Civet of Seitan and Courico Tacos!

Civet of Nonboaring Seitan

Yet another take-off of a Bourdain recipe, originally called Civet of Wild Boar. I thought civet was some kind of musky scent (appetizing, I know), so I looked it up in my Scrabble dictionary (yes, it was handy). They define it as a catlike mammal (still unappetizing and getting worse), so I looked online. In this context it's a stewlike concoction usually made with gamier animals that have been marinaded in red wine, leeks and onions. Ooookkk. At least it's making sense, even if it sounds disgusting. I took the easy way out and subbed seitan and can say this would satisfy any hard-core meat eater. This looks a little more involved than some of the recipes, but it comes together in a big way and isn't as complicated as it sounds.

Civet of Nonboaring Seitan

8 oz seitan ( about 1 cup), cut in 1 inch cubes
2 carrots, cut in 1 -1 1/2 inch lengths
1 cup onion, sliced in 1/2 moons
1 cup leeks, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup red wine

Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil (for searing)
2 Tbsp eb (for searing)
1 Tbsp flour
bouquet garni*
1/2 cup wine
1/2 cup broth
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp grated dark chocolate

Day 1: Marinade the cubes, carrots, onions, leeks and garlic in the red wine in ziplock bag overnight.

Day2: Using a collander over a bowl, strain the liquid out. Pick out the seitan, but keep everything else in the collander. Keep the marinade liquid in the bowl, too. Heat the oil/eb in a large frying pan. Toss the seitan with a little salt and pepper to season. When it's sizzling hot, sear all sides of the seitan, then remove it and set aside. Keep the pan hot, and add the rest of the vegetables. Turn the heat down to about medium and cook until the vegetables start to carmelize, probably about 15- 20 minutes. Stir in the flour, cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the 1/2 cup of wine in the second batch of ingredients and reduce by 1/2. Add the seitan, bouquet garni, broth and reserved marinade. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until thickened and saucy.

Now from here, the recipe sounds a little crazy. Pick out the seitan and the carrots. Yes, really. Put them aside. Using that same collander in a bowl, strain out the other vegetables. We're wastefully done with those. Put the seitan, carrots and the saucy part from the bowl back in the frying pan and heat. Stir in the vinegar and grated chocolate. When it's heated throughout, check the seasonings and eat.

*A bouquet garni is just a fancy way of saying tie together a stalk of parsley, 2 stems of thyme and a bay leaf. Mine didn't stay together at all and it doesn't matter because it just stays with the vegetables you throw out. So just toss them in.

We had this with Israeli cous cous on the side. Bad move. It really calls for some kind of potato. Or you could get away with rice or maybe eggless noodles, since it's a lot like a stew.

You can't really see it in the picture, but we also had CSA cauliflower with that CSA brocooli! Delicious!

Whew, that was a lot of typing! For a break, feast your eyes on this tester for Crack of Noon: Courico Tacos with Caramelized Pineapple Salsa. I think it might be my all time favorite taco idea. So much flavor, with a good amount of heat balanced with the incredible salsa! The cookbook would be worth the cost for this recipe alone.

Courico Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Tonight's Dinner: Joni's Cheater Mac and Cheese (again). We need something quick and easy. We're getting ready to go to Vermont and planning a food fest there: Pennycluse (never been there), A Single Pebble and Stone Soup, of course. We're hoping to get some great food in Albany on the way and find lots of other cool places and things! If you've got a suggestion, let me know.

Chili Almond Crusted Seitan with Sour Cherry Jalapeno Sauce

I know, it's a mouth full to say. But one bite and you won't be saying a whole lot besides "mmmmm". I am really happy with how this turned out. It's easy but tastes complex. It's too bad fresh sour cherries have such a short season, because this could be addictive. I'm sure you could use frozen cherries, too.

