Spinach & Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo

This recipe was an accident. Not planned, just happened! I love it. It was very good and tasted a lot like real fettuccine alfredo which I miss dearly.


Spinach & Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo 

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 10 oz. each of dried porcini & dried chanterelle mushrooms, rehydrated, sliced thin
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk*
• 2-3 tbsp vegan butter*
• 1/2 lb. fettuccine pasta, cooked slightly under
• 1 cup spinach, cut chiffonade
• 7 oz. silken tofu
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/8 cup vegan Parmesan*
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

* Recipe:

1. Soak the mushrooms in the milk for 30 minutes. Strain the mushrooms and reserve the milk. Slice the mushrooms thin.
2. Cook the pasta until slightly underdone. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
3. In a food processor, blend the tofu, milk, nutritional yeast flakes, and Parmesan.
4. In a medium pan on medium heat, melt butter with salt. Saute mushrooms and garlic until tender.
5. Add the spinach and basil to the pan until they are wilted.
6. Next, add the tofu mixture, parsley, and pasta water to the pan. Cook low until it starts to thicken.
7. Toss with fettuccine noodles.
8. Serve with cheezy garlic bread.

* Note: For non-dairy milk, I like almond milk. Feel free to use whatever you would like. For vegan butter, I prefer Earth Balance olive oil based. Lastly, for vegan Parmesan, I like Galaxy brand.

Vegan Chicago: Restaurants & Chef Showdown!

As many of you may know, I am a Chicago Outreach Coordinator with Mercy For Animals. One of the many campaigns of MFA is our Vegetarian Dining Campaign. MFA works with restaurants to add vegan options to their menu and provides them with the support, PR, and connections to get soy cheese, faux meat, etc.


Recently, some great work was done by MFA in Chicago with the Vegetarian Dining Campaign. El Nuevo Mexicano has added vegan quesadillas, flautas, chile rellanos, enchiladas, fajitas, and more. There is even non-dairy, cruelty-free dessert! Daiya and local master seitan makers, Upton's Naturals, provide the vegan cheese and faux meat. A friend of mine and I went there for lunch to check out the new menu and were floored! We had never had flautas or chimichangas before, but I bet these were better than any filled with meat and dairy cheese. If you are in the neighborhood, come out and support the new vegan menu at El Nuevo Mexicano. Click here for the full new vegan menu. For more information, check out MFA's blog post here.

Grilled Cheeze Sandwich with Daiya from LooseLeaf Lounge

Tomorrow, MFA is having a launch party for a new vegan menu at another Chicago restaurant, LooseLeaf Lounge. They have already had a great vegan sandwich up on their menu, but it has been expanded to include a grilled cheeze sandwich, a seitan sandwich, a chorizo seitan wrap, a vegetable sandwich, and vegan cookies. Again, the cheese is provided by Daiya and the seitan by Upton's Naturals. If you are free tomorrow and in Chicago, check out the event! Click here for the Facebook event page for more information. This new menu is permanent, by the way!

I'd been aware of vegan pizza with vegan cheese from several different places here in Chicago including Ian's Pizza (also has Upton's Naturals seitan), Mista (not at their downtown location, though), Karyn's Cooked (to be expected, they're a vegan restaurant), Moonshine, and Pick Me Up Cafe (they have a very extensive vegan-friendly menu). Pie Hole Pizza Joint also carries pizza with Daiya which I just found out about. Thought I would share the news up on here since I'm updating about vegan restaurants! Here is a list of places that carries vegan pizza in Chicago. 

Pad Thai with soy chiken from Urban Vegan Chicago

Two new restaurants that have opened in Chicago in the past few months include Urban Vegan Chicago and Earth's Healing Cafe. Urban Vegan is a Thai vegan restaurant. Though I haven't been there yet, I can't wait to try it out. I've heard really good things from people who have gone. Their menu uses a variety of faux meats including soy chiken and vegan seafood. Earth's Healing Cafe is a raw organic cafe that boasts smoothies, juices, several entrees (pasta, wrap, pâté), and desserts (cheezecake, fruit pie, apple pie). If you are looking for a healthy, light meal, this is the new place to be! Also coming to town in July are three new locations of Native Foods, based primarily in California.  As a California native, I've heard fantastic things about this vegan chain for years now. I haven't tried it out myself, but I've had friends who have (and even were nice enough to bring me a reusable bag all the way to Chicago) and they all love it dearly. Native Foods makes their own vegan cheese which I hear is to die for (also, very impressive!). I'm looking forward to not one, but all three new Native Foods here in Chicago! I'm not sure of where all the new locations are to be, but for sure one will be in Wicker Park.

