still drooling from dinner
December 14, 2010 And so the smoked paprika obsession continues….
I mean how could it not?? And it’s so pretty with it’s deep red color. Very festive, don’t you think? Something about the smoky flavor is just so comforting. I keep thinking of new ways to use it. Last night I loaded it onto kale when making kale chips. Awesome. It’s been topped on a salad with pepitas, carrots, mixed greens, walnut oil, and balsamic. Awesome.
And here we have my latest use. This also uses nutritional yeast, which a lot of you said that you’re scared to use, or don’t know how to use. Well here is one way to put it to good use. Over the summer, Angela posted a recipe for vegan parmesan cheese that she found from VegFamily.
It’s a mixture of toasted sesame seeds + nutritional yeast + salt. You whirl it in the food processor and it turns into a very similar taste + texture to the parmesan cheese you find in those shaky cans. However, much more nutritious.
Well this is a spin on the original, and I must say, it is even better!
Smoked Vegan Parmesan “Cheeze”
- 1/2c toasted sesame seeds
- 3T nutritional yeast
- 1/2t fine grain sea salt
- 3/4t smoked paprika
- 1/2t garlic powder
- fresh ground black pepper [about 10 grinds]
- In a small pan over med-low heat, toast sesame seeds until golden brown. Watch closely, stirring often, as they will burn quickly!
- Pour sesame seeds and all other ingredients into a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder. [I used my mini processor for this]
- Whirl this away until powdery. You shouldn’t see many whole seeds.
Today I ate this caked onto fresh cut carrots. Other ideas?
- kale chips
- cooked veggies, I’m thinking broccoli in particular
- salads for sure
- popcorn!!
- homemade crackers
- buttered toast
- eggs
- veggie sandwiches
The list goes on. And on.
I ate the whole pile…oh yes I did. It’s filled with healthy fats, protein + b12!
I stored it in my favorite glass jar. How cute is this squatty, bulbous Crofter’s jam jar?? I love it. Definitely a fun gift if you’re putting together a foodie holiday basket for a friend!!
Definitely needs to go on popcorn. ASAP.
As if my taste buds weren’t dancing enough, it got even better with dinner. So much so that I’m still drooling from this meal.
Tempeh is back. We had a short hiatus because I overdid it a tad, but I’m loving it once again. This might take the win for my favorite way to use tempeh….ever!
A little back story. Chris + I used to frequent a restaurant called Vine Street in Denver. It’s a brewery that operates out of 3 restaurants in Boulder + Denver [they all have different names]. We used to go there about 2-3 times a month. They have a rockin’ menu that is extremely vegetarian + vegan friendly. Not to mention a great selection of bears and everything is cheap! Chris has been hooked on their tempeh reuben for the longest time. I never ordered it myself, but would always steal a delicious bite or two. They actually beer bake the tempeh with the brewery beer and it is amazing. I haven’t been able to replicate their tempeh, but tonight’s recipe is just as delicious.
Since living in Ft. Collins, we haven’t gotten to Vine Street much at all. When visiting Mama Pea a few weeks ago, she made a vegan tempeh reuben, for one of the meals I was photographing. It was outstanding and reminded me that I need to give this a go at home myself! Look for her vegan version in the Peas & Thank You cookbook this August. I mmm’d my way through the whole thing! :)
I was never a reuben person though. I think it was the sauerkraut. Never been a fan…until the tempeh version.
I assure you, this beats out the original.
I played with the light box for the next 4 photos. I’m liking them in a different way from daylight photos. They don’t feel as light + clean, but they give a little edge to the photos. And I like it.
Tempeh Reuben [serves 2]
tempeh marinade
- 8oz package plain or 5 grain tempeh [West Soy is my favorite brand]
- 4 slices rye bread [or whole wheat]
- 3T tamari
- 1/4c red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2T olive oil
- 1/4c water
- 1t caraway seeds
- 1t thyme
- 1t onion powder
- 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
- fresh ground black pepper [about 15 cranks]
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- Cut 1/8” slices of tempeh with a sharp knife.
- Steam for ~5min to help absorb flavors when marinating. *This is optional but works really well, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to marinade the tempeh.
- Whisk together ingredients in a 9x9 baking dish.
