mojo marinated fajitas + simple beauty minerals giveaway

Happy July! Happy Independence Day in a few days! And Happy 6th Anniversary Birthday to Simple Beauty Minerals!

In a few days the biggest celebration of the year will be occuring, Independence Day of the United States of America, and grills and cookouts are bound to be the happenings of the day. Vegan grilling and cookouts are the bestest and I'm here to bestow upon you an easy marinade, suitable for tempeh, tofu or seitan.

I made my tacos using seitan, because we LOVE seitan over here, and fixed it up right by serving it with warmed corn tortillas, adding slices of avocado, vegan sour cream and purple cabbage, also marinated in the mojo marinade and lightly grilled to cut some of the cabbage-y bite.

I used my SteaK Seitan, which is very easy to prepare and really, really good, so there is no reason not to make it, but, naturally, any setian or other vegan protein will be great with this marinade. The point is to make vegan grilling and cookouts fun and easy!

Mojo Marinade is citrus-y and garlicky and completely addictive.

MOJO MARINATED FAJITAS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Mojo Marinated Vegan Fajitas   

Serves 4

¾ cup orange juice

¼ cup lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

8 SteaK Seitan or other vegan protein

As needed: corn tortillas, vegan sour cream, avocado, thin slices of jalapeño, thin slices of cabbage or cole slaw, lime wedges, diced tomatoes, vegan cheese

1. Combine the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, sugar, cumin, salt and black pepper in a personal blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Combine the seitan and mojo marinade in a large baking dish or zip top bag. Set aside for 10 minutes, or up to a day, to marinate. Cover the dish and refrigerate if marinating longer than 30 minutes.

3. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium heat. Grill the seitan until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side, basting with the marinade as needed.

4. Slice the seitan into thin strips and serve with warmed corn tortillas and any fixings you desire.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

CONTEST TIME!

Before you get in the kitchen to whip up this grilling marinade and celebrate the nation's independence with loads of vegan food, fireworks and adult beverages, join me in celebrating Simple Beauty Minerals' birthday with a month-long contest.

Simple Beauty Minerals is a small make up company owned by a great friend of mine. I've known Lisa since our youngest daughters met when they were six years old - they are now 14 - a long time. Lisa and I began constructing our business lives when we realized that our kids were growing up and moving on, most likely without us :) A little scary, but an amazing time for our kids.

Lisa's business is veg-owned, responsibly operated, and mostly vegan. Just as good, the make up is fantastic and contains minimalist ingredients. In fact, Lisa makes sure that all ingredients in all of her make up is top quality, contains no preservatives and, is, to sum it up, completely garbage-free.

I began my business involvement with Lisa when my daughter began wanting to wear make up. I didn't want her exposed to toxic chemicals, and Lisa's Simple Beauty Minerals was just the answer I needed.

Lisa and I are teaming up this month to celebrate SBM's birthday in style - with a month-long giveaway. The prizes are nothing short of awesome! Gift Certificates to Simple Beauty Minerals, a fragrance from Pure Natural Diva Botanicals and my cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats, are the prizes up for the winning:

Not a moment to lose! Enter HERE.

I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan Fridays,What I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. 

 

hungarian twice-baked potatoes + blog tour summary

Growing up, my mother used to make mashed potatoes loaded with caramelized onions and paprika. This is a complete comfort food for me and when my kids asked for twice-baked potatoes, I was instantly reminded of those potatoes.

When I think of traditional twice-baked potatoes, I have flashbacks of lots of cheese, butter and bacon. Loaded with fat. The beautiful thing about these potatoes is that they are flavorful without all the added fat. I also added spinach to my filling to increase the nutritional element. Very happy I did! The kids loved it and this is a wonderful version of a baked potato. 

Use an ice cream scoop to remove the inside of the baked potatoes, but take care to leave enough potato in the skins to maintain the integrity of the walls of the potatoes, otherwise you'll wind up with a floppy potato skin, one difficult to stuff. 

HUNGARIAN TWICE-BAKED POTATOES PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

As I am sure some of you know, my cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats, hit bookstores and Amazon earlier this week. To launch the book, we are celebrating with a blog tour, one going from Canned-Time to Robin Robertson's Global Vegan Kitchen. Most of the stops along the tour are offering a chance to win my cookbook, so I hope you have maximized your chances of winning by entering every single one!

Along the tour, you've had a chance to sample recipes from the cookbook and I couldn't be happier! 

A word of note, though, many of the giveaways are ending in the next few days, so don't delay. Click the links and enter to win!

TOUR STOPS:

VegKitchen.com, featuring Portobello Mushroom Fajitas with Poblano Cream Sauce:

Canned-Time.com, featuring Fudge Brownies:

GIVEAWAY ends May 20th.

Photo by Angela McKee

VeggieGirl.com, featuring Scampi Pasta:

GIVEAWAY ends May 19th.

CadrysKitchen.com, featuring Baked Mac and Cheese:

GIVEAWAY ends May 20th.

Photo by Cadry

VeganAppetite.com, featuring Corn Muffins:

GIVEAWAY ends May 22nd.