Lastly to report about here in Chicago is the very anticipated Chicago Vegan Chef Showdown sponsored by Upton's Naturals with the help of the Funky Buddha Lounge. All proceeds from the event will go to benefit Mercy For Animals. Twenty chefs will battle it out with yummy vegan food that includes Upton's Naturals seitan and the team or person whose food was bought the most wins the showdown. Guess what? Vegan Miss is participating! So, come out and show your support for Vegan Miss, MFA, and Upton's Naturals! We'll be serving a VM specialty that we're super excited to share (how often does the blogger get to cook the recipes she writes for her readers, huh?!). The more people come and show support by buying VM's delicious food ($1 per sample), the more money goes to MFA and their life-saving work. Win for everyone! Excited!

English Muffin Pizzas

One of the Vegan Miss Facebook fans asked me to post a kid-friendly healthier recipe. This is pretty basic, but replacing pizza dough with English muffins is a nice health switch-a-roo. I used whole wheat muffins to up the health factor ante. To make it more adult-like, one could replace the pasta sauce for vegan pesto or an exotic oil (porcini mushroom oil with added spices is divine). 

English Muffin Pizzas

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 8 tbsp pasta sauce*
• 4 tbsp Daiya mozzarella cheese* 
• 2 tbsp vegan Parmesan*
• 2 English muffins, split in half

* Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put two tablespoons of pasta sauce on each piece of English muffin.
3. Top with half a tablespoon of Parmesan on each piece of English muffin and then one tablespoon Daiya.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the Daiya is golden brown.

* Note: I used organic mushroom pasta sauce. Pick whatever you fancy in a sauce! Daiya is found in most health food stores nowadays. For vegan Parmesan, I prefer Galaxy brand. Make sure your English muffins are vegan! 

Chick'n Parmesan Sandwich

Someone requested I make a chick'n parmesan dish, so I made this! Feel free to put this over spaghetti (I just didn't have any or else I would have done that probably).

Chick'n Parmesan Sandwich


* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 2 Gardein Chick'n Scallopini*
• 4 Ener-G egg replacers (follow box instructions)*
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs*
  
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp vegan Parmesan*
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 6 1/4" slices vegan mozzarella
• 4 slices Italian bread, toasted

 * Recipe:

1. Place 2 tbsp of olive oil in a medium skillet. Turn on medium heat.
2. In a bowl, mixed the egg replacer ingredients together. Whisk until lumps are gone.
3. In another bowl, put the Italian bread crumbs and 2 tbsp vegan Parmesan. Mix well.
4. Dip the chick'n patties in the egg replacer making sure it is thoroughly covered. Dip into the Italian bread crumbs and cover completely. Repeat this process one more time.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
6. Place the breaded chick'n in the hot skillet and fry both sides until golden.
7. While the chick'n is frying, in yet another bowl combine the crushed tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme, black pepper, sea salt, remaining vegan Parmesan and garlic slices. Mix well.
8. At the bottom of a small Pyrex pan, add the remaining olive oil. Spread about 3 tbsp spoons of your tomato sauce over the top of the olive oil.
9. Place the chick'n patties in the pan, top with the remaining tomato sauce.
10. Finally, place the vegan mozzarella on the very top of the pan.
11. Bake for 20 minutes.
12. When done baking, serving as a sandwich with the Italian bread.

*  Note: Gardein is a great vegan brand that has these excellent Chick'n Scallopini's.If you haven't had this brand yet, you must! You can find it at many chain grocery's such as Jewel and Whole Foods. You can alternatively order it online. Ener-G is a type of egg replacer. It is my personal favorite. If you have another, please use that. A  lot of bread crumbs contain milk, so be sure to check! Lastly, for vegan Parmesan I used Galaxy brand.

