what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?

Monday, February 16, 2009

Grilled Pizza (a slight return)

Dinner 2/16

Grilled Pizza

Step 1: Make the dough.

Step 2: Grill the dough

Step 3: Add toppings (tomato sauce, artichoke, seitan sausages, red onion, mushrooms, nooch)

Step 4: Add the Mozzarella Teese and melt (a wok dome works wonders here, or toss it under the broiler for 45 seconds).

Step 5: Consume mass quantities.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentine's Day: Tofu Au Vin, Potatoes Gratin, French Onion Soup, Sauternes Cake, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Valentine's Day Dinner 2/14

Tofu Au Vin

Potatoes Gratin

French Onion Soup

Dessert

Sauternes Cake

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

For our 23rd Valentine's Day dinner, I went with the first solo vegan meal I ever made for Liz, Tofu Au Vin paired with Potatoes Gratin. I remember it took forever to make the dish the first time because I didn't want to screw it up and kept re-reading the recipe. ;)

Liz made the French Onion soup (adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe, subbing veg stock and Sheese Gouda)

For dessert, Liz made the always spectacular Sauternes Cake (adapted from Neil Perry, subbing soft tofu/soy milk) and adding chocolate dipped strawberries (that were surprisingly ripe for being from South America)

mmm... chocolate.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Cherry-Smoked Tofu stuffed with Collard Greens and Shiitake Mushrooms, Hoecakes, Okra and Tomato Stew, Herbes de Provence Biscuits

Dinner 2/13

Cherry-Smoked Tofu stuffed with Collard Greens and Shiitake Mushrooms

Hoecakes

Okra and Tomato Stew

Herbes de Provence Biscuits

Another Mardi Gras inspired meal, with house favorite Okra and Tomato Stew paired with Hoecakes (cornmeal/water/salt/pepper/baking powder) cooked up in the cast-iron skillet.

Liz channels her inner-Southern woman whenever she makes the biscuits

The tofu was portioned into six cutlets, a had a slit cut in the side. First, it was smoked with cherry wood for 25 minutes, then seared on both sides and splashed with tamari at the end of cooking for an extra minute. The collard greens and mushrooms were cooked in the same pan as the tofu adding a nice extra layer of smoky flavor to both ingredients. Finally the tofu was stuffed with the collards & mushrooms and put into a 350F oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking the center of the tofu.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Raw Food Wednesday: Yellow Beet Ravioli, Cole Slaw, Pizza, Celery Root and Green Apple Soup

Raw Food Wednesday 2/11

Yellow Beet Ravioli stuffed with Cashew Cheese

Cole Slaw

Celery Root and Green Apple Soup
(from "Raw Food, Real World")

There are some Wednesday's when the dehydrator is humming from sunrise to sunset. Then there are days like today, where we went out to do some shopping and didn't get back until 3pm.

We whipped up some quick cashew cheese (cashew, white miso, salt, pepper, water) and used that for filling the yellow beet ravioli (peeled and sliced thin on the mandoline, marinated in olive oil, salt and pepper for 20 minutes).

Liz knocked out the cole slaw (red/green cabbage, carrot, celery, caraway seed, apple cider vinaigrette) as well as the celery root & apple soup (from "Raw Food, Real World") in the vita mix.

And with that we were ready to eat...

Monday, February 09, 2009

Lentil and Seitan Stew, Braised Brussel Sprouts, Braised Carrots

Dinner 2/09

Lentil and Seitan Stew

Braised Brussel Sprouts

Braised Carrots

A quick one tonight -- pressure cooked lentils in veg stock (15 minutes) with pan-fried seitan, carrot, onion and garlic (15 minutes) matched with braised brussel sprouts (30 minutes) and carrots of many colors (30 minutes).

