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!

Bean Bakin'

Actually, we won't be baking beans at all. We're doing the faster, easier, and super-delicious shortcut version of baked beans: it's all about the stovetop, friends.

The dish: Barbeque Vegetarian Stovetop Beans

We all know baked beans as a fixture in the traditional summer cookout menu. A cookout without baked beans would be as silly as Thanksgiving without pie. However, as president of the baked bean fan club (well, if one existed I would be), I'm all about enjoying baked beans year 'round.

This tasty side dish is requirement in our house anytime we make vegetarian sandwiches for dinner. I'm notorious for dipping my sandwiches in the beans before each bite. Sandwich night just wouldn't be complete without them. Thus, BBQ beans were on the menu as the perfect accompaniment to our Vegetarian Cheese "Steak" Sandwiches on Saturday night.

As with many Hungry Spoon recipes, the ingredient amounts listed below are quite flexible. If you prefer sweeter beans, add more brown sugar (or try molasses or maple syrup). If you prefer a sharper bite, add more vinegar or mustard.

Just because summer picnics are a distant memory, doesn't mean our summer cuisine must be. Celebrate the awesome-ness of BBQ baked beans...with a fork n' knife sandwich on the side.

Vegetarian Barbeque Stovetop Beans

(Inspired by a recipe found in Andrea Chesman's 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains)

These beans are so flavorful, no one will even notice it's a vegetarian, bacon-less version.

Ingredients:

• One 15 oz. can of kidney beans
• One 15 oz. can butter beans
• One 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 - 3 TBSP barbeque sauce
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 - 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 tsp. dijon mustard

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, 4 -5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional minute. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Allow beans to simmer until flavors are thoroughly blended (10 - 15 minutes).

*Note: I've also made these beans in the crock pot. Adjust the amount of liquid (from tomatoes) as needed, and cook 3 -4 hours on low.

Sloppy Sandwich Night

As a child, I recall Sloppy Joe lunches as one of the dreaded days in the school cafeteria: The orange and brown sandwich filling scooped onto a bun was always a bit too mysterious. Add a side of canned corn and fruit cocktail, and you've got yourself a "well-balanced meal?"

I shudder at the memories.

I never could have dreamed that one day Sloppy Joes would rank near the top of my "Favorite Sandwich List" as an adult. Well, "Barbeque Tempeh Sloppy Joes" to be exact. (And yes, I do have a Favorite Sandwich List. Hey--we all have our priorities in life.).

This sandwich makes me weak in the knees it's so good.

I mean it, friends. You may never go back to eating meat again after you try this baby. The from-scratch sweet n' tangy barbeque sauce is bursting with flavor (yes, bursting!). Add sauteed onions and green pepper, and a sprinkling of blue cheese and voila! A hearty bite of heaven on earth. (If you're a true cheese-head like my husband, you could also add a slice of Colby-Jack or Swiss cheese to your sandwich.).

If you've never tried tempeh, this is a great dish to give it a first try. It's loaded with protein and makes an awesome vege-head sandwich filler when your veggies and beans just aren't enough.

So, may my Saturday night dinner inspire your dinner tonight. Everyone needs a Sloppy Sandwich Night in their life.

What's your favorite "ultimate" sandwich?

Barbeque Tempeh Sloppy Joes

(Adapted from a recipe found in Robin Robertson's The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook)

This sandwich fulfills my craving for a hearty fork and knife sandwich. If you're interested in cooking vegetarian cuisine for a heavy meat-eater, Robertson's cookbook is a fantastic starting point--all of her recipes are stick-to-your-ribs good.

Ingredients:

Barbeque Tempeh:

• 8 oz. of tempeh, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 - 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 cans of drained crushed tomatoes ( 14.5 oz. each)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 TBSP dijon mustard
• 3 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

Onion n' Pepper

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• a little olive oil

Sandwich Fixins'

• Bread or bun of choice (we just used our standard bread)
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Optional: sweet pickle slices (bread n' butter pickles)

Directions:

1) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh slices, allowing to brown on one side (approximately 3 minutes). Flip, and brown tempeh on the other side. Remove tempeh from the skillet and chop into smaller pieces. Set aside.

2) In a pot, heat a little olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and saute for another 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients for the barbeque tempeh (through ground red pepper). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, allowing to thicken. Stir occasionally. Add tempeh and allow sauce to cook another 5 minutes, until heated through. Your filling is done!

3) Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add sliced onion and bell pepper. Saute until lightly browned, about