A month in review, a year in review: part 2

Now that we have properly celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my blog, I'd love to fill you in on all of the fun stuff that I have been up to the last month.

The weekend of May 22 was Green Fest at Chicago's Navy Pier. I won a pair of tickets from VegNews, so I grabbed Steve and we went. This was my kind of trade show, and I am so glad that we decided to go!

Natural health, green energy, fair trade and recycled goods, animal rights, vegetarian/vegan/raw food, and more. Here are a few snapshots:

I had many great conversations with various exhibitors that day. I had the opportunity to meet a few of the girls from VegNews, including Savvy Abby. I had a nice long chat about publishing, vegan cooking, and blogging with Thomas Hupp from Book Publishing Co. Here is a shot of us at their booth--check out all of those vegan books!

There were so many cookbooks that I wanted to buy, but I managed to escape with just two: Cooking with PETA and The Chicago Diner Cookbook.

Here is some of the other loot I picked up at the show, some Mary's Gone Crackers samples (YUM) and a coin purse from Global Exchange made from recycled tires.

Steve bought a new hoodie from Organic and Vintage Wear. This sweatshirt is made from recycled plastic bottles! It is so soft and comfy, it's hard to believe that it is made from plastic.

Then of course, we ate! Steve could not resist his favorite restaurant, The Chicago Diner. He ordered the vegan gyros and then the peanut butter puck for dessert.

It was a tough decision, but I opted for Soul Vegetarian (it was the greens that got me!). Check out my plate of "ribs", mac 'n cheese, greens, and cornbread.

 

 After we ate we left the exhibit hall and went out to enjoy Navy Pier for a bit before heading home.

Moving right along, in my month in review... later that same week my new roommate moved in, meet Meril:

I have been keeping busy in the kitchen cooking for us, trying out all of my favorite recipes on her. Meril is an omnivore, but very open to eating all of my vegan cooking. So far she has really been liking it! In addition to my favorites, I've also tried a few new recipes this month that are worth sharing. This is the New Age Vegan Pasta Carbonara (recipe by Ricki Heller).

I have been wanting to make a mock chicken salad and I finally did. Behold the Tempeh Salad Wrap (recipe by Morgan of Little House of Veggies).

Originally I was going to include my Memorial Day weekend vacation in this post, but this post is already long enough! For now I will leave you with a photo from my trip, and a clue, this was not NYC. :)

Tempeh Hot Wings

Don't let the Chicago Bears hoodie that I am wearing today fool you. This sweatshirt is as far as my team spirit goes. (Dad, if you are reading this, I'm sorry!) Football season around here means gathering at the home of the person with the largest flat screen TV, getting rowdy, and eating greasy finger foods like potato chips with onion dip, cocktail wieners, and hot wings. My lack of team spirit may be due to the fact that flat screen TVs, getting rowdy, and wieners/wings don't much appeal to me (well, maybe I do like to get a little bit rowdy sometimes). On the other hand, you can give me a bag of peanuts and send me to a baseball game any day!

There is something about these vegan tempeh hot wings that has me feeling all sorts of team spirit today. These are just so incredibly delicious that it makes me want to go out and pick up a big flat screen TV so that people might consider coming to my house for the game.

Perhaps that would be going overboard.. just a tad.

Tempeh Hot Wings

(from Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk!)

Note: I used Louisiana style hot sauce in the sauce and the result was mild enough that people with lower tolerance to spice could handle it (tested and approved!).

 

8 oz package of tempeh
1/3 cup rice milk
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2/3 c panko breadcrumbs (may substitute regular breadcrumbs)

Sauce:
4 tbsp margarine, melted
2 1/2 tbsp hot sauce
4 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp agave nectar

In a small saucepan, boil about three cups of water. Cut the tempeh into four equal blocks, then cut those blocks into triangles, and carefully slice the triangles in half lengthwise. Put the tempeh in the boiling water and cover, for about fifteen mintes or until tempeh is softened. Pour the pan into a colander and rise with cold water. Allow the tempeh to cool enough that you can handle it.While the tempeh is cooling, make the sauce. In a large pot, combine all of the sauce ingredients and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Make your assembly line for the wings. Put your rice milk in the first bowl, your flour and spices in the second, and your panko in the third. (Note: I recommend separating half of the two dry ingredient bowls because as the assembly goes it starts to get clumpy and it is nice to switch over to a bowl of fresh dry ingredients.) At the end of the line, have a greased baking sheet waiting.

