So we had a potluck at work for Halloween. One of my “Go To” potluck dishes is a quinoa and beet salad. This is chock-ful of protein, fiber, vitamins, and tasty goodness (not actual ingredient). In other words, this is a perfect potluck dish because it’s cold, delicious, and it ensures that I’ll have at least one thing I can eat at the potluck. Sorry… no photo today… but you do get two recipes for one blog entry.

Quinoa (“keen-wah”) and Beet Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• ½ lb. Baked tofu or veggie sausage, cubed
• 1 lb. cherry or pear tomatoes, halved
• ½ lb. steamed peeled beets, diced (Trader Joe’s has some great ready-to-eat beets if you don’t want to steam your own)
• 1 bunch swiss chard (any color) or kale (leaves only) chopped or torn into smaller pieces.
• ½ – ¾ C. Balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

• Rinse and cook quinoa according to directions. For more flavorful quinoa, add salt, liquid aminos, or cook in vegetable broth… however, the salad won’t need it because it takes on the flavor of the vinaigrette. At end of cooking, fluff quinoa with a fork to prevent overcooking. It’s important to allow the quinoa to cool before compiling the salad. A great way to do this is to spread it out on a jelly roll pan so that it cools quickly
• Rinse and drain the chard (or whatever greens you’ve chosen). Tear or slice in smaller strips. I usually cut out the stem first and then cut the leaves in strips. If you use chard, you can cut the stem into little ½ inch segments, and they’ll add crunch and flavor. If you’re using kale, then discard the stem.
• Steam or lightly fry chard (or whatever greens you’ve chosen) till wilted, but not overcooked. Allow to cool before compiling salad. Note: adding a pinch of salt while sauteing will cut down the bitterness a little bit.
• Toss kale with small amount of vinaigrette.
• In a large mixing bowl, put all ingredients together and mix together. Add vinaigrette to taste.

Variations:

This is an easily transformed salad. Like it a little sweeter? Add some dried cranberries. Do you like herbs? Fresh basil is a great addition. Interested in having more quinoa, then double the quinoa but keep the veggies the same. Corn adds color and flavor.

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard (or other whole grain mustard)
• 2 Tbsp (or more) agave nectar (maple syrup works well too)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic grated or finely minced
• 2-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except oil in a blender. Blend till well mixed. Add oil slowly while blending to properly emulsify the vinaigrette. Alternatively, you can combine everything into a dressing shaker/jar thing and shake it really well. The goal is to create a dressing that doesn’t have a layer of oil.

Variations:

Flavor it according to how you like it! Some people like a sweeter balsamic vinaigrette, so they should add more agave nectar. If you like a little more bite, add more garlic or fresh cracked pepper.

Macaroni and Teese

I want to start by saying that I really like nutritional yeast. I think it’s a great flavor for my homemade gluten, sauces, and when I want a slightly cheesy flavor to things. However, I have to admit that I don’t love nutritional yeast as the sole cheesy flavor when making a comfort food like mac and cheese. Am I the only one who feels that way? Judging by the leftovers my daughters leave when I’ve created yeast-based mac and cheese, I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way.

Enter the new era of vegan cheeses. Previously I talked about Teese in the Vegan Nachos. Well, the soft cheddar flavor makes a great base for gratins, mac and cheese, cheesy soups, and many other great dishes (haven’t tried it with fondue, but I’m sure that would be pretty good). Whenever I make a macaroni and cheesy type dish, I like to top it with some breadcrumbs. This adds more whole grains to the diet with a nice crisp crunch… and we could all use some more fiber in our diets, right?

Ingredients:

• 1 package elbow macaroni (whole wheat, rice, or plain semolina… and you can use any smallish pasta like shells)
• 1 block of soft cheddar-style Teese (10 oz. size)
• ½ cup unsweetened rice milk (you can also use soy, almond, hemp, or whatever non-dairy milk you enjoy)
• 1 tbsp non-dairy buttery spread (Earth Balance is great)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp salt (or more)
• fresh breadcrumbs from a single slice of whole wheat bread
• olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cook the macaroni according to directions. I prefer to keep mine just a tad more al dente than I like to eat it because this dish gets finished in the oven. So take a look at the package and cook it a minute less or so.

