"Chicken-Style" Seitan-Vegetable Fajitas

This recipe really needs to be adjusted to YOUR personal taste, so the measurements are really up to you as far as the marinade goes. I cook the seitan twice, giving it a firm texture and crispy outside.









Makes about 6-7 small tortillas (serves 2 hungry people if you have rice and beans)

1 small onion, cut into rings
1 large unpeeled carrot, cut into coins (maybe 1/8 in thick)
handful (about 3/4 c) broccoli florets, chopped if large
5-6 small button mushrooms, quartered
1-1 1/2 c chicken-style seitan, cut into strips and sauteed
pack small flour tortillas
dry fajita seasoning (opt)

Marinade (equals about a half cup):
olive oil
lime juice from 1/2 decent lime
soy sauce/tamari
dash apple cider vinegar
Green Tabasco Sauce (it's really not spicy!)
agave nectar
salt/pepper
cumin
garlic powder


You will also maybe want some:

Guacamole (!!! Duh)
Salasa
Tofutti Sour Cream
Chopped Green Onion


Make marinade to taste. It has a really unique flavor, but it will work. You want it sort of acidic and a little sweet.
Place sauteed seitan in marinade. The longer it sits, the better. At least 30 min.

When ready to cook, have all of your ingredients ready, this cooks quickly like a stir-fry.

Heat a large, tall sided pan (MED-HI) and put a generous amount of canola oil. Heat oil until hot and add seitan strips. Stir frequently. You want them heated through and seared on the outside.

Remove from pan and add more oil and heat until oil is hot.

Add all vegetables and stir continuously for about a minute and add the rest of the marinade.

Cook until vegetables are tender-crisp. Some will have a slightly charred outside.
Adjust heat as necessary. Add a couple shakes of fajita seasoning (optional)

Add seitan back to pan and make sure everything is hot.

Serve immediately. Cover a plate of the tortillas with a wet paper towel and microwave 30 seconds to soften, then fill with the seitan and vegetables.

Swirly Breads- Cinnamon/Raisin & Garlic Italian

I saw that Vegan Dad had some delicious-looking breads on his site, so I wanted to try them. Let me tell you about vegan dad. I like Vegan Dad. He's apparently probably Vegan, and probably also a dad. I don't see as many male vegan bloggers, so it makes me happy. I love to see people taking real concern in their kids' lives/nutrition. Sometimes people forget how much love can be put into the meals they eat. I like the fact that he has good recipes, I like his pictures, and I like that most of the food he makes is kid-friendly. Go, Vegan Dad!

On to the bread.
I'm not a baked goods purist, or any other type of purist for that matter. I like some chunky stuff. I like chunky stuff in my ice cream, I like chunky stuff in my soup. I like chunky stuff in my brownies. Give me texture!

The cinnamon raisin bread is just slightly modified, and I decided to make the other one Italian garlic swirl. I would suggest not halving this recipe even though it makes 2 loaves. Just stick one in the freezer/give it away as a gift. You think your neighbor won't enjoy a nice loaf of bread? You are going to be waiting the same amount of time anyway, and 2 loaves is barely more work than 1. Other ideas for filling include mixed chopped olives, chocolate chips, other spices besides Italian (maybe cardamom, curry spice, jerk rub..Chinese 5-spice powder, even?), maybe pumpkin seeds. Maybe poppy or sesame seeds on top, sunflower seeds throughout, maybe even jam or jelly inside.




Pre-Baked


Cooling




Ingredients:

1/3 c warm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 tsp sugar
2 c warm water
1/3 c sugar
scant 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked into 3 Tbsp of water
1/3 c vegetable oil
6-7 c white bread flour OR 6-7 c All purpose flour + 1/4 c gluten flour (opt)

Cinnamon/Raisin: 1 c raisins, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 c brown sugar, 1-2 Tbsp softened margarine
Garlic/Italian: 7-8 cloves garlic, olive oil, Rosemary, Italian spice, and garlic powder (*see instructions below)

Instructions:
Stir 3/4 tsp sugar into 1/3 c water. Mix in yeast and set aside until foamy.

