summer – Compassion is the Secret Ingredient

Vegan Circle City Chili

Chili is one of those dishes that can be made literally a gazillion different ways. There’s thin chili, thick chili, spiced up chili, spicy chili, meaty chili, veggie chili, white chili, green chili… you get the picture. With so many different varieties, some might wonder which is the best and the truth is, as with almost any food out there, it’s all just a matter of personal taste.

While you might love a chili so spicy that your tongue falls out, someone else might love something a bit more mellow. There is no perfect, best, or “right” chili recipe that works for every single person but there is however that one recipe that you go to again and again because your mouth just can’t get enough of it. For me, that one recipe would be my Circle City Chili. It’s thick, dark, slightly sweet, not too spicy, and a little smokey. If your taste for chili is simpatico then you’ve come to the right place, my friend.

It all gets started with some prep. (This is the most laborious part of this recipe but you can do it because you’re fucking amazing!) You’ll need to small dice half of a white onion, half of a green bell pepper, and half of a red bell pepper. You’re also going to cut up 6 tomatoes -yes, fresh tomatoes! No canned tomatoes for this recipe!

The best way that I’ve found to get those tomatoes broken down is to put them into a pull chop container. I cut the tomatoes in half or in 3rds so that they’ll fit into the pull chop container and then give the cord about 8-10 pulls. You’ll want to transfer the tomato pieces and their liquid into a bigger bowl so that you can then repeat the pull chop process with the rest of the tomatoes.

After you’ve prepped the veg, you’re gonna get cookin’ some veg. In a large coverable pot or cast iron dutch oven, heat some oil up on medium heat for a minute or two. Add in the onion, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper, then cook this trio for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 10 minutes has passed, it’s time to add in everything else -2 different kinds of beans, the tomatoes we prepped earlier, frozen corn kernels, water (or a little water and a little ale or beer, if you’re so inclined), tomato paste, and a whole bunch of seasonings. Give the chili a good stir to ensure it’s all combined then cover the pot and cook for 30-40 minutes on low-med. or medium heat -the chili should be bubbling pretty good but not boiling. Be sure to stir occasionally.

When the chili is done it’ll be darker in color and thicker than it was 30-40 minutes ago. Serve it up with your favorite toppings or just enjoy it all by itself -either way, you can’t go wrong!

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Vegan Circle City Chili

Servings: 6
Time: 60 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

6 medium size tomatoes
1/2 of a white onion
1/2 of a green bell pepper
1/2 of a red bell pepper
1/4 cup oil
2 (15-ounce) cans of low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15-ounce) cans of low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen yellow corn kernels
1/2 cup water (or 1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup ale or beer)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Toppings (optional)

Directions

Cut the tomatoes in half or in 3rds so that they’ll fit into a pull chop container. Place 3 or 4 tomato chunks into the container then give the cord about 8-10 pulls. Transfer the tomato pieces and their liquid into a bigger bowl or container so that you can repeat the pull chop process with the remaining chunks of the tomatoes. Set the prepped tomatoes aside for use later then small dice the onion and bell peppers, making sure to remove the seeds from the peppers.
In a large coverable pot or cast iron dutch oven, heat the oil up on medium heat for a minute or two. Add in the onion, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 10 minutes, add in the remaining ingredients. Give the chili a good stir to combine everything then cover and cook on low-med. or medium heat for 30-40 minutes -you want it to be bubbling pretty good but not boiling. Be sure to stir occasionally. When the chili is done it’ll be thicker and also darker in color. Serve with your favorite toppings (optional). Chili will keep in an airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days.

Vegan Quick & Easy Creamy Tomato Soup

There are a lot of people in this world who only think of soup as being for the fall and winter, and I totally get that. There is nothing better than being all cozied up on the couch with a chill in the air and a big ol’ bowl of comforting soup in your hands. However, I’m not one of these people who saves soup making just for the colder months. I love soup even in the depths of summer and there’s one soup in particular that I’ve been craving as of late and that’s tomato soup.

