boston market (MoFo 29)

Boston Chicken has gone through its ups and down. In the early 90's they were at the top of their game, so much so that they began offering other menu items. In fact, they became so popular for it, that they decided the name Boston Chicken was no longer apt for the business and so changed to Boston Market. Woo-hoo! Until, that is, they so over-extended themselves that by 1998 they filed Chapter 11. Who do you think came to their rescue? I'll give you one McClue... 

The company was purchased in 2000 by the McDonald's Corporation with the intention to get their hands on the real estate and dump the name and menu. However, after McD's cleaned house of the constipated BM's (I have a joke here that I will not indulge in...too late), the Market began to flourish again (rats!) and McD's decided to leave well enough alone. If it makes money...ya know.

Apparently things weren't quite as rosy in McLand though, because by 2007, the Market once again changed ownership.

The Boston Market Meatloaf was one of the menu additions from the original folks, and here I have reinvented it in all its vegan glory. While theirs is made of a cow, mine is made of veggie burgers. Pretty sure any veggie burger will work, but I made mine with Boca. The burgers are mashed up and mixed with onions, seasonings and barbecue sauce. The sauce is added at mid-cooking, as well. 

The sides at Boston Market are something that vegetarians, at least, can indulge in, but why should vegans be excluded? And why not make it vegan, anyway, for that matter?

Here I have made three of the side dishes, Creamed Spinach, Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole and Poultry Gravy. The mashed potatoes are my creation and not one of their "Gourmet Sides."

All of them are fantastic, but as far as it goes, this place should be called Boston Butter, not Market. They use a ton of butter, cream and cheese in almost every side dish - at least the ones I chose to make. A note: To make this as good as it can be, you must use unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk. Anything else will make things taste way too sweet.

Vegan Meatloaf with Gravy

Creamed Spinach. Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole

Meatloaf Recipe

PPK - american vegan kitchen

Post Punk Kitchen has begun their Cookbook Challenge! For the next 11 weeks, they are challenging the veg community to dive into their vegan cookbooks (assigned weekly) and post to their heart's content. Last year I participated in the week that Tami's American Vegan Kitchen was up, and I am doing so again this year. It is a challenge in itself to not duplicate recipes I've already made and posted about, but I will do my best.

Leafing through the book, Spaghetti Pie with Arrabbiata Sauce jumped out at me, mainly because it looked easy to make. If you turn to the page, perhaps that might not be your first thought upon scanning the ingredients list as it spans the left side of the page. On closer inspection, it becomes a relief that one-third of said ingredients are spices, easily and quickly measured and added to the recipe. The spaghetti is put into a pan, the tofu mixture is added on top and the arrabbiatta sauce (spicy tomato sauce) is spread on top of that. The whole thing is baked and then devoured. At least that's what happened at our table.

We only had a slight problem when it became obvious that the pound of pasta, 2 or so cups of tofu mixture and about a quart of tomato sauce was definitely not going to fit in our baking pan and needed to be divided among two pans. When making it yourself use your judgment. It actually turned out for the better; we scarfed one pan and have the other one waiting in the fridge for the weekend.

Since we are challenging ourselves, the kids challenged me to make dessert. Well, why not? I seldom make sweets and AVK has plenty of it. Chocolate Chip Quick Cake was the natural choice, in keeping with the theme. Very quick (Tami's right!) and delicious. It made just the right amount, too. With five of us, there was nothing left over and no one argued about the last slice since there was none. Perfect. 

Spaghetti Pie

Chocolate Chip Quick Cake

Vine and Dine, herbed ravioli with porcini pesto and tofu ricotta

The second Vine and Dine, hosted by Tami Noyes of American Vegan Kitchen, is from Voluptuous Vegan, by Myra Kornfeld. We missed the first Vine and Dine of May mostly because I didn't realize there were two in a month. 

Voluptuous Vegan was one of the first three cookbooks I bought to help us transition into veganism back in the good ol' days. Over the years this book has been put to the wayside mainly because the recipes are so involved to make. The recipes I made out this book required a great deal of time and dedication. 

No exception with this recipe.

Every three years or so I take out my pasta roller to make some ravioli. Every three years, I again realize why it's been three years since I've made ravioli. 

Tami had great timing with this V&D. It's been three years since my last forage into ravioli-land. After the meal, the pasta roller was safely tucked back into the cabinet, awaiting my future memory-lapse.

