capers, and red pepper flakes over low heat. Once the broth begins to bubble, remove from the heat.
Serve your spaghetti with the vegan chicken on top. Ladle some lemon sauce over your vegan chicken and spaghetti and dash some black pepper over the top of that.
Not to be confused with chicken masala, a traditional Indian dish, this classic Italian recipe is extremely popular with vegans and nonvegans alike, due to how easy it is to make and how tasty the end product is. This recipe kicks it up a notch (sorry, Emeril) with some extra flavors and ingredients—without making it any more complicated or sacrificing any of its classic simplicity.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 package whole wheat spaghetti
½ cup garbanzo bean flour
¼ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
2 cups vegan chicken, defrosted (we recommend Gardein Chick’n Scallopini)
Olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced baby portobello caps
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of fresh oregano leaves
½ cup Marsala wine
¼ cup Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
¼ teaspoon nutritional yeast
Prepare the pasta per the instructions on the package.
In a shallow dish, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Spray the vegan chicken with a heavy coating of olive oil cooking spray and then drop it into the flour mixture. Flip your vegan chicken a few times to get a good coating. Shake off excess flour.
In your cast-iron skillet or sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in the garlic, shallots, mushrooms, parsley, and oregano. Cook while stirring frequently.
Add the coated vegan chicken to your hot skillet. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, turning only once, until golden brown. Remove the vegan chicken from the skillet and set aside. Add the wine, broth, and nutritional yeast. Mix until your sauce is smooth, and heat until it begins to boil.
To serve, place your vegan chicken on top of your spaghetti and ladle sauce over the top.
Chilled soup is one of those things you’re either into or not. I was never a big fan until I had a spicy Spanish gazpacho with cucumbers in it. It’s a combo I never would have thought I’d like, but this recipe has taken my heart.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
8 to 10 baguette slices
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black peppercorns
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 large fresh tomato, diced
1 cup Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
2 tablespoons white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 large fresh cucumber, diced
½ green bell pepper, chopped
½ red onion, diced
Set aside the baguette slices, salt, and pepper. In your favorite food processor or blender, mix the remaining ingredients on medium speed. Pour your blended ingredients into a nonmetallic bowl, cover with foil, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Do a taste test and add any salt or pepper it might need.
Serve chilled with slices of baguette and a little limoncello!
When I first saw this recipe in Betty Crocker’s Big Red, I made an unpretty face because I’m just not a beet fan. But when we took on the Betty Crocker Project, we both knew that there would be some recipes we wouldn’t want to make. Then I looked at the recipe and realized I could make it taste like all the good things about borscht without being heavy on actual beets or making your teeth pink. There are still beets in there, and you can still taste them, but just the right amount to make you say, “Whoa. I might not hate beets.” In fact, speaking as a reformed semipro beet hater and grumpasaurus: this soup is a fall classic that I would eat every day.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
2 packages Gardein beefless tips or beef seitan, defrosted
1 large red onion, sliced
4 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan beef broth, made per the instructions on the package
cup red wine
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
5 red potatoes, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fresh cabbage, shredded
1 (14-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1½ teaspoons onion powder
1 tablespoon pickling spices
1 (14-ounce) can shoestring sliced beets,* drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
Vegan sour cream and chopped chives for toppings
Some great bread for dipping
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Spray a glass baking dish with olive oil cooking spray. Arrange your vegan beef in the dish so none is touching, and then place the red onion in a layer over the vegan beef. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove when the onions are tender and golden brown.
In your favorite Dutch oven or stewpot, add the broth, wine, Bragg’s, pepper, potatoes, garlic, cabbage, garbanzo beans, dill weed, thyme, onion powder, and pickling spices.** Cook over medium heat until your soup begins to boil; then turn heat down to a simmer. Add the beets and olive oil. Simmer for around an hour. To serve, top with vegan sour cream, chopped chives, and the vegan beef.
Don’t forget the bread because you’re going to want to clean your bowl.
Traditional French cassoulet is a slow-cooking white bean stew made with a whole zoo of animals and their second cousins. It takes all day to make, and sometimes people let it simmer on the stove overnight. This one takes less than ½ hour to make and really captures the spirit of this French classic.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons pearl barley
5 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan beef broth, made per the instructions on the package
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dry white wine
Dash of liquid smoke
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted whole tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
Olive oil cooking spray
1 package Tofurky Italian sausages or Field Roast Italian sausages, sliced into coins
1 cup chopped vegan chicken
Chopped fresh parsley to sprinkle over the top
Pinch of dry bread crumbs per bowl
Toss the beans, barley, broth, olive oil, wine, liquid smoke, Bragg’s, herbs, and vegetables in a slow cooker and set it to high. Cook for 2 hours.
About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve your dinner, spray your favorite cast-iron skillet or frying pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat over a medium heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in the vegan sausages and vegan chicken. Flip a few times to makes sure your mock meats cook evenly. Set your hot skillet aside once your mock meats are golden brown and have crispy edges.
Sprinkle your mock meat over the top of your stew. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle chopped parsley and dry bread crumbs over the top. Don’t forget the bread. I mean, it’s a French dish. It’s not complete without a little bread.
ASIA You might look through this recipe and think, “Wow, that’s a lot of steps. What can I skip over to make this go faster?” Sorry to have to be the one to break this to you, but you have to follow all the steps. There are no shortcuts to Mordor—or pot stickers. But if it makes you feel any better, the steps actually go very quickly. This recipe also makes a lot. It would be perfect for a party or potluck, especially since you serve the pot stickers at room temperature or chilled, and they aren’t terribly expensive for how cool they are.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 cup crumbled tempeh
1½ cups broccoli slaw
2 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon chopped lemongrass
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, chopped
Pinch of freshly ground black peppercorns
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (you’ll need a little extra to flour your surfaces)
2 cups boiling water
¼ cup sesame oil
3 cups water (for steaming)
3 tablespoons agave nectar
3 tablespoons tamari
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
2 tablespoons water
1½ teaspoons lime juice
1½ teaspoons sesame oil
Raw sesame seeds to sprinkle over the top
In a large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients with a large spoon.
Next make the dumplings. In another large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and boiling water with a handheld mixer. Once the mixture makes small pebbles and cools a little bit, use your hands to knead the dough into one large ball. Knead your dough inside the bowl for 5 minutes to make sure it is completely blended. The dough will be warm while you do this. Divide your dough into 4 equal segments.
Roll each of those segments into a 12-inch-long rope. You want them to be evenly rolled, like a cigar. You don’t want “tails” at the end like Jabba the Hutt. I mean, I find, as a good rule of thumb, that if your food looks anything like Jabba the Hutt—something has gone wrong. Slice each of these ropes into 24 pieces about ½ inch thick. They will look like little marshmallows.
One at a time, form each piece of dough into a small, rounded pancake shape. You want to keep them a little smaller than your palm. Gently fill each of them with about 1 teaspoon of filling, and then fold over the dough and pinch the edges together to seal it. You want them to be seamless and smooth but with a slight rolled/pleated edge. They will make little pockets and look a lot like oyster shells. Once they are sealed, place them on a plate, seam up. Gently press them onto the plate to flatten the bottoms.
Set up your steamer. Now, we used a traditional Chinese bamboo steamer that fits over a pot of boiling water—and, as a side note, makes your home smell really amazing when you use it. I know a lot of you have fancy electric steamers, and you’ll need to read your instruction manuals before starting this part. You want to follow the instructions that will keep your dumplings from getting wet. Most electric steamers have baskets or racks to do this. It’s important that the dumplings be raised above the water.
Heat your wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons sesame oil to the wok for each batch of pot stickers. Place about 10 pot stickers into the wok in a single layer, with the flat surface down. Fry for 2 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown.
Move your fried dumplings into the steamer and steam for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough feels solid. You’re going to be doing this in batches for about 20 minutes, and you’ll want to keep an eye on your steamer and wok, because the longer you cook, the hotter everything gets and the faster the dumplings cook.
Once they are solid, place the dumplings on a plate and set aside. You’re going to serve them at room temperature, so don’t worry about keeping them warm. If you prefer them chilled, place your dumplings in the fridge.
To make your dipping sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients except the sesame seeds until the agave nectar dissolves. After you pour the sauce into a small serving bowl or ramekin, sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
Once your dumplings are cool, serve on a platter with the sauce on the side.
