Recipe #18: Veggie Coney Dogs

I felt like making these just to be funny.  I grew up outside of Flint and worked at a Gyro and Coney Dog restaurant when I was 18.  I was already a vegetarian by then so I never understood how the people I waited on could order several Coney Dogs at a time, inhale them, and then order more!  People seriously go nuts for Flint Coney Dogs.  Most of the recipes for the Flint style Coney sauce call for ground beef and ground up Koegel hotdogs (ground hot dogs on top of whole hot dogs, weird, huh?).  Other recipes call for ground up cow kidneys and heart cooked in lard...a true nightmare for vegetarians (and even some die hard meat eaters)!  The most famous place in Flint for an authentic Flint style Coney Dog is Angelo's.  You are not likely to ever find a Veggie Coney Dog on the menu at Angelo's and some Flint folks might even take a swing at you for suggesting such a thing.  Angelo's has been serving Coney Dogs in the same location in the same way since 1949.  People get really serious about this stuff! 

 

These were fun and so easy to make.  They aren't the healthiest thing you could have for dinner but they are really tasty and WAY better for you than the original version (duh).  If I counted right, there have less than 300 calories and about 7 grams of fat a piece.  I should note that traditional Flint Coney "sauce" is more of a dry and crumbly meat topping- my version is more saucy.   

Makes 2 Veggie Coney Dogs 

1/2 Tbsp Earth Balance spread

Let's face it: they aren't much to look at.

1 c. Frozen vegetarian ground meat style crumbles   

1/4 c. Tomato Sauce

1/8 tsp Garlic powder

1/4 tsp Chili powder   

Pinch black pepper

1/2 tsp Prepared yellow mustard 

2 Veggie hot dogs (Smart Dogs or Yves' Good Dogs are both good options)

2 whole wheat buns

Diced white onion-about 1/4 c. 

More mustard

Melt Earth Balance in a frying pan over medium heat and add crumbles.  Sautee until warm and heated through.  Add tomato sauce, spices, and the 1/2 tsp of the mustard and stir well.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Meanwhile, prepare your dogs according to package directions- grilling is the preferred method.   

Put cooked dogs in buns and cover each with half the sauce.  Top with diced onions and more mustard.  Eat 'em up and then plan to stay away from other humans until your breath recovers! 

Recipe #17: Carob Chip and Peanut Cookies

You will want to eat all of these but you really shouldn't-- these are 100% vegan but not a diet food AT ALL.  This recipe was adapted from the Post Punk Kitchen's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  The batter is pretty oily- I thought I screwed it up but they turned out awesome.  There are a lot of adjectives out there that are used to describe cookies--- gooey, moist, delectable, lip smacking, sinful etc.  These are words that make me uncomfortable.  All you need to know is that these cookies rule.       

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
2/3 c. oil (I used Zoye -made locally in Zeeland, MI!)
1/4 c. plain rice milk 

1 Tablespoon tapioca flour (I found it at Harvest Health)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour plus a little more if needed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 c. vegan carob chips

1/4 c. lightly salted dry roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and trim to fit.  

Mix together sugars, oil, rice milk and tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl.  Use a fork to mix it up really well and break up any brown sugar chunks.  Stir constantly--this may take up to 5 minutes.  The mixture should look like dark brown caramel and the oil should be well incorporated.  This step is slightly annoying but really important.  

Mix in the vanilla.  Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda and salt.  Keep stirring.  Mix in the other 1/2 c. of flour.  If mixture seems too runny, add a little more flour--about 1-2 Tablespoons should do it.  Stir in the carob chips and peanuts. 

Grab small handfuls of dough and roll into balls slightly smaller than ping pong size (perhaps eyeball size?  Sorry, that's gross).  Place balls onto cookie sheets in rows.  Flatten the dough balls slightly with the back of a spoon.  Bake for about 8-9 minutes.  They firm up as they cool so don't overcook them even if they look mushy.  Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before handling then boom! It's party time.    

Recipe #16: Roasted Veggies and Garlic

Spring is almost here so it is a good time to pretend that you are a person who has their act together by cleaning out your fridge and cupboards.  Roasting is an easy way to use up veggies that are slightly past their prime.  I served these up with some split yellow peas (chana dal) with curry and some steamed spinach with lemon.  It was damn near outta sight.  

Handful of baby carrots

2 parsnips (peeled and chopped)

1 sweet potato (peeled and chopped)

5 cloves of garlic (whole,unpeeled)

sea salt and cracked black pepper

(Use whatever you have- potatoes, mushrooms, onions etc.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and trim to fit.  Lay out your vegetables on the sheet so they are not touching.  Spray generously with olive oil cooking spray or drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for about 45-60 minutes- turn them over as best as you can about midway through cooking time.  When they are done, take the pan out and let cool for a few minutes until garlic is cool enough to touch.  The roasted garlic will fall right out of the skin- no need to peel it- just put it through a press and mix it up with the veggies.    

