Celebrating The Lunar New Year 2015...

Thursday was Lunar New Year, if you celebrate it I hope you had a good time. I typically don’t celebrate Lunar New Year, not because I don’t enjoy it, but because since moving to Illinois I often forget when the holiday is upon us. Living in Vancouver it’s hard not to know when the Lunar New Year is beginning. The signs are all over, the minute you enter Chinatown, and I used to spend a lot of time in Chinatown. I’m sure the Lunar New Year is a popular event in Chicago’s Chinatown but outside of that, not too many people around these parts seem to care. Then of course in many years previous I have actually been on vacation during the Lunar New Year, so it’s hard to celebrate when you’re in the jungle, or hiking a mountain. This year however our vacation is coming a month later then usual, and so I was free to celebrate.

Honestly, I was really tired from a long night at work, but I didn’t want to let that stop me from making and then eating something delicious. The meal I ended up whipping together is in no way ‘traditional’ but it’s Asian - or at least Asian fusion - and I think it did a pretty decent job of putting together a rather impromptu feast using mostly what I had on hand already.

One of the first things I decided to make was the Mongolia Beef from Lane Gold’s book “Vegan Junk Food” man this book never lets me down! I chose this because the recipe was simple, fast, I had everything on hand - including a bag of beefless tips in the freezer - and it’s been an oh-so-long time since I had Mongolia beef. I have to say this dish really exceeded my expectations. It was so full of flavor considering it had a short ingredient list. The sauce was rich, sweet and salty and thick. Absolutely perfect, like the kind of dish you’d order in a Chinese restaurant. Without doubt I will make this again and again.

Also from “Vegan Junk Food” I made the Takeout Orange Tofu. Again I chose this because it was simple, relatively quick, and had a relatively short ingredient list. Also I love orange tofu, - used to love Orange Chicken - haven’t had it in ages, and I remember years ago Bianca from “Vegan Crunk” made this and said it was delicious and I’ve always meant to give it a try. Well, I’m pleased to report that she wasn’t wrong, and this dish did not in any way disappoint.  Again it had a thick, rich, sweet sauce, that was reminiscent of every Asian restaurant I’ve ever been too. Perfect, I’ll be making this again and again for sure. The only thing I did differently is I added some diced green bell pepper to the mix only because the sauce made more then I needed for the tofu, and I didn’t want it all to go to waste.

Lastly also from “Vegan Junk Food” I made the Takeout Fried Rice. This was a no brainer. You HAVE to have rice, and I love fried rice, and my husband loves rice in any incarnation, period. So even though I’ve made a million fried rice recipes in my time I chose Lane’s because 1) I already had the book out and 2) It was quick and easy and called for very few ingredients. I thought this version was really good, though I’ll admit I added some green onion to it. I probably would have used a bit more liquid, because the rice came out a bit drier then I like but otherwise this was great.

Now, once I got started on this Lunar New Year’s Feast I Couldn’t stop there, because what’s an Asian celebration without some noodles? I dug out my copy of Donna Klein’s book “The Chinese Vegan Kitchen” flipped to the Noodle chapter and promptly made the Sichuan Style Lo Mein with Sesame and Garlic. Now I love a good Lo Mein, and any noodle dish that includes a peanut or sesame style sauce is okay in my book, but DAMN these were some amazing noodles! No lie, I could have eaten the entire pan myself. This ingredients list is a bit longer then others I’ve seen - mostly stuff needed to make the sauce - but it comes together almost as quickly as it takes you to boil the noodles so no worries.  I did add ½ a red onion, ½ a green bell pepper, and a ½ cup of sliced mushrooms to the dish just because I had these things laying around and I am trying to clean out the fridge as best I can before we leave for Europe. I would probably add that amount of veg again in the future because I think it worked really well, and also next time I think I’ll use the full amount of chili paste. I aired on the side of caution this time around and didn’t go with a full 2 tsp but felt for a dish called Sichuan it could have been spicier. That was my bad.

