Vegan Sushi Party!

Yet, another vegan sushi party! This is my 3rd post about vegan sushi. You can tell that I love vegan sushi and like to have a sushi party. It's a lot of fun to let your guests roll their own sushi and choose the filling they want to put in it. I don't have to prepare too much before hand and can enjoy the company. This time, I include an option for those who don't like seaweed or nori. I served 3 types of vegan sushi(with or without nori): maki sushi, temaki sushi, and inari sushi .

I piled up the filling ingredients on a tray: cucumber, carrots, crispy sauteed soy ham, seasoned tofu, red or yellow bell pepper. I didn't have an avocado which would be great in a sushi. You can actually be creative in what kind of filling you want to use. I prepared the sushi rice in a separate large bowl. Guests can create their own sushi, any style they like.

Rolled Sushi or Maki sushi wrapped with nori. Guests can roll their own sushi like these above.


Soy sheet wrapped sushi (temaki). Guest can hand roll their own temaki or rolled sushi with the soy wrapper. This is for those who detest nori or seaweed. I learned about soy wrappers for sushi from Julie a while back. Check this out: Sushi Party soy wrappers

Nori wrapped sushi (temaki). Guest can roll their own temaki with nori, too.


I prepared these before hand. This is actually my favorite sushi style (no nori). I added some green peas and corn in the filling. For a vegan inari sushi recipe, you can check Bryanna's blog, here.

I made my sushi rice combined with quinoa. For recipes and previous blogs, you can click here and here.

If you have never had sushi party, you should try it. You can invite your friends who love Japanese food, friends who detest nori, and friends who love to gather for a fun and feast event!

Vegan Potato Salad with Mustard and Fresh Baby Dill Weed

Store-bought potato salad or any potato salad served in a picnic or a party is a 'no-no' dish for us. Generally, potato salad recipes contain mayonnaise (eggs and dairy). Therefore, I have not made potato salad in the last 12 years. I could have made one with vegan mayonnaise but DH doesn't like mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise (home made or store-bought). I had been racking my brain for a potato salad recipe that will satisfy both our palates. Alas, I came up with this recipe. It is very mustardy and a bit spicy but that's what we both like. It also has fresh baby dill weed and salty vegan bacon in it. This salad is a bit sweet, too(agave nectar). It's a definitely a bold and flavorful potato salad and not the general lame potato salad made with mayonnaise.

Vegan Potato Salad with Mustard and Fresh Baby Dill Weed
Serve 6-8

3 lbs. Fingerling potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes
2 ribs celery, diced small
3 green onions, diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced small
1/2 pkg. Smart Bacon (Lightlife), cooked and crumbled
3 Tbsp. Fresh Baby Dill Weed(I really prefer fresh dill weed in this recipe), chopped

Dressings:
1/3 cup olive oil
4 Tbsp. Organic Apple Cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Organic Grained Dijon Mustard or Spicy Grained Dijon Mustard (or smooth Dijon mustard) My favorite brand is Roland Organic Grained Dijon Mustard
1 tsp. salt
Fresh ground black pepper (1/4 - 1/2 tsp)

1. Prepare veggie bacon as instructed on the box. Let them cool and hardened. Then, crumble or cut them into small pieces.
2. Boil potatoes (unpeeled) for 30 minutes. Drain and let them cool for 10 minutes, then, peel them. Cut them up in bite pieces. Let them cool some more while preparing dressing.
3. Measure apple cider vinegar into a bowl. Using a whisk or hand held blender, pour olive oil into the vinegar while whisking or blending this mixture. Oil and vinegar will combine into a nice and creamy looking dressing.
4. Add agave nectar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix them really well with the whisk. You can adjust the sweet, spicy, sour, and salty taste.
5. Put all salad ingredients in a big bowl. Add dressing and combine well.
6. Let salad sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve it cold or at a room temperature.

VEGAN COMFORT MEALS

There have been some stress in our household lately. We got some not-so good news from direct family members who are dealing with health issues and major surgeries. A friend of mine suggested that I made some comfort meals. So I did. These are not my recipes but I will direct you to the sources I used (cookbooks or websites).


Above are Crispy Beer-Battered Seitans (upper middle) from Yellow Rose Recipes cookbook by Joanna Vaught, my new vegan cookbook. On top of it is Bryanna's Southern Biscuit Gravy (from her newsletters). On the right of it are Jalapeno Poppers made with Bryanna's Vegan Sharp Chedda (from her newsletter). I grilled some zucchini and yellow squash and fingerling potatoes to eat them with.

Above is our vegan barbecue meal. I made vegan Barbecued Seitan Ribs (top right under the corn bread) from FatfreeVegan (SusanV.). I also made barbecued super firm tofu (underneath ribs). I made vegan Baked Mac and Cheese from Yellow Rose Recipe cookbook using Bryanna's Vegan Sharp Chedda Cheeze (from her newsletter). I also barbecued corn-on-the-cobs topped with Earth Balance and made a new recipe of corn bread I tried from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

My favorite was the vegan macaroni and cheeze. I think this was the best vegan mac and cheeze I ever made. The combination of a great recipe from Yellow Rose Recipe and Bryanna's cheeze did it. I don't really like store-bought vegan cheese. However, I love Bryanna's cheeze that I can make at home. I was also surprised by the corn bread recipe from the Joy of Vegan Baking. It was delicious.




There are all kind of recipes of Jalapeño poppers which are also known as Dragon Eggs (because it is fiery hot) or Armadillo Eggs. It usually is stuffed with cream cheese and other kind of cheese and spices. This one is vegan. I used Bryanna's Soft Vegan Sharp Chedda Cheeze mixed with chopped parsley and chives. Then, I used the same beer batter for the crispy seitan above (from Yellow Rose Recipes cookbook) to coat them with. It was crispy and somewhat spicy and hot. I used rubber gloves to remove the seeds and white membranes from inside the jalapeño before I stuffed it with the soft chedda mixture.


Dessert was not left out in vegan comfort meals. This time I made Fall Fruit Crisp from The Joy of Vegan Baking cookbook. I used organic honeycrisp apple and blueberries I bought from a nearby farmers market for the filling. Then, I mixed them with raisins, spices, and brown sugar. For the crisp layer, I mixed a combination of rolled oats, whole wheat pastry flour, spices, Earth Balance, and maple syrup. It was served warm and topped with vegan vanilla ice cream.