Collard Greens with Coconut Curry Sauce, Grilled Tea-Smoked Tofu, Jasmine Rice

Dinner 1/15

Collard Greens with Coconut Curry Sauce

Grilled Tea-Smoked Tofu

Jasmine Rice

This is a riff on the recipe we made for lunch last week.

There were a couple of differences. First, we cut the tofu into cutlets, then marinated them with a variation on our usual mix with canola oil, tamari, agave, ketchup, black pepper, minced garlic and a touch of sesame oil.

The basic collard greens method stayed the same. In a wok on med-high heat add 1 tbs. canola oil, 1 tsp. garlic, 1 tsp. ginger. Cook for 30 seconds until aromatic, then add the thinly cut collards greens and turn constantly. Cook for five minutes, until the collards are softened. Add a splash of tamari, turn to coat, cook for one additional minute. Remove from the wok and keep warm.

Next, the curry sauce that the collards are braised in was fortified. In the same wok, add 1 tsp. of canola oil and stir-fry 2 tbs. of shallots and 1 tbs. garlic until fragrant, then add 1/2 can of coconut milk, and whisk in 1 tbs. green curry paste (more or less depending on your personal preference), 1/2 of a lime, juiced, 1 tsp. of agave and a splash of tamari. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced. Add the collard greens back into wok, turn the heat down to low, put the lid on the wok and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Check for seasoning.

To plate, start with the base of jasmine rice, add the collard greens and pour some of the curry sauce over the top. One of the nice things about the curry sauce is how it soaks into the jasmine rice. Finally add the grilled tofu on top and serve hot.

Tags: curry, coconut milk, tofu, tea, collard greens, rice, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Caviar, Pot Au Chocolat, Seitan Sausages wrapped in Puff Pastry

Dinner 1/14

Caviar

Pot Au Chocolat with Fleur de sel

Seitan Sausages wrapped in Puff Pastry

Today we were in "vegan test kitchen" mode.

The caviar has been rattling around in my brain for a couple of months -- it goes back to an entry from the always interesting Ideas in Food blog which displayed a technique for poaching tapioca pearls with apple juice that was later used as a part of a soup.

With blini and caviar (which from came from a jar) still fresh in our minds (and palate) from New Year's Day, the time seemed right to give this technique a try.



Start by soaking 1/4 cup of (Bob's Red Mill) small tapioca pearls for 20 minutes in 1 cup of water.

While that is soaking make the braising liquid. Start with a 1 cup of water in a small pot, and add a 2" piece of kombu. While that comes up to a boil, toast one sheet of nori, put it in a spice grinder and reduce it to a powder. Add the nori powder, along with 1 tsp. of loose black tea to the now boiling water. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes and reduce until you have about 2/3 cup of liquid remaining. Turn the heat down to low and add 2 tsp. of tamari (or 1 tbs. Braggs Liquid Amino's). Adjust as needed, but be aware that the flavor will intensify the longer it sits.



While the braising liquid is simmering, fill a separate pot full of water (almost to the top) and bring it to a boil, place a mesh strainer across the top of the pot -- which will allow the tapioca to be easily removed after each round of blanching (around 45 seconds or so) -- and blanch four or five times, rinsing the pearls off between each round, which will help to not overcook them. You'll know the tapioca is done when it turns translucent and loses all traces of the "white" inside the pearl.

Immediately drain the tapioca and pour into a small saute pan -- make sure they're in a single layer -- and strain the warm soaking liquid over the pearls to cover.

Let the caviar soak until it has come back to room temp, and then refrigerate for at least two hours -- or for a deeper color and stronger taste of the sea, overnight.

The final verdict? Oh, hell yes... ;)



We made the seitan sausages (from Vegan Brunch) again, this time a double batch and smoked them in apple wood. They were pan-fried, then wrapped in puff pastry and baked, like we did on New Year's Eve. But without the book cover shot.



Finally, for dessert we took a stab at veganizing this recipe using soft tofu.



