Vegan Appetizer: Oriental Green Beans Almondine

When Hubs and I got hitched 2 years ago one of the dishes served at our reception was Green Beans Almondine and it was delicious! So now I share with you my latest recipe...similar to the one served the day of our wedding but with a little Asian flare. Yum!

Ingredients:

-1 pound of green beans

-1 tbsp of olive oil

-1 tbsp of mince garlic

-1 tbsp sesame seeds

-handful of sliced almonds

-1/4 cup vegetable broth

-3 tbsp soy sauce, add more if needed

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on med-high heat

2. Add garlic, almonds and sesame seeds, reduce heat to medium (careful the oil may splash a bit!)

3. After 1 minute add broth, soy sauce and green beans

4. Cover with tin foil and cook 10-15 minutes

So easy. You're done!

Enjoy!

-Joanna

Vegan Appetizer: Southern Style Cornbread

A great side to any comfort dish! Simply substitute a few vegan-friendly ingredients and you've got yourself a healthy version of cornbread. You're welcome.

Ingredients:

(I used the recipe on the back of the cornmeal bag, but nixed the original dairy ingredients)

-1 1/3 cups of Cornmeal

-1 1/3 cups of King Arthur's Organic All-Purpose Flour

-3/4 cup of evaporated cane sugar

-1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 1/2 cups of almond milk

-3 "eggs" of Ener-G Egg Replacer

-6 tbsp of Vegan Butter (Try Earth Balance, Soy Free)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Spray a 9 x 9 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

3. Add all the ingredients together and make sure to add the egg replacer once its dissolved in water in a separate container

4. Pour into the glass pan

5. Bake 20-25 minutes until the top turns lightly brown. Check after 25 minutes by sticking a toothpick in the batter--if the toothpick comes out clean it's done

Unsure what to have for the main course? Try my Meaty Vegetarian Chili.

Enjoy!

-Joanna

Vegan Dinner: Southern Fried Tofu

What a great recipe I have discovered! I'm definitely adding the blog Vegan Happy Hour to my list of faves. We share the same interest in cooking comfort food recipes. This dish was so easy to make and is perfect for some summer southern cookin' and ideal if you're transitioning into a Vegan diet and miss your fried fish. 

Sometimes I really run out of ideas and resort to other sites for their meat-free dishes...but that's the whole point of all this! Discovering and sharing recipes...and I'm loving every minute of this newly vegan adventure. However, I did make the dish myself and took pictures...and now I'm sharing with all of you. Thanks Vegan Happy Hour!

Ingredients:

-1 package of extra firm tofu

-3 "eggs" of Ener-G Egg Replacer

(side note: make sure to mix water and replacer in a separate cup b4 adding to the mix)

-1/3 cup of water

-1 cup of hot sauce

-2 cups of King Arthur's all purpose flour

-3 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp of salt

-1 tsp of pepper

-Vegetable oil (crisco) for frying

Directions:

1. Slice tofu into 1/2 inch thick rectangles (see photo)

2. Combine "eggs", water and hot sauce into a bowl deap enough to dip the tofu

3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in another bowl

4. Heat a large skillet to med-high heat with vegetable oil

5. Take each tofu "steak" and dip in water mixture, then in dry mixture, then place into the frying skillet

6. Fry each side (about 3 minutes) until golden brown, repeat

I served mine over a small salad

What do you think?

Enjoy!

-Joanna

Vegan 4th of July: Red, White & Blue Smoothie

Happy Birthday America! Yes I am a couple of days late...but I was too busy celebrating to post! So here goes...it was such a great day. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos baseball team had a game that same night so we decided to go. After arriving we ended up seeing so many familiar faces that we didn't make it to our seats at all during the game. Oh well...still so much fun and I love chattin' it up. Since we didn't see much of the game, of course we had some free time to take pics...

Hubs and I, not in our seats

At the bar, not in our seats

The after party at Hubs' office

After the game ended (Pensacola won!) we walked to where my husband works downtown onto the Pensacola Pier to watch the fireworks.

Earlier I made a smoothie to fuel the celebratory day ahead. Appropriately titled the "Red, White & Blue Smoothie!"

 Ingredients:

-2 cups of whole frozen strawberries

-2 cups of  frozen blueberries

-1 packet (or 2 scoops) of Arbonne Vanilla Protein Powder

-1 cup of Almond Milk

-1 cup of Water

Directions:

Blend and you're done!

Enjoy!

-Joanna