Vegan Chicken Spaghetti Salad

A few (like 10) years ago, my friend Tony and I “summered” in Chicago. We spent the month of July in a sublet that had a box fan (that we purchased) and no air conditioning. Coming from Vegas, we had no idea that such places even existed. The thought of cooking or even eating hot food seemed too much to deal with, so we devised a meal planning strategy. Our idea, you see, was to make cold salads (pasta, macaroni, green… but mostly pasta), and serve those as our side dishes along with a main dish which we cooked in a Crock Pot. I wasn’t vegan at the time, and I did consume more mayonnaise that summer than anyone has the right to, but the point is that we survived a hot summer strategically planning our meals around cold salads.

So, as I was planning this week’s recipe video, I thought about that summer in Chicago. And I thought about how great it was to just have cold dishes in the fridge that could be made in advance, and eaten at any time, without having to heat up the house. I also thought about how much I missed green bean casserole… Inspired by that summer, and my favorite comfort food hot dishes, I came up this recipe.

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Vegan Air-Fried Artichoke Hearts Two Ways + Two Sauces

Whether you’re trying to save money, or the planet, it’s always a good idea to use what you already have. I like to keep a well-stocked pantry, but sometimes I allow myself to over-stock, and that can sometimes lead to food waste. So, I did myself and my wallet a favor, and came up with a recipe using what ingredients I had on hand. I was more than pleasantly surprised with the results, and it just goes to show you that with a bit of ingenuity, chickpea flour, and some type of breading, anything can truly be turned into a Buffalo “wing”. Chicken’s got nothing on these delicious, fairly healthy, and super simple to make air-fried artichoke hearts.

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Vegan McDonald’s (Beyond Burger McDonald’s Hamburger Hack)

Convenience is the number one reason why people say they “can’t” go vegan, followed closely by price and accessibility. And when you look at what drives the fast food industry, it’s the convenience, the price, and the accessibility. So, what better way to prove how easy it actually is to be vegan, than by veganizing the most ubiquitous of fast foods: the McDonald’s Hamburger. Retailing for less than a dollar, and found pretty much on every continent, I wanted to show just how easy it is to recreate that almost-too-salty, real-but-fake-tasting burger. Using the same dirt-cheap condiments, I was able to recreate this burger in about the same time it would take you to drive-thru McDonald’s, and costing less than $2 a pop. Sure, Beyond Burgers are still a slightly niche item here in the states, but give it time.

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Air-Fried Spiralized Noodles (sweet potato pasta and zucchini noodles)

I like the idea of a vegetable noodle, but often times the reality doesn’t match the expectation. Sweet potato noodles are too stiff when raw, and when overcooked, they break apart, and pretty much just turn into hash browns. Zucchini has a similar condition when raw, but the moment you put a hot sauce on them they spit out a bunch of water, and turn your pasta into noodle soup. So, what’s a guy to do when he wants vegetable noodles, but he wants them to be a little bit more convincing and easy to work with? He throws them in the air-fryer, that’s what.

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Knockoff Mary’s Gone Crackers and Super Umami Hummus (Bitchin’ Sauce Inspired)

You’ll Go Crackers Over This Bitchin’ Hummus!

My current snack regiment is devouring an entire box of Mary’s Gone Crackers by dipping them into a tub of Bitchin’ Sauce. I don’t know how I managed to do it, but I managed to create an addiction to two of the most expensive snack items in the grocery store. I’m not saying the products aren’t worth the cost, but when crackers and dip come out to a combined 12 buck a pop (at Whole Foods), it’s time think about trying to make them at home. I found an easy copycat cracker recipe online that I’ve slightly modified, and instead of making just a straight-up copycat of Bitchin’ Sauce, I decided to use the same flavor profile to make a guilt-free hummus. By using whole, dry grains and beans for both of these recipes, it’ll cost you mere pennies per serving. Both of these recipes just so happen to be gluten-free, oil-free, refined-sugar free, and low in sodium, but don’t let that scare you away from giving them a try.

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Easy Vegan Pasta with Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce and French Fried Onions (Three Ways)

Necessity is often the mother of invention. Sometimes it’s leftovers. Sometimes it’s having a block of silken tofu, or a bag of frozen cauliflower, instead of a cup of cashews. This recipe came about as a creative use of leftover “chipotle hollandaise” from my Vegan Chicken and Cornbread Waffle Benedict recipe. I just tossed some brown rice pasta with the sauce and topped it with some leftover canned fried onions, and the rest is history. But then I wanted to make it again, but I didn’t have cashews, so I used a block of silken tofu. And the rest of that was history. Then I tried it again one day, using a cauliflower cream sauce recipe, and history was made again.

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Hearty, Manly, Stick-to-Your-Ribs, Vegan Kale Salad

What do vegans even eat? Kale salads and avocados?! 

Well, yes, sometimes we do. I’m not the biggest salad Stan, but this particular kale salad is so effing good, that it practically transcends the genre of salads. And who says a salad can’t be manly? This salad is so rich and cheesy and hearty; it’s a solid meal in itself. It’s pretty much the steak of salads. It takes no time to make, it can even be made ahead, and it’s guaranteed to satisfy even the most ravenous of vegan beasts. The “recipe” below is more of a guideline that I follow when I make this salad. Once you have the base in place, it’s open to your interpretation. If I have any advice to you as you proceed, don’t skimp on the nooch.

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Vegan Teriyaki Chic’n “Cheesesteak” with Wasabi-Pineapple Mayo

When I decide to veganize a dish, I’m presented with a dilemma: Do I want to make it whole-food and plant-based, or do I want it to just be vegan, utilizing whatever vegan alternatives are available to me? It’s a difficult question to answer, and one whose answer can affect the taste, experience, and healthfulness of a dish. In this video, I take the concept of a teriyaki chicken sandwich, and prepare it two ways. One sandwich is made using tempeh, avocado, and a cashew-based wasabi sauce, while the other uses a store-bought vegan Chick’n, cheese, and a Vegenaise-based sauce. Which one is better? Which one is worth making again? If you add enough seasoning and sauce to anything, does it matter what it started out as? Watch and find out!

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Plant-Based Teriyaki Tempeh Sandwich with Wasabi-Pineapple Sauce

When I decide to veganize a dish, I’m presented with a dilemma: Do I want to make it whole-food and plant-based, or do I want it to just be vegan, utilizing whatever vegan alternatives are available to me? It’s a difficult question to answer, and one whose answer can affect the taste, experience, and healthfulness of a dish. In this video, I take the concept of a teriyaki chicken sandwich, and prepare it two ways. One sandwich is made using tempeh, avocado, and a cashew-based wasabi sauce, while the other uses a store-bought vegan Chick’n, cheese, and a Vegenaise-based sauce. Which one is better? Which one is worth making again? If you add enough seasoning and sauce to anything, does it matter what it started out as? Watch and find out!

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