Daily Vegan: tomatoes

Showing posts with label tomatoes. Show all posts

Several months ago Matthew and I traveled to my sisters house in Salt Lake to stay for a while. We needed a break from St. George and a change of scenery. It's always wonderful to spend time with Jill and her family. She has been changing her family's diet and has done some amazing things. She introduced me to kale chips and I shared with her this Enchilada recipe. It was one of those clean out the fridge recipes...I seem to have a lot of those, what can I say, they get the juices flowing...in more then one way :) Anyway, her family loved it which is saying something. Jill's husband Mike is not exactly on the bandwagon yet. In fact, Jill, in her wifely efforts made lettuce wraps one night. Mike looked at the wraps, then at Jill, then at the wraps and with eyes pleading looked up to Jill and said, "so, this is our life now huh?" So the fact that Mike ate these enchiladas and enjoyed them is saying something.

Enchiladas

1 can enchilada sauce
vegan cheese
brown rice
black beans
chopped tomatoes
cilantro
1 small can green chilies
chopped green peppers
onion chopped
corn or flour tortillas

Mix everything together in a bowl except the tortillas. In a baking dish pour some enchilada sauce to cover the bottom. Scoop the mix into the tortillas wrap and place in the baking dish. Cover the enchiladas with enchilada sauce and then with foil. Bake in the oven on 350 till bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes and then enjoy!

This sandwich is so elegant and filling, just the picture of it will make you drool.....which is not elegant but with these sandwiches I completely understand.

Eggplant Sandwiches
1 large eggplant

1 tomato
fresh basil
hummus
crusty rolls
vegan feta cheese
EVOO

Peel your eggplant and cut it in rounds 1/4 of an inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil and put under your broiler till tender. Be sure to turn it once and keep an eye on it so it won't burn. While that's cooking smear your roll with hummus. Once the eggplant is finished, place on your roll, cover with feta and place it under the broiler for just a minute to heat the cheese. Now drizzle with EVOO and top with fresh basil and tomato.

My absolute favorite sandwich has got to be the BLT! Actually, my favorite is the BLTAO or the BLATO sandwich (pronounced blahh toe). That's bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and onion. Does anything come closer to perfection? I submit that it does not.

Unfortunately, my bacon experiments have not gone as planned. I found a recipe for eggplant bacon. I like eggplant, I like bacon, so I gave it a whirl. It turned out to be strips of charcoal with a slight hint of maple flavor. I then found a recipe for tofu bacon but if you remember chocolate week you'll know that I've had my tofu allotment for the decade. One recipe called for shredded coconut. Now coconut I have an abundance of but do you know how much work it takes to shred a coconut? Plus, I'm not really feelin the connection. So I checked out my fridge and found some egg roll wrappers and thus, the birth of brilliance.

Vegan Bacon

1/2 tsp liquid smoke
4 tb soy sauce or liquid aminos
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c maple syrup
1 pkg vegan egg roll wrappers

Cut your wrappers into strips making them 4-5 sheets thick. Mix all your ingredients together and marinate the strips for about 10-20 minutes. Now fry up in a fry pan till golden brown on each side. They should be crispy yet chewy.

Vegan BLATOs

lettuce

sliced tomato
veganaise
mustard
vegan bacon
avocado
red onion sliced
rolls

Do I really need to spell this one out? You know how it goes.

Matthew and I love all things Greek -- the history, the food, breaking plates on the floor, hairy men dancing all night long to music straight from Mt. Olympus - It's great! This sandwich is one of those simple luxuries that as you eat it in front of a fan you can imagine sitting on a white and blue hillside soaking in the sun and breathing in fresh Mediterranean air. ahh...where's my sun bonnet?

Greek Pita Sandwiches

1 cucumber sliced
2 Roma tomatoes sliced
sliced olives
EVOO
sliced red onion
vegan feta cheese
1 pita per person
hummus

Smear the inside of your pita with hummus then layer your cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onion and feta cheese. Drizzle with EVOO and serve.

So, Mexican food isn't that big here in Samoa. I don't know if it's the spicy flavors or if it's the whole bean thing but you can't really find Mexican food here. There was actually a Mexican restaurant that started in Leone which is the village down the road. We were very excited when we drove past and saw it. But the next time we drove by to check it out it was out of business.

So, with a lack of ready made ingredients I began to make my own. I found this great recipe for Enchilada Sauce and with a little tweaking with the ingredients that I had available it appeared at our table in this glorious form. So, as they say in those lame El Monte commercials...."lets eat"

Enchilada Sauce
1 tb oil

3 tb flour
2 bullion cubes crushed
1 tb garlic powder
1 tb onion powder
4 tb chili powder
2 tb dried cilantro
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can water

In a large sauce pan make a rue with the oil and flour. Add all the dry ingredients including the cilantro. Heat till very fragrant. Slowly add the tomatoes, stirring constantly to minimize lumps. Add water till it is the desired consistency.

I know I've mentioned spaghetti with a red sauce many times in my blogging activities but it's a classic. While in Texas on my mission we met a family that had spaghetti every Wednesday night. I love that idea! Spaghetti is a no brain-er. Quick, easy, delish! Here is a super easy recipe for Marinara sauce, or red spaghetti sauce. It's basically just blend and heat. It's way yummy and you know what's in it instead of trying to pronounce all those ingredients on the back of the label. Plus you can make a bunch and freeze it at a price that is a lot less than buying pre-made sauce from the store. Plus, you can use this on a lot more than just spaghetti! Try it as the base for your next pizza or as a dip for bread sticks.

Marinara Sauce

1 can tomatoes
1 clove garlic
2 tb dried parsley
1/2 tb Italian seasoning
1 pinch sage

Place everything in your trusty food processor and blend till smooth. When your pasta is finished throw the pasta and sauce together in the pan to coat with some olive oil. Top with an extra sprinkle of dried parsley and you'll look gourmet!

Poke or Oka are both raw fish dishes. Poke is Hawaiian and Oka is Samoan. They are very similar so I'll give both recipes here. Oka also means "oh my good gosh golly" in Samoan.....Ya, it's that good! Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows that I can be a bit......hormonal. Let's just leave it at that. And the consumption of soy doesn't exactly help that. So, needless to say, my dear husband doesn't allow it in the house. But this is one of the 2 recipes that I do use tofu in to satisfy my fish craving. Interesting, tofu makes me hormonal but I eat it to satisfy meat craving that I get when I'm hormonal......hmmm,.....I'm sensing a vicious cycle.

Vegan Poke
1 pkg extra firm tofu

3-4 firm roma tomatoes
1/2 red onion chopped
2 thingies of green onion
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Slice the tofu into small cubes. Mix the soy sauce and chili powder. Marinate the tofu in the soy sauce for several hours in the fridge. Chop the tomatoes, onion, green onion very fine and mix with the pepper flakes. Drain the tofu but save a bit of the sauce. Lightly mix the tofu with everything else. Try to keep the tofu in cubes. Serve chilled.

Vegan Oka

Follow the same recipe for Poke only instead of tomatoes use cubed cucumber and add coconut milk to the finished mixture. Also serve chilled.

Oh, beans, beans, they truly are the magical fruit.....but not for the reasons you're thinking! I love beans! They are so versatile, so nutritious, and so delicious! I'm positive you could put beans in just about anything.....I know some are cringing at the thought.

I've had some pretty amazing beany experiences! The people of Thailand have a scrumptious bean dessert...hmm....remind me to post that one. I've had beans in ice cream and shaved ice at Motsimotos. I've had beans pretty much every way you can have them....ya, I'm a fan.

My mom makes this "white chili" that is really good, but I sound like a rebel vegan if I call it "butter" bean soup. Truly these are rebel beans! Butter beans are actually Lima beans only under a different name (they must be liberal beans to try that sort of trick). I'm sure they changed their name to get more fans. I'd much rather eat a bean called a butter bean than a Lima bean....wouldn't you? And while we're on names; Lima (pronounced ly-ma) is actually incorrect. They are actually named after Lima Peru (pronounced lee-ma) where they were first discovered by the Spanish sailors, (hmmm, who discovered it before them?) thus we should call them Lema beans........ya...lets stick with butter.

