Comfort Food and Pie

Although I am no longer strictly vegan, I am still enjoying many vegan dishes. Recently I found a great vegan website called Post Punk Kitchen (http://www.theppk.com). She has some really interesting and unique vegan recipes. It was a rainy afternoon in Brooklyn so we decided to make some vegan comfort food. Rich made vegan sloppy joes from The Post Punk Kitchen and I made vegan mac and cheese. They were delicious! I don't think either of us has eaten a sloppy joe, vegan or otherwise, since we were about 10 years old. They were just as messy as I remember them but I am sure a lot healthier. 

We adjusted the recipes slightly. The recipes are below. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes (original recipe) 

2 tablespoons olive oil


1 medium onion, chopped medium


1 pound seitan, chopped into bite sized pieces (we bought it pre-ground which was easier)


4 cloves garlic, minced


1 tablespoons dried Italian herbs


1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes


1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


½ teaspoon fresh black pepper


14 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

The juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons bbq sauce

Spinach Topping:
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lb fresh spinach
1/2 cup light coconut milk 

Method

1. Chop and saute onion 

2. Add seitan (cut it even smaller if it is pre-ground) to the pan on medium head

3. Add remaining ingredients while stirring the mixture in the pan

4. Continue to heat while making the spinach topping

5. Clean spinach and steam in a steamer

6. Take out the steamer, put the spinach back into the small pot and heat briefly with garlic and coconut milk

7. Place seitan and spinach topping on some fresh bread and enjoy!

Mac and Cheese vegan mac & cheese original recipe

   1 1/2 pounds  macaroni pasta
    1 13/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
    1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast (plus a little extra for topping)
    1 cup vegetable oil
    1 cup water
    1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
    1/2 (12 ounce) block firm tofu
    2 gloves minced garlic
    1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
    2 tablespoons bread crumbs

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cook pasta as usual, let cool on the side.

2. Add tofu, garlic, and nutritional yeast in the food processor and pulse until blended

3. Add remaining liquid ingredients.

3. Put cooked pasta in a baking dish. Cover with "cheese" sauce. 

4. sprinkle with break crumbs, nutritional yeast, and paprika

5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

6. Enjoy!

Last night I also I made one of my favorite no bake strawberry pies. It is so refreshing and has very few ingredients. This recipe is inspired by the Whole Foods no bake strawberry pie. My recipe has slightly less sugar and slightly more strawberries. I have also made it without any sugar at all and it was delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) box vegan gingersnap cookies
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 2 1/2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved,divided
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

Method

1. Put the vegan cookies in a food processor and blend until they are finely ground. 

2. Place the ground cookies in a pie pan. You will have to evenly distribute it and press it to the sides to get it to stay. Freeze for 1 hour. 

3. Whisk the water and cornstarch, set aside. 

4. Place half of the strawberries in the food processors and blend until it becomes a strawberry juice. 

5. Add the strawberry juice to a pot and warm on medium. 

6. Once the strawberry juice is warm, add the cornstarch and water mix and sugar. Whisk until well combined. 

7. Bring this liquid to a boil (on medium-high heat) and stir continuously until you get a thicker liquid. This should take about 5 minutes. 

8. Set aside to cool for about 40 minutes. 

9. Cut up the remaining strawberries and place them in the pie crust. 

10. Pour the liquid mix overtop and let chill in the freezer for at least 3 hours. 

11. Top with a few remaining strawberry slices. 

12. This pie is best when served cold so let it sit for only about 5 minutes before you serve it. 

13. Enjoy with some vegan ice cream!