poopiebitch.com - a vegan food blog » tofu

A day in the life: day 1

poopiebitch — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:24:57 +0000

Before I grovel at your collective feet for forgiveness, please accept this picture of a cupcake I made last week as a peace offering. A token of good will, if you will. Or even if you won’t.

Lemon Glazed Cupper - tangy.

I ate exactly one of those cupcakes. The rest were kindly disposed of (devoured) by The Brit.

Okay, so, I basically sucked at the whole posting every day thing last week. That’s mostly because I don’t think any of the food I’ve been making lately has been particularly interesting (except for the tester recipes, obvs). You see, recently I started logging everything I eat into a food journal. I’m on a quest to become healthier, and hopefully lose a little (lot) of my excess weight in the process. So, while I spend a lot of my day thinking about food, and planning food, and even eating food, I’m afraid it will bore the ever-loving shit out of people if I blog about it, too. Most of it is not what you might call culinarily adventurous.

This week though, I have a plan. I plan to not give a flying toss whether anyone deems my food interesting, and just blog it anyway. Every. Boring. Detail. Get ready people! This might be moderately tolerable!

Breakfast this morning was a smoothie. I love smoothies, but it’s starting to get too cool for them. Soon they’ll have to relinquish their spot among favorite breakfast items to something more befitting cold weather, like oatmeal. Until then though, I’m still enjoying the occasional smoothie when the mood strikes. My favorite combo of late has been strawberries, banana, soy milk (Silk Light) and a tablespoon of Dark Chocolate Dreams.

It wasn't blurry in real life.

A day just isn’t complete without a nice cuppa tea. Of course, if that’s true, I’ve had a lot of incomplete days lately. I’m pretty low on tea right now, but I’m making do with what I have. I actually had two cups today, but they both looked exactly the same so use your imagination, kay?

Lady Grey, if you must know.

Lunch was sandwiches (that’s right, plural! Two sandwiches!). They consisted of some leftover whole wheat buns that need using up, Yves Meatless Salami, Vegenaise and yellow mustard. On the side I had my first ever Honeycrisp apple. It was gigantic and amazing and perfect and I wanted to marry it but I ate it instead (there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere, but I’ll leave that up to you).

With, of course, the ubiquitous big glass of water.

Snack time! Homemade hummus with celery. I’m not usually a big celery eater but I had some leftover and figured I might as well eat it. Don’t you hate that you have to buy a whole mess o’celery when you only need a couple of stalks? Yeah, me too.

Hummus loves anything crunchy. Even celery.

Finally, for dinner, I made a modified version of my Tamarind Orange Tofu. I served it up with some long grain brown rice, steamed carrots and peas. Deeelish!

I got lazy cutting the tofu into little pieces. What?

And since I’m obsessed with nutritional stats, I’ll inflict them on you! You’re welcome! Hey, just count yourself lucky that I decided not to post nutrition for every meal like I was temped to do.

The percentages listed with fat, carbs and protein indicate what percent of total calories came from each. The percentages listed with everything else indicate what percentage of the Recommended Daily Allowance they equal. Saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium should be below 100%. The vitamins, minerals and fiber should meet or exceed 100%.

Daily total:

Calories: 1455

—

Carbs: 234g (60%)
Fat: 37.9g (22%)
Protein: 70g (18%)

—

Saturated Fat: 4.4g (27%)
Cholesterol: 0mg (0%)
Sodium: 1759mg (76%)

—

Fiber: 42g (251%)
Vitamin A: 2286µg (327%)
Vitamin C: 134mg (178%)
Calcium: 1159mg (116%)
Iron: 20.4mg (113%)

MoFo’in it up

poopiebitch — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:21:59 +0000

It’s the first day of Vegan MoFo, and I’m making it in just under the wire. I promise I won’t procrastinate like this the rest of the month, if you promise not to actually hold me to that.

My post today is brief, mostly because I’m tired (I just got home). Nonetheless, this is Vegan Month of FOOD, so let’s get to the goods, shall we?

Last night I made another tester for Isa’s upcoming weight loss cookbook (expect a lot more posts about testers for this book in the coming month). Probably one of my favorite meals to date – once the book comes out and you make it, you’ll see why. Easy and full of flavor, it was worth the time I spent tracking down the delicata squashes, which seemed to be impossible to find for a while. I was actually about to settle for butternut yesterday, stopped to buy one at a store I don’t usually shop at on the way home from the gym, and what do I find? Delicatas! How fortuitous.

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu

If just reading “Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Mustard Tofu” doesn’t make you drool, then you’re either a robot, or dead.

Unfried Fried Rice

You read that right. Fried rice, that isn’t fried. Impossibly good.

5 Spice Delicata Squash

Oh yes, the elusive delicata. Roasted to perfection with Chinese 5 spice and maple syrup.

Are you drooling yet, robot zombies?

I’m still here

poopiebitch — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:33:03 +0000

No worries, I’m still here. A little slow getting back into the swing of things, but here nonetheless. I had to have some (very minor) surgery, so I’m a little sore and it’s hard for me to cook. I’ve managed to whip up a couple of things though! Yes, that’s right, time for yet more testers from Isa’s upcoming weight loss cookbook.

First up, a spicy and amazing dish:

Curry Laksa

So, so good. I would be tempted to go make another batch of it, if I didn’t have a few more servings of this deliciousness to fill the void:

Cauliflower Pesto Soup

So simple, but packs a ton of flavor. You won’t believe the nutritional stats on that rich and creamy bowl of yum, either.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I promise not to stay away too long.

A few new testers

poopiebitch — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:54:05 +0000

I’ve been very lucky to be a tester for some awesome cookbooks. I tested for Kelly and Garrick’s Vegan Cookie Book (which I think is still going to be released eventually!), I’m still testing for Tami’s American Vegan Kitchen (wrapping up very soon!), and I’m also a tester for Bianca’s Southern Vegan Cookbook.

Well, you can add another book to that list. I’m now a tester for Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s latest project – a vegan weight loss cookbook! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this (and how much I NEED it). Here’s a sampling of the many (many!) recipes I’ve made so far:

Red Lentil and Root Veggie Dal

Caribbean Curry Black Eyed Peas With Plantains

Jerk Asparagus

Mushroom and Cannellini Paprikas with Scarlet Barley

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Toasted Cumin Seeds

Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Tofu & Peanut Mint Gremolata

I only wish I’d taken pictures of everything I’ve made, but trust me, there will be plenty more soon enough!

Mediterranean brunch

poopiebitch — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:03:17 +0000

I love the weekends. Saturdays are perfect for sleeping in, making a big lazy brunch and avoiding the world.

Of course, just because you’re avoiding the world, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the flavors of it. Tami’s recipe for Mediterranean Scramble is perfect for waking your taste buds up on those sleepy days. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, this is another tester for her cookbook.

Bright, bold and flavorful.

One can’t live on tofu scramble alone, though. I’ve gotta have something starchy with mine, and Tami’s Homefries #1 fit the bill nicely. These decadent fries are the perfect compliment to the light, clean flavors of the scramble.

Rich and delicious.

All in all, the perfect meal to fuel a day of doing as little as possible.

Tamarind Orange Glazed Tofu

poopiebitch — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:01:06 +0000

Welcome to my new digs! Come on in, kick your shoes off, make yourself at home. Don’t mind the dust, I’m still working out a few kinks…

Alright, now that you’re settled, let’s get down to breakin’ this sucker in with a recipe, shall we? I took another shot at Tamarind Orange Glazed Tofu last week, and I was so darn happy with the results I thought I’d share the recipe here.

Doesn't that just make your mouth water?

Tamarind Orange Glazed Tofu

Ingredients:

1 block of extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced however you want (I like triangles)
oil for frying

For the glaze:

¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup agave or maple syrup
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
2 teaspoons sriracha (use less if you don’t want it spicy)
1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic (or 2 cloves)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and pan-fry sliced tofu in a single layer, until browned and crisp on both sides, 10-15 minutes.
While tofu is frying, whisk together all ingredients for the glaze, and set aside.
Once the tofu is sufficiently browned on both sides, give your glaze mixture a stir and pour it over the top of the tofu. Allow the liquid to reduce down and thicken to form a glaze, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

One a penny, two a penny

poopiebitch — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:27:00 +0000

First off, *thank you* to everyone who got excited with me over The Brit’s conversion! I’m still so stoked about it! We’re working on finding a non-dairy milk he likes right now. Soy was a no-go, rice was a definite no-go, as was almond… oat seems to be okay so far. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I hope everyone had a good Zombie Jesus Day! On Good Friday I made Hot Cross Buns. Except… I left off the crosses due to laziness. I tried to make pseudo-crosses by cutting an “X” in the top of each bun, but when they baked they ended up looking more like little horns. I guess I should have called them Blasphemous Buns instead.

