Our Veggie Kitchen

I've been playing a bunch with bulgur lately.  Bulgur is a parboiled whole grain that, when cooked, imparts a texture similar to ground beef.  I've used it in chili and as a taco filling and it works perfectly in Sloppy Joes.  This Sloppy Joe recipe combines bulgur with temeph and smokey barbecue sauce for a delicious, easy meal that's healthy and freezes beautifully.   I made a double batch, froze half and still had enough for dinner and several lunches.

I have fallen in love with this BBQ sauce and it works great with these sandwiches and its easy to veganize.



Sloppy Joes
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, cored & chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz tempeh, crumbled
1/2 cup bulgur
15 oz tomato sauce
1 cup hickory/smokey barbecue sauce

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Saute the onions, celery and green peppers until the onion begins to carmelize. Add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about a minute. Stir in the remaining ingredients bring to a boil and reduce heat to lowest setting. Cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. Periodically test the bulgur for doneness, adding a little water, if necessary. This makes over a quart, easilly enough for 8 heaping sandwiches.

8 servings:  214 cal (7g fat, 32g carbs, 9g protein)

First off, these weren't actually barbecued. This time of year, you can't get the rain to stop long enough to light a match. But next summer I will be grilling these every chance I get. I had been anticipating them for a week and they were worth every thought. And the mashed potatoes were the perfect fall accompaniment. The gravy, posted by Tofu Mom, was the best gravy I've tried in a very long time. A poultry version will definitely be on my Thanksgiving table next month.



BBQ Seitan Sandwich
4 Chicken Flavored Seitan Cutlets
1/4 cup flour
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 sweet onion, sliced
1/4 cup vegenaise (1 tbs per sandwich)
4 hoagie rolls

Heat oil in a large saute pan set to medium high. Lightly dust each cutlet with flour and pan fry until each cutlet has a browned and slightly crispy crust. Remove from heat and brush each cutlet, both sides with barbecue sauce. Broil (or grill) until the top side has dried. Brush with barbecue sauce and turn. Broil again. Brush the top again and put in the oven just long enough to heat the last brushing of sauce. Remove from heat.

Broil the buns (buttered if you like) until they have sufficiently browned. Spread with vegenaise, add onions and top with the seitan. Eat with a bib.

4 Servings: 598 cal (24g fat, 60g carbs, 33g protein)

I worked on getting the texture of these burgers just right. And, if you cook them, and use them later (either frozen or refrigerated), they're just about perfect. I make my burgers in batches and freeze them, so this is ideal for me. It makes an amazing and healthy quick meal. The barbecue sauce is key. Use you favorite and you won't be disappointed.



BBQ Tempeh Burgers
1/4 cup lentils
2 tbs brown rice
1 cup water
6 oz tempeh
2 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
1 onion, grated
1 tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp browning sauce
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup vital wheat gluten

Bring water to a boil. Add the lentils and rice. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the lentils and rice are soft and the liquid is absorbed. Drain, if necessary. Cool to room temperature. Boil the tempeh for ten minutes, then remove and cool. When cool, grate the tempeh. When the tempeh, rice and lentils are cooled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all of the ingredients together and kneed for a couple minutes. Form into 8 patties. Coat a cookie sheet with vegetable oil. Bake the patties for 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes.

I make these to be reheated, so if you eat them right away, they will be a bit soft. You can reheat them, either frozen or refrigerated in the oven, microwave or grill.

8 Servings: 195 cal (7g fat, 16g carbs, 20g protein)

My daughter wanted a BBQ for her birthday dinner this weekend. But she wanted kebabs with broccoli, amongst other things. Broccoli doesn't seem a great fit for my normal barbecue sauce so I came up with this one, with a fruity sweetness and just a hint of tang. It did go especially well with broccoli, and corn and pineapple and I'll try it on tofu next time.



Sweet Apricot Barbecue Sauce
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp mustard seed
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs ginger, minced
1 tomato, chopped
15 oz can apricots, drained
15 oz can tomato sauce
2 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seed until they begin to pop. Add the onions and jalapeno until the onion is soft, then add the garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add the tomato and apricots, breaking them apart until they have softened, then add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Put the contents into a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pan and bring back to a boil. Makes about 1 quart.