Mock duck is kinda weird. You can usually find it in a can at Asian markets and Asian grocery stores. Yeah, a can. I told you it was weird. But it’s got a great flavor and texture—softer and juicer than a lot of mock meats, like I’m told real duck is compared to chicken. It takes on a nice crispy texture on the outside when pan-fried—hey, like we’re going to do in this recipe!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
3 teaspoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon tamari
cup sherry or rice wine
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
¼ teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1¼ teaspoons sesame oil
1 cup vegan duck pieces
¼ cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups rice wine
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 teaspoons ginger paste
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (read your label to make sure your brand is vegan)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup Chinese string beans
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
cup dry-roasted cashews
2 cups cooked brown rice
4 green onions, diced
Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place your vegan duck and sliced mushrooms in a deep bowl and pour the marinade over the top. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes. Toss the vegan duck and the mushrooms in the marinade a few times during that period to make sure all your vegan duck gets evenly coated with the marinade.
While your drunken duck hangs out, make your stir-fry sauce. In the same bowl you made your marinade in, whisk together the garlic, rice wine, Bragg’s, ginger paste, Chinese five-spice powder, and hoisin sauce and set aside.
Heat your sesame oil in your always-helpful wok over a high heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in your string beans and stir-fry until they start to become tender. Then add the vegan duck, mushrooms, bell pepper, water chestnuts, and cashews and toss to combine. Carefully pour the stir-fry sauce over the top of the vegetables and stir-fry until your string beans are the desired tenderness. It shouldn’t take more than 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve hot over the brown rice with diced green onions over the top.
I still remember the first time I had Pad Thai. I was going to school in Olympia, Washington, and I was out to dinner with my friend Amanda from San Francisco. I can still remember how hilarious she found it that I’d never had Pad Thai before. I mean, I’d eaten Chinese and Japanese food before. I enjoyed years of eating smelly kimchi and even had Vegan Tempeh Mongolian Stew once. But I never had Thai food until I was twenty-one, and I had no idea that the Pad Thai I thoroughly enjoyed that night wasn’t even very good. Since then I’ve come to love Thai food—all that basil, coconut milk, peanut, and spice. And now, as a self-proclaimed Thai food expert, I hope it’s not too braggy to say that this is the good stuff. Plus I got to use one of my very favorite tricks for replacing the fried egg bits in fried rice, chow mein, and egg drop soup.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 package flat stir-fry rice noodles
cup lime juice
cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
cup stir-fry sauce*
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons sesame oil
¼ to ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package extrafirm tofu, mashed into smallish clumps
1 package vegan chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (14-ounce) can baby corn, drained
2 cups fresh pea pods
¼ cup dry-roasted peanuts
2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 to 6 fresh green onions, chopped (1 per serving)
Lime wedges
Make up your noodles per the instructions on the package. The noodles we used were ready in 5 minutes, so we didn’t make them until we’d made the rest of the dish, but some take longer, and you need to boil the water. Please use your best multitasking/time-management skills.
In a bowl, mix the lime juice, water, brown sugar, stir-fry sauce, Bragg’s, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil.
So you know on the menus for Thai restaurants where they let you choose how spicy you want something to be by choosing the number of little chili peppers or stars? We’re at that part of the recipe. If you’re not a fan of heat, I would go with ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; if you like it hot, I’d max it out at ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper—¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper will make it seriously spicy, and you always have the option of tossing some Tabasco on the finished dish if you want it so hot your eyelashes fall out. Some people don’t like eyelashes, so go crazy.
In your favorite little wok, heat 3 teaspoons of the sesame oil over medium heat. Cook the garlic in the warm oil for less than a minute. Add the mashed tofu and fry for about 2 minutes. Remove your tofu from the wok when it turns golden brown and has a crispy skin. Put your tofu in a bowl on the side; don’t dab off any of the oil.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil to the warm wok. Be careful; it may steam or splatter. Toss in the vegan chicken, baby corn, and pea pods and cook. Stir frequently, so the vegan chicken and vegetables cook evenly. Once the vegan chicken begins to brown and the vegetables become tender, pour the lime sauce in. Add the tofu and mix. Next, mix in the cooked noodles. Stir in the peanuts, bean sprouts, and half the cilantro. You’re going to let this cook for 3 to 6 minutes; it depends on how saucy you want your dish to be. The longer you cook it, the more liquid evaporates and soaks into the noodles.
Serve with green onions and cilantro sprinkled on and a lime wedge to squeeze over the top.
“Tofu steaks” are a perfect example of those old-school vegan recipes that, sadly, probably turned a lot of people off veganism back in the day. They undoubtedly took a bite out of poorly cooked, underseasoned tofu and were left to believe that vegan cuisine was all mushy white goop. You can’t just take some tofu, grill it, put it on a plate, and call it a steak, people. Of course, the irony is that tofu steaks can actually be a delicious meal when cooked and seasoned properly—and this recipe will allow you to do just that.
MAKES 3 TO 6 SERVINGS
2 packages extrafirm tofu, drained
½ cup olive oil
½ cup Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 teaspoons ginger paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 sheet nori (dried seaweed), crushed
6 teaspoons sesame seeds (1 teaspoon per tofu steak)
½ cup Vegenaise
2 teaspoons wasabi
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Cut your tofu into 6 pieces, or steaks, with a serrated knife to give it the “fish” texture on the sides. Place the tofu steaks in a casserole dish that will fit all the tofu steaks but isn’t so large that when you pour the marinade mix in you won’t completely cover the tofu steaks. Mix the olive oil, Bragg’s, brown sugar, vegan Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, and ginger paste in a bowl with a hand mixer until the sugar is dissolved. Add the garlic and crushed nori. Pour the marinade over the tofu steaks. Let your tofu steaks marinate for 2 hours.
While the tofu steaks are marinating, make the wasabi aioli. Mix the Vegenaise, wasabi, and lemon juice with a hand mixer. Put in the refrigerator for later.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
On a lined cookie sheet, place the tofu steaks so they’re close but not touching. Pour ½ teaspoon of the marinade over each tofu steak. Bake for 15 minutes. Then take them out, flip them, and pour another ½ teaspoon of the marinade over each tofu steak. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Pull the tofu steaks out when they are baked to a golden brown.
Serve with the wasabi aioli on the side and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
This recipe makes a lot of food, and there’s none of the MSG you get from those fabulous Chinese takeout spots that fry their tofu “chicken” into little nuggets. You know, the ones that have disgusting bags of chicken wings and a huge selection of Mexican sodas. I love those places. They’re usually really sweet about leaving out the fish and oyster sauces, you can watch them make your food, and they’re eager to make vegan spring rolls and serve mock meat as long as you promise to tell your friends. Alas, without the MSG there’s a bit of blandness, but that’s easy to fix with some Bragg’s liquid aminos.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups vegan chicken, defrosted and cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
½ red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup halved white mushrooms
½ cup raw cashews
½ cup baby corn, drained
1 (8-ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained
1 cup raw pea pods
1 cup Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, prepared using the directions on the package
4 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon ginger paste
4 cups cooked brown rice
Chow mein noodles
In everyone’s favorite wok, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add your vegan chicken and cook until both sides are golden brown and have crispy edges. Remove the vegan chicken and set aside on a plate with a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.
Throw the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, water chestnuts, mushrooms, cashews, baby corn, bamboo shoots, and pea pods into the oil and cook. Keep turning the vegetables so they cook evenly.
In a bowl, whisk together the vegetable broth, Bragg’s, cornstarch, and ginger paste until smooth. Add the vegan chicken to the bowl and mix until it is coated. Add the vegan chicken mixture to the cooking vegetables, being sure to pour all your broth mixture into the vegetables. Keep mixing to make sure everything gets coated.
This is when you want to test the flavor to see if you want more ginger or Bragg’s. If the sauce has reduced too much and gotten too thick or salty during the cooking, you can add 1 or 2 teaspoons of water.
Serve over rice and chow mein noodles.