I made another tester for Bianca’s cookbook! This time it was Buttermilk Biscuits – a southern staple. She hit the nail on the head again with this awesome recipe! They were light, fluffy, AND 100% whole wheat. I cut them into hearts because it’s cute.

And what would southern-style biscuits be without gravy? Bianca’s creamy Sausage-Sage Gravy made this an awesome breakfast.

This baked lemon-herb tofu didn’t turn out as fabulous as I’d hoped, but it was still tasty enough to eat! Mashed gold potatoes can make up for anything less than stellar, anyway.

There was nothing less than stellar about this pizza, though! I made apple-sage sausages to grill at my parents’ house on Saturday, and this was the perfect way to use the leftovers.

This was the first pizza I’ve ever made 100% from scratch. The ‘ricotta’ and pesto were inspired by the Isa Pizza in VwaV, but I didn’t have the right ingredients so I fudged it. Homemade: pizza dough, roasted red pepper sauce (no tomatoes – The Brit isn’t a tomato fan), tofu ‘ricotta’, spinach pesto (I didn’t have any fresh basil), apple-sage sausages and caramelized onions. This pizza was AMAZING.

And the best part? I still have half the pizza dough leftover, wrapped up in my freezer. I foresee much more homemade pizza in my future!

I love leftovers

poopiebitch — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Last week some friends and I did a food swap. Kind of like a potluck, but you get to take the food home and eat other people’s leftovers. Basically it means that I ended up with yummy food that I didn’t have to cook. Score.

I made little veggie loaves, but you know what those look like so I won’t post yet another picture. Bianca made this delicious pizza:

I didn’t get a picture of Hart’s carrot soufflé (more like a casserole, but seriously yum). I also don’t have any pics of Nic’s pâté (my friends are so fancy, no?), because I already had too much food in my house, so I wrapped it up and put it in the freezer. I will take some pics when I do something with it. Meanwhile, you can check out Bianca’s much more thorough post about our swap here.

I also made some Self-Frosting Peanut Butter Cupcakes from My Sweet Vegan for the food swap, although I made a bunch of changes, which is probably why they sank in the middle. Oh well, they were still good.

I made this curry last week. Isn’t it pretty? Veggies, curry and coconut. It sounded good in my head. It looked good. It smelled so good… It was not good. Not good at all. CURRY FAIL.

This sweet and sour on the other hand, was really good. I cut the tofu so small because that’s the way The Brit likes it. I fried it because, well, it’s good like that. This totally made up for the curry fail.

I made the veggie lunch meat recipe from Vegan Dad. I had to steam it in two separate logs because my steamer is stupid, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out very well, I can’t wait to play around with the seasonings some more.

I used half of the veggie lunch meat to make chopped BBQ sandwiches. The inspiration came from Vegan Dad as well, but I made my own BBQ sauce rather than his recipe (which I’m sure is delicious!). I also changed up the cooking method to use my slow cooker, since I wanted it to be ready when I got home.

Served up on homemade bread with homemade coleslaw, it was awesome.

Catching up

poopiebitch — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:07:00 +0000

I know it’s been a few days, but I have been cooking, I promise! Here, I’ll prove it…

First off, yummy shepherd’s pie. It looks a mess on the plate, but is so yummy. We ate it two days in a row.

Next up, roasted potatoes! Oh, how I love them with an unreasonable passion. Oh yeah, there’s also chickpea cutlets, roasted carrots, peas and bread sauce. But look! Roasted potatoes!

I loved Bianca’s chicken fried tofu wafflewiches so much last time, I had to make them again. This time I kept the sauce on the side for dipping (I made extra for that very purpose!).

I also made a sort of stroganoff type thing. It had sherry in it, so it was good.

Lastly, today’s lunch! Asian marinated grilled tofu from VwaV, pineapple quinoa, glazed carrots and green beans.

