The focaccia sandwich that we introduced last week was a huge hit!  We are overjoyed that people love our food.

We’re doing thanksgiving dinner this week, vegan style of course.  Check out the menu over on the vegan food truck page.

In honor of giving thanks week, we’re giving away all [...]]]>

The focaccia sandwich that we introduced last week was a huge hit!  We are overjoyed that people love our food.

We’re doing thanksgiving dinner this week, vegan style of course.  Check out the menu over on the vegan food truck page.

In honor of giving thanks week, we’re giving away all 5 of our cheeses to one lucky winner!  This contest is open to everyone, however if the winner is from Chicago, we’ll do our best to make sure you get your cheese before feast day.  Otherwise, we will ship your cheeses out between Monday and Wednesday of next week.  A winner will be chosen at random.

Instructions:

In the comments section: a) If you have tasted a meal from the vegan food truck, what was your favorite?  b) If you have not tasted a meal from the vegan truck, what would you try if you could?  c) If a) & b) do not apply to you, then what do you dream about eating from a vegan food truck?

Rules:

1. Keep it vegan.
2. Have fun.
3. All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, November 24th, 11:59PM.

Vegans are awesome!

The pic above is an unadulterated vegan breakfast burrito that is a regular featured item on the vegan food truck.

The pic below is an adulterated breakfast burrito via @winnie

We love feeding the hungry vegan masses!  You guys are amazing!  We are so grateful for the support from our Chicago vegan [...]]]>

The pic above is an unadulterated vegan breakfast burrito that is a regular featured item on the vegan food truck.

The pic below is an adulterated breakfast burrito via @winnie

We love feeding the hungry vegan masses!  You guys are amazing!  We are so grateful for the support from our Chicago vegan family and the shout outs  (foodtruck requests) from other states!  We love what we do!

Oh yeah, we still make gourmet vegan cheese.

I forgot where I found the inspiration for this dish, it wasn’t vegan. We fixed that of course. If you want the recipe for this stupendous treat, you might have to harass my husband on twitter. @stemartaen may be coerced into repeating this dish (bonus for me) and sharing it with the masses [...]]]>

I forgot where I found the inspiration for this dish, it wasn’t vegan. We fixed that of course. If you want the recipe for this stupendous treat, you might have to harass my husband on twitter. @stemartaen may be coerced into repeating this dish (bonus for me) and sharing it with the masses (bonus for you). Harassment, coercion, manipulation??? It just might work!

Here it is…Tortilla chips, Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro…Nacho cheese sauce. The tasty glue that brings all of the aforementioned together. Look at it! Drippy, mouth watering fabulousness! Forget the runway, give me a seat and some nachos!

My oldest daughter came to spend the winter break with me and this is the first [...]]]>

Here it is…Tortilla chips, Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro…Nacho cheese sauce. The tasty glue that brings all of the aforementioned together. Look at it! Drippy, mouth watering fabulousness! Forget the runway, give me a seat and some nachos!

My oldest daughter came to spend the winter break with me and this is the first meal/snack we had. It was midnight, but the glory of these nachos lit the sky.

I could blab on and on about these, but let’s get to the recipe so you can start blabbing (where did that word come anyway…blab?).

Veggies:
8 cloves garlic, slice thin or minced
1 jalapeno (2 if you aren’t scared), diced
2 green onions, diced

Cheese:
No other than our Ste Martaen Colby and Olive (8 oz of each). However, you can pick whatever combination you desire

Spices:
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt and more to taste

And:
2 cups of unsweetened soy milk

Let’s start the madness!

Heat 1/2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium. Add veggies and saute for 5 minutes.

Add one cup of milk and heat to near boil.

While the milk is heating. Get the vegan cheeses ready. As seen above, we are using the Colby and Olive styles.

Rough chop the cheeses.

Add one half of the chopped cheese.

Whisk until smooth. Add the second cup of milk, heat, add the last half of cheese and whisk again until smooth.

Add the spices.

Whisk again.

This is the type of whisk I am using. I don’t know if it has a technical name, but the bottom is flat versus the traditional rounded bottom. This helps act as a masher. When the cheese is added, I mash the cheese in order to help break up the chunks. If you’re using a different kind of whisk, work it out.

