Thai Curry – Lightsaber
But first, lets talk about 10 reasons I’m glad I became vegan: In recipes. These are recipes I absolutely probably would never have tried before becoming a vegan. Click on the picture for the recipes. These recipes are listed in no particular order. Well, except the numbers are sequential. 😉
1. NO BAKE CRACK BALLS.
Why I wouldn’t have tried these prior to becoming vegan. WTF IS FLAX SEED MEAL?? Seriously, I’m really familiar with it now, but prior to becoming vegan, it simply was not in my home. It should be in every home, vegan or not. It might be in yours.
If you’re not a vegan or vegetarian, do you ever cook with flax seeds? If you ARE, did you have it in your home prior to becoming vegan, vegetarian?
2. Mujaddara. If fancy names intimidate you, call it Spiced Lentils and Rice.
Although I haven’t made it since the first time I cooked it, I freaking dream about this stuff. I don’t know what the hell it is about it, if it’s the sweet spices or if it’s the salty sweet caramelized onions, but the fact of the matter is it was yummy as hell. Ok, technically there isn’t a recipe for this on my blog yet because I haven’t revamped it just yet. But if you have “THE GOOGLES” (as my husband calls it), you’ve got yourself a recipe.
Why I wouldn’t have tried this prior to becoming vegan: Many of the dishes I now make are ethnic, not because I enjoyed ethnic foods, but because you can only eat rice and beans so many ways before you try to branch out into other parts of the world. And lets face it, Americans are not known for their vegetarian cuisine.
What is your favorite ethnic dish?
Lentils and Rice
3. TOFU AND DUMPLINGS
It’s not really “out there” per say. But because I was desperate for a crust, I decided to try dumplings. Since I was trying dumplings, I figured I might as well make a chicken and dumplings kind of thing. And it was amazing.
Why I wouldn’t have tried this prior to going vegan: I made it out of desperation. The only dumplings I’ve ever known were soggy mushy doughy grossness and this was amazing. Also, tofu. Duh.
What is your favorite vegan comfort food recipe?
Dumplings of Awesomeness
4. TAHINI SOY DRESSING
Oh my god can I drink this stuff by the bucket. Well, actually I probably couldn’t cause it’s so stinking creamy and rich and amazing and I want to hump it. I crave the hell out of this stuff. Like, a lot. I eat salads just so I can drench it in this dressing. It’s so muy yum. Topped with bacuns, ugh I seriously could eat this by the boat load.
Why I wouldn’t have tried it prior to becoming vegan: Because I was a ranch dressing purist. A little bit of lettuce with my ranch, cheddar cheese, bacon, and hard boiled eggs.
How do you like your salad?
Tahini Soy Dressing
5. CASHEW CREAM SAUCE
Even if I weren’t vegan, I’d still make this. This shiitake is way yummier than even alfredo, in my opinion. It’s crazy rich, sweet and salty and just amazing. I only make it occasionally due to the fat content, but it’s a hit with everyone, even omnivores.
Why I wouldn’t have made this prior to being vegan? Who needs cashew cream when you’ve got cow cream? Also, who the hell creams a cashew? I do, that’s who.
What is your favorite serve-to-omnivores recipe?
6. FRENCH LENTIL SOUP
Or really anything with lentils. I love lentils. There, I said it. They’re easy to cook, and they fit into anything. Also, leeks. I think I might like leeks more than lentils. Tough call.
Why I wouldn’t have made this recipe prior to becoming vegan: Where’s the beef? Also lentils and leeks, ewwww.
What is your favorite lentil recipe?
French Lentil Soup
7. BLACK BEAN SOUP
Eh, ok so this is a crappy picture and I can’t find my most recent one. To be fair, it’s debatable whether I would have made this, but it’s my favorite recipe so it makes the post.
What is your favorite soup recipe?
8. CHICKPEA CUTLETS
These are great on a boat, or in a moat. I would eat these with a kite, I would eat this in one big bite. Omnivore or not, these are good eats (sorry Alton). Isa (from post punk kitchen) sure got these suckers right! As an entree on a plate, or smooshed between bread and cool veggies… no matter how you serve it, these are awesome.
Not sure why I would want to eat a kite though.
Why I wouldn’t have made them prior to becoming vegan: Vital Wheat Gluten. Had no clue what the stuff was.
What is your faux meat entree recipe?
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9. DILL CARROTS
Yum! Sweet and salty and dilly, these are just amazing. I never would have thought to put dill with sweetener, but it really worked.
Why I wouldn’t have made this prior to becoming vegan: You know who needs to find new and creative ways of eating vegetables? People that primarily eat vegetables. Not carnivores.
What is your favorite vegetable recipe?
Sweet Dill Carrots
10. TOFU LO MEIN
To be perfectly honest, it’s the sauce that makes this recipe amazing. I’ve carried it over into pretty much all of my Asian style cooking. Also the fact that I learned how to seriously fry some tofu in this helped a lot.
The sauce on this is salty, sweet, spicy, savory and sour. It was the moment I finally perfected the stiry-fry sauce. Without fail, if I make baked tofu cubes with this sauce for my foster toddler, he will gobble the hell out of it.
What is your favorite way to prepare tofu?