Butternut Squash Soup with Carmelized Onions - My Mind

After perusing a few websites that had various recipes (both vegan and non-vegan) with butternut squash as the main ingredient, I decided I would try my hand at inventing an original VEGAN recipe. I am slowly building my kitchen confidence and intuition - breaking out of my "strictly-follow-the-recipe" mentality is challenging and fun.

This recipe yielded 2 large bowls.

1 butternut squash
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 c. cashews
3/4 to 1 c. plain soy milk
1 tsp. Better than Boullion
1/2 c. water
1/4 tsp. sage (from the spice rack, next time I'll try fresh!)
squirt of maple syrup
black and cayenne pepper to taste
parsley for garnish
_____________________________________
1) Preheat oven to 350. Place butternut squash into a baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Let the squash cool to the point that it can be (man) handled. Peel skin then gut and toss the seeds. Slice the butternut in half; cut one half into small chunks. Reserve other half for another exciting vegan recipe. [I wrapped the other 1/2 in plastic wrap and will store in the fridge until I can think of something to do with it...any vegan-friendly suggestions?]
2) Thinly slice and caramelize onion in a bit of olive oil.
3) Blend until creamy the cashews and soy milk. Add in Better than Boullion, water, sage, and a medium squirt (how precise!) of maple syrup.
4) Add the squash cubes and blend, blend, blend! until creamy.
5) Transfer soup into a pot, toss in the caramelized onions, season with the peppers, and heat through. Garnish, if wanted, and serve immediately!

Some thoughts:

The soup was pretty good. The blended cashews lent the soup a thick, creamy texture. In the event that you wanted soupier soup, you could always add in more water until desired thinness is achieved. But I liked the viscosity of the recipe - its just a matter of personal preference, all!

I rushed the caramelization process, so my onions were not as tender or as sweet as they could have been. Next time, I won't rush the process - if I remember correctly, Martha (Stewart, of course) suggests that the process should take at least 1/2 hour. Since it was late at night, I rushed the process, and let the onion slices cook for a scant 10 minutes or so...Next time, I'll try to improve on this aspect of the recipe.

RA suggested the combination of butternut squash and sage. She is a proponent of fresh herbs - I used what I had around the kitchen at the time, which is the powdered sage from a spice rack. Next time, I'd try fresh sage.

What's Better Than Bouillon, you ask? Basically, it is a concentrated veggie paste that you add to water to make veggie broth. Alternatively, using real (homemade or store-bought) veggie broth would be an acceptable substitution.

At Raymonds, I once ordered their Chipolte Butternut Squash Soup and thought it was good, but a tad spicy. In comparison, my soup was extremely mild. Adding more black and/or cayenne and/or other type of pepper is another variation that I might play around with on a rainy day.

When heating the soup, the soup kept splattering out of the pot! Next time, I might use a lower heat for a longer length of time as to avoid the mess left on the stove.

I am excited to see if and how the flavors meld after 24 hours.

Decent soup!

To Be (Vegan) or Not To Be...

Carb Queen

So many of my vegan recipes rely heavily on pasta! I'd like to experiment with more dishes that do not!

JL's Vegan Saag Paneer - JL's Brilliant Mind

ORIGINAL Homemade vegan Indian food at its finest. JL experimented and came up with this recipe.

In a food processor, [If its a new, shiny, and white Cuisinart one - all the better!] process: sauted onions, fresh spinach, and chunks of carrot.

JL - what type of oil did you use to saute the onions?
JL - did you cook the carrots before processing or where they raw?
JL - are there any ingredients missing?


Saute some cubed tofu too. Serve hot with oven-baked pita (our version of naan (sp?)].

This is a simple recipe! It might be fun to experiment with various (Indian) spices. Great dish, Julia and thanks for taking care of the dishes, SW! Let's do it again soon :)

Apple-Peanut Butter-Caramel Bars - Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (p.242)

Holy Christmas Day! This recipe produces an insanely sweet dessert much like warm apple pie (..."It's like warm apple pie" teehee.

THE RECIPE (FROM ABOVE REFERENCED BOOK):

Crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs [If you are truly taking the whole vegan thing to heart, you'll have to be sure that your graham crackers do not contain any honey. I used Keebler Cinnamon Grahams:
1/2 c. canola oil
3 TBL. plain soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

I placed my graham crackers in a gallon-sized Ziplock bag, wrapped the baggie in a dish towel, then proceeded to pound the sh** out of the crackers using a heavy, metal mallet utensil thing. Great way to release frustration!

