Monday Yumday: Grilled Tempeh Reubens
These are by far one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Not only was this meal super easy to prepare and relatively quick to make (about 40 minutes from prep to assembly), it’s also unbelievably satisfying.
Here’s what you need to make these delicious grilled tempeh reuben sandwiches (makes 4 sandwiches):
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil, divided
- 8 ounces tempeh, sliced into 8 large, 1/8-inch thick sheets
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup water
- 8 slices light rye bread (I used 12 grain)
- 2 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
- Thousand Island Dressing (see recipe below)
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained
- 2 avocados, mashed (I completely forgot to mash my avocados!)
1) In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil and tempeh, browning tempeh on each side. Remove tempeh from the pan and set aside.
2) Add remaining oil and onion. Brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return tempeh to the pan and stir in garlic, bay leaves, paprika, caraway, dill, salt, vinegar, tamari, and black pepper. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes or until the water has evaporated and tempeh is infused with flavor and coated with a glaze. Remove bay leaves.
While the tempeh is sauteing you will have plenty of time to prepare the Thousand Island Dressing. It’s so easy! In a small bowl combine the following ingredients: 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, and 3 tablespoons dill pickles, chopped. That’s it!
3) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread two slices of bread with margarine. Grill for 3 minutes, until browned on one side only. Repeat for the remaining slices of bread.
4) Between the ungrilled sides of two pieces of toast, layer Thousand Island Dressing, sauerkraut, 2 pieces of tempeh, onions, and avocado. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve with a crisp, fresh green salad with a light vinaigrette dressing and a Hefeweizen beer. (I didn’t make the salad or have the beer. But it was still delicious!)
Monday Yumday: Orange (Chocolate Chip) Scones
I was crammed for time this week so I chose to make something that was made up of ingredients I already had in my kitchen (or rather, ingredients that could be used interchangeably – ie agave nectar vs maple syrup) and something that didn’t require too much time. So, with that we have Allison’s Orange Currant (I used chocolate chips instead of currants) Scones.
Let’s get started – here’s what you need (makes 12 scones):
Dry ingredients:
- 3 1/4 cups unbleached wheat or spelt flour
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 6 tablespoons non-hydrogenated vegan margarine or light oil (like sunflower or safflower)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (only if using oil; margarine is already salted)
Wet ingredients:
- 2/3 cup currants (I used chocolate chips)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons rice milk (I used almond milk)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (I used agave nectar)
- Zest of one orange
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment baking paper.
- Oil a 1/4 cup measuring cup (the kind that has a handle and the top can be leveled) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.
- Cut the margarine or oil – into the flour and baking powder mix – with a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers until the texture is crumbly.
- In a separate bowl whisk the wet ingredients (including the chocolate chips or currants).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, lightly stirring until combined. Be careful not to over mix.
- Using the 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop the dough onto the parchment paper, one to two inches a part.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. These are best when warm. Serve with jam or margarine.
I’m not sure I left the scones in the oven long enough because they weren’t quite golden on top. But an inserted toothpick came out clean, and they taste delicious. Before we get started with photos (yay!) please remember to send us your food pics, or post them to our Facebook page. We’d love to see ‘em!
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Monday Yumday: Italian Frittata
This is the first time, in my four years of being vegan, that I’ve attempted to make anything like this amazing frittata. At first I was intimidated and thought for sure that this venture into the unknown was going to leave me crawling away with a scary looking plate of goo. Au contraire! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this recipe was in addition to discovering a new taste and texture that makes for a nice change from my usual go-to breakfast scramble recipe. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, this Italian frittata will surely become one of your favorites.
Make sure you give yourself some time to prep this one as it does require a 2-hour ‘chill out’ in the refrigerator before baking. But that aside, overall prep time was a cinch! Here’s what you need (serves 6 — and lasts for several days in the refrigerator):
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
- 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
- 1 cup onion, quartered and cut into thin slices (I used half of one medium-sized onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I didn’t have this. Doh!)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2 cups broccoli florets cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon kala namak (I couldn’t find this at the store so used pink Himalayan salt)
- Oil a 9-inch tart pan. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add water and salt. Gently whisk in the garbanzo bean flour to combine completely. Whisk occasionally as the mixture begins to boil to prevent from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As it begins to thicken, reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, place a sauté pan over low-medium heat and add margarine and onions. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add basil and marjoram and cook for another 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked garbanzo bean mixture, vegetables, and kala namak until well mixed. Spread evenly into oiled dish. Cool completely in the refrigerator for two hours. This step imparts the egg-like texture, so don’t skip it. **I refrigerated mine over night and cooked it in the morning. It came out beautifully.**
- Preheat oven to 350, then bake frittata for 20 minutes, until hot in the center. Move frittata up to the top oven rack, turn on broiler, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the top has browned. Serve warm with your favorite brunch side dishes.
