Greetings & felicitations!!!! - Vegan BBQ

August 14, 2005

Ah, Puyallup! The best strawberries in the world used to be grown in

Puyallup. I don't know if there are any strawberry growers left with

all the development around there. I grew up in Tacoma, so I've seen

Puyallup change lots over time....

Vegan BBQs can be way more than tofu dogs and garden burgers. There

are many kinds of vegetables that grill well: Potatoes, tomatoes,

onions, mushrooms, summer squash. You can do kabobs with tofu or

tempeh with vegetables with teriyaki or other maranade. One of my

favorite things to make when I got a grill going is baba ganoosh

with grilled eggplant. Cut the eggplant in half and coat the cut

faces with olive oil. Grill both back and front. When those cut

faces are down, they will collect smoke really well, so I add sweet

wood, such as fruit tree twigs, to the coals. Then when I make the

baba ganoosh, I make sure I get those smoked faces in there. See my

post,

/message/23086, for

instructions on making the sesame cheese and mixing that with

eggplant to make baba ganoosh.

Another of my favorite things to make when grilling is stuffed

peppers. Peppers also pick up the smoke well. I use anaheims and

stuff them with the sesame cheese cut half and half with tofu. That

mixture sets up well when cooked. I like the smoke from manzanita

wood with this. Manzanita burns very hot and is a kin to mesquite.

The kin to manzanita and mesquite up around Puyallup would be salal,

but I've never cooked with that wood, so I don't know for sure what

it would be like, but it's nontoxic and would expect it to work well.

I like to tease my neighbors when I grill. If you drip a little

vegetable oil into the coals, you produce a very aromatic smoke that

draws attention and makes mouths water. Of course, when you do this,

you have to make more of everything because they won't go away until

they've had some. There is something very primal about that

response....

, Mary Warns

<marywarns1954> wrote:

> Hello--

> My name is Mary. I've got to tell you right off that I am not a

vegetarian. I need help though. I have a lot of friends(actually

they are from Microsoft where hubby works) that are veggers. A few

are vegan. My biggest problem right now is BBQ recipes for the

vegans. Tofu dogs and garden burgers etc. are getting old. We are

having a huge party on the 27th and I need ideas. If it would help,

the vegans are from India.

>

> I'm told that I should write a bit about myself for an

introduction. There's not a whole lot to tell.

> I live in Puyallup, WA which is about 30 miles south of Seattle.

I don't work. I'm very lucky in that I don't have to if I wish. As

I said earlier, my hubby works at Microsoft. I am very definately a

m--t and spuds type of person although there are a lot of things

that I love that doesn't contain animal protein. I don't know what

else to say. I'm glad to be here and am

> positive that you all will be able to help me out.

>

> Thanks so very much,

> Mary

August 14, 2005

On 8/14/05, Tom wrote:

>

> Vegan BBQs can be way more than tofu dogs and garden burgers. There

> are many kinds of vegetables that grill well: Potatoes, tomatoes,

> onions, mushrooms, summer squash.

For potatoes - I clean the whole potato, poke wholes in it with a knife or

fork, add salt and cumin (you can use whatever spice you want) to the skin

and wrap it in foil that has had wholes poked into it. I then place the

individually wrapped potatoes near the coals. They stay there while I grill

other bits on the rack above them. You can also slice the potatoes and grill

them on the rack - maybe add rosemary to them or some sort of masala since

you said that some of your hubbys workmates are Indian.

I also grill up veggies such as zucchini, onion, bell pepper (any color),

jalapenos and whatever veggie that you like. I first marinate them in some

olive oil, butter (not vegan obviously), lemon/pepper seasoning and some

freshly minced garlic. Grill them up and serve. I think Toms suggestion of

eggplant would work really well in this too.

Fruits are great to grill as well. Peaches, pears and such take on the

smokey flavor and you can add some brown sugar and butter when serving. I've

grilled Apples before, however serving those might insult your hubbys

Microsoft workmates.

> instructions on making the sesame cheese and mixing that with

> eggplant to make baba ganoosh.

Tom, my next vegan cheese experiment will be your sesame cheese. Thanks for

posting it.

Another of my favorite things to make when grilling is stuffed

> peppers. Peppers also pick up the smoke well. I use anaheims and

> stuff them with the sesame cheese cut half and half with tofu.

Yum.

That

> mixture sets up well when cooked. I like the smoke from manzanita

> wood with this. Manzanita burns very hot and is a kin to mesquite.

> The kin to manzanita and mesquite up around Puyallup would be salal,

> but I've never cooked with that wood, so I don't know for sure what

> it would be like, but it's nontoxic and would expect it to work well.

Tom, I've got a question for you. Something I've been wondering for awhile.

What type of wood can you " not " use as fuel for grilling or smoking. I cut

down some limbs and saved a batch of it. I have no idear what type of tree

it is and I've often wondered if some types were toxic and unhealthy to use

as fuel. Any info or links would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I like to tease my neighbors when I grill. If you drip a little

> vegetable oil into the coals, you produce a very aromatic smoke that

> draws attention and makes mouths water.

Also, you can either have a " spray " bottle with water to get the smoke going

or even a spray bottle (or can) of oil. Those work well and really get the

whole area of fuel smoking for a bit.

Mary, a good thing to work with at your get together is many appetizer type

of things. There are several dips, salsas, veggie tray, or cracker things

that are easy to make and don't generally involve me@t.

Let us know what you are thinking about serving or what you want to work

with and I'm sure we can help you further.

S.

August 14, 2005

excellent ideas here! Also Donna was soooooo right in that you need to check the

archives. All our recipes here are tried and true.

Portabella mushroom caps marinated in Italian dressing and grilled make great

" burgers " when put between a bun. (with Vidalia onion too! )

For a nice side dish you could do tomatoes or cherry tomatoes sprinkled with

balsamic vinegar and a pinch or two of sugar.

and of course there is veggie dip and any cut veggies, carrot cucumber etc.

You can do Donna's mushroom spread for crackers, YUM

not for a BBQ but if you have company for indoor cooking sometime lasagna is

awesome, replace the meat with spinach. My carnivore father said it was the best

he ever had.

you could even do a taco spread with the meat replaced with refried beans, just

make sure the refried beans don't have lard in them, just read the can )

Deviled eggs rock too, for the non vegans that is )

If you are set to go through a bit of trouble, I will repost my Thai stir-fry

recipe which all the vegan Indian people are sure to LOVE, I guarantee it.

Let me know if you want that.

Blessings,

Chanda

-

subprong

Sunday, August 14, 2005 12:10 PM

Re: Re: Greetings & felicitations!!!! - Vegan

BBQ