Winter Portobello Mushroom Stew

This recipe is from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, a book I've owned for years and years. It's the cookbook I always recommend to people asking for a good vegetarian cookbook, but looking through it with my new vegan eyes, I had a hard time finding recipes without dairy or eggs.

Anyway, I picked her portobello stew for this week and, once again, decreased the oil by about a third. She called for the soup to be primarily seasoned with rosemary, which Ben thinks is the devil, so I used thyme instead. In this recipe, onion and garlic are sauteed with a bunch of mushrooms, and then you stir in a little tomato paste, vinegar, and the herbs. And that's pretty much it. I served it over mashed potatoes.

It's not very pretty! But it was tasty. However, it wasn't very hearty - if I make this again, I will include some seitan to fill it out.

Chimichurri Tofu, Cilantro-Lime Yucca, and Asparagus

The sauce for this tofu comes from Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero, an excellent cookbook for Latin vegan cooking. It's made of parsley, shallots, and garlic, with some red wine vinegar and some other herbs. There was supposed to be 1/3rd of a cup of oil, but I cut it back to 1 Tbsp and replaced the rest with water. You bake the tofu for a half hour, then spread the marinade on and bake it for another half hour. This is the first time in the twelve years since I started cooking with tofu that I've successfully made delicious, chewy, flavor-infused baked tofu. Finally! I always wondered how they got the pre-packaged stuff to be so dense. Now I know.

The side dish is mashed yucca (that stuff I picked up at the Indian market a couple weeks ago), flavored with cilantro and lime. Yucca is coated with wax to extend the shelf-life, and it makes peeling it kind of a hassle. Its texture was denser than mashed potatoes and there is a bit more natural flavor, but ultimately it was kind of a pain in the ass for not that much payoff. I think I'll stick to potatoes for this kind of thing in the future.

You can really tell a vegan by her cheese drawer...

I had to laugh when I noticed the contents of my cheese drawer yesterday. Six items, and none of them cheese:

That would be two kinds of tofu (regular extra-firm and seasoned pre-baked), two kinds of tempeh (plain & maple syrup bacon), fake cream cheese, and a tub of miso.

Breakfast: Polenta Rancheros

Alas, I got super into huevos rancheros (eggs with mexicany toppings) right before going vegan. When I picked up Vegan Brunch last weekend, I knew this had to be one of the first recipes I tried. In this recipe, the eggs are replaced with soft polenta (corn grits) cooked on a stovetop. And it works very well.

The base is black beans in a tomato/onion/garlic sauce, and the toppings here included avocado, cherry tomatoes, and green onions.

I really should stop using that chipped bowl when I take pictures.

Whole Wheat Fusilli with Roasted Vegetables

Ben said I shouldn't post a picture of this because it looks like "vegan hippie dirt food." Hmph. He also said that if I DID post it, I should be sure to say that the appearance is inversely proportional to the taste, by which he means that he loved it.

This is hardly even a recipe. I cut up 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, a bunch of asparagus, a red bell pepper, half a red onion, 6 cloves of garlic, and some cherry tomatoes, tossed everything with olive oil, salt & pepper, and thyme & oregano, and roasted the vegetables for half an hour at 450 degrees. It looked like an obscene amount of food before I threw it on the oven, but everything cooked down quite a bit. Then I mixed the cooked vegetables with some whole wheat pasta and 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar. That's it! Yum.

Hoisin-Mustard Tofu with Brown Rice & Broccoli

I made this tofu once before and served it in lettuce wraps, and we really liked it. I was going to make it alongside potato-scallion pancakes tonight, but I got lazy and poured it over microwaved brown rice instead. With broccoli for vitamins.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles

I have to take cookies to a meeting tonight but I didn't feel like going to the store, so I specifically searched for a recipe for which I already had all the ingredients. These Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles fit the bill, and I thought they were an especially good idea since I don't really like snickerdoodles.

Well, too bad for me these are completely awesome so I'm probably going to eat quite a few.

Black Bean & Zucchini Tacos

I threw these together in about 15 minutes, including chopping time.

Fettucini with Ricotta, Spinach, & Pine Nuts

Apparently I am on a pine nut kick.

I've decided that at least once a week I need to start venturing from Isa's cookbooks and trying to veganize recipes that may not have been intended as vegan. This one is from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, one of the first vegetarian cookbooks I ever bought. A few of her recipes have become staples in our house over the years, but I haven't used it as fully as I could have. Since veganism is making me into a much more adventurous cook, hopefully that will be remedied in future months.

Anyway, I had to make two substitutions to veganize the recipe: replace the butter with Earth Balance (easy enough), and replace the ricotta with tofu ricotta. I used Isa's recipe for this, I have to admit, but it was a good idea because, predictably, it was great. I will definitely be using it for lasagna in the future. I also cut the oil & butter by over half, as I usually do in most of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. That lady loves her fat.

This turned out to be unexpectedly fantastic. I didn't miss the real cheese one bit! There was no soy flavor at all, and the spinach was cooked down so much that it just sort of melted into the sauce. I'm sometimes iffy on cooked spinach, so this was a good thing for me.

