Sara Eats

Savory Black Bean Cranberry Burgers makes 10 patties1 can black...

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 13:04:27 -0400

Savory Black Bean Cranberry Burgers

makes 10 patties
1 can black beans
1 cup oats
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon rosemary
½ teaspoon sage
½ can of cranberry sauce

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Warm a large pan over medium heat. Press mixture into patty shapes and cook over a little oil until hard and browned, it takes about three minutes. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes or asparagus, on a bun or simply on a bed of lettuce. We liked putting cranberry sauce on top as well.

Enjoy.

vegan recipe vegetarian vegan recipe vegetarian recipe food photography

Fora.tv Conference Debate: “Don’t Eat Anything With...

Sun, 08 Dec 2013 13:15:18 -0500

Don't Eat Anything With A Face from Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates on FORA.tv

Fora.tv Conference Debate: “Don’t Eat Anything With A Face”

Calling All Vegans : Beyond Eggs!! I’m pretty excited to...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:06:04 -0500

Calling All Vegans : Beyond Eggs!! I’m pretty excited to share this because it would make massive changes in the right direction. Even if major restaurants and such are using this vegan alternative because it’s healthier and lasts longer on the shelf and is cheaper- it’s a good thing for everyone. I’ve already sent them a message of support, encouraged them to bring Beyond Eggs to a consumer level, and asked for a free sample. Spread the word!

Learn more about Hampton Creek Foods, send them a message of support, or sign up for a free sample.

“A single dairy cow produces about 120 pounds of wet manure per day, which is equivalent to the...

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 20:30:10 -0500

“A single dairy cow produces about 120 pounds of wet manure per day, which is equivalent to the waste produced by 20–40 people. That means California’s 1.4 million dairy cows produce as much waste as 28–56 million people.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Notes from Underground, Fall 2001

Tofurkey roast

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:10:21 -0500

Tofurkey roast

Never Too Old To Change

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:46:00 -0500

My father-in-law and his wife just dropped off a home made key lime pie as I type this. I’m looking forward to it because everything Sandy has been baking lately has been delicious. And vegan. But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let me rewind.

When Tom and I went vegan, parts of our families didn’t react so well. In fact, Jim and Sandy cancelled Christmas dinner this year because there were “too many different diets” to accommodate. (Out of 11 people, Tom and I were the only ones- and we offered to bring our own food.) Despite having been vegetarian for five years out of his love for animals, he’d just shake his head and say, “I can’t do that. I’m 67 years old. I just can’t. I’m too old.”

Fast forward - it’s three months ago. Jim (now 68) is in the doctor’s office being told to go on Lipitor. (Yikes!) For those of you who don’t know, there are so many issues with Lipitor that they require he have a blood test before he’s on it and then every three months after to monitor for liver failure. Bottom line is it’s scary stuff- and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. We begged him to try an animal-free diet, at least for a month. It’s been three. Here’s his reaction, in his own words:

It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Did you know, I was living with indigestion for years, I mean years, and I was married to Gaviston. I would wake up in the middle of the night it was so bad. I would take baking soda every other day with the Gaviston. I used to buy 250 tablets three times a year and I’d take it every night. And now it’s completely gone. The fogginess I used to have every morning is gone. I can think so clearly. And I used to go to rehearsals and come home exhausted, but now I feel great. My energy has gone through the roof, it’s unbelievable. Even if it was just the indigestion that was fixed, I’d be more than grateful, but that’s not even the best part. I’m wide awake now. It’s hard to explain. I can’t even put this into words. Words can’t even do this justice. You think you are wide awake, until you realize you are not. (Pause) Are you getting this? Sandy’s lost fifteen pounds and I’ve lost thirteen. Everything I’m putting into my body is healthy and natural, and I’m not hurting a thing. I just can’t stop talking about it.

I’ve been having this for two days now. I used to love egg...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 13:50:00 -0400

I’ve been having this for two days now. I used to love egg salad sandwiches as a kid. You can also add any goodies you may have added once upon a time to an old egg salad as well. I know people who like it with celery, carrots, or even adding spices. Go for it, this is just a really good base to start with.

