Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Korean BBQ Portobello Burgers

2014_07_04

I am now a proud owner of a grill! Can you believe it? I’ve been a home owner for ten years and have never owned a grill before. But after grilling for the first time at my own house on a real grill, I can finally call myself a “true American.” But once you hear what I grilled, you may take issue with my choices and my “true American-ness.”

Korean BBQ portobello burgers still count, right?

We were having friends over for a BBQ over the fourth of July weekend. And since I’ve never grilled before, I figured I should do a practice run with something just to make sure I got the hang of it.

I made grilled zucchini, grilled corn on the cob, and Koren BBQ portobello burgers. No meat, but that’s what we decided on (I’ve been told if you don’t grill meat that it doesn’t count, which I suppose is a valid argument on some level).

Anyway, I killed it for my first time! The corn was crisp and rich. We didn’t even use butter or salt! The mushrooms were juicy and meaty (as much as a vegetable can be). And the zucchini was, ok, maybe a little overdone, but still delicious.

I think I’m going to love summer time grilling. Next up, Chicago style hot dogs!

RECIPES:

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Korean BBQ Portobello Burgers

Recipe taken from Isa Does It, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. If you enjoy vegan and vegetarian meals, I highly recommend you get this book. It’s my most used recipe source at the moment.

Marinade:

1 cup water
1/4 cup light molasses (I left this out because I couldn’t find it)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 red wine vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp liquid smoke
2 tsp sriracha
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp onion powder
4 portobello mushroom caps
Olive oil for grill

Toppings:

Hamburger buns (I lightly grilled Kaiser roll buns)
Vegan mayo (I used regular)
1 cup kimchi

Marinate mushrooms for an hour. Grill mushrooms 5 minutes per side or until done. I added the marinade as I grilled them. I wanted as much of the marinade flavor as possible.

Spread mayo on lightly grilled buns. Place mushroom on bun and top with kimchi.

(The book has a lot more details but you get the gist of it)

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Bok Choy and Wild Mushroom Miso Soba Bowl

2014_06_11

This had three of Ellie’s favorites: tofu, mushrooms, and noodles. She wouldn’t eat the bok choy, but handled everything else. Not too bad I guess. And Aya said it tasted like Japan so I counted that as a compliment too.

This recipe is only for two, so make adjustments accordingly. I also used 4 tablespoons of miso instead of the 2-3 in the recipe.

RECIPE:

Bok Choy and Wild Mushroom Miso Soba Bowl

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

“Pulled” Cauliflower BBQ Sandwiches

2014_06_08

I know this sounds weird. I was a little iffy on it too. I like cauliflower, but a cauliflower instead of pulled pork? I’m not so sure. However, I really liked these! Topped with caramelized onions and homemade BBQ sauce, I barely noticed it was cauliflower. Well, maybe that’s a stretch. You could definitely taste the cauliflower, but in a good way. You have to like cauliflower to like this.

The first time I did these I made them as sliders. The second time I used regular sized buns. The kids ate more and enjoyed it more as a slider size. This recipe definitely made it in the rotation.

This recipe is originally from the Beard and Bonnet website.

 

 

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Mango Avocado Taquitos Salad Bowl

2014_06_01Ellie loves mango and avocado. I thought for sure she’d love this. But unfortunately, she did not. I think the added lemon and lime juice was too much for her to enjoy it. We on the other hand liked these a lot! Perfect for a summer day.

I do think the taquitos would have been a little better if the avocado to mango ratio was 2:1 instead of 1:1. Aya loved them as is though. Just depends how much sweet flavor you want. The corn tortillas were a little tricky since I haven’t worked with them before. But after the first few I think I got the hang of it. The homemade lime vinaigrette was delicious for the salad portion too. I love fruit in food so that’s why I loved this so much. If you don’t like fruit in food, you won’t like this at all.

RECIPES:

Mango Avocado Taquitos Salad Bowl

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Tempeh Tacos

2014_02_17aI’ve made veggie tacos a few times before with beans in place of meat. You really lose some texture with no meat, but the over abundance of cheese seemed to overshadow that loss. Now that we are trying vegan tacos and not having the cheese, I wanted to try something without a mushy texture and this recipe seemed to fit the bill.

I wasn’t too keen on going down the tempeh road again though. I had tried tempeh a few years back with Aya and I don’t remember it fondly. But one main reason of our vegan month is to try new things, so I ignored my hesitation and decided to give it a go.

To my surprise, I found this to be a great substitute for meat. It had a ground beefy texture, and all the taco type spices really covered up the tempeh taste. Add in avocado, cilantro, olives, and all the other fixin’s and it makes a really good taco!

There is a difference in taste with the meat obviously, but I’d assume any open-minded meat eater would appreciate this version.

2014_02_17b

RECIPES:

Tempeh Tacos