With prep time, it runs about 45 minutes total. Which, for us, is almost considered fast food... ;)

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Carbonnades a la Flamande, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Dinner 2/08

Carbonnades a la Flamande
(recipe below)

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Carbonnades a la Flamande
adapted from Julia Child
(serves 4)

2 tbs. olive oil
4 cups of sliced onions
16 oz. seitan, cut into 1/2" cubes
salt & pepper

1 tbs. herbes de provence
2 cups Belgian Style beer
1 cup veg stock
1 tbs. tamari

1 tbs. red wine vinegar
2 tbs. cornstarch

In a dutch oven over medium-low heat, add the olive oil and sweat the onions with a little salt and pepper until just starting to brown, about 6-7 minutes. Remove the onions and reserve.

Add more olive oil if needed and do the same to the seitan until it's browned on all sides.

Add the onions back to the dutch oven, along with the herbes de provence.

Next, add two cups of your favorite Belgian-style vegan beer, and one cup of veg stock plus the tamari. Bring to a boil and place in a 375F oven for one hour.

To finish, thicken the sauce by adding a slurry of 1 tbs. of wine vinegar and 2 tbs. cornstarch that have been mixed together and whisk to combine.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Eggplant Panini, Asparagus

Dinner 2/07

Eggplant Panini

Asparagus

The cast-iron grill pan got a work out as we made a panini for dinner. Mesquite smoked eggplant was grilled and combined with Mozzarella Teese between two pieces of homemade ciabatta, slathered with Earth Balance.

Panini are all about timing. You want to get the nice grill marks quickly, without having the Teese melt completely. Right after this picture was taken, I placed another hot cast-iron pan on top of the sandwich. This weighs the panini down and begins to cook the top half of the bread and melt the Teese. Then the panini is rotated to get the grill marks. Finally, it's flipped over and you repeat the process.

At the end you can see that the Teese has melted, but hasn't liquefied yet...

The asparagus were cooked for 5 minutes in heavily salted water, drained and shocked in an ice bath and drained. They were finished in rolling around in some melted soy margarine, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Jambalaya , Gumbo Z'Herbes

Dinner 2/05

Jambalaya

Gumbo Z'Herbes
(recipe below)

A little early Mardi Gras celebrating, with a deconstructed jambalaya and the ever popular Gumbo Z'Herbes.

For the jambalaya, we hickory smoked the tofu, and marinated it in a little tamari, pepper, file powder and a splash of bourbon before pan-frying. The tofu was placed on top of the rice portion (onion, garlic, herbes de provence, clove, smoked paprika, cayenne, basmati rice, veg stock, tamari, black pepper) rather than cooked with it as we've done in the past...

Gumbo Z'Herbes
(serves 4-6)

1 tbs. olive oil
six leaves of collard greens, cut into chiffonade
six leaves of curly endive, rough chop
six leaves of dinosaur kale, rough chop
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. tamari

1 onion, small dice
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 rib of celery, small diced
1 carrot, small dice
1 red bell pepper, small dice

14 oz. can of red beans, drained
1 tsp. file powder, or to taste
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. parsley, chopped
salt, to taste
4 cups veg stock

sweat the onion until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the paprika and file. then, wilt the greens -- and it's still amazing that this...

...somehow turns into this after a few minutes in the wok.

Add the kidney beans, veg stock, tamari and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or so while you're finishing up the jambalaya...

To plate, we cut up a couple of the chaurice-styled seitan sausages (recipe in progress) we made earlier in the day and fried them up for the gumbo.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Raw Food Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Pizza

Raw Food Wednesday 2/04

Spaghetti and Meatballs
(recipe below)

Buckwheat Pizza
(recipe below)

We haven't made the spaghetti and meatballs in a while -- but the zucchini and mushrooms (for the meatballs) needed to be used ASAP.

For the spaghetti, zucchini is spiral cut and tossed with a quick tomato sauce: tomato, sun-dried tomato, date, jalapeno, nama shoyu, olive oil, oregano and pepper.

Meatballs
(makes 16-20 meatballs)

1 cup mushroom, minced
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. nama shoyu
1 tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup cashew, soaked
1/4 cup almond, soaked
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
water

1 tsp. jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, soaked for 20 minutes
1 tbs. parsley, minced

1/4 cup flax seed, ground
1/2 tsp. salt

Toss the mushrooms with the olive oil, nama shoyu and pepper, then dehydrate for 30 minutes at 105F.

