So I need some suggestions for some good picnic Vegan recipes

[LynneSin]

I was going to buy some Baked Beans but I only have one bathroom.

Anyone have any suggestions, rumor has it I'll have Vegans at my party

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Why don't you go to the Vegetarian and Vegan group?

aka the Tofu Ghetto. There's a sticky recipe thread at the top :)

[LynneSin]

2. But I don't know them that well

I prefer harassing you lovely folks of the lounge.

You and sniffa should come down and visit!

[graywarrior]

3. Here ya go

Take yer pick
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=vegan%2Cpicnic

[LynneSin]

4. I don't want to randomly just grab a recipe, I could have done that - geez

I was hoping that someone would share a family favorite vegan recipe that I could use.

Hell I"ll just put out a veggie tray and call it 'done'

[graywarrior]

5. No matter what you do, you'll never please a vegan anyhow.

Tell them you cut a carrot on the same cutting board you scaled a fish and they'll DIE!

Oh, and have a nice day BTW.

[madinmaryland]

6. How about some grilled corn on the cob?

[LynneSin]

9. Ok 2 problems with that

#1 - Corn on the Cob out of season sucks
#2 - the Grill I have for vegans can hold about 5 vegan patties at one time which means the corn would have to be grilled on the main grill which will have meat juices all over it

Please tell me you aren't vegan!

[madinmaryland]

18. We get corn on the cob at the grocery store year round.

It's not actually that bad!! My daughter got her braces off last month, and the first thing she wanted was corn on the cob, which we got for her (and us).

Easier yet, just boil them and serve them whenever you are ready!

BTW, the steak I ate last night was really good!!

[Parche]

7. Here

:woohoo: :woohoo: :hi:

[LeftyMom]

8. This recipe is teh awesome.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=231&topic_id=497&mesg_id=686

Hummus and pita chips is always a good option for easy vegan party food.

[ThomCat]

32. I'll second that!

:9

Hummus is always a great idea.

[AngryAmish]

10. Cuban sandwiches are always nice

[LynneSin]

11. Cool, being that I'm of Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage (Pig Roast anyone? Scrapple?)

What the hell is a Cuban Sandwich?

[AngryAmish]

15. They are tasty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_sandwich

[Chan790]

36. Yes, but how is a pressed ham, roast pork, and swiss cheese sandwich vegan?

[AngryAmish]

39. Nobody is really a vegan

They just say it to impress others. Nobody could do that in real life.

[madinmaryland]

20. ZOMG!! You're pennsylvania dutch also?

:scared:

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Are you looking for side dish ideas?

I can't certify vegan on this because I don't know all the finer points but the Moosewood cookbook's "Multi-Bean Salad" has always been a vegetarian crowd pleaser for me. The marinade does call for a small amount of red wine but that can be omitted for the sake of those guests who don't drink at all.

http://www.commongroundgrocery.com/recipes/beans/Bean_Salad.php

If you use canned beans, be sure to heat them, drain off the liquid and toss with the marinade while they're still warm for the best flavor. I usually mix fresh steamed green beans, chickpeas, and kidney or cannellini beans for a good contrast of size, texture, and color.

[LeftyMom]

13. All of those ingredients should be fine, except possibly for the red wine.

Wine is usually fined (treated so the particulates settle out) with non-vegan ingredients. It would be easiest to omit that, but I could dig up a list of vegan wines, if desired.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. I always like...

a nice pasta salad, made with tri-color rotelli, artichoke hearts, black olive, tomato, asparagus, corn, italian seasonings, olive oil and balsamic vinegar -- you can add just about any veg you want. I take this to parties and everyone always likes it.

[ThomCat]

33. I love making vegetable pasta salads.

If I'm making it just for me it always has black olives and red peppers in it, in addition to whatever else I'm in the mood for. And I always make a dill sauce for it. I'm addicted to dill. :9

[Hell Hath No Fury]

41. Since I'm a lacto-ovo veggie...

I make my home pasta/veggie salads with a four cheese tortellini -- it really makes a filling meal, with some lovely sourdough bread (grilled with olive oil and a rub of garlic) on the side. I am addicted to balsamic vinegar the way you are to dill -- I can't get enough of that stuff! :9 Black olive is a MUST for my pasta salads -- I also love a veg tapanade with black olive, tomato, basil, garlic, olive oil, and blasamic vinegar on toasted bagette.

There are sooo many flavors you can add to a pasta/veg salad through seasoning -- from Thai to Italian to Indian -- you're only limited by your imagination.

[XemaSab]

16. Is it a back yard picnic or a out in the countryside picnic?

'Cause veggie sammies with hummus are GOOD. :9

[flvegan]

17. You're inviting vegans to your party? Those sticks-in-the-mud?

They just plain suck to be around. "Dead animal" this and "are those shoes leather" that.

j/k

ANYway, Nasoya's TofuMate mix is a good vegan egg-salad mix (if you can find it);

Also, Trader Joe's/Wild Oats sells a kickass vegan spinach and artichoke dip.

