First tries from Sexy Vegan

I may have mentioned that my son Chris gave me The Sexy Vegan Cookbook for Christmas.  We finally got around to making something from it, well sort of.

Here's the finished product (food porn coming up!)

Chris helped me with the entire dinner from start of the seitan to the finishing touches on the greens.  We used the Simmered Seitan from Isa Does It, the breading recipe Colonel Schmolonel from The Sexy Vegan Cookbook, the Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy from Vegan With A Vengeance, a mashed potato recipe similar to that in The Sexy Vegan Cookbook and the greens recipe from The Sexy Vegan Cookbook.  The food was as delicious as it looks in the picture, perhaps more.  Amy thought I put too much salt in the greens, so I'll back off of that a little next time.  But I do like the touch of putting some red pepper flakes in the greens.  The greens had just a hint of spiciness and were cooked perfectly, not too wilted.  Chris really got into using the mixer to make the mashed potatoes.  They turned out really well. (I didn 't use the amounts in the cookbook, just the basic ingredients; after all, I've made these before.)  The Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy has become a favorite of mine, though I'm always having to leave one or two ingredients out because, well, I forget to get stuff at the store.  Next weekend will herald a MAJOR grocery shopping day.  Just saying.

Chris wants to do some more cooking, and I for one want to encourage him.  I enjoy his company in the kitchen and I have also told him chicks dig a dude who can cook. (Now to get Marcus to do some vegan cooking... he is going to make Nirvana Enchilada Casserole some time soon, I think.  Shucks that would make enough food to feed one person for a week.  Of course, on the day of the Chargers game, we snarfed it all down in no time flat.  But...

I think you could make Fried Seitan out of just about any decent seitan recipe.  But I do want to try the Sexy Vegan seitan recipe some time soon.  Wow.  I am so satisfied by this meal, I decided NOT to bake chocolate chip cookies until another night this week.

Phyllo Pot Pie

I got my copy of Isa Does It a few days ago.  I've made one of the recipes already (the Meaty Beany Chili, which was featured on Post Punk Kitchen's Make It Vegan.  This is my first time cooking from Isa Does It, and, incidentally, the first time I've ever used phyllo dough in a recipe.  The only change I made was to substitute sparkling grape juice for the sherry.  Results? This tastes GREAT.  I think the next time I make this, I will use a double pie crust instead of the phyllo dough, because I like crust on my pot pie.  Otherwise, this turned out great!  It's going to lunch with me for the next two days (unless Amy sneaks into the kitchen and eats some of the leftovers).

Crusty Corn Bean Pie and Noochy Cheeze from "The Farm"

I decided to veganize the Crusty Corn Bean Pie recipe from Diet for a Small Planet, and top it with the cheese sauce recipe from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook.  I guess I'm just an old hippie at heart.(I remember the hippies, but was a little younger than most of them)

Anyhow, Amy says the cheez sauce smells like cheese, so that should work.   This is the first time I've made the sauce, and it is my first recipe out of the New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook.  Incidentally, this cookbook is pretty much vegan, and was one of the first vegan cookbooks to reach a wider audience.  There are recipes to make tofu, soy milk, tempeh... it's pretty amazing.  I would have to quit work and go live on a commune to be able to do all that, but I can at least try some of the recipes.  There is a minnestrone soup recipe I really want to try.

Rotini in sauce with faux sausage

Amy made a delicious meal this evening.  Spaghetti sauce combined with "Don't Be Piggy" faux sausage from Wegmans, along with roasted Brussels sprouts and roasted zucchini slices.  Delicious!  And I made fast bake bread in the bread machine.  Excellent dinner.  And very simple.  All done and cleaned up.

Fast food - what needs to actually happen

McDonalds is losing money, adding quarter pounders and other new items to try to revive flagging sales.  The thing is, all that stuff is still meat and dairy products deluxe.  Why not introduce some vegan items?  They would be healthier and I bet Mickey D's would see some increase in sales.  Is going cruelty-free so difficult?  Not only are vegetarian/vegan items better for the environment and healthier to eat, they mean less of a demand for products that come from cruelty to animals.

