what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?: January 2007

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Raw Food Wednesday: Daikon and Zucchini Noodle Soup, Arugula Caesar Salad with Cashew Cheese Crutons, Tostadas with Spicy "Taco" Walnut Filling

Raw Food Wednesday 1/31

Daikon and Zucchini Noodle Soup
(a.k.a. Dixie Noodle Soup, adapted from "RAWvolution")

Arugula Caesar Salad with Cashew Cheese Croutons

Onion Bread Tostadas with Spicy "Taco" Walnut Filling
(also from "RAWvolution")

a few more recipes from "RAWvolution" -- we tweaked the soup by adding dehydrated shiitake mushroom, carrot and celery to the surprisingly good daikon and lemon juice broth, zucchini noodles and sea salt.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Lentil and Seitan Stew, Wilted Beet Greens and Kale, Twice Baked Potato

Dinner 1/30

Lentil and Seitan Stew
(carrot, onion, garlic, lentil, seitan, veg stock, tamari, pepper)

Wilted Beet Greens and Kale

Twice Baked Potato

Beet Greens are one of things you've got to remember to use right away while they're still at peak flavor. Supplemented this time around with some kale...

Monday, January 29, 2007

Dim Sum: Pea-Shoot Dumplings, "Stir-Fry" Buns, Lotus Root Chips

Dim Sum 1/29

Pea-Shoot Dumplings
(blanched pea shoots, bamboo, lotus root mixed with sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper)

"Stir-Fry" Buns
(tofu, carrot, garlic, ginger, bok choy, scallions, tamari, sesame oil)

Lotus Root Chips

Day three of the Dim Sum experiment... the blanched pea-shoot, bamboo and lotus root makes a thick enough paste to hold together inside the steamed dumplings.

The stir-fry buns were a request from our son who wondered where dim sum has been all his life. ;)

The lotus root chips were a request from our daughter who stole half of them when I turned my back from taking the pictures -- hey, at least she waited until afterward this time...

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Dim Sum: Steamed Money Bag Dumplings, Rice Paper Rolls, Hot and Sour Soup

Dim Sum 1/28

Steamed Money Bag Dumplings
(spinach, bok choy, garlic, ginger, shallots on a bed of fried rice)

Rice Paper Rolls
(stuffed with artichoke, soy cream cheese, scallions, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, pepper, shallow-fried in canola oil)

Hot and Sour Soup
(test recipe for VwaV2)

Dim Sum: Day 2. Starting with Isa's test recipe from VwaV2 (we added some enoki mushrooms because they looked good on top of the soup).

The rice paper rolls were kinda "crab rangoon"-ish with the soy cream cheese, but it was held up on it's own as a crunchy, yet soft take on spring rolls.

The Money Bags were a great bundle of joy in the mouth. We also added one of the Money Bags to the soup as an experiment, and it worked just fine.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Dim Sum: Vegetable Buns, Hoisin Seitan Wraps

Dim Sum 1/27

Vegetable Buns
(baby bok choy, garlic, ginger, tvp, sesame oil, tamari, pepper)

Hoisin Seitan Wraps
(with carrot and scallions)

We went to the big Asian food store near us -- the Cleveland Asia Market on Miles Rd. right off the Northfield Rd. exit on I-480 across from Randall Park Mall -- for those in Northeast Ohio. We loaded up on some goodies, and made some kick-ass dim sum tonight.

The Vegetable Buns were stuffed with the cutest little baby bok choy along with a stir-fried TVP mixture with sesame oil. We broke out the steamer basket and did two levels of buns.

The hoisin-flavored seitan wraps were equally as good -- sliced seitan, carrots and scallions in a moo-shu like pancake tied with scallion to hold then together.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Semolina Pizza

Dinner 1/26

Semolina Pizza topped with Artichoke, Kalamata Olives, Onions and FYH Monterey Jack Soy Cheese
(recipe below)

A good Friday night meal -- you can cook this quick dough in a cast-iron pan and it only takes about 2 minutes per side to cook the dough. Just add the toppings when you flip -- and you're eating in about 10 minutes.

Semolina Pizza Dough

1 cup Semolina Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup warm water

In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and work the mixture together until a ball forms, cover with plastic and let rest for 15 minutes.

Start to heat the cast iron skillet with canola oil. Divide the dough into four pieces and roll it out to about a 7" circle.