There it is, creamy cheesy goodness. Now, stop admiring your nacho sauce and get some chips together. I emptied a whole bag on a pastry board. And let the magic begin…

Pour your sauce all over the chips. Don’t be stingy.

Yeeeeaaaah. Nice and covered.

Top off with some diced tomatoes and avocado. Maybe a little chopped fresh cilantro and your in there.

Right at ya!

How did the crowd react?

Deep concentration…

And happiness (that’s my daughter on the right…isn’t she lovely?) The elated guy on the left you ask…my friend, the Soul Veg East juice bar extraordinaire.

After 5 minutes…the remnants still being gobbled up!

OK, one more beauty shot.

UPDATE: The recipe above no longer applies, since the recipe to the cheese has changed.  I will redo this recipe.  Stay tuned.

I went on my Lasagna binge the end of last year and created this recipe along the way. It’s a pretty quick formula and adds great flavor to many dishes.

This is what you will need:

1 block extra firm tofu 1 recipe Creamy Soy Cheese (with some adjustments)

That’s it…basically.

Putting [...]]]>

I went on my Lasagna binge the end of last year and created this recipe along the way. It’s a pretty quick formula and adds great flavor to many dishes.

This is what you will need:

1 block extra firm tofu
1 recipe Creamy Soy Cheese (with some adjustments)

That’s it…basically.

Putting it together, let’s start with the creamy cheese base.

Follow the Creamy Soy Cheese recipe with these adjustments to the ingredient list:
1. Increase lemon to juice of 1 whole lemon

2. Add 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of dried Basil

3. Add 1 Tablespoon of Dried Parsley

4. Increase salt to 2 tsp. This will make the mix a little salty, but you’re adding it to flavorless tofu, so it will even out.

And no jalapeno! Finish processing the cheese according to the recipe and put to the side.

In a large mixing bowl, crumble a block of extra firm tofu. Use a masher to break up the crumbles into smaller pieces.

Add about half of the Basil infused creamy soy cheese and mix.

Keep adding the cheese mixture until the ricotta is a cottage cheesy consistency. You do not want it too runny or liquidy.

And there you have it! Use for lasagna, stuffed shells, manicotti or as a dip. Be careful though, your children or love ones may get forceful when asking for seconds.

Abba, give me some more! Don’t think I don’t know how to use these. Gilbert Arenas taught me how!

See what you did Arenas? It’s all fun and games until the youth get inspired by you. Note to self, don’t make Tofu Ricotta while the children watch the Wizards play.

And the Winner is…well, you’ll have to read a little bit more. This past weekend, Sunday, December 13, 2009…a date that shall live on in our minds and taste buds for eternity. Julia, aka the Snarky Vegan, had the most brilliant idea that culminated in the Vegan Pizza Smackdown at Delisi’s Pizzeria and [...]]]>

And the Winner is…well, you’ll have to read a little bit more. This past weekend, Sunday, December 13, 2009…a date that shall live on in our minds and taste buds for eternity. Julia, aka the Snarky Vegan, had the most brilliant idea that culminated in the Vegan Pizza Smackdown at Delisi’s Pizzeria and Bar. The premise of the smackdown was to compare how two vegan cheese’s would compare side by side. The competitors were Chicago Soy Dairy’s Teese and Canada’s own Daiya. These two vegan cheeses have been regarded as the best “melty” vegan cheeses in the country. Well, Chicago has put them to the test.

Delisi’s is basically a dive bar on the north side of Chicago. It’s a no frills, no top shelf kind of joint with super friendly service and enthusiastic local regulars that don’t mind drinking and buying you drinks. The perfect spot to find Vegan Pizza, and deep dish pizza at that. In my experience, joints like this are the jewels of the culinary world. Forget the chandeliers, cloth napkins, Grey Goose, 100 year old scotch and dudes uncomfortably dressed in tuxes. Give me a place that forsakes posh, serves well drinks and puts all of its energy into creating delicious food…in this case, Vegan Deep-dish Pizza! It’s my understanding that Delisi’s just recently started serving vegan pizza and it has caught Chicago by storm. As you know, once a vegan finds a great product, word spreads like wildfire. The most effective form of communication known to man…not the the telegram or the telephone…it’s Tell-a-Vegan. Within days, the whole world will be up to speed.