Break up the Teese into smaller chunks. You want to make sure it’s not huge so that it melts a little more easily. When the macaroni is finished cooking, drain lightly (that means that you don’t want to drain it till it’s bone dry. It can have some of the cooking water on it and still be moist.

Put macaroni and Teese into the pot you were just using and put on medium-low heat. You don’t want to scorch the Teese. Stir constantly while melting Teese. When the majority of Teese has melted, add butter, rice milk, and nutritional yeast. Mix thoroughly and continue cooking for about one minute. Add salt to taste, but 1 tsp is usually good. Mix thoroughly and taste more.

Put the mixture into a ceramic or glass casserole dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the macaroni mix and spray with a little olive oil. If you don’t have a sprayer, then use your thumb to cover the opening of the olive oil, leave just a tiny opening, and shake over the casserole dish. Move rapidly. You don’t want a lot of oil on one part… just a light spritz and spread of olive oil so that the bread crumbs get nice and brown. Bake in the oven till the top is golden brown and crunchy. Watch out! You don’t want it to be burnt… just crunchy.

Remove from oven. Let cool and set for about 3 minutes. Scoop and serve!

Variations:

Add any manner of herbs or spices to the topping for a slightly different taste. You can also add chopped Tofurkey or veggie ham to the macaroni and Teese mix for more protein. For a little tangy surprise, add some pear or grape tomatoes to the macaroni and Teese mix before baking. For more veggies, add some slightly blanched green beans or asparagus (chopped not whole).

Slow Simmered Pinto Beans

Comfort foods are things that I love to eat when I’m not feeling great (mentally and/or physically). My list of comfort foods seems to grow every year, but this list includes vegan versions of baked potatoes with toppings, rice porridge, oatmeal, lasagna, pad see ewe, bun bo hue, thai curry, samosas, mango with sticky rice, minestrone soup, split pea soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot chocolate, and sweet potato fries… okay, I’m sure there are way more foods I consider comfort foods, but those are the ones off the top of my head. Well a nice bowl of slow simmered beans is right up there. This is a dish that’s easily modified to match a variety of cuisines. Depending on the beans you use and the flavorings you add, it can be southwest style, mediterranean, or even asian-inspired.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried beans (whatever you want… I used pinto beans in this recipe, but I’ve also used black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, black-eyed peas… I’m sure you get the idea, any beans will do)
• 8 cups of water
• ½ onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic smashed
• 1 bay leaf or 1 strip kombu
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon liquid aminos
• juice from ¼ lemon
• ½ tablespoon of agave nectar or other sweetener

Directions:

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to this recipe. I like to soak my beans overnight to prep them. For some reason, it makes the beans come out more tender, and they seem easier to digest. Maybe that part’s my imagination. Anyway, I rinse the beans then put enough water in the pot with the beans so that the water line is 2 inches above the beans.

The next morning, I pour out the water that was used to soak the beans (carefully reserving it to water the garden with). In your crock pot or slow cooker, put the beans with the 8 cups of water, the onion, the garlic, and the bay leaf or kombu. Do NOT add the salt and other flavors. There will be plenty of time for additional seasonings once the beans are tender. Don’t ask me why, but when you add salt, the beans don’t get as tender. Something about cooking it with salty water makes the beans hard. This isn’t like the digestible thing. This is a fact.

I set it to high until the water is simmering. Then I set it to low and leave it alone for about five hours… or until it’s tender. You can keep it on high if you want to, but I think the beans get more tender when it’s a lower heat.

Alternatively, if you’re pressed for time, you can use a heavy pot and bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 60-90 minutes. Test the beans. When they’re tender, it’s ready!

Regardless of which method you use, when the beans are tender, go ahead and remove the bay leaf or kombu, and add the salt, liquid aminos, lemon juice, and agave nectar. Let it simmer for an additional 15 minutes or so to bring all the flavors together. Serve hot with brown rice.

Variations:

These beans are great as is, but you can also dress them up with other flavorings. Try some chili powder and cayenne for heat. Add molasses for a deep sweetness. Add the beans to 10 cups of broth and assorted vegetables for a tasty bean soup. Tomato paste gives the beans a nice tanginess.

All you need is love (all together now!).

All you need is love (everybody!).

All you need is love, love.

Love is all you need (love is all you need).

