Vegan Cleanse Time, Baby!

After several weeks of cupcake mania in my kitchen, the muffin tins are finally empty. The cupcake liners are all gone. And there's not an ounce of frosting left in sight.

Perhaps the loudest indicator of this cupcake-madness conclusion is my stomach: She's begging me for a vegan cleanse.

Ask and you shall receive, my dear Tummy.

So, after polishing off the last, lonely chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting last night, I began working on this week's cake-less meal plan. That's right, folks: no frosting, no butter, and much less chocolate. I mean, it is Lent after all.

Tonight's feature: Asian Slaw with Almonds and Oranges. It all started with a bowlful of this:

Seriously. Yum.

I hope you enjoy this dish of vegan-licious-ness as much as I did.

As a side note, I settled on the following three flavors for the baby shower cupcakes: Chocolate Yogurt Cupcakes with Peanut Butter frosting, Classic Birthday Cupcakes, and Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes. We packaged 'em up to match the Dr. Seuss-themed baby-fest, and placed one cup o' cake at each guests' place setting. I can't lie: It was pretty adorable.

Alright, enough cake talk. Let's get down to those vegan goods, shall we?

Asian Slaw with Oranges and Almonds

(adapted from a Cooking Light Magazine recipe)

The soy sauce makes for a delicious vinaigrette of sorts for this crunchy, veggie-loaded slaw. If you don't have fresh oranges on hand, go ahead and sub in mandarin slices.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 bag of shredded cabbage
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
• 1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 oranges, diced

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 TBSP lime juice
• 1 - 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• pinch of fresh ginger
• fresh salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Open-Faced Awesome-ness

For as long as I can remember, my mom has prepared Pork Chops and Sour Kraut on New Year's Day, as tradition claims that this meal brings one good luck for the upcoming year.

Regardless of how marvelous my mom's p-chops are, I have to ask: Where does this meat-centric tradition leave vegetarians? In a perpetual cycle of bad luck...year after year?

Of course not, friends. We're simply left to create our own good-fortune meal.

Enter Open Face Barbeque Tempeh Sandwiches with Carrot-Cayenne Slaw. Yes, it's truly as awesome as it sounds...times ten.

We received a rockin' new cookbook under the Christmas tree this year: Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry. This 5-star cookbook features healthy, high-quality vegan versions of all your Southern favorites. Tonight's recipe was highlighted in Terry's "Favorites" chapter, whereby he shares his top 6 favorite recipes (and who doesn't want to try a chef's personal favorite?).

You know I love fork n' knife vegetarian sandwiches, and this little number was no exception. I piled my bread mile-high with barbeque tempeh, slaw, and caramelized onions, and I'm already looking forward to the leftovers.

Do you have any New Year's food traditions?

Open-Faced BBQ Tempeh Sandwich with Carrot-Cayenne Slaw

(adapted from Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen)

This flavorful vegan sandwich will fill you up for sure--and it will definitely bring you good luck for the new year!

Sandwich Ingredients:

• 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 3 TBSP lime juice
• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce (plus more for later, if you like it saucy)
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 TBSP cumin
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 2 TBSP water
• 1/2 pound tempeh, sliced
• Homemade bread, sliced
• 1 large onion, caramelized or sauteed until browned

Carrot Slaw Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 cups chopped cabbage (we used pre-chopped bagged cabbage)
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• Finely chopped dill pickle (as much as you'd like! I probably added about 1/3 cup)
• 2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2) To prepare the tempeh: In a food processor, combine the apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, tomato sauce, olive oil, honey, cumin, cayenne, and water. Divide sauce in half. Set one half of sauce aside, and add the tempeh to the remaining sauce. Stir to coat, and pour onto the prepared baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 40 minutes.

3) When you remove the tempeh from the oven, dice it (so it's chunky!). If you like your barbeque tempeh saucy (like I do), you can mix your serving of tempeh with some of the reserved barbeque sauce, or extra plain tomato sauce.

4) To prepare slaw: Combine mustard, honey, white wine vinegar, salt, cayenne, and olive oil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl, and pour vinegar sauce over top. Stir to coat; stir in sesame seeds and chopped pickle.

5) To assemble: place a piece of toasted bread on your plate. Pile with tempeh, slaw, and caramelized onions. Rock out your New Year :) It's 2011: Bring it on!

Stuffed Food is Mighty Tasty

What's better than really good food?

Try really good food, stuffed with more really good food.

Case in point:

Savory Stuffed Tomatoes (Yes, please)

Chocolate cookies stuffed with peanut butter (Please pass me one. Or five.)

Stuffed Sweet Potato Pockets (I need more of these in my life).

Today: Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage, adapted from a Moosewood Collective Recipe.

Mind. Blowing. Check out the unique variety of ingredients loaded into this baby:

• Savory: onion, bell pepper, carrot, soy sauce
• Sweet: apple, honey, raisins (yes!)
• Crunchy: toasted walnuts
• Awesome: ricotta cheese

A family friend passed this recipe along to me, which he located in an old Moosewood Cookbook. I'm super grateful. Because they're super good. We enjoyed ours tonight with a simple side salad.

What's your favorite "stuffed" food?

Stuffed Cabbage

(adapted from a Moosewood Collective recipe)

These guys are nothing like the traditional salty, meaty stuffed cabbage. The sweetness of the honey, apple, and raisins balance beautifully with the soy sauce, veggies, and crunchy walnuts. You could serve yours on a bed of rice, but who needs rice when you've got delicious food, stuffed with more delicious food?

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 apples, diced
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
• One 15 oz. container of part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 TBSP honey
• 2 TBSP reduced-sodium soy-sauce
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large pot of water, pre-boil cabbage until just tender, about 10 - 15 minutes. Drain and remove 6 - 8 large leaves for stuffing.

3) Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, apple, carrot, and garlic. Saute until softened and lightly browned--about 8 - 9 minutes.

4) In a large bowl, combine the vegetable mixture with the ricotta, toasted walnuts, honey, soy sauce, and pepper.

5) Spoon the filling (about 1/4 cup) into each individual cabbage leaf and wrap tightly. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes.