New Poster Design!

Check it out!  Thank you so much to designer Stephanie DuBois! 

<3

Ouhdy's Midnight Mixed Veggie Munchies

When he showed up at the October Vegan Potluck with this dish, Ouhdy said it was "just a little something" he "threw together".  He didn't even know what to call his dish.  It was SO GOOD and was eaten up in a flash.  The SVP crew collectively demanded that he share his quickly conjured concoction and he obliged, calling it Midnight Mixed Veggie Munchies.  Whatever you call it, it's seriously good! 

Midnight Mixed Veggie Munchies Recipe 

1. Saute 2 sliced onions and 3 minced garlic cloves in a wok with about a tablespoon of soybean oil and a tablespoon of sesame oil.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder (I used garam masala) and 2 teaspoons of turmeric.

3. Dice up 3 tomatoes and add whatever veggies you want (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, eggplant, etc...). You can also throw in walnuts and craisins/raisins for texture and sweetness. 

4. Cook everything on high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. 

5. EAT.

Anna Bah-nah-nah’s Vegan Soft Serve

I am such an ice cream addict, and I think I’m one of the few that actually craves it MORE in the wintertime. I originally thought of this recipe because a friend of mine was doing smoothies with plain yogurt + frozen banana, but being vegan I decided to sub out the yogurt for soy milk and see what I got. I put in less soy milk, and the result was really like the consistency of soft serve. In the photo, I actually used a little more milk than usual, so it looks a little more mushy. No matter what consistency you like, this tastes delicious!

Also, I have a few variations on this, but the one I make most often is a runner’s version that I use for fuel about 45 mins-1 hour before a run. This is that version. If you are looking for a smoother consistency, skip the oatmeal and possibly the black sesame seeds.

Anna Bah-nah-nah’s Vegan ‘Soft Serve’

Ingredients:

-2 frozen bananas (chopping first into pieces and then freezing overnight works best)
-1/2 cup milk of your choice (I use soy milk, richer milks work better)
-2 Tbsp (or heaping regular spoonfuls) Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (try Special Dark for an awesomely rich flavor, can be found at Foreign Food Mart Itaewon)
-1 tbsp (or one regular spoonful) black sesame seeds
-1/4 cup dry oatmeal (I use Quaker Oats, also found at Foreign Food Mart)
-1 small spoonful peanut butter
-3 drops Liquid Stevia or 1 small sprinkle Stevia for extra sweetness

Put dry ingredients into blender/food processor first, then add bananas and milk. If you are unsure about the banana to milk ratio, I’d say start with less and you can always add more. Pulse first, and then scrape ingredients back down to the blade. Keep pulsing until you have a smooth consistency. Makes 1-2 servings.

Occasionally, I skip the chocolate and use frozen strawberries. Also, please note that those who are sensitive to caffeine should be careful about using lots of cocoa powder. It’s pretty potent stuff! :

Hope you enjoy!

Photo by Anna Deschatres 

Christina's Lima Lasagna

Ever since I was kid, I loved lasagna, but when I realized how unhealthy it was, I ate it less, and when I went vegan, I didn't eat it at all. Until I found this recipe! It's rich in marinara sauce (which is good for fighting cancer) has tons of vegetables, and even has the creamy texture of cheese, but instead beans, so you can get your protein on.  Perfect for guests, where prepping can be done overnight and just popped in the oven, or heavenly for leftovers, this recipe is about perfect.  Enjoy.

Lima Lasagna Recipe 

Ingredients:

About 1 gallon of bottled marinara sauce, divided.
2 onions
4 cloves garlic (or more)
10 oz. mushrooms

4 cans of beans of your choice (think lima, garbanzo or canneli beans)

2 bunches kale
4 yukon potatoes

2 boxes of lasanga sheets (Do not cook)

2 tpsps dried chopped onion
2 tbsps oregano
3 tbps dried basil
Cayenne pepper to taste.
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1.  Chop up the onion, mushrooms and garlic.  Sautee the onion, mushrooms and garlic with olive oil over medium high heat in a pan for about five minutes.

2.  Chop up kale and slice potatoes. In another pot, allow these to simmer.  In another pot, warm the beans.  Add the marinara sauce to the onions, mushrooms and garlic.  All of these to simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add spices, salt and pepper.