Spring Rolls

One of the best vegan Vietnamese restaurants we’ve had the pleasure of eating at is Loving Hut in Alhambra, CA. They offer an eclectic mix of Vietnamese comfort food (including Royal Noodle Soup, Spring Rolls, Divine Vermicelli), a smattering of international fair (Spaghetti, Spicy Burritos, Spicy Thai Hot Pot), tasty drinks (Zesty Kumquat, Loving Hut Cocoa, Lychee Paradise, Rose Milk Tea), delicious desserts (vegan cheesecake, chocolate cake, and muffins), and they pay attention to details. They also have some wonderful dishes that utilize Vietnamese ingredients and cooking, but are unlike any I’ve seen like the Jolly Rice and Guru’s Curry.

Loving Hut is actually an international chain of restaurants that can be found across this country and several others. By the literature and TVs in the place, you can see that they follow the teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai. Supreme Master TV is usually playing, and you can catch news stories as well as vegan cooking shows. Loving Hut has locations that cover thirteen countries (so far) and include Australia, US, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, and more! Each of the “franchises” is independently run and operated, so menus vary a little, which is nice for variety.

The service is good, and the chefs are especially excited when they see repeat customers. As could be expected, it’s the food that really makes Loving Hut shine. The prices are reasonable. Entrees are around $6 or so, and the portions can be overwhelming at times (in a good way).

Like many Asian-inspired vegan and veggie food joints, there is an emphasis on the mock meats… actually, our family thinks of mock meats as interesting ways to mold soy, wheat, yam, and mushrooms. We’re not vegans who miss meat, but having the mock meats just gives us a variety of textures and flavors.

One of the most interesting dishes (and a family favorite of ours), is the Seafood Basket. This collection of deep-fried foods include french fries, scallops (I think made of mushroom stems), shrimp (made of yam flour), and fish (made of soy and seaweed). It’s probably not the healthiest item on the menu, but vegan doesn’t always have to be healthy, and it’s sometimes comforting to have something breaded and fried to share with the family.

Royal Noodle Soup

Almost every time we visit, either Baby Corn or Dumpling will order the Royal Noodle Soup. Traditionally known as Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Beef Noodle Soup), this dish is spicy, full of many balanced flavors, and just fantastic when you’re sick or well. The herbs and bean sprouts give it texture and added flavor, and there are sliced jalapeños just in case the customer wants it even spicier. There’s also a layer of shredded mushroom stems that add chewiness and an earthy flavor to the dish. True to habit, Dumpling ordered the Bo Hue. There are other wonderful noodle soups as well. The Pho and the Wonton Noodle Soup are both very good as well. Sweet Potato often talks about how the broth is what’s important of Pho, and she thinks this one, with it’s clear flavors is one of the best vegan versions she’s tried.

Classic Vegan Burger

Never one to turn down a homemade vegan burger, I tried Loving Hut’s Classic Vegan Burger the last time we visited. Normally served with fries, I decided to ask for a side salad instead, which they were happy to do. The burger has plenty of body to it, and there’s a good balance of bread to veggies to burger. It comes with vegan mayo, but I like to hold the Vegenaise and ask for ketchup and mustard instead. The salad dressing is light with a hint of sweet and sour. Definitely not overpowering, but it doesn’t need to be because there’s plenty of flavor in the burger. The patty isn’t too chewy like some Boca rip-offs. It’s also not as soft and pasty as some of the bean-based versions. I especially like the addition of the fried onions and mushrooms. It makes the burger taste more earthy.

Chef's Fried Rice

Sweet Potato decided to try the Chef’s Fried Rice (our first time with this one), and overall really liked it. It was your basic fried rice with some diced tofu, some other veggie meat, carrots, and peas. We prefer more vegetables (like cabbage or corn), but the flavors were good and the rice was fried perfectly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but there are also so many other amazing things to try on the menu. The Jolly Rice is one of those things. There’s a veggie meat for saltiness and texture, and the rice is kind of sour… like umeboshi plum or something. It’s unlike any dish we’ve ever had, and it’s good! They top it off with some shredded seaweed which adds some crunch and flavor.

Spicy Cha Cha

This last time we were there, Baby Corn went with another favorite, the Spicy Cha Cha. Made with the vegan shrimp, the key to this dish is the spicy, crunchy mixture on top that has peppers, onions, and a lot of secret ingredients that add bite, heat, and more. Be sure to order a side of rice. Eaten alone, it can be salty, but the rice mellows it out. Yes, it’s deep-fried, so it’s probably not the healthiest thing available, but it’s so good!