The ravioli was delicious. I love porcini mushrooms and the mixture with the tofu ricotta was very good. The pepper salad was a welcome addition and the basil pesto was great as well. My only complaint with the recipe is the amount of prepared ingredients. I used much less of the porcini pesto than I made and we have a lot of red pepper salad still in the fridge. Other wise, a wonderful meal with a ___ wine. What kind of wine? Here is David with the Ho-Down:

That is Mikel's Stitch Hat. Mikel has worn it everyday for the last week. He is a big Stitch fan and has even dubbed his  voice in this YouTube Video. Yes, that is really Mikel!
 I guess David felt like getting in touch with his inner-child.

 This weeks Vine and Dine entrée of Herbed Ravioli With Porcini Pesto and Tofu “Ricotta” turned out to be a very tasty offering.  Of course, when I heard we were having another pasta dish, I selected another red to pair with the mild richness and pleasant earthiness of the porcini pesto.

My choice, this time around, was an organic La Rocca Zinfandel, estate bottled in 2006.  This wine turned out to be an excellent partner in crime for the herbed ravioli!  The La Rocca Zinfandel is a medium bodied, fruity wine with sweetness so mild that it perfectly complemented the earthy flavors put forth by the herbed ravioli with porcini pesto.

The Chef and I tried a glass about a half-hour before the meal, to establish a baseline from which to judge the complements between the meal and the fermented grape nectar.  The wine by itself is very nice but when paired with the pasta it becomes something more.  Chef and I both agree, the fruity flavor with a slightly spicy undertone (we didn’t really taste much spice but this wine is supposed to be famous for it’s peppery flavor) truly enhanced our enjoyment of the meal.

As you can see, this bottle of wine has a cork, which makes me feel much better about my selection, even though there are more and more vineyards that forgo the tradition of corking.  I give the La Rocca Zinfandel four and a half stars out of five and I look forward to trying this one with a seitan steak or maybe a seitan and vegetable kabob.

meat pies

Our family's most favorite musical is "Sweeney Todd" with Johnny Depp and Helena-Bonham Carter. Although Kate, 11, hasn't seen it, yet, we all love listening to the CD in the car and at home. For those unfamiliar with this classic (having been a musical on stage for decades), it is about a barber who is after vengeance against the man who destroyed his family, to put it mildly. Having gone a bit mental, he begins to kill his customers and baking them into meat pies. Yum. The song, 'Try the Priest,' is magical.

Every time I make pocket pies with veggie-meat, it reminds me of Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies and I want to burst out it dance and song whilst baking.

The recipe uses the Flaky Biscuit dough for the crust, with added parsley (very easy), and a wonderful mixture of Boca burgers, minced, and broccoli in a thick, creamy gravy. If you use burgers, please remember to saute them before you use them - otherwise they gets a little mushy. The broccoli needs to be minced fine, as well, so you don't have huge chunks sticking out at all angles.

I've made these many times, and while not a low-fat food because of the Earth Balance in the dough, it sure is flaky, crispy and tasty!

Cost Breakdown

flour, Earth Balance, milk: $3

Boca, broccoli: $5

onion, garlic, mustard: $1

spices: $1

Total to make 14 pies:

$10.00

caramelized onion quiche

Brunch

Brunch can be a tough meal to plan because half the family wants something sweet and the other half, savory. Unless you wind up making both, the tendency is to disappoint someone. Unless you make Caramelized Onion Quiche. The sweetness from the long caramelization of the onions can satisfy some sweet tooth.

This recipe is out of Vegan Brunch by Isa Moskowitz.

The long (longer than the author sites) cooking time for the onions is the most time consuming affair for this recipe, but one that shouldn't be shirked. It is what gives this dish the body.

We really liked this meal, but as with all vegan quiches, something was missing. The egg-y flavor. Without it, the dish falls a little out of tune and, let's face it, you are eating a tofu pie.

That used to be the case, but once you actually realize that the original dish is egg based, it becomes crystal clear that some black salt at the table can add the missing piece in a snap. Cooking with black salt tends to diminish the flavor considerably, but adding it at the table as you would regular table salt will fulfill the flavor profile. ANY Indian market carries black salt since it is used throughout the cuisine. And it is around $1 a bag.

Also, don't be afraid to add some vegan milk to the blender to help the tofu turn over easier - it'll evaporate in the oven and help to make your batter as smooth as possible.

