Onion Rolls

Oh onion rolls, how I love thee.  I've made these probably about ten times now.  They never get old.  They're always perfect.  Even though I know I usually eat two tempeh sandwiches, meaning two rolls, I always have to sample an extra one straight out of the oven.  You know, for quality control.

Onion Rolls:

• 1 cup lukewarm water 
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance
• 1 egg replacer (1 1/2 tablespoon oil + 1 1/2 tablespoon water + 1 teaspoon baking powder)
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
• 3 tablespoons minced dried onion, plus more for topping
• 1-2 tablespoons soymilk

Using a stand mixer with the dough hook, combine first 8 ingredients.  Mix on low until a ball forms.   Place dough ball in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel.  Place in a warm spot and let rise for at least 1 hour, until doubled in size.  Roll out dough into a 12x17 rectangle.  Sprinkle dough with the minced onion.  Roll the dough into a log, sealing the ends and the seam.  Cut the dough into 10-12 rolls.  Places the rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet, then flatten with your hand.  Cover with a towel and let rise for another hour, until they're very puffy.  Remove the towel.  Brush the rolls with soymilk and sprinkle with more minced onion.  Bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool slightly.  Slice in half to use as sandwich rolls. 

First Year of Vegan Mofo

This is my first year participating in Vegan Mofo (month of food).  Some bloggers have a theme they try to work on for the month.  For me, as a new vegan, my theme is simply what I'm eating on a regular basis and how I'm dealing with the transition from vegetarian to vegan.  And one thing I'm eating a lot is this BBQ tempeh sandwich with coleslaw and sweet potato fries.  I found the recipe through the Kind Life.  I make it about two or three times a month now.  The recipe can be found here.  I've also been trying to make the onion rolls that I serve the sandwich on.  Because what's better than homemade bread?  I'll post my recipe for onion rolls later this week.  And if there is anything you'd like to see on the blog during Vegan Mofo just let me know!

Vegan Ranch Dressing

On August 8th I started Colleen Patrick Goudreau's 30 Day Vegan Challenege.  Other than one slip-up about half-way through I've been vegan since that day.  And I've been loving every minute of it.  My boyfriend went vegan on the same day, as I do all of the cooking in our house.  He was on board, but one of his biggest concerns was finding a replacement for ranch dressing.  Personally, I'm not a fan of the stuff, but he uses it almost as much as he uses barbecue sauce.  I searched for a few recipes online until I found one that I had all the ingredients for.  It took less than 10 minutes to whip up.  And this recipe received my boyfriend's stamp of approval.

Vegan Ranch Dressing:

• 1 cup vegan mayo (I used vegenaise by Follow Your Heart)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened, plain soymilk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Whisk together all of the ingredients.  Store in the refrigerator.  I used an empty agave nectar bottle.  For a thinner ranch for salads, use the above recipe.  For a slightly thicker ranch for dipping add about 1/4-1/2 cup more mayo.

I might be posting a little less frequently until October 1st, when Vegan Mofo starts up.  Since I'm going to try to post every day I need to save up a few recipes.

Vegan Thin Mints

I finished my last minute preparations for Tropical Storm Isaac by early afternoon so I decided to make some snacks for tomorrow.  I pinned this recipe awhile ago.  It just looked so simple and easy, as well as tasty.  And yes, it was incredibly simple and easy.  It took me about ten minutes, then I just had to wait for the chocolate to harden in the fridge.

The recipe can be found here.  I will enjoy snacking on thin mints tomorrow while the storm rages on.  To all of my fellow Floridians, stay safe and dry!

Coming soon are recipes for homemade, vegan ranch dressing and homemade onion rolls!

Pici Pasta with Peppery Cashew Cream

My last post was a recap of my final meals in Italy.  And one of my favorite, final things I ate in Italy was a pasta dish, pici with cheese and black pepper.  It was so simple and amazingly delicious (a characteristic off all of my favorite dishes).  While I was your normal run-of-the-mill vegetarian in Italy, once I got home I started transitioning to a vegan diet.  And now I've started the 30 Day Vegan Challenge (day 5 and going strong).  I really wanted to recreate the dish but I knew I had to do it vegan.