I cooked the quinoa in half water/half pineapple juice, with a dash of soy sauce – it was so good that way! I also took the leftover tofu marinade and added some pineapple juice to it, and cooked it down to make a glaze. This was my first time grilling tofu (I know, what?!) and I was super-happy with the results. Yummilicious.

I grilled the tofu inside on my cast iron grill pan, but it was so nice outside we decided to eat it on the back patio. It almost felt like spring!

Stacked food tastes better

poopiebitch — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:55:00 +0000

It’s pretty late so I’ll keep this entry short. It’s about time I updated though since it’s been a couple of days.

Tuesday was The Brit’s birthday so we had planned ahead of time to go out to eat for lunch (we didn’t go out last week for that very reason). We headed out to his favorite Indian place Golden India. It was awesome as always!

We had planned on just having sandwiches for dinner, but my parents offered to buy us dinner at a restaurant of The Brit’s choosing to celebrate, and we couldn’t really pass up a free meal, now could we? He picked P.F. Chang’s, and it was really good too.

Because of eating out twice in one day(!), I don’t have any pictures from Tuesday. I do have a couple of old ones that I never posted though. I’ll share them now.

Behold, tofu scramble:

And here’s one of some spinach pesto pasta. I made this before our trip to Texas in an effort to use up a bag of spinach that was going to go off. It’s mostly spinach, a little fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. I decided at the end to blend in some soft silken tofu to make it creamy. It certainly did! This was rich and yummy.

I did end up using the leftover tempeh from my last post in sandwiches. It was much better like this than on it’s own, by far.

And last but not least, yesterday was my one year veganniversary! To celebrate I made some stacked food. Pan-fried polenta topped with walnut white bean puree and mushrooms sauteed in white wine, served with garlicky spinach. Yum!

Peace out, yo!

There’s food in here, I promise

poopiebitch — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:45:00 +0000

Well my lovelies, as promised in my last post I’m going to tell you WHY I will be updating more often. It is a product of some other changes in my life I am making, which are all good and necessary. I’ll explain.

Recently my friend Bianca and I were shopping for peanut butter and beer together (as you do) and I told her about all the nut butters I already had at home (almond butter, chunky peanut butter, cashew butter, dark chocolate peanut butter)… as I picked up two new jars to purchase (maple peanut butter and white chocolate peanut butter). She accused me of being a hoarder, and after thinking about it for a moment, I realized that she was right. I’m particularly bad about the nut butters because I love them so (I don’t want you to think I keep six kinds of everything on hand), but I admit it, the label fits.

Hello, my name is poopie, and I am a hoarder. Problem number one.

The Brit and I are going through a financial program to help us budget better and get out of debt. Oh yes, the evil thing that no one wants to talk about. We have DEBT. Budgeting can be difficult for us because since we’re both self-employed, our income is anything but steady and reliable. We have to keep a large sum of money in the bank at all times, because income could dry up at any given moment and we still have bills to pay. I’m hoping this program will help give us some tools to make things more efficient.

In going through this program and making a budget etc, I realized how much we were eating out. And more importantly, how much we were SPENDING on eating out. Ouch. Problem number two.

These two things combined to result in a new resolution for me: we will still allow ourselves to eat out once a week, but the rest of the time I will cook.

So far I’m sticking to meal plans, and actually enjoying it. It’s more fun to cook when you know ahead of time what you’re going to make, and already have the ingredients on hand. I’m even doing some prep the day before so the cooking goes faster. The Brit has been much more open to my cooking than in the past, and he hasn’t eaten meat since Monday! It is cheaper and healthier than eating out, and it is abundantly more rewarding. Plus, I’m slowly making my way through my over-stocked pantry.

So, more structure = more home-cooked meals = more pictures = more blogging!

If you’ve actually made it this far without leaving, thank you. I will now reward you with pictures of food. And for those of you who just scrolled down to get to the goods… you’re probably not reading this either so I don’t know why I’m even addressing you.

Last night I made another tester recipe for Bianca‘s cookbook. If you’ve never lived in the south, you’ve probably never heard of the phenomenon that is chicken and waffles. It’s pretty popular in these parts, and seeing as Bianca‘s cookbook is of SOUTHERN vegan food, it pretty much had to be in there.