Place the dough in the skillet and check the bottom of the pizza after a minute or so and adjust the heat if necessary, it should be slightly bubbling on top and turning golden brown on the bottom.

Flip, add the fixings, and cover to melt the soy cheese.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Tofu Paprikash, Spaetzle, Roasted Broccoli, Braised Red Cabbage

Dinner 1/25

Tofu Paprikas(h)
(pan-fried tofu with smoked paprika and tamari, with a sour cream, dill and horseradish sauce)

Spaetzle
(recipe below)

Roasted Broccoli

Braised Red Cabbage
(olive oil, salt, pepper, tarragon and beer vinegar)

Adding the smoked paprika moves it more to Spain than Hungary, but the spaetzle and cabbage makes it all good ;)

Spaetzle

2 1/2 cups (10oz) flour
1/2 box of soft tofu (in the aseptic box)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8oz) water (approximately)

In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. In a blender or using a hand mixer, puree the soft tofu. Add the tofu and 1/2 cup of the water to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Continue adding water until it has the correct consistency, that is, until comes away easy from the sides of the bowl and has sort of a slightly loose pancake batter consistency.

Cooking Method

If you have a spaetzle maker (right), position it across the pot of boiling salted water and drop the dough into the bowl and push it back and forth across the grate, causing the noodles to drop into the water.

Alternately if you don't have a spaetzle maker, you can try to use a colander (not the mesh type) and push the dough through the holes and into the water -- but it's not easy to do and is messy. We've also tried a potato ricer, better -- but still problematic.

The main thing to consider is the consistency of the dough -- we tend to like ours a little on the wet side as it makes it easier to push through the spaetzle maker.

Let the noodles come back to the surface and cook for 2-3 minutes total. Drain and put into a saute pan with a little soy margarine, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Be careful that not too much water gets in the pan, as it'll make the little noodles stick together...

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Stir-Fry with Hoisin Tofu, Steamed and Seared Bok Choy, Hoisin Green Beans, Taro Root Chips with Sea Salt

Dinner 1/24

Stir-Fry with Hoisin Tofu
(hoisin tofu, carrots, refried jasmine rice, scallions, tamari, szechuan peppercorn)

Steamed and Seared Bok Choy

Hoisin Green Beans

Taro Root Chips with Sea Salt

Raw Food Wednesday had to take a week off due to some scheduling issues -- it'll be back next week... In it's place, the always dependable stir-fry.

The kids inhaled the taro root chips -- I think they even like them better than the lotus root chips...

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Grilled Portobello Burger with Roasted Red Pepper, Onions and Vegenaise on Ciabatta Bread, Braised Leeks, Braised Carrots

Dinner 1/23

Grilled Portobello Burger with Roasted Red Pepper, Onions and Vegenaise on Ciabatta Bread

Braised Leeks

Braised Carrots

mmmm... grilled mushrooms. We had a portobello burger for lunch a few weeks ago, and this is a great weeknight meal -- takes all of 30 minutes to make from prep to finish...

Monday, January 22, 2007

Racchette Pasta with Peppers

Dinner 1/22

Racchette Pasta with Peppers
(pasta with onion, garlic, red bell, jalapeno, cubanelle, veg stock, salt and pepper)

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with Horseradish Dressing
(fresh grated horseradish, apple cider vinegar, roasted garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, vegenaise)

Adapted slightly from Alfred Portale's book -- simple, easy, and hey -- tennis rackets! ;)

For the salad, I used an apple corer to pop out the middle of the roasted beet and put in the arugula leaves...

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Hickory Smoked Tofu and Mushrooms with Bearnaise Sauce, Twice Baked Potato, Creamed Spinach

Dinner 1/21

Hickory Smoked Tofu and Mushrooms with Bearnaise Sauce

Creamed Spinach

Twice Baked Potato

When we got the new DVR in December, we started taping "Pairings with Andrea" -- and then we'd blow through six episodes at a time. This is the recreation of one episode in particular.

Why yes, it is a bit perverse to veganize a "steakhouse" meal, but what the hell... ;)

The "Lightened-Up Creamed Spinach" was just a straight sub of soy milk for cream.