While we were writing this book, a string of unfortunate events led to me spending Thanksgiving 2011 alone in our apartment in Brooklyn, baking away with Indiana Jones and Superman movies in the background, while Dan was in Boston with the original Shannon Crew enjoying his dad’s epic Thanksgiving feast. In some ways it really sucked. But there was a lot to do to get this book to you, and my inner jerk reminded me of our looming deadline and how much this project means to me. The good news is that I got to make and enjoy an entire Tofurky dinner all by myself. Although I hope you get to share this recipe with your loved ones.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 Tofurky or vegan holiday roast, defrosted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dry white wine
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 green onions, diced
1 cup apple juice
½ cup agave nectar
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 to 4 Vegan drumsticks, defrosted (see “Vegan Chicken Wings,” here)
½ cup hoisin sauce (be sure to read your label to make sure your brand is vegan)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup emperor’s or black rice
½ cup long-grain jasmine rice
1 (8-ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 tablespoons shredded carrots
¼ cup chopped baby corn spears
cup chopped celery
Olive oil cooking spray
½ teaspoon chopped lemongrass
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Make sure your Tofurky is completely defrosted. Cut off one end that has a seam about an inch in. Using a soupspoon, remove the stuffing that comes with the Tofurky. Make your Peking marinade by mixing the garlic, white wine, Bragg’s, sugar, ginger paste, sesame oil, and green onions.
Prepare your emperor’s rice and jasmine rice separately and per the instructions on the packages. Once both kinds of rice are cooked, mix in the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, carrots, baby corn, celery, and the stuffing you removed from your Tofurky earlier.
Spray your favorite wok with a heavy coating of olive oil cooking spray and heat over high heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in half the rice and vegetable mix. Add ¼ teaspoon of the lemongrass, ½ teaspoon of the lemon peel, 1 clove of the garlic, 1 of the green onions, ½ cup of the broth, and 1 tablespoon of the Bragg’s. Stir-fry your mixture until your vegetables are tender. Repeat this step with the other half of your ingredients.
While it’s still warm, restuff your Tofurky with the Emperor’s Rice Stuffing. It’s okay if your Emperor’s Rice Stuffing is moist. The extra flavors will only add to the Tofurky. You really want to get as much stuffing as possible in the Tofurky, so really press it in there. You’ll have some left over, and that’s good because there is really room for only one serving of stuffing in the Tofurky. Place the end you cut off back on and secure with bamboo skewers.
In your warm wok, heat the apple juice and agave nectar. Bring to a boil and then blend in the rice vinegar with a whisk. Once your agave nectar has completely dissolved into your sauce, stir in your Peking marinade mix. Boil for 2 minutes.
Place your restuffed Tofurky and the defrosted drumsticks in a deep casserole dish and ladle ½ to 1 cup of the Peking marinade over the top. Bake for 20 minutes and then spoon more marinade over the top to baste your Tofurky and drumsticks. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until your Peking Tofurky is golden brown and has a light, crisp crust on it. Pull it out of the oven, brush with the hoisin sauce, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the glaze on your Peking Tofurky is set.
When you serve, place the Peking Tofurky and drumsticks over your Emperor’s Rice Stuffing and sprinkle with sesame seeds. You can mix any extra marinade in with the hoisin sauce in the warm casserole dish to make a dipping sauce for your drumsticks.
Betty Crocker describes this flavorful Indian dish as follows: “What apple pie is to an American, this stew is to a Parsee from the city of Mumbai.” I haven’t been to India yet, but I’d love to think she knows what’s she’s talking about—not just because of my undying affection for Betty Crocker, but because this dish is delicious and I want to think of it being enjoyed everywhere. I won’t even try to pretend that our recipe is 100 percent authentic, but I can tell you that this recipe is easy and makes a lot, and the leftovers are even better than the first day’s dish. Those things alone make this dish very special and one of my favorite things to make on a Sunday.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 cup margarine, cut into slices
½ cup dried yellow split peas, rinsed and drained
½ cup dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons dried green lentils, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons dried green split peas, rinsed and drained
1 large carrot, sliced into coins
1 yellow onion, diced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 fresh jalapeños or serrano chilies, cut in half
6½ cups water (you might need more)
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon ginger paste
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 whole cardamom pods
Pinch of turmeric
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges on the side
Toss the margarine, yellow peas, red lentils, green lentils, green peas, carrot, onion, tomatoes, chilies, and water into your slow cooker, cover, and set on high. Your margarine is going to melt and the water will start to get absorbed into the dried lentils and peas after about 30 minutes. So it’s okay to start mixing with a wooden spoon every once in a while after that, but make sure you keep covering the cooker back up.
It should take around an hour for your lentils and peas to become tender, but every cooker is a little different, so don’t lose hope if it takes longer. Once your lentils and peas are tender, mix in the spinach, olive oil, ginger paste, garlic, coriander seeds, Bragg’s, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, and turmeric. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, and then stir in the garam masala. If during that time your stew has become too thick, add 1 tablespoon water—maybe 2. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, and then serve with fresh cilantro over the top and some lime wedges to squeeze over the top.
This recipe is a twist on the classic Americanized Chinese dish you’ll find at every Sichuan-style restaurant in North America, substituting pork—well, vegan pork—for the traditional chicken. So it’s sort of a double substitution. If you can’t find Match vegan meats in your area, you can substitute with your favorite vegan chicken or even tofu. Go crazy!
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 package flat rice noodles
5 tablespoons sesame oil (you may need a bit more or less)
1 (1-pound) bag broccoli slaw mix
1 package Match vegan pork, formed into bite-size pieces
½ cup water
½ cup stir-fry sauce (read label to make sure your brand is vegan)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (depends how spicy you want it to be)
Dash of red pepper oil
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 red bell pepper, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained
4 to 8 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts (2 tablespoons per serving)
Make your rice noodles per the instructions on the package. Once they’re done and drained, toss them with 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil.
Heat around 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil in your favorite wok over medium heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in the broccoli slaw and cook, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat when your slaw is tender. Move the slaw into a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
Add your vegan pork and another tablespoon of sesame oil. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, gently flipping and stirring, until your vegan pork browns on all sides. Small pieces of your vegan pork may fall off, but that’s a good thing—you want that. The pieces will make your sauce thicker.
In a bowl, mix the water, stir-fry sauce, agave nectar, Sriracha sauce, red pepper oil, and Bragg’s.
Now toss another tablespoon of sesame oil into your wok if you think you need it. Add the red bell pepper, celery, and water chestnuts. Cook for around a minute. Once your vegetables are tender, add your sauce. Mix your sauce in thoroughly and simmer for 1 to 3 minutes. You’re cooking the vegetables, so keep stirring and mixing in the sauce. If your sauce gets too thick, add more sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon at a time. You’re done when the vegetables are the desired tenderness.
To serve, put the rice noodles on your plate first, then the broccoli slaw, then the vegan pork with sauce, and finally sprinkle with the peanuts.
Thai food is one of Dan’s favorite ethnic/regional cuisines, and he loves this dish. It’s full of flavor but doesn’t take a long time to make. You can adjust the level of spiciness to your own personal taste preference based on how much chili you choose to use. Making it the traditional Thai way would probably burn out all of our wimpy Americanized palates, but you can push it as far as you feel up to.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 cups vegan chicken strips
1 cup fresh pea pods
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh jalapeño, diced (add as much as you need to get the desired heat)
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 (14-ounce) can baby corn, drained
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 (8-ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 to 3 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts
In your favorite wok, heat the olive and sesame oils over medium heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in the vegan chicken and pea pods, and continue to toss. When your vegan chicken begins to brown and the pea pods begin to get tender, toss in the garlic and jalapeño and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the Bragg’s, agave nectar, corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, lemon juice, and lemon peel and cook for another 5 minutes, or until your vegan chicken is a golden brown. It’s called stir-fry because you keep stirring it, so keep tossing the mixture while it’s cooking to get an even sauce and coating on your vegan chicken and vegetables. Stir in the basil and mint. Sprinkle the peanuts on top, and serve with the brown rice.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Chicken in chocolate sauce sounds about as enjoyable as a Skittles and Tootsie Roll omelet. But mole [pronounced “moe-lay”] is a traditional Mexican sauce that can differ greatly from region to region, and it does have dark chocolate powder in it—but the flavor is more like coffee than the sweet Easter-basket stuff. Really, in this version the cumin is the star—especially once you squeeze the lime over the top. ¡Vamos a comer!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
3 cups vegan chicken (we recommend Gardein Chick’n Scallopini)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ red onion, diced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (14-ounce) can Mexican-flavored diced tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon olive oil
2½ teaspoons cocoa powder
¼ to ½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 cup cooked brown rice
Toasted pumpkin seeds to sprinkle over the top
Lime wedges to squeeze over the top
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Pull out your favorite cast-iron skillet or deepest frying pan for this very special occasion. Spray it down with olive oil cooking spray and heat your skillet over medium heat. Once your oil is hot, add your vegan chicken. Flip it a few times, and when you begin to see the edges brown, toss the garlic, onion, sesame seeds, and Bragg’s into the skillet with your vegan chicken. Cook, flipping your vegan chicken and stirring your red onion a few times, until the red onion is tender. Mix in the cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon of the cumin, and the cinnamon.