Although we didn’t order dessert this time (we were stuffed!), we absolutely love the vegan cheesecake here. Homemade, rich without being too dense, and full of flavor, the cheesecake is amazing. It comes topped with a berry mixture that gives it a little more tang and sweetness.

We love Loving Hut and hope that it continues to expand (new location in Ladera Ranch in Orange County)… Just imagine a world where vegans can visit any country and find a Loving Hut instead of a Pizza Hut! Now that would be progress for our civilization.

Easy Peasy Spanish-y Rice

Have you noticed a pattern to my cooking yet? When I have time, I tend to do more fancy, time-consuming stuff. But I rarely have time, so I do a lot of quick and easy recipes. This one is the quick and easy variety. The thing is when you do Spanish-style rice, a lot of recipes call for frying the rice a little first (toasting it in a pan) and then bringing it to a boil and then lowering the heat to simmer while covered… blah blah blah. Throw it all into a rice cooker and be done with it. The rice grains won’t be as separate as when you cook it in a pan, but the dish also won’t be as oily, and the rice cooker makes it dead simple… no checking to see if the rice is done yet or worrying about burning the bottom layer or forgetting you have it on, etc. etc. etc. It’s easy peasy.

Also, this recipe is totally modifiable. I usually use frozen corn and edamame. I didn’t have any this time, so I think I used green beans. No vegetable broth? Add water and a little more salt or liquid aminos. You get the idea. Lots of options.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice (I use brown basmati or jasmine rice, but white works fine… so does brown short or medium grain rice. Just don’t use sticky rice)
• ½ cup ground tomatoes or diced tomatoes in juice (if you don’t have either, then use 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and increase the broth by almost ½ cup)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp liquid aminos
• 1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
• ¼ onion chopped
• ½ cup total of frozen vegetables (I usually use edamame, corn, and carrots)
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• about 2 to 2 ½ cups vegetable broth

Directions:

Rinse rice and drain. Make sure you pour the drained liquid into another container so that you can water some plants with it (this also works great with water you’ve used to wash vegetables).

Put rice in a rice cooker. Add vegetable broth to just under the correct marker. So pretend that you’re making slightly dryer rice. Typically, I use about 1 ½ cups liquid (water or vegetable broth) for each cup of brown rice. So in this recipe, reduce the liquid by about ¼ cup for each cup of rice. Don’t worry, the liquid from the tomatoes and vegetables will make up for it.

Add in all the other ingredients and mix well.

Press start on the rice cooker (if I had a nickel for every time one of us forgot to press start… well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I might have 4 or 5 dollars).

Variations:

A variety of frozen mixed veggies work well. Some of the mixes are a good choice (like Trader Joe’s Soycutash). You can also use fresh shredded carrots if you have more time. If you like things spicy, they use a little hot sauce or chili powder.

Last Vegan MoFo experience, I began selecting people that I respect who have made a difference for me and other vegans. My first two were Kyung Sun Won (of Pulmuone Wildwood fame) and Daryl Hannah (of acting and activist fame). In discussion with Seitan, we realized that both of us were inspired by Diet for a New America… so it’s high time that I selected John Robbins as my Vegan MoFo Hero of the Week (VMFHW).

John Robbins, Our Vegan MoFo Hero of the Week

You have to respect someone who believes so strongly in something that he would turn his back on one of the largest ice cream empires… and that’s exactly what John Robbins did. The son of Irma and Irv Robbins (the guy who’s surname makes up half of the Baskin-Robbins name), John decided that his father’s dream… one that was built on the backs (and udders) of cows… wasn’t his own. As he states on his site Healthy at 100 (also the name of Robbins’ most recent book), John wanted to “…pursue the deeper American Dream…the dream of a society at peace with its conscience because it respects and lives in harmony with all life forms. A dream of a society that is truly healthy, practicing a wise and compassionate stewardship of a balanced ecosystem.”

On a more personal level, it was his book Diet for a New America: How Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth that affected me the most. This landmark book really connected everything for me… how food, animals, health, and the earth are so intertwined. It was after reading this book that I became more determined to be a vegetarian… and then later a vegan. Diet for a New America, also a DVD, was revolutionary in that it so easily explained the results of our food choices. It made it clear to me that what I eat really does affect not just me, but my environment. Nowadays, we’re all about reducing our carbon footprint… it’s a catch-phrase that’s become popular… but back when Robbins wrote this, with many of the same messages popular today, he was one of the few saying it.

