Vegan Black Metal Chef

Hey Babes!

I came across this amaaaazzzing video by Vegan Black Metal Chef for 'pad thai'.  I am not much of a metal head myself, but cannot get enough of this video and the chef's growling instructions ("Cruuuuuush the peanuts, shooow them no mercy!!!") and hillarious (and creepy) kitchen knife collection.

Enjoy :) . . .Or elllssseeeeeeee raaaaaaaaaaaawwwwrrrr!! 

XOXO

V.V.

Vegan Potato Salad

Hey Baaaaaaabes,

Today I am posting my recipe for potato salad! It's definitely not your traditional mayonnaise covered, hard boiled egg and chopped pickle laden pile of mush.  I use baby red and yellow potatoes, boil them until tender and then toss them in a tangy vinegrette of wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and fresh dill.  SOOO tasty and such a nice change from the goop you are used to seeing at back yard BBQ's (my apologies to those who like the tradish variety, you can always add 1/2 cup vegenaise to the dressing instead of the olive oil and maybe a chopped pickle or two if you mussssst).

Potato Salad a la Vinegrette
Ingredients:
-1 bag baby yellow fleshed potatoes
-1 bag baby red skinned creamer potatoes
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/2 cup olive oil
-3 heaping tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 red onion, finely diced
-6 scallions, chopped
-1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
-S&P

Put the taters in a large pot and fill it with water up to 1 inch above the taters.  Bring to a boil and cook until you can eaaaaasily poke a tater with a butter knife and it comes out eaaaaaaasily too.  Drain the taters.  At this point, I like to halve most of the potatoes and keep some whole for variety in texture.

In a large serving bowl, whisk the wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, minced garlic and a bit of S&P together until it had an even consistency.  Add the hot taters and combine weeeelllll.  The potaties will soak up the vinegrette and be soooo happy :)

Chill the potato salad for about an hour in the refrigerator and then add the red onion, scallion and dill.  Season with S&P and serrrrrrve it up!!

XOXO

Vivacious Vegan <3

Vegan Ceasar Salad

Good Day To All You Sweeties,

Every time I go to a restaurant and ceasar salad on the menu, I cry a little inside.  Ceasar salad is one of my faaaaaaavorite salads EVER and I know I am not alone since ceasar salad seems to be on every gosh darn menu ANYWHERE!  Even Rotten Ronnie's (McD's) has friggin ceasar salad!  Even a large portion of Chinese restaurants in Winnipeg have ceasar salad on the menu!!!  So why do I weep over such a readily available salad?  Why, you ask?  Because while the majority of the classic Ceasar Cardini (creator of the ceasar salad if you didn't already guess that) dressing ingredients are vegan (olive oil, lemon juice, wine vinegar, garlic, S&P, and of course romaine lettuce) the EGG YOLKS that give the dressing its body, the WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE that gives the dressing its delicate ANCHOVY flavour and the PARMESEAN CHEESE are not not not not vegan at all.  And don't get me started on bottled salad dressings and store-bought croutons, TOO easy to make from scratch and soooo much better homemade!

There is hope for vegans who love this salad!  While you may not be able to order it at resto's, you can easily make a deeeeeeeeeelish vegan version of the salad at home that will impress all your friends who are vegans and friends who are devotees to the bottled variety (shudder!) alike! 

Vegan Ceasar Salad
Ingredients:
croutons:
-1 loaf of French bread, cubed
-1/4 cup veg oil
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp thyme
salad:
-2 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and dried THOROUGHLY, quartered lengthwise and chopped crosswise into bite sized pieces
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-juice of 1 lemon
-2 tbsp grainy djon mustard
-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/2 cup olive oil
-a few tbsp water depending  on how thick/thin you like it
-S&P

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees celcius.  Toss the bread cubes with the veg oil, garlic powder, thyme and season with S&P.  Spread the cubes onto a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10-15 min, tossing them or twice.  Let them cooooool, man.

Put your romaine into a large salad bowl.  Put all other ingredients other than olive oil into your trusty blender and blend until smooth.  Slowly add olive oil in a continuous stream while the blender is running.  Add a few tsp of water if it's too thick.  Season with S&P.

Add the croutons to the lettuce and a few tbsp at a time, drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss, adding more dressing until you have the desired amount of creamy, garlicky goodness coatin the greens. 

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

V.V.

Seitan Kebabs with Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Hey Loves!

