There is something about this sauce that is SO addicting. When thinking about how to transform one of our former favorite recipes from the fabulous Damn Delicious, we instantly thought of seitan! While we chose the standard egg and panko breading technique, we believe you could make this vegan with either a flax egg or a lightly whipped aquafaba.

Did we make my own cauliflower rice? No. Why? Because somedays we have time to make all the ingredients, and somedays we have time heat cauliflower rice from Aldi on the stovetop. 

Ingredients:

• One batch of "chicken" seitan (We used this awesome recipe from Connoisseurus Veg), cut into 1 in. cubes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups panko (we needed the latter amount)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. agave
• 1 tsp. sambal oelek
• 1 tsp. Cholula hot sauce (or your favorite)
• 2 tsp. liquid aminos
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 1/3 c. water
• 3-4 scallions, chopped
• Cauliflower rice for serving

​
​​Instructions:

1. ​Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
2. ​Create a breading station, with beaten eggs in one bowl and panko in another. Dredge the seitan in the egg, and then the panko before placing in the 9x13 pan.
3. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the panko is golden brown.
4. While baking, make the sauce: Combine water and cornstarch into a slurry. Add agave, sambal oelek, Cholula, liquid aminos, garlic and slurry into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until it is thick and translucent. 
5. Toss the seitan into the agave garlic sauce and serve over cauliflower rice. Sprinkle with chopped scallions. 

Hi there, L here! So, as a recent vegan convert, I have been talking with J about how I am sick of people assuming vegans only eat raw vegetables, salads and fries...although I do love all of these things. In response to my wonderings about how to change the perception of what vegans eat, I decided to challenge myself to make a non-vegan recipe into a vegan recipe each week. So, here is week 1:

Pizza pasta bake! As a midwesterner, the casserole is a delightful Sunday dinner item that can feed a family of 6, or the two of us for several meals through the week. However, many casseroles are full of meats and cheeses. 

Behold:

Ingredients:

• Vegan pepperoni (We love this great recipe from Minimalist Baker!)
• Splash of avocado oil
• 1 lb. vegan italian sausage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used roasted red pepper- it was DELICIOUS)
• 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 8 oz. gluten free ziti (We love Banza!)
• 2 cups dairy-free mozzarella (We love Daiya!)

​
​​Instructions:

1. ​Preheat the oven to 350. In a dutch oven or oven-safe skillet, drizzle and heat avocado oil at medium heat. Crumble and brown sausage with onion and garlic, about 5 minutes.
2. ​Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce to the pan. You also need to add 1 cup of water- I swish the 1 cup of water in the spaghetti sauce jar to get all of the delicious sauce! Finally, add ziti and mix well. Cover the pan and lower the heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked through. Make sure to stir often to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom.
3. Place half of the pepperoni on top of the casserole. Then, cover the top with the cheese. Finally, arrange the rest of the pepperoni on top. 
4. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered. Let cool for about 5 minutes to let it set. 

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Now that we're starting to see the seasons change, and it's getting a little cooler, here's a sweet, spicy wrap that can warm you right up. Remember to add and check the seasoning at every step- preferences will vary (they certainly do in our house), and tasting along the way helps you get just the right level of spiciness.

We found it helpful to dice the potatoes a bit smaller than you think you need- it helps the filling stay inside the wraps better. Giving the spinach a rough chop before wilting it also helped keep it bite-sized.

This is a great make-ahead meal, and makes about 6 wraps. We kept the chutney in small containers separate from the filling, and took them along in our lunches at work during the week.

Quick cooking time, vegan

Hi there, L here!

Long time, no post! We are back this week in an attempt to blog more frequently with a vegan transformation of one of my favorite pre-vegetarian days meals, Damn Delicious's Enchilada Pasta. 

