Vegan Leek Quiche - Online

Vegan Leek Quiche Recipe Available Here

The recipe, courtesy of above referenced website:

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. pine nuts
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. plain, unsweetened soy milk
2 TBL. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt

Filling:
4 TBL. olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and green parts chopped (approximately 3 cups)
1 lb. light-firm or extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1.5 inch cubes
2 TBL. fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced (approximately 1 tsp.)
2 tsp. miso paste (I used red miso)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1/4 c. chopped, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes, drained

Procedure:
1)  To make the crust:  Preheat oven to 350.  Coat 9-inch spring form pan with cooking spray.  (I used a 9-inch, glass pie pan, since the bottom of our spring form pan went M.I.A.  Also, I used Smart Balance Omega cooking spray.)  Pulse the flour, pinenuts, and baking powder in a food processor (I used the Magic Bullet, duhh) until finely ground.  Whisk together the soy milk, olive oil and salt in a bowl.  Stir in the flour mixture.  Press into the pan.  Bake for 5 minutes, then cool dish.

2)  To make the filling:  Heat 1 TBL. olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Saute the chopped leeks for about 8 minutes, or until softened.  Set aside.

3)  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add tofu and simmer for 5 minutes.  (Here I will note that I just plunked the entire brick of tofu into the boiling water since I inadvertently forgot to cube the tofu before-hand, as the recipe suggests.  Nothing to cry over, everything turned out just mighty fine.)  Simmer the tofu for 5 minutes.  Drain then pat dry with paper towels.

4) Whisk together the remaining 3 TBL. of olive oil, lemon juice, miso, minced garlic and salt in a large bowl.  Mash in tofu, using a fork.  Stir in breadcrumbs, basil, sun-dried tomatoes and leeks.

5)  Spoon the filling into the crust.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until the crust is browned.  Cool for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.

This is quite possibly my favorite vegan quiche recipe!  I really enjoyed the pine nut crust, and would definitely use this crust recipe for other quiche recipes in the future.    The sun-dried tomatoes were 365 Whole Foods Generic brand - they were packed in olive oil.  I did not rinse or pat the oil off, I just shook most of the oil off.   It seems a little weird, but Craisins actually made a delicious complementary topping.  The dish had such a nice fall flavor and is definitely worth repeating.

Veganized Potato Leek Soup from M.O.C.

This is a recipe was given to me by M.O.C.  I went ahead and took the liberty of veganizing the recipe. 

Potato Leek Soup:

2.5 pounds potatoes (I used about half red potatoes and half white potatoes)

3 cups chicken broth (I substituted veggie broth)

2 cups milk (I substituted soy milk)

3 leeks

2 Tbs butter (I substituted Earth Balance and olive oil)

Boil potatoes until soft (which took approximately 20 minutes).  While potatoes are boiling, chop leeks and saute in butter until translucent. Puree potatoes, and leeks with chicken (or veggie!) stock in blender. Place back in pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer. Stir in (non-dairy!) milk and remove from heat. Voila.

M,O.C.'s Tip: "My soup was on the thicker side. If you would like yours thinner, I would say use maybe just under 2 pounds of potato or add another cup or so of chicken (or veggie) broth (it usually comes 4 cups to a box of stock anyway)."

M.O.C.'s Afterthought: "Also, another potato leek recipe I saw suggested adding about 1/4 cup white wine. If you have any open already and want to try, that's something else you could add."  This is something that I did not do.  The only open white I had lying around was a sweet, sweet white, and that would not be appropriate for this recipe.

Commentary:  This soup was very mild tasting.  The flavor definitely improved with a generous addition of sea salt.  M.O.C. said her soup was also mild.  I didn't care for the soup at first, but the soup grew on me the second day, after the flavors had melded a bit better.

There were many types of potatoes to choose from at the supermarket.  For the next potato soup I experiment with, I will use Yukon Gold Potatoes.  From a site called Wise Geek: Yukon Gold potatoes "are usually waxy, and highly delicious in soups."

Here is another link that describes the different types of potatoes: OChef.  "Now, there are some potatoes that fall in the middle, in the "all-purpose" category, such as the Yukon Gold, Peruvian Blue, Superior, Kennebec, and Katahdin. They are moister than baking potatoes and will hold together in boiling water. They are particularly well-suited to roasting, pan frying, and using in soups, stews, and gratins."

Seitan Piccata With Olives and Green Beans - Veganomicon (174)

Ingredients:
1 pound seitan
about 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan)
1 scant cup thinly sliced shallots (about 3 to 5 shallots, depending on size)
4 cloves chopped garlic
1/3 c. dry white wine
2. c. veggie broth
1/4 tsp. salt
several pinched of freshly ground black pepper
small pinch of dried thyme (I subbed dried rosemary since there was no time to run to the store to buy thyme)
1/4 c. capers with a little brine
1/2 c. pitted kalamata or black olives, cut in half
juice of one lemon (omitted as I didn't have one)
2 TBL. fresh parsley
1/2 lb. green beans, ends trimmed
___________________________________
What to do:
1) Preheat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat.
2) Cut the seitan into long, thin pieces.  The seitan I purchased was pre-cut into slices (they were more like small, think chunks)
3) Coat the bottom of the skillet with oil and let it get hot.  Dredge the seitan in the flour, add to the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side.
4) After cooking all of the seitan, saute the shallots and garlic, adding more olive oil if necessary.  Saute for about 5 minutes, taking care not to let burn.
5) Add the white wine, raise the heat to bring to a rolling boil.  Add vegetable broth, salt, black pepper, and thyme (or rosemary).  Again, bring the sauce to a boil, let reduce by half.  The author suggests the reduction should take about 7 to 10 minutes...I found the sauce took much longer to reduce.
6) Add the capers and olives to heat through (about 3 minutes).  Add parsley and lemon (if you have one!) to the sauce. 
7) Boil the green beans for about 2 minutes, then strain.
8) Mix the green beans and seitan together (over mashed potatoes, if you are so inclined as the author suggests - I used white rice) then douse everything in plenty of sauce.

This dish was interesting.  It is very good for the olive lover.  I think the best thing about this dish was learning how to prepare the seitan.  Dredging the flour in the seitan then pan frying it tasted delicious.  Breaded (/bread-crumbed) seitan cooked in the same manner would also probably be delicious.  Cooking with seitan is not as scary as it used to be, though the seitan still looks not very appealing...  Next up is actually making my own seitan from scratch, using vital wheat gluten!

Sauteed Spinach and Tomatoes - Veganomicon - p. 106

Ingredients for the Italian version:
1 bunch spinach, roots discarded, washed well (about 6 loosely-packed cups)
2 TBL. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into a little less than a 1/2 inch dice
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
toasted pine nuts

Procedure:
Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic and salt.  Saute for another 30 seconds.  Add the tomatoes and saute for anouther 2 minutes.  Add the spinach and cook until it is wilted, adding water, which allows the spinach to cook faster without burning.  Toss in the toasted pine nuts, sprinkle with lemon juice, and serve!

The Indian version of this recipe includes substituting the olive oil with peanut oil, omitting the toasted pine nuts, and including in 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger.

(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.

Raw Vegan Cilantro Pesto Recipe - Online

I had quite a bit of fresh cilantro that I wanted to use before it wilted, so I was happy to stumble across this recipe for Raw Vegan Cilantro Pesto.

Heads up - the recipe was quite garlicy, which may or may not be a good thing.  I used the pesto to dress some whole wheat penne, though a pesto-covered linguine might also be nice.  Also, tossing in some halved cherry tomatoes might have added a nice complementary flavor as well as dash of color to the dish.

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.