Mix together 2 cups water, sugar, salt, vinegar, flax mixture, and oil in a large bowl. Mix in yeast mixture and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Can use paddle attachment on a stand mixer.

Add in 2 more cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough (either by hand or with the dough hook attachment). Knead until smooth. (I let the machine do the work.)

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat the whole loaf. Cover with a towel and let rise for at least an hour, until doubled in size. I put them in a (turned off) oven and close the door (*See instructions for garlic bread below!)

Punch down risen dough and knead for a minute or so to get out the air bubbles. Separate dough into 2 balls and gently fold raisins into one of the dough balls.

Roll out each ball into a rectangle, making sure it will fit your loaf pans. Spray loaf pans with nonstick spray.

For cinnamon/raisin: Mix brown sugar, softened margarine, and cinnamon and spread the paste all over the rectangle. Roll up tightly, tuck edges in, and place in a loaf pan, "seam" side down.

For garlic/Italian: exact same procedure, except with the garlic paste

Let rise for 45 minutes, uncovered. (Once again, I do this in the turned-off oven).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (Don't leave your bread in there, duh). Place loaves in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when you knock on the bottom. You can brush on some soy milk or oil before baking for more color, but it's not necessary.

Let cool slightly and remove bread onto racks to finish, and make sure to "test" a slice (or 2!) while they are still nice and warm.


*Garlic Bread-
We will be making a roasted garlic flavored paste. While bread is rising the first time, Peel garlic cloves and place in a heated pan with a couple Tbsp. olive oil. You want the pan on the lowest setting possible. We are not trying to saute or sear the garlic. Cover pan and shake every so often.
When garlic is soft and a golden color, pour (with oil) into a bowl, add a pinch of Rosemary, generous shaking of Italian seasoning, and and a little shake of garlic powder. Mash into a paste with a fork. You can also use fresh chopped herbs. Proceed as with cinnamon bread.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Note About Yeast:
If your yeast mixture does not get foamy, your yeast is dead. Get some new yeast. It could have been age, temperature of the water, or just your bad attitude that killed it. Just kidding. Make sure the water is warm and not hot, because this can kill yeast. And another thing- yeast isn't an animal. So next time a non-vegan Dexter (or your grandma- she's just trying to help!) tells you that yeast isn't vegan, tell them that it's from the kingdom of Fungi and that we can (ethically) eat everyone in the kingdom of Fungi, even though we certainly wouldn't want to eat ALL fungi.

I Have To Post This

Generally this blog is just about food, but damn!


YES, WE DID


I AM SO PROUD. Congratulations, President Obama.

Look at that handsome first family!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I really like pineapple upside down cake, but most of the recipes available call for cake mix and I don't know of any vegan cake mixes. It's really easy enough to make your own anyway (not to mention less expensive). Don't let the long-looking recipe fool you. It's all ready to go in the oven by the time the oven is preheated. I use coconut extract here for a creamier tropical taste.



Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1/3 c earth balance margarine
1/4 c + 2 Tbsp. Brown sugar

1-8oz can pineapple rings in pineapple juice, juice reserved
Maraschino cherries

1 3/4 c flour
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 c water
1/2 c reserved pineapple juice (can use water, but it’s better with juice)
1/4 c + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350
Trace a round 8-inch baking pan (with sides at least 1.5 inches high) onto a piece of parchment and cut a circle to place in the bottom of the pan. Spray with nonstick spray all over the inside of the pan.

Place margarine and brown sugar in a pan on the stove and turn on medium heat, stirring often until both are melted and lightly bubbling. Remove from heat. May be runny. Do not over-boil. (It doesn't have to come together, but if you want it more caramely, you can cook a little longer. Just don't burn it.)



Meanwhile, drain pineapples really well and save the juice. Place rings in pan. You can use a larger can if extra rings are desired. Place maraschino cherries in and around rings in desired patterns.


Pour sugar/margarine over pineapple, careful not to move them around. Spread sugar/margarine evenly around pineapples and cherries.

Make cake mix:
Sift flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
Mix in a separate bowl: vinegar, extracts, water, pineapple juice, and oil.
Add wet to dry, mix well and carefully pour over pineapple/sugar in the pan.

