What Do Vegans Eat? Food that Rocks!

I made a couple of recipes from "Vegan with a Vengeance" this week that I've never made before. This is an awesome cookbook from the Post-Punk Kitchen founder Isa Chandra Moskowitz. This isn't a cookbook that requires you to buy a bunch of obscure and expensive ingredients. It's full of simple, economical, and, so far, delicious recipes. I neglected to take pictures of the food before we ate it. You'll just have to take me at my word when I say they looked delicious as well. Here are the recipes. Let me know if you try either.

Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins

for muffins:
1 and 1/2 c flour
1/4 c plus 2 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground allspice
1/8 t ground cloves
1/4 t salt
3/4 c apple cider
1/3 c canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c grated apple
1/2 c chopped apple (1/4-inch pieces)

for topping:
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground allspice
pinch of salt
3 T canola oil

Prepare the topping by mixing all of the dry topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Drizzle the oil in while mixing with your fingertips until crumbs form. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the apple cider, oil, and vanilla. Mix, then fold in the grated and chopped apple.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each muffin. Bake for 22 minutes.

Tempeh Reuben Makes four sandwiches.

8 slices good, dark pumpernickel bread
8 t nonhydrogenated margarine
1 and 1/2 c sauerkraut
2 dill pickles, thinly sliced
1 avocado, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 pound tempeh, cut into four equal pieces, then cut through the middle so that you have eight thin squares

for the marinade:
1/2 c white cooking wine
2 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, smashed

for the dressing:
1/3 c Vegannaise
2 T ketchup
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T minced onion
3 t capers
2 T sweet pickle relish (or equivalent amount chopped pickles)
a pinch of cayenne

Prepare the tempeh:
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the tempeh and marinate for at least one hour, turning once.

Mix together all the dressing ingredients and set aside.

When the tempeh has marinated for an hour, preheat a grill pan over high heat. Cook the slices on the grill for 4 minutes on one side, until dark grill lines have appeared, then use tongs to flip them over and cook on the other side for about 3 minutes.

Prepare the sandwich:

Spread a teaspoon of margarine on each piece of bread. Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Fry each piece of bread on the buttered side for 3 minutes, flip over and cook one minute more.

Divide the ingredients equally among four buttered-side-down fried bread slices. Smother in dressing, top each serving with another slice of fried bread, nonbuttered side down, cut in half, and serve.