Superbowl Munchies

Is Super Bowl coming and you don't know what to serve your vegan foodies? Do not pass Go, do not collect 200 dollars. Go immediately to The "V" Word blog and you will find the most incredible recipes for appetizers. The recipes deliver in taste and texture and the instructions are concise and easy! 

Jalapeno Poppers

The poppers are a dream come true and not really difficult at all. The most tedious part is cleaning out your peppers. Please wear gloves and do not touch your face until you are finished preparing them, have removed your gloves, and have washed your hands thoroughly. They can be baked or fried. I don't eat fried foods very often so I fried mine. A food thermometer is helpful in keeping the oil at the right temp so they have a chance to brown before the cheese explodes out of them. I found that anywhere between 320 and 350 degrees works quite well.

Seitan Spicy BBQ Ribs

 This was my first try at making seitan and I was fearful, having heard horror stories about the end result being too dry or too gummy. You will LOVE these ribs. The depth of flavor is derived from three layers:  the spice rub, the barbecue sauce made from scratch ( I will never use store bought again) and the spices in the seitan itself. Initially, I had undercooked the seitan because I was afraid it would dry out and ended up with a soft meat loaf texture. All textures aside, the taste was phenomenal: sweet, spicy and smoky. After slicing the ribs, and smothering them in the BBQ sauce; I covered them and baked them again for about 30 minutes in a 325 degree oven. They firmed up nicely. If you follow the directions to the T, you will get them right the first time. I can't wait to try the Mozzarella sticks!

"Chicken" Portobello Stroganoff

With grey and gloomy weather outside, I longed for rich comfort food. Tonight's dinner consists of stroganoff made with chicken flavored seitan (say-tan) and portobello mushrooms on a bed of tri-color veggie fettucini. This is yet, another phenomenal recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and can be found on her blog: Post Punk Kitchen.

I was short on time so I bought chicken flavored seitan made by WestSoy at Back to Basics, a natural foods grocery store. Seitan is a product that is made from wheat gluten flour. It can be flavored to taste like anything and has a  texture you can sink your teeth into.