Check out more of Allison’s recipes on our website, here. If you make any of Allison’s recipes we’d love to see some pics – post ‘em to our Facebook or Twitter pages so we can bask in the glory of vegan food together.
And if you’re the visual type…
Monday Yumday: Tuna(Free) Salad
Looking for the perfect sandwich filler, a topping to your favorite salad, or a dinner side? This tuna(free) salad has it all. It’s super easy to make and keeps well when refrigerated.
In my last post I made it a point to tell you that I tend to follow recipes to the T. Well, I’m going to contradict myself already – I didn’t have time to hit up the grocery store so in preparing this salad I was without a few ingredients, and I didn’t need to make quite as much as the recipe called for so I had to wing it a bit on the amount of each ingredient used. Nonetheless it turned out wonderfully! Here’s what you need (serves 6):
- 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained (I used 1 can)
- 1/4 cup red onion, peeled and finely chopped (I didn’t have a red onion so I used white)
- 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped (I used one stalk)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced (I used 2 cloves)
- 1/4 cup dill pickle, finely chopped (I used 1/2 of one pickle)
- 2 tablespoons nori seaweed flakes (didn’t have this!)
- 1 cup vegan mayonnaise (I used about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon salt (I used about 1/4 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground (I used a few pinches)
- 12 slices of bread, lightly toasted
- 6 large, crisp lettuce leaves
- 12 fresh tomato slices (I didn’t have these!)
- In a large bowl, mash the garbanzo beans with a potato masher or the back of a fork.
- fold the onion, celery, garlic, pickle, nori, mayonnaise, salt, and black pepper into the garbanzo beans. Combine thoroughly.
- Lightly toast the bread. Spread the salad on one slice and stack with a lettuce leaf, two tomato slices, and another slice of bread. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.
A few notes: I found that this recipe is not only great for sandwiches but also great to add to salads and makes a tasty side. If you choose to make a sandwich out of it I highly recommend adding avocado slices. So. Good. Picture time!!
NEW: Monday Yumday
We’d like to introduce a new weekly blog segment: Monday Yumday! Every weekend our guest blogger, Kris will make one of Allison’s scrumptious recipes which are featured on our website and in some cases, VegNews Magazine, and share them here on the AG blog.
This weekend Kris made Allison’s potato salad for a non-veg BBQ. It was such a hit with everyone that we decided to start there. As we move on with recipes, sharing pictures and tips, we hope that you participate as well. If you make one of Allison’s recipes we’d love for you to guest blog about it (right here!) or share your delectable photos with us on our Facebook page. Without further delay… potato salad:
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First, you must know that I am no cook. I mean, I love making food and I do all of the time, but I tend to strictly stick to recipes as written, and often am told how unorthodox my food preparation style is (messy!). So don’t be surprised if some of my comments seem unusual, that’s just because they are. *wink* Okay, now let’s get started.
My favorite thing about this recipe – other than the taste of course – is how simple it is to prepare. What took the longest was waiting for the potatoes to finish cooking. Here’s what you need (serves 6):
- 8 cups yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I used 4 large potatoes)
- 3 large celery ribs (I cut them length-wise and then across)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons red onion, minced (they always make me cry!)
- 1 cup vegan mayonnaise (at first it looks like a lot but trust me, you’ll need all of that entire cup)
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (I used an entire one of those little packets in the fresh herb section of the store)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- In a stock pot fitted with a large steamer basket, place 2 cups of water and add potatoes. Bring to a boil and steam for 15 minutes, until potatoes begin to yield to an inserted fork. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and allow to cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes. ** NOTE: I didn’t have the proper steamer equipment so I boiled my cut potatoes for about 8-10 minutes so they were still relatively firm, not too squishy.
- In a small bowl, combine celery, onion, mayonnaise, dill, salt, mustard, and pepper. Add to potatoes and fold to combine.
And now for the good part – the pictures! I promise to take more pictures next time for better step-by-step look sees. But for this one I only have a few of the more finished variety. Enjoy! Oh and if you make it let us know how it turns out!
Weekly Wrap-Up: Veggie Pics & Twitter Love
Phew, it’s been a busy week around here but I wanted to write a quick wrap-up note for you – our lovely fans and friends.
We loved your comments and photo posts on Facebook this week! We’re looking forward to see how Rachelle Bloksberg’s cherry tomatoes turn out. In the meantime, Sarah-Mai Miller posted a couple of beautiful fresh homegrown vegetable pics. Check out these beauties:
This week’s special TWEET shout outs go to Alternative Outfitter, Melissa German, and eatpure who yet again showed us all-star support on Twitter this week. Thanks, guys!
