Tempeh Bacon "BLT" Sandwich

I was recently skulking around on the Happy Herbivore's Facebook Group, "Herbie Parents" (great group of really sweet, supportive folks!) and I read a post wherein a pregnant vegan gal admitted to the group that she is having desperate cravings for deli meat, and might there be a yummy vegan replacement? Follow-up comments suggested all sorts of brands and types of faux meats that might fit the bill, but I don't like how overly-processed all that stuff is, so I suggested the Tempeh Bacon "BLT" I found recently on the Prevention RD website. It is sweet and smoky, and tempeh is fairly easy to come by at any veg-friendly grocery store. Plus, the recipe is a cinch! Just mix the marinade, pan fry the "bacon," and build the sammie.

It's the perfect meal for a Friday night at home with the family. I say that because this is what we had for dinner tonight - that very sandwich you see in the photo was snarfed greedily by yours truly only mere seconds after snapping this picture. I paired it with a side of cut fresh fruit and cucumbers mixed with fresh chopped mint leaves (straight from my garden) and fresh-squeezed lime juice. It was so good! My husband said of the sandwich, "I could eat about three more of these." High compliment from the man of the house! And my daughter said, pulling the tempeh ever so slightly out of the sandwich and eyeballing it with curiosity, "What is this stuff? It tastes good." She's four, so... you know that's pretty high praise.

Here's the original recipe from Prevention RD:

"Tempeh 'Bacon':
5 oz tempeh
2 Tbsp maple syrup*
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
a dash of cayenne

To assemble:
6 slices of whole grain bread
1 tomato, sliced
6 large lettuce leaves
3 Tbsp light mayonnaise

• Slice tempeh into about 6 oblong strips.
• Combine maple syrup, olive oil, liquid smoke, soy sauce, cumin, pepper, and cayenne in a shallow dish. Soak tempeh in marinade for 2-3 minutes, turning to coat.
• Turn a saute pan on medium-high and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the tempeh to the pan in a single layer and cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until browned.
• Build three sandwiches with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 2 lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and about 2 slices of tempeh. Serve immediately. Yield: 3 servings.
• Nutrition Information (per serving): 408 calories; 16 g. fat; 5 mg. cholesterol; 583 mg. sodium; 55 g. carbohydrate; 12 g. fiber; 16.7 g. protein
• Result: Sweet and salty tempeh make this BLT a much more nutritious option. Healthy fats and lots of fiber make for a filling, heart-healthy sandwich. The tempeh bacon takes about 10 minutes to prepare and cook, so this meal comes together in a jiff! Enjoy!"

*I don't know about you guys, but I straight-up cannot afford maple syrup. For this recipe, I subbed some organic raw agave nectar that I got on a deep sale at Sprouts. OR, you can use use this recipe for Homemade Maple Syrup if you're really broke.  --Jen

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"AwesomeSauce" Even Omnis Will Love

My favorite vegan restaurant, Spiral Diner Fort Worth, makes an amazing nacho dish with what seems to be the latest sensation, a vegan "cheesy" sauce made from cashews. I love these nachos super hard. They are mouthwatering and fantastic. I even eat the jalapeno slices on top, because there's the microscopic possibility that they might be ever-so-slightly impregnated with the sauce. The only problem is that, despite their fantastic food and friendly waitstaff, Spiral Diner has one slight imperfection... It's expensive! And I'm eternally broke! To be fair, they do charge a decent price considering that the bulk of their foodstuff is organic. And, if I could afford it, I would not feel ripped off eating there every single day. Hell, every single MEAL if I could! But, sadly, my trips to Spiral happen only a handful of times per year. And I am forever trying to copy their recipes so that I can make their delicious yums at home for a fraction of the price. They do teach cooking classes on occasion, but I can't afford those either. What's a poor vegan to do??

