Vegan in an Omni Family

 A few months ago I was the only vegetarian in my family.  It had been a little over three years and it seemed like everyone had finally adjusted.  And then I told them I was going vegan.  So now I'm even weirder, still the only one who doesn't eat animals, but now I don't eat their secretions either.

My family is very supportive of my choice to be vegan.  To me it seems like one of their primary concerns is how we're going to eat together as a family.  I'm vegan, my sister is notoriously picky, and my dad would eat junk every day if my mom let him.  So when we find gems like BurgerFi it's a very happy occasion. 

It's a burger joint, so obviously there's a whole lot of animal flesh going on.  But they do have an AWESOME veggie quinoa burger.  Seriously, probably the best veggie burger I've ever had.  Restaurants like this are great because they show my family that just because I'm vegan doesn't mean I can't share meals with them.  In fact, there are many places we can share a meal that satisfies all of us.  We each had our own burger with the fixings we wanted and shared/devoured a bucket of well done, super crispy french fries.  It was a great lunch.

If your family is hesitant about you adopting an animal-free diet I think it's really helpful to not only cook for your family, but find restaurants that serve all of your unique tastes.  That way they realize that you can still share meals together and that you're not missing out on anything.  My mom had a bite of my quinoa burger and loved it!  It's unrealistic to think that we can change our families, but we can come together and share delicious meals and have honest conversations about our values of compassion and kindness.

And just to reiterate, this was the best veggie burger I've ever had.  Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.  And they have all sorts of cool toppings.  I had lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, pickles, and ketchup.  Be sure to tell them to hold the cheese. Hindsight, some avocado would have been great as well.  Not pictured is the glass of strawberry lemonade I had which was also amazing.

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!