It's Greek to me!

I've been super busy this week...probably no more than normal but suddenly I feel the gravity of the earth more than usual.  Thankfully, my good friend Jenn (all-around cool chick AND and Electric 6 fan, yes!) sent me a recipe she veganized!  Hooray for guest posts!  Thank you, Jenn!  (disclaimer: I haven't tried this yet so if it sucks, I'll give you her home phone number...)

Vegan Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce


For the Tzatziki (I like to make this first and let it sit in the fridge for a bit)

2 cups non-dairy yogurt - I do not know if a non-dairy Greek yogurt exists. If not, go with whatever you like. And if there is none thick enough, try mixing 1 cup non dairy yogurt with 1 cup non dairy sour cream. I’ve done this mix with the dairy and it works quite well.

Add:

One cucumber, seeded and grated. be sure to squeeze out the excess water.
Juice of one lemon
1 Tbsp olive oil
about a Tbsp of mint - dry mint is fine.
One or two large cloves of garlic, chopped and mashed to a paste.
Add dash of pepper, mix till blended, refrigerate.

For the Souvlaki:

1 pound seitan, sliced in strips or half chunks. (I have not tried this with tofu yet, but I'm sure extra firm would work well)

Throw the sliced seitan in a bowl and add some olive oil and a splash of red or white wine vinegar.  Then, in another bowl, mix the following seasonings:

1 Tbsp coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional, but I like it)
1/4 tsp onion powder (optional, again)
Salt to taste

Add the spice mix to the seitan and mix till coated. Then brown in a pan on med to med high heat.

While that seitan is cooking, slice up some tomatoes, red onions and whatever lettuce you like – I prefer spring greens. Then heat up some pita, or whatever vegan flatbread you like.  When everything is cooked and ready, you can wrap it all up in the pita like a gyro.

Easy like Sunday morning.

Tofu can be horrifying for sure, but you can’t tell me you walk down the meat aisle at the store going, “Mmmmmmmmmmmmm this shit looks tasty!!!” It’s all about selecting the proper product for you needs and preparing it properly.

For my tofu scramble, I like the extra firm tofu that comes floating in its own little water bath!  A lot of recipes call for pressing your tofu; it’s time consuming but it does help!  And if you’re really serious you can pick up a tofu press!  (Dear Santa, Tam Tam doesn’t one but she’s been very good  trying hard and needs one)   

I found that freezing and then thawing tofu gives it a really good texture…more chewy and less slimy!

Scramble time!

Ingredients
1 lb. extra firm tofu (pat with a towel to get it dry-ish)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium chopped white onion (about a cup)
2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Spice Blend
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt

-Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, saute onions 3 minutes, until softened and add mushrooms. Saute 5 minutes more, add garlic, saute 2 minutes more. Add spice blend and mix it up for 15 seconds. Add 1/4 cup water and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom.
-Crumble in tofu and mix well. Don’t crush the tofu, you want it to remain chunky. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water if necessary to keep it from sticking. Add lemon juice and add nutritional yeast and mix it up. If it seems too dry add splashes of water. The moistness really depends on how much water the tofu was retaining before you added it.
I top with fresh tomato, salsa, vegan sour cream, avocado slices and serve with toast!

I will not be mocked!!

It’s hard work ruining people, and most days I’m just too tired to whip up a seven-course gourmet dinner for the family, so we rely heavily on sandwiches!  I had some Turtle Island tempeh with a recipe for mock tuna salad and it sounded awful so I figured…why not!!  I whipped up a batch and set my expectations very very low. The first time I had tempeh I was NOT a fan of the texture. 

The tempeh temptress won me over. This stuff is freaking GOOD.  Brad loved it, the kids loved it.  The dog never even got any of it (that’s the real test).  It’s excellent in sandwich form but also super yum atop a salad.

I changed the recipe slightly because I don’t eat fish so I don’t happen to have Old Bay Seasoning lying around. I subbed Greek Seasoning (made with real Greeks, don’t bend over in front of it.)

Mock Tuna Salad

3 cups water

1 Tbsp. salt

8 oz. Organic Five Grain Tempeh

1 tsp. Greek Seasoning

½ cup chopped celery

¼ cup chopped onion

Juice from ½ lemon

1 tsp. dried dill weed

¼ cup vegan mayo

1-1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

½ tsp. garlic powder

Boil the water in a small pan, add the salt and tempeh cake, reduce head to medium and let simmer 20 minutes.  Drain water, sprinkle the tempeh with Greek Seasoning and let cool, then break into small pieces with a fork (I use my hands because I’m a dirtball.)  Add celery, onion, dill and lemon juice to tempeh and mix. I usually sub dill pickle for the celery and omit dill weed…but don’t add ½ cup of pickles unless you’re pregnant.  In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients and add to tempeh. Mix well and feed your face.

