Robin Robertson

We’re approaching Labor Day weekend here in the United States. Labor Day is traditionally thought of as the end of summer, even though summer doesn’t officially end for another few weeks. Much like Memorial Day and Independence Day, this holiday is usually commemorated with backyard barbecues and picnics in the park. I love to celebrate with salads, sandwiches, seitan ribs, grilled vegetables, and skewers. I’ve put together a menu of vegan Labor Day recipes that are perfect for your weekend cookouts.

10 Recipes for Your Vegan Labor Day Cookout

One of the great thing about this Pantry Pasta Salad recipe is that the portion size is easy to adjust. To increase the volume, cook an entire pound of pasta and add additional pantry goodies, such as olives, roasted red peppers, or pine nuts.

This colorful Roasted Sweet Potato Salad is both a nice change from regular potato salad and an unusual way to serve sweet potatoes. Almond butter provides a creamy richness to the dressing and toasted almonds add crunch.

A relative of the sweet potato, jicamas taste similarly to water chestnuts and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are especially good in this sprightly Cilantro-Jicama Slaw.

These lip-smacking vegan BBQ Seitan Ribs are messy and fun to eat. Enjoy them with potato salad and coleslaw.

Not only does jackfruit lend itself well to shredding for that pulled effect, but it’s also great at soaking up the zesty barbecue sauce, making it an ideal candidate for these hearty Pulled Jackfruit BBQ Sandwiches.

I love the jerk-spiced sides at my favorite Jamaican restaurant, the vegan-friendly Nice Mile in Asheville, North Carolina, but these Jamaican Jerk Vegetable Skewers satisfy my cravings when I’m home.

A popular Thai appetizer, satays are usually made with meat, but there are lots of plant-based ingredients that are idea candidates for this skewered and sauced treat. These grilled satays are made with eggplant.

These tasty Spice Rubbed Vegetable Skewers are a crowd pleaser whether plated individually or heaped on a platter and served on a buffet.

The version of Romesco sauce in this Grilled Vegetables with Almond Romesco Sauce uses a fraction of the olive oil that’s in the traditional Spanish sauce.

Vary the fruit you use to make these Grilled Fruit Satays with Pineapple-Coconut Peanut Sauce according to the season and your preference – bananas, apricots, and peaches are good choices.

A relative of the sweet potato, jicamas taste similarly to water chestnuts and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are especially good in this sprightly Cilantro-Jicama Slaw. To save the time, you can use a julienne peeler to cut the jicama, or even shred it, if you prefer.

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Cilantro-Jicama Slaw with Lime-Orange Dressing

A relative of the sweet potato, jicamas taste similarly to water chestnuts and can be eaten raw or cooked. They are especially good in this sprightly slaw. To save the time, you can use a julienne peeler to cut the jicama, or even shred it, if you prefer.

Course Salad

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Cilantro-Jicama Slaw, jicama, salad

Yields 4 servings

Author Robin Robertson

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 jicama, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, marmalade, lime zest, agave, and salt. Mix well, then whisk in the oil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, jicama, carrot, and cilantro. Pour on the dressing and toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is from Vegan Without Borders © Robin Robertson, 2014, Andrews McMeel Publishing, photo by Sara Remington.

The hot humid weather is back in full force and so is my desire for quick and easy meal solutions. On hot days like the ones we’ve been having lately, I prefer to do any cooking that needs to be done early in the morning to save me from heating up the kitchen later in the day. Today, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite vegan recipes for the blisteringly hot days of August.

10 Cooling Vegan Recipes August

Cucumber and White Bean Ceviche – Traditionally made with raw fish or scallops, I like to make this lime-marinated salad from Peru with cucumbers and white beans for a nice contrast of refreshingly crisp and creamy.

Fire and Ice Sesame Noodles – The evocative name refers to the heat from the sriracha and the cold since I usually serve this dish chilled. You can serve it at room temperature, if you prefer, but “fire and room temperature” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Indonesian Gado Gado – Gado-Gado is an Indonesian main-dish salad of raw and cooked vegetables tossed with a spicy peanut sauce. The flavor improves with time, so plan on making this crunchy salad the day before you need it.

Bánh Mì Tostadas – East meets West in this tasty fusion combo. Tostada means “toasted” in Spanish and is the name of a Mexican dish in which a toasted tortilla is the base for other ingredients that top it. Bánh mì is a popular Vietnamese sandwich that features crisp pickled vegetables, fragrant cilantro, chiles, and zesty hoisin and sriracha sauces.

