Gardein Review: Beefless Tips & Burgers

Veganism has hit the mainstream homies and there ain't no looking back! I remember the days when vegan hamburger patties tasted like um, VEGAN HAMBURGER PATTIES... Like, you couldn't serve that shit up to a meat eater and be like "Surprise!!! I bet you had NO CLUE that was vegan!!!"

I think they would laugh in your face and thankfully, I never attempted such idiocracy, I just said, "Hey, this is a veggie burger, and it tastes pretty good and isn't disgustingly bad for you and nobody got hurt." :)

These days are different my friends with GARDEIN... I swear on my life you could pull a fast one with these... AND PLEASE wait until they finish and say how damn good their burger was before you, "Share the good news" and laugh in their face! Kidding, but only sorta... I admit that mock meats and other prepackaged vegan food is expensive compared to what I usually eat, but I feel like overall (Once you build up a spice collection) veganism is VERY CHEAP... Your diet consists of fruits, veggies, nuts/seeds, grains, and legumes... Also, a pound of organic tofu at Sprouts costs me 99 cents and is cholesterol free and full of protein (8 grams a serving and about 32g's a block) and I can buy a bag of Vital Wheat Gluten for about $6 and make over 3 pounds of Seitan (Wheat Meat)... I think vegan "Meaty" options are much cheaper and healthier when compared to animal products.

ANYWAYS, here in So Cal, Gardein products are about $4... The Tips are about 2 hearty servings (IMO) and the Burgers come in a pack of 4.

My friend Melissa got me hooked on the Tips!!! They are magical pan fried with some olive oil and accompanied by homemade mashed potatoes and balsamic-maple glazed purple onions (Thinly slice some purple onions, cook them down on medium heat in some olive oil until translucent, add balsamic vinegar and cook down some more, add maple syrup and cook down until liquid has evaporated for the most part, plop on top of mashed potaters).

The Burgers are out of this world!!! Just pan fry them in a little oil and serve them up with all the fixings which for me are Vegenaise, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup :)

Easy Peasy Vegan Hoildays with TJ's Vegan Turkey-Less Roast

Well folks, in case you haven't noticed, Trader Joe's (aka TJ's) carries a Vegan "Turkey-Less Stuffed Roast with Gravy" at a whopping price of..... $9.99!! Holy shit batman,  vegan store-bought holiday roasts just became both inexpensive and still delicious! This roast is reportedly made by Gardein but packaged by TJ's :) so that means half the price! So enough with all my exclamation points!!!!!!!

I enjoyed this roast for ThanksLIVING...

...As well as Christmas this year. (I did not eat that animal butter!)

The roast is really easy to bring along and pop in the oven and it is done in about an hour. You will need some veggies like potatoes, onions, carrots and celery to surround the roast when it is baking as well as a little seasoning to taste. 

On an important side note, the gravy tastes like caustic chemicals so I really wouldn't bother polluting your roast or mashed potatoes with it ;) 

So hopefully, you have a TJ's in your area or I am just sitting here typing and feeling like an asshole since I was also able to stuff my face with store bought vegan pumpkin pie...

The life of a vegan is just so damn difficult these days ;)

Peace.Love.Vegan

Amy

Today I made quite a few things...

First off was a practically weekly double batch of Viva Vegan's Yellow Garlic Rice, I added some minced onion to the rice as well that needed to be used up

I also roasted some brussels sprouts at 450F for about 20 minutes in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Yummmmm brussles :)

Carrots were next up for roasting. I roasted them at 425F for about 20 minutes in some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary... I thought they were too lemony so I coated them with a little pure maple syrup and they were divine.

Fajitas were up next using Trader Joe's "Beef Strips", bell pepper, onion, and some taco seasoning.

Next up was Trader Joe's Soyrizo that I added to some nuked and pan fried potatoes and thinly sliced onions for a burrito or taco filling later in the week.

I made some random Asian-y stirfry that came alright... Just crumbled tofu, Chinese 5 spice (Don't think I enjoy this flavor), Braggs, edamame, spinach, chili paste, and green onions... I ended up using this to stuff wontons since it wasn't that fantastical LOL.

Another TVP chunk teriyaki stirfry was made with the rest of the asparagus I had around added. This is good stuffed in wontons or on top of rice.

