Vegan Recipes

Hello everyone! 
I've been given a challenge by my friend Nikki to "go Vegan" for a month and write about it. Well, I must say it's going to be interesting! What a challenge :) But she's been so cool to even provide me with a couple of Vegan cookbooks and ideas and tips to get me going. Now that is one stunning awesome lady I have the world's respect for, for everything she does out there, helping people in dire need, saving animals...fighting against what is wrong in this world...to name just one or two things....

I've been really surprised that my partner was willing to go along on this journey, and he just love a good ol' bacon & eggs fry up. And a good steak :) Well, me too. We are really going to try and stick to it, but, I must add, there might (or will be) a slip up or two. Unintentionally mostly. I did not realize there are so many foods that we (with we I mean "meat eaters" in this case) take for granted that have ingredients in them that are just not Vegan friendly. Who knew that Worcester Sauce has got anchovies and gelatine in the mix?! And what else is out there in our favourite sauces and stuff?!

So, we are going to try our best. Since we have our main meal in the evening, that will be what I'll be posting about. Lunchtime I can do the meat-free thing at work; unfortunately I cannot vouch for what he will eat....

Since we have only started on this on Saturday I do not have a lot of feedback as yet. What I did find was that as with "healthy foods" or "diet" foods, some ingredients are really expensive. And that makes me sad, why? Why should you have to pay more for eating healthy and what you like? And then you can get real cheap (and very unhealthy and dodgy looking) pink sausages at Pick n Pay (for instance). 

But anyways, I will post updates on this journey as I (we) go along. So far its been sort of easy and difficult at the same time. :) Some things are easier to swop than others, but some are really tricky to substitute....And then there's the things you love, as a "meat eater" or "non plant based person".....

So, here goes....and the recipes will follow. :) 

TOFU FAJITAS

   The marinated Tofu

This recipe was the first one we made. And, we absolutely loved it! It was real easy to make and so flavoursome, we didn't even miss any meat in it! I did make one or two small changes and I also added avocado. *See notes below

"From: Love Vegan; The Essential Mexican Cookbook for Vegans; 2015; High Cedar Press" 

Preparation Time 10 minutes + 10 minutes to marinade the tofu

Total Time: 40 minutes

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

50 g extra-firm tofu, slices into long thin strips *

1/2 cup light soy sauce

1 TBS vegetable oil, divided

1 TBS brown sugar or maple syrup*

2 TBS nutritional yeast (optional)*

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp dried oregano (oreganum)

1 TBS oil

1 small carrot, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, thinly sliced , 1 portobello mushroom, thinly sliced

2 TBS fresh coriander, roughly chopped

4 large tortilla wraps

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, maple syrup or sugar, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, cumin, oregano and 2 TBS oil. Add the tofu, coating well, and leave to marinade for a minimum of 10 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper

Place the tofu on the baking tray in a single layer and pour the sauce over

Bake for 30 minutes, turning twice. Remove from the oven and set aside

Heat a frying pan over medium high heat with 2 TBS oil and saute vegetables for 5 minutes. Add tofu and coriander and cook for a further minute

Heat the tortillas (cover with tinfoil and heat in the oven for a couple of minutes) or in a microwave oven for 30 seconds to a minute until warm and soft

Place a 1/4 filling in each tortilla and wrap tightly. Continue with remaining tortillas and serve immediately while hot

ENJOY! :) 

NOTES:

I could only find the "regular" Tofu at my local Woolworths so I used that. It was not as firm as it should have been (I did not know where to find the extra firm one - this one was expensive enough :((  but worked fine and tasted surprisingly OK and actually nice; (my first time eating Tofu); it did break up a little when I turned it in the oven, but that doesn't make a difference at all to the overall dish taste wise :)

I used maple syrup

I couldn't find nutritional yeast; so I just omitted it

We used sugar free tortillas, not intentionally, just bought it since it sounded good and the price was right

I only added the coriander at the end, not during cooking

I just added an avocado in the end since we both love avo's!! And we managed to find some for a really good price and have a lot left to use! 

