Cassoulet!

If I've ever said that a recipe in V'con was the best recipe in the book, take it with a grain of salt and understand that it may have been my own inexperience that was talking. Because all has changed. I now realize that the greatest recipe in the book is the Leek and Bean Cassoulet. The proof is up above, but I'm giving you an extra picture for further proof. I added the seitan (because if there is an outside chance seitan can be added to a recipe, I just can't help myself) but it definitely wouldn't need it. This recipe is life changing. It could be the secret to world peace. Try it and see.

I actually felt giddy as I watched the shortening in the biscuits melt and they turned such a pretty golden brown. I'd wanted to make this since the cookbook came out but kept using my leeks in other recipes. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Just in case you want something sweet after such an amazing dish, here are the rice krispy treats that my family has made forever. Now I make them in an 8 inch pan so it's a half recipe, but double it if you want a 9 X 13. They're addictive. And easy.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats
1/2 cup corn syrup (I know....)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer smooth)
3 cups rice krispies
1 cup chocolate chips

Melt the sugar and the corn syrup over medium heat til bubbly and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in the peanut butter until it's all mixed in. Add the rice krispies and press into an 8 inch square pan that you've greased. Let cool. Melt chocolate chips and spread on top.

That's it!

Tonight's dinner: something with seitan.

Around the World in Food

I have a hard time coming up with clever names and 'real' subject material for this blog. I'm good at random posts with no real context throughout. I tend to just focus on the food, probably because that is my real intention for this blog.. but still I'd like it to be fun and sometimes insightful besides just a diary of what we eat every once in a while.

So this post is more fun (but no more insightful) and the theme created itself. Think of it like a beauty pageant for food, with lots of different nationalities represented. Is that really progress? Maybe not... but these recipes are definitely all winners.

This is the amazing Vietnamese Seitan Baguette from V'con. I can't rave enough about this sandwich and no matter how many times we have it I want it more. As in, I'd love it for two meals in a row or more. Did I say two meals? I meant more like 2 weeks straight.


How about a Pad Thai alike? That sauce from VwaV is absolutely the best! Even if the vegetables aren't so traditional, the taste is amazing. Just the right amount of heat!


These Pierogies (which I spell differently every time I type the word!) are adapted from Vegan Planet and jordanpattern over at the PPK. This is the first time I've made them and I was a little intimidated. I'm here to tell you not to be like me-- make them! They're not as hard as they sound. Yeah, there are a few steps, but nothing difficult. They're really worth it, too, when you taste that wonderful crispy panfried outside, the creamy potato and dill inside and the caramelly onions...(sorry, I was channeling Giada for a minute)....

All this brings me to white pizza. That's the picture up top. I used the Pine Nut Cream from V'con (as suggested by esme at the PPK), and it was delicious. Really delicious. I had some leftover roasted garlic (if you make caesar salad, roast some extra for this) and also topped it with spinach, roma tomatoes, red peppers and red onions. And pine nut drizzle. Hmmm... with all that red, I could leave off the spinach and shape the pizza like a heart and get off easy for Valentine's Day. But I won't.

We also had quesadillas this week. We love these with finely chopped seitan and whatever vegetables you have around. These also had black beans in them. In my opinion, the guacamole makes the meal, but that's just me.

A bonus pic of the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for Isa's upcoming cookie book. These are fantastic and much better than the picture makes them look. Great texture! I'd tell you more, but Giada is no longer coming through. Probably because these cookies would put her baking to shame.

Tofu, Tempeh and Soup!

People have been raving about these recipes for a loooong time. I finally got around to making them. Now I can see what the fuss is about and hope to listen better next time.

This is the White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup from VwaV. Mmmmmm! I had an issue with the blender (it..ummmm...tipped over) so we only had about 1/2 the recipe. In a blatant attempt to make up for the sad lack of soup, I made these biscuits at the last minute. It's another one of those all-the-buzz recipes, and is definitely a keeper. If it were a tiny bit sweeter, it would be the ultimate shortcake biscuit.

