Scaloppine Beer Sauce

Wait What? Beer?
Did I really say Beer? Yes...I...Did!
So let me tell you a story about sugar!  I am on a diet, well sort of. And on this diet of mine, I replace meals with lemonade, maple syrup and cayenne juice and then limit eating to once a day.  I am also trying to reduce the amount of sugar I eat by a bunch.  (I did say limit, not delete it completely because that would take me over the edge right now.)  But, even as a vegan, know this...You can Gain Weight!  Trust me, I see it all the time and I myself had decided in 2010 that if I had to cut out meat, I would make delicious desserts as a trade off.  And guess what, low and behold? I gained...
Not only will desserts add to the waistline, but so will eating out and snacking on Vegan fast food.  So this is just a bit of a warning but I won't preach anymore on the subject...today. So you ask what Beer and my sugar warning have in common? Here we go...
So I  gave my one meal a lot of thought.  I was craving pasta but didn't want a traditional red sauce since that is my norm in my Italian home.  Alfredo sauce was something I had just made this week also so scratch that idea. Since I had a rather large bag of lemons on my counter that I was using for my lemonade diet, I decided that a Scaloppine sauce would not only work out great, but I also had some Gardein Chick'n that I could cook up in the sauce also.   And then I thought about the one beautiful bottle of white wine that I had, not an inexpensive one but a sweet and beautiful Pinot Grigio I had bought in my travels to wine country and I did not want to cook it away.  That wine needed to be savored with my meal, but not in it.  So low and behold... I used a beer that my son had in the refrigerator. I sure hoped he wouldn't miss it but there was no turning back now. Well, the beer not only made the most savory of sauces but added less sugar in the sauce, and this is better since I was having my sugar in my drink. Yeah, and I won't cave and settle on no wine with pasta...it's just not the Italian way! Oh my goodness was this sauce the bomb, and so really really delicious that my son's fiance had no idea that this was a vegan meal. Go figure!

Scaloppine Beer Sauce Recipe:
*Note- I floured and pan fried the Gardein chick'n in 2 Tbs olive oil in a pan.  Then I added the beer to de-glaze the pan.   If you do this step and include floured chick'n, do not add in the flour since it will make your sauce too thick.

4 Tbs Vegan margarine
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
2 Tbs capers
2 Tbs lemon juice
8 Oz Beer
2 Tbs Almond Milk (unsweetened)
2 Tbs flour
1 Tbs chopped Italian parsley
.
In a shallow pan, melt margarine and add flour and stir.  Add beer, lemon juice, capers and garlic and stir. Whisk in almond milk and let it start to reduce down until it begins to thicken enough to a sauce consistency. Use sauce on Chick'n or pasta and sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Mangia and Enjoy.

To my delight, I had a little sauce, a piece of Chick'n and some pasta that I packed away for tomorrow's one meal.  Oh boy, left overs at its best!

Hey Lovely...

Thank you for stopping by to see me.  I'd love it if we could meet up again. Let me know what you think about this recipe and my others by joining me here on the blog, facebook or instagram and share a little love.  Why?  Well, it's because I love you too...

So stay awhile, have a nice beverage of your choice, grab a treat or two and enjoy....

                                                   ©2015 MyDeliciousVeganDiary

Lemon Caper Tartar Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

     The Last few days have been completely lazy days. I just returned home from Austin, Texas.  I was thrilled I was able to attend the Vida Vegan Con for bloggers.  What an incredible learning event.  I can't say enough about the awesome and knowledgeable teachers, the great vegan business and CEO's of the companies, and the many volunteers that put the event together.  My only regret...this was the last put on by this group and I wish I had found them three years earlier.

     Well, I made it through the convention, Pneumonia and all.  Fortunately I was on the tail end and felt much better after a trip to the doctor but it's been very difficult to get back into the groove of things. I am so happy I was able to pick up a few quick items that could be quickly assembled into meals once I returned home and was resting up from the trip. 

