The Battle Of The Boxed Vegan Mac & Cheezes

I grew up in the 80s - boxed mac and cheese would make the rounds on our dinner plate. We seemed to get the traditional kind - the small elbow shaped noodles with the electric orange sauce packet. I did not like it! I liked the one with shells and the super creamy sauce.

Over the last few months vegan mac & cheeze has taken over the selves. In the last few weeks Matt and I have dabbled in the boxes we picked up at Whole Foods.

So Delicious: Most like the blue box I remember from childhood. Kinda cheesey, kinda chemically, a bit dry. You add your own spread and non-dairy milk with this one.

Daiya: Winner! This is super creamy, everything comes in the box and has a great taste. It had the creaminess of the shells I remember as a kid.I believe this one was the most pricey on the shelf but it is the one I would buy again!

This is how I used the Daiya mac & cheeze: pan fried bbq Soy Curls, jalapenos and the mac & cheeze between a whole wheat bun. Fries and tots on the side because I only had a handful of each in the freezer. This was super yummy and something I will be making again for sure!

It is not hard to make your own stove top mac & cheeze now that vegan melting cheeze is on the market. Buying it in box form is fun and serves for nostalgic purposes but at the end of the day I like the stove top kind. I like mine topped with hot sauce and Tajin.

Grillin' & Chillin'

We bought a new (pink!) grill over the weekend and have been having bbq fun. So far a lot of tofu skewers and bbq friendly side dishes, my fave being baked beans. Something we discovered is bread brushed with a bit of Earth Balance and grilled is mega tasty. I like my toast topped with beans! I am making another batch of low sugar bbq sauce for tonight's grilling session. All the commercial sauces leave my stomach stressed out and feeling sick.


Are you grilling? If so what are you grilling?

BBQ Tempeh Chili & Baked Breaded Tofu

So one of my goals for 2013 is to try at least 2 new recipes a month, so far I am making new to me recipes few times a week! I often get stuck in food ruts and I am always looking for new recipes that will satisfy both Matt and I.

I bought a bag of panko bread crumbs when I was at Whole Foods, because buying vegan bread crumbs around  here is not working out. So I wanted to make something that included them right away. Usually in the past I just used bread crumbs as a baked mac and cheeze topper...I decided to try the crispy baked tofu recipe from Chow Vegan. I used a 30 oz block of WildWood (my go to tofu). I served it with stove top mac and cheeze, a baked potato and BBQ sauce for dipping. It was good, however next time I am going to eliminate 1/2 of the bread crumb, I had so much left over after breading the tofu. Also I will be playing around with spices to kick it up.

In the current issue of Vegetarian Times there is a article on 5 ingredient chili mixes. I was curios. Matt and I both like BBQ, pinto beans and tempeh, while I like slaw...so we went with the BBQ Tempeh Chili recipe. It was easy to throw together after a trip to the gym. I baked some sweet potato pieces as a side (which Mar ate most of unless I wanted to get scratched up). It was good, simple and made a nice sized pot.


What recipes are you making lately that you love? Any food goals for 2013?

BBQ Tempeh Tacos With Sriracha Slaw

 

We like tacos, we like BBQ and I was craving the texture of tempeh (am I the only one who finds comfort in the texture of food?) so the BBQ tempeh taco with Sriracha slaw was born! Served with red rice and lemon and you are good to go. 

I just pan fried the tempeh (cut into long fingers) in olive oil till browned. Added some BBQ sauce to coat, turned the heat down low, covered the pan and steamed the slices in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. The slaw is pretty basic: broccoli slaw mix, a dollop of  Vegenaise, a hefty squirt of Sriracha and a drizzle of lemon juice. Everything was served up in warm corn tortillas.

[Vegan MOFO Day 20] Fast Food Friday: Carl's Jr Memphis BBQ Burger

When describing the Memphis BBQ Burger to Matt: pulled pork, crispy onion strings, cheese and a patty, he asked "is that real?". Yes it is real and it looks as if you can get a double patty version if you are inclined! The single patty version clocks in at 1030 calories, 55 grams of fat, 135 mg of cholesterol - kinda scary right?

So for my last Fast Food Friday for MOFO I had to veganize it! I started off with a seeded whole wheat bun, patty of choice: Gardein fresh burger, cheeze, Just Pure Foods crispy onion rings crushed up, pulled jackfruit tossed in a spicy BBQ sauce and more BBQ sauce added!

Verdict: winner! Seriously good, messy and with a side of fries it was a fast food fake-out to the max! Sorry for the less than stellar close up, we wanted to dig in and I wanted to eat and watch American Horror Story! Just a few notes: I used Follow Your Heart's Monterey Jack instead of cheddar due to it being on hand. I also used way less onion strips because Matt hates onion - however these crunchy gems were a hit, they were spicy and added a kick!

Once out of MOFO-mode I plan on trying more fast-food fake-outs! It has been fun, things that look/sound gross are actually winners!

