Vegan Good Things

Nachooo Burgers!

2012-01-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

Ever since I made these amazing nacho burgers I've had "Nachoooooo!" stuck in my head, and other quotes from my favorite Jack Black movie ever. (Yeah, I studied European art cinema in school, and here I am referencing my favorite Jack Black movie. I'm well-rounded that way.)

My inspiration was this Bobby Flay recipe I saw from the February cover of Food & Wine. Obviously Bobby Flay isn't vegan but I respect his approach to food - straightforward, fresh, bold flavors with a spicy kick. And the first thing I thought of when I saw his recipe was that it would be the perfect opportunity to finally try out two new-ish products I hadn't had the opportunity to test yet: Gardein's Ultimate Beefless Burgers and Daiya's Pepperjack Shreds. These are definitely my new favorite veggie burgers. I've written here before about how much I hate mushy veggie burgers, and these from Gardein are anything but. They have a firm texture and like all Gardein products, are almost frighteningly convincing in their "meatiness." They actually kind of tasted like regular fast food burgers (I mean that in a good way). Can you just imagine what the world would be like if that famous sign boasted about how many millions of vegans were served Gardein burgers everyday?

Anyway, these are so easy that it's barely worth a recipe, but I'll copy the one for Bobby Flay's salsa here. The other thing I loved about these burgers was that crushed blue corn chips were part of the toppings. I've always been a (semi-closeted) fan of putting potato chips on sandwiches, so the corn chips definitely appealed to me both for the color and texture that they added. I also served these burgers with Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries - seasoned with Chipotle, they were the perfect side for these slightly spicy burgers.

Bobby Flay's Nacho Burgers (Veganized)
serves 4

For salsa:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 chipotle chile in adobo, seeded and minced
3 plum tomatoes, finely diced
2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt

1/2 cup Daiya Pepperjack shreds
1 package Gardein Ultimate Beefless Burgers (4 patties)
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
Sliced pickled jalapenos and crushed blue corn tortilla chips, for serving

1. For salsa, combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt.
2. Prepare burgers according to package directions. Top each patty with Daiya Pepperjack and allow to melt. (I let the Daiya start to melt while the burgers were still in the pan and then put them into the oven for a few minutes to finish melting completely.) Top with salsa, jalapenos, and corn tortilla chips.

A Warm & Cozy Winter Dinner: Mushroom Pot Pie

2012-01-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

There are few things that I like to cook with more than puff pastry. There's just something magical in its puffy, flaky, buttery deliciousness. I mean, I don't love it enough to make my own, apparently, but I do love to defrost a package of it and let it work its magic on whatever recipe I'm making. Don't judge me for that.

While we're discussing my culinary laziness, I do love a pot pie but I have to confess I'd never made one before because it just seemed like too much work. That whole making the crust and everything. If you haven't noticed on my blog thus far, I kind of hate making crusts. I can hear the gasps of horror across the foodie blogosphere right now...but it's true. I hate making crusts. There, it's out in the open now.

So now you see the real reason I love puff pastry so much. It tastes delicious and saves you the trouble of all that mixing and kneading and rolling. Who has time for all that? So imagine my delight when I found this recipe in Real Simple for a Mushroom Pot Pie that not only includes a puff pastry crust, but was also already vegan! I didn't have to substitute a thing! This pot pie is incredibly easy to make and thoroughly satisfying and delicious, especially on a cold winter evening.

Go to the link for the full recipe, but you can see here how easy the steps are:

1. Saute mushrooms, onions, carrots, and celery with dried thyme, salt, and pepper until vegetables are tender.

2. Add flour and frozen peas to mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil.

3. Transfer mushroom mixture to an 8x8 baking dish, top with one sheet of defrosted puff pastry. Cut vents in top of pastry and bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, until crust is golden.

Make sure to read the ingredients on your puff pastry before buying, as many (especially the fancy kinds like they sell at Whole Foods) will include butter. Fortunately though, the Pepperidge Farms brand is vegan and widely available.

My 2 Year Blogiversary!

2011-12-30T19:55:00.000-05:00

I know I've been neglecting my blog for some time now, but I couldn't let the 2nd year anniversary of Vegan Good Things go by without a new post, even if I didn't manage to finish it before 8pm. It's still been really difficult for me to do much cooking... I'm feeding the baby around the clock, not sleeping much, and too exhausted to cook, let alone take photos and try to come up with something interesting to write about in a post. I am starting to get my inspiration back though, thanks in part to being home during the day and watching foodie shows on TV. I've recently discovered Chopped, which I simultaneously love and hate. I can't stop watching the show, because the premise is so incredibly ridiculous - give people the most random, disgusting combination of ingredients to create a dish with, then critique them on what they end up cooking. I imagine the competing chefs are thinking something like, "What, the dessert I made out of maraschino cherries, anchovies, wheatgrass, and belly button lint didn't quite 'come together'? I can't imagine why you didn't enjoy that." It's like they set them up to fail, and yet I keep watching, hoping to either see a stroke of genius or someone completely melt down when faced with incorporating both strawberry milk powder and natto into the same dish, like on a recent episode I saw.

The other show I've been overdosing on is Kitchen Nightmares. This show is on approximately 25 hours a day, on at least two different channels. I'd previously avoided most Gordon Ramsay programming because his yelling gives me a headache, but i find Kitchen Nightmares addictive. These people kind of deserve to get yelled at. Like the women serving two week old potato dishes at their "Hot Potato" cafe. Or all the people who deep-fry some frozen food then argue about how "fresh and delicious" it tastes. Or that mean old ungrateful lady who thought her tacky tiki-themed decor was better than Ramsay's tasteful, modern makeover. It actually makes me not want to eat in restaurants anymore because he usually uncovers all kinds of nasty, unsanitary things in those kitchens, but then I remember that I'm unlikely to ever find myself in those kinds of restaurants, and if I did, I wouldn't be ordering the salmonella-contaminated chicken anyway.

But I digress. We're here to talk about soup. Warm, comforting, delicious soup. Maybe you've been over-indulging over the holidays, and what you need is a simple, nourishing, beautiful bowl of soup. I actually found this recipe for Pasta E Ceci Soup in the Williams-Sonoma catalog, with my favorite Le Creuset Dutch oven in their photo, like a sign that I was meant to make this soup in my own kitchen. It's a very tasty and satisfying recipe, although it's more like a stew than a soup. Actually, I found it to be more like a soupy pasta dish than a soup, but who cares. Follow the recipe at the link, I didn't change anything except that I used pinto beans instead of chickpeas. I did this because my husband is picky, and refuses to eat chickpeas unless they are in the form of hummus or falafel. I also omitted the Parmigiano garnish, but feel free to add a vegan parmesan substitute if you wish. And please don't skip the fried rosemary garnish - it added such a wonderful herbal note to the bowl.

Happy New Year to you all, and thank you for reading my blog. I have some really exciting posts planned for the new year, and I hope you will continue to join me on my never-ending search for the best Vegan Good Things.

Virtual Vegan Holiday Side Dish: Sweet Potato Puree with Maple & Sour Cream

2011-12-16T10:41:00.007-05:00

As you might imagine, with a newborn I've hardly had a spare minute to cook, much less to update this sorely neglected blog. I feel so guilty. I truly hope to get back in the kitchen soon, but right now I am dealing with some postpartum complications and feeding the little one around the clock. It just doesn't leave me any time or energy to cook or feed anybody else. My husband and I have been surviving on things that are easily heated, takeout, and delivery. It's not the most ideal situation but Bodhi's sweet face makes it all worthwhile.

Seeing as I missed out on cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, and the possibility of cooking any other holiday meals seems increasingly unlikely, I was happy to be invited to participate in a virtual vegan holiday dinner with some of my favorite vegan bloggers. Each of us are posting a recipe today that is part of a larger vegan holiday menu. For my part, I made a Sweet Potato Puree with Maple & vegan Sour Cream, adapted from this Real Simple recipe. For Thanksgiving, I do like to make a sweet potato casserole, topped with candied pecans and mini Sweet & Sara marshmallows, but this recipe is much easier and fast enough to do any day of the year. It would be a perfect accompaniment to any holiday menu, but as you can see, I had it for dinner last night with some vegan riblets - they may not be the healthiest thing for a vegan to eat, but once in a while, they really hit the spot.

Vegan Sweet Potato Puree With Maple & Sour Cream
serves 4

2 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, unpeeled, in 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance or margarine
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1. Steam sweet potato cubes until fork-tender, about 10 minutes; drain and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the maple syrup, vegan butter, and sour cream. Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, mix until smooth. Season with the salt, pepper, and pumpkin pie spice. Transfer to a pan, place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

Check out the complete menu and participants for the Virtual Vegan Holiday Dinner:
Appetizer
Carrot Pâté by Diet, Desserts, and Dogs

The Drink
Winter Warmer Cocktail by Pea Soup Eats

Main Dish
Vegan Holiday Casserole by Namely Marly

The Sides
Cranberry and Orange Ginger Mango Chutney by Loves Veggies and Yoga
Vegan Sweet Potato Puree with Maple and Sour Cream by Vegan Good Things

The Bread
Crescent Rolls by That’s So Vegan

The Best Part: Desserts
Four Ingredient Vegan Pumpkin Pie by Lunch Box Bunch
Skillet Pear Gingerbread Cake by The Tolerant Vegan
Chocolate Pecan Cookie Pies by Your Vegan Mom
Eggnog Cheesecake by Manifest Vegan

A Very Belated & Very Sleepy Thanksgiving Post

2011-11-26T15:19:00.000-05:00

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. I've mentioned before that Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday and I look forward to the amazing feast all year long, which is why it is highly unusual and somewhat lame that not only did I not post any Thanksgiving recipes this month, but I didn't even do a post on Thanksgiving day itself. But I have a good excuse. You see, I just gave birth a week ago to this beautiful boy named Bodhi.

Bodhi was born on Saturday, November 19th, weighing a healthy 7 lbs. 4 oz. I will spare you the details but we'll just say that it took 48 hours of active labor and finally a c-section to get this little guy out. We were all set to come home on Tuesday, but then a case of jaundice (fairly common in newborns) necessitated us staying an extra day in the hospital. I started panicking about not being able to all go home together for Thanksgiving, but we were finally discharged from the hospital Wednesday evening, just in the nick of time.

I knew even before I went into labor that I wouldn't be in any shape to cook Thanksgiving dinner for us this year, and we couldn't exactly make restaurant reservations, not knowing when the big event would actually take place, so we ordered our Thanksgiving dinner this year from one of my favorite places, Foodswings. After getting us settled in at home Wednesday evening, my husband ran out to pick up our order, and we were able to enjoy the best kind of vegan comfort food at home, our first Thanksgiving all together.

Ok, not the best food photo, but my husband made this plate for me. It is a plate full of love and goodness.

The Foodswings special Thanksgiving menu included a seitan "turkey" roast, complete with those famous drumsticks, rosemary mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, macaroni & cheese, garlicky green beans, cranberry sauce, and biscuits. It was all absolutely delicious and that has nothing to do with the fact that I had just been subjected to a week of hospital food. In fact, I will have to do a separate post on the challenge of being a vegan in the hospital, but that is for another day. At any rate, I am so thankful that Foodswings (and my friend Hope) made our vegan Thanksgiving possible this year. And I am most thankful for this tremendous blessing that has forever changed our lives.

Big Vegan Giveaway Winner!

2011-11-05T17:54:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to all who left comments and followed the Big Vegan virtual potluck. I got a lot of inspiring suggestions for vegan holiday main courses, but the winner was selected by random number generator:

And the 18th person to leave a comment was Janet from The Taste Space! Her favorite dish to share is a lentil salad with capers and currants. Sounds delicious! Janet, I hope you find plenty of inspiration in your new copy of Big Vegan!

The Best Lemon Bundt Cake Ever.

2011-11-01T12:24:00.000-04:00

I am very honored to have a guest post today on one of my favorite blogs ever, Meet the Shannons. Head on over there to read my post and get the recipe for this incredible Tuscan Lemon Bundt Cake!

A Double Big Vegan Whammy: Calzones & Cake!

2011-11-01T08:20:00.000-04:00

For this final Big Vegan virtual potluck post, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to make a main course or a dessert... so I made both! This often happens to me with real-life potlucks as well.

For the main course, Robin's book has a section on pizza and calzone recipes, and it was nearly impossible to decide what I wanted to make first. How do you choose between recipes like Cast-Iron Alfredo Pizza with Spinach & Olives, or a Deep-Dish Mushroom-Spinach Pizza, or a Roasted Potato & Rosemary Pizza? In the end, I decided to try out one of her calzone recipes, because I had never made homemade calzones before and was feeling up to the challenge.

Calzones really aren't hard to make, since they're basically mini pizzas folded in half. I tried to remember the last time I'd actually had a calzone - I think it must have been almost 20 years ago! I remember them being huge and overstuffed, oozing with tons of gooey cheese. Basically a heart attack on a plate. Robin's versions are much more appropriately sized, delicious, and filled with healthy ingredients, like kale and sundried tomato in the version I made. In fact, they were so surprisingly light, and so packed with flavor, that we actually ended up eating two of them. The recipe doesn't mention a sauce, but I served these with a side of warmed marinara sauce. They are certainly worth the effort, but if you're feeling a bit lazier you could easily use some store-bought pizza dough.

Kale & Sun-Dried Tomato Calzones (from Big Vegan)

serves 8

Filling:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
12 oz. firm tofu, drained, pressed, and crumbled
2 cups chopped fresh kale
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 oz. silken tofu
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped
1/2 cup dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. salt

Crust:
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, plus extra for counter
2 tsp. bread-machine yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for bowl
1 Tbsp. brown rice syrup

1. Make the filling: In a large nonstick frying pan over high heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and firm tofu, saute until onions start to brown. Add the kale and garlic and cook 2 minutes, until the kale is soft. Take the pan off the heat and add the silken tofu, tomatoes, bread crumbs, basil, and salt and knead until it holds together. Let cool.

2. Make the crust: In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or a large bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt. In a measuring cup, measure 1 1/4 cups warm water and stir in the oil and brown rice syrup. Add the liquids to the dry and mix, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. On a lightly floured counter, roll out each dough piece to a 6-inch oval. Scoop 1/2 cup of the filling into the center of each. Dampen the edge of the dough and fold over. Seal and crimp the edges with a fork. Put the calzones on an oiled baking sheet. Poke a vent in the tops with a fork. Cover and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy, about 30 minutes.

4. Uncover and bake the calzones until the bottoms are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot, or let them cool completely before wrapping in foil and refrigerating for tomorrow.