Butter Bean Soup

1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped

1/4 inch thick fresh ginger

2 c vegetable broth

1 can white great northern beans

1 can butter beans

1 can cannellini beans

cilantro

1 tomato diced

Saute the chopped onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil in a large pot. Once the onions are transparent add the broth and all the beans. Simmer for 10 -15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and tomato.

On the north shore of Hawaii there is a little surf town called Haleiwa. It's a great little tourist town with shops, restaurants, and a great dive shop. There is also a health food store that has a fantastic restaurant in the back. The people are friendly and the food is delicious. The menu consists of lively dishes, most of which are the "chefs" own concoctions. The chef, a friendly surfer bum, who only has a job to support his surfing habit; willingly talks with patrons as he cooks in the small 10 ft x 5 ft kitchen.

While there we had some superb open face vegan sandwiches and I was hooked! I like them on a bagel because of the chewiness but Matthew prefers something a bit more crispy....I suppose its his endearment to Swedish cracker bread coming out. But, however you like it, this is a great way to get in your raw veggies and enjoy them in the process.

Open Face Sandwiches
wheat bagels sliced and toasted
1 cucumber sliced
1 carrot shredded
sprouts
veganaise or hummus
sunflower seeds
2 green onions chopped
shredded cabbage
1 tomato sliced

Toast the bagel and spread with veganaise or hummus. Layer with carrots, sprouts, cucumber, tomato, cabbage, sunflower seeds and green onion. This is messy. Some of the toppings will fall off but be sure to eat all your veggies!

This recipe was actually given to me by a carnivore. My Samoan auntie is the one who got us thinking of going vegan, so we have her to thank for all of this. She told us to watch "foods that kill" on youtube, and what Auntie says, you do! She served this recipe to her family and they really liked it. These freeze very well! I always have some in the freezer for a quick meal. And, like the rest of my recipes, is a great way to use up left overs.

Burgers

1 can stewed tomatoes blended

1 carrot shredded

1/2 onion chopped

any left over veggies

enough oats to make it hold together

Fries

5-6 potatoes

cooking oil

salt

pepper

Tony's Seasoning (optional)

In a big bowl mix all your ingredients for your burgers. Add oats till you can form it into a patty. You can also add leftover rice or beans. Form into patties and place on a well oiled cookie sheet. Bake on 350 till they are brown, turning once. Be sure to cook them before you freeze them.

Cut potatoes length ways to make fries. Coat with oil, salt, pepper, and seasonings. Place on a cookie sheet and broil, turning frequently till they are brown on all sides.

At our house, meatloaf was usually an after thought. If we had leftovers that needed to be used up and meat in the house we'd put them together and kill two birds with one stone so to speak. But on one occasion we killed more than that.

My grandmother, whom I adore, is a bit of an insomniac. As a child this came in handy because whenever there was a problem in the middle of the night, boogy men and the like, she was always right there. But on one evening we were all wishing grandma would have gotten some sleep. One night, while watching insomniac tv she came across a "miracle herb" that would turn any meatloaf into a feast for a king. Being completely dazzled because of her lack of sleep she ordered it on the spot.

She spoke of her purchase for days and promised that when it came we were having meatloaf. Well, you can imagine our excitement to be having meatloaf that wasn't some concoction thought up by Mr. Wizard! We rushed home from school every day with eagerness to see if the miracle had arrived, and one day....it had!

My grandmother, brother, and I anxiously entered the kitchen, scrubbed up and put on our gowns as we prepared for this delicate operation of preparing meatloaf. We mixed the seasonings par the instructions, gently folded in the ground beef and, as if putting a babe to sleep, slipped it into the oven with loving care.

As it baked we seemed like new mothers, checking in on it every few seconds, dashing to it to make sure no one opened the oven and when it was finally done, pulling it out and looking lovingly at what we had so pleasantly created.

