Thursday, April 8, 2010

Tidy joes (vegan sloppy joes)

I’m really not a fan of American food; in fact, I list it in the sidebar at right as one of my hates. This makes Urban Vegan’s sloppy joes recipe very special indeed—it appealed to even me! Once I removed the offensive barbeque sauce, at least. (I live in the BBQ capital of the country, and yet I can think of no smell, save sauerkraut, that repels me more.) The one thing that gave me pause about these sloppy joes was that mine turned out to be not at all sloppy, so I have renamed these tidy joes—they won’t make a mess of your plate or your health!

2 Tbsp canola oil
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
1 scant Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
4 whole grain hamburger buns




Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion until translucent...



...then add the garlic and red pepper and sauté for an additional minute.



Add the tomato sauce, TVP, chili powder, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar and turn the heat to low. Stir well, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the TVP and red pepper are soft. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.



A toasted whole grain bun was the perfect vehicle for this, but it would be great over brown rice too. I actually just ate the leftovers with a spoon, and loved it. These tidy joes have just the right amount of tang from the tomato sauce and vinegar, tempered nicely by the sweetness of the onion and pepper and the dab of brown sugar. A couple generous dashes of Tabasco rounds out all the flavors, making these truly above-average joes.



Yield: 4 servings. Per serving (without bun): 260 calories, 7.4g fat (.5g sat), 28.7g carbs, 9g fiber, 20.9g protein.

More Urban Vegan recipes...
Black olive tapenade
Whole grain rosemary-olive bread
Cauliflower-chickpea tagine

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9 comments:

  1. I've never made TVP before, but those Joes look yummy!

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  2. How funny, I just finished eating gardein's "bbq pulled shreds" and was thinking that I really don't like the flavour of barbecue sauce. Course, I don't have to risk offending my entire home state by saying so. :P

    This recipe will have to wait until I've moved out of home, though. The mother is allergic to tomato!

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  3. I like your new name for them...cute play on words - Tidy Joes. Also, that almost looks like "spanish rice" burgers. Looks good.

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  4. hey girlie!!
    your Tidy Joes LOOK delish! I hate BBQ sauce too...ICK, it ruins everything tasty! :)
    I hope youre having a great weekend!
    ~xoxo!

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  5. yum! there is a recipe on the PPK for SNobby joes and I have never made those, but i need to try some vegan sloppy joes for sure!

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  6. I haven't cooked much with tvp, but I like the concept behind this recipe! Perhaps I'll try it with crumbled tempeh. :)

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  7. McKella & Hannah #2—You should try TVP sometime! It’s ridiculously effortless (not to mention tasty); just mix it with a warm or hot liquid and you’re good to go.

    Hannah #1—Allergic to tomato?! That’s terrible! I can’t imagine; I’m so glad I don’t have any food allergies.

    Angela—The TVP crumbles are very tiny, and though they don’t have the texture of rice, I can see the resemblance in appearance!

    Lizzy—Thanks for finding my blog! I paged through yours last night and I love your positive attitude towards food and fitness. I hope you keep reading :]

    Averie—I haven’t tried the PPK recipe either, but now I’ll have to go check that one out!

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  8. Tomatos, wheat, dairy, beef, peanuts, pineapple, bell peppers, bacon, ham,broad beans, red wine... and that's not even all the list of her allergies! Luckily, I only got the lactose issue!

    P.S. How did today's lotto ticket go? :D

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  9. Jeezus! The poor woman! (I never thought I'd ask someone else this, being vegan and all, but) what DOES she eat?

    Lotto ticket, right...let me get right back to you on that...

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