Last month, the Afro-Vegan Society team went live for our monthly virtual happy hour to share food, fun, and tips for making vegan living easy. We cooked up some delicious vegan Juneteenth inspired recipes recipes and mixed up some equally delicious drinks. Hundreds of viewers from across the country tuned in to join the festivities to find inspiration in the kitchen and community in the chat. Our Virtual Happy Hours are the place to be so click to set a reminder so that you don't miss our Vegan Comfort Food happy Hour on July 22nd at 6 pm ET!
In June, Ray made fruit infused water to complement her grilled rum pineapples and rainbow kabobs, Jasmin made peach iced tea to go with her BBQ sliders and coleslaw, and Jes made watermelon lemonade to go with her tasty pasta salad. Keep reading for all these recipes and click below to watch a replay of the live!
Let's get into these recipes!
Ray's Fruit Infused Water
Serves: 1
Ingredients
1 Pint Blackberries
1/2 Lemon sliced into eighths, lightly squeezed to breakup internal skin
2 Sprigs Mint (crushed to release essence)
Instructions
Combine all fruit into a fruit infuser pitcher and allow at least to sit overnight in the fridge or out in direct sun for 3-4 hours to enhance the infusion process.
Grilled Rum Pineapples
Ingredients
1 Pineapple, sliced widthwise
2 cups rum of choice, split into 1 & 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup
1 tablespoon crushed rosemary
2 tablespoons agave
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Place the pineapple slices into an airtight container along with 1 & 1/2 cup of rum. Allow to marinate for about an hour at room temperature, shaking the container intermittently to distribute the marinade
In a bowl, combine the 1/2 cup of rum with the agave, cayenne pepper, and crushed rosemary. If crushed rosemary seasoning isn't available, take fresh rosemary and apply pressure to release the essence then let it sit in the rum and seasoning mixture.
Place pineapples on the grill and brush the rum and seasoning mixture on each side throughout the duration of the grill time.
Sear the pineapple to your liking, then remove.
Grilled Rainbow Veggie Kabobs
Makes: 12 kabobs
Ingredients
Wooden or Metal Skewers
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 Eggplant
2 Zucchini
1/2 Red Onion
Whole Button Mushrooms (Baby Bellas or other)
1 1/2 C red and yellow sweet peppers
1/4 C (4 tablespoons) Grapeseed or other high smoke point oil
1 1/2 -2 tablespoons McCormick Sunshine All Purpose Seasoning by Tabitha Brown
Instructions
If using wood skewers, soak them in cold water for at least 30 minutes-1 hour prior to use
Slice the eggplant in half, lengthwise. Slice one half into lengthwise, flat wafer-like pieces (about 1/2 inch thick). Cut the other half into chunks
Cut one zucchini into 1/2 inch thick slices, widthwise. Slice the other zucchini lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick pieces.
Cut your red onion and sweet peppers into thumbnail sized pieces
Assemble all veggies except the lengthwise chopped slices of zucchini and eggplant onto your skewers however you desire. Feel free to use your mushrooms or your tomatoes the kabob tops and bottoms.
Mix the Sunshine All Purpose seasoning into the oil
Assemble your kabobs and zucchini and eggplant slices on your grill.
Gently brush the oil and seasoning mixture onto your kabobs and your veggie "slices" as they cook and once you flip them, brush on the other side. If not all your veggies can fit at one time, only brush the oil on the pieces that are immediately going on the grill.
Once the veggies have a good char, remove and enjoy! Feel free to use your veggie "slices" to surround a vegan burger of your choice (like the Everything Legendary Brand used) for a bunless option!
Jasmin's Peach Mint Iced Tea
Ingredients
1 Peach
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Cane Sugar
1 Black Tea packet
8 ounces of water
Handful of mint leaves
Instructions
Boil water with mint leaves. Once water has come to a boil, add black tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes. Allow to cool in the fridge.
Cut peaches into cube pieces. Transfer half of the peaches to a bowl and cover with the cane sugar. Allow to sit for 15 min. Use the other half of the peaches to put in ice cube trays with mint leaves and a splash of lemon juice.
Blend peach mixture and strain the juice.
Once tea has cooled remove from fridge and add peach juice.
Add ice cubes and enjoy!
BBQ Sliders Ingredients
1 Can of Jackfruit
1/4 Cup chopped Onion
2 Cup of BBQ Sauce
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt
Dinner Rolls
Cole Slaw Ingredients
1/4 cup Shredded Cabbage
1 tbsp Vegan Mayonnaise
1 tsp of Mustard
1/2 tbsp Relish
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients for coleslaw and allow it to sit in the fridge while the remainder of the meal is prepared.
Sautee onions in a cast iron pan until translucent.
Drain jackfruit, rinse, and shred with a fork. Add shredded mix to pan with seasonings allow to cook down continuously stirring to prevent mixture from sticking to pan.
Remove from heat and drizzle BBQ sauce on top of the mixture. Place cast iron pan in oven that is set to 350 for 10 min. During the last 3 minutes add buns to the oven.
Remove pan and buns from oven and retrieve slaw.
Assemble your slider by adding the BBQ jackfruit mixture and topping with slaw and enjoy.
Jes' Watermelon Lemonade
Ingredients
1/2 medium-size watermelon or enough to make 4 cups watermelon juice
4-5 large lemons or enough to make 1 cup lemon juice
1 - 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4-6 cups water or sparkling water
fresh mint
Instructions
Scoop watermelon into a blender or food processor.
Process until liquid.
Strain watermelon through a mesh strainer, reserving 4 cups of watermelon juice and discarding the watermelon flesh.
Pour the watermelon juice into a pitcher. Set aside.
Juice the lemons to equal 1 cup (use more if you prefer it really tart. I used 4 large lemons and got 1 cup of lemon juice)
Strain the lemon juice and add it to the pitcher.
Add in water.
Stir in sugar to sweeten to desired taste.
Serve immediately over ice and garnish with fresh mint leaves and lemon slices.
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
16 ounces brown rice pasta
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon celery salt (or 1/4 cup chopped celery)
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika (to mix in salad)
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika (to use for garnish, optional)
1/4 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup sweet relish (do not drain)
1/2 cup sweet green peas
2 tablespoons sweet spicy mustard
4 tablespoons fat-free Italian dressing
1 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
Instructions
Boil pasta according to directions. In the meantime, chop the onions and celery. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Add drained pasta to mixing bowl and add sweet relish, chopped celery, and onions and mix together with pasta. Add the spices (onion powder, black pepper, celery salt, smoked paprika) and mix into pasta.
To make the mayonnaise, mix all mayonnaise ingredients in a mini food processor until smooth. Be sure to use the silken tofu in the grocery aisle and not the refrigerator section to get that smooth and creamy texture.
Add the dressings (sweet spicy mustard, Italian dressing, and mayonnaise) and gently mix dressing into pasta. Lastly, fold sweet peas into pasta. Then pour into serving dish and garnish with smoked paprika.