Cook for 25-40 min, checking every 5 minutes after 25. When a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, it’s done.
NOTE: Thank you Lori for mentioning that it took you 35-40 min. My oven was off the day I made this cake.

Let cool most of the way, loosen cake from pan with a toothpick around the edges. Gently turn over onto a plate (It’s easier to put the plate upside down on the pan, and flip the whole thing together). Peel parchment off of the pineapples.

Enjoy!

NOTE: Today my oven was acting funky and I had to cook this FOREVER and if this happens to you (the sides are cooking before the center is set) then just cover the sides with aluminum and hope for the best.

Non-Partisan Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

I made these for people at work for something fun. Most of the people I work with are Republican/Conservative and there are a few of us who aren't. I still voted Obama (early voting), but these were a hit across the party lines.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies from The PPK and Buttercream Icing (1/2 recipe) from VCTOTW

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake + "Chicken" Vegetable Casserole

For my 24th Birthday, I made myself a cake. It sounds kind of sad to make your own cake, but the one friend of mine who does any baking and lives in the same state is really super-pregnant and you can't ask a super-pregnant lady to schlep over and make you a cake. My boyfriend's culinary skills mostly extend to pasta, which is okay. So I made my own cake. The recipe is from the now defunct Delicious Choices. I topped it with VWAV Ganache (make 1/2 the recipe).







Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe
2- 8oz pkg Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
2 cups Sour Supreme Sour Cream
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 Tbsp (1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp) egg replacer powder dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1/2 c raspberry sauce (recipe to follow)

Comb. cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar until fluffy.
Add vanilla, flour, and egg replacer/water, beating well after each addition.
Add 1/4 c of the raspberry sauce and mix until swirled, not all the way mixed.
Pour into prepared 8" springform pan. Drop the other 1/4 c raspberry sauce in dollops all over the cake and run a knife around the cake so it's all swirled.

Set in 8" pan in a 10" springform pan.
Pour hot water into 10" pan until 1/2 of the 8" pan is submerged.
Place in preheated 300F oven and cook 1 1/2-2 hours until center is set and sides begin to pull away from pan.
Do not unmold cheesecake until completely chilled. Chill 10 hours or more.

Raspberry Sauce
1- 12 oz package frozen raspberries
1 c sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Place raspberries in a bowl with the sugar and mix well. Let thaw or microwave for a minute so they come to room temperature.
Heat raspberries/juice in a small saucepan on MED-LO until they come to a low boil.
Add lemon juice and heat a minute more, stirring well.

You can press through a sieve to get the seeds out, but I would only do this for garnish on top. I kept the seeds and used the sauce for the cheesecake. There will be some left over.

******************
"Chicken" Vegetable Casserole





I hate the word "casserole". It makes me think of things that are mysterious and maybe too old being thrown in a pot as a last resort before you say "The hell with it!" and go to Taco Bell. It makes me think of people complaining about dinner. It makes me think of cheating by opening a can of something and baking it. Most casseroles don't even look that appetizing...(Even though growing up, I can't really think of one casserole that wasn't good!).. But darn it, I LIKE CASSEROLES.

This one is heavy on vegetables. Use what you have, I had a fair variety on hand.
This fills a 2 Qt casserole dish to the top.

Recipe
8oz eggless wide noodles, cooked and drained
1 med onion, chopped
3 small/1-2 large carrots, chopped into 1/4" or smaller coins
1-2 stalks celery, diced large (use the leaves, they are yummy)
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 c broccoli florets
1 hand full green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 c seitan, chopped small (can use more, this is all I had)
"Cream of Chicken" soup, recipe below*. Although I got it to gravy consistency and it was more than a can of a certain popular brand would yield
1/2 c extra soy milk
green onion and parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Cook and drain eggless noodles and set aside. Keep water and drop in the broccoli and green beans until bright green and tender. Drain and throw in with pasta.

Saute onion, celery, and carrot until almost tender in a large saute pan. Add zucchini until tender. Add to pasta/vegetables.

