Vegan Jibarito

Vegan Jibarito

This recipe is another nod to my Puerto Rican culture. Our cuisine is delicious, but it is extremely heavy in meat traditionally. Growing up my mother was always great at veganizing Puerto Rican recipes and I am more than happy to continue that tradition. A jibarito is a Puerto Rican sandwich that uses a smashed plantain and is typically made with steak, garlic mayo, lettuce and tomato. I’ve substituted sliced seitan for the steak and I’ve used vegan mayo with garlic pepper for the mayo. Jibaritos taste AMAZING, especially when you use a riper (black and yellow) plantain. The combination of the slight sweetness from the plantain with the savory seitan and garlic mayo makes for one heck of a bite! Plus, prepare to be completely fulfilled after eating one of these!

Vegan

Ingredients:

• 1 Ripe Plantain (black and yellow peel)
• 1/2 Package of Sliced seitan (Or 3 slices) – Sweet Earth makes a good one that you can find in Whole Foods
• 1/3 Cup of Lettuce
• 1 Thick Slice of Tomato
• 1 Tbs Vegan Mayo
• 1 Tsp Adobo Seasoning
• 1Tsp Garlic Pepper
• 1 Tbs Olive Oil

Instructions:

Part 1: Cut your plantain in half and mash it down. It will be slippery so make sure to use a bowl so it doesn’t fly off of the counter. I use a fork to mash each side of the plantain as I form it into a square or round “sandwich bread” shape. Once you’re done forming your plantain into two, round or square “sandwich” sides, place into a cast iron skillet over medium heat with olive oil. They will only take 1-2 minutes to fry up on each side so watch carefully to make sure you don’t burn them. Once they are done, place them aside on a paper towel to absorb any excess olive oil.

Part 2: Season your seitan by sprinkling your adobo over each side. Once seasoned, place your seitan into your skillet, or on your grill stove cover if you have one – even better! Cook each side for about 2 minutes. While they are cooking on each side, mix your vegan mayo and garlic pepper together and spread onto one side of each plantain “bread” piece. Place your finished seitan onto one of your plantain pieces and pile on lettuce and tomatoes. Top your jibarito with the other plantain “bread” piece and eat away!

Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl

Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl

Up until now I surprisingly have not jumped on the cauliflower rice bandwagon. I know what you’re thinking, “How is a vegan not already on the cauliflower rice bandwagon?” Well, I guess it’s because it seemed like an awful lot of work from the outside. Fortunately, I found out that it’s actually super quick and easy, as long as you have a ninja bullet or food processor.

Vegan

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of pre-cooked cauliflower (If you really want to speed things up, you can use frozen cauliflower)
• 1/2 cup of cooked black beans
• 1/4 cup of diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of sweet corn
• 1/4 cup of diced onions
• 2 tsp of your favorite seasoning

For your garnishing/toppings, just add what you like! I added jalapeños, butter lettuce, Tapatio hot sauce, pico de gallo, and some vegan cheese shreds.

Instructions:

Start by pan searing the cauliflower for just a couple of minutes. You want the cauliflower to get a bit of color on it – this will create a great flavor and help with keeping a “rice like” texture. Once the cauliflower has some color, toss it in the bullet or food processor and just process it enough to where it looks like rice – we don’t want to make a cauliflower puree here!

Once you’re finished, toss into a pan over medium heat with all other ingredients in the bulleted list above and stir together until everything is up to temperature and the onions have had time to sweat a bit (they will be a bit shiny – this way you’re not eating raw-tasting onions!)

Add into a bowl and garnish with your favorite toppings! This will make a ton of food for a minimal amount of calories – always a good thing. 🙂

Vegan Arroz con Gandules

Vegan Arroz con Gandules

This is one of my favorites from my childhood upbringing and it really warms my heart to make it, smell it, and eat it – it not only represents my Puerto Rican culture, but my upbringing as well. Traditionally, arroz con gandules is served with pork. I’ve veganized the recipe by using Gardein Meatless Crumbles instead of pork and BOY is it GOOD!

Vegan

Ingredients:

• 1.5 Cups Uncooked Brown Rice
• 3 Cups Filtered Water
• 1/4 Bag Gardein Meatless Crumbles
• 1/2 White Onion – Chopped
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper – Chopped
• 12 Sliced Manzanilla Spanish Olives
• 1 Can Gandules Verdes
• 3 Tbs Recaito
• 2 Packets Goya Sazon de Azafron
• 1 Tbs Adobo Seasoning

Instructions:

This one is super easy – just combine all ingredients together into (preferably) a crockpot or a large stove pot. Turn crockpot on high heat (if using stove pot set to keep ingredients at a simmer). Cook for approximately 3-4 hours (crockpot) or until rice fluffs up and all liquid is absorbed. Allow 10-20 minutes to cool uncovered before serving. This makes 5 total servings. I made it as much lunch prep for the work week.