Put your vegan chicken in a glass casserole dish in the oven to keep warm while you make your sauce.
Add the diced tomatoes, white wine, remaining ½ teaspoon cumin, olive oil, cocoa powder, Sriracha sauce, and cilantro to the skillet with the cooked red onion mixture. Stir your sauce to make sure your cocoa powder doesn’t clump. Then place your vegan chicken in the sauce and gently mix.
Serve over the brown rice with the cilantro and pumpkin seeds sprinkled on and lime wedges to squeeze over the top.
Most fajitas you’ll find in American restaurants inhabit that very thin demilitarized zone between authentic Mexican cuisine (think mole sauce) and Taco Bell–ized American bastardizations (think “gorditas”). Yes, they eat fajitas in Mexico. No, they don’t look much like what you get at Applebee’s. We hope this version is a bit closer to being authentic than what you’re used to—but either way, they’re delicious.
MAKES 4 FAJITAS
cup olive oil
2 tablespoons tequila
cup lemon juice
1½ teaspoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
Dash of liquid smoke
2 cups vegan chicken
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of liquid smoke
½ red bell pepper, sliced
½ green bell pepper, sliced
½ yellow bell pepper, sliced
½ large red onion, sliced
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
2 cups shredded Daiya vegan cheddar cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 cup pico de gallo
Combine all your marinade ingredients in a shallow dish.
Slice your vegan chicken into pieces about the size of the pepper and onion slices. Submerge your vegan chicken in the marinade dish. Keep an eye on it; different mock meats behave differently. You’ll know it’s ready when you squeeze it and 1 or 2 drops come out. You want to keep the marinade in the vegan chicken, so don’t dab or squeeze out the marinade. Don’t dump the marinade when you’re done with this step! You’ll need it.
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Put a stack of tortillas in the oven to warm as your vegan chicken and vegetables cook.
In your magic little cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat the olive oil and liquid smoke. Once your oil is hot, toss in your vegan chicken. Let it cook, moving and flipping it to make sure it evenly cooks. Once it starts to brown, add your peppers, onion, mushrooms, and the rest of the marinade. Remove from the heat when the vegetables are tender and your vegan chicken is golden brown.
To build your fajitas, place a warm tortilla on a plate, and put a fourth of the vegan chicken and vegetable mixture on one side. Top with vegan cheese, avocado slices, and pico de gallo.
This recipe from the Betty Crocker Project is a bit more heavy and rich than the recipes we usually enjoy, but as far as guilty pleasures go, this one shouldn’t make you feel too bad. It’s awesome and cruelty-free, and you can share it with people. We had a big enchilada party the first time we made this and fed eight professional vegans with this epically “cheesy” recipe.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
2 cups shredded Daiya vegan pepperjack cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
1 cup shredded Daiya vegan cheddar cheese or your favorite vegan cheddar
¾ cup corn
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup vegan sour cream
1 red onion, diced
¾ cup baby spinach leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
½ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 can Mexican-flavored diced tomatoes
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon onion powder
8 to 10 flour tortillas
Sliced green onion for topping
8 to 10 lime wedges
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the vegan cheese, ½ cup of the vegan cheddar, the corn, beans, sour cream, onion, spinach, cilantro, and black pepper and set aside.
In a saucepan, heat the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, bell pepper, chilies, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin and onion powder to a boil. Stir the pot occasionally to make sure the ingredients are mixed. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. Let cook for 4 minutes before pouring the mixture into an ungreased pie pan or other shallow dish.
In an ungreased 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish, use a ladle to pour cup of the enchilada sauce in an even, very shallow layer, completely covering the bottom. Dip each tortilla into the sauce to coat both sides. Spoon about ¼ cup of the cheese mixture into each dipped tortilla. Again, this depends on the size of your tortilla. You really want to fill it, but you also need to be able to wrap it into a cigar with open ends.
Place each dipped, filled, and wrapped tortilla, seam down, in the baking dish as you go. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top.
Sprinkle the remaining vegan cheese over the top and bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Let sit for about 5 minutes to cool—it will make the enchiladas easier to serve. Serve with green onions or cilantro over the top and at least one lime wedge to squeeze over the whole thing before you dig in. The acid from the lime wedge really helps break up this pretty heavy dish and make it a little brighter.
Anyone who’s ever watched Top Chef knows that there isn’t a classy dish in the world that can be made faster than ceviche. It’s a quick-fire standard that shows up in episodes as often as an instrumental of “My Funny Valentine” does in a Manhattan cigar bar. Ceviche is very popular in Central and South America and is typically made with fresh raw fish and citrus juice mixed with chili peppers. This simple, elegant, exotic dish makes a quick dinner on a night you don’t feel much like cooking, or during the summer when the heat chases you out of the kitchen.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1½ cups vegan shrimp, defrosted (we recommend May Wah shrimp balls cut in half)
¼ cup white wine
½ red onion, diced
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
¼ cup julienned carrots
½ cup lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 fresh jalapeño, sliced (the more you add, the hotter it will be)
1 teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon sea kelp or seaweed granules, optional
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
Dash of hot sauce
6 lime wedges
Heat your favorite wok over medium heat. Once your wok is hot, add the vegan shrimp and white wine. Toss and cook for around 30 seconds. The food will steam a bit, but this process will kind of “flash cook” your vegan shrimp. After 30 seconds, remove your wok from the heat and toss in your onion, artichoke hearts, carrots, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño slices, salt, and cilantro. Mix your vegan shrimp and vegetables.
Sea kelp will add a bit of a “fishy” flavor to your dish that will make your ceviche have a more genuine taste. I know that a lot of vegans kind of lost their desire for a “fishy” flavor after a while, so the vegan shrimp might be enough. I recommend giving your dish a taste test before adding the sea kelp.
Move your ceviche into a mixing bowl, and then toss with the avocado slices and hot sauce.
Serve at room temperature with lime wedges to squeeze over the top.
Every good hero needs a sidekick. Batman had Robin. Sherlock had Watson. Han had Chewbacca. Harry had Ron (although we all know Hermione is the real hero).
Narratively, the role of the sidekick is critical. The sidekick highlights the hero’s strengths but also makes it possible for the hero to have weaknesses. The hero can save the day by rescuing the sidekick, but the hero can lose one every once in a while with someone there to bail them out. The sidekick provides insight into the hero’s character through dialogue and friendship. The hero’s strength, skills, and courage make the hero heroic; the hero’s sidekick makes the hero human.
The same goes for food. No single dish stands alone. The perfect meal includes a main course along with a side that complements it—accentuating the main flavors and supplementing them with its own. Burgers need fries like Kirk needs Spock. Pasta needs garlic bread like Frodo needs Sam. The side dish makes the main course a meal.
When we think of okra in the United States, we tend to think of Paula Deen–style southern food. But okra is actually a staple of cuisines from around the world, from the Middle East and Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent to Japan to Malaysia to the Caribbean. But this recipe is definitely southern-style. Sorry for all that exciting buildup just to lead you back to Paula Deen.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
5 to 7 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
½ pound fresh okra, washed and sliced into coins
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of liquid smoke
In a shallow bowl, mix the cornmeal and Creole seasoning. Put your applesauce into another shallow bowl.
Cover your okra slices in applesauce, and then cover them in the cornmeal mix. You’ll get a dusty batter covering the okra if you do it right. Once the okra is covered, set it aside on a plate. Keep doing this with all your sliced okra.
In your little cast-iron skillet buddy or frying pan, heat the olive oil and a dash of liquid smoke over medium heat. Pour your coated okra into the skillet. Keep flipping your okra to make sure it doesn’t burn. It should take 5 to 10 minutes to fry completely. Remove from the heat when you have a nice golden coating.