[Vegan Mofo Day 8] Trying Out More Sandwiches

 I guess breaking out of my food patterns has put me into another food pattern: sandwiches. Maybe next "something new Wednesday" I will pass up on sandwiches.

First off a pita pocket sandwich with organic green mix, organic avocados, organic tomatoes, baked savory tofu, hot sauce and hummus dressing. So I have never picked up a bottle of Trader Joe's hummus dressing before - it is good. Actually I think it is the same stuff that comes with the lentil wraps that I get on occasion.

Second sandwich Boca vegan nuggets (those on the side were for Mar to eat and Matt to try!) with organic sprouts and the same ingredients above (minus the tofu)...

I was craving comfort food so I made BBQ pulled 'pork' using jack fruit and mixed it with mac and cheeze. I made Matt a pulled jack fruit sandwich to try out...I just ate mine with vegan-buttered toast! I have been in a toast mood...

Grilling Vegan Style Giveaway! CLOSED

In honor of my birthday this week I want to give one lucky person a gift! I went out and bought a copy of my new summer time favorite cookbook for one lucky reader! Grilling Vegan Style by John Schlimm. It is full of yummy summer time treats that range from savory to sweet. The book even starts off with grilling tips for newbie grillers! This is a vegan summer time must have!

To enter let me know below what your favorite grilled vegan dish is! Please also include your email address. Contest closes at noon (PST)  June 28th (my birthday!). Everyone can enter. One person will be chosen randomly. I will email the winner once chosen! Have fun!

It Feels Like Summer

Concerts - check! Last Saturday we got to see Morrissey in Stockton at The Bob Hope Theater again! We love when he plays here because unlike the bay area he does not cancel this stop and it is 30 or so minutes away from our home! Perfect right! It was such a great show! I am so glad that we get to see him yet again in Northern California!

 

BBQ - check! We bought a grill last week, nothing fancy just something for grill newbies and since then we have been having fun times with yummy vegan grilled food. Jumbo veggie dogs, kabobs, veggie links...We are grilling more this weekend! I can't wait! 

A few summer musts are already checked off my list and it is not even summer yet! This will be a great summer - I can feel it!

Easy BBQ Pan Fried Tofu

What you need:
1 block extra firm - high protein tofu - patted dry - cubed
1/2 cup or more of your fave BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon of canola oil for frying

Heat up your oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Place the tofu in the pan and fry for about 15 minutes - turning every so often so it will not burn. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add BBQ sauce and let simmer turning once for 10 minutes.
Serve it in a bun, serve it over rice, serve it with sweet potato fries like above! It is easy, fast and yummy!

Soy Curls

I admit I am a newbie to the whole soy curl craze. I tried them for the first time last month. What took me so long I guess was the fact I was put off by the idea of reconstituting my food with water - it reminded me of the bad veggie burger mixes of the mid 90s that I bought in the bulk bins! However once I made soy curls I became hooked!



To make BBQ soy curls that will feed 2-3 all you need is half a bag of the reconstituted soy curls - drained, your favorite BBQ sauce (1/2 a small bottle should be fine - use any left overs you have in your fridge), some canola oil coating a large non stick pan and about 20 minutes. Mix the sauce and soy curls together, while you warm up the oil in the pain on medium, toss in the coated soy curls, cook on a medium setting, tossing every 5 minutes till they are heated through. Plate and serve. We serve them with mac and cheeze! Crazy good!

Currently Never Felt Better is my go to source for soy curls! Go buy some today!

[day 8] Matt's Omnivore Opinion - BBQ Tofu

The barbecue tofu is not prepared as a meat substitute, meaning that it doesn't try to look or taste like meat, which might scare off fellow omnivores, but meat doesn't always have to be the main course of a meal and vegan dishes don't always have to include mock meats; and I'm perfectly fine with that. The tofu is nice and thick with a barbecue flavoring; it also fills you up, which is a problem I find with some Vegan meals. I'm not a food connoisseur, so all I can say is that it tastes great and if you enjoy tofu you'll like it; and if you're not a sheltered eater you should take a chance on GOOD vegan food.

The side dish is vegan macaroni and cheese. Obviously it's not real cheese. It's different from your boxed macaroni and cheese; it's not as runny or thin. If you ever eaten home made macaroni and cheese then you'll love the Vegan version.

I know I may have not gotten into extreme detail but I'm no expert food reviewer, so all I can say is I approve of this vegan meal for all non-Vegans and for all meat eaters. Meat eaters especially shouldn't act afraid of vegan food when it's just as, if not more healthy than what you (and I) eat on a day-to-day basis. - Matt

BBQ Tofu From The Slow Cooker
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2 blocks of extra firm tofu drained, pressed. cubed
13.5 oz of BBQ sauce (our fave is Organicville)

Layer cubed tofu and BBQ sauce in slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-5 hours!

The mac & cheeze is courtesy of the old recipe found on Get Sconed! which seems to be removed! I hope it is posted again - it is tasty!