Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Sloppy Somethings


Ok, just a quick post about what I was cookin' up this last weekend! I recently saw a post in a forum about someone who wanted a vegan Manwich recipe. I made Manwiches once before I went vegan and it was something like ground beef and ketchup. Not very good.
So, the challenge was on the table and I went for it! Instead of using Manwich sauce (which is vegan, I believe) I decided I was going to make my own mad concoction. They did turn out surprisingly well and I came up with enough for about 8 sloppy joes on buns.
Check it out:
1-2 tbsp. oil
2 cups green bell pepper, diced
2 cups onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce
1/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground chipotle
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 cup TVPboiling water
8 buns, toasted
sauerkraut (optional)
Endorphin Rush Hot Sauce (optional)
s&p to taste
Yes, I know it's a lot of ingredients. But with a dish like this you can really play with the ingredients to fit your taste. You could sub the cayenne and chipotle for more chili powder or sub the BBQ sauce for ketchup if you like.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and bell pepper and sautee until onion becomes transclucent.
Add garlic, spices, tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, mustard and soy sauce then stir to combine.
Add the 1 cup of TVP and a cup of boiling water and stir to rehydrate the TVP.
At this point what I did was played with it auntil I got the heat and sweetness I wanted. Use hot sauce or chili powder to bump up the heat and use BBQ sauce or ketchup the bump up the sweetness.
Now, you are going to want to cover and simmer for about thirty minutes, adding more water if needed. Serve on a toasted bun with sauerkraut.

First Post

Well, this will be my first post! My intention for this blog is for it to become a source for fans of spicy food, both vegan and non-vegan. You won't find any sweets here!

I will post recipes, notes on ingredients, restaurant reviews and whatever sparks my fancy. Also, let me know if there is something that you would like a veganized recipe for and I will give it a shot!

A bit about myself: I'm a 20 something bachelor living in Arizona. I'm vegan (obviously), spicy food fanatic (again, obviously) and I love to cook (yet again, obviously). I work on the inter-webs doing a variety of things, no I don't do web design and no I don't work from home.

Well, I guess I can wrap this up. I should have my first recipe up shortly!