Chow Vegan

For this Super Bowl of weekends, I decided to make the snack of sports bars and fans everywhere – Buffalo Wings. But instead of wings, it’s roasted tofu cubes.

It’s amazingly simple and easy. I used the method for roasting tofu from Vegan Soul Kitchen then tossed in Buffalo hot sauce. That’s it.

So good and rich-tasting. It’s now my snack of choice for all sporting events. Bring on the Winter Olympics.

Buffalo Style Roasted Tofu
Serves 4

1 16-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Buffalo Sauce
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Original Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/8 cup Earth Balance Soy-Free Butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on each side.

In a wok, melt the butter. Turn off the heat and add the hot sauce. Stir to combine. Add the freshly roasted tofu and toss until throughly coated. Serve immediately with celery sticks and ranch dressing.

Ranch Dressing
Makes a little over 1/3 cup

1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Chill until ready to use.

You probably heard by now that Starbucks is stocking Lucy’s cookies in their stores. They’re vegan, gluten-free and nut-free.

I had to see for myself, besides I had a couple of Starbucks gift cards burning a hole in my wallet. So I walked into the nearest store and there they were, in the back, neatly arranged on a table.

Chocolate Chip was the first of three flavors that I tried, I didn’t care for it. I prefer my cookies to be soft and chewy. This was hard and crunchy. I was kinda disappointed as I know there’s other vegan cookies that come in a package that are nice and soft.

The next flavor, Cinnamon Thin were better. I was fine with it being a crisp cookie as it reminds me of a cinnamon graham cracker. It was great dunked in a glass of soy milk.

And the last one, Sugar Cookie tasted like the cinnamon ones but without the cinnamon. It too got dunked in soy milk.

All of the cookies were on the sweet side and very crunchy and crisp. I didn’t expect that, having never heard of Lucy’s before trying them. But the crispness is perfect for dunking in milk or coffee. If I ever need a sugar rush while enjoying a Starbucks coffee, I would get the Cinnamon Thin again.

Size of a cookie is about 2 1/2″ in diameter, $1.50 a bag. One serving size is 3 cookies (there’s 4 in a bag) for 130 calories.

Deliriously happy to finally have the chance to eat at The Veggie Grill in El Segundo, I pretty much stuffed my face full. Since our whole group went to the all-vegan restaurant (a family first), I actually got to try quite a few items.

Chinese Chickin’ Salad, pictured above – I thought it was great, I usually don’t like getting salads in restaurants since I can make it so much better at home. But this was so nice and fresh tasting. And it wasn’t too heavy on the sesame-rice vinaigrette.

Mac n’ Cheese – I only had a couple of bites of this, but it was enough for me to say it’s yummy. I love how the Daiya cheese is all melty and creamy.

Uptown Nachos, pictured above – Also had just a few bites of this. Oh my gosh, it’s been forever since I’ve eaten nachos. It’s just like how I remember it. Another awesome winner.

Steamin’ Kale – No one else really ate this but I thought it was quite good. The kale was tender and the ginger-miso dressing went well with it.

Sweetheart Fries – Sweet potato fries, just as good if not better than french fries. But really the chipotle ranch that came with it, now that was to die for.

All-American Stack, pictured above – I only liked this okay. It may just be too much for one bite, what with all the onion rings, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled veggie-steak pieces stacked on a really thick whole wheat bun. Or maybe it was because I wanted to eat those nachos instead.

The V-Burger – I had about a fourth of this. It was my nephew’s lunch, since he’s only 7, he wasn’t able to finish the whole burger. He likes it with just the bun, grilled veggie-steak burger and ketchup. I liked this burger better. Go figure.

Chocolate Pudding – Delicious end to a great meal. Smooth and sweet, with a nice chocolate flavor. You would never know it was vegan.

The decor is modern-looking, hip and clean. There’s outdoor seating, which normally would have been nice if it wasn’t for the threatening storm clouds. They have four locations, all in Southern California. If only there was a Veggie Grill in NoCal, I would for sure be a permanent fixture there.

Over the holiday weekend, I traveled to Southern California to visit with my brother’s family. While there, we got lunch to-go at Versailles Cuban Restaurant in Manhattan Beach.

Since Cuban food is better known for its meat dishes, I didn’t think there would be much for me to eat besides the typical rice and beans. Sure enough, there was just two vegetarian plates on the menu, both included rice and beans.

I got the Moros, Platanos Fritos Y Ensalada Verde plate – black beans and rice cooked together, fried sweet plantains, mixed green salad and some mystery root vegetable hidden underneath the salad. It’s sorta like a potato but it’s not. I never had it before.

Normally, I’m not a huge fan of beans but moros is delicious! It’s savory and flavorful with just the right ratio of rice to beans. I had no idea rice and beans can be this good.

I’ve been experimenting with a vegan version of sticky rice in lotus leaf (called lo mai gai in Cantonese). It’s very popular at dim sum, although I have yet to come across a veggie one in a restaurant. It usually has chicken and maybe other meats in it. Hence the experiment.

