Leftover "Turkey" Pot Pies

I lovvvvvvvve me a pot pie.
I mean, if it were legal, I might marry one. Or twelve.
OK, I would gladly engage in a sister-wife pot-pie marriage.
Don't judge me.

My dear mother-in-law heard my pot-pie craving call and was sweet enough to oblige. She gets all credit for this recipe (except for the turkey-alternative I had already prepared).

"Turkey" Leftover Pot Pies 

Ingredients:

Filling:

-Vegetarian Turkey Alternative Leftovers

-2 tbsp oil

-1 cup fresh carrots, chopped
-1 cup almond milk

-1 cup frozen peas

-4 medium potatoes, diced

-1 medium onion, diced

-2 stalks celery, chopped

-2 cups vegetable broth, to barely cover veggies

Biscuit Topping:

My mom-in-law whipped up a delicious home-made biscuit crust (2 cups flour, 1/4 cup shortening, 2/3 cup heavy cream) but you can just as well use store-bought biscuits or crust. 

Bake all this goodness at 350 degrees until the crust begins to golden/brown.

Jackfruit Adventures: Mu Shu Rolls

I recently learned about jackfruit as a meat substitute. I think I once purchased a ripe one at the international market, just to taste it, and was not all that wild about it once I got it home. It never occurred to me that canned green jackfruit might have other culinary uses.

Last night I had my first adventure with a jackfruit (that probably doesn't sound the way I meant it). I cooked it Mu Shu style and it was dee-li-shussss. I loosely followed a recipe I saw online as a jumping off point and tweaked the measurements and ingredients to suit my tastes.

Believe it or not, I searched high and low at the international market for Mu Shu pancakes (even asking employees who continually directed me toward large sacs of flour) to no avail. I settled for rice paper wraps. Last night's wrapping was a fiasco! While tasty, they did not turn out the prettiest of rolls. Today I had leftovers for lunch and the wrapping went considerably better.

Mu Shu Jackfruit Rolls

Ingredients:

2 20 oz cans green jackfruit in brine or water (NOT syrup), well drained

1 19 oz can bamboo shoots strips in water, well drained

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp minced ginger root

4-5 green onions, chopped

6 mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 cup slivered carrots or prepared shredded carrots

2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup vegetable broth

4 tbsp soy sauce

2-3 tbsp hoisin sauce (or to taste)

1 tbsp sesame oil

rice paper sheets

1. In a sauce pan or fryer, sauté onion, garlic and ginger root. 

2. Add well-drained jackfruit, soy and hoisin sauces and veggie broth. Simmer covered for 15-20 minutes until fruit softens and begins to shred when you press and stir it. Continue to stir, further shredding the jackfruit. 

3. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes, checking it throughout. You want the carrots and bamboo shoots to retain some crispness. 

4. Follow instructions on rice paper wrapper package and serve.

Tastes yum-yum warm or at room temperature, straight out of the fridge.
Serves 4-5. This was a dinner for three and the four rolls pictured below was my lunch today. 

Blue & Cheddar Portabella "Burgers"

These "burgers" are super-tasty and filling served bun-less (if you want to skip some carbs) with a side of broccoli slaw. If preparing as vegan, simply substitute cheese (and mayo in the slaw) with vegan alternatives.

Blue & Cheddar Portabella "Burgers"

Ingredients:

4 portabella mushroom caps

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dried Italian seasonings

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese

1. Combine and whisk oil, vinegar, dried seasonings, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Combine blue and cheddar cheeses and set aside.

3. Place mushrooms in a container that allows them to rest flat, without overlapping much. I used a pyrex baking dish. 

4. Pour marinade over mushrooms. Use a brush to coat completely. Marinate for 20 minutes, turning them over halfway through.

5. Place mushrooms cap side down on a wire rack on a cookie sheet or baking dish and broil on low for  5-7 minutes.

6. Flip mushrooms over and add cheese mixture to caps. Broil on low for another 5 minutes.

The Almost-Vegan Rican

I'll kick this blog off by giving future readers this fair warning: I am not perfect. That said, neither is my diet. But I am trying, and that is precisely what this blog will be about. After a lifetime of poor eating habits, my partner and I have decided to go the vegetarian route. We have tried every diet from Deal-a-Meal (the oldies in the crowd will remember it) to Atkins and Paleo. I am not saying that some may not work, they just never "stuck" for us.  Our decision to become vegetarians didn't come out of health concerns alone. We are animal lovers. From the start of our relationship, almost 17 years ago, we have never shared our lives with less than at least two dogs at any given time. They are our children. Our friends.

As we become more and more aware of the cruelty and atrocities committed by factory farming it has become harder and harder for us to separate our animals from the rest of the animal kingdom. If our pets have souls (and, call me crazy, but I believe they do), why wouldn't other animals as well? We simply have reached a point in our lives at which we can no longer go on supporting such heartless industries.

We are aware that sketchy practices spill onto even some "cruelty-free" sources of dairy, but as I said at the start of this post: I am not perfect. As of now we have been vegetarians for two weeks. That means no meat, chicken, pork or fish. We gave a freezer-ful away to neighbors. There are eggs still in our fridge, but I suspect they will expire before we might consider consuming them. In the past two weeks we have used a combination of vegan and real cheese. Also non-vegan mayonnaise and real butter. So... baby steps.

All in all, I don't think that's entirely too shabby for two 40-something guys who just two weeks ago were chomping down on some big juicy T-bone steaks. One of them (guilty!) gnawing on the bone like a modern day caveman. We are striving to go as vegan as possible, but will not beat ourselves up over not not achieving perfection. We're glad for every bit of animal suffering we manage to diminish along the way.

I have decided to start this blog so that I can share with others who might be on the same path our progress and experiences. I will share recipes I try and especially those I create. There will never be bashing of meat-eaters on this blog. I am not here to nag others. I refuse to be "that guy".  I am only here to do what I believe is best for my partner and myself (and perhaps some animals along the way).