Now, no feast can be just protein and carbs, you need a little veg in your life, the greener the better. So using “The Chinese Vegan Kitchen” still I made Klein’s Chinese Broccoli with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce. This is a super simple side, you basically just saute Chinese Broccoli - or Gai Lan - then simmer it in a quick sauce of Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, rice wine, ginger, cornstarch, soy sauce and peanut oil. So good! I love Gai Lan!

Lastly I also made Klein’s Spicy Hoisin Glazed Green Beans. I chose this because I love green beans, I love hoisin sauce and this reminded me of a green bean dish I used to order all the time at restaurants around Vancouver. This type of green bean, or Sichuan style green beans have always been one of my favorite side dishes in any Chinese restaurant so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make them. Again it’s basically simply sauteed green beans that are simmered in a sauce of hoisin, garlic, peanut oil, soy sauce, chili paste, and sesame oil. So good!

I really wanted to make an appetizer and dessert as well, but I’ll say it, I was lazy. I wanted to make tapioca pudding, and Spring Rolls but I didn’t have the proper ingredients for either. I did however remember that the last time I was at Super H Market - the Korean Market in Niles, IL - I bought a pack of Vegetarian Spring Rolls. So I dug those out of the freezer and baked half the package. Really you’re suppose to fry them but my burners were all being used up at the time. Baking Spring Rolls is definitely healthier but doesn’t get the crispy. Oh well, still delicious for a store-bought roll.

So that was our Lunar New Year. I hope you had a good time celebrating, and I wish you Peace, Love and Prosperity for the New Year!

9 Days of Valentine's: Part 9....

Sadly our 9 days of celebration have come to an end. Part of me is really sad about it because we were having so much fun and eating so much delicious food. But, the other half of me is really happy to finally go back to eating salad, like... just salad... till like.... the end of time. Ha.

Our last hurrah was quite the meal indeed. It had everything you could ask for in a grand dinner. A salad, a hearty main course, a decadent dessert, and a bottle of good wine.

We started with the Italian Chopped Salad from Chloe Coscarelli’s book “Chloe’s Italian Vegan Kitchen.” Now, if I’m being honest I wasn’t expecting much from this salad. I made it because it had a nice picture and it was super easy and I had everything called for on hand. I figured after a week of vegan meat and decadence we could use a little veg. But man, oh man was this salad fantastic! Seriously, it was about 1000 times better then any Italian Salad I’ve had in any Olive Garden type restaurant.

The salad contains romaine, tomatoes, green onion, kalamata olives, basil, chickpeas, salt, pepper and crumbled tofu. The dressing is a simple mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, agave, salt, Dijon mustard, and garlic. It sounds so easy but you wouldn’t believe the flavor. Normally I don’t like raw tofu in my salads but I liked this a lot because it was just 7oz and it was just enough to give the salad a texture of cheese. If I didn’t have a main course that needed digging into I would have eaten this entire salad myself it was that good.

But speaking of main courses, for our final celebratory meal I chose another dish from Alicia C. Simpson’s book “Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations.” Truly the Fusilli in Cabernet Sauce with Portobello Brisket sounded too good to pass up. There are a few steps involved in making this meal and I ended up not evening getting started until after 8:30pm but surprisingly the whole thing came together really quick.

First things first, make your portobello brisket. Lucky for me sometime in the afternoon I went over the recipe and saw that while you could get away with only marinated the shrooms for 20 minutes it was best to do it longer. So I think I ended up letting these marinate on the counter top for about five hours. Turning them over occasionally. The marinade is made with olive oil, red wine, garlic, shallot, Dijon Mustard and tarragon. Once you’re done marinating you roast these guys in the oven for 20 minutes then slice them up when they cool down a bit. The smell is heavenly.

While your shrooms are roasted make your sauce. It’s fairly simple, shallots, garlic, Cabernet Sauvignon, agave, basil, red pepper flakes, rosemary, salt, stock, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Combine all that in a pot, then let it simmer.

That’s the hard part, once all that’s done you plate your pasta, drench it in some sauce, scatter some sliced shrooms on top and serve. I actually decided to drizzle a little of the extra mushroom cooking liquid over top of my pasta. The marinade sauce was too good to go to waste and when combines with that meaty, earthy mushroom liquid that seeps out during cooking - OH MY!  My husband and I really had to control ourselves and not go back for seconds because we knew a great dessert was in store for us.

For dessert I went back to “Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen” and made her Tiramisu. This was actually a super last minute decision that kind of hit me for no reason. I was just flipping through the book and the picture looked so good, and I thought it might be a nice finish to our celebratory week and I just happened to have everything on hand - except the ingredients to make the coconut whip cream but I did have a tub of So Delicious Coco Whip in the freezer! - The thing is, it’s strange that I would want to make a Tiramisu in the first place because it’s never been a dessert I was crazy about. Sure I’ve had plenty of non-vegan versions in the past and thought they were so-so. I’ve made a couple of vegan versions myself and thought they were better then their non-vegan counterparts but still kind of hum-drum. Chloe’s Tiramisu though, is out of this freaking world! No lie. Probably, hands down the best tiramisu I’ve ever made and ever eaten anywhere! My husband who’s also never been a huge fan of Tiramisu agreed completely and had we not already been so full from dinner we might just have finished off the entire bowl.

I love how ridiculously easy Chloe’s version is. You make a vanilla cake, cut it in cubes soak it in coffee and rum, layer some whip cream over top, dust it with chocolate and repeat. She says to leave it in the fridge overnight - which we did. - and then it’s ready to eat. Of course I used store-bought whip so it might taste different with home-made, but I’ve been using Chloe’s book for a while now, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a recipe fail from her. She is amazing, and she is especially amazing at dessert. Seriously, this girl should be right up there with Vegan Cook Book Goddess’s such as Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, and Joni Marie Newman.

So that’s it, I hope y’all have had as much fun following our celebration as we did creating it.  I’m definitely sad it’s over, but don’t worry, I have a few more cool posts planned in next week and a half before I leave for Europe.

PS: And incase anyone was curious though we loved every meal of the past 9 days our favorites were. Coq Au Vin. Osso Bucco. Seitan Parmesan with Garlic Green Beans, Potatoes with Germolatta and Red Velvet Cupcakes and Italian Chopped Salad, Fusilli in Cabernet Sauce with Portobello Brisket and Tiramisu. In no particular order, they were all fan-freaking-tastic!

9 Days of Valentine's: Part 4...

For day 4 of our Valentine’s Week Celebration I decided to go Italian again with another dish from Chloe Coscarelli's book "Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen." I ordered this book pretty much as soon as it came out but with all the cook books I own I haven’t had much chance to use it. I was particularly happy to pull it out for Valentine’s Week, and Chloe’s Pasta Carbonara with Shiitake Bacon was one of the first recipes I set my sights on.

To be honest I’m not sure if I’ve ever eaten a non-vegan Pasta Carbonara before. I sure ate a lot of pasta growing up, and all different kinds but I can’t recall if Carbonara ever made it into rotation. Considering it uses a lot of bacon, and my family never ate much pork it’s probably safe to say I didn’t. I have however made vegan carbonara’s, and I’ve always enjoyed them.

Chloe’s version is a little different then Carbonara’s I’ve made in the past. Most of the ones I’ve made have contained peas, and a rich non-dairy cheese or cream substitute, also some kind of store-bought vegan bacon. The most obvious difference in Chloe’s version is that she makes her own Shiitake bacon which is super easy and way more delicious then most store-bought vegan bacon. The only thing I did different to the recipe was add a touch of liquid smoke for added smoky flavor. Otherwise this was perfect.