When it comes to tomato soup there are a few different ways to make it but my favorite way is creamy. Creamy tomato soup is the best for 3 reasons: 1) it’s generally a little less acidic, 2) it has more flavor and a better texture, and 3) it’s prettier -because who the fuck doesn’t want their food to be pretty? #AmIRight

Now, my creamy tomato soup has an additional reason why you should love it and that is that it’s super quick and easy to make. It all gets started with you dumping a big can of San Marzano tomatoes, along with a few other things, into a medium or large pot over medium-high heat. Why San Marzano’s in particular? San Marzano tomatoes are less seedy and less acidic than other tomato varieties. Plus they sound fancy… should that be something you’re concerned with, I mean.

You’re going to bring the tomato mixture to a boil then, once boiling, continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 5 minutes, you’ll add in the rest of the ingredients including the 3 things that make this tomato soup creamy -“mozzarella” shreds, “sour cream,” and almond milk. Give the whole thing a good stir, pop the cover on, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally just as you did before.

The final step before serving requires an immersion blender (also called a hand blender or stick blender). Carefully, because we’re dealing with hot liquids here, pulse the immersion blender throughout the soup, especially over tomato or garlic clumps, until everything is smooth.

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Once all smoothed out, serve alone or with crusty bread, a grilled cheese (made vegan, of course), or topped with a little more “mozzarella,” fresh basil, or some croutons.

Vegan Quick & Easy Creamy Tomato Soup

Servings: 2-3
Time: 30 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

1 (28-ounce) can of San Marzano peeled, whole tomatoes with basil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup Daiya “Mozzarella” shreds
1/2 cup vegan “sour cream”
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon vegan “butter”
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

Directions

In a medium or large pot over medium-high heat, combine tomatoes with tomato paste, olive oil, salt, sugar, black pepper, thyme, and onion powder. Bring to boil then, when boiling, continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in the remaining ingredients, give the whole thing a good stir, then place a cover on the pot and reduce the heat to simmer for 20 minutes, again, stirring occasionally.
After 20 minutes and with the heat turned off, use an immersion blender to smooth out the soup. Carefully pulse the immersion blender throughout the soup, especially over tomato or garlic clumps, until smooth then serve. Soup is best served freshly made but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Vegan “Ribs”

Remember a couple weeks back, when I shared my recipe for coconut cornbread and said that I would be making that for my brother’s birthday along with something else? Well, this was that something else, and this something else stole the whole damn show.

My brother loves all things meaty so I knew that a mock meat would be the perfect thing to pair with my coconut cornbread. I decided to do “ribs” even though I hadn’t eaten a rib a day in my life -nor had I ever cooked ribs (or “ribs”). As I stood in my hot kitchen, working my butt off to give my brother an amazing birthday meal, I started to worry that my mock meat selection may have been a bit of a stretch for me. However, all of my worry turned out to be totally misplaced. #AsUsual

My brother loved these so much that he was literally speechless because he wouldn’t stop shoveling them into his mouth. When he finally took a breather, he told me that this may just be his new favorite dish of mine. That means a lot coming from a man who would probably sell a kidney if he thought it would get him some more of my tofu scramble. My brother wasn’t the only one who loved these though. My mom, who isn’t the biggest fan of vegan “meats,” proclaimed that this was the best vegan “meat” that I had ever made.

So now you’re probably curious what my secret is, right? Because surely there must be some great big secret to these “ribs” that makes them so rant worthy. Well, folks, there is no great big secret. There isn’t even a great little secret. This is really just a basic seitan recipe combined with store-bought barbecue sauce. I kid you not. It all begins with the making of the seitan and, real quickly for those of you who aren’t familiar with what seitan is, seitan is just a fancy name for any mock meat made of vital wheat gluten.

In a large bowl, the vital wheat gluten gets combined with some seasonings. Once that has all been whisked together, water and low-sodium tamari get added and the whole thing gets worked by hand to create a spongy, dough-like mixture. (I like using food-safe gloves for the “worked by hand” part of this operation.)

