DDD #64 – My “You Are Not Vegan Enough” Rant & Holiday Leftovers Shepherd’s Pie & 14 Other Ideas

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Ok – so I posted my Vegan Whole Turkey (seen above) – and the vegans on Facebook lost their collective shit.  Despite knowing it was a vegan item – I got blocked & banned & verbally assaulted SAVAGELY.  This video below is my response to the “You are not the right kind of vegan” attacks I got from the most self-righteous douchebags ever.  I also show you how I reinvented a bunch of random leftovers into and epic Shepherd’s Pie.

Below the video here are the 14 recipes I suggest as potential uses for your holiday leftovers.

Click the image to watch the video.

Thanksgiving Vegan Torta Rustica with Creamed Spinach and Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes & Sweet Potato-Butternut Squash Puree

Vegan Chicken & Mixed Vegetable Pot Pie

Vegan Spicy Chicken Enchilada Soup with Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Vegan Marinated Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich

Vegan Horseradish Chicken Salad with Pecans and Jalapeno Potato Salad in Baked Wonton Cups

Vegan Chicken Salad Wraps

Cool Vegan Cashew & Cranberry Chicken Salad Tacos with Avocado

Sweet & Spicy Vegan Island Chicken with Pineapple

10-Minute Spicy Vegan Sriracha Chicken & Broccoli Bowl

Healthy Vegan Chicken Fricassee with Tarragon

Healthy Vegan Chinese Chicken Salad with Spicy Asian Dressing

Vegan Cold Chicken Piccata Pasta Salad with Asparagus & Spinach

Vegan Firecracker Chicken

Vegan Beef and Vegetable (Shepherd’s Pie) Empanadas

DDD #63 – Vegan Whole Roasted Turkey

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image above to watch the video.

So, I have seen this bad boy in the freezer section of Lassen’s for years but was put off by both the $50 price tag & the fact that it claims to feed 10-16 and I live alone.  But, this year, I decided to review it for my Youtube channel.

 

While I did not really like either the gravy nor the stuffing that this came with, the turkey itself was REALLY easy to cook (just pop it in the oven for 40 minutes) and looked pretty decent & tasted really good.  Unlike a real turkey, all of the 4lbs of this turkey is edible (no bones etc).  It tasted great with my homemade vegan gravy and my vegan stuffing & 3-ingredient, raw cranberry sauce – all seen below.

Watch the video I posted above for the full review.  And check back for my recipes using leftover turkey.

 

DDD # 62 – Vegan Apple & Sage Stuffing

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image above to watch the video.

This is super easy & really quite delicious.  I used a spice called Bell’s Seasoning – but I think this might only be available in the Northeast.  If so – just use poultry seasoning.

So – no fanfare today.  So much to do.  To eat.  To drink.  So I will just get on with the recipe.

Vegan Apple Sage Stuffing 

INGREDIENTS

7 cups cubed bread (even gluten-free bread if you like)

1/2 cup diced shallots (or onion)

5 celery stalks – chopped

1 Golden Delicious apple (or any apple) – diced

10-20 sage leaves

olive oil

2 cups non-dairy, unsweetened milk

4 TBS vegan butter

1 tsp Bell Seasoning (or poultry seasoning)

1 tsp dry sage

1 tsp each S&P

2 vegan egg replacements (or other vegan alternative – like – 1/2 cup pureed silken tofu)

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the cubed bread in a large bowl.

Heat a TBS or two of olive oil in a large pan.  Saute the shallots/onion & celery until soft.  Add the apple & heat through.  Add this to the bread.

Add another TBS of olive oil to the same pan & fry the sage leaves until they begin to brown – turning them a few times.  Drain on a paper towel, crumble them & add to the bread.

Melt the butter in another pan & add the milk.  Warm it & add the spices.  Add this to the bread.  Add the eggs to the bread & stir to combine well.

Grease a casserole dish with butter or cooking spray.  Put the stuffing in there & bake, covered, at 350 for 45 minutes.

Remove the cover & bake another 20 minutes or so – until the top is crusty & golden.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

DDD #61 – Easy Vegan Holiday Gravy

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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This is easy & can be made in 20 minutes.  It is delicious & even meat eaters will delight in it.  I brought it to a Thanksgiving diner yesterday & the hostess tasted my gravy & chose not to bother making a turkey-based version for her carnivorous guests.  Everyone ate the vegetarian gravy & all were pleased!

Click the image below to watch the video.

Easy Vegan Gravy

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup vegan butter (or vegan alternative or olive oil)

1/2 – 3/4 cup shallots (or onion) – minced

1/2 cup flour

6 cups vegetable stock

1 TBS soy sauce

1/2 tsp Marmite

1 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat the stock in a pan.

Melt the vegan butter in another large stock pot.  Add the chopped shallots or onion & cook a few minutes letting the butter heat just to the point of boiling.  Add the flour & whisk it in until it is smooth.  Lower heat to med-high & brown the roux just a bit – whisking constantly.  

It should get very thick very quickly.  Add the soy sauce & Marmite & black pepper.  Whisk them in & then slowly add the stock in small increments.  Here is where you can control how thin or thick the gravy gets.  Let it thicken before adding the next portion of stock.  When all the stock is incorporated – you can cook it down to thicken it more.  If it gets too thick – add a bit of water.  And there you have it!  Enjoy!

DDD #60 – 3-Ingredient Fresh Raw Cranberry Sauce for the Holidays

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image above to watch the video.

OK – I am not a fan of cranberry sauce but I always serve some at dinners during the holidays.  Experience has proven that my homemade efforts are never as popular as that ring-marked canned gelatin shit so, for years now, I have just given in & served that crap up & nobody has ever complained.

