Posted in Breads, Cheese, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

Vegan Cheese (& other goodies) Tray ~ Vegan Charcuterie Board

Let’s just start this post by me letting you know that yes, I know that charcuterie is a type of butchery and also yes, I am fully well aware that’s not technically the case with todays’ vegan food showcase. I concede all that if you promise not to take everything so literal.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about what we’ve got going on here today.

My hubs came across this vegan food brand, Rawckers, and because it was mostly vegan cheese products, he was, of course, intrigued. You see, he loves cheese. Unlike me who kind of lost my taste for it after going vegan, The Hubs is still going strong with his cheese love, so give him an option for cashew cheese and he’s all aboard the cheese train.

And best of all? He even had a plan for it. A plan that only required a little input on my part, which in Wife Land we call the best plan of all!

So he made a vegan charcuterie board which we enjoyed a few weeks back while watching UFC. Is that weird? Everyone thinks it’s strange that we were eating vegan food while watching professional combat athletes battle it out in the octagon.

Personally? I felt both fancy and savage, thank you very much.

Since there’s no cooking required there’s no actual recipe, but we’ll talk about…something.

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Posted in Cheese, Plant Based, Sandwiches, Vegan

Smoked Tofu, Vegan Gouda & Cranberry Sauce Sandwich ~ Delicious Vegan Sandwich Recipes

Are you looking for a delicious and easy vegan lunch option? Look no further! This smoked tofu, vegan Gouda, and homemade cranberry sauce sandwich is the perfect combination of flavors and textures. Plus, it’s easy to make and can be customized to your taste preferences.

You don’t have to use smoked tofu, in fact you can use any vegan meat alternative you choose. But I was browsing online and came across a non-vegan dish that was very similar to this and jogged a few nostalgic memories and I knew I would make a vegan version, especially since I was looking for a new vegan recipe to use with the fresh cranberries. Gotta make the most of them while they’re in season, right?

Take some time to find a sandwich bread of your choice, because bread is very important when it comes to making a proper vegan sandwich.

Continue reading “Smoked Tofu, Vegan Gouda & Cranberry Sauce Sandwich ~ Delicious Vegan Sandwich Recipes”
Posted in Casseroles, Cheese, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Vegan

Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower & Potato Casserole

One pot recipes. They are a staple in most households because they’re easy and–often–contain vegan cheese, but that’s not always the case.

One pot vegan meals are wonderful if you’re a busy vegan like me, consumed with a ghostwriting career, publishing romance novels and sharing yummy vegan recipes with the world. And when the weather gets chilly and sunlight fades too soon, sometimes you just want a vegan meal that is quick and easy, and doesn’t require using all the dishes in the kitchen.

Am I right?

This particular vegan dinner recipe is similar to casseroles I’ve eaten most of my life as a born & bred girl of the Midwest. Take a bunch of veggies, add potatoes and cheese and you have yourself a casserole! It brings back wonderful memories of a time when calories and nutrition meant very little to me and all that mattered was the ooey-gooey dish baking in the oven…and eating two helpings. At least.

These days it’s more of a convenience and a way to indulge in a mostly guilt-free way. Feel me?

Anyway this vegan dinner recipe is pretty simple, had limited ingredients and is so delicious everyone will swear you slaved in the kitchen for hours.

Fingers crossed.

Continue reading “Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower & Potato Casserole”
Posted in Casseroles, Cheese, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Hot & Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe

My husband loves mac & cheese. I mean he REALLY loves it and if I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it, he would request it at least once a week. Calories and fat and inflammation be damned.

Not that I mind (don’t tell him that) because vegan mac & cheese is delicious, especially this version that doesn’t actually include any cheese at all, not even vegan cheese. This is basically a thick and creamy vegan bechamel sauce with turmeric for color, tons of nutritional yeast, herbs & spices for a big ol’ pop of flavor.

The best part of all is that this vegan mac & cheese recipe is hot and spicy, and super easy to make!

If you’re not a big fan of spicy foods, I would recommend that you either take out ALL the seeds of the chili peppers or omit them altogether because I also added hot sauce to the bechamel because I am a crazy person who LOVES spicy stuff.

Hot & Spicy vegan mac and cheese

This is a quick and easy vegan recipe and you’ll be able to feed your family or a crowd of vegan guests in 30 minutes or less!

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Posted in Cheese, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

New Vegan Product ALERT!! ~ Vegan Caviar!!!

As you all know things have been HECTIC around here with the final push before the launch of Let It Be Love just around the corner. My editor had a family emergency and I had to do a quick re-edit to send it off to my release team and that’s what I did yesterday instead of sharing a vegan food recipe with you yesterday.

But never fear, I have something else equally cool to share with you today.

Not a recipe, but a new vegan food product that you must try out if you can find it or get it shipped to your neck of the woods.

Vegan. Caviar.

Yep, that’s what I said, vegan caviar.

Specifically, vegan black caviar.

Filgud Vegan Black Caviar

Sounds a little strange but as a fellow vegan and a vegan blogger, it is my responsibility to try this out and let you know if it’s worth the cost and the taste.

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Posted in Cheese, French, International vegan cuisine, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Creamy Vegan French Onion Pasta

Anyone else have a serious carb addiction? Just me?

Okay.

Anyway…

I spend some of my time perusing the vegan food blogs for recipe ideas because as much as I am creative and well-traveled and experienced with new cultures, there are many, many times where someone else is more so. When that happens, I make an effort to defer to those know either know more or do it better. At least…somewhat.