Take a tempeh triangle, and dip it in the milk, then coat in flour. Then another quick dip in the milk before thoroughly coating it in the bread crumbs and placing it on the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the tempeh.

Spray the tops of the wings with cooking spray, and bake in the oven for ten minutes. Remove, flip over, and bake for ten more. Just before you take the wings out of the oven, heat the sauce over a medium heat until just warm. When you take the wings out, transfer them to the pot a few at a time and coat in the sauce, remove and set coated wings aside as you go. Serve immediately.

Jessy's Spicy Mexi-Meatlessball Soup

I dream about meat. True story. I'm coming up on my 4-year vegetarian anniversary, and I still have dreams about eating meat. As it turns out, meat-eating dreams are not uncommon among vegetarians (or rather, I've come across 3 others, so I figure it must not be, right?). For me, no two meat dreams have been identical, but there are three things that are almost always the same: 1). It is always some kind of red meat, 2). I steal the meat from an unsuspecting civilian when their back is turned, and 3). Despite the occasional hot dog or hamburger, more times than not, the meat that comes to me in my dreams is in the form of meatballs.  I always wake up feeling guilty and confused, how could I be such a thieving meat-eater? And what's the deal with meatballs? Meatballs weren't even my thing when I did eat meat. 

Despite not ever really liking the real deal, I was tickled by the idea of making vegetarian meatballs. And let me tell you, Jessy's Spicy Mexi-Meatlessball Soup is a dream come true! In fact, she has a whole series of meatlessball posts last month featuring main ingredients such as lentils, butternut squash, and white beans. My imagination is running wild with meatlessball ideas. Hey, and you never know, if I eat enough meatlessballs maybe my meatball dreams will go away!

Jessy's Spicy Mexi-Meatlessball Soup
(adapted from happyveganface)

1 package tempeh
1 large yellow onion, finely diced, divided
28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 zucchini, finely diced, divided
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, well chopped
1-1/2 fresh jalapenos, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp dried oregano, divided
2 tbsp dried parsley, divided
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp water (for the meatlessball mix)
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp cumin, divided
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1-1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sea salt, divided
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 not-chicken bouillon cube
7 cups of water
olive oil cooking spray

Steam tempeh for 15-20 minutes and then grate it, or give it a few hearty pulses in the food processor until well crumbled.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in the large pot. Saute 1/2 the finely diced zucchini, 1/2 the finely diced onions, and the jalapenos on medium heat until soft. Add 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp parsley, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp sea salt, and the paprika. Cook for another minute, remove from heat, then add in the tempeh, 2 tbsp water, cornstarch, ketchup, cilantro, tahini, and lime juice. Adjust seasonings to taste then form into small balls (16-18) and set aside.
Wipe out the pot and spray it with a little olive oil cooking spray. Heat to medium and saute the other half of the onion and zucchini along with the bell pepper until the onions begin to brown. Add the tomatoes and the remaining spices, chili flakes, and the other 1/2 tsp of sea salt - saute for a few more minutes (about 3-5).
Add water, bouillon cube, and tomato paste and bring it to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering get back to the meatlessballs. Spray cooking spray in the large skillet and heat on medium heat. Add in the meatlessballs and saute until they begin to brown, turning them every few minutes. Once browned turn off the heat and cover with the lid while the soup finishes simmering. Add in meatlessballs and simmer for 5 more minutes, then remove from heat and serve.

*Note that my photo doesn't showcase all the awesomeness going on in the broth like the onions, peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini because the bowl was too deep, but trust me they are there, and they are yummy!!