Nouveau BBQ

When I make vegan barbecue, I tend to stick with the Memphis-style "pulled pork" sandwich using tempeh, tofu, or seitan. And it's ALWAYS topped with creamy slaw. But I'm open to new ideas. That's why I had to try Happy Herbivore's BBQ Chop Wrap:

You might not see the barbecue connection, but the lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, and corn in this wrap are tossed with tangy 'cue sauce before wrappin'. Then it's all topped with Guiltless Gourmet Yellow Corn Chips and rolled into a Cedar's Mountain Bread whole wheat wrap. Here it is pre-rollin':

I used my own recipe for Memphis-style barbecue sauce (heavy on the vinegar with hints of smoky molasses and maple). That sauce will be included in my cookbook. I like my own recipe so much that I never buy bottled barbecue sauce anymore!

Though this wrap isn't topped with slaw, it'd be a sin not to have some on the side. So I made Happy Herbivore's Veggie Slaw:

It's so simple — shredded zucchini and carrots tossed with mayo and seasonings. Lindsay recommends using her low-fat homemade mayo recipe, but I cheated and used high-fat Earth Balance Mindful Mayo. Oops. That kinda goes against the Happy Herbivore way, which is focused on low-fat, low or no-oil recipes. But it was tasty.

How do you like your vegan BBQ?

Fajita Scramble

So you go to a Mexican restaurant, not a fancy, vegan Mexican restaurant, but a regular old run-of-the-mill regional chain joint. There's a "vegetarian" section on the menu, but selections include likely-cooked-in-lard bean and cheese burritos, cheese tostadas, cheese enchiladas, and vegetable fajitas. You pick veggie fajitas since its the only remotely vegan item. Maybe the veggies are cooked on the same grill as the meat, but you take your chances because if you're like me, you don't ask a lot of questions in restaurants. Especially when your server barely speaks English anyway.

The fajitas are okay — mostly onions and bell peppers with a few tomatoes thrown in for good measure. You stuffed your face with chips and salsa (and margaritas) while waiting for your food, so you can't seem to finish the full steaming platter of fajita veggies. So you ask for a to-go box. But what to do with those leftovers? You definitely don't want the same-old unimpressive fajitas again for lunch the next day.

So you make Fajita Tofu Scramble!!

That's what I did with the leftover veggies from Sunday night's fajitas at El Porton. I'd bought a Groupon, so Paul and I ate there. But we were both unimpressed.

However, those onion-heavy sauteed veggies were the perfect backdrop to some frozen and thawed tofu cubes. Since the veggies were already seasoned with chili powder and other Mexican spices, I seasoned the tofu with a little nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and turmeric. Delicious! And way better than those fajitas!

What do you do to spice up restaurant leftovers?

Things to Do with Hummus and Vegan Mayo

I keep a list of must-make recipes and dinner ideas in a note on my iPhone. It's pretty damn long, and I'm certain I'll never get to all of them. I probably started the list over a year ago, and while many entries are clearly marked as recipes from cookbooks, I found a simple "home fries with hummus" listed near the top.

I recall seeing the idea for dipping home fries into hummus on some blog, but I'm not sure which one. I know it sounded delicious and like something I'd never think to do on my own. No recipe needed. Well, technically I guess I did use a recipe. Last night, I baked some potatoes using Happy Herbivore's Herbed Home Fries:

I was the lucky contest winner for a few Sabra hummus coupons from Food Feud, so I used Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus for dippin'. Oh, and I added sriracha after snapping the photo (of course!). What an awesome combo! From now on, I think I'll always serve home fries with hummus.

For my side dish, I made a Vegan Caesar Salad from the April/May 2011 Vegetarian Times:

It wasn't actually a recipe in the mag, but rather a food idea suggested in the "Ask the Chef" section. John Lenhard of Sublime Restaurant gave his secret to making a delicious Caesar dressing — 2 cups vegan mayo, 1 1/2 teaspoons Wizard's vegan Worcestershire sauce, and lots of garlic (some sauteed in olive oil and some raw). I know it looks like the salad in this picture doesn't have any dressing, but I promise it does! I only used enough to lightly coat the Romaine because it's kinda fatty.

I made a smaller batch using 1/2 cup of Earth Balance Mindful Mayo (this stuff is just as good, if not better, than Vegenaise, y'all!), about a teaspoon of Wizard's sauce, and 3 cloves of garlic (2 sauteed in one tablespoon of olive oil).

The croutons are made from day-old French bread sprayed with non-stick spray, dusted with garlic powder, and toasted in the oven. And I know tomatoes don't belong in a Caesar, but I can do whatever I want.

What do you like to do with hummus? Or vegan mayo?

Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

Not the cereal, but I used to love that stuff in my sugary cereal days. I'm not even sure if it's vegan, but even if it was, I probably couldn't bring myself to buy it anymore. I feel guilty eating cereal that's not loaded with fiber and healthy adult crap. That makes me sound so old. Ugh.

But I digress. Today's breakfast wasn't cereal at all, but rather Happy Herbivore's Cinnamon-Banana Toast Crunch:

Two slices of whole grain toast topped with cinnamon-vanilla flavored maple syrup and bananas. And though the recipe didn't call for it, I added some sliced almonds for fun.