Cost Breakdown:

tofu: $2

onions: $4

cashews: $1

dough: $1

Total to make 6 servings:

$8.00

brewpub tater-tot pie

Rounding off the PPK week of American Vegan Kitchen we nod a bit to homeschoolers - I made Tami's Brewpub Tater-Tot Pie, a variation of which the Duggars are famous for.

When we first started homeschooling, we were enthralled by a show - 14 Kids and Pregnant - or some such title. It was about a homeschooling family (which is what appealed to me). This was shown on TLC and since then the family has had 5 more kids and acquired a TV series, 19 Kids and Counting. Since then I have lost all respect for TLC (hint: Palin, the Wolf-killer). As for the Duggars, their contribution to our family was limited to their Tater-Tot Casserole - a concoction of ground meat, condensed canned mushroom soup and fried, molded potatoes. Surprisingly, they endorse a cookbook titled, Two Sisters Cookbook - a vegan cookbook.

I know I need not say this, but Tami's version dwarfs the Duggars'. In fact, Tami's version is more a play on Sheppard's Pie with tater-tots than a Duggar's version of cheap food.

No offense meant.

I changed up the tots - Tami calls for one pound of tots, cut in half. I used two pounds, whole. I think she specified this in her book to lower the calorie and fat content, but I know my kids and they thought I was being skimpy with the tots as it was.

No surprise there.

So, to warp up the book, Tami's is a must have, something I have stated before; while I have not been tempted by most cookbooks, this one, to my benefit, I was tempted by.

Yum. Period.

Cost Breakdown

tater-tots: $4

TVP, spices: $2

carrot, onion, celery: $1.50

tomato paste, broth: $1

Total to make 6 servings:

$8.50

21st century tacos

Continuing with the American Vegan Kitchen and PPK cookbook challenge, today's dinner was 21st Century Tacos.

These are made with TVP granules, tomato sauce and spices.

Yeah, well, who does not know how to make a simple taco? and what is so special about this taco recipe? I was thinking the same thing when I was perusing her recipes. Luckily, I needed something pretty simple and quick to make and so I thought a taco recipe was ideal.

Like most of Tami's recipes, this one delivered with ease, simplicity and flavor. These surprised me. I thought I was going to make your old run-of-the-mill tacos, and instead I made a spicy (to taste), flavorful and totally gourmet taco filling. The toppings, of course, are up to you. I put lettuce, tomato, sour cream (vegan), olives and onions on mine. Fabulous!

I sauteed the reconstituted TVP before I added the tomato sauce to enhance the flavor more.

A note about Tami's recipes: while the list of ingredients are longer, most of the ingredients are spices and flavorings that need to be added at the same time. Just measure them into a small container and add them when needed.
When 7 out of the 10 ingredients are spices, the list only seems long.

Cost Breakdown

taco shells: $3

TVP: $1

tomato sauce, spices and flavorings: $3

toppings:  $2

onion, garlic, peppers: $1

Total to make 12 tacos;

$10.00



vegan mcMuffin (January 29)

Brunch

It is the battle of the Benedicts vs. McMuffins at our house every time someone requests an egg-y dish, namely David wanting Benedict. The kids are getting a little tired of it and would rather have a McMuffin type of sandwich instead of the upscale version that is the Benedict. For me it is easier to make the sandwich than make Hollandaise sauce as well, but invariable I make both. What a push-over I am.

This time, I made a sausage-tofu-McMuffin. I like using the Gimme Lean version of sausage because it is good, it is lean (the name says so) and it fits on a sandwich perfectly. I just slice it, compress it a bit so it fits on the English Muffin even better and pan sear it until golden brown.

I make the tofu just as I do for the Benedict, then add some Daiya (or not), veganaise (or not) and a slice of tomato (or not). The kids get their sandwich and David gets his Benedict.

Cost Breakdown:

tofu: $2

English Muffin: $2

Gimme Lean: $3

veganaise, Daiya, tomato: $1.50

spices, nutritional yeast: $.50

Total to make 6 sandwiches:

 $9.00

VEGAN MCMUFFIN PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

chili relleno burger

I am so behind on my blog posts that this post is going to throw everything topsy-turvy. It must be done, though, because it is that special time of month again when Tami Noyes at Vegan Appetite hosts her Food Network Friday makeover and she has a deadline to meet.

This month's reinvention is a Chili Relleno Burger, a creation by the Great Food Network Kitchen - in other words, the chef remains anonymous.

