Vegan Reuben Burger

I've been craving a Reuben sandwich lately, and today we decided to try our hand at a vegetarian version. Surprisingly, rye bread was nowhere to be found at the grocery store. I guess it's an exotic ethnic food around here (picture me rolling my eyes)? So we used individual ciabatta rolls instead. I made some vegan Thousand Island dressing with Vegenaise, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, white wine vinegar, and threw in some caraway seed to try to make up for the absence of rye bread. It worked!

We used vegan Boca Burgers, topped them with sauerkraut and the dressing, and Brad had swiss cheese on his while I kept mine vegan.



It was good! The sauerkraut, caraway and Thousand Island dressing are, for me, what makes up the essence of a Reuben, so I was happy. I actually took my Boca Burger off midway through and gave it to the dogs, and just ate what amounts to a Sauerkraut and Thousand Island sandwich, and enjoyed it even more that way. Next time I might roast up some veggies like eggplant and zucchini, and put them on in place of the Boca Burger. I bet it would be good!

Creamy Asian Pear and Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing

Brad left for Japan this morning, which is very sad for me, but my mom is visiting, which means I have the opportunity to try out a bunch of recipes that I've been interested in, but that didn't appeal to Brad. Gotta take lemons and make 'em into lemonade, right? I'm so excited that my mom is here, and am looking forward to spending the next 10 days with her. Hooray!

The first recipe on the list was Creamy Asian Pear and Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing, from Veganomicon. I won't give out the whole recipe, since I don't want to step on their toes, and because I think everyone out there should go pick up a copy of this awesome book. But I will tell you that the salad contains tempeh, pear (no Asian pears to be found today, so we just used a Bosc) , green onions, and a spicy Vegenaise-based dressing. Oh, baby!



I served mine on some absolutely delicious sprouted soy wheat bread, toasted, with baby greens. That, with an apple and some blueberries, made a delicious lunch.

At last!

Finally! A real blog post! With pictures AND a recipe! Hooray!



Tonight we had super yummy, crunchy, crispy, fresh, spicy, zest wraps stuffed with fresh veggies, grilled tofu, and a drizzle of peanut sauce. Oh, baby! I can't even begin to tell you how much these hit the spot. They were exactly what I've been craving! They're also fairly quick to throw together, which is a nice because Brad is taking off in a few minutes to go do his monthly Navy Reserve drill period in New Orleans, so we were able to maximize our time together before he goes.

These are great for a light meal, but if you're craving something heartier, you can also stuff the wraps with jasmine rice and chopped peanuts. Deeeelicious!



Thai Tofu Wraps with Peanut Sauce

1 block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 leaves green cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Very hot water
Large flour tortillas

Cut the block of tofu in half horizontally, then slice into sticks, about 3/4" x 1/2" x 3". Set aside. Heat a grill pan or Foreman Grill. Brush lightly with vegetable oil, then place the tofu on the grill and drizzle with soy sauce. Grill 3 to 4 minutes per side (no need to flip if it's on the Foreman Grill), or until it firms up somewhat and has pretty grill marks. Set aside.

Toss together the cabbage, bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, vinegar, sugar, cayenne pepper, and salt. Set aside.

Whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Gradually whisk in hot water until it reaches a good consistency for drizzling. Set aside.

Now it's time to assemble the wraps. Heat tortillas in the microwave until soft and pliable. Place a handful of vegetable mixture on the tortilla, top with 3 strips of tofu, and drizzle with peanut sauce. Carefully wrap up and place seam-side down on a plate until ready to serve.

These can be served warm, chilled, or room temperature.

Vegan Mock Tuna Salad

Chickpeas taste like tuna fish? Really?

My friend Sarah told me how to make a mock tuna salad, using coarsely mashed garbanzo beans instead of tuna fish. I'll admit, I was skeptical. Even though Sarah is my vegan mentor of sorts, I just didn't see how garbanzo beans could taste like tuna fish.

Brad and I had an overnight getaway to New Orleans this weekend, while the kids stayed at his dad's, and the dogs were boarded at their animal hospital. We got back around noon, and Brad's dad and stepmom took us out to lunch at Brad's favorite Chinese place, so we're understandably not super motivated to cook this evening. I got to thinking about the mock tuna salad, and since I had a spare can of garbanzo beans in the pantry, I decided to give it a shot.

