(Revised) Creamy Tomato Barley Risotto – Vegan Yum Yum – p. 139

Ingredients:
1 c. pearled barley (I revised the recipe and used Arborio Rice)
1 TBL. olive oil
½ tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 c. fresh or canned diced tomatoes, mashed a bit [I used fresh plum tomatoes]
1 c. soy milk [I used rice milk]
½ c. water
¼ c. nutritional yeast
3 TBL. miso mixed with 3 TBL. water [The recipe says to use mellow or white miso, I used red miso]
¼ to ½ tsp. salt [I omitted]

Procedure:

1) Put the barley, olive oil, oregano, and basil into your Le Cresuet. Turn heat to medium high and stir until barley is coated in oil.
2) One the barley begins sizzling (about a minute), add the garlic. Cook for another minute.
3) Add the tomatoes, non-dairy milk, water, nutritional yeast, miso, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is creamy, but not soupy, and the grains are cooked through but not mushy.

Comments:

This was delicious! The substitutions I used worked beautifully. Also, from my Williams Sonoma Technique classes, I learned that when making risotto, it helps if the liquid that you add in (in this case, the non-dairy milk and water) is heated rather than cold. The heated liquid penetrates the grains better, which in turn, leads to a decreased cooking time length. This is such a delicious dish, it gets a 5-star rating.

Strawberry Bread - Edible Jersey Spring 2010 - p. 20

Picked up a copy of Edible Jersey while at DePiero's the other day.  The lady at the register suggested the above referenced recipe, so I went ahead and veganized it, which worked beautifully.

Ingredients:

2.25 c. sliced fresh strawberries
2 large eggs (I substituted ground flax seeds...please see: Post Punk Kitchen's Guide to Egg Replacement for the proportions)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. veggie oil (I substituted safflower oil, again, flawless substitution)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1.5 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powpow
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts (The recipe suggests almonds - in lieu of almonds, I used walnuts)

Procedure:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a loaf pan and set it aside.  Place berries in a blender and puree.  Blend in egg replacer, sugar, oil, and vanilla.

2) In a separate bowl, sift all dry ingredients, save the nuts, and then fold into the wet mixture.  Next, fold in nuts then transfer to loaf pan.  Bake bread for 50-60 minutes.  Cool for about 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.  Serve! (As per my M.O., I went the muffin route and baked these bad boys for about 15-20 minutes at 400F.)

Conclusion:

These are phenomenal muffins.  Again, NMcL commented on how delicious the aroma in the apartment was.  The muffins were pretty incredible, not gunna lie, and tasted phenomenal with a little schmear of Better Than Cream Cheese.

Soft, Spicy, Heavenly Ginger Cookies - Online

This RecipeZaar Recipe for Ginger Cookies is absolutely phenomenal.  RecipeZaar is quickly becoming my favorite resource for finding recipes online for several reasons.  First, the user ratings are helpful in determining which recipes are worth experimenting with - obviously the better the rating by the larger number of users is a pretty good tip-off that, unless I royally screw up, the recipe will be decent.  And secondly, the user reviews are worth reading for additional experimentation suggestions such as ingredient substitutions.

Ingredients
3/4 c. margarine, softened (I used Earth Balance)
1 c. white sugar
1/4 c. molasses
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg....[I ended up using pumpkin pie spice as a substitute for all of the powdered spices because I was too lazy to fish out each individual spice since my spices are so unorganized - note to self: purchase spice rack.]
1 TBS. fresh ginger, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. raisins (optional - I opted out)
2 TBL. white sugar - I accidentally omitted this, but didn't miss it!

What To Do:
1) In a large bowl, cream together the vegan marg. and 1 c. sugar until light and fluffy.  Stir in the molasses.  Finally, mix in the water and baking soda. [I used my sexy KitchenAid Stand Mixer]

2) Sift together the flour, salt, and dry spices; add gradually to the wet mixture.  Fold in the minced ginger and raisins. [Again, I omitted the raisins, but think that chocolate chips might be a nice addition when I make these cookies in the future.  Also, my dough was on the wet side, so I let it sit for overnight in the fridge - worked like a charm!].

