vegan mofo: chili infused vodka

simple, but awesome.  we just popped some chili peppers in a decanter of high quality vodka... and two weeks later, we had some kick-ass bloody marys.


status: good drinkin'! 

why i'm including it: again, i wasn't sure if this was real recipe, or just more of fun experiment.

would i make it again: we're still working through the first decanter.  (we also made black pepper vodka - so good)!

spicy adobo vegan burgers

i thought i made the ultimate spicy burgers back with these puppies.  but the second i was in the store and spotted the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, i knew i had met my match.  we've only grilled them up a few times, but if you are looking for some serious heat, bookmark the recipe below. i found the can of peppers in the regular market, but i've also seen it in ethnic grocers as well.  these burgers are spicy - no lie - so be sure to use lots of condiments to help temper the heat.  and if you are heat lover like me, i promise you'll appreciate the extra kick (and yes, i did add extra jalapenos).  happy independence day!

• 1 cup cooked millet
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1 can black beans (2 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 can (3.5oz) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons ground flax
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs

simmer 1/3 cup dry millet in about 1 cup of water for about 25 minutes (stirring occasionally and adding water as needed).  after the millet is done, put it in the fridge to let it cool for at least an hour. it really enhances the stickiness of the grain. if i plan ahead, i usually cook it the day before i make these burgers and just leave it in the fridge overnight.

once millet has cooled, combine all ingredients in the food processor.  check your peppers for stems first, and be sure to add about half of the adobo sauce as well.  if your millet is still slightly warm, you may have to add a little more flax or bread crumbs.  after pulsing for 10-15 second, use the mixture to make about 6 normal sized burger patties. then prepare your favourite way - i like grilling mine for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat so the outsides get all crispy. yum!  be sure and spay or rub a little oil on the grill first to prevent them from sticking.

spicy ambercup squash soup

a friend at work gave me a ginormous ambercup squash. the first half was devoured in a mash, but for the second half, i decided to challenge myself to make a savory dish yet still let the natural sweetness shine through. the result is a creamy spicy soup with surprise bites of chili beans. a great fall recipe.

• 1/2 large ambercup squash (~4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1¼ cups veggie broth
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon bragg's aminos
• 1/4 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/8 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1 can chili beans in sauce

preheat oven to 400°f. scoop out the seeds and peel the skin. the skin is edible, but i don't prefer it in this recipe. dice squash up into large cubes and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet. drizzle olive oil on top and use a basting brush or clean hands to coat each piece evenly. bake for 45 minutes, flipping once halfway.

after squash has cooled considerably, chop into several smaller pieces and put in a food processor with the vegetable broth. pulse until the squash becomes thick and creamy, much like the consistency of mashed potatoes. be sure there aren't any large pieces remaining. use a spatula and pour mixture in to a 2-quart sauce pan. add in all the spices, aminos and soymilk, and turn heat to medium temperature. stir often. drain your chili beans, reserving the liquid. after 2-3 minutes, add in 1½ cups of chili beans and 3/4 cup of the reserved chili sauce. continue stirring until small bubbles begin to appear on the surface. serve warm. for presentation, drizzle a little of remaining chili sauce on the surface.

makes 3-4 hearty bowls.

curry in a hurry

work has been crazy for me lately, and i've honestly not felt like cooking complicated meals when i get home. i've been eating a lot of easy meals, and i thought this one was one of the more blog worthy. the only catch is that for an quick and easy meal, you'll want to have your curry powder made ahead of time, or buy some. i made my several months ago and keep it in a spice jar.

• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cups sliced cabbage
• 1 carrots, julienned
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup cooked brown rice

for the curry powder:

• 2 tablespoons cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 3/4 tablespoon cloves
• 3/4 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 3/4 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

to make the curry powder, put all seeds (everything through the fenugreek) on a cookie sheet and place in the oven on 300 for about 15-20 minutes. alternately, you can put it in a cast iron skillet and heat on a medium stove top. once seeds begin to pop, wait about another 20 seconds before you remove them. put the toasted seeds along with the rest of the powdered ingredients into a magic bullet or the old fashioned mortar and pestle. grind into a curry powder.

cook brown rice according to directions. meanwhile, slice all the veggies up and place in a non-stick skillet. heat on medium high for one or two minutes, until the garlic starts to brown a little. add in the curry powder and onion/onion powder. the juices from the tomatoes and veggies should provide enough liquid to make a thick sauce. if not, add in 1/4 cup of water or coconut milk. when the green peppers are tender and cabbage is translucent, remove from heat. serve over brown rice.

make 2 dinner servings.

fire roasted soyrizo burrito (breakfast burrito #3)

breakfast burritos. good for those ravenous mornings when fruit or pastries just won't cut it. i never had 'real' chorizo when i was an omnivore, so i'm not sure how soyrizo compares. i really like the spicy flavour of the soyrizo - both the homemade and pre-packaged. add in some fire roasted tomatoes, and you have a big sloppy delicious breakfast. :)

• 1 soyrizo link
• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes (14.5oz)
• 1 small can mexi-style corn (11 oz.)
• 1/2 small zucchini, diced
• 1 tablespoons cumin
• 10 inch flour tortillas
• tofutti sour cream (optional)

roughly chop soyrizo in large non-stick skillet on medium heat. i find that soyrizo tends to crumble by itself, so larger chunks are fine. drain the corn, and add it in along with the cumin. saute for about 2 minutes, and then add in slightly drained fire roasted tomatoes. to slightly drain, open the can but keep the lid on with your hand. turn over once in the sink, but don't compress or try to force liquid out. once you added in everything, continue cooking mixture for approximately 5 minutes, or until tomato liquid has mostly evaporated. serve on heated flour tortillas. if you want to cool the spiciness down, you can add a big dollop of tofutti sour cream.

makes about 3 or 4, depending on size.

spicy cabbage mix in peanut sauce

today is st. patrick's day, a highly celebrated day in my house. i don't have a typical irish food recipe to share, but i felt i should at least post something green. i can eat cabbage in almost any fashion, and *love* adding it to my stir fry recipes. the best part of this dish is that the peanut sauce really complements the spiciness. happy st. patrick's day!


stir fry:

• 1 cup steamed broccoli
• 2 cups shredded cabbage and carrots
• 1/4 cup peanuts
  
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon water
  

for the peanut sauce:

• 5 tablespoons pb2
  
• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy
• 1-2 tablespoons sriracha
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

whisk up the stir fry sauce ingredients, and pour over the steamed broccoli. allow the broccoli to marinade for a couple hours.

meanwhile, mix up the peanut sauce by first mixing pb2 powder with 4 tablespoons of water. pb2 is a peanut butter powder that has something like 85% less calories than regular peanut butter (and still tastes good!). if you don't have pb2, you could sub about 1/4 cup peanut butter, but i really suggest you try it. after the pb2 reaches a thin creamy consistency, whisk in the rest of the peanut sauce ingredients.

after broccoli has marinated, turn your wok on 400° and dump in the broccoli and marinade. stir fry for several minutes, and then toss in cabbage. continue cooking for about 3 minutes, toss in peanuts, and cook another 3 minutes. cover in peanut sauce and serve.

kickin' cornbread casserole

the first time i made cornbread was last year, to go with my smokey white bean chili recipe. since then, i've found myself craving different variations of standard cornbread and decided i wanted to make a cornbread casserole of some sort. below is the results.

• 3/4 cups cornmeal
• 3/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter (i use smart balance)
• 1 can corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can rotel
• 1 tablespoon onion
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ener-g egg replacer (w/ 3 tbsp water)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons tabasco or other hot sauce
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• vegan mozzarella (optional)

mix dry ingredients (except breadcrumbs) in a large mixing bowl. in a separate bowl, mix up the wet ingredients (butter, milk, tomatoes, rotel, egg replacer and hot sauce), and fold them into the dry.


spread into a lightly greased 8x13 glass casserole dish - top with a thin layer of vegan breadcrumbs. i prefer panko. if you prefer, spread mozzarella tofutti slices or other vegan mozzarella on top.

bake for 40-45 mins @ 350°f.

simple spicy stir fry

i'm a spice maniac. seriously. my stomach must be made of steel because i love superhuman hot-ness in my foods. this dish will definitely clear the sinuses. i'd suggest modifying the chili paste based upon what you prefer. best of all, it's really low fat and low calorie if you stick to the oil measurements below.

