I'm done.

I'm just not feeling like blogging much anymore.  So, this is goodbye.  I'm done with this blog and will not post here again. I'll leave this blog up for a while in case you have recipes you want to copy off of it, but I cannot promise to leave it up forever.

Hatch Chiles... King Ranch!

It's Hatch chile season here. I veganized this recipe and it was super awesome. Make this right away. I used medium Hatch chiles. It was spicy and my mouth is still burning, so maybe next time, I'll go mild.

King Ranch 'Chicken' Casserole

1 1/2 packages frozen gardien, slightly thawed and chopped
6 roasted Hatch chilies, peeled, seeded, stemmed and chopped
½ large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1+ tablespoon olive oil
¼ lb. EB margarine
3/4 cups flour
1 ½ cups no-chicken stock
1 ½ cups unsweetened soy milk
1 cup vegan sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz daiya cheddar cheese
1/2 lb+ of corn tortillas, cut into quarters

Cook onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Stir in chilies and cook a minute. Set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, heat a little oil and cook gardien. When it is close to done, add the spices and cook for a minute. If the spices stick, add a little water to deglaze. Set aside.
Melt butter in large pan, stir in flour to make a roux, slowly add no-chicken stock and soy milk, and cook over low heat until thickened. Stir in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 big casserole.

Spread a layer of sour cream sauce in the bottom of the casserole. Cover with a layer of tortillas, then a layer of chicken, one of cheese, one of chilies and onions, then another one of tortillas. Repeat until casserole is full. Top with a layer of tortillas, then sauce and grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before cutting and serving.
Source
--
Servings/Yield
5-6 servings

Updated List of Park City Vegan Friendly Restaurants

My personal favorite:
$$$$ Shabu
100% veg broth, tofu bento or coconut encrusted tofu with stir fry veg. Pineapple sorbet

$$$$ Jean Louis on Main - Nothing vegan on the menu, but call ahead and Jean Louis will go out and shop for you and make you something special.

$$ Squatters Roadhouse Grill
Brewery with vegan stuff actually marked on the menu
Lots of choices - charbroiled tofu tacos, tempeh salad, veggie burger, edamae hummus, vegan tofu scramble for brunch

$$ Reyes Adobe - veggie chimichanga. Tell them you are vegan to get the right beans on the side.

$$$ Bangkok Thai on Main = Ask for Vegan Pad See Ew with Tofu

$$$$ Wahso - Not sure if the vegetarian Bento box on the menu is vegan.

$$ Good Karma Restaurant Indian, Persian, Japanese Noodle - possibly vegan options. I have not eaten here.

$ Spencer's Smokin' Grill
Smokin' Tofu and Fire Roasted Vegetables (not sure if the bbq sauce on the table is vegan)

$ Taste of Saigon - Vietnamese - has vegan options, but I wasn't entirely thrilled with it.

$$ Cafe Trang - vegan options, but just ok.

$$ Szechwan Chinese Kitchen - 612 Ute Blvd # 103, Park City, UT - Kung Pao Tofu, Schechwan Broccoli

$$ Full House Asian Bistro - Kimball Junction, 6300 N Sagewood Dr. - Just ok for us.

$$$ Reef's - Vegan options: Hummus, Falafel, Couscous, Salads. Mostly appetizers.

$$$ Park City Pizza Co, Ute Blvd - Will sometimes have Daiya and can make a veggie pizza with Daiya.

$$$ Whole Foods - Will make vegan pizza with Daiya and faux meats.

Salt Lake City
$$ Sage's - review - Completely vegan cafe. This place is great.

$$ Vertical Diner - review - Completely vegan diner. I love this place.

$$ Sawadee Thai - Just ask them to make things vegan, ask to see the vegetarian menu.


Updated on javascript:void(0)May 1, 2011

World's Easiest Vegan Lasagna

While I thought I had already come up with the best vegan lasagna ever, I think I might have done better with this one. It is not only easier, but tastes just like I remember (the non-vegan versions tasting). But seriously, this is the lazy vegan's lasagna. There is almost no chopping (only garlic), there is no sauteing or simmering, and there is minimal cleanup.

Easiest Tastiest Vegan Lasagna
adapted from Classic Tofu Lasagna in 1000 Vegan Recipes

Ingredients
1 package extra firm tofu
1 package firm tofu
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 heaping tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
8 oz oven ready (no boil) lasagna noodles (I used American Beauty brand), 12 noodles
2 jars Barilla Tomato Basil pasta sauce
1/2 package Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds **
1/4 cup vegan parmesan (optional)

Directions
Squeeze the tofu with your hands to remove any excess water. Crumble it into a bowl and add the garlic, nutritional yeast, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mash everything together with your hands or the back of a large spoon. Place it in the refrigerator for about an hour for the flavors to meld.

