This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Emril Lagasse.  I have used this recipe many times before I became vegan and love it.  So I finally got around to veganizing it for Fat Tuesday.  This Jambalaya has chicken substitute and Tofurky Kielbasa.  I sometimes make my own andouille, but since I did not have any in the freezer Tofurky worked great in this recipe.

The Tofurky Kielbasa held up well in the jambalaya.  For the chicken, I used Morningstar Farms strips.  There are so many great chicken substitutes.  Gardein Chick’n Scallopini would probably work well in this as well.  Have you heard that Gardein is going to have a chick’n strip product?  I can’t wait!

Have you gone to any Mardi Gras celebrations?  I love this time of year.  It makes me start thinking about Spring.  It will soon be sunny and warmer.  I always feel like going in to hibernation during winter.  It is so difficult to get outside.  I even find myself running on my treadmill instead of braving the elements.  But Mardi Gras is a great time of the year.  There is always great food and drinks at all of the parties.

Easter always reminds me of my favorite Easter candy.  Oh how I used to love Cadbury Mini Eggs.  Oh how I miss thee!  I have many other favorite candies that are only available during Easter, but Mini Eggs were my absolute favorite.  Okay, enough reminiscing.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Vegan Jambalaya adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse

1/2 package vegan chicken product, thawed for 30 minutes and diced

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 can (14 oz) Rotel (chopped tomatoes with chiles)

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

3/4 cup rice

3 cups water with 1 tablespoon No Chicken Bouillon Base or vegetable stock

1 link Tofurky Kielbasa or homemade Andouille sausage, sliced

1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

Directions

In a bowl combine vegan chicken and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well. Cook the vegan chicken and sausage in 1 tablespoon olive oil until lightly browned.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat with onion, pepper and celery, 3 minutes.

Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Stir in rice and slowly add broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

When rice is just tender add chicken and sausage. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Add scallions and season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning.  Add some chopped flat leaf parsley, if desired.

I got over a virus that I had a couple a few weeks ago to now get struck with a sinus infection.  A sinus infection is the worst.  At one point I felt like my head was going to explode.  No other way to describe it except it is miserable.  So I am looking forward to not being sick any more.  I have not been able to run in about a month.  I can tell you that a runner who cannot run, is not a happy person.

Dinner was going to be quick and easy.  That is why I like Gardein products.  Most of the products can be used to make dinner in less than half an hour.  I usually have several in the freezer for days when I work late or just do not want to spend a lot of time preparing dinner.  Our favorites are the Crispy Tenders, Mandarin Orange Chick’n and the Beefless Burgers.

We had the Crispy Tenders with mashed potatoes and creamed corn.  I made a dipping sauce using blackberry jam and sriracha sauce.  I thought the sweet and spicy combination would be good.  It turned out to be a nice dipping sauce for the tenders.  Many times, the hubby dips his tenders in ketchup.  Tonight he used the dipping sauce that I made.  He likes anything with sriracha like I do.

The Washington Post had a nice article a couple of weeks ago about Sticky Fingers Bakery.  The owner, Doran Petersan,  wrote a cookbook which was just released on February 15th.  It is a nice article about Doran becoming vegan and some history of the Sticky Fingers Bakery.  Plus there is a recipe for Vegan Champagne Cupcakes that sounds wonderful.

I think I have mentioned previously that I listen to Sirius radio on my commutes to work.  One of my favorite shows is Morning Living on Martha Stewart Living Radio.  Last week Betsy, one of the hosts, was talking about a soup that she frequently makes.  It sounded so good that I just had to make it.  This recipe appeared in Everyday Food Magazine several years ago.

The soup has soba noodles and spinach in it as well as a few other ingredients.  The original recipe had chicken stock in it, which can easily be made vegan by using vegetable stock or as I used, No Chicken Bouillon Base.  This soup is simple yet has so much flavor.  I think the lime juice is what sets this apart from other soups.  It makes such a wonderful addition.  I love shiitake mushrooms and there are plenty in this soup.  This is just such a great tasting soup.  This is going to be one of my go to soup recipes.  I could probably eat this soup every day.

Soba Noodle Soup with Spinach-Everyday Food

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 ounces shiitake mushrooms (stems removed), caps thinly sliced

4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

Coarse salt

3 2/3 cup No Chicken Bouillon Base or Vegetable Stock

1/2 package (4.4 ounces) soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)

1 bunch flat-leaf spinach, torn

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add mushrooms, scallion whites, garlic, and ginger; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, 6 minutes.

Add broth and 3 cups water; bring to a boil. Add soba; reduce to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook just until tender, about 1 minute. Add lime juice and soy sauce. Serve topped with scallion greens.