Lazy Leftovers

I did not feel like cooking the other night. So, I made this with the leftovers. It was surprisingly good weirdness. Sometimes, it’s fun to fly without a net.

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What’s in it? 

Half of a small eggplant, grated

Some cooked babybella mushroom, garlic, & olive oil puree I’d made up and stored, with some sliced mushrooms thrown in. (I think those may have been buttons).

A handful or so of cheddar Daiya shreds.

Some nutritional yeast, some Mrs. Dash, some garlic…and probably some other spices that I am forgetting. I think the red piece was a bit of bell pepper.

Olive oil

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Enjoy!

Sloppy Veg (Beta 2.0)

There’s a reason they call it “comfort food”. Most of these kinds of foods have little nutritional value, but fill the belly & the heart. Sometimes… let’s say about every 28 days or so, a little comfort food is in order.

I have fond memories associated with the Sloppy Joe. As a kid, I ate the horrid kind that comes in a can. I can’t even think of what was in it now! Sloppy Joes are not the most visually appealing of foods, are they? In fact, I think the traditional mixture kind of looks like dog food… But this does not change the memories, nor the feelings they create.

In my sepia-toned version of the past, lunch ladies scooped the mixture onto nutritionally deficient fluffy hamburger buns, and we scarfed it down, staining our little fingers bright orange in the process. It tasted like some unknown spice mixture, which I was certainly not accustomed to, and so Sloppy Joe day was always a treat.

Then, I grew up, became vegetarian, and didn’t eat meat substitutes, until I discovered Quorn. I hate even mentioning it by name without them sending some my way (*waves to Quorn rep*), as it’s not particularly cheap. But the thing is, they’re the only ones who make this product, which is a type of fermented fungus. I can’t eat TVP or similiar foods because of the overwhelming soy content. Upon my discovery, I conjured up a vegetarian Sloppy Joe that I actually could eat, and even perfected it, but never thought to write anything down. Shortly thereafter, the crumbles vanished from my radar, and the recipe vanished from my memory.

From the bits and pieces I do remember, making it was absolutely hilarious, but I wanted to get it right this time. I sought advice and tried this the grownup way, playing around with it until I was happy. So, we are definitely still in beta mode here, until I remember all of my little tricks, but this was good and filling for both heart and tummy.

Sloppy Veg (Beta 2.0):

Tools:

Burner

Olive Oil Spray

Fry pan

Microwave

Something to stir with

Storage container

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Ingredients:

Quorn crumbles

Onion

Mrs. Dash (I ended up using a lot of this. You might not want to use as much. Just check after each little shake & stir).

Nutritional yeast

Lettuce

Peppers

Tomato Sauce

Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds

Sliced Bread (I used multigrain).

Vegetarian BBQ Sauce

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Directions:

1. Spray pan with olive oil.

2. Set burner to medium.

3. Place diced onion in pan. (I used about a teaspoon, & that was not enough for me. I like my Sloppy Joes on the spicy side.)

4. Place about a half bag of crumbles in fry pan. (It’s about 3+ servings once you add everything else).

5. Dump about a half a jar of tomato sauce on crumbles. Stir in some Mrs. Dash.

6.  Turn it up to 8 here for a little while, stirring & letting the sauce soak in, & adding another round of Mrs. Dash. Stir. A lot. (Steps 7 & beyond were me randomly improvising.)

7. After everything is mostly soaked in, place into a storage container.

8. A few hours later, take it out, toss in some multicolored peppers, some Daiya, BBQ sauce and more Mrs. Dash, stir, and microwave for about two minutes. Check at intervals. It just needs to be hot throughout.

9. Meanwhile, toast the multigrain bread, sprinkle nutritional yeast on the toast, and add some lettuce to one slice.

10. After taking the mixture out of the microwave,  put it all together and enjoy!

(Mixture yields about 3 + servings)

 

Needless to say, it was yummy! But, I’m still going to play with this some more to see what I can remember. If you have an existing veggie version that doesn’t use soy/tofu/TVP/nuts (did I forget anything?…), please feel free to share in the comments! Thanks!

Inner Peace in Aisle Three

This day…

It just hasn’t gone according to plan. We get so frustrated when that happens, don’t we? Should I say we? Maybe you don’t. If that’s the case, I envy you.

Generally, I am a pretty mellow person, but everyone has their limits, and I haven’t been sleeping well lately. But, I got my butt out of bed, had an uneventful breakfast & started my day. This particular day had driving in it. 15 minutes into the drive, on a two lane road east of nowhere, there is bumper-to-bumper, ain’t gonna happen, put it in park traffic. Huh. Ok universe, I’m cool. *Twiddles thumbs while looking desperately at other vehicles passing by*… After about 10 minutes of this, it’s clear that we’re not going anywhere, so people start turning around. Should I join them? Oh gee, the only other way involves doubling back. I’ll wait. *More twiddling, more smart people turning around*. Ok, I get it. I need to turn around. And I do.

Throughout the course of the morning, countless other unexpected changes of plan emerge. I smile outwardly while losing it internally, and I develop a headache. I try to be patient as loved ones start monologuing. I’m nice to random strangers. Meanwhile, I can feel my eyeballs throbbing in their sockets.

I decide then, to stop at the health food store.

As I walk through the aisles of beautifully colored organic juice, bottles reflecting the florescent lighting, I try to collect myself.: “Ooh, look at that… carob rice milk! I didn’t know they made that. Oh, those bins have nuts in them, can’t go over there, but cool textures! Ooh, tea! I got that great tea last time. OMG, they have a tea for sleep on sale. Mine!”

This goes on and on, until I’ve managed to successfully fill my little basket with not only the tea, but also the rice cream treat I was after, a honey chamomile iced tea, and everything pictured above. The thing is, I’ve been looking for these foods everywhere! I’ve easily found the nuggets, but I haven’t had the crumbles in years! I’ve never tried this particular type of soy-free vegan cheese, or the soy-free vegan mayo, but I’ve heard good things about both.

On the ride home, I enjoyed my rice cream sandwich with the delicious iced tea, and thought about sharing my little adventure. When I got home, I made this cute little sandwich with the vegan mayo, which I loved. And the headache? Nowhere in sight.

Thanks, Universe!