Today I was really, desperately craving those nachos. Like, I mean, I had to have 'em, man! And I know the  not-so-secret ingredient in Spiral's "cheesy" sauce is cashews. But, since when can a poor person afford raw cashews? Since almost-never, that's when. So, I farted around with a couple of cashew-free "cheesy" sauce recipes I found online and came up with my own delicious chip-dipping substance, sans the expensive cashews. And it is fabulous!

Even your omni friends will love it. They won't have any idea it's vegan - it's way too decadent to be rabbit food! They'll think it's some exotic, richly creamy awesomesauce. Hence the name, "awesomesauce." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can sub all-purpose flour)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon mustard

• Whisk all ingredients together in a medium saucepan.
• Bring to a slight bubble, stirring constantly, over medium heat. 
• As soon as mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools, so be careful not to overcook.
• Turn heat off and remove saucepan from heat source. Stir a few more times and serve. 
• Enjoy!

P.S. AwesomeSauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. To reheat, just add a tablespoon or two of water and stir gently over medium-low heat until warm.

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Got a Great Haul, Y'all!

THE SALVAGE STORE IS GOD'S GIFT TO POOR VEGANS.

Shortly after I started this blog, I made a post about the wondrous magic that is the salvage grocery store. Almost every big city has at least one, and even a few small towns have them scattered about. The salvage stores don't have money to advertise, so you generally only find out about them through word-of-mouth. Start asking around! Seriously, you will save a crap-ton of your cash if you can find one. Let me prove it to ya!

In today's particular haul, I purchased the following items:

• Gluten-Free Crackers (x4 boxes)
• Organic Toasted Sesame Seed Oil
• Alexia Sweet Potato Fries (x3 bags)
• Organic Whole Wheat Couscous (x2 boxes)
• EnviroKids Cereal (x2 boxes)
• Zevia Soda (x4 cans)
• Sweet Potato Chips
• La Croix Soda (8-can case)
• 2 lbs. Whole Wheat Flour
• Organic Quinoa (x2 bags)
• Sea Snax Snack Bags (x6 bags)
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Drew's Organic Salad Dressing
• Silken Tofu (x8 packs)
• Clean Well Natural Hand Sanitizer (x2)
• Organic Tahini Paste 
• Firm Tofu (x2)
• Organic Decaf Coffee
• Eli's Earth Bars (x8)
• Indian Food Pouches (x2)
• Endangered Species Dark Chocolate Bars (x2)
• Leap Frog Flash Card Sets (x2)

Nice haul, right? Now, guess how much I paid for all of this organic, vegan goodness - which, at a regular store would easily have cost somewhere between $150 and $200, if not more. Go ahead, guess!

$54 and some change. That's it!
Anytime you've ever seen an ingredient on this blog that is way too expensive for a "bankrupt vegan" to afford, it's in my kitchen because I found it at the salvage store. Visit the original post for more information, and a couple of links that might help you find a salvage store in your area.

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Never Pay For Vegetable Broth Again!

A gallon jug of vegetable broth made from scraps previously destined for the compost bin.

I tell ya, if I'd ever had even a teeny clue how easy it is to make vegetable broth at home, I would never - NEVER - have paid a dime for the stuff at the grocery store. Plus, now that I see how simple it is, and how little it costs (just the price of water from my tap, and the gas I use on the stovetop), I know I've been getting royally ripped off all these years!

Seriously, never buy vegetable broth at the grocery store again. If you do, you might as well bend over and put a "welcome" sign on your butt, because the store is going to be "puttin' it to ya good," if you know what I mean... and I think you do...

First, you just start collecting your veggie scraps in a bowl in the freezer. I don't even keep a lid on mine. I just leave an open bowl in there and, every time I peel a carrot, or cut the tip off a green onion, or clip off cilantro and kale stems, I just chuck my scraps into the bowl in the freezer. When it starts looking kind of full,  I take it to the next level.

Dump the scraps into a large stock pot and cover with water. There are no exact measurements in this process, just make sure they are covered. Don't put in too much water, though, or your broth will be thin and flavorless.

Next, you bring it to a boil, give it a good stir just to make sure everything's mingling well, then cover and simmer on medium-low heat for at least an hour.