And for dessert, I made Robin's Pumpkin-Cherry Bundt Cake with Cherry Glaze. It is pumpkin dessert season, after all, and this was actually one of the first recipes I flagged in the book to try. Pumpkin and cherry is a delicious combination and this cake couldn't be more perfect for the fall/winter holidays.

Pumpkin-Cherry Bundt Cake with Cherry Glaze (from Big Vegan)

serves 12

Vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups wholewheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
15 oz. canned or pureed pumpkin
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soy yogurt (I used vanilla)
2 tsp. egg replacer powder
1 cup dried cherries, plus more for garnish

For glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cherry juice
1/2 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 10-inch Bundt cake pan with oil spray. In a large bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, maple syrup, oil, and yogurt. In a small cup, whisk 3 Tbsp. water with the egg replacer powder until frothy, then stir into the pumpkin mixture. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture, and when they are almost combined, add the cherries and mix them in. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack.

2. Carefully run a paring knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, then put a cake plate on top and invert the cake onto the plate.

3. Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cherry juice, and almond extract until a thick glaze forms.

4. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and sprinkle it with dried cherries while the glaze is still wet. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until serving.

It's the very last day to enter to win your own copy of Big Vegan! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here answering this question: What's your favorite VEGAN main course to make for the holidays?

A Snowy Saturday post.

2011-10-29T15:12:00.000-04:00

It's snowing in NY today. That's right. It's not even Halloween, and we have snow. It's really pretty but I'm not ready for winter weather just yet. I'm just starting to ease into wearing sweaters and making big pots of chili and pumpkin desserts... you know, fall stuff. Don't tell me I have to pull out my puffy weather-proof winter coat already.

Fortunately, on this snowy Saturday, my plans consist of baking two different cakes for upcoming blog posts. One is for Big Vegan's virtual potluck and the other is for a guest post I'm doing for Meet the Shannons. Both cakes will be posted on Tuesday, so stay tuned for those, but in the meantime I'll share with you some vegan eats I've had recently in the city.

Cupcakes from Cowgirl's Baking. We got an assortment of flavors from their extensive cupcake menu to taste, and I liked them so much we got a bunch of the mini's to serve at my baby shower.

It's hard for me to order anything other than the butterfinger shake when I'm at Foodswings, but on my last visit I got crazy and ordered a Crunchberry one: strawberry ice cream & cookies. Oh yeah. Good stuff.

Also at Foodswings I got the sliders with a side of their amazing fries. I'm kind of simple when it comes to fries, I like mine plain. But my friend Valerie, as you can see below, gets wild with their disco fries...

Disco fries (covered with gravy and cheeze) and a seitan gyro. All from Foodswings. All delicious.

At a recent event at Moo Shoes, I got to sample these "Bite Sighs" from vegan bakery Sherry's Short Cakes. Oh. My. Goodness. These were unbelievably good. Moist, full of flavor, and decadent. I admit I totally played the pregnancy card and kept going back for another bite (and another) of these delicious morsels. Right now these are available for order online. A perfect gift for the holidays!

We're lucky enough to have a few vegan restaurant options in our Brooklyn neighborhood, and one of our favorites is Dao Palate. They have really tasty pan-Asian food (my favorite main dish is the Citrus Soy Protein) but recently we decided to forgo the savory dishes and just stop in for some tea and dessert. They have what I think might be the best vegan cheesecake I've ever had. This one is their Raspberry White Chocolate slice. Heaven.

And this is their equally heavenly pumpkin cheesecake. To die for. I mean, to live for.

And these pics are from our recent friend-filled brunch at V-Spot in Brooklyn. We started out with some amazing spinach quesadillas...

While a friend started with an order of their famous empanadas. If you go to V-Spot, you must get these.

More starters: Buffalo "Chicken" wings with vegan blue cheese dip

These were my banana wholewheat pancakes. I won the "Who's going to eat more pancakes?" challenge that day.

You can't go wrong with the classic tofu scramble brunch, served with toast, roasted potatoes, and veggie sausage.

Breaded "chicken" patty sandwich.

And finally, a "chicken" burrito.

Now that it's seemingly turned to winter and I have only 3 weeks left until my due date, I'm not sure how often I'll be getting out for vegan eats in the near future. Except for this Tuesday, November 1st, when the Avenue A location of Two Boots Pizza will be giving out FREE SLICES of their all-new vegan pizza! Do I need to repeat? FREE SLICES OF VEGAN PIZZA!!! I will brave rain and storm, perhaps even contractions, to get to that. Hope to see you there.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Fried Sage, and Pine Nuts

2011-10-21T14:17:00.000-04:00

They should just rename autumn "butternut squash & pumpkin season," because really, do you want to eat anything else when the weather turns cool and crisp? This is my favorite season, mostly because pretty much anything you cook that involves butternut squash or pumpkin makes your kitchen smell like Thanksgiving.

I found this recipe for Pasta Pan-Fried with Butternut Squash, Fried Sage, and Pine Nuts on one of my favorite sites, The Kitchn. The Kitchn isn't all vegan or even vegetarian, but they certainly post a lot of vegan-friendly recipes. I didn't have to change anything in this recipe except that I used vegan Parmesan instead of the dairy kind.

Fried sage is such a simple, easy thing but it really adds a lot of flavor. And giving the pasta a toss in the pan until it was slightly browned and crispy on the edges added a nice, hearty chewiness to the dish. The recipe says to cook the pasta/squash mixture in two different batches so you have enough room in the pan, but I used a wok and it all fit in one batch. If anything, I would have roasted my squash mixture a bit longer so that it was a little deeper in color and flavor.

This really is a perfect autumnal pasta recipe - it comes together quickly (even more so if you buy your squash already peeled and cubed), and the aromas of the roasting squash, onions, fried sage, and toasted pine nuts are simply intoxicating. So satisfying and delicious!

Baguette French Toast with "Cream Cheese" & Apples

2011-10-18T08:16:00.002-04:00

It's the first Big Vegan Virtual Potluck today, and for breakfast I brought Baguette French Toast with "Cream Cheese" and Apples (with a side of some vegan sausages). You know I love a good brunch, and this dish is perfect for a lazy Sunday morning, even better if you have some mimosas on the side. As Robin notes in her book, this is a breakfast that looks like you put a lot more effort into it than you actually did. The only part that really took any time was chopping the apples, but you don't even need to peel them so it wasn't that much work. And the smell of apples and cinnamon cooking with maple syrup is simply heavenly.

Just a note about the recipe below - I actually used only 3 apples, and that still seemed like plenty. And I might have cut my baguette slices a little thick, so I needed to make a little extra of the rice milk batter. But otherwise this turned out great. I used Tofutti brand cream cheese and it really adds that extra bit of richness that is great with the cooked fruit and spices. A perfect autumnal breakfast!

Make sure to leave a comment for a chance to win your own free copy of Big Vegan! Just answer the question: What's your favorite VEGAN main course to make for the holidays?

Baguette French Toast with "Cream Cheese" & Apples
from Big Vegan
serves 4

2 Tbsp. Earth Balance margarine, plus extra for the pan
4 large Granny Smith apples, chopped
1 cup + 1 tsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk or rice milk
3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
24 thin slices whole wheat baguette
1 1/2 cups tofu "cream cheese"

1. In a small frying pan over medium heat, melt the margarine. Add the apples and saute, tossing and stirring until they are soft and juicy. Add 1 cup of the syrup and the cinnamon and stir. Bring the syrup to a boil, then take it off the heat and let cool.

2. In a pie pan, whisk together the soymilk, yeast, cornstarch, remaining 1 tsp. syrup, vanilla, and nutmeg. Heat a large cast-iron frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat. When hot, spread with margarine. Dip each slice of bread in the milk mixture to coat, letting it soak for about 1 minute. Drop the slices in the pan and cook for about 4 minutes per side, reducing the heat to medium as they start to sizzle. Flip the slices and cook until they are well browned.

3. Sandwich two cooked slices with 1 Tbsp. of "cream cheese." Serve the French toast sandwiches with the warm apples and syrup.

A Very Big Vegan Post

2011-10-16T17:48:00.003-04:00

This is a pretty action-packed post. First, I am excited to announce that I am one of the participants in the Big Vegan Virtual Potluck. On Tuesday, October 18th, I (along with others) will post photos and one of the breakfast recipes from Big Vegan. On October 25th, other participants will be posting some of the soup, salad, or small plate recipes, and then on November 1st, I will post both a main course and a dessert recipe. I've seen the virtual "menu" for all the participants and believe me when I say that you are in for some big treats!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the author, Robin Asbell, whose other cookbooks include The New Whole Grains Cookbook and New Vegetarian, when she taught a Vegan Sauces class at Natural Gourmet. I've written about several classes I've taken before at Natural Gourmet (here, here, and here) but Robin's class was my favorite so far. She was a fun and knowledgeable instructor, and her recipes were all umami-packed and absolutely delicious. Here is a sample of some of the recipes we made that evening (all of the recipes we made can be found in Big Vegan):

Guatemalan Pumpkin Seed Simmer Sauce, with Yucca on a Bed of Quinoa

White Wine & Herb Reduction Sauce over White Bean Crostini

Chinese Sesame Sauce & Quick Seasonal Stirfry over Rice

Bengali Curry Simmer Sauce with Tofu & Brown Rice

Porcini Mushroom Pasta Sauce over Whole Wheat Penne

Creamy Corn & Basil Soup (the creamy soup base is a vegan Bechamel Sauce)

A sample of all the dishes we made in class - also including a Red Wine Reduction over Millet-Cauliflower Puree, and Steamed French Beans with Hollandaise

My other exciting news is that along with this Virtual Potluck I am offering my first ever giveaway! That's right, you can win your own free copy of Big Vegan! Winner will be chosen at random on November 1st. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment to this post (please make sure to include your email so I can contact you!), answering the question: What's your favorite VEGAN main dish to make for the holidays?

Pepperoni Pizza. My Secret Weapon.

2011-10-03T16:23:00.001-04:00

So I know that I've been posting sporadically for quite some time now, then all of a sudden I have two posts up in one day. Crazy, right? I'm unpredictable that way.

Anyway, this is just a short post to relate a funny story that happened to me recently. A very close, very dear friend of mine, whom we could refer to as a "vegan flirt," to use one of Alicia Silverstone's favorite terms, recently said in an offhanded, joking manner that she'd consider going vegan, "when someone invents vegan pepperoni."

So I sent her a picture of this. We had just made this vegan pepperoni pizza the day before she made the comment. I'm not going to post a recipe because I really just assembled a bunch of store-bought ingredients: a cornmeal crust from Whole Foods, pizza sauce (use your favorite brand), Daiya mozzarella cheese, and Lightlife Pepperoni-style slices. Sprinkle liberally with fresh or dried basil, oregano, and bake at 450 for about 15 minutes.

It remains to be seen if this pepperoni pizza will in fact convert my friend to veganism, but I hope that it helps prove that being vegan needn't mean depriving yourself of your favorite foods. Even if that food happens to be pepperoni.

And if pepperoni pizza isn't enough to convert someone to veganism, I should point out the Vegan MoFo is in full swing for the entire month of October, and if these vegan bloggers can't convert you, then I don't know what will. I participated in Vegan MoFo last year, and it was a great, albeit exhausting experience. It's great exposure for your own blog, and you get to connect with and discover lots of other vegan bloggers while you're at it. It was a difficult decision to not sign up again this year, but I just didn't think I could keep up the pace of daily posting for a solid month. Between my job, which has been insane lately, being 8 months pregnant and tired all the time, and preparing our apartment for the baby, I can barely manage to throw together a pepperoni pizza made out of store-bought ingredients, you know? But I will be reading the daily updates and hope to discover some great new vegan blogs. You should do it too. Support your fellow vegans!

Indian-Spiced Skillet-Roasted Okra.

2011-10-03T12:36:00.000-04:00

I fear that I'm posting this okra recipe too late in the season. I didn't make it to the farmer's market this past weekend, so I don't know if the okra was still there, but regardless, okra is more of a warm weather vegetable and if you can still find it fresh, its days are certainly numbered.

That said, having grown up eating Southern food, okra is one of my favorite ingredients. I usually prepare it by coating the slices in a spicy cornmeal batter, then frying it in the pan, but I think we can all agree that while delicious, that probably isn't the healthiest way to eat okra. Or anything for that matter. Which is why I was really excited to find this recipe for this Skillet-Roasted Spiced Okra that would involve a lot less oil and would just really let the natural flavor and texture of the okra shine through. The recipe is already vegan, so just follow the instructions at the link.

The Indian spices (hot paprika, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, fenugreek) seem to have a natural afinity for the okra. It sounds like a lot of ingredients but the recipe couldn't have been easier to make - you simply roast the okra spears in the pan with just a little oil, then sprinkle the spice mixture on top and drizzle a little lemon juice over everything to serve. Super fast and easy. And for those of you who don't like, or are scared of, okra because of the "slime" factor - I assure you, this method of preparing the okra completely eliminates the slime! The spears turn golden brown and crispy within minutes. I served these over basmati rice with some Aloo Mattar (potato & pea curry). Quick and delicious!

The vegan brunch by which all other future brunches will be measured...

2011-09-27T12:29:00.000-04:00

Shame on me. I am so hopelessly behind in my blog posts. I assure you I have a few lined up, things I've been meaning to post about, but recently my job has become far more tedious and exhausting than it ever was before, and by the time I get home from work I can barely muster up the energy to throw together some kind of quickie (read: uninspired) dinner before lamenting my swollen ankles and passing out on the couch sometime around 9:30pm. I know, it's a thrilling, sexy life I'm leading, and I'm sure you're all jealous.

But there have been a few highlights to my otherwise stalled social life, namely my baby shower this past weekend thrown by one of my dearest friends in the world. Actually, several very dear friends banded together to throw a vegan brunch feast in my honor and I am still feeling very spoiled days later from it.

Before I went vegan, brunch was easily my favorite meal. Especially living in NY, there is a real brunch culture, and by that I mean people here really love any excuse to get drunk during the day and eat a bunch of food. Once I went vegan, I was momentarily stumped - what would I order at brunch? No more omelets, no more french toast, no more eggs benedict... of course, thanks to invaluable resources like Vegan Brunch, I can recreate my brunch favorites at home, but then you're still missing the social factor that is inherent to the brunch experience.

So when my friend Patricia asked what I wanted to do for the baby shower, it was simple: I wanted brunch with lots of friends. Amazingly, my vegan and omni friends alike got to work on an inspired, all-vegan brunch menu that was enjoyed by all. And by me especially. It really is true that food tastes better when love is the main ingredient.

Here are some of the treats made by the best friends a knocked-up gal could ask for:

Hope made these incredible mini-tofu quiches. Pretty & yummy too!