     Since I always have my pantry and refrigerator pretty much stocked up with items to make sauces, syrups, pastas, etc.,  it was easy enough to whip up a nice spread for my fish-less sandwich.  And the bagels...nice touch eh?   Well, it's all I had in the freezer, but it worked!   

 

 

Lemon Caper Tartar Sauce Recipe

 

1/2 Tbs Sour Cream (I used Better Than Sour Cream)

1/2 Tbs Veganaise

1 Tsp Horseradish

1 Tsp Capers

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Chopped Italian Parsley

Dash salt and Pepper to taste

 

Mix all ingredients and spread on Grilled bun or on tofu.

 

Pictured above was my Fish-less Bagel Sandwich made with Gardein Fish-less fillets, Daiya Havarti Style Nut cheese, and Bagels grilled with vegan butter and a nice heaping spoonful of Lemon Caper Tartar Sauce.  This Sauce would also be great with a bit of Sriracha sauce in it and drizzled over Vegan  Fish-less Tacos. Click here for another fish-less recipe-   More Fish-less Tacos 

 

Next on the blog~ Vodka Berry Shot.   A sexy and healthy libation.

 



 

 



Red Enchilada Sauce

 

I'm almost an empty nester.  My dear daughter Kailey is getting married in 8 days, my daughter Erin has been married for 5 years, my son Vince is in Canada with the love of his life for a few weeks and my son David is with his Auntie and Uncle while he is enlisting in the Army. Since this new era in my life has hit me like a ton of bricks, I've found that grocery shopping happens way less in my home since I mostly cook for two now.  So thus, it seems like I am always out of something I need for creating a new recipe. And that, my dear friends, out of necessity, leads me to creations of two recipes in one. But to make things simple, I'll do this recipe for Red Enchilada Sauce first and then post my next recipe for Quick Tamale Pie tomorrow which will include this Super Saucy link also.  So bear with me, you'll love this sauce for starters and then tomorrow...Voila...a new dinner will be born, and you're going to love it!
Trust me...

Red Enchilada Sauce Recipe~

4 Tbs oil
3 Tbs flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups tomato sauce

In a sauce pan, heat oil and flour on med/high heat.  Stir until it forms into a paste, cook for 2 minutes, then add all the rest of the ingredients.
Cook on high for 2 minutes until bubbly and then simmer for 15 min.  Spoon over eggs, tamales, tamale pie, enchiladas, beans, etc...    Store remaining sauce in the refrigerator or can for future storage.

Pasta with Lemon Asparagus Sauce

 

Don't think I'm carb crazy.  Know that I'm carb crazy.  Not all the time do I crave a big bowl of pasta but there is always this transition from Winter to Spring and Spring to Summer, that it's all I want.  I don't really crave the traditional red sauce but the vegetable laden white saucy type, hot or cold, is what I crave.  So jump in, stay awhile and enjoy my Pasta with Lemon Asparagus Sugo (sauce) recipe and enjoy your summer even better!  This is lemony, healthy, creamy and outright delicious! So if you like lemon...Jump on board.

 

Lemon Asparagus Sauce recipe

 6 Tbs vegan butter

1 lemon, zested and juiced

9 oz soft tofu

1 Tbs nutritional yeast

1 bunch asparagus (15-20 spears) cleaned and sliced into 2 inch pieces.

1 C sliced cherry tomatoes

2 green onions sliced

1 Tbs capers

1 tsp salt or more to taste

1 tsp dried rosemary

olive oil

 

12 ounces pasta.  Cook and set aside.

 

Place 1/2 of the asparagus in a shallow baking dish drizzled with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.  Set aside.

 

For sauce, in a food processor, add remaining uncooked asparagus, lemon juice, zest, nutritional yeast, rosemary and 1 tsp salt.  Food process until fine.  Add tofu and food process until smooth. In a large shallow pan, melt vegan butter on medium-high heat on stove, add sauce mixture and cook until bubbly. Remove from heat.

 

 

Add cooked pasta, tomatoes, cooked asparagus, onions and capers.   Toss gently and serve.  Enjoy this creamy, saucy and lemony pasta, that's sure to tickle the tummy.  

