Vegan Cheesesteak Stromboli

A few years ago, I had a little recipe exchange with a friend I had met online. She saw a picture from my bridal shower and saw that we had the same recipe basket, so we exchanged a few cards. I know she got my family's Blueberry Buckle recipe, and one of the recipes I got from her was for stromboli. I took note, because it was one of my husband's favorite things to order, but never got around to making it.

Now, of course, we are vegan, and I have recently made it a goal of mine to convert as many of those recipes that were given to me at my bridal shower into vegan recipes. A few weeks ago I thought I would try and veganize the stromboli. Easy and very unhealthy with Pillsbury canned pizza crust (I already said unhealthy, remember?), I bought Yves pepperoni, vegan cheese, veggies, and it never got made.

A few weeks ago I saw this product:

at the new Whole Foods I talked about earlier this week. By the way, I was very happy to hear that I was not the only one who was super excited about agave being on tap!!

Anyway, I was determined to make the picture on the front of the box. The caveat? I never buy bread like that. I just...don't. So that never got made either.

Today with my mind running wild due to the crazy weather that had been keeping us indoors, they came together and made a super delicious lunch that took less time than it would take you to wait in line at Pat's or Gino's for a cholesterol laden mess.

Vegan Cheesesteak Stromboli

1 can Pillsbury pizza crust

4 slices vegan cheese

1 package Protein Wise seitan, or another thinly sliced seitan or mock beef product

1 onion, sliced

cornmeal, for dusting

salt-free seasoning

This is as simple to make as that list of ingredients is:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sautee an onion in a pan with non-stick spray. When golden and soft, add the seitan.

While the onion is cooking, sprinkle some cornmeal on a clean dry surface, and roll out the pizza dough, then cut into four rectangles.

Break up the cheese into slices and lay on dough, then mound the seitan and onion mixture in the middle of the dough.

Roll up, being sure to seal the ends, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Lightly spray the tops of the stromboli with cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt-free seasoning (we used Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning).

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

We suggest dipping in ketchup.

Seriously, this is so good. Warm and familiar, cheesey and satisfying. You could clearly make it healthier by making your own whole wheat pizza dough, but then, if you're like me, you'll probably never get around to doing it.

We have had a TON of snow here, and its still going. I didn't have work today and we're already cancelled for tomorrow. Nick now has off until next week because of the holiday weekend. We're at our wits end a little, but I have had plenty of time to do some cooking and that I do love. What do you do when you're forced to stay home, for snow or for other reasons?

Slow Sweet Potato Chili

Back when I was in grad school, there was a nice natural foods store near my college, and I went there often. More often than I should have, probably! Currently, I have quite a few things lingering in the pantry that I'm just not sure what to do with. Any idea what it is?

Its probably obvious, the plastic container under the Israeli couscous is a rather odd product, and not something I see very often. Its TVP, something most of us have worked with before, and I have even put in granola bars, but I was unsure of what to do with these big chunks.

Tuesdays have become slow-cooker day, because I get home much later than any other day. I had planned on making a sweet potato chili with kidney beans, only to come home on Monday to find that Nick had used the can of kidney beans that had been sitting on the shelf for a month (isn't it always that way?). I decided this would be a good time to test out these TVP chunks.

Slow-cooking is still very experimental for me. Last week's was somewhat of a failure (hence why you aren't hearing about it until now). Surprisingly, this came out really well! Very yummy, and we were both fans of the TVP chunks. They definitely soaked and swelled up for a very "meaty" product.

Sweet Potato Slow-Cooker Chili

What You Need

2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups TVP (you could also use smaller TVP or a can of beans)

1 15oz can diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp Chipotle Taco Seasoning*

2 Tbsp agave nectar

1 can water + 1/3 can water (just fill up the tomato can)

*I used Ortega Taco Seasoning, because it was also lying around in the pantry. You could also make your own by using chipotle chili powder instead of regular chili powder. Keep in mind if you are making your own that you might need to add salt. I don't add any salt to this recipe because between the tomatoes and the taco seasoning, there is enough!

What You Need To Do

Throw everything into the slow cooker in the above order (ie start with sweet potatoes, end with water). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Nick turned ours off at almost exactly 7 hours, when the potatoes were done.

