grilled buffalo tofu po' boy

Ever since Buffalo, New York, introduced Buffalo Wings to the world, buffalo sauce has inserted itself into almost every genre of food. Now you can find all sorts of recipes with buffalo sauce, which is a mixture of butter and hot sauce, from Buffalo Cauliflower, Buffalo Seitan Wings, Buffalo Sandwiches, Buffalo Pizza, Buffalo Shrimp, to Buffalo Chicken Salad, and list goes on.

Traditionally, the item to be sauced is battered and deep fried until crispy and then tossed in the butter and hot sauce mixture. It is then served immediately, to keep the texture crisp, with bleu cheese dressing, which has a cooling effect, thus balancing the heat of the spice.

While I, too, love a great vegan buffalo-ed anything, most of the time the ingredient is deep fried. I wanted to have a buffalo sandwich without all the unnecessary side of fat that usually comes served with the spicy and tangy flavor.

I’ve lightened up the typical buffalo sandwich by eliminating the breading and the need for deep frying the protein. Instead, this sandwich features a grilled tofu and is made into a po’ boy by adding a creamy slaw. The cabbage and apples in the slaw add crunch, the vegan mayo adds creaminess and the vinegar gives it some needed acidity.

The tofu is marinated in the buffalo sauce and then grilled. Once you have the tofu pressed overnight, using a Tofu Xpress or my towel method, this sandwich will come together in about 30 minutes, including marinating. Use a gluten free bread or a gluten-free wrap to make this sandwich completely gluten free.  

GRILLED BUFFALO TOFU PO' BOY PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Cookbook Update: While my upcoming cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats, has been available for pre-order for a few weeks, Amazon has updated the information on the book. Look-inside is not available, yet, but a few recipes have been published. Check it out! 

And here is another picture from the book, Fried Vegan Omelet.

I am also linking to these recipe parties! The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

The blog hosting Gluten-Free Fridays is Vegetarian Mamma.

I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons since, well, it will be Wednesday soon enough!

spring kale and dill soup with rice

Dill has to be one of the more interesting herbs available, with its citrus aroma and fresh taste. The term dill weed is quite accurate, in the sense that if left to its own devices, your garden would be overrun with the herb in much the same way as mint is apt to do. If the ground is left untouched from season to season, dill will rule.

I suppose in much the same way, dill can be a dominant flavor in a dish and be overpowering if the flavor is not something you enjoy. Me, on the other hand, I am in love with dill. I will even buy it just to freshen the air in the kitchen, as I would use basil; both are aromatic not just in recipes, but in the environment.

The dill weed in this soup adds a refreshing flavor, which is accented by the fresh lemon juice added to each bowl. While the soup might at first seem to be hardy and rich, the kale is young and tender and the rice just makes sure we don't take the soup too seriously. After all, it is spring and the time for heavy, hearty, rich stews and soups are getting ready to be retired until autumn.

Although the recipe calls for small butter beans, which are creamy, you can substitute cannellini or another white bean.

SPRING KALE AND DILL SOUP WITH RICE PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

On a side note, lately my son has been doing video reviews of movies and shows on YouTube. He's been doing it for a while now, but I just saw one for the first time the other day and I was quite impressed. He is doing them while attending college, but has still managed to keep up with his school work and write, narrate and edit his reviews. 

Although most of the reviews he does would not be of interest to most of the readers of this blog (unless you like anime), this short one might. It is of the final movie by Hayao Miyazaki, "The Wind Rises," an Academy nominated animated historical drama.

I am also linking to these recipe parties! The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

The blog hosting Gluten-Free Fridays is Vegetarian Mamma.

I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons since, well, it will be Wednesday soon enough!

grilled artichoke and quinoa lettuce wraps

It must be spring because I am getting a ton of artichokes in my produce box.

There are many ways to prepare artichokes including steaming, boiling, braising, roasting and grilling. The simplest is to cook them and peel off the leaves, dipping them in warm vegan Hollandaise sauce, the method preferred over all others by the Dever clan. I don't really argue with them since this requires the least prep work on my part.

For better or worse, my box has been so laden with fresh artichokes that we have finally reached the limit of the simple way to eat them; no longer will dipping the leaves and the artichoke hearts in a sauce suffice. The family needed something different.

Here is a good tutorial on how to clean artichokes. After you clean them of the choke, boil them and grill them, as directed in the recipe. If you don't have an abundance of fresh artichokes, don't have the time or the patience to clean them yourself, but you'd still like to make this otherwise fast recipe, use jarred artichoke hearts. I won't tell.

This wrap is made with quinoa, spring onions (or scallions) and lemons, all within the spring theme. If you want to know how to cook quinoa perfectly (and not have to use a microwave ;), it is all spelled out in my upcoming cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats.

Happy Spring everyone!

GRILLED ARTICHOKE AND QUINOA LETTUCE WRAPS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

And if you haven't entered the giveaway for Robin Robertson's revised edition of Vegan Planet, do so right HERE. Unless you already have the book, why not? It's an amazing volume that has stood the test of time, now with revised recipes as well as 50 new ones. Contest ends April 11.

Also, be sure to let your friends and family know that the great Meatout is March 20th (tomorrow!). Eat vegan for one day and help the animals and the planet. Pledge HERE.

