Sandwiches: Condiment Love

I've recently been a fan of making my own condiments: vegan cream cheese, pesto, applesauce, anything. It goes along with my pledge to eat as sustainably as possible; most vegan substitutes rely heavily on manufactured ingredients, hydrogenated oils, and palm oil. Kenji from Serious Eats beautifully expresses my philosophy on faux meats in an article here.

But enough with the banter and linkage, you guys didn't come here to be lectured.


Displayed above is the result of my experimentation. Artisan sourdough (from the talented Josey Baker), smothered with kale walnut pesto, tofu cream cheese, and tomato jam. Layered on top is a roasted red pepper, spinach, and marinated tofu.

I'm still perfecting the cream cheese and tomato jam recipe, but I'm pretty proud of my pesto. If there's anything I like more than sandwiches, it's garlic. What's that recipe? You call for 2 cloves of garlic? That's cute, I'm adding in 4. No overrated vampire 'dreamboat' will approach me now!

I digress. The pesto recipe below was passed on to me from a neighbor who made batches of fresh pesto and always called on me to taste test. Although I was young, I remember always joking with him, saying it needed more garlic. The best part of the recipe (aside from the ridiculous amount of garlic it contains) is that it's easily adaptable with any green (arugula, cilantro, beet tops) or nut (walnuts, almonds). Pine nuts are expensive and I'm cheap, so I am fond of walnuts in my kale pesto.

Not-For-The-Faint-of-Heart Kale Pesto
adapted from George's Basil Pesto and Isa's Bestest Pesto recipes

1/2 cup walnuts
16 medium cloves of garlic
2/3 tsp coarse salt
3 cups fresh kale
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup olive oil (or 1/4 olive oil, 1/4 water)
1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice

Toast the walnuts in a skillet for about 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Transfer to a food processor. Add in garlic and salt, then process.

Add kale using repeated pulses to mince. Add olive oil and nutritional yeast and pulse to combine. Slowly add in olive oil and lime/lemon juice, pulsing in between. Process for one minute, do not over-process. Pesto should have a somewhat gritty texture.

Pour into a glass jar and seal mixture. It can be covered with a thin layer of olive oil to retard discoloring. Will keep a week in the refrigerator or can be frozen.

Sunday Brunch: After St. Patty's Day

Wanting to feel somewhat healthy after destroying my already-failing liver during St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make a breakfast quiche.

When I first considered becoming vegan, I wept at the thought of giving up eggs. I loved fried eggs, poached eggs, quiches, frittatas; my philosophy on food was "put an egg on it!" Then I discovered the secret of using tofu as an egg substitute in such dishes. Don't wrinkle your nose at me.

I decided to give it a shot.


BAM. Food porn. You didn't think vegans were allowed to have food porn, did you? Given it's not the greatest porn shot (I'm an amateur, alright?), but still; it's pretty damn sexy.

This recipe required a bit more time than a regular quiche, but it was worth it. It also passed the Russell test, who claimed it was pretty damn near similar to an eggy dish. I cut time by using a bulgur crust, but perhaps I'll try a flour crust when I have more patience.

Green Quiche: for Curing Post-St. Patty's Celebrations

2 cups water
1 cup bulgur

1 pound/block soft tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp tumeric
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/3 cup pesto (I made a kale & walnut pesto, posting the recipe soon)

You're an adult, you can choose your own veggies (I sauteéd garlic, broccoli florets, spinach, oregano, and added in roasted red peppers).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Add bulgur to boiling water, cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes (until no water remains). Press bulgur into pie dish, bake for 15 minutes, until bulgur feels firm to the touch. Remove from oven.

While the bulgur is cooking, make your filling! Blend tofu in food processor, adding in soy sauce, mustard, and nutritional yeast halfway through. Blend until smooth, scrape into medium sized bowl. Fold in pesto.

Prep and cook your veggies. Fold them into the tofu-pesto mixture; add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer tofu-pesto-veggie goodness into bulgur crust, making sure veggies are evenly spread out. Bake for 20 minutes, until firm and lightly brown on top. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve.