Chow Vegan

Have you ever tried lemon in popcorn?

Me neither. I couldn’t imagine what it would taste like. Quinn Popcorn describes their Lemon & Sea Salt popcorn as “understated, clean tasting, but buttery (without using butter!).” I’m sold.

It’s definitely an unique taste, I liked it. It’s not a slap-you-in-the-face butter kind of flavor, it’s much more subtle. And non-greasy. I didn’t use all of the enclosed packet of oil, probably less than a third (I normally eat popcorn plain). It’s nice to be able to control the amount of oil and seasoning.

Quinn microwave popcorn is organic, non-gmo, with no hydrogenated oils, preservatives or chemicals. It’s just a couple bags of corn kernels (even the bags are free of chemicals and impurities, it’s just 100% compostable paper).

A couple packets of expeller pressed grapeseed oil and separate ones for the sea salt and dried lemon. You can read all about their quest to find 100% lemon powder here.

Their other unique flavors include Vermont Maple & Sea Salt and Parmesan & Rosemary. Currently only available around the Boston area where the company is located but coming soon to everyone through Amazon.

I’m sure you’ve seen Angry Birds by now. Some of them are red with a very angry expression on their face. They’re slingshotted at green pigs, who apparently, stole the Birds’ eggs.

One of them showed up in my kitchen. I told the little bird, “I ain’t got your eggs. I never had your eggs; I’m no green pig.” I offered a snack of fruits and nuts but the bird disappeared without a word.

The next day, there was another red Angry Bird. “Look, it’s like I told the other one, there’s no eggs here.” And the bird was gone, just like that. I’m unsure how long this is going to go on but I wouldn’t be surprised if a green pig showed up at some point.

An Angry Bird Apple A Day
More of a method than a recipe

For the body, pick out a small to medium size apple that has a nice, deep red color. I used an organic Jonathan apple from the local farmers market. With a very sharp knife, score an arc across the lower half to create the white belly. Use the knife to peel off the skin.

Make a small cut where the outside corner of the eye would go, to break the skin. Using a stainless steel 1/4 measuring teaspoon, scoop out what would be the eye. Make the other eye the same way.

Make a few cuts at the top of the apple being careful not to actually cut the pieces off. Lift up the pieces for the feathers on top of the head.

The eyebrows are strips cut from a piece of nori. The pupils for the eyes are hole punched from the same sheet of nori. The juice from the cut apple will hold the pieces of nori in place.

The beak is a slice of carrot, cut a “V” in the side and attach with one end of a toothpick. If serving to small kids, remember to take out the toothpick for them.

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The winner of the Vegan Desserts cookbook is number 32.

Congratulations to Karmalily! Please email me your mailing address and I’ll get the book right out to you.

A big thanks to everyone for playing!

It’s been cupcakes galore around here lately. With a fridge full of leftover veggies and cheezy sauce to use up, I made savory cupcakes. For being a non-baker, I’m getting a lot of mileage out of that muffin pan.

A variation of the Vegetable Lasagna Cupcakes, the cheezy sauce replaces the tomato sauce. Swap out the tofu ricotta for any veggies that go well with cheese such as broccoli, green beans, carrots, peas, and/or red potatoes.

I also tossed in some leftover Gardein chicken but tofu would work too or just have all vegetables. Assemble and after 10 minutes in the oven, you’re done.

Top with an optional “frosting” of mashed sweet potatoes and garnish with whatever herb, I had parsely but chives would have been good too.

Savory Cheezy Cupcakes
Makes 12

24 wonton wrappers
1 cup of your favorite non-dairy “cheese” sauce
A few sprigs of fresh parsley chopped, for garnish

Filling
About 2 cups of any combination of cooked vegetables, such as broccoli, green beans, carrots, red potatoes, green peas or celery
2 5/8 ounces veggie chicken such as Gardein, chopped

If you’re using already cooked vegetables, just chop up and set aside (I usually have some combination of leftover cooked vegetables and vegetables nearly past their prime waiting to be cooked and put out of their misery).

For raw vegetables, chop up and then heat a sauté pan to hot. Add a little bit of oil and swirl to coat. Add the vegetables and cook until tender. Add a little water if the pan appears to be too dry. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Mashed Sweet Potato Frosting (optional)
1 medium size sweet potato, peeled and chopped
Non-dairy milk

Heat a pot of water to boil. Add the sweet potato pieces and cook until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and put through a potato ricer. Add the non-dairy milk a bit at a time and blend until it’s the desired texture. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly coat a 12 cup muffin pan with oil. Layer a wonton wrapper in each cup, gently pressing down on the bottom and up the sides of the cup.

Divide the filling in half. Using the first half, distribute evenly on top of each wrapper. Layer the veggie chicken using the same distribution method. Top with the cheese sauce.

