BBQ Ribz

Something that I don't do enough of is cooking out on the grill. It's the perfect way to enjoy a tasty meal on a hot summer day! Plus, there's something nostalgic about cooking a meal on the grill and eating outdoors. Some may think that a vegan diet limits your options for grilling. That couldn't be further from the truth, from home made or store bought vegan sausages to tofu to veggie kabobs vegan options for the grill abound.

A while back The Happy Herbivore posted a link to a recipe for vegan ribs, as well as a link to her mustard based barbecue sauce. The recipe immediately had me wondering how they would stand up to the grill.

Let me be the first to say that these ribs are awesome on the grill. I followed the recipe exactly adding the liquid smoke and paprika suggested by Lindsay. I cooked them the full amount in the oven. When the seitan ribs were finished baking I removed them from the pan and transferred them to a well oiled warm grill basting with bbq sauce as they cooked. Since they are already cooked, these only need to be on the grill long enough to develop those beautiful markings, and dry the sauce out slightly. My only complaint is that this recipe did not make enough to feed my hungry family. I could easily have doubled the recipe, and will next time. The girls loved these ribs, and Rob, who has never, ever liked ribs could not get enough of these.

As for the sauce........let me just say Oh.My.Goodness. I had no idea that there was such a thing as a mustard based barbecue sauce. I can however, safely say that this mustard based South Carolina style sauce is my absolute favorite. I can think of so many uses for this.

Try these ribs for your Labor Day weekend cook-out with some of that sweet, delicious summer corn. You will not be disappointed!

"The Ultimate" Barbecued Seitan Sandwich

I know it's very un-vegan of me, but I admit, I love The Food Network. It's unfortunate that almost every dish on every show is centered around animal products. None the less, I love food, and I love to watch people cook.

From time to time I'm inspired by something on The Food Network, and come up with a great vegan dish. Take the other day for example, I was watching Tyler's Ultimate, and Tyler Florence was making his Ultimate Barbecued Ribs. There are probably a million different meat analogs I could have used to veganize this recipe, but as soon as I saw Tyler make this barbecue sauce I knew I had to have a barbecued seitan sandwich. Wow, did I ever make a great choice!! This sandwich really is "The Ultimate". Rob, who usually very much dislikes barbecue loved this sandwich so much he ate 2 of them and just couldn't stop raving. And it was another winner with both of the girls!!

For the sandwich I used 1 lb of chicken style seitan. I made the sauce according to Tyler's recipe, only I replaced the bacon with a few dashes of Liquid Smoke. After the sauce had simmered I removed the onion, garlic, and thyme sprigs, then I crumbled in the seitan and let it heat through. I served the barbecue on a bun with some sliced onion. Best barbecue sandwich EVER!!

To go along with the sandwiches I also made Tyler's Ultimate Baked Beans, again replacing the pancetta with liquid smoke. An added bonus of these beans.....I got to use up some of the chipotle pepper I was wondering what to do with a few weeks ago! Again, outstanding dish. The beans had a kick and they were just incredible. Little Stella loved them, heat and all!!

In addition to the sandwiches and beans, we had one of my childhood favorites....cucumbers, green peppers, and onions soaked in white vinegar and salt water. My mom used to make this all of the time in the summer, and I've always loved it. It was perfect for cooling off your mouth after the heat of the beans!!

I can't wait to make this barbecue for my friends and family.......it's definitely the next dish I'll be serving guests.

Chipotle Chicken (style seitan) Burritos

Before he became veg Rob loved a certain pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. He ordered the Chipotle Chicken Pizza nearly every time we went there. Then Q-doba introduced their chipotle chicken burrito, and again, he had a new favorite dish to order. Since becoming veg he's had to order the pizza without chicken, and has had to pass on the burrito altogether.


While setting down to come up with my menu for the week it dawned on me that I could probably re-create the burrito at home using seitan. So, I decided to give it a go. I'm happy to report that it was a success. These burritos were so tasty. I can't vouch for how closely they resemble the aforementioned pizza or burrito, as I've never had either, but they were delicious all the same.


The burrito you see in the picture is topped with some home made pico de gallo (chopped roma tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, garlic and cilantro with a little bit of salt added in), and some Cilantro-Green Chile Sour "Cream".




These burritos are filled with a chipotle seitan mixture, black beans, romaine lettuce and avocado. I intended to add some corn kernels, but forgot all about them until we were actually eating the burritos, so, maybe next time.

Chipotle Chicken Style Seitan Burritos

1 lb chicken style seitan, shredded into bite sized pieces (I used White Wave brand)

2 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp dark brown sugar

1 cup diced onion

1/4 cup chipotle in adobo, pluse 1 Tbs adobo sauce (this makes a HOT burrito, if you prefer a milder flavor reduce amount of chipotle pepper to your liking)

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained

salt and pepper

4 flour tortillas, warmed (12 inch size)

1 can black beans, rinsed

lettuce

1 avocado sliced

Heat the oil. Add the onion and sugar and cook until the sugar has melted and the onions have become golden brown and caramelized. Add the chipotle, adobo sauce, and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Return to pan, add seitan, season with salt and pepper and heat through.

Spoon the seitan mixture down the center of the tortilla. Top with black beans, lettuce, avocado (and corn if using). Bring the sides of the tortilla toward the center then fold the bottom up over the filling and continue to roll until the burrito closes. Top with Cilantro-Green Chili Sour "Cream" and pico de gallo and serve.

Cilantro-Green Chile Sour Cream

1/2 cup Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream

1 4oz can green chiles, drained

1 handful of cilantro, chopped very fine

1 1/2 tsp water

In a blender add sour cream, about 2/3 of the chiles, and the water. Blend until smooth. Pour cream into a small bowl and stir in the rest of the chiles and the cilantro.