Vegan Eastern Carolina Style BBQ Jackfruit Recipe

Do you love vinegar based BBQ, or buffalo sauce? Do you crave new ways to stuff your face with spicy vinegary goodness? Okay, well maybe I'm the only one who likes to take a swig of hot sauce in-between dashing it on the food stuffs. So I will tone down the cayenne in this recipe just for that reason!

Eastern Carolina Style BBQ Jackfruit

2 cans brined Jackfruit (They sell it in syrup, not a good idea)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbs molasses
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs hot sauce
1/2 Tbs cayenne

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk till sugar is dissolved. Drain the jackfruit and chop to BBQ-esque sized pieces. mix the sauce and jackfruit together in bowl. Cover and let marinade for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. You can go overnight and it will just make everything taste better. Heat till just boiling, then let simmer for at least 10 minutes (tip: I added a 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil to the BBQ while simmering... the thought being that some fat might enhance the yum factor). Serve on hamburger buns, with coleslaw if you so choose.

chopped jackfruit

Easy Coleslaw

1/4 head cabbage (shredded)
2 carrots (shredded)
2 tsp celery seed
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Veganaise
salt and pepper to taste

mix all ingredients in a bowl. Chill and serve a top your BBQ sandwich.

How to throw a Vegan Holiday Cocktail Party for CHEAP!!!!

All this for less than $50!

Step one: Cocktails

• look at the liquor you already have and try to find drinks that will use your pre-existing liquor supplies.  For me, it was a ginger liquor and orange vanilla liquor. Together with a bit of lime and ginger ale, you have "Gingerbread Punch"! Very festive, no?
• Also ask your guests to bring either something that can be eaten with a tooth pick or some sort of alcohol. Most of my guests either brought wine or champagne. We mixed the champagne with some pre-existing Chamboard. This is called a Kir Royale (ooh, fancy!).

Step two: Food

At a cocktail party, you want food that can be nibbled on throughout the evening, and stuff that won't get your fancy cocktail dress dirty, even after you've had one too many cocktails!

• Hummus: 1 drained can chick peas, 1/4 cup tahini, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons EVOO, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, and juice from one lemon. Blend till creamy in a food processor.
• Pinwheels: tortillas, spinach, red pepper, avocado and hummus made from the above recipe. spread hummus and veggies on tortilla, roll up and slice into 3/4 in pieces. Stack the pinwheels on a plate.
• Lemony Edamame Dip: 1 1/2 cup shelled and cooked edamame beans, 1/2 cup cooked peas, juice from one lemon, salt, cayenne pepper, 2 Tablespoons EVOO, 1/4 cup water. Blend till creamy in a food processor.
• White Bean and Artichoke Dip: 1 drained can cannelleni beans, 1/2 cup marinaded artichokes, 3 cloves garlic, 1/4 pitted kalamata olives, parsley, salt, 1 tablespoon EVOO. Blend all ingredients till creamy in food processor, then add chopped olives, mix well.
• Pita Chips: Purchase one package pre-made pita bread. Slice into triangles (like you would a pizza). Pre-heat oven to 350. In a separate bowl, pour EVOO. split the pita apart at pre-separated part and lightly coat the rough side with the olive oil. place coated side up on a baking tray. sprinkle all slices with salt and bake for 10-12 minutes.
• bruschetta: Buy 2 pre-made french baguettes. slice thin and arrange on a baking sheet. top with diced tomatoes, chopped pitted black olives, EVOO, salt and chopped basil. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400.
• Cupcakes. I made Red Velvet and Golden Vanilla (dyed green) with cream cheese frosting from VEGAN CUPCAKES TAKE OVER THE WORLD. Festive.

Step 3: Decorate

• Thrift Store. $1 strands of light, $.50-$1 glass ware, $.10 cloth napkins etc.
• Dollar Store. Mistletoe and whatever else you want for faux greenery

Step 4: Music

• Pandora on the computer, find a style of holiday music and voila! Holiday soundtrack!

Okay, I provided all that I can. The rest is up to you, young padawon.

Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup from Scratch

Now that December has rolled in, the weather has officially turned chilly! And while a good ol' fashioned can of tomato soup is vegan, I wanted to make something healthy, fresh, and without all the preservatives one might find in traditional condensed soups. So here you go: 

Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

• 4 diced garlic cloves 
• 2 Tbs vegan butter (Earth Balance or in a pinch, Betty Crocker Light)
• 4 medium to large diced tomatoes 
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

Blend your cashews and 1/2 cup broth in a food processor or with your handy dandy immersion blender until smooth, then set aside for later. Saute the garlic in the butter.  Add your diced tomatoes (try to keep as much of the tomato juice as possible during the dicing) and 1/4 cup of remaining broth. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and let cool for about another 10-15 minutes.

Make yourself a Daiya cheddar grilled cheese sandwich in the mean time to go with you soup. Mmm, mmm good!

Blend the tomato mixture with an immersion blender in the pot until smooth. Add 1/3 cup nutritional yeast and pulse a couple times. Lastly, add the cashew/broth mixture and blend until creamy. Season with salt and pepper and pulse a few more times until complete.
I am hoping you know what to do next...