It's like cheater French toast, which is perfect for a busy weekday morning when I've overslept once again. I'm the queen of oversleeping lately. And I typically do all my breakfast prep the night before, so morning cooking always involves a microwave or a toaster. But this was super quick with very little prep the night before. And since it's toasted, not fried, this dish has far less calories than regular vegan French toast.

Do you have a cheater version of some otherwise time-consuming recipe?

Vote for Me!

For the first time ever, I've been nominated for Best Vegan Blog in VegNews' 2011 Veggie Awards! I've been pimpin' this on Facebook and Twitter so you might have already heard, but if not, please click here and vote for me!

Every year, I hope to be nominated, and now it's finally reality. Who cares if I win! I'm just totally honored to be included in the list with some of my favorite blogs: Get Sconed, Happy Herbivore, Meet the Shannons, Vegan Dad, Vegansaurus, Quarrygirl, and several others.

The annual survey also asks VegNews readers to rate their fave vegan cheese (I voted Daiya all the way), plant milk, vegan restaurant (I wrote in Memphis' own Imagine Vegan Cafe), hair care, vegan online stores, and body products. Just for voting, you're automatically included in a drawing for a vegan Caribbean cruise, a year's supply of Coconut Bliss ice cream, a Vegan Treats dessert party, or a Vitamix blender. So get your tail over there and start votin'.

Vegan Cheese Pizza in Memphis!

One year ago, I'd have laughed in your face if you'd told me, in 2011, I'd be able to score vegan cheese pizza in Memphis. If you'd told me I'd be able to find said vegan cheese pizza in not one, but FOUR restaurants, I'm sure I'd have laughed so hard, I'd pee myself.

But here we are in 2011, and you'd have been right. First, there was Mellow Mushroom in Germantown, a cutesy chain joint that added Daiya to their menu last fall. It's about a 45-minute drive from my house, so I don't get there often enough. But the Mega-Veggie with Daiya is well worth the drive:

Then came the Hi-Tone Cafe, a Midtown rock club/hipster hangout that serves pizza, sandwiches, and a delicious veg-friendly brunch. They added Daiya for pizzas and calzones this past winter. The Veggie Pizza with Vegan Cheese is to-die-for, but sometimes they're out of Daiya. So call ahead to be sure it's in stock:

Around the same time the Hi-Tone began offering vegan cheese, the Trolley Stop Market added Daiya to its locally-famous pies. I've still not tried the vegan pizza from their regular menu, but this Thai Pizza with Peanut Sauce and Daiya was offered on special one Vegan Night Monday a few months ago:

They serve vegan specials every Monday, fyi. I tried ordering the vegan pizza from the regular pizza menu a few weeks ago, but they had a party dining in and pizza orders were backed up. So I ordered their Spinny Shroom Sandwich with Daiya instead (spinach, mushroom, tomato, and mozzarella).

And Imagine Vegan Cafe's super-loaded Pizza with the Works makes four! Memphis' only all-vegan cafe opened in April, and I'm working my way down their massive menu. I can't order the same thing twice until I've tried everything. Tonight, my friend Greg and I split this yummy pizza loaded with Follow Your Heart mozzarella, vegan sausage, vegan chicken, vegan pepperoni, peppers, onion, pineapple, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and spinach:

You can choose less toppings, but we went "The Works"-style with every topping they had. The crust was soft and flavorful, and my slice was so heavy, I had to eat it with a fork! I love that Imagine uses Follow Your Heart for something a little different. I love both Daiya and FYH, and it's nice to have a choice.

So if you live in Memphis or you're visiting here and craving a pizza, you know where to go. You can find more info, like addresses and phone numbers for these places, in my Memphis Vegan Dining Guide.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Oh wait, those are Maria's favorite things in The Sound of Music. My bad. Although I am quite fond of whiskers on kittens.

Tonight, I ate a few of my favorite condiments for dinner: Miso Mayo, Leahey Gardens Vegan Cheese Sauce, and Sriracha. Not alone, silly. Well, I have been known to lick the pot of Leahey sauce and turn up a bottle of sriracha, but ... tonight, I put these things onto and into my food.

I made my Eggless Tofu Olive Salad (it'll be in my cookbook, which comes out in January!) with a twist. I usually include a half-cup of vegan mayo, like Vegenaise or Earth Balance Mindful Mayo. But this time, I got all crazy and subbed a fourth-cup of Miso Mayo for some of the Vegenaise. Miso Mayo is pure magic. If you've not tried it, seek it out. It's made from non-GMO canola oil, miso, cider vinegar, tamari, and onion. So tasty. And onion-y.

Sandwiches in my house are usually served with chips, but I've been eating out a lot. So I'm trying to take it down a notch and eat some healthy crap. I steamed some kale and topped it with Leahey Gardens Vegan Cheese Sauce and Sriracha:

Best kale topper ever! For some reason, I've never thought to cover my kale in hot vegan cheese. But now I have seen the light.

This meal was so tasty, my kitty Polaris wanted in on it:

While I was photographing my food, he totally swiped the bread from sandwich. After the shutter clicked, he grabbed the bread off the sandwich and tried to eat it. But I stole that bread right back. Yes, I eat after my cats.

What condiments could you never live without?