First post of the New Year! BBQ sauce!

I saw this linked in FB and was so excited; I've been searching for a good BBQ sauce recipe! I used some of my homemade Adobo Sauce in it (instead of the Chili powder) and YUM!

BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup tomato paste, not sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
(I used my adobo sauce here--I used about a tablespoon of it--maybe 2)
1 heaping tablespoon yellow wet mustard
(I might do slightly less next time.)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons unsulphured regular molasses
1/2-1 tablespoon smoked paprika (I added this 'cause it's my favorite spice at the moment.)


It was excellent. Believe it or not, I love BBQ sauce on Broccoli. It's what I ate for breakfast. (Seriously.) Look for recipes playing around with BBQ sauce in the next year.

Thank you Vegan 8!

We had a BBQ!

In honor of my (vegan) friend's birthday!

She made hummus and black bean dip (and all the lovely veggies you'll see below on the grill).

I made Roasted corn salad: Roast corn and onions (I roasted without oil and next time, I'll use just a teeny bit).  I used two 16 ounce bags  frozen corn, but you could use fresh. Cut up fresh tomatoes--I used 4 small - medium ones.  Put the roasted corn and onions, and fresh tomatoes in a bowl and add a little rice vinegar--about 1/2 cup, plus salt, pepper and a few red pepper flakes (~1/4 teaspoon).  Mix well, let marinate for at least a few hours in the fridge and then enjoy!

My friend Mark made this super yummy mango guacamole.  He used 2 smallish avocados, 1 yellow mango, 2 medium tomatoes, lime juice, and 1/2 a red onion.  It was divine!  I never would have been brave enough to put mango in my guacamole, but he's a fearless cook.  

Pretty flowers for the birthday girl.  We did not eat them.

Veggies and vegan sausage on the grill.

Then we gathered fruit from the backyard...

fresh blackberries, grapes and a pear.

I didn't get a picture of dessert, but I made a vegan ice cream cake.  I baked a brownie--I almost have a decent recipe to share with you. After the brownie cooled, I spread melt-y almond dream vegan ice cream on it. I stuck it in the freezer for a few hours, but it needed a few more hours to really firm up. I think the poor freezer was over burdened with food, or the brownie wasn't as cool as I thought it was 'cause the ice cream cake was still very melty.  

With the help of my girls, we decorated it with soy whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. It wasn't super pretty, but it was very tasty. 

As soon as we move, and things settle down, I want to make the cake again with homemade almond vegan ice cream.  A non-vegan friend said the dessert was very good.  (You can't really go wrong with an ice cream cake--even a vegan one!)

Previous bbq picts here.

Sunday

On Memorial Day weekend we went to a BBQ. When you're a vegan, there aren't hunks of meat, there are gobs of veggies! My friend marinated the veggies in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and lots of spices (I need to get her to tell me them again).

The portabello mushrooms were incredible, too. We had some http://www.fieldroast.com/ vegan sausages (Italian and the Apple Sage) that we grilled, too. Some folks had sandwiches on sourdough rolls and some had veggies on salad greens. Either way, it was a great feast! Looking forward to more summer parties when we do it again.

 

 

And just for fun, a picture of their artichoke. We took one home and steamed it.