We, however, do not care because we are tackling a burger. I could not copy Tami's Incrediburger; that would have been taboo, so I was, for the first time ever, forced to create a vegan burger. 

I wanted to make one that would have a pink tint - mimic the look of a burger cooked to 'medium' - and used my beet trick again. This time I roasted the beets first and incorporated that into the recipe. I used pressed tofu (finding as many uses for my new Tofu Xpress that I possibly can), vegetables (including the beets and some of the poblano and roasted tomato that is for the topping) and vital gluten.

I kneaded the burger for 1 cycle in my bread machine (no need for the second knead), formed them and baked them on low in about a half cup of water. The liquid helps the burgers to get bigger and stay juicy. Having watched a few shows about the 'best' burger recipes, I am aware that burgers must stay juicy and moist. There is no seitan-after taste, the color is pale pink and the burger is juicy. 

Getting back to the actual FNF recipe, this burger has cheese (I used both kinds of Daiya, was going to make Muenster but ran out of time. Story of my life these days, it seems.) roasted tomatoes and onions (I pan sauteed both) and roasted poblano peppers (I charred them on my gas burner). Nothing really changed there except the execution (mine are easier). The challenge in this FNF was the burger itself.

Thanks for pushing my limits, Tami (and whoever chose this recipe!).

Cost Breakdown

buns: $3

gluten, tofu: (for 12 burgers): $3

beets, peppers, onion, garlic, tomato: $5

spices: $.25

Daiya: $2

Total to make 8 burgers:

$12.25

seitan and cheese enchiladas

Continental Night

On Saturday nights I like to make something from the Western Hemesphere, North American or South American.

Enchiladas are a wonderful way to present some of these dishes in a most delicious way. Another Enchilada dish I blogged about before had vegan cheese and spinach in a blue corn tortilla. This one has seitan, pan seared, and a combination of Daiya and Follow Your Heart. Melting the cheeses on the stove top first and then rolling them in the tortillas is the best way to make sure that your vegan cheese melts.

I made Red Rice for the enchiladas, using brown rice and baking the whole thing until the rice was tender. This took a little trial-and-error, having to add more water and then baking it some more, but I think I have the water to rice proportion correct now.

The refried beans are just pinto beans, with some sauted onions, garlic, cumin and water to thin the beans.

The enchilada sauce is just as simple using, chili powder, flour, water, tomatoes and onions.

This does not dissapoint. If you want to add sauted vegetables or tofu instead of seitan, it is all very workable and will taste great. Just make sure not to overfill the tortillas.

Cost Breakdown:

beans: $2

tortillas: $1

rice: $.50

tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeno, pepper: $3

seitan: $2

vegan cheeses: $5

herbs, spices: $1

Total to make 5 complete servings:

$14.50

Red Rice Recipe

hungarian layered potatoes

I have tried numerous times to successfully remake this very popular and absolutely delicious Hungarian meal. My parents made this on special occasions and as I have blogged before on a former attempt to make this, in its original form, it is full of fat. So much so, that it is considered well made if you can see the fat oozing out of the layers.

While my previous attempts were absolutely delicious, I still felt that it was missing something or something was just a tad off. Thinking what it could be, it became obvious that in its original state, cooking the potatoes and then slicing them relatively thick was acceptable since all of the fat would soak through the potato layers. However, without the stick of butter, pound of bacon and sausage, pint of full-fat sour cream and half-a-dozen-or-so eggs, this was not going to work. The potatoes needed to be thinner - more like that of an Au gratin dish.

This worked beautifully!

Also, after having been encouraged by Tami Noyes of American Vegan Kitchen, I went and bought a Tofu Express presser. As I have stated before, pressing your tofu between layers of paper towels and plates and whatever you need to weigh the whole contraption down with, does not work. Period. Wrapping the tofu in layers of a thin kitchen towel and setting it in the fridge overnight is your second best bet.

Your very best bet is this machine.

I cringed at spending $45 on a tofu press (a tofu press!!), and had been mulling it over for the past six months, but in the end it is totally worth it.

Thanks, Tami!

I made the 'eggs' in this layered dish using the Tofu Express and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. You can slice the tofu as this as you need to after pressing it in this thing and that is a key to making the 'eggs' successfully. In addition, the tofu does not crumble after pressing.

