Easy Vegan Fajitas

By now you have realized just how easy it is to make your favorite Tex-Mex weeknight meals vegan.  One more dish is needed to round out my coverage of Tex-Mex. Fajitas are just as easy and versatile as the other two, and lends itself well to a more vegetable centred meal. Typically when making fajitas you would saute up some peppers and onions along with either chicken or beef. As before, where there is meat, substitute beans. I like black beans or kidney beans in my fajitas.

Start by frying up your veggies, and dint be afraid to add other things in too - mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, whatever you like! Once your veggies are tender crisp, add a can of beans (drained and rinsed of course) and throw in a package of fajita seasoning mix and water.

Serve it in a flour tortilla (or corn tortilla if you are avoiding gluten) and top with salsa and lettuce, and enjoy!

Chili SIN Carne

Chili is a classic, satisfying comfort food that is very easily transformed into a vegan dish that would please even the most skeptical omnivores.  Well, unless those omnivores don't like beans, in which case they should stay clear of this blog altogether.  Chili is also a good make-ahead meal that can be frozen for last-minute weeknight dinners, and hearty packed lunches.

Vegan Chili

1 large or 2 small cooking onions, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
additional veggies (optional - zucchini, celery, broccoli, whatever strikes your fancy)
2 cans beans (kidney beans, black beans, lentils... up to you!)
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1 package chili seasoning
hot peppers or hot sauce to taste (optional)
water (as needed to achieve desired consistency)

Saute onion and pepper in a large pot til onions soften.  Add remaining ingredients, simmer til veggies are cooked (15-20 minutes).  Mash the beans a bit with a potato masher, or give it a few quick zings with an immersion blender to help thicken up the liquid (but you still want most of the beans to be whole).

Pairs well with garlic bread, gloomy days, and flannel shirts.

Taco Night!

Vegan Commandment #1: Wherever there's meat, use beans instead.  

Tex-mex dishes are some of the easiest to veganize because beans are already a huge part of Mexican cooking. Tex-mex restaurants are also excellent when you're dining out as they almost always have vegetarian options (burritos, tacos, fajitas) that can be easily made vegan by leaving the cheese off.

If you think that beef tacos are an quick weeknight meal, prepare to have your mind blown!  This meal comes together so quickly you won't know what to do with all your spare time!  I usually keep a stash of taco seasoning and beans of all kinds in my cupboard, so this is also an excellent meal when you haven't done groceries in a while.

Bean Tacos

1 can beans (black or pinto are my go-tos for tex-mex, but any will do)
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
taco shells or tortillas
taco toppings (lettuce, salsa, diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, grated carrot... you get the idea)

Drain and rinse your beans (always!).  Put beans, taco seasoning, and water in a skillet and heat on medium.  Let them simmer for a few minutes.  With the back of a large spoon or a potato masher, squash the beans so that some of them are smooshed, while others remain whole. When mixture starts to thicken up, you're done!  Load into taco shells and top with your favourite toppings!

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

Sandwiches are one of the things that can be challenging as a vegan.  There are faux-deli meats at the grocery store, but processed food isn't your friend.  Sure, no animals died making it, but is it going to nourish your body and help you be your most awesome? Unlikely.

Enter chickpea salad sandwiches.  Reminiscent of turkey salad or tuna salad sandwiches, these are great on toast, a bun, or scooped up with some crackers.  Best of all, it's crazy easy.

This recipe calls for mayo, which is traditionally not vegan (it's made with eggs).  Vegan mayo is a pretty handy staple to have in your fridge, and tastes practically the same as normal mayo.  It can be found in most large grocery stores (look in the health food section) or in health food stores.  This recipe will still be vegetarian if you use regular mayo - if you still eat eggs then acquiring vegan mayo is not necessary.

Ingredients:
2 stalks celery
1-2 green onions
1 dill pickle
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
2-3 tablespoons mayo
salt & pepper

If you have a food processor, this recipe will come together in less than a minute.  Pulse (or dice) celery, green onions and pickle.  Add chickpeas and pulse for a few seconds, so that chickpeas are broken but still chunky.  If you don't have a food processor, you can use a potato masher to coarsely mash the chickpeas.  Add mayo, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.  Serve on toasted, whole grain bread for a hearty, satisfying sandwich!

Vegan Cooking for the Culinarily Challenged

There are a lot of vegan cooking blogs out there.  I mean A LOT.  Vegan foodies have created some really spectacular recipes - gourmet meals that would wow even the most skeptical omnivore. But what if you're not a whiz in the kitchen?  What if you don't know what tempeh, nutritional yeast, or agave nectar are?  What if you don't like being "experimental" with your food? Maybe you just want to eat basic, wholesome, everyday meals that are familiar, delicious, and easy to prepare.  If you agreed with any of those things, this blog is for you!

I am one of those cooks that almost never uses a recipe. I don't like measuring things.  I don't often plan my meals, I just look in my fridge and throw things together.  My mother, on the other hand, is the opposite.  She often asks me for recipes, and though I can tell her what ingredients I used, I have no idea how much of each I used.  I know, I seem like a pretty unlikely candidate to write a blog such as this.  The reason why I'm writing it is because I want people to know that vegan cooking can be super easy and satisfying, and that you can make healthy meals from whole foods without spending hours in the kitchen.  And also because my mom asked me to.

This blog is for all the recipes I never bother to write down, the ones that never make it to my other blog (Nourish Me Vegan). These are the things I actually eat most of the time (I love to cook, but I don't like spending hours in the kitchen either).  They will be simple, familiar, and will be made with ingredients that even total vegan newbies will be able to recognize.  Along the way I might even introduce you to some "Level 2" vegan ingredients that will help make the hundreds (thousands?) of vegan resources more accessible.