Sara brought a colorful & fabulous fruit salad.

An array of dishes: Valerie's Roasted Butternut Squash Salad & Cashew Sundried Tomato Spread with crostini, Hope's heavenly biscuits, and Susanne brought my favorite Field Roast Sausages!

Neil had never made vegan french toast before, but I gave him Isa's recipe for Banana Rabanada, and he whipped up a huge batch that was banana french toast perfection. Next to the french toast is gravy to go with Hope's biscuits, roasted potatoes, and two kinds of tofu scramble. Yum!

Close up of the tofu scrambles made by Patricia: one kind was Italian seasoned, the other was more Latin-inspired. Both were delicious.

Better shot of Valerie's beautiful salad

And we had platters of mini cupcakes from Cowgirl's Baking: The Elvis (chocolate cake with banana filling & peanut butter frosting), French Toast (cinnamon vanilla cake with cinnamon maple frosting), and Tiramisu (vanilla cake soaked in coffee with cream cheese frosting). Thank you to Purvi for bringing these!

There were plenty of other bites that I didn't manage to get a shot of, but I am most disappointed that I missed taking pics of Annie's totally addictive pumpkin-spiced mini donuts and Marisa's chocolate chip cookies. (Update: see the picture AND get the recipe for Annie's donuts here!) It was such an array of scrumptious vegan goodies, and I am still completely overwhelmed by the kindness & generosity from our friends.

If you look closely, you can see Annie's mini pumpkin donuts!

There was a very touching bead/blessing ceremony.

More beading.

Our beautiful floral blessing bracelets.

Proud papa-to-be.

C'est moi. (Avec le bump.)

It's Slow Cooker Time! And Time for Perfect Hominy White Bean Chili

2011-09-06T21:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know when summer is officially over, but it's cool and rainy here, and I'm craving everything pumpkin, so as far as I'm concerned, it's officially autumn. And to me, that signals a few things: break out the boots and sweaters, and break out the slow cooker. I don't actually have to "break out" my slow cooker, since it doubles as my rice cooker and I use that all the time, but you know what I mean. It's time to start cooking up some warm, stewy, comforting meals.

I actually made this chili the weekend we were planning to be stuck inside during the hurricane, because I wanted to have a bunch of food that would be easy to reheat on the gas stovetop in case our electricity went out. It's from Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, which is a great cookbook although not all the recipes are vegan. I have another vegetarian slow cooker book, which I won't name here, but I'll say that I greatly prefer Robin's. Her recipes seem much more inspired and appealing to me, but that's just my personal preference.

This chili recipe was totally satisfying. I made it a bit spicier by including more jalapeno, and I love the addition of hominy, which also made my husband happy as it is an ingredient he ate a lot as a child and is a part of many Native American diets. Other than cooking the garlic and onion for a few minutes in a skillet, the rest of the ingredients are all thrown together into the slow cooker, given a stir, and 6 to 8 hours later, voila! You have chili! Slow cookers are so brilliant that way. They even give you time to dig out those sweaters and boots from winter storage.

Move over BLT, it's all about Lemongrass Tofu Bánh Mì now

2011-09-05T10:27:00.001-04:00

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you are enjoying your long weekend of non-laboring and wearing white while you still can. One of the things we did this weekend was to meet some friends for a picnic in Prospect Park - sadly, our first and possibly last picnic this summer. I don't know why we didn't manage to do any picnicking until now... for a while it was simply too hot, or we've been too busy working and dodging hurricanes and stuff.

Anyway, for the picnic I finally made this recipe for Lemongrass Tofu Bánh Mì that I've had bookmarked since forever. If you are not familiar, Bánh Mì are Vietnamese baguette sandwiches that are usually stuffed with meat, pâté, an assortment of crunchy pickled vegetables like carrots and daikon, and fresh herbs like cilantro and/or mint. I absolutely loved this version with the lemongrass-marinated tofu, the pan-fried tofu slices turned out to be juicy, savory, and just slightly spicy. You can follow the recipe as closely as you want, or improvise a bit with your toppings. I followed their recipe for the do chua, which is a quick pickle of carrot and daikon, which went on top of the tofu along with sliced jalapeno, and fresh mint and cilantro leaves. I also mixed up some Vegenaise along with Sriracha sauce and generously spread both sides of the baguette with it. The resulting sandwich is savory, spicy, crunchy, and herbaceous. It's fantastic! It may take a little bit of planning ahead so you have time to marinate the tofu and prepare the pickled vegetables, but it's so worth it.

As far as sandwiches go, you know I love my Coconut Bacon BLT's, but this Lemongrass Tofu Bánh Mì just might be my new favorite. Fortunately there's enough room in my heart (and stomach) for both.

Stuck inside during a hurricane, dreaming of Mexican fiestas...

2011-08-29T12:32:00.001-04:00

So it's Monday morning, post-Hurricane Irene, and I am deeply grateful that our neighborhood was spared from the destruction faced by other areas in her path. Other than some tree limbs and other debris in the streets, there was very little evidence where we live of her passing through at all. I am also grateful that because I woke up early Saturday morning to cook a ridiculous amount of food in case our power went out, we have plenty of leftovers and I might not need to cook again the rest of this week!

At any rate, because of the hurricane, we stayed inside all weekend long which was actually really relaxing and wonderful. And while we did have plenty to eat, I was still dreaming of the incredible vegan tamales that we were treated to at my friend Patricia's house a couple weekends ago. Patricia & her man Neil are always raving to us about this place Nixtamal, which is in Corona, Queens, and I'm pretty sure they go there on at least a weekly basis for (non-vegan) tacos. But when Patricia & Neil moved into their new home recently, they invited us over for a housewarming dinner and we got to sample some all-vegan, off-the-menu tamales, thanks to the lovely Shauna from Nixtamal who was willing to make these for us (and for another vegan friend at the dinner).

What can I say, other than that these were AMAZING and the best, most authentic tamales I have ever had? Nixtamal is all about making their own masa for their tortillas and tamales (fascinating description of the process here) and trust me, not only does this result in a much healthier product, but you can truly taste the difference. Because they make their own, their masa is naturally gluten-free and free of preservatives, lard/shortening, salt, and MSG. They taste like pure corn, which is exactly what they should taste like. Shauna, if you are reading this, thank you so much for making these, and PLEASE PLEASE add these vegan tamales to your menu. I guarantee that if you have these on your permanent menu, the vegans will trek any distance to Corona to eat them!

The tamales were filled with rajas, which are simply strips of roasted chilis cooked with onions and seasonings (not to be confused with these, which are a different kind of rajas). Check out these beauties:

Platter of vegan tamales, waiting to be unwrapped like gifts under the xmas tree.

Vegan tamale topped with spicy green chili salsa

Vegan tamale topped with less spicy red salsa

I lost count of how many tamales I ate, but just when I thought I had reached my fill, Patricia brought out this platter of vegan taco fillings, also courtesy of Nixtamal. Like a trooper, I rallied and somehow found room for tacos too.

Vegan taco fillings, from top: Mushroom (corn fungus) with fresh corn & herbs, sauteed zucchini & squash, and verduras (sauteed mixed vegetables)

Taco #1 filled with pinto beans and mushroom/corn mixture

Taco #2 filled with black beans, verduras, and guacamole

And if you thought the fiesta ended there, well you would be wrong. Knowing that there was a Mexican theme to the evening, I came armed with the Tres Leches cake from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan! Have you made this recipe? If you have not, order this cookbook right now and make this cake immediately. It's the kind of recipe (of which there are a few, in Viva Vegan!) where you have to plan ahead. I made the cake and the soaking syrup the night before the party, so the cake would have time to absorb it all, and then made the coconut topping the morning of the party, still giving it a few hours to chill and set in the fridge before going. The result is an unbelievably moist, sweet, sticky, coconutty, lemon & orange-scented cake so full of goodness that nobody would ever suspect that it was vegan. I got really nervous right before we served it because 1) I had never made this recipe before, 2) the vegans were in the minority at the party, and 3) one of the dinner guests declared himself a huge fan of Tres Leches Cake, so the pressure was really on to impress. And did it ever!

Vegan Tres Leches Cake, topped with fresh berries

So my deepest gratitude goes out again to Patricia, for being the most gracious hostess with the mostest, to Shauna, for the incredibly delicious tamales & tacos that she made vegan especially for us, and to Terry for giving me an amazing recipe that made my friends think I was some kind of genius in the kitchen. And to Irene, for not flooding us, or breaking any windows, or wreaking any other kind of havoc on our apartment. Muchas gracias damas!

We went to Foodswings. We ate. We rejoiced. We planned the next visit.

2011-08-24T15:12:00.000-04:00

So just last night I got around to uploading a bunch of photos from my phone. It always amazes me how many pictures of food I have on there... it's basically hundreds of pictures of food and my dog. Sometimes of my dog eating food. Food...dog...food...dog... maybe I need to get a new hobby.

Anyway, this past weekend we met some friends at Foodswings, one of my absolute favorite places to binge on some good ol' vegan fast food. This isn't health food, folks, and my thighs are glad we don't live any closer to this place, but it is SO worth the occasional indulgence. My friend Annie, from one of my favorite blogs of all time Meet The Shannons, has been organizing these monthly Foodswings get-togethers. Among the photos I just uploaded, I found some from our meet-up last month:

This is my Cremesicle milkshake. I am REALLY into milkshakes right now. I think it's a pregnancy thing, because while I enjoyed the occasional milkshake in the past, I go completely ape-shit for them now. I can't get enough. This one is amazing - vanilla ice cream with orange juice. Classic Cremesicle flavor, and the orange juice counts as being healthy, right? RIGHT?

That's Annie, and I think those are the punk fries, topped with cheese & bacon bits. Vegan bacon, obvs. (Do I even need to make disclaimers like that anymore?)

I got the Chick'n Cordon Bleu sandwich: breaded chick'n cutlet, soy ham, & Daiya Mozzarella Cheese with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion & Foodswings Dijonaise.

My husband went for the Chili Cheese Dog combo. I admit I had food envy, which I am prone to. Mental note: next time I should get the chili cheese dogs.

And then there was the feast we had this past weekend:

NACHOS! These nachos were freaking incredible. Actually, our friend Chad, who is one of the cooks there, recommended we get the nachos, and we are so glad we did. Topped with housemade chili, tomato salsa, soy cheddar, and tofu cream cheese, they were easily the best nachos I've ever had. EVER.

I was craving some major comfort food so I went for the creamy mac & cheese combo that comes with 3 "wings." I got one Buffalo Style (no buffalos were harmed), one Southern Fried, and a Sweet BBQ Southern Fried. The BBQ sauce on those is utterly addictive.

My friend Valerie got the Filet of Soul sandwich (Breaded & Fried Mock Fish
Sticks, Soy Cheese & Tartar Sauce w/ Lettuce & Tomato, Onion) which is also one of my favorites, with a side of the disco fries (covered in gravy & cheese). This illustrates one reason why Val & I are such good friends.

And Annie & Dan had an order of the pizza fries. Pizza fries are GENIUS.
Pizza and fries, two of my favorite things, together at last.

So there you have it. Enough Foodswings food porn to last you until, well, probably until next month when we do it all again. It's good to have a month in between visits to work off all that junky food. But to be honest, I'll probably just go track down another vegan milkshake and call it a day.

Foodswings

295 Grand Street

Brooklyn, New York

Phone: 718-388-1919

Fried Green Tomatoes, Y'all

2011-08-16T21:20:00.000-04:00

Fried green tomatoes are a quintessential Southern thing, although to be honest, despite growing up with Southern parents, I don't remember ever eating these until I was an adult and made them myself. In fact, I don't remember ever even seeing green tomatoes until I was an adult and discovered them at the farmer's market. We didn't have any farmer's markets in the Virginia 'burbs where I grew up, at least none that I knew of, so it was a while before I learned about a lot of things, like the fact that broccoli doesn't grow with bright orange cheese sauce on it.

At any rate, it wasn't until the past few years actually that I even realized that I enjoyed fried green tomatoes. Being unripe, they are much firmer than regular (ripe) tomatoes, but they get nice and juicy on the inside when you fry them. What doesn't taste good breaded and deep-fried anyway? These really lend themselves well to a vinegary hot sauce, so make sure you have plenty of that on hand. Being the good (half-)Southern girl that I am, I served my tomatoes over some steamed collard greens with some black-eyed peas, jalapeno, and some of the leftover roasted corn salad that I still had in the fridge.

Fried Green Tomatoes (adapted from this recipe)
serves 6

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tsp. Egg Replacer mixed with 4 Tbsp. water (equivalent of 2 eggs)
2/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup vegan Parmesan
1 pound green tomatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Old Bay Seasoning, for serving
Hot sauce, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper. Put the "eggs" in another medium bowl and toss the bread crumbs and vegan Parmesan in a third bowl. Dredge the tomato slices in the flour, then coat them in the egg mix, letting any excess drip back into the bowl. Coat in the bread crumbs, pressing to help them adhere.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the breaded tomatoes in a single layer and cook them over moderately high heat, turning once, until deeply golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the tomato slices to paper towel–lined plates. Sprinkle with salt and Old Bay and serve immediately with hot sauce.

I'm Not Crabby Cakes with Roasted Corn-Lime-Jalapeno Salad

2011-08-15T17:37:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a bit of freezer/pantry cleanout recently, and in my freezer I discovered a package of Match "Crab" meat that I had forgotten about. Actually, I discovered two packages of it, so I used one and am still deciding what to do with the other one...

Anyhoo, back in my seafood eatin' days, before I faced the facts that crabs are a lot like us, taking care of their young, defending their neighbors, and capable of feeling pain, crab meat was one of my favorite kinds of seafood. For a few years when I was young, we lived in Maryland, where I remember my family getting large buckets of crabs, spreading out a bunch of newspaper, and going to town on them. Even then, although I loved a good crabcake, I was totally grossed out by the ritual of breaking into the crab body and watching people dig past all the guts and gunk to get to the meat. Now that I think about it, there was a lot of foreshadowing of my future vegetarianism, even when I was small.

That's all leading up to say that my discovery of the Match crab meat in my freezer coincided with finding this recipe for Baltimore Crab Cakes in the August issue of Bon Appetit. It was like the vegan gods were giving me a sign. Also in the same issue of BA, I found this recipe for a Roasted Corn salad that I also wanted to veganize. The flavor profiles of the two recipes were quite similar, and they made a great summer dinner combination. I just put a generous squeeze of lemon juice on the crabcakes when we ate them, but you should feel free to serve with a vegan remoulade or any other sauce of your liking. They were absolutely delicious and kept both me and the crabs from being crabby. Both recipes are below.

Vegan Baltimore Crab Cakes (adapted from this recipe)
makes about 8 lg. cakes

1/4 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayo
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 "flax egg" (1 Tbsp. ground flax seed mixed with 2 Tbsp. water)
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice plus wedges for garnish
1 1/2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped
1 package (16 oz.) Match vegan crabmeat
1 1/4 cups panko* or breadcrumbs, divided
1 Tbsp. thinly sliced chives
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
*Be careful when buying panko and make sure to read the ingredients. I have seen some brands that contain whey or other dairy products.

1. Whisk first 7 ingredients togther in a medium bowl. Add Match crab; fold to blend. Stir in 3/4 cup panko or breadcrumbs, chives, salt, and pepper. Divide into 8 equal portions. Form each into 1"-thick patties and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup panko/breadcrumbs on a plate. Coat cakes with panko. Fry until golden brown and crisp, 3-4 minutes per side. Serve with lemon wedges.

Roasted Corn Salad with Lime & Jalapeno (adapted from this recipe)
serves 8

6 ears of sweet yellow corn, unhusked
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. (1/4 stick) Earth Balance or other vegan butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 jalapeño, seeded, finely diced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
1/3 cup vegan Parmesan
1/4 cup thinly sliced chives
2 tsp. finely grated lime zest

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Roast unhusked corn on a baking sheet, turning occasionally, until heated through and crisp-tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Shuck corn and cut kernels from cobs. Discard cobs.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add corn kernels and sauté until heated through and light-golden in spots, 3-5 minutes. Add vegan butter; stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Transfer corn to a large wide bowl or deep platter; sprinkle jalapeño and crushed red pepper flakes over. Squeeze lime wedges over; sprinkle with vegan parmesan, chives, and lime zest.

Serve your not-so-crabby cakes atop the roasted corn salad with some extra lemon wedges to squeeze over them. Best of all, if you have some leftover crab cakes, you can always put them in a bun and make an incredible sandwich with some vegan remoulade (Vegenaise + sweet pickle relish), lettuce, and tomato. Delicious!

Rootin' Tootin' Root Beer Cupcakes

2011-08-09T22:35:00.000-04:00

I hardly ever drink soda. I think it might have something to do with the 5th grade science project I did, where I dropped iron nails into different cans of soda to see how fast they would dissolve. I don't remember which soda was the worst, but I do remember that all the nails disintegrated pretty quickly, and even then I was horrified at the thought of what that stuff would do to your teeth and insides. That said, the one soda that I do like on rare occasions is root beer. There's something about that sweet sassafras-y, herbal-y flavor that takes me back to my childhood, to those carefree, pre-science fair days.

When I saw this recipe for Root Beer Cake I thought it sounded fun and kind of retro. It was also a good excuse to buy some root beer. And some vanilla ice cream for root beer floats. Is there anything more retro than a root beer float?

A couple things about this recipe: root beer extract can be pretty tricky to find. The preferred brand is Zatarain's, but chances are you will have to mail order that. I like to go to NY Cake on 22nd St. for supplies, where they have this root beer flavoring. It's a highly concentrated blend of natural oils, so if you use this or something similar you will need to substitute 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon for 1 teaspoon of extract. Another thing that is hard to find is vegan root beer candy, which is not required for this recipe but would be really cute to use for decoration. I found these root beer hard candies and also the Brach's Root Beer Barrels, both appear to be vegan but you'd probably have to order these online. I didn't go to the trouble. And lastly, please try to buy a natural brand of root beer, meaning one without all that nasty high fructose corn syrup. Your body will thank you for it.

Root Beer Cake (adapted from this recipe)
makes one 9 x 13' cake or approximately 16 cupcakes

2 cups Earth Balance or other vegan butter, plus 1 tsp. to grease pan
2 1⁄2 cups cake flour, plus 1 Tbsp. for dusting cake pan
2 1⁄2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup root beer
5 tsp. root beer extract (preferably Zatarain's)
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
6 tsp. Egg Replacer mixed with 8 Tbsp. water (equivalent of 4 eggs)
4 1⁄2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. vegan creamer

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease and dust with flour either your 9 x 13" cake pan or your cupcake pans.

2. Sift remaining cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.

3. Whisk together root beer and 2 tsp. of the root beer extract in a bowl; set aside.

4. Beat sugar and 1 cup of the vegan butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Mix in egg replacer. Alternately add flour mixture and root beer mixture, waiting for each to be incorporated before adding the next. Mix briefly, then transfer batter to pan; smooth out top.

5. Bake, rotating once, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool.

6. Put confectioners' sugar and remaining butter into a bowl; beat with an electric mixer to combine. Add vegan creamer and remaining root beer extract; beat to make a fluffy frosting. Spread frosting on cake and decorate with root beer candies, if desired.

7. Use leftover root beer to make floats!

Summer Squash & Tomato Pizza

2011-08-01T15:39:00.001-04:00

Sometimes you get a craving for pizza. Sometimes that craving takes you all the way to a neighborhood known as Dumbo, where you are inexplicably willing to stand outside in the heat waiting for half an hour to get into Grimaldi's Pizza for a sublime, no cheese pie with an utterly perfect coal-fired brick oven crust. Call it temporary insanity.

Crazy for Grimaldi's pizza.

Strangely enough, eating pizza this past weekend at Grimaldi's only made me crave more pizza. I wanted something different though, and this recipe I found in Food & Wine seemed like a good way to use up some of the zucchini that I had just bought at the farmer's market. I made a few changes - instead of yellow squash I used green zucchini, I made it on a pizza crust instead of puff pastry, and I substituted a vegan cream cheese for the goat cheese. The end result was really good, something between a pizza and a tart, and was filling without being heavy. Lots of great summer flavors in there, and perfect for when it's not too hot to turn your oven on for a half hour. Even though I made this using a store-bought pizza dough, I do think that this would also be really tasty using the puff pastry as directed in the original recipe. Just make sure to get a vegan (no-butter) brand if you decide to go the puff pastry route. The Pepperidge Farm brand is (accidentally) vegan and widely available.

Summer Squash & Tomato Pizza (adapted from this recipe)
serves 4

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound small yellow squash or zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 Tbsp. prepared pesto* (see note on pesto at bottom)
8 oz. plain vegan cream cheese, softened
1 batch of store-bought pizza dough
1 plum tomato, very thinly sliced
8 small pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
fresh basil, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the squash and onion and season with salt and white pepper. Cover and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash and onion are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a strainer and press lightly.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, blend the pesto* with the vegan cream cheese.

3. Press your pizza dough out evenly on your baking sheet. Spread the pesto cream cheese all over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with the squash mixture. Arrange the tomato slices on top of the squash and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes, until the edges are golden and the bottom is completely cooked through. Sprinkle with the olives and fresh basil, cut into squares and serve right away.

Spread the pesto cream cheese over your pizza dough.

Arrange squash or zucchini mixture on top of cream cheese.

Arrange tomato slices on top (this pic was taken after baking).

Close up of all the good stuff.

Cut into slices and enjoy!

*Note on pesto: It is nearly impossible to find prepared pesto that doesn't contain cheese, and since this recipe calls for such a small amount I didn't want to include an entire recipe for pesto here. I whipped up a very small batch of it in my food processor using about a 1/2 cup of tightly packed basil leaves, about a half teaspoon of vegan parmesan, one garlic clove, and drizzled olive oil while it was running until the pesto reached the consistency I was happy with. I know this isn't a real recipe for pesto, but I just kind of improvised it, and I think you can too. I have faith in you.

Indian-Spiced Fresh Mango Sorbet with Grilled Pineapple & Coconut

2011-07-25T11:22:00.000-04:00

Chances are, where ever you live, it has been insanely hot lately. In NY, it's been brutal. Like 100° with high humidity kind of brutal. This is bad enough for regular people, but couple that kind of heat with being pregnant, and the result is me...well, complaining. A LOT.

Needless to say it's been too hot to do much cooking of any kind. The thought of turning on my oven makes me want to die. We've been eating lots of sandwiches and cereal. Exciting, I know. But the only time I really want to step foot in my kitchen is to stick my head in the freezer for a few blissful seconds. And pull out the vegan ice cream.

Ice cream and summertime goes hand in hand, as does, apparently, ice cream and pregnancy. People keep asking me if I've had any cravings, and I guess that ice cream (the vegan kind, of course) is about the only thing I've really been eating a lot more of lately. Between visits to Lula's I've managed to put away more than my share of the many So Delicious flavors, including the mini ice cream sandwiches which I only recently discovered (why do they make them so SMALL?), and I've even been putting my own ice cream maker to use.

Food & Wine recently had an ice cream sundae slideshow that totally spoke to my ice cream cravings and inspired me to try out this recipe. Actually, I ended up with a combination of two recipes: I put the toppings for this Caramelized Pineapple Sundae with Coconut together with this Fresh Mango Sorbet for a refreshing, slightly spicy, exotic and delicious creation.

I will post the instructions below for making the mango sorbet in an ice cream maker. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can certainly mix up the ingredients as instructed and put them in a container in the freezer. I have never experimented with doing it that way, but if it all ends up cold and delicious, then it's a success, right?

Indian-Spice Fresh Mango Sorbet with Grilled Pineapple & Coconut
(Mango Sorbet recipe reprinted from here. Grilled Pineapple & Coconut Toppings from this recipe.)
makes about 3 1/2 cups sorbet

For sorbet:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2 whole cloves
1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup apricot jam
2 large, ripe mangoes—peeled, pitted and chopped (about 2 cups)

For toppings:
fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2 inch rings (I recommend 1 - 2 slices per sundae)
vegetable oil or spray, for grill
shredded coconut, lightly toasted in a toaster oven or skillet
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, unsweetened coconut milk, sugar, crushed cardamom pods, cloves and minced ginger and bring to a simmer over moderate heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 25 minutes. Strain the mixture into a bowl and stir in the apricot jam.

2. Puree the chopped mango in a blender. Add the spiced coconut-milk mixture and blend thoroughly. Transfer the coconut-mango mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

3. Scrape the spiced coconut–mango mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Keep the mango sorbet in the freezer until ready to serve.

4. Brush the pineapple rings with oil or spray your grill with cooking spray. Grill pineapple over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until the pineapple is lightly charred and softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer the rings to a work surface and cut into bite-size pieces.

5. Top mango sorbet with pineapple pieces, toasted coconut flakes, and a sprig of fresh mint. Eat. Imagine yourself lounging at a tropical resort. Enjoy.

Nasturtium: a plant genus; an extraordinary dinner; a celebration of vegetables

2011-07-15T12:25:00.001-04:00

I've been online acquaintances with Chef Scott Winegard for a while now, after I became obsessed with his gorgeous Tumblr site showcasing his vegan creations, and have been eagerly awaiting a chance to finally get to attend one of the Nasturtium dinners that he puts on with his partner Elena Balletta. It seemed like every time one came up, I was out of town, had some other event already planned, or was otherwise unable to make it. Finally the stars and planets aligned, I made my reservation for last night's dinner, and what followed was nothing short of magic.

Fig. Marmite. Dill.

The six course (seven, if you include what came at the end along with the check) started off with this elegant amuse-bouche consisting of a fresh fig slice atop a marmite sauce with a sprig of fresh dill. I admit I was a little nervous when I saw "marmite" in the description, but the sauce was very subtle. I would have never thought of putting these flavors together, but the combination really woke up our tastebuds and we knew immediately that we were in for an exciting and surprising culinary experience. Plus, fresh figs are simply one of the sexiest ingredients I can think of. The texture, the color... I don't know how else to describe it but to say that the meal was off to a sexy start.

Cucumber. Fennel. Almond. Tarragon.

The second course was this beautiful soup. The picture really doesn't do it justice - a light-colored soup in a white dish in a dark restaurant is hard to photograph - but it was truly a work of art. The broth was very delicate, light and creamy, with bits of cucumber, fennel, and almond adding texture and crunch. I'm not even a big fan in general of cold soups, but this was so refreshing and cleansing that I truly loved it.

Butter lettuce. Watermelon radish. Wax bean. Cherry-herb vinaigrette.

Just look at that salad. I mean, just look at it. Salads really have no business being that gorgeous. I mean, they're just asking for whatever happens to them, going out dressed like that. Really though, this salad was such a color explosion on the plate I literally gasped when it was presented to us. The cherry vinaigrette added just the right hint of sweetness to this crispy, fresh, herbaceous dish.

Green tomato. Chanterelle. Polenta. Fresh chickpea.

Here we've built up to one of the warm entrees. I don't know if I can adequately describe to you how summery fresh this course tasted. The polenta tasted simply like fresh summer corn, ground into a thick puree. This was the polenta to which I will compare all other polentas from now on. The green tomato was lightly grilled and topped with grilled corn kernels, chanterelles (my favorite kind of mushroom), and fresh green chickpeas. It evoked summer days of fresh sweet corn and fried green tomatoes, cooking out on the grill... but in this incredibly modern and new way.

Summer squash. Tomato.

Ok, so the simple menu description of "summer squash, tomato" certainly didn't reveal what a carefully composed plate we were to be presented with. There was a squash/zucchini type of fritter, some pattypan squash, a squash blossom, and a delectable tomato sauce to accompany it all. The aroma was incredible, I just held the plate under my nose for several seconds before diving in. A beautiful showcase of the many ways that summer squash may be enjoyed.

Semolina cake. Roasted peach. Basil ice cream.

And now we've reached the dessert course. I love desserts that are not overly sweet (though truth be told, I love the sweet ones too, who am I kidding?) and this was such a perfect ending to a dazzlingly impressive meal. The semolina cake was soft and just moist enough, and the grilled peach puree (it's hiding on the other side of the cake in the picture) was delicious, but the real revelation for me here was the basil ice cream. It was light, refreshing, and the basil flavor was distinctive without being overwhelming. It was such a delicate balance of flavors, as with all the other dishes, and executed perfectly. It really ended this meal on just the right note.

Blueberry - Lemon balm.

As if we hadn't been spoiled enough, with the check came these little blueberry jelly candies topped with tiny lemon balm leaves. They reminded me fondly of the pâtes de fruits I used to buy in Paris. A perfect little bite to send us away feeling delighted and satisfied from such a well-rounded meal.