Crumb topping:
1/2 c. all purpose flour
3 TBL. sugar
2 TBL. canola oil
pinch each of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice [I did not have allspice, so I subbed pumpkin pie mix instead]

Apple filling:
6 granny smiths, cored and sliced thinly (peeling is optional) [I peeled]
1 TBL. canola oil
1/3 c. sugar
3 TBL. flour
1 TBL. water
pinch each of cinna, ginger [Kill all gingers!...Yes, this will the first and only South Park reference in my blog], and allspice [again, I used pumpkin pie mix]

Peanut Butter Caramel:
2/3 c. chunky PB
1/4 c. maple syrup
3 TBL. brown rice syrup
______________________________
I've assembled all of the ingredients, now what?...
Prepare the Crust:
1) Place grahams in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with oil and mix until moistened. Gradually add in the soy milk. Mix with your fingers; the crumbs should hold together if pinched. Press the wet crumbs into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan to make a crust. [My crust didn't extend up the sides, it was a flat-bottom crust]

Prepare the topping:
1) Place flour, sugar, and spices in a mixing bowl. Drizzle two TBL. of oil into the flour and mix with your fingers until crumbs start to form. Add more oil if necessary [it wans't!]

Prepare the apple filling:
1) Combing all the ingredients in a bowl, coating all the apples. [I advise combing the oil, sugar, flour, water, and spices first to make a paste, even before peeling, coring, and slicing the apples. The peeling, coring, and slicing of the apples should come last, as to avoid the apples from turning brown on you. I found that immediately after slicing the apples, if I coated the slices in the paste, they did not turn brown...would that be the apples oxidizing?...rando question...]

Assemble:
1) Layer the apples onto the crust.
2) Sprinkle with crumb topping. The authors note that the topping won't solidly cover the entire pan; just sprinkle it evenly over the top.
3) Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the apples are tender.

Prepare the Peanut Butter Caramel: [Do this about 40 minutes into the bake time]
1) Mix all the ingredients very well, in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the mixture "softens and slides of the fork in ribbons" [My mixture never became ribbon-like, rather, it thinned out considerably while hot.]
2) When the bars are done baking [ding!], drizzle the caramel over the top. Please let the dish cool completely before slicing and serving; to speed up the waiting process, its OK to stick the entire pan in the fridge.

Notes: The recipe recommends eating this dish cooled and cut into bars; I say live a little and eat it warm, fresh out of the oven!

I poured my caramel right out of the saucepan and it never really gave that "drizzled" look, rather it just kind of looked gloppy. Of course, it was still delicious, but in the event that presentation matters, I'd recommend putting the sauce into a squirt bottle to achieve that "drizzle" effect. Or alternatively, dumping the caramel into a Ziplock baggie, cutting of a corner, and squeezing it out the opening would result in a more aesthetically-pleasing drizzle.

The sheer amount of oil in this recipe is a cause for concern. I've read that applesauce can sub for oil in baking, so next time I might experiment with this healthier alternative.

JL and SW, I hope you enjoyed this dessert as much as I did!

"Vegan Hobbyist" - Coined by MD on 12/13/09

Pumpkin Baked Ziti With Caramelized Onions and Sage Bread Crumb Topping - Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry

...Hope Romero (p.194)
Vegannomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (A BIG thanks, SW, for helping me to troubleshoot linking websites! GENIUS!)

Thanks to JL and SW for getting me this cookbook for my birthday! This is the first of many recipes from this book that I will be experimenting with. Thanks again! You guys are phenomenal friends. And your vegan wedding will be out of this world :)
P.S. If you are reading this, when are we going to do our vegan dinner???

Just the name of this dish gives me goosebumps. MD, myself, and Lady GaGa collaborated on Saturday night to make this baked ziti dish.

THE RECIPE (COURTESY OF THE ABOVE REFERENCED BOOK):

3/4 lb. uncooked ziti or penne pasta [We used whole wheat ziti and guesstimated the amount of pasta. We used a full 13.25 oz box plus 3 large handful of zitis from a second box. If you were concerned, the pasta did all fit into the cooking pot, hahah MD!)
2 onions thinly sliced
3 TBL. olive oil
1 recipe Cashew Ricotta (recipe to follow)
1 TBL. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
white pepper and cayenne [We didn't have white so we omitted it, we aren't pepper racists, we swear!]
2 c. pumpkin puree or one 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree
1/4 c. veggie broth

SAGE BREAD CRUMBS:
2.5 c. breadcrumbs [The authors strongly advised using homemade bread crumbs, but we used unsalted breadcrumbs straight from the canister]
1/3 c. walnut pieces, chopped in a food processor until resembling coarse crumbs [I am pretty sure MD just chopped the nuts by hand.]
1/4 c. non-hydrogenated vegan marg. [We used either Earth Balance or Smart Balance, whatever is currently in my fridge]
2 tsp. dried rubbed sage [rubbed? haha]
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. ground paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper [Lunchtime poll: Can you really detect a difference from regular black pepper and fresh ground pepper?"

[The bolded parts are quotes from two of my favorite movies. Hint: the first is straight up 80's and the second is classic 90's...Can you name those films?]

1) Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease an 9 x 11 inch lasagne-type baking pan (ours was glass) with olive oil.
2) Prepare ziti according to package directions. Drain then rinse with cool water to stop cooking. Set aside.
3) While the pasta is cooking, caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and saute the onions until brown and caramelized. Set aside. See Notes.
4) Prepare Cashew Ricotta:
RECIPE:
1/2 c. raw cashew pieces
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
2 TBL. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. firm tofu, drained.
1.5 tsp. dried basil
1.5 tsp. salt

1a) In a food processor, blend cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic until thick, creamy paste forms. Add crumbled tofu and blend. Blend in basil and salt.

BACK TO THE MAIN RECIPE:
5) Place the Cashew Ricotta in a large bowl and fold in pumpkin, brown sugar, nutmeg, white pepper, cayenne, and vegetable broth. Add the cooked ziti and caramelized onions, stirring to coat the pasta. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and spread it out evenly.

SAGE BREADCRUMB PREPARATION:
1a) Melt the marg. in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the breadcrumbs, walnuts, dried herbs, paprika, and season with salt and pepper. Stir constantly until the mixture is lightly coated, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle evenly over the ziti.

BACK TO THE MAIN RECIPE (YOU'RE ALMOST DONE!)
6) Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let dish cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

WHOA! What a dish! This is delicious for the fall. The pumpkin flavor was subtle and lent a nice creaminess to the dish. The mushiness of the ziti contrasted well with the dry, crunchiness of the breadcrumbs. The sweetness of the pumpkin was a phenomenal compliment to the zing of the pepper. Both MD and I were ecstatic with the results of this recipe. This is a 5-star recipe. [Note: Going forward, I will be tagging certain entries as being 5-star.]

As far as caramelizing onions, the onions were caramelized to perfection. I used a bronze-y/ copper colored pan from our kitchen, and I do believe that the specific pan really helped to make a difference. I seem to remember that I used a standard, dark non-stick pan to make the caramelized onions for the Onion Tart Recipe, and the results were not as impressive. LESSON LEARNED: When caramelizing onions, go for the bronze cookware! In addition to the olive oil, I added a few small scoops of the marg. to coat the onions in the pan and at one point, I added in a small scoop or two of sugar, to really get the caramelization process rolling. PERFECTION.

One thing I might do differently is to initially under cook the ziti in the pot since the ziti presumably continues to cook in the oven. This might give the dish an even better, al dente texture.

Health-conscious MD made a great substitution in the recipe. In place of about 1/2 c. of the bread crumbs, she subbed in wheat germ! MD also dazzled me and Lady G with her knowledge of the health benefits of wheat-germ. And she also took advantage of her "cooking license" [much akin to poetic license, obviously] by adding in fresh parsley to the sage breadcrumb recipe.

Again, this is a definite 5-star recipe. I cannot wait to experiment with the other recipes in this particular cookbook!

Pepita Fettucini with Spinach & Cranberries - Vegan Yum Yum (p.208)

THE RECIPE COURTESY OF ABOVE-REFERENCED BOOK:
Fettucini for one [Wow, that's fairly nondescript...it lends itself an "aura of mysteriousness" haha, MD :)]
1/3 c. raw, unsalted pepitas or pumpkin seeds [Couldn't find pepitas, I used pumpkin seeds]
1 TBL. oil
2 large handfuls of spinach, torn
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 TBL. tamari or soy sauce
1 TBL. maple syrup
2 or 3 fresh thyme sprigs (optional) [I opted out of this option]
1/4 c. dried cranberries [Craisins to the rescue!]
____________________________________
1) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the fettucini. While the pasta is cooking, pulse the pepitas in a food processor or blender until chopped fairly fine, then set aside. [I just chopped the pumpkin seeds by hand to the best of my ability with a chef's knife]
2) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the spinach. Use tongs to coat the spinach in the hot oil. Add the red pepper flakes, tamari, maple syrup, and (optional) thyme. Toss in the cranberries and mix everything well. Turn off heat.
3) Drain the fettucini and add to the skillet. Add chopped pepitas and toss everything until coated. Serve immediately.

This dish looked impressive, though I wasn't particularly impressed by the taste. The sauce was on the "hot" side - perhaps I just used a heavy hand when tossing in the red pepper flakes...Regardless, I did not think that this was a spectacular recipe. However, in the event that I do, I will double the sauce recipe. Perhaps extra sauce will improve the dish.

Brococoli Almond Sweet-and-Sour Tofu - Vegan Yum Yum (p. 40)

THE RECIPE:
1 tub extra firm tofu, pressed
2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer, plus 4 tsp. water, mixed
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 peanut or canola oil [I used peanut]
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1 to 2. c steamed broccoli
sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

