VeganMoFo! Day One: Lentil Sliders

Happy Vegan Month of Food! 

We thought long and hard about where to start for this wonderful occasion and decided lentil slider burgers were where it's at- for three reasons.

1. They're so easy and yummy!

2. It's football season and we're sure there are plenty of vegans looking for a familiar looking snack to share with their football loving omnivorous friends.

3. We made 24 of them last night for our monthly vegan potluck and we're just dying to share the recipe with everyone!


This is our first time participating in VeganMoFo so welcome MoFoers and we hope you enjoy this first recipe!

*Note: Recipe is for two dozen sliders. Can easily be cut down for smaller meals.

You will need:
1 bag of lentils
6 tablespoons Ener-g Egg Replacer
2 cups Matzo Meal
4 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
4 tablespoons Soy Sauce or Braggs Liquid Amino
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Dry Basil
Cumin
Liquid Smoke (just a few drops, totally optional)
Olive Oil

Really these are the three ingredients that create the patty. Everything else is for flavoring. 

What to do:

First, boil 4 cups of water. Once boiling add in entire bags of lentils. Let boil for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat and cover for 15-20 minutes. You can alternatively use veggie stock instead of water to add more flavor, but it is not necessary.

Next, uncover lentils and get out the food processor while your lentils cool down. You don't want to put them in when they're super hot or you may explode your food processor... and no one wants that. We all know our food processors are like an extension of our vegan souls.

Also, don't worry if the lentils seem liquidy. You want that liquid for the mix.

Now, in a small cup mix 3 tablespoons of Ener-g powder with 3/4 cup warm water. Stir well.

Next, in the food processor mix 1/2 of the cooked lentils with 1/2 cup Matzo Meal and just prepared Ener-g/warm water mix with a few pinches of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, basil, cumin, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Amino, and liquid smoke (if using). 

Blend well. You may need to add in a little more warm water to get a good mix. 

It's going to seem a little thin. No worries. Spoon the mix into a bowl and add 1/2 cup more Matzo Meal then stir well. Your mix should be thicker and ready to use now.

*Note: You may also consider adding in things like roasted garlic, onions, peppers or other veggies or more spices to the mix before frying.

This prepared mix will make 12 slider patties. Just repeat the process to make the other 12. You want the mix to be fresh so hold off on making the rest until you throw a few patties in the pan.

Now, heat a pan to medium and add a teaspoon of oil.

Wet hands (this is important, if you don't the mix will stick to you) and form patties to desired size. We make them small enough to fit on dinner rolls but they could also be made standard burger size. Whatever you're into.

Cook on each side until golden brown. Repeat until all mix is cooked into patties.

Place on buns and serve with whatever toppings you would like. We like ketchup, spicy deli mustard, red onion, and pickles. 

Lettuce, tomato, and veganaise is good too!

Game day, potluck, or just dinner at home -we highly suggest sharing these yummy guys with a group!

Also, this mix can be made into just about any shape before hitting the pan. 

Lentil hot dogs anyone?

And again, Happy Vegan Month of Food!

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies

Crafty Mac 'n' Cheese

For some of us, no matter how much we change our diets for the better there are still foods that stick with us. We may know that processed foods can make our bodies feel icky and slow but that doesn't change the fact that, even though we no longer consume them, we can look back on quick staple meals from our childhood like boxed macaroni and cheese with fond memories. We may even crave them.


There are even some of us who (although we may not want to admit it) were actually so previously accustomed to the taste of boxed mac and cheese that anything made with real whole foods just seems flavorless or just not quite to that level of radioactive powdered cheese perfection.


This recipe attempts to address that mac and cheese distress your inner child has been expressing, and give it a more natural spin. So whether you're getting off the boxed variety because it contains animal products or because you know the combination of yellow #6, yellow #5, and sodium tripolyphosphate is probably not something you should be putting in your body-  give this recipe a whirl and see if it silences your inner 5 year old for just one meal.


Before we begin, let's say a few words about the hero of this dish, turmeric. A truly underrated spice, turmeric not only has an unlimited number of health benefits (check this list out: Benefits of Turmeric), but it is also what will be making our dish naturally yellow. No dyes, no chemicals- straight from the earth-type color. So thank you turmeric! 


What you'll need:


1 package of soft tofu
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast

Turmeric

1 teaspoon Deli or Spicy Style Mustard

2 teaspoons Yellow Mustard

1 teaspoon Powdered Mustard

1/2 teaspoons Ground Sage (optional)

2 tablespoons Garlic Powder (powder not salt)

2-3 tablespoons Turmeric

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon organic cane sugar

4 tablespoons Earth Balance (soy free is our favorite!)

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Almond Milk

Salt

Pepper

1 package of noodles, elbow or rotini work best

Step 1: Open and drain water from tofu then place in food processor with nutritional yeast, all mustards, sage, garlic powder, turmeric, cumin, and sugar. Blend until smooth and creamy. Make sure to push down any wandering clumps of spices. You really want this to be smooth.

Step 2: In a medium sauce pan melt Earth Balance over medium heat. Once softened add the contents of the food processor and stir well.

Step 3: Give the mixture a few minutes to blend then add lemon juice, soy sauce and almond milk one at a time, stirring constantly. 

Step 4: Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Try not to let it bubble too much if possible. Stir often. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Step 5: Boil and drain noodles, mix in 'cheesy' sauce- enjoy!