Weekend Batch Cooking... The Key to Vegan Living

Leftovers are something I consider a necessity, especially as a vegan. There are some nights when I'm just too lazy or busy to cook so leftovers are my best friend... This weekend I made:

Tofu Scramble with carrots, kidney beans, black olives, Viva Vegan's Sofrito, cherry tomatoes, and parsley along with deep fried tempeh "bacon" slathered with cheapy maple syrup :)

Garbanzo Bean Salad Sandwich Spread with minced celery and green onions for the veggies

"Chicken" Fajitas seasoned with taco seasoning and lime, Soy Curls as the meat sub

I also made VegWeb's Tofu Sour Cream, it was alright... Maybe it will taste better tomorrow once it sets a bit more

VegWeb's Minestrone Soup, I leave out the pasta and add extra veggies... SOOOO GOOD!!!

I also made a huge batch of Teriyaki Tofu but I figure you know what it looks like already so I won't bore you with another photo ;)

My Favorite Recipe: Viva Vegan's Peruvian Seitan Skewers

Viva Vegan's Peruvian Seitan Skewers are the bomb, seriously! Especially served up with some fresh homemade guacamole. I tend to leave out potatoes when I make these now because I always have bell peppers and onions on hand but potatoes I rarely buy at the moment. I've made them probably about 5 times now and these skewers never get old... You must buy this cookbook it is worth its weight in gold!

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.

Viva Vegan's Latin Baked Tofu and Drunken Beans with Seitan Chorizo

Wow! Viva Vegan almost never fails in the recipe department! Tonight I made Latin Baked Tofu and the marinade was killer... Red wine, red wine vinegar, olive oil (I omitted this), tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, cumin and oregano.

The Drunken Beans with Seitan Chorizo was awesome as well! Home-cooked pinto beans with onions, roasted serranos, some of her amazing Chorizo Seitan Sausages, oregano, chili powder, cumin, diced tomatoes, Mexican beer (I used a can of Bud), and tequila... Garnished with onions, cilantro, lime juice, and pickled jalapenos.... OMG yum... But it did take 3 hours to make so I was really hungry by the time I got my little vegan hands on the goods!

Viva Vegan's Chorizo Seitan Sausages and some Latin Inspired Quinoa (Take 2)

 Viva Vegan's Chorizo Seitan Sausages are way yum, loaded with many spices and a wonderful addition to some Latin Inspired Quinoa I made tonight. 3 Sausage recipe makes 6 sausages (I got 7) and I used 3 in this recipe.

Ingredients (Mostly Approximations):

- 3 Viva Vegan Chorizo Seitan Sausages, you could sub a few Field Roast Chipotle Vegan Sausages, cut into bite sized chunks
- 1 teaspoon olive oil and veggie broth as needed (You can use more oil, I'm trying to get away from using it)
- 1/4 a large white onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 mini sweet bell peppers, cut into thin rings
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup black olives, sliced
- 1/2 to 1 cup diced tomatoes (I used canned so probably only used 1/2 cup)
- Cilantro to taste (I only had a few tablespoons left)
- 1.5 cups leftover quinoa
- 1 teaspoon each chili powder, oregano, and cumin
- Mexican hot sauce to taste

Directions:

- Fry your sausages in a little oil until they begin to brown.
- Add onions, garlic, and bell peppers and a little veggie broth and cook until onions are translucent, adding more veggie broth if needed to prevent sticking.
- Add ALL the remaining ingredients and mix around until everything is heated through.
- Serve with avocado slices or a dollop of vegan sour cream.

VWAV's Jerk Seitan and More Stuffed Peppers!

VWAV's seitan recipes are more of an acquired taste for people not used to eating seitan. My bro loved all the seitan recipes from Viva Vegan but VWAV, not so much, so I have lots of leftovers in the fridge right now. Oh well, more for me! Jerk Seitan is flavored with onions, ginger, lime, soy sauce (I used Braggs), olive oil (I left it out), maple syrup, thyme, allspice, cinnamon, cayenne, and nutmeg... It tasted pretty darn amazing! I didn't marinate the seitan because I forgot to read the directions before I started, dang it. I also didn't follow her cooking directions as I browned the seitan first, then added half the sauce along with the bell peppers and onions (I don't like mine overly cooked), then dumped the rest of the sauce in about 5 minutes later.

I also made VWAV's Black Bean, Mushroom, and Quinoa- Stuffed Peppers again so I could give it to a friend as a bday gift (I got to save 4 for myself, score!) and they were amazing as usual. I will definitely be making this recipe again and again!

Viva Vegan's Tofu Chicharrones and Mojo Oven-Roasted Seitan

Viva Vegan's Tofu Chicharrones was alright, nothing amazing as far as the flavor goes. The marinade was pretty basic and consisted of soy sauce, liquid smoke, garlic, red wine vinegar, and agave syrup. I cheated and made this on the Forman so that I didn't have to fry it up in a bunch of oil. Any tofu I cook on the Forman I let cool and firm up a bit before chowing down, it just tastes better that way.