RECIPE FOR SWEET-AND-SOUR SAUCE:
3.5 TBL. seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 c. + 1 TBL. H20 [H2 the izzo!]
2 TBL. + 2 tsp. sugar
2 TBL. tamari
2 tsp. ketchup
1 tsp. molasses
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1.5 TSP. cornstarch + 2 TBL. water, mixed.
_________________________________________
1) Slice the tofu into triangles or small cubes. [Lauren (the author, of course) suggests that smaller is better. This is where the pre-cubed tofu in the tub would be very handy, since my hand-cut cubes were fairly sizable pieces.]
2) Toss the tofu with the egg replacer/water mixture until coated. Then toss in cornstarch until each piece is coated and dry, adding more cornstarch if needed.
3) Heat oil in a large wok.
4) While the oil is heating, make the sweet-and-sour sauce. In a small sauce pan, mix rice vinegar, water, sugar, tamari, ketchup, molasses, ginger powder, and salt and whisk until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and whisk until the sauce thickens. Lauren cautions to keep your eye on the sauce and whisk frequently, as the sauce will burn is left unattended. When thick, turn off heat and set aside.
5) Place tofu in the hot oil, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes until golden on the bottom, then flip and brown the other side. Lauren suggests not crowding the tofu cubes and advises cooking the tofu in batches, if necessary. Right before you are going to take the tofu out, add the almonds and fry them for about 30 seconds.
6) When done cooking tofu and almonds, drain the oil and place the mix into a large bowl.
7) Pour sweet-and-sour sauce over tofu and almonds, add fresh steamed broccoli, and gently toss to coat. Optionally, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve immediately.

Comments: What a slimy and sticky mess the tofu was! My methodology was to place the tofu cubes in a bowl, dump in the peanut oil, then dump in the cornstarch on top. This resulted in a sticky, gooey gunk. And the large tofu cubes did not hold their shape well. That said, if I were to make this dish again, I would lightly coat the tofu cubes in the oil, then roll each cube around a plate of cornstarch, much like one does when coating a chicken breast with breadcrumbs.

That said, I am not sure I would bother trying to pan-fry the tofu again. It doesn't seem the healthiest way to prepare the 'fu and, as previously insinuated, the results were underwhelming. ["I know you can overwhelmed and I know that you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever, just be whemled?" "I think you can in Europe" - Name the movie, win a bike!]

On the other hand, the sweet-and-sour sauce was a delight! This would be a great sauce for dipping vegan egg rolls (Note to self: Find recipe for vegan egg rolls) or even drizzled over steamed veggies and rice.

Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta - Vegan Yum Yum...(p. 216)

This is easily one of my new favorite meals, hands down. The "cream" sauce is made by blending well cashews and other ingredients - the KitchenAid blender worked like a charm.

THE RECIPE:

6 to 8 oz. uncooked whole wheat spaghetti [I eyeballed the amount]
1 to 2 large, ripe tomatoes [I opted to use 2]
1/2 c. raw cashews
1/4 c. water
1 TBL. tomato paste
2 TBL. olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic [I don't remember how many I used, but I am going say that I used 2 or 3 and definitely not 4 for fear of rancid garlic breath)
1 tsp. salt
2 to 3 TBL. wine or water [Whoa, that's like comparing apples to oranges]
1 or 2 tsp. black pepper
1 large handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
_______________________________________________
1) Boil water and cook pasta.
2) Core then roughly chop the tomato(s). Add to blender, along with cashews, water (or wine) and tomato paste. Blend until very smooth.
3) Add olive oil to large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and saute until golden.
4) Pour the sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt, and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5) Add the drained pasta to the saute pan along with the black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

This recipe is delicious, as is. No changes or suggestions necessary. This recipe will be incorporated to my meal rotation.

Random Thought

So, as I was reading JL's blog, I noticed that she "tags" her entries. Going forward, I will be tagging entries for quicker reference in the future.

P.S. Damn "Insert Link" button on Blogger is still not functional! In any event, here is the link to her blog. You'll just have to bear with old school cutting and pasting for the time being! http://soapparently.wordpress.com/

Stir-Fry 2004 Plus! - An ORIGINAL by SDP and LH

SDP and I wanted to make dinner together and I suggested stir-fry...Little did she know that we were making a vegan meal! Again, like Stir-Fry 2004, we did not follow a recipe and instead used our kitchen intuition to throw together this dish. The results were phenomenal.

To start, heat up some tamari, water, and sugar in a wok. Add veggies. SDP bought and brought over a vacuum-packed assortment of pre-washed, pre-cut vegetables, that included carrots, broccoli, onions, red/yellow/green peppers, mushrooms, etc. This was a pleasant convenience. We also added in some finely chopped garlic and ginger. Towards the end of the cooking time, we tossed in cooked brown rice. At the end of the cooking time, SDP added some pan-fried chicken and I added my pan-fried tofu for protein.

Just as good, if not better, than last time!

Nutritious British Broccoli and Spinach Quiche - The PETA Celebrity Cookbook by Ingrid Newkirk (p. 69)

Cookbook:

I had made this quiche B.B. (Before Blog) and had enjoyed it very much so. Why is it "British" quiche? That I do not know! Or care!

THE RECIPE (COURTESY OF ABOVE REFERENCED BOOK):

2-3 garlic cloves
1.5 c. broccoli
2 c. spinach
1 lb. tofu, drained and cut into chunks
2-3 TBS. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)
1 vegan pie crust (See 11/08/08 Entry for recipe)
1 tsp. paprika
________________________________
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Combine garlic, broccoli, spinach, tofu chunks, nutritional yeast, salt, cayenne.
3) Combine in food processor (option) [I opted out of this step; instead I just chopped everything really well]
4) Roll out pie crust and place in pie dish.
5) Spoon tofu mixture into pie crust.
6) Sprinkle paprika on top.
7) Bake for 1 hour and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.



Why is my link not working?! Must play around with Blogger to create active and visible links. In the meantime, the following is the url for the cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Peta-Celebrity-Cookbook-Ingrid-Newkirk/dp/1590560272/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260239543&sr=8-1

Ten Minute Brownies Revisited - See 11.15.09 Entry

Did not have any vegan chips, but I did have a hunk of Trader Joe's chocolate. At TJ's there is a physical list of Vegan Friendly Products - just ask at the customer service center! This bar of chocolate is a real value item too. For the recipe, I used a chef's knife and chopped the sh** out of a small hunk of the bar.

Again, there are some issues with pan size/ baking time/ proportions of wet and dry ingredients...the brownies were not cohesive squares when cut. They were crumbly but delicious and fudgy nonetheless. In fact, DP's dad wolfed down two at the dinner table! The brownies were extra energy needed to banish all helicopters on the front lawn!

Homemade Lara Bars - http://enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com/2008/02/home-made-lara-bars-energy-bars-part-3.html

Its a well known fact of life that Lara Bars are delicious. These homemade Lara Bars, courtesy of the above referenced website, were really good too! The recipe yields two bars.

Here's the recipe:

Very Cherry Bars

1/4 cup chopped dates (roughly chopped whole dates, not pre-chopped)
1/4 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries [I used Craisins]
1/3 cup whole pecans, almonds or walnuts [I used cashews]
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 TBSP peanut butter [I used crunchy Skippy]*

____________________________________________________
1)Pulse dates and cherries in a food processor (This is where my Magic Bullet came into handy) until processed to a paste; transfer to medium bowl.

2) Add the nuts and cinnamon to the Magic Bullet and pulse until finely chopped. Add the nut mixture to the fruit paste.

3) Use your fingers to knead the nuts into the fruit paste.

4) Divide mixture in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap, and use hands to form the bars.

Notes: * While the peanut butter was not included in the original recipe, I added it to the mixture since it was so dry and did not hold its form well. It was a tasty addition. It would be fun to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters!

As far as the mixture being a little on the arid side, it may be attributable to the dates I used. The ones I used were purchased in a plastic container. Word on the street from my coworker, RA, is that there are more juicy, fresh dates. She might have mentioned these plumper dates being readily available in a barrel? I'll have to investigate this further...

Also, I encourage you to check out the website mentioned above...the blogger makes suggestions for different variations of Lara Bars. HELLO chocolate chip cookie dough Lara Bars!

Stir-Fry 2004 - An ORIGINAL by LH, MOC, and ET

Here's the recipe for an original dish, dubbed Stir-Fry 2004 in honor of our high school reunion we attended the same night of its creation.

In a wok, add a splash of tamari, small scoop of sugar, and a little water. Heat and saute Chinese broccoli. Add tofu cubes, fresh minced ginger, and Soy Vay sauce. Top with a few chopped scallions. Cook until hot.

This was a simple, delicious dish that was thrown together fairly last minute by three inexperienced chefs. It is a dish I'd like to recreate in the future!

We wanted to add some minced garlic, but last minute decided against doing so for fear that we'd have horrible breath whilst "catching up" with former classmates of ours. Haha! Next time, a little garlic might be a nice touch. Also, serving this dish over some sticky rice or noodles would make this a "complete meal".

***Unfortunately, there are no pictures because blogging didn't even cross my mind - I was pretty preoccupied with pre-reunion jitters (if you want to call them that, haha!)

Woo hoo to building confidence in the kitchen and experimenting sans formal recipe!

Pad See Ew - Vegan Yum Yum (p. 202)

One night during her visit, SA and I had the hardest time agreeing upon a meal to eat for dinner. After much deliberation (we even considered ordering take out!), we finally agreed upon trying a vegan recipe. We took a trip to the local Chinese market (http://yellowpages.mapquest.com/business/nj/east-hanover/Kam-Man-Foods-Inc/0-110478811/?query=kam%20man&icid=oneclick_mapquestyp&invocationType=oneClick.freelisting&flv=1)to pick up the specialty ingredients required for this recipe.

THE RECIPE:

3/4 package of chow fun (about 1.8 lbs.) Chow fun are fresh noodles that we purchased from the Chinese market especially for this dish. They are gushy sheets that I needed to cut into smaller, more manageable strips for this dish.
2 TBL. veggie oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes --> SA, a seasoned chef, recommended we use fresh ground chili paste as a replacement for the red pepper flakes.
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 lb. Chinese broccoli --> chop it into manageable pieces and halve the stems as to shorten their cooking time.
1.5 cups wheat gluten (a.k.a. seitan), sliced thin --> Please read notes at bottom
3 TBL. light soy sauce
3 TBL. dark soy sauce
2 TBL. sugar
________________________________________________
1) Cut noodles into manageable pieces
2) Heat oil in wok. Saute garlic over medium heat.
3) Add pepper flakes and ginger
4) Add broccoli and stir-fry until tender crisp, just a few minutes.
5) Add gluten, soy sauce, sugar, and noodels. Stir well, cooking for a a few minutes. Serve immediately.


Some notes: The recipe called for seitan, but Sarah the Carnivore and I subbed in chicken and tofu, respectively. I just sauted a little tofu in vegetable oil with salt and pepper in a separate pan, then added it to the broccoli concoction at the end of the cooking time.

Right off the bat, Sarah suggested that we double the recipe for the soy sauce sauce mixture. We used tamari and sushi soy sauce...The book details how using a light and a dark soy sauces is recommended for the best flavor, we used what we had handy. (Thanks NMcL for the sushi soy sauce).

It was a pretty good recipe and meal but definitely does not rival that of my new favorite Thai restaurant (http://www.yelp.com/biz/pimaan-thai-restaurant-emerson)! But for newbie Thai cookers, it was a fun experience and a success!

Pear Banana Bread - http://www.recipezaar.com/Pear-Banana-Bread-Low-Fat-353285

Veganized this muffin recipe using my Ener-G egg replacer. Ate two muffins (practically) right out of the oven. They were cooked through and the center was moist. The "edges" of the muffins stuck to the muffin liners pretty badly...Maybe that problem will dissipate once the muffins have cooled completely, I hope. If not, I'll just eat muffin centers. Muffin top, haha.

The recipe yielded 12 muffins when using 1/4 c. scoop + 1 very tiny bread pan.

In the event that the website is removed:

THE RECIPE:

1 banana (I used one and three quarters because the nonnies were small)
3 medium pears
1 + 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg (or veganized, the equivalent of 1 egg)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1.5 tsp. vanilla
___________________________________
1) Chop and blend fruit. I was able to use a regular, old-fashioned hand mixer and encountered few lumps since the fruit was chopped and so ripe.
2) Add all other ingredients, save 3/4 c. flour. Blend. Then add the remaining 3/4 c. flour.
3) Pour batter into greased pan or into lined muffin tin.
4) Bake at 425 F for 20 minutes. (The original recipe suggested 45-60 minutes at 350 - I was feeling rebellious. Let cool (if you had self-control) then Enjoy :)

Ten Minute Brownies - Student's Go Vegan Cookbook by Carole Raymond (p. 206)

I had made this recipe over the summer and made the most fudgy, dense, deliciously moist, undercooked brownies. This time, my end result was drier and more cake-like. Possible reasons: First time around I used vegan cane sugar from Whole Foods. Second time around I used regular sugar - perhaps there is some sort of functional difference between the two? Also, first time I omitted the nuts. Second time around I added a combination of chopped walnuts and chopped Craisins.

The recipe calls for a 6 x 9 bake pan, but I used what I had handy, which was an 8 x 8. Also, both times the recipe's recommended bake time was not nearly enough. In both instances, the edges cooked perfectly but the center of the pan did not. I am not sure what this is attributable to...? The beauty of vegan baking, however, is that it is 100 % safe to eat the egg-free batter, so raw, undercooked brownies are not a threat!

This time, the brownies were good, but definitely not anything like I remembered from the first time I made them. C'est la vie, I suppose!

1/4 c. canola oil
1 c. vegan chocolate chips
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
3/4 c. suagr
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. finely chopped walnuts
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1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Lightly oil a 6 x 9 baking pan. A coworker of mine believes this might be a small loaf pan...
3) In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips in oil. Stir occasionally and set aside when fully melted.
4) To a large bowl, add applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. Blend well. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Whip (it good) and blend well. Add the flour, baking powder and nuts and mix, just enough to combine.
5) Spoon the batter into the baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top springs when lightly touched. Let cool completely and cut into squares.

Pasta Fagioli

This is a recipe from a coworker that has become a staple. Eyeball all ingredients.

1) Saute onion and garlic in olive oil (I used half an onion and 1/2 a clove.) Add 1/2 can tomato paste. Add a bit of water. Again, just eyeball the measurements and do use as much as your gut tells you. Add kidney beans (rinsed and drained, of course). Cook through and then simmer.

2) In a separate pot, cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Combine all ingredients, adding red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, to taste.

Lesson learned: Pasta increases when cooked. I measured out 2 c. of dried pasta thinking the end result would be 2 c. cooked pasta...NOT SO! In reality, I had well over 3 c. cooked pasta. So, next time, measure out less pasta from the get-go.

Pad Thai - The Vegan Table... (p.26)

After two disappointing experiences (one mildly disappointing, the other moderately) with Thai food at local restaurants downtown, I decided I would try my hand with Thai food in my very own kitchen - The results were pretty good for a first attempt at cooking Thai cuisine! MD and myself were pleased with the end result.

The rice noodles were found in the "international section" of a regular supermarket.

TRUE STORY: Bean Sprouts are a hot commodity. Yesterday I visited 3 grocery stores in search of the all-too-elusive bean sprout. Failing on my quest, I called Whole Foods to check their bean sprout inventory...CHECK! As of 10 pm last night, bean sprouts were in stock. However, our sprouts were sold out as of 7 pm tonight! Who knew that there was such a demand for sprouts?! So in lieu of sprouts, we used both broccoli and snow peas. (Or were they snap peas - what's the difference anyway? Whatevers...)

THE RECIPE (Courtesy of Above-Referenced Book)
8 oz. rice noodles
sesame or canola oil, for sauteing tofu (we used canola)
1 package of extra-firm (we like it firm) tofu, pressed and cubed
salt n peppa, to taste.
1/4 c. peanut butter (we used crunchy)
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. tamari soy sauce
1/3 c. lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chopped broccoli or snow peas, steamed or stir-fried
1 bunch of scallions, chopped (including green parts)
1 c. bean sprouts
Optional: For garnish: sliced limes or lemons and chopped cilantro (MM would definitely NOT approve)

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1) Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and immediately return to pot and cover with lid.
2) Heat oil in pan and saute tofu until golden brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3) In a bowl (where else?) mix PB, sugar, tamari, lime juice and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
4) In a separate large saute pan, heat oil and/or a little water and add garlic and broccoli. Stir-fry for 5-10 minutes, until broccoli turns bright green. Add scallions then saute for a few more minutes.
5) To that pan, add cooked noodles, tofu, PB mixture, and bean sprouts. Combine well, and cook until all ingredients are heated through. Optionally garnish, then serve immediately!

Wok's Up, Bitches?



NEXT TIME: MD suggested we marinate the tofu in the peanut sauce before sauteing to give the tofu cubes more flavor - while the dish was flavorful, I whole-heartedly agree that the tofu itself was mildly flavored.

I would want more peanutty goodness in the dish. Maybe add chopped peanuts or use a more potent PB next time!

Yay for international cooking with MD.

Biggie Biggie Biggie Can't You See, Sometimes Your Words Just VEGANIZE ME

French Onion Pie - The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (p. 128)

FOUND THE RECIPE! Again, I halved all ingredients.

1 uncooked pie shell, thawed
1/2 TBL. non-dairy butter, oil, or water for sauteing
2.5 large yellow or white onions, thinly sliced
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. soy milk
7.5 oz. extra-firm tofu (Which is approximately a little more than 1/2 a block)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2.5 TBL. unbleached flour
1 TBL. nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
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1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Bake pie crust for 10 minutes, remove from oven, then set aside.
3) In a large saute pan, cook onions and garlic in non-dairy butter until onions become translucent. Add sugar and salt to taste. Cook for 15-25 minutes or until onions become carmelized.
4) In a blender or large food processor, combine milk, tofu, salt, pepper, nutmeg, flour, and nutritional yeast until mixture is smooth. (Smooooth operator.) In a large bowl, add contents of blender to sauted onions. Mix.
5) Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling sets. Serve immediately.

Onion Tart...Recipe to Follow Once I Figure Out Where I Found It - Whoops!

This was a dish I made awhile ago. CH and I ate about half of it before I took a picture of it, whoopsie. CH is not into vegan eating and enjoyed it nonetheless! We enjoyed it with a glass of KungFu Girl white.

Some thoughts: Bake time--> Increase it.

Used a recipe for vegan pie crust, which is ridiculously delicious and from the PETA Celebrity Cookbook (p.117):

2 c. flour
1.5 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. + 2TBS marg
2 TBS veggie oil
3 TBL cold water
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1) Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
2) Cut marg. into small pieces and mix into the flour. Mixture is crumbly.
3) Thoroughly mix oil and water in a small bowl and combine with the flour/marg. mixture. Knead until dough barely holds together. Don't overwork the dough. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Note: I have made this dough in the past according to recipe and found it on the greasy side, so I made the executive decision to reduce the marg. to 1/2 c. (Eliminating the additional 2TBS of marg.) As a result, the dough was a little too crumbly...Therefore, next time I'll try 1/2 c. + 1 TBS. marg in the recipe.

Vegan Yum Yum... - Coconut Lime Tofu (p. 136-137)

THE RECIPE (Courtesy of Above Referenced Book)
______________________________________________
1 brick of tofu, drained and well pressed
2/3 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 half lime
2 tsp. sugar
Zest of 1 lime

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. It's getting hot in herrre.
2) Cut tofu. The book recommends cutting fancy "bricks", I just did my usual "strips".
3) Add every ingredient save the tofu into a food processor and blend well. This is where my Magic Bullet came into handy, though the roomie does own a fancy food processor I am getting excited to try out sometime soon.
4) Add the tofu to a casserole dish and pour sauce over it. Bake for 25 minutes. Flip tofu, then bake additional 10 minutes until the vast majority of sauce has been absorbed and evaporated. Remove from oven and let dish cool a bit before (photographing) and eating.

Low-Down on the recipe:

For starters, I halved the entire recipe since I am cooking for one and did not want ridiculous amounts of leftovers, like my last experiment. My sauce used tamari, instead of soy sauce, and I found the taste to be on the salty side. (Tamari vs. Soy: What's the diff?: http://ideas.thenest.com/dinner-recipes/cooking-advice/qa/cooking-q-a-tamari-vs-soy-sauce.aspx)

Next bottle, I'll definitely buy low-sodium. Despite the saltiness though, the taste was good / on the exotic side!

This was also my first attempt at using frozen tofu. Freezing tofu definitely changes the texture - freezing it gives the tofu a light and spongy density.

Speaking of firsts, another first of mine was using a zester. Pretty cool tool!

Also, my brown basmati rice was an appropriate side. Next time, I'll reserve some sauce to add over the rice and finished tofu product.

Afterthoughts II on Snickerdoodles

MAKE LESS CINNAMON SUGAR! HALVE THE RECIPE! The leftover cinnasugar was insanely addictive - I added it to popcorn, my morning oatmeal, hell, I even ate some straight. Note to self: Avoid future cavities and make less next time!

Suggestion From a Friend

JL recommended that I post recipes online. That was my original intention, but then I decided against it in case that the recipes were protected by copyright. As a result of JL's feedback, I am posting recipes and hopefully providing adequate credit to the respective authors. In the event that I am infringing on any copyrights or laws, I am more than happy to remove recipes.

Afterthoughts on Snickerdoodles

The cookies are EXTREMELY CRIPSY (rock hard!) On the plus side, the greasiness is not as noticeable one day later. They are great cookies for dunking in hot tea, which I found out today at work. Next time, I plan on reducing oven time - perhaps that will give the cookies a more palatable texture.

Hurry Up Alfredo - Vegan Yum Yum...(p. 196)

This is a pretty good dish! Following the recipe, I used 3 c. of any small pasta shape - I chose elbows. The recipe yields 2 or 3 servings - they come out to be very largeeee servings. Next time, I plan on halving the recipe, and anticipate having more than plenty pasta.

The cashews did not grind smoothly - but rather left an interesting texture for the dish.

There is small "kick" to the sauce - I would not call it a substitute for Alfredo sauce... it tastes different, but quite delicious!

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THE RECIPE (Courtesy of Above Referenced Book):

3 c. any shaped small pasta
1 c. soy milk
1/3 c. rounded raw, unsalted cashews
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
3 TBL. low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 TBL. Earth Balance Marg
1 TBL. tahini
1 TBL. lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon or stone ground mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch salt
Black Pepper, to taste
2-4 garlic cloves

1) Boil water; pasta until tender, not mushy.
2) Mix soy milk, cashews, yeast, tamari (or soy sauce), marg., tahini, lemon juice, garlic in a blender on high until smooth.
3)Drain noodles, pour sauce over, and combine.

Snickerdoodles - Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining & Everyday (p. 246)

This is my first documented experiment in vegan fare! The recipe calls for cinnamon sugar - I found a recipe online, as follows: 1/2 c. sugar + 1 TBS. cinnamon. Finished cookies were on the hard/ cripsy side. The second batch came out better than the first - they were a little softer. As with my other vegan baking experiences, I found the finished product to be on the greasy side. Need to start experimenting with different types of vegan "butter" - for this recipe, I used Earth Balance Original, in a circular tub. Similarly, as with other vegan baked goods, the cookies were a tad salty. Pretty good snickerdoodles, nonetheless.

Thoughts for next time:
+ experiement with different "butter"
+ cook for less time

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THE RECIPE (COURTESY OF ABOVE REFERENCED BOOK):

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. Earth Balance marg.
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 tesp. Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 TBL. hot water
1.5 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. cream of tartarrrr
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Cinnamon sugar (see recipe above)

1) Cream sugar, marg, and vanilla extract in a med. size bowl
2) In small bowl, whisk egg replacer and water until foamy. Add it to the marg. and sugar mixture, then whip all together until its light and fluffy (In Scattergories, perhaps a term of endearment)
3) In a separate bowk, mix flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Add portions of the dry ingredients to the wet, whipped mixture then whip until combined. Alternately add dry, wet ingredients. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
4) Preheat oven to 375.
5) Using a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, use 1TBL. measuring spoon to measure out dough. Roll into balls and roll each ball into cinna-sugar.
6) Using fork, lightly flatten cookie.
7) "Bake for 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 minutes for cruchy ones." Remove from oven and let them sit for 30 sec. Gently remove cookes and cool on wire rack. --> As discussed, next time I'd reduce the baking time to 8 minutes to see if that improves the cookies texture.