Vegan MoFo! Day Four: Coconut Kale Alfredo Sauce

So let's be honest here... there's nothing quite like a good helping of pasta. And as vegans, we typically get pretty lucky when it comes to pasta dishes.

When you get stuck at a non veg-friendly Italian joint with omnivorous friends or family members it's pretty much guaranteed that you are going to end up munching on bread and a bowl of pasta with some sort of red sauce and veggies. (Hopefully veggies!)

It's wonderful that most marinara sauces, whether they be jarred, restaurant, or homemade are typically vegan. But, not to knock red sauce here, it would be nice from time to time to have a little variety. Like alfredo sauce for instance.

When's the last time you had a nice creamy garlic -egg and diary free- alfredo sauce to go with that pasta from the farmer's market you like so much? We know, it had been ages for us too! So we had to do something about it!

Now, we have posted about this recipe before. It's a little creation we came up with in the early days of the Two Vegan Ladies blog and we have since perfected!  You can read the original post here but we'll admit it has a few extra steps than are necessary.

This has really become one of our most requested dishes and after making it several dozen times at various potlucks and social gatherings we have changed our method a bit. What used to take almost an hour and a half to make can now be whipped up in 20 minutes!

So let's get started on this revamped recipe- shall we?

*Note: This is A LOT of sauce. If you are making this for a small family dinner you may want to cut recipe in half.

You will need:
4 tablespoons of Earth Balance (we like soy-free)
4-6 chopped cloves of garlic or 2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 chopped shallots
1 bunch of kale
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (leave some finely chopped pieces for garnish as well!)
3 cans of coconut milk
3 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 teaspoon raw sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
4 tablespoons sundried tomato paste (totally optional)
4 tablespoons corn starch
and 1 mighty whisk

What to do:
First, get out a large pot. We used to make this in a sauce pan but have found it easier to mix everything together in something with higher sides.

Put on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance, and in this order, add: garlic, shallots, kale, and mushrooms. Let cook, stirring well, for a few minutes.

Next shake coconut milk cans and add to pot. Stir well and add chopped basil along with 2 more tablespoons of Earth Balance. Let cook for a few minutes.

Add 3 heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast along with a few pinches of salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, and oregano (if desired) and continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Now, you may have noticed the picture above has a more redish-orange tint to it than our usual off-white alfredo sauce creation. This is because we decided to go for a sun dried tomato flavor in our alfredo sauce this time around.

If you would like to alter the flavor to some sun dried tomato goodness it's easy enough. You can certainly use actual sun dried tomatoes, or go the lazy way like we did. Most grocery stores carry a sun dried tomato paste or spread like this one. Just pop open the jar and stir about 4 tablespoons of the spread into your sauce pot.

This stuff is also great on sandwiches with hummus and fresh veggies!

So now remove your sauce from the heat and get ready, because it is time for... THE MIGHTY WHISK....

Grab your corn starch and your mighty whisk of choice because we're about to turn this concoction into a thick and creamy sauce.

Add the corn starch 1 tablespoon at a time into the pot and whisk, whisk, whisk those clumps away! You may need more than 4 tablespoons, you may need less... just keep whisking till you feel like it's working.

Also, keep in mind that the sauce will thicken as it cools so take it easy there vegan tiger as you add tablespoon after tablespoon of starchiness. You don't want to end up with a solid block of alfredo sauce.

You can use this sauce as a dip with bread or, of course, put in on top of your favorite noodles. In version 1.0 of this recipe we layered the sauce with our noodles and mixed it together. This seems to be the preferred method for potluck style dining because the sauce and kale are more evenly spread amongst the noodles. 

For social gatherings this is probably enough sauce to cover 2-3 boxes of pasta- depending on how saucy your guests like to be. ;-)

Top with freshly chopped basil and enjoy!

This has certainly become one of our signature dishes and we would love to see everyone's results and variations. If you would like, please post a picture on our facebook page here when you prepare it.