It’s basically sticky rice (which is also known as glutinous or sweet rice) with a savory filling wrapped in a lotus leaf and then steamed. The lotus leaf imparts a fragrant, delicate flavor to the rice. While steaming, it smells a bit like tea.

Lotus leaves are sold dried and can be found at the Asian supermarket. To use, soak in hot water until they become pliable and darker in color. The sticky rice (sweet rice) can also be found at the Asian grocery store. It is not the same as sushi rice; it’s stickier. Above is the brand I always use, I cooked it in my fuzzy logic rice cooker on the sweet rice setting.

Surprisingly easy to make, as it’s mostly just assembly and waiting for things to soak. Well, I wasn’t actually standing there waiting, that would be silly. But it’s well worth the little bit of effort and planning to make this classic dim sum dish.

Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf
Makes 6 dim sum sized packets

2 cups sweet rice (using the measuring cup that came with the rice cooker)
3 dried lotus leaves
Vegetable oil

Filling
4 dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
3 1/2 ounces vegan sausage (or 1 Tofurky Italian sausage), sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
2 medium green onions, diced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Cooking directions is for use with a rice cooker with a 5.5 cups capacity. Using the inner pot of the rice cooker, rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water is clear. Add enough water to cook the sweet rice as indicated on the inner pot. Let the rice soak in the water for 2 hours before cooking. Cook the rice according to the rice cooker directions.

Trim off the ragged edges of the lotus leaf with kitchen scissors, then cut off the hard knobby part at the pointy end and cut the leaf in half. Soak in hot water for about an hour, turning them over halfway through and weighting the leaves down if necessary.

Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the veggie sausage and stir fry until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and carrot and continue to stir fry for another minute or so, if it seems dry, add a little bit of water. Add the green onions and then the sauce, combine well. Place on a plate and set aside.

Rinse the lotus leaves and gently squeeze out any excess water. Place on a work surface with the curved edge facing away from you. Rub a little oil evenly onto the leaf.

Take 1/6 of the rice and divide it in 2, place one half onto the lower center of a leaf and work it into a small rectangle shape. Place 1/6 of the filling on the rice, then top with the other rice half and pat down.

Fold the tip end of the leaf up over the rice, then fold in the left and right sides. Roll up towards the curved edge to form a rectangular package. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients to make all 6 packets.

Put the packets seam side down in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes. To serve, unwrap the lotus leaves and transfer the rice onto a plate.

Dim Sum Related Posts
Mock Chicken
Stuffed Tofu Puffs with Chili Garlic Sauce
Chinese 5-Spice Jackfruit with Steamed Buns
Jook
Yuba Rolls

Who doesn’t love a sale? Especially if said sale involves food. My local Whole Foods started carrying the Field Roast Classic Meatloaf and put it on sale.

I really like some of Field Roast’s other products so I had high hopes for this meatloaf. The main ingredient is vital wheat gluten combined with carrots, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic and savory spices.

Preparation is pretty straightforward, the hardest part was getting the loaf out of its skin-tight plastic bag. Place it on a baking sheet, glaze with ketchup and stick it in the oven for 30 minutes to heat up and brown.

And brown it did. The Classic Meatloaf browns beautifully and smells delicious. Its got a great rich flavor. The texture is very similar to meatloaf as I remember it and just a tab more chewier. It’s kinda on the salty side but that’s pretty much the nature of most prepared food.

Did you know you can eat beet greens? Yeah, those greens on top of beets. I had no idea. Apparently, you can also eat carrot tops. I haven’t tried that yet but the beet greens are delicious. The taste is similar to spinach; I actually like the beet greens better, as it’s a little bit sweeter.

These baby beet greens look like miniature swiss chard, which is a close relative, belonging to the same family. The stems are so tender, you can eat the whole thing. They’re also highly nutritious, rich in calcium, iron, magnesium and vitamins A, B6, C, E and K.

Sautéed Baby Beet Greens
Serves 2 as part of a meal

6 ounces baby beet greens
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Wash the beet greens in several changes of water. Drain and set aside.

Heat a wok or sauté pan to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the garlic and sauté for several seconds. Add the beet greens and season with salt. Sauté the greens until wilted and tender. Plate and serve.

Related Posts
Stir-fried Yu Choy Sum
Stir-fried Amaranth with Garlic
Sauteed Spinach

Walking by the pizza station at the San Mateo Whole Foods, I saw to my astonishment that they had a little sign that read Vegan BBQ Chicken Pizza. I don’t know how many times I’ve walked by before and there was never anything remotely vegan.

I asked to be sure, that the whole pizza was vegan, not just the bbq chicken part. They answered in the affirmative; it has a thin whole wheat crust and Gardein chicken.

I thought the “chicken” pieces seemed a little dry and didn’t really add all that much to the pizza. The flavor came mostly from the bbq sauce. But I liked the onions and how it wasn’t really greasy at all.

I can’t say for sure I’ll get the bbq chicken pizza again (if it’s regularly available), as I prefer my pizza to have a combination of different vegetables. I’m hoping that the next time I walk by, they’ll have a different flavor or better yet a selection of vegan pizzas slices.