easy vegan recipes

Bar Food, Beans, Bowls, International vegan cuisine, Mexican Dishes, Plant Based, Vegan

Jackfruit Recipes! ~ Jackfruit & Black Bean Nacho Bowl

Posted on March. 2023March. 2023 by writinstuff

If you’ve been a vegan for at least the past 5 minutes then you know what jackfruit is. Maybe you’ve had it before or maybe you’re looking to try it. I don’t know.

I had jackfruit for the first time when I lived in Germany. The hubs and I went out for our first anniversary meal as vegans to a really nice restaurant called Grüner Michel and they served this amazing Brazilian spiced jackfruit and I fell in love with it on the spot. And then, of course, we left Germany.

Recently I was at my local Lidl and found a can of jackfruit and I thought to myself, it’s been a long time since that disastrous attempt in which I bought the wrong, sweet version so it was time to try it again.

Right?

I decided to start simple with a nacho bowl. It turned out delicious and flavorful, and I’m thinking I’ll try it again as some kind of shredded barbecue sandwiches.

Continue reading →

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

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

Posted on March. 2023March. 2023 by writinstuff

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.

Continue reading →

Asian Food, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan

Easy Vegan Quick Pickled Wood Ear Mushrooms

Posted on February. 2023February. 2023 by writinstuff

Today’s recipe is one that I have grown totally obsessed with over the past two years and now whenever I find wood ear mushrooms, I have to get at least one package.

Have you ever had these or even heard of them? They are delicious and earthy with this beautiful deep brown color that makes them seem like they’re from another planet. I have had them at an Asian restaurant here or there but most of what I learned about how to prepare these came from good ol’ YouTube University.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy vegan salad, look no further than this pickled wood ear mushroom salad. It’s super refreshing and incredibly flavorful, and best of all? It goes on the side of pretty much anything and especially Asian style dishes.

The good thing about todays’ quick pickled vegan salad is that it is pretty dang easy and only requires a wee bit of patience. And other than the mushrooms, shouldn’t require you to venture outside of pantry and fridge staples.

Continue reading →

Asian Food, Bowls, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

Oyster Mushroom Vegan Mujadara Recipe

Posted on January. 2023January. 2023 by writinstuff

Mujadara is a delicious and hearty dish that is perfect for vegans looking to expand your culinary knowledge or to simply tickle your tastebuds. I love trying out new recipes from around the world because it’s fun to veganize them and then I get to experiment with new herbs and spices in all kinds of other dishes.

Made with golden lentils, wild rice, and oyster mushrooms, this easy vegan recipe is full of flavor and nutrition. The addition of ginger, garlic, onion and turmeric give it a warm and comforting taste that is sure to please.

You can use a variety of vegan meat alternatives to make this dish include tofu, vegan beef strips or even beans. The choice is yours!

Continue reading →

Asian Food, Bowls, Curry, Indian, International vegan cuisine, one pot recipes, Plant Based, Vegan

Hot & Creamy Vegan Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Curry

Posted on December. 2022December. 2022 by writinstuff

Are you looking for a cozy and delicious vegan recipe to try this winter? Look no further than vegan cauliflower & sweet potato curry! After a long walk or a sweaty workout on a winter’s day, all I want is something warm. It can be soup, because who doesn’t love a hearty vegan soup? But it can also be curry when you want to switch up your soup game.

This hearty and flavorful vegan recipe is perfect for warming up on a chilly winter day, and it’s packed with the health benefits of cauliflower.

Why Cauliflower?

Cauliflower is a nutrition powerhouse, containing high levels of vitamin C, vitamin K, and vitamin B6. It’s also a good source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants. Cauliflower has been shown to have a number of health benefits, including improving digestion, reducing the risk of cancer, and aiding in weight loss. Put simply, you get a lot of food for a small number of calories cauliflower is a fiber-rich dish which means you really feel satisfied after a vegan cauliflower dish!

Making vegan cauliflower and sweet potato curry is easy and requires just a few simple ingredients, so let’s get to it.

Continue reading →

oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Potatoes, Vegan, Vegan Food Products

New Vegan Food Find! – Vegan “Luncheon Meat” AKA Vegan Spam

Posted on December. 2022December. 2022 by writinstuff

I already know what you’re thinking because I was thinking the same thing. “Isn’t SPAM already vegan?”

Despite the fact that it looks like something run through a blender, that luncheon meat product as well as all the others contain animal parts. Still, when I saw this can of vegan weirdness beside the vegan tuna, I frowned. I mean regular luncheon meat is pretty gross and I thought so even when I had no choice but to eat it as a kid, yet I knew that I had to give it a try.

So I decided to try it. Okay, the truth is that my hubs loved this stuff when he first left Romania and ate it often and he put it in the cart–2 cans of it, in fact–and so I figured I’d have to share at least one recipe with you.

So…here we go.

I decided on something simple. My first option was burgers because I used to do that as a kid because there was so much fat on that luncheon meat that it crisped up nicely so you could slather it with ketchup and mustard and pretend it was a much better burger.

But there was a problem; this vegan luncheon meat wasn’t quite as malleable as it’s more famous non-vegan cousin. It was next to impossible to mash up with a fork so I knew that wasn’t going to work. Instead I had to grab a knife and chop it up and that’s when it hit me, Vegan Corned Beef Hash.