I'd say the flavor, temp and time were spot on, but there was a slight "weeping" issue after they cooled that affected the final texture. Next time we'll makes some tweaks and write up a recipe...

Tags: tapioca, seaweed, caviar, seitan, chocolate, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Teriyaki

Dinner 1/12

Teriyaki

Teriyaki is all about the sauce -- our non-traditional* take includes tamari, mirin, agave, ginger, garlic and black pepper. Rumors of an additional 1 tbs. of hoisin sauce are unconfirmed at this time. ;)

Normally you would marinate the protein (in this case, seitan) and then grill or broil to finish. Tonight we poured it over the stir-fried seitan along with carrots, red bell pepper, king trumpet mushrooms, baby corn and a base of thick noodles.

* (a.k.a. "you're doing it wrong!")

Tags: seitan, tamari, agave, king trumpet mushrooms, noodles, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Toor Dal, Puri, Grilled Okra

Dinner 1/09

Toor Dal

Puri

Grilled Okra

Recently, our oft-used 7qt. Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker began making strange sounds. We found out the bottom had started to ever-so-slightly warp around the edges of the core and was causing an audible (and disconcerting) popping sound. The prospect of being with out a pressure cooker was inconceivable (say that in Wallace Shawn's voice from "Princess Bride", it's funnier).

Liz jumped on the phone to the usual suspects, but no one had one locally. Undaunted, she kept working the phones, until she found one in Pennsylvania which arrived two days later. The crisis was averted, and everyone can now stand down from DEFCON 2.

To celebrate our new arrival, we made our favorite Indian soup using toor dal (a.k.a. yellow pigeon peas) in the pressure cooker. A combination of spices -- cumin seeds, coriander, smoked paprika and turmeric in this case (the amounts/spices depends on your preferences and what's available in your spice cabinet) -- are fried in a little oil until fragrant and then mixed into the pressure cooked dal along with salt. The dal was topped with fried onion seeds and fresh curry leaves.

The okra was marinated in a mixture of 1 tbs. olive oil, 1 tsp. tamari, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. coriander and fresh cracked pepper to taste, and then grilled -- turning often, about 10 minutes total.



The puri was served along with the dal. A simple dough of 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of water and 1 tsp. of salt is kneaded in to a ball and allowed to rest for at least 1/2 hour to let the flour fully hydrate. The dough is rolled out thinly and cut with a round cookie cutter about 2 1/2" in diameter. The rounds are then deep-fried in peanut or canola oil at 375° F until they puff up into little pillows. ;)

Tags: dal, puri, okra, curry leaves, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Tea-Smoked Tofu, Collard Greens braised in Coconut Milk, Basmati Rice

Lunch 1/08

Tea-Smoked Tofu

Collard Greens braised in Coconut Milk

Basmati Rice

A quick lunch using leftover basmati rice as the base.

In a wok on med-high heat add 1 tbs. canola oil, 1 tsp. garlic, 1 tsp. ginger. Cook for 30 seconds until aromatic, then add the thinly cut collards greens and turn constantly. Cook for five minutes, until the collards are softened. Add a splash of tamari, turn to coat, cook for one additional minute.

Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk along with a pinch of sugar. Turn the heat down to low, add the wok lid and cook the collards for another 10 minutes.

Cut a block of tofu into small cubes and smoke with black tea for 20 minutes. Add 1 tbs. of canola oil to a wok and stir-fry on medium heat (turning constantly) until the tofu is golden brown (7-10 minutes). Splash with tamari at the end of cooking and toss for one additional minute.

To assemble, start with the re-heated rice at the bottom of the bowl, add the collard greens, pour some of the coconut milk on over the greens and top with the stir-fried tofu.

Tags: tofu, collard greens, basmati rice, coconut milk, lunch, vegan, food, tofu666

Stir-Fry, Jasmine Rice, Lotus Root Chips

Dinner 1/07

Stir-Fry

Jasmine Rice

Lotus Root Chips

I won't bore you with the stir-fry (tea-smoked tofu, carrot, red bell peppers, carrots, baby corn, king trumpet mushrooms, garlic, ginger, etc), but there's always time for the Lotus Root chips.