Eat…enjoy…view tempeh anew!

xoxo

Hi, my name is Tammy...

...and I'm a chocoholic.

Last night I made brownies, "for the kids". I'm not sure what I'll do when they're all out of the house.  I may need to borrow some younger kids!  These are sooo good and gooey and if loving them is wrong, I don't want to be right. Or wear pants that button. I've been promising this recipe to Kimberly, so enjoy!!!  Its from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero and its one of my favorite cookbooks. I'm adding a pic I took of one I was saving for my step-dad.  Was. It's not my fault he's late...

Deluxe Cocoa Brownies

3 ounces silken tofu

¼ cup nondairy milk

½ cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1. preheat oven to 325.  Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper so the bottom and sides are covered.
2. puree the tofu, nondairy milk and oil in a blender or food processor until smooth and fluffy; transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and mix vigorously with a fork. Add the vanilla.
3. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder (I used the Dutch-processed stuff, really good!), cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Mix until smooth. At the point I usually throw in about half a package of semi-sweet chocolate chips, vegan of course J
4. Spread the batter in your pan. You have to kind of push it to the edges with your spatula.
5. Bake 30-32 minutes…I usually do 32. Let them cool for quite a while.  They are VERY gooey until they have cooled quite a bit.

And for Kristin!!!  I've been promising her the recipe for the Cookies and Cream Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, also by the super-talented Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes!

Cupcakes:

1 cup nondairy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond, chocolate or more vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup (about 10 cookies) crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies

1. preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with papers.
2. Whisk together soy milk and vinegar; set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
3. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the soy milk mixture and beat til foamy.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.  Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain.
5. Add cookies to the batter and pour into muffin pan. Bake 18-20 minutes.

Cookies and Cream Frosting

½ cup non-hydrogenated shortening

½ cup non-hydrogenated margarine (EarthBalance is the BEST)

3-1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup plain nondairy milk

1/5 cup chocolate sandwich cookie, crushed

1. Beat shortening and margarine until fluffy. Add sugar and beat for three more minutes. Add vanilla and soy milk and beat another 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cookies!

Bad dog, good salad

Another good reason not to eat meat: dead things fucking stink. 

My adorable little asshole of a dog made a break for it last night while my son was taking out the garbage. I came home an hour later to find her on the porch, eyes all glazed over and staggering around like a drunk on a bender.  Correction…she actually was a drunk on a bender. A fish gut bender!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  As she accompanied us into the house, my daughter started screaming about the dog’s smell and took off running. I figured she was just being dramatic, but the dog did appear a little moist.  Yeah. Moist.  More like absolutely dripping with entrails.  I bathed her back to her normal smell, but the shame will never ever wash off. At least I’d like to think so. She still looks pretty pleased with herself.

Who wants to eat now? Ha!!  I went on a small cooking spree on Sunday and made stuff we could eat throughout the week…another pot of lentil soup and some mini veggie quiches.  I had some firm tofu in the freezer (got it on sale at Whole Foods and froze it for a rainy day!  It has a really good texture if you freeze and thaw it!) so I marinated it using the Asian-Style Salad Bowl recipe from one of my new cookbooks, American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes, and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

An Asian salad bowl is not the kind of thing Brad would normally love, but he had a soccer game that was going to prevent him from eating dinner with the family on Monday night so I figured it if he really didn’t like it, he could eat soup. 

I sautéed the tofu in sesame oil until it was nice and crispy.  The salad called for romaine lettuce (no dice, I was out so I subbed spinach. More improv. You don’t even want to know what happens when I’m out of toilet paper.), Chinese cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, green onions, cucumber, red peppers, broccoli and snow peas. You make a dressing with the remainder of the tofu marinade and add fresh lime juice and peanut butter. I also added some agave syrup because I like my peanut sauce a little on the sweet side.

 

Brad LOVED the salad (He likes it, hey Mikey!) and so did I…crunchy and filling, awesome flavors.  I can’t wait to make something else from her cookbook!  Check out Tamasin's blog, Vegan Appetite.  Lots of good recipes there as well!  

I'm off to dis my dog!

More veggies, less you!

Have you picked up a ten-pound weight recently?  Its heavy. Not workout heavy, but imagine how much fat it would take to equal that ten pounds.  Now find a good inconspicuous place on your body to stash it. Yeah, good luck.  Its not going to blend in and its going to make everything you do feel harder, in addition to aging you.  (Fortunately, clothing is becoming more tent-like each year so there is hope if you’re fond of that weight.)

Brad and I picked up a few (ahem) extra pounds over the holidays and during the shitstorm that was January, so we’re committing to a four week diet and exercise program that will hopefully get our asses back on track. It had better, because we’ve given up drinking during the week and I did a leg workout on Tuesday that has rendered me incapable of walking. (Call me if you can take a shift and carry me around!)