3) (The next day,) shape the dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 TBS of sugar.  [I used a TBS. measuring spoon to create perfectly uniform cookies.  And, I did not roll the dough into the additional sugar, and really, the extra sugar wasn't missed.]

4) Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly. [I lined the cookie sheet with parchment paper, and forgot to "flatten slightly" but again, the cookies turned out damn delicious.]  Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. [I baked the cookies for the full 12 minutes and they came out wonderfully golden brown.]

"Meatloaf" With Mashed Potatoes and Gravy - Skinny Bitch (118)

“Meatloaf” Recipe (All Recipes are Courtesy of Above Referenced Book)

1 TBL. refined coconut oil
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 onion, diced
3 oz. cremini, shiitake, or portobello mushrooms, diced (about 2 cups) [I used a combination of baby bellas and white mushrooms]
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 slices vegan whole wheat bread [Be on the lookout for a “You’ve Got Options” post on Vegan-Friendly Breads]
1 c. toasted walnuts [Mine were raw, so I just toasted them in a pan over the stovetop for a bit]
2 14-oz. packages of Gimme Lean Ground Beef

½ c. rolled oats
½ c. ketchup
2 TBL. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1) Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 10 x 4 x 3 in. loaf pan and set aside.
2) In an 8 to 10 in. skillet, heat the oil on medium heat. Saute carrot and celery for about 2 minutes. Add onion, sauté for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper, sauté for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a little.
3) In a food processor, process bread and toasted walnuts to form a coarse meal. Transfer the coarse meal to a large bowl, add the “beef,” oats, ketchup, parsley, and veggie mixture. Use your hands to mix well. Transfer mixture to the loaf pan, spread it in an even layer, then bake for 45 minutes. The bitches (ahem, the skinny ones) recommend letting the loaf sit for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Boil water and a bit o’ salt in a large pot over high heat. Add approximately 2.25 pounds of peeled and cubed russet potatoes [I guesstimated the weight using approximately a little less than half of a five pound bag of potatoes.] Cook the potatoes for about 15 or 20 minutes, or until they are very tender. Drain the water, add the soy milk, a scoop of vegan butter, and salt and pepper to your hearts desire, then mash ‘em up, using a whisk. Or, if you have fancy (uni-tasking) kitchen gadgets a la Williams Sonoma, you can press the potatoes through a potato ricer.

Brown Gravy Recipe

¼ c. refined coconut oil
½ c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 c. veggie broth
4 TBL. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or 8 tsp. tamari or soy sauce

1) Heat the coconut oil in a 2 to 3 (small) quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Cook and stir constantly, until the mixture is browned and smells nutty (about 5 minutes). Add in the veggie broth, a little at a time, continuing to stir. Remove from heat, and whisk in the Bragg’s/ soy/ tamari.

Thoughts

This was an excellent recipe, I'd say that my fellow B+ vegans (or C vegans), haha, agree.  Cooking with the coconut oil imparted a slightly sweet taste to both the meatloaf and the brown gravy, which was unique but pleasant.  MO brought a nice Merlot which went well with the "meatloaf" and MD prepared a delicious vegan broccoli rabe dish.   The meal was finished with a tasty sweet treat - Newman-O's, which, in my opinion are 110 % better than its non-vegan counterpart, i.e. Oreo brand cookies.

As far as the blogging format, there are some exciting changes on the horizon.  JL suggested that I make use of these so-called jump breaks for my blog posts.  I couldn't agree more - now its just a matter of sitting down and figuring out how to properly insert them.  Ultimately, I envision each post containing just photos, then the readers (all 3 of you, haha) will click the pictures, which will contain a live link that redirects you to a new page that shows the recipe.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to do this (ahem, SW!) please, comments are appreciated.

 

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!