The Carbonara sauce too is a little different. It’s very simplistic in it’s ingredients using tofu as the base. This makes it somewhat less rich then the vegan versions that use fancy diary subs but it doesn’t make it any less satisfying. What I always love about Chloe’s dishes is that they’re packed with flavor and yet so simple. The ingredients list is usually short, the cooking method is relatively simple, she makes vegan food easy, and accessible and she can make it as fancy or as comforting as you want. One of the greatest things about this dish is how quick the sauce comes together, you basically just blend it all up, then pour it on the hot pasta and let it sit for a few minutes to warm through and thicken. Voila, dinner done!

Seriously, this is a damn good dish, that shiitake bacon is so worth it! If you’ve never had shiitake bacon you need to make some now!

Check back tomorrow, we’re going French again, and there’s dessert!

PS: Before you ask, I put a whole ton of parsley into my bowl, that's why it looks so green! and it's topped off with a nice home-made Nooch based Parmesan.

9 Days of Valentine's: Part 2...

Day 2 was a little simpler and more low-key then Day 1 of our Valentine’s Week. I went Italian this time, with a simple yet delicious dish from Chloe Coscarelli’s book “Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen.” Pasta in Pink Sauce. I’ve made Pasta in Pink sauce before and it’s always delicious, but since we haven’t had it in a while, and since I’d never made Chloe’s version, and since it’s PINK! - Hello Valentine’s Day! - I thought I’d try this out for our week of celebration.

If you’ve never had pasta in pink sauce before it’s basically just a thick pasta - like Bucatini, but I used Fettuccini ‘cause that’s what I had - in a tomato cream sauce. Chloe makes her sauce with garlic, crushed tomatoes, basil, cashew cream, salt and pepper, and sugar. It’s quick, easy and amazing! Since pasta is so hearty, I didn’t make anything to go with it, instead we used some of the leftover bread from the night before to mop up extra sauce.

I did however make a dessert, and for dessert I went French with Mark Reinfeld’s Chocolate Mousse from his book “The 30 Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe.” This was a really simple mousse to make, though a lot different then other vegan mousse’s I’ve made in the past. It used chocolate chips, coconut milk, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, maple syrup, salt, flax, and it’s garnished with strawberries. Honestly, as easy as this was - and quick too - It didn’t get as ‘fluffy’ as a normal mousse does. Nor did it come close to being as fluffy as other vegan mousses I’ve made. This was more like a thick pudding, it was however delicious, if a bit rich. I couldn’t eat a whole serving in one sitting and had to ration it out because it was just too powerful for me. Still it was worth making and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Check back tomorrow, to see what we’re having on Day 3. I’ll give you a hint, we’re going French again!

4th Of July Fun...

My Plate - Black Bean Burger with all the fixin's
Buffalo Mac Salad, BBQ Coleslaw, BBQ Beans 

Well, I hope everyone had a lovely fourth of July. Ours was pretty low-key. Since I had my mom and step-dad visiting, and we were busy hanging out I didn’t feel much like cooking. Which was okay too. My mother-in-law was kind enough to pick up some fresh-made vegan black bean burgers for us, - which I forgot to photograph, sorry - and I took care of the sides and dessert.

Funny, I knew right away what I wanted to make, because I’ve had my eye on it for years. The Spicy Red  Buffalo Macaroni Salad from Joni Marie Newman & Celine Steen’s awesome little book “The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions.” Personally I’ve always loved a good pasta salad, and this one sounded really interesting, but even though I love pasta salad I rarely find occasion to make it. The 4th seemed like the perfect time, especially since my mom and step-dad like pasta salad too, and since my step-dad likes heat. It’s actually a really easy dish. Just cook your macaroni, roasted red peppers, onions, celery and spinach - although I just realized now that I forgot to add the spinach, whoops! - Then the dressing is made with tofu, hot sauce, earth balance, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and I added a wee bit of agave to balance the tang a bit.  The end result was that this salad was out of this world amazing and my husband and I couldn’t stop eating it! I’m so glad I finally got around to making it.