Chili Almond Crusted Seitan with Sour Cherry Jalapeno Sauce
Serves 4

4 chickeny seitan cutlets (about 10 oz)
1- 2 Tbsp oil for panfrying

Breading:
1/4 cup almonds, ground
1/4 cup panko crumbs
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
salt

1/4 to1/3 cup vegenniase
1-2 Tbsp soymilk
1/2 tsp chili powder

Sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c red onion, diced
1 Tbsp jalapeno pepper, diced
2 cups sour cherries, pitted
1/8 tsp lemon pepper
pinch chili powder
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp sugar
salt (and pepper, if needed)

Get the sauce going first. Saute the onion and jalapeno until just cooked. Then add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer until it becomes more of a sauce. This will probably take about 15 minutes. Mine really thickened up, but if it's being stubborn you could always add a little cornstarch or arrowroot. It simmers and reduces and tastes amazing. Add the salt and pepper if you need them.

For the cutlets, mix the vegennaise and chili powder, adding soymilk until it's a little more spreadable. The measurement range is because of the differences in cutlet size. Mine were about 2.5 ounces each and I needed 1/4 cup.

Mix the dry ingredients for the breading. Heat a little oil in frying pan to pan fry the cutlets after breading. When it's hot (and your sauce is almost done), smear the cutlets with the vegennaise mixture, dip in the breadcrumbs and pan fry until done. Top with the sauce, garnish with almonds and dig in.

You could definitely sub tempeh for this, or even tofu. We really liked it- and hope you will, too!

On a completely different subject, a huge thanks to Celine from Have Cake, Will Travel. She sent me the most adorable Cakespy notecards! I'm torn between wanting to write notes and wanting to save them forever. Thanks so much, Celine! Check out her blog for recipes that never disappoint.

Tonight's dinner: Pad Thai from VwaV!

Artichoke Spread and Texas Chocolate Cake!

Face it, the best things about food are sometimes appetizers and dessert. I could live on just those two courses for probably about 1/2 the week. The other 1/2 of the week, I'd think all I'd been eating is junk food. But hey, it happens.

The artichoke dip was originally going to be an artichoke bruschetta modeled after a few online recipes, including one I found at allrecipes.com. I figured all I had to was work that vegan magic and it would be a quick and easy make-ahead appetizer. Like all recipes, it evolved a little when I was dabbling and I decided it was too good as a spread or a dip to pop it under the broiler. If you make this, it's your choice. We had it alongside traditional tomato bruschetta, served with crostini.

Artichoke Spread

1 6 oz can artichoke hearts, drain and chop finely
1/4 cup red onion, diced finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp nooch
1 Tbsp sundried tomatoes (the oil kind) diced finely
1/3 cup vegennaise
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and refrigerate for an hour or so before serving. On to the dessert!

My mom had this brownie recipe that uses 1 cup of butter and 4 eggs. It made these incredible brownies, but with that many eggs, I haven't tried to veganize it. I haven't had the brownies for years, but they came really close to this recipe from Bigmouth Strikes Again. I did the 1/2 recipe, using 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 ener g, baked in an 8 inch square pan, without nuts because...ewwww. They came out great! They're not overly sweet or densely chocolatey and they have a terrific texture. Thanks so much for the recipe! By the way, check out her website for a more flattering picture.

Fresh cherries are in season here and I'm trying to make the most of them. Stay tuned!

I'm Probably the Last One...

...to make these cookies from Dreena Burton. If I'm not, I'm finally posting a cookie photo that has a recipe so you can make them, too. The recipe is posted at Everyday Dish, and there are lots of other great things there, too, so check them out.

We liked these cookies. They were super quick and easy to make. Within a half hour, they were mixed and baked and burning my mouth in that wonderful chocolatey way. The taste is great ( I think that maple syrup and molasses are key in chocolate chip cookies) but the texture was a little soft for me. No crunch at all. Part of that could be because of our incredibly sticky weather right now.

If you haven't tried them, now is the time. You have to bake something while you're waiting for Kelly and Garrick's cookie book to come out!

Vichyssoise: A Fancy Name for Cold Potato Soup

This is another one from Bourdain's Les Halles and it required minimal veganization. Seriously, how hard is it to replace butter with eb, chicken stock with vegetable stock and cream with soy cream? The garlic and dill are my minor additions, but I really think they enhance the flavor. It makes a tasty, cool soup course that has a rich taste. I'm posting a 1/2 recipe which would easily serve 4 with a salad on the side.