I forsee the slow-cooker making many more appearances. Its already proved itself quite useful, and since we're big on chili and stews and meals like that, its perfect for that. This particular recipe really hit the spot, being warm comfort food with a hit of spiciness and the slight sweetness of the chipotles paired with agave. Yum.

In other news, the kitties are doing pretty well. I snapped this picture of them yesterday

Zoe still isn't really sure what to make of him. She wants to play, but he keeps barreling over to her and trying to jump on her, and she isn't quite a fan of that. But they're getting better every day!

Don't forget about the stevia giveaway! Nora asked a question about the baking blend. Stevia does have a slight aftertaste normally (although I find NuNaturals has the least), but there really isn't any with the baking blend. Again, I'm not giving away the baking blend, just the pure stevia packets, but wanted to clear that up. Anyway, you have until Friday to enter!

Fiesta Oats

Pesonally, I think this is delicious, but my husband thinks its gross and a complete disgrace to oatmeal.

I love it. I think its fun, its colorful, its got veggies and whole grains. How could you go wrong. Well, decide for yourself, but I present you with one of my most favorite meals, that I probably have at least 3 times a week:

Fiesta Oats!

The consistently ugly pictures are what has kept me from posting about this...bear with me.

The ingredients are as simple as you'd think:

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup salsa

1/3 cup frozen corn.

Its the method though, that makes it perfect:

First, cook the broccoli (I just use the "frozen veg" option on my microwave)

Add the oatmeal, salsa, and water, stir until combined.

Cook at 50% power for 5 minutes.

(You should cover with a paper towel or something, it splatters)

Remove, stir in corn, cook an additional 30 seconds on 100% power.

Then, enjoy!

Keep in mind that it just finished being in the microwave for well over 5 minutes. That sucker is HOT. Sometimes I use oven mitts, but since I never eat in close proximity to my microwave, I always put the bowl onto a hot plate for transport

Today, I am eating in front of my computer, love Mac's Photo Booth.

I highly suggest you try it, the salsa makes the oats even more creamy, plus it gives them a little bit of a kick. Some pep. Something totally yummy and awesome. Oh, plus it is versatile; I've usually have it for breakfast but it is now also my default for lunch or dinner. I have added some black beans for a more substantial meal, Trader Joe's soy nuggets or tofu scramble for an extra boost of protein, and yesterday when I was out of frozen broccoli, I used frozen peppers and onions instead (for something I like to call, Fajita Oats). Any of those things get added in with the corn.

So there you have it. Weird but amazing and satisfying. Yummy way to start the day!

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

First off, I am lacking an important necessity today:  water.  

My mom texted me while I was at school, so I stopped at the gym on the way home, to a.) go to the gym, and b.) take a shower.  I wasn't planning on taking a shower there.  It is difficult when you don't have a towel.  My gym used to rent towels, but they don't anymore.  The girl at the desk was so nice, she gave me a roll of paper towels, saying that she had done it before.  It wasn't perfect, and I have no idea what kind of soap/body wash I washed my sweaty hair with, but...it worked (actually, my hair looks pretty good).  

Anyway, now I am home and faced with the difficulty of making dinner without water.  Well, more making a dinner that isn't a pain in the butt to clean up without water.  I didn't quite succeed, but we will most likely have water by tomorrow, so a few things will just have to wait until then.  

On to the food, right?  Wednesdays are my night to cook, and if asked, my family always wants pasta.  When I was a vegetarian, one of my family's favorite dishes that I made was a version of this baked pasta dish from Giada on the Food Network.  With all the cheese involved in it, its not an option for me anymore.  But when I was thinking about what to make this week, I knew I wanted something easy that would make leftovers, and the baked penne popped into mind.  

Note the plastic dishes and leftover 'Happy Birthday' paper cups

The recipe I used to make was modified to begin with, and obviously veganizing it makes the recipe an even further cry from the original.  So, I'll post it.  