Cost Breakdown

potatoes: $3

tofu: $2

spices, herbs: $1

vegan sour cream: $2

vegan sausage: $4

vegan milk: $.50

 Total to make 6 servings:

$12.50

HUNGARIAN LAYERED POTATOES PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

southwest wheat-meatloaf

This recipe, Southwestern Wheat-Meat Loaf, is out of American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes. This was terrific, held together and the flavors were wonderful, but the gravy she recommends you serve with it, Jalapeno Gravy, is worth its price in gold. I exaggerate not when I say we were all licking our plates. Just make sure to toast your flour with the nutritional yeast when making the roux. A golden roux (cooked for about 5 minutes) with the nutritional yeast and the adobo sauce combination gives this gravy such a unique and lovely smoky flavor.

 Outstanding.

I served it with garlicky Swiss chard and mashed potatoes. There was hardly anything left over to put away. Saved fridge space.

Cost Breakdown

TVP, gluten, seitan, flour: $4

oil, veg. broth, nutritional yeast: $2

potato, chard: $6

spices, chipotle: $1

onion, pepper, jalapeno,garlic: $2

tamari, corn, ketchup: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

$16.00

vegan hero

Who's your Vegan Hero?

Ones that pop to mind might be quite numerous - Marcus, Singer, Camp, Espinosa, Watson, Clark-Grogan, Robertson, Noyes, Messina, Moskowitz, DeGeneres, Newkirk, Baldwin, Barnard, Chavez, Harrelson, Harper, Hannah, Hynde, Kucinich, Lewis, Lyman, Mackey, Piraro, Pitt, Portman, Walker, Wynn, Weird Al, Mills, and the list goes on and on...

Today's lunch held the ideal of a hero plainly in sight by using all vegan ingredients. The cheese is Follow Your Heart sliced thin, the meatless cold cuts are Yves, Tofurkey and Smart Deli. There is avocado, veganaise, mustard, tomato, pickles, sprouts, lettuce, onion, bell pepper, olives, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar on this bad-boy. The bread should have been whole wheat, but Whole Foods was out and the kids needed lunch.

Really terrific looking and tasting. Remember, we eat with our eyes first and this sammich wouldn't have been the same had it been cut before the diners had a chance to see it.

Cost Breakdown

cold cuts: $5

FYH cheese: $3

veganaise, mustard, v&o: $1

veggies: $3

fruit: $2

bread: $2

Total to make 5 servings:

$16.00

harissa spiced sandwich

African Night

Harissa is a staple in North Africa, a hot pepper sauce. You can buy harissa or make your own using fresh hot peppers, oil, and other optional ingredients such as garlic, cumin, red pepper, coriander, etc.

Tonight's meal, Harissa Spiced Sandwich, was inspired by a recipe by Marcus Samuelsson using harissa coated lamb. I used rehydrated textured vegetable protein (TVP) instead of the lamb, but next time will definitely use either tofu or seitan - the TVP retained too much liquid (because of rehydration and being marinated) to crispen properly.

Using tofu (pressed or wrapped) or seitan, coating them with the harissa marinade and then browning them, is totally delicious. The protein is then cooked in a sauce with chickpeas and is then served with hummus and pita. A little extra harissa on the side is nice, too. 

Even using the TVP the dish was phenomenal and using solely chickpeas or using tofu or seitan will garner a better result. 

Cost Breakdown

TVP (use tofu or seitan instead): $2

tamari, harissa, broth: $1.50

onion, garlic, lemon, spices:

chickpeas: $2

tomato: $1

pita: $1.50

hummus: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

 $9.00

HARISSA SPICED SANDWICH PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

HARISSA PEPPER PASTE PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

breakfast bake

For a beautiful and hearty brunch meal, this Breakfast Bake was wonderful. In fact, it was so good, I made a double batch and one is in the freezer for another day.

This contains tofu, sausage from the Field Roast Grain Meat Co., carrots, peppers, Daiya vegan cheese and hashbrowns.

I browned the hashbrowns and set them aside in a bowl. Then I sauteed the sausage, carrots, peppers and onions and put those in the bowl with the hashbrowns. Lastly, I sauteed the tofu, seasoned it with nutritional yeast, black salt and turmeric. I steamed the tofu for 10 minutes until there was no more liquid in the pan and then added that to the bowl as well. I mixed it all up, with a cup of Daiya, and popped it into a pie pan. I baked it for 20 minutes and served it with toast.

The most tedious part is getting the hashbrowns to brown in a small saute pan.

Use a big one.

