VegNews Top Ten Veg-Related Blogs

Thanks to VegNews Magazine & Laura Hooper Beck -- it's always nice to be recognized along with these other great blogs...

Crazy Sexy Life
Manifest Vegan
Post Punk Kitchen Blog
The Voracious Vegan
Vegan.com
Vegan Baking
Vegan Dad
Vegans of Color
Yeah, That Vegan Shit

it's in their 10th Anniversary issue (Aug/Sept), on page 130...

Spring Rolls with Coconut Curry Dipping Sauce, Ye Olde Stir-fry, Jasmine Rice

Dinner 7/21

Spring Rolls with Coconut Curry Dipping Sauce

Ye Olde Stir-fry

Jasmine Rice

We have an excess of rice paper wrappers hiding in the top of the pantry, so we decided to make spring rolls with them. They were stuffed with the usual suspects (carrot, bean threads, red bell pepper, napa cabbage) and a little diced jalapeno to give it a kick.

Because the rice paper is so delicate after soaking and can tear easily, we chilled them in the fridge for 30 minutes after stuffing them. This firms them back up and makes them easier to handle.

Normally at this point, if you were making the regular sporing rolls with the firmer wrapper, you would deep-fry them. Let's just say from past experience that isn't the best idea and leave it at that. ;)

We cooked them (seam side down to start) in a hot wok with a thin layer of canola oil until crispy on all sides. Be careful turning them over, as they can still rip pretty easily. To plate, the rolls were sliced on the bias and topped with thai basil.

The sauce was half a can of coconut milk, as much red curry paste as you like, a splash of lime and tamari. I realize that's not an exact recipe, but it's the kind of thing you don't measure, you keep tasting until you like it...

Tags: coconut milk, thai basil, jasmine rice, napa cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper, bean sprouts, rice paper, tofu, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Grilled Seitan with Morel Mushrooms, Green Beans, Braised Carrots, Fig and Blue Sheese Crostini, Pound Cake with Blueberries, Cherry Ice Cream

Dinner 7/10

Grilled Seitan with Morel Mushrooms

Green Beans

Braised Carrots

Fig & Blue Sheese Crostini

Dessert

Pound Cake with Blueberries

Cherry Ice Cream

Last week's seitan adventure was a trial run for tonight's meal, as we hosted our friends Laura and John for a seitan making workshop. We again made cutlets (which we grilled) and well as a batch of smoked chorizo-style sausages (not shown, but they look exactly like these).

We used our usual seitan making technique -- pounding out the cutlets with a meat mallet until very thin, then boil them in water for 15 minutes, then pressure cook in broth for 15 minutes. They were brushed with olive oil and tamari and grilled about 3-4 minutes per turn for nice grill marks.

(...and yes, we're still working on the seitan video we shot last week. It might take a bit longer than I was expecting.)



It was easily the nicest weather day we've had in weeks -- very low humidity and a pleasant breeze. We started out the evening with a quick appetizer of grilled fig and blue sheese crostini drizzled with some rice syrup while sitting out on the deck with a glass of champagne.



We finished the meal with a pound cake topped with Soyatoo whipped cream and blueberries and homemade cherry ice cream (that Liz whipped up while we waiting for the seitan to finish) on the side.

Tags: fig, seitan, morel mushrooms, green beans, carrots, cherries, blueberries, ice cream, cake, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Lettuce and Tofu Soup with Gyoza, Kabocha and Adzuki Beans

Dinner 7/07

Lettuce and Tofu Soup

Gyoza
(stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, shallots & napa cabbage)

Kabocha and Adzuki Beans

Occasionally, we like looking through the stacks in our library for something different to make. The recipe for Lettuce and Tofu Soup caught my eye, at first because it almost seemed like a cliche of the type of dish that omnivore's think vegans eat. Then, when I read the whole thing, it seemed like damn good idea for dinner. ;)

The soup is very much like a stir-fry (tofu, carrots, scallions) with a fortified broth (shiitake mushroom broth, sherry, sugar, tamari) with the addition of shredded romaine lettuce added near the end of cooking, which retains a decent amount of textural crunch.



We added our own touch to the soup with the addition of (seared and steamed) gyoza/pot stickers filled with shiitake mushrooms, shallots and shredded napa cabbage.



Filling out the meal was the Kabocha Squash and Adzuki Bean recipe from Alica Silverstone -- a nice hearty pairing with the soup and gyoza.

Tags: kabocha, adzuki, azuki, gyoza, tofu, romaine, lettuce, soup, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

BBQ Seitan Sandwich, Coleslaw, Grilled Corn, Potato Salad

Dinner 7/04

BBQ Seitan Sandwich

Coleslaw

Grilled Corn

Potato Salad

We had some leftover seitan from yesterday's batch, so we shredded and sauteed it, then whipped up some of our bourbon-based barbecue sauce. Served along with grilled corn, potato salad and coleslaw. So good.

Everybody has there way of grilling corn -- we like to submerge ours in water for at least 15 minutes, and then put it on the hot grill and turn them once the husks begin to blacken. It takes about four turns to ensure even cooking.

Tags: seitan, bbq, barbecue, bourbon, corn, grilling, potato, cabbage, coleslaw, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Grilled Seitan with Shiitake Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Beet & Radish Greens, Green Beans, Mixed Greens Salad with Edible Flowers

Dinner 7/03

Grilled Seitan with Shiitake Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce

Beet & Radish Greens

Green Beans

Mixed Greens Salad with Edible Flowers

We realized the other day that we hadn't made our own seitan in almost two years. So, we decided to make a couple of batches for the holiday weekend using our method as before.

(We also taped the seitan making process, and if the footage is usable, we'll post the video. It may take a while...)

Here's the results of the first batch, marinated with a tamari and olive oil mixture and then grilled served with the sauteed beet and radish greens as the base, topped with shiitake mushrooms and a red wine sauce, with green beans on the side.



For starters Liz made a delightful mixed greens salad with edible flowers, pretty AND tasty ;)

Tags: seitan, green beans, salad, beet, radish, edible flowers, pressure cooker, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666