So Simple, So Good!

More Vegan Caesar (seriously, I've started calling this My Caesar Salad is Better Than Your Caesar Salad), and I have a feeling it will be accompanying many a meal in the coming months.
This time, there was no time for pressing or crusting tofu, but a twice baked potato proved easy and really hit the spot. I baked the potato, cut it in half, scooped out the middle and added about a teaspoon of Smart Balance, a healthy dose of nutritional yeast, about a tablespoon of plain soy yogurt (who needs Tofutti?), garlic salt, fresh black pepper, and steamed broccoli I already had on hand. I stuffed that back into half the potato that it came from (the other half is in tact and will be part of lunch tomorrow!) and broiled it for a few minutes until the top was nice and golden.

Not exactly the stellar, fancy dinner one would typically be excited to blog about, but ya know what? It was SO GOOD. And simple, and cheap, and gluten free, and vegan, and could be thrown together easily while a silly toddler is at one's feet demanding to be held, played with, danced with, and basically just causing a typical 17 month old end of the day ruckus. To me? THAT's something I can sink my teeth into!

Southwest Corn Pudding

In deciding to participate in Vegan Month of Food III, I was at a loss as to what theme I'd base my thirty-one posts on. I figured 'what a vegan eats every day for a month' was pretty much all I could muster up. Turns out, each post thus far (all three, woohoo!) have pretty much been meals that cling to the end of Summer. "But it's October!" you're thinking. I know, but here in the Sunshine State, we let Summer linger.

That said, what better way to embrace the last warm, sunny days of summer than a dish that revolves around corn? Sweet, golden, crunchy corn. I've heard so many good things about Veganomicon's Southwest Corn Pudding that I knew that I'd be bringing that to the Pot Luck Kickball Birthday Party in the Park that we attended earlier tonight.

Um...in a word? WOW! This stuff is so flavorful and moist, no...velvety...and crunchy but soft, not overwhelmingly southwestern flavored but just enough bite and hint of cilantro to match perfectly with the sweetness of summer corn. yum!

Since this was for a potluck and the original recipe is made in an 8x8 pan, I doubled the recipe and made mine in a 9x13 pan instead*. The only changes that I made were that I limited the hot peppers. In my trip to the grocery store I was met in the produce section by one very lonely jalapeno on the shelves. I opted to use that and one Serrano pepper and left out the cayenne. I would have liked the jalapenos if I could have gotten them and would have used three to capture the flavor, but I like the barely there kick that one Serrano lent to the dish.

Also, there were tons of kids in attendance and I like that it wasn't hot enough to torture their taste buds or their tummies. It was a hit! I only had enough left to take a pic or two for the blog!

No matter where you live or what season you feel like you're enjoying, I highly recommend swiping up any bright, beautiful ears of corn you can find and enjoying this colorful, tasty dish soon!

*I sauteed the corn and red pepper in my giant iron skillet pan and had my heart set on baking it and serving it in that as well, but I think I'll have a post in the future about the woes of trying to work with a less than perfectly seasoned iron pan and how to fix that. Also, carrying that puppy plus blanket, toys, and toddler in tow across a couple sports fields to get to our destination would have been more than I could swing!

Oh, I should also mention that a ppk'er had a great idea for making this dish for a pot luck setting by way of portioning it out in muffin pans and cooking that way to create individual servings. As I'd never made it before, I wasn't sure if it was really going to be more like a bread or a pudding and I didn't want to overcook it and have it be dry. As it turns out, it cooks up like a perfectly moist, soft bready pudding so I think it'd have been fine either way!

Almond Crusted Tofu over Vegan Caesar

Who needs croutons?

Not me! I've been salivating over this dinner for a couple days. I have had a bag of almond meal/flour in the refrigerator for a while now and wasn't sure how I was going to use it. So many people are afraid to make tofu or claim that they just don't know how to make it taste good....but it's SO very easy!

Case in point.....

