Vegan Pesto Sauce

Ingredients
* 2 cups fresh basil
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1 cup pine nuts (I used hemp seed nut but other nuts can be used)
* 5 cloves garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine and blend in food processor or blender and pour on to your choice of noodles, pizza dough or anything else you want.

Enjoy!

Vegan Mocha Agave Pudding - This is a rich, luxurious, ‘adult’ version of the chocolate pudding.

4 Tbsp Agave Syrup
4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa
1 Tbsp instant coffee
dash of salt
2 cups soymilk
1 tsp vanilla extract (use the good stuff!)

First, mix the dry ingredients then slowly mix in the soymilk and agave. Make sure its mixed well before transfering to pan.

Cook over medium heat in a sauce pan until it thickens, and then add the vanilla.

Pour into cups or bowls. Cover with lid or plastic and chill. Enjoy!

Vegan Pasta Pomodoro

Ingredients

1 pound dried pasta - (I prefer angel hair)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, including liquid
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
12 fresh basil leaves, torn

Preparation
Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and their juices, salt, pepper, and sugar. Then add the garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil. Toss with the cooked pasta.

Inari Sushi stuffed with Somen Salad

Ingredients

* 1 package aburaáge - approx 20 (fried tofu pockets)
* 8 oz or 2 bundles of somen noodles
* 1/4 cup shredded nori
* 3 stalks of green onion chopped fine
* 3 tbsp black sesame seeds (lightly brown in skillet)
* 3 tbsp white sesame seeds (lightly brown in skillet)
* 3 tbsp sugar
* 3 tbsp rice vinegar
* 3 tbsp sesame oil
* a dash of mirin or sake

Cooking Directions

1. Break each bundle of somen noodles into thirds.
2. Boil a pot of water.
3. Add the somen and carefully stir.
4. Boil for 3 minutes.
5. Drain and rinse with cold water.
6. Mix the sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil and mirin together in a small bowl.
7. Mix noodles with green onion, sesame seeds and sauce together.
8. Prepare the aburaáge, and stuff each piece of aburaáge with about 1/4 cup somen salad.

Top finished pockets with nori for garnish.

Enjoy!

Vegan Lentil Chili

Ingredients
1 cup dried brown lentils, cleaned
1 can tomatoes, crushed
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
pepper and cayenne pepper added as desired

Cook dry lentils as instructed.

While lentils are cooking, cook onions until soft. Add spices and tomatoes to onions and continue to cook at medium heat. Add lentils and cook at low heat for 15-20 mins. Add balsamic vinegar before removing from heat.

Serve hot over rice, noodles or bread if desired.

Enjoy!

Vegan Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup sugar
* 3 tbsp cornstarch (use 4 tbsp if you prefer a stiffer pudding)
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 2 cups soy milk
* 1 tsp vanilla
* (optional) I sprinkled cinnamon before eating for added flavor

First, mix the dry ingredients then slowly mix in the soymilk.

Cook over medium heat in a sauce pan until it thickens, and then add the vanilla.

Pour into cups or bowls. Cover with lid or plastic and chill. Enjoy!

The Usual Suspects Cafe

450 Broadway St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 434-4444

Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday
Lunch, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Dinner, 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Recently reopened with new management and new ownership - this place is the talk of the town.

Located in North Beach, it’s located in a colorful part of town sitting pretty amongst a series of adult shops. Parking is all street parking, we got lucky and found meter parking right away. We got there right when it opened at 5pm so they weren’t quite ready…but they were friendly and invited us in with a smile.

The decor is a mix between a 50’s diner and a collection of photos, art, plus a big clown head propped up in a corner.

We started off with very very hot Pressed Taquitos that I heard so much about. Made from corn tortillas, cashew cheese, red pepper, onion and asparagus paired with cilantro sour cream. SUPER YUM! This is a definite must have. One word of caution…they run out, so try to go early!!

For dinner, I had the vegan Seasonal Vegetable and Seitan pizza. Again….OOOH, yum! I hadn’t had pizza with cheese in so long, and the cashew cheese topping the cornmeal pizza crust went perfectly with the flavorful marinera sauce, asparagus and seitan sausage covering the pizza. If I wasn’t so full, I’d eat another one!

We also had the Seitan Pesto Fettuccine. This was good too. A bit on the tangy/spicy side with a generous mixture of oyster mushrooms, and seitan sausage. It was served with bread and salad. They have a big selection of yummy salad dressings that they make in house…next time I want to try the Agave Mustard.

Their dessert menus varies from day to day. We ordered the strawberry rhubarb that was much like baked fruit topped with a scone drizzled with a luscious cream…this was good! We also ordered their chip cookie. This was yummy too…it was a crispy cookie with generous portions of chocolate chips and nuts. Desserts were all made from Sugar Beat Sweets.

This place was really yummy, and I recommend all vegans and non vegans alike to check them out! Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa
dash of salt
2 cups soymilk
1 tsp vanilla extract (use the good stuff!)

**Add 1/4-1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips for richer, yummier pudding.

First, mix the dry ingredients then slowly mix in the soymilk.

Cook over medium heat in a sauce pan until it thickens, and then add the vanilla.

Pour into cups or bowls. Cover with lid or plastic and chill. Enjoy!

Rehoboth - Ethiopian Cafe and Restaurant

664. N. Sixth St.
San Jose, CA 95112

Phone: 408.947.1717

Located in the midst of the tiny Japantown of San Jose is a Ethiopian restaurant I’ve been meaning to check out. I finally did today and I loved it! They have a big vegetarian section on their menu but its Vegan! Instead of using butter, they use olive oil in their foods that makes it…me (vegan) friendly. The taste is rich and flavorful making vegan food fun again . You get a plate full of spongy Ethiopian bread that you tear and scoop your food with. It’s exotic and comforting at the same time, I’m definitely going back again soon!

I got the Veggie combo which came with 5 different varieties…I really enjoyed all of them, especially the chickpea dish (i can’t recall the names), potato, cabbage and carrot dish and a green bean medley. The owner let us try out recommended #18 which is a red lentil dish which tastes like chili and its super Yum! Also, the service is friendly and it feels like a home-cooked meal which is always a nice touch. ENJOY!

Vegan Tofu Burger - Serves 2

Preheat the grill to high
Ingredients:
For the Vegan Tofu Burger

* 8 oz firm tofu
* 1/4 cup Tahini
* 1/2 cup ground walnuts
* 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
* 1 tbsp soy sauce
* 1 cup breadcrumbs
* 4 oz mushrooms
* 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
For the Vegan Tofu Burger

1. Mash the tofu with the tahini in a bowl with a fork. Add the dill and the soy sauce.
2. Slice the mushrooms and then, in a separate frying pan over a medium-high heat, cook them in a slick of olive oil. Once they have released their water and are beginning to caramelize, add them to the tofu mixture. Add the walnuts and the breadcrumbs until the correct texture is achieved. The mixture should be just firm enough to form patties without being soggy.
3. Form the tofu into burger shapes and place on an oiled grill. Cook until browned on both sides.

Recipe from Foodtv.ca