what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Taro Burger @ Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Dinner 11/22

Taro Burger
(taro burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard)

yep, we went out to dinner tonight -- *gasp* -- I was meeting our good friends Patrick, Genevieve, Chris and Bridget for drinks in Cleveland at McNulty's "Bier Markt" on 25th, and Liz and the kids went over to Great Lakes Brewing Co. where they had the vegan Taro Burger -- even marked on the menu as such. Who knew? Anyway, I had mine to go and ate it when we came home -- it was very tasty, but it had a slightly odd "vegetal" aftertaste... not that I'm complaining -- kudos to GLBC for even having a vegan item on the menu to start with...

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Red Lentil Dosa, Black Pepper Tofu Curry, Spicy Chickpeas, Basmati Rice

Dinner 11/21

Red Lentil Dosa

Black Pepper Tofu Curry

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry

Spicy Chickpeas

Basmati Rice

This was our first attempt at making dosa -- a kind of southern Indian sourdough crepe. Despite the 36 hour lead time needed to allow the batter to ferment, it was surprisingly easy to make and turned out even better than we expected.

We stuffed them separately with both the Black Pepper Tofu Curry (adapted from Maya Kaimel) as well as some leftover Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry from Sunday.

It's really fun to learn a new technique like the dosa -- it's the kind of thing we love -- trying different foods that open up a whole new (tasty) vegan world to explore...

Monday, November 20, 2006

Pasta Puttanesca, Braised Red Cabbage

Dinner 11/20

Pasta Puttanesca
(onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, olives, soyrizo, tomato sauce, rigatoni)

Braised Red Cabbage
(olive oil, onion, garlic, red cabbage, salt, pepper, fennel seed, beer vinegar)

A quicky dinner tonight as we conserve energy for Thursday ;)

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Tofu Korma, Red Lentil Pancakes, Pistachio and Currant Pulao, Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry, Papadums

Dinner 11/19

Tofu Korma
(fried tofu with cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder in a soy yogurt sauce)

Red Lentil Pancakes
(recipe below)

Pistachio and Currant Pulao

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry
(a test recipe for Terry and Isa's next cookbook...)

Papadums

AOL Keyword: Red Lentils ;)

The Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry is a Terry test recipe -- and the spices make it feel like there's a Bollywood film going on in your mouth.

The korma was fab as per usual, with the soy yogurt making an guest appearance to liven up the party along with the supporting cast of regulars (pulao, papadums, red lentil pancakes). Speaking of which...

Red Lentil Pancakes
(makes approximately 12 pancakes)

1 cup red lentils
2 cups of water
1/2 onion studded with a clove
1 tsp. canola oil
2 curry leaves (or 1 bay leaf)

2 tsp. salt

1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. cumin seed
1/4 tsp. fennel seed
pinch of sea salt
1 tbs. canola oil

about 1 cup besan (chickpea) flour

canola oil

In a pressure cooker, over med-high heat, place scant 1 tsp. of canola oil and clove studded onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is just starting to show some color. Put the rinsed and sorted red lentils into the pressure cooker along with the 2 cups of water, close the lid and and bring to a boil, cooking on the lowest setting (or ring) for 10-14 minutes. Let cool and remove the onion. Add the 2 tsp. of salt and mash the lentils together (or use a stick/immersion blender).

In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, red pepper flakes, turmeric, cumin seed, fennel seed and a pinch of sea salt into a paste. Heat the 1 tbs. of canola oil in a small frying pan and cook the paste for 30-45 seconds until fragrant (careful, the garlic will want to burn). Add the cooked paste to the lentil mixture and stir to combine. Check for salt.

Remove the lentil mixture from the pressure cooker and place into a large bowl and let cool to room temp (or if making in advance, refrigerate).

In 1/4 cup increments, add the besan flour to the lentil mixture and stir to combine. If you want to use your hands, careful, it's sticky. You may need to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour if it's still very sticky. You should be able to form the lentils into roughly 1" balls without them sticking to your hands too much.