"vegan planet" cookbook giveaway!

It is way past time to have another cookbook giveaway! This time, I am giving away Robin Robertson's revised edition of Vegan Planet. It's been dubbed the "vegan bible," "vegan joy of cooking" and the "ultimate vegan cookbook."

I tested for this book and I was so excited when Robin asked me to! When we first went vegan, this was the very first book I loved and cooked from. I was quite relieved at the time to know that vegan food does, indeed, taste great.

This new edition has revised older recipes, new information, as well as a bunch of new recipes. Robin has posted 30 of the recipes from the book on her page here. It's a great way to get to try some of the dishes from the book and see what all the excitement is about.

My original copy of Vegan Planet is being held together with rubber bands, so it was quite thrilling when I got my brand new copy of the revised edition.

Some of the amazing recipes I tested were:

CURRIED CAULIFLOWER PAKORAS

PENNE AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH KALE PESTO

RED BEAN CAKE WITH CREAMY COCONUT SAUCE

SAFFRON COUSCOUS CAKE WITH SPRING VEGETABLE SAUTE

THREE-FLAVOR PANCIT

ZA'TAR SPICED BEAN PATTIES WITH CURRY SAUCE

On to the business side of this giveaway... leave a comment and like me on facebook or follow on twitter. All the handy follow-me buttons are at the top, right side of the page. Contest ends April 11 and the winner needs to email me by the end of that weekend. US and Canada residents only please.

Also, be sure to let your friends and family know that the great Meatout is March 20th. Eat vegan for one day and help the animals and the planet. Pledge HERE.

roasted corn and lime tortilla soup

Ever had the feeling that your head is running in a thousand different directions and your body is needed in a thousand more? We all have! Especially in this day and age, we find ourselves being pulled hither and thither. When your kids are hungry and lunch or dinner needs to be on the table in less than half an hour, what can you do - besides literally phoning it in?

With the writing of my cookbook, Everyday Vegan Eats (available for pre-order ;) complete, life is just beginning to get back to normal at the Dever house. While writing I was able to foist off driving the kids to their activities and making snacks, quite comfortably onto the shoulders of my husband, but now I've no more excuses to get back to cooking. As my family would remind me, it is actually my job, since I am a cook and cookbook author.

Be that as it may, there are times when I can spend luxuriating in the kitchen, there are times when I can spend making comfort foods that everyone enjoys and then there are times that food just needs to be ready in a hurry!

This is a soup I came up with for lunch today, knowing that it had to be ready in under 30 minutes. It has roasted corn, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, is thickened with baked tortilla chips and is enhanced with a splash of fresh lime juice. As fast as it came together, it was just as delightful.

ROASTED CORN AND LIME TORTILLA SOUP PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Remember how I said I 'd keep posting more pics from the cookbook? Here is a sandwich that would have been quite wonderful with the soup above, and just as quick to throw together.

CALIFORNIA CLUB SANDWICH

And if you haven't entered the giveaway for Robin Robertson's revised edition of Vegan Planet, do so right HERE. Unless you already have the book, why not? It's an amazing volume that has stood the test of time, now with revised recipes as well as 50 new ones. Contest ends April 11.

Also, be sure to let your friends and family know that the great Meatout is March 20th (tomorrow!). Eat vegan for one day and help the animals and the planet. Pledge HERE.


I am also linking to these recipe parties! The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

The blog hosting Gluten-Free Fridays is Vegetarian Mamma.

I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons since, well, it will be Wednesday soon enough!

"everyday vegan eats" announcement

I have been delaying the actual announcement of my cookbook since I still can't believe it is real (pinch me!) coupled with the tons of work I was still doing for it up until yesterday. I think I'm done with the publishing side of it, so I can freely announce that it is coming to a store or web near you on May 6th.

CLICK ME!

Everyday Vegan Eats, published by Vegan Heritage Press, is full of recipes for everyday meals for everyday people just like you. The recipes have been developed from meals that my family has loved (not just liked, mind you!) and requested over and over again. Many recipes on this blog were the first step in my sharing the love with everyone, but having them published takes them to a whole new level.

It means that the recipes were tested, fixed and perfected. It means that the recipes were improved, rewritten and reworked. It means that I had to learn HOW to write a recipe. I THOUGHT I had a pretty good grasp on it, but you will notice if you head to the RECIPES tab, that I am now going through the hundreds of recipes on this blog and rewriting them so that they too are up to par!

Things go smoothly in my kitchen, I suppose because I know how the recipes should taste and how they work, but they also had to work equally well in someone else's kitchen with someone else's hands. That is how we approached the dishes: everyday success in every kitchen.

Some of my family's favorite meals featured in EVE are:

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

... because ALL teenagers need their mac n' cheese fix...

CLASSIC HUMMUS 

... from a can you can STILL get smooth and silky hummus. The secret is in the book!

PAD THAI

The book is literally full of photos so there will be a lot more to come in the future! I will also be hosting more giveaways (look for Robin's new books Vegan Planet and More Quick Fix Vegan as well as Tami and Celine's Vegan Finger Foods).

Follow along! The many ways are on the right side of the blog!