Mac and Cheese, Grilled Portobello Mushroom

Dinner 11/29

Mac and Cheese

Grilled Portobello Mushroom

Mac and Cheese (recipe) + Grilled Portobello Mushrooms is my new favorite thing!

We've been using the Tinkyada GF pasta for most of the year and we love it...

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Dessert 11/28

Pumpkin Cupcakes

From "Chloe's Kitchen" by Chloe Coscarelli.

As you know, we still had some pumpkin left over after the holiday, so these wonderful cupcakes fit the bill.

In other news, we still have two giant pumpkins sitting here.

It's going to be a long winter. ;)

What The Hell Does A Vegan Eat For Thanksgiving Anyway? 2012 Edition

What The Hell Does A Vegan Eat For Thanksgiving Anyway? 2012 Edition 11/22

Pierogi (Cabbage / Potato & Mushroom)

Ravioli (Pumpkin)

Braised Carrots

Braised Brussels Sprouts

Cranberry Sauce

Dinner Rolls

Dessert

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake

Apple Turnovers

A photo essay...


Tiny, tiny carrots...


...which took forever to prep...


...but were oh-so-tasty ;)

Also, Braised Brussels Sprouts


The dough for the dinner rolls was allowed to rise twice -- the third time they were formed into balls and put into a greased cast-iron skillet...


...where they rose again...


... and baked.


The apple turnovers were assembled right before dinner and put into the oven just as we sat down.


The Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake was made the day before, and taken out of the fridge about a hour beforehand.


Plated together, a beautiful pair


Finally, the aftermath: Carrothenge!

Later, bourbon and a nap...

Potato Fans

Dinner 11/18

Potato Fans

A riff on this recipe from Cook's Country that uses Cheddar Daiya. Pretty!


Here's a shot after they were cut (chopsticks placed on the sides keep the knife from cutting all the way through) just before they went into the oven.

Pot Pie

Dinner 11/16

Pot Pie

It's comfort food time!

A simple Pot Pie: carrot, onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms, green beans and potatoes along with a sauce of white wine, veg stock, tamari, cornstarch slurry, salt and pepper, finished with biscuit dough dropped on top before baking.

Jerusalem Artichoke Bisque with Roasted Broccoli and Cheddar Biscuits

Dinner 11/12

Jerusalem Artichoke Bisque

Roasted Broccoli

Cheddar Biscuits

We had a bumper crop of Jerusalem Artichokes growing on our front yard -- completely unbeknown to us until we went to clear out the front garden.


Hey! bonus food! ;)

Collard Greens with Coconut Curry Sauce, Tea-Smoked Tofu Squares, Deep-Fried Rice Balls and Braised Bok Choy

Dinner 11/10

Collard Greens with Coconut Curry Sauce

Tea-Smoked Tofu Squares

Deep-Fried Rice Balls

Braised Bok Choy

A riff on a house favorite recipe, putting all the elements in a bowl instead of our usual method of plating...

Portion a block of extra-firm tofu into 16 squares and smoked it with oolong tea for 20 minutes. Then stir-fry the tofu in the wok with a little splash of tamari at the end of cooking. Set aside.

(We also added a few shiitake mushrooms -- totally optional)

In the same wok, cook the bok choy. Cut the bok choy in half and rinse. Over med-high heat, add 1 tsp. of canola oil to the wok and sear quickly on both sides. Add a splash of tamari and water, turn to coat the bok choy and reduce the heat down to low and put a lid on to cover for 5-7 minutes. Set aside.

Make fresh rice, save a little for the bottom of the bowl and form the rest into golf-ball sized pieces and deep-fry for 30-45 seconds at 375F. Set aside.

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, make the curry sauce 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. red 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 assemble, start with a layer of the fresh rice, add the collard greens and tea-smoked tofu, fried rice and braised bok choy. Pour the hot sauce from the wok over everything and serve.

Mahjouba (Algerian Crepes)

Dinner 11/02

Mahjouba (Algerian Crepes)

We made these from a recent Saveur recipe and they were awesome! Filled with a tomato, carrot, onion and chile mixture, even the kids liked them ;)

Thanksgiving preview: Pierogi

Dinner 10/27

Pierogi

A little sneak peak for this year's festivities -- Pierogies! (with recipe)

There are two different types one filled with cabbage, the other with potato and mushroom.

Much like the Ravioli, we made, froze and vacuum-sealed about 240, so that should last a couple of days... maybe. ;)

Zucchini Fritters and Roasted Broccoli with Fusilli

Dinner 10/26

Zucchini Fritters

Roasted Broccoli

Fusilli

Zucchini Fritters

Makes 10-12 patties

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (use a box grater, about 3 small zucchini)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (or flour)
1 tbs. ground flax seed
1/4 cup diced onion (or shallot)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried Italian herbs (thyme, parsley, rosemary)
1/4 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional, but holds the shape better as a binder)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, divide into 12 pieces and form into 2"-2 1/2" diameter rounds, flatten and fry in a cast-iron pan with a thin layer of olive oil. cook a good five minutes on medium heat until browned. Flip and repeat until finished.

The fritters can be pretty delicate, so try not to flip them until they're ready.

Served on top of Fusilli topped with marinara sauce, paired with roasted broccoli (450°F / olive oil, salt & pepper / 15 minutes).

Pumpkin Ravioli with Roasted Broccoli

Dinner 10/20

Pumpkin Ravioli

Roasted Broccoli

"...and you may ask yourself -- well, how did I get here?"

Previously on "What the hell does a vegan eat anyway?"



This volunteer Cinderella Pumpkin grew in our front year this year...



...over the summer we partook in many of the blossoms it offered by making Fritto Misto, stuffing it with a mix of vegan cream cheese, shallots, smoked paprika and nooch, dipped them in a batter and deep-fried them. Good Times, yeah.



Then we harvested the pumpkin, cut it into wedges and roasted it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper (425°F for about 1 hour).


After it roasted, we scooped out the pumpkin, put it in a chinois strainer and let the water drain. We saved the delicious pumpkin liquid. There may or may not have been some experimental bourbon cocktails invented in the wake of this discovery, sadly the knowledge was tragically lost upon imbibing said cocktails.

For dinner, the filling was as follows...

Ravioli Filling

1 tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs. fresh thyme
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper

16oz (1 block) firm tofu, crumbled
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese

4 cups of the roasted pumpkin

Saute the onions and garlic until softened, add the thyme, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the tofu and vegan cream cheese and mix together -- if you have an immersion blender, now would be a good time to use it -- otherwise a potato masher works surprisingly well. Add the onion mixture as well as the roasted pumpkin. Hit it again with the immersion blender until it all comes together. Set aside and make the dough.

Ravioli Dough

2 c. 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.


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).


Liz used a single layer of dough, added a scant tablespoon of filling along the left hand side and then folded the dough over like a book, trimming with the pasta cutter to crimp the edges.


The majority of ravioli were placed on a floured cookie sheet and frozen for a couple of hours, then vacuum sealed for later use. Like January. ;)

The rest we made for dinner, adding them to gently boiling salted water until they float to the surface. Remove, drain and toss with melted Earth Balance, salt & pepper.

The broccoli was trimmed, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a 450°F oven for 15 minutes.

So, there you are -- root to blossom cooking, Gangnam vegan style.

Banana Waffles

Brunch 10/20

Banana Waffles

Forgot to post these... Sorry.

Tweaked the recipe from Vegan Brunch added some pureed bananas that needed to be used and sliced a few for the topping (along w/maple syrup).

Nom.

Fusilli with Gluten-Free Sausages and Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Dinner 10/19

Fusilli with Gluten-Free Sausages and Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Remember that Cinderella Pumpkin from earlier in the year?


Well, we finally got to work on it, roasting and pureeing for ravioli (which you'll see tomorrow).


For tonight's meal we took some of the puree and made a quick cream sauce (onion, garlic, sage, vegan sour cream, nooch, a little white wine and veg broth to thin it out and salt & pepper) and paired with some of the hickory smoked gluten-free sausages we made last week. I think one or two more tweaks on the sausages and we'll have something to share. The pasta was GF as well.

Apple Fritters

Dessert 10/16

Apple Fritters

We stumbled across this recipe on TV the other day and adapted with usual substitutes (Einkorn flour, 1 tbs. ground flax & 2 tbs. water for the 2 eggs & Earth Balance) and we just dusted them with powdered sugar instead of making the glaze because we wanted to eat them ASAP. ;)

Chard Frittata

Dinner 10/12

Chard Frittata

Rosemary Crackers with Mozzarella, Swiss and Boursin-style Vegan Cheese

We bought some lovely chard from our Farmers Market and decided to make the always reliable frittata from "Vegan Brunch" on a bed of arugula.


For an appetizer, we made some more recipes from "Artisan Vegan Cheese" -- so we needed some crackers to go along for the ride. Liz made these tasty rosemary crackers while I was out, so I don't know the recipe. The Mozzarella was more like a typical cashew cheese and was kind of disappointing, the Swiss elicited varying opinions on texture (a tad "flour-y") and flavor (always an acquired taste), but everyone agreed the Boursin-style was the clear winner and paired well with the crackers.

Big Bowl of Yum IV

Dinner 10/01

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

French Lentils

Braised Leeks

Collard Greens

Carrots

Gluten-Free Sausages

Previous editions of the Big Bowl of Yum I, II, III

Lobster Mushroom Bisque

Dinner 09/30

Lobster Mushroom Bisque

We have officially moved into soup weather.

We scored some lobster mushrooms from our local grocery store this week, so we decided to bring back our bisque recipe from 2008.

Two changes: we used shiitake mushroom stock in place of the water and white wine in place of the cognac (we're out). Plus we added fried leek rings as a garnish.

Tomato Soup

Lunch 09/29

Tomato Soup

Somewhere it's 1973, and a Gilligan's Island rerun is showing.
In the center of the soup is some of the "Artisan Vegan Cheese" Chevre we made the other day.

Along the back is a cheese crisp made from Daiya Cheddar -- sprinkled in a cast-iron pan until melted, removed to a cooling rack for a few minutes until hardened.

As for the soup, it was simply shallots, garlic, tarragon and tomatoes from the garden cooked down in olive oil with a little veg stock and pureed, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Hickory-Smoked Tofu Triangles

Breakfast 09/29

Hickory-Smoked Tofu Triangles

Sometimes it is about the pretty pictures ;)

As always, the smoking tutorial is here.

Artisan Vegan Cheese

Dinner 09/28

Chevre & Brie

Yes, we gave in to peer pressure ;)

Thankfully our pantry was already loaded with agar agar and xanthan gum and we always have some rejuvelac on hand -- so we were ready to go.

We started by making the Chevre (goat cheese style) coated with herbes de provence and a wheel of Brie, which was combined with some fig jam for an outstanding bite.

Next up will be the cheddar and mozzarella.

Shawarma

Dinner 09/28

Shawarma

"Have you ever tried shawarma? I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."
It was our daughter's birthday, the Avengers had just come out on DVD and five of her friends were coming over for dinner. Shawarma seemed like the only logical choice. ;)

The spread (clockwise from upper left): Red Onion, Pickled Turnips, Baba Ghanoush, Hummus, Lettuce, Yogurt Sauce, Pita Bread, Cucumbers, Hickory-Smoked Shredded Tofu, Tomatoes.


An assembled pita (made just like the flatbreads), ready to eat.

Ratatouille with Sausages and Leeks over Pasta

Dinner 09/24

Ratatouille with Sausages and Leeks over Pasta

Ratatouille (recipe) again, with braised leeks (recipe) and the addition of (gluten-free) sausages and pasta in one tasty bowl.

Rajas

Dinner 09/20

Rajas

We made soft tacos again and one of the items we made was rajas (recipe) -- a slow cooked combination of red bell, poblano and cubanelle peppers, along with red onions, garlic and Mexican oregano.


I just liked the close-up of this poblano pepper. ;)

Peach Crumble Tart

Dessert 9/19

Peach Crumble Tart

Tonight's dessert is a recipe that we stumbled across from the current issue of Taste of Home, that called for blueberries (which we didn't have) so we adapted the hell out of it. ;)

Peach Crumble Tart

1 1/3 cups Einkorn flour (AP will work too)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Earh Balance, melted
4 cups fresh peaches, peeled, sliced
1 tablespoon "Just Like Honey"

topping

1/4 cup Einkorn flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted

In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon; stir in EB just until blended. Press onto the bottom and up the side of the fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, combine the peaches and honey; toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine the first five topping ingredients; stir in EB.

Spoon peach mixture into crust; sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving. Yield: 12 servings.

from Taste of Home October/November 2012, p24

Tofu & Tomato Stew, Gobi Paratha, Stuffed Bhindi

Dinner 09/12

Tofu & Tomato Stew

Gobi Paratha

Stuffed Bhindi

The Tofu & Tomato Stew recipe is here. It's always a crowd pleaser that paired well with the Gobi Paratha (cauilflower stuffed flatbread) from Julie Sahni's book.



We love okra, but wanted to try out a different way of integrating it with our meal, so we made a stuffed version (also from Julie's book, here.)

Tags: cauliflower, gobi, okra, bhindi, bread, tomato, tofu, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666