Vegan Egg(less) Salad
makes 4-6 servings

What You Need
1 package extra firm tofu
¼ cup vegan mayo
1 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste

What You Do
1.) Drain the tofu. Either cube it and crumble with a fork or crush it in your hands and crumble until it looks like the above photo.

2.) Add your additional ingredients and mix gently until completely combined.

3.) Refrigerate after making to keep it chilled.

Vegan Ranch Dressing vegan, makes 1 jar What You Need 1 cup...

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:07:29 -0400

Vegan Ranch Dressing
vegan, makes 1 jar

What You Need
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
¼ cup soy milk
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp cider vinegar
½ tsp fresh chopped dill or ¼ tsp dried

What You Do

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, blender, or food processor and mix well. Transfer to glass jar and secure with air tight lid. Chill before serving!

Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food: 150 Down-Home Recipes...

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:07:00 -0400

Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food: 150 Down-Home Recipes Packed with Flavor, Not Calories (Quick & Easy)
I just wanted to share that the cookbook I did the photos for last summer is available today on Amazon, and will be in stores May 15th.

All of Alicia’s recipes are amazingly delicious, but my favorites are the Caesar salad (tastes just like it’s non-vegan counterpart) and the lemon blueberry cake, and I normally hate cake.

Tom’s favorites are the cheesesteak recipe and the gyros.

chili cheese dogs using rice cheese, Amy’s chili, and Yves...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:16:00 -0400

chili cheese dogs using rice cheese, Amy’s chili, and Yves jumbo dogs.

udon noodles with vegan oyster sauce (mushroom base) and garlic...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:53:24 -0400

udon noodles with vegan oyster sauce (mushroom base) and garlic asparagus

simple pickles over steamed sticky rice

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:52:20 -0400

simple pickles over steamed sticky rice

I used this recipe, but used whole wheat flour instead of white...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:19:56 -0400

I used this recipe, but used whole wheat flour instead of white and an egg replacer instead of the apple cider vinegar and baking soda and found it much more savory and enjoyable. (Not that it wasn’t before, but you know what I mean.)

So Delicious Dairy-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:30:06 -0400

So Delicious Dairy-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

Photo

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:27:25 -0400

Photo

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:20:20 -0400

The Basil Hemlock Loaf vegan, 1.5 lb Store bought bread tastes...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:32:00 -0400

The Basil Hemlock Loaf
vegan, 1.5 lb

Store bought bread tastes like crap. And bakeries are awesome but you can’t always keep track of the ingredients, and you don’t always have access to them depending on where you live, so making your own seems like the best thing to do! We use a bread maker for our bread, but you don’t have to. If you want to bake it in the oven it tastes just as delicious! I’m kind of going nutty for our bread right now, so I started with a basic loaf and I plan to get a little crazy and try Gluten Free, FRUIT BREAD, and cinnamon swirls! I hope you enjoy this loaf as much as we do.

What You Need
1 ¼ cups water
3 cups all-purpose non-bleached white flour
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
1 ½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp basil
1 ½ tsp yeast (we use “Bread Machine Yeast”)

What You Do

1. Add the ingredients to the bread maker in the order they are listed, except for the yeast. Make sure you measure as accurately as possible because that makes a difference! To add the yeast, make a little pocket in your ingredients and add the yeast there. It should look like this:

2. Select your preferences, (we do basic white, medium crust) and hit start!

3. Depending on your bread maker and a bunch of other factors like if you measured everything properly, etc, etc- you should keep an eye on the loaf in the beginning stages. When it starts the kneading cycle, take a peak and make sure it’s not to dry and lumpy. If it is, add a tsp (or tbsp) of water, depending on how much is needed. Start by adding a small amount, because a little bit really does go a long way. If you add too much and it starts slopping around and is too wet, don’t worry, just add a tsp or two of flour and it will fix itself. You want it to smooth itself out so it looks like a proper loaf when it’s done.