Also, here's one of my favorite recipes for cold 'n filling food. Miso lime pesto pasta with cashews:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/8004

[kentauros]

19. Two more sites for recipes

You'll have to do your own searching, but there's much to see :)

VegWeb

VeggieBoards - recipes

also try Recipe Source for everything, including veggie cuisine.

[harmonicon]

21. hummus and falafel .... oh! and curried vegetables

I don't dare make my own falafel - I just use a mix, but I'm pretty sure that most of them are vegan.

It's easy to make loads of good hummus using a food processor/blender. Adjust amounts to taste (different chick peas will have different amounts of moisture in them, etc.).

1. put peeled garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in the blender. Blend it until it's smooth and liquidy.

2. Add drained and rinsed chick peas to the mix and blend them - you may have to use the pulse setting. How much you blend them depends on how chunky you want the final product to be.

3. Add in some tahini... or a lot. If you haven't used tahini for things before, you should know that you need to stir it up first. Also, make sure that it's just tahini, and not tahini sauce, which will have other ingredients in it. Mix all of that until it's uniform consistency.

If at any point while you're making it, it seems too stiff or lumpy, add some more olive oil - adding water won't be as good. If you think it could be more lemony, put more lemon in then too. Salt you can add whenever, if it needs more.

------

Another really good vegan recipe/thing (there isn't really a recipe) that I make:
cut up vegetables into decent sized bits - any will do, but it's especially good, I think, with zucchini as the majority. If you want it to be more hearty, you can also use potatoes and or sweet potatoes to the mix. White onions are almost essential. Peppers are also good

Preheat the oven to .... hot...

in a baking/casserole dish, mix olive oil, lemon juice sriracha (a garlic/chili paste - really spicy), a little chili powder and powdered ginger (fresh ground ginger is also good) and lots of curry powder. Some black pepper and salt maybe too. There shouldn't be a tone of this - just enough to coat everything and leave the bottom of the pan slightly more than greasy.

Add the vegetables to that (you can put the things like squash in first, because they'll really soak up the sauce) and mix it all up with your hands, making sure the saucy stuff covers everything.

Bake for a really long time.... at least an hour. Every 1/2 hour to hour, you should take it out and mix it all up so that everything gets equal time between being cooked in the sauce and being browned.

take it out - goes great with rice or couscous, but also makes for a fantastic sandwich filling.

[LynneSin]

22. WHAT!!! You think Bill O'Reilly is at this party or something

:crazy:

[kentauros]

25. Either that or plenty of folks

that love Mediterranean food :)

such as the following recipe of mine:

Pita Bread
Category: Breads
This recipe is suitable for a: vegetarian/vegan diet.

Ingredients:
-----------------------------------------------------
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbls. sweetener, such as honey, molasses, turbinado sugar or whatever you consider vegan sugar
1 C warm water (should be warm to the wrist or if you have a thermometer, in the range of 80-105 F; any hotter will slow the fermentation too much)
3 C flour (bread flour is best since it has a higher gluten content) (can also use wheat flour if some gluten is added for structure - 2 Tbls should be enough)
1 tsp. sea salt
cornmeal for dusting the pans/baking stones
cookie sheets or baking stones
optional - pizza peel
optional - parchment paper


Instructions:
-----------------------------------------------------
Preheat oven to the hottest you can get it (most US ovens go to 500F) without turning on the broiling coil/setting. The preheat can also be done after the first rising so as to not waste electricity/gas and heat up the kitchen too much
Mix the sweetener in the water until thoroughly dissolved
Proof the yeast in the water five minutes (it will foam as it ferments; mix it back into the water when the proofing time is up)
Combine the flour, salt and proofed yeast-water and knead ten minutes. This can be done by hand (more fun) or by a mixer fitted with a dough hook
Cover and let rise 45 minutes
Punch the dough down and turn out onto a floured board
Divide the dough into six (6) equal pieces. I use a kitchen scale for this; measure the total weight of the dough and then divide that by six to get what each piece should weigh
Form each piece into a ball. You can knead it a little more if you want but don't over do it. You can tell if you have over-kneaded when the surface of the dough starts to look like it is torn or shredded. Just stop if that happens and don't work it any more
Pat each ball of dough down a little and set aside as you form each one
Dust a little flour over each ball so it won't stick to the cover
Cover all six with either a damp towel or plastic wrap
Let rest for 20-30 minutes
Uncover and roll out each ball to about 1/4 inch thickness or a 6-8 inch circle, dusting with flour as you go so as to keep it from sticking to the board and rolling pin
Dust a cookie sheet or use a sheet of parchment paper for getting the pitas into the oven. I have a pizza peel and a baking stone but still have to dust the peel with the cornmeal to get the dough to slide quickly onto the stone. But, you can also just put the dough onto a cookie sheet that has been dusted with a light layer of cornmeal
Bake for 2-5 minutes or until the pita is nicely browned and puffed up (I have found that it's around 2-3 minutes for the baking stone; it may be longer for a cookie sheet, but not much more.) It is alright to open the oven door from time to time to quickly check on the progress; this way you can determine your timing for each one according to your oven's quirks
Cool on racks. The pitas may deflate some, but should make a good pocket whether they stay puffed or not
Store in a bag or whatever container you have for large pitas


Additional comments:
-----------------------------------------------------
Fill with falafel and tahini sauce, cut into wedges for hummus, or just eat plain and enjoy!

