Farfalle Pasta with Roasted Broccoli, Spinach, Tomato, Zucchini and Lemon Zest, 15 Bean Soup

Dinner 04/11

Farfalle Pasta with Roasted Broccoli, Spinach, Tomato, Zucchini and Lemon Zest

15 Bean Soup



A quick spring-like (because, of course, it snowed today) pasta bowl with things that needed to be used in the fridge. There's a bit of white wine, veg broth and soy sour cream for the sauce to round out the sauteed onion, garlic and zucchini. The roasted broccoli, tomatoes and spinach were added at the end to heat through and mixed with the lemon zest and parsley.



We also defrosted a 15 bean soup that Liz made late last year, vacuum sealed (we still do that for bulk items like pierogies, ravioli and hatch chiles) and frozen -- because we were also joined by our son and daughter-in-law* who came over for dinner.

* oh yeah, we haven't done the blog in a while... they got married this year. ;)

Dang Quesadilla

Dinner 04/10

Dang Quesadilla




You know we couldn't come back and not have a Dang Quesadilla. ;)



Two tortillas stuffed with pan-fried mushrooms, sauteed red onion & garlic, Daiya mozzarella then pan-fried until crisp and topped with soy sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Strawberries

Dessert 04/09

Lemon Oil Olive Oil Cake with Strawberries



Another rehearsal night, so here's dessert instead -- straight out of Chloe's Vegan Desserts. Topped with strawberries and whipped cream. We just used a regular cake pan, because I didn't feel like digging out our collection of Bundt pans. ;)

* seriously, we have, like 10... because of course we do...

Oyster Mushroom Po' Boy with Roasted Cauliflower

Dinner 04/08

Oyster Mushroom Po' Boy

Roasted Cauliflower



We picked up some gorgeous Oyster Mushrooms Friday so we made Po' Boys with cole slaw and a side of roasted cauliflower and hot sauce. Lots of hot sauce.



We used our usual three-pan method:

Pan 1: Seasoned flour (about 1/2 cup, with salt, pepper, smoked paprika to taste)

Pan 2: Cornstarch Slurry (1 tbs. cornstarch and 3 tbs. water, more if it stars to seize up)

Pan 3: Equal amounts of bread crumbs and cornmeal (about 1/2 cup each), nooch and a little thyme and pepper.

We tossed the mushrooms briefly with a splash of tamari, then into pan 1 until coated, straight into pan 2 until wet, then pan 3 tossed and pressed lightly into the nooks and crannies of the mushrooms to evenly coat.

After that, they were deep-fried in Peanut oil at 365F, until the bubbling has stopped -- about 3-4 minutes.

Served on a flatbread with cole slaw and hot sauce.

Broccoli with Orange Sauce

Dinner 04/07

Broccoli with Orange Sauce



The broccoli was stir-fried. For the orange sauce: start with 1 tbs. of sunflower oil in a wok, quickly stir-fry 2 cloves of minced garlic, about a 1/2" of microplaned ginger, 1 small diced jalapeno, 1 tsp. five-spice powder and 1 tsp. Szechuan peppercorn (about 45 seconds). Whisk in the juice of 2 oranges (about 1/2 cup), microplane the zest from the oranges, add a splash of water, 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar, 3 tbs. brown sugar and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, whisk 1 tbs. cornstarch with 2 tbs. of water, then whisk it into the sauce. Add a splash of tamari to taste. Eat already!

Spaghetti with Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Salad with Diced Apples, Roasted Beets and Raisins

Dinner 04/06

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Garlic Bread

Salad with Diced Apples, Roasted Beets and Raisins



Liz made her classic red gravy, er, sauce; used some of the focaccia from the other night to make cheesy garlic bread under the broiler; and on the side, a huge salad with iceberg lettuce, roasted beets, diced apple, raisins and (Daiya) blue cheese dressing.



Since we've been gone, there's a new vegan grocery store that opened in Strongsville, OH called AVE MKT (you may have seen them in VegNews). In addition to a variety of cupcakes and other vegan goodies, they carry the best selection of hard-to-find items that we used to have to get via mail order -- like Match Meats.

For the meatballs, we used Match Meats Ground Beef (bonus! gluten-free!), mixed with day-old Einkorn bread (softened with soy-milk), shredded onion, garlic, ground fennel seed and red pepper flakes. They were shaped into 1 1/2" balls, and pan-fried in olive oil in our flat-bottomed wok, then transferred to the warm sauce. Using the entire package, we ended up with 21 meatballs (a.k.a. tomorrow's lunch).

Banh Mi with Roasted Broccoli

Dinner 04/05

Banh Mi

Roasted Broccoli



Revisiting an old favorite tonight, Banh Mi -- a.k.a. "Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip" straight outta Veganomicon (we tested this recipe 10+ years ago*? Yikes!)

Obviously, we used (Cherry) Smoked tofu in place of the seitan and focaccia in place of the baguette (because those are the things we had on hand), but it's awesome anyway, anyhow, anywhere. Trumpet Mushrooms, Red Onion, Cucumbers, Vegan Mayo, and a five-spice powder infused mushroom broth round it out.


* Want to feel old? Our daughter was four when we started the blog. She's now 20.

#veganpopup

Leftovers (French Lentils, Braised Carrot, Roast Potatoes, Fried Tofu)

Dinner 04/04

French Lentils

Braised Carrot

Roast Potatoes

Fried Tofu



Eagle-eyed readers will recognize this meal as leftovers from Easter dinner. As I didn't really go into any of the recipes and prep, this is a chance to catch-up.

The French lentils were pressure-cooked -- 1 1/2 cups of lentils and about 2 1/2 cups of veg stock. One little extra thing we do at the beginning is to add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pressure cooker and lightly brown a half of an onion studded with five cloves and a bay leaf. Then we add the rinsed lentils, the veg stock, a splash of tamari and pressure cook for 16 minutes at 7.5 psi (or the first ring on our pressure cooker).

For the Braised Carrots: Peel the carrots, and put them into a sauce pan large enough to hold all of them in a single layer. Add water about half way up the side of the carrots. Add 1 tbs. of soy margarine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover loosely. Cook until the water completely evaporates and only a little soy margarine is left on the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots and whatever soy margarine is left (you can also add an additional 1 tsp. soy margarine if it looks like it needs a little more)to a gratin dish add salt and pepper to taste, and braise for 15-20 minutes in a 350F oven.

The potatoes were cut into 1-inch chunks, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 450F for 30-35 minutes. The oven was turned off, the potatoes were taken out and tossed 1 tbs of soy margarine and put back in the oven until service.

The tofu was first smoked (the more things change...) (with Cherry and Maple wood chips), then pan-fried, cut into strips and pan fried again and finished with tamari.

As for why we were having leftovers, I had band rehearsal and needed to leave early (this will be a reoccurring theme going forward this month).

Tofu Ras el hanout, Braised Cabbage, Fried Chickpeas, Sopa de Ajo and Shishito Peppers

Dinner 04/03

Tofu Ras el hanout

Braised Cabbage

Fried Chickpeas



Big chunky smoked tofu cubes coated (with cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, salt & pepper) marinated for 30 minutes, then pan-fried until crispy. The cabbage was slow-cooked with onions and garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, with a splash of sherry near the end. The chickpeas were simply wok-fried in olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and finished with a splash of tamari.



Sopa de Ajo

Shishito Peppers

For a starter, we whipped up a batch of Sopa de Ajo -- olive oil, garlic, day-old bread, paprika, wine, salt & pepper, veg stock) paired with Shishito Peppers (de-seeded, wok-fried on high heat until blistered, removed, then hit with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice).

Ye Olde Stir-Fry 2018 Version

Dinner 04/02

Ye Olde Stir-Fry 2018 Version

(Steamed Rice, Seared/Steamed Brussels Sprouts and Shiitake Mushrooms with Hoisin Sauce, Tea-Smoked Tofu, Carrots, Steamed/Seared Bok Choy Shredded Yuba, Wilted Spinach with Sesame Seeds topped with Cucumber, Scallion and Kimchi)



Much like Heraclitus said "You can never eat the same stir-fry twice"* -- every one is slightly different and tonight's was no exception. We rely on the "what needs to be used in the fridge" scale which gave us Seared/Steamed Brussels Sprouts as the leading veggie (paired with shiitake mushrooms and a hoisin sauce)...



Topping it all off is Liz's (by now) standard homemade Kimchi.



