Yet another less than stellar soup picture

You know the feeling. You should have gone to the grocery store 2 days ago, but didn't. That means soup to the rescue. Especially if you have onions galore, a little stale bread and a tiny bit of Teese left. The result was All in the Family Onion Soup because it has garlic, onions and shallots, get it?

All in the Family Onion Soup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp earth balance
2 shallots, sliced
4 ginormous sweet onions or 5 really big ones, sliced in thin half moons
5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dill
1/2 smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup flour
about 6 cups broth
1 Tbsp tamari
1- 2 Tbsp white vinegar (optional)*
salt and pepper to taste
broiled teese toast, if desired

Heat the oil and eb in big souppot. When hot, add the onions and cook over medium low heat for about an hour. The point is to try to caramelize the onions and that takes a lot of time over not so hot heat. Stir them every once in a while. After an hour, add the shallots and garlic and continue cooking for about another 1/2 hour. The onions should start to change to a darker color. When that happens, add the herbs and salt and cook for about 2- 3 more minutes. Add the the wine and turn up the heat a little for about 5 minutes so it reduces a little. Stir in the flour and when well distributed, add the broth and tamari. Lower the heat so the soup simmers for about 1/2 an hour. Check the seasonings and top with the toast.

*Here's the story on the vinegar. I've just started adding it over the last few years. It seems my taste buds have changed and I don't like it quite as sweet as I used to. So taste it as you go and see what you think.

Only one more day of VeganMoFo!

I'm openly declaring my love for this restaurant again. It's probably my current favorite place...and it's only, oh, probably about 12 hours away? So it's a long distance love affair. When we are in VT, we eat there at least twice. Because I am infatuated with the Buddha's Sesame Beef, I'm embarrassed to say I got it both times on this trip. Not only because it's so good, but because I was also trying to figure out the sauce. If you've eaten there and have any ideas, let me know!

I present to you, A Single Pebble. It's right in downtown Burlington. In one of our earlier visits there, the server told us that the owner's wife is vegan. I love hearing that stuff!

Buddha's Sesame Beef (Seitan)

I'm just starting right in with my favorite. These are wonderfully crispy chunks of seitan in an incredible brown sauce of some kind, with a few vegetables thrown in. Amazing, amazing, amazing! This is like the-last-meal-I'll-ever-eat good.

Sichuan Shredded Pork (Tofu)

Jim, being more adventurous then I was that day (and knowing he'd get some of the Sesame Beef anyway), ordered this. It's originally made with pork. Here it's with tofu and it was spicy and delicious. This had a really good amount of crisp vegetables in it.

Dry Fried Green Beans with Seitan

A really tasty side dish, with lots of flavor for so few ingredients. I highly recommend these, too.

Copper Kettle Noodles

After seeing so many tables slurping up noodles with their chopsticks on previous visits, we had to get a noodle dish. The original noodle in this isn't vegan and the server let us know and switched it. Way to be heads up, server! These were good, but I honestly probably wouldn't get them again. Just because they're closer to the kind of cooking I can do at home. I have yet to get a grip on the other dishes.

Ma Po Tofu

You might remember our previous trip, when I came home and tried to recreate a Ma Po dish. While my version really works for us, in fact we're having it tonight, it doens't hold a candle to this one. It's deep, spicy, complex....and probably second only to the Sesame Beef in all we've eaten there.

In other eating around Vermont (most without pictures), here's a recap:

Foxfire in Stowe, did a great garlic and oil pasta for us.

There are two pizza places we tried in Stowe. One was PieCasso, where they informed us they even changed knives before cutting our vegetable-piled high pizza! The other is Pie in the Sky, who will make your pizza with your own cheese if you bring it. Both were delicious and really accomodating.

We also ate at La Trattoria in Stowe. I had this awesome broccoli rabe pasta special and Jim had the pomodoro. Both were great! We called ahead to see if they could do vegan and happened to get the Chef who said they'd do anything at all. How cool is that?

In Waterbury, we ate at Orcas. I think that is the name of it, but I can't find it online. You can see, we do a lot of Asian and a lot of Italian when we're on the road. It was fantastic and I'd eat there again in a minute. Lovely atmosphere, too.

Blue Benn, in Bennington, is really old diner that is always mobbed. I got a tofu scramble there that was pretty good, but also a little oily.

