Chili Dogs

Sometimes I crave the weirdest things . . . like chili dogs. It's not like I ever ate chili dogs before I was a vegan, but for some reason they have been in my head all day. I looked up a recipe for Skyline chili (I never ate there either when I lived in Ohio) and assembled these paragons of culinary achievement. I had every intention of topping these babies with grated Tofutti cheese, but we were out. Oh well. Next time.

INGREDIENTS

Makes enough chili for 12 chili dogs

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/2 small can tomato paste

- 1 1/2 cups water

- 3/4 cup TVP

- 1/2 tsp allspice

- 1/2 tsp cumin

- 1 tbsp chili powder (or more to taste)

- 2 tsp cocoa powder

- 1 tbsp white vinegar

- 1/4 tsp ground cloves

- 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

- 2 tbsp ketchup

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 7-10 mins, until soft and translucent. Add tomato paste and water and mix well. Bring to bubbling and add TVP and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 mins, until TVP is soft. Add a few splashes of water if chili gets too dry.

2. Serve over veggie dogs topped with the condiments of your choice.

Also, Earth Balance sent me 2 jars of their new peanut butter! I will write a review real soon. Stay posted!

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is great because you can throw just about anything into a baking dish and add mashed potatoes. So, feel free to experiment with whatever you have hanging out in your fridge. Vegan Mom made this version, which was the best tasting pie we have had yet. This recipe is a bit weird because it makes use of the leftover mushroom mixture from last night's tacos--you don't have to make the same mixture, but I do think the mushrooms add nice flavour to the whole dish

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 1/2 cup TVP

- 1/2 recipe of this mushroom mixture, finely chopped

- 2 tbsp HP sauce

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 1/4 cup water

- 1/4 cup ketchup

- frozen mixed vegetables

- 8-10 potatoes, cooked and mashed with margarine and soy milk

- 1/2 cup bread crumbs

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over med-hi heat. Saute onions for 5-6 mins, until softened and translucent. Add in TVP, mushroom mixture, HP sauce, soy sauce and mix well. Add water and cook until absorbed and TVP is soft. Stir in ketchup and remove from heat.

2. Spread 1/3 of the mashed potatoes in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Add a layer of mixed vegetables, and 1/2 of the TVP mixture. Repeat. Top with a final layer of mashed potatoes, sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

3. Bake for 45 mins, until top is golden.

Baked Chimichangas

Let's face it, chimichangas taste best when they are deep fried. But, let's also face it, deep frying is not a healthy choice. Quite frankly, I was starting to feel guilty about the number of times I made crispy tofu in the past month or so, and with many readers praising the "healthy meals" I was making for my family guilt was turning to paranoia. Surely some Skinny Bitch fan was going to call me out on the carpet . . . . Anyway, baking the chimis really works well--they are still crispy and don't make your house smell like the school cafeteria.

INGREDIENTS

Feel free to stuff these with whatever you want. This is what I did.

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 tsp ground anise

- 1 tsp oregano

- 2 tsp chili powder

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 cup TVP

- 1 1/2 cup water

- 10 large wheat tortillas

- 1 can refried beans

- salsa

- oil for brushing

METHOD

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1. Heat oil in frying pan and saute onion over medium heat until golden brown. Add spices and TVP and mix well. Add water and cook for 5 mins. Set aside to cool.

2. Slather a thick line of refried beans in the middle of the tortilla. Top with 1/10 of the TVP mixture and a generous tbsp of salsa. Fold tortillas chimichanga style (i.e. close both ends). Brush with canola oil and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a non-stick sheet).

3. Bake for 20-25 mins. Serve with tofu sour cream, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and salsa.

The Perfect Burger

OK, maybe not perfect, but as good as it's going to get. I realized from my Veganomicon chickpea cutlet and black bean burger experience that I was being a weenie with the high gluten flour in my previous attempts. 2 tbsp? Not even close! So, I upped the flour, added bread crumbs and some chickpeas, and changed the method a bit. The result? A pretty darn tasty burger that has a nice firm texture. These burgers in the pic were made without soy sauce since my father in law must have a no salt diet, so the patties do not have that "burger look" they had when I tried to make burgers before. Even without the salt they were good.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 8 thin, or 6 thick, patties

- 4 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, small dice

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 2 tsp ground fennel seed

- 1 tsp sage

- 1 tsp thyme

- 1 tsp oregano

- 1/2 tsp parsley

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 cup TVP

- 2 tbsp instant tapioca

- 1 cup water

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp HP sauce (optional)

- 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, finely mashed

- 1/2 cup high gluten flour

- 1/4 cup bread crumbs

METHOD

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Saute onions and garlic until onions are translucent, about 5 mins.

2. Add in spices and fry for 1 min. Add in TVP and tapioca and mix well.

3. Add in water, soy sauce, and HP sauce (if using). Stir until all water is absorbed and TVP is soft. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and let cool. (I put mine in the freezer and stirred it every few mins to speed up the process).

4. Once TVP mixture is cooled, mix in chickpeas, then flour and bread crumbs. Knead for a few mins until it all comes together.

5. Form into patties (I like to press it into a metal ring for perfect burgers) and fry in a small amount of oil over medium heat for 5 mins per side.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Burger

Wow, it's like some crazy post-fest this weekend! You gotta love Vegan MoFo! Anyway, the boys wanted burgers tonight for dinner, so I thought I would try to create some out of TVP. I had good success with making TVP sausage patties, which I posted here back in September. So, I used essentially the same recipe but added more herbs like sage and parsley, about a tsp of soy sauce, and upped the gluten flour to 2 tbsp. I kept the patties thin (the recipe made 4) and fried them in a bit of oil.

OK, so the end result tasted great, looked great (the pic is of an uncooked patty) and the boys loved them (so maybe I should be happy). But, the texture was all wrong--mushy. So, I am soliciting any advice on how to achieve a more "meat-like" texture. A little help here?

Breakfast for Dinner!

I was in the mood for pancakes tonight (probably because the boys got up real early and we ate good ol' cold cereal this morning). I also made scrambled tofu, and created a recipe for "sausage" patties. Yum!

I made the pancakes from Vegan With an Vengeance. By far the best vegan pancakes ever. I also made the scrambled tofu, that Isa was nice enough to post at her Post Punk Kitchen website.

Sausage Patties

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 small onion, diced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 tsp ground fennel (anise) seed

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1/2 tsp paprika

- 1/2 tsp sage

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 cup TVP

- 2 tbsp instant tapioca

- 1 cup water

- 2 tsp vital wheat gluten flour

- oil for frying

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry onion until golden. Add garlic and fry for 1 min.

2. Add spices, TVP, and tapioca. Stir until well mixed.

3. Add water and cook until absorbed and TVP is soft.

4. Stir in flour and remove from the heat. Remove from pan.

5. When mixture is cooled enough to touch, form into 8 balls and flatten into patties.

6. Heat a thin layer of oil in frying pan on med-hi and fry patties on both sides until brown.