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Make this Rich Focaccia with Vegan Parmesan and Olive OilVegan Tofu Sliders with Tangy Purple ColeslawMessy Delicious Italian Veggie SandwichVegan Lima Bean Lentil Soup Satisfies for HoursSix-Ingredient Vegan Butterscotch Pudding with Mango and BlueberryVegan Sausage that Fills a Hot Dog Bun NicelyVegan Basil Pesto Cannelloni in Rich Tomato SauceTasty Vegan Grilled Salad with Tofu and Portobellos

Tag: mushroom

Tasty Vegan Grilled Salad with Tofu and Portobellos

A decent vegan grilled salad has been on my to-do list for a while now. I need a substantial amount of protein to help get me through the afternoon without hunger pangs. Tofu to the rescue there. Grilled portobello mushrooms always remind me of beef, so the flavour is rich to me even if the ingredient itself isn't. Rich is always good in a salad. A simple lemon vinaigrette adds the required tang. But suprisingly enough, the star of the show turned out to be the pumpkin seeds. The contrasting crunch really ties everything together and makes it feel like a meal. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: tofu, salad, portobello, mushroom, healthy

Vegan Basil Pesto Cannelloni in Rich Tomato Sauce

Like so many other European dishes that involve stuffing something into something, cannelloni seems ripe for a vegan reworking. (I've also got serious designs on cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, ravioli and pierogies.) For the cannelloni, I wanted something substantial, but light enough that I could take it to work for lunch. It took a few attempts, but I think this combination of lentils, mushrooms and soy, bulked out with a little rice and seasoned with basil pesto flavours, hits the target. I had them at work all last week and I did not have one single urge to nap after lunch. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: Italian, lentil, tomato_sauce, basil, pesto, soy, mushroom

Vegan Sausage that Fills a Hot Dog Bun Nicely

As I write this, I'm munching on one of these homemade vegan sausages with dijon mustard and fresh onions on a soft bun and feeling thoroughly content. What I like most about this recipe is that you get a whole lot of lunches out of a relatively modest amount of work. And the hard work is done by the food processor anyway. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: sausage, mushroom, nutritional_yeast, lentil, sandwich, aquafaba

Vegan No-Meat-Ball Sandwich

This no-meat-ball sub has been on my to-do list for a while now. It's pure comfort food for me -- how could it not be with the combination of Italian spices, tomato sauce and bread. The meatballs add substance, protein, fibre and no small amount of flavour. I'm impressed with how well they stay together after cooking, which I chalk up mostly to aquafaba. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: lentil, soy, mushroom, meatball, marinara, tomato_sauce, sandwich, aquafaba, sauce

Baked Tofu and Veggies in a Balsamic Marinade

When I was a young omnivore I used to take the train a lot, so much that I got addicted to business class. (It's way too easy to rationalize the extra ticket cost when you're looking at spending half a day sitting in an uncomfortable seat with a bunch of strangers -- at least this way you'd get a couple of glasses of wine and a hot meal.) Serving meals on mass transportation is a bit of a lost art, but like me you might be old enough to remember (and get nostalgic for) a time when it was routine everywhere. I was always amazed by the flavour they were able to pack into those little convection-heated, single-serving dishes, which when paired with a little wine, some fresh bread, coffee and dessert, left you feeling completely satisfied and well taken care of. Unless you were vegan. Vegans in those days got spaghetti in a watery tomato sauce or a salad with some fruit and pecans strewn on top. Vegan meals were definitely an afterthought, or so it seemed. I was thinking about this the other day, and I wondered if there was a way to make a single-pan meal with a vegan protein and all the veggies and herbs that the omnivores used to get on the train. This recipe is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: tofu, mushroom, balsamic_vinegar, potato, marinade, comfort_food

Rich Vegan Mushroom Linguine with Basil

After last week's burrito adventure, I wanted to do something a lot simpler. But I also wanted a dish in the same comfort food vein as the burrito, something that leaves you completely satisfied while staying within the boundaries of a vegan diet. Let's just say I ate pasta all week. I wanted a basil pesto flavour overall, but I also wanted a ton of mushrooms. It took a little while to get it right. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: pasta, comfort_food, mushroom, cashew, nutritional_yeast, basil

Making Panini for Vegans

I never thought I'd live to see the day that Toronto's sandwich shops acknowledge that vegans exist, let alone offer them a choice of delicious, fresh sandwich ingredients. The protein options are still somewhat limited, but it's possible to put together a perfectly delicious lunch using the ingredients behind many big counters, especially downtown. On one recent visit, I even saw grilled tofu as an option. I opted for hummus and mushroom instead, but it's great to see them making an effort. This is my attempt to replicate the experience at home. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: sandwich, healthy, hummus, portobello, mushroom, avocado

Messy Delicious Italian Veggie Sandwich

One of the local Italian sandwich shops does a vegan version of their typical breaded meat on a kaiser with cheese and tomato sauce. I ordered it because someone had suggested this place for a catered lunch at work, and I was blown away. As I devoured it, I was of course also analyzing it to try to duplicate it at home. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: peppers, zucchini, mushroom, tomato_sauce, sandwich, Italian, marinara, sauce

Spicy Tofu-Mushroom Stirfry

Every month or two, I get the urge to try a totally new vegan stirfry combination. These often involve tofu in some way, and as you know, tofu is a bit of a blank canvas that readily absorbs whatever it's cooked in. This time, I decided to try shiitake mushroom and pickled hot red chilies. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: tofu, stirfry, mushroom, shiitake, spicy, Chinese, sauce

Vegan Mushroom Pate with Lentils and Cashews

I have to admit that when I started working on this recipe, I wasn't expecting much. Vegan alternatives to traditional meat dishes don't usually get me excited. Happy to say that I was wrong, and this mushroom-lentil spread is really tasty. It makes a good party food on water crackers and it goes really nicely with slices of raw sweet pepper. The key to the pate's flavour is the way the mushrooms interact with the thyme. The key to its texture is a good food processor. You want the lentil-cashew mixture that forms the base to be completely smooth. That way, the little mushroom pieces distributed throughout provide little flavour bombs and a nicely contrasting texture. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: mushroom, lentil, cashew, healthy

Building Dinner around Grilled Portobellos

As much as I love grilled portobello mushrooms, I have to admit that there isn't a whole lot going on nutritionally, aside from some niacin and minerals. Don't get me wrong, I'm crazy about niacin and minerals, but one mushroom has 2 or 3 grams of protein, and the recommended daily intake is somewhere between 50 and 90 grams depending on your weight and gender. To make a complete vegan meal featuring these juicy flavour bombs requires some nutritional gap-filling, which is not all that tough to do with a little advance planning. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: mushroom, bean, sweet_potato, sandwich

Marinating and Grilling Portobello Mushrooms

Portobello mushrooms are the steak of the vegetarian world. They respond very nicely to a BBQ grill, and their juicy flavour and tender texture are extremely steakish. It's unusual for something so delicious to be so easy to prepare. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: portobello, marinade, mushroom, balsamic_vinegar, grill

Grilled Tempeh Bowl with Vegan Mushroom Gravy

In many North American meat-eating households, family celebrations almost always feature turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies. A lot of us grew up participating in these celebrations and the memories are deep-seated. KFC taps into these memories quite effectively by marketing a bowl consisting of mashed potatoes, corn, chicken and gravy. What if we could make a vegan version of that bowl with a good source of protein and a vegan gravy that actually tastes good? More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: comfort_food, tempeh, gravy, potato, mushroom, sauce

Low Carb and Vegan: Spicy Tofu with Roasted Veggies

Vegetarian cooking, and especially vegan cooking, requires conscious attention to key nutrient levels, including protein. The good news is that most vegetarians quickly develop the skills needed to manage their nutritional needs. That's not to say that there aren't challenges. It can be a struggle to design vegetarian meals that have enough protein but don't cause unintentional carbo-loading. Examples are all around us. This meal combines tofu with roasted vegetables, for all the flavour without all the carbs. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: healthy, tofu, broccoli, mushroom, sweet_potato, brussels_sprout, spicy

Vegan Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches

We all know that grilled portobello mushrooms are great in a sandwich. That's why I wasn't too upset when the portobello panini was literally the only vegetarian option at a friend's favourite pub. With the first bite, it was clear that I would be having a great meal. I know this is going to sound strange, but what put this sandwich over the top was a bed of wilted spinach. It just worked. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: mushroom, grill, healthy, hummus, spinach