It was a real pleasure to finally get to meet Scott in person, and he was as I imagined him to be: warm, welcoming, and genuinely excited to present some spectacular vegan food to us. (Hopefully next time I will get to meet Elena too.) If I didn't get this across in my description of the dishes, let me say this about Scott's & Elena's cooking: this is vegan food at its very best. The entire menu was a showcase of the freshest seasonal ingredients, sourced locally from the farmer's market. This was all real food, no processed or faux ingredients to be found. Each dish was simple, meaning a minimum of ingredients/elements on the plate, but presented so artfully and beautifully that you couldn't help but be dazzled. I truly hope that in the near future we might see a real brick-and-mortar Nasturtium restaurant, of which we will be loyal and devoted regular customers. If you live in New York, keep an eye out for one of the next dinners, they are not to be missed!

A Perfect Summer Meal: Chef Chloe's Avocado Pesto Pasta

2011-07-12T11:48:00.001-04:00

We visited some very dear friends who live up in the Berkshires this past weekend, in Great Barrington, which is a wonderfully charming little town that we simply adore. We had a lovely summer day breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the company. We hadn't seen these friends in a few years, so I think they were momentarily stumped when we reminded them that we were both vegan, but they put together a very lovely lunch with some fresh pesto pasta and plenty of veggies from the local farmer's market. A simple but absolutely delicious lunch, perfect for a summer's day.

The pesto we ate reminded me of this recipe that I had also made recently, Chef Chloe's Avocado Pesto Pasta. It's literally as easy as boiling water, and I love that the sauce doesn't require any cooking. It's luscious, slightly creamy, and the perfect showcase for all those bunches of fresh basil exploding in your garden. Not my garden, because I live in a Brooklyn walk-up apartment without any yard, but you know what I mean. Someone's garden. This pesto was truly fantastic and I love not only the flavor and texture from the avocado but also the nutritional goodness that it adds. Make this for dinner tonight!

Chef Chloe's Avocado Pesto Pasta (recipe published on Chef Chloe's site here)

serves 6

1 pound dried linguini

1 bunch basil leaves (about 2½ ounces)
½ cup pine nuts
2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ of a lemon)
3 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
Salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to package directions. While pasta cooks, in a food processor, blend basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Drain pasta. In a large serving bowl, toss pesto with hot, freshly cooked pasta and garnish each serving with a basil leaf. For an extra touch of color and flavor, top pasta with sundried tomatoes.

It's a Crumble! It's a Pie! It's a Blueberry Crumble Pie!

2011-07-06T08:51:00.000-04:00

When I saw this recipe in the July issue of Bon Appetit, it was exactly the kind of blueberry recipe I was looking for. Those luscious, purple-blue berries had been tempting me from the farmer's market and we'd been eating them fresh by the bucketful, but I was really craving some kind of comforting dessert that would feature those juicy berries in a cooked form. A crumble pie sounded perfect for summer. And a crumble pie a la mode... could there be anything better?

The only changes I made to the original recipe were to use Earth Balance instead of butter, and I subbed arrowroot for cornstarch, because that's what I have on hand. I have used arrowroot and cornstarch interchangeably in the past without any problem, but I will say that this pie didn't thicken up as much as I would have liked. I don't know if it has anything to do with using arrowroot, but at any rate, it still tasted great despite being a little on the soupy side.

I also used (gasp) a store-bought whole wheat vegan pie crust because I'm a working woman and I'm tired and shit. I will include the directions for making your own if you want to feel all superior with your homemade skills and spend your evenings rolling out pie crusts instead of watching Gordon Ramsay yell at people on MasterChef, but I won't judge you if you put the filling in a store-bought crust too. Your secret is safe with me.

Blueberry Crumble Pie (veganized version of this recipe in July 2011 Bon Appetit)
makes one 9-inch pie

Crust:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for surface
1/2 cup chilled Earth Balance or margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 tsp. salt

Filling and topping:
2/3 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest plus 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
5 cups (1 pound 10 oz.) fresh blueberries
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. Earth Balance or margarine, melted, cooled slightly

For crust:
1. Pulse flour, Earth Balance, and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle 3 Tbsp. ice water over mixture. Pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, use the heel of your hand to smear each portion of dough twice in a forward motion to distribute margarine. Gather all 4 dough pieces into a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill dough until firm, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 13" round. Transfer to a 9"- 9 1/2" pie dish, gently pressing dough onto bottom and up sides of dish. Fold overhang under and crimp edges decoratively. Pierce bottom of crust in several places with a fork, then chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

3. Line a large baking sheet with foil and place on a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and pie weights. Bake until crust is pale golden, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer crust to a wire rack; let cool.

Filling and topping:
1. Whisk 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch or arrowroot, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add blueberries and lemon juice; toss gently to coat and evenly distribute. Let filling stand, tossing occasionally, until berries release their juices, 20-30 minutes.

2. Whisk flour, remaining 3 Tbsp. sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add melted margarine; mix topping with fingertips to blend.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375°. Spoon blueberry filling into crust, then sprinkle topping over. Bake pie until filling is bubbling and topping is golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cover with foil after 30 minutes if browning too fast. Let pie cool on a wire rack.

I highly recommend serving with a scoop of your favorite non-dairy vanilla ice cream - mine is So Delicious Coconut Milk-based Vanilla Bean!

Summertime & the Livin' is Easy: BBQ Seitan Sandwich with Crispy Cole Slaw & Lemon Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

2011-06-29T10:14:00.001-04:00

My friend Antoinne is a barbecue purist. He gives me a lot of grief when I call something "barbecue" that isn't 1) meat, 2) rubbed/basted with some homemade barbecue seasoning/sauce, 3) slow-smoked over some organic mesquite wood chips, or something like that. Whatever it is that he does. I don't actually know the rules of barbecue, and although he will kill me for it, anything grilled and doused with that tangy, smoky, tomato-y sauce means BBQ to me! (You know I love you, Antoinne!)

I say all this as a preface to this post about a BBQ Seitan sandwich I made recently from the Veganomicon cookbook. Summertime being officially here, I had a craving for something tasty and cookout-worthy. I have no doubt that this would tempt even the meatiest of meat-eaters and the staunchest of any BBQ purist. (Well, maybe.) The seitan - you can make homemade from their recipe, but I simply used store-bought - is grilled, then tossed in the BBQ sauce, then grilled again. There's also a recipe for their homemade Backyard BBQ sauce, or you can use your own favorite prepared brand.

The recipe for the Crispy Cole Slaw was also super easy to make, and very tasty. The combo of the spicy, meaty BBQ'd seitan and the cool, crisp, creamy cole slaw is definitely a winner. It will have you lickin' your fingers for sure. With some fresh corn on the cob and a side of maple baked beans, you can just close your eyes and feel the grass under your bare feet, even if you live in Brooklyn and have no yard.

And what's the perfect summer dessert to go with some BBQ? A vegan lemon cheesecake with fresh berries of course! This lemon cheesecake was the first recipe I got to try from my new copy of Vegan Diner, and if this is any indication of how good the other recipes will be, I can't wait to test out some more. This cheesecake was everything you want in a cheesecake: smooth, creamy, dense but not heavy, and had a delicious, zingy, lemony tang to it. Summertime is so sweet!

Return of True Blood & Some Yummy Bites

2011-06-26T17:56:00.001-04:00

True Blood Season 4 premieres tonight! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. It has been approximately 17 years since the last season ended... really, the wait has seemed endless. I can't wait to hear Bill say "Sookie" again in his husky, breathless voice; or see Eric, well, being Eric; or see Lafayette do absolutely anything at all, because he is the greatest character on TV, ever.

As excited as I am about the return of True Blood, I get almost as excited about making some Southern/Cajun food to eat while we watch, just so I feel like I'm down in Louisiana with all the vamps (and werewolves, and fairies, and witches). You can check out my past recipes for Louisiana-style Barbecue "Shrimp" & Cheese Grits; Smoky Red Peppers 'n' Beans Gumbo (from Veganomicon); or my also-inspired by True Blood Vegan Chicken & Spicy Sausage Étouffée. Tonight I opted for Red Beans & Rice with Red-Wine Simmered Seitan from Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen, which is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, and for dessert, some red velvet cupcakes - or Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes, as they are called in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Both of these recipes appealed to my Southern side, and had the added bonus of keeping with the red theme in honor of True Blood.

The red beans & rice recipe was a very pleasant surprise. I actually had in mind a more traditional red beans & rice recipe, which usually ends up looking something like this, kind of thick and stewy and all cooked down together. Bryant Terry's version is more modern and refined, and has the very untraditional addition of seitan cooked in red wine with garlic and herbs. Oh if only there were restaurants in New Orleans selling this kind of food! The flavors were absolutely delicious, a medley of garlic, shallots, green pepper, and plenty of fresh thyme. The only thing I changed from his recipe is that I made white basmati instead of brown rice - I know brown rice is healthier, but sometimes I just prefer white - and instead of mixing the rice into the bean/seitan/vegetable mixture, I left it separate and served the bean mixture on top. Absolutely delicious. If you don't already have his cookbook, I highly recommend you order it.

Red velvet cake is such a quintessential Southern dessert, its red hue in part originally attributed to the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk, which would reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa, according to Wikipedia. Regardless, pretty much every recipe I've ever seen calls for a crapload of red food coloring, which has always kind of scared me away from red velvet cakes in the past. Now you can find natural food colorings, but they certainly don't come cheap. I found this India Tree natural food coloring set at Whole Foods for about $20, which is kind of crazy if you ask me. It's cheaper if you order it online, but still not what I would call "cheap."

Like every other recipe I've tried from VCTOTW, these turned out great, and I say that as someone who was never a big fan of ~~red velvet~~ Crimson Velveteen. The cakes were perfectly moist and spongy, with a light cocoa/almond flavor. The Old-Fashioned Velvet Icing was not quite as thick and dense as a buttercream, but instead had more of a thick whipped cream consistency. A perfect ending to a delicious meal!

My Trip to Bonnaroo & Some Other Good Things

2011-06-19T21:34:00.001-04:00

So I was hoping to do another extensive post like I did last year about my experience at Bonnaroo, but I have to say that this year's trip felt like a lot of work and not nearly as much fun. Part of it was that I came back a day early, cutting out the day I usually have pretty much free to check out some shows and other stuff at the festival, and part of it was because, being pregnant this year, it was really hard for me to handle all the heat, dust & dirt, general smelliness, and the awful porta-potty situation. I don't recommend attending Bonnaroo or any other multi-day outdoor music festival while pregnant. Although the Florence & The Machine show that I did manage to catch made up for a lot of my discomfort. As did getting to meet and hang out with my friend Hillary while there.

The food situation was pretty much exactly the same as in previous years - lots of festival food, meaning lots of burgers and other meat and a plethora of deep-fried choices:

Burgers, burgers, and more burgers

Gator Nuggets anyone?

I'm a fan of the part of Bonnaroo dubbed "Centeroo" (because it's located in the center of the Bonnaroo grounds), which is like a mini-village of social activists, full of workshops, various campaign information and other fun stuff.

Learn how to garden at Bonnaroo!

There are a lot of smelly things at Bonnaroo, but at least compost is for a good cause.


Random picture of girls with a gigantic hula hoop in Centeroo. They never did manage to get that thing going.

Yes, KFC should stop destroying the forests. Also, chickens.

And I guess the food truck craze hit Bonnaroo this year too, because these were the only new food additions that I noticed. There were a couple veg options among them, but not many.

This truck had a vegetarian chickpea gyro, which you would have to order without the tzatziki sauce to keep it vegan.

Surprisingly, one of the few vegan options among the food trucks was from a meatball truck of all places. They had an eggplant, lentil, cilantro version that sounded like it might be tasty, if it wasn't a thousand degrees outside.


The meatball truck had clever slogans like "Eat my box" and "Balls deep," which I thought was funny because I have the sense of humor of an adolescent boy.

But like last year, I was lucky to be able to eat many of my meals in the catering tent - one of the perks of working at Bonnaroo. I love that they have a fresh juice and smoothie bar in there, and a fresh salad bar, which is pretty much all I ate while there. The first day of the festival they had bbq tofu on the menu, which was great, but the other days the vegan options (other than the salad bar) were kind of slim. Plenty of vegetarian stuff, but most of it drowning in cheese or creamy sauces. The one exception was the night that culinary students from Art Institute did the catering, which was mostly vegan, with a rice noodle dish, a tempeh stirfry with vegetables, and some other Asian-prepared veggies.

Art Institute culinary students prepared this meal.

What I ate the rest of the time - salad, some couscous salad & hummus

Florence & The Machine. That little spot of orange in the middle is her hair. Sorry for the terrible pic!

But since I felt guilty not having much in the way of food news from Bonnaroo to share with you, I thought I would share all the food porn pics I had sitting on my phone. Here's a record of some really good vegan eats I've had over the last month or so:

This is the amazing Zen slice from Viva Herbal Pizzeria. I actually crave these slices. They call this the "super antioxidant" pizza, but I just eat it because it's delicious and is topped with green tea herbed miso tofu, green tea basil pesto, shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, sundried tomato, and roasted garlic, on a green tea herbed spelt crust.

I met a friend recently at Pure Food & Wine and we wanted just a small snack. We decided on these Hazelnut Crostini with Crimini Mushrooms garnished with caraway sauerkraut and apple cider reduction. Scrumptious.

We also shared this dessert, it was some kind of chocolate mousse mille feuille, with raspberry sorbet. Whatever it was called, it was heavenly.

Ok, and we also shared a classic sundae, which was my ulterior motive for suggesting that we meet there in the first place. I love this sundae so much! And the fact that everything there is raw never fails to completely blow my mind.

This is my new favorite dish on the menu at Angelica Kitchen (new to me, not to their menu). It's the hot open-faced tempeh sandwich that comes with mushroom gravy and ruby sauerkraut on a bed of spinach. You must get it with the scoop of mashed potatoes.

Before going to see the ballet at Lincoln Center, we went up to Peacefood Cafe for lunch and shared one of their delicious Caesar (vegan of course) salads.

And we also shared one of the Roasted Japanese Pumpkin sandwiches, which is pumpkin mashed with some black pepper and olive oil, topped with caramelized onions, ground walnuts, vegan feta cheese, and greens. A very unusual and very delicious combo!

And yet another amazing vegan pizza slice, this one from Whole Earth Bakery in the East Village. I love this slice and I also love that they chop up all those veggies for the pizza, because I would be too lazy to do this at home.

These are the vegan buckwheat waffles that I made for my husband on his birthday. Topped with fresh strawberries and soy whipped cream. I'm nice that way.

This is a brownie sundae that I shared (really, I shared it) from everyone's favorite vegan ice cream shop Lula's Sweet Apothecary. I'm using being pregnant as an excuse to make more frequent visits to Lula's, when the truth is that I crave it all the time anyway.

A friend of ours is an ice cream purist and doesn't put nearly enough (read: any) toppings on his ice cream. It still looks very pretty and 100% delicious.

