Vegan Barbecues
Posted by andini on Mar 20, 2010 · Member since Aug 2009 · 49 posts
I just listened to the episode of the Food for Thought podcast on hosting a vegan barbecue, and it got me so excited for summertime!
Has anyone hosted a vegan BBQ? What did you make? Is there a good vegan hot dog brand out there?
ya in cali just tell them it's healthy and they'll probably eat it... in so cal anyway... healthy is "in"
Ibarte: do you have a George Foreman grill? I've done this method on one of those, and I've also just done it in a pan on a stovetop. Not quite the same effect, but still delish.
I thought I owned about every kitchen appliance, but I don't have one of those. I may end up getting one though, because my daughter LOVES mushrooms. I think grilled portabellas would be a nice quick meal for her.
It was really funny. I took the silken chocolate peanut butter pie off this site to a potluck at church. It was so well liked it was requested for several more events. One night I made 2 and people were fighitng over it. Anyway, I finnally told them it was made of tofu. Everyone look really shocked, and then the teen who had just eaten 2 peices and came back looking for more said that he knew there was something funny about the way it tasted. Sure. I was laughing so hard. I've never had trouble getting people to eat vegan desserts, unless they have raisins or nuts in them. As far as main dishes, my friends are Velveeta junkies. Really, it think it more of a whole foods versus processed garbage thing than vegan versus omni. Sometimes I really miss California, but I can't affort to move back.
This happened to me at Christmas! I made a tofu chocolate mousse pie with almond crust and everyone loved it and ate multiple pieces. When I told them it was tofu they said it was gross (I am talking about grown people here) and nobody would eat any more. This is after the meal, where nobody would touch my food except my boyfriend and me. And I didn't take anything "weird"--Carrot Ginger Soup, roasted brussels sprouts, hummus and veggies...I just don't get everyone's hang up, being scared of "healthy" food. It's ridiculous how immature grown adults can be about this.
I know exactly what you mean. No I usually bring a dessert to share and just make a plate for my daughter and I to eat. People will rarely eat the food I bring, and I don't want to watch good and sometimes expensive food go to waste. It used to really hurt my feelings, but now I just see the foods that people prefer and realize they are addicted to process junk and aren't used to real food. It's sad really. I've been hanging out with the same people for 7 or 8 years, and they still don't know what a vegan is really. Oh well.
Has anyone tried marinating sliced zucchini/courgettes in vegan- friendly italian dressing and grilling it? Deeeelish! I've also discovered the wonderfulness of Jicama lately, and it goes fantastic marinated in lime juice&chili powder on a kabob.
Has anyone tried marinating sliced zucchini/courgettes in vegan- friendly italian dressing and grilling it? Deeeelish! I've also discovered the wonderfulness of Jicama lately, and it goes fantastic marinated in lime juice&chili powder on a kabob.
Yum! You can also grill onions, tomatoes, peppers to make salsa. Marinated/barbecued asparagus is indescribably tasty.
would all this work on a George Forman grill?
the zucchini does amylove! just hafta watch it doesn't burn!
I know exactly what you mean. No I usually bring a dessert to share and just make a plate for my daughter and I to eat. People will rarely eat the food I bring, and I don't want to watch good and sometimes expensive food go to waste. It used to really hurt my feelings, but now I just see the foods that people prefer and realize they are addicted to process junk and aren't used to real food. It's sad really. I've been hanging out with the same people for 7 or 8 years, and they still don't know what a vegan is really. Oh well.
Amen. I'm with you 100% on all of this (except I'm still a tiny bit hurt when nobody will try something delish I've made).
would all this work on a George Forman grill?
I haven't tried everything listed on a Foreman, but I'd venture to say yes. I've done a whole lot on one of those, and it's never let me down. Go for it and let us know how you like it!
Hmmm maybe i will :)
Ah. Sweet. A grilling thread. My BF and I LOVE grilling out. Although I usually just buy vegan brats or already marinated chik'n or when I am vegetarian Hallumi marinated in Mediterranean spices.
Now we have this cute little patio behind our apartment where I have my garden and a grill the previous tenants left us. But there is just a really flimsy rack and lots of skewers.
I was thinking of skewering veggies of all types. Do you think tofu cubes could be skewered? And any ideas for a simple marinade to use on the tofu and veggies?
We're grilling out tonight and I am kinda stumped on the marinade. It doesn't help that olive oil and dried herbs are precious commodities here, so I am almost too cheap to use them as a marinade. Haha.
I ended up using Ketchup, vinegar, sunflower oil, sugar and a little hot sauce as a marinade. I did not have time to let it soak long. It was just meh. But the tofu got nice and crispy so I can't complain too much.
Yes, tofu can be skewered (I don't type that word often!). Just make sure it's extra firm or Wildwood has a Super firm. You can also go with nigari tofu (the kind that you don't have to press) and it's even more firm than the regular tofu packed in water. Cut big chunks and skewer carefully. You can also grill the slabs of tofu straight on the grill. Make sure your grill is clean, because you don't want the tofu to stick. These sound yummy, and I'm thinking of doing tofu/vegetable skewers for a cookout coming up, because everyone only thinks that we can eat veggie dogs. I'm going to show them what's up.
Sounds yummy VR!
I was too scared about the firmness of my tofu to do skewers so I did slabs again, but with a much better marinade. This time I did dark vinegar, white vinegar, oil, paprika, sugar, powdered ginger, shoyu, and Szechuan pepper salt. I let it soak up all the goodness for over an hour and it was delish! Plus I sliced up slabs of squash and grilled them after brushing them with a bit of oil and dusting with salt and ground black pepper.
Sounds yummy VR!
I was too scared about the firmness of my tofu to do skewers so I did slabs again, but with a much better marinade. This time I did dark vinegar, white vinegar, oil, paprika, sugar, powdered ginger, shoyu, and Szechuan pepper salt. I let it soak up all the goodness for over an hour and it was delish! Plus I sliced up slabs of squash and grilled them after brushing them with a bit of oil and dusting with salt and ground black pepper.
That sounds awesome.
I just started a thread here in Dine 'n' Dish for "Things I've Cooked on the George Foreman Grill." I thought it was a good idea to share what you can do on one, besides the usual omni fare of hamburgers. I thought we'd discussed it enough that it deserved its own thread!
awesomeness! mine is collecting dust!
awesomeness! mine is collecting dust!
I got one for Christmas and hadn't used it yet, so I wanted to get ideas to whip it out. I love the idea of veggies! And then when we go to my parents' house this summer and they want to grill "for real", then I will have lots of good ideas.
During this time of year i have weekly potluck BBQs at my house. Since most of my friends aren't even vegetarian, let alone vegan, I focus less on faux meat products. I often just delegate out lists of grillables and my friends are happy to comply.
This week I'm grilling up tofu, pepper and mango kabobs with a sweet jalapeno glaze, corn on the cob, asparagus, quinoa and black bean stuffed bell peppers and probably some veggie burgers.
For sides we do chips and guac, beans, pesto pasta salads, roasted potato salad, frest fruit, etc. AND BEER. Lots of beer. The George Foreman grill thread makes me want one too!!
pretty much every time i grill out i end up saying it's the best meal of my life. i love grilling! last week i got a few ears of sweet corn, boiled them for a bit, rubbed on some garlic and chili powder, then straight to the grill. then i slathered it with vegan buttah and i was in heaven! i also really like to just go grill crazy and grill everything for a recipe. like, if i'm going to make avocado i'll grill a tomato, onion slices, lime halves, and avocado. i swear i'd try to grill a beer if i thought there was a way!
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