- Place tempeh strips in pan and flip once, so they are coated.
- Place in the fridge for at least 30min.
- Flip again and marinade for at least another 30min.
- Grease a large pan and set to med-high.
- Once hot, in a single layer, add the tempeh strips + half of the marindade.
- Cook for about 5min until lightly browned and flip.
- Cook another 3-5min until browned.
- Turn off heat and add to toasted bread.
- Top with thousand island, cheese, + sauerkraut.
quickie thousand island dressing [adapted from here]
- 4T safflower oil mayo
- 3T sweet pickled relish, drained
- 2T ketchup
- 1/4t onion powder
- fresh ground black pepper
- pinch of salt
- Whisk together.
I’m not a mayo lover at all, but this was super tasty!
Cut. Consume. Drool on your own food.
This was completely out of control. I had a thin layer of cheddar, which should have been swiss, and I forgot to pick up rye bread. I can’t even imagine how delicious it will be with those 2 additions. I did add caraway seeds to the marinade so it would have that nice rye bread flavor though!
Totally messy, packed with flavor, and amazing textures. Loved the contrast of the crunchy toasted bread, soft tempeh, and crunchy sauerkraut.
Are you curious about the fries? You should be!!
Smoked Paprika Fries [serves 2]
- 3 medium yukon gold potatoes
- 1T olive oil
- salt + pepper
- garlic powder
- parsley
- smoked paprika
- Preheat oven to 400*
- Slice taters into fry size.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Spread taters on the sheet and coat with oil.
- Sprinkle on salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley and paprika. Load up on that paprika!!
- Toss to coat and put in the oven for about 35-40min, until golden brown.
- Stir 1-2 times while cooking, and taste towards the end to see if you need to add more seasoning.
Crunchy, puffy, smoky baked healthy fries!!
As soon as I get back from Cleveland, this is going to be repeated. Unless of course my mom + dad want to give it a go. We’ll see. ;)
<3 Ashley
Have you voted for Angela yet?? She made it to the last round of Project Food Blog, and I couldn’t be happier for her!
Recipes, fries, nutritioinal yeast, potatoes, sandwich, smoked paprika, tempeh 
Reader Comments (74)
Mmm, this looks fabulously fabulous. I order a tempeh reuben from one of my favorite restaurants every time I go there, and recreated it once... oh so good. I think I recall feeling the same way... not even hungry anymore but wanting another! :D
i JUST got some noosh! thank you for the delicious recipes!
WOWZAS- that meal looks divine! I have to try those fries!
nomnomnom. I needed some food inspiration lately. Hello, tempeh reuben!
I can see why you are still drooling for dinner that looks great and easily veganizable. I have never tried West Soy tempeh- I don't think we can get it here. We actually have a great local company that makes tempeh though.
I hate the real word for nutritional yeast..I don't even want to write it out. I do think its pretty cool that you can get such a healthy equivalent to real cheese taste, but to be honest, I really dislike parmesan that comes out of a can, so the taste is still not something I would want if I could have the option for the real thing. I've had nutritional yeast, but the nacho-y cheesy taste isn't for me. But it's a really great vegan option.
An everyday dip for veggies is a different matter though! Yum
Oh my Ashley, this looks out of this world!!!!!!
Your dinner looks great. I need to get around to trying nutritional yeast - I've heard so many good things about it and seen some fabulous looking recipes.
All these vegan foods that food blogs have introduced me to! I still need to try a lot of them. I agree, paprika is delicious!
Love, love, LOVE the new header! :-)
Loving the new header!! It's so comforting for the cold winter weather!
Dudette: your recipes make me want to burn my vegan cookbooks, as none of their recipes look this good! Also, your new header rules!
xo
As much as I love tempeh, can you believe I've never had it in a sandwich? Craziness, I know. This looks AMAZING though...and I think it's time to replenish my nutritional yeast stash to make that cheese as well!
your dinner is making ME drool too...holy yum! i need more smoked paprika in my life...off i go to costco :)
Ok, I think you have now convinced me to go out and buy some smoked paprika ;)
When you make a plate to put in the lightbox, do you eat it afterwards, even ice cold? I love taking a million photos of the food but I start to freak out about it getting cold and not wanting it, so I eventually stop to eat it lukewarm :)
this is a dumb question but does smoked paprika taste smokey? I don't really like smoke flavor but I like every recipe of yours I try, so I might have to give it a whirl.
Wow. Just wow. I'm making this. Pretty much ASAP. :D
xo
Wow!!! Looks fabulous!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!! WOW!!!
I love all your pictures and how much time you take with photographing your food!!!
Yea, I drooled. And I currently have 2 packets of Tempeh that NEED to be used! This will be perfect!
There is quite a few ingredients in this that I haven't tried--but it still looks fabulous!
Oh yes! Your Dad wants to have that samich and fries. I've never been a ruben guy either, but will have to try that. Great photos.
I can't wrap my mind around how all of those things will combine to taste like cheese, but I trust you and Angela.
I need smoked paprika in my hands! I've got regular and use it a ton, but smoked sounds delicious. Can you believe i've never tried tempeh? You make it look so good!
youre so very talented...
I store my ground flax seed in that jar; it's super cute.
I can say with certainty that I need a tempeh reuben in my life! :)
I have never tried Tempah. Quite frankly, it scares me a bit. Considering I have loved nearly every other "weird food" I've tried since reading blogs, maybe I should give it a go? I guess I have no idea what to expect and it looks..interesting...so it scares me.
I totally understand...I can explain it perfectly to you though. Imagine you cook a pot of short grain brown rice. Or some other sort of chubby thick rice. Yes, I called rice chubby. Now imagine you took that rice and compressed it into a brick. It's still soft, but holds it's solid form. The West Soy brand [5 grain] tastes very similar to brown rice and texture too. I always say it's like compressed rice! haha I've had other brands [the one that comes in the long skinny package] that have a weird sort of bitter taste...try to find west soy!
This made me laugh because I store my grown flax seed in a 1/2 gallon mason jar...yes, I keep that much ground flax seed on hand!! hehe
You're so very kind. :)
I'm not sure what regular paprika is for though...I've used it a few times, but it seems to not really have any flavor to me. When I smell it, there's not really much there...am I missing something? :) hehe
I can't even tell you how hungry I am right now. And the green juice I was going to have just ain't gonna cut it now.
Thanks for the idea on how to use nutritional yeast. I have a ton that I don't know what to do with!
holy smokes.... I want to eat this right now! suddenly my lunch looks sad and terribly unappetizing. :P
thank you for this!!!!!
Ok, so I'm a die hard rueben lover, but since I started eating healthier I haven't had one! I NEED to try this recipe... However, you are missing out on a key step... I have had many many ruebens, but there is one thing that sets an "amazing" rueben apart...
this is a secret.. but I'm going to tell you anyway: GRILL your sauerkraut. Put a little in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and caramelize it a little and let some of the ends get just a little crispy. Trust me on this one, it's worth it. :)
This is what were having for dinner tonight. It's decided!
I will try to help :) Sesame seeds have a pretty nutty flavor. When you brown them it intensifies. Parmesan cheese definitely has a very nutty flavor and it's also salty, which is why the salt is added to the mix. Nutritional yeast is a bit salty tasting and just happens to have a natural cheese-like flavor. Combine all of those and you have a parmesan-like blend...and then adding the smoked paprika is even more delicious!
Thanks dad!
I can't stop thinking about it....if I had leftovers they would have been eaten for breakfast.
You are so sweet...thank you!
I'm only sort of laughing..hehehe..Yes, it's very smokey, so you probably would not enjoy it. :) It's not spicy but very smokey!
It never ends up getting cold. Typically, I'm only taking photos for 1-2min at the most. I raaarely have to reheat my food. :)
This is awesome, Ashley! That reuben was the first thing I ever ordered at Vine and it was so delicious. I've been meaning to replicate it at home but I'm lazy. Looks like you did all the work for me he he. Will be trying this ASAP.
muahahaa....I'm trying!!
That is carazy! :) You must give it a go!
This literally had me LOL'ing. You are awesome. Thank youuuu!! Also, this isn't totally vegan..but if you leave off the cheese + sub vegan mayo it surely is! :)
Thanks love!! I was so sick of the apricots...hopefully I'll change this one before summer comes ;)
THANK you!!
It's definitely sort of a mysterious ingredient but I love it :)