But Make It Vegan: Bacon & Cheddar Perogies
Recipe for Environment 911

One of my all-time favourite easy freezer-meals are perogies (no matter how you spell them), but that said, there’s something about a hand-made fresh pierogi that is just delicious.  

Luckily this recipe can do both for you, as you’ll make a big batch and can have some that same day, and freeze the rest for another day you’re feeling lazy.  

These may be more work, but good vegan pierogis are so hard to find, and this way you can customize your fillings, and even make a few different flavours in the same batch.  

The Bacon & Cheddar Perogies is a classic, and the most popular, and it’s what I have for you below (I used the Vegan Bacon recipe from The Edgy Veg), but if you want greens you can chop and wilt some spinach, or add in some caramelized onions, or vegan ground round. Heck, you can even make some dessert pierogis with some local fruit to pair with some dairy-free ice cream.  
The world is your oyster!...or perogies I guess.  

Make Approx. 50-60 Pierogis  

INGREDIENTS: 

For The Dough:  
- 3 cups flour (more for rolling/dusting) 
- 1/2 tsp salt 
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
- 1 cup of water  

For The Filling:  
- 3 russet potatoes 
- approx. 1.5 cups vegan cheddar 
- salt and pepper 
- nut milk 
- 2 tbsp vegan butter 
- 3 or 4 pieces of vegan bacon (see below)  

For The Vegan Bacon from The Edgy Veg:  
- 10 pieces rice paper  
- 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast  
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder  
- 4 Tbsp olive oil  
- 6 Tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos  
- ½ tsp liquid smoke (sub: 1 Tbsp bbq sauce) 
- 1Tbsp maple syrup  
- ½ tsp ground black pepper  
- ½ tsp of paprika  

For Cooking:  
- 2 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil  

For The Topping: (all optional)  
- 1 onion 
- chives and/or green onions 
- vegan sour cream (or cashew cream)    

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Make the vegan bacon from The Edgy Veg (using any substitutes that you need) and allow it to fully cool. 
If you want to skip this step (to save a bunch of time) and just want cheddar perogies, with a smoky flavor, add ½ tsp to the filling when mixing it all together. It won’t have the crunch and chew factor, but you will still get the aroma.  

For The Dough:  

Measure out the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in the salt and combine, then add the water and oil and begin to bring the dough together.  
I started in the bowl and when it was loosely mixed, moved it to a clean, floured countertop, and continued to knead the dough until it came together in a smooth ball. (Took a bit less than 10 mins)  
Cut the dough in half, and wrap each half with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 20mins  - you can put it in the fridge if you want, but let it warm up a bit before you start to work with it. 
*Make the filling(s) during this time - See Below   

For The Fillings:  

Scrub and peel your potatoes, and then cut into cubes. Cover with cold water, and then bring to a boil on the stove. Let the potatoes cook at a rolling low boil until you can pierce them easily with a knife (around 15-20mins-ish).  
Drain and then place the potatoes back in the pot. Add the vegan butter, and then either with a potato masher, or a hand mixer, work the potatoes until they're smooth, while slowly adding some nut milk as needed. (I don't like chunky mashed potatoes, but if you prefer, you can leave some). Lightly salt and pepper to taste, then stir in your vegan cheddar.  

If using the vegan bacon, crumble into small bits, or chop and then stir in. If just using the liquid smoke, pour in and mix well.  
Let cool to room temp so you don't burn yourself when making the perogies. 
If you'd like to use other fillings as well, you could heat some veggie ground round and wilt some baby spinach in a pan. Either use this on its own, or mix it into the potatoes.   You could also sauté some onions, and then add chopped mushrooms, cooking until they brown and the moisture has evaporated. And again, either use on its own or mix into the potatoes.    

To Make The Perogies:   

Roll out half the dough until it's about 1/8 - 1/16 inch thick (very thin) - either by hand, or in a pasta maker.  
Use a round cookie cutter, or a glass, floured, and cut the dough into circles (or ovals). Place on a floured cutting board, or cookie sheet, while you do the rest of the dough.   
Re-roll any leftover dough bits to maximize the amount of you can make.  

When the half of dough is ready and cut, grab a small bowl of room temp water. Place the circle of dough in your hand, and fill with about a heaping teaspoon of your filling of choice. This amount will vary with the size of your circles - it may take a few tries.  