Not the most beautiful of presentations, but this was so good that we didn't care. Smoky Grilled Tempeh from V'con with some improv potatoes (YRR mac and cheese sauce with herbs added), and Roasted Green Beans from V'con.

Making a repeat performance, the Tofu Marsala from Tofu666. This is one of my all-time favorites-- I add a few extra red things (sundried tomatoes and peppers)-- but honestly, it doesn't need it. So full of flavor!

Dinner tonight: I'm thinking quesadillas.

More Meringues and Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

My love affair with Susie's Meringues is ongoing, if you're interested. Here they are with chocolate chips. Her method is fascinating, and one of them with the chips still soft from the oven could actually be life changing for vegans. It was for me.

Next up are these lovely melt-in-your- mouth Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies from Isa and Terry's upcoming cookie cookbook. The texture on these cookies is just out of this world. Delicate, crisp and buttery, all in perfect balance.

To prove I don't just do desserts, we also had Curry for the first time yesterday. It's from V'con. While I think it's a good recipe, I wanted more oomph. I've never had curry before so I was imagining elephants and tigers, exotic flavors and the idea that every movie is a musical. Maybe I should just add some totally inauthentic hot sauce or buy better curry powder or not eat so many cookies before dinner.

An Unassuming Cupcake and Not Nutter Butters

This cupcake is from Kittee's zine, Papa Tofu! I love that zine. I've been reading and rereading it since the first of the year because I really like her style. The recipes are terrific, too, of course. This is her chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Her frosting recipe is actually for a chocolate cream cheese frosting, but I like plain cream cheese frosting on chocolate. Easily adapted! The frosting was declared "Splendid!" by one of our guests and I thought the cupcakes may have been the best chocolate cupcakes I've made so far. Now you can see why you'll never see me post cupcakes at the PPK. Mine always have a very homespun (wallflower) look compared to the pics posted by the wonderful bakers at the PPK. Those are runway cupcakes, strutting their stuff up and down the page, knowing that everyone has eyes glued to them. My cupcake is happy to stay home with a book and a cup of tea. And just be it's own fantastic self.

We also had the Nutter Butters from Autumn Vegan. Ok, mine aren't really Nutter Butters because they lacked the required peanut shape. Mine are more like the Gauchos that we used to sell in Girl Scouts. These have great texture and knock-out flavor. Yummy!

Tonight's Dinner: A Curry (recipe tbd). It'll be our first curry ever.

Meringues and a Tofu Pocket

'the whites"

Are you ready? I would have thought these were impossible. But here they are. I haven't tried the 'white' mixture in anything but meringue cookies yet.. but I have have high hopes for this stuff.

The procedure is from Susie Tofu Monster at the PPK and is currently in testing. Right now I have a batch with chocolate chips in the oven, a total gamble. These are the finished cookies from yesterday. Yummy!

Last night's dinner was from Kittee's zine, Papa Tofu! This is the stuffed tofu but more Italian Style. The crunchy outside was perfect and the flavors were great. This is definitely a keeper and I look forward to trying more from this zine. Kittee, if you see this.. you may notice mine are 2x the size of the pockets you suggest. You must have a ginsu knife and a super steady hand. I just have big pockets.

the baked tofu

Tonight's dinner: VegiTerranean!

Soups, Seitan and More

Here is that mac and cheese from YRR that Jim thought was the best ever. On the side is the Mustard Seitan Cutlet. I think we've had these 3-4 times since the book came out. It's quickly becoming a go-to recipe. Ignore the roasted asparagus. I'm sure you've seen me post it a gazillion or so times by now. Focus on these soups instead.

We have soup about 5 times a week during the fall and winter. No kidding. Here are the two latest batches. We've been having a version of tempeh noodle soup forever. Talk about easy! But the Cauliflower Soup is a brand new recipe that we had for lunch today. It's not too heavy but still has some substance to it, thanks to the beans. It would be a great starter for a dinner party. Check out that muffin on the side! It might look a little familiar. It's adapted from Ash's Cinnamon Swirl Loaf that I can't keep in the house. It's so good! I just took out the swirl, added some cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest and dried cranberries and blueberries to the batter. I eat that stuff by the spoonful.

Cauliflower Soup
This is one of those worry-free recipes.... just adapt like crazy and make it up as you go. I like a lot of different layers of onions in any soup, but you can easily go with all one kind. The herbs are all dried, and I use between 1/2 to 1 tsp of each, depending on how you like it.

1/2 - 1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, chopped
3-4 cups cauliflower, chopped small
Coriander
Cumin
Parsley
Basil
Dill
1 can white beans, drained (navy)
6-8 cups water (about an inch above the veggies)
3-4 cubes boullion
1 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp nooch
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
salt, pepper and white pepper to taste

Saute everything up to the celery stalk for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic, potato and cauliflower to saute for another 5 minutes or so. Add the herbs and cook for a minute, then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1/2 hour or so. You could blender this for a chowder style soup or have it straight, like we do.

Over the weekend, we also had calzones. With dough from the freezer, these came together fast and with all that spinach, we loved them!


Tonight's Dinner: a version of Kittee's Stuffed Tofu!

Highlights from This Week

This week has flown by! I've been making a lot of soap (catching up after Christmas) and we've been enjoying some post- holiday socializing.... so I haven't been posting much. But don't think that I haven't been cooking and baking! Here are some highlights.

Up top is the BBQ Tofu Chopped Salad from Real Food Daily. Amazing, absolutely amazing. I can tell you that it wasn't because of how I made it, it's simply the recipe. Every single thing I've made from that book has been delicious. Look closely at that tofu. For the first time ever, I had really good grill marks. Pretend you can tell, just to make me feel better. I was crushed that I had to chop it up. This salad is a knock-out and perfect for winter!

We also really liked the Spicy Yogurt Tempeh and Indian Spiced Chard from One Chubby Vegan. That tempeh really absorbs the marinade and the spices in the chard put it over the top. This is a quick and easy meal, too. I don't do much Indian food (I think this is the first time ever), and it was great. I'll have to expand my horizons. What fun!

Check out these cookie testers from Autumn Vegan and Garrick: Tiramisu Cookies, Rum Raisin Cookies and Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. The Tiramisu Cookies disappeared in record time. And they go great with wine, in case you were wondering. That's double your fun. The Rum Raisin Cookies were a big surprise. We like raisins, but not rum and we loved these cookies! Somehow I think they should put Pirate in the name. Maybe that's just me.

Apparently I don't have a picture of it, but we also had the Mac and Cheese from Yellow Rose Recipes. It is my husband's favorite version so far. I think I'm a little partial to the noochy sauces, but this was delicious and would really please omnis. Hopefully that picture is still on the camera.

Tonight's dinner: Tofu Marsala with Hashed Brussels Sprouts. I'm trying the YRR marsala recipe. After falling in love with Tofu666's, it's going to be stiff competition. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

Brunch and Beyond

Quiche is one of those things that doesn't always taste right when it's made vegan style. This Broccoli Quiche is a tester for The Crack of Noon, an upcoming book by Isa of the PPK. The spices were great, the texture is terrific and it really hits the spot. It's the future of quiche!

This is another old favorite but with a new twist. I made a lot of lasagna when I was in high school. It didn't take long to put together and we could eat it for a couple days. I'm sure I put meat in it back then (at least sometimes), but oddly, I don't remember that part. I must be blocking it out in self-defense. Anyway, this is the Spinach Lasagna from Yellow Rose Recipes. As you can tell, I'm loving this cookbook.

For dessert, we had the Creamy Cheesecake from Delicious Choices. It was delicious and creamy, but I'm still on the search for a lighter, fluffier cheesecake. I know where I can get it at a restaurant, but I want to make one. This one was well worth the tofutti that goes into making it. I couldn't find vegan graham crackers, but I did find vegan gingersnaps. I smashed those up for the crust, which actually worked out pretty well.

Junk Food with Waffles

Ok, I'll admit it right off. This isn't the healthiest post I've made, but what the hell. Over the last few days, we've had some great tasting food and that is what really matters.

