(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.

Quiche Du Jour – The Urban Vegan – p. 33

Ingredients:
Flaky pie crust dough (see below)
1 – 14 oz. aseptic box of extra-firm silken tofu (do not use refrigerated tofu; it is not creamy enough)
3 TBL. fresh parsley, chopped
5 TBL. nutritional yeast
2 tsp. cornstarch
½ tsp. salt [I omitted this]
2 TBL. soy cream or soy milk [I used soy cream]

Filling Ingredient Du Jour:
1 c. sliced tomato [I used plum tomatoes]
1 c. fresh basil [It’s time to start my own herb garden at home!]

Procedure:
1) Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 10- or 11-inch quiche pan.
2) Roll out dough and press into quiche pan. Set aside.
3) In a food processor, blend together tofu, parsley, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, salt, and milk or cream until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
4) Pour the tofu mixture into the pie crust. Gently arrange filling (i.e. tomatoes and basil) on top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the tofu is set.
If your filling is browning too quickly, simply cover the quiche with aluminum foil.
5) Cool on a wire rack and let sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Filling Ingredients Pour Les Jours Autres:
-Mushrooms sauteed in sherry or marsala
-1 package of tempeh bacon, steamed for 10 minutes, drained, and crumbled (Quiche Lorraine)
- roasted red pepper & marinated artichoke hearts, drained very well before using
-sun dried tomatoes
-1/2 c. vegan cheese

Flaky Pie Crust – p. 160
Ingredients:

¾ c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 + 1/8 c. flour
Scant 3/8 tsp. salt
3/8 c. (equivalent to 6 TBL.) non-hydrogenated shortening
3/8 c. (equivalent to 6 TBL.) Earth Balance
3-6 TBL. ice water

Procedure:

1) Mix dry ingredients.
2) Cut in shortening and Earth Balance. Don’t overmix!
3) Add enough ice water to make the dough stick together when you squeeze it. Let the dough chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
4) Roll into one disk on a lightly floured surface.

Comments:

After an extensive search for Mori-Nu brand tofu in my area, I finally was able to locate some in nearby Hoboken! There is a health food store, right on Washington Ave., that carries Mori-Nu. Mori-Nu tofu is different because it is packed in an aseptic, cardboard package whereas “traditional” tofu, such as the Nasoya brand, is packed in water in a vacuum-sealed plastic container. The texture of Mori-Nu is much creamier and less grainy than traditional tofu and lends itself nicely for a quiche recipe. I could imagine using the creamy Mori-Nu in vegan cheesecake recipes, delicious! As for the quantity of Mori-Nu, I used a full box, which is 12.3 oz., plus a guesstimate of a second box to total 14 oz., as required by the recipe.

My neurotic nitpicking: My quiche pan was only 9 inches (not 10 inches or 11-inches as the recipe suggests) but the smaller pan size had no discernible negative affect on the outcome. Also, although I did not grease the quiche pan as the recipe suggests, I did not have any problems seamlessly cutting out the slices. Eliminating the extra grease was a good way to save calories – there was plenty of fat within the dough recipe itself!

After assembling the quiche, I liberally sprinkled some vegan parmesan cheese on top, which added to the complexity of flavors in the quiche.

I baked the quiche for 15 minutes uncovered and then noticed that the basil was getting a little too toasty, so for the remaining time, I loosely covered the dish with tin. The tinfoil trick worked wonders – the basil did not end up burning at all. On a tangent – is the word “tinfoil” no longer P.C.? Is the proper terminology “aluminum foil”? Haha. It took 35 minutes for the crust to brown and the tofu mixture to set.

After about 10 minutes of cooling time, I couldn’t resist any longer and had to cut myself a slice!  While I enjoyed the quiche, it seemed to be lacking in the flavor department.  In a future experimentation, I might double the quantity of the tomatoes and basil and create layers, or add some more spices or herbs to the tofu mixture.  The crust though, was deliciously flaky and perfect.  The next two quiches I’d like to experiment with is the Quiche Lorraine (with the tempeh bacon crumbles) and then also, broccoli and vegan cheddar in honor of my co-worker, MT’s quiche, which was absolutely phenomenal, albeit non-vegan friendly.

Granada Paella - The Urban Vegan By Dynise Balcavage - p. 78

After much muffin making, it was time to do some real cookin, Spanish-style! The above referenced recipe is from: The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine (Ch-ch-Check It Out!)

Ingredients:

2 TBL olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c. chopped red pepper
1 large vegan chorizo link (The author recommends, and I use, Trader Joe's brand)
2 c. Arborio rice
1/2 c. frozen peas
2 tomatoes, cubed
1 tsp. saffron
4-5 c. veggie stock
sea salt, to taste
lemon wedges for garnish

Procedure:

1) In a large pot (Finally making use of NMcL's new(ish) Le Creuset!), heat the oil over medium low heat and saute garlic.
2) Raise heat to medium and add the peppers.  Saute for 2. (minutes, duhh)
3) Add the crumbled chorizo.  Saute for 10.
4) Add the rice.  Stir well and cook for 1.
5) Add peas, tomatoes, saffron, and veggie stock.  Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and cover pan.  Cook for 15-20 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed.  It should be slighlty wetter than risotto.
6) Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve hot!

The author suggests that in lieu of the chorizo, you can use 1) 1 c. white beans + 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes or 2) 1 c. chopped seitan.  Since, I am trying to reduce my intake of soy products, I would definitely consider trying out these protein-rich alternatives.  Though I would imagine I would need to add some additional spices, since I think that the vegan chorizo added a lot of the spiciness and flavor to the dish.  Also, to add complexity to the dish, the author suggests adding in 1 tsp. fennel seeds while adding the veggie stock.

Sun-Dried Tomato Dip - Veganomicon (p. 64)

THE RECIPE (COURTESY OF ABOVE REFERENCED COOKBOOK):

2 c. sun-dried tomatoes (dry ones, not packed in oil)
2 c. boiling water
1/2 c. slivered or sliced almonds
1/2 c. cooked white beans [The authors recommend using navy beans...I find it ironic that navy beans are a type of white bean...Anyway, I couldn't find navy beans so I used butter beans instead]
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1/4 olive oil
2 TBL. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt [I omitted this]
several pinches of fresh ground pepper
________________________________________
1) Place the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let sit and soak for 15 minutes.
2) In a blender or food processor, grind the almonds to a powder. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the tomatoes from the water (do not discard the water) and add them to the almonds. Add the remaining ingredients and puree, adding up to 1/4 c. of the tomato water. Scrape down sides as necessary.
3) Cover, chill for at least an hour, then serve. [The authors recommend using this dip as a spread on a grilled veggie sandwich - I dipped carrots and Triscuits]

COMMENTS: Beware when eating this dip! B sampled just a taste of the dip and ended up cracking a tooth! I am so sorry! The culprit must have been an almond piece...? WTF.

The dip was overly garlic...2 cloves was way too intense, in my opinion. For the sheer fact that someone chipped a tooth, I am reluctant to make this dip again. But if I did, I'd use a single garlic clove. Or, maybe I'd use two ROASTED garlic cloves instead!

To make roasted garlic, take an entire bulb of garlic and peel off as much outer skin as possible. Chop off the top. Spread a little olive oil on the top, making sure to coat each individual clove. Wrap in foil and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. I baked mine for about 35 minutes, and next time, I'd roast it for even longer, so the consistency becomes spreadable, as people purports it does. Roasted garlic is absolutely delicious and tastes a lot more mild than the raw version.