Dip a finger in the water bowl and run it around the edge of your perogy circle, and then fold in half over the filling. I started pinching it together to seal it from the middle and working towards one edge, then doing the other.  
Place on a floured surface and cover while you make the rest of the perogies in this manner.  Keep going until all of the dough is gone!   

To Cook:  
*If you want to have caramelized onions for a topping, it's good to make them first, as they take some time. 
Cut an onion into half-moon slices, and then add to a frying pan that is on medium heat, with about a tsp of olive oil or vegan butter. Stir every few minutes, and you can add a sprinkle of salt as well. It will take them about 25-30 mins to caramelize. Keep warm while you make the perogies.   

Boil some salted water in a large pot. and then drop the perogies one by one into the pot. You can do about 10 at a time max, as you don't want them to stick together (or the bottom of the pot).  
[If you're one of those people that eats perogies just boiled and not fried, skip the next part and plate your perogies.]  
In the meantime, heat some vegan butter or olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the perogies have cooked for about 3 mins and rise to the surface (it may take longer if you're cooking them from frozen), scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place them in the frying pan.  

Cook them until they're golden brown on both sides (to your liking).  
Place them on a plate, and top with the caramelized onions, chives or green onions, and vegan sour cream on the side - if you're using those.  

ENJOY!  

Okanagan Crush Pad - Summerland, BC
Images from Environment 911 Blog - Sustainability in the Okanagan Winery Circuit
September 23, 2020

I wrote a few recipes for BC Living from when I went camping on the August long weekend (at Twenty Mile Bay) - Gourmet Camping Recipes for Your Next Camping Trip.

Some of them are long, so I figured I’d break each of them down into their own posts (means extra photos too!) - the first being Jackfruit Tacos (click for recipe), followed by breakfast with a Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash (recipe for that here), and finally we have Green Curry.

You can 100% make this at home (any of them really), but a lot of the tips are for how to prep before you leave, and minimize effort at the campsite.

---

“Skip the roasted weenies and indulge in these easy-to-make camping recipes! These dishes might look fancy, but much of the prep work can be done at home (and then frozen), and all of them can be done on a camp stove if there's a fire ban. Oh, and they can also all be made vegan!

So make your grocery list, get shopping and start prepping these delicious and nutritious camping meals...”

Green Curry with Ginger Rice (paired with The Hatch 2019 B. Yanco)

While this may sound way too fancy for a camping meal, it’s essentially a one-pot production that you barely have to monitor. The second pot comes into play if you want to make your rice fresh at the site, but you could make it ahead of time at home and just mix it right into the curry.

Another good thing about this dish is that if there is leftover veg from breakfast (think onion, peppers, potatoes, etc.), you can toss them right in here. No waste and you can chop everything in the morning, meaning more time on the beach.
Once again, this can be made vegan by eliminating the chicken (which I diced and froze ahead of time so by night two it was ready to go and I didn’t have to handle raw chicken on site), or substituting in some tofu, as the rest of it is just veggies!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 can coconut milk

• ⅔ cup water (approx.)

• 1 vegetable bouillon cube

• 2 chicken breasts, diced

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp (possibly more to taste) green curry paste

• About 200 g of mushrooms (your choice, but I went with shimeji and shiitake)

• ½ red pepper, cut into strips

• 1 or 2 baby bok choy, roughly chopped (spinach works too)

• About 20 snap peas, ends trimmed

• Thumb of ginger (optional), sliced

• 1 cup jasmine rice

• Basil, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook the rice in a pot to the specifications on the package (adding in some optional ginger for flavour, removing after rice is finished) and set aside.

2. In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium and then add the onion, sautéing for a few minutes, before adding the garlic and the green curry paste.

3. Add in the chicken if you are using it and cook until just no longer pink.

4. Add the coconut milk into the pan and stir until the paste has been dissolved. Then add in the mushrooms and red pepper. You may need to thin the sauce out more here, depending how you like your curry. If so, dissolve the bouillon cube in the two-thirds cup of water, and then add it to the pan. (You can transfer to a large pot if your pan doesn’t fit this.)

5. Bring to a boil and then turn to low and let it simmer. You can taste and see if you need more curry paste (if so it may be easiest to dissolve it in a small bowl with a bit of the curry broth, and then add it in).

6. After the liquid has reduced a bit, and you have the spices where you like, add in the bok choy and the snap peas and cook for a few minutes until just tender (you want a bit of crunch to them still).

7. Turn off the heat, plate the rice (with the ginger discarded) and then scoop the curry mix on to it. Tear the basil and add on top (optional) and enjoy the view.