The mixture is then plopped down onto a well greased sheet pan and pressed out to create a large, rectangular-ish shape. Next, the pan goes into a preheated oven for 30 minutes.

When the seitan comes out of the oven it will likely be puffed a little -this is totes normal so don’t panic. Grab another pan and carefully (because we’re dealing with hot stuff here) press the seitan so that the puffed parts go flat. Now let the seitan cool for about 5 minutes so that you can handle it with ease.

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After 5 minutes, cut the whole thing into 6 pieces and get a lightly oiled grill pan preheated to low-medium heat. (If you didn’t want to grill these up inside you could take them outside and use an actual grill but, with an average temperature of over 100 degrees here in Phoenix during this time of year, I opted to stay inside.)

Using a silicone basting brush, brush some of your favorite store-bought (or homemade) barbecue sauce onto one side of a seitan piece. Place the piece into the preheated grill pan, sauce side down, then repeat this step until your pan is full but not overly crowded -my pan comfortably fit 2 pieces at a time. Cook this first side for 3 minutes then brush barbecue sauce onto the bare tops of the pieces and flip them over with a spatula to cook for another 3 minutes.

When done, remove the seitan pieces from the pan, cut each piece into strips or “ribs,” and then brush on a final, generous slather of barbecue sauce. Repeat these final steps until all 6 of your seitan pieces are done then enjoy your cruelty-free “ribs.”

Vegan 'Ribs'

Servings: 4-6
Time: 50 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

2 cups vital wheat gluten
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon Chiquilin smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups water
3 good dashes of low-sodium tamari
1 (19-ounce) bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
oil for pan

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the vital wheat gluten together with the salt, smoked paprika, chili powder, black pepper, and ground cloves. Add in the water and tamari then work by hand to create a spongy, dough-like mixture. (I like using food-safe gloves for this part.)
Plop the mixture down onto a well-greased sheet pan and press it out to create a large, rectangular-ish shape. Place the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove pan from oven -seitan may be puffed a little and, if it is, just grab another pan and carefully press the seitan so that the puffed parts go flat. Let the seitan rest for 5-10 minutes.
When cool enough to handle, cut seitan into 6 pieces. Preheat a lightly oiled grill pan to low-medium heat then, using a silicone basting brush, brush some of your favorite barbecue sauce onto one side of a seitan piece. Place the piece into grill pan with the sauce side down then repeat this step until your pan is full but not crowded. Cook on first side for 3 minutes then brush barbecue sauce onto the bare tops of the pieces and flip them over with a spatula to cook for another 3 minutes.
When done, remove seitan pieces from pan, cut each piece into about 1 inch wide strips or “ribs,” then brush on a final, generous slather of barbecue sauce. Repeat these final steps until all 6 of your seitan pieces are done. “Ribs” will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Vegan Coconut Cornbread

For those of you who don’t know this already, I have a brother named Thomas. He’s a couple years younger than me and we are two very different people. He’s a tech-savvy gamer-geek and I’m a crystal-loving, cow-hugging, artsy-fartsy free spirit. With that said however, there is one major thing that we have in common and that’s our love for food. We both enjoy cooking and baking (and eating) so our conversations are often very food centric. (Thank goodness you don’t gain weight just by talking about food!)

Our food centric conversation last week was about his upcoming birthday. I, as usual, offered to make him anything (vegan) that he wanted for dinner and he, as usual, said tofu scramble because he really loves my tofu scramble. Here’s the thing though, we both eat tofu scramble like all the damn time, so I told him that he should pick something that he doesn’t eat on a regular basis, something special, and that’s when he said he’d like some cornbread. (Of course I’ll be adding some main course to go with the cornbread, since cornbread alone isn’t dinner in my book, but I digress…)

Now, cornbread isn’t the most interesting thing ever, and y’all know I love to add my own special little twist to things, so I started to think of ways that I could jazz it up for my brother’s birthday dinner. He loves all things coconut, and I’m on a low-carb diet, so I thought that perhaps I should add in a little coconut flour. Then I thought that I should also add in coconut shreds, as well as coconut milk, to really amplify the coconut flavor. Then I remembered that I had some leftover amber ale in my fridge and figured, Why the hell not? It sounded crazy. It looked crazy on paper as I was writing it all down. But then I tried it, and had some other people try it, and there was no doubt that this crazy-ass recipe was crazy good.