With peace, love, and compassion,

The Two Vegan Ladies

Baked Zucchini Boats (Only 128 calories!)

Are you looking for a recipe that is fun to make, delicious, esthetically plesasing, and low in calories? Oh.. and vegan... did we mention vegan? Well then look no further! Our Baked Zucchini Boats are only 128 calories each!

Also, they are already conveniently located in the My Fitness Pal food database. Haven't been on My Fitness Pal? Well, if you're looking to drop a few pounds or simply keep track of your exercise/calorie intake then you should check it out! It is a wonderful site we have both been using for a couple years to regulate our health and fitness goals.

We plan on adding more of our recipes into the food database on MFP but for right now we just have these guys. Once you cook up these Zucchini Boats just search: "Two Vegan Ladies" and they will pop up!

Note: MFP listing is for 1 boat. Does not include pasta or additional boats. A full meal serving-size to us is 2 boats. So about 256 calories. (Not bad for a whole meal!) But we programed the listing as 1 boat so you can regulate it as you see fit. One boat would make a delicious snack.

So let's get to it!

You will need:

2-4 raw zucchinis
1 package firm tofu
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
garlic powder
salt
pepper
dried basil
dried Italian seasoning
spray oil
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 block Vegan Gourmet Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese
green onions

First, preheat oven to 350ºF then cut each zucchini in half length-wise and, with a spoon, scoop out seeds. You want to scoop out all the pulp until you have a nice cavern for your stuffing. Set pulp to side (you're gonna need it in a minute!)

Next, in a food processor, combine tofu, nutritional yeast, and all spices. Now, you didn't think we were gonna waste all that delicious and nutritious zucchini pulp, did you? Throw all those pulp guts and seeds right into the food processor with your tofu and spices and blend until thick and creamy.

Now, fill each of your hollowed out zucchini halves with about 2-3 tablespoons of the tofu mixture. Fill them right to the top but to do not overflow.

Spray a casserole dish with a little cooking spray and lay out your stuffed zucchini boats so they fit snuggly. The set in oven.

Let's talk about sauce while our boats cook for about 15 minutes. Canned tomato sauce can be a little bland so it's up to you whether or not you want to flavor it up a bit first before adding it to your boats. We like to quickly throw it in a small sauce pan with some garlic powder and other dried seasonings just to give it a little more kick.

You could also use any homemade or canned sauce of your choice here, but note that the My Fitness Pal database numbers will only reflect the 8oz canned sauce.

Either way, once your sauce is ready to go and 15 minutes has elapsed, pull out the boats. Turn heat up to 450ºF.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of sauce to the top of each zucchini boat. Make sure you spread it out over the whole thing so the flavor will be even.

Next, with a cheese grater, finely grate Vegan Gourmet Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese on top of the saucy boats. Try not to add more than a tablespoon or a tablespoon and a half to each one.

Then chop some green onions and sprinkle on the top for garnish. Place casserole dish back into oven. (Which should now be heated to 450ºF.)

Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese starts to get really melty and just slightly browned. You may even want to stick the boats under the broiler for just a second before pulling them out depending on how you like your cheese.

Let cool for a few minutes then serve.

These are very yummy as they are but we did serve ours on a bed of pasta that night. They would also go nicely with a side of steamed veggies.

They keep very well in the fridge, so don't be afraid to make a bunch at once!

Enjoy and don't forget add this dish into your My Fitness Pal diary! Just search: Two Vegan Ladies!

With peace, love, and compassion-
The Two Vegan Ladies
 

Delicious Tofu Jerky

Last year we were determined to get a food dehydrator. We didn't know what we were going to make in it and had never used one before, but for some reason it had become a priority.

So in the winter Jenna's aunt gave us one as gift and the dehydrating experiments began.

We dried a lot of fruits and veggies. Made some kale chips and a few other random creations, but overall the best creation was our jerky. Funny because it's really the easiest and most versatile item you can make.

Not to mention that these little tofu jerkys make fantastic snacks!