In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbs. of canola oil. Place four 1" balls of lentil mixture, spaced evenly, and press down with a spatula, until they're about 1/4 - 1/2" thick. Cook for 3-5 per side until a light crust begins to form. Repeat for the rest of the lentil mixture. Serve hot.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Alder-Smoked Grilled Tofu, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy, White Asparagus over Fusilli Pasta

Dinner 11/18

Alder-Smoked Grilled Tofu

Alder-Smoked Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

King Oyster Mushrooms

Mushroom Gravy

White Asparagus

Fusilli Pasta

Welcome to "beige" food night... ;)

The smoker box got quite a workout with both the Russian Fingerling Potatoes and Spring Creek Tofu getting a turn with the alder wood. The tofu was then marinated with a little tamari, salt and pepper and grilled, and the potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbes de provence and roasted in the oven.

But the key to tonight's meal was the gravy -- and it all started with the King Oyster Mushrooms (again). The roux was formed from the mushrooms drippings, fond and flour -- then the addition of shallots, rosemary, veg stock and wee bit of tamari... and it tied all the food together on the plate.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Stir-Fry with King Oyster Mushrooms, Jasmine Rice, Hoisin Green Beans

Dinner 11/17

Stir-Fry with King Oyster Mushrooms
(onion, carrot, yellow bell pepper, garlic, ginger, alder-smoked tofu, King Oyster mushrooms, tamari, pepper)

Re-fried Jasmine Rice with Sesame Oil

Hoisin Green Beans

Again with the mushrooms and simplicity -- the King Oyster are so good, you just want to get out of the way when cooking them. And what could be simpler? Stir-fry!

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Seitan and Chanterelle Mushrooms over Spaghetti, Seared and Steamed Green Beans

Dinner 11/16

Seitan and Chanterelle Mushrooms over Spaghetti

Seared and Steamed Green Beans

Liz scored some Chanterelle mushrooms (as well as some King Oyster for tomorrow night), so we simply sauteed them in some olive oil and soy margarine, with a little salt and pepper, and a splash of tamari at the end to "up" the umami factor... that a bottle of unfiltered pinot noir and... heaven. ;)

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Avocado and White Asparagus Salad with Macadamia Nut Dressing, Yellow Beet Ravioli stuffed with Cashew "Cheese", Raw Pizza with White Asparagus

Raw Food Wednesday 11/15

Avocado, White Asparagus and Spinach Salad with Macadamia Nut Dressing
(macadamia nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic and shallots)

Yellow Beet Ravioli stuffed with Cashew "Cheese"

Raw Pizza with White Asparagus

Tonight Secret Theme Ingredient: White Asparagus...

(announcer voice whispering)... white asparagus

The white asparagus was very crunchy and tasted surprisingly "clean". It was peeled and marinated in olive oil, sea salt and pepper for the pizza, but just peeled for the salad.

The other surprise was the macadamia nut dressing -- extremely creamy, to the point of almost tasting like a bottled dressing... yummy.

TrailBlaze Oatmeal Energy Bars -- Chocolate Chip and Cranberry

The nice folks at Matisse & Jack's sent us a couple of boxes of their energy bars for us to try out. They're vegan (and packed with plenty of dietary fiber), so we decided to give them a spin...

You can either mix them with applesauce (as we did for the cranberry version) or (soy) yogurt (which we made for the chocolate chip version). The instructions couldn't be much easier -- mix the wet ingredient with the dry, pour into a 8x8 pan and bake @ 350F for 30-35 minutes. They pulled away from the edge at 30 minutes, we let them cool for awhile and cut them into squares (as seen in the picture).

After the picture, the kids inhaled two of the chocolate chip bars apiece -- I'll take that as two enthusiastic thumbs up... ;)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Pasta Puttanesca, Cherry Tomato Focaccia

Dinner 11/14

Pasta Puttanesca
(onion, garlic, soyrizo, green olives, black olives, red pepper flakes, tomato sauce, chiocciole pasta)

Cherry Tomato Focaccia

yep, it Monday all right... but the focaccia was still rockin' ;)

Monday, November 13, 2006

Enchiladas, Bistro Salad

Dinner 11/13

Enchiladas
(fyh monterey soy cheese, ancho chiles, cumin, veg stock, tamari, pepper)

Bistro Salad
(romaine lettuce with a dressing of vegenaise, shallots, soy parmesan, white miso, garlic, salt and pepper)

the anchos in the sauce were particularly hot tonight -- and that's a good thing -- most of the time it's a crapshoot in regards to the heat level, but all things being equal, I'd rather have the heat...