For the "Twice-Baked Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Cheddar" we just subbed the FYH Monterey Jack (we're out of the cheddar), added a little soft tofu for the egg, and Better Than Milk (plain) for the milk. The kids said they wanted these for dinner the rest of the week ;)

This one was replaced by the hickory smoked tofu (15 minutes) and subbed soy margarine in the sauce. Same deal with the mushrooms...

Tarragon is a lovely, if underused, herb in our kitchen...

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Garlic Stuffed Tofu, with Chestnuts and Mushrooms wrapped in Phyllo with a Horseradish and Garlic Cream Sauce, Roasted Broccoli, Cabbage Pierogi

Dinner 1/20

Garlic Stuffed Tofu, with Chestnuts and Mushrooms wrapped in Phyllo with a Horseradish and Garlic Cream Sauce
(recipe below)

Roasted Broccoli

Cabbage and Onion Pierogi

Wow, I think that's the longest title yet! ;)

There were lots of "moving parts" on this one, and I apologize for the lack of a cutaway shot so you could see how it was assembled... but here's the details.

Garlic Stuffed Tofu, with Chestnuts and Mushrooms wrapped in Phyllo with a Horseradish and Garlic Cream Sauce

1 block of extra-firm tofu, cut into 8 rectangular "cutlets"
1 head of roasted garlic
tamari
sunflower or canola oil

olive oil
1 cup of button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of chestnuts, sliced
1 cup of red wine
salt/pepper

8 sheets of phyllo dough
olive oil

The tofu was first smoked with alder wood for 15 minutes (optional), then pan-fried in sunflower oil (good at high heat), with a splash of tamari to coat the tofu at the end. Then cut a slit down the side of the cutlet and stuff it with roasted garlic (cut off the top, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, wrap in foil and bake 45 minutes at 375F).

Next up, pan-fry the mushrooms in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and finish by deglazing the pan with 1/4 cup of red wine, until it evaporates. Follow the same drill with the chestnuts, they won't take as long...

Lay the phyllo sheet out like a sheet of paper, place the tofu cutlet about 4" away from the center bottom of the sheet. Place the mushroom and chestnut mixture on top. Fold the bottom flap over the tofu and roll once, brushing the exposed sections with olive oil. Now fold both the left and right sides over the cutlet, and brush with olive oil. Finally, continue to roll the cutlet away from you, brushing olive oil as you expose new sections of phyllo. Try to end with the seam side down.

Place the phyllo on a sheet pan, cook for 8 minutes at 425F, rotate the pan once halfway through the cooking to get even browning.

The sauce was 1 tbs. freshly grated horseradish, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, 1 tbs. olive oil, 3 tbs. vegenaise, 1 tbs. roasted garlic all mixed together and piped over the cutlets.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Sweet and Sour Seitan, Wilted Napa Cabbage, Bean Sprouts with a Peanut and Tamarind Sauce

Dinner 1/19

Sweet and Sour Seitan
(onion, garlic, carrot, red bell pepper, pineapple, seitan, cilantro, tamari, black pepper. sauce: recipe below)

Jasmine Rice

Wilted Napa Cabbage, Bean Sprouts with a Peanut and Tamarind Sauce

The napa cabbage/bean sprout combo was like "Pad Thai-lite", and more importantly -- this time the bean sprouts lasted more than one day in the fridge ;)

Quick Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbs. ketchup
3 tbs. pineapple juice
1/2 tbs. tamari
1 clove of garlic smashed
1 tsp. ginger
black pepper to taste
1 tbs. cornstarch

Mix all the ingredients together (an immersion blender worker really well here), and pour over the seitan/veggies until it thickens and glazes the food...

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Panade, Steamed Artichoke

Dinner 1/18

Panade
(onion, garlic, kale, toasted bread cubes, soy cheese, veg stock, salt and pepper)

Steamed Artichoke

No matter how you serve panade -- it always photographs best while still in the casserole dish ;)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Raw Food Wednesday: Beet Ravioli, Celeriac and Green Apple Soup, Cauliflower Couscous

Raw Food Wednesday 1/17

Beet Ravioli
(beets stuffed with cashew cheese and dehydrated portobello mushrooms, garlic and shallots)

Celeriac and Green Apple Soup
(from "Raw Food / Real World")

Cauliflower Couscous
(from Matt Amsden's "RAWvolution")

It's January, so we went with a raw root vegetable / earthy foods theme...

The beet ravioli contained the addition of four portobello mushrooms stems, peeled and trimmed -- then cut into 1/4" dice, tossed with 1 tsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. of nama shoyu, 1 garlic clove, minced and 1 tbs. shallot, minced. Then dehydrated for 4 hours -- the result was a delicious addition to the cashew cheese stuffed into the ravioli.

The celeriac soup really benefited from the combo of pureeing in the vita-mix and then running it through the fine mesh chinois -- resulted in a clean velvety soup. It was the best raw soup we've had in ages. We skipped the truffle oil called for in the recipe and just used a really fruity olive oil, which I think helped the mouthfeel.

And of course, the always fabulous cauliflower couscous from Matt Amsden's "RAWvolution" has become a permanent addition to our raw food repertoire...

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Eggplant Rollatini, Braised Fennel, Focaccia

Dinner 1/16

Eggplant Rollatini
(alder-smoked eggplant stuffed with tofu ricotta and baked with tomato sauce, see below)

Braised Fennel

Focaccia

Eggplant Rollatini
(click for bigger pictures)

Step 1: Brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and grill the eggplant.

Step 2: Add tofu ricotta (firm tofu, soy parmesan, nutritional yeast, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste, all mashed together)

Step 3: Add caramelized red onions (slow cooked for 20 minutes or so, add a pinch of sugar if you want)

Step 4: Roll up the eggplant...

Step 5: ...finish with with the seam side down.

Step 6: Place the eggplant in an oven-proof dish...

Step 7: ...and cover with tomato sauce and soy parmesan and place into a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Jambalaya, Gumbo Z'Herbes, Okra and Tomato Stew

Dinner 1/15

Jambalaya
(onion, garlic, herbes de provence, clove, smoked paprika, cayenne, tvp soyrizo, hickory smoked tofu, basmati rice, veg stock, tamari, black pepper)

Gumbo Z'Herbes
(onion, garlic, olive oil/flour roux, veg stock, collard greens, dinosaur kale, cannellini beans, tamari, black pepper)

Okra and Tomato Stew
(onion, garlic, okra, tomato, water, salt, black pepper)

I'm still amazed that I love okra sooooo much -- OK, I'm really amazed our kids love okra so much. ;)

Sunday, January 14, 2007

BBQ Tofu Sandwich, Baked Potato, Bistro Salad

Dinner 1/14

BBQ Tofu Sandwich

Baked Potato

Bistro Salad

originally we were going to make pad thai, but the bean sprouts that we had just bought two day previous were on the wrong side of sketchy -- so plan "b" -- as in bbq -- was launched with much success...

Saturday, January 13, 2007

White Asparagus and Watercress Salad, Carbonnades a la Flamande over Fusilli

Dinner 1/13

White Asparagus and Watercress Salad

Carbonnades a la Flamande over Fusilli

Liz gave me the Nobu cookbook for Christmas (note: cookbooks are always a good gift for me -- the weirder the better). As she was looking through it, this salad caught her eye. The white asparagus was crisp and the dressing uses the watercress stems blanched and pureed with olive oil/vinegar.

The Carbonnades a la Flamande is a standby Julia Child adaptation -- beer braised seitan over pasta -- mmmmmmmmm...

Dang Wild Mushrooms Quesadilla, Mexican Millet Cake

Lunch 1/13

Dang Wild Mushrooms Quesadilla
(onion, garlic, oyster mushroom, shiitake mushroom, FYH Monterey Jack,

Mexican Millet Cake
(test recipe from VwaV2)

For lunch today, we used the leftover millet from last night -- into a ring mold and onto the cast-iron skillet to crisp up alongside some lovely mushrooms in a tortilla.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Chiles Rellenos, Mexican Millet, Hominy Soup

Dinner 1/12

Chiles Rellenos
(stuffed with FYH Monterey Jack, recipe below)

Mexican Millet
(test recipe for VwaV2)

Hominy Soup with Pepitas
(onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, mexican oregano, hominy, tomato, veg stock, tamari, pepper)

The millet is a nice change of pace if you're looking for something akin to Mexican Rice -- and works wonders as a base for the rellenos...

Chiles Rellenos
(serves two)

2 large Poblano peppers

filling of choice (soy cheese, home fries/soyrizo, onion or any combo)

1 tbs. flax seed (finely ground)
3/4 cup AP flour (divided use)
water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional)

oil for frying

The key word to remember here is "gently" -- these can be a little delicate depending on the pepper...