I made Mojo Oven-Roasted Seitan again since I found some oranges growing on some trees near my house along a bike trail. I really like the citrus-y marinade used in this dish, yum!

Lots of leftovers left to eat, hopefully I will get around to cooking more soon :)

VWAV's Homemade Seitan + Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers

 VWAV is a pretty amazing cookbook though Viva Vegan still has my heart. One thing I enjoy is trying different recipes for making seitan, for us seitan makers out there, we know each batch of seitan has a life of its own and is a bit different even with the same recipe! So this time around I figured I would use VWAV's recipe for Homemade Seitan and I thought it turned out pretty standard as far as seitan goes... Nothing insanely amazing like the seitan recipes out of Viva Vegan.

So I made the seitan to use in VWAV's Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers recipe. The recipe looked like it wanted me to use the entire batch of Homemade Seitan but that seemed like way too much seitan (And definitely more than 4 cups) so used half the Homemade Seitan recipe and it came out perfect. I really liked this dish! The seitan is flavored with serranos (I left the seeds in), ginger, garlic, cumin, cardamom (Didn't have), turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, and red wine. The seitan turned out really "meaty" and moist, quite heavenly.

Taco Style Seitan and Creamy Refried Beans

Tonight I wanted a quick and easy dinner and had a big batch of Refried Beans sitting in the fridge. I needed something "Mexican-y" to go along with the beans so Taco Style Seitan was the plan.

Taco Style Seitan:

- 4 cups seitan cut into small chunks, (I used 2 loaves of Red Seitan from Viva Vegan)
- 2 small or 1 large bell pepper, cut into small chunks
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into small chunks
- 6 crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- A drizzle of olive oil for frying

Directions:
- Fry up the seitan chunks in oil over medium high heat until they blacken a bit.
- Add the bell peppers and onions and fry for a few more minutes until they soften to your liking (I prefer mine not to be overly cooked).
- Add the criminis, taco seasoning, and water. Cook until the criminis begin to soften.
- Add the cilantro and stir everything around to get it coated evenly.

Creamy Refried Beans:

- 1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight, then rinsed
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- A few jalapenos, chopped (optional)

- 1 onion, chopped

Directions:

- Place all ingredients into a big pot and cover with about 1.5 inches of water.
- Bring everything to a boil, then cover and everything simmer for 2 hours.
- Drain your beans in a metal colander and pick out the bay leaves.
- Place your cooked bean and onion mixture into a food processor and let it do its magic for a minute or two.
- Taste and see if additional salt is needed and don't ruin your beans by over-salting them!

See you don't need oil or lard to make creamy refried beans, just use a food processor!

Viva Vegan's Mojo Oven-Roasted Seitan & Yellow Rice with Garlic

Viva Vegan's Mojo Oven-Roasted Seitan & Yellow Rice with Garlic were the bomb as usual.

I loved the Mojo Oven-Roasted Seitan, it was her recipe for White Seitan (Chicken Style) marinaded in lime juice, orange juice, garlic, oregano, and cumin. I actually let it marinate overnight, which was not required, and it tasted heavenly.

 Yellow Rice with Garlic was also amazing and it gave me a chance to use up some of her recipe for Annatto-Infused Oil.

 The rice was flavored with garlic, the Annato-Infused Oil, and veggie broth then cilantro is stirred in at the end. Delicious!

I'm Back Bitches! Viva Vegan's Costa Rican Refried Rice and Beans (Gallo Pinto) and more Peruvian Seitan Skewers

Have I mentioned how much I love this cookbook!?! Viva Vegan's Costa Rican Refried Rice and Beans (Gallo Pinto) is amazing. The liquid smoke and vegan worcestershire really make this rice and bean dish shine.

I have made the Peruvian Seitan Skewers three times now as they are so easy and so good! This time I left out the potato and just did the Red Seitan with bell peppers and onions. Yum :)

More "Sausage" Crumbles

I can't get enough of these Sausage Crumbles! I had some leftover from making Stuffed Peppers and just want to sprinkle these magical crumbles on everything! So far I put them in a tofu scramble...

And on my Papa John's Pizza (I ordered 2 pizzas: Olive+Green Bell Pepper+Onion+Mushroom and Jalapeno+Pineapple, no cheese of course)... Yessss I'm moving cut me some slack!