Something to remember: vegans don't eat honey or anything made with it.

[siligut]

28. I agree.

A few people have suggested humus. Some things I have learned:

Lemon juice causes humus to thicken, strange, but true.

I have found that cooking the garbanzo beans in water for about an hour makes for a more smooth humus.

Then I use some of that water to thin the mix.

I think tahini gives the humus body.

Adding a roasted red pepper also makes for yum.

[harmonicon]

29. interesting to know about the lemon

I should come up with a tried-and-true recipe some day, but really I just mix the ingredients as I see fit on that day. I have found that there is a big difference between using fresh squeezed lemon juice and the non-fresh stuff. Fresh is better, but you need far less of it.

[lost-in-nj]

23. Potato Salad

dressing

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper

Salad

5 cups of cubed red potatoes (about 2 lbs)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of chopped and peeled cucumber
3/4 cup sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup green bell pepper
1/2 cup irange bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1 can of sliced ripe black olives, drained


for dressing combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl stir with wisk

for salad...place potatoes and salt in medium saucepan. Cover with water to 2 inches abouve potato; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 8 minutes or until tender.
drain

add potato to dressing and toss gently, let sit for 15 minutes.
stir in remaining ingredients toss together then cover and chill

Not sure if the rice vinegar and oil are ok for Vegans but I am sure someone will
let you know...


:hi:

oh yeah what can we bring?????



lost

[LeftyMom]

24. The canola oil is definitely fine. AFAIK, the rice vinegar should also be fine. nt

[Inchworm]

26. Grill everything that ain't nailed down

:9

:hi:

[ThomCat]

35. And if it nailed down,

pry it up, clean it off and then grill it. :9

[LynneSin]

38. wait, I'm going to be doing daily rollcall with my cats

they better both be there when you folks all leave!

[stuntcat]

27. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING

I can see enough recipes were posted but this is something my aunt showed me how to make last week and I just made it again while ago.
All you have to do is open cans and cook some rice. Be sure it's the real lime juice in a jar not the concentrate stuff in the plastic squeeze thing.
:

ingredients-
cooked cup of brown rice (a kind that won't get mushy when it's cooked)
drained can of black beans
can of corn
can of Rotel tomatoes (she used the mild ones but today I used the spicy ones and it's still great)
almost 1/4 cup of lime juice
some shakes of cumin (I added cumin to the rice before I cooked it but you can add it anytime)

Mix all this together and dip it with corn chips! mmmmm mmm :9

(Ignore the brand, this is the beans we have here :eyes:)
, , http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QM78G88ZL._AA280_PIbundle-6,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg ,

[seemunkee]

30. Let them graze on the lawn

[yewberry]

31. Hm, picnic.

Okay, a few ideas:

tofu kababs--marinated tofu, mushrooms, sweet onions, zucchini, you can't go wrong.

broiled portobellos

black bean & corn salad
(1 can black beans & 1 can shoepeg corn, drained & rinsed
about 1/2 a red pepper, seeded & chopped
~1/8 C chopped fresh cilantro
~1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
~1 Tbsp lemon juice
heavy dash of kosher salt
mix & chill)

chips & guacamole
(1 ripe avocado, mashed
1 clove garlic, minced finely or pressed
heavy squeeze lemon juice
heavy pinch salt
~2-3 Tbsp minced tomato
mix well, add tomato last)

Capellini salad
(angel hair pasta
equal parts tamari and toasted sesame oil
chopped cilantro
red pepper strips
serve chilled)

Spinach salad
(raw spinach leaves
halved red grapes
chopped walnuts
raspberry vinaigrette
diced smoked tofu-do not use unflavored tofu--if you can't buy good smoked tofu, abort this mission!

I've got a killer baba ghanouj recipe if you want it (to go with hummus if you decide to go that route).

edit: These are my recipes and I make them routinely--I didn't pull them off a random site. They're good, even if I do say so myself. (Do we have a :tooting-my-own-horn: smilie?)

[lizziegrace]

34. Pasta salad. n/t

[RadiationTherapy]

37. Cold, cooked, quinoa- fresh basil-tomatoes- salt-garlic-maple syrup

All to taste..

Oh yeah...squirt some lemon juice in that junk!

I get a lot of compliments on my tomato/basil quinoa.



Maybe some pine nuts or walnuts as well...

[MissMillie]

40. being from Massachusetts

I can tell you that the only way to make proper baked beans is w/ salt pork.

How about:

cold sesame noodles, maybe w/ some veggies added?

fruit salad

hummus w/ toasted pita chips

vegetarian chili (I make mine w/ 3 types of beans)

[Mezzo]

42. How about baked ziti? (sans the cheese?)

I'm thinking a pasta dish would be a crowd pleaser. And always offer a salad. :)