Product Review: Nacho Mom vs. Food For Lovers Queso's

I've been hearing a lot of buzz regarding vegan queso lately. So, I ordered both Nacho Mom's Ultimate Vegan Queso and Food for Lovers to try them both! I've heard rave reviews for each, so I wanted to see which I thought was better. They both boast soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free, cholesterol-free benefits too.

I found Nacho Mom to not have that much of a "cheesy" taste. It was sort of bland. It was not my favorite. I would give it a 2.5/5 stars.

Food for Lovers, on the other hand, was much better. It had a more "cheesy" feel and a kick to boot (no pun intended, heh), Overall, I would give this a 4/5 stars. If you are going to buy some vegan queso, I'd certainly go for Food for Lovers!

Vegan Chicago: Mercy For Animals Feed-In

This past weekend, I held a feed-in for Mercy For Animals in the Wicker Park area of Chicago. Ste Martaen and the Vegan Food Truck folks helped us out by catering sample sizes of BBQ seitan and vegan mac 'n cheese. The feed-in was pretty successful considering the bitter cold (below freezing!). Not as many people showed up as I had hoped, so we did not have anyone holding our usual colorful banner that reads, "Free Vegan Samples". We had two people passing out the samples with a leafleter near them and then others leafleting the remaining corners of the street cross section.

The food was well received with many people curious about non-dairy mac 'n cheese. One man was quite hesitant but I urged him to just try it out and he was quite surprised that it tasted like "real" mac 'n cheese. His buddies then followed in suit by taking samples as well. Many people also asked where one can get more vegan food like this and of course we told them all about the vegan-friendly options in Chicago. Ste Martaen packaged these samples in a great way. Instead of the activists using gloves and passing out the food, they came in prepackaged containers eliminating this need for gloves and food prep. People could just take a sample, stick it in their pocket, and eat it later if they wanted. This really helped with peoples desire to take the food, I think.

 

Leafleting went well. We passed out more leaflets than food it seemed like totaling 300 MFA Compassionate Choices. Actually, the leafleting went more smoothly than the feed-in aspect of this event. We met a lot of fellow vegetarians and vegans who were excited to see MFA out doing this event.

Overall, great event and thank you for those who came out during this super cold Saturday in Chicago! Also, many thanks to VegFund for funding this feed-in.

For more information on how to host your own feed-in in your city, please check out Mercy For Animals guide. If you live in Chicago and would like to get involved with MFA, please email me at AlexisS@MercyForAnimals.org.

And how could I post an entry about giving away free, delicious BBQ seitan and mac 'n cheese without posting some recipes? For a stellar mac 'n cheese recipe, check out this one on VegWeb. Also, check out my BBQ seitan recipe here. 

Meatout 2011: Chick'n Bacon Ranch Sandwich & Greek Salad

 
Meatout is a worldwide event run by FARM that takes place yearly. From their website, "On (or around) March 20, thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries get active to host educational events for Meatout- the world's largest grassroots diet education campaign. Activists distribute free food, educate their communities, and ask their friends, families, and neighbors to "kick the meat habit” and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains." 


As a part of the activism for Meatout, they have asked me and many other bloggers to hold an e-event by posting a special recipe on their blog today, March 20th. In honor of this, I decided to make a rather simple but delicious meal.


Chick'n Bacon Ranch Sandwich

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 15 minutes
* Ingredients (for sandwich):

• 1 Gardein Chickn Scallopini patty*
• 2 slices of Lightlife veggie bacon*
• 1 romaine lettuce leaf
• 1 slice of vegan cheese*
• 1/4 of avocado, sliced
• 1 bun*
• 1 tbsp vegan ranch (or to taste)

* Ingredients (for ranch):

• 1 cup vegan mayonnaise*
• 1/4 cup almond milk (or to taste)*
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp garlic red wine vinegar

* Recipe (for ranch):

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well.

