Tag Archives: entree

Smoky Maple Sweet Potato Tempeh Burgers

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Hello,

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!  I hope that wherever you are, you are finding yourself surrounded by family and friends and wonderful food and counting your many blessings!

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe.  I think you’ll find this one was worth the wait; this is my all-time favourite burger, hands down.  They have wowed many a herbivore and omnivore!

Smoky Maple Sweet Potato Tempeh Burgers
1 large sweet potato
1 clove garlic, minced (2 cloves if you love garlic)
1 leek, diced
canola oil
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 package of Smoky Maple Bacon Marinated Tempeh (by Turtle Foods)
1 cup cooked brown rice (or a mix of brown and wild rice)
1/2 cup packed cilantro, minced
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
1/3 cup sesame oil
1/8 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Bragg’s/soy sauce/nama shoyu
1 tsp mustard
Herbamare seasoning or sea salt + black pepper
approximately 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Cut the sweet potato into large pieces and steam until tender, then mash. If you don’t have cooked rice yet, cook the rice while the sweet potato is steaming.  (Want to know how to cook rice perfectly?  Check out Big Apple Curry’s  Rice 101 post here.  No more sticky rice.)  Meanwhile, sauté the garlic and leek in the canola oil on med-high heat in a large fry pan for a few minutes.  Chop up the tempeh and add to the pan.  Take a few minutes to toast the sunflower seeds lightly under a broiler or in another pan, being careful not to overcook.

In a large bowl, add the ketchup, Bragg’s/soy sauce/nama shoyu, sesame oil, mustard, liquid smoke, Herbamare/sea salt and black pepper.  Add the all vegetables, tempeh, rice, sunflower seeds and cilantro to the bowl and stir until combined.  The mixture will be too wet to form into patties, so start sprinkling some breadcrumbs in, a few tablespoons at a time and stir gently, until the mixture has the right consistency to form patties.

Pour enough canola oil to thinly cover the large fry pan again and heat on medium-high.  Scoop out 1/3 cup and flatten into patties with your fingers.  Pan fry the patties about five minutes each side.  Makes 6-8 burgers.

This recipe is gluten-free when choosing GF breadcrumbs and GF soy sauce.

I am sharing this recipe with the Wellness Weekends and Healthy Vegan Fridays blog hop.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

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Whether you’re Canadian or not, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend full of family, friends, good food, and more blessings than you can count!  I am grateful that I did!
I had grand plans to make a seitan roast from scratch for Thanksgiving Sunday dinner, but in the end, convenience won, and I bought a Tofurky roast.  For those who are unfamiliar with them, Tofurky roasts are a blend of tofu, wheat and spices complete with a centre of wild rice and breadcrumb stuffing.  Completely vegan and absolutely delicious!   I especially appreciate that the company Turtle Foods uses soy that is organic and non-GMO, and all their products are vegan and free of preservatives and artificial ingredients.  In addition to their roasts, I love Tofurky’s deli slices, frozne pizza (with Daiya), Smoky Maple Bacon Marinated Tempeh and Kielbasa Sausages.   Yum yum yum!

I surrounded the roast with parsnips and potatoes then drizzled all with a marinade of equal parts olive oil and soy sauce mixed with poultry seasoning, then sprinkled with sea salt, black pepper and fresh sprigs of rosemary and cooked it at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.
Rounding out Thanksgiving dinner: carrots, beans and quinoa tabouleh.  For dessert, I made my stuffed dates, one of the tastiest desserts you can put together in five minutes.  This weekend’s medjool dates were stuffed with hazelnut butter and chocolate chips.

Stuffed Dates

medjool dates
your favourite nut butter
chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit

Slice each date lengthwise, just far enough to remove the pit.  Fill with the nut butter and top with chocolate.  For a completely raw option, use raw nut butters, raw nuts and dehydrator-dried fruit.  Chill until you’re ready to serve.

What served as your main dish for Thanksgiving?  I’m looking forward to perusing all the Vegan MoFo thanksgiving posts!