We don’t really do a serious calorie-cutting diet, but we do try to focus on less fat and more fresh veggies and NO snacking after dinner.  We generally eat by 6 pm, so that one can be a bit painful.  And of course no booze during the week. Oy, that one hurts.  Alcohol makes us so much cuter and funnier. Well, at least it does for me. Right Brad?!!!  (Too Cute To Kill, my autobiography…watch for it!)

Soups are excellent when you’re trying to lose weight.  They make you feel nice and full and they CAN be packed with lots of nutrition.  I said “can" be.  Don’t be a dumbass and eat cream of lard soup and expect to get thin.

I recently got my fresh new copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite For Reduction and made the Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup.  SO good.  Every single one of our kids ate it, which is a rare and beautiful thing because I hate having to smack them at the dinner table.  Just kidding…I’m fine with smacking them anywhere.  (Fun fact:  Lentils have the highest protein content of any plant-based food!  Awesome!)  I made a double batch and sadly, its gone already.

I did take a pic of my soup but it looked like someone had already eaten it and then shot it back out…from either end, really.  So in the interest of preserving your appetite I will not post my photo.  I also won’t post the recipe because cookbook sales are how Isa and other fine vegan chefs make a living.  I did find that one person posted it. Tsk. Seriously though, Isa’s cookbooks are all amazing…I own four and I won’t stop until they’re all mine!  Go invest in her cookbook, expand your horizons and slim your fat ass. Its so much cheaper and easier than buying a new tent to wear.

Beer and pitas... WIN!

Brad and I are BIG beer fans (and consequently big gym fans. Also Big Jim fans. He is cool!)  Good beer, none of that watery crap or anything with an animal on the can.  Better yet, make that NO can.  Even and especially Pabst. Its not cute, cut it out already.  You can’t have good beer without good food, so we look for places that offer both.  Bonus:  hipster douchebags generally don’t like these places!  McMenamins brewpubs are the obvious choice for microbrew in the Portland area, and they’re good for sure, but we have found a couple of smaller places that are as good, if not better. 

We love the New Old Lompoc on NW 23^rd (happy hour ALL day on Saturday! Their website doesn’t say so, but the little cards on the table do.).  The beer rocks and the menu is limited but good…perfect fries and I usually get the portobello mushroom burger and have them sub hummus for the aioli and cheese.  They have a partially covered patio that is so perfect when its nice out.  We have literally spent entire days there.

One of our favorite discoveries is Mashtun Brew Pub, hidden down a side street off of Alberta.  They have a great beer selection (you can see the big vats just cooking away behind the bar!), really friendly staff and the bathroom walls are covered in chalk boards, just waiting for your beery masterpiece.  Their menu has some excellent vegan offerings, including homemade tempeh bacon and Veganaise for the burgers and sandwiches!  (Bless you, Mashtun, because they don’t offer that stuff in little packets or I’d cram my purse full.) 

It was at Mashtun that we discovered pita pizzas…friggin brilliant!  No need to make or buy pizza crust. Just buy a pack of pita bread, assemble your toppings and you’re in business!

We missed out on Vegan Pizza Day last Saturday, so we made up for it on Monday.  Everyone got to build their own little pizza and for toppings I offered:  red sauce, sautéed mushrooms, soy curls, red peppers, onions, tomatoes, avocado, pineapple, mushrooms, olives, Yves veggie pepperoni, pepperoncini slices and jalapenos!  We do have vegan cheese, but I have found that I don’t miss cheese and I prefer my pizza with sauce and veggies.  Just top your pita and bake at 400 for about 10 minutes. If you do put cheese on yours, you may want to broil it a bit at the end to crisp it up.  Also, put a rubber band on your wrist and snap it ten times.

If you’re out drinking delicious beer (call me!) and need a little something to sop it up (pussy!), here is a fairly comprehensive list of where to enjoy vegan pizza around Portland:

http://veganpizzaday.com/pizzerias/OR/Portland/

(Note: If you’re in Eugene, kindly stop in and make sweet, sweet love to the Greek Pizza at Pizza Research Institute for me.  The best pizza I’ve ever had anywhere ever.  I dream about making it official and marrying it, I love it so very much.)

When you don’t see vegan pizza on the menu, you can spit on the floor and leave OR just do what I do and order it with tons of veggies and no cheese.  (THEN spit on the floor and leave.)  If you have some pizza left over, you are a quitter. Hang your head in shame and then wrap your leftovers in a napkin and stash them in your purse, or your girl’s purse.  Later, when you’re leaving, say Kennedy School, and everyone else is suffering from the micro-brew munchies, you can whip out your leftover pizza and chow down.  Don’t mind the stares, they are just jealous. Or baffled. But probably jealous. Cheryl?