Tag Archives: Vegenaise

May 21 2013
38 Comments
Bread, Lunch, Sandwiches, Vegetables

The Fixings Sandwich: That Lunch You Have to Get At The Deli (only better) Cuz They Don’t Have Any Vegan Stuff

Deli SandwichThat sinking feeling when – desperate for food – you walk into a deli, knowing that all you’ll be able to get is a sandwich with the veggie fixings…  What does a vegan sandwich look like at your standard deli? Shredded iceberg lettuce, sun-starved tomatoes, a few desultory slices of onion, and maybe a pickle chip or two. On white bread of course, or its simpering cousin – the one that masquerades as “healthy” whole wheat. Probably sweetened with honey.  Be still my beating heart.

The deck is stacked against us because the deli case is filled with slices of salami, ham, turkey, capicola, mortadella, pepperoni, Swiss, American, Muenster, Havarti, and provolone.  Simply no room for roasted veggies, blackened tofu, chickpea salad or tempeh bacon.  Not even room enough for a mere schmear of peanut butter.

Here’s what a deli sandwich looks like in my house:

The Fixings Sandwich
Makes 2

4 slices really good bread (recipe for my olive tapenade swirl bread coming soon)
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
couple of slices red onion
a handful of pepperoncini
a handful of romaine lettuce, chopped
squirt lemon juice
ground black pepper
Vegenaise or Nayonaise

Fixings

In a small bowl, mix the romaine with the lemon juice and black pepper. Set aside.

Coat two slices of bread with vegan mayo and top with tomatoes, onions, pepperoncini and lettuce. Top with remaining two slices of bread. Press down and cut sandwiches in two and eat.

Deli Sandwiches

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Apr 04 2012
55 Comments
Salads, Sandwiches, Side Dishes, Tofu

Tofu Salad Sandwiches with Roasted Bell Pepper & Olive Salad

Tofu Salad SangiesSomewhere and at some time I vowed never to include a tofu salad recipe on my blog.  I lied.  Actually, it’s more accurate to say that at the time that I said that, I couldn’t foresee wanting to include a tofu salad recipe.  Tofu salad.  Blah.  After all, one of my favorite all-time sandwiches was egg salad.  Specifically my mom’s egg salad which had the exact right ration of creaminess to tanginess (and, incidentally, we were a Hellman’s household as opposed to a Miracle Whip household).  How could I expect to replicate that with tofu?  But, times have changed.  After conquering scrambled tofu, it seemed right to explore tofu salad.  Mom’s recipe was the inspiration.

Tofu Salad Sandwiches
Serves 4

Tofu Salad IngredientsTofu Salad:
14 oz. package firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1/4 tsp. dried dill
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. red onion, chopped
1 tbsp. sweet pickle relish
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
2 tbsp. pepperoncini, chopped
pinch turmeric
pinch garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

4 Whole Wheat Pita Breads
lettuce, tomato, sprouts, avocado…the works

Slice the tofu block in half.  For one half cut into 1/4″ slices lengthwise, then into 1/4″ pieces width-wise – so you have small cubes.  Put the cubes in a large mixing bowl.  Now, crumble the other half of the tofu block into the bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine.

When ready to serve, slice the pitas in half and lay in with the tofu salad and toppings.  Serve alongside a big scoop of Roasted Bell Pepper & Olive Salad.

Roasted Bell Pepper & Olive Salad
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1-2 tbsp. Bragg Liquid Aminos
ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, sliced
1-2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425F.  In a medium-sized baking dish, combine the vegetable broth, pepper and Liquid Aminos.  Add the bell peppers, onion and garlic and stir.  Bake in the oven, stirring frequently, until peppers and onions are tender.  Add more vegetable broth and Liquid Aminos as needed – you want this to be a little bit juicy.

Remove pan from the oven and stir in the olives and parsley.  I like to serve this at room temperature.

Bell Pepper & Olive Salad

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Jan 09 2012
6 Comments
Sandwiches

Smoky Apple-Sage Seitan Sausage & Red Onion Marmalade Sandwich

Sausage Sandwich Cut in HalfA few weeks ago I bought a package of Field Roast Apple-Sage Sausage at Whole Foods in Oklahoma City.  I don’t get into the city very often, but when I do, I make a pilgrimage to WF with a long list of vegan staple items.  When I got home I took a look at the ingredients on the package of sausage and realized that I could make my own at home, saving money and eliminating some of the more mysterious ingredients.  Since I’d also recently (successfully) made seitan pepperoni and seitan chorizo sausage I figured it wouldn’t be too hard and it would be fun trying.  If it didn’t work out, I could always go back to buying it from WF.  I deliberately avoided looking for a recipe online and developed this one on my own – and I must say, I’m inordinately proud of the results.