Diet for a New America

His later books, The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life And Our World and Reclaiming Our Health: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the Source of True Healing, explore diet and go beyond to challenge what we think we know of medicine and the healthcare industry. What makes his writing so great is the fact that he challenges the reader, provides facts, and yet still speaks with passion and conviction. The ignorant masses will often ignore the issues and truths by flippantly saying that activists are radicals or just being “PC,” but when people are confronted by the eloquence of John Robbins, they have to take notice. He’s not some Jerry Garcia look-alike. He’s not bashing people over the head like PETA (not that there’s anything wrong with that on occasion). What he does is present the facts in a straightforward way, and he speaks as someone that we can all relate to… a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a concerned human. At the same time, he doesn’t shy away from the hard truths… he isn’t afraid of telling the readers how many acres of rain forest are destroyed by the beef industry or how much water is used for a single cow. He isn’t afraid of opening eyes.

Healthy at 100

Throughout the years, Robbins words have also come to my rescue. His fact-filled articles explain different issues and help me understand a variety of topics… and his work gives me information I can use when angry omnivores come to ask about the truth about soy or why I’m careful about the chocolate I buy or the horrors of the beef industry. His articles also amuse and inspire while opening eyes. I especially liked his lyrics from his article If You Want To Be A Hero (sung to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It). Check it out. It’s thoughtful and fun… without giving it away, just know that instead of “Clap Your Hands,” the refrain is “Bomb Iraq.”

It’s this honesty that he writes and speaks with that got me thinking, and has me continuing to think about ethics and our place in this world… and that’s why he deserves to be the Vegan MoFo Hero of the Week here at Wok on the Wildside. Check out any one of his books if you haven’t already.

Howdy Vegan MoFo’ers! Been a few days since I wrote. Actually, that’s not true. I’ve spent the last few weeks writing a grant at work which we just turned in. Now back to what’s way more fulfilling (unless we win this grant)…

Summer is such a great season. Sure, I could do without the extreme heat, frequent humidity, and plethora of bugs that want to suck my blood (are there vegan mosquitoes?), but the fruit in summer is amazing. From pluots to peach to watermelon to mangoes to a variety of berries… summer is never lacking in bold, fresh flavors of fruit. I like my fair share of fruit salads as well as eating whole fruit, but sometimes the lazy chewer in me gets the best of my cooking choices, so I like to whip up things like dessert soups. They’re cool, refreshing, and full of flavor.

Peach-Strawberry Dessert Soup with Tapioca Sauce

Peach-Strawberry Dessert Soup with Vanilla Tapioca Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rice milk (soy or almond milk), divided
• ⅓ cup small tapioca pearls
• 1 ½ tsp cornstarch (or 1 tsp. arrowroot)
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar or other sweetener
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pound strawberries, washed and stemmed
• 1 pound peaches (peeled)
• agave nectar to taste
• juice from ½ a lemon
• 1 pint raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or other fruit in season, rinsed and drained

Directions:

For the tapioca sauce… place 2 1/2 cups of rice milk and the tapioca into a saucepan. Heavier is better so that it can simmer without scorching. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching the liquids, and then turn down the heat to a simmer. Stir well every few minutes, scraping the bottom and sides. This is one of those recipes that you can’t just leave and come back to. If tapioca just cooks unattended, it can congeal together, and that’s really not the goal. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the tapioca pearls are just turning translucent.

Make a slurry of the arrowroot and 1 tablespoon of rice milk. Set that mixture aside. Add the remaining rice milk to the pan along with the agave and vanilla extract. Increase heat so that the mixture gets up to a gentle boil again. Continue cooking for five minutes. Don’t forget to stir! Mix in the arrowroot slurry and cook until the liquid thickens.

Remove from heat and chill in refrigerator for about 2 hours or so. You can also use a cold water bath to chill it faster. The mixture will be thicker than water, but not as thick as a pudding.

While the sauce is cooling, prepare the fruit for the dessert soup. Cut the peaches into bite-size pieces. Cut the strawberries in quarters. For each fruit, you’ll want to follow this process… put the fruit in a food processor along with the about 1 teaspoon of agave nectar and pulse until coarsely pureed. Taste it. If it’s too tart, add another teaspoon of agave nectar. Stir in the juice from ¼ lemon to add depth of flavor and keep the color from turning. So start with the peaches. When the peaches are done, process the strawberries.

