Friday, July 4, 2008

Smoothies, Sammichs, and Sausage (the fake kind)

Tonight at our monthly Food Awareness vegetarian meeting, Lee demonstrated how to make a green smoothie:


Lee's a cool guy. He'd been experimenting with raw foods a lot lately, and he swears when he eats blueberries, he sees colors more vividly. The grass was definitely greener after this yummy smoothie of frozen bananas, kale, strawberries, and blueberries. I don't have any photos of the finished product, but trust me, it was delicious.

Last night, I veganized a simple Paula Deen recipe for Tomato Sandwiches with Basil:


These were a perfect way to enjoy ripe, juicy summer tomatoes. And it's super easy. Here's the veganized recipe:

2 slices tomato, drained on paper towels for 10 minutes
4 slices whole grain bread (I used Ezekiel Sprouted Grain bread)
Handful of basil leaves
1/3 cup Veganaise
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. dried dill
black pepper to taste

Mix the spices and mayo together. Spread on bread and place one slice of tomato and a few basil leaves between 2 slices. Cut the bread into a circle around the tomato slice. Repeat. Refrigerate, covered with a damp towel, unless ready to use.

On the side, I made Vegan Sweet Potato Sausage Balls with a Cheezy Dipping Sauce:


These are going in the cookbook, but they're basically a veganized version of traditional sausage balls made with real sausage, cheese, and Bisquick. My mom used to make them all the time, and I loved them before I gave up meat in '94. This is the first time I've attempted to make them vegan (or even vegetarian), so I was pretty impressed. Note: Though it is vegan, I did not cheat with Bisquick for these. I used good old-fashioned whole wheat pastry flour.

The dipping sauce (not pictured) is basically a traditional noochy cheeze sauce.

27 comments:

Brad and Ahnah said...

Great picture of Lee with the demo tonight!! We'll have to let Steph know next time we plan on polka dots. Ha-Ha

I just finished a tomato sandwich and really, really wish I had read your blog first! Those look so good. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

We have three packages of blueberries in varying sizes in the fridge, so I'm hoping for the magical seeing colors brighter property! (My boyfriend keeps assuming the ones we already have are bad and buying new ones. Because he is crazy.)

Those sammitches look perfect for summer.

Kristen's Raw said...

I love green smoothies...can't imagine my life without them. One of my favorites:

1-2 cups water
1-2 handfuls spinach
2 apples
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or more!)

YUM!!!

Anonymous said...

Green smoothies are so fantastic. They're the number one way I get veggies into my toddler's diet. The tomato/basil sandwich sounds amazing. I may run up to the grocery for some tomatoes so we can have it for lunch today (we're going to a BBQ for the 4th, but I'm pretty sure there won't be much there for me to eat, so I'm going to eat before I go!).

Anonymous said...

I never have the patience to make smoothies for breakfast but the rest of the day is fair game. Especially happy hour :-)
Mmm, those balls looks great! Haha, that sounded wrong..

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I too love green smoothies - Kristen's (from Kristen's Raw) recipe is fabulous!!

Mmm, those sandwiches are simple yet incredibly delicious - yum!!

Rose said...

Yummy! Everything looks delish.

Anonymous said...

Those smoothies were the shizzy (and nice artsy photo there, too)!

I want to put your (sausage) balls in my mouth. (tee!)

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, and no more matchy-matchy without consulting me first!

Anonymous said...

Yummy! I guess I'm out of the loop, I had no idea you were writing a cookbook? Awesome

Green Eyes, Green Heart said...

It's always a fun challenge to veganize Paula Dean recipes, because everything usually calls for a pound of butter. :)
Those sweet potato sausages look mighty tasty, by the way, and the sandwiches are cute!
~Erin

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

That is my kind of smoothie! Your sandwiches and other creations look yummy!

Anonymous said...

You veganized Paula Deen! You scamp! I admit to having fears of green smoothies. I have had fresh veggie juice with fruit juice (to make it more palatable) and to me it did not work! So perhaps you can explain a little how this tasted? What greens did he use?

I love that you use lots of whole wheat flour. I'm diabetic and the white stuff does terrible things to me.

I love veganaise. Better than the egg-y stuff by far.

J said...

MMMMMM, that smoothie sounds good with all the berries and a nice dose of green in it.

Awesome veganizing a Paula Deen recipe.

Oh, those "sausage" balls and cheezy sauce sound good. When is the cookbook coming out?! ;-)

Unknown said...

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite veggies...whenever your cookbook comes out, I'll be making these :0) All of your meals look so refreshing and summery (i'm making that a word now!)...I have YET to make a green smoothie!

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

I grew up eating sausage balls too, but your vegan ones with sweet potato sound even better!

Alicia said...

Tomato sandwich is the best food ever! And the sausage balls look like ice cream :-)

Unknown said...

blueberries help you see colors better? haha well i did just get a TON of them..so we'll see how that goes for me!

those sandwiches look so delicious, i love fresh tomatoes.. i might just have to make one
soon. :)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Three Ss and all look D-licious

Anonymous said...

I am all about green smoothies right now, but I have never tired kale...sounds like it's time to try it in my greensmoothie breakfast tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know that I made this sandwich for dinner tonight and it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe; I'm going to use it over and over again on those nights (like tonight) when I just need something fast, but that's also health and yummy!

The Voracious Vegan said...

I used to eat sausage/cheese balls all the time and I've never even thought to veganize them. I bet they are so tasty. I think your sandwiches are lovely!

urban vegan said...

Sandwich looks great. Cookbook? Do tell.

Avery Yale Kamila said...

Everything looks so yummy! I'd really like one of those sandwiches right now!

Theresa said...

Your balls look lovely! (tee hee)

Cindy Mc said...

Hey: Your blog is taking my meat-eating barbaric self to scary vegan places. The smoothie sounds yummy, and I recognize Lee in the photo! I've met him at Monday night Reiki at The Sanctuary. Nice guy. Those blackberry muffins look incredible (can I have some of those for my birthday?). And you don't have to convince me that fresh homegrown tomatoes with fresh homegrown basil is the best stuff in the world! I'm already a tomato-basil junkie in the summer!

Allison M. said...

How do you make your smoothies? My name is Allison and I work with Vita-Mix, would you be interested in testing one? Email me at apeltz@marcusthomasllc.com if you are interested.