So what about baked mac and cheese? You know that stuff that's super moist and has crumbled crackers in it? The soul food type of mac and cheese...?

If you want to make a casserole style baked mac and cheese dish then you will need just a few more things. 

You will need:

3 tubes of Vegetable Ritz Crackers 

4 Tablespoons of Earth Balance (again, soy-free tastes the most like butter to us)


Note that blneding the crackers and vegan margarine into this recipe will add in a little more of the processed food element and certainly up the fat content. However, a recipe for a baked casserole version was requested, so here it is!

Step 1: Use the previous mac and cheese recipe but cook the noodles a little less than normal. You want them to be a little firm. Once baked, they will continue to cook.

Step 2: Melt your butter and in a rectangular casserole dish pour about 1 tablespoon of butter then crush 2 tubes of crackers and place on top. You don't want to grind the crackers into a fine powder. Just enough so that they will easily move around the dish.

Step 3: Layer your mac and cheese on top then give the noodles and crackers a few quick stirs to blend the crackers into the mac and cheese.

Step 4: Crush the last tube of crackers and layer it on the top of the casserole then take the remainder or your Earth Balance and drizzle all over the top, coating the crackers. 

Step 5: Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Note: If you're looking for some more nutritional content for this dish try adding some kale or spinach. We've also seen people add peas, carrots, really any veggie to the mix. Your inner five year old may complain, but they'll get over it. We promise!

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies

Vegan Crabby Cakes Recipe

Vegan Crabby Cakes

So let's get this started right with a little recipe we created the other day. We were both raised in a fishing community in southern Florida and we grew up eating a lot of seafood. When we stopped eating fish and shellfish a few years back it was quite a transition to find something to curb that craving. Especially when it came to crab cakes. 

There's a lot of imitation meat out there. Hell, you can really get a fake version of just about anything if you look hard enough online. There's a website that makes a one pound hunk of textured vegetable protein molded into the shape of a lobster and dyed shades of red and white.


Not that we don't appreciate the effort the vegan community is making, but the idea of it actually being molded with legs and claws sort of creeps us out a bit.

Anyway, were trying to keep it a little more natural here. We like to take natural things and flavor them to taste like other things. You can do anything with just the right ingredients and spices. 

So with that introduction we give you one of our newest creations.

Name: Vegan Crabby Cakes
Difficulty: Moderate
Servings: 6-8
Calories (Per Serving): 150

You will need:
1 large sweet potato
1 cup bread crumbs (homemade or canned)
4 cloves of garlic
1 small red bell pepper
1 small green bell pepper
1 small red onion
2 ribs of celery
2 pinches fresh rosemary
2 pinches dill (fresh or dried)
2 TBSP soy sauce
tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
tsp salt
tsp pepper
tsp garlic powder
2 TBSP olive oil

First: Take that sweet potato and stick it in the oven if you have a year or so to bake it. If you don't have a year then stick it in the microwave. Either way you want it to get very soft. The idea is that once cooked you'll be able to pull all the insides away from the skin without much problem. Once throughly cooked, set aside to cool for a minute while you chop your veggies.

Next: Chop your garlic, peppers, onion, and celery. You may also need to give your rosemary and dill (if fresh) a little chop depending on how large you want your pieces. Everything should be small enough to fit nicely into the patty without sticking out.

Now: Cut your semi-cooled sweet potato in half and scoop the contents of into a large mixing bowl. Add your vegetables and fresh spices. Mix well.

Then: Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce along with the remainder of your spices and continue to mix. The mixture will be semi-thick. By the way, the turmeric is optional because it really just adds a yellow tint to the mix. It is not necessary for the flavor. So if you want your patties orange then you're good to go. If you want them to be golden yellow then throw some turmeric in that bowl.

Next: Add your cup of bread crumbs and continue to mix throughly. The mix should be thick enough to easily form patties with. If not- add more bread crumbs. Make sure your bread crumbs are saturated in the mix or else one of you diners may get a nice bite of dry bread crumbs, and no one wants that.

Now: Heat a large skillet with olive oil on medium heat. Form your patties to the desired size (we like mini but if your going for crab cake sandwiches make them the size of your buns) and throw them on the pan. Cook each side until golden brown. You should probably let each side sit for 5 minutes or more and cover with a lid for a bit- you want that raw garlic to cook through.

Finally: Once cooked set patties on plate lined with paper towels to drain extra oil. Serve with vegan tarter sauce.

Oh no! Vegan tarter sauce- what's that? Well don't you worry this is a super easy recipe and we're gonna throw it at you right now.

You will need:
3 TBSP Veganaise (you can get this just about anywhere now. We have it at our local Publix near the eggs. Why near the eggs you ask? Because where else would vegans look for fake mayonnaise that contains no egg or dairy products? Of course! Right next to the eggs! Bad placement on the part of Publix. We're working on that one with them right now. If you have a Whole Foods or a local store that specializes in vegan products they should carry it as well. (Always shop local when possible!)

You will also need:
3 TBSP Sweet relish
1 TBSP Deli Mustard (or spicy brown mustard)

Mix those ingredients together in a small bowl and you'll have yourself some delicious vegan tarter sauce! For us a seafood-esk meal is never complete without some tarter sauce goodness. The calories run a little high on this scrumptious sauce though so use it sparingly (if possible).

A little wedge of lemon is also a nice edition to serve with your crabby cakes. Enjoy!

With love, peace, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies