Saturday, January 31, 2009

Vegan Meatballs inspired by Antoinette

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I had an amazing morning. I woke up, Joelle came over to hang out and we went to Whole Foods. I honestly wish my side of town had a cheaper vegan friendly grocery store, but for now when I HAVE to get something there I will. Today I was going because I was out of Nutritional Yeast and Vegenaise. When we approached the front door I see a sign that said a vegan chef was going to be there from 11 am-2 pm in the store and she would be cooking for customers.

I WAS SO EXCITED! But, I didn't have my camera with me. That I hated myself for. I had no idea she was going to be there though so I shouldn't be so hard on myself. Her name is Antoinette Stanton and she owns a vegan catering business here in Las Vegas. Aside from Vegan and Vegetarian cooking she also conducts Vegan/Vegetarian food preperation for Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma (as well as many other places) , workshops, demonstrations and lectures about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. I have to say, this lady was THE BEST! Great personality, funny, and very real.

Today she was making Super Bowl food. Now, I'm not a sport lover so I couldn't care less about the Super Bowl (no offense to sports lovers) BUT, if what she served today was at a Super Bowl party I'd totally be there. She made meatballs with ground beef style Gimme Lean. I'm not a big mock meat person but I watched her make these and ate some. They were incredible. I didn't get a recipe from her, but she did tell me what she used and it was extremely simple. She also made a blackberry sauce to smother them in.

I really wanted to try to make some of these on my own to see how they would come out. They didn't come out as good as hers but I swear It was the best dinner I've had all month. I made them based on what I had available. Antoinette had me beat, I must admit.

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-1 Pkg Ground Beef Style Gimme Lean (14 oz, I believe)
-1 cup breadcrumbs
-1 cup minced cilantro
-1 stalk minced green onion
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 roma tomato (or equivalent of) minced as small as you can get it
-1 tbsp nutritional yeast
-2-3 tbsp water
-olive oil for frying

Empty package of gimme lean into a large bowl and add ingredients except the water. Mix together well. It's best if you just use your hands, the mixture will be thick. Add water 1 tbsp at a time until you reach the right consistency you want to work with. make sure the mixture is firm enough to hold it's shape but soft enough so it cooks properly.

Heat your pan, add a small amount of olive oil, roll your balls and throw them in to cook. Smaller sized meatballs cook better and have a nicer texture on the inside.

Thank you Antoinette. It was so very nice to have met you and talk to you. It was also nice to finally have met another vegan that is African American!

YAY! I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!

17 comments:

Jessie said...

Wow, these looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

These do look good, but why even call them meatballs? There's no meat, and you don't eat meat. So they're not meatballs at all.

x said...

Yummmm! Gorgeous playing too. Do you think I could sub in lentils in place of mock meat?

Anonymous said...

i thought that was a play on Marie Antoinette...because they were displayed so lovely...NEATballs! bah! you my favorite!!

Anonymous said...

fake meat is yucky poo poo.

However they LOOK amazing and everything else about them sounds delicous

Anonymous said...

In response to "anonymous:" It would sound gross to just call them "balls."

LeAnne said...

lol, thanks Lang.

Unknown said...

Another Afro-vegan here. I'm glad I found your site, and will have to try these meatballs.

Stella said...

I can't WAIT to try these.

kmouse said...

those look amazing!!!!

Anonymous said...

Sounds so good! I love your photos! Looks like it came from a restaurant. :)

Anonymous said...

Fabulous! I have some Gimme Lean in the fridge I need to use up :)

Eugene Dela Cruz said...

Yo should call them equivalent meat balls. Cause they are equivalent to normal meat.

jwl said...

I made these today are they are GREAT. I made them in a half ounce size, and it was perfect. I cooked them long enough to have a nice crispy texture on the outside and paired them with pasta sauce. I'd love to hear more about the blackberry sauce you had them with..sounds yummy! Thanks for the recipe. I'll definitely be making these again!

Anonymous said...

i made these last night. although i didnt have any cilantro, they were absolutely delicious. thanks so much for sharing your recipe. i will definitely be making these very often.

Anonymous said...

Why call them Vegan Meatballs? Because that's what they are! The first ingredient is GROUND BEEF STYLE GIMME LEAN fer cryin' out loud! lol

If you've got a problem with veggie items named close to their omnivorous counterparts, well then you'd get hives shopping for the ingredients at the supermarket. :)

Please remember that hundreds of thousands of vegetarians are former omnivores that have positive associations going all the way back to childhood with things that "mom used to make". Missing certain foods doesn't make them less worthy of praise but even more so for keeping their commitment.

I'm not a huge fake meat fan myself, but for those in transition it's a blessing that can keep them from feeling deprived on their new path.

Let's show our fellow humans a bit of the same compassion and tolerance that you extend to our animal friends people.

Anonymous said...

Why call cinnamon-sugar cookies Snickerdoodles? They have no doodles nor snickers in them... XD

-Halo