My brother may not get to eat it until his birthday next week but y’all can try it right now! The first thing we’re going to do is prepare the egg replacer. For this, and most of my recipes, I use Ener-G egg replacer. In this case I took some of the egg replacer and mixed it with a little amber ale and a little water to create my “eggs.” Don’t worry if it’s a little clumpy, we’ll work those clumps out later when we add this to our cornbread batter. For now, just mix it as best you can then set it aside.

Next, in a large bowl, you’re going to combine the cornmeal with the coconut flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Whisk these dry ingredients together.

Now we are going to add in the wet ingredients which are coconut milk, vegan “butter” (melted), the egg replacer we made a moment ago, and a little bit of sugar. Whisk everything together once more and then we’re going to trade out our whisk for a silicone spatula.

Toss in the frozen corn kernels and coconut shreds then fold them into the batter using a silicone spatula. Be gentle and don’t overwork the batter but do make sure that there aren’t any clumps of frozen corn.

Generously grease an 8-inch square pan then pour the batter in and flatten the top, if needed, with the spatula. Pop this baby into a preheated oven and in just 30 minutes you’ll have coconut cornbread! You’ll know it’s done when the top is a lovely medium shade of golden brown and a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Honey butter fan gone vegan? Try mixing a little agave with some vegan “butter” and smear that on a big ol’ piece of this cornbread for something so good your tongue will be crying tears of joy. #YoureWelcomeTongue

Vegan Coconut Cornbread

Servings: 6-9
Time: 45 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons Ener-G egg replacer + 3 tablespoons amber ale + 3 tablespoons warm water
1 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (13.66-ounce) can of coconut milk
6 tablespoons vegan “butter,” melted
1 tablespoon sugar
2/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Coconut oil for pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare an 8-inch square pan by generously greasing it with coconut oil. Prepare egg replacer, if you haven’t already done so, by combining it with the amber ale and warm water. Stir with a fork or mini whisk to break up as many lumps as you can then set mixture aside for a moment.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, coconut flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add in the coconut milk, melted vegan “butter,” egg replacer mixture, and sugar. Whisk just until batter is smooth and all of the dry ingredients have been fully incorporated.
Toss in frozen corn kernels and shredded coconut then fold everything together making sure to break up any clumps of frozen corn.
Pour batter into greased pan and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. You’ll know cornbread is done when top is medium golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Will keep in airtight container in fridge for up to a week but is best hot out of the pan.

Vegan BBQ “Pulled Pork” Sandwiches

Last week I shared with y’all my recipe for broccoli coleslaw and, upon seeing that post, I’m sure some of your minds instantly thought of barbecue. I mean sure, coleslaw is great with fried chicken (or my vegan version of fried chicken), but let’s face it, it’s most oftentimes paired up with barbecue -namely, pulled pork. So, with coleslaw and pulled pork totally being BFF’s, it was pretty much mandatory that I share my “pulled pork” sandwich recipe this week and that’s just what I’m gonna to do -but first let’s talk about carrots and sauce.

For my “pulled pork” I use shredded carrots. Yes, you read that correctly, shredded carrots. The carrots have a nice tender meaty texture when cooked and they’re the perfect delivery system for my sauce because they soak up some of it making them not just flavorful on the outside but on the inside as well. Speaking of my sauce, it’s a tomato-based sauce that’s thick, sweet, and tangy. From what I know about barbecue sauces, mine is closely related to what they call a Kansas City-style sauce so, if you’re into that style, you’ve come to the right place.

It all gets started with you peeling and washing up some large carrots. Once you’ve got those all prepped and ready to go, it’s time to shred those bad mama jama’s. You can do this in your food processor or by hand on a box grater like I did this time -it was my arm workout for the day! Either way, you’re just going to want to make sure that you do thicker shreds so that they hold up in the cooking process and provide a more meaty bite.