Spicy Red Buffalo Macaroni Salad

Next up I wanted to make the BBQ Beans from “Vegan Food Substitutions.” I’ve always loved a good saucy bean dish, and I’ve always loved baked beans. These tasted just like a baked bean but with out the long baking time. Simply add all your sauce ingredients into a pot, add the beans and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce reduces a bit. These too were fantastic, and reminded me of the kind of baked beans you eat out of a can - only better! I was happy to have the leftovers and I gobbled them up in no time!

BBQ Beans 

Lastly I decided to make the Creamy BBQ Coleslaw from Joni Marie Newman’s book “The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet” it’s a really simple slaw recipe, shredded cabbage, agave, apple cider vinegar,  vegan mayo and BBQ sauce. I added some onion and carrot in too because, well I love that in my slaw. This slaw was super creamy, and super flavorful. As much as I love slaw, and as much as I love BBQ I never thought to combine the two into one dish! Amazing!

Creamy BBQ Coleslaw 

For dessert I went with pie, and fruit pies at that because Pie is really my favorite dessert and I was all ‘caked out’ after my birthday anyway. Once again I chose to make pies from Hannah Kaminsky’s lovely book “Easy as Vegan Pie.” Of course I can’t just pick a straight forward pie can I? I wanted something unique and since I had a ton of cherries on hand I decided to make the Black Forest Pie because who doesn’t love chocolate and cherries? The Pie is basically as it sounds, think black forest cake but in pie form. Chocolate Crust, chocolate cherry filling, chocolate topping with whip Cream. Yum, yum! This pie went over huge with everyone and I sure liked it a lot too although a small slice was enough for me, as it was a bit too chocolatey for my taste.

Black Forest Pie 

Second I made the Blueberry Blackberry Licorice Pie. Licorice you say? Yes indeed. I know how insane that sounds but trust me when I tell you this pie was out of this world amazing, and this is coming from a girl who hates black licorice or licorice flavored anything. I’m not even all that found of anise to be honest. Still, it was such an interesting combination that my curiosity got the better of me. The pie crust is a standard crust - any recipe will work really - and the filling is a standard blueberry blackberry filling but then you slice up pieces of black licorice and some of them melt into the delectable berry sauce as the pie cooks, while others remain whole. This pie was so good I had 2 slices right out of the gate, and I was impressed at how mellow the licorice flavor was. Not overbearing, it gave it just the right hint of ‘different’ and really took this pie to a new level. As much as this pie came as a surprise to me, it also came as a surprise to everyone else, I think most people were put off by the addition of licorice, until they tasted it for themselves. Only one slice remained after all was said and done! The lesson? Never be afraid to try new things!

Blueberry Blackberry Licorice Pie 

I hope you all had a happy fourth.

My Favorite Creamy Macaroni and Cheese...

I know I’ve been ridiculously absent since Canadian Thanksgiving and for that I’m sorry. I just haven’t had the cooking spirit lately. My Oma’s somewhat unexpected passing has been hard on me, and the rest of the past month wasn’t much better. A variety of things culminated to leave me feeling uninspired and uninterested in doing much cooking, or blogging. For almost the entire week post-Thanksgiving we ate leftovers. Then we ate simple rice bowls that tasted delicious but aren’t exactly blog-worthy in my opinion. Then the past week we’ve been having something of a pizza extravaganza - of which I meant to take photos but my camera battery is dead and every day I absentmindedly forgot to re-charge it - thanks to my latest cook book purchase of “Vegan Pizza” by Julie Hasson. But now we’re into a new month, and I’m feeling better, re-inspired, and I’ve missed the blogesphere, and so Im going to make a greater effort to be more active this month.