And I added some micro greens, they are beautiful :) And tasty. I served some of the leftover tofu on the side with some avo's

The spices really made a difference 

All in all, this was a hit! We loved it! 

Vegan "Ham" Burgers

Now this one sounded easy....yes, the trimmings and so were easy but the pattie itself, not so. Although I had quite a few ideas and hopes with the recipes provided I just could not decide on one that would suit me and Neil both. I am rather more open-minded to "different" tastes, but he is well, old school. So, to suit us both for now I just opted for a store bought version, Fry's. 

So this is what we made, see some notes afterwards

INGREDIENTS
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
lettuce
rocket leaves
salt & pepper
potato chips 
vegetable oil
hamburger rolls *
tomato sauce 
2 Fry's burger patties

DIRECTIONS
Fry the patties in vegetable oil for 8 minutes, 4 on a side
Slice your buns and start loading your toppings! 

I did some lettuce leaves first, then the pattie
Then some sliced tomatoes and some rocket leaves on top 

Serve with fried potato chips fried in vegetable oil on the side and your favourite sauce - we opted for tomato sauce; although I've found a great recipe for BBQ Sauce (will be posted soon)  as well as a sauce for home-made Worcester Sauce that is "plant based" :) that I'm really excited about since I love making sauces! 

NOTES:
And yet again, we added avocado! :) Just because we have so many to use up! :) 

The hamburger rolls were store bought, so unfortunately they may not be truly vegan

The potato chips were just fried in vegetable oil, nothing else, and just "dressed" with salt and pepper in the end 

Mmm, about the patties...although they tasted meaty, I found them to taste a lot like pork sausages and Neil felt they tasted like Vienna sausages...They did look a bit different to a "usual" pattie, very smooth and not as "chunky" but smelled nice whilst frying. Like meat. So, if I could change anything I would have liked them to taste more like beef not pork....But all good, the hamburgers were very tasty and we enjoyed them very much. 

To make Neil's chips....well,I will have to post a separate post just about that! He just makes the most heavenly fried chips! :) I am a very lucky lady :) Please tell me if you would like the "recipe" ( I think it's more of a method than a recipe though).....

I also did not use any butter for my buns

BBQ SAUCE

(from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food; Alicia C. Simpson)

As yet, I still have to try and make this sauce. I would like to add that I am not sure where to find "hickory liquid smoke" here in South Africa....will have to do a bit of research; I will keep you updated on this one! :) But from a "sauce queen" view (jip, that's what the family calls me!) I think this one is good ; )

¼ cup diced white onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove

2 cups ketchup

½ cup molasses

1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar

¼ cup vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoons hickory liquid smoke

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until it is soft, about 3 minutes. 

Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.

Add the remaining ingredients to a blender along with the garlic and onion, and puree until smooth.

Worcester Sauce

(From Geniuskitchen: Sharon123)

This is yet another one I want to make...will do so soon and post some feedback! :) 

INGREDIENTS

·         ¹⁄₂cup apple cider vinegar

·         2tablespoons Braggs liquid aminos, amino acid (or soy sauce)

·         2teaspoons water

·         1teaspoon dry sweetener

·         ¹⁄₄teaspoon ground ginger

·         ¹⁄₄teaspoon mustard powder

·         ¹⁄₄teaspoon onion powder

·         ¹⁄₄teaspoon garlic powder

·         ¹⁄₈teaspoon cinnamon

·         ¹⁄₈teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1.    In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients over medium high heat, whisking briskly.

2.    Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3.    Set aside to cool.

4.    Store in the refrigerator in a clean container with a tight fitting lid.

5.    Makes about 3/4 cup. Enjoy!

Today, 24 April (Tuesday)

I am going to be home alone for a few days; starting yesterday. Last night I was just not in the mood to be cooking for one, so I just made myself another 'hamburger' with the usual toppings as before....no need to post pics again! 