Place the shredded carrots into a pot of boiling water and boil them for 10 minutes. While the carrots are boiling (and turning the boiling water a lovely shade of orange), we are going to get the sauce started.

In a dutch oven or other large (and lidded) pot, tomato puree is going to get combined with amber ale, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and a few other things. Whisk everything together to break up any clumps and then bring the mixture to a full boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer and then check on your carrots.

When the carrots are done boiling, use a strainer scoop or fine colander to retrieve them and then toss them into the simmering sauce. Stir to combine it all together.

Cover the pot and cook the mixture for 20-30 more minutes to thicken the sauce and get the carrots to their final level of tenderness. Be sure to stir the mixture occasionally and, when not stirring it, keep the pot covered to keep the moisture in. When it’s all done, serve the “pulled pork” on a hamburger bun and top it off with some of that delicious coleslaw I linked to at the beginning of this post.

Vegan BBQ 'Pulled Pork' Sandwiches

Servings: 4-6
Time: 50 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

7-9 large carrots, peeled, washed, then shredded into large shreds (upon shredding, you should have about 2 generous cups worth of carrot shreds -don’t use less or more than this amount for this recipe or there will likely be too much or too little sauce for the shredded carrots)
1 1/2 cups tomato puree
1/2 cup amber ale
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Hamburger buns
Broccoli coleslaw (optional)

Directions

Peel, wash, and thickly shred the carrots if you haven’t done so already. Bring a pot of water to boil then put the shredded carrots into the pot and boil for 10 minutes. While the carrot shreds are boiling, follow the next step to get the sauce started.
In a dutch oven or other large (and lidded) pot, whisk the tomato puree with the amber ale, apple cider vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, lemon juice, paprika, spicy mustard, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, and chili powder. Bring the sauce to full boil, then reduce to simmer.
When the carrots are done boiling, use a strainer scoop or fine colander to retrieve them and then toss them into the simmering sauce. Stir to combine then cover the pot and cook the mixture for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When done, carrots will be tender and sauce will have thickened. Serve topped with coleslaw (optional) on a hamburger bun. Leftover “pulled pork” mixture will keep in an airtight container in fridge for 3-4 days.

Vegan Broccoli Coleslaw

~~Coleslaw is so gross.~~ Coleslaw was so gross.

If you’re anything like me then you’re not a fan of cabbage and the only coleslaw’s that have ever come my way in life were cabbage based. #Ew

However, a new grocery store opened up by my house a couple months ago and, while browsing the produce section, I stumbled upon a little thing called broccoli slaw. (I’m sure this stuff has been around for a while but I’ve never once seen it and let me tell you, I spend a lot of time in the produce section!) Inside the clear clamshell package I saw a mixture of shredded broccoli stems, carrots, and the teeniest bit of purple cabbage. I got excited because I knew this was it, my chance to enjoy (nearly) cabbage-less coleslaw. I’m sure I looked strange as I stared into the chilled case with a smile on my face and excitement in my eyes but hey, we vegans can be a little strange sometimes. I snagged the last 2 packages in stock and, upon getting them home, immediately began the process of recipe making, tweaking, and perfecting.

My coleslaw is creamy, light, and full-flavored without being overpowering. It also has some interesting ingredients that not every coleslaw has -you’ll find out about those in a minute. Once made, you let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the flavor to really come together, but letting it rest overnight is preferable.

It all gets started with some prep. Since we’re using a store bought broccoli slaw mixture there are really only 3 elements that require you to bust out your favorite knife and cutting board: the green bell pepper (green for its mild, not too sweet flavor), the onion, and the fresh parsley. Not every coleslaw recipe features these ingredients but mine does and it’s more fabulous because of them. You’re going to mince the bell pepper, finely mince the onion, and then rough chop the parsley. After you’ve done all of this, set this stuff aside for a moment to get the liquid for our coleslaw ready.