I like my fruit purees to have a little texture, so I usually don’t puree it very long. If you want an ultra-think soup, then puree longer. You can also add some apple juice to liquefy it more.

To assemble… using a pretty glass container, add about ¼ cup of the thicker fruit puree to the bottom of the glass. Follow that up with ¼ cup of the other fruit puree (for me, it was peach first then strawberry). Add about two tablespoons (or more) of the vanilla tapioca sauce and top off with a few raspberries, blueberries, or whatever fruit you’ve chosen. Serve immediately, or chill for up to ½ an hour if serving later.

If you’re the thin fruit soup type person (don’t worry, some of my best friends are thin fruit soup type people), then use a small shallow bowl and pour the fruit purees into two halves. If you’re careful, you can even do a yin yang design with them. Top with the vanilla tapioca sauce and fresh fruit. The consistency of apple sauce, or slightly thicker, is good for layering. Anything thinner is best for a shallow bowl.

Variations:

Try different fruits. In summer, there are plenty of fruits in season (like melons and other stone fruits). Mango is great too! Also, if you make the vanilla tapioca sauce thicker (like a pudding), then you can turn this into a parfait.

So what do you call cheese that doesn’t belong to you? Nacho Cheese! Cue the laugh track, please…

Vegan Nachos

Let’s talk about vegan cheese for a moment. Raise your hand if you know someone who says that they would be vegan except that they love cheese. Keep your hands raised if you’ve also wanted to give them a biting response that you’d go back to eating cheese, but you actually prefer to avoid the mistreatment of cows in the dairy industry… ahhh, but we’re a polite society. The fact is that even as a vegan, I have to admit that vegan cheeses, just like the early days of soy ice cream, haven’t always been very good. From hard, un-melting, styrofoam-like blocks to off-tasting liquidy messes, our veganism has been mistreated. Sure, there were always cashew creams with plenty of nutritional yeast, but it still wasn’t the cheese we remember as kids… not even close. Well, that’s changed a bit. What’s amazing to me is the variety of choices for vegan cheese now. From Follow Your Heart to Teese to Cheezly to Daiya (the newest kid on the vegan block and 2009 VegNews winner), vegans are not lacking for some pretty good choices for vegan cheese. Those are just some of the choices. There are others as well.

Long a fan of Follow Your Heart’s Mozzarella, we’ve been wanting to try something different. So we were at the Rancho Mirage Clark’s Nutrition (where they also have a great vegan cafe called Nature’s Express), and we saw three varieties of Teese on the shelf. So we seized the day… and the Teese. One of the flavors was Nacho Cheese, so this is my homage to vegan nachos. To tell you the truth, this is a super-simple version of nachos.

Ingredients:

• Tortilla Chips (I used an assortment of blue and yellow, but use what you want)
• ½ block of Teese (I used the nacho cheese style, but anything will be good)
• special bean mixture*
• guacamole
• pico de gallo or other very chunky salsa type topping
• chipotle cashew cream*

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (that seems to be a magical number for melting vegan cheeses… 375 works fine, but 400 seems to work so much better. Take an oven safe platter or large plate (it should not be a bowl). If you don’t have anything like a serving plate that’s oven safe, then a sheet pan will do. Layer the chips on the bottom (you can have a few on top of each other, but you don’t want to have a five chips stacked up… that would totally blow the toppings to chips ratio (and it’s totally about the toppings to chips… too many toppings makes soggy nachos… too little toppings means you’re basically eating chips only.

Break up the Teese (or whatever vegan cheese you’re using). If it’s solid, you can shred it, but if it’s like the nacho cheese style Teese, then, it’s going to be pretty soft, so it’s all about breaking pieces into small bits to spread around the chips. Not all chips need to have cheese because there will be other toppings, but it’s up to personal taste.

Bake in the oven till cheese is melted and bubbly. Watch out! You don’t want burnt chips. Remove briefly and spread out the bean mixture. Put it back in the oven and bake for another 3-5 minutes till heated through.

Remove from oven. Top with guacamole, pico de gallo, chipotle cashew cream, and cilantro if you like. Serve immediately.

