Helloooo friends! Let me tell you about my lovely friend Sam and her NEW COOKBOOK “Fuss-Free Vegan“.
First of all, I met Sam a couple years ago when we filmed Star of the Show with Chef Michael Smith in Prince Edward Island. After our days of filming, we had some time to kill so Ethan of Food Bloggers of Canada, Sam and I went on a little excursion. It was endless laughs for the three of us and I am so glad we got to experience windy little P.E.I. together! Food blogging has allowed me to meet many awesome people and I’m so thankful for that!
When I met Sam, she was in the process of writing her cookbook and it’s so rad to be holding a physical copy of it and trying out all the recipes for myself!
Fuss-Free Vegan is the absolute perfect book for those looking at becoming vegan and not knowing where to start. This book really emphasizes how little you truly have to give up when switching to plant-based eating (or incorporating it into a greater part of your diet). Sam has all your comfort food favourites (101 to be exact!) like pizza, tacos, mac ‘n’ cheese and burgers covered.
Fuss-Free Vegan Smoky Tofu Avocado Benedict
I am working my way through this book and so far everything has been amazing. I’ve had brilliant ‘smoky tofu and avocado benedict’ which made the perfect weekend breakfast. I’ve had the ‘gloriously chewy chocolate chip cookies’ and may not have had time to take a picture before they were gobbled up. I’ve had the dreamiest BBQ cauliflower steaks with homemade BBQ sauce, too! They felt hearty and satisfying with a sweet and tangy flavour that anyone would enjoy. One of my favourite dishes has been the ‘oh mommy umami lettuce wraps’ and lucky for you, I can share the recipe!
Fuss-Free Vegan BBQ Cauliflower Steaks
Fuss-Free Vegan BBQ Cauliflower Steaks
Do yourselves a favour and grab a copy of Fuss-Free Vegan at your local bookstore or online (Indigo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo). You may have to pre-order it, as this book is sold out almost everywhere (way to go Sam!).
Umami Lettuce Wraps (photo courtesy of Sam Turnbull, “Fuss-Free Vegan)
Acknowledgements: Excerpted from Fuss Free Vegan: 101 Everyday Comfort Food Favorites, Veganized. Copyright © 2017 Samantha Turnbull. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
- 1/4 cup soy sauce gluten-free (if preferred)
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp agave or maple syrup
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp your favourite hot sauce (optional)
- 1 Tbsp light oil, like peanut or canola oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 head of butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce, leave separated but kept whole
- 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks or grated
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
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For the sauce, in a small bowl, mix the ingredients together and set aside.
For the lentils, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens and begins to brown.
Stir in the lentils and then the vegetable broth. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until all the broth is absorbed and the lentils are cooked. Stir in the walnuts and about half of the sauce mixture, or to taste.
To serve, take a leaf of lettuce, fill it with the lentil-walnut mixture, top with carrot, green onions, and sesame seeds, and spoon as much sauce as desired over it all. Fold it like a taco and munch away!