For the liquid part of our coleslaw, in a large bowl combine the vegan mayo with the white wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and mustard. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy looking.

To the liquid mixture you’re going to toss in the broccoli slaw along with the bell pepper, onion, and parsley you prepared a moment ago. You’re also going to add in some salt, black pepper, and celery seed then mix everything together to coat the added ingredients with the liquid.

Cover the mixture tightly with some plastic wrap and then place the whole thing into your fridge for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to develop and meld. If time allows, keep the mixture in the fridge overnight (as in prepare it the day before you need it) for the best final product. Stir once more before serving.

Vegan Broccoli Coleslaw

Servings: 6-8
Time: 10 minutes to prepare + minimum 1 hour in fridge (overnight is best)
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

1/4 of a green bell pepper, minced
1 generous tablespoon white onion, finely minced
A small handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 cup vegan mayo
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 (12-ounce) package of broccoli slaw (preferably one which also contains carrots and purple cabbage)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon celery seed

Directions

Mince the bell pepper, finely mince the onion, and rough chop the parsley, if you haven’t already prepped these ingredients. Set these aside for a moment.
In a large bowl, combine vegan mayo with white wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and mustard. Whisk vigorously until smooth and creamy. Add in broccoli slaw mixture, the bell pepper, onion, and parsley you prepped a moment ago, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Stir/fold the ingredients together to evenly coat the added ingredients with the liquid.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop and meld. If time allows, keep the mixture in the fridge overnight (as in prepare it the day before you need it) for the best final product. Stir once more before serving. Coleslaw will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Vegan “Buttermilk” Fried “Chicken”

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In case you weren’t aware, writing recipes is quite the process indeed. Throughout said process, I’ll oftentimes end up with a sheet of paper that frankly looks as though someone who was possessed (and had a pen) got their hands on it. Now, I can only really focus on so many recipes at a time so most of the these chicken scratch papers end up getting tossed into a big ol’ pile waiting for their day to be perfected and shared with all y’all. Well, the other day, one recipe that’s been sitting in that pile since I started my blog finally got it’s day to shine.

When I hit the 10 pounds lost mark last weekend, I decided that I was going to give myself a cheat day and there was only one thing on my mind: fried “chicken.” This recipe, like I said a minute ago, had been in the pile o’ recipes since I started this blog in January. It just kept getting left behind in favor of other recipes which were a little less daunting. I mean, homemade vegan “meats” of any kind are serious business -fake meats have got to deliver. Despite my consternation though, I so desperately wanted to get it done for my cheat day so I got busy tweaking the recipe to perfection. A few batches later I had done it and was able to eat what I was craving for my cheat day. #DeliciousDeliciousSuccess

My fried “chicken” recipe is very traditional. You have your “chicken” pieces (made mostly of textured vegetable protein and vital wheat gluten for comparable protein values to actual chicken), a buttermilk-esque bath, and then a dredge (flour with salt, pepper, and just 2 other seasonings). Once coated, each piece is fried then finished off in the oven. The end result is something that has a nice meaty mouth feel and is perfectly seasoned. I could definitely see (if I wasn’t dieting) pairing up these fried little lovelies with my white gravy, biscuits, and mac-n-cheese for a picnic, or with waffles. #Drooling

It all gets started with some prep. The textured vegetable protein (aka TVP) is going to get plumped up with a little vegetable stock so that it’s ready for us in a moment when we make our “chicken.”

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We also need to prep the buttermilk-esque bath as well as the dredge. The buttermilk-esque bath is simply a combination of unsweetened almond milk and vinegar -use either normal vinegar for this or white wine vinegar. The dredge is all-purpose flour with some salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder mixed in. Whip up the bath and the dredge each in their own bowl then set them aside for a moment so that we can make our “chicken” mixture.

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For the “chicken” mixture, stir the TVP, vital wheat gluten, and seasonings together just until combined. You’ll want to make sure that you’re not overworking this mixture otherwise your “chicken” will be a little tough and chewy and ain’t nobody got time for tough and chewy “chicken.” Let this mixture to rest for a moment to allow the gluten to properly set.

