November 1st is World Vegan Day. Since Troubadour and I switched from lacto-vegetarian (with the occasional fish) to vegan a few months ago we have tried even more yummy things such as Daiya vegan cheese.
In celebration of World Vegan Day, I thought I'd share a few of our favorite recipes. These are two we've made for the last several years.
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BLACK EYED PEA SALAD
Ingredients:
2 - 14 oz cans of black eyed peas (rinsed and drained)
1 can pitted black olives (drained and sliced)
1 cup long english cucumber (diced)
2 large tomatoes (diced)
1 medium green pepper (chopped)
1/2 cup red onion (chopped)
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 avocado (diced)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon szechuan sauce (San-J is a good brand)
Directions:
1. Mix together black eyed peas, black olives, cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, jalapeno, and avocado in large bowl.
2. In separate small bowl whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, szechuan sauce and garlic. Pour dressing mixture over vegetables and toss.
*This salad is great over chopped romaine, on it's own, or in a pita with hummus.
** If you do not want a vegan salad you can add feta cheese.
2. In separate small bowl whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, szechuan sauce and garlic. Pour dressing mixture over vegetables and toss.
*This salad is great over chopped romaine, on it's own, or in a pita with hummus.
** If you do not want a vegan salad you can add feta cheese.
* * * * * *
VEGAN SNICKERDOODLES
Ingredients:
1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance is a good brand)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
(cinnamon and sugar combined in small bowl or ziploc for rolling)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Beat margarine by hand or with an electric mixer until soft. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in soymilk and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth.
3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet. 1 dozen will fit easily on a cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the cookies look dry on top and are lightly browned on bottoms. Transfer to wire rack and store in air tight container. Do not overcook. They will firm up when cool. This usually makes 2-1/2 to 3 dozen.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Beat margarine by hand or with an electric mixer until soft. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in soymilk and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth.
3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet. 1 dozen will fit easily on a cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the cookies look dry on top and are lightly browned on bottoms. Transfer to wire rack and store in air tight container. Do not overcook. They will firm up when cool. This usually makes 2-1/2 to 3 dozen.
I hope some of you will give these recipes a try. I regret that I do not have any pictures. Next time I make them I will take pics though.- Au Revoir
"You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car." ~ Harvey Diamond .
The black eyed pea salad looks pretty good. Everytime I've attempted to make something from black eyed peas, I've been disappointed. Not enough flavor. Though I am not vegan or vegetarian, I generally enjoy the food.
ReplyDeleteSo happy vegan day!
Richard
Not sure if I should congratulate on your Vegan lifestyle... let me have a ham and cheese sandwich and think it over...
ReplyDeleteAh well, honestly I could go without meat, but certainly not without fish and shrimps. And no more clam chowder? How do you manage?
But as they say: Chacun à son goût. So, happy vegan day to you.
Trobairitz:
ReplyDeleteWe have cut down on our red meat input, and certainly consume more chicken & fish, which includes salmon/shrimp . I would be willing to meet you half way . . . I could have a brocolli & cheese soup with my ham & cheese sandwich
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Happy World Vegan Day! (I didn't even know there was such a holiday!) Both recipes sound good, but the salad especially so. Like Richard, I'm not vegan/vegetarian, but I'm not a big meat eater and love vegetarian dishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipes, I shall try them out. I've been (almost) vegan for 3 years now - giving up cheese is proving to be harder than I thought. El Diente
ReplyDeleteDon't worry everyone, I am not trying to convert anyone to a vegan diet. I figure people should eat what they want to eat or what they feel comfortable eating. We switched to vegan 2 months ago after attending Vegfest in Portland and then watching Forks Over Knives that same night.
ReplyDelete@Richard - I have also used a bag of frozen black eyed peas for this recipe and just cooked them in a bit of water, then drained them. They are a bit firmer and have less sodium than canned. I haven't really tried any other recipes using them, but I don't think you'd find this one bland.
