Vegan BBQ Survival Kit

I am going to my first BBQ of the summer and it is sure to be filled with Carnivores or what they lovingly call themselves: meatatarians. my vegan BBQ survival kit. Basically, it is a cool I pack for these sorts of occasions. I am not the type of person to put everyone out and cook special meals for me. I enjoy cooking, so it is no trouble for me at all. I have learned though that it is smart to plan for picnics and BBQs so I don't end up chewing on carrots and pouting because I can't eat anything.

This BBQ would have been very unfriendly for vegans without my vegan survivor kit!

My BBQ survival kit varies depending on what I have in stock, but base on the following:

1. Salad and/or salad dressing
2. Veganaise
3. Salsa or Guacamole
4. Veggie burgers or some marinated seitan or tofu
5. Dessert
6. Coconut Bliss Ice cream (Yes, I consider this separate from dessert)
7. Wine

I don't always bring all of these items, but usually most of it is there. My friends are not always so vegan-friendly. I always bring enough to share and I try to pack things that won't scare off the meatatarians.

Because it is Canada Day, I thought I would try to pack some red and white foods to theme it a bit. Unfortunately I did not get to making the salad... I did pack a vinaigrette in case there is salad there. I made some delicious beet burgers that I adapted from Colour me Vegan, packed tomato, mango avocado and lime to make a salsa to go with it. Hazelnut fudge Coconut bliss and Canada Day Surprise Cookies! I adapted my lemon sugar cookies and there were some mistake that I think I recovered from to make a wonderful, light and fresh cookie.

Canada Day Surprise Cookies

• 1/4 margarine
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 chia egg (1tsp ground chia seeds and 2 Tbsp water, whisked)
• 1-2 Tbsp Milk (I didn't measure it)
• Zest of two limes
• 1 1/4 cup white flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (could omit, I didn't mean to add this!)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. First beat the margarine and sugar together until fluffy. Add the lime juice the egg and the milk and mix again for 2 minutes. Combine the dry ingredients (Flours, zest, baking powder and soda, salt) in a separate bowl. Pour the dry into the wet and mix until it is well combined/

Take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball and place on a baking sheet. using a fork, press down on the balls to form cookies. Top with raw coconut and some sugar (I used a red sugar to get into my theme). Bake for about 10 minutes and then let sit on the cookie sheet for 5 more and then transfer to a plate.

Pretty easy and they are pretty tasty. Originally I was not planning to add the baking powder (I thought it was the baking soda!) and I think it dried out the dough so I added the milk at the end. I think you could omit both of these ingredient and get a nice cookie from it, but the addition of these ingredients didn't wreck anything. In fact, I think it made the cookies a bit more cakey.

Why are these Canada day surprise cookies? Well, I think the finished product looks like a basic sugar cookie with red sugar on top, but when you bite into them, they have a yummy tropical surprise with the lime and the coconut. You cannot go wrong with that!

Try something new and make these into a ice cream sandwich: Get your favourite ice cream (I used coconut bliss, coconut flavour). Take two cookies and put a good sized scoop on top of the first cookie, top it with the second cookie, sugar side down to trap in that coconut and sugar topping. Serve. All I can say is... YUMMM!!

Winter Escape Picnic

For what seems to be the first time in a long time, I woke up and saw blue sky... Then... SUNSHINE! Such a nice day today. I almost forgot that it was still winter. Unfortunately I promised myself that today would be a cleaning day. The pigs were dirty, laundry is way overdue. So I kept my promise and stayed in. Since I hate winter and snow, I probably am enjoying this sunny day better watching it through a window. That way, I don't have to deal with the slushy snowy mess outside.

 

Inspired by the sunshine, I decided to make a summery picnic lunch. I found this recipe in The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.

 

Tofu Salad

• 1/4 cup of frozen peas
• 1/3 of a block of tofu
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery (I did half of this)
• 3 olives, chopped (I used green pitted)
• 1 Tbsp rinsed capers
• 2-3 slices of dill pickles, chopped
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped scallion
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp Vegenaise (I doubled this)
• 2 tsp umeboshi plum paste
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

 

So this is very easy to make. First, take the tofu and press it while you prep the veggies. Blanch the peas for a couple minutes so they are bright green.

Next, chop up all the veggies and set aside.

Once everything is prepped, boil 1/2 cup water and steam the tofu for 5 minutes. When it is done, transfer it to a bowl and mash it up with a fork.

 

Next add all the other ingredients to the bowl of tofu and mix until it is well combined. I like a creamier salad so I doubled the Vegenaise in the original recipe. You may want to start with one tablespoon and then add the second if necessary.

 

 

Makes 1-2 servings. You can eat this as a salad or on a sandwich. I decided to make a pita boat with some green leaf lettuce. This recipe has some seriously strong flavours and really packs a punch. Since I was having a winter picnic, I decided to make some lemonade... well limeade actually which went so good with this.

Super awesome to eat in the sunshine!