Now would be a great time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep a small sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper. You will also want to get a frying pan (cast iron is best for heat retention) ready by adding enough oil to shallow fry -about a half of an inch. Get the oil heating up to about medium heat (low to mid 300s). While the oil is heating up you can start forming your “chicken” pieces.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out some of your “chicken” mixture and plop it down into your hand. Using your fingers and palms, press and work the piece just for a moment to compact it and form it into a flattened ball about an inch and a half thick. Dip the piece into the almond milk mixture we made earlier, making sure it’s been nicely coated with the liquid, then roll it in the flour dredge to cover the piece entirely. Repeat to make the first 4 (of 8 total) pieces -I’ll explain this in just a second.

Before you gently place your pieces into the frying pan using a fork, test that the oil is at the correct temperature by dropping in a pinch of of your plain “chicken” mixture. If it begins to bubble and sizzle immediately, without quickly fading, then the oil is ready. If it doesn’t do any of that then you’ll need to turn the heat up just a little.

Once the oil is ready you may begin frying. Place no more than 4 pieces into the oil at a time so as to not crowd the pan. Fry each piece for about 5 minutes on each side then, when done, place onto the sheet pan you prepped earlier. Repeat the scooping, forming, dipping, dredging, and frying process until no “chicken” mixture remains.

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Once all of the pieces have been fried and are on the prepped sheet pan, bake them for 20 minutes, flipping the pieces over at the halfway point. When done, let cool for 5 minutes (off the pan) then serve immediately for the best eating experience.

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Vegan 'Buttermilk' Fried 'Chicken'

Servings: 8 pieces (enough for 3-4 people)
Time: 65 minutes
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Credit: Compassion is the Secret Ingredient, http://www.citsiblog.com

Ingredients

1 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP) + 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk + 2 teaspoons vinegar (normal or white wine)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour + 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
oil for frying (canola oil works great)

Directions

In a small bowl, combine TVP with vegetable broth, stir then set aside. In another small bowl, combine almond milk with vinegar, stir then set aside. In 1 more small bowl, combine flour with 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, stir then set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the re-hydrated TVP with the vital wheat gluten and 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to create the “chicken” mixture. Stir mixture with a fork just until combined. Allow mixture to rest for about 3 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a small sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper. Prepare a frying pan (cast iron is best for heat retention) by filling it with enough oil to shallow fry -about half an inch of oil. Get the oil heating up to about medium heat (low to mid 300s). While the oil is heating up you can start forming your “chicken” pieces. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out some of your “chicken” mixture and plop it down into your hand. Using your fingers and palms, press and work the piece just for a moment to compact it and form it into a flattened ball about an inch and a half thick. Dip the piece into the almond milk mixture we made earlier, making sure it’s been nicely coated with the liquid, then roll it in the flour mixture we made earlier to cover the piece entirely. Repeat to make the first 4 pieces -we will only be frying 4 pieces at a time so no need to make all 8 pieces at the moment.
By now the oil in your frying pan should be at the correct temperature but test the oil to be sure by dropping in a pinch of of your plain “chicken” mixture. If it begins to bubble and sizzle immediately, without quickly fading, then it’s ready. If it doesn’t do any of that then you’ll need to turn the heat up just a little before placing your “chicken” pieces in. Once the oil is ready you may begin frying by gently placing your “chicken” pieces down into the oil using a fork or spider skimmer. Place no more than 4 pieces into the oil at a time so as to not crowd the pan. Fry each piece for about 5 minutes on each side then, when done, place onto the sheet pan you prepared earlier. Repeat the scooping, forming, dipping, dredging, and frying process until no “chicken” mixture remains.
When all of your “chicken” pieces have been fried and are on the sheet pan, place the sheet pan into your preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, flipping the pieces over at the halfway point. When done, let the pieces cool for 5 minutes (off the pan) and then serve immediately for the best eating experience. Any uneaten pieces can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 3-5 minutes -just until warmed throughout.