@Sonja - It was a sad day when we realized no more clam chowder. We'll just have to eat corn chowder or potato soup. It definitely limits the options when dining out. It is a carnivores world.
@Bobskoot - Isn't it great that there are so many different choices in food out there? Something for everyone.
@Bluekat - Even when we ate meat - over 3 years ago, I wasn't a big meat eater. The meat of today is nothing like it was growing up when our parents raised their own chickens, etc.
@ElDiente - I didn't know you were a veg-head, good for you. Cheese was the hardest for me to let go of too. Daiya is a good substitute for shredded cheese since it melts. We used it in quesadillas last night and have used it on pizza. 'Better than Cream Cheese' from Tofutti is another good brand and 'Sour Supreme' by Tofutti is a great sour cream substitute. Also - nutritional yeast makes a great fake cheese sauce for a potato casserole or macaroni and cheese and people even use it for nachos. I hated giving up feta and little wedges of all kinds of cheeses but I do think I am healthier for it and watching Forks Over Knives helped. We cleaned out all the cupboards and fridge after that.
It's always food with us, isn't it? We claim to blog because of motorcycles. Maybe we should just be honest and start foodie blogs!
ReplyDeleteI wish you many healthy years. I'm pretty sure you'll outlive me and my innards full of meat, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteBrady
Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life
www.behindbarsmotorcycle.com
Trobairitz - watching the film 'A delicate balance' was what tipped me over from being a lacto-veggie to vegan. I admire you guys going for it, although by the sounds of it you have a lot more cheesy substitutes there than we do here in the UK; there's some stuff called cheesly that tastes like wet sawdust and that's about it. Your next step may be going raw, which is actually nicer than it sounds - we have a great restaurant in London called SAF that originated from the US, you should check it out. Regards, El D
ReplyDeleteI am not a great lover of Black Eyed Peas - either type, the veg or the band. Good for you with your food lifestyle, which for sure is not for everybody..... I cannot imagine what an early Sunday morning ride would be like without a bacon sandwich....
ReplyDeletefrom one dietary vegan to another, happy world vegan day! and thank you for the great recipes, snickerdoodles are my FAV!!!!! :)
ReplyDelete@Irondad - Troubadour has told me I need to start a foodie blog. I am always altering some recipe or other and they usually turn out pretty good. When people hear we are vegan we usually get the comment: "What do you people eat?" A blog would show that we eat normal food not just salads and nuts. I think I'm too lazy for two blogs though.
ReplyDelete@Brady - We cannot tell the future. My luck I'll eat well, be super healthy, and get hit by a soccer mom driving and texting her besties while I'm crossing the street walking to the post office.
@El Diente - Thanks for the tip on Delicate Balance. Will have to see if I can find it. Things that taste like wet sawdust are not good. We have Daiya shredded cheese substitute, which is about the only one I use besides the fake cream cheese (which tastes just like cream cheese). I didn't realize that some vegan items were not readily available in other countries. I think I like hot cooked meals too much to go raw, but I guess never say never. I'll have to see what I can find out about SAF too. I am intrigued.
@Gary - RE: Black Eyed Peas, I like both in small doses. The veg better than the band though. I remember bacon. Love the taste and the smell of it cooking, but not the source. I'm guessing you'd be sad without your bacon sammich.
@mq01 - Woohoo. Nice to see another vegan blogger. Hope you like the snickerdoodle recipe. It is the best vegan one I've found since it doesn't call for an egg substitute. I think Troubadour is partial to them too.
happy vegan day to you! Forks over knives was a good movie. I've been following a vegan diet for several years now. congrats on your switch.
ReplyDeleteChris
http://everydayriding.org
http://everydaytastiness.com
Thanks Chris. It is good to see a few others who are vegan. I think if more people chose to eat vegan we'd have a lot less of a health care crisis in this country.
ReplyDeleteWe are really enjoying eating vegan. Yes it can be a challenge when eating out but it is a challenge we look forward to overcoming.