In addition, we are grateful for all of the blog re-posts you all gave us this week. In case you missed it, some popular posts included: August’s Flavors: More Wheat-Free Options and Simple Chocolate Bliss.
Join the conversations anytime with AG on Twitter and Facebook. Happy Friday, Everyone!
Weekly Wrap-Up: Toffee and Caramels
Welcome to another edition of Allison’s Gourmet weekly wrap-up. I hope you all had a fantastic week!
Thank you for the great Facebook activity this week everyone. We loved your comments on our homemade tempeh posts. Also, thank you so much for sharing this week’s blog posts with your Facebook and Twitter friends. If you missed it, everyone seemed to enjoy Vegan Toffee: Not Just for the Holidays post.
We’d like to give special shout outs to our fellow tweeple for your support: @Animal_Advocacy, @melissagerman, and @eatpure. The lovely @eatpure was kind enough to blog about our caramels! Check out her post here: Vegan Caramels. Thanks so much!!
We sincerely appreciate your support friends – keep us posted on what you’d like to see or hear more of, and don’t forget catch up with us on Twitter and Facebook. Have a great weekend!
Weekly Wrap-up: Shout Outs & Take Action
We’re looking forward to another warm weekend ahead – how about you? Before we get to that let’s have a quick recap on this week’s adventures, shall we?
Thank you to those who commented on our Facebook postings this week! We had a great time at the Farmer’s Market and U-pick, and we enjoyed sharing our adventures with you. We love to hear how you spend your healthy food-planning weeks so feel free to post pics and such to our wall.
We posted the following to Facebook yesterday but in case you missed it:
There is a very concerning new bill in the Senate that if passed, would Make it Illegal to Grow, Share, Trade or Sell Homegrown Food. Please take action and tell your Senators to vote against this bill so that we may preserve our right to grow our own food. Monsanto strikes again.
We’d like to give special Twitter shout outs to two of our lovely friends: Yotam Solomon and MADforAnimals – thank you for your support!
The first vegan potluck of the Gold Country Vegans (a group Allison co-created) is happening this Sunday! If you’re in the area, please join in the fun. If not, what are your plans for the weekend?
In any case, have a beautiful weekend, Friends, and as always, catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter any time!
Weekly Wrap-Up: Animal Place and Allison’s Potato Salad
Welcome to another installment of Allison’s Gourmet’s weekly wrap-up.
First, thank you so much to all of you who re-posted some of our latest blog posts to Twitter and Facebook – we heart you all! And keep us posted on what you want more of: recipes, stories from our kitchen, Olivia’s adventures, etc!
Speaking of recipes, if you picked up the latest issue of VegNews you’ll find Allison’s amazing recipe for all-American potato salad (pg 96) – it’s so good!
I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. I saw some great posts on veganizing your celebrations. Please feel free to share your vegan holiday pictures with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages, check out Allison’s Facebook photos from her family’s visit to Animal Place, and have a great weekend!
Weekly Wrap-up: Blog Posts, Shout Outs, & News
Let me start by saying “w00t” to all of you who dug our Coconut Ice Cream with Sautéed Spiced Apples post from earlier this week. We’re so glad that you loved it and shared your love with others. You rock!
We also had some nice feedback on our First Wheat-Free Cookie Flavor post, and our Wedding Favors post. Your feedback helps us post stuff you love, so keep it coming!!
I’d like to offer vegansaurus a special ‘woop, woop’ – and by that I mean thank you, for giving us a shout out on Twitter yesterday. We heart you, vegansaurus!
Thank you to those who had delicious and thoughtful comments on Facebook the other day when we asked about your favorite summertime dessert! Personally, I’d have to go with Jill on the brownies dipped in chocolate and served on a stick…have mercy.
Huge news this week: we love to support fellow bakers of amazing vegan sweets, so join us in congratulating vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli for winning the latest edition of Cupcake Wars on The Food Network. This is a huge success for the vegan community and we are thrilled to have someone as talented as Chloe breaking through. Read about her victory on VegNews.
Other crazy highlights from this week included a new heart attack burger, courtesy of Friendly’s, and the very sad but true lion burgers in Arizona. Other than providing the links, I won’t spend any time on these two things because I know we all agree that these issues are unbelievable and ridiculous.
Sorry to end on a sad note, but these things, they are very real and just so crazy. I s’pose it’s all the more reason to keep sharing the joys of the vegan life! Anywhoo, have a nice weekend everyone!
