Vegan Beef Wellington

Jon & I have really been into the show “Master Chef Junior”. The talent of those young kids is ridiculous! Along with being amazed at their skill, some of the challenges have also been inspiring. In one of the early episodes, the contestants had to take on Gordon Ramsey’s specialty, the Beef Wellington. They fared pretty well – their dish looked amazing – and I got to thinking it’d be a fun dish to create at home.

Now, usually there are recipes for Vegan _____ all over the internet. I was pretty surprised when the few recipes I could find just involved sticking a Field Roast into a puff pastry. A Beef Wellington has so many more layers of flavor than that! So I decided to come up with a recipe on my own eek!

I've never had actual Beef Wellington, but the omnivore in the household seems to like my creation. I thought the Wild Mushroom quarter loaf from Field Roast would play well with the rest of the flavors in the dish. I also made mushroom gravy to top off everything, but you could do a simple turkey-style gravy as well. I can’t say that this tastes exactly like Beef Wellington, but I can tell you the leftovers don’t last long at our house!

Ingredients
1 Wild Mushroom Field Roast Quarter Loaf
1 Sheet Aussie Bakery Puff Pastry
4 slices Peppered Tofurkey Slices
1 recipe Mushroom Duxelle (recipe below)
Mustard (for brushing)
Non-dairy milk (for brushing – I used almond)

This is a time-intensive recipe, but there are a few things you can do to cut down on the time, like making the mushroom duxelle ahead of time and leaving the puff pastry out to thaw while you catch up on your episodes of Scandal :)

Pre-heat your oven to 375 & make sure your puff pastry is thawed or is thawing. Pan-sear the quarter loaf in a thin layer of oil. While warm, brush with a layer of mustard and set aside.

Prepare the mushroom duxelle: Sauté 1/2c onions in oil until translucent. Add 1 tsp of minced garlic and 8oz of mushrooms. I prefer a mix of cremini and portabella. After the mushrooms have released their juices (about 5 minutes) add 1/4c red cooking wine. Continue to simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until the mixture becomes smooth. You should now have what looks like a mushroom paste. Transfer the past back to your sauté pan and cook the paste for 5-7 minutes until it has reduced. This may seem like a silly step, but it will cook off the extra moisture and prevent your Wellington from getting soggy during baking! Set the duxelle aside to cool.

Roll out the puff pastry into a thin layer. I usually use about 2/3 of the sheet (and make mini cinnamon rolls with the remaining sheet for dessert!). Layer first with the Tofurkey Slices and then the Mushroom Duxelle. Place the quarter loaf in the center and roll up tightly. Use non-dairy milk or water to seal the edges.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown. While the Wellington is baking is a great time to make your gravy.

Slice and serve with your choice of side – we’ve done mash potatoes, cheesy potatoes, as well as a hearty side of greens!

I did my best to explain my method, but I referenced this site a lot while I was making this for the first time. Great explanation of the technique!

French Toast Attack!

One of my favorite restaurants in GR has always been Electric Cheetah. Since going vegan however, I've found a lot of their dishes I have to pass on since they contain cheese & other dairy. I haven't been to EC in a while, but my in-laws were in town this weekend and wanted to hit up EC for brunch.

Auggie in the Cheetah Chair

I was reminded how much I love their "Donkey Kong Toast"...and their Ze Fronch Toast...basically,  french toast in general. And we all know traditional french toast is not vegan friendly. Hey, that sounds like a challenge to me!

I did a little googling and miraculously had all ingredients on hand (including over-ripe bananas!) to recreate the Donkey Kong Toast. It is french toast using banana nut bread. Brilliant! I topped it off with sliced strawberries (I used up all the bananas) and chopped walnuts. Yummy!

Banana Bread
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2c brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
~ 4 ripe bananas (I only had 2.5 and this still worked out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a small bowl, combine milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside for a few minutes
2. In a larger bowl, mix flower, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt & cinammon
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the vanilla and the bananas. Mix until combined, but do not overwork the batter
4. Pour into a greased loaf pan and cook for 45-60 minutes (check every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning)

Allow banana bread to cool completely (I used the refrigerator, I was impatient). Slice into 8 pieces


French Toast Batter
3/4c almond milk
1/4 c flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp cornstarch

Cooking up the french toast!