Place a wonton wrapper on top but going in the opposite direction. Repeat the layers of vegetable filling, veggie chicken and cheese sauce on the very top.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until the wonton wrappers are golden. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before serving. To serve, pipe the mashed sweet potatoes on top if using and garnish with the parsley.

Vegan Desserts Cookbook Giveaway
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway, it ends on Sunday, September 18th.

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Before summer gives way to fall, I just had to try the Black Velvet Cupcakes from Hannah Kaminsky’s Vegan Desserts. These cupcakes came out perfect! Moist. Fluffy. Yummy. It’s a baking miracle! It really is. You have no idea what horrible baking disasters have emerged from my oven in the past.

Located in the summer section of Vegan Desserts (the cookbook is divided by seasons), the recipe uses the ingenious idea of blackberries for the cupcake’s beautiful color. No artificial coloring!

Straight-forward and easy to understand, I, a noob baker, was able to follow the recipe without any problems. Although I was puzzled how to make the thirteenth cupcake. My pan only has twelve spots but the recipe said it makes thirteen. I just divided the batter among the twelve and crossed my fingers.

They came out fine. I frosted half of them and froze the other half for later enjoyment. My frosting technique could use a little work, actually a lot of work. It looks like it’s just plopped on top, but it tasted great. Way better than the vegan red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkles, because I made them myself!

To celebrate such a momentous occasion, I’m giving away a copy of Vegan Desserts.

To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment in this post with your favorite seasonal dessert. Comment must be made by midnight PST on Sunday, September 18th; one entry per person. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.

One winner will be randomly selected (using random.org) from the comments received and announced in a new post on Monday, September 19th. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be randomly chosen. Prize awarded is the cookbook that I paid for with my own hard-earned money (approximate retail value $17.95). I did not drool on it.

Official Rules:
Open only to U.S. residents age 18 and over. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Void where prohibited by law. Any tax is the sole responsibility of the winner. Winner releases Chow Vegan from any liability arising out of participation in this giveaway or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize.

This post also contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.

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Over the holiday weekend, I was down south visiting family. Deciding where to eat out is always a challenge, between everyone’s various taste preferences and schedules, we quickly ate through the usual places. Time to try someplace new.

We ventured into Klondike Pizza, located in the downtown village of Arroyo Grande (about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast). It’s got a fun, flunky, family-friendly Alaskan atmosphere. Where you get a basket of peanuts while you’re waiting for your food, and toss the shells onto the sawdust floor. It’s probably the most fun I ever had shelling peanuts.

For lunch, I got the Veggie Pizza – mushrooms, zucchini, black olives and tomatoes. It comes with onions and the much dreaded bell peppers which I had them leave off as well as the cheese. Instead of red sauce, I got garlic sauce – olive oil, herbs and lots of minced garlic.

They also make their own dough which is vegan. The crust is thick, I prefer thin crust. Still, I’m very happy to have a vegan option without any fuss. It’s not listed as vegan anywhere on the menu, but the super nice people working there confirmed it.

After waddling out of Klondike’s extra full, we crossed the street to Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab for a little sorbet (there’s always room for dessert). For some sweet vegan baked treats, Eclair Bakery is also just down the street.

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I’m such a sucker for trying new vegan items I see at the store. I can’t help it, especially if said item is on sale. The latest such thing is the Yves Grain Meat Strips ($2.99 at Whole Foods). It’s basically seitan (wheat gluten) – a vacuum-sealed pouch of seitan and there’s one for the sauce.

It’s interesting Yves felt the need to call them Grain Meat Strips on the front of the package. In the ingredients, it’s listed as seitan. And they’re more like chunks, with just a couple of long strips.

Super easy to heat and serve for a quick meal, especially with Trader Joe’s mini hamburger buns. $1.19 for a pack of 8 baby buns, two and a half inch in diameter and vegan.

They’re the perfect size, one serving of the Grain Meat fits nicely on two buns (before heating up, I tore the bigger chunks into smaller bite-size pieces). For these mini sliders, I went with the BBQ flavor. They’re great topped with a little coleslaw on a toasted bun.

For the one in Buffalo Style Sauce, I went with a wrap. It’s kinda spicy, but it has a little too much of a vinegar taste. For me, the BBQ one is definitely the better of the two.

Overall, the Grain Meat Strips are good if you don’t have time or if you’re too lazy to make your own seitan, it’s totally a convenience food. Or if someone never had seitan before, it’s an easy way to give it a try.

Or if you’re hosting a Labor Day get-together, I would be very happy if I was served a couple of Grain Meat Strips in a BBQ Sauce mini sliders.

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The winner of Ani’s Raw Food Asia cookbook is number 21.

Congratulations to Nib! Please email me your mailing address and I’ll send the book right out to you.

Thanks everybody for playing!