But this is more like it. I might have had a bite of this sundae too.

And here's a gratuitous pic of my Bella, just because she is so cute and cuddly. Look at that little face!

I have some more vegan eats to post about soon so stay tuned!

Heading back to Bonnaroo...

2011-06-07T16:57:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. I'm packing up & flying to TN tomorrow for the annual Bonnaroo festival, for work. I always dread going... the heat, the humidity, the reek of tens of thousands of people camping for four days with minimal showers and porta-potties... I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it. Plus, there's the whole problem of finding decent vegan food in the middle of TN, although there are some good options once we're inside the festival itself. As much as I dread it, we almost always end up having fun once we get there, though. It's hard working in that kind of heat, but we do manage to squeeze in some good entertainment and can usually catch at least a few shows. And the people watching, well it just can't be beat.

I will again chronicle my days at Bonnaroo and give you the lowdown from a vegan perspective. Until then, check out my post from last year's festival. Will there be more vegan options this year? A veggie burger stand? Vegan sweets? More BBQ tofu sandwiches? Stay tuned to find out soon!

Get Stuffed on Vegan Baked Stuffed Shells.

2011-05-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

One of the things I've been trying to do lately is cut back on the packaged vegan "meats" and "cheese." This is partly because I've been wanting to cut down on the amount of processed foods we consume, and partly because since I've been pregnant, they just haven't really appealed to me at all. Especially Daiya cheese. The very distinct smell of Daiya just kills me right now. I have eaten it a couple of times - once on a pizza at John's of 12th, and recently on a panini I got from Whole Foods - and it still tasted good to me, but I just can't bear to open up the package and smell it. Instant heaves.

This current condition motivated me to crack open my copy of The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, which I have to admit I have had for some time but hadn't tried any recipes from it yet. The recipe for Baked Stuffed Shells immediately caught my eye and I was surprised at how easy the instructions seemed. Stuffed shells is one of those great dishes to have when company comes over, because it looks impressive and like you did a lot of work, and nobody needs to know that it's actually fairly easy to prepare.

One thing I will say is that I was a little concerned when I saw that the filling included vegan mayonnaise... I don't know, maybe I was just imagining the regular, eggy mayonnaise baking inside some pasta and it was making me want to hurl. I had to keep reminding myself that vegan "mayo" is an altogether different product, and I should keep an open mind and follow the recipe as instructed before making any judgements. I'm really glad I did because this filling was so rich, creamy, and convincingly ricotta-like. I truly believe that you could fool people with this one. There was nothing "vegan" tasting about it.

The directions are simple to recap for you: just boil 16 large pasta stuffing shells as instructed on the box. In a large bowl, combine the following: 1 lb. regular firm tofu, mashed; 2/3 cup vegan mayonnaise; 2 tsp. dried parsley; 2 tsp. dried basil; 2 tsp. onion powder; 1 tsp. garlic powder; and salt and pepper to taste. Mash everything together into a thick paste. Spoon about 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp. of the filling into each shell. Pour about a cup of your favorite tomato sauce on the bottom of an oiled 9" x 13" baking dish and arrange the shells in a single layer on top of the sauce. Spoon 4 -5 cups of tomato sauce over the shells, then sprinkle with vegan Parmesan and bake at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes.

I did happen to have a little bit of Follow Your Heart mozzarella in my fridge, so I grated that on top in addition to the parmesan. Follow Your Heart has a much milder smell than Daiya, so it didn't make me nauseous, but it also doesn't melt (or taste) like Daiya does, as you can see in the picture. It probably didn't need the extra cheeze on top and I think I would probably just stick with the parmesan next time I make these.

I wish I had taken a picture of the filling for you, but to be honest I made these on Sunday and just wanted to get them in the oven so they'd be ready before our Sunday night shows (Game of Thrones and The Borgias, if you're interested). But like I said, the filling was incredibly creamy and flavorful. Rich but surprisingly not heavy. Utterly addictive. We definitely stuffed ourselves with these and can't wait to make them again.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars & Some Vegan Good News

2011-05-16T16:00:00.001-04:00

I've really been neglecting my blog lately, and for that I must apologize. I am trying to pick it back up and begin posting again with some regularity. You see, for a while now I've been trying to eat really simple, easy foods. In my mind, I wanted this to mean lots of whole grains, steamed vegetables, and fresh fruits. In reality, it has been something more along the lines of cereal with rice milk, and peanut butter sandwiches. Lots and lots of peanut butter sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter and banana. Peanut butter, jelly, and banana. Peanut butter, banana, and agave. Peanut butter and, a few times, vegan cheese slices. I haven't gone for peanut butter and pickles... yet. If you haven't guessed it by now, I'll tell you my news: I'm pregnant!

I've been waiting and waiting to be able to share the news with everyone and it feels great to finally be able to do so. This is our first child, due to arrive towards the end of November. I'm not feeling too bad, going into my second trimester, but the first trimester was filled with the typical nausea, food aversions, and an almost comical level of fatigue. I'm talking near-narcolepsy over here. I've never been so tired in my life and the last thing I wanted to do was stand in my kitchen to cook ANYTHING.

My energy and taste buds are very slowly starting to come back to me, although some things that I usually love to eat are still kind of unappealing, like asparagus and some other green vegetables for that matter. Fortunately, so far, I haven't experienced any non-vegan pregnancy cravings. If anything, meat, eggs, and dairy seem even more repulsive to me than usual. If in the future I do find myself suddenly drooling over something I wouldn't normally eat, I hope that I will have the presence of mind to evaluate the underlying reason for my sudden craving - am I not getting enough iron? Enough fat? (I know I get enough protein, I won't even entertain that as a possibility.) But I'm trying to not think too much about what I might do in that situation, and instead just focus on maintaining what has so far been a very healthy and happy vegan pregnancy.

But this is a food blog, not a pregnancy blog, and I intend on keeping it that way. Therefore, in celebration of my good news, and in homage to my constant peanut butter and jelly cravings, I decided to make these peanut butter and jelly bars to share with you.

I saw this recipe in the March issue of Bon Appetit, and knew that I wanted to make a vegan version as soon as I felt like standing in the kitchen for more than ten minutes. That day finally arrived, hurray! These are SO good and were well worth the wait, perfect for dessert, breakfast, or a snack any time of the day, really. They were very easy to make and would also be a great recipe for bake sales.

Vegan Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars (adapted from this recipe)
makes 16 bars

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance or other vegan butter, room temperature
1 flax "egg" (mix 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed with 2 Tbsp. water)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup jelly or jam (I used raspberry, but feel free to use your favorite flavor)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving 2-inch overhang around edges and pressing firmly into corners and up sides of pan. Coat foil with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter, sugar, and Earth Balance in large bowl until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low speed until smooth. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Note: batter will be coarse and pebbly, not smooth.

3. Transfer half of dough to prepared pan (about scant 1 1/2 cups). Place remaining dough in freezer for 10 minutes. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom of pan. Spread jelly over in even layer. Remove dough from freezer and scatter small pieces over jelly layer. Sprinkle chopped nuts over.

4. Bake bars until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool bars completely in pan on rack. Using foil overhang as aid, lift bars from pan. Gently peel foil from edges. Cut into 16 squares. Enjoy with a glass of non-dairy milk!

From Gluten-Free to All-Gluten... Recent Classes at Natural Gourmet

2011-05-04T10:57:00.000-04:00

If you've been following my blog for a certain length of time, you may already know that I'm a big fan of taking the recreational cooking classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute. I've learned Chinese Homestyle Cooking, made vegan hors d'oeuvres, and a Southeast Asian banquet there before, to name just a few of the classes I've taken in the past. They offer so many all-vegan classes, some focused on technique, others on various types of cuisine, and I always enjoy learning the new recipes and, at the end of class, getting to sample everything we've made.

This past week I took two classes - one was a vegan cake baking & decorating class, and all of the recipes were gluten- and soy-free. Not realizing the irony at the time I registered, the second class I took was a seitan-making workshop, meaning we were working with 100% gluten. It's all about balance, right?

The cake class was great because, you know, cake! The cake recipes were good, but I have to say that they weren't as good as anything I've had from Gone Pie or Babycakes (two sources of gluten-free vegan deliciousness) here in NY. We made a French Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting; Chocolate Cake with Caramel Chocolate Frosting; Lemon Cake with Lemon Frosting; Strawberry Banana Cake with Banana Icing; a Tropical Carrot Cake with Creamy Coconut Frosting; and a Pistachio Almond Cake with Almond-Scented Frosting, but the most fun was getting to play with all the different pastry tips to work on our cake decorating skills. Here are some of the fine examples from our class:

This was our instructor's chocolate cake - very inspiring!

This was the Pistachio - Almond cake... I think she had some decorating practice already!

I had the pleasure of meeting mtvVegan in the class - she also did a great job decorating her cake!

This was the Tropical Carrot Cake that I made and took home.
I'm a good wife, right? Although I need some more practice on my cake-decorating skills....

The seitan-making class that I took it with my friend Valerie from Lifestyles of the Chic & Vegan was great fun. Having only made seitan using Vital Wheat Gluten before, I had no idea how much work was involved in making seitan from scratch. You extract the gluten from wheat flours by mixing with water, letting the dough rest, kneading kneading kneading, soaking in water, then rinsing rinsing rinsing with alternating hot and cold waters while your beautiful ball of kneaded dough transforms into an ugly, stringy, gloopy mess, before it magically comes back together in one big ball of gluten. And that's how you make seitan! Honestly, it was entirely too much work to do on a normal day for your dinner, but I might do it once a year, maybe for a special holiday dish or something. The rest of the time, the Vital Wheat Gluten and Seitan Quick Mixes are perfectly acceptable and much, much easier and faster to make.

Our instructor was chef and cookbook author Peter Berley, with whom I took a Vegetarian Winter Casseroles class last year, where I learned such creations as Beer-Braised Kielbasa with Sauerkraut & Onions, Tempeh & Vegetables in a Spicy Lemon-Coconut Broth, and Seitan & Vegetable Enchiladas with Spicy Mole Sauce. Peter's recipe for the seitan workshop were just as delicious and inspiring - we made Seitan Wrapped Burdock, Leek, and Carrot Rolls; Braised Chickpea Stew with Seitan Chorizo & Fennel; Pan-Seared "Steaks" with Chimichurri; Gluten Puffs with Sweet & Sour Sauce; Seitan Sausages; Savory Seitan-Stuffed Summer Squash Provençal; and Eggplant & Seitan Falafel with a Lemon-Tahini Sauce.

Valerie & I worked on the seitan steaks with chimichurri sauce - if you don't know chimichurri, it is an intoxicating blend of parsley, cilantro, mint, garlic, shallot, jalapeno for a little kick, olive oil, and some rice vinegar for acidity. I know I sound biased because we made this dish, but it really was the biggest hit of the evening among all the other students.

Valerie thinks our dish was ugly but I thought that vibrant green sauce was just gorgeous!

Also delicious was the falafel made from seitan and roasted eggplant:

At first, I thought Seitan & Eggplant falafel sounded kind of strange, but the falafel balls really had the exact same texture as regular falafel, but the roasted eggplant and ground seitan really gave them an extra depth of flavor and savoriness. They were very tasty. And some of the other dishes:

These were the gluten puffs - deep-fried goodness with a sweet & sour sauce.
Satisfies all those Chinese take-out cravings.

This was actually an improvised dish that Peter Berley made with some leftover seitan - a roulade stuffed with a Mediterranean vegetable mixture. Delicious!

The seitan-wrapped burdock, leek, and carrot rolls

The Provençal-stuffed squash dish - rustic and very delicious.

Braised Chickpea Stew with Seitan Chorizo - a vibrant, flavorful dish!

The best part of the class... fixing our plates to sample everything

A very colorful tasting plate full of many different, all delicious flavors

We enjoyed the class with Peter so much that we are contemplating signing up for his homemade tofu class. Not that I really see myself making homemade tofu on a regular basis, but like changing the tire on a car*, I figure it's probably a good skill to know, right? I've also signed up for a vegan truffle-making class with the wonderful Fran Costigan the end of this month, so stay tuned for more deliciousness!

*I don't actually know how to change the tire on a car. I should probably learn sometime.

Vegetarian Dim Sum House

2011-04-27T11:41:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite neighborhoods in NYC is Chinatown. I love the hustle and bustle, I love the maddeningly crowded streets, I love the fruit and vegetable stands stocked with all the hard-to-find produce that I crave...although I could do without the stinky fish vendors, especially on a hot summer day. I could also do without all the restaurant windows full of Peking Duck carcasses, but fortunately for us vegans there are a few havens in the neighborhood where vegan treats can be found.

One such place is the Vegetarian Dim Sum House, where I recently went with two of my best gal pals, Valerie from Lifestyles of the Chic & Vegan, and Leanne of Vaute Couture. Being Asian ladies, we like to plan our outings around Asian food, and had been talking about dim sum for several weeks.

I had been to this place before, a couple years ago, and I had completely forgotten how good it could be. You don't go for the decor, because it's slightly depressing, and you don't go for the service, which is efficient but hardly warm and friendly. You go for the dim sum.

Now dim sum can be slightly intimidating to the uninitiated - you're given a menu card with a checklist of the items you want. You simply write in how many you want of each item, and they will bring the dishes to you. But it can also be intimidating because there are so many unfamiliar (to most of us) items, and descriptions are virtually nonexistent. What are treasure balls? Monk dumplings? And I just can't bring myself to order shark fin dumplings, vegan or not.

At any rate, I was with a couple of dim sum veterans who knew how to order like real pros. We actually started with some watercress dumplings, which were light and very fresh-tasting, but we dove into those before any of us remembered to pull out our cameras, so I didn't get a picture of them. We also had some good ol' spring rolls, to cover the deep-fried portion of our nutritional pyramid.

Then we had some rice flour rolls, some were filled with mock shrimp and some had mock ham. It's hard to describe the texture of these, they are like very silky, smooth rice crepes with a delicate flavor on their own but excellent at absorbing the accompanying sauces.

We also had some turnip cakes, which I had to confess I had never tried before, much to the dismay of Valerie & Leanne. I am now a fan too. These cakes are starchy, not unlike potato, but with a silkier texture. Fried to create a nice crisp on the outside, and dipped into what I think was a hoisin-type sauce, these were really delicious.

We also had some mock roast pork buns, a requisite at any dim sum outing. If you haven't had these type of buns before, the dough is really thick and spongy, and the filling inside is savory with a barbecue-type sauce. These are utterly addictive, though very filling. Or maybe I was just getting too full at this point anyway.

