Fried Vegan Omelet Sandwich

Fried Vegan Omelet Sandwich Recipe

One of my fondest food memories is my mom making fried egg sandwiches. She'd put mayo, raw onion slivers and tomatoes on them. Childhood memories. In fact, food wise, that is one of my hubby's favorite recollections as well. Raising second-generation vegans (yes!) means that I, too, am laying the foundation for their comfort foods. 

Cat and Kate have loved our 'omelets' since we have been vegan - almost nine years now. We've improved it over the years, but one thing remains the same: Cat eats it with just ketchup and Kate likes it in a sandwich with veganaise. David loves it, too, although he thinks it stands on its own. 

I named it what I did because it had to be called something; if I called it a 'fried tofu' sandwich, something completely different comes to mind. If I said 'fried "egg" sandwich', I'd have been very misleading: there is no yolk to break.

In any case, if you are fond of the 'egg' flavor, add some black salt , otherwise stick to our family's tradition: veganaise, slivers of red onion and tomato slices.
 Comforting, delicious food. 

Cost Breakdown:
2 tofu: $4
nutritional yeast: $1
bread: $2
onion, tomato, flour, rice milk: $2
veganaise: $.50

Total to feed a family of 5:
$9.50

    

Thursday Lunch - French Onion Soup (June 17)

How is this for perplexing: My eldest daughter cannot stand onions in anything. In fact, she picks them out if she can. BUT her favorite soup is French Onion. Go figure.

This soup is easy to make, but there is a lot of stand-by cooking, kind of like for an airplane, but not as tedious. Not necessarily food-sitting, but standing near-by to stir the onions while they cook for an hour. You can wash the dishes from last night, read a book, mop the floor - whatever, as long as you are standing by. Once the onions are cooked way down (from 8 cups to maybe 2 cups) the soup is almost done. This soup is deep, dark and rich. You can serve it with Daiya or Follow Your Heart or just a crouton.

It is no wonder Cat likes it so much.

Cost Breakdown:

onions: $2

homemade stock: $1

bread: $2

 wine: $1

tamari: $ .50

Total to feed a family of 5:

$6.50

 

French Onion Soup Recipe

Wednesday Dinner - Spicy Cherry Seitan (June 16)

I am playing along with Tami's Food Network Friday challenge at Vegan Appetite. She chose Spicy Cherry Ribs to veganize to show the Food Network how easy vegan eating can be. I made a seitan using tofu and gluten which I make when I am trying for a layered seitan - you know, one that when ripped tears in layers. It turned out very tasty, but a little salty, thanks to Guy Fieri's love of salt. I am of the mind that the first time you try a recipe it should be as the cook wrote it. Then you can mess with it, assuming it is good enough to make again. Of course, it did not require the 4 hours of baking. Thank the universe.

I made some creamy cole slaw to accompany it; sort of a quintessential American BBQ. Just not. Better!

Cost Breakdown:

seitan: $3

cherries: $8!

cabbage: $3.50

Veganaise: $1.50

baked beans: $2

onion, garlic, spices: $2

Total to feed a family of 5 an American BBQ:

$21.00 (yikes)

Creamy Cole Slaw Recipe

Spicy Cherry Seitan Recipe

 Tofu-Seitan Recipe

Wednesday Lunch - Corney Chili Dog (Kate) (June 16)

Kate made the meal today. She wanted chili and she added corn because she loves corn. Hence, Corney Chili Dogs. The chili is mildly spicy, topped over a grilled veggie dog. Nothing too complicated here; even the chili was ready in a half hour. Because chili gets better with age, like I do, Dad's lunch tomorrow will be better than ours. 

Cost Breakdown:

 package of veg dogs: $3.50

1/2 package of buns: $1.50

Batch of Chili (freezing half)

TVP and beans: $3

onion, pepper, garlic, spices: $3

corn: $1

green salad: $3

 Total to feed a family of 5:

$10.00

(Half of the cost of the chili.)

 

Tuesday Dinner - Coco Loco (June 15)

When we lived in San Francisco we patronized a quaint little cafe, Feel Real, that was open only when the owners decided to open.
There were many times we would show up, but the owners didn't.
Still, the place had awesome food. Two of their most fabulous meals were a veggie burger, that resembled no 'burger' I've seen since, and Coco Loco, a coconut, seaweed, noodle dish with steamed greens.
To die for.
Since we are no longer in San Fran, it was up to me to recreate it. I did. Kate asked for this one; she said it's been too long. I think the last time when the aroma of coconut milk and lime filled the kitchen was last month. Gotta love anything that is green and with seaweed and is being requested by a ten-year-old.

Cost Breakdown:

2 bunches, kale: $5

noodles: $2

nutritional yeast: $1
(I just found this place. I have not used it, yet, but the cost is a lot cheaper.)

coconut milk: $2

garlic, lime, tamari: $1.50
seaweed: $2
 (I bought it bulk from Frontier Co-op)

Total to feed a family of 5:
$13.50

Coco Loco Recipe

Tuesday Lunch - Curried Red Lentils with Sweet Potatoes (June 15)

The sweet potatoes added such a lovely sweetness to this dish. Not overpowering, since the curry powder balanced them out. It was just a wholesome, delicious meal. I served it with pita and steamed broccoli. Kate enjoyed it more than the other two, and I enjoyed it more than Kate. I also added some heat with chili flakes. I love sweet and spicy together.

Cost Breakdown:

lentils: $1.25

sweet potato: $1.50

broccoli: $ 2

onion, garlic, spices: $1

pita: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$7.75

 

Curried Red Lentils and Sweet Potato Recipe

Monday Dinner - Grilled Artichoke Soup (June 14)

Every once in  a while I will make something and think it might not come out well. And then we'll take it to the table and it shines. This was one of those diamonds in the rough. It doesn't sound substantial and the ingredients are so minimal that you think it couldn't possibly be a meal. Surprise. This soup has a total of 6 ingredients - onion, garlic, artichoke, tomato, pine nuts, lemon. Admittedly artichokes and pine nuts are expensive, but the menu is give and take. We don't always have the costly items, so having it ever so often is doable.

It was delicious.

 Even Eldest Daughter had a second bowl - and she is picky! Some bread and a salad and the meal was complete.

Cost Breakdown:

onion, garlic, lemon: $1.50

artichoke, bottled: $4

tomato: $1

pine nuts: $1

bread: $2

salad: $3

Total to feed a family of 5:

$12.50

 

Grilled Artichoke Soup Recipe

Sunday Lunch - Persian Polenta, Parsnip and Kale (June 13)

Whenever I have lots of vegetables in the fridge, or whenever the CSA box looks too inviting to resist, I make '2 veg and a grain.' I try to find a common theme and run with it. Today's was Persian.

I sauteed carrots and parsnips with Turkish apricots - typical of this region is dried fruit in savory dishes. I made creamed kale, not exactly Persian, but I have been craving it. I also made salad with black fig vinagrette, cranberries and shredded carrots. And finlly, I made polenta with fenugreek leaves and seeds and a few strands of saffron. After cooling the polenta I sliced it into rectangles and broiled it. 

There you have a Persian-inspired meal. 

Cost breakdown:

bunch kale: $2.50

3 parsnips and a carrot: $2

apricots and cranberries: $1

polenta: $ .50

3 c rice milk: $1.50

1/2 head romaine lettuce: $1

spices, onion, garlic: $1

Total to feed a family of 5:

$9.50