1. Combine all ingredients in a shallow container.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of earth balance (non-dairy butter) in a large pan on medium heat
3. Dunk a slice of bread in the batter, making sure to cover all sides and let the milk soak in a bit. This will prevent your french toast from being dry
4. Put slice of bread in the pan and let cook about 1 minute each side (4 sides total). Repeat if you want your french toast a bit more done.

Note - because this is banana bread, it will look a little darker than normal. It still tastes great!

Great Any-day Brunch!

♥L

Enchiladas - A New Staple

Let's agree on something - enchiladas are the bomb. The filling is usually quick to make (not to mention you can make it whatever you want!), it gets rolled up in tortilla yuminess and then smothered in a red sauce that can be as spicy as your taste buds can handle. YUM-O.

Sweet potato & black bean enchiladas were a part of our vegan freezer exchange this past month, and both the hubby & I enjoyed them. After those were gone I wanted to make some of my own and was inspired by this recipe. Bonus that it uses a butternut squash (I totally had one sitting on my counter top!)

I think the recipe is a little complicated if you read it all at once. I also didn't make the enchilada sauce (used a can - eek! I know...) or cashew cream sauce (next time!). But if you roast the butternut squash ahead of time, this really comes together pretty quick.

Souce: Edible Perspective (see recipe link)

Ta-da!

So my challenge to you this week is to experiment in the kitchen a little - come up with a filling that you think would ROCK. Try out the cashew cream sauce (I guarantee you will be hooked). Take some time out this weekend and make a nice, hearty meal for your family!

I hope you all are staying warm. The snow here has had me in hibernation mode lately! I promise to try to be better about posting :)

♥ L

February Food Challenge!

Confession - I have been stuck on the scale and it is frustrating! I don't think I have lost any weight since before Christmas. I guess on the flipside, I haven't gained any either, but I still think its time to switch some things up!

I was really inspired by my online fitfam taking on all sorts of challenges in February. They are committed to keeping the momentum going from their fresh starts in January! Some are doing a 'clean-eating' month, others are taking weeks off of sugar, and there is a whole #hastag movement for #yogaeverydamnday!

So my commitment to myself (and to you!) is to take charge/responsibility for what I am eating. I know the little snacks here and there are adding up in calories, and I especially struggle at work with mindless snacking! As the old saying goes, if you bite it, write it! I don't do well with food journals, so I'm going to go with if you eat it, tweet it! Or something like that...basically, I'm going to commit to a photo log of what I eat every day. I hope it keeps me accountable. Maybe it will inspire someone to try a new dish. And along the way, I'll be sharing my recipes! Yay!

Here is Day 1, which happens to be February 5th, so I may carry this challenge into March :)

Pre-Workout Snack: 1/2 banana & 1 tbsp Almond Butter
Breakfast: Cheerios, the other 1/2 banana, & almond milk
Morning Snack: Chai Tea & a Spiced Pumpkin Pie Cliff Bar
Lunch: Stir-fry Veggies, 1/2c black beans, 1/4c brown rice
Afternoon Snack: Carrots & homemade Hummus, Clementine (I didn't realize how orange this meal was until I took the photo ha!)
Dinner: Butternut Squash Enchiladas (they had kidney beans in them, and I added some Daiya to one!)
Late Night Snack (I promise this won't be a regular thing): Itsy Bitsy Soy Mocha from Biggby. I have a sweet tooth, I admit it. I'm trying to break that habit!

So, tell me, how are YOU going to CHALLENGE yourself this month?

♥L

Recovery Smoothie

The potassium from the banana and all the antioxidant goodness from the blueberries make this an excellent post-workout smoothie. Simple to make, I usually drink this after my long runs!

Just 5 ingredients!

Here is what you will need:

- a good blender (of course!)
- 1 scoop Vanilla protein powder of your choice (I use Vega Sport)
- 1 c Non-dairy milk (I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened)
- 1 banana
- 1 c blueberries
- 1 container non-dairy Greek style yogurt

The yogurt may be the toughest thing to find. If you are not vegan, plain greek yogurt will work just as well!

Blend all ingredients together, adding ice if you want the smoothie thicker or more milk if you want it thinner. This will make 2 servings. You can freeze the additional serving for later, setting out the frozen smoothie to thaw ~a half hour before you want it!

♥ L

Nut Butter Waffles

I'm normally a smoothie-for-breakfast kind of girl, but sometimes (especially in the winter) I just want something a little warmer, hearter even. Not that smoothies don't keep me full, but sometimes I guess I just want to chew my food!

