Archives for March 2010

Product Review: Boca Meatless Ground Crumbles

March 21, 2010 by epicureanvegan

These have been sitting in my freezer for a couple of weeks and so I finally got around to using them. I decided to make tacos with the crumbles and typically, I would add 1/2 a large onion, chopped to the pan, but I forgot. Oops. (I guess I was too focused on the review)!

The crumbles come out of the bag resembling frozen, cooked ground beef and breaks up easily in the pan. The back of the packages recommends adding to a skillet, sprayed generously with cooking spray. I used a Tbs of olive oil. Within 10-12 minutes, the crumbles were heated through and gave off an almost sweet, cinnamon-y smell. But the crumbles didn’t taste like it–in fact, there wasn’t much taste to them. I certainly recommend using a taco seasoning when making tacos–or any other seasoning when using these crumbles–they’re kinda bland. Fortunately though, they also don’t taste fake, or rubbery like some vegan meat. Overall, I was very impressed.

For around $4 for 12-oz, “ground beef” tacos are back, baby!

The tacos didn’t taste “altered” at all. Packed with Tofutti sour cream, vegan cheddar, diced avocado, lettuce and salsa, these were delicious, satisfying and very meat-like.

And here comes the really good part: These meatless ground crumbles have only 0.5g of unsaturated fat per serving–that’s 90% less fat than ground beef!! Not only that, there are 13 grams of protein per serving! It seems like a no-brainer.

As we were chowing down, we were listing off the different meals we could use these bodacious crumbles in:

Burritos

Lasagna

Enchilades

Tostadas

Chili

Taco salad (the back of the package features a recipe for this)

Really….these crumbles would work for anything requiring ground beef.

Check out Boca’s site for more info and ingredient list.

Hoisin-Glazed Tempeh with Green Beans and Cashews

March 18, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is from Vegetarian Times and if you don’t have a lot of time, it’s a fast and easy meal. I made a few minor changes to the recipe like doubling the tempeh and sauce ingredients, plus I served it over rice that I seasoned with sesame seed oil and ground ginger. (I’ll list the original recipe–decide for yourself if you’d like to double it). If you’re not a big fan of tempeh, tofu would work great. The sauce itself is a great basic stir-fry sauce for any of your favorite stir-fry ingredients. I think mushrooms or bamboo shoots would have been a great addition to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
4 tsp hoisin sauce
2-1/2 tsp rice vinegar, divided
1 Tbs soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1-1/2 Tbs minced ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp)
1-8oz pkg tempeh, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1-12oz pkg frozen whole baby green beans (I used just 10 ounces of cut green beans)
1/3 C roasted, unsalted cashews (I used 2/3 and roasted them self in a dry pan over the stove–cheaper)!
1-2 C cooked rice seasoned with 3-4 splashes of sesame seed oil and 1/8-1/4 tsp ground ginger (Optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together hoisin sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/2 C water in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat skillet or wok over medium heat. Add oil, then ginger and garlic. Stir-fry 1-2 mins or until garlic turns pale gold. Add tempeh and hoisin sauce mixture to pan. Stir to coat tempeh. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 2 mins, or until sauce begins to thicken. Stir in green beans. Cover, and simmer 4-5 mins, or until beans are hot, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp of rice vinegar. Serve topped with cashews.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds

March 11, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is one of my favorite side dishes.
Quinoa is not a grain, but actually a seed, but certainly looks, cooks and tastes like a grain. It’s even called a “supergrain” because of it’s many benefits and easy digestibility. Quinoa is packed full of protein, magnesium, and fiber. Research has also found that eating this fabulous seed…can help prevent breast cancer, diabetes and insulin resistance. So dig in!

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add quinoa and toast, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in broth and salt and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cranberries, cover again and continue to cook until liquid is completely absorbed and quinoa is tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Toss with almonds. Enjoy!

Recipe source: Whole Foods

Seitan* Tostadas with Avocado Dressing

March 7, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Well…the (*) indicates that seitan may not be the right choice for these tostadas–the original recipe called for chicken so I figured chicken-style seitan would be the ideal substitute. I guess I can’t always be a vegan-recipe-master. Next time, I will try refries with Boca brand “beef” crumbles. But I wanted to share the recipe for the Avocado Dressing that is fantastic! It would go great with tacos, burritos, or as a salsa.