Saute seitan until crisp, using seasoning of choice. Add to pasta/vegetables. MEANWHILE, make the "cream of chicken" sauce. Do not cook until very thick, just somewhat thick.

WHen sauce is done, mix everything well and put in a 2-qt baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 min. Can broil the last couple minutes if you want the top crispy. Garnish with chopped parsley and green onion.


"Cream of Chicken" Soup is from Chef Deborah on Vegsource.com.

Cream of "Chicken" Soup Concentrate
(use as a substitute for same)

2 cups soymilk or rice milk
2 Tbs cornstarch
4 tsps vegetarian "chicken" bouillon powder
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp sugar or other sweetener
1/4 cup "chicken"-style TVP (or plain TVP)
1/4 cup boiling water

Soak TVP in boiling water 15 minutes (then drain).
Put remaining ingredients in saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until
mixture begins to thicken.
Stir in rehydrated TVP.
Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until
mixture is very thick.

Use in casseroles, or thin with more 'milk to make
soup or gravy.

Lemony Rice Pilaf with (or without) Toasted Nuts

I really love rice pilaf. I got the noodle/rice method from Mediterranean rice and lentils. I like how this turned out. Even with the 3 Tbsp lemon juice, it's not too lemony. You can omit the nuts but I really like them. Use any combo that you enjoy. I used pine nuts and chopped almonds. I like to use the vermicelli from the Latino market that comes in the small packs. If you can't find them, just break up some angel hair pasta into really small pieces.

Makes 4 generous portions as a side

1 1/4 c white rice
about 1/3-1/2 c vermicelli (small)
2 1/3 c warm water
Enough vegetable bouillon to flavor 2 cups of water
about 1/3 c (total) nuts- whatever combo you like
3 Tb or more lemon juice (add to taste)
few Tbsp olive oil or margarine or a mix of both
oil for cooking


In a medium pot with a lid, heat a bit of oil (maybe 1-2 Tbsp) and brown vermicelli. DON'T walk away from the pot! They burn easily.

When they are light golden, add the water and bouillon. Stir a little so the bouillon dissolves a bit.

Bring to a boil, and add rice. Lower heat to LO and cover: cook 18-20 min, until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry pan. No oil. Just medium heat until the nuts are light golden, shaking the pan often. Almonds took longer than the pine nuts, so make sure that if you have different types of nuts, you may want to toast in 2 separate batches.

Put rice in a bowl and add lemon juice and margarine/oil and mix well. You can also add fresh parsley if you'd like.

Caramelized Onion and Sausage Ravioli

I'll admit I watch Food Network. Unless it gets too gross, I like to see what's going on in the food world, and that excludes most vegetarians, but we can re-vamp recipes, so it's all good.

Today I saw Giada on Everyday Italian today use won ton wrappers for ravioli. If it's good enough for Food Network's Italian-born poster girl, it's good enough for me. I just didn't feel like making dough today. I'm not linking to her recipe because mine is nothing like it except the "butter". But trust me, it has won ton wrappers! I am using Dynasty brand. I really, really suggest caramelizing your onions. It adds a sweet, deep flavor to the dish. The filling is even better the next day, as proven by my eating it with a spoon.




Recipe
1 package vegan won ton wrappers
1 pkg (14-16oz) drained tofu, pressed
several Tbsp Vegenaise
couple Tbsp Italian seasoning (enough to make filling speckled throughout)
3 small (one large) onion, chopped
1 Tofurkey Italian sausage, chopped small
salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper


First, start caramelizing your onions in some olive oil. Low heat for a long time. I keep mine on med-lo. This takes about an hour, so you can either skip this step and just saute them if you MUST, or make a lot so you can use them for other things.

Meanwhile-Place tofu in a food processor with Vegenaise, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste, but go easy at first, as you will be adding 2 other flavors. Empty into a bowl and place in the refrigerator.

When onions are done, pulse in food processor and add to tofu mixture. Saute sausage in pan on medium heat. When sauteed, pulse in food processor until pieces are small and uniform. Add to tofu mixture. Let chill until cold and then season to taste again.

Place about 2 tsp. chilled filling into each won ton wrapper and seal with plain water.