Photo by Tamasin Noyes

Global Vegan Kitchen, featuring Mediterranean Quinoa with Fresh Herbs:

GIVEAWAY ends May 22nd. This is a double giveaway in that Robin is giving away my book AND her new More Quick-Fix Vegan cookbook. Win them both!

Oakland Veg featured my Pad Thai recipe:

Mrs. Pine Nuts also wrote up a review on her blog. She was one of my amazing testers and she runs down the dishes she made. Her post is HERE.

If you do not win, don't fret! Either buy your own copy or wait for more giveaways coming next week. GiGi at Veganville and Maggie Muggins at The Vegan Cookbook Aficionado will be our next stop along the blog tour, with giveaways at both stops.

As a reminder, if you haven't entered the giveaway for Tamasin Noyes' and Celine Steen's Vegan Finger Foods cookbook, make sure to enter HERE.

I am linking to these recipe parties: The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks. I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons. 

I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan Fridays, What I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. 

 

Pin it!

"everyday vegan eats" making its debut!

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"vegan finger foods" giveaway

SPINACH SWIRLS

It's that time again, when another wonderful cookbook I tested for is being released across bookstores nation-wide and I get to give away a copy to a lucky winner. I seem to be rotating back and forth between Robin Robertson and the duo of Tamasin Noyes and Celine Steen. 

The duo's latest creation is Vegan Finger Foods. Get the party started! The ladies have conjured up "more than 100 crowd-pleasing recipes for bite-size eats everyone will love." Including my family!

During testing, I feasted on Spinach Swirls (above), with a Quickie Marinara dip. Below is Banh Mi Lettuce Wraps, which is truly scrumptious.

BANH MI LETTUCE WRAPS

This book, as all of their cookbooks from Fair Winds, is just as beautiful as their first one, Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! They keep the goodies coming with the Hot Pepper Toastwiches, pictured below.

HOT PEPPER TOASTWICHES

GREEN SNACKERS

Another favorite was the Green Snackers, above, perfect for dipping or just chowing down, and Polenta Fries, below. This is the way to throw a party!

BAKED POLENTA FRIES WITH AVOCADO DIP

And this was one of my faves during testing, the Portobello Horseradish Bruschetta. The mushroom was tender, the sauce just piquant enough and the pea shoots added just the right touch of crunch and earthiness. So delicious!

PORTOBELLO HORSERADISH BRUSCHETTA

The ladies and Fair Winds Press have sanctioned the publication of the recipe for the first photo, Spinach Swirls with Quickie Marinara:

Spinach Swirls

Yield: 20 swirls

These easy little spinach bites are an impressive part of an appetizer spread. Try to resist eating the filling with a spoon, but we won’t blame you if you do. Serve these with our Quickie Marinara (page 16).

For the dough:

1⁄2 cup (120 ml) warm water

1 teaspoon Sucanat

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 cup (120 g) white or regular whole wheat flour

1⁄2 cup (63 g) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

1⁄2 teaspoon Italian herb blend

1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Nonstick cooking spray

For the filling:

3 cups (90 g) finely chopped spinach

2 tablespoons (15 g) nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

To make the dough: Stir together the water, Sucanat, and yeast in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes, until the yeast bubbles. Add the flours, oil, Italian herb blend, and salt. Mix on low until the dough forms a smooth ball, about 6 minutes. (Alternatively, knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes.) Add an extra 1 tablespoon (8 g) flour or (15 ml) water if needed to make a cohesive dough. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray.

Round the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl, turning so the oiled side is up. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1⁄2 hours. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into an 8 ≈ 10-inch (20 ≈ 25 cm) rectangle.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5).

To make the filling: Stir together the spinach, nutritional yeast, oil, and pepper in a medium-size bowl. Spread half the filling evenly on each rectangle. Roll from the 10-inch (25 cm) side, pinching the dough together as you go, including the ends and the last edge of the dough, so the swirls don’t unwind in the oven. Cut each roll into 1-inch (2.5 cm) slices, and place on a baking sheet with the filling side on top, and against the baking sheet.

Bake the rolls for 18 to 22 minutes, until lightly browned and the centers are cooked. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Quickie Marinara

Yield: 13⁄4 cups (415 ml)

Extra easy, famously fast, and very versatile, this is a go-to in our homes to use as a pizza sauce,

for dipping sandwiches or calzones, and served alongside our Twisted Bread Sticks (page 108) and Spinach Swirls (page 111). Nobody will believe you can make a sauce this flavorful in only 15 minutes. Because canned tomato sauces vary in consistency, add a tablespoon or two (17 to 33 g) of tomato paste to thicken the sauce if needed.

1 teaspoon olive oil

1⁄2 cup (80 g) minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Italian herb blend

1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 can (15 ounces, or 425 g) tomato sauce

Fine sea salt, to taste

Heat the oil and onion in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Cook until fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, herb blend, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant, but do not brown it.

Add the sauce and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasonings. The sauce may be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Gently reheat over low heat if refrigerated.