This vegan version tasted exactly as I remembered it, if not better.  Because there is almost no fat yet it was still filling and cheesy and warm and wonderful.  I brought back a bag of pici from Italy, but you can use any long noodle.  Spaghetti or fettuccine would work well. 

Pici Pasta with Peppery Cashew Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 2 cups water
• Long pasta of your choice
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3/4-1 cup nutritional yeast
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
• Salt, to taste
• Parsley, minced for garnish

Drain and rinse your soaked cashews.  Blend with two cups of water until smooth.  Bring pot of water to a boil and cook past according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, in another pot or saute pan saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant.  De-glaze with white wine.   Stir in cashew cream, bring to a simmer.  Stir in nutritional yeast.  Add pepper, starting with two teaspoons, adding more to suit your palate. 

Once pasta is done, drain in a colander, then return to the pot.  Pour on sauce.  Serve immediately, garnish with fresh parsley.

Eats in Italy: Part 4

 This will be my last post about what I ate in Italy.  It's been great reliving the memories.  And even better, I've recreated one of the dishes in this post, so that recipe will be up soon.

This first picture is a Tuscan soup called ribollita.  My mom and I each had a bowl for lunch in Radda.  We knew we were going to have another ridiculously long dinner but since it was going to be for 6+ hours, we also knew we needed to eat lunch.  This soup was perfect.  It was light, fairly veggie heavy, and a delicious lunch.

And yes, as it turns out, we did have our final, hours long dinner that night.  It started with some anti-pasti, and then two types of pasta for the second course, both served family style.  The first was tagliatelle with a mushroom sauce. 

The second was pici pasta with cheese and black pepper.  Even though I knew there would be more food coming, I filled up on both pastas.  The problem was that I couldn't decide which type I liked better, so I kept going back in forth between the two, eating two big portions of pasta.  I never did make up my mind.

After our tour is Tuscany, my mom and I took a side trip to Venice for two days.  The weather was terrible, the city somewhat touristy and overcrowded, but we still had a good time.  As soon as we arrived in the city I got ourselves a map and we walked to the iconic Harry's Bar.  Yes, it was crazy expensive.  But I just didn't think we should miss out on the birth place of the bellini (peach puree and prosecco).   And it was a delicious cocktail, shared with one of my absolute favorite people in the world.

 

I can't say enough wonderful things about this trip.  Beyond the food (which was obviously fantastic) our tour group was great, all the guides were wonderful, and every person we met was a pleasure.  If you're ever looking for a small group tour in Europe that lets you sleep in and provides you with amazing food and drink, check out Tuscany Tours.   Tell them I sent you.  Ciao!

Broth in a Bag (and other tips)

 A while ago I posted a recipe for vegetable broth.  And while that recipe is still good I've found a much cheaper way to make broth.  You know all of those veggie scraps you throw out, like the tops of onions and the ends of asparagus spears?  Those have lots of flavor!  So save them from the garbage and get the full bang for your buck with your vegetables.  I keep a gallon bag in my freezer for vegetable scraps.  When it's full I dump the scraps into my biggest pot, fill it with water, add some bay leaves and peppercorns, and simmer for an hour or two.  And then I have homemade vegetable broth for super cheap.  I pour the broth into some Tupperware containers, stick it in the freezer, and then I have vegetable broth whenever I want.  In the bag pictured above I believe I had the tops of some onions, kale stems, asparagus ends, carrot peels, garlic nubs, Brussels sprout leaves, and probably a few other things.  On top I threw in a handful of fresh chives I had that I had no immediate plans for, as well as bay leaves and peppercorns.  I never salt my broth because I prefer to salt for the individual dish.  
 

While we're on the subject of saving money let me tell you that I am a coupon girl.  It's a learned skill from my mom.  I shop for sales and always try to combine with coupons.  But some of the prepared vegan foods that I enjoy are somewhat expensive and rarely go on sale.  So what did I do?  I e-mailed the companies directly asking them to send me coupons.  Amy's, Follow Your Heart, Daiya, Tofurky, and Van's all gave me positive response and I've already receive the coupons from Amy's, Follow Your Heart, and Tofurky.  These companies want your business so you should shoot them an e-mail as well.  Let me know who you get a positive reply from!  Are there any other vegan companies that you like that I've missed?