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Stir-Fry, Jasmine Rice, Baby Bok Choy

Dinner 11/12

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, tamari, pepper)

Jasmine Rice

Baby Bok Choy
(steamed, then seared in a little oil with a tamari, topped with sesame seeds)

When the afternoon gets away from you (cleaning the house in anticipation of re-painting) and you realize that it's after 6pm on a Sunday evening -- it's time to break out the stir-fry ;)

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Lentil, Seitan and Asparagus Crepes, Fig Tart

Dinner 11/11

Lentil, Seitan and Asparagus Crepes
(lentil, seitan, onion, garlic, herbes de provence, salt, pepper, veg stock)

Dessert

Fig Tart

The crepes are the recipe from VwaV (chickpea flour!), the asparagus was blanched first, then grilled. The French lentil and seitan mixture is pretty standard (lentil, onion, garlic, herbes de provence, tamari, pepper, veg stock) done in the pressure cooker.

We love our pressure cooker -- it's one of those invaluable items in a vegan batterie de cuisine -- given how many beans we prepare every year, plus we use to make the veg stock every weekend (45 minutes and it's done...

The tart was very elegant -- Liz made this (naturally) and it has that refined old world flavor (i.e. not sickenly sweet). At the botom is the lone Chai Cupcake left over from the morning -- recipe from Isa and Terry's "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World".

Friday, November 10, 2006

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce, Smoked Eggplant, Roasted Broccoli, Endive Salad, Steamed Artichokes, Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread

Dinner 11/10

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

Smoked Eggplant
(smoked with hickory, then grilled, then stir-fried)

Roasted Broccoli
(coated with olive oil, salt and pepper, 450F for 15 minutes)

Endive Salad

Steamed Artichokes

Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread

The Cherry Tomato Focaccia Bread was from the September issue of Olive (a BBC Foodie mag) -- simple to make but a spectacular presentation. This goes on the holiday party menu immediately.

The smoked eggplant was almost (dare I say it) "bacon-y" due to the hickory smoking, grilling and then a quick dice and faster stir-fry -- crisp, smoky and salty. Really worked well with the tomato sauce and the spaghetti...

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Soupe a la Bonne-Femme, Red Cabbage and Toasted Pistachio Salad with Sherry Vinegar and Walnut Oil Dressing, Fava Beans, White Bean Cassoulet,

Dinner 11/09

Soupe a la Bonne-Femme
(Potato and Leek Soup)

Red Cabbage and Toasted Pistachio Salad with Sherry Vinegar and Walnut Oil Dressing
(recipe from James Peterson's "Glorious French Food")

Fava Beans
(pan fried with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley)

White Bean Cassoulet
(soyrizo, onion, garlic, tomato, cannellini beans, smoked paprika, smoked salt, parsley)

Starting off old-skool with the soup -- straight outta Escoffier (751), baby! ;)

The cabbage salad was elevated with the addition of the sherry vinegar and walnut oil -- plus the toasted crunch with the pistachios gave a nice contrast.

The Fava Beans are a lot of work, and are one of those things you only make for the people you love...

The cassoulet rounds off the evening in fine style -- smoky, sultry, stick to your ribs food washed down with some Coturri Syrah.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Raw Food Wednesday: Nopale Salad, Chiles Rellenos, Tostadas

Raw Food Wednesday 11/08

Raw Tostadas
(Onion Bread, Cashew Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Walnut Filling, Avocado)

Raw Chiles Rellenos
(poblano chiles stuffed with a mix of very ripe plantain, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes, cumin and coriander seed, garlic, mexican oregano, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper -- dehydrated at 115° for 8 hours)

Raw Nopale Salad
(from Matt Amsden's RAWvolution: shredded red cabbage, diced nopale (cactus), corn, celery, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cayenne)

The Nopale Salad was wonderful -- a very colorful (and filling) display... and hey, cactus! ;)

The rellenos are a stand-by, but I freestyled the filling with the plantain and the addition of pumpkin and sunflower seeds -- the filling went a long way to quell the heat from the muy caliente poblano.

The tostada used the last of the onion bread from a few weeks back -- still rockin' that walnut filling -- I want to put it on everything these days...

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Sweet and Sour Seitan over Jasmine Rice

Dinner 11/07

Sweet and Sour Seitan over Jasmine Rice
(seitan, onion, carrot, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, baby corn, pineapple)

The classic Chinese take-out favorite gets tweaked -- the sauce was 2 tbs. ketchup, 2 tbs. tamari, 1 tbs. agave, 2 tbs. apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of water, and then thickened with 1 tbs. of cornstarch mixed with enough water to make a slurry. It definitely helps to lighten the sauce (and the dinner)...