We had to try something from the sweet menu, so we had some red bean dumplings. The red beans are sweetened and mashed inside, so these are sweet but not overly so. I liked the filling but the wrappers were a bit too gelatinous (though vegan) for my taste.

We also ordered some crispy banana rolls for dessert, but be warned that these came out pretty much swimming in honey. If you order these, make sure to ask them to leave off the honey. Fried bananas are still pretty darn good on their own!

Vegetarian Dim Sum House
24 Pell St. (At Doyers St.)
New York, NY 10013

Simple, Perfect Pasta al Pomodoro

2011-04-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

Is there anything more simple, and also more comforting, than tucking into a big ol' bowl of spaghetti? I'm not above boiling some pasta and heating sauce straight from a jar, especially on a weeknight, but when I came across this recipe for Pasta al Pomodoro in the May issue of Bon Appetit, I knew this was a simple recipe that I could rely on any day of the week. Really, it's just perfect as a go-to recipe when you don't feel like cooking much but you want something really satisfying and good for the soul.

The recipe is not up on their website yet, so I can't give you a link, but I will print my veganized version below. It's quite easy, the only changes I made were to substitute Earth Balance for butter and I used a vegan Parmesan.

Pasta al Pomodoro (adapted from recipe in Bon Appetit, May 2011)
serves 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (I like the fire-roasted kind, but any kind is fine)
salt, to taste
3 large fresh basil sprigs, plus extra fresh basil for garnish
12 oz. spaghetti
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan (I like Galaxy brand best)

1. Heat olive oil in a 12" skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 - 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 2 - 4 minutes. Add pinch of red pepper flakes and cook one minute longer.

2. Increase heat to medium, add tomatoes and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in 3 fresh basil sprigs, and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, boil spaghetti according to instructions. About 2 minutes before it is tender, drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

4. Discard basil sprigs and heat skillet over high heat. Stir in reserved pasta water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring, until sauce evenly coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Note: at this point, I think the sauce is perfectly fine as is. You could certainly save yourself some calories by leaving off the next step (not that I would ever judge you for the extra calories), but if you really want to take this sauce to the next level, continue as instructed. The EB and vegan parmesan really give this sauce a silky, luxurious texture and an extra richness.

5. Add Earth Balance and vegan parmesan; toss until evenly and well coated. Transfer to serving bowls, garnish with fresh basil chiffonade and additional vegan parmesan, if desired.

My 2 Cents on the VegNews Scandal...

2011-04-14T12:21:00.034-04:00

Image via Quarrygirl.com. This image is of real meat ribs - the bones have been photoshopped out to appear vegan.

I woke up this morning to see my Twitter feed aflurry with outraged people talking about what will surely be dubbed Meatgate. Quarrygirl, one of my favorite vegan blogs, has yet again exposed a vegan scandal - this time, our beloved VegNews has been found to be using real meat photos to illustrate their all-vegan magazine.

Like pretty much everyone else, I am shocked. Purchasing stock photos of meat dishes then passing them off as vegan is not only dishonest, but it directly contributes to the exploitation of animals by supporting monetarily those who make their money by shooting images of dead meat. And as others have pointed out, it sets up unreal expectations in the readers whose recipes never turn out looking quite as good as the images in VegNews. Of course their vegan ribs didn't turn out as juicy and succulent-looking... they were never going to compare to the picture of the "real" thing.

But my shock and disappointment is coupled by some confusion. Very recently, I was approached by VegNews because they are doing a feature on the NY vegan chocolate shop, Cocoa V. About a year ago, I posted some photos from a visit to Cocoa V, and VegNews requested my photos to accompany their piece. The two people I communicated with from the magazine were both incredibly warm and friendly, enthusiastic about my photos, and I was honored and impressed that they had sought out images from a vegan blogger to publish in their magazine. There was no offer of compensation, but I was more than excited to contribute to what has long been my favorite magazine and, of course, be able to claim that my photos had been published. It certainly gave me an impression of integrity, and I simply assumed that all their images were not only of vegan products, but had been procured by vegan photographers as well.

So I'm sad to learn that this is apparently not the case. I know that a lot of people are justifiably angry and are immediately rushing to cancel their subscriptions, but I am patiently awaiting an explanation (an apology?) from VegNews about this disturbing issue. They have done so many great things for the vegan cause and I would like to think that they would want to remedy this situation and truly give us the all-vegan magazine that we have come to know and love.

UPDATE: VegNews has issued their response to the controversy here.

It is pretty much exactly what I expected - professional photo shoots are incredibly expensive, and it is industry standard to rely on stock photos to reduce expenses. HOWEVER, there are a wide number of vegan images available, even on iStockphoto, the outlet they were using for their images. Moreover, there are many talented vegan photographers out there - both professional and amateur - who would be more than willing to work for free or for nominal fees, just in order to support a magazine that they greatly admire. The site Finding Vegan, where many of my photos have appeared, is a veritable treasure trove of incredible photos of vegan food. There are many options available and I do hope and have faith that VegNews will make better use of these vegan resources in the future.

I have participated in several all-vegan photo shoots with my husband, who is a professional photographer and a vegan, having shot for Vaute Couture and Pinnacle magazine. We've had all-vegan models, vegan make-up artists, vegan stylists, a vegan photographer, vegan catering on set, and of course, all vegan products in the shoot. It can be done. And it is amazing how people will pitch in and help out for the good of the cause. I think this is a great opportunity for VegNews to reach out and rely on the vegan community at large, there are so many people who love this magazine and would be thrilled at the chance to contribute, and to ensure the integrity of this publication.

Appetite for Reduction's Broiled Blackened Tofu

2011-04-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

In my last post I mentioned that I've been trying to eat lighter, healthier, and simpler lately. Mainly I've just been trying to take a small break from the overly processed foods, faux meats, and the like. I love my Gardein and my Field Roast sausages, I really do, but I've just been feeling a need to scale those items back a bit. Recently I've been on a weird kick where pretty much all I want to eat are mashed sweet potatoes and steamed kale. Exciting, I know, hence the lack of blog posts about it. But as you are all aware, vegans are perpetually on the verge of dying from lack of protein (sarcasm), so tonight I had to decide on something protein-packed to eat with my daily fill of sweet potatoes and kale. In my quest to keep it light, simple, and healthy, I reached for my copy of Appetite for Reduction for some inspiration.

I'm not trying to lose weight or anything, but Isa's book is really great because the recipes are mostly quick, easy to make, and rely on simple, unprocessed ingredients. Exactly what I'm in the mood for right now. This blackened tofu recipe really appealed to me because of the interesting mix of spices that coat the tofu slices, which are then broiled as opposed to fried, which I admit, tends to be my typical way of cooking tofu. It's a really simple recipe but the result is so much more than the sum of the parts.

The spice mix has a classic cajun flavor profile: paprika, cayenne, oregano, thyme, a few other things I can't remember right now, and minced garlic. For some reason I was a little nervous that the flavors were going to be somehow overpowering - although my fear may have stemmed in part from the fact that I set off not one, but two, of our smoke detectors while making this recipe. But my fears were completely unfounded because the tofu came out tasting slightly smoky, savory, and all the spices were perfectly balanced. It might be my new favorite way to prepare tofu.

Even though I served my tofu with some simple sweet potatoes (mashed with Earth Balance, soy milk, salt, pepper, ground ginger) and steamed kale (with a splash of Bragg's liquid aminos), Isa's book is also really helpful in suggesting other dishes to create a menu. Like, I could have made her Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Apples, and her Jerk Asparagus, or Pineapple Collards to go with it. Those all sound amazing, don't they? Those will have to go on the menu next time, because I'm already thinking about when to make this Blackened Tofu again.

Ok. I haven't been cooking much lately. But I've been eating!

2011-04-06T21:47:00.000-04:00

In my last post I explained that I haven't been cooking much because my sister was visiting us for a month, and we spent a lot of time running around and taking her to different restaurants. My sister has now returned home, but I've been finding it hard to get back into my groove in the kitchen. I promise you that I'm slowly getting inspired again and will be trying some new recipes soon, but I feel guilty for not posting more often. All that I can offer you right now are these pictures that I just cleared off my phone - it's a peek at the good vegan eats I've been having over the past month or so!

Smoky Tempeh Avocado Wrap from Blossom du Jour

Meatball Parm from 'Snice

Tofu Scramble Wrap from 'Snice

I did cook! I made rice noodles with veggies & Thai red curry

Rosemary Grilled Seitan Salad from Jivamuktea Cafe

Soy Bacon Cheeseburger from Cafe Blossom

French Toast from Cafe Blossom

An incredible Ethiopian meal at Awash

No visit to NY is complete without a banana split from Lula's Sweet Apothecary!

Or a piece of chocolate cake from Cocoa V!

And to top off a truly decadent month, some chocolates...

and some chocolate-dipped strawberries, also from Cocoa V.

As you can see, we've gone a little crazy eating out for the past month, and I can barely button my pants as a result of it all. I've been eating a lot of steamed veggies since my sister went home, but that's not really worth blogging about. Expect some healthy, clean, light & simple recipes soon!

Have a Party. Make Vegan Food. People Will Love It.

2011-03-26T16:13:00.002-04:00

I haven't been posting as much lately, but that is because my sister is visiting all the way from Germany and staying with us for a few weeks. It's her first trip to NY, and so in addition to running around and seeing the sights, we've also been eating out quite a lot, which has kept me out of the kitchen. Oh, I've cooked for her too, but it's been sort of a medley of VGT's greatest hits, like some standby Thai curries and noodles dishes, my spaghetti with mushroom bolognese, the "Two Moons Special" pizza, some quickie enchiladas, and things like that. The oldies but the goodies. I haven't really had any time to experiment and test out new recipes, but that's also partly because my omnivore sister arrived very open to sampling our vegan food, so I kind of wanted to make sure that everything I cooked for her would be a sure hit. I was too worried about testing something new, it turning out to be awful, and forever ruining her opinion of what vegans eat. I'm happy to say that she has mostly liked all the vegan food she's eaten here, that I've cooked and that we've eaten in restaurants around the city. There were a few misses - she wasn't crazy about the "meatballs" that came with her spaghetti at a certain vegan cafe, and she didn't want to eat the tempeh bacon I made for breakfast. I don't know how anyone can turn down tempeh bacon, but she has been enjoying our vegan cheese and said that she will look for some when she returns to Germany. She also loved a particularly sublime slice of chocolate cake we had at Cocoa V, but who wouldn't?

We invited a few friends over for a welcome party when she arrived, and the vegans were definitely outnumbered. I'm happy to say though that all the food was a hit, eaten with relish by my sister and our omni friends. I made a large batch of these spicy Sesame-Soy Meatballs, which were completely devoured and raved about, even by a certain omni friend who often balks at having to go to vegan events with his vegan girlfriend.

I also made a few platters of crostini with caponata, for which I'll print the recipe below. I found a pretty easy recipe for caponata online that was already vegan, so I didn't have to change a thing. I also love making things like this for parties, to remind people that many of the things they eat are already vegan. It takes the foreignness out of what people often think of as "strange" vegan food.

And of course, it's always good to have some assorted olives around for people to nibble on. I also served Faux Gras with crackers, fresh baguette, and cornichons on the side, and I also made a bunch of the Tempeh (crab-like) Cakes with Spicy Remoulade from Vegan Celebrations, which were also a huge hit, but I forgot to take a picture of those.

Caponata (recipe originally published in Gourmet September 2006 issue)
makes 3 - 4 cups

2 lb. small Italian eggplants (about 4)
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
4 medium celery ribs, cut crosswise into very thin
1/3 cup large green Sicilian olives (1 3/4 oz.), pitted and coarsely chopped
1 3/4 oz. Italian capers
2 Tbsp. sugar, or to taste
1/3 cup white-wine vinegar
1 (14- to 15-oz.) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped (1 cup)

1. Peel eggplants, leaving some strips of peel, then cut into 1-inch cubes and spread on half of a kitchen towel. Sprinkle eggplant with salt, then cover with other half of towel and weight with a baking sheet topped with 2 or 3 large cans for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, stirring, until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add celery and cook, stirring, until onion and celery are deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add olives, capers, and 2 tablespoons sugar and cook, stirring, 2 minutes, then stir in vinegar and tomatoes.

3. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. If sauce is very acidic, add 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar (to taste). Transfer to a bowl and keep warm, covered.

4. Rinse eggplant in a colander under running water, then squeeze dry in small handfuls.

5. Heat remaining cup oil in cleaned skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry eggplant in 2 batches, turning occasionally with tongs, until tender and browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer as cooked to paper towels to drain, then transfer to a large shallow serving dish in an even layer. Spoon sauce on top, spreading evenly, and let stand, covered with a kitchen towel, at room temperature, at least 8 hours (for flavors to develop). Stir before serving.

A Few Words on Faux Meats...

2011-03-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

I have very purposely and consciously tried to keep this blog free from too many "op ed" type posts on veganism. I never want to be preachy. My intention has always been, from my very first post, to simply share food with you that would be enjoyable for vegans and non-vegans alike. I wanted the food to speak for itself, to look tantalizing enough for you to want to try it, no matter your level of commitment to veganism, if you have any at all.

I've never been a bean sprouts and salad kind of vegan. I mean, I like bean sprouts and I like salads, but I love to veganize non-vegan recipes and show the world that anything you can make, I can make vegan. And better. Besides, this is a food blog, and posts about bean sprouts and salads would be pretty boring. As would posts about my dinners of steamed vegetables. That's why I don't post those.

I wasn't born vegan. On the contrary, I was raised with a very typical middle-class American meat and potatoes (and don't forget the dairy) diet. So I know that meat can taste good. I've never argued the opposite. But for me, personally, the few moments of pleasure I might derive from eating an animal product will never be worth the pain and suffering that I would directly cause that animal, simply for the sake of my own selfish appetite. Faux meats solve this ethical issue. They taste good, they satisfy the nostalgic urges for the familiar dishes we grew up with, and most importantly, they don't require any animals to DIE.

That said, I woke up this morning to a charming comment on one of my posts from someone who is so brave in their conviction that they chose to remain anonymous. Here is anonymous' comment in its entirety:

I really fail to understand all of your obsession with fake meat and gluten (seitan etc)!!!! You pride yourselves on being vegan but eat crap that not only looks like meat but tastes like it!!! It's disgusting and not necessary at all, you might as well all eat meat!!!GROSS!!!

Well, anonymous, you certainly beat me in excessive exclamation point usage. Much as I would like to respond with my best Samuel L. impression, instead of breaking apart his or her comment line by line, I will simply reply with the words of someone far more eloquent than I will ever be. I credit my husband, a vegan of more than 20 years, for sharing these beautiful words with me.