Recipe #15: Michigan Winter Beer Fest Snack Mix

Salty?  Yes.  Sweet?  Just enough.  Spicy?  Yep.  Healthy?  Well, not really but WAY better than chips or festival food.  I have packed a bunch of this yum-stuff up for the Winter Beer Fest tomorrow.

1 cup plain Cheerios (or use a generic version)

2 cups pretzel twists

1 cup salted peanuts

1 cup wasabi peas

1 cup dried cranberries 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in a large oven safe pot or baking dish.  Bake for 15-20 minutes then let cool.  Baking plumps up the cranberries and somehow makes the flavors go together even better.  Mix again and pour into a container with a tight fitting lid.  Easy! 

 

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Recipe #14: Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes

Warning: These are not like traditional pancakes.  They are not light and fluffy and overly sweet.  They are hearty and dense and filling.  They will also make you feel great, not bloated and headache-y with that icky throat feeling that you get from traditional pancakes with fake syrup.  Lemons and blueberries have been friends forever and when you put them together in this breakfasty treat they are truly bitchen.  This is another adaptation of a recipe from the Engine 2 Diet Book which itself was an adaptation of a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance.   

Yay! Blueberry pancakes that WON'T make you feel like this.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 c. cornmeal

2 cups almond milk

1/2 cup vanilla flavored soy yogurt

The juice and zest of 2 lemons

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen & thawed blueberries

Cooking spray

Real maple syrup

Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl and stir very well.  It will look weird and watery but it is supposed to.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl (if you have one with a pouring lip- use it) and stir very well to combine.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until there are no lumpy parts.  Keep in mind that cornmeal is very grainy and whole wheat flour is, y'know, brownish, so the batter is not going to have the same texture or color that you may be used to with traditional pancakes.  Do not panic about it, just fold in the blueberries and stir.  Spray a large skillet/frying pan with cooking spray and heat over a low-medium flame.  When a drop of water sizzles in the pan, it's go time.  Pour batter into center of the pan and swirl it around to make it thinner and even.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes until pancake is very easily lifted with a spatula--don't rush it or you will have a broken pancake.  Flip and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes.  Keep going until you have used up the batter.  Respray the pan as necessary.  If you want to serve them all at once, keep them warm by putting a glass plate in a 200 degree oven.  As you finish the pancakes, add them to the plate.  Serve with real maple syrup-- I know it is expensive but it is so much better (and better for you) than the fake stuff and you don't need very much at all to take these over the top.   

 

Recipe #13: President's Day Tempeh with Lentils and Barley

Hear ye, hear ye!  I declare this dinner to be AWESOME!

Folks, when you eat lentils or barley you are quite simply taking a bite out of history.  According to my sources, barley has been around since about 10,000 BC and archaeologists have discovered 10,000-year-old lentils in Greece.  Soooo old!  This recipe also includes tempeh, which is fermented soybeans.  So basically, tempeh is old before you even bring it home from the store!  OLD!  So, on this eve of President's Day 2011, let us honor history by eating some really old foods.  

1 package tempeh (8 oz)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup uncooked yellow lentils

1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

3 carrots, peeled and shredded

1/3 c. minced red onion

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons Bragg's or tamari 

1 Tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (I recommend Annie's Naturals)

1/4 teaspoon (plus an extra pinch) sage 

1/4 teaspoon (plus an extra pinch) thyme

Pinch rosemary

Black pepper

Pour broth into a large pot with carrots and onions.  Bring to a boil, add lentils and barley and 1/4 tsp each sage and thyme and the pinch of rosemary.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for about 40-50 minutes until almost all liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender.  During the last 25 minutes of cooking time, get the tempeh going.  First, cut tempeh into very small chunks or just crumble it with your hands.  Steam tempeh in a covered steamer basket over boiling water for 10 minutes.  Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet and when a drop of water sizzles in the pan, add steamed tempeh chunks.     Stir fry the tempeh for about 5 minutes then add the Bragg's or tamari, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, pinches of thyme and sage and cracked fresh pepper.  Stir fry about 5 minutes more.  Serve tempeh on top of barley and lentil mixture.   A simple spinach and tomato salad with Three-Two-One Blast Your Face Off Dressing, is a nice compliment.   

"I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it".  ~Abraham Lincoln

       

 

           

Recipe #12: Chocolate mousse

Here is another recipe adapted from the Engine 2 book.  This is truly awesome and so easy!  The cinnamon was my touch.  I think adding a little natural peanut butter to the mix and then topping the mousse with sliced bananas would really take it over the top.  It is seriously outta sight just like this though.  Please note: it is important that you use silken soft (not firm) tofu otherwise you will have chunky mousse.  I used Mori Nu which is available at most grocery stores in the produce section.   

1 package silken tofu
2 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 c agave nectar or pure maple syrup or a combination of both

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and break up tofu with a fork.  Beat with a hand held mixer on high until ingredients are well blended and there are no lumps.  Chill until ready to serve. Makes 4 servings.