We hit New Ethic in Burlington, which is really NEW as in brand spanking new. The food was good, but all our pictures blurred. I had a chicken sandwich and Jim had a chili lime burger. The most amazing thing about the restaurant is their coconut bacon. I hate coconut...but this stuff was incredible! The very friendly owner offered us a sample after swearing it didn't taste like coconut. I don't know what magic they worked on it....but I added it to my sandwich after the sample. This place is all vegan and may have to work through a few kinks before finding it's place. But in the meantime, I'd love to live close enough to consider it an option for a quick lunch or dinner. Did I mention that it's all vegan? Major bonus points!

The pizza below is from Marigold Kitchen in North Bennington. This place is tiny. The owner's daughter is lactose intolerant, so he offers a soy cheese pizza. The pizza is really good. Big salads, too!

And I won't leave you without dessert! This blondie is from On the Rise Bakery, located in Richmond. They have a few vegan sandwiches, sometimes soups and some baked stuff, too. These were fresh from the oven (she literally got them while we waited) and were terrific. I ate around the nuts, of course.

As you can tell, we actually ate our way pretty much around the state. Next time I hope to make it to the new place in Brattleboro, too. Every restaurant we tried really went out of their way to make things work for us and acted like it was their pleasure. I didn't keep up so well with VeganMoFo when I was there. Obviously, it wasn't from lack of eating!

Oh, Vermont, how I love you!

Rustic Apple Tart

Until you, dear Reader, scream "Enough already!" I am likely to post a few more appley things. Be warned. I see fritters on the horizon and I have one other idea. In the meantime, cut a slice of this delicious Rustic Apple Tart, sit back, and enjoy the 4 remaining days of VeganMoFo.

Rustic Apple Tart
1 recipe pie dough (mine was from the freezer)
8 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp clear jel OR 2 Tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine the apples and all the rest of the ingredients. Let them sit while you roll out the crust. Roll the dough out in a round that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place it on your baking sheet (I use a parchment covered pizza stone), then pile on the apples. Form the outer 3 inches or so of crust up around the apples. Seal tears with water moistened fingers, if necessary.

Here the recipe gets a wee bit sketchy. I think I baked it for about 1/2 an hour, but I was reading a good book, sitting by a fire and sipping tea, so I can't say for sure. You'll have to keep an eye on it, but I think it was about 1/2 an hour.

Now about that clear jel. I know one time trying a product can't yield an all-out-shout-it-from-the-rooftops endorsement, but I am still tempted. This stuff is amazing. No drippiness at all and just the right texture to the filling. I'm really impressed and look forward to trying it with berries and peaches next summer. The package says it doesn't even need to be heated. So exciting!

I'd love to claim that tofu scramble as "mine", but it's not. It's Isa's to the letter*, minus the carrots at the end. We have scrambled tofu probably about once a week and more often than not, it's this one. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, it always hits the spot.

If you don't have VwaV (hard to believe!), you can get the recipe here.

*Correction: after reading the recipe I just posted, I realized that I use lemon juice instead of lime and add about 1/2 cup of red peppers.

It's the last Sunday of VeganMoFo! Man, this month has flown by.

Seitan with Marsala Peppercorn Cream

It's not very often that I let Jim have input on what we're having for dinner. He would just tell me to make what I feel like making anyway (or so I've convinced myself), so I don't usually go through the motions. But yesterday was different. I pulled out a copy of my American Test Kitchens magazine and gave him 4 options. Three of them were with chicken and one was with filet mignon. I didn't offer up the Asian chicken recipe because I'm making that next week regardless of his opinion. He chose the beef. I went with cashew milk for the heavy cream and Marsala for the white wine, then added a few other elements to offset that sweetness.

Seitan with Marsala Peppercorn Cream

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup broth + 2 Tbsp if needed to thin at the end
1/2 shallot sliced (about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp tarragon (fresh would be better at the end, if you have it)
1/2 tsp thyme (same as the tarragon....)
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup marsala (or other white wine, but this one is distinctive)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3-5 drops hot sauce (it just gives a little dimension)
salt to taste

4 seitan cutlets
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp canola or high heat olive oil

Blend the cashews and broth until smooth. Heat the oil in a small sauce pan and saute the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add the tarragon/thyme (if using dry, otherwise stir in the fresh at the end) and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the wine and reduce until you have about 1/2 the liquid. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat. Adjust the seasonings and set aside. If it gets too thick when you're ready to serve it, add a little more broth.