Then, this Thanksgiving, I was at a friend’s house & when dinner was served, this gorgeous stuff was among the selections.  I could not resist taking a small dollop of this scarlet creation.   See it there with my other vegetarian delights?

And it was SO DELICIOUS that I had to ask my friend BJ, who made it, for the recipe.   She obliged & I am now sharing it with you here.  If you own a blender or food processor – this takes less than 5 minutes.  Are you ready?

Awesomely Easy 3-Ingredient Fresh Cranberry Sauce

1 package fresh cranberries (I tend to freeze the cranberries ahead of time but this is not necessary).

1 navel orange – cut into segments.  I remove the pith but use the rest of the orange including the rind.  (You might see some pith in the image below.  I suggest removing all that white stuff as it is the bitter part.)

¾ – 1 cup sugar, to taste

24 hours prior to use in a food processor combine cranberries, orange segments and sugar.  I break it up into 3 batches as you want the orange and cranberry to be finely chopped.

Put in a non-reactive bowl overnight in the fridge.  I stir in the morning and taste for tartness.   If necessary add some more sugar, stir and place back in the frig.  Approx one hour prior to serving remove from fridge.

See?  No cooking required!

DDD #59 – Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Dried Cranberries & Pomegranate Seeds

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image above to watch the video.

I know I say that a great many of my recipes are born simply of what I have handy and it is true.  It is true even when I say that all I had around was a bag of Brussels sprouts and an aging pomegranate.  And pistachios.  And when I thought to make a salad of them, I wished I had some dried cranberries to add to it.  I don’t typically go for dried fruit in anything but dried cranberries just sounded so right for this.  I dug deep in my crisper drawers looking for some other inspiration & found an unopened but very old & gross bag of raisins & while I wondered why I ever even bought a bag of raisins because, you know, ew – raisins – I spotted a bag of something from a bulk bin in the corner of the drawer.   Closer inspection revealed it to be a small bag of dried cranberries!  WTF?  Why did I have dried cranberries?  Quickly, I wished for a series regular gig on what would turn out to be a long running & iconic HBO series and waited for a few seconds for my life to change.  Nothing.  A few minutes later I was still me, still unemployed & still holding the bag.  Of dried cranberries. Fuck.  I hate when I waste the wishes that will be granted on things like a small quantity of dried cranberries.  I felt like Peter Griffin on Family Guy when, confronted by a real, live genie, wishes for his own personal theme music & not to have bones.

So, yeah.  Career still on hold but that’s a go on the salad!

Salads aren’t really recipes, are they?  I made this guy for myself & I used about 8-10 medium-sized Brussels sprouts & ate the entire salad – even though it was probably enough for two.  So – anyway – I will give you rough estimates of what I used but you can add or subtract ingredients & adjust quantities to suit your own taste.  If there is wiggle room in making anything – it is salad – so go for it.

I made a simple dressing of lemon & olive oil & then decided I wanted something a bit creamier – so I added a bit of Greek yogurt.  You can skip that or, if you are vegan, add a bit of vegan mayonnaise.   Or use another of your favorite dressings.  I ain’t judging.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Dried Cranberries & Pomegranate Seeds

Serves two

INGREDIENTS

10 medium-sized Brussels sprouts

Handful of pistachios

Handful of dried cranberries

Handful of pomegranate seeds

For the dressing

1/3 cup Greek yogurt or vegan mayonnaise  – optional

2 TBS lemon juice (or nice wine vinegar)

1 TBS olive oil

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the dressing ingredients together & season with S&P.  Taste & adjust the flavors.  Some like lemon more than others.  Some like more salt.  Suit yourself.

Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes, until aromatic & beginning to change color.  Stir the whole time & take care not to burn them.  Set aside.

Trim the hard ends off the Brussels sprouts & shred with the blade of your food processor or cut thin by hand.  Be sure to break up any of the white cores that remain – even cutting them by hand if your food processor let them slip by.

Now, just toss all that shit together (go easy on the dressing) & eat both servings yourself.  FTW.

DDD #58 – Vegan Spicy Korean BBQ Pork Bulgogi

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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This is an easy dish that goes well over rice or served in lettuce cups.

Click the image below to watch the video.

Vegan Spicy Korean BBQ Pork Bulgogi 

Serves 4 with rice

INGREDIENTS

1 to 1 1/2 lbs vegan faux pork (I used Morning Star Steak Strips & a vegan pork belly)

1 small onion – sliced

1 small apple – peeled

2 TBS jarred minced garlic or 6-8 cloves minced

2 TBS chopped ginger

1 TBS crushed red pepper

2 TBS Gochujang (buy some here – http://amzn.to/2zdE4e8)

1 tsp black pepper

3 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS soy sauce (or tamari or liquid aminos) (buy some here – http://amzn.to/2gY3S3z)

1/2 tsp sesame oil

3 TBS rice wine or mirin (buy some here – http://amzn.to/2yr3NQX)

1/2 to 1 cup slivered carrots (optional)

GARNISH – fresh mint, sliced scallions, cilantro, sesame seeds, and serve with cooked rice or in lettuce cups)

DIRECTIONS

In a blender or food processor, blend 3/4 of the onion (reserve 1/4), the apple, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, Gochujang, pepper, 2 TBS sugar (reserving 1 TBS), soy sauce & sesame oil.

Heat this sauce in a large frying pan or a wok.  Add the faux meat.  Cook until the sauce reduces & begins to cling to the faux pork.  Add the remaining 1/4 onion, carrots (if using), remaining TBS brown sugar & a splash of water.  When the onions & carrots are soft, serve over rice or in lettuce cups.  Garnish with either cilantro, mint sprigs, some sesame seeds or scallion slices.

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DDD #57 – A Halloween message from the Humane Society

Click this link to donate.