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

Monday, August 31, 2009

Caldo Verde With Crumbled Tempeh

Dinner 8/31

Caldo Verde With Crumbled Tempeh

Back testing recipes for Isa tonight, a hearty Portuguese soup with kale, potatoes and crumbled tempeh.

You know it was good when the kids (who are not the biggest fans of tempeh) ask to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. ;)

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Shiitake Risotto, Grilled Tofu, Green Beans, Yellow Squash Soup with Sheese Crisp, Tomato and Squash Blossom

Dinner 8/30

Shiitake Risotto

Grilled Tofu

Green Beans

Yellow Squash Soup with Sheese Crisp, Tomato and Squash Blossom

We picked up some shiitakes from the farmers market yesterday and decide to use them in a risotto. We seem to be making a lot of risotto paired with grilled/marinated tofu lately.

The soup is adpated from here -- making the usual substitutions. The squash blossoms were a last minute thing. We removed the leaves from the blossoms after the picture and put them in the hot soup to wilt slightly before eating.

Here's a shot of the (gouda) sheese crisps -- we microplaned the sheese right over the cast iron pan to make them -- a great flavor component to the soup.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Seitan Bourguignon, Braised Leeks, Roasted Yukon Potatoes

Dinner 8/28

Seitan Bourguignon

Braised Leeks

Roasted Yukon Potatoes

A treat for us tonight... The Seitan Bourguignon recipe is one we've made many times in the past, but lately it seems we only make it for wine tasting dinners or holiday parties.

The only bad news is there won't be any leftover for lunch tomorrow. ;)

White Bean and Rosemary Burger

Lunch 8/28

White Bean and Rosemary Burger

I wanted to post lunch for a change, because these bean burgers were awesome!

(update: here's the recipe)

White Bean Burgers
(makes approximately 8 burgers)

15 oz. can of cannellini beans, drained
1 small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. rosemary, minced
salt & pepper to taste
parsley, chopped (optional)

In a mixing bowl, smash the beans (a potato masher works well), add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine well. If the mixture is still a little wet, you can add more flour, or even some additional breadcrumbs. Form into eight patties.

In a large cast-iron pan, over medium to medium-low heat, add 1 tbs. of olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the patties and fry until well browned (5-6 minutes). Flip and repeat.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Gumbo with Hickory-Smoked Tofu, Okra Popsicles

Dinner 8/26

Gumbo with Hickory-Smoked Tofu

Okra Popsicles

The gumbo started with a base of 1 onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 stalk of celery & 1 red bell pepper, with salt & pepper to taste, plus 1 tbs. smoked paprika and 1 tsp. red pepper flakes.

Once that sweated a bit, we added about 1 1/2 cups of leftover rice (used as the thickener instead of a traditional roux), along with the 1 1/2 cups of shredded collard greens, a 15 oz. can of red kidney beans, 1 cup of fresh tomatoes and 6 cups of veg stock.

That was brought to a boil, then simmered for 40 minutes or so until thickened. Add 1 tbs. of file powder and check for seasoning. If you like it hotter serve with hot sauce at the table.

The gumbo was topped with hickory-smoked tofu, and the okra popsicles...

... that's right, okra popsicles. Yep. ;)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Spaghetti Pomodoro, Bruschetta

Dinner 8/24

Spaghetti Pomodoro

Bruschetta

When the garden gives you tomatoes & zucchini...

We were out of cappelini, so we went with the spaghetti. The pomodoro is very easy.

Pomodoro

1 tbs. olive oil,
1 small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fresh tomatoes, diced,
1/4 cup basil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saute pan, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions & garlic, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes & basil (torn in pieces or left whole, it's up to you) and cook for 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes soften up a bit and release some of their liquid -- not too much, or you end up with a chunky tomato soup. ;)

Check seasoning and serve over pasta.

The bruschetta attempts to use some of the zucchini, but while we were making this, another 12 zucchini snuck into the house and took their place in the fridge.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

BBQ Tofu, Grilled Corn, Green Beans and Yellow Squash with a Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette, Squash Blossom Fritto Misto, Tomato, Cucumber and Mint Salad

Dinner 8/23

BBQ Tofu

Grilled Corn

Green Beans and Yellow Squash with a Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette

Squash Blossom Fritto Misto

Tomato, Cucumber and Mint Salad

Farmers Market + Our Garden = Tonight's Dinner.

