There's no denying, Vegan Sandwiches Save The Day!

The Reuben just might be my favorite sandwich.  Toasty and tangy, it always satisfies.  This version features the Mushroom Tomato Slices from Tami and Celine's Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day!

 The Reuben is basically a grilled sandwich with a protein, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing.   Traditionally a Reuben is made with corned beef and swiss cheese, but it's the kraut and dressing that give it the boost of flavor.  Lots of vegan versions feature tempeh, but I enjoy the meaty bite of the seitan based Mushroom Tomato slices.  If you don't have rye bread, just sprinkle on some caraway seeds with the kraut for that deli rye flavor.

The gals have a whopping three Reubenesque recipes in the book from The Rachel (with cole slaw and bbq sauce!?!) to the One World Reuben to From Russia with Love.  Each making me wish I'd read the recipes again before making mine.  Tami rocks for sauces, but I used a cheater Vegenaise, pickle, and ketchup version of thousand island (aka special sauce.).  I did use Tami's secret and added some pickle juice to the sauce.  Dressing leftover from spreading on the sammy can be used to dunk the crispy parts in while your munching away.

The most ridiculous gadget you totally need - Chopped salad

Yes. It's just a bowl and a thing that looks like a double pizza cutter and it's awesome.

My building used to have a Hale and Hearty in it so it was really easy for me to grab a soup and salad for lunch. Now I've found a way to fend for myself with pretty much the same results.

I know it's silly, but I like salad better when it's chopped. One bite and you get a little bit of everything.

Hot Tamale Pie from Cookin' Crunk!

Sometimes recipes just call to me, like the Hot Tamale Pie from Bianca's amazing Southern cookbook Cookin' Crunk.  Check out her Vegan Crunk blog for lots of awesome recipes.

Spicy and savory, this hot dish is perfectly warming on a cold winter's day.  Side of salsa with fresh cashew sour cream and a little green tobasco.  Yum!

Here it is right out of the oven.  It'll be perfect for the next office pot luck!

Peanutty Sweet Potato Soup from Vegetarian Times

I needed to use up some sweet potatoes from my summer CSA that were trying to grow themselves  in my pantry.  I also had a jar of unopened jalapeño Harissa hiding in the cupboard that I had been meaning to try.  A quick internet search came up with this simple Vegetarian Times recipe which also includes peanut butter and spinach.  My mom used to make a peanut soup at Thanksgiving which I loved, so peanut butter in soup isn't that weird to me.  An immersion blender makes this a quick and easy one pot meal.

I topped it with some fresh cashew sour cream and a bit more spicy Harissa.  This would probably also be good with some sriracha if you're not into Harissa.