She’s done it again with this recipe. The beer battered chicken fried tofu is out of this world, the waffles are perfect and the maple-dijon sauce? Unbelievable.

The Brit opted to eat his the traditional way:

I took Bianca‘s suggestion and made it into the most amazing wafflewich ever. I wasn’t sure if I would like it all put together like this, but I had no trouble polishing it off once I tasted it. OH YES.

Last but certainly not least, brunch this morning. I’ve had a lot of trouble with pancake recipes for some reason… they never work for me. So this morning, I put away my cookbooks, closed my computer, and used the force. I mean, I trusted my instincts and what I know about cooking and baking, and made pancakes without a recipe. These were THE BEST pancakes I have ever made (thank goodness I wrote down what I did after I took my first bite!). They need a little tweaking, but for a first try at my own recipe, I was very pleased.

And so, without further ado, I give you: Blueberry Pancakes.

I hope that picture was worth reading through the whole damn post.

What you want, baby I got it

poopiebitch — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:07:00 +0000

I made this a few weeks ago and have only just got around to uploading the pictures – shameful! Another tester for Bianca, and another winner! Southern Fried Tempeh Steak with Milk Gravy, and Creamy Corn Casserole (served up with mashed potatoes and peas).

The fried tempeh was sooooo good!

And the corn casserole was so rich and creamy and decadent. The Brit said he ‘loved’ both of these dishes – score!

Next up, dinner loaf. I’ve been trying to use up stuff I already have on hand, and this fit in with that plan nicely. I used this tool to build my recipe, changing just a couple of things to fit what I had on hand and personal preferences. Another hit with The Brit – he even asked me to make sure I wrote down what I did so I could make it the same way again. Served with mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy (not shown). Sorry for the mediocre picture, but you get the idea.

And last, but certainly not least, orange tamarind glazed tofu! This was really yummy, just a teensy bit too sour. Next time I will cut down a little on the tamarind paste – otherwise, super good. Served up with quinoa, peas and glazed carrots.

That’s it for now – look forward to more frequent updates from now on… find out why in my next post!

The last of the travels

poopiebitch — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:02:00 +0000

In Nashville we got to meet up with a couple of people from the PPK for brunch at Fido. It was super-fun and yummy, although I didn’t manage to get any pictures of my food (sorry!).

Here’s the adorable Annieeggplant, who was kind enough to grace us with her awesome presence:

And of course, what would a trip to Nashville be without a visit with the fabulous johnp? Here he is holding the famous little blue monster made by pandacookie:

Thanks so much to John for organizing such a fun get-together! It was really great meeting you two!

After Nashville we wound up driving to Asheville NC, you know, just for fun. After just a little searching online we found this fantastic place called The Green Sage:

I opted for a soy latte:

And this enormous brunch plate with scrambled tofu, sweet potato home fries, vegan sausage, a giant vegan biscuit(!) and Earth Balance. Holy yum, this was good.

It was freezing out, so after we finished eating brunch we decided to stick around in the warmth for a bit longer and indulge in a little Earl Grey tea. They had soy milk, rice milk, agave and stevia on the condiment bar! I love Asheville.

That’s it for our trip out east. Last week The Brit and I went to TX to visit the grandparents, so of course a visit to Spiral Diner was in order. The Brit and I each ordered a sandwich and split them, so we could both try a couple of things.

We got the Meatball Sub:

And the Chopped BBQ Seitan:

We both agreed that the BBQ Seitan sandwich was better, but we managed to finish them both anyway After lunch I ordered an almond milk latte with vanilla syrup. It was soooo good.

Check out that foam:

Of course, I couldn’t leave without dessert. We ordered the ‘Deathstar Sundae’, which was a warm brownie with homemade vanilla ‘i-scream’ and soy whipped cream, with a shot of espresso on the side to pour over the whole thing. The Brit didn’t really like it (he’s not much of a sweets person), so I had to eat most of it. Such a sacrifice, right?

Overall, this visit to Spiral Diner went over with The Brit much better than last time, and that in itself made me happier than the food did. Well, almost.

No New York Yet -OR- I love alliteration

poopiebitch — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Yeah, that’s right, my lazy ass hasn’t sorted through the pictures from NYC yet. I will do it, I promise. I have been cooking though! Shown below, in a somewhat nonsensical dinner-lunch-breakfast order, are my latest yummies.