And holy shit! It does taste like tuna salad! Amazing! I don't know how or why, but it honestly does! I think this may become a lunchtime staple in our home. Woohoo!

You can make this any way you want, just follow your usual tuna salad proportions, but use a can of drained, mashed garbanzo beans in place of the tuna. Tonight I made a really simple batch, with just vegan mayonnaise and dill pickle relish, but if I'd had some onions of any kind (red or green are my favorites, but yellow or white would also have been nice), I would have thrown them in, too.

Grilled Mushroom and Onion Veggieburgers

Today we took our afternoon to just rest and relax. That meant I got to take my first nap in more than a month (woohoo!), and it also meant that we wanted an easy dinner that didn't involve a lot of prep work. This certainly fit that bill!



I was surprised to discover that a lot of veggieburgers still contain dairy products, so it took a little searching to find a vegan one that still looked good. I ended up going with Organic Sunshine Burgers, made of brown rice, sunflower seeds, carrots, herbs and sea salt, and they were really good! I don't know how they'd be just plain on a bun, but I had mine with Vegannaise, sliced avocado (instead of cheese), cooked mushrooms and onions, and spicy sprouts. Yum! What a delicious dinner!

So, my vegan diet is going fairly well, one week in. Yesterday I did have some dairy because we joined Brad's family out for pizza, and I don't really know what else I could have done, so I just went with it. I have no intention of becoming a militant dietary vegan. I don't intend to eat meat or dairy at home at all, nor will I eat meat when I'm out, and I'll do my best to also choose the dairy-free option when I'm out, but sometimes that just isn't viable. I'm just going to do the best I can.

I have to take a moment, while I'm on this topic, to give a shout out to my husband. He is -- and always has been -- so supportive of me, and is always encouraging me in anything I want to do. I knew he was on board with going meat-free at home, and I knew that he was also supportive of me transitioning to a vegan diet now. But this morning I was in the car alone with the kids, and Lydia was asking me about my decision to not eat meat or dairy, and told me that Brad had told her and Meg that it was really important for the three of them to be supportive of me in this. Isn't that sweet? I mean, it's not surprise because as I said, he's always been that way, but it was still awesome to know that he is totally on board with me, and wants to see me succeed. Hooray for Brad! : )

"Meat" loaf Sandwiches

Oh baby. I love meat loaf sandwiches! There have been times I've made meat loaf for the sole purpose of using the leftovers on sandwiches the next day. So it was much to my delight that I discovered that my lentil-quinoa loaf from Sunday made absolutely fantastic "meat" loaf sandwiches! Nice!

I fancied these up a bit, and put them on awesome Louisiana po' boy rolls (best bread ever!). I spread one side with Vegannaise, squiggled some ketchup on the other side, and topped it with some sliced red onions. Yummmmm. If I weren't trying to lose weight, I would go to the kitchen right now and make me another one. Instead, I'll settle for taking one to work tomorrow for lunch.



I did end up making my decision about whether or not to go all vegetarian, all the time. I'm going for it. I'm all in. I'm not promising that this will be a lifelong decision, but it's what I want to do now, and I'll leave it at that. My fairly short-term goal is to not eat meat until the holidays. I would hate to miss out on Thanksgiving turkey, after all. But in the meantime, I'm going to go meat-free and as dairy-free as I possibly can, and see how it works for me. I desperately need to lose weight. A LOT of weight. And I think this is a good place to start. My blood pressure has steadily risen over the years, and while it's not at crucial levels, it's still disturbing. A woman my age died of a heart attack on our base in Japan several years ago. That's sobering, to put it mildly. I realize, of course, that there's more to a healthy lifestyle than just one's diet, but it's still a good place to start. We can't afford a gym membership these days, and it's far too hot to exercise outside, so Brad is scouring the town to try to find a store that has Wii Fitness in stock, so we can start working out together at home.

So that's what I'm doing. I'm very, very curious to see how this works for me, and how I feel on a completely vegetarian diet. As I said, I'm going to avoid dairy as much as I can, but that can be difficult around here. Lunch is catered in at my office every day, and wouldn't you know that yesterday, the first day of work since making this dietary pledge, they would of course bring in a couple big trays of brisket, swimming in BBQ sauce. Damn it! There was also potato salad (mayonnaise), baked beans (bacon), salad, and garlic bread. I ended up just having a big plate of salad with vinaigrette, and a piece of garlic bread. There was cheese in the salad, though, and butter on the bread, but I at least went for the least egregious things I could. So things like that will be a challenge, but maybe I will just start packing my own lunch every day. Hmm.

