Animal Beat

Vegan recipes for an animal-friendly Labor Day picnic

Take your labor out of Labor Day entertaining—and give animals a break, too—with Animal Beat's easy, yummy, original vegan picnic recipes containing no meat, dairy or eggs.

To make your life even easier, all recipes may be prepared ahead by a day or two and refrigerated in air-tight containers. (Popsicles, obviously, must be kept frozen.) Only the burgers and buns need to be heated. Then presto, bring it all out and serve!

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Golly Guacamole with Chips and Veggies
A surprise ingredient gives this guac a kick.

Tasty Tofu Burgers
Don’t make a face; they’re good!

Potato Power Salad
Protein-packed enough for a meal itself.

Cool Slaw
Think you don’t like cabbage? This sweet, refreshing rendition might change your mind.

Red, White, and Bluesicles with Berry Sticks
Cool, fun, and nutritious..

Golly Guacamole
(8 servings)

4 large avocados, peeled and mashed
1 medium red onion (or white or yellow) peeled and diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced (surprise!)
1 cup cilantro, snipped with scissors into small pieces
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chili powder
4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (keep in reserve)
Salt/pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl lightly mix together oil, vinegar or lemon or lime juice, spices, and salt/pepper to taste.

2. In a refrigerator-safe bowl, gently mix together avocados, onion, tomatoes, mango, and cilantro.

3. Pour oil mixture over avocado mixture and gently blend in with a fork or spoon.

4. Cover surface of guacamole with reserved lemon/lime juice so that it won't turn brown.

5. Chill in covered bowl.

Serve with chips and with raw, sliced veggie sticks of your choice such as carrots, zucchini, cucumber, broccoli, and jicama.

Tasty Tofu Burgers
(8 servings)

1 lb. firm or extra firm tofu, drained, patted dry, and mashed
1 cup vegan bread crumbs, wheat germ, or rolled oats (or 1/3 cup of each)
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil or thyme
½ teaspoon each paprika, cumin, and black pepper
¼ low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
4 tablespoons safflower, sunflower, or canola oil, plus enough to lightly oil baking sheet.

1. In small bowl, mix soy sauce or tamari, oil, herbs, and spices.

2. In a large bowl mix together mashed tofu and bread crumbs/wheat germ/oats.

3. Pour the sauce mixture into the tofu mixture and mix well.

4. Shape into burger-sized patties and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until firm and browned.

Serve with vegan hamburger bread and all the regular accompaniments such as lettuce leaves, tomato slices, pickles, mustard, catsup, and vegan mayonnaise. (Tasty brands of vegan mayo include Vegenaise, Nayonaise, and Spectrum Light Canola Mayo, among others.)

PLEASE NOTE: Burgers may be made ahead then re-heated before serving. And if desired, they may be re-heated on an open grill. However the consistency of these burger patties does not hold up well to grilling unless they’ve been baked first, and handled with care in the grilling process.

Potato Power Salad
(8 servings)

8 small or 4 large Yukon Gold, white, or red potatoes, boiled or baked till easily speared with fork
4 stalks celery
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 bunch green onions (about 8)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/8 cup Dijon-style mustard
1/8 cup water
Salt/pepper to taste (optional)

1. In a small bowl mix mayo, mustard, water, and salt/pepper (optional).

2. Cut potatoes, celery, and peppers into bite-sized pieces (1/2 inch to 1 inch).

3. Slice onions into small pieces (1/4 inch to 1 inch).

4. In a refrigerator-safe bowl, lightly toss together potatoes, celery, peppers, and onions.

5. Pour the mayo mixture into the veggie mixture and gently toss so that all ingredients are coated.

6. Chill in covered bowl.

PLEASE NOTE: Some good prepared vegan mayo brands include Vegenaise, Nayonaise, and Spectrum Light Canola Mayo, among others.

Cool Slaw
(8 servings)

1 medium head purple cabbage
6 large carrots
4 large apples, yellow or green variety, with cores, stems, and seeds removed
1 cup dried currants or cranberries
¼ cup poppy seeds
1 cup olive oil
1 cup apple juice
½ cup apple cider vinegar
Salt/pepper to taste (optional)

1. Thoroughly mix oil, apple juice, vinegar, and optional salt/pepper.

2. Slice cabbage thinly, and cut into lengths no longer than 1 inch. (You can use a food processor or just a sharp knife.)

3. Cut apples into bite-sized pieces (1/2 inch to 1 inch).

4. Shred carrots. (A food processor does the quickest job, but an old-fashioned hand grater works, too, and gives you an upper-body workout.)

4. In a refrigerator-safe serving bowl, lightly toss together cabbage, carrots, apples, currants/cranberries, and poppy seeds.

5. Pour oil mixture into the veggie mixture and toss gently till all ingredients are coated.

6. Chill in covered bowl.

Red, White, and Bluesicles with Berry Kebabs

Three bottles of your favorite all-fruit juices in red, white, and blue colors as follows:
Red – for example cranberry, cranapple, cran-grape, cherry, pomegranate, etc.
White – coconut or coconut/pineapple
Blue – for example blueberry or dark concord grape juice

1. Pour different colors of juice into separate popsicle molds to create popsicles in the three different colors--red, white, and blue.

2. Freeze till solid.

3. Remove popsicles from mold.

4. Serve on a bed of ice in a large bowl or tub interspersed with Berry Kebabs (see below).

PLEASE NOTE: The amount of juice you’ll need depends on how many popsicles you wish to make, and on the size of your popsicle molds.

Guests might want to try various flavors, so consider providing three popsicles for each.

If you don’t have enough popsicle molds to freeze that many all at the same time, you can prepare them in batches, but just make sure to store the already-prepared popsicles in a freezer-safe container not touching each other, because they can be devilish to separate!

Berry Kebabs
(8 servings)

50 or so strawberries
100 or so blueberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup shredded or grated coconut (packaged is fine)
Toothpicks or kebab sticks

1. Assemble berry kebabs by spearing the berries on toothpicks or sticks—first a strawberry, then two blueberries, then a strawberry, etc.

2. Dip them each in the orange juice, then roll them in the shredded coconut.

3. Chill in covered container.

EASIER ROUTE: If you’d rather not take the time to spear the berries, simply remove the stems from the strawberries, slice them in half, gently toss with the blueberries, orange juice, and coconut, then chill and serve in a pretty bowl alongside the popsicles.

Happy Labor Day from Animal Beat!

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