After you've come back from the kitchen with a plate full of Spinach Swirls, enter the contest to win your own copy of Vegan Finger Foods. By now you know that I hold giveaways quite frequently, so hopefully you won't mind following me on Twitter or liking me on Facebook. Once that is taken care, just leave a comment and a winner will be chosen on May 29, my son's birthday. Contest open to US and Canada residents. {Winner will be announced on the second of June}

Since my cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats, will be releasing next week, there will be more giveaways before the month is up! 

AND, in case you missed it, Tami is hosting a raffle (Quilts for the Cause) which benefits two amazing charities. Check out the info HERE and this gorgeous quilt she is raffling off: 

I am linking to these recipe parties: The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks. I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons. 

beef-style stew with gremolata

A few years ago I made a vegan beef stew for a friend of mine who was going vegetarian. He had said that it was beef stew he was really missing. It was his comfort food. I made him the version below. He wound up saying it was too much like beef stew and therefore couldn't eat it!

While I think the dish came out pretty good, I can say without a doubt that there is no beef in it at all, and while it is nostalgically reminiscent of beef stew, there is no cow anywhere.

I make this stew using seitan, but Beyond Meat chicken strips work just as well - or simply adding more vegetables. Since this is not an animal-based stew, it is not dependent on meat for the flavor or thickness, therefore you can sub for the seitan with ease.

I cooked celery, carrots, onions, peas and potatoes in this dish, but any root vegetable would be equally delicious (if not better) - parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, fennel or even sweet potatoes.

For an added zing, make the gremolata. Gremolata is a mixture of minced parsley, minced garlic and lemon zest. It offers a fresh and piquant flavor to the earthy and rich-tasting stew. You could also serve the stew over cooked pasta. So good!

BEEF-STYLE STEW WITH GREMOLATA PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

If you haven't entered the giveaway for Robin Robertson's More Quick-Fix Vegan cookbook, go do it now! Contest ends May 1.

I am linking to these recipe parties: The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons.

grilled chimichurri tofu with lime-scented couscous + "vegan planet" winner

I love the flavor that grilling imparts on vegetables, tofu, tempeh, mushrooms, lemons - you name it, grilling makes it taste decidedly unique. And while grilling outdoors in not to be missed in the coming months (check out Grills Gone Vegan by Tamasin Noyes for some kick-butt grilling recipes), I love to grill year round.

That is not exactly an impossible feat, being nestled here in the moderate temperatures of San Diego, but even then, I'm more often than not too lazy to light the charcoals and wait for them to get ready. In the instances that that occurs, I'm happy as a lark, but mostly I settle for indoor grilling. Not exactly, the same, but delicious none the less.

There are other reasons to utilize grilling besides the flavor grilled food achieves - less oil. Grilling versus sauteing uses much less oil and fat required for the cooking. If you are cooking with little or no oil, you have a few choices: steaming, broiling, boiling, cooking in paper, baking or ... grilling.

I use a well-seasoned cast-iron grill pan, which as it happens, never leaves the stove top. Call that further proof of my laziness at not putting away dishes, but I just call it practical - I use the thing so often that putting it away would mean an extra preventable step come dinner time.

This recipe, Grilled Tofu and Squash with Easy Chimichurri Sauce and Lime-Scented Couscous, might sound like a mouthful, but is actually quite easy to prepare. The sauce is simple to make, as it utilizes the blades of a food processor, the veg and tofu is just skewered and grilled, the couscous is cooked and then tossed with beans, spinach and pepitas.

The best part is that it is a complete meal - grain, protein, dark leafy greens, seeds and herbs. Another great thing: you can skip the tofu and increase the vegetables since there is protein in the couscous. Gluten free? Use quinoa instead of couscous. Oh, the versatility!

We were completely smitten with this dish! The only trip-up could be that the recipe might not make enough chimichurri sauce if you are as liberal with its application as my husband was. On the bright side, this recipe calls for a fraction of the oil than the typical traditional chimichurri sauce does.

I just KNOW you have been waiting for the winner of Robin Robertson's updated and revised edition of Vegan Planet! Before I get to the winner (of which there is, unfortunately, only one), let me entice the rest of you who can also be winners in your own right if you purchase the book. As a reminder, this cookbook has been hailed  the "vegan bible," "vegan joy of cooking" and the "ultimate vegan cookbook."

It has 50 new recipes and all the information is updated for relevance to today. Here are some pictures I took during testing.

AUTUMN ROASTED VEGETABLES

CRISPY KALE STRIPS

CURRIED LENTILS WITH CARROTS AND PEAS

LEMON RISOTTO WITH PEAS AND SCALLIONS

SMOKY MAPLE KALE AND BEANS

I've strummed you along long enough! The winner of "Vegan Planet," out of 58 entries, is comment number 11 by Papa Dragon. [I feel terrible, but I was not contacted and had to choose another winner :{ ] Please email me at zsu [at] zsusveganpantry [dot] com so I can send this to you as soon as possible. Congratulations! You have until April 14 to contact me before I will have to sadly move on to another winner.

Return for another vegan cookbook giveaway on the very next blog post. I love passing out vegan cookbooks! Use the convenient follow-me buttons on the top right-hand side and don't miss a single opportunity.

I am linking to these recipe parties: The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

I’ve decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons.

...and Pickled Okra.