sweet, smokey & zesty vegan sloppy joe's

ate the heck outta that vegan joe!
so rich & yummy. 

ah-sloppy joe, ah-slop-ah-sloppy joe   (lunch lady? adam sandler? come on!)


i love delicious, healthy, accessible food. making it, eating it, sharing it. all of it. having said that, there are some foods i'm more psyched about than others. let me tell you, i'm f-ing excited to talk about this sloppy joe recipe.
a while back, i had a party and wanted to create vegan sloppy joes to serve. i wanted some guidance, and i found a recipe for vegan sloppy joes - but they used tempeh, which is a grain based vegan "meat"ish food...but it's really grainy, larger granules, i've never been a huge fan...so i'm glancing at this recipe thinking "why the hell wouldn't they use TVP? it'd be perfect to simulate the texture of ground meat, and would soak up the flavor as it rehydrates, and smoked paprika would be awesome, and beer!..." bam. done. made my own recipe and now i'm sharing it with you. because i'm a giver. it's a blessing and a curse.
this recipe is as easy as...insert inappropriate analogy here. ie: a cheerleader on prom night.  and fyi - at the aforementioned party, everyone loved the joes, vegans and carnivores alike.

ingredients:
- 1 tbsp oil (vegetable oil is fine)
- 1 small onion (chopped nice and small, think about making it the size of a corn kernel)
- 1/3 to 1/2 average bell pepper (chop same as the onion. hate bell pepper? don't use it, won't hurt.)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or microplaned
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) beer  (what to do with the rest of the beer? enjoy responsibly)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (if you have regular vinegar, use 1/2 that amount. note - i like my joes zippy, tangy to balance out how sweet they are. 1 tbsp apple cider vin will give you that zip. white vinegar is stronger tasting...use your judgement)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke (if you've never used it, it might sound crazy. see the picture to the right - that's what it looks like when i get it from whole foods - it's all natural and vegan, and it adds that smokey flavor you would otherwise find in bacon, smoked salmon, jerkeys, "hickory" flavored things, etc)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp mustard (any kind, don't stress - yellow or dijon, etc)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup TVP (do I have to say it again? textured vegetable protein - bob's red mill brand from whole foods - crazy cheap and awesome. refer to the fauxlognese sauce posting for detailed description)

what to do:
1. prep prep prep. mince your garlic, chop your onion and pepper, pop the tops off your seasonings, get your ingredients and measuring cups/spoons out for easy measure and dumping in the pan. it'll go pretty fast.
2. get a large pan (note: you want it to have a lid, so if you have to use a pot, that's ok too...btw: pan - shallow, think frying an egg. pot- deep, think making soup) heating over medium fire, add your oil, onion, bell pepper, garlic, black pepper and paprika. bring all that to a simmer - so your "medium" heat is right when your hearing "ssssssss"(that's hissing) and your onion's getting translucent (not brown) and your garlic should not be burning. the oil will combine with the seasonings and the pan will seem a little dry, it's ok. let that go for about 5 minutes.
3. add the beer to deglaze the pan (loosen up all those dry bits of seasonings and goodies from the pan) it's going to sizzle and pop at first, stand back a little. let that sizzle for a minute.
4. add everything else - liquid smoke, vinegar, ketchup, mustard, water and TVP

vegan joe on some 9 grain bread with a lil salad = heaven

5. mix all ingredients well, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes - the TVP should be absorbing almost all the liquid by the end of the 15 minutes (a little liquid in the bottom of the pot is perfect) if it's soupy at the end of the 15 mins - let it simmer with the lid off until that liquid reduces. if it's bone-dry 5 mins into the cooking - just add 1/4 cup water, stir, make sure your lid's on and continue cooking. it's not a big deal - you can do this.
6. as always, taste it - like it? great. if not, adjust to your taste. the only thing i can't think of how to fix is if there's too much vinegar - so that's why i warn that my 1tbsp of apple cider vinegar does make it a bit zippy! but it's so good with the sweetness and smokiness!


hints:
-double this recipe - because it's delicious. i like making this for parties and serving it on mini whole wheat buns as a finger food. a tray full of these little gems= best. party. ever.

- if i make the joes a little less vinegary, they end up being very sweet and smokey, and i like to make a rice wine vinegar asian cole slaw to put in the sandwich. if i make the joes zippy as above, i use the silken tofu ranch to make a traditional cole slaw and add that to the sandwiches. soooooooo good.

- sure you could get pre-made sloppy joe mix, but this is homemade, super healthy, easy and cheap - and you don't have to take time browning meat before you make it. the TVP soaks up the flavors and is so freakin' low in fat and high in protein. seriously. TVP - i heart you.

nutritional info:
recipe yields about 2 + 1/2 cups. the following is info per 1/2 cup:
calories: 161
fat: 2.9g
saturated fat: 0.2g
cholesterol: 0mg
sodium: 549mg
carbohydrates: 19.3g
fiber: 3.7g
sugar: 9.4 g
protein: 9.9
vitamin A: 1%
vitamin C: 46%
calcium: 7%
iron: 13%