We served ours up with some farmers’ market artichoke sweet relish we got on the drive home from Savannah to Norfolk. Fried okra and sweet relish are BFFs; like red beans and rice, and like eating southern food and drinking icy beers while you walk along the Savannah River.
I love pickles. I always have. When I was little, my grandfather used to buy me one of those big barrel pickles from the shop on the corner to keep me busy for a while after school while I watched cartoons. When I think of any kind of pickle—garlicky gourmet ones to crappy ballpark chips—my mouth begins to water. No joke. I’m not trying to be poetic here. I adore them all. Sweet, kosher, tsukemono, half-sour, gherkin… whatever! They will always be welcome on my plate. These pickles are not the traditional wait-a-month pickles. Anyone who knows me knows I can’t wait a month for anything. This recipe takes only 24 hours and makes a crisp pickle with the old-school zayern flavor. They aren’t exactly like those wait-a-month pickles—that would take magic—but they’re pretty darn close. Ess gezunterhait!!
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
2 to 4 large pickle cucumbers, sliced into thin chips (around 4½ cups)
1 large red onion, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 large carrot, cut into coins
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1½ cups sugar
2½ teaspoons dried dill weed
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon slightly crushed black peppercorns
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
In a 2½- or 3-quart glass jar with a lid that can seal airtight, layer the cut vegetables. You might not fill the jar to the top—it depends on how wide and tall your jar is. It’s okay to have space at the top.
In a mixing bowl, stir the vinegar, salt, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the dill weed, garlic, pepper, celery seed, and mustard seeds and mix thoroughly. Be sure the sugar is dissolved. That’s really important.
Pour your herb-vinegar mixture over the vegetables in the jar. Seal your lid on as tight as you can. Your brine might not initially cover the vegetables, and this is okay. Just shake the jar to get some brine on the top vegetables. Put your sealed jar in the fridge.
Over the next 24 hours, take out the jar and shake it every once in a while. You’ll see that the vegetables will sink and eventually be covered by the brine. In 24 hours, they are ready to be eaten! They last only 2 weeks, so share with friends and eat many and often!
This dish combines a whole lotta greens and flavor without adding a lot of salt or fat. It’s basically a green superhero that is actually a little better because it can’t be defeated.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 cup chopped Swiss chard
½ cup chopped spinach
½ cup chopped kale
1 cups green beans, stems removed
1 leek, sliced
½ cup olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
½ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ cup dry white wine
Set aside the Swiss chard, spinach, and kale. Toss the remaining ingredients into your Dutch oven or soup pot and heat to a boil while mixing with a wooden spoon. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Toss in the Swiss chard, spinach, and kale and mix. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes, or until your green beans are tender.
This recipe levels up mashed potatoes twice—once by using sweet potatoes instead of traditional white potatoes, and twice by giving it a kick of spicy Mexican flavors!
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
5 to 6 large sweet potatoes, cubed
1 (14-ounce) can Mexican-flavored diced tomatoes
1 fresh jalapeño, sliced (remember: the more you add, the hotter it will be)
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
¼ red onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon margarine
1 teaspoon cumin
Dash of liquid smoke
¼ cup vegan sour cream
cup frozen whole-kernel corn
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and crushed black peppercorns to taste
1¼ cups shredded Daiya vegan pepperjack cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Spray your 9 x 9-inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray, and then spread your sweet potato cubes in the dish and coat them with a light layer of olive oil cooking spray. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
While those little orange lovies are baking, mix the diced tomatoes, jalapeño slices, hot sauce, cilantro, onion, bell pepper, chili powder, and garlic in a large mixing bowl with a large spoon.
In another large mixing bowl, blend the margarine, cumin, liquid smoke, and vegan sour cream with an electric handheld mixer until it’s creamy. Once your sweet potatoes are tender, move them to the bowl with the sour cream mixture. Mash with a pastry blender into a paste. Use your electric handheld mixer to blend your sweet potatoes until they are creamy and smooth.
Respray your glass baking dish with olive oil cooking spray.
Mix your tomato mixture and corn into your sweet potato mixture with a large spoon. Give it a taste test and add any needed salt and pepper. Move your mash to the baking dish. Sprinkle your vegan cheese over the top in an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes, or until your vegan cheese is melted.
You’ll want to let your baked sweet potatoes cool a little bit before you serve.
In a marriage, you have to overlook a lot of imperfections in your mate. Maybe they have a bit of a bossy streak. Maybe they like the Elvis Christmas album a little too much. Maybe they spend more time playing fantasy basketball than they do cleaning the apartment. But this hypothetical person brings a lot of good things to the table too—so you overlook these other things to make it work. But the closest thing to an honest-to-God deal breaker in the Shannon marriage is this: Dan hates mushrooms. And he of course refuses to eat them. But… after much soul-searching, and much reflection on all the good things he brings to our relationship (like a relentless positivity), I’ve found a way to look past this shortcoming. I’m still putting this recipe in the cookbook, though. Why should you have to suffer like I do?
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1½ pounds fresh green beans, with their ends removed
¼ cup almond slivers
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cups shiitake mushroom caps
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
Pinch of freshly ground black peppercorns
Steam your green beans. Please follow the directions on your steamer—they are all different. We use a bamboo steamer, but people have electric ones, some have baskets—it’s a big world with a lot of steamers out there. In the spirit of inclusiveness, I accept you all.
In your handy cast-iron skillet, heat the almonds over low heat until they start to turn a golden brown and have a lovely smell. Stir them constantly to make sure they brown evenly.
Add the olive and sesame oils. Turn the heat up slightly. Once you feel that the oil mixture has started to heat, add the mushrooms, garlic, shallots, and green beans. Keep stirring, making sure to cover the mushrooms and green beans evenly with the oil mixture. Add the Bragg’s and remove from the heat when the mushrooms are the desired tenderness.
Toss a pinch of pepper over the top before you serve.
The cauliflower is admired in fractal geometry for its unique fractal dimension—a measure of how completely its basic shape replicates itself in order to fill space. What does this mean? I’m honestly not 100 percent sure. But what I do know for sure is that this recipe will make you never look at cauliflower the same way again—just like a fractal geometer.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 cup cauliflower florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
½ cup shredded Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
In your largest mixing bowl, toss the cauliflower florets, olive oil, salt, orange peel, lemon peel, Italian seasoning, and black pepper.
Put the seasoned cauliflower in an even layer in an ungreased baking dish. Use a rubber-tipped spatula to get all the oil and seasonings from inside the bowl and drizzle them over the top.
Sprinkle your vegan cheese over the top and roast for about 20 minutes. You’re ready to take it out when your cauliflower is tender and your vegan cheese is melted.
Serve hot with the fresh basil and vegan parmesan sprinkled over the top.
Hipsters seem to think that everything is better off with bacon. We would argue that many things are better with vegan bacon—as well as liquid smoke and almonds.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of liquid smoke
¼ cup sliced white mushrooms
¼ large red onion, diced
¼ cup raw almond slivers
3½ cups frozen peas, defrosted
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons vegan bacon bits or crumbled smoked tempeh
In your favorite and largest cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat the olive oil and liquid smoke over low heat. Once your oil is warm, toss in the mushrooms, onion, and almonds. Mix your vegetables into the hot oil to make sure they get an even coating. Once your mushrooms and onions start to get tender, mix in the peas, onion powder, Bragg’s, and parsley.
Once your peas are tender, stir in your vegan bacon bits and you’re ready to eat!
This broccoli side takes about 10 minutes to make, and we usually serve it with the Asian Tofu Steaks with Wasabi Aioli (here). Two great tastes that go great together.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1½ pounds fresh broccoli florets
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon onion powder
Steam your broccoli following the directions on your steamer. They’re all different. We got a really lovely traditional bamboo steamer as a wedding present that I think works perfectly, but I know a lot of you are in love with technology. Oh, sweet electric technology that can also steam your veggies while flying to the moon.
In a small bowl, stir the remaining ingredients until they are completely mixed. Pour the margarine sauce over your steamed broccoli once it’s been served.