Eggplant-Potato Moussaka

This moussaka is a layered casserole of thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes, with a cinnamon-spiced tomato sauce interspersed and pine nut crema on the top. The pine nut crema (made from silken tofu, in addition to the pine nuts) was amazing. Ben asked if I would make another batch for him to eat straight.

In progress - the zucchini came out exactly right!

And here is the final product, after we'd already eaten our shares.

It was time consuming, but well worth it. I like to make something complicated on Sunday nights, anyway, to round off the weekend.

Open-Faced Meatball Subs

This post does a particularly good job of highlighting my comically bad photography skills, but I will post it in the interest of science. Or something.

The only thing exciting about this salad is that I made the dressing from random vegan things and it tastes just like Caesar dressing.

The meatball subs were inspired by The Smitten Kitchen's recent recipe using real meat & cheese. I figured they would still be pretty delicious using Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs and Daiya Mozzarella, and they were! The key, I think, is caramelizing the onions.

Also, Ben got a new jacket that is Michael Jacksony. He did not want me to post a picture.

Tamarind BBQ Tempeh & Potatoes

This was my first recipe with the tamarind concentrate picked up at the Indian market a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what it's supposed to taste like, but this was a fine recipe. The potatoes and tempeh were baked in a sauce made of the tamarind, garlic, ginger, agave, soy sauce... I forget what else. Basically it made a mild, sweet, sort of gingery barbecue sauce.

This time I did make some green beans on the side. I always keep some in the freezer just in case.

Chipotle-Lentil Burgers with Baked Onion Rings

This may not look like much but it almost led to a nervous breakdown.

I only have a tiny 3-cup food processor, so I had to puree the lentil mixture for the burgers in about four separate batches. There are also onions, garlic, chipotle peppers, zucchini, and bread crumbs in there. I'd never made veggie burgers from scratch before but they turned out great - just made a huge mess and were sort of time consuming. Having a normal sized food processor would have made my life a lot easier!

I did the onion rings again because I couldn't resist their deliciousness.

Probably I should have made green beans or something as a vegetable side, but eh. Too lazy.

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas & Greens with Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Apples

This dinner cracked me up a little bit with its extreme veganness.

It's basically the healthiest thing I can possibly imagine all thrown onto one plate: kale, beans, sweet potatoes, and apples. There was only about a teaspoon of oil in the entirety of both recipes, just used to saute the onion and garlic before the kale went into the pan.

The mashed sweet potatoes & apples were so great I will post here for your enjoyment. This would be great as a side dish to any kind of meat-based meal.

2 large apples, peeled and diced 3/4" inch
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 3/4" inch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat a soup pot over low heat & spray with cooking spray. Put in the apples, sweet potatoes, water, and salt. Cover and cook on low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to cook them super slowly and let them steam - if it looks like they're starting to brown or stick to the bottom, turn the heat down. Add a little water if needed. Do this for about 35-40 minutes until they're nice and tender. Then mash them up and add the sweetener, ginger, and cinnamon.

White Bean & Mushroom Paprikash and Caulipots

Caulipots are mashed cauliflower and potatoes. Get it? I'd never tried mashing cauliflower before but everyone told me it was delicious. Ben is always going on and on about how cauliflower is the worst thing in the world (except for Brussels sprouts) but I made him eat this and, predictably, he admitted you couldn't even taste the cauliflower and ate it all right up.

The topping is sauteed mushrooms, white beans, and onion & garlic, flavored with paprika. Really hearty and filling dinner.

My Boys

Shouldn't they be too old for these things? Witness:

1.

2.

Ben was trying to get a dead limb out of the tree. I'm glad I didn't look out the window and see he'd climbed into it until he was almost done.

Goddess Nicoise Salad

Nicoise Salad is usually made with tuna and olives. In this version, the tuna is replaced with chickpeas mashed with capers, and there are no olives because I hate them. The other elements are steamed green beans and baby red potatoes and cherry tomatoes, all served over mixed lettuces.

I made the dressing from scratch. The more I do this, the less I feel that I will ever buy store-bought again. It's SO much better and in most cases cheaper, and there aren't any weird ingredients. This one is garlic, chives, parsley, nutritional yeast, miso, lemon juice, water, and salt.

Field Trip

On Friday Ben and I drove to Washington, NC to see one of his favorite comedians, Maria Bamford. We'd never been there before but we like to explore new towns so we decided to stay overnight in a bed & breakfast. It was a cute little town!

The Pamlico House B&B:

Sights around town:




We walked past this old graveyard on our way downtown from the bed & breakfast:




The waterfront (Neuse River):

Washington is a very old town and there were a lot of really old, historic houses.

The audience at the Maria Bamford show was a little odd - people apparently didn't know what to expect and she is sort of a weirdo - but we had fun! A nice little mini-getaway.

Stir-Fry

When I don't feel like putting in the energy to try something new, I will often just throw together a stir-fry with whatever we have in the house. Tonight it was tofu, zucchini, and red peppers.