Variations:

The toppings are all up to you. If you don’t have a special bean mixture, then that’s fine. The essential thing is the vegan cheese… and the guacamole… and the salsa… okay, I like to have all these things, but you don’t have to!

*Bonus Recipes! For effort of reading one blog entry, you get two additional recipes!

Chipotle Cashew Cream

This recipe is totally based on Seitan’s Cashew Cream recipe on her Conscious Cooking blog.

Ingredients:

• Makes about 1 Cup
• ½ cup raw cashews
• ¼ cup water or almond/rice/soy milk (preferably unsweetened)
• 1 canned chipotle pepper (not the whole can… just one pepper or two if you like)
• 1-2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp agave nectar (omit if you’re using rice milk)
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• ¼ tsp salt (or to taste)
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:

In a blender, pulse chop the nuts until they resemble a coarse meal. Add water (or the milk if you’re using it), chipotle, yeast, agave, lime juice, salt, and pepper (I guess I could’ve just typed that you should add the rest of the ingredients)… blend on puree setting (or a higher setting) for 3 minutes or so until the consistency is very creamy and smooth. Add more liquid if you want it more liquidy. Season to taste. Serve with nachos or other southwesterny foods. Great with enchiladas and tacos.

Variations:

Add more chipotle if you like it really spicy… more lemon if you like it sour… more salt if you like it saltier… it’s up to you.

Spicy Bean Mixture

Ingredients:

• 1 can of black beans, black-eyed peas, pintos, or other bean rinsed and drained (a chili bean mixture works well)
• 1 segment of the Mexican Chipotle Field Roast, broken into 4 pieces or so.
• juice from ¼ lemon or ½ lime (or to taste)
• salt to taste

Directions:

In a food processor (I use my Cuisinart Mini Prep for this), chop the Field Roast until it’s in many small granules. In a small bowl, add the beans, the Field Roast mixture, juice of lemon or lime, and about ¼ teaspoon of salt to start with. Mix well. Taste for seasonings. Use to top nachos or fill enchiladas or tacos.

Variations:

The sour and salty flavors are to taste. You can vary the beans easily too. Feel free to add corn or other small veggies as well.

Caterpillar Roll

“What do you feel like eating?” It’s a question that many families (ours included) face with dread. That question is usually followed by an increasingly heated debate and stubbornness. Dumpling wants Italian. Baby Corn wants Nepali. It’s up to Sweet Potato and me to decide. If we choose either cuisine, we end up disappointing one daughter to a certain extent. One of the tricks up my sleeve to ensure everyone’s happiness is to turn the situation around and say, “Okay, so let’s go to Shojin then.” All of a sudden, everyone in the family is happy and excited. That’s the type of power that Shojin has over our family, and it’s an indication of how good they are.

Sesame Seitan Soba

Located in the Little Tokyo Shopping Center at 333 S. Alameda St., #310, Shojin is organic, vegan, and fabulous. We’ve been going since they were 1 month newly opened, and loved it from the get go. At first we were thrilled that we could get any vegan Japanese food in SoCal. For years, the Bay Area has had Cha-ya, and we were left with going to regular sushi places and ordering special rolls down here. Often a frustrating experience, we just avoided Japanese food down here (unless we made it ourselves) Enter Shojin. It began with a much simpler menu, and we’ve really enjoyed seeing (and tasting) how the menu has changed over time. A variety of noodle soups were added. New appetizers showed up. A plethora of desserts were tested, added, and improved. And let’s not forget about the amazing selection of vegan sushi. With homemade seitan, okara, and tempeh, you can’t go wrong here with your protein sources… or really anything on this great menu. Shojin is definitely one of our family’s favorite restaurants ever in the entire universe.

One of the most gratifying things is discovering how much the Shojin staff appreciates the customers (new and repeat ones alike). They are always asking how we enjoyed certain dishes. They check to see if we feel that limited edition specials should be added to the regular menu. And most of all, they listen. When we let them know that we thought the soba noodles were good, but the broth was just a touch salty, they modified it. Now, like the rest of their menu, the broth is balanced with a complexity of flavors that meld salty, sour, sweet, spicy, and a deep earthiness. It’s the variety of friendliness of staff, the menu options, and the balance of flavors that really keep us coming for more.