Roast the Poblanos over an open flame (or use the broiler in the oven) until blackened -- the key is to blacken them as quickly as possible. The longer they spend over the flame, the weaker the structure of the pepper gets.

Place into a paper bag (or the microwave) and let sweat for 5-10 minutes. Gently peel the blackened skin off. Don't rinse them (a few specks of black is OK) or they'll get soggy, and again weaken the pepper. Make a slit down the length of the pepper and gently remove as much of the seed pod inside as possible.

Heat the oil to 375F

In a large mixing bowl, add 1 Tbs. finely ground flax seed with 1/4 cup of water and stir to combine. Slowly add 1/2 cup of AP flour, salt and pepper (you can add the optional 1/2 tsp. of cumin and 1/2 tsp. of cayenne here if you like it even spicier). Mix all the ingredients together until it makes a very thick pancake-style batter. You will probably need to add additional water to get it to the right consistency.

Gently place your filling of choice in poblano (being careful not to over stuff). Fold one flap of the poblano over the other (or secure with toothpicks) and and roll in 1/4 cup of seasoned AP flour. Place the poblano into flax seed/flour batter and coat thoroughly -- you may want to spoon the batter over the top and opening if you don't want the filling spilling everywhere.

Using a slotted spoon, gently lift one batter-coated poblano (seam up) and place in the oil. Deep-fry the poblanos one at a time, or the oil doesn't stay hot enough and it takes longer to cook and therefore makes it too oily. With the slotted spoon, gently splash the oil over the top of the poblano, which will cook (and seal) the top without spilling the filling. Deep-fry for 3-5 minutes until coating turns light brown.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Mapo Tofu

Dinner 1/11

Mapo Tofu
(tofu, red pepper flakes, soyrizo, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, scallion, tamari, water, cornstarch slurry, shiitake mushrooms)

Jasmine Rice

Recipe from Mrs. Chaing's Szechwan Cookbook -- a wonderful addition to your cookbook collection as long as you don't mind adapting everything ;)

It's basically tofu + soyrizo (you could sub soaked/fried TVP here) + mushroom + spices with a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. Easy Peasy...

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Raw Food Wednesday: Arugula Salad, Cashew Cheese and Flax Seed Crackers, Fava Bean and Shiitake Tart, Coconut and Date Balls, Spirulina and Carob Tart

Raw Food Wednesday 1/10

Fava Bean and Shiitake Mushroom Tart
(adapted from "Raw Food / Real World")

Arugula Salad with Cashew Cheese

Cashew Cheese topped with Peppercorns with Flax Seed Crackers

Dessert

Coconut Date Balls

Spirulina and Carob Tart
(from RAWvolution)

The fava bean tart is adapted from Sarma's book -- subbed shiitake mushrooms, otherwise it's pretty much the same. The tart shell is macadamia and almonds, the filling is soaked walnuts, garlic, cayenne, salt, pepper and "caramelized" onions -- thinly sliced onions mixed with agave, nama shoyu and olive oil and dehydrated for 24 hours. They're very addictive to snack on afterwards ;)

We left the tart in the dehydrator until the last second so it was still warm when it came to the table...

The spirulina tart had just enough carob to make you forget that there's spirulina in there ;)

Raw Coconut Balls

1 cup raw macadamia nuts
1 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup dried coconut
(about) 2 tbs of raw agave
salt
splash of vanilla extract

Grind the nuts and dates separately, combine into a bowl. Add the coconut, salt, vanilla extract. Add just enough agave so that when you are forming the balls that they retain their shape. This depends on how "wet" the nuts are after grinding.

Optionally, you can dehydrate them for up to eight hours @ 105F -- or just pop them into your mouth ;)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Chili

Dinner 1/09

Chili
(recipe below)

when winter makes it's return, it's time to break out the chili -- and our favorite is this one from Soul Vegetarian...

Soul Vegetarian's Chili
makes 12 servings

6 cups of dried kidney beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 gallon water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 Tbs. (or to taste) sea salt
1/8 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup (or to taste) chili powder
1/4 cup (or to taste) cumin
1/4 cup raw sugar (such as Turbinado, we use Rapadura), or agave
2 cups tomato paste
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced green pepper
2 cups TVP

Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain beans and rinse. Add oil and 1 gallon water to large stainless-steel pot; bring to a boil and add beans and bay leaves. Cover and simmer until beans are soft about 40-45 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except for TVP and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add TVP.