Combine the salt and pepper and rub into the cutlets. Heat the oil on high, then sear the cutlets on both sides. Top with sauce.

For the seitan, I used one of those little seitan roasts from yesterday, cut in 1/4's. They're a little thicker than a cutlet but not a full inch.

His statement on it was "cheffy... I'd flip if I got this in a restaurant." The funny part? This meal is unbelievably easy. Serve roasted vegetables on the side and all you're doing is saucing and searing.

I just have to plug this pepper from Penzey's, the world's best spice store, making this the world's best pepper from the world's best spice store. Oddly, with it being in bigger pieces, you don't get quite as much overkill from it as you do from straight ground. It's a little more finessey and flavorful.

This makes VeganMoFo #20 for me, woohooo!

I got a new refrigerator on the 1st. Just by chance, it arrived on Day 1 of VeganMoFo. So it's my VeganMoFo Fridge and probably the first appliance I've ever named. Those aren't the best of pictures but let me tell you what is inside. If you can't tell from the less-than-stellar photos, it's a bottom freezer with a large drawer with an inset drawer above it.

Starting with the top pic, in the ice bin which we don't use, I keep proteins:
soy curls
tempeh
chicken seitan cutlets (Bryanna's)
little seitan roasts adapted from Isa's recipe --->
(these are 6-7 oz each)

outside the ice bin, you'll see:
frozen broth for making that seitan
raspberries (muffins! scones!)
spinach (emergency spinach dip)
peas
cranberries (for sauces)
chipotles
Temptation Peach Cobbler Ice Cream (the only kind that I've tried and will ever need to, yum!)

In the larger drawer:
breads (impromptu sandwiches)
walnuts (for potential but unlike cookie testing...nuts ewww)
coconut (the same, but double ewww....you just never know!)
homemade pie crust balls (recipe on my blog)
purchased pie crust (quiche)
corn
homemade pizza sauce
spring rolls (never tried them)
flax seeds
pine nuts (I had them go rancid once, not pretty!)
eb shortening
eb sticks
jar of homemade apple butter (recipe on my blog)
puff pastry and puff pastry shells
fillo dough and....
pizza dough (I'm never caught without it in my freezer)

I think that about covers it. In December, I'll start stashing some cookie doughs, too.

Thanks for tagging me, Lindsay! Here's who I'm tagging:
Cooking the Vegan Books
The Potato Vine
Seitanismymotor
The Happy Vegan
Heathen Vegan
And just in case one of these people was already tagged and I missed it,
YOU!

Here's how it works:
Take a picture of the items in your freezer.
Post the picture to your blog and give a summary of the items.
Tag 5 vegan bloggers.

And I'll leave you with a finished dish, this pasta tester for Robin Robertson. It went together quickly, had great flavor and was really satisfying!

Stuffed Baked Potato

The sauce on this potato is what made it. Trust me. It's the Hollandaise Sauce from Isa's upcoming book, Crack of Noon. Crack is right. Oops! The book is now called Vegan Brunch. I slipped up with the old title, but it serves my purpose so I'm keeping it. The potato is stuffed with garlic earth balance butter and broccoli before being topped with the sauce and a few chopped tomatoes. This is the 'starter' sauce, just for the photo. In truth, I drenched it. It made a fantastic quick lunch and I have enough sauce left (I think) for Tofu Benny tomorrow.

In other Isa cooking, we had the Seitanic Jambalaya (V'con) the other night. Good stuff! I had to sub black beans for the white cannelini, because oddly, they don't carry them many places here. What's up with that? I stocked up at the Co-op today.

Seitanic Jambalaya

We had it with a little plain side salad with a terrific, light cashew dressing. For hating nuts, I love them for cooking after they've been pulverized into powder. This makes enough for a decent sized salad for 2.


Light Cashew Dressing
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup cucumber, chopped a little
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp onion powder ( I have some 'toasted' from Penzey's- it's awesome!)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pepper to taste

Blenderize.

Get ready-- tomorrow I will reveal my freezer! VeganMoFo 2008 is winding down.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I would be nothing without wiki. This brief history is adapted from there. To get the straight story, read it there. Here's the abridged version.