I even enjoyed this delicacy the next day...Chilled.  It was a beautiful summer salad too.

Alfredo Tomato Orzo

Lately I'm all about quick and easy.  I've been extremely tired lately since I've been working my new job visiting restaurants as a corporate field rep ( I love it and love meeting all the business owners) but driving around in traffic all day can be exhausting. So I get home and want to eat quick so that I can relax with the hub, the kids and furry kids before I head to bed. This is a first in my life since I'm a cook all day kind of gal and never dreamed I'd want to go to sleep before midnight. Crazy right?  Well, thanks to my friends at Edward & Son's Trading Company, I can buy great items to make my meal planning much easier, quicker and semi-homemade. And better yet, I can buy online for about .49c cheaper than I can get it in my local stores.  And this Orzo dish is another delicious and flavorful pasta that I know my children will be making in the future for their families someday too.

 

 

Alfredo Tomato Orzo recipe~

 

6 cups water

1 Tbs Better than Chicken or Vegetable Bouillon

1 Tbs Rosemary

2 3/4 cups Orzo

1 Can Diced Tomatoes (about 15 oz)

2 packets (1.1 oz ea) Alfredo Style Sauce  (Click to order~ Alfredo packet )

1 cup milk

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and vegan Parmesan to taste



 

Boil water and add bouillon and rosemary. Stir.  Add Orzo and cook about 7 -9 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse and set aside. In the same pan, add milk and sauce mix and whisk until it starts to thicken. Add Orzo and drained can of tomatoes back to the pan and stir. Add in Oil and stir until combined.  Add salt and parmesan to taste and Enjoy...

Lasagna Italiano

I'm Italian and proud of it. I was raised standing in the kitchen next to my mother, watching her cook for the family. All of our recipes were passed down from our relatives by watching.  One of the recipes I always loved was our family lasagna.  Well many years later, I still love lasagna however I needed to create a meat-less version of our family meal. To my pleasure, my mother's pleasure and to the complete joy of my family...this Lasagna recipe rocked!  So here I am, sharing this delicious recipe in hopes that you and I can both create a new tradition with our kiddos standing by our sides, learning to create delicious vegan meals to pass on down the line.  Mangia! And Enjoy!

Lasagna Italiano

20 cooked  gluten free or regular vegan lasagna noodles (cook a few more for breakage)
2 Large Zucchinis, sliced and grilled (I found Zucchini at the farmers market that were big like pumpkins)
25 ounces prepared vegan tomato spaghetti sauce
Veggie Italian Sausage (I used helen's kitchen brand organic and non-GMO)
1/2 cup black olives diced
1/2 cup Grilled onions
1 Tbs Basil
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Tbs Garlic
9 oz vegan Ricotta Style Cheese
1 large handful of Spinach leaves
3 Roma tomatoes sliced
10 ounces Mozzarella style cheese
Serve with extra sauce if you like it really saucy like me.

Layer 1~ In a rectangle baking dish, spread about 1/4 cup prepared sauce on the bottom.  Layer with 5 noodles (touching or just overlapping), then half of the grilled zucchinis, 3 ounces of ricotta, the basil and a few spoonfuls of a little sauce.

 Layer 1

 

 

For Layer 2~ 5 noodles, Italian Sausage, black olives, 3 ounces ricotta, oregano, grilled onions, a little sauce, and spinach leaves.

 Layer 2

 Layer 2

 

 

Layer 3~ Not pictured, 5 noodles, the rest of the zucchini, 3 ounces ricotta, garlic and more sauce.

 

Layer 4~ 5 noodles, the remainder of sauce, the sliced tomatoes.

 

 Layer 4

 

Cover with Tin Foil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 60 minutes. Add sliced Vegan Mozzarella cheese and broil just a few minutes until melted.

Serve, Eat...Enjoy.

 

Look at those delicious noodles.  I love the end cut! How about you?