To kick things off I thought I’d share a favorite Mac and Cheese recipe with you. I know there are tons of mac-loving vegans out there, vegan mac is like the holy grail for some, and yet I’ve never been much of a mac lover. Blasphemy I know, but I was never one to eat food from a box, that had a lot to do with my upbringing I suppose. Certainly as a kid I ate macaroni and cheese now and then, and I’m sure I liked it well enough but I never developed that ‘ohmygodgottahaveit!’ love affair with it. After I grew up and moved out I don’t think I ate Macaroni and Cheese at all, except for maybe trying my hand at making a home-made baked mac once or twice. My husband was also not a mac and cheese fan - he didn’t like cheese at all in any form in fact - and so it was not a meal that ever made it onto our radar.

Of course, as happens with so many things, the minute you go vegan all your previous ideas and notions about food go out the window. I like Mac and Cheese much more now, then I ever did growing up, and these days I really love and appreciate creative mac and cheese recipes. While I still wouldn’t consider it anything close to being a favorite food, I do now and then find myself getting a wicked bad craving for it. One such crazy craving hit me out of the blue in mid-October as I was reminiscing about the Toronto Vegetarian Festival - more to come about that in a very belated review post. - and the epic Mac and Cheese Burrito we ate there courtesy of Hot Beans. - More on that to come as well. - My husband and I were so blown away by this absurd concoction that we just knew we’d have to eat it again. Of course Toronto is a far way to travel from Chicago just for a burrito and so I decided to try and recreate this masterpiece at home.

Now, the first step to making any mac and cheese burrito is making mac and cheese. Essentially you can use any mac and cheese recipe you like, but the following recipe is one of my very favorite mac recipes. - Inspired by THIS recipe from Vegan Mischief who also happens to be a Vancouver Vegan -  Coconut milk is really the silent star here, as it gives the mac a thick and creamy texture without imparting any coconut flavor. It is hands down my favorite non-dairy milk to use when making macaroni and cheese, and I love the unique combination of spices. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

My Favorite Creamy Macaroni and Cheese 

½ Small Yellow Onion minced
1 tbsp Olive oil
4 Garlic Cloves Minced
½ tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4-1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Mild Curry Powder
½ -1 Tbsp Ground Fenugreek
1/4 tsp White Pepper
½ tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Dried Basil
1 Vegan Chicken Flavor Bouillon cube
2 Tbsp White Miso
4 Tbsp Water
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast
2 C Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Water
1 Bag Daiya Cheddar Shreds
12-16oz Elbow Macaroni Noodles (Gluten-Free)
Salt and Pepper to taste (Optional)

- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and then return to the pot until your sauce is ready.

- Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add in the minced onion and saute for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add in the garlic and saute another 2 minutes.

- Add Smoked Paprika, Turmeric, Curry, Fenugreek, white pepper, oregano, and basil. Saute another 2 minutes.

- Meanwhile combine the 2 tbsp of Miso with 2 tbsp of water, stir until smooth.

- Also combine the vegan chicken bouillon cube with 2 tbsp of water and mix until smooth.

- Add the Nutritional Yeast and the Coconut milk to the pot with the onions, whisk until combined and smooth. Add in the Bouillon mix, along with the miso mix, and let simmer stirring frequently for five minutes.

- Whisk together the cornstarch and the 1 tbsp of water to make a slurry.

- Add the cornstarch mixture to the Pot, along with the Dijon Mustard, and the Bag of Daiya shreds. Continue to simmer, whisking until all the daiya has melted into the sauce and the sauce has thickened. This could take roughly 5-10 minutes.

- Once the daiya has melted and the sauce has reached a creamy thickness that you like, taste for flavor and if you feel it’s needed you can add ½ -1 tsp of sea salt, along with a bit of fresh cracked black pepper.

- Then add the sauce to your cooked Macaroni and serve as is garnished with a bit of Italian parsley or use it to make an epic mac and cheese burrito - recipe to come tomorrow!