Today, for lunch, I had "Fry's Battered Prawn Style Pieces". 

Well, what I can say so far about Fry's is that they have an interesting variety of meals available and it's also not too expensive. They also have a lovely website: Fry Family Food.Go check it out! And they have lovely recipe books you can download! For Free! And it's also great that the meals can be prepared real quick! That's a huge bonus. 

And for the two of us this frozen meals are perfect, as it's enough for two! Which can sometimes be a bit of a problem when you go shopping, as so many meals and packages out there are for 4 people or more. That means wasting food but then the dog also scores. I'm talking meat-based products here. So, I love the small packages a lot ;) 

Back to the "prawn style pieces". This is what they look like:

On the package it says that the best way to do them is to fry them, but since I am still lazy to cook, I just baked them in the oven for 8 minutes. 

They smelled nice and "fishy". They looked nice. 

So, now for the verdict. 

They smelled even better when baked! 
They also tasted nice. They reminded me of fish fingers and tasted a bit like prawns too! All in all, I liked this. I would be eating this again easily. ;) I just had them with a bit of tomato sauce, and finished the whole pack by myself (except for two pieces the dogs really enjoyed!). That's a plus, even the dogs liked it ;) 

In the meantime, well, time just flew! And now it's already the 1st of May. 

Vegetable & Bean Soup (enough for 3 - 4)

This was awesome! Comforting and satisfying and just the right thing for the early days of winter. Easy soup to make and well, yummy :) The ciabatta buns are from Woolworths and Vegan! :) 

Ingredients:

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

2 medium carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper

1 can cannellini beans, drained

1 can whole peeled tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Method:

1. In a large pot heat oil over medium high heat and add carrots, celery, onion and cook till onion is translucent, about 6 minutes

2. Add the garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes

3. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth and parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes

4. You might need to 'squash' the tomatoes a bit at some stage to make them blend in with the rest of the ingredients (or you can just leave them be)

5. Season to taste and serve with ciabatta buns and some (vegan) Parmesan cheese, and parsley on top 

Green Goddess Burgers

This recipe I found in PnP's magazine, Fresh and Healthy Living (I collect them all, already have the 2017 collection and now starting with 2018). It looked divine! So, here goes! And I also used fresh wild grown tiny tomatoes I found  here on the farm :) And I also decided to make some nice fried oyster mushrooms on the side - they had some nice mushies today at Pick n Pay at Stellenbosch Square....

This is the veggie patties before frying

RECIPE:

1 cup frozen peas
2 cups spinach, shredded
100 g broccoli, cut into florets
1 can butter beans, drained
half a celery stalk, sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 TBS olive oil + extra for drizzling
3/4 cup oats
1 TBS fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper

To serve:
4 brown rolls
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup hummus
Handful cherry tomatoes
Lettuce leaves
Sprouts

MAKES 4

1. Blanch green vegetables (except celery) in salted boiling water for a minute and refresh in ice water
2. Drain well
3. Pulse vegetables and beans in a food processor until ground
4. Fry celery, onion and garlic in 1 TBS oil for 5 minutes
5. Mix with ground vegetables
6. Add oats, basil, soy sauce and seasoning
7. Shape into 4  patties
8. Cover and refrigerate for 5 minutes
9. Heat remaining oil in a non-stick pan and cook patties for 3 - 5 minutes on each side until golden
10. Halve brown rolls and toast in a warm pan, drizzle with extra oil
11. Serve patties on buns with all the trimmings! 

I served the veggie burgers with fried oyster mushrooms on the side 

Some of the beautiful wild baby tomatoes

And voila! The end product! And to use Neil's words: "This is %^&*( good!!! He was totally crazy about this burgers and had two. I could only finish one, it was just too filling, but oh so goooooood!!! :) Definitely a winner.