Just to make a healthful effort (first impressions are everything, right?), here are the Blueberry Waffles from today's breakfast. Believe it or not, it's the chocolate walnut waffle from V'con (minus the cocoa, nuts and chips) with blueberries added. What a delicious breakfast- with perfect waffle crispness which can sometimes elude me.

Next up: tempura. There's been some talk at the PPK about deep fryers and it had been years (I mean years) since we'd had tempura. I followed Isa's recipe which is based off Tofu 666's recipe with club soda. The dipping sauce is leftover Vietnamese Seitan Sandwich dipping sauce just thickened up a little. That ghostly white blob in the back is rice.



Just to round out our junk food weekend, we also had pizza. I made peanut brittle for my husband, too. I hate nuts so haven't tried it, but supposedly it's good. I'll never know for sure. 57 Five Star reviews at Recipezaar can't be all wrong.


Tonight's dinner: Spinach Lasagna from Yellow Rose Recipes with my first vegan cheesecake for dessert!

New Cookbook Fun

My copy of Yellow Rose Recipes came before Christmas but with the holidays, I didn't do much besides flip through it. I just got to try a couple of the recipes... here they are.

This is the Black Bean Soup. The text says it is the only black bean soup recipe you'll ever need and I have to agree. I was reluctant to try it since I'm kind of tied to my own version, but I had that new cookbook itch. This recipe blew mine away. My husband came home from work and I casually said, "Taste the soup. Let me know if you think it needs anything." His reply was, "Ohmygod, it's so good. Let's eat right now. " So we did, with the cornbread (recipe below) I always make along side. I make the cornbread in a small cast iron skillet. Feel free to add herbs (rosemary is great!) or to increase the sugar if you prefer sweeter cornbread.

We also tried the Mustard Seitan Cutlets. If anyone knows even a little about my veganism, they know that I'm a seitan fanatic. Try these and you will be, too. They're easy, quick and would even impress omnis. Full of flavor! I paired it with the Baked Risotto from VeganYumYum for a really fantastic meal.

Dinner tonight: Pizza and Salad.

Dana Sly's Cornbread
This cornbread not only won the Blue Ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, but was also published by Cook's Illustrated. Dana was 11 years old at the time.
Serves 9

2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
6 Tbsp. water
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C cornmeal
1/4 C sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. table salt
1 C soy milk
1/4 C canola oil

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 8-inch-square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the ground flax seed, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the ground flax seed in the water for 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-combined.
4. Add the ground flax seed mixture, soy milk, and canola oil to the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth (do not overbeat.)
5. Turn into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool until warm, about 10 minutes longer. Cut into pieces and serve.

Looking Forward to 2008

I read somewhere that it is traditional to have a noodle dish for New Year's. It was an Eastern custom and the long noodles signified long life and all kinds of good stuff. It's not as if I needed an excuse to do something with noodles or Asian food. I could eat Asian food nearly every day and never tire of it. I've been accused of trying to do that with our menus if I tell the truth. Last night's dinner used a variation on the peanut sauce from VwaV tossed with noodles, topped with a stir fry of broccoli, snow peas, red peppers and seitan.

Over the weekend, I had this terrific idea for a red pepper and portobello panini sandwich, with a side salad dressed with a balsamic maple dressing. Instead, we ended up with this French Onion Soup. The mushrooms didn't look so hot and the greens weren't so green. The soup turned out ok.

We also had another version of Tofu666's Marsala. This time with seitan made from V'con. That seitan recipe is my all time favorite. It helps that it's so easy, too. From now on, I'm making it in batches 2 1/2 times the recipe size so I can keep some in the freezer. The Marsala is so different made with seitan! It's an awesome recipe and delicious both ways.

While they aren't resolutions, I have some goals for 2008.

1. Eat less sugar (except for cookie testing, of course),
2. Learn to make sushi,
3. Learn to make pierogies,
4. Experiment with more grains,
5. Exercise once in a while (it won't kill me!),
   
6. Learn to really use our camera so I can take better pictures,
7. Scour the net for more great vegan recipes from bloggers,
8. Increase my awareness about my own actions,
   
9. Be less reclusive so that I can.....
10. Be a better advocate for veganism.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year, filled with new experiences and much happiness.