* Recipe (for sandwich):

1. In a small skillet, fry the chick'n patty until golden brown on each side.
2. In the same skillet, fry up two slices of veggie bacon until slightly crispy on each side.
3. Again in the skillet, toast the insides of a sliced roll until crispy.
4. Construct the sandwich by bottom bun, lettuce, chick'n, bacon, and cheese. Microwave the sandwich so the cheese melts. Add the avocado and ranch. Top with the remaining half of the bun.

* Note: Gardein is a great all vegan product that can be found in most grocery stores now. I used the Chick'n Scallopini because I wanted to have a "chick'n breast" on my sandwich. One could also have used a Boca chickn patty or another brand. Lightlife makes a vegan bacon that is pretty good. Again, one can find it in many grocery stores. For cheese, I used a local brand of vegan Muenster. The company is called Ste Martaen and they have a great line of cashew cheeses here in Chicago. They also happen to co-run the vegan food truck which is awesome! The bun I used was a ciabatta bun, but feel free to use a hoagie roll or something else. For vegan mayonnaise, I prefer Vegenaise over other brands. Their dressing mayonnaise works so well to make ranch. Lastly, for the milk, feel free to use any non-dairy milk.


Greek Salad

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients (for salad):

• 1 small head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup black olives
• 1/3 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 medium vine tomato, chopped
• 1/3 large cucumber, chopped
• 2 tbsp soy feta*

* Ingredients (for dressing):

• 4-5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, juice squeezed
• 2 tbsp garlic red wine vinegar

* Recipe (for salad):

1. Chop all the vegetables and combine well in a bowl. Take half the vegetables and place in one bowl, the other half in another bowl.
2. Top with 1 tbsp soy feta on each bowl.
3. Lastly, add the salad dressing to each bowl.

* Recipe (for dressing):

1. Combine the oregano, salt, pepper, lemon, and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive until combined.

* Note: For soy feta, I used Sunergia Soyfoods brand. It's pretty good. Feel free to skip this part if you don't want to order it.

Pear, Walnut, & Soy Bleu Cheese Salad w/ Pear Vinaigrette

As promised, here is a recipe for a yummy salad. I also have some soy feta that I want to make a Greek salad out of, so be on the lookout for that too. In the next few days, I will be posting my St. Patrick's Day recipes.

Pear, Walnut, & Soy Bleu Cheese Salad w/ Pear Vinaigrette
 

* Prep Time: 5 minutes

* Cook Time: n/a

* Ingredients:

• 2 cups arugula
• 1/4-1/3 cup white onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 medium pear, sliced or chopped
• 1/3 cup soy bleu cheese, chopped into squares*
• 1/4 cup pear nectar, or more/less to taste
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, or more/less to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

  * Recipe:

1. Combine the arugula, onion, walnuts, pear, and soy bleu cheese together. Place in two salad bowls.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the pear nectar, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix. While mixing, pour olive oil into the dressing. Feel free to add more pear nectar or vinegar, to taste.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salads. Enjoy!

* Note: The soy bleu cheese is a brand called Sunergia Soyfoods. It wasn't bad! I've never seen or had soy bleu cheese before, so I was really intrigued. I ordered it online from Pangea.

Mac and Beer Cheese Soup

So, I post a lot of "vegan junk food" recipes on here mostly because I enjoy veganizing the impossible, so to speak. This leads me to believe I am not too self reflective of my personal diet on here! These recipes I post on Vegan Miss are mostly fun weekend projects. Now, because I feel I've done too much junk stuff in the recent past (with the exception of maybe my raw kale salad which I am truly obsessed with), I've committed myself to making a few salad posts coming soon. Be on the look out!


