A Newbie Vegan Prepares for Vacation (and enjoys a 4th of July BBQ)

Vacation, sweet vacation!  Ten days off, six will be on a gorgeous lake in Connecticut.

(The lovely lake in 2008)

Embracing everything that “time off” means, I decided to take a slight vacation from crazy weekend cooking, unlike this weekend or this one.

This will be my first vacation following a vegan diet (you can find my vegetarian to vegan story at Cook.Vegan.Lover.) We rent an apartment at an Inn on the lake specifically so that we can enjoy healthy meals whenever we want to have them.  We tend to go out for dinner; however, after some research, I did not find brilliant vegan dining options for me. (In year’s past I could make due with an egg/dairy option off-menu, but no longer!)  I am a planner, though, and have found a few possibilities, which I will blog about next week.  To prepare for most meals in-house we’ve packed a box of dried / cupboard goods (spices, oils, Bragg’s, seeds, beans and nuts), produce from the farmer’s market and nut milks, tofu, coconut water, etc. Oh! And the blender, which will not only serve up our home-made margaritas while lounging lake-side, but will be used in the morning for Angela’s delicious Green Monsters and farm-stand tomato gazpacho. 

After a short run Saturday morning, and enjoying a very yummy bluish-red Green Monster,

2T brown flax seed
2 handfuls of baby spinach
4 frozen strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup of almond milk

we were off to the farmer’s market where we made just a few purchases this week (plenty of fabulous produce to enjoy in Connecticut).  Then we bee-lined to Mrs. Green’s Natural Market to pick up a special order I placed last week:  Daiya Vegan Cheese!   I have read so much about this “cheese” in the vegan blogosphere and was quite excited to try it.  I wanted a pizza, but on a hot day, it seemed too heavy, so I opted for an alternative.

JL’s Easy Grilled “Pizza”
Serves 2

  • One tortilla (Rudy’s Organic 7 Grain with Flax wrap)
  • Refried pinto beans (low-fat, vegetarian, salsa-style from Trader Joe’s)
  • Tomato sauce*
  • baby spinach
  • fresh basil leaves
  • red onion
  • salt
  • pepper
  • Daiya mozzarella cheese
  • red chili pepper flakes

Brush the tortilla with olive oil on both sides.  Spread 1/3 can of refried beans on the tortilla and pour the tomato sauce* over the beans.  Place pieces of baby spinach and basil over the pizza, add diced red onion and salt and pepper to taste.  Top with Daiya shredded mozzarella “cheese.”  Place on the grill for 10 minutes.

Top with red chili pepper flakes and serve.

It was oh-so-tasty!  One side got a little crispy but, in the same way I like my toast a bit burnt, I liked it.

*JL’s Quick Tomato Sauce In the blender:  2T double-concentrated tomato paste, 4T water, diced garlic scapes, olive oil, dash of Louisiana hot sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Sunday, 4th of July in the U.S., I started my day with a nice and easy 12 mile bike ride and enjoyed a “brownish” Green Monster (spinach, banana, raspberries and brown flax seed) on the deck while loading my Kindle for vacation.  I decided to try my hand at a new (to me) veggie burger for an evening BBQ.  I modified the recipe by substituting ground flax seed and water for the egg, used the salsa-style refried pinto beans leftover from last night’s pizza, gluten-free bread crumbs from PureNRG and used the food processor to mix.

It’s recommended to grill these burgers on foil. Pre-grill shot:

and off the grill:

Drumroll….my first 4th of July Vegan BBQ:

(Fresh Corn Chowder, Black Bean Burger with onion and vegenaise on a Trader Joe’s multi-grain British muffin, grilled red potatoes with catsup —couldn’t resist! — and grilled asparagus.)

The burger, on a lightly grilled muffin, was delicious!  Even my carnivore husband thought it was tasty.  Lucky me, leftovers for a picnic at the lake this week! I also made a few other dishes to take to Connecticut including a 3-bean salad: pinto beans, white beans, green beans, yellow carrots, baby onion, apple, fresh basil, 1/4 cup red wine (because it was there) sesame oil, brown rice vinegar, cardamom, garam masala and sea salt.

My version of summer vacation paradise:

  • Each morning the big decision is whether to run or cycle around the lake.
  • Lazing around lake-side for the rest of the day; the Kindle is stocked and ready for my voracious, vacation reading.
  • His and her massages at the local spa.
  • The vineyard, with a loft wine bar overlooking the lake, right next door to the Inn.
  • Being married to someone who also finds running, riding, lazing, reading, massages and sipping wine an ideal summer vacation.

We’re off…see you next week!

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