Tomato Cashew Pasta

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A spin on traditional tomato sauce by adding creamy, nutritious cashews.  This recipe was inspired by Vegan Yum Yum’s Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta.

Tomato Cashew Pasta

1 package (454 gm) pasta (we like Tinyada rice pasta best)
1/2 cup cashews
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp oil
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups tomato sauce (we like Neal Brothers Arrabiata sauce)
4 large basil leaves, minced
black pepper

Soak the cashew in filtered water for at least one hour, then drain and rinse.  (You can read here why nuts should be soaked first.)  If you’re short on time, you can soak them in hot water for ten minutes but the longer, the better.

While the pasta is cooking, sautée the garlic in the oil.  When soft, combine the garlic and cashews in a food processor until pulverized.  Drain the cooked pasta and return the hot pot back to the stove.  On low heat, warm 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce, then add the sun-dried tomatoes, cashew and garlic.  Add more tomato sauce if you want to thin the sauce (it will make it lower in fat, calories and protein).  Add the basil leaves and stir.  Pour in the drained pasta and turn gently to coat.  Serve topped with black pepper and extra basil leaves if desired.

This is Vegan MoFo post #5!

Tofu Scramble and Coconut Bacon

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I’ve never been a fan of eggs; even as a meat-eating kid I wouldn’t touch them.  It was no hardship at all giving them up entirely for veganism.  When I was first served tofu scramble a couple of years ago, I didn’t find it particularly appetizing to look at, since it resembles scrambled eggs, but one taste and I was sold.  Tofu scramble is also a winner with my kids, they will eat every bite.
Tofu scramble makes a superb dish for brunches or dinner entrées.  Tofu is an excellent source of protein, calcium and iron, plus it’s not highly processed like some other soy foods.  Add some vegetables and nutritional yeast and you have one super healthy dish!  I make up a spice mix for the tofu scramble and keep in a glass jar in my pantry so I don’t have to measure out seven spices every time I want tofu scramble.
Tofu Scramble
1 cup onion, chopped
coconut or olive oil
2 14-oz packages of extra firm tofu
1 heaping tbsp of spice mix (below)
3 tbsp Bragg’s all-purpose seasoning, nama shoyu or soy sauce
2 1/2 cups chopped veggies (we like red pepper, massaged kale, mushrooms and spinach)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
optional topping: fresh herbs, Daiya, coconut bacon (see below)
 
Tofu Scramble Spice Mix
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp Herbamare seasoning or sea salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp sage
Mix the spices together and keep in a glass jar.  Makes enough for 6 servings of the tofu scramble.
Sautée the onion in a bit of oil over medium heat in a large pan and cook for about five minutes.  While the onion cooks, drain and rinse the tofu, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel and press gently to remove excess liquid.  Add the tofu to the pan with the onion and use a metal spatula to chop it up into chunks; it will continue crumbling into smaller pieces as it cooks.  Add the spice mix to 3 tbsp of water, stir, then add to pan.  Cook the tofu, scraping the bottom with the metal spatula as the tofu becomes brown and crispy on the bottom.  Add the Bragg’s, veggies and nutritional yeast to the pan and cook for another several minutes, until the veggies are soft.  Taste and add more Bragg’s or nutritional yeast if desired.  Serve warm.  Sprinkle with sea salt  and pepper to taste.
The scramble tastes excellent on its own, or you can top it with melted Daiya and even crispy coconut bacon for a higher-fat treat.  I first heard of coconut bacon when I read Mary’s rave review of Aux Vivres on her blog This is Vegan and was intrigued.  If you don’t like that’s it’s called “bacon”, just think of it as “smoky coconut crisps”.  I was excited to make my own crispy treat and was happy to find the recipe for Aux Vivres’ coconut bacon at Kirsten’s Kitchen here.  I used large flaked dried coconut since I couldn’t get my hands on a fresh coconut and it worked just fine.
I found that the recipe resulted in a surprisingly sweet taste; in future I will reduce the maple syrup to 2 tbsp for a more savoury taste.  The coconut bacon was also lovely in sandwiches and topped on salads, crackers, pastas and pizza.  Crispy and delicious!