Mac and Beer Cheese Soup

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp soy butter*
• 1/3 small white onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 1/2 large stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
• 1/4 cup vegan bacon, chopped*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/3-1/2 cup lager*
• 1 1/3 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 1/2 cup almond milk (+ 1/3 cup almond milk)*
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, mixed with the 1/3 cup almond milk until lumps gone
• 1 10 oz. roll of vegan melting cheddar cheese*
• vegan Parmesan, to top, optional*

* Recipe:

1. In a large pot on medium heat, let the butter melt. Add the onions and cook until they become translucent.
2. Next, add the carrots, celery, garlic, broccoli, bacon, salt, and pepper. Cook until the become soft.
3. Add the vegetable broth, beer, macaroni, milk, and flour mixture; stir. Cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Lastly, add the cheese and mix well. Simmer on low for five minutes. Top with vegan Parmesan if desired.

* Note: For soy butter, I used Earth Balance with olive oil (my personal favorite kind of their brand). For vegan bacon, I used Upton's Naturals vegan bacon. Alas, one can not buy it in stores. It is for food vendors only, though I get it through the Chicago Vegan Co-Op. One could use Lightlife brand instead. Make sure the lager is vegan on Barnivore. Of course, one could also just take out the beer all together if one wants. Almond milk is just what I happen to prefer. Use any sort of non-dairy milk you like. The melting cheddar cheese I used was Teese brand. I'm sure one could cook down Soy Kaas or even Follow Your Heart. Lastly, the optional Parmesan I would suggest is Galaxy topping.

Potato Skins

Okay, so these might have been better for my Super Bowl post, but still good! They take a bit of time to make, but you can't resist the taste.

Potato Skins

* Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

* Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

* Ingredients:

• 6 medium to large russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup vegan bacon, chopped*
• 3/4 cup vegan cheddar cheese, shredded*
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream*
• salt and pepper, to taste

 * Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Clean potatoes and wrap in foil.
3. Bake potatoes in oven for one hour.
4. After one hour, remove from oven and open foil to vent.
5. Once cool to touch, slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the center leaving about a quarter of an inch of skin and potato.
6. Turn up oven to 450 degrees.
7. Brush inside and outside of potatoes with oil.
8. Place potatoes scoop side down in a baking pan or baking sheet with a wire rack so the potatoes have a place to drip the oil.
9. Bake for ten minutes.
10. While baking, fry the bacon until crisp.
11. Flip the potatoes over so the skin side is down. Bake for ten more minutes.
12. Remove from oven and top each with bacon and cheese. Broil until cheese has melted.
13. Mix the sour cream with the majority of the chives. Reserve about a tablespoon to top later.
14. Top with sour cream mixture, the remaining chives, salt, and pepper.
15. Optional: For the scooped potato remains, one could make mashed potatoes. Check out my recipe here: My Mom's Mashed Potatoes.

* Note: For vegan bacon, I used Upton's Naturals vegan bacon. Alas, one can not buy it in stores. It is for food vendors only, though I get it through the Chicago Vegan Co-Op. One could use Lightlife brand instead. For cheddar cheese, I used Teese brand which is made by Chicago Soydairy. For those outside Chicago, one can get it online. Other brands like Follow Your Heart or Soy Kaas would do just fine. The sour cream I used was Tofutti.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I have to say, this dip is addictive. It was SO good!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 2 oz. vegan Parmesan cheese*
• 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 jar (14 oz.) plain artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2/3 cup vegan sour cream*
• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise*
• 1 cup vegan cream cheese*
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded*

=

* Recipe:

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
2. Combine all the ingredients except the last in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Put the mixture into two ramekins.
4. Bake the dip for 20 minutes.
5. While it is baking, add shred the vegan mozzarella cheese.
6. Take the ramekins out of the oven and top each with the shredded cheese.
7. Bake for another 5-10 minutes until cheese has melted or turned a golden brown color. 

* Note: For vegan Parmesan, I used Galaxy topping. The sour cream I used was Tofutti. Mayonnaise was Vegenaise. The cream cheese and mozzarella were Follow Your Heart.

Shrimp Scampi & Balsamic Sage Butter Tortellini

I subscribe to the Food Network Magazine monthly and despite it is 95% not vegan, I still enjoy it because I learn new techniques for various things (such as pasta's or mixology). Usually, there are ways to veganize many of their dishes and their side dishes are generally vegan. This month's issue was pasta. After reading it, I was inspired to make a vegan tortellini (which I've never had before). Vegan shrimp scampi has been running through my head for a while now as an idea, so I made it with the tortellini.