Bought firm, light tofu. Drained in dishtowel in refrigerator for over a day while totally forgetting that it's in there in need of making. Remember it's ready for the flavoring and whip together two cups of veggie stock with a splash of Shoyu. Cut tofu into steaks, then squares, then placed in air-tight container, pouring stock over them and let sit for a couple hours. Made Caesar dressing a la Bunnyfoot:

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon vegannaise

dash of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

a few sprinkles of kelp powder

1/3 c. olive oil (not extra virgin, in my opinion, a mild blend is best here)

press garlic or grate with microplaner (my favorite method), add remaining seven ingredients. while whisking, add oil. you can add water if you want to thin, but, more importantly, feel free to doubt or even triple this recipe if you'll want to keep the remainder in the 'fridge...and you will!

drained tofu on paper towels while heating grapeseed oil in pan over med-high heat. Dipped tofu in soy milk then a mixture of about one cup almond meal/flour and 1/8-1/4 cup tapioca starch. place in hot oil and fried for a few minutes per side til golden brown.

chopped, rinsed, and dried romaine lettuce and put in large bowl. add generous dusting of nutritional yeast, generous helping of hemp seed, and about four chopped sun dried tomatoes. tossed with maybe half the dressing (only you know how much you like on your Caesar!).

Added tofu to top and YES! total dinner success. I whole-heartedly urge anyone who loved Caesar salads of old to try this. Sure, I'm a huge fan of my own version you can find here, but I'm really loving the addition of tofu and the ease of components in this one.

Seriously, go wow some nonvegan naysayers with a Caesar dressing that will knock their socks off. You can thank me later!

Day Two, I Was Afraid This Would Happen!

I like to think of myself as someone who embraces whole foods and fills my day with healthy options. Some days, though, are like today where they're filled more with things like soy yogurt, fruit, and coffee for breakfast, leftover Soy Curl Casserole for lunch and something super fast and totally processed for dinner. Tonight it was a matter of firing up the grill and throwing a couple Lightlife Smart Dogs Veggie Protein Links on it.

I've tried my share of veg hot dogs and these are, by far, the best to me. I don't particularly like hot dogs to begin with (nitrites, sodium, fat, and animal parts aside). But sometimes, a little quick stroll down childhood memory lane works in a pinch.I just threw them in some whole wheat store bought buns and, much like I enjoyed them as a kid, topped with mustard only. Before bed I snacked on some more fruit and called it a day.
Not exactly blog-worthy. I will say, however, that if you do like veg hot dogs, this brand is great because they're fat free, low calorie, not too bad in the sodium department, and tastes eerily like the real thing. On the grill, the texture is a wee bit soft but a lot closer than some of the other dogs out there.

I'm planning on something simple but MUCH more exciting (and less processed!) for dinner tomorrow. Here's to hoping day number three gets me back on track!

Vegan MoFo Begins Again!

And this time? I'm gonna join in! I never had in previous years as I didn't trust that I would actually blog every day, and this year seems like a silly time to try since I'm usually running after Taylor and only eating the simplest of things, but hey! Who says food has to be fancy or complicated to be vegan or GREAT?!

So why not celebrate this month and just get real about what a vegan eats, both when they're feeling creative and adventurous or just eating to eat?

The impetus for this change of heart? Behold, Grilled Pineapple.

Mmmm hmmm, it's even better than it looks. I had thrown together a soy curl based mock chicken casserole (will post a recipe when I get the 'cream' of mushroom just right) and was at a loss as to what to serve with it. After scoping out the produce in the 'fridge and my husband's suggestion that we open up the house and eat semi al fresco (our dining room opens up via french doors to the patio), I deemed asparagus and pineapple were in the most danger of going bad if we didn't get to eating them soon.

Enjoying this amazing Florida fall-ish weather where it's sunny but not crazy hot all day and then cool in the mornings and evening made grilling the ideal option for both items.

I tossed the asparagus in olive oil and organic garlic salt (thanks mom, this stuff is SO good!) with a little cracked black pepper.

The pineapple I just sliced and dusted with a bit of brown sugar. That's all, so easy!

Both were grilled until just charred and perfect sides to our meal!

I love how simple something like grilling pineapple is and yet it makes your taste buds sing! It's as sweet as candy but still plump and juicy and tastes like summer in every bite. Yum!

Game on, Vegan MoFo!