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9x13 casserole.

Spoon a thin layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of the dish.
Add 3 noodles. Spread 1/3 of the tofu mixture, a sprinkle of Daiya cheese, and then a layer of sauce. Optionally, tear 2-3 fresh basil leaves over the layer.
Repeat 2 more times. Add 3 noodles and top with some sauce. Sprinkle top with (optional) Vegan parmesan and Daiya cheese.

Specifically:
Layer 1 - Sauce
Layer 2 - 3 noodles, 1/3 tofu mixture, sauce, daiya
Layer 3 - 3 noodles, 1/3 tofu mixture, sauce, daiya
Layer 4 - 3 noodles, 1/3 tofu mixture, sauce, daiya
Layer 5 - 3 noodles, sauce, vegan parm, daiya

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

** Look for this at Whole Foods

Vegan Cake Batter Ice Cream

I used to love that damn fattening cake batter ice cream at Coldstone before I went vegan. I'd get it mixed in with brownies. Occasionally I still find myself thinking about it. I decided it was time to fix that. I saw this recipe and decided to veganize it and improve it with the Wheeler Del Toro method (heat the milks and sugar and add arrowroot powder to it to thicken).



Here is the new recipe:

Vegan Cake Batter Ice Cream

1 cup Silk regular or vanilla creamer
3/4 cup unbleached sugar
2 cups almond milk, DIVIDED
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
1 cup vegan cake mix **

Directions
Whisk the Silk, 1 3/4 cup Almond Milk, and granulated sugar over medium heat until it boils. Add the arrowroot powder and it will thicken slightly. Stir in the vanilla and cake batter. It'll be really thick. Cool for several hours in the refrigerator till cool. It will be even thicker now and will look like pudding. Stir with a whisk to mix and loosen the batter. Pour mixture into the freezer bowl and churn as directed by your machine. Remove ice cream from freezer bowl and place into a freezer proof container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

** I used Dunkin' Hines Moist Deluxe Yellow Cake mix. As far as I could tell from looking at the ingredients list, it looks vegan. Let me know if you think otherwise. There are a few different cake mixes that look vegan that would work for this (white or yellow).

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Butternut, and Sausage

I saw broccoli rabe at Whole Foods yesterday when I ran in for a quick trip and I was excited to see it since it is rare around here. It was floppy looking, but I decided to try to find a good bunch anyway.  I added it to the weeks menu in my head for the next day's shopping trip (worrying that it wouldn't be there when I went back today).  Of course, I went today and it was nowhere to be seen.  So, I asked and luckily they had some in the back... and it was beautiful!



I found this recipe on Food TV, but of course I had to make some adjustments to make it vegan.



Here is the modified version:

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Butternut, and Sausage
Ingredients

* 2 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice
* Extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt
* pepper
* 1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed, cut into thirds
* 1 Apple Sage Field Roast Vegan Sausage, cut into 1/2-inch dice
* Pinch crushed red pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 cups pasta (I used wacky mac - see pic below)
* 1/2 cup vegan Parmesan (I used Parmezano Sprinkles from the Uncheese Cookbook)
* 1/4 cup green pumpkin seeds, toasted

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss the pumpkin with olive oil salt and pepper and place in a single layer on a sheet tray and bake in the oven until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and reserve.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well-salted ice water.

Drop the broccoli rabe into the pot of boiling water, swirl it around, remove from the water, and immediately plunge into the salty ice water. Reserve the boiling water to cook the pasta in. Remove the broccoli rabe from the ice water, squeeze out excess water, and reserve.

Get 3/4 cup of the broccoli rabe water for use below before boiling pasta.

Add the pasta to the reserved boiling broccoli rabe water and cook until the pasta is al dente. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water (yep, you'll need a second measuring cup). Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and add the vegan sausage, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to a medium heat and cook the sausage until browned. When the sausage is browned add the roasted squash and 3/4 cup of the broccoli rabe cooking water. Simmer until the water reduces by half.

Add the pasta to the pan with the sausage and squash. Add the broccoli rabe and about a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Cook until the water has evaporated and the sauce clings to the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the vegan parmesan. Toss or stir vigorously.

Divide the pasta between 2 serving dishes, sprinkle with a little more grated parm, and top with toasted green pumpkin seeds.

Here is a pic of the butternut before baking because it is so pretty:



And a pic of the pasta because it's wacky:

Mike made me scones this morning

Here is a link to the recipe: scones recipe.