Vegan Cheese

by : Reiko Pizza/Flatbread, Vegan Cheese, Vegan Meat

Vegan Pepperoni and Cheese Pizza
ヴィーガンペパロニチーズピザ

It seems obligatory to make a pepperoni pizza when you have awesome pepperoni.

Well, to tell the truth, I don’t know any other dish where I can use my pepperoni (lol).

You usually do not see me make a pizza like this.

I usually like a lot of toppings including some veggies for sure, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to stop here.

But again, I made this pizza to show off my vegan pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

It turned out great!

The Mozzarella did not melt the way the regular one melts, but it melted in its own way, and I was fine with that.

It was creamy and complemented the pepperoni so well.

I liked this vegan version so much better than the regular pepperoni and cheese pizza I had in the past when I was still eating meat and dairy.

I’m feeling pretty good about this.

Well, good enough to be boldly thinking about making this for my 15-year-old nephews next time they are over and see what they think!

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September 20, 2022

by : Reiko Salad, Vegan Cheese

Caprese Salad with Homemade Vegan Mozzarella
ホームメードヴィーガンモッツァレラチーズでカプレーゼ

Well, when you succeed in making great vegan mozzarella cheese, you have to make this!

I think this popular but simple salad really showcases the deliciousnsess of the cheese.

So that’s why I went to the local farmers market to get heirloom tomatoes.

Luckily, we live within a walking distance, and I love walking there every Saturday morning.

This turned out so good!

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September 19, 2022

by : Reiko Vegan Cheese

Vegan Fresh Mozzarella
ヴィーガンフレッシュモッツレラチーズ

I’ve been quite busy at work, and I haven’t had a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.

But this week I was able to make some time, so I wanted to tackle something new.

Well, I’ve made vegan fresh mozzarella before using the recipe from “Vegan Cheese” by Jules Aron ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2019/05/05/earth-lovers-cheese-plate

It was fun, but I wanted to try a different recipe this time.

They looked great.

I let them rest in the refrigerator overnight, and apparently that helped the texture.

I really liked this one.

Texture ✔

Taste ✔

Look ✔

The process was pretty similar to the other one’s.

It involves a few steps, but you can certainly manage them after dinner, which I did on Friday night.

I think this one is better in terms of texture and taste than the other.

I will show you how I enjoyed it in the next few posts.

This is the recipe I used ↓

https://veganhuggs.com/vegan-mozzarella-cheese/

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September 17, 2022

by : Reiko Tempeh, Vegan Cheese

Mini Cucumber Boats
ミニきゅうりボート

I saw cucumber boats like this but made with the regular American cucumber, so they were huge.

I just didn’t think that would work for us, so I got these mini cucumbers from the local farmers market.

I grew up cucumbers that were skinny like this (but longer) in Japan, so I really enjoy them.

Two main things I like about them are 1) the seeds are smaller, and 2) the skin is thinner.

I hope this picture gives you an idea how small they are.

First I made this sweet miso tempeh.

I usually get my tempeh from Trader Joe’s because they always carry it, and also their package is so fun (packaging is important!).

By the way this is one of my favorite Japanese dishes.

Love the organic look.

I thought I made a lot, but they were gone no time!

On the cucumber boats you will find homemade vegan cream cheese, sweet miso tempeh, and fried jalapeno.

They look so elegant, and I think they will be great at a cocktail party, carried around by a server wearing a bow tie.

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September 12, 2022

by : Reiko Main Dish, Noodles/Pasta, Vegan Cheese

Vegan Sausage Mushroom Cheesy Lasagna
ヴィーガンだけど”チーズ”たっぷりラザニア

We had my in-laws for dinner last night.

It’s packed with vegan sausage, mushrooms, and homemade tofu ricotta, and topped off with homemade cashew cheese cream.

Yes, it was a bit time-consuming to make two different kinds of cheese, but it’s so worth it!

On the other hand, I used Beyond sausage instead of making my own vegan meat.

I’ve started to cook smart especially when I have non-vegan guests for dinner by utilizing store-bought products if that makes sense.

Our dining room is occupied by my puzzle at the moment, so we ate at the kitchen counter.

(The pictures of the individual plate were taken the next day at the dining table.)

The lasagna was served with roasted veggies, salad, and homemade crusty bread (parsley and cinnamon-cranberry).

The planned dessert unfortunately failed (I was planning to make fran, but I burned the caramel…).

(It was supposed to be like this ↓）

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2021/08/15/truly-amzing-vegan-flan

So, we went with Plan B.

I sent my husband to the local grocery store for ice cream.

My in-laws liked my vegan lasagna!