Heat water to boiling in a large high-sided pan. This gives the ravioli room, and it heats the water more quickly than a large pot. Place a few raviolis in the boiling water. They are done after a few minutes. The won tons will be pretty translucent.
Drain carefully.

To make Oregano "Butter"
Melt 1/4 c earth balance in a small pan
add 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Cook the oregano for 1 min and add sea salt and fresh black pepper. Drizzle over plated ravioli.

Pumpkin Bread

Oh my gosh. So good. Not my recipe. It's from FatFreeVegan

I had a can of pumpkin left over (my cat had to have some) and I really didn't know what to do with it. I figured I'd make some pumpkin bread and it would be edible, and just okay. Well, this stuff was DELICIOUS. It's so moist (I hate that word) and good. I did do it with the oil
I topped it with (probably 1/2 recipe) of the Cream Cheese icing from VCTOTW, except it had lemon extract instead of vanilla (you can also just add the same amount of lemon, so it will taste like both lemon and vanilla.)






My omni co-workers raved about it. I'm not blowing my own horn. I am just saying.

"Turkey" Pot Pie

I really love pot pie. This one is mostly homemade. I really like using canned potatoes because they keep their firm texture without becoming mushy. Cook your own and feel free to make your own pie crust. I am using premade for time.






"Turkey" Pot Pie
2 medium carrots, chopped into cubes
3 mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 small stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c frozen peas
1 (15oz) can potatoes, drained and cubed
2-2 1/2 c chopped "chicken" or "turkey" seitan- See bottom for alternatives
Cavender's seasoning
pinch dried thyme, crushed with your fingers
poultry seasoning (there's no poultry in it!)
salt and pepper to taste

Gravy
1/4 c oil
1/2 c flour
1/4 c nutritional yest
2-2 1/2 c broth
1/2 c soy milk OR extra broth

*Storebought or homemade pie crust OR vegan puff pastry, thawed according to directions (watch for lard if buying. A lot of store brands are cheap and made with vegetable oil)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*While cooking vegetables, after oven is preheated, you can loosen the crust from the tin by putting in the oven for 5 minutes.

Saute carrots until slightly tender.
Add mushrooms, celery, onion, and garlic until onion is tender, adding poultry seasoning, thyme and cavender's to taste.

Place mixture in bowl and add peas and potatoes.

Saute seitan until crispy, adding seitan broth or other broth for flavor. Season to taste.
Add to vegetable mixture in bowl.

Gravy:
Heat oil in the pan you cooked the seitan in and add flour, and nutritional yeast. Stir well until flour is toasty and fragrant. Do not burn. It will not be a roux, but crumbly and coarse. Using the same pan as the seitan will pick up all the nice flavorful bits the seitan left behind.
Slowly add broth. It will seize into a thick mixture but keep whisking and adding liquid slowly. Add soymilk after broth for a creamier gravy. It's up to you.

Add gravy mixture to seitan and vegetable mixture and mix well. Place in a sprayed nonstick 9x9 2"deep pan and top with puff pastry or pie crust**. I did it in pieces.

For puff pastry, follow directions as follows, but carefully unfold the puff pastry (it will be in thirds) and place on top. Do not mess too much with it or it will be tough.
Cook for about 20 minutes, until crust is golden. May need to adjust for puff pastry.


********
Seitan Alternatives- Be sure to properly season.
-The cheapest one is probably tofu. Try freezing tofu then thawing and squeezing out the extra moisture. It will be like a sponge in appearance and ability to hold water, and it will be chewy when cooked.
- Tempeh- you can marinate some tempeh and saute
-Soy protein chunks/TVP- reconstitute and saute
-Veggie sausage crumbles or whole sausage pieces
-Bean patties or loose beans
-Squash such as butternut squash, in chunks

Fried Green Tomatoes and Greek Tofu Scramble

Both of these are freestyle so please forgive my measurements if mentioned.

I was watching Fried Green Tomatoes the other day, and decided to make some since I've never had them. I looked online and it appeared to be a basic dry-wet-dry recipe so that's what I did. I changed it up a bit by doing panko instead of bread crumbs or more flour.



Fried Green Tomatoes
We bought green tomatoes at a vegetable stand we have here. You have to be careful to not slice them too thin. You want something to grab on to and eat, so slice pretty thick.

Dry: All Purpose Flour seasoned with Seasoned Salt, pepper, and whatever you like.
Wet: Soy Milk with a splash vinegar added. Let it sit a few minutes and curdle. Stir it with your fork. It should be really thick. This acts as buttermilk.
Dry: Panko bread crumbs. They are widely available now, not just in Asian markets. Though you'll get a better deal at the Asian Market. If you don't have panko, just use the seasoned flour again.

Use one hand for wet, the other for dry. It makes it a lot easier.
Dip the tomato in the flour, then the "buttermilk", then the panko and fry in vegetable/canola oil in a cast iron skillet until light brown on each side.

I served this with ketchup and a horseradish sauce (just freestyled a little sour cream, mayo, horseradish, dijon, salt, and pepper).

Greek Tofu Scramble



1 Package (14-16oz) extra firm tofu, pressed
small handful kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3-4 green olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 small tomato, seeded and chopped
handful of mushroom, chopped roughly
Cavender's Seasoning, to taste
1/4 c or so shredded Follow Your Heart Mozzarella (totally optional)
few good pinches nutritional yeast
Fresh pepper
turmeric for color
fresh parsley if you have it

Drain and press tofu as mentioned. In a large skillet, heat a little oil/margarine and cook the mushrooms until softened.
Add tofu, squeezing it through your fingers. Some large chunks are fine.
Add olives, tomato, and optional cheese with the tofu and cook a few minutes.
Add seasonings and nutritional yeast and cook until nutritional yeast is mixed in well.
Finish with parsley.

Mediterranean Feast, Chocolate "Cheese" Pie

I wanted to make a nice Mediterranean Dinner but didn't have all day so I cheated a little. The Avgolemono Soup was from FreckleFoot over at PPK. It's delicious! Lemony and creamy and rich. The Hummus is from VCON. I added extra paprika and olive oil at the end. The dolmas and eggplant appetizer are canned and from the Middle Eastern market we have here. They were really good, especially for a canned appetizer.

Soup! (The picture doesn't do it justice but we were hungry!)

Plate,Clockwise from left: Dolmas, fried pita, regular pita with homemade tahini sauce, Salad, Hummus, Eggplant


Chocolate "Cheese" Pie
Very similar to one of my other recipes, this one has a layer of cheesecake flavor at the bottom.



Chocolate Cheese Pie
Chocolate Crust (bought or made, I like Oreo)
1/2 or 1 whole tub (8oz) Tofutti Cream Cheese
1/4 or 1/2 c powdered sugar (for 1/2 or whole tub vegan cream cheese, respectively)
1 package silken Mori-Nu Tofu
1 package (about 12 oz/2 cups) vegan chocolate chips
1-3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Let cream cheese come to room temperature and whip with powdered sugar. Spread mixture into the bottom of prepared chocolate crust.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or a glass/ceramic bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. OR if you are careful, I guess you can do it in the microwave. I use the double boiler.

Mix remaining ingredients in a blender very well, scraping down sides. Add melted chocolate chips to blender very carefully, blending very well again. Spread mixture carefully over cream cheese. Refrigerate a few hours. You know it's done when it's firm in the center. Serve with fruit and/or chocolate syrup.

Note- the pie will be pretty tall. You can reduce the chocolate, tofu, syrup, and vanilla by 1/4 if you wish. I let it be. The option for the cream cheese is just if you want more or less cream cheese at the bottom. The one in the picture is the lesser.

Rainy Day French Toast

Whether you are of the maple syrup variety or a powdered sugar purist, french toast hits the spot. Today it's raining outside and there's a smell of cinnamon coming from the kitchen. That might be misleading, because I am actually about 2 feet from the kitchen.
Anyway, I'm making easy french toast. The chickpea flour makes the toast crispy and "eggy". Very simple. Just adjust quantities as needed.

I can't really call this a recipe without being embarrassed, so I'll call it a "method".