Of course this wasn’t even vegan corned beef but it was close enough and I paired it with vegan mashed potatoes and peas to give it that old school Americana recipe appeal.

Continue reading →

Bar Food, Sides, Vegan

Quick & Easy Vegan Bar Food – Spicy Tofu Wings

Posted on November. 2022November. 2022 by writinstuff

Sometimes the intersection between eating healthy and succumbing to food cravings is a congested mess of sacrificing one for the other, but with a little bit of creativity and willingness, it can be done.

Vegan bar food is one of my favorite things to make and not just because it’s easy. Who doesn’t love fries and hot wings? I for one, LOVE them. Both of them.

But the truth is that today’s post isn’t about making vegan hot wings, it’s about the yummy vegan and accidentally vegan hot sauces I recently purchases which coat today’s lovely tofu wings. The recipe itself is quite easy and we’ll go through it later, but let’s talk a little about the hot sauce.

The main ingredient you might find in some of the most popular brands of hot sauce to make them not vegan is cane sugar, which is often whitened with bone char. So like any good vegan, you have to carefully look at the ingredients list and a good rule of thumb is that the shorter the list, the better it is in general and almost certainly for us vegans.

The first hot sauce is a brand I only became aware of recently, Marie Sharp’s. The sauces are spicy and delicious and some of them are flat out vegan while others just happen to be vegan. And then there’s a totally vegan brand, HiyaSelf.

I used a mixture of three sauces to create a super spicy vegan tofu wing and now we’ll talk about everything I did!

Continue reading →

Asian Food, International vegan cuisine, Noodles, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Plant Based, Soup, Vegan

Vegan Hot & Sour Soup Recipe

Posted on October. 2022October. 2022 by writinstuff

With fall upon us and autumn weather barreling in like she owns the place, our house become a soup kitchen, quite literally. Just this month alone, we’ve probably had soup about 7 out of 10 days because yeah, we love soup that much.

But cooking–and eating–so much soup means you have to keep it fresh or else someone (by someone, I mean me) will start complaining about having repeat dishes. That means scouring vegan blogs, recipes that can be veganized, making fusion soup recipes and tweaking old favorites. It can become a lot if you let it.

I refused to let it because soup is just a warm cold weather salad, right?

All right, maybe that’s a poor comparison but they are both low in calories, high in nutrients and full of vegetables, which is basically a bowl full of goodness.

I don’t always post a lot of vegan soup recipes because the photos hardly ever (cough, cough, never) turn out great. But soup, at least my soup recipes, would be perfectly categorized in my ugly but delicious category.

Anyway this vegan soup recipe isn’t my own, it’s from Will Yeung who had some really great Asian style vegan recipes. I follow him on YouTube and this Hot & Sour Soup recipe has become a favorite since he posted it.

The list of ingredients, at first glance, may seem overwhelming but once it’s all chopped up, I promise you it’s easy peasy…ish.

Continue reading →

Bowls, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Potatoes, Vegan

Vegan Beef Gyro Fries & Creamy Vegan Tzatziki

Posted on August. 2022August. 2022 by writinstuff

As you guys know, I love to test out different vegan products when they come out, so when I was visiting Metro last week, which is what I like to call Romanian Costco, I found a big ass bag of vegan beef. After some quick math to figure out if the grams versus price was worth it–it was–I dropped it in the giant shopping cart and started creating recipes in my mind.

I’ve cooked a few different vegan gyro recipes including Mediterranean Vegan Gyro Fries, Vegan Gyro Bowl and Vegan Gyro Salad Bowl. But this new vegan beef from Metro is delicious. It’s not too greasy or too dry that you need to add extra fat. And the best part? It soaks up flavors like you would not believe. Whether it’s broth or sauce, you won’t be disappointed with this vegan beef product…if you can find it.

The weather here has been INSANE. So hot that most days I’ve been tempted to make something like salad or sandwiches, anything that doesn’t require turning on the oven or the stove. The air fryer will do in a pinch but I also want to eat good, warm food so that’s my dilemma.

But this was my Hubs’ night to cook so I asked for gyro fries with vegan yogurt tzatziki sauce and even though HE forgot to take photos of the vegan tzatziki sauce, I’m still posting this recipe.

I hope you try it and enjoy it. Leave a link in the comments or find me on Instagram with your recipes.

Continue reading →

Asian Food, Bowls, International vegan cuisine, Noodles, Vegan

Asian BBQ Cauliflower Noodles

Posted on July. 2022July. 2022 by writinstuff

Some of the people I know who skirt with going vegan for many of the reasons the rest of have already adopted the lifestyle, ask me how I come up with recipes. They have all settled into the meat and potato version of meals with the occasional vegetable added in, so I get their confusion.

The thing they don’t understand is that before going vegan, I was a huge vegetable eater. They were a part of every meal so in those early days all I did was remove the animal products and replace it with non-animal protein, usually beans. And then slowly, but surely, I learned more. I discovered more.

The vegan food industry became more.

Still, it does get difficult to come up with new ideas when you have to cook often due to a lack of vegan restaurant food options. But we find a way, don’t we?

So for today’s vegan recipe, I had a few different ideas in mind. I wanted to take buffalo cauliflower (Buffalo Cauliflower recipe) and make it Asian style, but I also wanted Asian noodles and from there, the Asian BBQ Cauliflower Noodle dish was born.