VegWeb's Creamy Sundried Tomato Dip and Some Leftovers

 I had an extra tub of Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese and a bit of sundried tomatoes in oil that needed to be used up so I decided to make VegWeb's Creamy Sundried Tomato Dip. I am pretty broke and didn't have the chives or even green onions on hand so I subbed 3 tablespoons minced yellow onion and also added 2 extra cloves of garlic. I used about a half a cup of sundried tomatoes (Mine came julienned and I wasn't sure how much to use so I just finished the bottle). The dip came out fantastic and tasted heavenly dipped with wheat thins!

Leftovers for last nights dinner were awesome courtesy of Viva Vegan. I had leftover Drunken Beans with Seitan Chorizo and Latin Baked Tofu, heaven on Earth my friends.

Veganomicon's "A Hummus Recipe"

 I halved Veganomicon's "A Hummus Recipe" and it was just the right amount, geese a whole recipe would seriously make a boatload! This hummus is flavored with lemon juice, garlic, cumin, s & p, and sprinkled with some Hungarian paprika. Delish and extra coolness points for homemade hummus!

Party Time! Savory Spinach Dip & Dill Dip

Another weekend and another get together with my friends, which means time to whip up some amazing vegan dips! I found the following recipe for Spinach Dip on the side of a Silken Tofu package! Silken Tofu can be found on the regular old aisle at a health food store, as it doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Ingredients:

1 package Mori-Nu Silken Soft Tofu, drained
1.75 oz. package Onion Soup Mix (I use Lipton)
1/2 cup Vegan Mayo
3 large cloves Garlic, peeled
10 oz. Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and drained well (I squeeze as hard as I can to get the water out)
8 oz. can Sliced Water Chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup Green Onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Drain tofu and pat with paper towels.
Place tofu in food processor, blend until smooth.
Add onion soup mix, mayo, and garlic. Blend.
Add spinach, blend.
Add water chestnuts and thinly sliced green onions. Pulse just until chunky.
Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

The Dill Dip is even easier thanks to Simply Organic and their fantastic packets of Dill DipAll you need to do is mix the packet of dill dip with 2 cups of vegan sour cream (Which is 1 tub plus another 1/2 cup Tofutti Vegan Sour Cream). So yummy!

Weekend Batch Cooking & 7 Layer Dip

Weekends are when I do the majority of my cooking and prepping for next weeks meals. Today I made 3 batches of seitan. 2 of the batches were "Red Seitan" from Viva Vegan! For the 3rd batch I used the same technique and ingredient proportions but added different spices and flavors so the seitan would be more suitable for Asian style dishes (I added brown sugar, sesame oil, ground ginger, black pepper, and crushed red pepper). Look at all the seitan I made!

Tonight I am getting together with some of my old work friends. They are always amazed by the delicious vegan dips I bring along and of course spit out the typical, "How is this vegan, it tastes sooooo good" kind of lines. Yes people, vegan food tastes amazing... Not all of us vegans spend our days wondering the forest in search of twigs and berries... But anyway, here is my amazing vegan version a 7 layer Dip!

Ingredients:

- Bottom Layer: 15 oz can or 2 cups Refried Beans
- Layer 2: About a cup of Guacamole (I mashed up 2 avocados and mixed in some lime juice and salt to taste)
- Layer 3: 1 container of Tofutti Vegan Sour Cream mixed with 1 packet of Taco Seasoning
- Layer 4: 1/2 cup of your favorite tomato based Salsa (I forgot this layer... Oops)
- Layer 5: 3.8 oz can sliced Black Olives
- Layer 6: About a cup of Diced Tomatoes*
- Layer 7: About 1/4 to 1/2 cup thinly sliced Green Onions

*(I used 3 Roma's and removed the seeds) I also added 2 minced Jalapenos to the tomato layer since I forgot the salsa*

 So pretty from the top as well!

 While I was busting my butt in the kitchen I also enjoyed one of my favorite smoothies: Watermelon (I left out the agave... I had an awesome melon this time around!)

Another Batch of Empanadas!

I made Empanadas again! I am getting better at making these puppies with every batch! I have learned to roll the dough nice and thin and assemble them on my cutting board (She says to use the palm of your hand, which I find frustratingly impossible). Next time, I am going to try stuffing them with something from my imagination instead of using the recipe for the filling. Viva Vegan! is a really good cookbook you should definitely check it out!

Served with the "Green Aji Sauce" sauce out of Viva Vegan!

Delicious Bagel Spread & More Vegan Nachos!

Today I was busy making a batch of both Red and White Seitan and Empanadas from my Viva Vegan! cookbook so that I would have leftovers to use up this coming week. I really love this cookbook, so sorry that I can't seem to shut up about it.

So today I kept the meals I actually ate pretty easy.

For breakfast I had a bagel, smothered in vegan cream cheese (Tofutti Brand) and topped with a mixture of half a mashed banana and some strawberry jam... Yum!

For lunch I had some more Vegan Nachos, topped with some unusual extras like pan fried Red Seitan and Pickled Red Onions, both from Viva Vegan!

Dinner was a few of the Empanadas I made today, served up with a delicious green sauce  from Viva Vegan! called "So good, so green dipping sauce (Green aji sauce)." This sauce is awesome with the Empanadas and also makes for a good salad dressing. The sauce is a mix ingredients such as lime, cilantro, green onions, romaine lettuce and vegan mayo. I added probably double the amount of vegan mayo called for though cause I love my sauces and dressings creamy.

Thick and Creamy Vegan Ranch

When I first went vegan I never thought I would still be able to still enjoy RANCH! Thick and creamy RANCH! Thank God I can or I wouldn't be eating many salads because it's just about the only salad dressing I like and I have tried TONS. Here is my perfected version of this recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

- 1.5 cups Vegenaise (vegan mayo)
- 1/4 cup vanilla almond or soy milk (not unsweetened)
- 1 to 2 tbsp red wine vinegar*
- 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 10 cracks fresh cracked black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the ingredients together in a blender or Magic Bullet and blend.

* 2 tbsp gives you a really tangy ranch. I like it this way but you can taste the vinegar.

Vegan Dill Dip

Wow this recipe from VegWeb is great :) I left out the beaumonde seasoning and it was fine without it.

It's a little bit too salty, so maybe try halving the seasoning salt, otherwise it's perfect.