8. Drinks: There’s not much you can’t pair with a spicy curry, but a cold, dry, white wine is a sure bet. I tried The Hatch Winery’s B. Yanco a few months back from the Stable House Bistro takeout window, and fell in love. I’ve paired it with so many meals since, and on the beach as the sun went down sipped on between bites of this dish was another success.

I wrote a few recipes for BC Living from when I went camping on the August long weekend (at Twenty Mile Bay) - Gourmet Camping Recipes for Your Next Camping Trip.

Some of them are long, so I figured I’d break each of them down into their own posts (means extra photos too!) - the first being Jackfruit Tacos (click for recipe), and now I present Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash.
It’s vegan up until you add the optional egg(s), so you decide what you’d like!

---

“Skip the roasted weenies and indulge in these easy-to-make camping recipes

These dishes might look fancy, but much of the prep work can be done at home (and then frozen), and all of them can be done on a camp stove if there's a fire ban. Oh, and they can also all be made vegan!

So make your grocery list, get shopping and start prepping these delicious and nutritious camping meals...”

Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash (paired with Creek & Gully Cider, Century Pét Nat)

Chickpeas are so versatile for camping because they obviously keep well, but they can also be used in so many dishes. We showed you this recipe for Curry Chickpea Sandwiches that made for an easy lunch, but now we’re incorporating chickpeas into breakfast. The best thing about this dish is you can change things up with what's in season when you head to the campground. Zucchini everywhere? Toss it in. Rolling through Chilliwack? Grab some corn. But whatever is in the vegetable crisper will do!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced

• ½ small red pepper, diced

• 1 tsp cumin

• ½ tsp paprika

• 12 small or fingerling potatoes, sliced in half

• Handful of baby spinach

• 1 or 2 twigs of fresh rosemary (stems removed)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 eggs (eliminate these to make it vegan, can sub in diced avocado)

• Salt and pepper

(NOTE: Again, you can add other vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc., just keep in mind cooking times of each, and if you might have to steam things before tossing them in.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small pot, boil some salted water. Boil the potatoes for approximately 5 minutes until just softened (you don’t want them to get mushy). Drain and set aside.

2. In a large cast-iron pan (don’t be afraid to lug this camping if you have a car, as it’s so versatile) or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and then add the onion, cooking for a few minutes before adding in the red pepper and softening for a few more minutes.

3. Add in the chickpeas, sprinkle the cumin and paprika on, and stir to combine everything, then add in the spinach and cook until wilted. Bring everything to one side of the pan and add half a tablespoon of oil to the other side and place the potatoes, cut side down, into the pan.

4. Chop the rosemary finely and sprinkle on top of the potatoes with a bit of salt and pepper. How much rosemary depends on your taste, as it’s pretty powerful. Rotate the potatoes after they brown for a minute on the one side. (Give the chickpea mix a turn here too, as you don’t want it to burn or stick).

5. If you’re using the eggs, clear a space for them in the pan, and drizzle the last of the olive oil into that area, then crack both eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let them cook. If you have a lid for you pan, now is a good time to put it on so the eggs cook on the top faster, or you could place some tin foil (a camper’s best friend) over the top.(Another idea would be to scramble the eggs in a bowl, and pour them over the chickpeas, and then cook to mix—great if you don’t like your eggs runny.)

6. Once cooked, evenly distribute on to two plates and sprinkle with any additional salt and pepper needed.

7. To complement your coffee or tea, you could go the traditional route with a breakfast/brunch drink and have a mimosa, or you can skip the sugary OJ and pair this dish with Creek & Gully Cider. I sampled a few of them on this trip, but the pairing of the Century Pét Nat, was definitely a great call for this meal.

Serves 2”

I wrote a few recipes for BC Living from when I went camping on the August long weekend (at Twenty Mile Bay) - Gourmet Camping Recipes for Your Next Camping Trip.
Some of them are long, so I figured I’d break each of them down into their own posts (means extra photos too!) - the first being Jackfruit Tacos!

---

“Skip the roasted weenies and indulge in these easy-to-make camping recipes

These dishes might look fancy, but much of the prep work can be done at home (and then frozen), and all of them can be done on a camp stove if there's a fire ban. Oh, and they can also all be made vegan!

So make your grocery list, get shopping and start prepping these delicious and nutritious camping meals...”