Liz took our daughter and her friends to CAM after school -- where amongst the Asian New Year's dresses, candy and day-glo colored "fruit" drinks with marbles (?!), they somehow managed to bring home actual food, including a beautiful lotus root.

The lotus root was slightly larger than normal, which meant I had to break out the mandoline rather than the smaller Benriner. I trimmed the end sections and peeled the outer skin with a vegetable peeler, revealing the pale rhizome underneath. Holding the lotus root at a 45° angle against the mandoline (with the blade set at roughly 1/16") will result in large, long chips. The first and last 1" sections don't look as cool -- but taste great as well. After cutting them, drop them in a chilled water bath so they don't discolor.

Using a thermometer, heat the peanut or canola oil to 375°F in a large wok or pot.

Remove the lotus root from the water, drain and pat dry before deep-frying.

Working in batches, so as not to crowd the wok (causing the oil to dramatically drop in temperature), carefully drop the lotus root into the oil and fry about one minute, flipping over once -- you can tell they're done when the lotus root stop bubbling around the edges.

Remove the lotus root from the oil and drain on paper towels or a wire rack -- they might look a little lighter in color than you want, but they'll continue to darken after you remove them. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt on both sides and serve.

Tags: lotus root, stir-fry, rice, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Black Pepper Tofu Curry, Sweet Potatoes with Chile Tamarind Sauce

Dinner 1/06

Black Pepper Tofu Curry

Sweet Potatoes with Chile Tamarind Sauce

Basmati Rice

A riff on Maya Kaimal's recipe, subbing cubed and fried tofu for an otherwise vegan recipe.

The sweet potato recipe is a based on this recipe. In this version, we first peeled and cubed the sweet potatoes, then boiled them for 10 minutes and they were finally braised in the sauce. Our son made this dish, which was an excuse to teach him the joys of using a mortar and pestle, rather than use a food processor -- which we don't have anyway. ;)

Both dishes were served on a bed of basmati rice.

Tags: basmati rice, sweet potatoes, tamarind, tofu, coconut milk, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Ramen

Dinner 1/05

Ramen

The base made, as usual, with our shiitake mushroom stock, enhanced with kombu, yellow miso, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Rounding out the bowl was black tea smoked tofu, baby corn, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, miso, carrots, red bell pepper and udon noodles, all topped with scallions.

Tags: ramen, noodles, mushrooms, leeks, miso, tea, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

White Bean Cassoulet

Dinner 1/03

White Bean Cassoulet

File tonight's meal under "Foods we made for Holiday Party XIV, but were unable to eat at the time because it was all gone by the time we got out of the kitchen" ;)

The recipe is here -- the only change was we used the tofu scraps leftover from cutting the rounds for the BBQ Tofu Lollipops -- they were also smoked, pan-fried and finished with tamari.

Tags: cannellini beans, tofu, soyrizo, tomato sauce, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Mushroom Quesadilla, Mexican Rice, Chile Rellenos

Dinner 1/02

Mushroom Quesadilla

Mexican Rice

Chile Rellenos

A simple Mexican style meal tonight -- the quesadillas were filled with cheddar Daiya, sauteed button mushrooms, and rajas (thinly sliced and fried poblanos peppers, red bell peppers and red onion seasoned with Mexican Oregano, salt & pepper).

The rice was a flashback to a dish from childhood: a spicy tomato sauce (ancho & chipotle pepper, smoked paprika) mixed with leftover basmati rice.

The chiles rellenos were stuffed with a mix of red onion, garlic, Mexican oregano, salt, pepper, pinto & black beans and cheddar Daiya and then put in the oven for 10 minutes @ 350F to heat everything through while making the quesadillas on the griddle.

Tags: mushrooms, black beans, pinto beans, daiya, rice, tomato, poblano, peppers, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Blini & Caviar

Dinner 1/01

Blini & Caviar

How was your New Year Day?

