Pablo's for Vegans!

Yipeee!  I am pretty sure this is the first time any restaurant in town has taken an intentional step to serve a vegan diet.  I have asked Pablo's to offer vegan cheese for a while now and amazingly, they are doing it.  I hope this means that lots of people were requesting it -- go vegan!  I went there for lunch today to try the vegan cheese in a calzone.  It was heaven.  I'll often use vegan cheese on my homemade pizzas, but I have a difficult time getting the cheese to melt completely and I haven't found a creamy cheese yet.  Pablo's figured it out -- the cheese was completely melted and the cheese was creamy and delicious.  I am certain that nonvegans would love this stuff.  The next time you're at Pablo's try something new -- the vegan cheese and your mouth and arteries will love you for it.  

Vegan Lasagna

Last night my girlfriend, Des, joined me for dinner.  Des is definitely not a vegan, but she seems to enjoy what I make for her -- at least she says she does.  Last night she helped me cook a delicious lasagna.  She told me that she doesn't usually like lasagna, but she like this one.  I recently purchased a few gorgeous basil plants at Lowes for about $4 each -- they have already gotten plenty of use.  So much so that for this dish I had to purchase some more basil -- Albertsons has small, but full, basil plants for sale for about $3.50 that can be potted and reused.

Ingredients:

• lasagna pasta
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 small jar of roasted red bell peppers, sliced thinly 
• 1 small jar of artichoke hearts, sliced thinly 
• 2 cups of baby portobellos, sliced thinly 
• 1 jar of tomato sauce 
• 1 container of firm tofu, 
• A handful plus some of fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly 
• 2 T of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• 5-10 garlic cloves (I love garlic), minced 
• salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook the lasagna according to package directions.  Add olive oil to a pan on medium heat on the stove and throw in 4 of the minced garlic cloves (about 1/2) and onions.  Wait about 2 minutes and add the mushrooms.  Wait a few more minutes (until the mushrooms show a little brown) and add the zucchini. Cook a little longer, but don't letter the veggies wilt.  Once complete take the pan off of the heat. 

In a medium sized bowl add the tofu and crumble with a fork.  Add the lemon juice, basil, nutritional yeast, remaining garlic and salt and blend well.  

Add about 1/4 of the pasta sauce to the bottom of a glass baking pan.  Layer the pasta and veggies your favorite way.  The top layer will be the remaining sauce and the tofu mixture.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  

Great friends and people that I know

Thursday night my talented dancing friend, Laura, invited me over and made me a delicious vegan dinner.  Laura is not a vegan, but doesn't seem to mind eating that way sometimes and definitely is a great vegan cook.  She made delicious grilled tofu, rice topped with perfectly cooked cherry tomatoes and sauteed kale seasoned with lemon juice, salt and garlic.  I loved it!  I don't use lemon enough in my recipes and it was a perfect spring dish.  The tomatoes were super flavorful so I didn't need to add any seasonings to the rice.

This morning I went to my Leads group with the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce.  We meet every Thursday and each week one of us gives a presentation -- usually about our business.  The person that gives the presentation also brings breakfast.  I eat before going to most networking events that serve food because as a vegan I'm definitely in the minority and not expecting to have something available that I can eat.  Well . . . this morning the presenter, Wade, made me homemade vegan burritos in addition to homemade non-vegan burritos for the other members of the group.  The vegan burritos contained grilled tofu, squash, potatoes and he made a bowl of fresh salsa for everyone.  Awesome show of thoughtfulness.  Not only was it vegan, but it tasted like a meal from a fancy vegan restaurant.

These vegan meals were shared with me because people care.  It may sound rice-cheesy, but it warms my heart.  Even if Laura only eats vegan when she dines with me and even if Wade never makes another vegan burrito -- they know about veganism and that eating vegan food can be completely satisfying.

Pizza night

Homestyle Bakery (on 7th Street) offers pizza crust -- white and wheat, rolled (for approx 50 cents more and comes with a pan) and unrolled.  Making pizzas can be a fun date night.  Add your favorite vegan toppings -- I like mine with tomato sauce, black olives, roasted garlic, green chili (sometimes Tofurky Italian [soy]sage and Vegan Gourmet (http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php?id=25).

Cook the pizza dough in the oven on 350 for about 10-12 minutes (after one or two times you'll figure out the best time for your desired crispiness of the crust).  Remove the pizza dough from the oven and add your favorite ingredients -- place back in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.