Perfect Hearty (Yet Light) Winter Soup vegan, serves 4-8 What...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:27:00 -0500

Perfect Hearty (Yet Light) Winter Soup
vegan, serves 4-8

What You Need
☑ 1 can (14.5 ounces) beans (navy, red, black- your choice!)
☑ 1 small onion, chopped
☑ 1 lb (1 can) button mushrooms
☑ 10 ounces baby spinach
☑ 4 small red potatoes cut into ½ inch
☑ 2 servings of udon (two small packages) optional
☑ ¼ tsp thyme
☑ 1 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (made from mushrooms)
☑ 1 Tbsp olive oil
☑ 1 ½ cups water
☑ red cooking wine
☑ sea salt

What You Do
1. Cook your udon according to package directions! You can add whatever noodles you like here, but I love the big fat udon noodles so that’s what we went with. Udon comes in small packages at the average grocery store, but at an Asian grocer it can come in large bundles. If you’re using the small packages, grab two, and if you’re using the bundle, just separate out two servings (if they aren’t already separated for you!) Udon doesn’t take that long to cook, so strain it and set it aside when it’s done.

2. While your udon is cooking, heat your olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add your onion and potatoes and cook until the onion is slightly brown (5 min or so) before adding a pinch (or three, if you’re like me) of salt, mushrooms and thyme for another few minutes until the mushrooms are tender (if you’re using fresh).

3. Add 1 ½ cups water, a splash of red cooking wine, your cooked and drained noodles, 1 tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce, and the spinach to the pot, stir, cover with a lid, and let it cook for 8-10 minutes (or until your potatoes are tender).

Serve hot and enjoy!

Tonight while we were dining out our favorite vegan restaurant...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:44:00 -0500

Tonight while we were dining out our favorite vegan restaurant (which happens to be Asian fusion), our server was quite impressed that we ordered an aged Pu'er to go with our meal. She said she was surprised that a couple so young would know of and or appreciate such a tea and after the meal she told us she felt compelled to ask if it was okay that she inquire as to why we became vegan. We shared our stories. She explained in broken English that she had no idea about ‘any of it’ until one day during her calligraphy study her class stumbled upon the kanji for “meat”.

Tom and I are studying Japanese, so when she asked us if we knew it we could easily draw it on our receipt. Then she asked us what the kanji was for “person”.

The kanji for “meat” is, really, “people eating people”.

She said, “It changed my life.”

Tom and I were able to recreate vegan 豚カツ (tonkatsu) using this...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:09:26 -0500

Tom and I were able to recreate vegan 豚カツ (tonkatsu) using this delicious recipe for nuggets from Happy Herbivore. Lindsay calls for 2 cups unsweetened corn flakes but we’ve substituted the flakes for panko or breadcrumbs several times and enjoyed both. Oh, and it’s fat free. =)

Crispy Nuggets Recipe
vegan, makes 12

What You Need
½ cup rice milk milk
½ tsp lemon juice
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
1½ tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp thyme
½ cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups unsweetened corn flakes
½ tsp poultry seasoning (not powdered)

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk non-dairy milk and lemon juice together until foamy with bubbles. In a medium bowl, mash chickpeas with a fork or potato masher until coarse. You don’t want any whole beans left, but don’t overly mash them so that they are pureed and resembling refried beans. Alternatively, you can pulse the beans in a food processor 10-15 times and transfer processed chickpeas to the bowl.

3. Add in TVP, crumbs if using, vital wheat gluten, mustard, spices and agave. Add in ¼ cup water and mix with a spoon. Gluten should form almost instantly. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead for about a minute, getting out any excess bubbles and making sure the gluten strands form. Mold the mixture into ball and set aside.

4. Pour cornflakes into a separate bowl and mash until very crumbly, like thick and slightly bigger bread crumbs and set aside. Re-whisk non-dairy milk and then pour mixture into a shallow bowl. Break off bouncy ball-sized portions of the gluten and flatten in the palm of your hand to it resembles a nugget shape.

5. Dip into the non-dairy milk mixture so that it’s coated on both side then press into flakes on each side, making sure it’s completely coated. Place nugget on a cookie sheet and repeat with all nuggets. Bake nuggets for 10 minutes, flip and bake another 10-15 minutes, until nuggets are firm and crispy.