See, a place packed full of Vegans! Anything to do with pizza, you know I couldn’t leave the children at home. If I did it might have been the last time any of y’all had seen me.

Look how serious Lil’ Z is. Now imagine if I had left him home! He would be posted up at the house ready to use that knife and fork on me.

Baby boy ridding his slice of any vegetable content. Just cheese and crust please. Well, he did add ketchup…does that count as a vegetable?

Our lion cub, pretending to eat with sophistication and patience.

Father, this deep-dish pizza is extraordinary. I am thankful for you allowing me to accompany you on this outing.

Yeah right! Believe me, once the camera went down, so did the fork and the pizza at a record setting pace.

Don’t forget about me. Pizza, in my mouth? Pizza, in my mouth?

Sorry, not this time, baby girl.

Awww . Don’t worry, she got some of Chicago Soy Dairy’s Temptation pineapple ice cream and was very happy.

Alright, stop the yapping, can we eat? Yes, let’s all dig in.

Here’s the scoop from my perspective:

Both Teese and Daiya were similar in how they melted. Both claim to veganly emulate the stretchy, gooey, meltiness of dairy cheese. They both melted, but I didn’t see any close similarity to dairy cheese. Maybe right, right, right out of the oven. Hey, that’s not my hang up though. I’m all about taste.

So the winner, according to my taste buds, is….?

That’s right, Chicago’s finest…Teese from Chicago Soy Dairy! Why Teese? I felt it had a milder flavor that combined much better with the other ingredients on the pizza. Teese did not over power only enhanced every bite. Now Daiya, on the other hand, had an after taste. Maybe its from the tapioca or arrowroot flours, maybe the cultures. I don’t know. All I know, that after taste was more dominant than the flavors of the pizza as a whole. Daiya did seem a little creamier than Teese, but that wasn’t enough to take the crown.

So Teese it is for me. Also, the unsung hero of the day has to be Upton’s Naturals faux meats. Along with the vegan cheese, Delisi’s offers a variety of faux meat products produced by Upton’s. My hands down favorite was the vegan pepperoni. So next time I get back to Delisi’s (next time being every week), I’ll be getting my deep-dish with Teese and Upton’s pepperoni.

Who ever said being a vegan lacked taste, has evidently never been to Chicago. Chicago is producing some of the best new vegan products on the market. I looked forward to when the rest of the world catches up with what we know.

The Mercy For Animals’ 2nd annual Celebrating Compassion Gala was amazing! This has been such a hectic holiday season and we prepped ourselves for this event, however it’s been a while and we don’t get out much…together. I had so much fun being around grown ups, dressing up, serving our cheese, taking pictures, [...]]]>

The Mercy For Animals’ 2nd annual Celebrating Compassion Gala was amazing! This has been such a hectic holiday season and we prepped ourselves for this event, however it’s been a while and we don’t get out much…together. I had so much fun being around grown ups, dressing up, serving our cheese, taking pictures, hanging with friends (Kevin & Chelsea) and spending time with my Silver Fox!

The man behind the Ste Martaen brand.

Our spread. Many people came back not only for seconds and thirds, but fourths and fifths. We were flattered!

We shared the table with other vegan Chicago local talent–Karyn’s and Great Taste Cafe. Their food was so beautifully presented!

Karyn’s Raw Sushi Rolls

Great Taste Cafe Roasted Sweet Potato with Chipotle Cream & Green Onions

So Pretty!

Early on in the evening before we were swarmed…

The decor was quite beautiful! The room where we ate dinner was amazing, however it was so dark in there I didn’t attempt pictures. The dinner meal was provided by the lovely people from Chicago Diner, dessert was Delicious Cafe, Raw Creations and Great Taste Cafe, the Late Night meal was provided by Uptons Naturals (someone stole our sandwiches) , Pattycake Vegan Bakery (They had so many vegan desserts to choose from, it was a true dessert buffet!) and Turtle Mountain.

The cast from Oh Brother Where Art Thou showed up! j/k

Kevin auditioning for the new Bond movie.

Not really.

Food, friends and fun!