Mile High Pesto Veggie/Tofu Sandwich on Pizza Bread

A sandwich that fills the average bear!
 

Ingredients
The Hungry Vegan Bear's Pesto
Trader Joe's basil and herb pizza dough
3 slices of Trader Joe's baked tofu
olive oil
2 cloves of fresh garlic
2 slices of tomato
3 Crimean mushrooms
3 slices of red pepper
1 slice of yellow squash
handful of fresh spinach
sea salt
pepper

This recipe makes a half a sandwich, but after a very long day at work I found that this sandwich more than filled me up during dinner time.  And the best part is that it is quick, very quick, to make.

First make the pesto in a blender or food processor.

Pesto Ingredients 9 Trader Joe's basil stems (pluck off leaves)
1/2 c ground raw almonds
1 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/2 c vegan Parmesan cheese

Next, take some of the dough, about a size of a racquetball, and flatten it a little bit.  Make sure your fry pan is heating for a bit at a higher temperature, but don't put it on high unless you want to burn the pizza dough on the outside and have it raw on the inside.  Place the dough in the heated pan and then flip when it becomes golden brown.  I cut the bread once it was out of the pan, but be very careful if you do this as the oil could burn you.  Then spread about a tablespoon of the pesto on each side of the bread. 

Cut and slice all of the veggies.  I heated all of the veggies in the fry pan with a bit of salt, pepper, and the two cloves of garlic.   The veggies cook very fast, so be on your feet!  The three slices of tofu I did not heat on the stove, but since everything else was hot it really didn't matter all that much. 

Serving size: 1 hungry vegan bear

Saucy Apple Sauce

Trader Joe's Gala apples made great sauce!

I love the fall season.  The smell of apples cooking on the stove top or pumpkin pie sitting and cooling on a rack brings a smile to my face.  These simple pleasures not only warm the heart on a brisk November day, but it also warms the spirit...OH and it makes the house or apartment, in my case, smell delicious!

This evening I had a bag of apples sitting in my refrigerator that have been staring at me for the past week begging for me to use them.  I know, I should have just eaten them raw if it bothered me so much, but these were not the best apples to eat raw.  They were a bit flavorless and blah, so I decided my only option for these apples were to mash them into submission and make sauce.

When I visit my parent's home in the fall, I mentally cross my fingers that my mom will make apple sauce.  I don't know why or how, but she makes the best apple sauce I've ever had.  Every year I try to recreate her sauce, but it never quite comes out like her recipe.  I think this has something to do with the simple fact that it is made by my mother.  What I find most entertaining about her apple sauce is that it is not just a sauce, but a dessert. 

Below is my own creation that was tangy and delicious on a cool Culver City evening.
The Hungry Vegan Bear's Saucy Apple Sauce
2 lb. bag of Gala apples
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp Bourbon vanilla
2 tsp nutmeg
splash of water

Begin by peeling the apples and cutting out the core.  Next, slice and cut the apple into cubes.  I like the cubes because this allows for a thicker version while mashing.  I usually have a few larger lumps in my sauce, which I like because it feels more filling later on when I'm consuming a bowlful.  Add the cubed apples to a pan with a splash of water and set the heat on the stove top to about a medium heat.  At this point, I add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.  Then cover the apples and let it simmer on the stove top until it comes to a boil.  Then uncover and begin to mash a few of the softer apples on the bottom of the pan.

I'm a firm believer in heat fluctuation, which means that I usually dip down the heat from the medium and then back up, if the apples or stove top is not cooperating.  Once I've done this a couple of times, I set the sauce on low, mashing and stirring, and allow the sauce to simmer. 

The preparation and cooking time is around 30 minutes.  Once the sauce is done, allow it to cool, and then serve with soy milk, whipped cream, or soy dessert.  Or, for you traditionalists out there, simply dish out a scoop or two into a bowl and serve.

Fennel is Fantastic!



Fennel is refreshing, especially during the warm
days and nights in my neck of the woods!

Fresh fennel is a tad sweet, quite hearty and, oddly enough, very filling for a vegetable.  And what I enjoy most about fennel is that there is no need to over season with this veggie, because of its own aromatic flavor.

Tools
knife
cutting board
tin foil 
grill (optional)

Ingredients
1 fresh fennel bulb
2 sm zucchini squash
1 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp canola oil

First, peel back the thicker fennel leaves and discard them.  Next, chop the green ends off of the bulb and cut out the hard center.  I cubbed the fennel into bite sized pieces.  Also, I sliced the squash, but since the squash cooks a bit faster than the fennel, I made sure that my squash chunks were a bit thicker-I didn't want the squash to overcook. 

This recipe can be created by using a grill, which is what I did, or by baking in the oven.  Place the veggies in the tin foil, add the oil, and basil.  Once it is mixed together, seal the foil and place over the grill.

The cooking time on the grill was about 8-10 minutes.  I had it over very hot coals.  My advice, if your grill is running hot, is to set the veggies to the side and allow them the time to steam without buring.