Jackfruit Tacos (paired with Persephone Goddess Golden Ale)

The jackfruit should marinate for at least a day, so you can either make everything the day before you leave (and have a quick and tasty meal as soon you get to the campground), or marinate it at the campsite the day before you want to eat it. Store-bought tortillas work well if it’s a few days in and you need the preservatives, but if you can get some fresh ones (I get mine from here), or frozen ones that you heat up/cook (like these vegan ones), your taste buds will thank you. (Plus, you can make breakfast tacos in the morning with the leftovers.)

TACO INGREDIENTS

• 1 can jackfruit (approximately 230 g)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp cumin (ground)

• 1 tsp paprika

• ½ tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp coriander (ground)

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• ½ tbsp of chili paste (optional, add spice as you like!)

• Salt and pepper

• ½ cup of chopped onion

• 2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic

• Tortillas, your choice!

• Lime wedges for garnish (optional)

CABAGE SLAW INGREDIENTS

• Half a small reg cabbage, thinly shredded

• ¼ cup cilantro

• ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced

• Juice of one lime

• 1 tbsp olive oil

AVOCADO CASHEW CREMA INGREDIENTS (OPTIONAL)

• ½ cup cashews, soaked overnight or for several hours

• 1 small avocado or half a large one

• 1 clove of garlic

• Juice of half of a lime

• ¼ cup cilantro

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tbsp water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak the cashews the night before or in the morning.

2. Drain the jackfruit and rinse, then break apart in a bowl until it resembles pulled meat. You can also place it in a reusable (or Ziploc) bag and squish it to break it up, which makes it slightly easier.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the chilli powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, salt, and brown sugar. Then stir in the chilli paste (optional) and 1 tbsp of olive oil.

4. Add to the jackfruit, mixing until it's fully coated. Either cover or zip up baggie, and place in fridge for at least two hours (but overnight really helps let the flavours come together).

5. In a larger bowl, place the cabbage slaw ingredients and mix together. I use my hands to do this, as it helps soften the cabbage a bit when it’s been massaged. And then put in the fridge, covered.

6. To make the crema: drain the cashews and rinse, and then add them and the rest of the crema ingredients to a high-powered blender. Blend together until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water to thin it out. You can also add a bit of olive oil, or more avocado to make it creamer if needed. Cover and chill.

7. When you’re ready to cook, heat up a pan (I prefer cast iron, but any pan will work) and warm your tortillas, one by one, covered with a clean dish cloth or wrapped in foil). You can also do this in a foil packet over the fire, but keep an eye on them, or they will burn and stick together!

8. When done, in the cast-iron pan (or frying pan), heat a tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for two more. Then you can add in the spiced jackfruit and stir.

9. Add approximately half a cup of water and continue to cook, letting it evaporate while you stir the jackfruit for about 10 minutes. Test the seasoning and see if you need more salt.

10. To plate, place the tortillas on a plate, then some of the avocado crema (or sour cream*), a scoop of the jackfruit, and top with the cabbage mixture and optionally drizzle with more of the crema.

11. Serve with an optional lime wedge—and a cold beer (lagers, golden ales and pilsners are all good choices here.) I paired it with Persephone’s Golden Goddess Ale—light and refreshing, and it came out of an ice-cold (literally) cooler, which is hard to beat.

*NOTE: If you want to make the crema to take with you, you can, or if you want to skip it and just bring sour cream, that’s another option. A sliced avocado is also an excellent topping that you can just chop up at the campsite.

Makes 8 to 10 four-inch tacos

Written and Photographed for BC Living
”Five Easy Tips for Making Pizza At Home”
August 5, 2020

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“You’ve perfected your banana bread and your sourdough loaves are on point. What’s your next move? Might I suggest stepping up your homemade pizza game

Making pizza at home is easy and lots of fun. Everyone can make their own personal pizza with toppings to suit their own particular tastes. Plus, it’s an engaging family activity and a creative date-night idea.

You could go the easy way and buy pre-made, pre-baked or frozen dough... and you could get the store-bought sauce off the shelf... or pre-shredded cheese and still make a good pizza. But, there are simply ways to make that pizza even more delicious and rival the in-restaurant experience.

Here are a few tips to upgrade your homemade pizza skills, and really wow your crowd (or yourself)...