Cost Breakdown

hashbrowns: $2

sausage: $2

tofu: $2

onion, carrot, pepper, green onion: $2

Daiya: $1.50

toast: $2

Total to make 5 servings:

$11.50

millennium (MoFo 20) + book winner

This is the last post of MoFo! Wow! I am done, stick a fork in me!

Over the month we've covered:

Pub Grubs

Chicago Diner

Candle Cafe

T.G.I. Friday's

Sublime

Pizza Hut

Suma Chinese

Outback

Greens

Red Robin

Cinnabon

Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Mother's Cafe

Olive Garden

Native Foods

Cafe Flora

Soup Man

Applebee's

Herbivore

And for the last MoFo, I am visiting Millennium in San Franciso.

This is a five-star restaurant in my book and we had the pleasure of dining there a few times while living in San Fran. A bit more on the pricey side, the tasting menu with the wine is the best deal and the best meal to have there. You get the chef's specials paired with delicious wines. The meal runs several courses and leaves nothing to want - even dessert is included.

For my tasting menu I first made the Sesame-Crusted Oyster Mushroom Calamari. These are served with Wasabi Cream and a seaweed salad at the restaurant. I just served it with the wasabi and a little chili oil.

My final course for MoFo is White Bean-Filled Phyllo Purses. These are phyllo purses stuffed with cannellini beans, mushrooms and Italian Tofurkey sausage. They are served over creamy polenta and with Porcini Mushroom Sauce.

My hubby said it was very Millennium-like and he would pay $32 for it.

I told him to fork up the dough.

That's all she wrote - for a few days, anyway. I need to go clean my kitchen and retire the fryer. The kids will mourn ;)

As for the final cookbook winner ...drum roll, please..."American Vegan Kitchen," being sent by the author herself...goes to...

Comment #3

Find me or I'll find you. Congrats!

Thanks to everyone who joined me for this Month of Vegan Food and thanks to all the other hundreds of bloggers who came along for the ride. And thanks to Tami Noyes for the cookbook you gave me to give away! I know the lucky-someone will enjoy it!

Cheers!

(Elvis has left the building...)

Cost Breakdown:

oyster:

oyster mushrooms: $9

breading: $1

sesame seeds, chili, wasabi: $1

carrots, parsnips, spices: $1

Total to make apps for 6:

$12.00

purses:

phyllo: $3

beans, mushrooms, Tofurkey: $7

porcini, onion, garlic, veg, broth: $6

polenta, nondairy milk, garlic: $2

Total to make 4 servings:

$18.00

Sesame-Crusted Oyster Mushroom Calamari

White Bean-Filled Phyllo Purses

chicago diner (MoFo 18)

Chicago Diner is near and dear to us because, one, it is near, we live in Chicago land, and, two, the food rocks. Really. This place is the reason why my kids will endure an hour's drive, for the vegan milkshakes, where my husband always tries to get me to go when we go out to eat and why I have tried to recreate food that is worthy of Chicago Diner.

This is where vegans make pilgrimages and from where the desserts travel to the out fringes of Illinois to grace the shelves of Whole Foods even as far away as Wisconsin.

The place is a bomb and we travel there with loose pants to facilitate the massive influx of food that will be taking place.

In honor of Tamasin Noyes, the author of American Vegan Kitchen (check MoFo 16 for her book giveaway), and the writer of Vegan Appetite, I am first making the Radical Reuben. Marbled rye bread is stuffed with their seitan roast beef, sauerkraut, grilled onions and peppers, cheese and their special sauce. This is one of my favorites as well.

The other sandwich I've made is The Halfpipe. This is David's favorite. His other favorite is Chicken Fried Steak. Basically the sandwich is the same seitan but it is in a sesame seed hoagie roll with crispy onions, lettuce, tomato and twisted chili sauce. This sandwich is so big that they don't give you a side with it - liability, you see.

Their Barbecue Wings and Potato Skins are also radical and they serve super delicious milkshakes. When in Chicago this is definitely a place you must visit.

Cost Breakdown:

Reuben:

bread: $2

seitan: $3

pepper, onion: $1

Daiya cheese: $2

special sauce (1,000 Island): $1

sauerkraut: $1

Total to make 4 sandwiches:

$10.00

halfpipe:

bread: $3

onion, lettuce, tomato: $3

seitan: $3

sauce: $1

Total to make 4 sandwiches:

$10.00

Radical Reuben

The Halfpipe

Radical Reuben Recipe

The Halfpipe Recipe