Allow the broth to cool completely before straining. Once it's cool enough to handle, use a fine mesh strainer like this one...



... to pour the broth through, catching the vegetables and dumping them to another bowl (destined for your compost bin) as they overfill the strainer.

You can store your broth in the fridge for several weeks. Or, better yet, freeze the broth in ice cube trays! You will never run out of the stuff, unless you stop eating or cooking with vegetables. And that would be a tragedy all on it's own...
Enjoy!

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That's So Corny!!

Corn gets a bad rap - and rightly so when it is consumed in its most notorious form, high fructose corn syrup. But straight-up corn, shucked right in your own kitchen, then boiled, grilled, or roasted, makes a fantastic side for a meal, or even a great snack.

Right now the price of corn is hitting it's spring and summer low. Just like my beloved avocados (which are 3 for a buck at Sprouts this week, by the way)! This is the perfect time to get to know corn. I'm seeing fresh ears for sale as low as 5 for a dollar. Experiment with roasting and grilling. Try swabbing on some butter and nutritional yeast, or some vegan mayo and paprika. Get crazy!

The best part is that it comes in it's own packaging, no waste! Just stick those shucked leaves and corn silk threads into your compost and let nature do the rest.

Or, if you're so inclined, you can make a corn-husk doll!

How about a corn cob pipe?

Now, don't even get me started on popcorn. Seriously, do NOT get me started. Oh dang, it's too late. I'm going there...

Homemade popcorn is the best stuff on earth, packed with fiber, antioxidants, and even a vitamin or two or three. Don't bother with that microwave junk. If the processed ingredients don't give you cancer, the chemical crud lining the bag sure as heck might.

The best way to cook up your popcorn is in an air popper, such as this.

But, if you don't have one of these bad boys, you can just pop it up in a large lidded pot with some high-heat oil (I use canola, but grapeseed would work too).

Here's a great instructional video about getting the perfect pop.

Oh, and let's not forget about the awesomeness of corn grits! Mmmmmmm...

Homemade Maple Syrup

I'm probably really late in discovering this phenomenon, but did you know that you can make your own homemade maple syrup at pennies on the dollar to the real stuff?
Of course it's not as "healthy" as real maple syrup, but it's a lot cheaper and it's a heck of a lot better for you than all the imitation syrups at the grocery store which are full of high fructose corn syrup and dyes.
Here comes the math...
For me, a jug of Target brand maple syrup costs $6.99. At 12 oz in the bottle, that ends up costing me 58 cents per ounce. Ouch!
The homemade stuff makes 2 cups (16 ounces) of syrup.
The sugar cost about $1.25 for four pounds (8 cups), and I only used 2 cups of that in the recipe, making the cost of the amount of sugar used in this recipe only 30 cents.
The water is incalculable, since I just used CowTown's finest, straight from the tap.
And the maple flavoring cost $1.99 for 1.5 oz. I only used half a teaspoon for the recipe. There are 9 teaspoons in one and a half ounces, so I only used about 11 cents' worth of flavoring.
Add it all up and the recipe cost only 41 cents to concoct, making each ounce of homemade syrup cost just over 2 cents.

The only drawback is that it's sugar! So, you have to watch your intake. I used a recipe calculator to determine that each tablespoon of the homemade syrup has about 50 calories. Drizzle lightly.
And enjoy!
Here's the recipe that came straight off the back of the maple flavoring box...

2 C sugar
1 C water
1/2 tsp maple flavoring

• Dissolve 2 cups of white (or brown) sugar in 1 cup of water and boil 1 minute.
• Cool syrup and add 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring.
• For extra fine flavor add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla flavoring.

There are countless other recipes to be found on the internet. Literally, hundreds. So, feel free to search and experiment until you find your favorite combination of ingredients. And if you find (or invent) a really good one, post it here!

Coconut Curry Quinoa

 

That's fun to say, huh? Coconut. Curry. Quinoa. Coconut Curry Quinoa. Now five times fast!