I always start with chopped onion and minced garlic and ginger, then add the vegetables until they're mostly cooked. Then I throw in some sauces: soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha (hot sauce) and taste until I get the flavors right.

The sauces:

And in process:

I apparently forgot to take a picture of the final product, which was mixed in with Chinese noodles. I prefer noodles to rice because they hold the sauce better.

So easy and good!

Buffalo Tempeh, Cole Slaw, & Onion Rings

I don't like spicy food, I couldn't care less about coleslaw, and I don't like onion rings, either. Therefore, I made this dinner. All of these recipes have been getting rave reviews so I decided to give it a go.

I cut the hot sauce in the tempeh marinade from 1/2 cup to 1/4th, which turned out to be a great idea because it was still way spicy. The coleslaw went with it perfectly, cooling off the heat with a delicious cashew-based dressing. Nobody would ever guess the dressing is made primarily of cashews - it just tasted like a good, basic coleslaw. And the ONION RINGS. My god. They were coated in an almond milk/flour/cornstarch batter, then dipped into panko bread crumbs and baked. The only thing wrong with them is that I didn't make enough. These are going to be a staple side dish in my house.

A Trip to the Indian Market

I've been hunting for chickpea flour for a couple of weeks and finally resolved that I was going to have to go to the Indian market to find some. Yelp referred me to the Around the World Market on Hillsborough Street, between Raleigh and Cary. It was kind of a hike getting there, but well worth the trip. I found the chickpea flour, and tons of other amazing things, too. Since I've been doing the vegan thing I've been seeing lots of references to ingredients like tamarind concentrate and yuca, which I haven't been able to find at the regular store or Whole Foods. I unexpectedly ran across both at Around the World, and the best part is that everything is ridiculously cheap. They have huge bundles of cinnamon sticks for $5, which is what Harris Teeter charges for a tiny bottle of about 6. Huge bags of tons of different kinds of flour, rice, beans, spices... I am definitely going to be hitting this place up more often. Here's what I bought today:

• tamarind concentrate
• chickpea flour (besan)
• yuca (that's the root-looking thing in the front)
• mint chutney
• mango chutney
• huge box of potato and pea samosa
• 2 kinds of rice noodles
• some weird kind of sesame candy Ben loves

Success! The Indian market is the place to be.

Pasta de Los Angeles

This was supposed to be with angel hair pasta (get it? pasta de los angeles?) but I decided to use the spaghetti I already on hand. It was also supposed to have spinach, but I couldn't find it and thought that somebody (BEN) ate it all. Apparently, though, it was just hiding behind the blueberries. Oh well.

Anyway, the sauce is shallots, garlic, jalapeno, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, lime zest & juice.

Next time I'll add avocado.

Pad Thai Salad with Baked Tofu

There are a million (okay, maybe 15) delicious-sounding salads in Appetite for Reduction, but I always feel like they'll be too light for dinner. I've decided to start making at least one for lunch on the weekends.

This is lettuce, pea shoots, red onion, and shredded carrots topped with cilantro, store bought marinated tofu, and crushed peanuts. I made the dressing, too, out of mostly soy sauce, agave nectar, shallots, hot sauce, and more peanuts.

Bad Kitties!

They do this about once a week. It's a real pain in the ass.

The crazy eyed culprit.

Good thing he's so cute.

Cashew Cheese and Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

We've been eating lentil soup for the last couple of nights so I haven't posted pictures. Everyone knows what lentil soup looks like!

I did make faux goat cheese last weekend. This recipe is widely regarded as one of the best, so I tried it out. It's good, but it's not very cheesy. I tried it on pizza and it was kind of eh, but I think it would be good with crackers or on salads.

This morning I made lemon-blueberry corn muffins. No eggs or milk! I even replaced half the oil with unsweetened applesauce, since I'm doing Weight Watchers again for the eight hundredth time in my life. I don't know how my cookbook lady does it, but there are never any weird ingredients in her baking recipes to replace the eggs, and everything always turns out great anyway. This was just flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, soy milk, a little soy yogurt, canola oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and blueberries.

In case anyone is curious, since October I've been cooking primarily from the cookbooks of Isa Chandra Moskowitz:

• Vegan with a Vengeance
• Veganomicon
• Appetite for Reduction (this one is especially good because the recipes are all lower calorie and take less than 30 minutes for the most part)

If you're ever interested in vegan cooking, I would definitely start with Isa's books. I tossed around the idea of trying veganism for a long time, but it was checking out Veganomicon from the library that finally pushed me over the edge. Her recipes are simple, don't use any weird ingredients, and rely very little on prepared fake meat products. And they're all fantastic! I haven't found a bad one yet.

Curried Things

Tonight's dinner is a direct result of my new method of picking dinner recipes by opening the book and committing to whatever is on the page. I would never have thought Curried Cabbage and Peas sounded appetizing in the least. But guess what? It was great!

I made masala tofu to go with, which was all right. The flavor was good, but my normal kind of tofu was out of stock so I bought a new variety, and it was pretty mushy.

I also roasted butternut squash because I love it.