If you don't have one already, consider adding a dehydrator to your kitchen appliances. It's really amazing what can be done with them.


The one we have is very easy to use. There is literally one button- on/off. Some of them have temperature settings and other fancy things, but for now this one has suited our needs just fine. If you're looking into buying one here's a link to our model: Nesco American Harvest Dehydrator

Two Vegan Ladies Vegan Jerky

You will need:
A block of firm tofu
Your marinade of choice
Spices (varies by recipe)
1/2 cup water

1. Press your tofu to get out any excess water. You want to do this mostly because it will dehydrate a little faster. Tofu will absorb anything it sets in so when it's removed from the packaging it is full of the water it gets packed in. If you put some paper towels on either side and put a heavy plate on top for an hour or so that should do the trick.

They also sell fancy tofu presses which get ALL the water out,  but the old fashioned will work just fine for this recipe.

2. Cut your tofu into strips. You'll want your strips to be a maximum of about 1/4 inch thick. Any thicker and it will take ages to dehydrate throughly. Keep in mind if you slice them thin they will come out more on the chewy side. This step really depends on how you like your jerky. If you want to rip it with your teeth than thinner may be the way to go. We like them to be easy to chew so we go somewhere in the middle to 1/4 inch thick.

3. Now let's talk marinade. You can really go any direction with this. Spicy, tangy, sweet, fruity, peppery, barbecue, teriyaki, ginger- the possibilities are endless. You can also do any combination of these flavors and create something truly unique! Our favorite is tangy/sweet barbecue. All you need is a vegan barbecue sauce (most barbecue sauces are vegan, just double check the ingredients. Some may use chicken fat or whey, but most will be good to go!), salt, pepper, garlic powder, maybe a little dried basil and then maybe a pinch of raw cane sugar or a drizzle of molasses depending on the flavor you're going for.

Add 1/4 cup- 1/2 water and set your cut tofu strips into a tupperware filled with your marinade creation making sure all are coated.

4. Refrigerate and let sit in marinade for a day or more. We like to give our tupperware a swirl every 12 hours or so just to make sure everything is coated and getting the full flavor. The longer they sit the more the tofu will absorb the flavor, but we would suggest no longer than 3 days or so.

5. When you feel like they are ready remove your strips one and a time, let the excess marinade drip off, and set them on the various racks of your dehydrator. Give them each about an inch of space if you can. You should have plenty of racks to make this possible.

6. Set your dehydrator lid on top (or slide the drawer or whatever your model does) and hit the "on" button! Six hours seems to be the magic number with our dehydrator but it may vary depending on your style or desired texture. We suggest checking on them periodically and flipping them when you feel like they're half way through. Flipping them will give you those cool looking grill marks!

They're about half-way done here.

In about 6 hours you'll have delicious tofu jerky! It will be warm when it first comes out so let it sit for a bit to cool down and let the flavor set.





Now, just pack them up in a clean tupperware and
enjoy! This is a great little snack to share with friends.
Especially the ones skeptical of your vegan diet- because it's
delicious!

This recipe can also be easily expanded so several blocks of tofu and various flavors can be made at the same time. Because undoubtedly you will be getting some requests after the first taste!

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies

Vegan Garlic Mushroom Alfredo Recipe

When we were vegetarian we often talked about going vegan. We knew it would eventually happen but we prolonged it because we didn't want to let go of certain foods. We both assumed that with committing to an entirely plant based diet came the fact that there were food items and certain meals we were committing to never eating again. What we have found however, since going vegan six months ago, is that those fluffy textures and savory flavors we thought we were going to miss out on- cheese, cream, egg- are all available to us in different non-animal derived forms. We just needed to figure out how to put them together.

Last night we had a little thrift store expedition with a few friends followed by a small dinner party. Don't get the wrong idea here. This was nothing too fancy. We didn't break out the fine dishes and dress in ball gowns. In reality, our dining room table remains covered in craft supplies, as usual, and we sat in the living room with our food watching reruns of Rupauls' Drag Race together. Yeah, we're that kind of glamorous. Looking back we probably should have worn ball gowns.