First off, Bianca‘s Chipotle Chickpea Chili, another tester for her book. Holy mother of beans, this stuff is good. Even The Brit ate it, and he’s the pickiest person I know. I made some double corn bread muffins to go along with it. Thank goodness this made enough for leftovers tonight, because I’ve been craving it since I got up this morning. I almost had it for breakfast. Seriously.

Up next, I have possibly boring but incredibly delicious lunches from the last couple of days. First, roasted red pepper hummus, avocado, tomato and cucumber in a whole wheat pita. So easy. So good.

Next, essentially the same thing but with leftover tempeh bacon and Vegenaise in place of the hummus. Serious yum.

Last, breakfast this morning was tofu scramble, which is so hard to photograph because it rarely looks pretty, but I tried anyway. This was basically a ‘clean out the fridge before I go out of town again’ breakfast, using up leftover tofu, mushrooms and onion. I normally like something green in my scramble, but I didn’t have anything so I tossed in some sun-dried tomatoes instead. Doesn’t really make sense, but whatever. The muffins are just leftover cornbread with blueberry jam.

The Brit and I are leaving tomorrow to go to Nashville for the weekend, so I probably won’t post again until Monday. Have a good weekend everyone!

VietNOM NOM NOMese

poopiebitch — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:49:00 +0000

I’ve tried to kick the coffee habit. I really have… but it’s so HARD.

Yesterday I went out with some fellow veggies to Pho Hoa Binh, a local Vietnamese restaurant. I had never been there before, but I will definitely be back. It was so. good.

We started off with spring rolls, which were HUGE. Filled with fried tofu, lettuce, tomato and vermicelli, served with a yummy peanut dipping sauce. I could just order a few of these and make a meal of them.

The food came out ‘family style’, which was awesome because everyone got to taste everyone else’s dish. This was especially good since I was a little creeped out by my choice – Hunan Wheat Gluten. I should have known better when the server described it as ‘imitation duck’, but I ordered it anyway. It was kind of chewy, and very meat-like. Eerily so. The flavor was good, but something about the texture kind of made me uncomfortable (I should have listened to Bianca and ordered the tofu – that’s what I get for being insolent).

Bianca from Vegan Crunk had this awesome tofu and mushroom dish. The sauce made the dish, really… so good.

Amberlyn ordered the Veggie Delight – yummy steamed veggies including bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, water chestnuts (I think?) among other things I don’t remember.

Leslie ordered what turned out to be my favorite dish – the Lemongrass Tofu. I don’t know what’s in this, but it’s basically just a bunch of yummy fried tofu in a yummy seasoning. Not exactly healthy, but damn tasty. Plus, Leslie let me take some home for leftovers (thanks, girl!).

Vaughan had a really tasty Snow Pea and Mushroom dish, but my picture turned out all blurry so you’ll just have to imagine that one. Sorry. All in all it was an awesome meal, and a good time was had by all.

Last, I leave you with a recipe! I made mock tuna salad again, and this time I actually recorded what I put in. It’s a good thing, too, because this time it turned out even yummier than last time.

Poopiebitch’s Vegan Tuna Salad:

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 sheets nori, toasted
1 tsp kelp powder
scant ½ cup Vegenaise
¼ cup + 1 TBS prepared mustard
½ cup minced red onion
½ cup minced celery
½ cup Wickles relish (or other pickle relish)
1 TBS nooch (nutritional yeast)
1 TBS Bragg Liquid Aminos (or tamari or soy sauce)
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp celery seed
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse chickpeas well and set aside to drain. Toast nori and pulse in food processor until no large pieces remain. Add chickpeas and pulse until mushy but not smooth – careful not to over process, we’re looking for a little texture, not pureed into a paste.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well and check for seasoning. It is better the next day so make it in advance and resist the urge to eat it all the first day if possible. If you make it the day you plan to eat it, at least give it a couple of hours to chill through as it really improves the flavor.

This recipe does make a lot (which I recommend because you will want a lot, but it can easily be halved if you prefer). My favorite way to eat it is on Whole Wheat Ritz crackers, but it’s good as a dip for veggies and on sandwiches too.