As always, enjoy!

*** Note - I typically always use gluten-free noodles, if you do then the dish is gluten-free. You can also make the dish soy free by using a soy-free miso such as chickpea miso.***

Vegan Mofo #36 - Mark’s Linguine With Clam Free Sauce & Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Scallops...

Vegan Mofo #36 - Mark’s Linguine With Clam Free Sauce & Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Scallops 

The Region - Italy
The Book - The 30 Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe
The Author - Mark Rienfeld
The Recipe - Linguine With Clam Free Sauce
Page #23
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 35-40 minutes

And now we’ve reached the end. It’s a bitter sweet end for me, because on one hand I hate to see Mofo end, it’s been so much fun, but on the other I’m finally starting to feel burned out. Not burned out with cooking but burned out because I always have to make sure my camera is handy. Then there’s uploading photos, editing photos, writing daily - sometimes twice and thrice daily - posts and getting everything organized. I love it, but to keep that pace consistently when I have so much else going on is draining too. I’ve loved and enjoyed every minute of mofo, loved reading everyone’s blogs, seeing everyone’s creations, it’s been an inspiration and so I close this mofo with an unexpected dish.

Unexpected because I hadn’t intended to make this for mofo at all. Then last night I came across a box of Sophie’s Kitchen vegan scallops in my local grocery and knew I had to try them. I’ve been hearing great things about this brand for a while now but had never gotten the chance to try it, so I excitedly picked up a box upon making the discovery that it was now being sold in my area. Problem is, I never liked scallops, as I mentioned in my post about the tofu scallops, and short of serving them as I had the Mark Reinfeld way a few days ago I didn’t know what else to do with them. But then, scallops in my mind seem to go with Alfredo, and once I had that idea in my head I remembered Reinfeld’s recipe for Clam Free Sauce and thought why couldn’t vegan scallops work in that dish too?

So tonight, after a busy day, needing something quick and easy for dinner that’s exactly what I decided to do. I made the recipe as pretty well as stated, except I used only a 1/4 pound of shiitake’s instead of three cups since I used a box of scallops as well. The sauce is made of garlic, oil, shiitake mushrooms, arame, vegan butter, non-dairy milk, cashews - which are listed as optional but I used them - lemon juice, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley - I didn’t have any and so I used some basil instead - white wine, and nutritional yeast. I left the pine nuts out too. I decided to cook the thawed scallops in the pan right along with the garlic and mushrooms rather then cook them separate and I’m not sure if this made any kind of difference in taste or texture but I think it worked fine.

Once the sauce is finished you add it to your linguine except I didn’t have any and so I used Angel Hair pasta instead. No biggie. Overall I thought the sauce was great, rich and creamy. It wasn’t overly seafoody and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t like an overwhelming fish flavor but a little more sea would have been nice. I would definitely make this again and maybe add in some crumbled nori sheets too. Now whether or not this sauce tastes like clams I can’t say, I’ve never in my life eaten a clam and I’m glad of that. Clams to me were always a disgusting culinary oddity, so if you’ve tried this dish and you’ve eaten clams before let me know what you think.

As for the Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Scallops - well, it’s been so long since I’ve eaten a real scallop I can’t really comment on similarity. The vegan scallops were mild in flavor, and not fishy. I think a stronger flavor would have been better, but texture wise they seemed pretty dead on as far as I can remember. Since scallops were not my favorite thing to begin with I’m not sure I would buy these vegan scallops again myself, but my husband loved them. I suppose scallops, vegan or otherwise just might not be my thing, so in the future I suppose I’ll stick with the tofu version.

And that my friends concludes this years Vegan Mofo. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting and thanks for participating. It’s been a blast. Stay tuned tomorrow for my Vegan Mofo 2013 Recipe Round-up of my top 10 Favorite dishes from this year’s mofo event!