Taco Stuffed Twice-Baked Sweet Potato

Taco Stuffed Twice-Baked Sweet Potato

Vegan

Ingredients (for a single serving):

• 1 Sweet Potato
• 5 Organic Corn Chips
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Lettuce
• 1/4 Cup Jalapeno Slices
• 2 Sliced Black Olives
• 1 Tbs Pico de Gallo
• 1/4 Cup Almond Milk
• 1/4 Cup Vegan Shredded Cheese
• 1/4 Cup TVP
• 1/4 Cup Steamed Lentils
• 1 Tsp Taco Seasoning
• 1/4 Cup Diced White Onions
• 1/4 Cup Diced Green Onions
• 1/2 Tbs Diced Cilantro

Instructions:

Start by microwaving the sweet potato. Once finished, scoop out the potato into a mixing bowl and add vegan cheese and almond milk. Mix until smooth and then add back into the potato skins. Place into the oven at 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes.

As you’re baking hydrate your TVP by adding 1/4 cup of hot/boiling water and stir. Add to a small pan with lentils and taco seasoning and cook over medium heat until hot.

Once potatoes are done, remove from the oven, plate, and top with TVP/lentil mixture and all other toppings. Add your favorite hot sauce and enjoy!

Vegan Thanksgiving – The Results!

As a follow-up to my Thanksgiving menu post I wanted to make sure and post the results – and they were grander than I could have ever imagined! Drum roll…

Everything came out incredibly delicious and I did a couple things different than how I planned in my previous post. Instead of persimmons mini cakes I made a pumpkin-tofu pie, I created a vegan cheese sauce to make the mac n cheese as “cheesy” as possible, and I bought a Gardein Holiday Roast instead of a Tofurkey (so glad – never going Tofurkey again now!)

Final menu:

Gardein Holiday Roast

Oh yes…once you try a Gardein Holiday Roast you will never get a Tofurkey again. Even my meat eating husband LOVED it! I ended up using the packs of gravy that came with the roast for my mushroom and onion gravy and it was equally as delicious (and husband-approved).

Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Gravy

I used the gravy packs that came with the Gardein Holiday Roast. First I caramelized onions and mushrooms in a pan, then I added the gravy and cooked until hot.

• Crimini mushrooms
• White onions

Mashed Parsnips

Check a couple posts below for the full recipe!

• Parsnips
• Unsweetened almond milk
• Adobo seasoning

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Petite Carrots

These came out amazing – and until now I didn’t realize that I forgot to add the hazelnuts! DARN IT! I ended up mixing balsamic vinegar and imitation honey together, then brushed it over brussel sprouts and petite carrots and seasoned with sea salt. I roasted these in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes on the top shelf.

• Balsamic vinegar
• Imitation honey
• Petite carrots
• Brussel sprouts
• Sea Salt

Baked Mac n’ Cheese

I created a vegan cheese sauce to make the mac n cheese as cheesy as possible. I chopped and boiled the carrot and potato until tender, then added into the food processor with the adobo, yeast seasoning, water, and olive oil and blended until smooth. I then mixed into the cooked pasta. In a square glass baking dish I added half the pasta and spread throughout and topped with Daiya cheddar shreds. I then added the rest of the pasta as a top layer, topped with the rest of the Daiya shreds and sprinkled panko over the top. I baked in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes on the bottom shelf.

• Brown rice penne pasta
• Daiya cheddar shreds
• Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large carrot
• 1 russet potato
• 2 tbs adobo seasoning
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast seasoning flakes
• 1 tbs olive oil

Pumpkin Tofu Pie

I created the crust using 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of apple sauce. I rolled and spread evenly into a glass pie dish and baked at 350 for 10 minutes. As it was baking I added a container of firm tofu, 1/2 cup stevia, a full can of pumpkin, 1 tbs cinnamon, 1 tbs pumpkin pie spice, 1 tbs vanilla extract, and 1/2 tbs nutmeg to the food processor and blended until fine. I added it all into the pie dish and put it back in the oven for 20 minutes. Once out of the oven, I cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and then refrigerated until cold.

• Tofu
• Canned organic pumpkin
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Whole wheat pastry flour
• Unsweetened apple sauce
• Stevia
• Vanilla extract

 

My Vegan Thanksgiving Menu

If you are still trying to decide what to make for the holiday, I’ve posted the dishes I will be making below. Since each one of these recipes will be an experiment, besides the mashed parsnips (you can find the recipe from last week) I will be posting general preparation ideas versus exact instructions. Part of making new food is the fun of figuring it out as you go! I hope you get some good ideas from this post – please feel free to steal them all!

MY THANKSGIVING MENU

Tofurkey Veggie Roast

Just following the instructions on this one!

Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Gravy

I’m going to caramelize the onions and oven roast the mushrooms. Once done I’m going to add them all to a small pot with a cup of vegetable stock. I’m going to cook them on a low simmer, and add just enough whole wheat flour to thicken to a gravy-like consistency. I’m not planning on adding any spices because I think the flavor from the stock, mushrooms, and onions will add a good share of richness.

• Crimini mushrooms
• White onions
• Vegetable stock
• Whole wheat flour

Mashed Parsnips

I have already posted this recipe — it is available on the blog. Simple and delicious!

• Parsnips
• Unsweetened almond milk
• Adobo seasoning

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Hazelnuts

I’m going to blend the balsamic vinegar and imitation honey together until they have a glaze consistency. I’m going to cut all the brussel sprouts in half and place them onto a sprayed baking sheet face down so they can crisp up real nicely. I’ll also put the hazelnuts in with them after lightly crushing them – I don’t want a powder, just nice, large pieces of hazelnuts. I’m anticipating about 20 minutes here, but will be checking frequently. Once the sprouts are lightly browned, I’m going to flip them over and apply the glaze. Then, I’m going to allow them to broil for just about a minute or so to where the browning deepens. Once removed from the oven I’m going to sprinkle the crushed hazelnuts over the top of the sprouts.

• Balsamic vinegar
• Imitation honey
• Hazelnuts
• Brussel sprouts

Baked Mac n’ Cheese

After the pasta is done cooking I’ll mix together with the Daiya shreds and enough almond milk to add a creamy element to the cheese. Then, I’ll add the mac n cheese to a baking pan, cover with another layer of shreds, and sprinkle panko over the top. I’m going to bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.

• Brown rice penne pasta
• Daiya cheddar shreds
• Panko bread crumbs
• Unsweetened almond milk

Persimmons Mini Cakes

This is going to be the real experiment! My plan is to use the whole wheat pastry flour mixed with unsweetened apple sauce as the “crust” by mixing them together until thick and sticky, then rolling them out, cutting out circles, and placing those circles at the bottom of a sprayed muffin tin. Once I’ve done that, I’m going to blend tofu, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia, and cooked persimmons together in my food processor. I’m going to then layer that mixture on top of the “crust” in the muffin tin. I’m planning to bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

• Tofu
• Persimmons
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Whole wheat pastry flour
• Unsweetened apple sauce
• Stevia

 

Mashed Parsnips

Mashed Parsnips

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I’ve been putting some thought into what I’m going to make this year. I love the comfort aspect of Thanksgiving food, but I also like being creative. That being said, I’ve decided to theme my creations this year along the idea of “Thanksgiving with a Twist”. The first dish I’ve practiced “twisting” is mashed potatoes. Regular mashed potatoes are completely bland unless you add a ton of spices and other ingredients to them. I came up with mashed parsnips because of the incredible flavor these root vegetables already have. Because of the incredible, natural flavor of parsnips, making a great-tasting mashed parsnip recipe is incredibly simple!

Vegan

Ingredients:

• 2 Parsnips
• 1 Tbs Adobo Seasoning (easier way to get onion and garlic powder without purchasing separate seasoning)
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt

Instructions:

Chop the parsnips and add them to a pot of boiling water with sea salt. Boil until tender. Once tender, remove from heat and drain. Add to a blender or food processor with almond milk and adobo seasoning. Blend until fine and smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Roasted Poblano, Corn, and Fakin’ Bacon Pizza

Roasted Poblano, Corn, and Fakin’ Bacon Pizza

 

Vegan

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (Trader Joe’s sells great vegan whole wheat dough)
• 1/3 Cup of Pizza Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of Chipotle Hot Sauce
• 1/2 Cup of Vegan Mozzarella
• 1/2 Cup of Corn
• 4 Slices of Vegan Bacon (I used Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon)
• 1 Poblano
• 1/3 Cup of Thin Sliced Onions

Instructions:

Prepping your toppings is extremely important in this recipe in order to develop the robust flavor that this pizza can have. First, make sure to take your dough out of the fridge and rest it in room temperate for at least 20 minutes. Also, thaw out your fakin’ bacon.

You should first roast your poblano in the oven for about 35 minutes at 425 degrees. I lightly spray both the pan and poblano with olive oil cooking spray so it’s not too oily. As you roast the poblano, put your corn and onions in a sauté pan over medium-heat and cook until the onions and corn are lightly caramelized. Once done, set corn and onions aside. Then, add your thawed fakin’ bacon into the pan and cook for about two minutes on each side. When finished, remove from heat and cut into small pieces or crumble it.

After your dough has rested for 20 minutes, you can begin stretching it to fit a non-stick pizza pan – 9 to 12 inches based on your pan size and amount of dough you are using.