Monday, November 06, 2006

TLT Sandwich, Baked Potato, Spinach Salad

Dinner 11/06

Tofu, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich

Baked Potato

Spinach Salad with Creamy Garlic Miso Dressing

A "TLT Sandwich" if you will ;)

The tofu was fried with smoked paprika, and the rest of the fixin's included vegenaise, spinach, onions and tomatoes...

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Tofu for Almodovar, Deep-Fried Baby Artichokes, Frito Misto

Dinner 11/05

Tofu for Almodovar

Deep-Fried Baby Artichokes

Frito Misto
(oyster mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli)

Tofu for Almodovar -- yes, an adaptation of the Rachael Ray recipe again -- we haven't had it since January, but as with all yum-o things, it was time to drag it out and make it again...

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Braised Carrots, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Potato and Tomato Soup, French Bread

Dinner 11/04

Braised Carrots

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
(recipe from VwaV)

French Bread

Potato and Tomato Soup
(potato, onion, garlic, herbes de provence, salt, pepper, tomato, olive oil)

There's no mistaking what season it is, eh? ;)

The soup is a favorite, and pretty easy to make, 4 cups of water, about 3-4 cubed potatoes, 1 chopped onion, about 10 cloves of garlic, 1 tbs. salt and 1/2 tbs. of herbes de provence -- toss in a soup pot and bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are cooked through (about 15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, add 1 tbs. olive oil and 2 chopped medium tomatoes and a pinch of salt -- cook down the tomatoes until they're released their water and have started to thicken.

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...

Friday, November 03, 2006

Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots over Pomegranate Tofu

Dinner 11/03

Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots over Pomegranate Tofu

a test recipe from Isa and Terry's upcoming book... the underutilized israeli couscous works really well in this pseudo-tagine setting -- toasted and loaded with apricots and the crunchy pistachios, it's a natural with the pomegranate tofu.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Coturri Tasting at Riverside Wine and Imports

Coturri Wine Tasting Dinner 11/2

(click for larger pictures)

Raw Pizza paired with Coturri Charbono
(buckwheat shells, cashew "cheese", tomato sauce, walnut spread)

Seitan Bourguignon with Mushrooms in Phyllo paired with Coturri Lost Creek Pinot Noir and Coturri Jewel Pinot Noir

Shepherdess Pie paired with Napa Syrah and the Napa Cabernet
(smoked tempeh, tofu, corn, carrots, peas, smoked paprika, veg stock, flour)

Chocolate Madeleines with White Chocolate Pearls paired with the P. Coturri Family Zinfandel

Once again time for Riverside Wine and Imports annual tasting for Tony Coturri's awesome group of wines.

We did four dishes tonight to pair with the wines listed above -- and yes, we went with the raw pizza as the opener. Risky perhaps, but it worked wonderfully with the wine -- I think you'll see more raw foods sneaking into the tastings from now on ;)

We also went with Isa's test recipe for the Shepherdess Pie -- and it came through perfectly with the Cab/Syrah combo of wines. Good comfort food on a cold and snowy evening...

The seitan bouguignon is a classic -- I used the Coturri Lost Creek Pinot Noir in the making of the dish which enhanced it further, making the sauce extremely aromatic.

Liz made the chocolate madeleines and white chocolate pearls, which were extremely elegant and matched the always tasty P. Coturri Family Zinfandel.

By the way, Tony and his brother Phil were featured in the Nov. 15 issue of Wine Spectator ("Sonoma Mavericks") and is a good overview of their wine making philosophy...

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Red Chile and Soy Cheese Enchiladas, Mixed Green Salad with Tomatoes

Dinner 11/1

Red Chile and Soy Cheese Enchiladas

Mixed Green Salad with Tomatoes
(Green Goddess Dressing)

We used ancho and guajillo chiles (toasted, mixed with tomatoes, pureed in the vita-mix, reduced on the stove by half, then add 2 cups of stock and reduced again to a smooth sauce).

The corn tortillas were not the usual ones we have used in the past (from Cleveland). Those, it appears have vanished, which makes us very sad. Commerical tortillas just don't have that suppleness that the local ones did...

