Food For Thought XIII: Summer Eats

I don’t know about y’all, but the LAST thing I want to do in the summertime is come home after working and/or running and/or the gym and spend even a minute more than absolutely necessary in the kitchen.  Here are a few go-to quickies that I’ve found and am loving this summer!

Vegan Tempeh Salad (recipe in link) – It says the prep time for this is 45 minutes.  From start to finish, that’s probably accurate, but it’s not 45 ACTIVE minutes.  It’s more like “Put the tempeh on the steamer, go get int he shower.  Set aside to cool, go blow dry your hair.”  It really doesn’t seem like it takes that long.  And this stuff is so dang good.  It’s my new favorite way to use tempeh.

Smoky Black Bean Wraps from the Happy Herbivore Cookbook (third party recipe in link) – I loooooove the smoky mayo in this.  I would totally use that on other stuff.

Tempeh Burger Pizza from The Friendly Fig (recipe in link) – Remember that time, like two minutes ago, when I said the tempeh salad was my favorite way to use tempeh?  Yeah, I had forgotten about this!  I may or may not have eaten the whole thing by myself in one sitting.  Spoiler:  I did.

Summer also brings with it a couple of fantastic BBQ holidays, and those are always a fun time to try out new things.  Between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, I made three new-to-me recipes.

Carrot Hot Dogs from Happy Herbivore Holidays & Gatherings (I don’t find her recipe online, so I’ve included a link to the book it’s in, but there are variations all over the interwebs–just google it!)  These are fantastic.  I have bought my last commercial vegan hot dog.  These are my new cookout staple.  And they’re SO EASY!  Without giving away too much, all you do is boil the carrots, then let them marinade for at least 24 hours, then toss them on the grill or in a skillet.  You just can’t beat ’em.

Cowboy Beans from Happy Herbivore Holidays & Gatherings (ditto above about not finding the recipe online) – I followed the recipe as it was published, but then (as with many of Ms. Nixon’s recipes) I found it … lacking.  But I was able to tailor it to my taste by using more of the seasonings in the recipe as well as tossing in a couple of my own.  By the time I got done with it, it was pretty good!  I’m still on the hunt for the perfect vegan baked beans recipe, so if you have a favorite, please share it in the comments!

Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers from Happy Herbivore Holidays & Gatherings (recipe in link) – You know that smoky mayo up there that I said would be good with other stuff?  Well, here ya go.  I’ve made so many different bean burger recipes, using so many different kinds of beans, but this one was a first.  I’ve never used a white bean and certainly never sweet potatoes in a burger.  While these tasted great, they really didn’t turn out exactly right.  They took twice as long to cook as the recipe says and they still never got crisp, but I think adjusting the cook times and temps would make a big difference.

What are some of your favorite summer eats these days?