When the poblano is done is should be blackened in certain spots and you should be able to peel the outer skin later off and discard. Make sure at this point to turn the oven heat down to 400 for the dough. Prep the poblano by cutting out the stem and removing the seeds, then cut into strips.

Once the oven is set a 400, put just the dough in for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the dough from the oven but keep the oven on. This is when you will add your sauce and toppings, but not your vegan cheese. Add the pizza sauce and spread evenly, then add the chipotle sauce and spread evenly throughout the pizza sauce. Distribute corn, onions, fakin’ bacon, and poblano on your pizza. Put the pizza back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.

Last step! After 5 minutes, remove your pizza from the oven, and switch your oven from bake to broil (hi setting). Distribute your vegan mozzarella on your pizza and place back into the oven on the top rack with the oven open just a gap (about 2-4 inches). Watch for when your crust edges start to brown and the cheese starts to bubble – this should take no more than 2 minutes at the most. Once you notice this, pull the pizza out of the oven and turn the oven off. Let your pizza cool for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Mexican Veggie Tostada

Mexican Veggie Tostada

Vegan

Ingredients:

• 1 Sprouted Grain Tortilla (Ezekiel brand is great)
• 1 Cup of Spinach
• 1/4 Cup of Diced White Onions
• 2 Slices of Tomato
• 1/3 Cup of Refried Beans (Make sure no lard is added to the variety you buy)
• *Optional: Pico de gallo and hot sauce (Tapatio is my personal fave!)

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. As you wait for the oven to pre-heat, in a non-stick pan, sauté tomato slices and onions until they become caramelized.  Evenly spread refried beans onto your tortilla, then top with spinach, and add caramelized onions and tomatoes on top. Place onto a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 10 minutes. Once finished, top with hot sauce and pico de gallo, or whatever garnishes you prefer!

Spicy Tofu Roll

Spicy Tofu Roll

That’s right – it’s sushi time! This 100% plant-based sushi roll not only tastes amazing, but is an adventure to make!

Vegan

Preparation Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients (based on a single 10-piece roll):

• 1/4 cup of sushi rice
• 1/8 cup of rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt
• 1/8 cup of stevia
• 1 seaweed wrap
• 2 long, narrow cuts of cucumber
• 3 slices of avocado
• 1/6 block of tofu
• 1/2 tablespoon of Sriracha

*Other helpful items to have when making sushi are a sharp knife and a bamboo rolling mat. 

Instructions:

The first thing you want to do is prepare your rice, because it will not only need time to cool but you also need to flavor it properly. Rinse a 1/4 cup of sushi rice. Put a small to medium sized cooking pot over high heat, add rinsed rice and 1/2 a cup of water. Cover the pot. As soon as rice comes to a boil, lower the heat to about a 3, or slightly lower than medium if you do not have numerical settings on your stove. Keep covered and do not stir – let the rice simply cook and absorb the water. Cooking time should not last longer than 10 minutes.

As soon as your rice has absorbed all of the water, remove from heat and spoon into a separate bowl. The best kind of bowl for this is a hangiri wooden bowl with a flat bottom, but a mixing bowl will also work well enough. Separately, mix 1/8 cup of rice vinegar, 1/8 cup of stevia, and 1/2 tsp of sea salt together. Once mixed, pour evenly over your rice and stir until the mixture is distributed and absorbed by the rice. You can now set your rice aside to cool.

As you wait for your rice to cool, you can prepare your fillings. Note that you do not need a lot of fillings for sushi, because overstuffing your seaweed wrap will result in a pretty rough looking roll, or it may fall apart altogether. Slice two, thin long strips from a cucumber. Strips should be about 1/2 an inch in thickness. From an avocado, slice three, thin cuts. In a small bowl, add 1/6 block of tofu and 1/2 tablespoon of Sriracha. Using a fork, mash the tofu and mix together with the Sriracha until blended.

After rice has cooled, set out your bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap over the top. You may also want a small bowl of water to the side for wetting your hands so the sticky rice doesn’t stick all over you. Lay out one seaweed wrap, shiny side down, on the plastic wrap covering your bamboo mat. Add enough rice to cover the seaweed wrap while leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the bottom and about 1/4 inch of space on the rest of the sides. Press down on the rice, wetting your hands as needed, as you add to your wrap. In a straight, horizontal line at the top, add your cucumber slices, avocado, and spicy tofu. These ingredients should cover the length of the wrap, from side to side, allowing 1/4 inch at each side. Now, using your mat, roll the wrap, firmly squeezing with each roll, until the entire roll is complete. Set your roll on a cutting board, and cut as desired. This should make 8-10 pieces.

Add wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce (or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos) to compliment your sushi!

WATCH THIS GREAT VIDEO TO SEE HOW TO PREPARE AND ROLL A SUSHI ROLL

Nutrition Facts (Based on one 10-piece roll):