I take part in a vegan freezer exchange with a small group women. I was planning on making my black bean burgers this month, but someone else mentioned they were making black bean falafel, so I decided to make waffles instead!

I'm all about quick breakfasts in the morning - probably why I rely on smoothies so much. These waffles are easy enough to make in a big batch, you can freeze them, and then either toast them or microwave them in the morning while you are rushing out the door!

I used almond butter (crunchy) this time around, but I have also had luck with peanut butter (crunchy). This recipe comes from Isa's "Vegan Brunch" and as she mentions, the batter is pretty forgiving! It is also THICK so don't try to thin it out - you may end up with waffle breakage!

These are great topped with some Earth Balance & Maple syrup, or with bananas & chocolate chips! I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand, so I made a quick chocolate drizzle sauce using some left over Christmas chocolate :)

PB Waffles

3/4c chunky nut butter
3 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp canola oil
2c non-dairy milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c AP flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix nut butter, syrup and oil together well.

Mix milk & cornstarch in a separate bowl, until cornstarch is well dissolved. Add, along with vanilla, to nut butter mixture

Add remaining ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. Be careful not to overmix.

This yielded 6 square waffles for me! Enjoy!

L ♥

Burger Crisis Adverted!

This weekend I decided to make a couple batches of burgers so I could freeze them and have them over the next few weeks (convenience people!). I made cooked a pound of beans, which was perfect for making 2 batches of Black Bean Burgers with some beans to spare (still trying to figure out what to do with those).

I also tried out a recipe for a more 'garden burger' veggie burger. So instead of beans being the base, veggies & rice were the base of this recipe, called the Karma Burger, from my latest obsession, The Karma Chow cookbook.

Missy's recipes are SO simple and require minimal ingredients. Also, no exotic way-out there ingredients. Just whole-food, plant based fun!

Karma Burgers
1/2 red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 med onion, cut into chunks
2c baby spinach leaves
3/4c cooked brown rice
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained
1 tsp chile powder
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp sea salt
1.5-2c plain bread crumbs
EVOO

Puree the red pepper, onion, and spinach in a food processor until liquid. Set aside in a mixing bowl.

Ready to blend!

 Mix the chickpeas and brown rice in a food processor until they form a paste (you don't have to clean the food processor in between - its all going to mix together anyways!)

Add paste to the bowl containing the veggie mix. Add the chili powder, tomato paste and salt. Stir together to mix well - use your hands! Mix in the bread crumbs until the mixture sticks together. Form into patties (makes about 8) and cook on a skillet with EVOO until brown on both sides.

Now, a few Laura notes. First off, I miss read the instructions and only add 1/2c of bread crumbs to start and couldn't figure out why my mixture was so wet! I started adding flour, realized I misread the instructions, but I still feel like I had to add a lot of extra bread crumbs/flour to get these to not stick to my hands trying to make patties.

Also, the texture reminded me more of falafel than burger. I'm not saying that is a bad thing. Considering how wet this mixture was, I'm not too surprised. I was really worried that these were just not going to cook through or end up burnt. I think the extra flour helped me from having to throw away the whole mix. Softer texture than I was originally planning on, but still yummy/ If you are looking for a 'meaty' burger though I suggest you go with the Black Bean Burger recipe. Otherwise, serve up the Karma Burger over some greens and top with a dab of chiptole mayo!

Chiptole Mayo - 1/4c nondairy mayo, 1/4tsp chile powder, 1/2tsp agave nectar (and mix!)

Karma (Falafel) Burger!

Another recipe I wanted to share from the Karma Chow cookbook is the Chiptole Cashew Cheeze Sauce. What is it with me and Chiptole lately? :)

2c cashews, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
1/4c nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp chiptole chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Water

Drain the water from the cashews and put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor. Add just enough water to cover and blend until smooth (may take a few minutes).

This sauce is really versatile! I used it at our Mexican-themed Vegan Thanksgiving a few weeks back in a casserole dish and had the left overs in some nachos I whipped up. This time I used it as a sauce on some noodles to make some yummy Mac n Cheeze!

Mac n Cheeze & Greens

Some days, you just crave comfort foods. Yesterday was that day for me! I used some of the cheeze sauce on left over noodles I had, and made a serving of Coconut Greens for a quick meal. Super yummy and filling.

Now you are equipped with some great burger recipes! And a few sauces too! Go out and try the recipes & tell me what you think!

Stay Positive,
L ♥