We've made this meal before for just ourselves and made a lighter version with slightly different ingredients, but tonight since we were making it for 5 people we changed it up a bit and made a full flavor version. Let me tell you we got some great reviews! This is the sort of meal you serve your non-veg friends so you can see their carnivorous eyes light up and watch them speak the words "THIS is VEGAN?"

 So without further ado we present to you another original recipe.

 The Two Vegan Ladies:

Vegan Garlic Mushroom Alfredo

Time to cook: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate (it only looks hard, we promise)

Calories Per Serving: About 200 (excluding noodles) less than 100 if you're doing the lite version

Serves: 6-8

You will need:

4 tablespoons Earth Balace (we use soy-free, it seems to have the most natural "butteryish" flavor)

6 cloves of fresh garlic

3/4 cup of fresh basil

2 shallots

1 large package of white or baby bella mushrooms
1 cup fresh kale (optional)

2 cans of coconut milk (lite coconut milk if you're going for the lite version of this recipe- you may want to up your corn starch and nutritional yeast if you are using the lite coconut milk or else your sauce will come out on the thin side. *Note: If you sampled this dish at the potluck we made the full-flavor version with the regular coconut milk.)

1/2 cup nutritional yeast 

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 packages of noodles (we went with Barilla Penne noodles for this meal)

The way to make this sauce come out thick and smooth is to add everything together slowly and give the flavors time to meld. It will be a process but it will be worth it!

1. Heat a large sauce pan/skillet to medium heat. 

2. Add 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance to pan.

3. Chop all your garlic and shallots then add to pan. 

4. Chop half of your basil into medium pieces and add to pan.

5. Stir everything and let simmer for 2 minutes.

6. Then chop all mushrooms and add to pan.

7. If you are adding in kale (not shown in pictures but highly suggested for flavor!) chop and add in now. You want them to be bite sized when they cook.

8. When the mushrooms and kale are coated in the Earth Balance, shake the coconut milk cans. Especially on the full flavor coconut milk it can get very thick and chunky. It may even need to be stirred once opened. Add both cans into the pan. This is going to seem very runny. Let it simmer for a few minutes.

9. Now add the another 1/4 of chopped basil along with your nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and garlic powder. You can go a little liberal with the spices here. I like mine a little more peppery so I probably end up adding a lot more. Just do it to you personal taste.

10. Add the remainder of your Earth Balance and let melt in while stirring. 

11. Time to start thickening your sauce! Grab a whisk and add in the corn starch. (Add more if you're using the lite coconut milk and you feel like it needs to be thicker.) With this ingredient you really need to make sure to mix it well or you could end up with little chunks of raw corn starch in the final product... and no one wants that.

12. You should have half of your basil left now. Add 1/4 of it in and leave the rest chopped to the side.

*Super secret ingredient tip: taste your sauce. If at this point you feel that the mix needs a little something to even out the zip of the garlic add a pinch or two of raw cane sugar. That will do it!

At this point your alfredo sauce should look something like this:

Yeah, it's sort of a gray. Don't worry that's natural coloring from the mushrooms. (Note: If you added in the kale it will a lot more green and leafy!)

13. Turn heat down to low and let simmer while you boil the water for your noodles. Keep stirring the sauce every so often for a few minutes then remove from heat. It's ready to use!

14. Once cooked, drain your noodles then set to the side. 

15. In a large bowl layer your sauce and noodles so that every bit is well coated. 

16. Mix pasta and sauce well then garnish with your remaining fresh chopped basil.

As Rupaul would say:


"It's an eleganza extravaganza!"


But really it's more of a basil alfredo garlic and mushroom (and kale!) extravaganza.






Serve with a big scoopy spoon or tongs and don't be surprised when your friends go for seconds.

With love, peace, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies