Recipes: Happy Herbivore’s [Vegan] Maque Choux

I recently invested in a new vegan cookbook, The Happy Herbivore, and I could not be happier. Not only do I have hundreds of new recipes to choose from, but the author, Lindsay S. Nixon must be a Southern girl…

…because the pages of Herbivore are filled with Southern and Creole style dishes (veganized) that would make any natives drool.

(Editor’s note: I have only lived in the South for roughly a year and half — I do not claim any Cajun street cred yet!)

Here is a dish I recently tried and loved — and it’s super simple, even to make the vegan sausage from scratch. You could also make this with red beans and rice, another Louisiana staple.

Happy Herbivore‘s Maque Choux

(Pronounced: mock shoe)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 4 garlic gloves (I buy the giant jars of minced garlic to save time)
• 1 bell pepper (green is usually cheapest), seeded and diced
• 1-2 tsp Happy Herbivore‘s Cajun Essence (see page 2 – You can also just buy some good ole’ Louisiana-style seasoning powder like Tony Chachere’s)
• 2-3 celery stalks
• 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 pkg frozen corn
• hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 cup kidney beans OR
• Happy Herbivore‘s Spicy Sausage, sliced (see page 3)

Directions:

• 1. Put water in medium saucepan.
• 2. Cook onion in high heat in saucepan. Once translucent, add garlic, bell pepper, Cajun Essence and celery. Cook until peppers are bright green, but still crunchy to taste.
• 3. Add tomatoes and corn, reduce heat to medium. Add seasonings as desired.
• 4. Serve over cooked brown rice and toss with kidney beans or Spicy Sausage.

Serves 2. (And a serving is only 215 calories!)

Next >> Happy Herbivore‘s Cajun Essence