Soba Slaw – Plus – The Soba Slaw in Quick-Fix Vegan, with its chewy noodles and crunchy cabbage and carrots, is a nice refreshing salad on its own. To make it a heartier meal, however, I usually add some cooked shelled edamame or some diced baked tofu, and a little sriracha sauce to give it some heat.

Chilled Glass Noodles with Snow Peas and Baked Tofu – This light but satisfying salad should be prepared at least 30 minutes ahead of time for the best flavor. Made from mung bean flour, glass noodles are also called cellophane noodles, bean thread noodles, and harusame.

English Garden Salad– Little gem lettuce has spoiled me for other types of lettuce—it’s everything we love about butter and romaine lettuce, all in one compact little head— and it’s perfect for this English Garden Salad.

Chickpeas Nicoise – One of my favorite flavor combos is the one found in a Nicoise Salad:  the melding of creamy potatoes, fresh green beans, sweet tomatoes, and piquant olives hits all the right flavor notes.

Watermelon Paletas– These watermelon popsicles make a refreshing end to a spicy meal or a cooling snack on a hot day.

Pina Colada Squares – These no-bake treats aren’t too sweet if you use unsweetened coconut.

Little gem lettuce has spoiled me for other types of lettuce—it’s everything we love about butter and romaine lettuce, all in one compact little head— and it’s perfect for this English Garden Salad. If you can’t find Little Gem lettuce, substitute another type of lettuce, such as Boston or Bibb.

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English Garden Salad

Little gem lettuce has spoiled me for other types of lettuce—it’s everything we love about butter and romaine lettuce, all in one compact little head. If you can’t find Little Gem lettuce, substitute another type of lettuce, such as Boston or Bibb.

Course Salad

Cuisine English

Keyword Garden Salad

Yields 4 servings

Author Robin Robertson

Ingredients

• 4 ounces thin asparagus or young green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
• 2 to 3 heads Little Gem lettuce or other tender lettuce, coarsely chopped (about 5 cups total)
• 4 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 4 red radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon torn small fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch sugar

Instructions

1. Steam the asparagus and peas over boiling water, using a steamer pot with a perforated insert until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minute. Run cold water over the vegetables to stop the cooking process, then drain and pat dry.
2. Transfer the cooled vegetables to a large bowl. Add the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and fresh herbs.
3. In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sugar. Drizzle over the salad and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is from Vegan Without Borders © Robin Robertson, 2014, Andrews McMeel Publishing, photo by Sara Remington.

Inspired by the Indian chickpea pancakes, these chickpea flour omelets are amazingly versatile, depending on how you season them. You can add ingredients to cook within the omelet, as is done in an Italian frittata, or you can make a filling to fold inside, like a traditional French omelet. The omelets are also delicious topped with a spoonful of vegan hollandaise or cheesy sauce.

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Chickpea Flour Omelets

Inspired by the Indian chickpea pancakes, these chickpea flour omelets are amazingly versatile, depending on how you season them. You can add ingredients to cook within the omelet, as is done in an Italian frittata, or you can make a filling to fold inside, like a traditional French omelet. The omelets are also delicious topped with a spoonful of vegan hollandaise or cheesy sauce.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword chickpea flour omelets, vegan omelets

Yields 4 (6-inch) omelets

Author Robin Robertson

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (green onions)
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or other fresh herb of choice
• 4 teaspoons grapeseed oil or cooking oil spray

Instructions

1. In a bowl, food processor, or blender, combine the water, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, baking powder, mustard powder, black pepper, and turmeric and whisk or blend until smooth. Stir in the scallions and parsley. Allow to stand and thicken for 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture should resemble pancake batter. If it is too thick, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the batter is pourable.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of oil to an 8-inch nonstick skillet or spray it with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour or ladle about 1/3 cup of the batter into the hot skillet and move the skillet to spread it evenly in the pan. Cover tightly and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and there are little holes on top, about 4 minutes. Carefully loosen it with a very thin spatula. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer the omelet to an ovenproof platter, cover, and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining omelets. Continue to made more omelets until all of the batter and filling are used. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Loaded Frittata (Variation)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Add 1 cup total of the following ingredients (in any combination) to the omelet mixture:

• Chopped pitted Kalamata olives
• Soft, minced sun-dried tomatoes
• Chopped roasted red bell pepper
• Sautéed chopped spinach or thinly sliced zucchini
• Sautéed sliced mushrooms
• Shredded vegan cheese

Transfer the omelet mixture to an oiled ovenproof skillet or pie plate and smooth it evenly into the pan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until firm and lightly browned along the edges. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Text excerpted from VEGANIZE IT! © 2017 by Robin Robertson. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Photo by William and Susan Brinson.