* I'm paraphrasing here.

Easter 2018

Easter 2018 04/01

Crepes (filled with French Lentils, Grilled Asparagus, Button Mushrooms, Cherry & Maple Smoked Tofu)

Braised Carrots

Roasted Potatoes



English Pea Soup



Dessert

Baklava



This is not an April Fools post, but the first day of a (scheduled 30 day) Pop Up Blog

#veganpopup

Bourguignon, Green Beans, Tapanade, Radishes, No-Knead Bread and Chocolate Sea Salt Tart

Dinner 07/14

Bourguignon

Green Beans

Tapanade

Radishes

No-Knead Bread

Chocolate Sea Salt Tart

Sweet Potato Burgers

Dinner 07/08

Sweet Potato Burgers

Tofu, Mushroom, Tomato and Zucchini Kebabs with Squash Blossom Fritto Misto

Dinner 07/06

Tofu, Mushroom, Tomato and Zucchini Kebabs

Squash Blossom Fritto Misto

Bloomin' Onion

Dinner 07/03

Bloomin' Onion

Gadgets come into your life, sometimes they get used, sometimes they sit in the box, lonely until the day you rediscover them and use them for their intended purpose.

Today was that day.

Mushroom Quinoa Burgers

Dinner 06/29

Mushroom Quinoa Burgers

Korean BBQ Tofu, Summer Rolls, Radishes

Dinner 06/11

Korean BBQ Tofu

Summer Rolls

Radishes

Glazed Sugar Snaps (from Vegan Finger Foods)

Appetizer 06/06

Glazed Sugar Snaps
(from Vegan Finger Foods)

We picked up a copy of Celine Steen & Tamasin Noyes excellent book "Vegan Finger Foods" and the first recipe that jumped out at us was these yummy glazed Sugar Snap Peas

BBQ Tofu Tacos

Dinner 05/31

BBQ Tofu Tacos

The tofu was smoked for 30 minutes with Pecan wood, then tossed with tamari and pepper, dredged in a flour, salt, pepper & smoked paprika mixture, dipped in vegan buttermilk (soy milk & vinegar), and dredged again. Finally it was deep-fried at 375°F, removed, drained and tossed in a wok with a spicy, sweet & sour BBQ sauce.


The corn taco shells were grilled and stuffed with the tofu, shredded cabbage, sour cream, vegan cheese and more hot sauce.

Ravioli with Tomato Sauce and Roasted Broccoli

Dinner 05/23

Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

Roasted Broccoli

It's been a while since we made ravioli -- mainly because the last time we made some they lasted for more than a year.

This time we took the same basic dough recipe (below) and filled them with a combination of TVP (texturized vegetable protein), smoked tofu (crumbled, fried and splashed with tamari), sauteed onion & garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, oregano and thyme.

Ravioli Dough

2 cups Einkorn flour (or AP flour)
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup water (add more if needed)

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl, until a dough starts to form. Remove from the bowl and on a clean surface that's been dusted with flour, knead on countertop for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and let rest at room temp for 15 minutes.


Here what we wrote the last time:

To assemble, we used a pasta roller attachment on our KitchenAid (as shown). You start on thickness number "1" and after each pass, change the setting until you eventually roll it to a "4" using the Einkorn flour -- if using AP flour you might get to a "5" -- although with a hand cranked roller we've gone as thin as a "6" or "7" (YMMV).

To finish, we topped it with a somewhat spicy tomato sauce and roasted broccoli on the side.

Papaya, Tofu and Rice Noodle Salad with Black Sesame Seeds

Lunch 05/19

Papaya, Tofu and Rice Noodle Salad with Black Sesame Seeds

A delightful lunch salad made from leftovers (cut tofu fried for a second time) and papaya cut into strips, tossed with a rice wine vinegar and sesame oil dressing and topped with black sesame seeds.

Corn Dogs

Dinner 05/10

Corn Dogs

Corn Dogs, people... Corn Dogs!!!

(did I mention the Corn Dogs? because... Corn! Dogs!)

Gluten-Free dogs dipped in batter, deep-fried and consumed in a hurry.