Anyway, yesterday's cream puff ring was my farewell to dairy, and a fine one it was! ; ) But after this, I may have to bow out of future Tuesdays With Dorie recipes, unless I can find a way to veganize them. So we'll see how that goes. Next week's cobbler recipe should be a piece of cake -- no pun intended. ; )

I love my Foreman Grill

When I met Brad seven years ago, I scoffed at his Foreman Grill. I had seen the infomercials advertising it, and I had figured it was just another hokey product that didn't actually work. But I learned. ; ) While I don't like it for steaks or burgers, t's the greatest thing ever for quickly cooking up a healthy chicken breast. And a couple years ago, we discovered that it's awesome for paninis! We were about to drop a big chunk of change on a panini grill, but after looking at one closely at the store, it looked very much like a Foreman Grill, so we put off the purchase and went home to give it a try. To our delight, it worked beautifully! We started eating paninis all the time, for an easy dinner, or a quick lunch, with deli meat, cheese and herbs. We kind of forgot about paninis, though, after we moved here and stopped eating meat at home.

I broke it out this morning to make my lunch for work. I saw this recipe on Vegan Yum Yum, and toasted it on the Foreman Grill. It's a flour tortilla spread with hummus, topped with sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, and baby spinach, plus I sprinkled mine with a little cayenne pepper to add some kick. I'm sure it would be great fresh off the grill, but it was still good when I ate it after it had been sitting in a bento box in my desk for 6 hours. What a perfect traveling lunch item!



Then tonight we broke out the Foreman Grill again, and made tomato, basil and mozzarella paninis for dinner. Yum! There was no good panini bread at the store, so Brad got a loaf of French bread instead, and it worked really well. I sliced it crosswise into 4 sections, then split them horizontally. There was no fresh basil at the store today, either, so instead we used a jar of minced basil packed in olive oil, then fresh tomato slices and mozzarella. We had these with a big salad for dinner. Yum!

Before:



After:



Hooray for the Foreman Grill!

Pita Sandwiches

This week has been really odd. It's the least I've cooked in a week in a long time, but we've had things going on, plus we ate leftovers earlier in the week, so all that amounts to less cooking. And it kind of bums me out.

Tonight I got back in the kitchen, and it perked me up! I made a batch of hummus (God bless my mother for giving me a Cuisinart food processor for Christmas!), and I heated up some leftover kofta in a skillet. We put them in pita sandwiches with hummus, lettuce, tomato and red onion with a splash of grapeseed oil, red wine vinegar, dill and oregano, then sprinkled them with a little feta cheese.

Isn't it pretty?



Not only that, but I also just put a 4 lb beef roast in the slow cooker for a family BBQ we're going to tomorrow, and a fabulously fragrant almond cake is baking in the oven as we speak. I was going to take it to the BBQ, but didn't realize what a small cake it is. Not nearly enough to take to a big family gathering, so Brad and I are going to sacrifice by just keeping the cake and devouring it ourselves. It wouldn't be fair to tempt a whole crowd with a tiny cake, would it? We're taking one for the team!

I really hope the roast turns out. I am decidedly NOT a fan of slow cookers, but my hands are tied for tomorrow. I have a baby shower to attend in the morning, for a friend from Japan, originally from the area but currently living in Seattle, who's expecting her first baby, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. But the BBQ starts at noon, and I'll be gone most of the day and won't be there till late, so instead of roasting it over 4 hours on top of the stove like I normally do, I'm going to slow cook it over night and all morning tomorrow, and it should be ready for noon. We'll see. I've been called out by Brad's uncle, who doesn't believe that this Yankee actually does make the best roast beef po' boys in the world, so I just really, really hope the slow cooker comes through for me.

Cross your fingers for me and my roast!

Quesadillas

I have a real aversion to leftovers. I hate to eat them. I don't know what it is about me, but there are very few things I can drum up enough interest to eat as leftovers. Tuna noodle casserole, macaroni and cheese, cold fried chicken, and cold yakisoba or chow mein, and that's about it. I try to cook fairly small dinners, so as not to have any leftovers, well, left over. I purposely planned leftovers of the black beans and rice the other day, to use in last night's burritos, and we must be on a roll now, because Brad just made some yummy toasted quesadillas with leftover tortillas, pico de gallo and cheese. Usually we shortcut these and just nuke 'em in the microwave, but today Brad went the extra mile and toasted them in a hot skillet. Yum, yum, yum!