Drain the soaked nuts, add to the vita-mix with barely enough water to break the nuts almost completely down. You want a little texture left. Remove and add to a mixing bowl.

Add the dehydrated mushroom, sun-dried tomatoes, jalapeno and parsley to the vita mix and puree. Add to the nut mixture and combine with 1 tbs. of the ground flax seed.

Form the mixture into roughly 1" balls and roll around in the ground flax seed and salt mixture to completely coat. Place in the dehydrator for 6-8 hours at 105F, rotating halfway through. If needed, you can re-shape them around this time.

The pizza is the usual sprouted buckwheat crust with cashew cheese, tomatoes, walnut topping.

Raw Pizza Crusts

1 cup of buckwheat, sprouted
1/2 cup of pumpkin/sunflower/almond (whatever you like)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
1 small tomato
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. jalepeño
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. nama shoyu

Soak the buckwheat for about six hours, then place it in a small colander and cover loosely with a cloth napkin or small hand towel, then rinse/toss every 12 hours or so to keep it from getting gloopy (that's a technical term). After two or three days you should see the the sprouts pretty clearly.

Process the sprouted buckwheat in a vita-mix with at least a 1/4 cup of water, put in a large mixing bowl. Process the nuts/seed with 1/4 cup of water until smooth. Add to the buckwheat. Process the rest of the ingredients, add to the bowl, mix thoroughly. It should be somewhat thick and spreadable.

For these crusts we used a 4" ring mold, and spread the mixture out on a dehydrator sheet about 1/4" thick. Dehydrate at 105F for 4-6 hours, flip and go another 4 hours.

At no point did Sandra Lee sneak in and make the tablescape ;)

Monday, February 02, 2009

Seitan Fajitas, Chiles Rellenos stuffed with Plantain, Soyrizo and Teese

Dinner 2/02

Seitan Fajitas

Chiles Rellenos stuffed with Plantain, Soyrizo and Teese

The fajitas have become one of our kids favorite meals. Pan-fried seitan strips, rajas (strips of poblano and red peppers, red onions, salt, pepper and Mexican oregano slowly cooked down and caramelized) and melty Teese to hold it all together while it cooks on the griddle.

The poblanos were blackened over an open flame on the stove, then peeled and deseeded. They were stuffed with a mixture of pan-fried plantain and soyrizo, then a layer of Mozzarella Teese. They were finished under the broiler until the Teese melted and began to ooze out.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Super Bowl: Buffalo Tofu, Oven Fries, Vegenaise Dip with Smoked Paprika

Dinner 2/01

Buffalo Tofu

Oven Fries

Vegenaise Dip with Smoked Paprika

It was tough watching the Super Bowl XLIII this year -- anytime Pittsburgh is in the game, we tend to flip over to the Puppy Bowl instead ;)

The original plan was to make Pommes Frites like last year, but we went with oven fries instead... cut into wedges, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted at 450F for 40 minutes or so.

But it's not a Super Bowl dinner without the appearance of the Buffalo Tofu...

Buffalo Tofu

16 oz. firm tofu (cut into long strips)
1 tbs. tamari
black pepper to taste

1 medium white onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs. chipotle chopped
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of BBQ sauce (optional, if you don't have any, just add another tomato)

Marinate the tofu with the tamari and pepper for 20 minutes while you prepare the the sauce.

In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the onions until you see a little color (5-7 minutes), add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the tomato, chipotle and bbq sauce (or additional tomato) and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and have begun to thicken.

Remove the tomato mixture from the pan and puree in a blender. Return the mixture to the pan and continue to cook until the sauce has reduced down further.

Meanwhile, pat the tofu dry and deep fry (in batches) at 375F for 3-5 minutes, until puffy (that's a technical term).

Drain the tofu, and put it in with the sauce, turn to coat well. Let the tofu cook in the sauce for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot, with the Vegenaise and Smoked Paprika as a dipping sauce.

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.