Tortilla Soup Take 2

I already have one recipe for tortilla soup here on my blog, and now I am adding another to the collection; both are excellent.  This one is a little more pedestrian, meaning you are much more likely to have these items on hand than you are the 101 Cookbooks version of tortilla soup I published earlier in my blogging life.  Enjoy yet another recipe adapted from the cookbook Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
• 2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced thinly
• 2 poblano peppers or green bell pepper, seeded, chopped into ½-inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, optional
• 3/4 tsp corriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 (24-ounce) can diced tomatoes, juice and all
• 1 (24-ounce) can gluten-free vegetable broth or water
• 1 heaping T ground cumin
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 C frozen corn
• cilantro for garnish
• tortilla chips for garnish
• Juice from 1 lime
• Salt, to taste

1. Place oil in a 4-quart pot and sauté onions, jalapeños and poblano pepper over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. (Add a little more oil or broth if needed.) Add garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and sauté for another minute.
2. Add tomatoes to the pot, including the juice. Fill the tomato can with vegetable broth or water and add to the pot. Stir in the cumin and corriander.
3. Add beans, corn and let simmer for 5 more minutes. Add lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt to taste.
4. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Crumble tortilla chips over the top and garnish with cilantro.

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Confessions of a Cookbook Addict

My name is Adrienne.  I’m an addict.  I can’t stop buying and using cookbooks.  My basement is full of cookbooks.  They linger on shelves, take refuge in boxes, lie strewn about the floor, peek out of bags, rest on the counter, collect dust under my bed…they are, everywhere.  My Amazon wishlist…FULL of cookbooks.  My Google Reader…saturated with good eats.  I should start a support group.

I rarely write my own recipes.  I’m not even sure where to start.  So, I have cookbooks…lots and lots of them.  That being said, I hardly ever follow a recipe from start to finish 100% dead-on as written.  I’m the queen of “adapted from” as you may have noticed from the rest of my blog posts.  This is mostly due to the fact that I look in my fridge and cook from what I have, not the other way around…I don’t read a recipe then shop for the ingredients.  I know, totally inefficient.  My brain just doesn’t work that way.

My friends generally want to know where my ideas come from, so here are the books I keep handy for inspiration.  For your convenience, the title of the book is linked to Amazon where you can purchase the book and the author website is linked to the author name.  Most of the veg community shares recipes for free online, but there is just something about having a cookbook in my hands.  Later I’ll share the contents of my Google Reader with you too.

My top cookbooks:

Appetite for Reduction:  Isa Chanda Moskowitz

Vegan Yum Yum:  Lauren Ulm

eat, drink & be vegan:  Dreena Burton

The Happy Herbivore:  Lindsay Nixon

Vegan Diner:   Julie Hasson

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian:  Mark Bittman

Super Natural Cooking:  Heidi Swanson

PF Chang’s Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Isa

Veg friends rejoice.  This is a meat-eater approved recipe (Christine tell Alex it’s good, like PF Chang’s good).  No one will look at you cross-eyed or make that funny chewing face, like when they hate it but are going to swallow it anyway just to make you feel good.  Take it to a party as an appetizer with some bib lettuce to really impress your friends, then tell them it’s tofu after they inhale it and watch them make another funny face…you know the one of shock when they realize tofu doesn’t suck.

This recipe served three as a main dish with a side of edemame with about 2 wraps to spare just using one block of tofu.

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu
Adapted from Appetite for Reduction

Tofu

• 1 block (~14 oz) extra firm tofu, diced in 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

Sauce

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (mirin is recommended but I didn’t have it)
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp sriracha or sambal if you prefer
• 2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

To Serve

• About 12 romaine (bib or iceburg will work too) lettuce leaves
• Bean sprouts
• Dry roasted peanuts or cashews
• Rice noodles (the crunchy kind)

Prepare the tofu: Preheat a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping it once in a while, until it is browned on most sides. About midway through, drizzle with the soy sauce and toss to coat.  I had to add a smidge of peanut oil to this recipe when I flipped the tofu as it was sticking a little.  If you have great patience, and wait it out, it shouldn’t stick.  I do not have patience.  I did however have oil.

Preheat a separate large pan over medium heat with the sesame oil. Saute the red pepper, onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes. The veggies should be soft and browned. Add the mirin (or rice wine vinegar would work here too) and let cook for about 3 minutes. Add the hoisin, sriracha, and mustard, and cook for another minute.  Omit sriracha if you don’t like spicy food.  In general avoid sriracha if you don’t like spice.

Add the tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve alongside lettuce leaves, to stuff like tacos.  Top with the sprouts and crunchy bits.  Sidenote:  this is a great stir fry and would stand on its own over some brown rice or noodles.

Curried Tofu and Wilted Arugula Scramble

I have a mild addiction to the tofu scramble at Marie Catrib’s.  I finally got up the courage to make one at home.  To my surprise, I liked it better at home where I control the oil and tofu consistency.  Here is my adaption of Isa Chandra’s recipe found in her Appetite for Reduction cookbook.

