Vegan One Hundred

I saw this on a few blogs( Bittersweet, love like a vegan, Etc.) . Here is mine.

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borsht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Herloom Tomato
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Soy curls
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough

NOw I realize why I love food so much...because I have eaten almost everything. HAhah. Well I cannot complain, I just have a few things to eat and the list will be complete.

Sesame Seitan

Man I love seitan. If I was stranded on a desert island, and had to choose one thing to eat, it would be seitan (.... not a dead animal, like the common ridiculous vegan morality question).

This is a take on one of my favorite Chinese take-out dishes, sesame tofu.

Really simple, really delicious.

Ingredients

canola oil
1 lb seitan, chunked up
1/4 cup cornstarch

4 cloves garlic, minced
thumbsize piece of ginger, peeled and minced
4 green onions, sliced thin, separate whites from green tops

1/2 head each broccoli and cauliflower, or use baby broccoli, or yau choy, chopped
1 bell pepper julienned

Coat seitan in cornstarch and fry in a few tablespoons canola oil.

Remove from wok, or pan. Add garlic, scallion bottoms, and ginger. Stir-Fry for 30 seconds or so.
Add cauliflower, broccoli, and a few tablespoons of water. Cook for about 5 mins, then add peppers.
Make a space in wok, or big pan, to make the sauce. Add a few tablespoons tamari, sesame oil and agave nectar. Add seitan back into pan. At this point you may want to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken. Coat everything with the sauce. Plate it up with scallion tops and sesame seeds.

Cookies, Cannellini Salad Letuce Cups, Polenta Seitan Skillet Redux

Dinner tonight was influenced by all the food blogs out there. I tried my hand at the combination of polenta, greens and seitan at decided to stray away from the one-dish idea. I pan fried the polenta, sauted the greens with garlic, seared the seitan, and added a few little bits. The cannellini bean salad was served in bibb lettuce cups with a garlic aoli.

Cannellini bean salad.

1 clove Garlic, smashed, minced, and made into a paste with salt
3 green onions, sliced on the bias
1 can cannellini beans
2 heirloom tomatoes, diced
olive oil
rosemary
salt and pepper
lemon juice

Mix together to taste

Garlic Aoli

1 box silken tofu
2 T olive oil ( sub water for low fat)
Lemon juice
3 cloves roasted garlic
salt

Whizz together in blender or processor.

Tear the lettuce leaves from base to make a cup, spoon salad into cup. Drizzle aoli over the top.

Seared braised seitan, polenta rounds, grilled king trumpets, roasted turnips, wilted swiss chard, demi-glace gravy.

Two Recipe takes on Agave Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I am working on perfecting these and will post the recipe when it is perfect. In the mean time I am going to eat a lot of cookies. I'm happy.

Two quick breads, one dough

This recipe utilizes my basic banana bread recipe, but I divided the dough in half to make two different breads. The first is basic banana bread with walnuts. The second I added a grated carrot, chopped dates and apricots, walnuts, and coconut (my take on the morning glory muffin).

Ingredients
5 bananas, ripened, smashed with a fork
1/2 cup each agave nectar and maple syrup.
1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup soymilk
1 T apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups flour
2 T baking powder
1 T baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 t nutmeg, fresh

1 cup walnuts
3/4 cup dried fruit, bite size
1 cup coconut
1 medium - large carrot grated

Method

1. Mix smashed bananas with oil and syrups. Mix ground flax with soymilk and vinegar. Add to bananas mixture.
2. mix together dry and add to wet.
3. Add walnuts, and divide in half. Add remaining add-ins to batter. Pour each into prepared bread pans. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 mins.

Garden Goodness

There is nothing quite like harvesting your own food. Getting the satisfaction of biting into a fresh, sweet, and juicy tomato that is still warm from the sun makes it all worth the effort. Whether it is a Roma, heirloom, or cherry they all seem to satisfy their purposes in different dishes. A fresh tomato carpaccio salad with garden basil, really good olive oil, salt and pepper showcases the heirlooms. While the cherry tomatoes add a burst of sweetness to pasta dishes with sliced sauted artichokes, shaved asparagus, garlic, lemon, olive oil and some crushed red pepper. Beautiful summer dishes can be created with a proper tomato. Sorry that I don't have any pictures of the food, but hopefully the garden bounty can create your own inspiration.

Pan Seared Balsamic Tofu, Spinach and Sundried Tomato Quinoa, Sweet Sofrito

So I decided to whip up a sofrito with a surplus of tomatoes that I had. I made it simple and delicious by roasting it in the oven alongside the seared tofu.



Tofu-----> Vegan Worchestershire sauce, 2T, Balsamic vinegar, 4 T, olive oil, 4 T ,garlic, 2 cloves minced, or 1 T powder, seasoned salt, 1T, Nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup, 1 block extra firm tofu. Marinate in all ingredients for a half hour or more. sear in hot pan on both sides. sprinkle with a little extra nooch before cooking to form a little crust.

sofrito----> Onions, Tomatoes, garlic, carrots, bell pepper, salt, pepper, olive oil, agave syrup, Fresh basil and parsley added at the last minute

quinoa----> 4 cups salted water, 1 1/2 cups quinoa. boil water add quinoa and 2 T olive oil and minced garlic. After finished cooking add chopped sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach that will wilt perfectly in the quinoa. Finish with more olive oil and seasoning.

Assemble---> Eat---> Enjoy

Moussaka and more Teese

So, I have been trying to use up the huge block of Teese for a while and I finally finished it. Last night was a pretty fast simple dinner.... because the moussaka was frozen from when i had made it a while ago. I am not the one to like frozen foods, but this actually worked out well and the flavors stood out really well.

Assembled Teese, WW Bread rubbed with olive oil and a garlic clove, sliced vine tomatoes, and fresh basil from the garden.( Tomatoes aren't quite ready yet...cannot wait though)
Beautifully melted Teese on the simply delicious Crostini Margherita .
Here is the finished plate.

Moussaka recipe.

2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise 1/2 in thick
3-4 Large zucchini , sliced lengthwise 1/2 in thick
2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, boiled, mashed with 2 tbsp EB and 2 tbsp unsweetened soymilk
1 onion, large, chopped
prepared basic tomato sauce: tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper
1-2 cups diced seitan, or crumbled veggie burger, or any of that ground soy meat
2-3 cloves minced garlic
cinnamon
allspice
oregano
salt and pepper
bechamel sauce: roux of EB and flour in equal parts, unsweetened soymilk whisked into cooked roux, fresh nutmeg at the end
Vegan mozzarella

Method:
Roast zucchini and eggplant in 425 degree oven with olive oil salt and pepper for about 20 minutes or until soft but not mushy.
Meanwhile, add seitan onion and garlic to saute pan. Cook for 10 minutes or so, add tomato sauce to moisten but not too much. About 1- 1+1/2 cups. Cinnamon, allspice salt and pepper and oregano.
Once ready, layer the moussaka with seitan sauce first then roasted veg then mashed potatoes then more seitan sauce. Repeat and end with potatoes. Top last potato layer with bechamel, cheese, and vegan Parmesan. Put into preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 mins. Once done let cool for about 5-10 mins then cut and enjoy.

Teesey Fajitadillas

This recipe was for a quick dinner meal that I whipped up. THE star of this dish was definitely the super melty delicious Teese. This is the best vegan cheese ever. Not rubbery. Not like crayons. Not just nooch. In fact it is pleasantly familiar to fresh mozzarella that I enjoyed in my not so compassionate days. I have made pizza margherita , insalata caprese and everything in between. This cheese stands up to any task a dairy mozzarella can handle. And no veal calves have to be separated from their mothers at birth. How wonderful is that.

Well enough praise, here is the simple recipe.

INGREDIENTS
Corn tortillas, i suppose flour would work just as well.
Seitan, I followed the method of Vegan Dad .
1/2 an onion, sliced into strips
1/2 a yellow pepper, sliced into strips
cumin
salt
lime, juiced and zested
Lots of teese, grated
salsa, homemade or store bought, but has to be fresh
1 avocado
sour cream if desired, vegan gourmet can make your life easier than making your own, which is also simple.

METHOD
1. brown seitan with onions, peppers, cumin and salt. Splash with water to moisten seitan texture. Add lime zest if desired, a nice touch.
2. Sprinkle a generous amount of teese on one tortilla top with seitan mixture. Add more Teese and top with another tortilla.
3. Heat the same pan with a little oil or EB ( Earth Balance), and add tortilla sandwich you just created. Saute over med-low heat to allow Teese to melt properly. Believe me it will melt.
4.Once browned and melty on both sides cut into halves or quarters. Serve with avocado, salsa, sour cream, lime juice an cilantro.

Please enjoy. Sorry no pictures, but I didn't want you to drool all over your screen.

Mark Bittman Rant

Considering an era has passed since my last blog post I feel like I should clean up my act and start posting regularly. This probably means nothing because I am most likely the only person who reads this blog. Regardless, I feel I should pick up where I left off and tear Bittman a new one. After listening to his TED talk I felt a little awkward, because i thought that he had a good view on food consumption in the United States. Wrong. He advocated eating less meat. This is not any better, not the solution. Anytime that animal products are consumed, someone, somewhere, is continuing to exploit animals and treat them like commodities. Infuriated with myself for being tricked into thinking that this was better, I am writing this post to clear my conscience. The major problem with peoples outlook on animal rights is the thought that there is a humane way to "produce" meat and dairy. it is still speciesism. It is still exploiting animals. Humane treatment of soon to be dead animals is just a way for people, who usually understand the problems with factory farming and animal cruelty, feel better about consuming animals and animal products. As veganFreak always quote : Happy meat. No such thing. The point is that eradicating animal exploitation is the sole purpose of ethical veganism and Mark Bittman is still misunderstanding that the true answer to most food problems in the United States is veganism.

Bread, Glorious Bread

The long awaited bread recipe of my dreams has been found. I had been "surfing' through NYtimes.com and found a no-knead bread recipe from the minimalist, Mark Bittman. NO-kneading, I did not think that this was possible. All the cookbooks I have read require many fancy french techniques including kneading the dough for several minutes, several times. So naturally I thought that the gluten could not develop properly without kneading the dough. But I came across this recipe and somehow I guess time, 16 hours, does it for you. THis is amazing. My first several attempts at this bread had failed considering i used oat flour, so the result was very dense, but still crunchy. Then I had bought up some whole wheat flour, and made the recipe again. It came out perfect. I couldn't believe it.

Pictures up soon.