Sunday Funday Quiche

Every now and again we like to get together with our friends and let loose on Sunday.  This week we decided to have a brunch picnic in the park.  We had coffee, mimosas, fruit, hummus, fresh pitas, and vegan quiche.  Then we ran around in our clothes in the water park!!!  For my quiche I used a store bought vegan friendly crust and filled it with kale, baby portobellos, red onion, and tomatoes.  The crust is not necessary if you do not have access to one and you can use whatever veggies you like or have on hand to fill.
Sunday Funday Quiche
Serves 6-8
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 Package Extra-Firm Tofu, drained and pressed
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
4 Cups Veggies of your choice to fill

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*Combine all ingredients except for veggie filling in a blender.
*Blend until smooth and creamy.
*Put blended mixture in medium size bowl and add veggies.  Mix all together.
*Pour into pie crust or 9 inch pie dish.  Spread mixture around with spatula until smooth and flat on top.
*Bake 40-45 minutes. (till golden and center is not mushy)
*Cool for about 10 minutes then serve.  



Whole Wheat Pita Pocket Bread

1:20 PM by Missy Coppage 1 comments
This recipe is a little time consuming as it requires yeast and the bread needs time to rise.  So these are better to start in the morning if you want them for dinner time or just to stock pile for the week. These bubble up and form perfect pockets for sandwiches.  I use whole wheat pastry flour, but you can use regular whole wheat flour or unbleached white if you prefer.  
Tips:
*Do NOT peek in the oven as they cook.  Steam is required to make them puff up and if you open the door and look in you will release the steam and they will not puff up.
* Make sure you let the oven reheat between each round of baking.  It is important that the oven be as hot as possible for each round of pita baking.
*Do not roll pitas too thin.  They should be around 6-7 inches in diameter once rolled out

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets
Makes 8 Pocket
Time: 3-4 hours

Ingredients:
3 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp  and 1 tsp Raw Sugar
1 Pack Active Dry Yeast (2 1/2 tsp if from Bulk)
1 1/4  Cups and 1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil and more to coat bowl

*Combine yeast with 1/4 warm water and 1 tsp Sugar.  Stir then let sit 10 minutes to activate.  Should double in volume.  If it does not rise, throw away and try again.

*Mix Flour, Salt, and Sugar.  Add Yeast mixture

*Add Olive Oil and 1 1/4 Cups water.  Stir all together.

*Should be able to form into a ball.  If some flour will not join, add more water 1 Tbsp at a time until combined well.

*Next place the ball on a flour dusted surface like a cutting board and knead for about 10 minutes.  

*Lightly coat a large bowl with oil.  Place ball into ball and roll to coat lightly with oil.  Cover with a damp towel and let sit 90 minutes till doubles in size.  

*Next punch down ball to release trapped gases and divide into 8 little balls.  Cover the separated balls and let them rest for 15 minutes.  

*While the dough rests.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Turn a cookie sheet upside down and place in oven to preheat.  This will be your cooking surface.  

* Flour your work surface and with a rolling pin or your hands stretch and flatten the dough.  

*Cover the rolled out dough with damp towel and let rest 5 minutes more.  

*Place dough two pitas at a time on the back of the pre-heated cookie sheet.  

*Bake 3-5 minutes depending on your oven.  (mine is gas and I did 5, but some were overcooked)

*After every round of baking allow oven and cookie sheet to heat back up to temperature before placing new pitas in oven.  

*Cool completely on a cooling rack then store in an airtight container.  





Pita Bread

William and I always buy pitas at the grocery store for sandwiches so I was excited to try this at home.  Imagine how much money you can save.  Plus I always like to know what every ingredient is that I am eating.  Have you ever read the ingredients for store bought pitas?  These easy pitas are great for dipping but they don't really form the pockets needed for sandwiches.  I will post my recipe for those also, but they take longer.  If you need them in a pinch these are perfect.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Makes 8 Pitas
Total Time about 1 hour


Ingredients:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
3/4 Cup Water
3/4 tsp Sea Salt

*Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees
*Combine all ingredients and knead gently for a few minutes
*Let rest 15 minutes
*Divide dough into 8 balls
*Roll thin on floured surface
*Place 2 at a time directly onto oven rack
*Bake 5 minutes.  Should be bubbly and dry looking.