Hawaiian Pizza

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Do you love pizza? You’re a human, so of course you do. Warm and gooey, crispy crust, all your favourite toppings.

I was lucky that Daiya (vegan cheese alternative made from tapioca and arrowroot flours) had been on the market for a year before I went vegan.  It made the transition easy when I was still craving cow cheese.  So cheesy vegan pizza is a no-brainer: just swap the cow stuff for Daiya.  But cheese-less pizza can be amazing too, and much lower in fat.   And now that I’m not craving cow cheese anymore, I don’t feel the need to eat so much Daiya.  When I made pizza for my family this week, I made two versions of Hawaiian pizza: one with Daiya for the kiddies and one without and the cheese-less one was just as awesome.

The inspiration for my BBQ sauce came from Amy’s Roasted Vegetable No Cheese frozen pizza which we’ve been loving for years.  Pizza needs no cheese when you have a great sauce!  BBQ sauce goes great with pineapple, and since I love kale, I’ve thrown it on too, and love how it crisps up on pizza.

Hawaiian Pizza
1 large pre-made whole grain pizza crust
1/2 recipe for BBQ sauce, below
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1/4 cup veggie ham or bacon, chopped (we like Yves Bacon Strips)
1/4 cup kale, chopped thinly, then massaged with a bit of oil
other veggies of your choice (we used mushrooms and red pepper)
Daiya shreds (optional)
Italian seasoning to sprinkle on top

You know how to assemble a pizza, right?  Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Sugar-free BBQ Sauce
1 cup ketchup (we like Organicville‘s best, it’s organic and sweetened only with agave)
1 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Makes enough sauce for two large pizzas.

Black Bean Cashew Quesadillas

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I love a culinary challenge and believe that any delicious dish can be veganized.  One of my dear friends has a long list of food allergies so when we hosted her for dinner I set out to create a vegan entrée that was free of all animal products, soy, peanuts and gluten.  I chose teff tortillas but you can use any tortilla you like.  These quesadillas were easy to make and can be assembled ahead of time and grilled just before serving.  My friend said it rocked her vegan socks!

Black Bean Cashew Quesadillas
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in filtered water for an hour, then drained (if you’re short on time, use hot water and soak for ten minutes)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp freshly juiced lime
approximately 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, minced (optional)
1 jar of salsa (approximately 1 cup for inside the tortillas, more for serving)
1 package of Daiya shreds
6 tortillas

Puree the black beans, drained cashews and garlic in a food processor.  When smooth, add the cumin and lime and blend again.

Spread one side of one tortilla generously with the black bean mixture, then top with cilantro, salsa and Daiya.  Cover with another tortilla and move carefully to a grill or fry pan.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas to make two more quesedillas.

Grill for about 3 minutes each side or until heated through and crispy on the outside.  If you use a frying pan and gluten-free tortillas, flip carefully as gluten-free tortillas can be crumbly.  Slice into fours with a pizza cutter.  Serve with a dollop of salsa, guacamole or vegan sour cream.  Makes 3 large quesedillas.

I am submitting this recipe to Healthy Vegan Fridays and Wellness Weekends blog hops.

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Rice with Caramelized Shallots, Black Beans and Kale

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1 shallot, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp or more coconut oil
salt and pepper
2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 can black beans or adzuki beans, drained and rinsed
½  cup chopped kale, slivered
1 Tbsp nama shoyu or wheat-free soy sauce (or more to taste)
½ cup or more fresh cilantro, chopped

In a frying pan on medium-high, caramelize the shallots and garlic in the coconut oil.  Add the slivered kale and sauté until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wash, drain and cook the rice in a large pot on the stove.  When the rice is soft and water evaporated, add the black beans, vegetables and nama shoyu and stir well.  Serve topped with cilantro.