 

Shrimp Scampi

* Prep Time: 5 minutes

* Cook Time: 10 minutes

* Ingredients:  

• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4th small white onion, sliced fine
• 2 stalks green onion, sliced fine
• 3 tbsp soy butter*
• 1/2 jar (7.5 oz.) artichoke hearts, medium slice
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white wine*
• 3/4 package (5 oz.) vegan shrimp*
• 1/8 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• vegan Parmesan, to taste, top (optional)*

* Recipe:  

1. Heat a medium sized pan with 2 tbsp of the soy butter. Add in the onion and when it starts to become translucent, add the garlic and green onion.
2. Next, add the lemon juice, white wine, artichoke hearts, and vegan shrimp. Cook for a few minutes until the shrimp become tender.
3. Add the lemon zest, fresh parsley, the remaining 1 tbsp of soy butter, salt, and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes until the butter melts and the shrimp are completely cooked.
4. Top the dish with vegan Parmesan, if desired.

* Note: For soy butter, I used Bestlife brand. I found it at my local Jewel Osco (Albertson's, Lucky's, Cub Foods, County Market, Shop 'n Save, Save-a-Lot to some - same company). Make sure your wine is vegan on Barnivore. I found the vegan shrimp at a local Thai/Chinese grocery store. The brand I used was Verisoy which coincidentally is owned by Vegetarian Plus. So use either brand! Vegan Parmesan brand I use is Galaxy topping.

Balsamic Sage Butter Tortellini

The sauce in this recipe was modified from the "Sage-Walnut Butter" tortellini sauce in the Food Network Magazine March 2011 edition. I veganized it and halved the recipe. The tortellini and dough are my recipes, though.


* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 20 minutes
* Ingredients (for tortellini filling):

• 1/2 package (4 oz.) vegan cream cheese*
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vegan Parmesan*
• 1/2 cup Teese vegan mozzarella cheese*
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste 

* Ingredients (for dough):

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup semolina flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup water (plus extra water to fold tortellini)
• pinch of salt, for boiling water
• 1 tsp olive oil, for boiling water

* Ingredients (for balsamic sage butter sauce): 

• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp agave nectar*
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp soy butter*
• 1/4 cup sage leaves*
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water
• salt, to taste
• vegan Parmesan, to top  

* Recipe (for tortellini filling):

1. Combine the cream cheese with the oregano, basil, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix well.
2. Mashed the Parmesan and the mozzarella cheese.
3. Combine the cream cheese mixture with the cheese mixture. Mix well. 

* Recipe (for tortellini dough):

1. Mix the all-purpose flour, the semolina flour, and salt well in a medium bowl.
2. On a clean counter space, create a mound with the flour mixture. In the center, create a well.
3. In this well, put in the olive oil and water. 
4. Slowly start to mix and then knead dough until smooth.
5. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until slightly thin.
6. With either a small round cookie cutter or the opening of a glass, create circles in your dough.
7. Place 1 tsp of the tortellini mixture in the center of each of the circles.
8. Fold over and seal with water. Take the stuffed side of the tortellini and place it against the back of your finger. Push down to create a ring around your finger to get that distinct tortellini shape.
9. In a medium pot of boiling water, add the salt and olive oil, then cook the tortellini until the float (only a few minutes). Let cook for one minute after they start to float. Do not overcrowd the pot with tortellini or else they will stick together.

* Recipe (for balsamic sage butter sauce):

1. In a medium pan, combine the balsamic vinegar, agave nectar, and the bay leaf. Cook until syrupy.
2. Melt the soy butter in a medium pan and add the sage leaves and walnuts. Cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and let cook until reduced by half.
4. Toss in the tortellini and add the salt. Mix well.

* Recipe (for building tortellini dish):

1. Place the tortellini and the reduced water mixture in a bowl followed by the balsamic glaze.
2. Top with vegan Parmesan.