1 box whole wheat penne pasta (the brand I buy is 12oz)

2 cups prepared pasta sauce of choice (I buy an organic store brand)

1 block extra-firm tofu (I use Nasoya, and it is 14oz)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp dried basil 

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

2 red peppers

2 zucchini

2 yellow squash

1 yellow onion

salt & herbs/herbed salt

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

2.  Set a pot of water to boil (I used bottled, from a big gallon jug, because of the water issue)

3.  Cut up all the vegetables into 1-inch pieces.  Place them on baking sheets (you'll probably want two, but I smash them all onto one), spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with either salt and herbs of choice, or an herbed salt.  Toss to coat (you may want to do this more than once, again, depending on how tightly packed your sheet(s) is(are).  Roast until done, turning once, about 20 minutes.  

4.  Put the pasta into the water that is hopefully boiling by now.  Cook no longer than the lowest time given on the package.

5.  Combine the tofu through olive oil in bowl (I used the baking dish I was planning on using to eliminate clean up), and squish everything together until it has reached a "ricotta-like" consistency.  

6.  When everything is done cooking, mix it all together, along with the pasta sauce, and put into a greased (I use cooking spray) 9x13 baking dish.  I saved a little bit of the ricotta to sprinkle on top.  

7.  Lower heat to 350, and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Serves 6

Nutrition Information:  379.3 Calories;  7.7g Total Fat;  0.9g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  55.7g Carbohydrates;  12.9g Fiber;  21.5g Protein 

The picture makes it look like a serving is pretty small, but the baking dish is really almost full to the top, so its actually a big serving.  If you wanted it to be more of a side dish, you could obviously just reduce the serving size, but I was all about a "one-dish" today.

If you're super observant, you'll notice that the tofu "ricotta" is from VWaV and/or V'con, but I figured it was necessary.  It's pretty good, although I would add some crushed red pepper next time.  

As for the clean-up situation, the only thing that is waiting until tomorrow is the baking dish, and the pot I used to cook the pasta.  Not bad, right?  Plus, I have leftovers for the next few days.  

Now, I am thrilled because we have a Superintendent's Conference Day tomorrow, which means the kids have off, but we have to go in for some all day seminar thing.  It sounds like it is going to be hideously boring, but I get to wear jeans, and I get to go in an hour later!!  Time to catch up on some sleep!      

Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese

Everyone has their own version, don't they?  I've tried my fair share.  When I was vegetarian, I used this Tofu Alfredo recipe a few times.  I really like Susan's Easy Macaroni & "Cheeze".  I've read countless other recipes, almost every vegan cookbook has a version and of course, many vegan blogs have them.

This is my dairy-free version of the oh-so-classic macaroni and cheese.  I'm not gonna call it "cheese" or "cheeze" or anything that implies that this isn't real cheese either, because I don't think that the dairy industry gets to hold the word cheese hostage.  At the very least, if you read VegNews, you'll see gourmet nut cheese either featured or mentioned in the past few issues.  Therefore, I suppose this is a nutritional yeast cheese sauce.  Or a pine nut cheese sauce.  Or whatever you want to call it, but I'm still calling it cheese!   

Anyway, I can't say this is completely my own.  But I've doctored it and combined little things from so many different recipes that I can at least post the recipe for it! 

Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese

2 oz whole wheat pasta (I used mini penne)

Cheese Sauce:

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp yellow mustard

2 tbsp pine nuts

1/2 tsp Bragg's (or soy sauce)

1/4 tsp miso

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp tumeric (you can use less, I just like it)

1 tbsp chickpea flour

a few grinds of fresh pepper

*optional, but included in my nutritional information*

1 cup frozen broccoli

1/8 log of Seitan O' Greatness

2 tbsp whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp parsley

1/4 tsp curry powder

pinch cayenne

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

2.  Boil water, add pasta, cook until not quite al dente.  

3.  Sautee onions and garlic in a pan coated with cooking spray.

4.  Add onions, garlic, and everything except the pasta, broccoli, and seitan, in a blender.  

5.  Cook broccoli 

6.  Sautee seitan in a pan coated with cooking spray until browned.    

7.  Mix together in a bowl:  Pasta, Cheese Sauce, Broccoli, Seitan.

8.  In a separate bowl, combine panko and all remaining "optional" spices.  

9.  In ramekins or an appropriately sized baking dish, put pasta mixture, then top with panko mixture.  Bake 15-20 minutes.

Serves 2

Nutrition Information:  331.0 Calories;  9.7g Total Fat;  1.0g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  977.4mf Sodium;  42.3g Carbohydrates;  10.2g Fiber;  24.5g Protein  

I like to finish things in the oven.  I like the crusty texture on top, and I like that it gives me time to do all the dishes so that I can eat with a clean kitchen!  Also, I have to tell you that, this is good...its really good.  But I think the best part is actually the broccoli, since it really soaks up all the sauce.  So I highly suggest using it, or even using more of it!

I had more fun in the kitchen today.  All of my food today was revolving around the plan to spend the next week gluten and sugar free.  Breakfast was pancakes!  I can't remember the last time I make pancakes, I was so excited.  I made Susan's Golden Spice Pancakes, omitting the cloves to add ground ginger, and using clementine zest instead of orange, because it is what I have.  I also pressed in some cranberries, and it was really yummy!  The recipe, as Susan has posted it is for 10 normal sized pancakes.  I didn't want to have batter left over (as I won't be eating it tomorrow), so I cut it by 1/5, to make 2 normal sized, or 4 small pancakes, as pictured.   

Cranberry Spice Pancakes

Nutrition Information for 2 small pancakes (with cranberries):  114.0 Calories;  0.5g Total Fat;  0.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  277.0mf Sodium;  25.5g Carbohydrates;  3.9g Fiber;  3.9g Protein.

I topped this off with some maple syrup, some tofu scramble with green peppers and onions, and the zesting clementine!

Tomorrow is that start of a new workout cycle for me and I am very excited!  I will post it tomorrow, I'm not quite finished putting it together yet.  

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  Ghost in Pencil - Sad Zombie      

Comfort Food

I had already planned what I was going to have for dinner today, but I hadn't planned on having a crappy day and it being so comforting.  Actually, it wasn't that bad, I was just stuck in traffic.  It just so happened that I made dinner right after that.  

Anyway, I had Susan's Eggplant "Parmesan" in mind for the past few weeks, but was putting off making it because it isn't eggplant season...I couldn't wait anymore.  

It was soooooo good.  So good.  Yum.  I could tell my mom was kind of scared of it too, but she really liked it.  My dad just came home to eat his leftovers and deemed it "ummy ummy ummy dinner"  (yes, three ummies exactly).  I was kind of scared making it...the "cheese sauce" was so thin, and there was so much, I thought I did something wrong and it would be a soupy mess.  Not so.  Delicious!  I used some ground raw cashews instead of soy "parmesan".    

The nutrition information I calculated was practically the same as Susan's, so if you are interested, you can check it out on FatFree Vegan. 

I'm going away again this weekend, to see a friend of mine in Albany, and I wanted to bring something.  Last time I brought wine, I figured this time I would bring cookies.  I set off trying to find a recipe I thought would make everyone happy, unless someone doesn't like chocolate.  I should add that I know these girls from online, so I don't know them super well.  They could very well not like chocolate.  In which case I will have many cookies.  Anyway, I went through alllll my cookbooks, and nothing really struck me.  I am not a good enough baker to make up my own.  

I ended up making these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Post Punk Kitchen.  I swapped half the chips for dried cherries, used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour, and used 1/2 cup less sugar.  I should also add that after sifting all the dry ingredients I realized I didn't have enough canola oil, so I ran out to get some.  

Nothing I did could produce a picture that would do them any justice, but I swear they are so so so good.    

I'm scared to find out the calorie count (I calculate after for cookies, or I won't make them, hehe).  Here goes...wow, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be!

Nutrition Information:  127.3 Calories;  6.1g Fat;  1.0g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  68.7mg Sodium;  18.2g Carbohydrates;  1.6g Fiber;  1.7g Protein

Wow, those were so good, and those calories (for a cookie) are so reasonable, I would actually make them again.  Except I might order some white chocolate chips, that'd make them even prettier.  

BTW, my dad gave dinner another "ummy".  

Today's CSotD made an awesome Genius playlist, I saved it, totally awesome:  Time Bomb - The Format

I'll be back on Monday!