There are two basic kinds of soups. Each of these can be subdivided further, but in short the two kinds are clear and and thick. Thick soups have a thickening agent.

One of the earliest soups is dated to 6000 BC. Boiling soups didn't occur way back then 'cause they didn't have waterproof vessels. Those came on the scene 9000 years ago and were probably made from clay or animal skins. Ewwwwwww.

Now, this is what I found really interesting and I hope you do, too! The word restaurant actually came about because of soup! Again, way back in France, some industrious person started selling a highly concentrated soup out of their street cart. It was supposed to ease physical exhaustion. The soup was called restaurer and soon the carts/shops were called restaurants! Cool, huh?

There's loads more info over at wiki. But I'm shifting gears to my view on soup! Soup is actually more of a philosophy. It's about combining whatever you have to make a whole that is greater than it's parts. Improvising as you go, combining things that you maybe wouldn't normally use together. It's a different kind of cooking challenge and requires adaptability and practicality. It's never the same twice.

With all that in mind, I give to you my One World Tempeh Minestrone. Remember, the key to soups is using what you have, so sub ingredients left and right and you'll still end up with a great bowl of soup!

One more thing: this looks like a long list of spices. Don't be daunted, or intimidated into not making it if you have a different variety. That's what soup is all about.

One World Tempeh Minestrone
8 oz package tempeh, cut in cubes
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, cut in 1/4 - 1/2 inch rounds
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp herbes de provence
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
2 Tbsp tamari
5- 10 drops hot sauce (your preference)
6- 8 cups broth, depending how thick you want it
14 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
handful green beans, cut in about 1 inch lengths
handful peas
1 tsp salt
black pepper
1 cup ditalini, cooked

Toss the tempeh cubes with the coriander, cumin and garlic powder. Heat the oil in your soup pot. When it's hot, add the tempeh and let it brown. Remove and set aside. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the pot. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the garlic and herbs. Cook for another 4-5 minutes. Add the red wine, tamari, broth, hot sauce, tomatoes, green beans, peas, salt and a good amount of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 45 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Add the cooked pasta and serve.

Now I'm curious. My favorite soups are black bean, french onion, lentil and tempeh soups. What are yours?

While I'm asking questions, if anyone can tell me how to get the bowl of soup from the counter to the table (where I have light for a picture) without slopping it all over the rim of the bowl, please tell me! Even when I try to wipe it off, it still smears like hell. Help!

Only 9 more days till the end of VeganMoFo!

These are incredibly quick and easy and taste like you've created a masterpiece. It's one of my favorite ways to use chicken cutlets. Put this in your VeganMoFo frying pan and cook it!

Cutlets with Onions and Peppers
2 chicken seitan cutlets
1/2 an onion, cut in 1/4 moons
1 small pepper, julienned
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp white wine
3 Tbsp broth
salt and pepper
oil for panfrying

Season the cutlets by rubbing salt and pepper into both sides. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan. When it's hot, brown the cutlets on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

Saute the onions and peppers in the frying pan. Add the herbs and liquids. Stir together, then add the cutlets back to the pan and simmer until saucy.

That's all it takes and you've got a great seitan dish for dinner. In a perfect world, you could follow it with these tester cookies from Terry and Isa. They are the ultimate cookies.

Chocolate Chip Mint Leaf Cookies

We're home! We had an amazing time...saw lots of gorgeous sites, beautiful little towns and even an otter! Now I'm going to get back on track and wrap up VeganMoFo 2008 in style.

After seeing Lindsay's post on VT restaurants, we had to try the Bees Knees in Morrisville. We both got breakfast burritos and left the place very satisfied! Jim got the Mexican Spice and I got the West of Crete, with added onions. Yum! The burritos were well seasoned and were served super hot. Any of the egg dishes are available with tofu.

Mexican Spice Breakfast Burrito

West of Crete Breakfast Burrito

The place is eclectic and has a fun, funky atmosphere. Next year, we'll be back and plan to make a lunch or dinner visit. If you make it there, check out the cool notebook that includes the restaurant's history and their plans for the future. They are doing a really cool version of a CSA, but restaurant style. People can buy shares in the restaurant (a loan that is repaid to the investor) or several other options, all the while getting to enjoy their great food.


We also hit breakfast at The Green Goddess, which is just south of Stowe on Route 100. We've been going there for a few years now, and it never disappoints. They have great TLT's, monstrous salads and a good tofu scramble with home fries. There's a seitan sandwich that would be easily veganized as well as already vegan hummus sandwiches and a falafel wrap. They're open for breakfast and lunch. My fave is the TLT.

Tofu Scramble with Home Fries

Falafel Wrap

TLT

The lemon tahini dressing here is fantastic, and they use it on the TLT as well as the falafel. The tofu scramble could have used a little more seasoning, but I'm very partial to the VwaV version. This one is lighter, almost like a summer scramble with fantastic crunchy broc.

Every place we ate in Vermont had wonderful bread and fresh, fresh vegetables. Yes, I mean fresh, fresh. One just isn't enough.

We pretty much ate our way around the state...so watch for more restaurant posts to come!

Apple Crisp

I'm using a prewritten draft (but it includes a recipe!) because I haven't done any of the Vermont pictures recently. Don't worry, we've been eating well and I'll do a wrap up some time in the future.

In interesting Vermont news, over the last few days we've seen:
several cool round barns
3 deer
lots of beautiful views
some chickens almost crossing a road
some neat covered bridges
a few wild turkeys
countless Moose Crossing signs (no moose)
2 vegetable oil powered cars
and.....1 camel!!!

It's been a very eventful trip!

Now here's the cheater part. It's an amazing apple crisp that my mom always made. We like it straight up this way, but you could sub oats in for some of the flour if you go that way. It can also be doubled for a 9 X 13. This is one of those dishes that you leave on the counter with a spoon beside it and swipe at it every time you walk past.

Apple Crisp
7 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced
juice from a 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (don't use dark in this)
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup earth balance

Preheat oven to 375.

Toss the apples with the lemon juice. Place them in an 8 inch square pan.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon together. Add the earth balance and crumble it all together until it's like little peas. Sometimes I try to skimp on the eb, but then the top doesn't get as crisp and wonderful. Dump it on the top of the apple slices and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the apples are cooked to the desired doneness.

I told you another post was coming soon, but I bet you didn't expect it this quickly!

On our way into Stowe, we swooped up and drove through Burlington to do a bit of shopping at Healthy Foods Natural Living. We found this place when we were staying in Burlington in July. They have a fantastic cafe so we had lunch while we were there, too.

Again, we both got seitan sandwiches. These guys use Sheffield Seitan, a VT company who really knows their stuff. It's making me think about trying old school seitan making again. We both got paninis with seitan and different vegetables. They have a slew of vegan schmears and really fresh food! They're also very environmentally conscious and label their vegan foods vegan in bold letters. YAY!


On Sundays, they offer a vegan brunch. I spied scrambled tofu, hash browns and biscuits and gravy.

We also got a Berry Yog Nog smoothie on our way out. It seems a theme is developing.

See more here: Healthy Living.

The leaves and mountains are beautiful...pictures of those to come in a future post.

VeganMoFo continues!

This is place is super cool and we stop here every time we drive through Syracuse. They even greet Jim with his band name, "Hey, Naked Mole Rats!" We both got grilled seitan sandwiches with different vegetables and we split some chipotle potato salad. Yum! On our way out the door, we grabbed a mocha milkshake ...I think it was the Che Guevera? Great food, great place, only about 10 minutes off 90, we heartily recommend this place.

They even have a display of vegan cookbooks with VwaV prominently displayed. My photo of that blurred.


Check them out here: Strong Hearts Cafe !

Another VeganMoFo on the road post coming soon!

It looks like I'm posting this right now, but really I'm not. I'm too busy eating these incredible Ginger Snap tester cookies while heading to Vermont. They're from Terry and Isa have a delightful snap and a deep, strong ginger flavor. In other words, perfect!

***This is a surrogate post. I feel like a cheater. I scheduled for it to post on Friday morning, but for some reason that was a bust. It's Tuesday and the cookies are gone. The good news is that I'm still in Vermont! The date and time stamp on this says that I actually posted it on the 10th. Go figure.

YAY! We're leaving tomorrow for our vacation in Vermont, with a stop in Syracuse (Strong Hearts, here we come), a lovely week in Vermont and a stop in the Finger Lakes on our return. Since I won't be cooking there, I thought I'd leave you with a recipe.

This was last night's dinner. It's a little on the salty side, as you'd expect with capers and olives, but that's part of the appeal. It comes together pretty quickly and the crispy coating on the cutlet combines really well with the sauce.

Italian Sauced Chicken Cutlets

2 chicken seitan cutlets
1 tsp basil, divided use
1 tsp oregano, divided use
1/3 cup panko crumbs
pepper
canola for frying
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp onion, finely diced
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp black olives, cut in half
2 Tbsp capers, drained
2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes, julienned
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water

First prepare the cutlets. Mine were wet on the outside because they had just come out of the broth, but if yours are dry, dip them in some soy milk. Combine 1/4 tsp basil, 1/4 oregano and a few grinds of black pepper with the panko. Heat a little canola oil in a frying pan. You just need enough to cover the bottom. Really dredge the cutlets in the panko/herb mixture, packing them on with your hands. When the oil is hot, fry them on both sides then keep warm in the oven while you make the sauce.

Wipe out the frying pan and add the olive oil, returning it to medium heat. Dump in the onions and 3/4 tsp basil and 3/4 tsp oregano. Stir a few minutes, then add the broth, the white wine, sugar, olives, capers and sundried tomatoes. Let simmer 10 minutes or so, then add the cornstarch/ water slurry to thicken it up. Simmer about 5 more minutes then serve over the cutlets. They are really good over pasta.

I happened to have a little broth leftover from making Bryanna's Chicken Cutlets. If I didn't, I would have made this broth and added a couple of cloves of garlic with the onions. I can't say enough good things about her cutlet recipe or the broth. I always have some cutlets in the freezer for a quick dinner like this. The cutlet recipe is from this DVD and is worth the cost of the dvd even if I never made another thing from it.

Here's what the cutlets look straight out of the oven. Take a tip from Joanna and roll them out between two pieces of parchment. That is absolutely the most brilliant idea ever. Her recipe is really good, by the way. I just happen to prefer Bryanna's.


Get ready for some posts from the road! If we've made the right sacrifices to the Internet Gods, hopefully all will go well and I can post from Vermont.

This VeganMoFo'er is hitting the highway.

Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's only been the last 6 months that we could find vegan cookies in any bakery near us. By near, I mean an hour away, but hey, we're talking cookies! Seriously, we had to do some errands near the Mustard Seed in Solon, so of course we stopped in.

You may remember the new vegan snuggles* they have! I blogged about those before. But yesterday, they had 3** kinds of vegan cookies and even a sign proclaiming their expanding vegan selections! We got one of the chocolate chip and one of the chocolate chocolate chip. I have to say...they're the best purchased vegan cookies I've had. Very impressive!

In other BIG news, we're on vacation countdown. We leave Friday and I'm going to try to keep up with posting, but will probably be a VeganMoFo slacker. Then again, I'm looking forward to a lot of great food that I can post. We'll see.

*By the way, if you search for vegan snuggles, guess who comes up first?

**If you're wondering about the 3rd kind, they were Maple Pecan Sandies. They looked pretty good except for the nuts. Ewwww.

Dan Dan Noodles with Seitan

I love Asian food... and I love seitan. Those two were made to go together, and in this recipe they combine almost like a comfy old couple, snuggled up on the couch together watching old movies. Really, if Asian food were to have a comfort food style, it would be these noodles. Oh, and miso soup, of course. But back to the noodles. Thanks to wiki, I can tell you with authority that Dan Dan actually refers to a carrying pole used by street vendors to haul their noodles up and down the street. Literally translated, it means Peddlar's Noodles. Here's my version which is yummy but lacks authenticity. You can't have everything!

Dan Dan Noodles with Seitan

1/2 cup broth
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp tamari, divided use (save 1 Tbsp for the seitan)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp szechuan seasonings or peppers
juice from 1/2 a lime
1/4 -1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 Tbsp peanut oil
8 oz seitan, cut in strips or chunks
1 Tbsp mirin
8 oz rice noodles
optional garnishes: green onions and sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients from the broth through the salt in a small sauce pan. Whisk over low heat until it's combined. Keep warm.

Cook/soak your rice noodles according to directions on the package.

Heat the peanut oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Lightly brown the seitan, then add the mirin and tamari. Brown a little more. Then turn off the heat.

Toss the noodles with the sauce and top with the seitan and optional garnishes.

For a tasty dessert while watching tonight's debate, head over to Walking the Vegan Line.

If you happened to read this blog during the 2007 VeganMoFo, you might remember my ill fated attempts at veganizing the Bordeaux Cookies from Pepperidge Farm. Because I can be a glutton for punishment, I decided to try again. Here is how my thought process worked (or didn't) for the Do Over.

For some reason I decided (the appearance? I'm not sure...) that they must use a secondary flour in them, not just plain all purpose. I decided oat flour would look pretty. Yes, my thinking is truly that unscientific when it comes to cookies. I have more of an emotional response to them.

I also concluded from the past year's worth of baking that I really like the combo of margarine and shortening in a cookie. It gives a little more flavor and a little more crunch, kind of more of a butttery feel. These first two ideas ended up being mainstays in the 3 tries for this year.

Batch #4 - I used only oat flour, and added all the usual cookie ingredients except baking powder, because I wanted flat, crispy cookies. I added molasses for flavor.

Conclusion - some of them had too much of a burnt taste, the edges kind of blurred and sizzled on the sheet when they spread and they tasted just ok, at best. Not to mention the color was way off.

Batch #5 - I stuck to using the margarine/shortening combo but instead of just oat flour, I used 2 parts all purpose to 1 part oat flour. I decided the molasses might have been too heavy a flavor in #4, so used maple syrup. And I love dark brown sugar, so figured that would really boost the taste without dominating. I also had to add a little soy milk because the dough was so dry.

Conclusion - I actually knew better than to use the dark brown sugar and shouldn't have done it. It makes a softer cookie here. The color was way better, but I don't pick cookies by how they look, just books. The taste wasn't very good.

Batch #6 - This is tentatively the last batch for this round, unless I weaken. This recipe is a lot like the first one, but with 2 parts oat flour to 1 part all purpose. I stuck to the usual cookie ingredients and went back to the molasses. I also increased the sugar.

Conclusion- These actually taste pretty good! The color is way off, but the texture is similar to how I remember the originals. Every once in a while, I think they remind me of Bordeaux, but then if I think gingersnap, I get more of that going on. The sweetness and texture were both good...but the cookie wasn't buttery enough. In other words, still a FAIL. At least these were pretty good tasting cookies.

Here's the recipe for any input. If anyone else takes a stab at recreating these, please let me know how you do! Decoding these cookies will take more than one mind!

Bordeaux Cookies Attempt #6
Makes 1 dozen
2 Tbsp shortening
2 Tbsp earth balance margarine
1 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream the shortening and eb until fluffy. Mix in the molasses, vanilla and salt. Whisk the rest of the dry ingredients together in a different bowl. Gradually add them to the shortening/eb bowl, mixing well. When well combined, shape into a log about 6 inches long and 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Wrap in parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for an hour or longer.

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 375. Line a sheet with parchment or lightly grease it. Cut the cookies into 1/2 inch slices and place on cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. They spread! Bake for 12 minutes or until done. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before trying to remove them, then cool on a rack.

We got a new refrigerator! Our old one was fading fast and the freezer wasn't freezing. It was on it's last legs and we really weren't sure how long it would last. So we splurged and got my dream refrigerator.




I fell in love with it at first sight. So much so that I think it almost looks like it's smiling in that photo. Let me introduce you.




But I waited about a month so I could do some research. After reading up on how incredible it was, I still had to debate about getting it. I mean seriously, how much refrigerator do you need? In a way, this is overkill. But I love it and will have no trouble actually filling it when we go to the grocery store.

It looks like I'm missing the photo from the middle part of the fridge, but you get the idea. Besides, a little mystery is always good.

By the way, it came on October 1. It will always be my VeganMoFo fridge.

As soon as I got up this morning, I headed for the computer to find out what the Iron Chef Challenge ingredients were! Apples and Ginger! I even have those. Then the ideas started. After trying out about 5 in my head (and shopping for one of them), I decided to go a completely different route.

We've had a treasured package of vegan wonton wrappers in the freezer for a few months. When we finally tracked them down, I didn't want to use them right away. Kind of like saving new clothes for a special occasion. Today was the day! About 4:30, I grabbed them out of the freezer and put them on top of the dryer in hopes they'd defrost in time for dinner. They did.

Ginger Seitan Apple Pierogies with Brandied Onions

32 vegan wonton wrappers + a few extra if they tear

1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz chicken seitan, diced
1 cup diced apples* tossed with juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup sauerkraut
2 inches ginger, divided use
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp Earth Balance
2 large onions, sliced in thin half moons
2/3 cup diced red peppers
1/2 cup brandy
1 Tbsp tamari

canola oil to spray a sheet
water for putting them together

Make the filling first. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the seitan and cook until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Add the apples, sauerkraut, 1 Tbsp of ginger and other spices. Cook for about 3 - 5 minutes longer, check the seasonings and remove from heat. Set aside. Put a big pot of water on to boil the peirogies. Here's what my filling looked like:


Make the topping next. Heat the eb in a large frying pan over medium high heat, preferably cast iron. When melted, add the onions and saute until turning golden, then carmelizing. Turn down the heat to medium if you're using cast iron and they really get cooking. When they look transparent and gorgeous, add the last Tbsp of ginger and the peppers. The idea is for the peppers to stay crunchy, so cook for only another 2-3 minutes after adding them. Add 1/2 cup of brandy and let it cook off. Add the tamari, adjust the seasonings and set aside. The tamari really darkens up the onions, don't be surprised.

Now comes the fun part: the pierogies. I think it's easiest to do this in a kind of assembly line of 4 at a time. Spread out 4 wrappers on a cutting board. Place 1 Tbsp of filling in the center of each. Take a second wrapper and place it on top, patting it against the filling and working out, the best you can. Use wet fingers to seal them well and place on a sprayed cookie sheet. Keep going until you use all the wrappers. You should get about 16 of them. Cook them without crowding in the pot of boiling water. It only takes 2-3 minutes per batch. They start to look clear and pop up to the top. Remove them, placing them back on the sprayed sheet so they don't stick to anything. When they're all cooked, place them on plates and top with the onion mixture.

*For the best texture, use a Mac or other firm apple that holds it's shape.

I was pleased with how these turned out! The crunchy peppers on top with the sweet but savory onions are a perfect compliment to the seitan apple filling that has a slight tang from the sauerkraut.

The other challenges are scheduled for when we're on vacation so I won't get another shot until the last weekend. But I'm already looking forward to all the creative and delicious posts that will come out of these challenges. Thanks for coming up with it, Katie!

Apples and Sausages

As I've already said in previous posts, I really like fall and one of the reasons is apples! When I was a kid, one of the most popular meals around our house was Apples and Sausage. As far as I can remember, it was one of the few things that all 3 of the kids would eat.

Admittedly, that's not the most beautiful plate of food. It usually helps to see a picture of a recipe before trying it, but in this case, don't let it scare you away!

There wasn't any info online about where this dish came from. Here's what I got from my mom:

Me: Where did you get this recipe? How'd you even know about it?

Mom: a Cub Scouts Awards ceremony! Kitty B brought it and Rob loved it. You know, Rob never liked anything! So I had to get the recipe. She said it's not really a recipe, but this is what I do.

Me: I won't say Kitty's full name in my post. (side note- I never knew her.)

Mom: She's dead now. I don't think she'd care.

The original was just apples, sausages and cinnamon baked in a casserole. A few days ago, Vez posted a version at the PPK and it was the final push to get me to finally veganize it. I'd only been meaning to do it for a year. All this time I'd been guessing it was a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe and it was actually a Cub Scout recipe (circa 1957)!

Apples and Sausage
Adapted from my mom

juice from 1/2 a lemon
6 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup leeks, sliced
3 sausages cut in 1/4 in slices
1 tsp sage
1/4 tsp galangal (sub ginger)
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp white wine, broth or cider
juice from 1/2 a lemon
6 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced
oil or spray for casserole pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly oil a casserole pan.

Prepare apples by tossing with the lemon juice. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat. Add sausages and stir until lightly browned. Add leeks and saute 2-3 minutes more. Add sage, galangal, lemon pepper, chili powder and the salt. Stir for about 2-3 minutes, then add the salt and white wine to deglaze the pan. Remove from heat. Toss with the apples and dump into casserole pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes until apples are the right tenderness for you.

I like to use a blend of apples in this and bake it until some are still a little more like slices while others have broken down more. Serve it with some roasted vegetables on the side.

For the record, my mom also said this morning that she didn't think my sister liked it much. Oh, well. I probably think she liked a lot of things she really didn't.

What did your mom make that you've veganized?