First, a huge debt of thanks my wife Liz for all the evenings she's had to wait to eat while I take "just one more picture" ;)
To all the folks who have added us to their blogrolls this year or read us via RSS, LiveJournal, or were just looking for info on veganism... thank you. Tell some friends and we'll continue to explore vegan food together in 2006.
As sort of a year-end round up, I thought we'd look back at the past 12 months and pick the best meal from each month -- here's Part 1...
Sunday, January 23, 2005Tiki Night*
Sweet and Sour Seitan
(seitan, red and yellow bell pepper, carrot, onion, pineapple -- w/ the sauce of tamari, white wine vinegar, ketchup, sugar -- then the cornstarch/water slurry to thicken)
Parsnip "Rangoon" (additional picture)
(variation on the old Trader Vic staple -- gyoza wrappers w/ parsnips, cayenne, soy cream cheese)
Eggplant in Coconut
(seared, then baked w/ a coconut, onion, garlic and tomato sauce)
* we decorated, wore a lei, made fruit based drinks, played some Don Ho, and ate a lot of food -- because what else are you going to do when there's two feet of snow piled up in front of your door and the wind chill is -10?
(bonus picture: January 16, 2005: Chocolate Mousse Cake w/ cherries and hazelnuts)Words fail me -- must.. eat... cake...
Saturday, February 12, 2005Seitan a la Jojo*
Green Beans
Tomato and Fennel Soup
(from "Les Halles" cookbook)
* this was one of those Valentine Dinner "ideas" that I get occasionally -- usually laying down w/ a cool compress across my forehead is enough to make them go away -- but not this time...
What if you took the "Duck a la Jojo" recipe from Jean-Georges Vongerichten, use seitan instead -- and here's the kicker -- stuff it in a inari pocket (a bean curd product) w/ jasmine rice?
OK, so nobody's asking, but here's how it went anyway... ;)First the rice -- usually, Inari is stuffed w/ sushi rice, but I used jasmine instead, although I did consider using the sushi rice. Maybe next time.
Then it was a simple as stuffing the inari with the jasmine rice, layering the sauteed seitan on top and coating w/ the signature Jojo spice infused sauce (cinnamon, mace, corriander, orange juice, sherry vinegar and veg stock).
The result -- really, really, really really good. Shockingly (shocking!) good.
do you get the idea we liked it? ;)
(bonus picture: February 19, 2005: Raw Zucchini Rolls) This was a big year for raw foods in our house, eventually becoming a Wednesday night tradition... this was part of a lunch that capped off a five day raw food run. The zucchini rolls are a great way to utilize the inevitable leftover raw cheese and tomato marinara...
Wednesday, March 16, 2005Tofu with Couscous and Apricot wrapped in Mung Bean Sheets*
Fried Polenta
Braised Brussel Sprouts
* We made this the day after a Tony Coturri wine tasting -- specifically to try with 2003 Coturri Freiberg Zinfandel (which has a hit of Apricot in the nose -- another fantastic wine from Tony).
Mung bean sheets are our new yuba sheets ;)
(bonus picture: March, 2005: close-up of marzipan carrot on carrot cake from easter) Liz really kicked ass this year in the dessert department -- the cake was not only beautiful to look at, but delicious as well. The marzipan carrots were fun to make -- and you can see where the squirrel on the "buche de noel" came from in December ;)
Monday, April 4, 2005Mexican "Sushi"
(soy cream cheese, soyrizo, chipotle chile, deep fried tempeh, avocado, mesclun lettuce mix, red pepper tortilla wrap)
an abomination, yes -- but oh so tasty ;)
this has become one of our go-to catering gig dishes -- easy to make, tasty to eat and it's always a good conversation starter after you say the word Quinoa (KEEN-wa) ;)
Saturday, May 21, 2005Pasta Puttanesca *
(onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, kalamata olives, green olives, capers, soyrizo, tomato, salt and pepper)
Ciabatta
* My son made this -- I did the chopping, he got all the ingredients out and did the measuring and stirring. It's become his signature dish -- but I'll wait to explain the name for a little while longer... ;)
also, ignore the stunt photography -- it was a nice evening and I had just mowed the back yard ;)
(bonus picture: May 11, 2005: the grill)Grilled ramps, bread and radicchio... Ramp season is fleeting, but a welcome sign of spring -- much like the grilled morels we also had with this dinner.
Saturday, June 18, 2005Zucchini "Noodles" and Seitan
Tempura with Ponzu
(onion, asparagus, scapes, broccoli)
Steamed/Seared Bok Choy
Grilled Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms over Udon
looking back at this I had forgotten how cool the zucchini noodles and seitan dish turned out -- as well as the tofu/enoki combo...
(bonus picture: June 11, 2005: Tempura w/ Ponzu)we always make too much tempura ;)
Asparagus, Shiitake Mushroom, Broccoli, Onion