The recipe, if you can call it that, is really simple. Place pico de gallo and shredded cheese on half of a flour tortilla. Fold over in half. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook quesadilla on each side until toasted and crispy. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Voila!

Lentil Sloppy Joes

I'm not ashamed to admit it. Sloppy Joes are one of my favorite meals. They're tangy and delicious and just one of those all-around great comfort foods that I go nuts for. Not eating meat at home kind of rules them out, but I've seen where people have made them with lentils, so I gave that a try tonight.

My standard recipe for Sloppy Joes is different from Sloppy Joes I've had anywhere else. Every other Sloppy Joe I've tried has been spicy, where my Sloppy Joes are sweet and tangy. Other Sloppy Joes have bell peppers or other veggies, where mine just have onions. So maybe my Sloppy Joes are unconventional, but at least they're mine, right? And it's a great vegan meal!

They were a big hit with all four of us. Hooray! The kids were skeptical when I told them they were made with lentils instead of ground beef, but they changed their minds as soon as they tried the first bite. And Brad ate THREE of them for dinner tonight. So yeah, we like these.

Do you like how I got all fancy with the cheesy X? Hee hee hee...



Lentil Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 cups dried lentils
4 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
salt and pepper
hamburger buns

Combine lentils and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and saute until it begins to soften, but not brown. Drain lentils and add to skillet, along with ketchup, mustard, vinegar and brown sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. If the mixture is too soupy, remove the lid and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Serve on hamburger buns.

Pan Bagnat

I've been wanting to make these sandwiches for ages. I've seen them in countless cookbooks, and they always looked so fresh and satisfying, so I picked up the ingredients today to make them for lunch. I don't often plan out lunches ahead of time. Tuesdays and Thursday after class, we usually go somewhere quick for lunch on our way home (or not so quick, if we decide to skip out of Chemistry early), and on non-class days, we typically just forage and come up with something from what we have one hand. Today, though, I decided to splurge a little and buy ingredients specifically for lunch.

And we were rewarded handsomely! What a wonderful sandwich! So pretty! So satisfying! So easy! We ate them out on the back patio while we studied for our Anthropology final and our sweet dog Gretel happily played in the sunshine.

While it may seem like a lot of stuff, the ingredients in this are actually simple. A lot of it you may already have on hand in your fridge and pantry, so if you do, make up a few of these, and you'll be glad you did. They'd be great, too, to make ahead of time for a brown bag lunch or a picnic. I think they may become a staple for us.



Pan Bagnat

soft sandwich rolls
olive oil
garlic, minced
tuna, preferably packed in olive oil (ours was packed in water)
Roma tomatoes, sliced
red onion, sliced
hard boiled egg, sliced (I left this out since we didn't have any ready)
Kalamata olives, pitted
fresh basil
lettuce
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Split the rolls horizontally. Drizzle liberally with olive oil. Top with garlic, tuna, tomatoes, onion, egg, olives, basil and lettuce. Splash with a little vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Place the tops on the rolls, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours, up to 12.

Fake Egg Salad

Insertfoodhere salad sandwiches are one of my guilty pleasures. Tuna salad, chicken salad, salmon salad, egg salad...you name it. I could eat them for lunch every day and not get tired of them. None of them, however, fit into the vegetarian diet we've been trying to eat at home. We're trying not to eat dairy products, either, although we're admittedly not doing such a great job of that, but we still do try.

I had half a pack of tofu leftover from when I made Pad Thai Monday evening, and I remembered reading something about how you can make a fake egg salad using diced and/or mashed tofu, so I set out to try it! I didn't have anything really special to add to it, so I went with the bare bones basics: (vegan) mayonnaise, yellow mustard and dill pickle relish. And you know what? It really does taste like an egg salad sandwich! I didn't think it would, but it really honest to God does. Enough so that even Brad, who hates tofu, gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, and ate an entire sandwich. Hooray!

I'm particularly excited about this because I often want an egg salad sandwich, but don't want to fuss with boiling the eggs. I'm nothing if not impatient, and all the time it takes to boil the eggs, let them cool, and wrestle with peeling them (something I really find difficult, for some reason) is oftentimes just too much for me. But now I can have egg salad that not only fits within a vegan diet, but also is super fast and easy. Yes!