I'm trying to figure out what items would be on the menu at my ideal vegan fast food place.  Definitely a hummus entree, with pita bread chips or slices and veggie slices.  Maybe an offering of baby carrots and hummus.  Some sort of BBQ seitan sandwich, and fries - both potato and sweet potato.  A variety of salads - maybe two salads to start out with, traditional and ...oh, I'm not sure what else.  How about an order of vegan potato salad?  Or vegan tacos and burritos?  I could see a sweet potato and black bean burrito, since those items are inexpensive.  And some kind of veggie/corn salsa/black bean/avocado burrito similar to the veggie cantina burrito Taco Bell carries.  And make sure the burritos are seared on the outside after folded - Taco Bell, Qdoba and Chipotle all do this.  And perhaps a vegan chili bowl.  That would be good.

Just a few thoughts.  Of course, you wouldn't want to try to do too much.

Vegan stroganoff

I have resolved to make more meals at home and try a lot of new things.  One thing I definitely wanted to make was goulash.  I had the recipe from Vegan on the Cheap in mind, but when I got ready to cook yesterday, I realized it was a slow cooker recipe, and that it wouldn't work on the stovetop.  So I switched to stroganoff and after some searching (I still have some vegan sour cream in my fridge that I made from VotC) I found a stroganoff recipe in Vegan With A Vengeance.  Now, my kids hate mushrooms.  So those were out, and the original recipe calls for both porcini and small white mushrooms.  Besides, when I looked in the fridge for the mushrooms I had (bellas), they were nowhere to be found, and,  I suspect, had been thrown out by my ambitious kids when they cleaned out the fridge the other day.  Anyhow, another problem I had was that the original recipe calls for a cup of red wine.  Alison found a great substitute: cranberry juice with a dash of vinegar!  That really saved the day.

One of my triumphs yesterday was the seitan I made from Veganomicon (that recipe is simpler, and tastes better than the one from VWAV and is similar enough to the one in VotC).  Anyhow, the seitan was very meaty, and not brainy at all.  Chris said it tasted like ground beef to him - and Chris is a very picky eater.  Also, I used farfalle instead of eggless noodles or fettucine.  I think I would go with the fettucine if/when I make this again.  The farfalle were too thick.

You can imagine from just reading this post that I did a lot of cooking yesterday.  And that is quite correct: I was busy for two hours.  But the recipe, despite smelling kind of odd after I added the nutritional yeast, or nooch, actually tasted very good.  I will definitely make it again (perhaps sneaking in the mushrooms if I can!).

I am hoping that if I stay motivated in the kitchen, I can cut my eating expenses in half.  That, and truth be told, I am tired of eating out and not having any interesting food, because I don't eat meat and dairy.  Hopefully, our kitchen will become proof that, yes, you can cook without meat and dairy, and make delicious, interesting, enjoyable meals.

More vegan chili

This is a new recipe:

1½ 28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes, ground/chopped in the food processor
2 onions, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 bag of beef style crumbles (soy product)
2 15 oz. cans black beans
1-2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Sauté the onions and peppers in olive oil.  Add to pot.  Add tomatoes, and all other ingredients to pot.  Simmer for several hours.

I might add some brown sugar.  I have to taste it after an hour or two and decide.

Family meals together

Marcus arrived on December 4th, and it has been pretty hectic.  We finally put up the Christmas tree on Monday night.  I had to beg off of church choir rehearsal that night, and I'm supposed to play flute this Sunday!  I still can't find the music I am supposed to play.  I have no idea where it is.  I'm going to try to look under the piano.  I didn't go to choir because I had to go to the bank's atm at short notice.  This time of year always bites financially.

Anyhow, we've enjoyed some truly singular vegan meals lately.  First of all, I've veganized the Irish Soda Bread recipe from Recipes for a Small Planet.  This is easily done, with applesauce in place of the egg, molasses in place of honey, and soured soy milk in place of buttermilk or yogurt.  I may eventually try this recipe with soy yogurt just to see if it works.  I've made this bread the last two nights and Marcus seems to like it okay.  It's a bit too crusty for the kids, but I intend to make it again and again! 

Sunday, I made Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon.  There was enough left over to freeze for two or three days worth of lunches.  Monday night, I made vegan chili using TVP for the first time.  That stuff definitely gives a meaty texture to vegetarian dishes.  I will definitely use it again.  Last night, I made Roman Rice and Beans from Diet for a Small Planet, something I've made time and again, because it's easy and it's vegan without the parmesan.  Marcus, Amy, Chris and Brian all like it.  Somehow, I made it with green peppers last week, and Amy just raved about it.  Last night's rendition contained orange and yellow peppers but it was still VERY good.