The batter is adapted from here, using Einkorn flour, rice milk, half the sugar and deep-fried at 365°F

Vanilla Cupcakes

Dessert 04/26

Vanilla Cupcakes

There was a long, long time after testing recipes for the Isa & Terry's "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World" cookbook that we didn't made cupcakes. Things are better now. ;)

Hickory-Smoked Tofu with Collard Greens, Braised Carrots, Grilled Asparagus, Pea Soup with Croutons, Knotted Dinner Rolls

Dinner 04/20

Hickory-Smoked Tofu with Collard Greens

Braised Carrots

Grilled Asparagus

Pea Soup with Croutons

Knotted Dinner Rolls

Starting off with the pea soup we have made many times, this year the peas have a slightly better chances of staying afloat on the croutons. ;)


The main plate had braised carrots, grilled asparagus...


...and hickory-smoked tofu stuffed with collard greens and mushrooms, along with...


...the ever popular knotted dinner rolls.

Baked Potato Bar

Dinner 04/15

Baked Potato Bar

We've been doing this for the last couple of months in the colder weather, bake eight potatoes, make a bunch of fillings (this time around: mushrooms, cauliflower, vegan sour cream & melted cheese -- also good, broccoli)...



...and load up the potatoes along with a cucumber salad. Quick and easy on a Tuesday night.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom with Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Grilled Asparagus

Dinner 04/13

Grilled Portobello Mushroom

Roasted Red Bell Pepper

Grilled Asparagus

It's a good thing we have a really strong stove hood, because it was getting all smoky up in here tonight -- marinated Portobello Mushrooms (olive oil, tamari, vegan Worcestershire, tomato paste, garlic, black pepper), Asparagus (olive oil, salt, pepper) cooked on the grill -- and roasted red bell pepper (blackened directly on the flame, steamed for 10 minutes, cleaned, seasoned w/ salt & pepper). The mushrooms were flipped and layered with the red bell pepper and a little Daiya to hold everything together.

Eggplant Sliders with Kimchi, Socca stuffed with Radish Greens

Dinner 04/04

Eggplant Sliders with Kimchi

Socca stuffed with Radish Greens

The eggplants were treated the same way as we make the Po' Boys -- the main difference being these were hickory-smoked Asian eggplants cut in small round slices -- breaded and deep-fried. The eggplant was then placed on a homemade bun layered with a mixture of Vegenaise and Sriracha on the bottom and topped with a little homemade kimchi. (Note: I may or may not have eaten six of these.)


For starters, we made socca again, using the radish greens in the mix...

Hickory-Smoked Mushroom and Quinoa Burgers,Sweet Potato Fries

Dinner 04/02

Hickory-Smoked Mushroom and Quinoa Burgers

Sweet Potato Fries

An old favorite, Hickory-Smoked Mushroom and Quinoa Burgers (recipe), with a side of Sweet Potatoes (cut into eighths, tossed with salt, pepper and olive oil, 25 minutes at 425°)

Yuba Skins on Skewers

Appetizer 03/28

Yuba Skins on Skewers

We use Yuba quite often -- mainly the fresh, frozen kind. Our usual method of cooking them is to marinate them with a mixture of water and tamari, which are rolled up, pan-fried and shredded as an accent on top of stir-fries.

Invariably, pieces around the edges will break off which don't end up getting used in the roll. This time I saved those left over bits and made a marinade of tamari, sesame oil, agave and sriracha and threaded the pieces on skewers (as shown above) which were then grilled until crispy. Delicious!

Moo Shu Pancakes stuffed with Tea-Smoked Tofu, Napa Cabbage, Radish Greens, Yellow Bell Peppers and Shiitake Mushrooms, Fried Rice, Grilled Asparagus

Dinner 03/15

Moo Shu Pancakes stuffed with Tea-Smoked Tofu, Napa Cabbage, Radish Greens, Yellow Bell Peppers and Shiitake Mushrooms

Fried Rice

Grilled Asparagus

Liz made the pancakes -- as we wrote a while back

The moo-shu pancakes are basically a 2:1 ratio of flour to water, a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp sesame oil. The trick is rolling them out the right thickness -- not so thick that they're chewy -- and thin enough that they cook evenly and are flexible.

The filling of tea-smoked tofu, peppers, cabbage, radish greens and mushrooms was stir-fried and tossed with a little hoisin sauce from the Hot Knives guys, below...