Kale Chips

I had never tried these before and now that I have I am addicted.  These crunchy little treats melt in your mouth.  This is the best guilt-free treat I can think of. Kale is full of vitamins A, C, and K.  It also has calcium, Iron, and protein. So make yourself a big bowl of these instead of popcorn and sit down for a movie.
Kale Chips


I seasoned mine with a little Sea Salt, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder, but you can use anything you like.  Keep in mind that Kale is a little salty on it's own, so go easy on the salt.  

Ingredients
1 Bunch Kale, cleaned, torn into medium size pieces
Seasoning (salt, garlic.onion, nutritional yeast, tony's, whatever you like)

*Preheat oven to about 260 degrees or toaster over to 225 degrees
*Place kale on a non-stick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper 
*Sprinkle generously with chosen seaonings
* Bake for 7-10 minutes until dark green and crispy--careful not to burn!

Country Fried Tempeh Steak with Gravy

I definitely think this dinner was one for the record books.  William had been saying he wanted something filling and hearty for dinner so I decided to try doing a couple recipes from happyherbivore.com, as well as a couple of my own.  This time I cut the tempeh into just 2 pieces, which was delicious, but next time will do 4 to get extra breading on each one

Country Fried Tempeh Steak with Gravy, Mashed Cauliflower, and 
Garlic Asparagus
(Serves 2 or 4)

County Fried Tempeh Steak
1 Package Tempeh (8oz)
2 Cups Water
1 Cube Bullion (I like "not-beef bullion" by Edward and Sons)
1 Cup Unbleached Flour
Various Seasonings for flour (Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Tony Chachere's, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder)
2 Cups SoyMilk
Oil for frying

*Cut Tempeh into 2 or 4 steaks. 
*Soak Tempeh in Bullion dissolved in water for at least and hour and up to overnight
*Season Flour in a bowl with your choice of seasonings.  
*Pat steaks dry. Dip in flour, then in soymilk, then back to flour again. 
*Fry in a pan until golden brown on each side 

Asparagus with Butter and Garlic
1 Bunch Asparagus
Water
1 Tbsp Earth Balance Butter
2 tsp. Chopped Garlic

*Put enough water in a pan to cover asparagus
*Bring water to a boil
*Add Asparagus to water and cook 2-3 minutes
*Drain Asparagus
*Put back in empty pan and add butter and garlic
*Cover with lid and toss to coat
*Serve Immediately

Vegan Brown Gravy
I used this great recipe from happyherbivore.com

Mashed Cauliflower
This one also comes from happyherbivore.com
I had never tried this before and I absolutely love it now!!


Grandma's Orange Cookies

I dont' know how Grandma Myers would feel about this, but I have adapted her Orange cookie recipe to make it Vegan and Gluten Free.  Orange cookies were always one of our favorite things about a trip to Grandma's house.  She always made so many we got to eat them there and she sent some home with us.  I have also cut her recipe in half because the original made 4 dozen.  Wow!!!

Grandma's Orange Cookies
(Makes about 2 dozen)

For Cookies:
3/4 Cup Agave Syrup
1/2 Cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1/4 Cup Soymilk
1/2 Orange (Rind and Juice)
1/4 Cup Applesauce
2 Cups Gluten Free Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

For Icing
1/2 Box Confectioners Sugar (1/2 lb)
1/2 tsp butter
1/2 Orange (Rind and Juice)
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*In a large bowl, mix butter and agave. 
*Add applesauce
*In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients.  Then add to rest alternating with soymilk.
*Next add rind and juice. (If batter is too runny add more flour 1 Tbsp at a time.  Should be the consistency of pancake batter)
*Spoon onto cookie sheet, about 1 Tbsp in size.  Space out well as these will spread.
*Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes
*Place on cooling rack or wax paper until cool.
*Mix all icing ingredients together
*Spread onto cooled cookies.  

Tofu Fish Sticks and Willie's Coleslaw

9:28 AM by Missy Coppage 0 comments
This is one of my favorite things to make.  I have done it several times and changed the recipe until I have achieved perfection.  Bread crumbs can be used instead of cracker crumbs.  I just have a hard time finding any that are Vegan.  William made his famous coleslaw to go with it, served up with some vegetarian baked beans.  This dinner was amazing!