So when I came across tons of vegan recipes for variations on French onion pasta, I was eager to try it, experiment with it and make it my own. Because that’s what we do as creatives, as vegans, as home cooks, as…humans.

Right?

This is a simple vegan recipe that also happens to be a 30-minute vegan recipe which in my eyes kind of makes it the gold standard of the perfect vegan weeknight dinner. The only thing is, this one was of my recipe requests which means that my partner, Cos, made it.

And it was simple, delicious and exactly what I wanted.

Creamy Vegan French Onion Pasta (tagliatelle)

30 minute vegan pasta recipes

Ready to get started?

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Posted in Bowls, Cheese, Potatoes, Vegan

Retro Comfort Food ~ Vegan Mashed Potato Casserole

I don’t know about you all out there in the world but when I was a kid I loved a good mashed potato casserole. Sometimes it would be like an off-shot of a Shepherd’s Pie with ground beef and peas, other times it would just be straight up cheesy goodness with some animal served on the side.

Check out this vegan comfort food recipe: Vegan Schnitzel & Cheesy Pasta

However it was done, I loved nothing more than an old-fashioned mashed potato casserole. So I decided, why not take this classic recipe and veganize it?

Why not, indeed?

The key to any good mashed potato casserole is, of course, the mashed potatoes, which leaves you free to do whatever else you please…if you want anything else at all.

Vegan mashed potato casserole with Mici

This recipe is pretty easy to complete, very delicious and it promises to provide loads of comfort, whether you need it or not!

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Posted in Cheese, International vegan cuisine, Italian, Pasta, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Vegan Chicken Alfredo

Have I mentioned lately how much I love pasta and noodles? That I could eat it at least four times a week without getting sick of it even though I very easily and quickly get sick of dishes if I have them too often? Of course I have, it’s me we’re talking about!

I’ve already made a couple of different vegan alfredo sauces, one with lots of garlic and mushrooms and another with peas, chickpea alfredo sauce and vegan parmesan. Despite my love of pasta and alfredo sauce, I’ve made this dish again because I feel as if my vegan alfredo sauce gets better with every go round.

At first it was too think and clunky, then it was too watery. Whether I used a roux, processed tofu or early versions of mediocre vegan cheese, it was good but it wasn’t quite right. Thus began my Goldilocks method of perfecting my vegan alfredo sauce.

Today I kept it simple with this vegan chicken alfredo made with Naturli brand breaded schnitzel, which includes this particular dish in the easy vegan recipes column. Pop the schnitzel in the oven until crispy and sizzling, let it rest while you take care of everything else.

Easy vegan chicken alfredo with pasta.

If you think making vegan alfredo sauce from scratch couldn’t possibly qualify as ‘easy’, think again. Even the recipe list on this bad boy is fairly simple.

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Posted in Cheese, Salads, Sandwiches, Vegan

Vegan Deli Sandwiches & Salad

One of the things that many of my non-vegan friends (which is most of my friends) think is that I spend a ton of time making meals because vegan meals are hard. I usually laugh and shake my head because nothing could be further from the truth. I spend time in the kitchen because I like to, also because losing weight requires that you take control of what you put into your body and that, sometimes, means experimenting or meal prepping, or cooking vegan food from scratch.

But there are times when I’m too busy working on my next Mustang Prairie novel, or (shameless plug) any of my other contemporary romance novels, to give my kitchen the love and attention it deserves. When that happens, I am like Joey from Friends (am I giving my age away?) and I just want a really good sandwich. A really incredible vegan deli sandwich filled with meat alternatives, lettuce, red wine vinegar and all kinds of other goodies.

This is an easy vegan sandwich that doesn’t require much work.

Vegan deli sandwich with the works.

The best thing about whipping up a good sandwich, is that it takes almost no time. There are also plenty of hacks that can decrease your time in the kitchen if you want a vegan sandwich for lunch because you work at home like I do, or you have a make a sandwich to take into the office. Just…do what needs to be done to eat as many whole foods as you can, while enjoying what you eat, and you’re good.

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Posted in Cheese, Dips, Plant Based, Potatoes, Travel, Vegan

Vegan Burgers ~ Funkink Burgers, Bucharest, Romania

So recently we were feeling a hint of cabin fever and decided to get out, only all the fun places in the mountains and the countryside were packed with others who had the same idea, so we ventured into the city.

Which city, you ask?

Bucharest. It’s only about 75 kilometers from Ploiesti so within an hour–give or take for traffic–we can be there with the frustration of city driving behind us. The day was nice and sunny, we got there just late enough to bypass rush hour traffic and parked quickly, so it was mostly an easy journey.

ARCUL DE TRIUMF, Bucharest, Romania

I’ll tell you later all about my new tattoo, complete with vegan, cruelty-free vegan ink. For now, let’s talk food.

Funkink Burgers, formerly known as Sarah’s Burgers, is a fully vegan establishment. The cool thing about this place besides their artisan burgers? It’s a collaborative effort with an NGO, Romanian Vegan Association, to “promote a vegan lifestyle and reduce the consumption of animal products for ethical, economic reasons, to protect health and the environment.”

Pretty cool mission statement, if I do say so myself.

After sitting on a stool for hours until my butt was numb, all I could think about was burgers. Vegan burgers and fries, and homemade vegan dipping sauces. Sign me up. Now.

Funkink Burgers view, Bucharest, RO

The walking path to get to Funkink was a lot like wandering the side streets of Paris, basically a labyrinth of cobblestone streets that feature bars and eateries from around the world. I spotted an American style sports bar, an English pub, several German pubs because Germany is a HUGE influence in this country, and even a Scottish pub that promised “authentic Scottish fare”.

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