32 Servings: 55 cal (1g fat, 13g carbs, 1g protein)

There is really nothing much to this, but it is really good. I'm convinced that there is no better spring lunch than salad greens, tomatoes, and a pile of BBQ tofu. Smother it all in Ranch Dressing, and I'm in heaven.



BBQ Tofu
1 lb firm tofu, drained
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Cut the tofu into crouton sized cubes, or to your liking. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a saute pan. Add the tofu and fry, stirring occasionally until the tofu is evenly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the barbecue sauce and stir to combine. Serve immediately or cool for later use.

4 Servings: 130 cal (6g fat, 9g carbs, 7g protein)

The weather had finally turned, here in Eugene. The sun was warm and there was no rain/hail/locusts. It was perfect weather to kick back on the deck and nurse a couple of beers. So that's what I did. I had made these wonderful black eyed pea burgers earlier in the day, so i pulled them from the fridge, slapped them on the barbeque with some potatoes and enjoyed my beer.



BBQ Black Eyed Pea Burgers
3 cups black eyed peas, 2 cans or 1/2 pound dried
1 onion, grated
1/2 small sweet potato, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp browning sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce
1.2 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup vital wheat gluten
oil for frying

Roughly mash the black eyed peas, so that there are just a few whole beans. Do not mash the beans to a paste. Add all other ingredients and need dough until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. If you've made burgers before, the dough will be wetter than is typical. You may cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Split into 8 evenly sized balls and flatten the balls into thin patties.

When you are ready to make the burgers, pour some vegetable oil onto a cookie sheet, put in the oven and set it to preheat to 425 degrees. When the oven is heated, put the patties on the hot baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

These are best cooled and reheated. By intention, they are soft coming out of the oven, but they won't dry out too much if you fry or BBQ them after they've been chilled.

To Finish,

Fry Option: Pour a little barbeque sauce in a fry pan and fry the patties over medium heat until warmed.

BBQ: Put the patties on the outer (cooler) edges of an outdoor, baste with BBQ sauce and turn a couple times. Cook until heated through.

Microwave: Microwave either chilled or frozen patties until cooked though. Feel free to add more bbq sauce at any point.

12 Servings: 143 cal (3g fat, 16g carbs, 13g protein)

There are lots of great Ribz recipes out there, and I've been using many of them to come up with mine. I must say, it was a great experience that started 3 months ago and included pounds of seitan that I felt obligated to eat. For me, ribs have always been about the BBQ sauce, so use your favorite.

The trick here is in maintaining the ribz' consistency. You need to pull them out of the oven when they're firm enough for the grill, but not dry. On the grill, they're basically already cooked, so you just want to char the sauce without turning the ribs into crispy nuggets of coal. It's worth a little experimenting.



Seitan Ribz
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups vital wheat gluten
1 tbs paprika
3 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs tahini
1 tbs Earth Balance Margarine, melted.
2 cups barbeque sauce for basting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the water, barbecue sauce, liquid smoke, and soy sauce. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Use your hand, it works best. You should have a wet, but kneadable dough. If not, add a little water (too dry) or gluten (too wet).

Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1/2 inch, or a little thicker. Turn onto a baking sheet. Combine the tahini with melted margarine and pour half on the dough. Spread with your fingers (really!) and make lots of pock marks in the dough as you go. Flip the dough and do the same on the other side. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning once. The dough will darken, but will still be pliable and soft. Remove from the oven and, when cool enough to handle, cut into rib-sized strips. I will often make them an hour before I'm ready to cook them.

On the grill, the timing will depend on the heat source. I use charcoal, so I never have the same temperature. Basically, you are adding layers of cooked sauce to the rib and letting the sauce char. At cooler temperatures, you may want to cover and wait between bastings. On a hot grill, by the time you're done basting, it may be time to flip and start over.

Anyway, lay the ribz on the grill and brush sauce onto each rib. Flip and brush the other side. When that side begins to blacken (just barely), flip and repeat. You should have enough sauce to brush again, flip, then pull them off the grill. Messy, gooey and delicious.

It's kind of hard to gauge servings here, but a similar quantity (370 cal) of pork ribs had 24g fat, 8g saturated fat, 100mg cholesterol and no fiber. A serving of these ribs have 3g saturated fat, 4g fiber and are a much better source of vitamins & minerals, including iron.

5 Servings: 378 cal (11g fat, 29g carbs, 44g protein)