INGREDIENTS:
Avocado Dressing:
6 Tbs vegetable oil
4 Tbs cider vinegar
4 tsp minced pickled jalapeno peppers
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/3 C cilantro, chopped (I added, but optional)
The Rest:
I recommend trying 1 can refried beans with 1 bag Boca Ground Crumbles or possibly using a taco seasoning mix with the seitan.
1 pkg, 10-count tostada shells
Vegan cheddar, shredded
Tofutti sour cream
Lettuce, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
For the dressing: Combine all ingredients, cover and refrigerate until ready to use (top “meat” with it).

Recipe source: Creme de Colorado Cookbook

Honey-Glazed Tofu on Couscous

March 6, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I have a stack of magazines, each with at least ten Post-Its sticking out, marking delicious-looking recipes to try. Facing a hungry family, I looked through this arsenal of dinner options. This one is from Healing Foods Cookbook from Vegetarian Times. Calling for 2 tsp of black pepper, it had a bit of a kick–I definitely loved it, but if you don’t, I’d cut the pepper dose in half. The recipe also called for (2) 10-oz of extra firm tofu, but I used just (1) 14-oz and that was more than enough. I made a couple of other alterations, but I’ll post the original recipe with my changes.

INGREDIENTS:
Honey-Glazed Tofu:
2- 10 oz pkgs. extra-form tofu (I used 1- 14 oz pkg.)
2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 C honey
Pumpkin Seed Couscous:
2 C low-sodium vegetable broth
2 medium carrots, chopped–1 cup (I didn’t have any…oops)
1 C frozen edamame, thawed
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 C whole wheat couscous (I used regular)
1/2 C toasted pumpkin seeds (I used toasted sliced almonds)

DIRECTIONS:
To make Honey-Glazed Tofu: Place tofu between two plates and set heavy pot (or cans) on top. Drain 10 mins and pat dry. Cut tofu into 3/8″ thick slices. (I didn’t get a ruler out–just went for it).

Combine pepper, thyme, and salt in a small bowl. Coat tofu slices with pepper mixture and set aside.

To make Pumpkin Seed Couscous: Bring broth, carrots, edamame, olive oil, and salt to a boil in a covered saucepan. Remove from heat, and stir in couscous. Cover 5 mins, then fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil and honey in a large skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling. Place seasoned tofu in pan and cook 3 mins. Turn and cook 3 minutes more, spooning thickening sauce over tofu.

To serve: Stir pumpkin seeds into couscous. (I sprinkled them on top of single servings to keep them from getting soft or soggy, especially for leftovers). Spoon onto plates and top with Honey-Glazed Tofu. It will feed about 6 people. Definitely delicious and I think any leftover tofu would be great for sandwiches, too. Enjoy!

Product Review: Vegan Gourmet Nacho Cheese Alternative

March 5, 2010 by epicureanvegan

The quest for tasty queso seems to be a never-ending task for vegans. The queso recipe posted earlier, is pretty darn good, but does require a lot more ingredients, so if that doesn’t appeal to you, the folks at Follow Your Heart have a great alternative and just as they claim…it DOES MELT! And $3.69 for 10-oz is not bad.

I chopped the block and added it to my electric fondue pot. FYH says you can melt it in a sauce pan as well. It is thick and solid enough to shred over tortilla chips and microwave, too.

After about 15 minutes, the “cheese” definitely resembled nacho cheese and quite surprisingly, tasted like it, too. It certainly has a spicy kick, but at the same time, that was about all I could really taste. That cheesy taste just wasn’t there–which is good in a way, too, because fake cheese can taste, well…fake. This didn’t taste like that, but it just was lacking something.

So what’s a vegan to do? I decided to add about 1/3-1/2C of rice (Galaxy Foods) Shredded “cheese” and it really gave it a much more cheesy taste and texture. It was just what it needed. The only thing that changed was, of course, the consistency. It made it a bit more elastic-y. It didn’t really allow one to “dip” a chip, but more, “scoop” the cheese. The taste was outstanding though–the closest that pre-packaged vegan cheese is to regular nacho cheese.

Follow Your Heart not only makes many great products such as Veganaise and salad dressings, but they are one of the most environmentally conscious companies around. Their manufacturing plant in California operates on 100% solar energy and used all recycled products in their facility. Check out the April 2010 issue of VegNews for more!

Product Review: Boca Meatless Ground Crumbles

Hoisin-Glazed Tempeh with Green Beans and Cashews

Quinoa Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds

Seitan* Tostadas with Avocado Dressing

Honey-Glazed Tofu on Couscous

Product Review: Vegan Gourmet Nacho Cheese Alternative

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