Portobello Stroganoff

I know it's been a while since my last post, but believe me, I'm still at it!! I think lately I haven't been trying too many new recipes, but instead turning to my old favorites when I get home from work every night. BUT, I still love vegan cooking and baking more than ever and I'll forever be flipping through my cookbook collection in search of new tasty recipes to try and share with my peeps.
Anyway, I recently recreated a recipe I've made several times from Vegan With A Vengeance called "Seitan-Portobello Stroganoff". You may notice the "Seitan" is missing from the title of this post, and that's because instead of the usual seitan I use to make this recipe (which really, is equally as delicious) I tried it with Gardein's Beefless Tips. And just as a side note, I'd like to mention that Matt and I are seriously LOVING all of Gardein's stuff - especially the Crispy Tenders and Chick'n Good Stuff (and I'm not being paid to say this - however, Gardein, if you're listening, I'll take some free samples). Anyway, our grocery store just started carrying this line and we've been pretty excited about it all.
Back to the recipe! This, of course, is really yummy and earthy and hearty. And honestly, if you're feeling lazy or lacking ingredients, this recipe would be awesome without Beefless Tips OR Seitan. Just the mushroomy goodness over some pasta would be a great meal!

Jerk Seitan

Good news! I FINALLY have a computer! And you'll be happy to know that although I haven't been able to post these last few months, I HAVE been cooking up a storm and taking lots of photos. I thought I'd kick off with something really great and unique, so I chose Jerk Seitan. I've never had Jerk Chicken (I think it's usually chicken?) so I don't really know what to compare this to, but if you're looking for something with lots of flavor and kick, this is the recipe for you! It's sweet and spicy and tangy and just overall... yummy. I used my favorite and perfect seitan recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance, and the Jerk Seitan recipe is actually from the same book. I think this is a great recipe if you're getting sick of eating the same ol' thing every night, and you have some extra time to whip up something special. I served this with coconut jasmine rice and sauteed spinach. I can assure you this will certainly impress whoever it is you're cooking for!

Stuffed Shells with Pesto

This recipe is a pretty big deal because it's my favorite. And it's Matt's favorite too!! We get all giddy at the thought of stuffed shells and when they come out of the oven... Well, it's very exciting. This isn't something we have too often because the amount of basil needed to make the pesto is not always readily available – or affordable. BUT, as luck would have it, Matt came home with a whole grocery bag FULL of fresh basil. Apparently a friendly neighbor had a basil plant that was out of control and needed to be trimmed down. So, this meant only one thing- STUFFED SHELLS!!

I got the recipes for both the pesto and the basil-tofu ricotta filling from one of my old favorites, Vegan With A Vengeance.

Spicy Seitan "Pepper Steaks"

This is one of our FAVORITE recipes. And it's a real treat because we don't have seitan very often because it's a bit time consuming to make. This isn't really a recipe I would expect omnivores to make just because seitan is one of the "weird" things us vegans eat. The first time I had it I really didn't like it (I thought it tasted like play dough). But THEN, Isa Chandra Moskowitz came into my life via her recipe book, Vegan With A Vengeance and I discovered the best seitan recipe everrrrrr. In my opinion, the bottom line with seitan is as follows: Don't even bother trying it unless you're willing to make it from scratch. And then enjoy because it will blow your mind the way it does mine every time I have it.