* Note:  For vegan cream cheese, I used Tofutti brand. Again, with this recipe I used Galaxy topping for vegan Parmesan. The mozzarella cheese I used is a local Chicago vegan cheese company, Chicago Soydairy. Feel free to use another vegan mozarella brand (such as Soy Kaas or Follow Your Heart). I used this brand because it is easy to mash. Agave nectar is a natural sweetener often used to replace honey (which it did for this recipe). You can find it in the health/green food section of your grocer near the honey. For soy butter, again I used Bestlife. Lastly, I did not have fresh sage leaves, so I used dried rugged sage instead.




Melissa, owner of ecolissa.com, has offered Vegan Miss readers 20% off! Ecolissa.com is a vegan, eco-friendly clothing and accessory website. Please use "vegan20" as the coupon code. No expiration on the coupon. Happy buying!

Super Bowl: Pulled Pork Sandwiches & Loaded Nachos

I do not follow football, but I do cook! These are a few things I whipped up just in case other people actually watch football and would like to eat vegan grub. Also, check out Mercy For Animals blog post on what one can conjure up for the big day: Score Big by Hosting a Vegan Super Bowl Party.


Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Bourbon BBQ Sauce

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes (without cooking seitan - make ahead of time)
* Ingredients (for pulled pork):

• seitan pieces, cooked according to these directions, pulled a part
• 2 tbsp brown sugar*
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• hamburger buns, for sandwiches

* Ingredients (for bourbon BBQ sauce):

• 1/2 small onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp bourbon*
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp tobasco
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tsp butter, softened*
• 5 tbsp brown sugar*
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

* Recipe (for pulled pork): 

1. Make the seitan according to the directions given in a previous post. Squeeze the juice that the seitan cooked in out of the seitan pieces.
2. In a bowl, pull a part the seitan so it resembles "pulled pork". 
3. In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients (aside from the buns!). Throw it in the bowl with the seitan and mix well. 
4. Place the seitan mixture in a pot on low-medium heat. Let the seitan brown a bit (not a lot) so that the spices set in on it sort of like a rub, if you will.
5. Keep warm while you make the BBQ sauce.

* Recipe (for BBQ sauce):

1. Chop up the onions and mince the garlic. In a small non-stick pan, cook the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients and put on a medium sized pot on the stove. Add the onions and garlic. Stir on low-medium heat until reduced, about thirty minutes.

* Recipe (for sandwich):

1. Mix the BBQ sauce with the seitan.
2. Put pulled pork on hamburger buns, serve. 

* Note: For the bourbon, make sure it is vegan on Barnivore. I used Earth Balance for the butter. For the sugar, make sure it is vegan!

Loaded Nachos


* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes (with cheeze sauce)
* Ingredients (for nachos):

• 1 (14 oz.) can vegetarian refried beans, warmed
• cheeze sauce, cooked according to these directions
• 1/2 package (4 oz.) Upton's Naturals ground beef style seitan, crumbled*
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• several dollops vegan sour cream*
• 1/2 jar salsa*
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 2 stalks green onion, sliced thin
• tortilla chips, to serve

* Ingredients (for guacamole):

• 2 avocados, pits remove
• 3-4 limes, squeezed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 one poblano pepper, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup, fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt, to taste

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Crumble your seitan and mix together the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and chili powder with it.
2. Brown in a non-stick pan on medium heat.

* Recipe (for guacamole):

1. In a bowl, mash the avocados and add the lime juice. Mix.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

* Recipe (for building nachos):

1. Lay chips on plate.
2. Layer order: seitan, beans, cheeze sauce, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, garnishments.

* Note: Upton's Naturals is a local Chicago seitan company. They sell their faux meats here in Chicagoland. You could use other seitan-style meat crumbles such as Boca Ground Crumbles,Gimme Lean Sausage by Lightlife, or Yves Meatless Ground Round Original. I used Tofutti vegan sour cream. For salsa, my favorite brand is Green Mountain Gringo with medium spice.


For good measure, you could also make my cheeze stick recipe, my chili cheeze fries, stuffed crust pizza, deep dish pizza, stuffed cheese and bacon burgers, or horseshoe sandwich dishes! Phew, so much vegan fast food!