Vichyssoise
2 Tbsp eb
4 leeks, white part only, sliced thinly
1 medium potato, cut into small cubes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup cream
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch dill
salt and pepper
fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the eb. Add the leeks and sweat for about 5 minutes, but don't let them change color. Add the potato cubes and crushed garlic, cooking for about 2 more minutes. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Cook at a low simmer on low heat for about 1/2 an hour, until the leeks and potato are very soft. Allow to cool for a few minutes before the next step.

Using a blender or food processor, very carefully puree the soup in small batches. Make sure the lid is on the blender and do not fill more than 1/2 full. When it's all blended, return to the cooking post, whisk in the cream, nutmeg and dill. Add the salt and pepper (I used both liberally). Return to a boil, turn down and simmer for 5 minutes. If it's too thick, add a little more stock to thin it out. Then let cool and refrigerate. Serve topped with chives.

Just in case you were wondering, I've made a couple more cookie recipes for testing, too! These are both for Autumn Vegan and Garrick. The Wedding Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth bites of goodness. Yum! The Kolaches are good, too.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Jam Kolaches

Dinner tonight: It depends on the Farmer's Market and our CSA pickup. Stay tuned!

Double Berry Ice Cream

from Veganomicon

Ice cream used to be a big thing in my life. We had a hand crank ice cream maker for as long as I can remember. For the 4th of July, we'd always get it out and take turns cranking. We'd nearly fight over who got to lick the dasher. Then the ice cream would get packed in more ice and burlap bags and put in the shade to 'ripen' for the whole day. The waiting nearly drove me crazy. So ice cream isn't just for eating in my world, it's really an activity, filled with anticipation and expectations, and followed by that wonderful reward.

It's no surprise that I had my doubts about the V'con ice cream recipe. Not only is my childhood a lot to live up to, this recipe has coconut milk in it and I absolutely hate coconut. I hate it to the point that I think I can taste it sometimes in things that don't have it, so I guess my hatred is coupled with coconutophobia. But Isa and Terry haven't steered me wrong yet, so I gave it a try. I'm so glad I did! I went with the Any Berry variation and did a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of strawberries and blueberries. I couldn't believe how good it was. I even tasted the vanilla base before adding the fruit... just as a test...and the coconut was so muted that I could barely taste it. When it's churned, it's wonderfully creamy and not icy like some homemade vegan ice creams can be.

These days I pull out the Cuisinart Ice Cream machine that I got for my birthday a few years ago and almost feel like I'm cheating. Then I watch it churn. I guess old habits die hard. All it takes is one taste and I don't care if it is cheating.

Pizza, Salad, Sandwich.. and Sweet Chili Lime Tofu!

BBQ Soy Curl Sandwich

I finally got around to making BBQ Soy Curls after drooling over KatieJayne's at the PPK. These are really good, and I'd make them all the time if I wasn't so hooked on bbq seitan. Knowing me, I'll usually make it with seitan and sub curls every once in a while. I really like soy curls but think they're better as a short than as a full length feature.

On the side is a last minute broccoli salad, loosely based on the old omni standby. It goes kind of like this-
Steam broccoli lightly then run it under cold water. Add whatever other vegetables you want (I used onions, celery, carrots, cucumbers), some fancier stuff to make it interesting (grapes and toasted pine nuts) in a mayo/apple vinegar slaw style dressing. So easy and so customizable.

I looked at this Sweet Chili Lime Tofu recipe when it was first posted and for some reason, I thought I needed mirin to make it. I was out. Apparently you don't, but I put off making it because I was having a tourette's reading moment and kept inserting mirin into that recipe. When I finally READ it and made it...wow! This is so good and will be a regular. It fits my 'asian and spicy' needs and Jim's 'just not a stir fry' attitude really well. The recipe is from Vegan Yum Yum. I used chard for the greens, rice for the quinoa (with no extra seasoning) but threw some thai basil into the mix. I have a hard time following a recipe word-for-word, unless it's for testing, of course!

By the way, I just bought a small bottle of mirin- for over $5! It's not like I was buying gas or something. Geez.

How about another Teese Pizza? This one was pretty much perfect: onions, mushrooms, peppers, black olives and some gimme lean sausage. Here you see it, in all it's glory. I cracked my last tube and am going to have to place another mega order. If you haven't tried Teese Cheese, what are you waiting for?