Cooking from Blogs : Edgy Veg

Welcome back to another edition of Cooking from Blogs! Today we're diving into something completely different and getting a bit edgy...that is the Edgy Veg. This is another new-to-me blog that seems to focus more on turning regular omnivore comfort/fast foods into vegan versions. I've seen everything from vegan KFC to dippy eggs on this blog!

My meals for this week will be a bit different- there weren't really any side dishes that I could try out, so I just made a few different dishes on different days to test a variety of options from the blog. It wasn't cohesive and was definitely an experience (um..rice paper bacon???) - keep reading to see how it went!

Breakfast : Vegan Smoked Salmon

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For the past few years, I've tried pretty much every vegan smoked salmon recipe out there. I've had varying levels of success, and I think with this one I've finally found my holy grail. Not only is the process really easy (just boiling carrots, then marinating them), but the taste and texture is SO similar that it fills that lox-sized hole in my heart since trying to eat less animal products. This method is inexpensive and easy, so I'm really happy I found it!  Topped with some vegan cream cheese (the Trader Joe's one is good), capers, and pickled red onion all on an everything bagel- you got a winner.

Rating : 5/5. No complaints from me.

Lunch : Rice Paper Bacon

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Obviously things are starting to get a little weird here, but somehow this just works. I found this because I was trying to use up rice paper wrappers in my pantry challenge, and figured this was weird enough that I just had to give it a go. To my surprise, this was really, really good! A bit time consuming and has a learning curve, but good.  Does it taste exactly like bacon? Not really. Does it make for a killer vBLT?  YES. This is another recipe I've made over and over again, adapting it based on my taste- I add a lot more liquid smoke and pepper to the recipe, and also a touch more maple.

Rating : 4/5. Taste is amazing but it is time consuming and doesn't really prep well ahead of time.

Dinner : Crockpot Lasagna Soup

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For dinner, I wanted to try out a recipe in my crockpot and this one fit the bill. For some reasons, I've never been a big user of this appliance (always afraid it'll start a fire if I leave it and I'm not at home). Since I'm home all the time now, I figured it was the perfect time to give it a go. This was an easy recipe to follow and adapt based on what you have (I used soyrizo instead of ground vegan roast, had kale instead of spinach, and also used real ricotta since I had some leftover). It had a great taste, but didn't really remind me of lasagna. But- still a great veg soup to try out.

Rating : 3.5/5. Good taste and easy, but not what I was hoping for (and noodles got a bit soggy).

Dinner 2 : Vegan Buffalo Wings

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I decided to make these over the weekend during the Bills/Chiefs game (get it- buffalo wings for Buffalo Bills?). I've always loved trying seitan wings from restaurants but haven't tried making it myself, but after making these I want to try it with different sauces and slightly different techniques! I was surprised at how easy these were to make and how delicious they were. Definitely didn't taste like chicken, but they were chewy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Not as crispy as I was hoping for, but other than that these were perfect.

Rating : 4/5. So much fun to make and delicious, but not crispy enough.

Have you tried any weird recipes lately?

Crockpot- yay or nay?