Smoky Apple-Sage Seitan Sausage & Red Onion Marmalade Sandwich
Makes 2 Sandwiches

Slice Smoky Apple-Sage Seitan SausageSausage:
(recipe makes 6 sausages)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 tbsp. Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Liquid Smoke
1 2/3 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or microplaned
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp. rubbed sage
1/4 dried apples, plumped in hot water
1 tbsp. dried onion flakes
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

4 tbsp. Red Onion Marmalade
Vegenaise or tofu mayonnaise to taste
Grainy mustard to taste
Handful of fresh greens
4 slices Onion & Mustard Seed Braid Bread (or any good quality whole grain bread)

Make the sausage:
In a small bowl, whisk together the vegetable broth, apple juice, Liquid Aminos, water, apple cider vinegar, and Liquid Smoke.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, stir together the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, nutritional yeast, garlic, poultry seasoning, rubbed sage, dried onion and black pepper.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the vegetable broth mixture; add the dried apples.  Stir until a dough begins to form, then knead for about 3 minutes.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, tear six pieces of foil measuring about 8″ x 8″.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

Divide the dough into six equal pieces and shape each into a log about 6″ long.  Place a sausage near the long end of a piece of foil and roll the foil – somewhere between loose and tight – twisting or folding the ends.  Continue with the remaining 5 pieces.  When the oven is hot, place the foil packets directly on the oven rack and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.  Allow the sausages to cool in their foil packets on a wire rack for about an hour before unwrapping.  The sausage is now ready to use, but slicing will be easier after chilling.

UPDATE: I’ve changed my cooking method on these all of the seitan-based sausages I make.

  • Put a couple of inches of water in a large pot and place a steam basket at the bottom.  Get the water boiling, then turn down the heat to low – just so the water is gently simmering.
  • Place the foil-wrapped sausages in the steam basket and cover the pot with a lid.
  • Cook the seitan for an hour and 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let the sausages sit for another 15 minutes or so.
  • Remove the sausages, but leave them wrapped in foil until cool.
  • Unwrap and use immediately, or store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

Make the sandwiches:
Heat a non-stick pan to medium-high.  Taking two sausages, slice them each nearly in two (length-wise), leaving just enough so that the halves stay together, but so that you can lay the sausages flat in the pan.  Lightly brown both sides of the sausages.  Meanwhile, spread two slices of the bread with mayo and the other two slices with mustard.  Spoon 2 tbsp. of red onion marmalade each on two slices of the bread and layer on some greens, add the browned sausages and top with the remaining pieces of bread.  Slice sandwiches in two and serve.

Seitan Sausage in Foil Packets

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Dec 10 2011
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Sandwiches

Italian “Sausage” and Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches

Italian Sausage SandwichesThe inspiration for this sandwich came from leftovers from other recipes – roasted eggplant and roasted plum tomato sauce from the sandwich posted here earlier and “sausage” I’d made to veganize a Christmas family tradition: stuffed artichokes (that recipe is forthcoming).  There is a ton of flavors going on and the tomato sauce and Vegenaise add the right amount of moist creaminess.  Again, you could switch this up to accommodate the leftovers in your refrigerator.   Use slices of fresh tomato if you don’t have tomato sauce.  Baked tofu would be a good substitute for the eggplant.  Do try the sausage, though.  It’s easy to make and the flavor and taste are a revelation.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember where I found the original recipe – but my thanks nonetheless for the creative author.

One Italian Sausage SandwichItalian “Sausage” and Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches
Makes 2

4 slices roasted eggplant
4 tbsp. roasted plum tomato sauce
4 slices Italian “sausage”
2 thin slices red onion
handful baby spinach or mixed greens
1 tbsp. Vegenaise
4 slices good quality whole grain bread

Sausage Ingredients (makes more than you’ll need):
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup TVP
1 cup dry red wine
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 tsp. dried rosemary
4 whole cloves
2 tsp. tahini
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or use a microplaner
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or panko

Make Sausage:
Combine red wine, cloves, garlic (the roughly chopped clove) and rosemary in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 6-10 minutes or until liquid is slightly thickened (I ended up with about a 1/2 cup of liquid).  Strain to remove solids and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the TVP and the one cup boiling water.  Stir and let stand for about 10 minutes.  Then add the tahini, fennel, poultry seasoning, black pepper, minced garlic, cornstarch and strained wine mixture.  Mix well.

Cover and put the mixture in the refrigerator for about an hour to firm up.  When ready to bake, heat the oven to 425F.  Line a baking pan with parchment and if desired, form the mixture into 6-8 patties.  I simply spread the mixture onto parchment – it was easier than forming patties and for the purposes of this recipe, patties weren’t necessary.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the mixture is crispy on top.

Make the Sandwiches:
If desired, lightly toast the four slices of bread.  Slather two slices of bread with Vegenaise and pile on the greens, onions, eggplant, sausage and top with the roasted tomato sauce.  Top with the remaining slices of bread.

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