Old Bay seasoning is obscenely popular in the mid-Atlantic region, where Dan and I spent the first five years of our lives together. This distinctive blend of spices was traditionally used to season seafood, but expanded out into everything from potato chips to Bloody Marys. Here, we’ve turned it into coleslaw that’ll give you that Chesapeake Bay crab cake flavor.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
4½ cups thinly chopped cabbage
½ cup julienned carrots
½ red onion, chopped
½ cup Vegenaise
¼ cup vegan sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
¾ teaspoon lemon pepper
Set aside the cabbage, carrots, and red onion. In a very large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients with a hand mixer until completely blended. Add the cabbage, carrots, and onion and toss until the vegetables are evenly coated. Cover and store in the fridge for at least an hour. Stir again before serving.
I grew up eating many different versions of authentic Sicilian garlic bread, because you know every zia (auntie) had her own. I’ve had it with fresh Parmesan mixed with oregano, and with melted mozzarella over butter and basil. Garlic bread is one of those dishes where Italian cooks can really leave their signature. This is probably my favorite.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 baguette, sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced in half again vertically, making 4 pieces
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Mix your olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle the garlic oil over the top of the baguette and bake for 5 minutes, or until it has toasted the desired amount.
A classic Italian spice incorporated into a classic Italian side dish. Just throw on your Godfather Blu-ray set and you’re in pretty good shape.
MAKES 4 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 baguette
cup margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2½ teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Slice the bread in half horizontally. Spread margarine on both sides. Brush on the minced garlic and sprinkle the rosemary over the top.
Pop the bread in the oven with the dressed side up, and bake until it reaches the desired golden color. Keep an eye on the bottom as well. It always sucks to have a perfectly golden brown top and a burned crust.
Lemon pepper tofu is a classic, delicious vegan dish dating back to the pre–mock meat days. This recipe is sort of like a blast from the flavor past and takes a classic Italian side dish in an entirely new direction.
MAKES 4 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 baguette
cup margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 fresh lemon, cut into wedges
½ teaspoon chopped fresh chives
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Slice your bread horizontally. Spread margarine on both sides. Brush on the minced garlic and sprinkle the lemon pepper over the garlic. Squeeze your lemon wedges over your bread.
Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of your bread are golden brown and crispy. Sprinkle with chives before servings.
The Lone Star State’s answer to garlic bread. Of all the states, it’s pretty fitting that Texas is the only one to lay claim to its own toast. It just seems like a pretty Texas thing to do.
MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS
½ cup margarine, softened
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black peppercorns to taste
1 loaf high-quality white bread, sliced into 1-inch slices
Set the oven to broil or turn on your broiler.
Mix together the margarine, garlic, and parsley in a bowl with an electric handheld mixer, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Brush both sides of the bread slices with the garlic butter and place on the rack of a broiler pan. Broil the bread for 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly golden brown.
In college, we used to eat brunch every Sunday (or basically whenever) at this rundown diner off campus. The shortcut there was this random road through the woods, but it was off the highway, so all the logging trucks could stop by there on their way to and from the Olympic Mountains. The diner was pretty famous locally for its Potato Boats—these huge twice-baked potatoes with the “works.” They obviously weren’t organic; I mean, these potatoes were like Cadillacs. Okay, maybe they were more like the size of a shoe… but that’s still pretty big. They were the perfect hangover cure and one of my favorite memories from my years in Olympia, Washington. When we hit twice-baked potatoes in Betty Crocker’s Big Red, I thought about those long-lost boats and smiled.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 large baking potatoes
¼ cup margarine
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
cup vegan bacon bits or crumbled smoked tempeh
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 cups shredded Daiya vegan cheddar cheese or your favorite vegan cheddar
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Pierce the top of each potato a few times with a fork. Try to poke the potatoes where you will later be splitting them. It looks nicer and helps them keep their shape better.
Bake the potatoes for 1 to 1½ hours—just until the potatoes are tender when you stick a fork into the holes you poked before. You can also tell by how soft the potatoes are when you lift them with an oven mitt.
Place the potatoes aside to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise and then gently scoop out the center of each—leaving some potato along the edges to help the skin keep its form. Scoop the potato into a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
Add the margarine, nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper and blend until your potatoes are smooth. At this point you can taste them to see if they need more salt or pepper. Once you like the flavor, stir in the vegan bacon bits, chives, and 1 cup of the vegan cheese with a large spoon until completely blended. Then gently fill each potato shell with the mashed potato mix. You want them to be completely full and overflowing a bit. Take your spoon and gently push the mashed potato mix in there to really seal it in. Sprinkle the remaining cup vegan cheese over the tops of the potatoes.
Gently place the potatoes in the oven—I put mine directly on the rack so they won’t fall over. Bake your potatoes for another 20 to 25 minutes. Once the vegan cheese is melted, pull them out and let cool a little before you serve.
I love scalloped potatoes. They combine potatoes and cheese to become pretty much the perfect comfort food. This recipe takes your old friend scalloped potatoes to a new place by adding a smoky flavor and the wonderfood kale. I might have just swooned a little.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
6 pieces vegan bacon or smoked tempeh
½ red onion, chopped
½ cup margarine (you’ll need more to grease your casserole dish)
½ cup whole wheat flour
3½ cups Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
4 teaspoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
A few dashes of liquid smoke
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of smoked paprika
Crushed pink Himalyan salt and freshly ground black peppercorns
1½ cups nutritional yeast
2 cups Yukon gold potatoes cut into -inch slices
3 green onions, chopped
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup raw kale
1 cup shredded Daiya vegan cheddar cheese or your favorite vegan cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease a large casserole dish with margarine.
Spray a light coating of olive oil cooking spray over your cast-iron skillet or frying pan and then heat over medium heat. Toss your vegan bacon and red onion in the skillet once it’s hot. Use your spatula to flip them a few times so they cook evenly. They’re ready when your vegan bacon is crispy and your onion is tender.
In a saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and bubbly. Then add the broth, Bragg’s, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic, turmeric, and paprika. Add a few dashes of salt and black pepper to taste. Continue whisking until incorporated. Once your sauce is thick and bubbling, whisk in the nutritional yeast. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Put your potatoes, green onions, and thyme in a large mixing bowl and pour your sauce over them. Use a spoon to fold the sauce into the potatoes. Chop up your bacon. Mix the bacon, red onions, and kale into your saucy potatoes. Pour into your greased casserole dish and top with vegan cheese.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until your potatoes are tender. Then broil for a few minutes until the top is crispy.
This quick and easy side dish packs a ton of flavor and goes with just about everything.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Olive oil cooking spray
½ red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, lightly crushed
¼ teaspoon celery seed
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
Dash of liquid smoke
6 to 8 medium-size red potatoes, cubed
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a 15 x 10-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, adding the potatoes last. Toss the potatoes to coat. Spread your herb-coated potatoes in a single even layer in the baking dish.
Roast uncovered for 20 minutes. Pull out the dish and flip the potatoes with a metal spatula. Return to the oven to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes; remove when the potatoes are golden brown and tender.
Stemming from our honeymoon in New Orleans, Dan and I have a special love for Cajun and Creole flavors. They remind us of those first few days of our marriage and that postwedding high that’s a combination of excitement for the rest of our lives together and relief that the wedding itself is finally over. To us, these potato wedges taste like true love conquering all. To you, they might just taste spicy. But spicy is still pretty good on its own.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
5 to 7 red potatoes, quartered
3 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons Tony Chachere’s Original Creole seasoning
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
In a casserole dish, with a large spoon, mix the potatoes, olive oil, and Creole seasoning until the potatoes are evenly covered with the olive oil and Creole seasoning. Turn your potatoes so that their skin is down and their white insides are on top. This will make them brown better.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when the potatoes are tender and the desired crispiness.