I spent part of mine making blini (from Veganomicon) and seaweed caviar, then drinking (more) cava.

2011 is off to a good start. ;)

Tags: New Year's Day, buckwheat, blini, cava, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Elvis Tofu Lollipops, Braised Collard Greens, Hoppin' John, Seitan Sausages Wrapped in Puff Pastry

Dinner 12/31

Elvis Tofu Lollipops

Braised Collard Greens

Hoppin' John

Seitan Sausages wrapped in Puff Pastry

Here's our New Year's Eve Dinner -- it's a mash-up between our BBQ Tofu Lollipop method (smoked, cut in rounds, mini-forks) and Elvis Fried Tofu recipe.



Again from above, Busby Berkeley style... you almost expect the lollipops to start twirling around in synchronization ;)



Seitan Sausages wrapped in Puff Pastry (served with a "Just Like Honey" + Dijon Mustard dipping sauce).



If we were ever to write a cookbook on vegan entertaining, this might be the cover shot.

edited to add: in response to a thread on the PPK, it would look something like this...



(this is a joke, please don't e-mail me asking about it)

Tags: tofu, collard greens, black eyed peas, rice, new year's eve, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Tofuyaki

Dinner 12/25

Tofuyaki

The nice thing about vacation time is that we can try out some things we haven't had time for during the course of the year. Tonight, as an experiment, we decide to make "tofuyaki" a play on the traditional Japanese dish takoyaki.



Not having a takoyaki pan handy, we broke out the cast-iron aebleskiver pan and got down to business.



Tofuyaki is basically a tempura batter with smoked diced tofu and green onions placed in the center. Here, the batter is poured into the aebleskiver pan and the tofu and green onions are added.



Then you keep rotating the batter as the bottom section firms up to make a spheroid shape -- or as close as we could get the first time out. ;)



Then it's plated and coated with a ponzu sauce and served with a cool refreshing beverage, in this case -- a Buddha's Hand Cosmopolitan.

As an experiment, it was a (tasty) success -- but there's two or three things we need to work on for the next batch, before we post a recipe...

Tags: buddha's hand, tofu, green onions, takoyaki, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Pierogies, Braised Leeks, Braised Carrots, Roasted Beet Salad with Pepitas, Eggnog Cookies, Linzer Bars, Korova Cookies

Dinner 12/24

Pierogies (cabbage & onion / potato & mushroom), Braised Leeks & Braised Carrots

 

Roasted Beet Salad with Pepitas and Champagne



Close-up of Roasted Beet Salad with Pepitas



Braised Carrots



Roasted Golden Beets (450F 45 minutes, wrapped in aluminum foil)



Desserts

Eggnog Cookies



Linzer Bars



Korova (World Peace) Cookies (adapted from Dorie Greenspan)



Table Right



Table Left

Tags: pierogies, potato, cabbage, mushroom, beets, pepitas, cookies, carrots, leeks, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Holiday Party XIV

Holiday Party XIV 12/18

This year more than 45 people made the snowy trek to our annual holiday party, and this is what greeted them at the table...

BBQ Tofu Lollipops

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary



Tapenade (kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, shallots, red bell pepper, capers, olive oil, parsley, pepper)



Palmiers (two versions: Olive & Sun-dried Tomatoes)



Mini-Burgers



French Lentil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette



Orzo Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette



Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette



Onion Dip with Crudite Platter / Mushroom Pate with Crackers




Desserts

Chocolate Cupcakes / Blondies / Snickerdoodles



Chocolate Cupcakes



Blondies / Snickerdoodles



Also served, but missing current pictures...

Seitan Bourguignon (from 2007 bottom right)

White Bean Cassoulet (from 2009 bottom right)

Stuffed Mushrooms (from 2006)

Curried Tofu Phyllo Cups (from 2008)

Artichoke Dip (from 2009)

Tags: holiday, party, dessert, cookies, bbq, tofu, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666