Pumpkin Tart with Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

Other than the regular menu items, there’s always a weekly special that includes an appetizer, soup, entree, and dessert. The specials are great! The chefs are able to experiment and introduce new items without much risk involved. If it’s popular, they add it to the main menu. If it’s not as popular, they can just let it fade away. Invariably, the specials become regular items (like the sushi and the okara fish fillet).

One of our favorites is discovering new desserts through their specials. Masters at creating “cheese”cakes and rice or soy ice creams, Shojin has just begun introducing a variety of parfaits and tarts as well. On a recent visit, we had a chance to enjoy the Pumpkin Tart with a creamy vegan chocolate ice cream. The girls love the various ice creams. Although they probably lean towards the chocolate (for good reason), I’m a big fan of the sesame ice cream.

Baby Corn loves the sushi and will almost always order the Caterpillar Roll (seitan inside of seaweed and rice with avocado around it). Dumpling loves all the soba noodles. Sweet Potato and I like the bento boxes or the weekly specials because we love the variety. You really can’t beat the bento boxes for variety! With four compartments to fill, you always get a salad, appetizer, and two entrees along with your rice. To keep up to date on their specials, be sure to check out the Shojin blog where they talk about what’s new and special that week. It’s especially fun to see pictures of all your vegan friends celebrating birthdays and anniversaries at Shojin.

In the end, great food is only part of the reason we love it here… the service is what helps drive us back for repeat visits. The chefs are ever gracious and kind. Ken is excited to see repeat and new customers alike and is always accommodating. And us… we’re just grateful that we live in LA where we can finally enjoy vegan Japanese food… Really, I should say that it’s just amazing Japanese food. The fact that it’s vegan is a bonus.

Shojin sho is good!

There are a lot of Vegan MoFo’ers out there this year! So where does a vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore go for a sample of the great recipes, thoughts, and humor of the Vegan MoFo masses? Where do you start? Think of this as a guide… a roadmap for traversing the Vegan MoFo Universe. These are a few places I like to go, and what I’d recommend for people interested in sampling a variety of what’s out there and then digging deeper…

First and foremost, Vegan MoFo Headquarters International. VMFHI is to Vegan MoFo as Cupertino is to Apple fans… in other words, it’s like the mothership in a way. It’s there as a resource gathering of info. Headquarters doesn’t feature everything and everyone participating in Vegan MoFo, but it highlights some of them. Be sure to check out their Contests section for news of giveaways and cool things you can win. There’s a team of bloggers who post, and they include some of the best vegan writers around like Isa Chandra, Jeni Treehugger, kittee and more.

I’ve also been checking out VeganDojo. Sam and Bonnie have created a site that compiles a lot of the best of Vegan MoFo as well as the best of Vegan stuff on the Web. I’m especially impressed by the sheer volume of information here. But before you start to feel intimidated by the possibility of being inundated with info… give it a try. The site is very well organized with big buttons for recipes, lists, events, restaurants, blogs, and more. I especially like their questions section because they’ve listed and answered so many common (and frustrating) questions that vegans get.

If you’re into selecting and sifting yourself, then head on over to the Vegan MoFo blogroll at Bloglines. Bloglines is a great site where you can mass all your RSS feed sites into one location. So from anywhere, any computer, you can catch up on all your news, entertainment, and more (as long as it’s on an RSS feed). Kittee has set this one up so that all the Vegan MoFo’ers out there can be viewed easily.

Kittee of Cake Maker to the Stars fame has the complete list as well if you don’t want to go to Bloglines. If you’d rather do the ol’ click on the links and go to another page, then Kittee’s got all the participants organized alphabetically. While you’re there, be sure to visit her recipe site paku paku.

I’m a visual learner, so sometimes, I just want to see the food that’s being made. For that, I head on over to the Vegan MoFo Flickr Group. The food looks great and the photos are beautiful. More than anything, they inspire me to create something delicious and amazing looking.

On a different note… For Vegan MoFo’ers all over the world (and probably the universe)… I think we all know Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who was the driving force behind Vegan MoFo the last two years and is the best selling cookbook author of Vegan Brunch, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, and the soon-to-be-released Vegan Cookies Take Over the Cookie Jar. The first four cookbooks (some of them written with Terry Hope Romero) are full of great recipes, tips and tricks, and plenty of humor and attitude… and I’m sure the newest one on cookies will be equally fun and high quality. I saw a cool little interview of Isa Chandra in the Buzz section of VegNews today where she talks about VeganMoFo.