If you’re looking for an easy recipe to make your dinner a little more special, you’ve found it. The vegan sour cream makes your potatoes a bit creamier, and I recommend getting some vegan bacon bits to toss over the top because the smokiness and ranch really work together. And if you’re one of those folks who don’t live off just potatoes… I recommend making some Ranch and Corn Flakes Chicken Fingers (here) or Buffalo Tofu Steaks (here) and a pot of Smoky Collard Greens with Vegan Bacon (here) too. And if you’re an overachiever who really loves food and your friends, you’ll toss all that on a toasted baguette and pour a little gravy over the two. You’ll have an open-face sandwich that will win over the heart of even the meatiest loved one.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
6 medium red potatoes
2 tablespoons soy milk
cup Vegan Ranch Dressing (here)
Margarine and vegan bacon bits for toppings
Boil the potatoes in a 2-quart saucepan; make sure you have enough water to cover the potatoes. Once the potatoes are tender when you stab them with a fork, drain them through a colander. While they’re still steaming hot, pour the cooked potatoes back into a large mixing bowl and blend with a pastry blender. Add the soy milk and ranch dressing. Blend with an electric hand mixer until it is perfection! It takes less than 5 minutes; be sure to get all the lumps out. Serve hot enough that your margarine will melt nicely over the top of your mashed potato bowl but not so hot it’s like you’re serving lava. If for some reason your potatoes cooled while you were blending them, you can always microwave them for 30 seconds and then do a quick blend to distribute the warmer potatoes throughout the bowl. Sprinkle some vegan bacon bits over the top and enjoy!
The combination of salty and fried in this recipe is exactly what you’re looking for when you’re drinking or just hanging out… breathing.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Vegetable oil for frying
3 to 4 large sweet onions (we recommend Walla Walla Sweet Onions)
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer, just the powder, not prepared as described on the package
1 12-ounce bottle India Pale Ale beer
2 teaspoons olive oil
Put your vegetable oil in your largest stockpot or Dutch oven. You’ll need enough oil to completely submerge your onion rings.
Cut your onions into ½-inch slices. Break up your slices into rings.
In a bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, Creole seasoning, and egg replacer with a whisk. Add the beer and olive oil. Blend your batter with your whisk until smooth.
Once your oil is hot enough to fry a small test drop of batter, dip the onion rings into the batter. Then place them gently into the hot vegetable oil.
Fry until golden brown and crispy. When you remove your onion rings, place them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
If you’re looking for something to go with these handsome fellows, we recommend trying one of the vegan po’boys here and here.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
2 cups cornmeal
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer, just the powder, not made per the instructions on the package
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 cup soy coffee creamer
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
3 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, Bragg’s, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. Stir in the green onion, egg replacer, applesauce, creamer, Creole seasoning, and nutritional yeast. Once you have a nice smooth paste, form the batter into small balls that are about the size of a tablespoon.
Grab your darling cast-iron skillet or frying pan. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once your skillet is hot, drop your hush puppies in to fry. Use a spatula to roll them around once in a while to make sure they cook evenly. They’re going to take about 10 minutes, tops, to fry. Take them out when they’re golden brown and put them on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the extra oil.
You know those green bean French fries you find at TGIF-ish establishments that always sound intriguing, but you never find yourself in those kinds of places so you never have an excuse to eat them? That’s what this recipe is for. It’s so you don’t have to go to a place that humiliates its staff with silly birthday songs or riddles them with flair. This recipe would go great with any of the burgers in our “Burgers and Melts” section here and some techno-colored margaritas.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2½ teaspoons Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
Pinch of freshly ground black peppercorns
1 cup India Pale Ale beer
1 cup panko crumbs (you can usually find these in the Asian food aisle of the grocery store)
1 pound raw green beans, stems removed
Heat the oil on high in a large stewpot.
In a very large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, parsley, hot sauce, garlic powder, Creole seasoning, black pepper, and beer until smooth.
Put your panko crumbs in a shallow dish.
Drop a little bit of batter into your oil to see if it’s hot enough to fry. If it is, dip one green bean in the batter and then immediately lightly roll it in the panko to get a light coating. Place the bean carefully into the hot oil. Use a slotted spoon to make sure your green bean doesn’t stick to the sides or bottom of the pot.
Once your coating is light golden brown, use your slotted spoon to remove your green bean from the hot oil. Place it on a paper towel on a plate to help drain off some of the extra oil. Now you can fry a few of your green beans at a time, but use your slotted spoon to make sure they don’t stick together.
Serve hot with barbecue sauce, yellow mustard, or ketchup; whatever your favorite dipping sauce is.
This is a vegan version of a classic southern dish that would make even Paula Deen proud.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
6 cups chopped collard greens
3 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of liquid smoke
½ red onion, chopped
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon white wine
¼ cup vegan bacon bits or crumbled smoked tempeh
Crushed pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black peppercorns
In a 4-quart Dutch oven or soup pot, heat 4 cups water to a boil. Add the collard greens. You’re going to need a slotted spoon to push them down to fit them all in there. Boil for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in your handy cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat the olive oil and liquid smoke over medium heat. Once the collard greens have changed color and are soft, move them into the skillet. Add the remaining ingredients one at a time, and mix to get an even, smooth coating over the greens. If the seasoning is too salty for you, just add more olive oil, ½ teaspoon at a time. Not salty enough? Add salt a few dashes at a time. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
Coco Chanel is credited for tactfully pointing out that most women wear too much junk when they go out. It didn’t save the world or anything, but it needed to be said. Just take a look at photos of those flappers in the twenties, with the hats, strings of pearls, earrings, gloves, bracelets, furs with faces, little dogs, brooches, shoes with brooches on them, scarves, and beauty marks… I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point.
Accessorizing is key. But it’s got to be done right. This is a collection of a few of our favorite food accessories (aka sauces) that we use all the time over vegetables, rice, pasta, whatever. We’re both avid fans of sauces—as long as you don’t overdo it.
Vegan tartar sauce will make you look forward to faux fish in a way you never thought possible. There are a few recipes for vegan shrimp or fish that go great with this sauce, but if you’re wondering where to start: Crabby Cakes here will challenge your concept of reality in a way you thought was only possible on Doctor Who.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 cup Vegenaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped pimientos
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon nutritional yeast
Mix all the ingredients and eat up!
Despite deriving its name from the Cantonese word for “seafood,” hoisin sauce is traditionally vegan already. This is a recipe to level up that sauce and make it something truly special.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons water
½ teaspoon rice wine
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Blend all the ingredients with your electric handheld mixer using the whisk attachments until completely combined.
Aioli is traditionally made using garlic, olive oil, and egg. Our version leaves out the egg, but none of the flavor.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 cup Vegenaise
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
In a small bowl, blend all the aioli ingredients with an electric handheld mixer until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Old Country “gravy” with a new spin.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 to 10 large ripe tomatoes, diced (around 10 cups)
1 teaspoon agave nectar
cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ cup baby spinach leaves
2 teaspoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1½ teaspoons celery seed
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
cup red wine
¼ cup Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth, made per the instructions on the package
In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once your oil is warm, toss in the onion. Use a wooden spoon to mix the onion into the warm oil, and cook until tender. Toss in the garlic and tomatoes and mix so that your vegetables get covered with warm oil. Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 seconds. Uncover and toss in the agave nectar, basil, spinach, capers, Bragg’s, parsley, celery seed, artichoke hearts, red pepper flakes, pepper, oregano, red wine, and broth. Continue to simmer and stir occasionally. The tomatoes should start to fall apart once the broth and red wine start to boil.
Simmer over low heat for around an hour, or until the tomatoes dissolve into the sauce.
You can use this recipe with pastas, sandwiches, and crostini, over steamed vegetables… all kinds of awesome.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4½ cups fresh basil leaves
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup raw baby spinach leaves
¼ cup artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon white wine
cup raw pine nuts
2 cups olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons freshly ground black peppercorns
Put all your ingredients into a food processor or blender and puree on medium speed until completely blended.
In Norfolk lives a man named Steve. He’s a pleasant sort of chap with a winning smile and a love for animals and good times. We both adore Steve. Everyone does. I wanted to make something really special for his 2008 birthday party, and Nacho Steve Sauce was born!
We make this sauce and dip every time we want to rock.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
½ cup margarine
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup water
2½ cups soy milk
½ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt, plus more as desired
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup nutritional yeast
¼ teaspoon cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of liquid smoke
Pinch of turmeric
1 (15-ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
Crushed black peppercorns, diced fresh jalapeños, and Texas Pete, or other hot sauce to taste
½ cup shredded Daiya vegan pepperjack cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
In a Dutch oven or saucepan, melt the margarine over the lowest heat. Whisk in the flour over medium heat until smooth. Then whisk in the water, soy milk, salt, Bragg’s, and garlic and onion powders. Once your sauce is smooth, whisk in the nutritional yeast, cumin, cayenne pepper, liquid smoke, and turmeric. Cook the sauce until it thickens, whisking it occasionally until all the clumps are gone. Remove from the heat. Add the entire jar of salsa and stir with a wooden spoon. Taste test with a tortilla chip, and then add crushed black pepper, jalapeños, and Texas Pete until you love it. Put your sauce into a serving dish and spread your vegan cheese over the top. It will melt slightly.