• 7 oz. frozen broccoli
• 1 cup shredded cabbage and carrots
• 2 tablespoons chili paste
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons nama shoyu (or soy)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ground sichuan peppercorns

heat oils and chili paste in a wok on high (about 400°). add in the broccoli, shoyu, galic and ginger and stir fry until well heated (about 7 minutes with frozen broccoli). add the rice vinegar and cabbage mix (i used bag coleslaw mix) and cook for about 5 minutes. toss in the ground sichuan peppercorns about 30 seconds before you finish stir frying.

this recipe only makes one bowl- perfect for the solo spice lover.

general tao's tofu & veggies

the original recipe is one of vegan folklore on vegweb.com. i made some serious modifications to the recipe, partially because the original calls for so much sugar. i do realize that general tao's sauce is sorta sweet anyway, but i just couldn't bring myself to do it. so, although vegweb was the inspiration, below you will find miss v's own less sweet general tao's tofu & veggies.

• 1 container of extra firm tofu
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1½ tablespoons sesame or coconut oil

----------

• 1½ tablespoons ginger (minced)
• 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
  
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1-1½ tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup vegetable broth
  
• 1/4 cup vegan hoisin sauce
• 1 pkg. (16 oz.) vegetable stir fry medley (or more)

tofu prep:
gently squeeze tofu to drain initial water, and then press to rid it of excess moisture. to press: place two layers of papers towels on a plate, place tofu on towels, and another two layers of paper towels on top. put on another plate, an top with a can of veggies or something for a weight. so basically, you will have plate-towels-tofu-towel-plate-weight. let stand for about 15 minutes. after pressing tofu, cut tofu into 1-inch cubes, and freeze. this gives the tofu a firmer and 'meatier' texture. be sure and thaw for at least 4 or 5 hours prior to making recipe.

after thawing, place tofu on paper towels again to remove some moisture that will drain off. on a large plate, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. put tofu cubes on plate and press into cornstarch. sprinkle the other 2 tablespoon of cornstarch on top, and gently roll tofu around until it's lightly coated. heat sesame or coconut oil in wok on 350 (medium-high heat).
drop tofu in and let brown on each side for about 4 to 5 minutes. after about 20 minutes of browning (if needed), turn the heat up to 400 (high) and crisp up the tofu. pull out and place in bowl. if you follow the tofu prep instructions, you should have nice crispy cubes, *scarily* similar to chicken.


in wok on 350, heat ginger, garlic, chili oil, rice vinegar, agave nectar, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce. after about 30 seconds, put in the vegetable medley (i use asparagus stir fry). then add in about 1 cup of a pepper strips medley. after stir frying veggies for about 5 minutes, add the vegetable broth and hoisin sauce. turn up heat to about 375 and cook for about 7-10 minutes, until sauce has thickened. turn off wok, and immediately drop tofu in and stir up.

top with sesame seeds and serve with rice. i add additional siriacha sauce to my bowl because i like a lot of heat. so although it's not as sweet as traditional general tao's, this is soooo good and to me it tastes exactly like chinese take out. total kitchen time is about an hour, and i'd say it serves about 3-4, depending on the appetites involved.

sichuan green beans

this recipe was inspired by a spontaneous late night dinner at bolings, a fantastic chinese restaurant in kansas city. two days later i was at the asian super market buying sichuan peppercorns and chili oil.

• 1 pound of green beans
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons garlic chili paste
• 2 tablespoons vegetarian hoisin sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons ground sichuan pepper
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
  

steam green beans for 5-7 minutes - they should still reserve some of their crunchiness. heat peanut and chili oil along with garlic and ginger in a wok at about 350f° (medium-high). drop in green beans, and stir fry for about 5 minutes. add in the rest of the ingredients, and continue to stiry fry for about 10 minutes more. top with sesame seeds and serve (with rice if ya like).