All you need is:
Soy/Rice Milk
Chickpea Flour (Besan)
Pinch sugar
Cinnamon
Bread of choice

The only bread I would not advise using is white sliced bread. Bread cut from a loaf (like french bread) would be fine, but a bread like Sunshine or other white pre-sliced bread will probably not hold up.
I use a whole wheat grain bread and I don't even let it get stale first.

To the making! (This makes 2-4 slices of bread)

Place 3-4 Tbsp chickpea flour in a bowl
Pour in a little milk (1/4 cup?) and whisk until most of the lumps are out of the flour.
Add more soy milk (to make about 1 c or less)
Add a generous shake of cinnamon
Add a pinch of sugar

Heat a cast iron skillet and add margarine, oil, or a mix of the two and heat.
Dip each slice of bread on both sides into milk mixture and place in pan.

Don't flip too early, or bread will stick. Once flipped, cook until toasty and done.
Serve with syrup or powdered sugar.

Italian Herb Roasted Corn-Bean Salad, Homemade Pasta

I wanted a simple corn and black bean salad, but was out of black beans and so this came up! I think I like it better than a plain corn and bean salad. The Olive-Tofu Ricotta for the pasta is a very easy variation on the one I regularly make, and today I did a ravioli and tortellini.





Italian Herb Roasted Corn-Bean Salad
1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped
3 ears of fresh corn, husk removed
1 average can white beans (northern, cannelini) drained and rinsed
about 3 Tbsp (more if desired) Italian dressing (I like Balsamic Vinaigrette)
10-15 small button mushrooms (can use other kinds, buttons are cheapest)
1 small sprig rosemary, chopped fine
4-5 large basil leaves, chopped fine
fresh ground pepper
pinch salt
extra salt and olive oil for baking
tamari/soy sauce for baking

Preheat oven to 350
Put corn and onion in a large baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt/pepper
Put mushrooms in a separate smaller baking pan and add about 1/4 c or less tamari/soy sauce, and drizzle with olive oil.
Let mushrooms, corn, and onion bake for 1 hour.
Remove from oven, cool completely and chill completely.

Cut mushrooms in 1/2, and cut the corn kernels off the ears. Place onions, cut corn, and mushrooms in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and chill further.

Serve with entree and enjoy!


Homemade pasta (Almost Whole Wheat)
This is pretty much entirely Crystal's dough recipe, I just substituted some of the flour for whole wheat pastry flour.

You can do tortellini or ravioli easily. If doing ravioli, be careful and make them small. The large ones break really easily. You can possibly do a fettuccine with a pasta roller; I haven't tried that yet.

Roller

Ricotta Ready To Go

All of them, all of them

All of them, all of them all lined up



Ingredients:
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer powder completely dissolved in 1/2 c water
6 Tbsp extra water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Mix all other ingredients together in a small bowl. Make a little hole in the center of the flour and pour in liquids. Bring together with a fork or your hands and knead until flour comes together.
Wrap in plastic and let sit for 1 hour. I refrigerated mine and it still came out fine.

To the rolling!
I rolled to a 5 on my pasta roller.
Dough will seem rough at first. You will have to roll on level 1 3-4 times. After this, keep rolling on to 2, then 3, then 4, then 5.

Olive Ricotta
1 pack tofu (14-16 oz) drained and pressed
3-4 Tbsp vegan mayo (I use Vegenaise)
Very generous shake Italian seasoning (dried)
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder (give or take)
fresh pepper
pinch sea/kosher salt
small handful green olives, chopped
small handful kalamata or black olives, chopped

Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth but not soupy. Tastes best when chilled for at least 1 hour.