Vegan, you say? Why yes, vegan. And honestly, it tastes just as good as the original. ​

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. extra wide egg noodles
• 1 1/4 c.. enchilada sauce (homemade!)
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups Daiya pepperjack shreds, divided
• 5.3 oz. KiteHill Almond Milk Greek Yogurt- Plain and Unsweetened
• 1 4oz.can diced green chilies
• Drizzle of avocado oil
• 1 lb. Light Life plant-based ground 
• 1/2 c. Tofutti sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 9x13 baking dish with olive oil spray. 
2. Cook egg noodles per package instructions. 
3. In a large bowl, combine enchilada sauce, corn, beans, 1 cup of pepperjack shreds, greek yogurt, and green chilies.​

     4. Heat avocado oil in saucepan over medium high heat. Add plant-based ground and cook 5-6                minutes, crumbling as it cooks. It won't brown exactly like ground beef, but you will want to see a          slight crisp on the plant-based ground. 
     5. Stir in sour cream, chili powder, and cumin into the plant-based ground, and then add to                          enchilada sauce mixture. Drain and add noodles to bowl, and mix well. 
     6. Put pasta mixture into 9x13 pan, cover with remaining Daiya shreds, and bake about 8 minutes.  

Hi! L here for my first solo post. We only got one picture because we ate them up so fast!

One of my favorite foods in the whole world are tacos. While we have made some delicious vegetarian tacos in the past, I have struggled with making them dairy-free since discovering my lactose intolerance this fall. This Skinnytaste recipe was a favorite of mine from my pre-vegetarian days, so I adapted it to be not only vegetarian, but vegan.

We had a marvelous autumn evening grilling these flavorful skewers. Not gonna lie- we ate them right off the grill with some chopsticks and dipped them into the marinade. This recipe was surprisingly easy, and the marination time can take either an hour or as many minutes as it takes until you're too hungry to wait!

Mise-en-place (the practice of preparing and arranging all ingredients before cooking) is a big help to this recipe. There aren't a ton of ingredients, but the whole process is easier if everything you need is quickly within reach. Make sure your grill is well-oiled (seriously, use a little more than you think you need)- tofu can stick to pans and grill plates very easily during cooking.

Rustic and hearty, this wonderfully messy dish is satisfying and substantial. It gave us a chance to try out our new Dutch oven, too! We had a marvelous time learning about croissants and pastry dough in an excellent class at Sur La Table (non-affiliate link), and couldn't resist taking home a few new kitchen tools, including some new glass storage to replace our tired old plastic leftover containers, and some fun marshmallow roasting sticks that look like little marshmallows.

This dish is pleasantly simple, and made for a perfect meal on the patio with a beer. We've adapted it from a recipe found in Vegetarian Times' Plant-Powered Protein Cookbook.

This one is yet another dish that went far astray from the original recipe during the cooking process- but this version is really simple to make, and takes a pretty short amount of time. I'm always wary of fritter or veggie burger recipes that don't involve much flour- I always end up using way more than the recipe recommends, and experiment with the egg/flour ratio.

And how about that carrot ribbon salad? It's just so pretty! Next time, we might try adding a light olive oil or balsamic dressing. 

Prep time: 45 mins
Makes 4 fritters

Hi everyone! J here, with what is maybe the first successful attempt of L's to get me to eat beets. I actually didn't mind them in this dish- there are enough other complimentary flavors that the beet flavor isn't too overpowering. This recipe is a loose adaptation of a recipe we found on tbsp. You can find the original recipe here.
Full disclosure- we used pre-sliced beet and zucchini noodles. #sorrynotsorry. I like the results of spiralizing vegetables, but the process itself can be a HUGE pain. Sometimes literally.

Roasting the beet noodles gave them a dramatically different flavor from the zucchini. You can either serve them in two separate portions, as pictured, or toss them together before placing on the alfredo. The sauce was still fairly thin after blending, so next time I might try adding a bit of flour along with the milk and broth. Share your version in the comments or on soy-cial media!

This is a light, easy dish that's great for packed lunches- or even for an outdoor supper on the patio (though to be fair, it's still snowing here in Ohio as we write this post).

There are hundreds of versions of this French classic. We've found that it's the overall flavor of the salad (salty, briny, peppery) that make it such a refreshing, lively experience to enjoy. Other versions of salad Niçoise include tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. If you've got a favorite way to make or eat the dish, let us know in the comments!