Tofu "Fish" Sticks



1 (12 oz) package Extra Firm Tofu
1 Cup Crushed Cracker Crumbs
2 tsp Kelp Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
Olive Oil, as needed to coat




*Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
*Drain Tofu, pat dry, and cut into 10 finger sized slices
*In a medium bowl combine cracker crumbs, kelp, garlic, paprika, onion, salt
*Put olive oil in a separate bowl
*Dip tofu in olive oil then into dry mixture.  Pat lightly to coat.
*Bake on a cookie sheet in preheated oven for 20 minutes then flip, cook 15 more minutes.  Should be golden brown on both sides when done

Willie's Coleslaw

1/3 Cup Veganaise
3 Tbsp Oil
1/4 Cup White Vinegar
1/4 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3 Carrots, shredded
1 Cabbage Head, shredded

*After shredding carrots and cabbage, combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  

She Crab Soup

Vegan She Crab Soup






Last night we made Vegan "She Crab" soup.  I used to work in a restaurant that served real she crab soup and it always smelled so good to me.  I was excited to try this one.  The soup itself was really easy to make, the problem we had was finding Oyster Mushrooms.  We went to three different stores and could not find any.  So we settled for Shitake Mushrooms thinking they might be similar since they have a woodsy taste.  I don't know how different the oyster mushrooms would have made it taste, but it was so good this way.

This recipe can be found at my new favorite site for recipes HappyHerbivore.com

Soy: Blessing or a Curse

This is an article my husband shared with me.  Dr. Mark Hyman dissects the recent data about the myths and truths surrounding soy.

Soy: A Blessing or a Curse

Vegan on Vacation in Wilmington, NC

My husband and I just got back from our last trip home for the summer.  It was a quick 5 day adventure to where we met in Wilmington, NC.  We spent time with our friends and went to the beach to frolic in the sand and surf.  We also spent lots of time eating.  Here in Lake Charles, LA there is not really any restaurants where I can go eat as a Vegan, but back home in Wilmington, they are everywhere.  We didn't even have time to get to them all, but we did visit a few of our favorites.


Top of my list is 
Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn 
at 4002 Oleander Drive.  













I have to say I am a little biased having worked there for 5 years, but even after all of that time, this is always my first stop in Wilmington.  The rice and beans are vegan at Flaming Amy's and they have grilled Tofu, grilled Jerk Tofu, and Portabello Mushrooms offered for your "grilled fillins".  There is a wide variety of Burritos that can be Vegan simply by removing cheese and/or sour cream.  They also have hummus which can be substituted inside a quesadilla.  Their guacamole is also vegan.  Visit their website to view more pics and the menu FlamingAmysBurritoBarn.com


Next on my list is 
Nikki's Fresh Gourmet and Sushi Bar.  


Nikki's has grown over the years and has several locations.  My two favorites are the original downtown location at 16 S. Front Street, or the Independence mall location.  If you are a vegetarian or vegan, they have a fabulous menu with tofu burgers, grilled tofu sandwiches, tempeh rubens, tempeh phillys, and great veggie sushi.  They do not at this point offer up a vegan mayo or vegan dressing for the ruben, so since I became vegan, unless I bring my own, I usually opt for the sushi or one of the Mediterranean options.  Here is a link to  Nikki's Downtown Menu





Another of our favorites is also a part of the Flaming Amy's family
Flaming Amy's Bowl
4418 Shipyard Blvd.
Long Leaf Mall
Wilmington, NC

This place is very vegan friendly.  They are a mongolian style grill where you take a bowl up and choose exactly what you want in your bowl.  You then choose from white or brown noodles, or white or brown rice.  You then choose your sauce.  I am a fan of the thai peanut sauce with brown rice.  If you tell the cook you are a vegetarian or vegan they will clean the grill extra well and get clean new spatulas from the kitchen to make sure there is no cross contamination. 


Another place we found ourselves enjoying is 
Trolley Stop Hot Dogs

Right now you are thinking hot dogs, what???  But Trolley Stop carries LightLife brand Smart Dogs which are vegan.  I have to admit I cheated a little and did not ask if the bread was vegan, I kind of assume it is not, but I wanted one so bad I did not inquire.  Ignorance is bliss!!!!
Trolley Stop offers a variety of toppings.  If you are simply a vegetarian, there a many options for you.  William went with the nuclear dog topped with cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and mustard.  I opted for mustard and onions.  At least I knew my toppings were vegan.  Trolley stop has several locations.  We went to the on at Carolina Beach.  More info and locations for Trolley Stop Hot Dogs.


This is just a small list of places Wilmington has to offer.  It is a very progressive town swarming with art and culture.  If you don't see a vegan option on a menu (which is unlikely for most places), I guarantee they can work one out for you.  


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