They probably don’t know they ate tofu (a lot of it!) today, but that’s not important (lol).

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September 3, 2022

by : Reiko Asian Food, Main Dish, Vegan Cheese

Corn Shisho Oatmeal Topokki with V-Cheddar
コーン紫蘇甘辛オートミールトッポギ、Vチーズがけ

I loved oatmeal gnocchi so much

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2022/02/24/oatmeal-gnocchi-with-v-cheese-sauce

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2022/04/11/oatmeal-gnocchi-with-garlic-seaweed-butter

that I decided to try the topokki recipe (Japanese),

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbkNG9_AK9o/

This is when I just added the oatmeal topokki to the sauce.

The sauce thickens while the topokki cooks.

For my version I added corn and Shiso leaves, and I used my homemade vegan cheddar for cheese.

This turned out amazing!

I loved the oatmeal topokki, but that was expected because I loved the oatmeal gnocchi.

The sweet and spicy sauce mixed with the rich V-cheddar was so tasty that I licked the plate shamelessly!

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June 10, 2022

by : Reiko Asian Food, Japanese Food, Leaf Vegetables, Vegan Cheese

Shungiku-Avocado Egg Rolls
春菊とアボカドの春巻き

I haven’t made egg rolls for a long time.

One of the reasons for that is that I typically avoid frying.

I’ve been posting some dishes using this leafy veggie, Shungiku, and an Instagram friend, Ms. rose, told me that it’s good when made into egg rolls with avocado and grated garlic.

It sounded so interesting that I decided to try.

I wasn’t sure if I could find vegan egg roll wrappers, but I did!

I’m not the best roller, but I think I did okay.

They looked so good!

I actually made two kinds.

One: Shugiku, Avocado, Garlic

The other: Shungiku, Avocado, Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Homemade Vegan Cheese

They both turned out great!

They were tasty with just a sprinkle of salt or with a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar as a dipping sauce.

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April 30, 2022

by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Noodles/Pasta, Vegan Cheese

Shungiku Cheese Pasta
春菊チーズパスタ

This is a delicious but light pasta dish perfect for lunch.

I have talked about this leaf vegetables many times in this blog, but really if you’ve never tried it, you should.

It has a wonderful fresh bitterness that can be used for so many dishes like salad, soup, and pasta.

They sell it as “Tongo” here, but we call it “Shungiku” in Japan.

My pasta dish usually has other things, like veggies, more than pasta.

My homemade vegan cheese added nice creaminess and richness.

Bon Appetit!

I recently found this apron.

I bought it a long time ago thinking it would make a great gift for a dog lover.

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April 22, 2022

by : Reiko Main Dish, Noodles/Pasta, Vegan Cheese, Vegan Meat

Minnesooota Lasagna
ミネソタラザニア

Who likes lasagna?

I love everything about it, from the chewy noodles, different sauces, texture, and of course the look.

For the “Bolognese” sauce I used my vegan ground meat and wild rice.

By using the two things created a wonderful texture and flavor.

I love how it looked.

Lasagna is definitely one of the dishes I like to cook when I have guests over for dinner.

Just imagine yourself setting it in the center of the dinner table and people’s reaction!

I’m always worried that I made too much, but it disappears quickly.

It’s hard to see, but there were the Bolognese sauce and broccoli cheese between the noodle layers.

For the broccoli cheese, I used a mixture of cashew and tofu to create more of ricotta cheese like texture.

On the other hand, for the top the “cheese” was made of cashew and drizzled after the lasagna was baked to mimic the “melted” cheese look.

Doesn’t it look gorgeous?

I didn’t have basil, but I had Shiso leaves.

Shiso leaves work great wherever basil is typically used.

This was just out of the oven.

We absolutely loved this lasagna!

Scrumptious!

This was what it looked like the next day.

You can see the layers more clearly in this photo.

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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓　There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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March 5, 2022

by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Noodles/Pasta, Vegan Cheese

Truffle Mac and Cheese with Cabbage Steak
トリュフマカロニチーズ、キャベツステーキ添え

It’s strange, but my husband and I were not a big fan of mac and cheese, but now we are of “vegan” mac and cheese.

Especially the one I make with this homemade vegan cheddar is our favorite.

Here is the information you can find about this cheese. ↓

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/recipes-ive-tried-and-liked/

I use the cheese and thin it a bit by adding soy milk to create this creamy cheese sauce.

Today there was another main actor along with the mac and cheese.

Cabbage steak!

I cook the cabbage in a mixture of water, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, and olive oil, covered until tender first, and then after removing the liquid fried it with olive oil.