This dish is so easy, amazingly healthy and delicious in the extreme. Give it a try. You'll love it!

2 C water

1 C quinoa*

1/8 C oil (I used sunflower)

1 block firm tofu, drained and cut into small squares

1 medium white or yellow onion, diced

2 stalks fresh kale, chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 large zucchini, diced

1-2 large cloves garlic (to taste), minced

1 can coconut milk

1 Tbsp red curry paste

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp fresh or dried parsley

2 tsp fine sea salt

1-3 Tbsp fresh or bottled lime juice, to taste

• Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until soft and water is not present at the bottom of the pan. Usually about 15 minutes.
• In a large skillet or saute pan, place oil and carrot. Saute over medium heat for a few minutes, then add the onions. After one or two minutes add the zucchini. Once it's moderately soft, add the kale. Kale only needs to cook about 30 seconds. The idea is to add the longest-cooking veggies first.
• Add tofu, coconut milk, curry and all spices except lime juice.
• Add cooked quinoa and stir. Allow to simmer only a few minutes, until everything's nice and hot.
• Serve it up in a bowl and sprinkle bottled lime juice over the top, or squeeze the juice of one or two lime slices over the top. Delicious! And it feeds an army, so get ready for leftovers and midnight snacks too!
  

Here's my daughter enjoying the batch I cooked up this afternoon...

 So good you don't need a spoon. Just use your hands!

*Bankrupt Vegan Tip: I've noticed the little one pound bag of quinoa that Target sells runs at almost $12. WOW! That's expensive. But my local health food store sells organic quinoa in bulk for only $4.49 per pound. Nutritional yeast is a lot cheaper in bulk too. If you haven't already, I suggest you look around in your town for a health food store that supplies dry goods in bulk (most of them do). You will save a ton of money!

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"Salvage" Your Vegan Pantry

For any poor vegan, a salvage grocery store is going to be your bread and butter (so to speak). Organic and prepared foods are incredibly expensive at the grocery store and can often not be afforded from week to week. However, if you have access to a salvage store, please take advantage of it! They generally do not have websites, but if you do some hard digging in your phone book or on the internet, and do a lot of asking around, you are bound to find one in or near your area.

Salvage groceries feature damaged or dented cans, and expired goods, as well as stuff from grocers who have gone out of business, excess inventory purchased by liquidators then auctioned off, misspelled labels, stuff like that, all at a super cheap price. It's always a hodgepodge of items, and the inventory rarely stays the same. But that's a great thing because I have tried some neat vegan stuff purchased at a super low price that I would not have dared pay full price for, on the off chance that it might be gross and I would have paid way too much for it.

I took a trip to our local salvage store last week and found tons of awesome deals! I walked out of the store, my cart brimming over with seven or eight paper sacks full of stuff, for less than thirty dollars.

Here are just a few of my favorite finds from the last trip...

As you can see, I scored some agave at $1.99 a bottle (they're $3.99 each at the health food store), some organic veggie stock at 99 cents per box, some Ecover cleaning supplies (including laundry powder, not pictured), organic eggless noodles at 99 cents, and whole boxes of Snackimals cookies for my daughter at only 89 cents per box. Each box contains 6 bags of cookies. At the grocery store, just one little bag of cookies is 99 cents all by itself! I also got the Vegan "parmesan" grated topping as a treat because I've never tried it, and I'm glad I did because it's really good. I've had it on noodles and rice, and I can't wait to try it on popcorn.
I also got a six gorgeous acorn squash for 29 cents a pound. I'm going to roast them, then drizzle them with agave and walnuts and broil for a few minutes. They will be so delicious. I'll post a picture when I make them.
And BEST OF ALL, I snagged nine boxes of Mori-Nu Extra Firm Silken Tofu at just 50 cents each! Yay! There will be mousse and pudding and extra creamy "nooch" casserole all month long!

Here are a couple of websites that may help you locate a salvage store in your area:

• Frugal Village
  
• Money Talk News

Good luck!