White Chili and Brownies

I'd never had white chili as an omnivore, but the basic concept is a chicken-ish base, green chilis, and white beans. You may want to ease up on the green onions- I am an addict! It's personal preference.
Also, this turned out like a soup instead of an actual "chili". Please note the "***"




White Chili
You Will Need:
1 Tbsp olive oil or oil/margarine mixture
2 small/1 med or lg carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced or minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4-6 c vegan "chicken"/vegetable broth of choice***
1 tsp green Tabasco (opt)
3/4 (approx) corn- cut from the ear, canned, or frozen
1 4oz. can green chiles (keep juice)
2 cans white beans (or about 3 cups if you cook your own)
3-4 stalks green onions (white and green parts), cut up into rings
cilantro for garnish
1 package Morningstar Farms "Chickn" strips, 1 1/2 c "chicken" seitan, or protein of choice
vegan sour cream and/or vegan white cheese, for garnish (opt)

*Heat a stock pan and add oil on MED.
*Saute onions, carrots, and garlic until carrots are softened.
*In a separate pan, cook Chikn strips until crisp in a bit of oil. Set aside and chop roughly.
*Add cumin, oregano, and cayenne to onion mixture and saute 1 min more (spices will become fragrant
*Add stock and bring to a boil
*Reduce heat and add chiles, beans, Tabasco & corn and cover. Cook 10 min
*Add chikn strips and cover, cook 10 min more, adding green onions at the 5 min mark.
*Garnish with desired toppings and enjoy. You can add tortilla chips to the soup, or leave plain.

***4 cups for a thicker soup, 5-6 for a thinner one. I went with 6 cups, but it's up to you.


Brownies! I wish I could say this is my recipe, but alas!
Chunky Monkey Brownies by Beverly Lynn Bennet
Originally published in the May + June 2008 issue of Veg News, found on PPK from Love Like A Vegan. I left out the banana chips and subbed pecans for the cashews. I also served these as work to unsuspecting omnis. Score +2 for veganism (evil laugh). Also, I used cornstarch and it worked as well as the arrowroot (made 2 batches).

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup safflower oil [I used canola]
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tsp arrowroot (I used corn starch)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup dried banana chips, coarsely chopped (I omitted and these were still great!)
1/3 cup chocolate chips, coarsely chopped
2 tbs dried coconut, shredded
1/4 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (I used pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch square pan [I used an 8 inch) and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, oil, water and vanilla. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Stir well to combine.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Evenly scatter banana chips, chocolate chips, cashews and coconut over top and press gently with hands into the batter.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set in the centre. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into nine squares.

Quiche, Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms, and Chinese "Beef" 2 Ways

The Quiche is from Isa over at Post Punk Kitchen. It was really good and held together well. I had no cashews on hand and it still came out great.

Quiche with Spicy Sausage-Cornbread Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe below)






Bryanna Clark Grogan is invited to my house any day! I have 2 of her books: Nonna's Italian Kitchen and Authentic Chinese Cooking. While I will admit that I enjoy the virtues of a 30-minute meal (or coming home to a meal, hint hint) as much as the next gal, there's nothing wrong with a recipe within a recipe.
Many of Grogan's recipes have a smaller recipe in them and that's fine. She does offer an alternative as well for most of them if you don't have the time. Take the time!
Here is homemade "Beef" seitan from the Chinese Cookbook. I made the Beef and Broccoli (added mushrooms and green onions), had some "beef" left over, and just stir-fried it with some Black Bean Sauce, mushrooms and green onions. Truth be told, this recipe didn't take long at all. Did I also tell you I want to marry green onions? I put them in anything that's not dessert.





Spicy Sausage-Cornbread Stuffed Mushrooms
15-20 mushrooms (I had small)
1/4 pack Gimme Lean Sausage Style
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
about 1 C cornbread-style stuffing
about 3/4-1 C light vegetarian broth of choice
1 Tb earth balance margarine or olive oil

Clean mushrooms. Pop stem out of each mushroom and dice small.
In a large skillet/pan, heat earth balance and place mushrooms in stem side up, browning, and flipping over. Moisture will come out of the caps when flipped over and that's fine.

When mushrooms are evenly browned on both sides (but still firm), remove from pan and place stem side up in a baking pan.

Add sausage, fennel, red pepper, and mushroom stems to the cooking pan. Brown sausage and chop while cooking. Add Earth Balance if necessary.

Ad stuffing and broth, and remove and let cool down to handling temperature.

Stuff each mushroom by grabbing a small handful of stuffing, squeezing it to compact it, and placing in mushroom caps. Bake all mushrooms at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. I served them with Campbell's Mushroom Gravy