 

Worried about having too much lasagna at one time?  I love to freeze some for future quick grab meals or I love to bless friends with a little lasagna to go also.

Artichoke Zucchini Alfredo Pasta

 

A dear friend of ours has decided to go vegan.  We've been supporting him through the "What can I eat where?" and "that's vegan?" along with many other questions. I'm always surprised when someone thinks starvation is part of veganism. But to most people's surprise, and my dear friend's shock, one can't believe that most food is vegan and then we mess it up with other junk.  

 

Yesterday we had Mexican mushroom fajitas.  Today I thought an Italian meal (especially since I am Italian) would be good for him and I've been wanting to try to make a yummy creamy Alfredo sauce sans commercial products. My friend mentioned that he needed something filling with protein. (I honestly chuckled with the protein comment since we hear it all the time right?) So I knew this dish would be hearty and flavorful with bursts of fresh flavors too.

 

 

 

Sauce~
1 whole cauliflower
2 Tbs nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic
4 Tbs vegan butter
1 C unsweetened vegan milk (I used flax milk)
1 tsp each of
Rosemary
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Salt

Boil Cauliflower until soft, about 20 min on medium. Remove Cauliflower, reserving hot water and put in Food Processor with all additional items. Puree until smooth and set aside for a few minutes.

 

1 box linguine noodles
3 small zucchini sliced
1/2  yellow onion diced
1 1/2 c mushrooms sliced
1 1/2 c marinated artichokes
1 can black olives

Boil linguine noodles with a little bit of olive oil, the remainder of the cauliflower water and added hot water to cover the noodles. Cook as directed. While pasta is cooking, add a bit of oil to a fry pan. Heat over high heat, add zucchini, onions and mushrooms. Saute for about 7 minutes and once veggies are starting to cook down, add the artichokes and black olives. Add the Alfredo sauce and cook an additional 3 minutes on medium heat. Drain pasta and toss with Hot Artichoke Zucchini Alfredo Sauce. Top with a little Vegan Parmesan cheese and Eat...

 

This was not only delightful, creamy and flavor fully delicious but my friend and my son's girlfriend repeatedly asked "This is vegan?"   I was tickled when at 10 pm I noticed my son's girlfriend heating up another bowl for seconds.  Everyone loved it, I loved it and it made enough for a family of six.  Paired with a nice glass of wine and a piece of rosemary sourdough bread, the meal was fit for a king or queen or whomever...

Meatless Meal ~ Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce with Vegan Sausage

Sometimes we struggle in life.  Let me rephrase that, We all struggle in life from time to time.  One big struggle in my life was my battle with cancer.  At that time in 2010, I learned about being vegan from my doctors perspective and for me, it was something I could control since I could not control having cancer.  Here is a recipe that I had created back then when I had gone vegan for 4 months, and then once in the hospital, and during my recovery at home, ate vegan once in awhile.  Because everyone I knew had wanted to help take care of me, they brought me meals and I was so afraid of what I'd get if I had them make vegan ones. (Must remember I was new to veganism, so please, no judgment here.) And since no one I knew was vegan, just one vegetarian, I didn't want to rob them of wanting to help me so my healthy vegan life was drifting away after that. That is, until a few years ago.

 

 

 

 My vintage post begins here~

I love to cook. I love to eat! Thus, because of this, I am trying to eat as healthy as I can. So if I need a splurge day to go out with friends or something, I can and won't feel guilty, not one bit.
Back in August of 2010, I found out I had Thyroid cancer. Prior to the surgery, my doctor said I should go Vegan. He said it was the one thing I could control at the time for my body and it would help with keeping the cancer from growing. I gave it a shot. It was hard and extremely difficult but I did it for 4 solid months before my surgery. One thing I enjoyed doing while I was Vegan was to create delicious recipes since I wasn't fond of most of the Vegan foods I purchased. I did seem to have a lot of luck with it. While I was home, Vegan was simple but while out and about and on trips, it was difficult to find vegan restaurants and great food. I was getting bored with Veggie fajitas and salads. So being home was my sanctuary and I was eating well. Sometimes too well. I'll have to share my Vegan cupcake story at another time and share how you can gain weight being vegan.
So let me share a pasta recipe I created with Sun dried Tomatoes, roasted red peppers, artichokes, mushrooms and a vegan sausage I created. I promise it is not lacking in flavor and you'll be shocked that it is vegan, with no dairy whatsoever!

Creamy Sun dried Tomato Sauce with Vegan Sausage~

Ingredients:

Sauce part 1~
1 box soft tofu
1/2 c sun dried tomatoes in oil
2 fresh sprigs rosemary or 2 tsp dried.
Food Process well and set aside.

Sauce part 2~
1/4 c water
1/2 lb beef style crumble meat replacement product
1 tsp fresh garlic
1 tsp powdered garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 tsp fennel seeds
then add,
1/2 c artichoke
1/2 c roasted red peppers
3/4 c sliced mushrooms
then add,
Sauce part 1
1/2 c unsweetened coconut milk (or your favorite unsweetened non dairy milk)
Cook first ingredients in a large saute pan till warm, then add roasted red peppers, artichokes and mushrooms and saute a bit more until mushrooms start to soften.
then add the Sauce part 1 mixture and 1/2 c coconut milk to thin it a bit and stir until just hot. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over whole wheat noodles or Spaghetti squash noodles for a lower carb meal.

And Voila~ Here is a delicious hot meal that is sure to please with all the flavor, less carbs and less calories than traditional cream based pastas. Enjoy.

 

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Tonight I was craving Red Peppers like crazy. I normally always give into my urges if I have time to create something.  Well I just happened to buy a jar of roasted red peppers a couple of days ago and voila, a recipe was born.  And I liked it.

 

 

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

 

1 jar ( 10oz ) oil marinated red peppers with garlic (add a tsp garlic if it's not in the jar already)

1/3 cup roasted cashews

1/2 tsp nutritional yeast

1/8 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on if you like a little more heat or not, but 1/4 tsp is not hot)

pinch salt

1 box or bag of cooked noodles

 

In a food processor, process all ingredients, except pasta.  When the chunks of cashews are almost unnoticeable, it is ready.  Spoon over hot cooked pasta and Eat. Yummy! This fresh, vibrant and flavorful pasta is quite a change from your regular tomato based spaghetti.  Try this cold too for a nice summer salad adding in a few chunks of fresh diced red peppers and your favorite cold vegetables. 

 

Orange Basil Pasta

 

I recently saw a recipe for an Orange Marmalade pasta.  Unique, was what I was thinking. I decide to take a little challenge, mix it up and make a fresh and healthy version of this recipe. I have to say that this was so delicious and fresh that I could have eaten two plus bowls of it.  But, if you eat it slowly, with a full glass of water, it is so fulfilling and delicious, one bowl will fill you up. 

 Orange Basil Pasta~
1/2 yam or sweet potato diced into small pieces
juice from 2 oranges and zest from 1 orange
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp chickenish seasoning
3 tbsp fresh or dried basil
1 stick vegan butter
1 1/2 tbsp coconut milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 bag of pasta or two cups of Spaghetti squash for a low carb options
vegan Parmesan

Directions~
Start boiling water for your pasta.  In another pot, start melting vegan butter.  Add the yams to the butter and start cooking until slightly tender. Start your pasta cooking and when done, drain and rinse.  Add a little of the butter that the yams are cooking in into the pasta to keep it from sticking and set aside.  Remove the yams from the butter and set aside in a dish.  To the butter, add the orange juice, vegetable broth, chickenish and coconut milk.  Cook for a few minutes.  Add a tsp of the cooked broth to a small bowl and mix the cornstarch into it until smooth.  Add it to the pot, stir in and cook for about 3 minutes until it starts to thicken.   Add zest, basil and yams to the pasta and ladle on some of the broth mixture until coated.  You should have enough broth left over for another day.  Add fresh Parmesan on top and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bon appetit!