3.  Turn the beans off first and transfer to a blender.  With a little water, blend until the beans become a smooth paste.  Then, return to plot.

4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Turn off the marinara sauce and kale.  Then, layer with the marinara sauce, a sheet, kale, then another sheet, then the beans and place another sheet.  Repeat until all the sheets are gone.  (You will have plenty of marinara sauce left over)

5.  Sprinkle the nutrional yeast on all of it.  It should be red with a few golden specks.  Stick in the oven and bake, for about 35 to 40 minutes.  The lasanga may be a little under cooked, but that's okay.  You don't want to overcook it.

6.  Serve warm.  Top with some of the leftover marinara sauce. Serve with a side salad and breadsticks or steam brocoli.  Enjoy!

Christina's Chocolate Chip Cookies

 The proportions depend largely on the type of oven you're using along with other factors, but I've found that at least for chocolate chip cookies 1:1 is the best ratio.  Some people do vegan cookies with canola oil, which I don't like as much because they tend to fall apart.  But a more cost effective way to do might be with canola oil, and I don't know much about it.  I will say this recipe filled the house up with an awesome smell, and once I opened the container, everyone knew they were there.  But enough chit chat.  Let's get to the recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe 

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of cinnamon (just a dash)
1 cup of vegan butter (if you're in Korea, try Nuttlex or Better than Butter)
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, white sugar and brown sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.  Stir together until mixed well.

Next, add the vegan butter and the vanilla.  With an electric mixer, mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.  The dough should be slightly moist and a little piecy (If it's really oily then add more flour).  Then, mix in your chocolate chips.  If you have the time, refrigerate for one hour and try to do some writing (or play with your cats). If you don't have time, freeze for 15 minutes.  This will make the dough more consistent.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F or (175 C).  Then, cover your cookie sheets with a large piece of parchment paper and drop your dough into balls on the sheets.  

Place in oven and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes.  The cookies should have a light brown shade to them.  Let them rest for a few minutes.  They'll harden up a bit.  

Finally, scoop them out with a spatula and enjoy!  I like them with a glass of soy milk.  But do your thing.

Photo by Claire Harris 

Claire's Black Bean Burgers

I had been experimenting with different veggie burger recipes for a while but couldn't really find one that I liked.  They always turned out too dry, too mushy or would fall apart if you looked at them too hard.  For the August potluck, I tried using a METHOD rather than a recipe and had great results!  This method can be used with any combination of ingredients or spices and your burger will still turn out perfect (crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and it won't fall apart when you bite into it).

Vegan Burger Method   

• 1  pound of cooked beans (black, pinto, chickpeas etc.)
• 1 cup dry base ingredient (oats, barley, breadcrumbs, cornmeal etc.)
• 1/2 cup texture ingredient (chopped nuts, quinoa, avocado, leftover rice or oats, etc.)
• 2 cups diced veggies (whatever you like the most!)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 3 tablespoons oil for frying
• 3 tablespoons liquid flavor (BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, horseradish, etc)
• 4 teaspoons dry spice (spice mixes, nutritional yeast, dried herbs, curry powder, etc.)
•  salt to taste 

This go around I used black beans, barley, leftover stir fried rice (veggies and all), carrots, beets, squash and some Stubb's BBQ sauce I received as a gift from Texas.

In a pan with a little oil, sauté the onion, garlic and chopped veggies until they are softened but not mushy.  Pulse the cooked veggies, beans, liquid flavor and texture ingredients in a food processor until combined (I used a blender and it took a bit more work, but it did the job).  Add the dry base ingredients and the dry spice into the processor and pulse until combined.  It should be slightly chunky but able to stick together easily.  Form into golf ball sized balls and allow to sit for 15 minutes.  This helps the dry ingredients absorb all the moisture and will help your burgers stay together after they are cooked.  

15 minutes later, flatten the burger balls into patties and fry over meduim high heat until they are crisyp on the outside.  Top with your favorite greens, sliced veggies, vegan cheese and spreads and dig in!  This menthod can be modified to make a variety of different burgers so play around and see what you can come up with.  I think Indian Burgers made with chickpeas, curry and lentils will be my next batch!   I adapted this method from a recipe on the No Meat Athlete blog.  You should check it out for great tips on being a vegan athlete!  

Photo by Claire Harris