vegan traditional adaptations!

Happy holidays! so, one of the major traditions in my house growing up during the holidays was Kringla. its a scandinavian soft cookie, and i really don't think that i could do december without it. however, it has eggs, sour cream, butter, and buttermilk. so, you know, a challenge. but after a little experimentation and a little help from the internet on the sour cream, i think i have it figured out. further adaptation may be needed if you're doing this at sea level, i only know how it works in the mountains.

Vegan Kringla
¼ earth balance
1c sugar
1c vegan sour cream (see note)
2T soy yogurt
1c-2T soy milk
4c flour
3T baking powder
2T baking soda
½ T vanilla
1tsp egg substitute (see note)

Combine sour cream, yogurt, milk, and egg substitute in a blender, blend until smooth. Sift together flour, powder, and soda. Cream earth balance and sugar in large mixing bowl, add vanilla. Alternately add wet and dry ingredients until everything is combined. Chill in mixing bowl overnight. Preheat oven to 425. Drop by tablespoon onto floured pastry cloth, and roll into 8” snakes. Form pretzel shapes on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy a holiday treat nobody had to suffer for!

Note:
Vegan sour cream
8oz silken tofu
2T lemon juice
3T canola oil
2tsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
Mix well in food processor or blender

Egg substitute:
1c potato starch
¾ c tapioca flour
2tsp baking soda.
Stir to combine. Keep in an airtight container.

so, i finally got to go to the grocery store after a long (months!) absence, due to my weekly splurging at the farmer's market. but, i made my way, and stocked back up on some of my bulk items (quinoa, rolled oats, etc). and upon getting home, i decided to protein load. plus, i had a lot of time, so...



Yellow Split peas with Quinoa
1 C water
1/8 C soy sauce
3/8 C pickle juice (from homemade sweet and sour pickles)
1/4 C yellow split peas
1 tsp salt
Bring this up to a boil and then simmer covered for 25 minutes. Add:
1/4 C quinoa
1/4 C shredded carrot
1 tsp cumin
1 T hot sauce
Bring this back to a boil and simmer for another 30 minutes. In a non-stick skillet:
1/4 C yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C mushrooms, chopped
a minimal amount of oil
Cook over medium until the onion is translucent, and add
1/8 C red wine
Allow the wine to cook down, and then add the split peas over the top of the onions and mushrooms. Cook on med-low for 5 minutes without stirring. Top with diced seitan.

a wok rant and an all veggie stir-fry

So, I really, really like to cook straight ahead like you would get in a quick and dirty Chinese restaurant Chinese food. I wasn’t even really exposed to Chinese food until college, but once I broke my cherry… oh my god. However, generally I feel bad going out and getting Chinese food, since it costs too much and it really isn’t that good for you. But, when I’m at home, and I control all the ingredients…
Five years ago I got a wok for Christmas. Now, it isn’t some designer wok, but it is well-constructed and made of good metal. I seasoned it just like you’re supposed to, and then started cooking with it maybe twice a week. I have been very good to my wok – I use it regularly, I always wash it while it is still hot, I never let water sit in it, I never use soap to clean it, and I polish it with sesame oil after I dry it every time I use it. Because of this, my wok has been very good to me. It makes thinks taste the way you think they should taste. Things rarely stick to the surface, and when they do, the wok deglazes with a minimal amount of liquid. It has stepped outside it’s comfort zone and helped to make some incredible curries and soups. My wok is not just another pan, it is a tool, an extension of myself. We have an amazing cooperative relationship. I know the characteristics, and can respond in kind.
But I digress.
So, I made what you see below. The tatsoi took the place of noodles in this straight ahead recipe. And man, did it step up to the plate. Also, godDAMN I love peppers. When I was thinking about making this today, I realized how many peppers I had in my fridge, and how I really needed to eat them soon… and I wouldn’t have had the shitakes if the mushroom guy at the farmer’s market hadn’t hooked me up. But they really are something special. So, yeah

Stir fried Tatsoi with vegetables
1 head tatsoi, cored, cleaned, and steamed until tender
1 clove garlic, minced
½ yellow onion, sliced
½ orange bell pepper, cut in strips
½ sweet yellow south American pepper, cut in strips (I don’t remember it’s name, but I always get one from the abbondanzas.)
1 very hot chili pepper
¼ cup shitake mushrooms, stems separated, chopped
2 T Soy sauce
½ T Tamarind paste
Canola oil
Sesame oil

Okay, so steam the tatsoi. If any of the stalks are too think, just slit them in half. After you steam them, strain them and get rid of as much water as you can. To a hot wok, add about a teaspoon of canola (gotta get a good omega-3/omega-6 ration somehow…) and the garlic, onion, shitake stems, and chili pepper. Cook until the onion starts changing color, and add the peppers and mushrooms. Once the onions are cooked, push the veggies to the sides of the wok and add about 1 T of sesame oil. Once it heats up, add the tatsoi directly on top of the oil. Allow it to cook momentarily, then stir in vegetables. Add soy and tamarind, and cook until remaining liquid thickens, about 5 minutes.

Okay, seriously. Like whoa. Also, putting the mushroom stems at the spicing time instead of at the cooking time allowed them to give their flavor to the oil. It was really nice. And the tatsoi acts like noodles when it has been steamed; the stalks stay slightly chewy but the whole thing is very tender and takes on great flavor. I think I’m going to try a variation on this tomorrow (I still have more peppers, onions, and tatsoi) possibly with a sweet red chili in addition. Man, I love peppers. Anyway, this was intense, and tasted just like something you’d get from a quick little Chinese take-out joint, but with a) no carb-heavy rice or noodles and b) way more peppers than they would give you. So, yeah.

Wonderful Fall Lentil and Apple Stew

So, its fall, and there is some amazing fresh produce to be had. This rich and hearty stew incorporates apples, onions, and two types of squash. I used a cheap cab sav for the red wine, and it turned out wonderfully. Also, I think the hot sauce adds a lot, but, well, I really like hot sauce. Also, this was the first time I got to use the dumplings I made a week ago – they turned out a little more dense than the last batch I did (I’m assuming because I used high gluten flour for the protein), but they’re full of flavor.

Apple and Lentil stew

1/4 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 golden delicious or supreme apple, chopped
1/2 T shredded ginger
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup of red wine
1/2 can of lentils
6 butternut squash dumplings (see recipe below)
1 sprig rosemary
Salt + pepper
Heavy dash of Cinnamon
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

Boil dumplings in 1C of salted water until they float.
In a skillet in a minimal amount of olive oil, add onion, ginger, zucchini, and apple - cook until softened. Add cooked dumplings and rosemary, cook until dumplings begin to brown. Deglaze with red wine, and add lentils, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and the dumpling cooking liquid. Simmer until it reaches a stew-like consistency (about 15 minutes), remove rosemary, and serve.

Butternut squash dumplings

1 butternut squash
High gluten flour (or whole wheat flour)

Cut the squash in half, take the seeds out, and roast it at 400 on a sheet pan until it is nice and soft – about 45 minutes. Let it partially cool, and remove the skin. Mash the squash and add flour until it reaches a dough like consistency – somewhere between 1 and 2 cups. Roll the dough out into 1” diameter snakes and chop off ½” dumplings. Put them on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer. Once they’re hard frozen, bag them up. They keep in the freezer for months. Then just toss them in boiling water – once they float, they’re ready.

breakfast tatsoi

so, as a no eggs sort of guy, i can be out of luck when it comes to breakfast. see, more often than not, i like to have a savory breakfast, and so cereal and smoothies just won't cut it. but the key to good breakfast food is that you can make it quickly, so, while the coffee was brewing this morning, i made

chick peas with tatsoi
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1T soy sauce
1 tsp chili sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
2 heads tatsoi, separated and washed well

in a small nonstick skillet on medium heat, drizzle a minimum amount of olive oil and add the garlic. chop the onion and add it to the pan. start the coffee. chop the mushrooms and add them. add the chick peas, ginger, soy and chili. clean the tatsoi. add the tatsoi and stir. take the coffee off and pour a cup. sip while you stir, and take it off the heat once the tatsoi is tender. move it to a bowl, clean the pan while the food is cooling, and eat! the whole process took 11 minuets. a hearty, protein packed breakfast and quick.

p.s. tatsoi - i got it at the farmer's market this week. its a tender asian green with a nice cabbage flavor - check it out.

A Little Nod to the Carnivores in the Audience.

Blogger Jaden over at Jaden's Steamy Kitchen has a really great post about a cheap way to make the cheap steaks that are actually within our price range taste like primo super mega-amazing cuts of sweet, sweet, meaty joy.

How sweet? This sweet.

How is this magic achieved? Salt, and a hell of a lot of it. It's all in the timing, though, as she shows through a series of rather amateur but endearing MS Paint style illustrations.

We do love a good money saving tip, and god knows no one wants to eat a tough, crappy steak.


[Link]

marko hits the blog (with eggplant curry!)

aloha! so, in lieu of starting my own food blog, kate is letting me post on hers. i've got recipes and food pr0n and all that fun stuff. so, here's my creamy eggplant curry with seitan. in the future i'll put up my seitan recipe, but i'm too lazy to do it right now. in the mean time:

Creamy eggplant curry

One onion, sliced
One large carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T ginger, grated
One sweet pepper, chopped
3 oz seitan, sliced
¼ c soy milk
¼ c seitan broth
6 miniature eggplant, halved
1T vindaloo curry powder
1tsp cumin
1tsp chili sauce
Salt
Black pepper
2 bay leaves
1tsp black mustard seed
1 chunk crystallized ginger

In a non-stick pan with a tight fitting lid, add garlic and ginger on medium heat. Once it makes noise, add onion, carrot, and sweet pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes (until onion starts to soften) and add curry powder, soy milk, broth, chili sauce, bay leaves, a healthy pinch of salt, mustard seed, a few grinds of black pepper, and crystallized ginger. Bring it to a boil, and add eggplant and seitan. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer with the lid on until eggplant is well done – about 20 minutes. Remove cover to reduce liquid slightly, remove bay leaves, and serve on top of rice with chutney and spicy pickle, or however you want.

Note – you may want to add more curry powder, ginger, and salt when the eggplant is almost done. Do it by taste.