• 1 tsp canola or olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced finely
•  4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
• 2 tsp regular (sweet) curry powder
• 1 tsp hot curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 C baby arugula or spinach

1. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion in oil for about 4 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic & ginger, saute for 30 seconds. Add tofu to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tofu has browned on some of the sides.
2. Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a few splashed of water if it’s too dry. Mix in the arugula. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the arugula is wilted (cover if you want this to go faster).
3. Taste for spices & add another teaspoon of curry powder if needed. Serve!

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Happy New Year

This post doesn’t include a recipe.  Just wishes, hopes and challenges.

First, I wish all of you a healthy and happy new year.  Healthier for me began when I gave up meat many moons ago.  Now my biggest problem is eating too much delish vegetarian and vegan foods-portion control Adrienne!  I challenge you to inspire your friends to opt for two meatless days per week (if you/they aren’t already meatless).  Do it for your health, the animals, and the environment.

Secondly, I fall under the category of vegetarian, so I’m looking to cook and eat more under the vegan category in 2012.  For me this will mean increased planning for the weekly menu and reading the labels of convenience foods more completely.  If you are already vegetarian, strive for two days a week as a vegan, see how it goes.  I’d love to hear from you about your successes, challenges and failures.

I’ll keep posting weekly recipes from books and sites around the Interwebs.  If you have  fave blog or book, tell me about it.  I am always in search of new eats.  You can catch my recipe and other rantings on The Mode Life if you so desire.  I don’t always blog about food believe it or not!

Happy New Year friends.  Thanks for supporting my little hobby here at vegbonvivant.com.

Sweet Potato Marinara with Vegan Tempeh Black-Eyed Pea Balls

I promise the process of this lengthy recipe is well worth the effort.  Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the genius behind cookbooks I regularly chastise you for not owning.  Just buy them already.

At any rate, this recipe is adapted from her marinara recipe (there are like 8 of them in her book) and her “meatball” recipe. The good news is, this recipe makes A TON of “meatballs” and they can be successfully frozen and reheated without too many issues.  Just be sure to freeze them first, then bag them otherwise you will get mush (yes, I got mush once, so I’m saving you the trouble).  The recipe as written fed Mr. Wonderful and I dinner one night, lunch the next day and the other half was frozen for a quick dinner later in winter when we are hibernating; so it’s a ton of food.  Take note, you have been advised (and warned).

Tempeh Black-Eyed Pea Balls

• 12 ounces of tempeh (1.5 packages)
• 1 (15 oz) can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp of dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Black Pepper (several pinches)
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt

First, steam your tempeh.  Frankly tempeh isn’t that appetizing unsteamed.  This is probably why you avoid using it, you had that one bad experience where you just used it straight from the package and it was gross.  Give tempeh another try-steam it before you use it.  Off soapbox, back to cooking.  If you have a steamer, great, use it.  If you don’t or, if you are like me, and have no idea how to use the steamer you have because you use it like once a year, forget it and grab a glass microwave safe dish.  For you steamer elitists, once the steamer is ready, break the tempeh into bite-size pieces, and steam for 10 minutes.  For you rugged folks, break tempeh into small hunks, drop it in the bowl/dish, cover with water and zap it on high for 5 minutes or so, then leave in there for another 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, use a fork to mash the beans. They should be well mashed, with no whole beans left, but not totally smooth, like a puree. Add the herbs, minced garlic, spices, soy sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and mix well.  Isa says don’t use a food processor here, but if you aren’t a total ass about it you can use it, just DO NOT PUREE the mixture or you will be sorry.  Remember at the end you are trying to achieve hamburger-like [gag] meatball consistency.

When the tempeh is done, add it to the mix, and mash well. It’s good if it’s still steaming, because it will help all the flavors meld, before baking. When the mix is cool enough to handle (a few minutes), add the bread crumbs and salt. Unlike raw cookie dough which is amazing out of the bowl, do not eat these before you bake them, they don’t taste that yummy.  They become delicious with the addition of heat.

Make “meatballs” using a 2 tsp of the mix, roll the mixture into walnut size balls, placing them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I’ve said this twice, don’t forget the parchment paper).  Isa recommends to spray the balls liberally with cooking spray, and cover loosely with tinfoil. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the balls, and bake for 10 more minutes, uncovered.  I didn’t bother with the spray or the cover.  I baked them until they looked done, shook them once or twice while they were baking, then removed them before they were all dried up.  This is why I like cooking and not baking so much.  Lots more room for error.

So if you are still with me after all of that, marinara sauce coming your way next.

Basic Marinara

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (24 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp of salt

I also added: 

• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, washed, chopped and browned
• 2 cups sweet potato, diced and steamed

Preheat a 2-quart pot over medium/low heat. Saute the mushrooms in the oil for until browned, add garlic and red pepper flakes into the oil, saute for about a minute-warning do not stand over the pan when you add the red pepper flakes unless you are wearing a gas mask.

Add thyme, oregano, and pepper, and saute for a minute more, adding a splash of water if necessary. Add the tomatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, salt, and stir to combine. Cover the pot, leaving a gap for steam to escape, and cook for 10 minutes. Salt if necessary.  This is ready to serve over pasta and “meatballs” above.

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Vegan Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

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Semester is finally coming to a close.  My grading is nearly finished and it’s time to get some good food up here for the month of December! This is a wonderful dish perfect for those potlucks where you can’t take another helping of green bean casserole made from gray, canned, green beans (not that those little crispy onion things aren’t delicious, but come on!).  This will spice things up.  This modified recipe is courtesy of Vegetarian Times’ reader recipe contest of 2011 and is featured on the cover of the December 2011 issue.  This recipe made enough for me to make a 9×9 pan for dinner, then freeze a fully made 8 1/2 x 11 pan for later when we have company.

Sauce 

• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder

Filling 

• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
• 1 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (3 cups)
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 16-oz. jar prepared medium salsa
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, drained and minced
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Enchiladas

• extra virgin olive oil, for brushing baking dish
• 16 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, for garnish
• 1 avocado, sliced, for garnish
• 1/2 cup faux sour cream, for garnish
• Cilantro sprigs, for garnish, optional

To make Sauce: Bring all ingredients to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
To make Filling: Heat oil in separate saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, salsa, garlic, chipotle chile, and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft. Mash mixture with potato masher until combined. Add black beans, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
To assemble Enchiladas: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 13- x 9-inch baking dish with oil. Spread 1/2 cup Sauce in bottom of dish. Fill tortillas with Filling. Roll, and pack close together seam-side down in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce.  Bake 15 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with lime wedges, avocado slices, faux sour cream, and cilantro sprigs, if using.

Spicy Ginger Stir Fry Sauce

Who doesn’t like a spicy Ginger?!

It’s been a while since I last posted.  Hey, I’ve been busy over at The Mode Life with a few posts not related to food.  I know, right?

Cupboard is bare except for the Doorganics delivery from Tuesday, so I whipped up a stir fry from some veggies and this sauce.  Don’t be too disappointed, I didn’t take pictures, but I assure you…it was delish.  Mr. Wonderful approved.

Ingredients (you probably have these in your kitchen already)

• 1/2 cup low-sodium veg broth or water
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry or mirin
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

In a small bowl, combine the stock with the soy sauce, mirin, agave, cornstarch slurry, vinegar and sesame oil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

In a medium saucepan, heat the peanut oil until shimmering. Add the ginger and crushed red pepper and cook over high heat (be careful not to breathe this in right away, trust me), stirring, until fragrant and golden. Add the stock mixture and boil over high heat until thickened and glossy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and let cool or use immediately over stir fried veggies and tofu.

Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

So…are you going to do it?

Hello Breakfast Tickle

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Today was the last day of eating at my used-to-be-favorite brunch establishment in Grand Rapids.  After nearly a year of blissful eats, one dish more satisfying than another…today I suffered my last disappointment in a string of weeks of less than savory breakfast experiences.  Today, I drank my last cup of lukewarm, yet burnt coffee and attempted to order my last item that is printed on the menu, but “we are out of that item at the moment” (how in the eff are you out of PANCAKES?).  Today, I broke up with my weekly brunch joint.

As the events of my last brunch as a regular tumbled through my head, I was obsessed with three things:

1) How in the heck do I make lemon ricotta pancakes?

2) Will a breakfast tickle taste as good at home as it does here?

3) I must learn how to make a chipotle-jalapeno vinaigrette for Huevos Rancheros with scrambled cilantro eggs, pronto.

Here is my attempt at a Breakfast Tickle.  I actually think that my version is a little bit more fresh after not sitting under a heat lamp waiting to get delivered to me by an incompetent server not interested at all with my level of hunger.  I know it looks weird, but I promise this is like a breakfast party in your mouth.

Breakfast Tickle

as Interpreted by Veg BonVivant

• 1 whole poblano pepper
• 2 T natural peanut butter
• 2 tsp real maple syrup
• 2 slices cooked MorningStar Farm bacon
• 1/2 super ripe banana
• 1 piece regular naan bread
• 1 egg, fried, over medium, easy on the salt

Fire up the gas stove on high, place washed and dried pepper directly on flame (turn on the exhaust fan please, or face not being able to read the rest of the instructions here…the oil will consume you).  Wait for skin to get black and bubbly, remove from heat and place into a paper bag, roll over the top and wait 5 minutes to handle.  After cooling, use the bag, not your bare hand, to remove stem, seeds and skin of the pepper.  This should leave you with a super floppy, charred, yet delicious specimen of a roasted poblano pepper.  Save this gem for assembly.

Over medium heat in a lightly oiled skillet, “fry” your banana (cut in half length-wise) until caramely and delicious-at this point you can fry your egg too, over medium if you are funny like I am about the yolk or over easy if you like a gooey mess like Mr. Wonderful does.

While you are frying your banana and egg, in a 350 oven warm up naan bread until pliable, not hard.  Remove naan from oven, spread with the peanut butter.

To assemble the whole Tickle:  take the peanut butter coated naan put butter up on a plate, follow with poblano, banana, bacon, then egg.  Drizzle with maple syrup and then devour.  I use a fork and knife to avoid complete disaster, Mr. Wonderful goes rogue agent on it and crams it into his face in about four bites.  This my friends is the difference between girls and boys.

Chickpeas, please.

Ever since I began making chickpeas from a dried state, I have been obsessed with them.  I eat them by the handful like they are popcorn.  They’re delicious, nutty, versatile, freezable, and CHEAP (check them out at a Supermercado near you).

Here’s a super quick, frugal recipe to laugh Asian take-out prices right out the door.  It keeps well in the fridge for about a week and tastes AWESOME inside of a flour tortilla too.

Island Chickpeas

Adapted from Happy Herbivore

• 4 C chickpeas
• 1 1/2 C teriyaki sauce, use your fave from a bottle or better yet, make it
• 2 T Szechuan sauce
• 4 C cooked brown rice
• 2 bunches Kale
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• lime wedges
• canned mango salsa

Combine chickpeas, teriyaki sauce, Szechuan sauce in large frying pan or wok.  Allow to marinade for 5 minutes.  Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat.

In  a saute’ pan, heat oil and garlic until sizzling, add the kale.  Saute’ until bright green and just wilted.

To plate, take 1/2 cup of brown rice, top with some kale a scoop of chickpeas and a squeeze of lime.  I also put a dollop of leftover mango salsa on mine.  Delish.

Pictured under the chickpeas is a Boca chicken patty as well.

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Butternut Squash Surplus

Last week I was up to my ears in butternut squash.  A few from my CSA, and a few from one of my work friends (these alone were over 9 pounds each and more than 2 feet long).  I have a tendency to put these items out in the garage, and then forget about them until I can actually smell them…not good.  So this time I got a leg up on the surplus.  I roasted three baking pans of squash last night and then today made a few cups of it into butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage sauce, then froze the rest for soups and such.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Inspired by this recipe from Epicurious

• 3 cups mashed butternut squash (from roasted)
• 1-4 oz log creamy goat cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/8 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 package won ton wrappers (40-60 count)
• 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
• 1 stick, butter
• 1 handful fresh sage leaves, whole
• 1/8 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• pepper, salt to taste
• handful of fresh parsley
• parm cheese

Filling:  Saute’ garlic over medium until lightly browned, add goat cheese, squash, nutmeg and combine until creamy.  Remove from heat, let cool.  When filling is cool, drop 1 1/2 tsp in the middle of a won ton wrapper, lightly brush edges with water.  Seal by touching opposite sides together in whatever shape you like.  I touched opposite corners together to form a triangle, then flipped it like a dumpling.  Be sure to squeeze the air out of the ravioli before sealing and DO NOT overfill.

Sauce:  Combine in a frying pan over medium high heat butter, shallots, fresh sage and nutmeg.  Let this combo simmers until butter turns a nutty brown, shallots and sage crisp.  Turn off the heat.  Let hang out until your ravioli are ready to dress.

Ravioli:  Bring a dutch oven 3/4 full of salted water to a boil.  When it hits boiling, turn it down to medium heat, this is a little more gentle on your fragile raviolis.  Immerse 6-8 ravioli in the hot water so the water temp doesn’t drop but also so they do not touch the bottom, sides or each other…this would be bad. Allow the ravioli to hang out in the hot water bath for 2-4 minutes until they float or become opaque in color, remove with a slotted spoon directly into a serving dish, top with brown butter sauce, fresh parsley, a bit of parm cheese and serve.

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Since it’s just the two of us to cook for, but this recipe makes around 45 raviolis, I made the remaining raviolis, put them on a cookie sheet and froze them for an hour.  Then I tossed them into a freezer bag and tossed into the deep freeze.  The Interwebs say that they should keep for 3 months and to make them straight from the freezer next time.  I’ll let you know how that works out later.

TVP Chili – Say That Three Times Fast

This is the chili I take tailgating.  Carnivores have no idea this doesn’t have meat in it thanks to the chipotle which adds a smokey beefy taste to the dish.  Add a little liquid hickory or hot sauce to increase the meaty factor.  I love this over vegan dogs, it makes me feel just like everyone else, which if you are veg, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

TVP Chili for Meat-Eaters

• 1/4 C cumin
• 1/2 C chili powder
• 2 C cooked chickpeas
• 2 C cooked great northern beans
• 2 C cooked cranberry beans
• 1-46oz bottle V8 Hot & Spicy reduced sodium
• 1/3 of the V8 bottle, water
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 T garlic, minced
• 3 bell peppers (your choice of color), chopped
• 1 C frozen or fresh corn off the cobb
• 2 chipotle en adobo, chopped finely
• 2 C whole crushed tomatoes, with juice
• 3/4 C hot water
• 1 C TVP

Rehydrate the TVP in a bowl with the 3/4 C hot water.  Set aside.

Saute onion, garlic, bell peppers, cumin and chili powder over medium heat until onion is soft.

Add V8, water, tomatoes, stir to loosen up the charred bits in the bottom.

Last, add the beans, corn, and TVP then stir to combine.

Let simmer for flavors to develop for 20 to 30 minutes.

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Soup’s ON! Yellow Split Pea.

I’m wild about soup.  Instead of talking you to death, I’ll just hit you with the recipe pronto.  This is a good intro to Fall or kick in the ass to Winter to usher in spring.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s 101cookbooks.com

• 2 cups dried split yellow peas, picked over and rinsed
• 6 cups water
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 3 cups water
• 1 7-ounce container of greek yogurt (omit if vegan)
• 1/2 cup shredded unpeeled cucumber, (deseed before shredding)
• 1 clove garlic, mashed and minced
• scant 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
• big pinch of salt
• chopped olives
• more olive oil to drizzle (I use Fustinis Meyer Lemon for topping)

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Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the yellow split peas, and cook for 20 -30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, salt to taste and set aside.

Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the cooked split peas and stock/water. Bring to a simmer and let cook for a few minutes. Now remove from the heat. Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree – you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Give the soup a taste, if it needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.

In the meantime make the yogurt topping by mixing together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint, and salt. Set aside.

Ladle soup into bowls or cups, and serve each with a generous dollop of the yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, a touch of chopped mint (any that was left on the cutting board), and a sprinkling of black olives.

Veg Tortilla Soup

It hasn’t exactly been soup weather here in Michigan (thank goodness)!  Yesterday it was 82 degrees, I’m sure we will pay for that later.  I love soup so much, that I couldn’t wait until it was cold to make some tortilla soup.  Heidi Swanson from 101cookbooks.com has some of the most simple and delicious soup recipes one could ask for, however, when I have extra delicious ingredients on hand or in the freezer…I like to embellish on her deliciousness.  Here is my version of Veggie Tortilla Soup.

• 6-8 corn tortillas, cut in half and then into matchstick-thin strips
• a big splash of extra virgin olive oil
• fine grain sea salt
• 20 small yellow or red cherry tomatoes
• another splash of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne or other spicy red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon chipotle en adobo
• 1 small can diced green chiles
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 6 cups vegetable broth (or water)
• a few sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup of goat cheese, crumbled (omit if vegan)

Gently toss the tortilla strips with a glug of olive oil and salt. Turn them out onto a baking sheet, arrange them across the pan and bake in a 350F degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden and crispy. Set aside.

I usually do this whenever I have tomatoes that have to be used up in a hurry.  I call them “crack tomatoes”.  They have so many uses…limitless really as a fridge staple.  To make:  halve (or quarter) the tomatoes lengthwise and put them in a small roasting pan, oven proof dish, or rimmed baking sheet. Toss with a bit of olive oil and a pinch or two of salt. Bake in a 350F degree oven for 40-45 minutes (less time if you use smaller cherry tomatoes), or until the tomatoes are shrunken and golden around the edges. The tomatoes keep nicely in a jar for days (refrigerated).  If you are going to keep them for a little longer, douse them in olive oil and store them under the oil in an airtight container, I use a Ball glass canning jar.

For the soup itself – in a big pot over medium-high heat cook the garlic and onions in a splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt for just a minute or so. Stir in the spices and then the tomatoes, chiles, chipotle en adobo. Cook down for about five minutes or so, it should thicken a bit. For a smooth soup don’t add corn or beans then remove from heat, add one cup of the broth and puree with a hand blender (or puree in a traditional blender). Add the remaining 5 cups of broth and puree until smooth. Bring the soup back up to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.  If you like chunkier soups to mop up, don’t puree, and add the corn and black beans.  Serve as is.

Serve the individual bowls topped with plenty of tortilla strips, the roasted and sun-dried tomatoes, and some crumbled goat cheese. Alternately, as I mention up above, you can finish with sliced avocado, cilantro, white onions, and a squeeze of lime. If you like a creamier soup base add a splash of half and half, or stir in some extra goat cheese.

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Sausage Patties – Vegan Style

I felt like experimenting a little today.  I grabbed up some Gimme Lean Sausage and combined it with some cooked quinoa I had sleeping in  my freezer after I forgot to pack it on a camping trip this summer.  Poof.  Breakfast Sausage Patties – Vegan Style.

Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties

adapted from Happy Herbivore’s Breakfast Sausage Patties

• 1 C cooked red quinoa
• 1 14-oz tube Gimme Lean Sausage
• 2 T pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp Penzeys Breakfast Sausage Seasoning
• 1/4 cup peeled & shredded Granny Smith Apple

Super simple prep.  Combine all ingredients into a bowl, smash around to combine.  Use rounded scoop to get similar sized (walnut size) balls, smash into small patties, fry up on a griddle. 

I’m storing mine on parchment paper, in layers with half in the freezer in a Ziplock container in layers pre-formed and the other half into the fridge for consumption during the busy weekday.

Mr. Wonderful says, “these taste like breakfast sausage.”  Yes, dear…they do.

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Simple Solution – Veg Broth

It has been a busy few weeks at the nonprofit I work for, so mostly dinner has been take out or warming up stuff out of the freezer, and plenty of veggie burgers (on buns, on tortillas, on naan), not a ton of creativity going on in the kitchen.  With that in mind, my CSA share and Doorganics delivery look limp and sad, but not rotting in my fridge, I decided to get ahead of the game and make veg broth to store in my freezer for the upcoming soup season.  Making your own veg broth is cheap, and a good way to use up items that are unsavory for cooking at face value but are still wonderful for a broth base.  During the summer, I keep a freezer bag full of items that would make good broth like the stems of mushrooms, the tops of radishes, celery greens, washed carrot peels, the ends of onions, parsley and the like then when I get a few extra seconds, I dump it in a soup pot cover it with water, add whatever fresh herbs I have in the fridge if any, and let it boil away.  I store it in 2-cup measures in freezer bags marked with the date and freeze flat, that way whenever I need a quick base for soup, I have a lightly flavored, sodium free, cheap alternative to store-bought broth.   Since the consistency of the veggies doesn’t make a difference in the taste of the broth, the freezer step doesn’t hurt, I promise.

My current batch of broth has in it:

• celery greens
• celery
• portobella mushroom stems (trimmed and washed)
• red bell pepper (seeds and all)
• carrot shavings (cleaned)
• turnips, quartered
• onion ends & parts
• garlic cloves
• peppercorns
• rosemary
• thyme

Put all the items into a soup pot, cover with water and let it simmer away for an hour or so.  Remove from heat, let cool for hours and hours, then pour into labeled freezer bags (label them before you pour into them) and freeze flat. Remember this will not have salt added as is, so when you add to soups be sure to season well.

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VeganMoFo 2011

October kicks off an annual tradition in the Vegan community:  Vegan Month of Food or VeganMoFo.  VeganMoFo is this rad movement to get people to think a little more about a vegan lifestyle.  It’s like Christmas for Veg Bloggers not to be confused with Veguary, which is well, in the Winter.

VeganMoFo was originally created on the Post Punk Kitchen, as an homage to NaNoWriMo. Because we do want to write novels, but sometimes cooking gets in the way. So why not combine them!?

The idea is for food bloggers, to write as much as you can all month, about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related – your love of chopsticks, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time you ate vegan nom noms, vegan options in or around your city, or lack thereof – you get the idea, right? If not, browse around on this nicely packaged RSS bundle of all things VeganMoFo for the month.  See, vegans are accommodating, even if you are a total lazy ass, you can still get good content; this year it is even sorted into various categories like Gluten Free and Sweets.

Speaking of lazy, or maybe uber busy, I don’t know you decide…I am not going to be able to blog every day, but I will try to share something up here 1-2 times a week this month for your viewing pleasure (yes, this counts as one even though you didn’t get a recipe).

Take a vegan challenge this month.  At least go vegan on Meatless Monday and abstain from eating things with faces for one day in the week, hell even Mario Batali does it on Mondays.

See ya around!

A win for used cookbooks and TVP

I’ve had this bag of Bob’s Red Mill TVP (textured veg protein) in my freezer for about 4 months.  Sometimes things seem like a good idea when you purchase them only to get a product home and be at a total loss for usage.  I had this relationship with TVP until I stumbled upon a used cookbook that sparked my interest at Schuler’s Books:  Vegetarian Sandwiches from Chronical Books.  In it a recipe for Vegetarian Sloppy Joes.  I basically bought the book because 1) it has really great pictures in it and 2) it has 3 recipes for TVP inside, also with pictures.  Turns out, I had all of the other necessary ingredients at home in my pantry and from my most recent Doorganics delivery to make this magic happen.  I was both shocked and delighted by the authenticity of the texture that this recipe recreated.  It tastes very, very similar to sloppy joes with ground beef, but doesn’t have that super dense and filling aftermarket feeling.  The recipe as it was written was a little too sweet for my sloppy joe needs so I spiced it up a little, the adjustments are worked into the recipe below.  I’m so glad I made a double batch with the intent of taking some along to the next GVSU tailgate to share.  I’m anxious to see meat-eaters try ‘em.

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Vegan Sloppy Joes

Filling:

1 C Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP)

3/4 C boiling water

1 T olive oil

1/2 C coarsely chopped onion

1/2 C coarsely chopped bell pepper (your choice of color)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 4-oz can tomato sauce

1/4 C water

2 T tomato paste

1 T packed light brown sugar

2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp Sriracha

2 whole chipotle en adobo, chopped finely

salt & pepper to taste

4-6 large hamburger buns or rolls or 10-12 slider buns

Directions:  To make the filling, stir the TVP and boiling water together in a medium bowl, let this stand for 5 or more minutes until the water is absorbed and the TVP is softened.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) over medium-high heat.  Cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic through until the bell pepper is tender (8-10 minutes).

Stir the remaining sandwich filling ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Add this mix and the soft TVP to the skillet; stir until the mixture is bubbly.  Reduce the heat and cook, stirring for about 5 additional minutes.

To serve, spread filling onto a bun and enjoy.

Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

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I devour recipe books like most people read through the Oprah Book Club.  I relish all of the different flavor combinations that comprise regional foods and on occasion I like to make up my own recipes from the most awesome parts of other recipes.  I love peanut sauce in Thai restaurants, so I modified a recipe I found online to include hot water, thus creating a “dressing” consistency suitable for a salad instead of satay duty, paired it with a few of my fave Asian salad ingredients including the beloved soba noodle, dropped in a spicy protein and surprise a delightfully filling salad.   I would consider this one of my best salad efforts.

Peanut Dressing:

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• drizzle of toasted sesame oil
• big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Salad:

• 1 package soba noodles prepared according to package instructions
• 2 carrots, peeled, grated
• 4 radishes, chopped
• 1 head napa cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 C crushed peanuts or cashews
• a handful of bean spouts per salad

Mix dressing ingredients together in the food processor, let set 10-20 minutes to develop in flavor intensity, reserve 1/4 C dressing for topping salad.  Shred cabbage, toss with chopped radishes and grated carrot, mound in 3-4 salad bowls.  Toss soba noodles in the peanut sauce until coated nicely, divide and add to cabbage salad, top with 1/4 C reserved dressing and crushed peanuts or cashews and fresh bean spouts.  Serve immediately.

Pictured with salad ginger/garlic/soy marinated baked tofu (recipe below):

• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained, sliced in half (thickness wise) and pressed (after pressing 20-30 minutes, cut into pieces about the size of a pinky finger-sorry, that’s kinda gross!)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 C soy sauce
• 2 inches ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Marinate tofu in mixture of the ingredients above for 30 minutes to overnight. Bake tofu on a foil lined, lightly greased, rimed baking sheet at 375 until firm in texture, turning every 5-10 minutes.  Serve with salad.

Not Labor Intensive, Labor Day Chickpea Burgers

I get sick of always eating frozen veg burgers, while they are convenient, sometimes you just need something fresh.  This recipe gives you all the satisfaction of prepping burgers for the grill without the icky hamburger stuck under your nails at the end of the day.  I baked mine in the oven but you could just as easily grill these on a very hot grill…don’t mess with them too much or they will crumble apart.  Served on slider rolls, the kids didn’t miss the moo.  These would freeze nicely as well.

Chickpea Burgs

• 2 1/2 cups canned garbanzos, drained and rinsed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 onion, chopped
• Grated zest of one large lemon
• 1 cup micro sprouts, chopped (try broccoli, onion, or alfalfa sprouts – optional)
• 1 cup toasted (whole-grain) bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)

Combine the garbanzos, eggs, and salt in a food processor. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, onion, zest, and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture (this part is CRITICAL to your success). At this point, you should have a wet mixture that you can easily form into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick patties.  Err on the side of moist here, you can always add more bread crumbs a bit at a time to firm up the dough if need be. Conversely, a bit of water or more egg can be used to moisten the batter.

What Adrienne did:  preheat oven to 375, put burgers onto a lightly greased, foil lined baking sheet, bake until firm turning once during cooking time so as to brown both sides of the burger.  Top with your fave burger accessories.  I ate mine with a squeeze of lemon, sprouts, tomato, and a dollop of ranch dressing.

Heidi Swanson’s directions: heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Carefully cut each patty in half, insert your favorite fillings, and enjoy immediately.

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Makes 12 mini burgers.

Inspired by 101cookbooks Heidi Swanson

Cheater’s Buffalo Chicken Salad

Sometimes I just don’t have time for extensive dinner prep and if I make one more decision in a day my head will explode; enter, Cheater Buffalo Chicken Salad.

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• 2 Boca Spicy Chicken Patties
• 1/2 pound mixed greens
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 5 green onions, greens only diced
• 1 medium cucumber, seeds removed, peeled and diced
• 1/4 C ranch or green goddess dressing, diluted with 3 T cold water or milk
• 3 T Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• 2 T shredded cheese

Super simple plan:  bake chicken patties according to package instructions, cut into bite-sized pieces.  Assemble veggies into 2 medium bowls, top with baked chicken pieces, top with dressing made from ranch, water and Frank’s Red Hot; plus shredded cheese.

The beauty of this salad as you can use whatever you have on hand in the fridge.  Heck you can even mix up the chicken patty for a black bean burger or any other faux veg protein for that matter.

Soggy Baby Cukes Remade Into Crisp Quick Pickles

I’m a pickled veggie snob.  I will spend $12.00 on a jar of pickles.  I will eat one a week so as not to get rid of them too soon, savoring every bite, then I will keep the jar of juice and dump baby carrots into the remaining sea of spices until I drain the jar dry.

Today I noticed some very much neglected pickling cukes in the back of my crisper, not looking so much crisp as sad.  Here is my science experiment and foray into quick pickles.  I hope you like it spicy.

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Pickles:

• 6 baby cucumbers washed and cut into rings
• 1 habanero pepper cut into 4ths
• 2 jalapeno peppers cut in half
• 2 whole cloves garlic smashed
• Handful kosher salt

Brine:

• 1 1/2 C white vinegar, cause I’m old school
• 1 C water
• 1 1/2 T garlic chopped
• 5 bay leaves, whole
• 2 T dried dill, or 4 T fresh dill
• 1 T black peppercorns
• 1 T agave nectar
• 1 T cumin seeds, whole

First, prep the cukes.  Cut into rounds, place in colander, salt generously, let sit for 15-30 minutes.  This should perk up your cukes if they were a little sad like mine.  Place cukes, peppers, and garlic cloves in a couple of jars you have lids for, it could be a jam jar for all I care, just make sure it’s clean.  Since we are not “canning” here, it doesn’t make a difference.

To make the brine, boil for 15 minutes the ingredients listed in brine list.  Remove from heat, pour over veggies in the jars.  Let cool on counter, then pop in the fridge. 

Eat these little guys within the week.

Vegan Zucchini Pancakes

Sometimes inspiration comes in the form of ‘payday isn’t for 2 more days, so use what you have in the fridge’.  This recipe comes from precisely that situation. Thank goodness Trillium Haven Farm CSA and Doorganics day was yesterday, so at least there were fresh veggies from which to create goodness.  The result is Vegan Zucchini Pancakes not to be confused with a prior post, Zucchini Fritters which are definitely NOT vegan (goat cheese).

Vegan Zucchini Pancakes

Cucumber Salad (topping)

• 1 lb tomatoes
• 2 small cucumbers
• 1T balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp EVOO

Pancakes

• 1 1/2 zucchini or summer squash, shredded
• 1 medium, sweet yellow onion
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt (to taste…err on the side of less)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 C egg substitute
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 3 T flour
• 2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
• 2 T Parmesan cheese (if Vegetarian, do not include for Vegan)

Directions:

1.  To create the cucumber salad chop the tomatoes and cucumbers coarsely and top with EVOO and balsamic vinegar.  Set aside.

2.  Grate the zucchini and onion, roll up in paper towel or cheesecloth and squeeze until it is fairly dry.

3.  Combine the pressed zucchini and ionion with garlic, salt, basil, nutmeg, fake eggs, flour, salt and pepper.

4.  Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet.  Pour 1/4 C of the batter into the oiled pan.  The batter will be lumpy.  Let the pancake completely brown on one side then flip to brown the other side.  Remove from the pan and place on paper towels.

5.  When you are ready to serve, top the pancakes with the cucumber salad and enjoy.

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Thanks to a reader for writing in that the original recipe for these pancakes were too salty!  I’ve changed the recipe to account for her feedback.  If you are putting these on a bun or in a flatbread, you will need additional salt, but if just eating as a pancake, please follow the change in added salt.  Thanks!

Zucchini Surplus Yields Sweet Treats

It’s summer in Michigan. What neighbor or friend hasn’t pawned off on your family a plastic bag chock full of zucchini? Don’t scoff at this gift, use it to make killer baked goods and drive them mad with envy at the neighborhood potluck. This post will not only turn out tasty goodies, but more importantly make you LOOK like a kitchen god/goddess.

First up: Blueberry Zucchini Bread

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all-purpose whole grain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans, or 2 large loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, applesauce vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini (I drained mine slightly). Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.

Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven for mini loaves or upwards of 1 hour and 20 minutes (depending on your oven) for the large loaf pans. Play it safe and bake until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

One funny thing that I noticed during my bread experiment…the pan on the R in the pics was sprayed with Pam and floured, the one on the left was sprayed with Pam but not floured. Look at the difference in loaf shape! I don’t bake too much so this came as a surprise to me.

Next, the show stopper: Zucchini Brownies

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (toasted, optional)

Frosting:

• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. RESIST the urge to look at this mix and say “it needs moisture”. When you add the zucchini, it will all make sense. Fold in the zucchini and nuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

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Both of these are easily veganized, just incorporate the usual suspects for subbing.

Recipes adapted from several over at allrecipes.com.