what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Squash Blossom Fritto Misto, Mixed Peppers with Lemon Juice & Sea Salt on Baguette

Dinner 6/25

Squash Blossom Fritto Misto

Mixed Peppers with Lemon Juice & Sea Salt on Baguette

A "Small plates, loosely joined" meal...

It was yet another milepost in the summer season as Liz picked up some squash blossoms at the Farmers Market (in Hudson this week). She needed a way to keep them fresh until dinner -- the cat vase filled with water did the trick.

The squash blossoms were stuffed with a mixture of vegan cream cheese, shallots, nooch, salt & smoked paprika, dipped in the usual batter (using plain water instead of the soda water) and deep-fried.

The peppers (anaheim, cubanelle, sweet red) were pan-fried in 1 tbs. olive oil, then splashed with a juice from half of a lemon and tossed with 1 tsp. of sea salt, then served on a sliced and toasted baguette.

We also had a little leftover soup from last night -- all of it was served with Spanish Cava -- ah, summer!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Cabbage Soup, Garlic Bread

Dinner 6/24

Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Cabbage Soup

Garlic Bread

I think originally we were going for a Tuscan White Bean soup, but once the can of garbanzos was opened accidentally, things... changed. ;)

The ingredients included a base of carrot, onion, celery, with cabbage, parsley, rosemary, roasted garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, garbanzo beans, salt, pepper and homemade veg stock.

The garlic bread included a mix of Earth Balance, garlic and parsley added to the bread which was wrapped in foil and baked at 350F for 20 minutes.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Homemade Pasta with Morel Mushrooms, Roasted Cauliflower & Broccoli

Dinner 6/23

Homemade Pasta with Morel Mushrooms, Cauliflower & Broccoli

The pasta recipe is the plain version, augmented by the addition of Morel Mushrooms (soaked, cut in rings, pan-fried in olive oil, pepper, splash of tamari), Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower (olive oil, salt, pepper 450F, 15 minutes).

Liz went to the Geauga County Antique Fair in Burton a couple of weeks ago and came back with this beautiful pasta cutter, so we cleaned it up and gave it a spin -- as you can see the noodles are roughly fettuccine-sized which worked well with the sauce -- a sort of creamy alfredo.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Greens with Coconut Curry Sauce, Tea-Smoked Tofu, Pad Thai Noodles, Satay

Dinner 6/22

Greens with Coconut Curry Sauce

Tea-Smoked Tofu

Pad Thai Noodles

Satay

We brought back our recipe for the coconut curry with greens (kale & bok choy this time) topped with tea-smoked tofu (along with carrots, red & orange bell peppers). We used pad thai noodles as the base this time with excellent results.

When we went up to WF (the same day as our trip to Vegan Sweet Tooth), the kids wanted to try their sweet and sour faux-chicken, so we made a satay, grilling it along with mushrooms and a peanut dipping sauce (not shown).

Friday, June 17, 2011

Vegan Sweet Tooth, a photo essay

Vegan Sweet Tooth 6/17

It was an epic morning/afternoon of shopping that started off on the right foot at Vegan Sweet Tooth, a brand new vegan bakery located in Eton Square Shopping Center, a short 30 minute drive from Kent.

Or, as it's better known, our daughter's new favorite place in the universe, ever.

The interwebs are abuzz, with praise -- so let us add to the chorus of kudos and show you the selection of goodies that we purchased.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Cake Pops

Vanilla Mixed Berry Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry

Carrot Cake Cupcake

Box o' Cupcakes (Oreo, Chocolate Kahlua, Chocolate Peanut Butter)

Brownies

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Pesto, Fritto Misto, Tomato Potato Soup

Dinner 6/12

Pesto

Fritto Misto
(Scapes, Onion)

Tomato Potato Soup

You can chart the course of summer by what is in season -- in this case: scapes. We decided to use our first batch of the year by making a platter of fritto misto along with an onion -- there is no truth that fritto misto is just a fancy word for Onion Rings. ;)

After Liz's second "pine mouth" incident earlier in the year, we've been reluctant to use pine nuts of unknown origin. The pesto uses Marcona almonds in place of pine nuts -- give it a try sometime, it's really, really good -- a giant hat tip to Scot Jones from Vegiterranean for the idea.

The soup was a request from our daughter, and although it's best later in the season when the fresh tomatoes are plentiful, I can't say no to my little girl.

Tomato Potato Soup

4 cups of water
3-4 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, roughly chopped
1 roughly chopped onion
10 cloves of garlic, left whole
1 tbs. salt
1/2 tbs. of herbes de provence

1 tbs. olive oil
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
salt/pepper to taste

Add the potato, onion, garlic, salt and herbes de provence to the water and bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, add the olive oil over medium heat and add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt/pepper -- cook the tomatoes down until they're released their water and have started to thicken -- about 4-5 minutes.

In a blender combine the potato mixture with the tomato mixture and puree (you may need to do this in two batches) -- check for salt and serve hot...

Monday, June 13, 2011

Makin' Seitan

Here's the (long rumored) seitan video that we discussed a while back. In the video we show how we adapted Ron Pickarski's seitan recipe (from "Friendly Foods") using a pressure cooker. We also show how to grill the seitan & make a seitan roulade filled with mushrooms & greens.

Yes, that's Liz making the seitan, and I'm doing the narration (and music). ;)

Next up, a video on the smoker box...

Also new, you can Like us on Facebook.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Fiddlehead Fern Tempura, Braised Collard Greens with Coconut Milk, Deep-Fried Rice Ball, Tea-Smoked Tofu and Green Curry

Dinner 6/08

Fiddlehead Fern Tempura

Braised Collard Greens with Coconut Milk

Deep-Fried Rice Ball

Tea-Smoked Tofu

Green Curry

Tonight we brought back the fiddlehead ferns combined with our Tea-Smoked Tofu Curry (recipe) and Braised Collard Greens with Coconut Curry (recipe).

Stack them together carefully -- a skewer would help -- and pour the green curry sauce on the bottom of the plate.

There are no repeating subliminal numbers in the fiddlehead ferns. ;)

Monday, June 06, 2011

Seitan and Mushroom Fajitas

Dinner 6/06

Seitan and Mushroom Fajitas

Pan-fried seitan strips, mushrooms and rajas (strips of peppers and onions) with melty Daiya to hold it all together. I'll have two! ;)

Seitan Fajitas
Makes 4

Seitan

1 tbs. olive oil
8oz of seitan, sliced into strips

1 tbs. tamari
1 tsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbs. tequila (optional)

Heat the oil in a saute pan or wok and pan-fry until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Finish with a splash of tamari, lime juice and (optional) tequila. Cook for an additional minute or so to allow the alcohol to burn off. Set aside.

Mushrooms

1 tbs. olive oil

8 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbs tamari
black pepper to taste

In the same pan, add additional olive oil (if needed) and pan-fry the mushrooms until they have released their liquid (7-8 minutes) and finish with the tamari at the end. Set aside.

Rajas

1 tbs. olive oil

1 medium red onion, cut into thin strips
1 anaheim chile, cut into thin strips
1 cubanelle chile, cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic, minced

salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. fresh squeezed lime juice

In the same pan on medium heat, add additional oil if needed, and add the peppers, onion and a pinch of salt, and cook 6-7 minutes, turning often until beginning to brown. Add the minced garlic and cook one additional minute. Add the black pepper, oregano and paprika and cook one additional minute. Set aside.

Assembly

4 corn or flour tortillas
8oz of Daiya Cheddar
Seitan
Mushrooms
Rajas

Pre-heat the griddle or cast-iron pan to med-high and add 1 tsp. of canola oil to barely coat the surface.

Spread a thin 2oz. layer of Daiya on the whole tortilla, leaving a little space on the edges. Then on half of the tortilla, add the mushrooms, seitan and top with the rajas. Fold gently in half. Place on the griddle or cast-iron pan and allow the Daiya to melt -- about 3-4 minutes (which holds the rest of the ingredients together). Flip over and cook another 3-4 minutes until the tortilla gets crispy.

Serve with avocado, vegan sour cream & lime wedge.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Mac 'n Cheese with BBQ Tofu and Roasted Broccoli

Dinner 6/02

Mac 'n Cheese

BBQ Tofu

Roasted Broccoli

Around 5pm, with no ideas for dinner forthcoming, I went back and looked at the entries for June 2010 for inspiration. So, Mac 'n Cheese (base recipe here) it was...

We also had some leftover BBQ sauce which our daughter would have with every meal if she could. We also had a little broccoli left, so that was roasted in the oven (olive oil, salt, pepper, 450F, 15 minutes).

To keep down the number of dishes that need to be cleaned, everything was combined in one giant pile. A tasty, tasty pile. ;)

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Chocolate-Dipped Powdered Cream Cookies, Cava with Raspberries

6/01

Chocolate-Dipped Powdered Cream Cookies

Cava with Raspberries

O Hai Interwebs!

The decadent cookies are from The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur by Kelly Peloza (you should go buy it)...

...and the vegan cava & raspberries are always a good idea.

We had a wee bit of vacation over the Memorial Day weekend which was much needed and a good time was had by all. While we were away, the switch was set to "summer" and our Farmers Market opened -- both good things.

Back to making the doughnuts!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Massaman Curry, Jasmine Rice, Grilled Tofu & Mushrooms

Dinner 5/18

Massaman Curry

Jasmine Rice

Grilled Tofu & Mushrooms

Apparently, it's been a few years since we last made massaman curry. It's sometimes fun to go back and read the first two or three years of the blog before there were pictures. ;)

The sauce evolved over the course of making it -- next time we make it (which will hopefully be sooner than seven years) we'll have a solid recipe.

It started with the making of the curry paste. Using a mortar & pestle, grind together shallot, (black) cardamom, star anise, cumin seed, lemongrass, cloves, salt and black peppercorns.

The paste was fried for a few minutes and then a can of coconut milk was added to paste and allowed to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then, tamarind paste, agave and tamari were added and stirred to combine.

The veggie side of things included kabocha squash, red potatoes (boiled until cooked 3/4 of the way through -- about 10 minutes), pineapple, carrots and red bell pepper. The sauce was brought to a simmer and veggies were added and cooked together about 15-20 minutes to meld all the flavors together.

For plating, the bowl was lined with three red lettuce leaves. Then the steamed jasmine rice was added to the the bottom of the bowl. Finally, the veggies & sauce were poured over top and garnished with a few peanuts.

The tofu, mushrooms and tomato were quickly marinated with tamari & olive oil and grilled while the veggies were cooking in the sauce.

White Bean Burger with Rosemary

Lunch 5/18

White Bean Burger with Rosemary

We haven't made these bad boys in a while -- here's the White Bean Burger recipe. Nom!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Ramen with Cabbage Gyoza

Dinner 5/16

Ramen

Cabbage Gyoza

As usual we made a batch of shiitake mushroom stock (with kombu and miso added to finish) as the base for the ramen. Rounding out the bowl was tea-smoked tofu, carrots, red bell pepper, baby corn, leeks, shiitake mushrooms and noodles.

Topping off the ramen was a quick dumpling filled with sauteed cabbage and shallots, seared in a wok, then steamed with a little tamari.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Fritto Misto, Ravioli with Asparagus and Morel Mushrooms, Strawberry Crumble

Dinner 5/15

Fritto Misto

Ravioli with Asparagus and Morel Mushrooms

Dessert

Strawberry Crumble

For an antipasto, Liz made fritto misto using fiddlehead ferns and stuffed green olives. We blanched the trimmed fiddleheads for a couple of minutes, drained them and patted them dry before adding them to the batter. The stuffed olives had a nice salty crunch -- a nice change of pace.

Here's a shot of the fiddleheads beforehand -- with such a short season (and shelf life) we didn't hesitate using these the day after getting them at Kent Natural Foods.

For dinner we utilized our ravioli in wanton wrappers, filled with a tofu ricotta (crumbled tofu, nutritional yeast, parsley, spinach, salt, black pepper).

The asparagus were cooked for six minutes and tossed with Earth Balance, salt & pepper.

The morel mushrooms were cut into rings, soaked and pan-fried in olive oil and seasoned with a splash of tamari and black pepper.

For dessert Liz made a quick strawberry crumble with oatmeal...

Strawberries & sugar

Adding the oatmeal topping...

..and just out of the oven, and later, topped with vanilla ice cream.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Black Trumpet Mushroom Pasta with Fava Beans

Dinner 5/12

Black Trumpet Mushroom Pasta

Fava Beans

Following in the footsteps of earlier experiments with red bell pepper and ramp pasta, tonight's Vegan Test Kitchen offers up Black Trumpet Mushroom Pasta.

The recipe followed the same basic ratio, utilizing about 1/3 cup of the cooked & chopped mushrooms, pureed together with about 1/2 cup of vegan sour cream and 2 tbs. of water. That gives the vita-mix enough volume to process the food.

The wet ingredients were mixed into the dry ingredients -- 1 1/4 cup of flour, 1 tsp. of salt and 1 tbs. of egg replacer. Add a little extra flour to your work surface and knead the dough for 5-7 minutes until smooth -- wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out to about 1/8" and cut to your desired shape -- we went with a fettuccine sized noodle.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add 1 tbs. of olive oil and 1 small shallot, minced, 2 garlic cloves, minced with salt & pepper to taste. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then off heat, add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce by half. Add 2 tbs. of nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Add 1 tbs. Earth Balance and melt. Add 1/4 cup of chopped parsley. Check for seasoning.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until it begins to float to the surface -- about 2-3 minutes. Immediately put the pasta in the sauce and stir to coat thouroughly. Serve hot.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Springtime Risotto

Dinner 5/11

Springtime Risotto

The creamy risotto contained ramps (pan-fried), asparagus (blanched) & morel mushrooms (pan-fried) -- along with 1 small shallot, minced, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, salt & pepper, 1 cup of arborio rice, 1/2 cup of white wine and about 4 1/2 cups of veg stock. It was finished with 1 small lemon, zested, 1 tbs. Earth Balance and 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast.

Mushrooms, Flowers or Gears? ;)

Tempeh Reuben

Lunch 5/11

Tempeh Reuben

A classic sandwich in three easy parts...