Pardon the really boring, lame picture, as I didn't have anything to spruce it up with right now. There's so much more you could add to this...some green or red onions, lettuce, sprouts, tomato, or whatever your little heart desires. But definitely give it a try if you have some leftover tofu. It's really good!



Fake Egg Salad

1/2 brick extra-firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp dill pickle relish

Dice tofu into 1/4-inch pieces. Using the tines of a fork, mash about one eighth of the tofu. Add remaining ingredients, combining thoroughly. Serve on bread with desired accoutrement. ; )

Salmon Salad Sandwiches

When I bought salmon for last night's dinner, I told the fish guy that I needed enough for two people, and, well, he gave me enough for four. I feel a little bit better about how much I paid for it (we are on a tight budget, after all, being two full-time college students, neither one of us working, and raising two kids to boot), seeing as how at least we'll get two meals out of it. But what to do with leftover salmon? I've had cold salmon before, poached in white wine and served with a cucumber sauce, but that wasn't appealing to me right now. After some quick web browsing and brain storming, we settled on salmon salad sandwiches.

There has got to be a better name for this. Tuna salad sounds fine, but salmon salad? It just sounds wrong for some reason, like school cafeteria mystery meat's quirky cousin. Huh. I'm not sure what to do about that. But hey, regardless of what you call it, it's tasty!

What would you call it?

I had fun taking pictures of this. I thought it was hilarious to take an artsy picture of basically glorified tuna salad on cheapo white bread. Ah, I crack myself up.



This is how we actually ate it, though, with some leftover Quinoa Salad.



Oh, and I told Meg that it was "pink tuna fish", and she couldn't wait to try it. LOL

Let me preface the recipe by saying that I'm not giving any ingredient amounts. I know that I'm super finicky about how I like my tuna salad, which of course carries over to salmon salad, and I'm sure others are, too. Just use the amounts to suit your own personal taste. If you like just a hint of mayo, no problem. If you prefer your mayo with a hint of fish, go for it. These are just broad guidelines for making salmon salad.

All right.

Salmon Salad Sandwiches

Cooked salmon (I imagine you could use canned salmon -- something I've never tried -- but mine was leftover roasted salmon)
Mayonnaise
Green onions, thinly sliced
Dill, fresh or dried
Salt & Pepper
Bread

In a medium mixing bowl, flake the salmon. Add mayonnaise to suit your taste. Gently fold in green onions and a little dill. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chill until serving. When you're ready to eat, slather this on the bread of your choice.

Roast Beef Po' Boys

1 recipe Roast Beef and Gravy
New Orleans style French bread, about 8-10 inches long per sandwich
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Dill pickle slices
Mayonnaise

Slice the bread about 3/4 of the way through, leaving a hinged top. Slather the bread with a very generous portion of mayonnaise on the inside of the upper and lower halves. Place about a cup of lettuce on the bottom half. Top with dill pickle slices. Cover the lettuce with a generous portion of sliced/shredded roast beef. Drown the beef with gravy.

Have plenty of napkins on hand. If you're not messy to the elbows by the time you finish eating this, you haven't done it right. ; )

Spicy Lamb Burgers

1 pound ground lamb (can substitute ground beef if necessary)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon sherry
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 pita bread rounds
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat grill for medium heat.

Place the lamb in a large bowl, and mix with the mint, cilantro, oregano, garlic, sherry, vinegar, and molasses. Season with cumin, allspice, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper, and mix well. Shape into 4 patties.

Brush grill grate with oil. Grill burgers 5 minutes on each side, or until well done. Heat the pita pocket briefly on the grill. Serve burgers wrapped in pitas with feta cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp chili powder
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp butter
½ c Tabasco Sauce
Lettuce leaves
4 crusty rolls, split
2 c sour cream
4 scallions, thinly sliced
½ lb blue cheese, crumbled

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder. Drizzle breasts with a little olive oil to coat. Pan grill chicken breasts 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

Melt butter in a small saucepan and add hot sauce to the butter to combine. When the chicken breasts are done, remove from pan and add to the bowl and coat evenly with hot sauce mixture.

Combine sour cream, scallions and blue cheese, and spread on rolls. Top with chicken breasts and lettuce.