Interestingly enough, I much prefer cooking at home now to going out.  Marcus and I are still going out for my birthday Sunday night, but to tell the truth, if he decided to make me a good dinner at home, that would work just as well.  The kids are making brunch for Sunday  noon.  Alison is coming up and she and Amy will probably cook the brunch, though I suspect I will probably take part also.

I think Saturday, I will try making the Almost All-American Seitan Pot Pie from Veganomicon.  That is really good, and I think Marcus would like it.  Yes, I want to make food my husband enjoys.

Breakfast and Brunch

I made this chickpea scramble recipe for breakfast this AM.  It was quite good, though I probably should not have omitted the olive oil.  I'm going to use the leftover mix to make beanburgers for brunch.  And we're going to bake some fries as well.  YUM.

Update:  Well, the polls are in - from all 3 of the other people at lunch, Brian, Amy and Gina, and they all agree- these bean burgers taste like Taco Bell!  I think that must be a compliment so I'll take it that way.  I know it was cheaper than Taco Bell, for sure.  Here's something of a recipe:

Chickpea-Cannelloni Bean Burgers
yield 6-8 burgers

½ cup chickpeas, mashed
1 can cannelloni beans, mashed with liquid included
2 TBSP nutritional yeast (or 'nooch' for short)
¼ - ½ cup light whole wheat flour (or as needed)
2 TBSP garbanzo flour (or as needed)
one small onion, finely diced
2 tsp cumin or to taste
2 tsp chili powder or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste (I wouldn't exceed 1½ tsp)
pepper to taste

Mash all beans together.  Make sure to include the liquid in the canned beans.  If not using canned beans, you are going to want to add about ¼-½ cup water, a little bit at a time.  Combine all above ingredients.  Add additional water or flour, to get a thick batter-type consistence.  If it's too mushy, add flour.  If it's too dry, add a bit of water.  Pancake batter consistency is too thin; aim for more of a bread batter consistency.

Coat a frying pan with non-stick canola oil spray.  Form 2-3" flat patties.  Brown on both sides, keep warm by stacking on a plate.

Enjoy with ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, bbq sauce, whatever you like. 

This is the Almost All American Seitan Pot Pie from Veganomicon.  If it tastes as good as it looks, then I will have been successful!  Amy rolled out and patted in the crusts so I had a lot of help.  It's pretty work intensive, but it was a work of love!  Time to eat!

I can't believe I forgot...

...to mention that I also made, over the weekend, a shepherd's pie.   Pretty simple.  Vegan mashed potatoes - mmm, yummy.  I like them better than the old dairy-laden ones - topping innards consisting of bagged frozen veggies thawed & sautéed with tempeh to make a satisfying filling.  My mom LOVED them.  I am definitely making this and using tempeh again.

It's a New Year

After a much needed break, I'm back, both here online and at work.   Some of the more interesting moments of the past couple of weeks are as follows:

Last night, I came to the realization, after cutting myself chopping a spaghetti squash in pieces, that meat cleavers are not of much use at all except to injure oneself if they aren't aimed properly.  I think I'm going to get rid of mine.

Omnivores CAN cook vegan meals AND make them taste good.  Marcus made his pasta sauce with chopped veggies and tomato sauce.  MMMMM.  The man has inherited his father's extensive abilities in the kitchen.  Now to convince him of this.

It IS possible to put everything I need for several days in a cooler, and still eat too much.

Tofurkey is one of the best inventions known to man, followed closely by Veganaise.  Finally something to change up with peanut butter for lunch.

Just because I'm vegan doesn't necessarily mean I will eat healthy all the time.

And - Chinese food for Christmas dinner ROCKS.

Seitan - my first try

Seitan with Satan - Heavy Metal Vegan Cooking In the video, they use the seitan recipe from Veganomicon. I went back a little and used the one from Vegan With A Vengeance. The only difference I noted was that the recipe in VWAV has tomato paste and lemon zest in it. I didn't have a lemon, so I put a couple of squirts of lemon juice in the recipe instead. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. It is simmering for an hour. Then it has to cool for an hour. Smells pretty good.

Did I mention nutritional yeast smells pretty good?

UPDATE: I think I need to follow the recipe a bit more carefully. AND I think I want to use water to make it rather than vegetable broth. Gonna try the recipe in Veganomicon next time.