Part 1: Pan fry one block of tempeh (cut into four pieces) in olive oil. At the end of cooking splash with 1 tbs. tamari.

Part 2: Thinly slice 1/4 of a head of a small green (or red) cabbage & 1 small onion. 1 tsp. caraway seeds cooked in 1 tbs. olive oil until tender. Add a pinch of salt & pepper and 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar.

Part 3: Whisk together sauce: two parts vegenaise, one part ketchup and a couple of diced pickles.

Assemble on two pieces of dark bread of your choice -- a layer of sauce, one piece of tempeh, a layer of the cabbage mixture, another piece of tempeh, final layer of sauce.

Fin.

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Blueberry Pancakes

Breakfast 5/07

Blueberry Pancakes

So i herd u liek ~~mudkipz~~ blueberry pancakes...

Friday, May 06, 2011

English Pea Soup with Braised Leeks and Morel Mushrooms

Dinner 5/06

English Pea Soup with Braised Leeks and Morel Mushrooms

...floating on a homemade ciabatta crouton island ;)

The English Pea Soup is a favorite -- the recipe comes from Jean-Georges Vongerichten from his book "Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef" -- the soup base is made from our veg stock combined with the shucked pea pods as an additional flavor enhancer which does a great job of infusing the soup with that essence of springtime.

In a large saucepan on medium heat, add 2 tbs. of Earth Balance along with 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped leek, 3 chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of thyme, salt and pepper and cook together for 2-3 minutes. Add the pea pods, then add 4 cups of stock, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the broth and return to the saucepan.

The 3 cups of peas were blanched in salted water 4-5 minutes and drained -- save about 1/2 cup of peas for the garnish and run them under cold water for a minute. Put the rest of the peas in the vita-mix with 2 tbs. of Earth Balance, a pinch of salt and 2-3 tbs. of cooking liquid and puree.

Whisk the pea puree is back into the broth, bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes to combine. Check for seasoning, and serve.

Accompanying the soup were (local) morel mushrooms, cut into rings and pan-fried with some olive oil, salt & pepper.

Also on the island were another favorite, braised leeks.

Braised Leeks
serves 4

4 leeks
water
1 tbs. soy margarine
salt and pepper

First, trim the tops and bottom of the leeks, using as much of the white/light green parts as you like (the leftover bits are fantastic in making stock). Clean them by soaking in water and make sure you get the hidden dirt that likes to hide near the tops. You may need to lose a layer or two on the outside of the leeks to accomplish that. Cut the leek into roughly 3-inch sections.

Place the leeks in a small saute pan and add the water until it reaches halfway up the side of the leeks. Add the 1 tbs. of soy margarine, and bring to a boil. Cover loosely with the lid and continue to cook over medium heat until the water has just about evaporated.

Turn off heat, remove the leeks and place in an oven-proof gratin dish. Pour the remaining liquid out of the saute pan into the oven-proof dish. Season with salt and pepper and place into a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes until the leeks begin to caramelize. Serve hot.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Dessert 5/04

Oatmeal Cream Pies

I wanted these cookies to have their own entry -- The recipe is from The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur by Kelly Peloza. The filling? Vegan marshmallow creme.

We've made many items from this delightful book -- we love it!

Ramp Pasta with Mushrooms

Dinner 5/04

Ramp Pasta with Mushrooms

We made the ramp pasta again, because that's all I've been thinking about since Saturday night. It's been haunting me. ;)

We didn't change the recipe at all, but this time we sauteed some cremini mushrooms as an accompaniment.

When ramp season ends, I will be very sad.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Tacos

Dinner 5/03

Tacos

I can't remember the last time we had tacos -- but I know it's been too long.

The tacos were stuffed with hickory-smoked tofu (in the background holding up the shell, later shredded), refried (black & pinto) beans, cheddar Daiya, avocado, salsa, shredded Romaine lettuce, vegan sour cream.

Monday, May 02, 2011

Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Dinner 5/02

Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

We took another run at the meatball recipe, hickory-smoking the tofu adding 1 tbs. tamari, 1 tsp. smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 1 tbs. nutritional yeast and 1 small red onion, minced (in place of the shallots) -- and deep-fried them instead of cooking them in the cast-iron pan.

The thing we've learned is to add just enough vital wheat gluten to hold it together and not to over develop the gluten while kneading the ingredients together -- that will make for a tougher finished product. As long as it holds together pretty well, they'll be fine. Also, making them smaller than golf ball sized is better.

By deep-frying at 375F, they kept their shape much better and cooked more evenly -- but you have make sure you cook them about 4 minutes which might seem too long, but ensures that the center is also cooked -- the first one we pulled out to test were raw inside.

At the end of cooking, drop them in the tomato sauce to coat and re-heat.