BBQ Ribz, Baked Beans & Potato Salad (High Protein)

I've been wanting to work on seitan ribz for almost two years now, and I finally got the chance over Labor Day weekend late last month. The process took longer than I thought, only because I had left town for pretty much the whole day when I planned on putting these lovelies on the smoker-grill. They were so tender with a slight chew and very juicy with a hint of smoke and a caramelized crust from the dry rub. To serve with the BBQ dinner for one, I made a big pot of baked beans and made some quick, single-potato salad for atmosphere.

(BBQ Baked Beans Ingredients)

• 1/2 pound of Navy Beans&
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 8 cups of Cold Water
• 1/2 cup of Agave Nectar
• 4 tbsp BBQ Sauce

(BBQ Baked Beans Directions)

• Combine all of your ingredients except for the salt into a slow cooker and cook for eight hours.
• Add salt after tasting.

(Potato Salad Ingredients)

• 1 Medium-Sized Potatoes(diced)
• 1/4 Minced White Onion
• 5 tbsp Vegan Cream Cheese
• A splash of AC Vinegar
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper

(Potato Salad Directions)

• Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Mix your cheese and vinegar together and toss in your potatoes.
• Fold in your onions and season with salt and pepper as you like.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour.

(BBQ Ribz Ingredients)

• 2 and 1/2 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
• 2 tsp Oil
• Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt, Onion Powder and Black Pepper
• 2 cups Cold Veg Broth

(BBQ Ribz Dry Rub Ingredients)

• 1/4 cup Raw Sugar
• Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper and Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Salt

(BBQ Ribz Directions)

• Mix your dry ingredients together with your oil and then slowly pour in the broth.(Don't use all of this, because you will need some later.) Knead fifteen times.
• Let your seitan rest for about 30 minutes and set your oven to 300 degrees.
• Fill a long casserole dish with more broth and your preferred seasonings, then spread out the seitan into it.
• Roast your seitan for 30 minutes, flip and cook for thirty minutes more.
• Cut into ribz and slice off anything uneven. Pop a few popsicle sticks into them, then allow to cool in the fridge.
• Coat the ribz in the dry rub. Grill/smoke for 20 minutes to an hour and serve with the rest of your meal.

Hope you have a great BBQ!

Vegan Nachos Deluxe for Cinco De Mayo (Carne Asada Chiccarones, Dandelion Guacamole, Cheesy Chickpea Nacho Cheese, Refried Beans - Low-Fat, Low-Sodium)

These nachos are so amazingly good - the seitan that I used is slow-cooked for about an hour in a fiery Seitan Asada broth then allowed to marinate in it for about 10 hours before finally being chopped up, lightly fried then lightly covered in the broth. Pair it with some freshly chopped dandelion greens straight from my mini-garden, chunky guacamole and lacto-fermented chickpeas with salsa, this is a sure winner. Underneath are even slower cooked refried beans, caramelized onions and some blue-corn chips.

My randomly chopped up and lightly fried seitan - so good.

(Seitan Asada Ingredients)

• 1 cup of Vital Wheat Gluten (Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 tsp of Salt
• A sprinkle of Mrs. Dash Seasoning and Cumin
• 3 tbl of Stewed Chickpea Broth
• Garlic Powder and Cumin to taste

(Cooking Broth Ingredients)

• 6-8 cups of Water
• 3 tbl of Mrs. Dash Fiesta Seasoning
• 1 Large Sliced Onion
• A handful of Dry Red Chillies
• 1 tsp of White Vinegar
• 1 tsp of Raw Sugar
• Salt to Taste

(Seitan Asada Directions)

• Boil your broth ingredients.
• Mix seitan ingredients, then knead for about 50 times.
• Boil seitan in the broth for about an hour.Place a pot top on and cook until it floats to the top. Turn off the heat with the top on and let it marinate for a few hours.
• Then, cut into pieces (the smaller the crispier) and fry lightly for about ten minutes, flipping ever so often.
• Afterwards put about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of the broth over it and cook on low until everything has cooked through.
• Coat in your preferred amount of garlic powder and cumin, then set aside.

The above mentioned components with my Fry Bread (ignore the picture if you love me).

(Guacamole Recipe-just combine everything)

• 1/6 cup of Tender Dandelion Greens (Chiffonade)
• 3 large Minced Garlic Cloves
• 1/4 large Chopped Red Onion
• Juice of 1/2 Lime
• 2 Large Diced Avocadoes
• 1 Large Diced Tomato

(Refried Beans Ingredients)

• About 1-2 cups of Beans
• 1 cup of Sliced White Onion
• 1 Large Sliced Onion
• 1 tsp of Cumin
• Enough Water to cover the beans

(Refried Beans Directions)

• I didn't add salt to mine, but cook your beans until they are creamy (about 8 to 12 hours)and then mash into the crockpot that you've cooked them in.
• Let them cook a bit more in their own liquid and get started on your nacho cheese.

(Chickpea Nacho Cheese Ingredients)

• About 2 cups of Stewed Chickpeas with Broth (put it in fridge to congeal)
• 2 Vegan Probiotic Capsules (or a bit of Nutritional Yeast)
• 1 Large Sliced Onion
• 3 tsp of Garlic Powder
• 1/2 jar of Favorite Salsa

(Nacho Cheese Directions)

• Mix your chickpeas and broth with the powder in the capsules and then let ferment for about 2 hours in the window light.
• Add your garlic powder and salsa, then blend until smooth and creamy, let that sit for about another hour.
• Make any last adjustments, then serve with the enjoy!