(Happy World Vegan Day!)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Stelline Soup, Roasted Asparagus, Braised Brussel Sprouts, French Bread

Dinner 10/31

Stelline Soup
(carrot, onion, celery, garlic, tomato, cannellini beans, stelline (star) pasta, veg stock, tamari, salt, pepper)

Roasted Asparagus

Braised Brussel Sprouts

French Bread

You have to be careful with the stelline (star) noodles -- one cup of dried noodles added to the soup will suck every last available bit of the six cups of broth out the pot -- I'm just sayin' ;)

Monday, October 30, 2006

UnSilent Film

UnSilent Film 10/30

No dinner tonight, I just ended up having some leftovers from last night (one package of pad thai noodles make a boatload of leftovers!)

Instead it was the second anniversary of UnSilent Film -- a series of shows where we play improvised electronic music to silent movies, in this case "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1920) starring John Barrymore (Drew's Grandfather).

We had eight players tonight (an all-time high) and it sounded... massive.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Pad Thai

Dinner 10/29

Pad Thai
(noodles, smoked tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, scallions, bean threads, garlic, tamarind sauce, sriracha)

A quick simple go-to kind of meal tonight (I'm prepping for tomorrow night's UnSilent Film gig) -- the tamrind sauce is really the key to this dish -- otherwise it's just a stir-fry with noodles and bean threads... not that there's anything wrong with that ;)

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Deep Dish Pizza (Round 2)

Dinner 10/28

Deep Dish Pizza
(fyh soy cheese, tomato sauce, smoked tofu, olives, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes)

yep, we made the pizza again -- played around with the baking time and heat, and we probably should have left it alone ;) It tasted fine, but the shell was noticably weaker and the toppings kind of fell off the crust. You live, you learn...

This time we watched "Rocky Horror" and the kids fell asleep right after the "Time Warp" -- which was just as well...

Friday, October 27, 2006

Wild Mushroom Quesadillas, Chiles Rellenos

Dinner 10/27

Wild Mushroom Quesadillas
(onions, garlic, black beans, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, fyh soy cheese, tamari, mexican oregano, smoked salt, pepper)

Chiles Rellenos
(poblano pepper stuffed with potatoes, soyrizo, fyh soy cheese, mexican oregano, salt and pepper)

The rellenos are sort of deconstructed -- lacking the batter and deep-frying -- but it also makes dinner prep go a little faster ;) One of these days we'll go back and make them the old way -- maybe with smaller poblanos...

The quesadillas though, are just perfect the way they are -- mushrooms and smoky black beans... we've been using these red pepper shells which add a nice visual and flavor to the quesadillas, as well as our usual Sunday morning Breakfast Burritos...

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Panade, Spinach Salad

Dinner 10/26

Panade
(adapted from Paula Wolfert)

Spinach Salad
(cherry tomatoes, dried cherries, pine nuts, green goddess dressing)

It's amazing that onions, garlic, day-old bread, veg stock, dinosaur kale, soy cheese, tamari, salt and pepper -- that is slow cooked at 250F for three hours -- can turn into something so special, that you dream about it at night. ;)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Raw Food Wednesday: Tostada, Gazpacho

Raw Food Wednesday 10/25

Raw Tostada
(onion bread, cashew "cheese", avocado, walnut filling, tomato, lettuce)

Gazpacho with Avocado
(tomato, cucumber, scallion, garlic, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, red cherry pepper)

Cauliflower Couscous
(cauliflower, parsley, cilantro, mint, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, cayenne)

Dessert

Persimmon Pie

Back to Matt Amsden's "RAWvolution" book for the tostada, couscous and persimmon pie.

The walnut filling in the tostadas was really good -- i.e. it didn't taste overly walnutty. The onion bread was shaped into rounds and dehydrated for a long time (24+ hours again). The consistency was better this time as I used the benriner to shave the onions very very thin...

The cauliflower couscous was surprisingly tasty -- finely diced cauliflower and the fresh mint from the garden added the just the right note to compliment the lemon juice -- a good alternitive to a green salad as a starter.

The persimmon pie was very un-fall like as raw desserts go -- a very creamy mango-like filling in a quick almond shell topped with raspberries.

We really like this book -- as Juliano-ish as it is -- as it's not overly complicated. On a scale of 1-10 for complication (10=Trotter/Klein), I'd give it a 3, if only for needing a dehydrator for a couple of things -- most of his soups/drinks just require a good blender...