A Vegan For Dinner- Mushroom Tarragon Pierogi, Grilled Vegetable Salad, and Cucumber Slaw

Tomorrow, an old friend is coming to visit, and has over the years transitioned to veganism. I will be sharing the recipes for our vegan table spread.

First thing first is to understand what veganism is and to what degree your guest follows it. Vegans do not eat animals or animal by-products. The big difference here between cooking vegetarian and cooking vegan is that most vegetarians are lacto-ovo, meaning they eat milk and eggs. Vegans do not. Most vegans do not eat honey and a small percentage do not eat fungus (mushrooms, the yeast in beer). I roll my eyes at the fact that a great number of them wear leather, but such is life. A bigger challenge here is that in our house, we don't eat soy which is often what would replace dairy. My guest eats both honey(logic: without bees there are no fruit and vegetables and beekeepers have a vested interest in fighting colony collapse disorder) and fungus (cuz who really feels bad for the fungus? it's so hard to empathize with fungus). I googled vegan dishes and found this link, which is excellent, and selected the grilled vegetable salsa from there! The rest are vegan adaptations of things we eat everyday.

Our vegan lunch will consist of: Mushroom Tarragon Pierogi,Grilled Vegetable Salsa, Thai Cucumber Salad, and Fresh Watermelon. I prepared most of it this evening for serving tomorrow.


Mushroom Tarragon Pierogi
While pierogi are not grain free for the paleo people, they are something i make by hand and keep in the freezer. More importantly, the super basic dough recipe that i use just so happens to be vegan.

-1 pack Mixed Shrooms (about 1 cup)
-2-3 Tbs Tarragon
-Salt to Taste

In a food processor, blend mushrooms and tarragon into a finely minced paste. Transfer into a pan with olive oil, add more tarragon if desired and salt to taste. Make your pierogi shells, fill, boil, freeze, and sautee. 1 pack of mushrooms will fill approximately 15 pierogi.


Grilled Vegetable Salad
*While I'm calling this grilled, the lazy in me just used my stove top
-1 Zucchini- chopped
-5 Ears of Corn
-1 Onion- diced

Basically, grill up your favorite seasonal vegetables and mix them together in a bowl. Then toss them with this dressing:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes) I’m sure lemon works too

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 small garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro (or herb of choice)

1 tsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt & Pepper, to taste

I made this the day of, but prepped the dressing the night before

Thai Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers, spiraled or slices (I spiral mine on basically an apple-corer-peeler-slicer)

1 Tbs peanut butter- melted

1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (I keep this in the cupboard because I love Asian cooking)

2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

Toss all ingredients together and serve immediately. You can also use this sauce for "Asian slaw" with cabbage and carrots