Obviously you can cut the recipe in half (or quarters) pretty easily.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Elvis Presley's Birthday: Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches, Fried Tofu, Mashed Potatoes, Shiitake Gravy

Elvis' Birthday Dinner 1/08

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches
(Elvis may have in fact, had something going on here)

Fried Tofu

Mashed Potatoes

Shiitake Gravy

thanks to Patrick and Genevieve we received the "Fit For A King - The Elvis Presley Cookbook" as a Christmas gift this year. So what better way to break it in than to make some of Elvis' favorite dishes -- on what would have been his 72nd birthday?

Fried Tofu (makes 16 pieces)
(adapted from "Fit For A King")

1 block of firm tofu, cut into eight cutlets, then cut diagonally into long triangles and marinated in tamari for 5 minutes

3/4 cup of AP flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Oil (for frying)

Add the flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a brown paper bag and shake to mix.

Add the marinated tofu cutlets and shake until well coated. Remove from bag and knock off excess flour.

In a cast-iron skillet add about 1/4" of oil over high heat. When oil has come to temp, add the coated tofu pieces gently into the oil and fry until well browned on both sides (about 3-4 minutes per side). Drain on a rack (or the brown paper bag).

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Squash Ravioli, Bruschetta

Dinner 1/07

Squash Ravioli
(hubbard squash)

Bruschetta
(onion, garlic, zucchini, tomato, basil, parsley, ciabatta)

that was one big mother hubbard squash -- had to break out the big 10" chef's knife for this one. After it was hacked to bits, it was roasted for 45 minutes at 425F and then pureed along with some soft tofu, thyme, salt and pepper. It has to cool completely before making the actual ravioli, or the dough will be very unhappy and break.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Tempura

Dinner 1/06

Tempura
(Shallots, Broccoli, Shiitake Mushrooms)

We always make too much tempura -- always. Also, shallots are the new onion rings. ;)

The dipping sauces (clockwise from upper left) -- hot mustard, ketchup/tamari/vegan worcestershire, vegenaise/smoked paprika, ponzu

Tempura Batter

1 cup soda water (or beer)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or chili powder to taste)
1/2 tablespoon salt

Sift the flour, baking powder and cornstarch into a medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the soda water, salt and cayenne. Allow to rest for a few minutes. Additional soda water may be needed to adjust thickness.

Then just drop your diced veggies in and fry in 375F oil until golden brown (about 3-5 minutes)

Friday, January 05, 2007

White Bean Cassoulet over Spaghetti

Dinner 1/05

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

another typical January type of meal, in a non-typical January heat wave. Makes me think of Julie London...

"It's June in January
Because I'm in love
It always is spring in my heart
with you in my arms.
The snow is just white blossoms
that fall from above.
And here is the reason, my dear,
Your magical charms.
The night is cold
The trees are bare
But I can feel the scent of roses in the air.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Seitan Stroganoff, Baked Potato, Baked Broccoli

Dinner 1/04

Seitan Stroganoff

Baked Potato

Baked Broccoli

While we're waiting for winter to arrive (no really, take your time), here's one for a warm January evening...

Seitan Stroganoff

canola oil
8 oz. seitan, cut into thin strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic minced
shiitake (or cremini) mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. tamari
1 tbs. flour
1 tbs. soy margarine
1 cup veg stock
1 tsp. mustard (or to taste)
1 tbs. soy sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy pan (or wok) on med-high heat, add 1 tbs. of canola oil and fry the strips of seitan until well browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Fry the onion slices in the remaining oil until just starting to brown, add the minced garlic and fry for one more minute. Remove and add to the seitan.

Add 1 tbs more of canola oil and fry the mushroom slices until just starting to brown, add 1 tsp. tamari and pepper then fry for one more minute. Remove and add to the seitan.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the soy margarine and melt, add the flour and whisk to combine, making a roux. Let cook for 1-2 minutes.

Slowly pour the (room temp) veg stock into the roux, getting rid of the lumps as you quickly whisk to combine for 2-3 minutes.

As the gravy thickens, add the mustard and whisk to combine, simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to med-low, and add the soy sour cream, continuing to whisk, simmer for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the seitan, mushrooms, onion and garlic to reheat.

Taste for salt and pepper. Serve over pasta.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Raw Food Wednesday: Sushi, Pad Thai

Raw Food Wednesday 1/03

Sushi
(parsnip "rice", carrot, scallion, cucumber, red bell pepper, avocado, grated horseradish, fresh pickled ginger, marinated shiitake)

Pad Thai
(recipe from Charlie Trotter/Roxanne Klein's "Raw")

Raw Food Wednesday returns with a standby (Pad Thai) and new dish for us -- sushi!

I tried a couple of bundles with the untoasted nori, plus Liz made the parsnip/veggie rolls -- the untoasted nori is very delicate and must be handled quickly while cutting (we used the electric knife).

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Smoky Tempeh/Tofu Loaf, Prune Ketchup, Fingerling Potatoes with Shiitake Gravy

Dinner 1/02

Smoky Tempeh/Tofu Loaf with Prune Ketchup

Fingerling Potatoes with Shiitake Gravy

in the December 2006 Food & Wine, Grant Achatz has a recipe for a Smoky Meatloaf (and Prune Ketchup) that we adapted and made a half-recipe for mini-loaf pans.

The prune ketchup recipe was already vegan to start with, always a bonus. Note: even a half recipe will make plenty of ketchup. ;)

Here's the adapted recipe -- it makes six (1/2 cup) mini-loaf pans.

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon celery seeds
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 star anise pod, broken
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/8 cup minced onion
1/8 cup minced fennel bulb
1/2 small celery rib, minced
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoons sweet Pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika)
1 block of extra firm tofu, smoked with hickory, coarsely chopped
1 block of tempeh, smoked with hickory, coarsely chopped
1 box soft tofu
1/8 cup pure maple syrup (or agave)
1/2 cup fresh pumpernickel bread crumbs
1/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
1 tablespoon kosher salt, smoked sea salt or tamari

directions

1. In a stovetop smoker box, smoke the tofu and tempeh, using hickory wood, for 20 minutes. If you don't have one, you can add liquid smoke to taste while cooking the tempeh/tofu.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a spice grinder, combine the celery seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns and star anise and grind to a powder.

3. In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion, minced fennel, celery, garlic, Pimentón and the ground spices and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

4. Stir-Fry the smoked tofu until browned, remove. Stir-Fry the smoked tempeh (Isa's tempeh bacon recipe would be ideal here) until browned.

5. In a food processor, pulse the tempeh and tofu until finely ground. In a large bowl, mix the tempeh with the tofu. Mix in the soft tofu and maple syrup (or agave) followed by the vegetable mixture, bread crumbs, pistachios and salt.

6. Spray the inside of the loaf pans with oil. Pat the mixture firmly into the mini-loaf pans and set them on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes until they start to pull away from the side of the loaf pans. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with the Prune Ketchup.

Monday, January 01, 2007

Braised Fennel, Focaccia

Dinner 1/01

Braised Fennel

Focaccia

after a late lunch (the extra spring rolls from last night), the thought of making a big meal wasn't all that appealing -- so we went with simple... the fennel itself was one of the most perfect specimens I've ever come across, and braising it brought out all the wonderful anise subtleties.

Stats for 2006

2006 Stats

While backing up the food photos today, here's a few stats...

1100 pictures were uploaded on Flickr

"tofu wrapped in potato" (January 5, 2006) was the most viewed: 1069 times

"Green Tea 5 Shot" (February 25, 2006) was the most "interesting" (and tied for most favorited).

"raw_pistachio_tart with red_pepper_cheese" (June 15, 2006) also tied the most favorited

"seitan_stroganoff smoked_potatoes morel_mushrooms" (June 6, 2006) had the most comments (13) mostly discussing seitan on 6/6/06 ;)

but what was really surprising was the unused photos...

4964 food shots (this surprised me)
532 outdoor shots (trees, hawks, birds, fox, wild turkey, deer, weird weather)
250 family shots (birthdays, holidays, vacation)
94 wine shots (unusual bottles)
12 gear shots (UnSilent Film)
27 unused wine tasting pix (catering gigs)

for a grand total of 6979 pictures...