Air frying while traveling (it’s a thing!)

Here we are again, my weekly check-in!

I traveled to Illinois this week to meet my new – and first “great” – niece, Lennon.

I had such a great time with my family.

Of course, a day off is a bit elusive right now – even when traveling for family stuff – and I’m not complaining one bit. I needed to test out a few recipes for my vegan air fryer cookbook…so naturally I rushed out to buy a device for my sister.

We basically grazed on vegan air fryer recipes for days. These seasoned fries and Buffalo cauliflower were a huge hit.

We also made plain fries, tater tots, gardein crispy tenders, and even tried frozen Brussels sprouts (with maple syrup, yum). On the last night of my visit, I made Mongolian tofu and fried spring rolls.

I returned to Colorado on Thursday night and on Friday morning I was on the road to New Mexico to teach in the UNM-Taos culinary program later that day.

I rolled into town around noon and was so grateful that I left my little weekend rental stocked with food in the freezer and produce in the crisper. I fired up the air fryer for a quick lunch of homemade french fries, gardein crispy tenders and a chopped salad.

And then it was show time!

I have twenty students in my Vegan Cooking class in the culinary program. That’s a lot of people to manage in a commercial kitchen but we manage just fine. The topic Friday as healthy, hearty salads. I gave them some very basic recipes for inspiration but encouraged them to just go for it, to use spices, seasonings, and techniques that inspired them.

This savory take on my warm quinoa salad was delicious.

And this variation of a couscous tabbouleh salad was spot on.

What started as a tofu Caprese salad became amped up with the addition of crumbled vegan mozzarella (Miyoko’s)

Oh, there was potato salad!

And they riffed on my chickpea salad recipe.

And then – are you ready for this? – I played with aquafaba for the first time. We saved the bean water from the canned chickpeas and just poured it in a stand mixer. We walked away and came back five minutes later to find this:

So we added a little almond extract (at a student’s suggestion) + sugar and cream of tartar. So basically an impromptu vegan marshmallow-ish fluff for dessert. (By the way, don’t miss my interview with Zsu Dever, author of the new cookbook Aquafaba: Sweet and Savory Vegan Recipes Made Egg-Free with the Magic of Bean Water, on Easy Vegan the last week of September!)

My students created delicious salads, presented beautifully.

Not pictured, we also had a roasted root vegetable salad with a spicy marinade and a ramen noodle cole slaw. It was a fun class and each week I’m reminded just how much I love being a chef instructor!

As I walked into my little weekend condo I grabbed this snapshot. A perfect way to end a busy week of travel and a super-busy day of road tripping for 3+ hours before standing for 3+ hours in a commercial kitchen!

The next morning, on my way back to Colorado, I was once again greeted by wild horses.

Finally, I hope you had a chance to hear this week’s episode of Easy Vegan with chef, cooking instructor and cookbook author Mark Reinfeld, author of Healing the Vegan Way: Plant-Based Eating for Optimal Health and Wellness. We talk superfoods, how to make your kitchen an inviting place to spend time, tips on creating spice blends, and our mutual love for nutritional yeast.

Tags: culinary instructorvegan air fryer

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