Vegan Souvlaki

OK, so I was not going to post this, I wanted to try it out first, but Oh, my....I was so excited, I decided, what the heck! I had been telling my husband that I had a craving for souvlakia...but that was a meal from my past life, so I had to do something about it.

Jackfruit...have you ever heard of it? Most recipes on the net suggest BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. but I wanted Souvlaki.

I was ecstatic to find Jackfruit, canned in brine. Well, I do live in Canada, and not a single tree around here produces Jackfruit. Then I watched a youtube video of someone taking one of those monsters apart...not gonna happen. So, canned it is.  This was the first time I came across Jackfruit in brine. In syrup was much easier to find in Asian markets.

Next time, and yes, there will be a next time, I'm going to toss them on the BBQ and they will be perfect!

Vegan Souvlaki

(6-8 skewers)

Ingredients:

2 cans of Jackfruit in brine
2 lemons
2-4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 onion broth cube
Oregano
Salt and pepper
Water

Olive or Avocado oil for basting (do not simmer the oil)

Directions:

Rinse the jackfruit and remove any seeds. Place in a pot and add all the ingredients. Cover with water.
Simmer on low heat until tender and separates easily. You want the water to be all but gone to make sure the pieces are flavorful and somewhat lemony. Don't let it stick and add water if the jackfruit is not as tender as you'd like.

Place the pieces on wooden skewers. You might have to cut some pieces. Baste with oil, oregano, and garlic. Place on BBQ or on parchment paper in the oven. If you have a BBQ mesh, you might want to use it. Only one or two smaller pieces fell off in the oven, but the others held fast, so they might be fine right on the grill. I'll let you know the next time I make them.

Is there any downside to this recipe? Believe it or not, It's a little too much like meat! So depending on where you're at in your life, be it Meatless Monday's, vegetarianism, or veganism, you might love this, or not. (I plan on trying a raw souvlaki version with this...as well as 'chicken nuggets' and a few others). I'll let you know how it goes.

While I'm at it, I'll throw in the recipe for Cashew Tzatziki.

Cashew Tzatziki

Ingredients

3/4 C soaked cashews  (90 min to 4 hrs)
1/2 a large English cucumber or 1 field cucumber
3 cloves of garlic
a handful of fresh dill sprigs
Juice of 1/2-1 lemon (according to personal taste)
Salt

Directions

Drain and rinse the cashews.
Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and using the tamper, push down the ingredients until well blended. The water from the cucumber will be more than enough for the recipe. IF you don;t have a high-speed blender, you can blend the cucumber first, then add the rest and it should work out just fine.

Note: If ever you don't like the sweetness of the cashews in this recipe, feel free to substitute brazil nuts for the cashews.

Greek Salad Dressing

Ingredients

3/4 -1 C Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1/2 C lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
Salt & Pepper

Throw everything into a blender or magic bullet and blend it well. This brings out all the flavors, even if the dressing has just been made. No waiting!

For the salad, you can mix diced tomatoes, diced cucumber, whole or sliced black olives, thinly sliced red onions and (this will be for another post) vegan feta. I like it with mixed greens as well.

I'll share my recipe for Greek potatoes later on as well.

Vegan Pad Thai

This is another family favourite that I am excited to share with you. What I love about this recipe, is that aside from lightly sauteing the onions, I add my veggies into the mix raw, stir to warm them and serve. My family gets the benefits of raw food, bursting with the enzymes and nutrients without even realising they're eating raw.

There are no peanuts in the picture, simply because I forgot to add them before I took the picture. I usually put a bowl with spices, another with peanuts and yet another with extra cilantro and shallots for those who would like to add them to their plate.

So let's get on with the recipe! Oh, normally I would have used a red pepper, but my grocery guys were out and only had orange ones, so the colour is not as pretty as it could have been.

Ingredients:

1/2 package of rice noodles (not the vermicelli)

2 zucchinis
2 carrots
1 red pepper
1 large onion
4 shallots
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
chopped peanuts
1 lime

Sauce:

1 mushroom broth cube (I use Go Bio)
1 veggie broth cube (or 2 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Tamari sauce (I use San-j -gluten free)
1/4 tsp sriracha powdered spice

Instructions:

Heat water in a pot until boiling. Remove from heat, place the rice noodles into the water and let sit.
When they have reached the desired tenderness, drain and rinse. Set aside.

While the noodles soak, thinly slice the onion into perfect slices (as though you wanted onion rings), and then cut a line from the centre of the onion out. This will give long, thin strips of onion. Set aside.

I use a mandoline to make 'noodles' out of my carrots and zucchinis. You could use a spiralizer too, but the mandoline makes vermicelli sized noodles. Put the 'noodles' in a separate bowl.
Thinly slice the pepper and add them to the carrot, zucchini bowl. The zucchini noodle will blend right into the rice noodles, you won't even know they're there. I do not peel my zucchini.

Chop the cilantro and the shallots, place in a small bowl.
Chop the peanuts and place in yet another small bowl.
Slice the lime into wedges.

To make the sauce, place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Saute the onion until transparent. Pour the sauce mixture over the onions and heat until bubbles start to form. Add the noodles and toss to coat.

Add the carrot, zucchini and peppers. Mix well, remove from heat and cover the pot for a few minutes.

Sprinkle with cilantro, shallots, peanuts and more spice if you so desire.
Yields 4 large portions. (more than enough for us, 3 adults and 2 children.)

Enjoy!

Curried Red Lentil Veggie Soup

Late nights working at my computer are sadly something that happens too often. Every now and then, I feel like having a little snack to tide me over and tonight, this is what I chose. A thick soup with red lentils cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes. Add ginger, garlic and curry, and oh, what a treat.

Curried Red Lentil Veggie Soup

1 cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 sweet potato, cubed
2 cups of red lentils
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger
curry powder (I use Simply Organic) but like to change once in a while to try different blends.
veggie broth, OR powder or vegetable broth cubes (enough to fit your pot size)
water

Preparation:

Dice the onion, crush the garlic and finely grate the ginger. (I have this old ginger peeler grater Yukie, a Japanese exchange student, gave me 20 years ago...hoping it lasts another 20 years).

Saute onion lightly until transparent.

Add salt and curry powder, then garlic and ginger.

Before the garlic and ginger start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add the other veggies and fill the pot with water and vegetable broth powder (cubes) or veggie broth.

Once the broth comes to a boil, add the lentils and lower the heat.

Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. The lentils will be done by then.

Add salt, pepper and curry powder to taste.
You can always use powdered garlic and ginger in a pinch, but I always have fresh on hand.

Until I had this soup, I was not a fan of curry. Now, I have several dishes that call for curry, and I am happy to say, bring it on. I love it. The blend of curry, garlic and ginger is heavenly.