It's been waaaaay too long since I last posted a recipe starring one of my fave vegan proteins: SEITAN!!!!!  If you've just tuned in, seitan (pronounced like 'say-tahn', not like 'Lucifer') is a fabulous meat substitute made from wheat gluten.  Seitan, or 'wheat meat', is high protein and fat free and has a creepily meat-like texture.  It is also waaaaaay too easy to make at home!  Check out this recipe here - you can find vital wheat gluten flour at Bulk Barn :)

Bee and I hosted a little BBQ (take THAT Mr. Cranky Neighbor!) the other night and served up some seitan kebabs with a DELISH and super easy home made BBQ sauce.  Seriously people, don't bother buying BBQ sauce in a bottle.  It's always better home made and its SO EASY!!!  We served up the kebabs with corn on the cob, potato salad, ceasar salad (all vegan of course!) and several brewskies :)

                                                    Bee, Buck, CB, ATM & V.V.'s toes :)





Seitan Kebabs with Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
-6 Seitan Cutlets
-2 tbsp veg oil
-1 small yellow onion, finely diced
-5 garlic cloves, minced
-1/2 cup ketchup
-1 tbsp djon mustard
-1 tsp cumin
-1 - 2 tsp chipotle chili powder
-1 tbsp Mexican chili powder
-1 tbsp vegan sugar
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1/4 cup water
-S&P to your taste

Soak six wooden skewers in water for at least half an hour (otherwise they will catch on fire!!!) unless of course you have metal reusable skewers, in which case, proceed to the next step :) 

Cut the seitan cutlets into bite sized cubes and thread them onto the skewers. 

In a saucepan, heat the veg oil over medium high heat.  Saute the onion and garlic until translucent and add all other ingredients.  Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer for half an hour. 

Oil up either your BBQ or your cranky neighbors' BBQ and crank the heat to high. 

Coat the seitan kebabs with the home made BBQ sauce and cook on the BBQ, rotating every few min and basting with sauce until heated through (prob no more than seven min total). 

Serve with extra BBQ sauce and your fave BBQ sides :)

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO,

V.V.

Smoky Corn Soup with Tempeh 'Bacon'

Hello my dearest darlings!

I had to take a short hiatus from my blogging and I sure have missed it!  I hope you haven't forgot about me :( 

Spring has sprung!  After what seems like an endless season of wintery days and cold, dark nights, the sun now shines brightly and the whole city is bursting with greenery.  Winnipeggers especially appreciate this changing of the seasons (we are known to wear shorts and t-shirts as soon as the temp reaches above 0 degrees C) and our menu's reflect the weather:  It's BBQ season, baby! 

Bee and I discovered a working BBQ on the common patio of our apartment a couple weeks ago and made some DELISH grilled corn on the cob with chili oil.  A week later, Bee met the man who actually owns the BBQ and upon asking for occasional use of the Q in exchange for some cash, she was promptly (and rudely) rejected.  Bee figures she can get away with grilling things after midnight ;)
Stay tuned for midnight vegan BBQ recipes (and don't tell Mr. Cranky upstairs!).

Speaking of corn:  Here is a recipe for a yummy yum yum soup that you can make with either frozen or fresh corn right off the cob.  To remove fresh corn from the cob, peel off the green husks and corn silk and discard them.  Then stand the flatter end of the corn up in a large bowl and hold onto the tapered end.  Using a sharp knife, slice the kernels off the cob, starting at the top, in a downward sawing motion.  Try to keep the knife as close to the cob as possible.  And for heavens sake, DON'T SLICE YOUR FINGERS OFF!  . . .Otherwise just go buy a bag of frozen corn niblets :)

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans, pressed into a block.  It is readily available at health food stores and I have seen it at many grocery stores (including the natural foods aisle at Superstore).  Tempeh bacon is a marinated, sliced tempeh product that makes for a tasty addition to breakfast or vegan BLT's.  I bought a pack at VitaHealth and plan to buy more :)

Smoky Corn Soup with Tempeh 'Bacon'
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp veg oil
-1 large yellow onion, diced
-5 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 tsp chili flakes (or more if ya like it spicey)
-1 tsp cumin
-1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (optional)
-3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
-6 cups veggie stock or water
-S&P
-6 to 8 strips of tempeh bacon, chopped into bits
Garnish:
-1 avocado, diced
-1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in your favorite soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onions, garlic, chili flakes, cumin, a sprinkle of salt and chipotle powder (if using) and saute until the onions are translucent. 

Add the corn and cook for a further two or three minutes then add the stock or water and crank the heat to high.  Bring the soup to a rolling boil and then reduce to a simmer over medium low heat. 

