A relaxing afternoon with BBQ Seitan Pizza

This post was suppose to be out last Tuesday when I made the dish. But Tuesday after I enjoyed my pizza obsession I knocked out for a few good hours and work through out the entire week. Oh well, better late than never.

I work two jobs. Usually spread out though the week. Its rare when I have an actual full day off to myself so I enjoy the days where I only work in the morning and I'm off for the rest of the day before 11 a.m. And the three things that cross my mind are....
--1.) Where's the bottle of wine?
--2.) Mmmmmmm.... sleep. zzzzZZZzzzzzz...
--3.) What's for Breakfast/lunch/and Dinner today?! :D

When I got off work my babe said he was in the mood for pizza and beer. I had left over Seitan Chick'n style "meat" and thought BBQ Seitan Pizza, wine, music, and the accompany of my babe, sounds like a date.

--NOTE: The process of figuring out measurements for each ingredient is to drink a few glasses of wine, write and edit as you cook :)



-- PREP: Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, drink more wine and carefully chop and prep your toppings (making sure you don't cut your fingers off). Turn on some tunes and just go with it :)

--BBQ SEITAN PIZZA--


I personally like cheese-less pizza and a lot of toppings, on this pizza I had to put some cheeze so the toppings would stick. I used a little Follow Your Heart cheeze. Adjust toppings to your likings.


--INGREDIENTS--

- 1 pizza dough or pre made pizza crust
- 1 c. chopped tomatoes
- 1/3 c. chopped onions
- 1/3 c. chopped cilantro
- 3/4 c. olives, sliced
- 1/2 c. cheeze, shredded
- 4 or 5 tbs. bbq sauce
- 3/4 c. "chick'n" style seitan, broken into chunks



--ASSEMBLE--

1.) If using a pizza dough, strech out dough to the thickness desired of your crust.

2.) Spread BBQ sauce evenly around the pizza crust.

3.) Sprinkle onions, tomatoes, cilantro, olives and seitan over BBQ crust. Then top it off with cheeze.

4.) Bake for 8-10 min, or how ever your pizza dough/crust suggests. Remove from oven then place pizza under broiler to melt cheeze if cheeze hasn't melted.

Yo bro, lets eat some 'chilladas.

An old friend of mine inspired me to become a vegetarian for about 10 years. Throughout high school I played with vegetarianism on and off for a few years where my friend was a full blown vegetarian from the start. Hanging out at her house meant Happy Hour with her mother, TONS of cooking and TONS TONS TONS of eating... not just food but vegetarian food. Since my friend's mother came from Mexico we were always eating vegetarian versions of Mexican food. Completely simple, cheese, corn tortilla, and beans. One of my absolute favorite type of food has to be Mexican food. Wrap shit up in a tortilla and call it a day. I picked up most of my cooking techniques from her. One of the most missed Mexican dishes I crave is cheese enchiladas. Making the transition from vegetarian to vegan was a complete nightmare. I'd order vegetable, cheese-less, and lard-less enchiladas and though it might have tasted BOMBTASTIC, it still couldn't satisfy the taste of real authentic gooey cheezey 'chiladas.

So here was my challenge:
To make Cheezy "chick'n" Enchiladas as vegan and authentic tasting as possible.

So,this meant I had to prep:
Drink two full glasses of wine and watch Walk the Line. While doing this enjoy good company and prep ingredients. (ie. chop, shred, pre heat, etc. etc.)




Simple note: This was made in a 9x9 square dish. Adjust any ingredients to your taste :D

--INGREDIENTS--

- 12 oz. Yves ground "Turkey" (12oz = 1 lbs. of real ground turkey)
- 1 c. Shredded Nacho cheeze
- 1 c. Monterey Cheeze (I use Follow your Heart for both cheeze)
- 1/3 c. chopped onion
- 1/2 c. sliced olives
- 10 oz. can diced green chilies
- 19 oz. can of enchilada sauce -- red or green sauce (I use La Victoria) -- separated into thirds
- 12-14 corn tortillas

--ASSEMBLE--

* Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

1. In a medium size bowl combine "turkey" grounds, diced chilies, onion, 1/2 c. of each cheeze, and a third of the enchilada sauce. Mix well.

2. Pour a third of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the 9x9 square dish so bottom is coated evenly with sauce.

3. Microwave tortillas until warmed and soft, "easy to roll". About 45 seconds to a minute.

4. Use about 1 heaping tablespoon of "turkey' mixture to fill and roll tortillas. Place seam side down and place into baking dish.

5. Pour remaining third of enchilada sauce over rolled tortillas and top with the remaining of each cheeze. Wrap in foil and bake from 45 min.

--NOTE: If cheeze isn't melted remove foil and place under high broiler for a about 2-4 minutes or until cheeze is melted and bubbly. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOUR 'CHILADAS!

The Case of the Monte Cristos Sandwich

So the very first time (and only time) I ever tasted this sandwich was probably around 4 or 5 years ago. It was from this restaurant inside The Priates of the Carribean ride in Disneyland. This amazing deep fried sandwich filled with gooey cheese and meat then topped off with some powdered sugar and blueberry jam on the side... yeah, that shit was bomb!

Somewhere around 4 or 5 years later, my babe and I were having a Food Discussion and the Monte Cristo sandwich came up. I practically died when he said he's never had one in his life. After a few glasses of wine (more say a bottle or two) I decided to make him a regular traditional Monte Cristo sandwich and a vegan version for myself.

The sandwich had a million different flavors dancing around inside my mouth. The sweet from the blueberry jam and the salty taste from the Tofurkey... It was honestly a sweet, salty and savory all in one. I was pleased. :D


I served this shit with a vegan version of mac and cheese made with raw cashew "Alfredo" and shredded Follow Your Heart cheese.

--INGREDIENTS--
- 2 slices of thick cut bread
- 1 tsp. jelly (Blueberry or blackberry preferred but any flavor will do)
- 1 tsp. Vegannaise
- 1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
- 2 thinly sliced tomatoes
- 2 thinly sliced vegan cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)
- 2-3 slices of vegan deli meats (I used Tofurkey Hickory flavor)
- 1 c. Bisquick mix
- 1/2 c. soy, rice, or hemp milk
- Earth Balance Butter
- Safflower or vegetable oil

--ASSEMBLE--

1. Mix Vegannaise and Dijon mustard together, then spread evenly on one side of one slice of bread. Spread jelly evenly on the second slice of bread

2. Lay cheeze, deli meat, and tomatoes, then assemble sandwich together by using toothpicks to keep it in tack. Cut sandwich in half.

3. In another bowl mix Bisquick and "milk" until smooth and no remaining lumps in the batter.

4. Heat a bit of butter and oil to a frying pan. Dunk sandwich in batter until coated evenly then place onto heated pan and brown both sides of sandwich until golden brown. Repeat with other half of sandwich. Top off with sprinkled powdered sugar.

Oh yeah,..... That one Hippie

So apparently I became known as "That One Hippie". I'd like to think of my self as a veg head more so than a Hippie. Only because I don't freak out about the little things that make my meal non-vegan meal when I dine out at restaurants (ie. butter, cream, parm. cheese, eggs).... but I will say, ABSOLUTELY NO MEAT! I'm making this blog based on as much vegan knowledge as I can possibly give. If not then help to educate myself more about living a "plant-based" lifestyle. I'll be sharing vegan recipes, vegan products, restaurants food critics, and anything relevant to vegan ism.