Nacho Steve Sauce will thicken up as it cools. So serve warm for more of a sauce or cool for more of a soft cheese spread. It is also good on burgers and mixed in chili.
This sauce is easy and good on everything. Seriously everything.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
cup margarine
½ cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons freshly ground black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
Put your margarine in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Once your margarine melts, remove your pan from the heat and blend in the remaining ingredients with a large spoon until smooth. You’ll have to keep this sauce warm to keep it beautiful.
There is this versatile sauce, called béchamel that is kind of a base, or “mother sauce,” for several other sauces. This sauce works over pasta and vegetables, and goes wonderfully with mashed potatoes. This is our vegan béchamel with some fresh dill and garlic to personalize it a bit.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
1¼ teaspoons chopped fresh dill weed
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup soy milk
In a saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in the flour, Bragg’s, dill weed, pepper, and garlic until blended. Add the soy milk while stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from the heat.
The night Dan made me this sauce, I fell in love with him… well, started to. It still took a few more bad relationships, long phone calls, and years of being best friends. But this sauce may have started it all.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
½ cup margarine
3½ cups boiling water
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
A few dashes of liquid smoke
Pinch of turmeric
Paprika and crushed black peppercorns to taste
1½ cup nutritional yeast
In a saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. While the margarine melts, bring the water to a boil in a separate pot. Once your margarine has completely melted, whisk in your flour. Continue whisking over medium heat until smooth and bubbly.
Next, whisk in the boiling water, salt, Braggs, garlic powder, onion powder, liquid smoke, and turmeric. Add parika and pepper to taste.
Continue whisking until dissolved. Once thick and bubbling, whisk in the nutritional yeast flakes until your sauce is creamy. If it gets too thick, add more water.
Yeah, we’re pretty fancy. This is a cheesier béchamel sauce that is wonderful with pasta and vegetables. You can even pour it over a Vegan Fried Egg (here) and some toast to be pretend French some Sunday morning.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup almond milk
½ cup Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
¼ cup shredded Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese or your favorite vegan cheese
1¼ teaspoons vegan Parmesan
½ teaspoon dry white wine
¼ teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in the flour. Continue to stir your sauce while you add the remaining ingredients. Use a whisk to blend your sauce until it is smooth and creamy.
Beurre Blanc is a fancy French sauce based on a reduction of shallots combined with an acid such as vinegar or citrus and then mixed with cold butter. Julia Child’s Beurre Blanc is one of her most famous sauces, probably because it’s one of her easiest. I’d like to think she’d be excited about how creatively we substituted the “fish juice” in this simple sauce that goes great over any vegetable or mock meat. But I might just have to accept that she’d probably be annoyed that we messed around with this sauce she adored. The original Beurre Blanc is known for its creamy tanginess and is intended to go with fish like trout, shad, haddock, or shellfish. We enjoyed our tangy, creamy sauce with vegan lobster from May Wah and drank a toast to Julia.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
¼ cup orange juice with pulp
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup dry white wine
3 shallots, minced
½ cup margarine
¼ teaspoon cornstarch
Crushed pink Himalayan salt, crushed black peppercorns, and red pepper flakes
With a whisk, blend the orange juice, orange peel, lemon juice, white wine, and shallots in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat. Cook until the sauce is syrupy. Reduce the heat to a simmer and whisk in the margarine and cornstarch until the margarine melts, but don’t let it get to a boil. Remove the sauce once it is smooth. If it reduces too much, add white wine 1 teaspoon at a time until it is smooth again. Then give it a taste test and add salt and whatever pepper you need until you fall madly in love with the taste.
Then marry this sauce. Just kidding. I don’t think this sauce is the commitment type.
In China, sweet and sour sauce is commonly used as a dipping sauce, rather than as a cooking sauce as it traditionally is in Westernized “Chinese” cuisine. You can use this recipe as either. You can drink it from a bottle for all we care. It’s that good. We won’t judge.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon pineapple juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup green bell pepper, diced
In your cast-iron skillet, mix the brown sugar and cornstarch. Add the pineapple, pineapple juice, orange juice, agave nectar, and Sriracha sauce and heat over medium heat. Once the sauce begins to bubble, add the Bragg’s, vinegar, and bell pepper.
You’ll want to use this immediately and serve warm.
This veganaise was invented for our vegan po’boys (here and here) but really it classes up even the most humble of everyday Tofurky sandwiches.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
8 to 10 tablespoons Vegenaise
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
2 teaspoons Louisiana hot sauce
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
Pinch of celery seed
Dash of liquid smoke
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Put in the fridge to chill until ready to use.
This is the sauce that will make you believe in love. This Argentinian sauce is delicious over any mock meat. It’s lovely over vegetables and baked potatoes and pretty much anything you’re looking to level up.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup white wine
1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
In a blender or food processor, puree all your ingredients on high speed until the sauce is well blended. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
You’ll be tempted to use soy yogurt. It’ll give you a bit more of that bitter yogurt taste, but it will also be much thinner. This sauce goes great with a Roasted Vegan Chicken Gyro (here) or falafels. If you’re feeling a bit lazy, just grab a bag of baby carrots.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 large cucumber, cut into very small pieces
1 package silken tofu
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
Pinch of celery seed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Set aside the cucumber. Blend the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender until the sauce is smooth. Pour your sauce into a bowl and mix in your cucumber with a spoon.
This is the sauce that, when partnered with our Pumpkin Gnocchi (here), will make you understand what’s going on in all those power ballads. You don’t have to serve it with gnocchi, though; you can pour this thin but flavorful sauce over vegetables, or your favorite vegan chicken, or whatever. It’s pretty versatile stuff.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons raw crushed walnuts
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
In your deepest cast-iron skillet or saucepan, melt your margarine over medium heat. Add the walnuts and shallots. Mix them in with a metal spatula and let them simmer in the melted margarine for 30 seconds before adding the sage, thyme, white wine, and broth.
Mix all your ingredients with your spatula until completely blended, and simmer for 2 minutes while stirring occasionally.
You want to serve this sauce warm. Once it begins to cool, the margarine might separate. It will still taste great, but it won’t look as nice.
Everyone needs a good vegan gravy recipe. It’s one of the most requested recipes on our blog. People want it for themselves, for Thanksgiving, or for when their son brings home his new vegan grrrlfriend. My only regret with this recipe is that we named it “gravy.” If we had come up with some clever way to name it soup, it would be socially acceptable to eat big bowls of this with a spoon—which is all I want to do.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups Better Than Bouillon vegan chicken broth, made per the instructions on the package
2 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
3½ teaspoons poultry seasoning (most poultry seasonings are vegan, but some aren’t, so be sure to read the label)
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
In your Dutch oven or deepest saucepan, toast your flour and nutritional yeast over medium heat. Add the olive oil and cook until the mixture starts to brown. Gently whisk in the broth until there are no lumps. Stir in the Bragg’s, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, garlic powder, celery seed, parsley, and black pepper. Heat until the gravy thickens and starts to boil.
Try on our Benedict Omelet (here) or with a steamed artichoke. Just try it.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
½ cup vegan sour cream
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons lemon juice (may need a little more to thin out sauce)
1 teaspoon margarine
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
In a small saucepan, mix all your ingredients with a whisk over a low heat. This sauce will thicken pretty fast so don’t start to prepare it until you’re almost ready to use. If it gets too thick, you can thin out your sauce by adding small amounts of lemon juice until you like the consistency.
These are the larger “French-style” croutons you find in schmancy restaurants and on the pages of gourmet food magazines. Good with soups or salads—but exceptional with both!
MAKES 6 TO 8 CROUTONS
½ baguette, cut into slices
cup olive oil
6 to 8 tablespoons vegan Parmesan (1 tablespoon per slice)
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil, and then sprinkle 1 tablespoon of vegan Parmesan over the top. Place the bread on your loyal pizza stone or cookie sheet and put it into the oven.
Pull the croutons out when they are light golden brown. It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.