1. Make your own dough

Fresh dough is something to behold and makes a huge difference in texture. You have many options here. You can use a bread-maker machine to make it easy and still end up with a great taste. Or you can make it by hand and let it rise for a while and use it that day. Or you can use a smaller amount of yeast, and let the fridge do some work for you by letting it sit overnight. This step (called cold-fermenting—kind of like what you have to do with sourdough) means you’ll have to plan your pizza night a day or two ahead, but once you try it, you won’t want to go back. Whichever route you decide to go, you’ll thank yourself when you bite into that crispy, chewy crust! 

2. Making the sauce

Honestly, it’s so simple, you barely have to pay attention to it, and not only do you end up with a better base for your toppings, you avoid the overly sugary shelf-stable taste. Fresh tomatoes (especially when they’re in season, and you can make a fancy heirloom tomato sauce) work well, but if you get a good can of off-the-vine tomatoes (where that’s the only ingredient), you’re good to go year-round.

Sautée some garlic, add in the tomatoes and a bit of water, shake some spices over it (think salt and pepper, Italian seasoning or oregano), and maybe some fresh basil, and cook it down until, shocker, it’s sauce-like! (At that point you can purée it as well, if you prefer a less chunky sauce.) Make a big enough batch and you can freeze it, and save yourself the step the next time.

Oh, and if you’re feeling ambitious, or have picky eaters, you can also try a white-sauce pizza and make a Bechamel sauce. There are a few pizzas with toppings (mmm funghi with truffle oil) that go really well with a white sauce, which leads me to... 

3. Toppings

We’ll start with cheese. I know it’s tempting to get the pre-shredded cheese in a bag and save yourself some time, but the starch on them (why they don’t stick together) makes melting difficult and gummy.

At the very least, shred your own low-moisture mozzarella, or take it a step further and do a combination of a few cheeses that melt easily (havarti and fontina, for example). And if you’re making a margherita pizza, search out fior di latte cheese (or buffalo mozzarella if you can’t find it)—it’s authentic and since the pizza is so simple to start with, you should be using the best ingredients you can find.

When it comes to toppings, many can go right on the pizza, like tomatoes and prosciutto. But throwing on things like raw mushrooms and uncooked meats is going to backfire. You want to cook the pizza at a really high heat (we’ll get into that) and there isn’t enough time for those kinds of toppings to cook thoroughly and become flavourful. Sautée vegetables with a bit of olive oil to soften and bring out juices, and always cook raw meat fully before putting it your crust. That way you’re not over-cooking the pizza to try and get the toppings finished.

4. Turn it up!

I’ve learned in the process of my pizza experiments that if you crank your oven as high as it goes, and if you’ve done everything right with your dough and toppings, it’s going to make the biggest difference. It all depends how hot you can get your oven (and if you follow one of the suggestions in tip no. 5 below), but it should only take a few minutes to cook your pizza.

I’ve worked at 500 degrees the last few times and even if the pizza is a weird shape (it happens) or even if the dough isn’t homemade, it usually turns out beautifully.

Another hot tip (get it?) is to turn the broil on for the last minute or so (you just have to keep an eye on it the whole time, which you should be doing anyway). This will give the top of the pizza a bit of extra attention and melt-time, and because we don’t all have wood-fired ovens in our kitchens or yards, it will help fully surround the pizza with heat.

Another idea is to cook it on the barbecue, as that can get even hotter than the oven, but that will require an extra tool for sure (or else the mess potential is high), which is what the next tip is all about.

5. Try a pizza stone

Seriously it’s a game changer. The stone goes in when you pre-heat the oven and absorbs the heat as it rises. It helps keep the oven temperature even, and when you slide your pizza on, it’s cooking from the bottom, top and surroundings. You can bake other items on this too (bread, quesadillas, pita), so it’s not just a one-trick kitchen toy, and helps regulate heat when you’re baking things that can’t go directly on it.

The best accessory to go with this is a pizza peel. Assemble the pizza, throw down some cornmeal or semolina flour on the peel, place it on and it will slide right off on to the stone (the same when it comes out). Then you’re not dealing with trying to handle 500-degree stones while taking your pizza out. It helps get an assembly line going when you’re making multiple pizzas as well.

For something different, toss (well, place gently) the pizza stone on the barbecue and try cooking your pizza on there. You lose the ability to broil, but because the ‘cue can usually get hotter than an oven, the cook time is about the same. Plus, it’s just a fun idea to make a barbecue pizza!

Like most things in the world of baking and cooking, it may take a few tries to get it perfect. So, start with even just one of these tips, and you’ll slowly add another skill to your repertoire—or at the very least look like it on Instagram.”