Vegan 4th Of July

Happy Independence Day! Last year for 4th of July, I went on a trail ride with my friend, Max, and ate a mediocre veggie hot dog and had some bitch beer.. THIS YEAR, I made a full meal, that was quite satisfying and rather patriotic if I say so myself!

Meet your vegan grill master!

Patriotic Fruit Salad

I start with a simple patriotic fruit salad.. I started with blueberries and raspberries, then cut up some jicama, strawberries, and watermelon. It was absolutely delicious and everything is in season, so the fruit was very sweet!

Vegan Burger & Fries

Next, I worked on the main course. Can’t get more American than a burger and fries! I grabbed some Beyond Burgers at the store yesterday, as well as some whole grain hamburger buns. I knew I had some lettuce at home, as well as my FAVORITE ketchup and mustard made in Portland, Oregon (so semi local). Lastly, while I would typically just cut up some potatoes and make fresh fries, I did just grab some frozen ones from Trader Joe’s (hey, just being real). I started with the fries in the oven with some olive oil and pepper. They took about 20 minutes to be just right! Then, downstairs, I had the grill warming up and seasoned my “burgers” with pepper and montreal steak seasoning and olive oil. I also put olive oil on the buns so I could grill those up as well! I used a medium heat, so not enough to cook too fast since I was between the upstairs kitchen and downstairs backyard (cardio for the day: check!).

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Petite Vegan S’mores

Lastly, I worked on some patriotic dessert.. I can’t even tell you the last time I had S’mores.. We’re talking 15 years probably! I found some gluten-free, dairy-free graham crackers, vegan marshmallows and some high quality Theo dark chocolate. I split the graham crackers in half (they were very small so not overwhelming) and placed a piece of chocolate on one side and marshmallow on the other.. Since I did not have a fire or open flame, I broiled them (who knew). The key is to keep your oven open because the marshmallow browns FAST. You can rotate the pan, etc. with the oven open to get the marshmallow cooked evenly. I would recommend flipping your marshmallow to brown both sides.. this can be challenging (and hot!), so I used some tongs to do this. The dark chocolate melting very quickly. I then took a berry and put it in the melted chocolate, then smooshed the marshmallow and graham cracker onto the berry and chocolate side. It was absolutely delicious!!! I really liked the petite size of the crackers.

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  I always use extra mustard to dip my burger in.. A girl can never have too much!   You know it’s good when your lipstick is gone by the time you’re almost done! Hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July! Remember to bring your animals inside tonight and keep an eye on your horses if you have them! 😉

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