what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?: January 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli

Dinner 1/30

Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Broccoli

When I said that we had an excess of chickpeas on Tuesday, I wasn't kidding. ;)

The kids really liked these, so we went out and bought more vital wheat gluten (Bob's Red Mill) and made a second batch. We went with a different plan this time -- the cutlets were pounded out slightly thinner in a more irregular shape (no ring mold this time) and we decide to pan fry them using the cast-iron grill pan.

The gravy was also similar -- roux based with shallots, mushrooms, nooch, tamari and veg stock.

The broccoli was trimmed, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a 450F oven for 15 minutes. The mashed potatoes always benefit from adding a head of roasted garlic -- the garlic tips are trimmed off exposing a small amount of the cloves, add a tsp. of olive oil, salt & pepper to the exposed area, then cooked in a garlic "roaster" (or just use aluminum foil to make a pouch) for about 1 hr. at 400F.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Moo-Shu Pancakes with Hoisin Seitan, Beet Greens and Sesame Seeds

Dinner 1/29

Moo-Shu Pancakes with Hoisin Seitan, Beet Greens and Sesame Seeds

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 seitan was cut into strips, stir-fried in the wok, then finished with a tablespoon of hoisin to coat. The beet greens were wilted in the wok as well, finished with a splash of tamari and finished with sesame seeds.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tofu Stroganoff, Roasted Potatoes, Snap Peas

Dinner 1/28

Tofu Stroganoff

Roasted Potatoes

Snap Peas

A riff on the Seitan Stroganoff we've made before (recipe here), using alder-smoked tofu (pan-fried, splashed with tamari at the end of cooking) in place of the seitan. The roasted potato and steamed snap peas complemented the dish nicely...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Cauliflower

Dinner 1/27

Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy

Roasted Cauliflower

Somehow, during the recipe testing for Veganomicon, we failed to make the Chickpea Cutlets. Now that everyone is sick talking about how they great they are, we finally decided to make them... ;)

They were awesome (of course -- it's an Isa and Terry recipe), and more importantly, the kids also loved them. What finally forced our hand was a large chickpea windfall, which after soaking took on epic proportions -- chickpea cutlets to the rescue!

The chickpeas were shaped into medallions using a ring mold, than pan-fried in a cast-iron pan. They were kept in a low oven while we made the gravy (roux, veg stock, tamari, mushrooms, nooch, pepper) in the same pan.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Lunar New Year (Part II): Gyoza and Tofu Triangles

Dinner 1/26

Tofu Triangles

Gyoza
(stuffed with shiitake mushroom and cabbage)

The deep-fried tofu triangles were coated with gin, tamari, pepper and finally dredged in cornstarch before being put in 385F peanut oil for 3-4 minutes. They'll puff up quite a bit in the oil, but will shrink noticeably after. The dipping sauce is tamari, agave, sriracha and lime juice.

The gyoza were filled with lightly sauteed cabbage and shiitake mushrooms with a little sesame oil -- then pan-seared and then steamed with a little tamari in the wok. Served with a lemon/lime/tamari dipping sauce.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Lunar New Year: Orange Seitan, Scallion Pancakes, Jasmine Rice

Dinner 1/25

Orange Seitan

Scallion Pancakes

Jasmine Rice

Surprisingly, it has been over a year since we've made this, but it still remains one of my favorite Chinese recipes of all time.

It was served along with another all-time favorite, scallion pancakes (recipe). Crispy double happiness! ;)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Tian de Courgettes, Soupe a la Bonne Femme et Champignons Grilles

Dinner 1/23

Tian de Courgettes

Soupe a la Bonne Femme

Champignons Grilles

Dipping back into the Escoffier cookbook tonight for all three dishes...

I was reading Joël Robuchon's "Robuchon" cookbook this week, and in reading his ratatouille recipe was struck by two things: his technique isn't much different from the version we make (he also likes to cook his ingredients one at time), and how much we all owe to Escoffier for cataloging these dishes.

Escoffier's Tian de Courgettes is really a proto-ratatouille, minus the eggplant (which we added). This has become our son's favorite version.

The Champignons Grilles is really just mushrooms on toast -- but in this case we scored some nice Pom Pom (Lion's Mane) mushrooms at WF this week. So after a little saute with olive oil, salt and pepper, they went on the grilled sourdough loaf.

The soup is simply leek, potatoes and veg stock, but when all three are done right, it's a stunning soup...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

O Hai There!

Today is the blog's birthday (January 22, 2002). If you had told me we'd still be doing this seven years later, I probably would have nodded my head. ;)

So far this year, we haven't posted much here on the blog, mostly we've been posting the nightly menu on Twitter. I wish I could say we've been off working on a secret cookbook project, video editing or even on vacation -- but in reality, we've just been cocooning at home in the bitter, bitter cold that is January in Ohio. That means some of our favorite comfort food -- mac n' cheese, stir-fry, pizza, raw beet raviolis with cashew cheese, tofu marsala, eggplant parmesan, bourguignon, etc.

As I mentioned last year at this time, in an effort to bore you guys less, we stopped posting most of those dinners that we've made before, unless we changed the recipe or plating ideas -- so that's why there hasn't been much going on...

But things are looking up -- there's still the "big green binder" which is full of ideas for 2009 and beyond!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Tofu Marsala en Papillote

Dinner 1/21

Tofu Marsala en Papillote

A riff on our Tofu Marsala recipe, slicing the tofu into strips and baking the whole dish in parchment paper for 10 minutes at 350F -- the flavor from the sauce really infuses the entire dish, and the aroma when you cut into the package is heavenly...

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Roasted Tofu stuffed with Dinosaur Kale and Roasted Garlic, Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Cauliflower

Dinner 1/13

Roasted Tofu stuffed with Dinosaur Kale and Roasted Garlic

Mushroom Gravy

Roasted Cauliflower

The tofu was cut into six cutlets, a slit was cut in the side (careful not to poke a hole out the sides) and was seared on both sides until golden brown. the heat was reduced down to low, then the tofu was splashed with 1 tbs. of tamari and flipped after one minute to coat both sides.

The dinosaur kale was washed, the center rib removed, cut into roughly 2 inch pieces and sauteed in olive oil, salt and pepper until finished. The garlic had the top 1/2" cut off and topped with olive oil, salt and pepper. It was place in a garlic roaster (unsurprisingly, shaped like a garlic head) and was roasted at 400F for about 60 minutes (depends on the size of the head).

The tofu was then stuffed with garlic and kale and placed in a 350F oven for 15 minutes to complete cooking.

The gravy is simply a roux (equal parts soy margarine and flour), with added veg stock, nooch, tamari and cooked mushrooms.

The roasted cauliflower is perhaps the easiest dish known to man -- break the cauliflower into medium size florets, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and put into a 450F oven for 15 minutes. Fin.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Grilled Romaine Salad with Figs, Focaccia with Grilled Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Dinner 1/03

Grilled Romaine Salad with Figs

Focaccia with Grilled Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Sometimes in January you just want to turn the indoor grill on to keep warm -- and while you're at it, you might as well cook a few things as well ;)

The grilled romaine salad has become our favorite go-to method, marinated with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. It's served with a vegenaise & nooch* based dressing, topped with a little micro-planed Blue Sheese and the grilled figs.

Liz knocked out a fabulous focaccia with sea salt, which served as the base for the grilled tomatoes and pan-fried cremini mushrooms and onions -- sort of like mini-pizzas...

The focaccia is made using a sheet pan, with the sea salt sprinkled on just before it goes into the oven.

A bit like square pizza, eh? ;)

*nooch = nutritional yeast

Friday, January 02, 2009

Tofu Satay

Dinner 1/02

Tofu Satay

Today, we had at the lovely lunch with PPK members nikitee & bryophyte at Vegiterranean in Akron. One of the appetizers Liz had was the Satay dish (they use Gardein). So, Liz decided to make a version of this at home using grilled tofu -- marinated with olive oil, tamari, salt and pepper. The tofu was cut into four thick cutlets, then into 2 strips, for a total of eight pieces. The sticks were added after the fact, as they were very long and didn't fit on the grill very well. ;)

The satay was served with a salad and reduced balsamic vinaigrette dressing (which is used as the dipping sauce) much like Chef Scot Jones does at Vegiterranean.