Jambalaya Recipe

This is one of my favorite vegan recipes. Its extremely easy to make, and everyone loves it--vegans, veggies, and non-veggies alike.

Vegan Jambalaya (makes 6 servings):
Olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 can small diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
3 cups plain uncooked rice
Vegetable stock (if you don't have any, water is OK too)
Tony Cacheres Cajun spice
Tofurky Italian sausage

Cook the rice according to directions-- use vegetable stock or water, whichever you prefer.

Slice the Tofurky sausage and sauté in a pan with oil, until browned on both sides.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Chop all the veggies into small pieces and put the onion, garlic, and both peppers in the pan to sauté. Cook on medium heat until the onions are softened. Add in the diced tomatoes and kidney beans and cover. Let the whole mixture cook for a few minutes.

Add the Cajun spice to the veggie mixture. Add as much as you like depending on how spicy you want it.

Finally, add the sausage and veggies into the rice. Mix everything together, and add extra spices if you want. For a really great Cajun meal, make some vegan bread pudding for dessert (recipe to come). Enjoy!

Blueberry Peach Cobbler with Ice Cream

This dessert recipe is absolutely DELICIOUS and so easy. The cobbler can really be made with any fruit, but blueberries and peach are my favorite!


BLUEBERRY PEACH COBBLER: 
1 cup blueberries
4 medium sized peaches (wash first but leave the skin on), sliced into thin wedges
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup vegan butter/margarine, softened


Mix the dry ingredients (flour, oats, brown sugar) in a medium size bowl. Add the wet ingredients (maple syrup and butter) and mix together until it becomes crumbly. You can add more flour or butter to adjust the texture.


Spray a 9x13 pan or butter the bottom (unless it is non-stick). Layer the peaches first to cover the bottom, then sprinkle blueberries on top. Finally, layer the crumble mixture to cover the fruit.


Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the top looks golden brown.




VANILLA ICE CREAM: 
1 small container soy creamer
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract


Make sure the ingredients are chilled first. Mix them together and follow the directions given by your ice cream maker. In about 20 minutes, you will have simple yummy vegan ice cream!


Finally, cut a piece of the warm crumble and top with a scoop of ice cream to serve :) Enjoy!

My household product overhaul

My decision to become vegan was mostly based on food. My goal was to make some big changes in my life to help animals and the environment. Cutting out meat and dairy is definitely a huge step in the right direction, but there are so many other industries that are cruel to animals. In addition to purchasing animal and environmentally friendly foods, I have started buying vegan "leather" products such as purses (Urban Expressions is my favorite), buying cruelty-free cosmetics, and switching to cruelty-free household products. 

After finding out that Procter and Gamble tests their products on animals, I was devastated (although I read their website which claims they are phasing out animal testing and looking for alternative testing methods-- so I hope this is true!). I had no clue that I was using animal-tested products nearly every day-- Tide laundry detergent, Cascade dishwashing products, and even Downy wrinkle release. 


Luckily, my local grocery store, Hy-vee (not a specialty store by any means but they are starting to stock some awesome organic and vegan products) carries Seventh Generation, Meyer and other cruelty-free household products. So, I've started to phase out all my regular products in exchange for better ones! From now on, I'm only buying products that say "cruelty free" and vegan. It's a change I'm pretty excited about, especially now that I have a guinea pig-- I can't imagine anyone testing on little Guinness!

French-inspired salad

After spending 2 months in France this summer, I was inspired to make a salad like the ones I frequently ate at cafes. The dressing is the real star of this salad, and its delicious!!!


Dressing:
(Adjust the ingredients depending on how much salad you want to make)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Vegenaise
1 tablespoon Grey Poupon dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
Pinch of brown sugar (you can also use a tablespoon of maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
Salt and pepper to taste


Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.


For the salad:
About 4-5 cups spinach or baby mixed greens
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 avocado, sliced
4-5 small red potatoes, boiled (skin on) and sliced


Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle dressing and toss.


Enjoy!

Easy dinner

A dinner that I make a few times a week is a variation on a microwave meal. I make an Asian soup bowl, usually Annie Chun's miso or udon soup, and add a bunch of veggies. Here's my basic recipe, although I don't really measure things when I cook, I just throw a bunch of stuff in:

INGREDIENTS: 

Mushrooms (I use shittakes, just make sure to cut off the tough stems. But any mushrooms will work)

Red and yellow onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Leeks, sliced 

Bok choi or Napa cabbage, cut or torn into small pieces
1 sheet toasted nori, ripped into small pieces 
Olive oil or margarine (Earth Balance with olive oil is the tastiest)
Soy sauce
Terriyaki sauce
Tofu, chopped into small cubes
Green onions, chopped


DIRECTIONS: 
1. Heat some oil or margarine in a pan. Add onions and garlic first, and sautee for a few minutes. Add mushrooms, leeks, and bok choi. Let the veggies sautee until the onions are softened. 
2. While the veggies are cooking, make the microwave soup according to the directions. 
3. Add some soy sauce and terriyaki sauce into the veggies (not too much, since the soup already has some seasoning), and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Finally, add the toasted nori and stir for one minute until the nori softens. 
5. Put the veggies into a bowl (you will probably need a larger bowl than the microwave soup comes in) and add the soup on top of it. Stir in the tofu, and add green onions for garnish.  


Ta-da! A simple, 10 minute meal that doesn't taste like you made it in the microwave. I never used to consider soup as a "meal" until I made this! It's filling, satisfying, delicious and healthy.

My semi-homemade soup

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog dedicated to all things vegetarian-- and some other stuff too. Let me start with a bit about myself.

I was vegan for a year, and have slowly transitioned to vegetarian by re-introducing some cheese and eggs. A lot of my recipes are vegan, but baking is a lot easier when you can use eggs. I also love cheese, especially goat cheese and manchego! Every day it gets easier, and I think up more awesome recipes or find cool stuff that makes me excited about helping animals and the environment. I started this blog to share some of my ideas, recipes, and insights into a vegetarian's world.

I live with my boyfriend Cole, and our guinea pigs Guinness and Peanut. See www.yennyspiggies.blogspot.com for all about these two little rascals! 

I also have a travel blog at www.yennyintransit.blogspot.com where I log all of my travelling adventures. 

Enjoy!

Me and Cole at Stonehenge this summer

(see Yenny In Transit)

Guinness and Peanut begging for treats
(See Yenny's Piggies)