After not planting a garden last year (other than a few volunteer squash that surprised us), we got it together this year. Despite the challenging cool/cold summer weather, we're starting to see the produce come rolling in. Especially the zucchini -- some as big as a '62 J-Bass. ;)

But that also means and abundance of squash blossoms -- and I'm not complaining. They were stuffed with shallots, soy cream cheese and smoked paprika.

As always, the corn and green beans are from Heron Hills Farms. We made a smoked tomato vinaigrette (+ olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper) which went over the green beans/yellow squash combo.

The salad is all from our garden. The mint is going to take over the backyard at some point.

The bbq tofu is the usual recipe which our daughter could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and has).

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Fig, Blue Sheese and Spinach Pizza

Dinner 8/22

Fig, Blue Sheese and Spinach Pizza

about to go in the oven...

... and out of the oven.

After the excellent Pear Pizza last time, we decide to make a fig version with spinach and Blue Sheese. The figs were a combination of Turkish and Black Mission and were perfectly ripe. Next time we want to add a soy yogurt/garlic/agave sauce on top afterward...

Friday, August 21, 2009

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad With Grilled Tofu & Peanut Mint Gremolata

Dinner 8/21

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad With Grilled Tofu & Peanut Mint Gremolata

Isa's on a hot streak lately with the test recipes -- this was divine.

Marinated & grilled tofu paired with lettuce, rice noodles, onions and topped with a peanut/mint mixture.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Caribbean Curry Black Eyed Peas With Plantains, Jerk Asparagus

Dinner 8/20

Caribbean Curry Black Eyed Peas With Plantains

Jerk Asparagus

Two test recipes for Isa... a trip to islands.

Why didn't someone tell us about steamed plantains? Because... wow! The sweetness totally balances out the heat level.

Jerk Asparagus tastes exactly like you think it should. ;)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder

Dinner 8/18

Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder

hot inside and out
test recipe for Isa
summer in a bowl

Monday, August 17, 2009

Moroccan Chickpea and Zucchini over Couscous

Dinner 8/17

Moroccan Chickpea and Zucchini over Couscous

Another test recipe for Isa's new cookbook -- perfect for when the garden is overflowing with zucchini...

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Moo Shu Pancakes with Hoisin Seitan, Shiitake Mushrooms and Wilted Radish Greens, Chinese Long Beans

Dinner 8/16

Moo Shu Pancakes with Hoisin Seitan, Shiitake Mushrooms and Wilted Radish Greens

Chinese Long Beans

Liz looked at me this morning and said the magic words: Moo Shu. She didn't need say anything more.

The wilted radish greens came from the lovely icicle radishes from the farmers market yesterday -- the radishes are very mild, and very addictive ;)

The long beans were another score from our farmers market -- which has been the best market this year, with an amazing variety of items. We're very lucky to have it so close, but we'll be very sad at the end of the season.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Buffalo Tofu, Spicy Blue Potato and Corn Salad, Yellow Bean Casserole

Dinner 8/15

Buffalo Tofu

Spicy Blue Potato and Corn Salad

Yellow Bean Casserole

The buffalo tofu is totally different version than our recipe from February, swapping shallots for the onion, and Sriracha for chipotle, because there was chipotle in the corn salad already, and we wanted to switch the flavor profiles around. In place of the bbq sauce, we had agave, tamari, sherry and ketchup.

The Spicy Blue Potato and Corn Salad is a test recipe for Isa's next cookbook. We stumbled across the blue potatoes at the farmers market this morning, which set the course for tonight's dinner. The organic corn, as always, came from Heron Hills Farm.

Blue potatoes are cool...

The casserole is a riff on the green bean version we made last time, swapping out the yellow beans, which were also picked up at the farmers market.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Pear Pizza

Dinner 8/14

Pear Pizza

In a word: awesome! These were so good, we had to make a second one, because the first one disappeared mysteriously while waiting for the kids pizza to come out of the oven. ;)

The creamy mustard topping was the wild card, but totally brought the pears and arugula together.

The recipe was adapted from Woodbury Kitchens, keeping our standard pizza dough, and swapping out almond milk for the heavy whipping cream, agave for honey, and using Blue Sheese.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Upside Down Shepherd's Pie, Caulipots

Dinner 8/12

Upside Down Shepherd's Pie

Caulipots

...and so it begins, testing recipes for Isa Chandra Moskowitz's next cookbook...

You guys know the drill, we can't give out the recipes, but we can show the pretty pictures ;)

We can reveal that Potatoes + Cauliflower = Caulipots

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Pineapple Glazed Tofu with Chiles and Lime, Hoisin Green Beans, Jasmine Rice

Dinner 8/09

Pineapple Glazed Tofu with Chiles and Lime

Hoisin Green Beans

Jasmine Rice

The sweet/spicy/sour pineapple glazed tofu was adapted from this recipe, by smoking the tofu (with alder wood) and grilling while basting. Good stuff...

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Stuffed Yucca Fritters, Squash Blossoms, Grilled Corn, Tomatillo Salsa

Dinner 8/08

Stuffed Yucca Fritters

Squash Blossoms

Grilled Corn

Tomatillo Salsa

Take two on the yucca fritters -- and we're still synthesizing a recipe. The dough was more consistent this time around, and we used a heartier filling (soyrizo, onion, garlic, teese) which help preserve the shape. The deep-frying process was smoother as well as the fritters were more uniform in size and shape.

You'll be seeing many more dishes with squash blossoms in them as the garden is full of zucchini and yellow squash this year. Tempura or Fritto Misto are always a good way to use them, as well as soup -- tonight the were filled with corn, soy cream cheese and smoked paprika.

Thanks to Heron Hills Farm in Brimfield for the spectacular organic corn (as well as snap peas, green beans, tomatoes and edamame) this year -- we're always grateful for those two or three weeks when the corn comes in!

Friday, August 07, 2009

Pasta Puttanesca with Lion's Mane Mushrooms

Dinner 8/07

Pasta Puttanesca with Lion's Mane Mushrooms

The Lion's Mane were from Killbuck Valley Mushrooms (part of our haul from the Shaker Square farmers market Saturday). It may not be traditional but we decided to top the puttanesca with these gorgeous examples. ;)

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Tea-Smoked Curry Tofu with Rice Balls, Ramen with Soba Noodles

Dinner 8/04

Tea-Smoked Curry Tofu with Rice Balls

Ramen with Soba Noodles

A favorite dish, here's the recipe again...

The tofu is tea-smoked with oolong tea for 25 minutes, pan-fried in canola oil until golden brown on both sides and finished with a splash of tamari.

The rice is steamed for 15 minutes, molded into golf-ball sized pieces and deep-fried for 30-45 seconds at 375F.

The sauce is 4 oz. coconut milk, 1 tsp. tamari, as much red curry paste as you can handle, a tiny little bit of lime to balance the flavor, and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer until slightly thickened.

We continue to "really... explore the space" that is ramen with a nice bowl of soba noodles tonight -- mushroom, tofu, carrot, garlic, ginger, with a wild-card of fennel broth, leftover from the other night, which lightened the whole soup.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Crepes with Seitan Stew and Chanterelles, Blini with Vegan Caviar

Dinner 8/03

Crepes with Seitan Stew and Chanterelles

Blini with Vegan Caviar

We used up the rest of the chanterelles with the french lentil and seitan stew filling for the crepes (from Vegan with a Vengeance).

The vegan caviar is basically a reverse spherification technique, utilizing seaweed. very salty! The blini recipe is from Veganomicon, topped with soy sour cream.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Wild Mushroom and Caramelized Vegetable Jus in Potato Shell, Braised Kale

Dinner 8/02

Wild Mushroom and Caramelized Vegetable Jus in Potato Shell

Braised Kale

While we were sitting around this morning, eating our breakfast burritos and blowing shows off the DVR, we came across an episode of Hubert Keller's show (now appearing on Top Chef Masters).

This episode featured a russet potato, hollowed out, boiled...

...and filled with a mushroom and vegetable ragout, then sealed with puff pastry.

Lacking any puff pastry, we adapted it and used the scooped out potatoes, making a quick mashed potato and piped rosettes to cover the opening.

The filling also featured the chanterelles we picked up from Killbuck Valley Mushrooms yesterday. The leftover ragout was used on the plate after the ring of wilted kale. Our son couldn't get enough of the ragout. ;)

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Grilled Tofu, Fennel and Wine Cap Mushroom Risotto

Dinner 8/01

Grilled Tofu

Fennel and Wine Cap Mushroom Risotto

Dessert

Peach Crisp with Coconut Ice Cream

The tofu used the same marinade as the other night.

We went to the Shaker Square Farmers Market this morning and picked up a large haul of mushrooms from Killbuck Valley (Hi Tom!). He had picked these young Wine Cap Mushrooms yesterday. They're very woodsy, with an almost pine-y flavoring. So we went with a fennel risotto flavored with lemon and fennel broth that was made with the fronds/leftover bits of fennel (that we also picked up at the market).

Also found at the market: peaches. Yum!