The family gathered round the table, the blessing was said, and grandma did the honors of serving each their long awaited slice of loaf. We also waited as she took the first bite. Then we all commenced. After one bite we all looked at each other in disgust. My brother was the first to speak, "tastes like road kill." Not exactly the response my grandmother was hoping for but, being in agreement, she went to the kitchen to find a last minute substitute. I actually don't think we have had meatloaf since.

Now that I'm the head chef in our kitchen I realize how great it is to have meatloaf around. And, how delicious leftovers are. We had these meatloaf sandwiches last night and Matthew insisted that they were some of the best sandwiches he'd ever had. So pull out your left over - leftover meatloaf, slice it up, grill it up and eat it up.

Meatloaf Sandwiches
leftover meatloaf

rolls
leaf lettuce
1 tomato sliced
sprouts
red onion sliced
mustard
veginase/mayo
chili sauce or ketchup

Slice your meatloaf about 1/2 an inch thick. Heat it up in a pan with some oil till its brown on both sides. Place on a roll with a leaf of lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, sprouts, mustard, veginase, and chili sauce. And there you have a FANTASTIC meatloaf sandwich, completely roadkill free!

As a teenager I moved to Utah from California. It may as well have been a different planet! We moved from a 4 bedroom townhouse to a house with 4 acers. I was in culture shock to say the least. This was only compounded one day when we invited a friend over for dinner.

"What ya havin," he asked.
"Tacos"
"What are Tacos?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at him to see if he was joking....he wasn't, and rightly so! You don't joke when it comes to Tacos!

But, I ask you, how on earth, in a civilized society, can someone not know about Tacos? I'm sorry for bringing this traumatic story up but I promise it has a purpose. This story is sad and upsetting to the mojority of us. Thus proving that Tacos are a staple, a basic, a necessity! And that inner basic need for tacos is no different for vegans. Thus, The Taco

Tacos

1lb lentils
1 pkg taco seasoing
refried beans
1/2 bunch of lettuce
2 large tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 green chilies
1 lime
garlic powder or fresh
taco shells

Pull out that trusty, loveable little rice cooker and cook up some lentils. Add water, lentils and taco seasoning. Now, in a food processor add tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chilies, the juice of 1 lime, and a pinch of salt. Pulse to make fresh salsa. Wash and chop lettuce. Heat your refried beans and taco shells. We serve everything family style and make our own but you can pre-make them for a more elegant approach.

Anyone who has lived in Hawaii, or even been there on a visit can tell you about Zippies Chili and Rice. It's legendary. Whenever we go back, the first place we stop, after the luggage carousel, is Zippies. And true to Hawaiian style, one serving usually satisfies both of us...depending on the in-flight meal. It's one of those things that if you're in Hawaii you've got to try - like surfing and Motsimotos (try the shaved ice with the beans....you won't regret it). But, If you're not planning a trip to the rainbow state any time soon, this recipe will satisfy for now. Or, if you've been there it might make you more anxious to go back.

Hawaiian Chili and Rice

Lentils
1 can refried beans or homemade
1 lb black beans
1 lb kidney beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 can corn
salt
garlic powder
brown sugar to taste

First, soak the black beans and the kidney beans over night. This will help cut down on the "end result" that beans can have. If that's not an option then just put them together in a pot with water and cook. Once the beans are cooked add the stewed tomatoes, chopped onion, refried beans, and lentils. (remember those left over beans and lentils from the bean burritos? throw em' in!) Now add the salt and brown sugar till it tastes slightly sweet. At the very last add the can of corn. This way the corn will stay crisp. Serve over rice. (this is a great way to use up the plain rice left over from the fried rice).

Now, grab a bowl, head out to the backyard with your slippas and some island music. You can thank me later for saving you on your grocery bill AND your travel expenses.

Pages

Enchiladas

Enchiladas

Day 76: Roasted Eggplant Sandwich

Day 74: BLATO's

Day 73: Greek Pita Sandwich

Day 69: Enchilada Sauce

Day 65: Marinara Sauce

Day 49: Poke - Oka

Day 32: Butter Bean Soup

Day 16: Open Face Sandwiches

Day 12: Burgers & Fries

Day 10: Meatloaf Sandwiches

Day 9: Tacos

Day 4: Hawaiian Chili & Rice

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