Simmer for fifteen minutes and then puree using an immersion blender OR using a slotted spoon, remove the veggies from the broth and transfer them to a blender with just a BIT of the liquid (CAUTION: hot things expand once you turn on the blender and coup explode and burrrrrn ya, so don't overfill!  Puree in bathces if you have to!) and puree the veggies to a smooth consistency, returning the puree to the broth in the soup pot.  Season with S&P to your taste.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium high and cook the tempeh until it is golden brown and crisp.  Stir it into the soup, reserving some for a garnish.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with extra tempeh bacon, diced avocado and finely diced bell pepper.  Serve to hungry friends ;)

XOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXXOXOXOOXOXO,
V.V.

African Peanut Soup with Quinoa

Holy cow do I really have 21 followers?!

That's super awesome guys, and some of you aren't even my close friends and family, so I know this wee speck in the vast infinity of the blogosphere is gettin' out there in some little way :)

(not to say I don't LOVE that my friends and family follow V.V.! <3)

I figured out that you can actually check your blog 'stats' on blogger and it seems that my spicy peanut noodle soup blog gets hit up hella often.  For those who can't get enough of peanut soup deliciousness, here is my recipe for an African inspired version, full of yummy and HEALTHY quinoa, that I hope you love!

That's our couch monkey in the picture with the soup.  Bee found him abandoned in our storage closet and he now lives on the arm of her big, pink sofa.

African Peanut Soup with Quinoa

Ingredients:

-2 tbsp veg oil

-1 large red onion, peeled and diced

-2 large carrots, peeled and diced

-1 large yam, peeled and diced

-6 to 8 cloves garlic, peeled and...roughly chopped ;)

-2 tsp (or more) chili flakes

-6 cups veggie stock or water

-1/4 cup soy sauce

-1 cup quinoa

-1 can coconut milk

-1/2 cup natural chunky peanut butter

-1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish (or flat-leaf parsley if you hate cilantro)

-S&P

-chopped peanuts and sriracha sauce for garnish

Heat the veg oil in your favorite soup pot over medium heat.  Saute the onion, carrot, yam and garlic and chili flakes for five minutes uncovered then place the lid on the pot and cook for a further 10 - 15 min or until the veggies are tender.  

Add the veggie stock or water and soy sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes and carrots are easily smushed by a fork.  

Using an immersion blender (hand blender) puree the soup until very smooth.  If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer SMALL amounts of the soup to a blender at a time and puree.  BE CAREFUL!  Hot soup will expand once you turn that blender on and if it's too full, it could explode and give you a mighty burn.

Once the soup is pureed, add the quinoa and bring the soup back to a boil over medium-high.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the quinoa is fully cooked (about 12 min).  Then stir in the coconut milk, peanut butter and cilantro.  Season the soup with S&P.

Garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro and chopped peanuts (and a swirl of sriracha for those who like it HAWT!)

Hope you enjoy this as much as my other peanut soup recipe :)

XOXO
V.V.

Squash Perogi's!!!!!

Hey Baaaaaabes,


I made a variation of my vegan perogi's for our special houseguest, ATM, with a DELISH spaghetti squash, caramelized onions, basil and garlic.  ATM's Baba is FAMOUS for her perogi's so I was hoping to make my batch at least edible.  Alas, I didn't finish them in time for ATM to try them so I am posting this recipe in hopes that she can try them next time she visits :)


ATM eats her perogi's with vinegar.  I had never tried this but upon doing so, decided that it is a MUST.  Red wine vinegar is awesome with regular vegan perogi's and balsamic is to DIE FOR with these squashy ones.



Squash Pierogi's

Ingredients:
-1 spaghetti squash, sliced in half lengthwise, seed guts scooped out
-2 tbsp olive oil
-everything from my vegan pierogi recipe (2 cups mashed potatoes is about three medium potatoes)
-1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried
-S&P

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Drizzle 2 tbsp on the cut-side of the spaghetti squash halves.  Sprinkle them with S&P and place them cut side-down on a baking sheet.  Bake the squash for about twenty minutes or until the squash flesh mashes (say that five times fast...) easily with a fork. 

Scoop the cooked spaghetti squash from its skin and, along with the basil, add to the potato-caramelized onion pierogi filling that you have prepared from my vegan pierogi recipe. . .you were supposed to do that BTW. . .and you were supposed to have prepared the dough up to this point and possibly even rolled it out. . .if not - no biggie, just do it NOW!  (I used half whole-wheat flour, half unbleached all-purpose flour when I made the dough for the squashy pierog's). 

Prepare the pierogi's just like the recipe and EAT THEM with balsamic vinegar ;)

XOXOXOX
V.V.