Song of Peace by George Bernard Shaw

Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites,
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the paths we tread.
We're sick of war, we do not want to fight,
The thought of it now fills our hearts with dread
And yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead.
Like carrion crows, we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and pain
We cause by doing so. If thus we treat
Defenceless animals for sport and gain,
How can we hope in this world to attain
The PEACE we say we are so anxious for?
We pray for it, o'er hetacombs of slain,
To God, while outraging the moral law,
Thus cruelty begets its offspring - War.

My final words to anonymous are that if you think we "might as well all eat meat," then you are very sadly missing the point. You don't get it, and sadly, you probably never will.

Don't Kiss Me. I'm Not Irish.

2011-03-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

St. Patrick's Day is coming up this week. On this day, Irish-Americans across the nation honor their heritage by consuming the very traditional beverage of beer with green food coloring. I think the green represents the green fields where they grow potatoes, and the beer represents the waters that irrigate the lands so that they never suffer from a potato famine again. Or I might have just made that up.

You'll need some filling, hearty food to soak up all that green beer, so here are a few suggestions from my archives to go with your Irish-themed day:

Vegan Corned "Beef" and Cabbage

Beefless Stew

Vegan Spicy-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Just remember while merry-making that Guinness beer, though traditional and Irish, is not vegan due to the fact that it contains isinglass, a product that comes from the dried swim bladders of fish, used in the clarification process to remove excess yeast. So if you don't want any fishy swim bladders in your beer, don't drink Guinness. No need to fret though, just check Barnivore for a huge database of vegan-safe beers. Or if beer's not your thing, there's even a recipe for a vegan Bailey's Irish Cream. Sláinte!

Bakesale Betty's VEGANIZED Fried Chicken Sandwich

2011-03-11T11:01:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, The Huffington Post crowned "America's Top 10 New Sandwiches," with a slideshow of meaty, artery-clogging, death-on-a-bun creations. This sandwich bonanza caught the eye of fellow blogger Namely Marly, who had the brilliant idea of inviting several people to veganize each of the 10 sandwiches in order to offer up even more delicious, healthier versions of the originals. I was honored to be asked to participate in this challenge, and the sandwich I had the luck to veganize was Bakesale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich from Oakland, CA.

I did some research and this fried chicken sandwich from Bakesale Betty's is indeed a phenomenon. It's been featured on Serious Eats and the BA Foodist blog, both of which claim that people line up down the street for these things just like they do at Magnolia for cupcakes. (Those silly fools should go to Babycakes instead! There's no line there and their cupcakes are much more delicious, and all vegan to boot!)

But back to these fried chicken sandwiches. As you might remember, I recently tried out the most amazing recipe from Chef Art Smith for Gardein's Vegan Fried Chick'n. Of course I used this as the base for my sandwich, and lucky for me, the recipe for the actual Bakesale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich is widely available online, so I used that for the coleslaw and vinaigrette that make the sandwich complete. Fried chick'n with a nice, light, acidic coleslaw is actually a great idea, whether you're having a picnic or a sandwich at home, and I was delighted at how delicious and indulgent my vegan version turned out to be. The coleslaw is a combination of cabbage, red onion, jalapenos, and fresh parsley, tossed with dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. It is a wonderful alternative to the usual mayonnaise-based coleslaws, and has just the right amount of heat and zinginess to counter the heaviness of the fried chick'n, and just enough moisture to keep the sandwich from being dry. All together, a most delicious combination.

For the entire recipe, make sure to check out the full post on Namely Marly. Spring is finally smiling upon us, so make some of these sandwiches and take them to your nearest park to enjoy!

Oscar Noms #1: Black Forest Swan Cupcakes

2011-02-26T13:08:00.001-05:00

Hooray! It's my final Oscar Noms post. I have to confess I don't even usually watch the awards show, but I'm kind of excited this year to see who will be rewarded for their craft. And by that, I mean I'm excited to see what everyone wears on the red carpet.

I saved these for last because Black Swan is my favorite (read: the only one I've seen) of all the nominated Oscar films. These cupcakes might not be as pretty as Natalie Portman in a tutu, but I think they're quite lovely all on their own.

The recipe for these cupcakes comes from the cupcake bible, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. They start with the Basic Chocolate cupcake recipe, which gives you a perfectly chocolatey, moist, rich, but not overly sweet cake, and then are topped with their Fluffy Buttercream Frosting. But what really puts these cupcakes over the top, and makes them "Black Forest" is the Saucy Cherry Filling in the middle of them. I couldn't manage to get a decent photo of the middles, so you'll just have to take my word that while these cupcakes might look like your average chocolate ones, they are hiding a saucy cherry surprise inside.

The cherry filling is made by cooking a bag of frozen cherries with some sugar, arrowroot, and pomegranate juice. I actually found a pomegranate-cherry juice to use, so that maximized the cherry-ness of the recipe. Then you add some kirsch to the cherry mixture after it's thickened. There is also a recipe for a kirsch glaze that you use to brush on top of the cakes before frosting.

You have to cut out a little well from the middle of each cupcake, then add a spoonful of the cherry sauce, some of the buttercream frosting, and then replace the cupcake "tops" before adding more frosting and your garnishes. It's just a little extra work for a lot of extra deliciousness.

These cupcakes are sublime, I mean how can you go wrong with chocolate and cherries? These are fancy enough to eat with a fork, with an extra drizzle of the cherry sauce on top. Fancy enough for the red carpet, even.

Oscar Noms #2: Soy Story 3-Formaggio White Truffle Macaroni & Cheese

2011-02-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

I'm not really sure why Toy Story 3 was nominated for an Oscar, but then again, I haven't seen it, so maybe it's brilliant? Anyway, it might not be eligible for an Oscar, but this macaroni & cheese that I made from what has become my current favorite cookbook, Veganize This!,should win some kind of award. It is outrageously, almost obscenely decadent and delicious, which is how every good macaroni & cheese should be. I don't eat mac & cheese (or cheeze, if you will) that often, but when I do, I want it to be a serious indulgence. And this is. I wish I could print the recipe here for you, but you're just going to have to run out and buy this book, if only for this mac & cheese alone.

The recipe in the book is actually for "Vegan Quattro Formaggio White Truffle Macaroni and Cheese" which means FOUR cheese in Italian, but I made it a three-cheese version, for reasons both economic and lazy. Oh, and also because 3-cheese fit with my movie title theme. As far as Jenn's recipes go, this is actually one of the easiest to make, because the cheese sauce is made in one pan on the stove and the cooked macaroni is simply mixed in. Totally doable even on a weeknight.

The cheese sauce is pretty much a heart-stopper. I mean, there is probably a reason this recipe is featured in her "Satisfying the Vegan Munchies" section. It starts out with melting a substantial amount of butter, into which you whisk some flour to make a roux. To that you add some mustard powder, soy or other non-dairy milk, and MimicCreme. When that sauce thickens up, you slowly stir in and melt your cheeses. Jenn recommends a combination of Teese Mozzarella & Cheddar, which I also love, but for some unknown reason Teese is hard to find in NYC, so I used Daiya Mozzarella & Cheddar, which also has the added bonus of coming already grated. You can use whatever combo of other "cheeses" you want to make this a 3- or 4- cheese dish, but in addition to the Daiya I used Sheese Blue-Style flavor, because I'm gourmet like that.

After all your cheeses are melted in and transformed into a rich, ooey-gooey sauce, you finish it off with a drop or two of truffle oil (if you want), and top with bread crumbs (also optional). I actually made this with gluten-free pasta and bread crumbs, just so I could feel a little healthier before I dunked my head into this vat of mac & cheese goodness.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my final Oscar Noms post! Can you guess what it is?

Oscar Noms #3: The Tibs Are Alright (Ethiopian Millet with Mushroom Tibs)

2011-02-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

We are nearing the end of my Oscar Noms series, and I have been looking forward to making this recipe ever since I got my copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's awesomely titled Appetite for Reduction. I am really enjoying this cookbook for all its light yet flavorful, healthy recipes that avoid processed foods and hard to find ingredients. You can find pretty much everything you need for these recipes at any normal grocery store, nothing takes too long to make, and the recipes are just perfect for everyday-style cooking. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you (like me) are trying to cut back on the processed foods and maybe even lose a few pounds in the process.

I am a HUGE fan of Ethiopian food, so I was really intrigued to see these recipes for Ethiopian Millet and Mushroom Tibs in Isa's book. Although Ethiopian cuisine is generally very vegan-friendly, I had never seen or tried mushroom tibs before, but the concept made perfect sense and sounded delicious. Although Isa also includes a recipe for Ye'abesha Gomen (Stewed & Sauteed Collards), I didn't make this one but instead simply steamed some collard greens and added only a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to accompany these very spicy dishes.

If you are unfamiliar with millet, it is a gluten-free type of grain high in protein and especially rich in B vitamins. It cooks pretty much the same way you would cook rice - you bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. For Isa's recipe, the cooked millet is then combined with a heady mixture that includes onion, garlic, ginger, cooked tomatoes, and a homemade berebere-type spice blend made up of red pepper flakes, curry powder, Hungarian paprika, cumin, cardamom, and cloves.

The mushroom tibs contain nearly all the same spices that have been mixed into a thick paste together with oil, tomato paste, and vegetable broth. This paste is used to coat the mushrooms before they are baked in the oven, resulting in very intensely flavored, meaty mushrooms. As you might be able to tell, these recipes are not for the faint of heart or palate. These are not subtle spices, but if you're a fan of spicy food, then this should be right up your alley.

Apparently in The Kids Are Alright, Annette Bening's character goes on a rant about heirloom tomatoes. So maybe she doesn't like tomatoes or organic food snobs, but I think she might be willing to concede that these tibs are all right.

Oscar Noms #4: The Seashell Network

2011-02-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

For my play on The Social Network, I wanted to make something that comes in a seashell, so yet again Jenn Shaggy's Veganize This! cookbook offered the perfect recipe: Coconut Vinegar-Cured Tofu Scallops with Lemongrass-Basil Cream Sauce and Cilantro-Garlic Coconut Rice. Wow! Is that a recipe title to get your mouth watering, or what?! As good as the recipe sounds, it tasted even better. Seriously, this dish rocked our world. I wanted to lick the plate clean...and I did.

Disclaimer: this is not a quick recipe to make. There's nothing too difficult, but there are many steps. First, you need to marinate the "scallops" overnight in Jenn's seafood marinade. Then you still have to marinate them a few more hours in the coconut vinegar marinade. Then you sear the scallops, make the Cilantro-Garlic Coconut Rice (which I fortunately was able to do in my rice cooker), and then make and reduce the Lemongrass-Basil Cream Sauce. It was a lot of work. But it was oh so worth it.

I don't even know where to start describing the amazing medley of flavors that are bursting out of this dish. The rice, made with chopped fresh cilantro, slices of garlic, and coconut milk comes out so wonderfully creamy with just a hint of sweetness from the coconut milk. In fact, I think I might always make my rice with coconut milk from now on. The Lemongrass-Basil Cream Sauce is heavenly. It starts with a saute of shallots and garlic, then you add vermouth (I love booze in recipes), then lemongrass, basil, lemon juice, MimicCreme, and No-Chicken broth. It seems like a lot of strong flavors, but they all blend so beautifully into a restaurant-worthy sauce. And the scallops - I got such a kick out of cutting out the perfectly round scallop shapes from the tofu (I used a 1 1/2" round cutter like you use for cookies or hors d'oeuvres). They had a very pleasant "sea" flavor that was not too fishy, and the fresh herbs, coconut vinegar, and spices from the marinade gave them a very bright, light quality. There were so many layers of flavors when all was combined, it was like a symphony on a plate.

This could also make a great appetizer or first course for a dinner party. You could easily serve just a couple of the scallops with the sauce over some seaweed salad in a small, shell-like dish, like so:

I have leaned quite heavily on Veganize This! for my Oscar Noms series (and there's one more recipe still to come!), but if you haven't bought it yet (Why haven't you bought it? What's wrong with you?) you can at least find this recipe here on The GirlieGirl Army site. This is a sexy, sexy recipe. Make it now!

Oscar Noms #5: Winter's Boneless "Pork" Chops with Warm Apple Slaw

2011-02-21T10:18:00.000-05:00

These pork chops are boneless because they're vegan, get it?! This dish was the perfect marriage of two things: a package of Match Meats Ground "Pork" that I had in my freezer and a recipe from Jenn Shaggy's Veganize This! cookbook for Sage-Rubbed Pork Chops with Warm Apple Slaw.

I am slowly working my way through Veganize This! and I had this recipe bookmarked to try. That said, sometimes making your own seitan for every recipe is more work than I'm willing to do. Match Meats to the rescue! I became a fan of Match Meats back when I tried their Italian Sausage, and I was very curious (and a little bit scared) to try their ground pork. I honestly can't remember the last time I ate real pork, thank goodness, because it was at least 16 years ago, but I had such a good experience with Match's flavorful sausage that I wanted to give their "pork" a try. I'm glad I did because it was pretty amazing. In both taste and texture, it is almost frightfully convincing.

I simply adapted Jenn's recipe by mixing the ground pork with dried sage and a minced clove of garlic before shaping them into "chops" and then coating them with some gluten-free bread crumbs (you could use regular bread crumbs, of course). I then sauteed the chops in some olive oil until they were browned on both sides. From there, I followed Jenn's recipe for the Warm Apple Slaw as directed. The slaw is a combination of Granny Smith apples, onion, carrots, and cabbage, cooked with some apple cider vinegar and No-Chicken broth. I cooked the slaw long enough to soften everything, but just enough so that it still retained a little crispness and bite. It's a great twist on the pork chops with applesauce theme, and the slaw had the perfect amount of freshness and tang to balance the breaded and fried "meat."

I haven't yet seen Winter's Bone, but I did catch this SNL skit and though it's totally immature, it cracks me up every time.

Oscar Noms #6: Irish Micky Ward's Corned "Beef" & Cabbage

2011-02-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this is a nod to The Fighter, but I had a really tough time with this title. I was stumped. All I could come up with was The Fry-ter, so I could have done something fried, but I was bored with that. So instead I based my dish on "Irish" Micky Ward, the retired professional boxer and real-life person on whom the film is based.

There are any number of vegan Irish Stew recipes out there, but none of those really inspired me like this recipe from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen for a vegan Corned Beef & Cabbage, a good ol' Irish-American dish if ever there was one.

I used the Lightlife Steak-Style Strips as suggested by Susan, and followed the rest of her recipe as instructed except for the substition of 1 Tbsp. of Annie's Horseradish Mustard instead of the dry mustard/horseradish combo, because I almost always have horseradish mustard on hand. The recipe was very easy to make and had so many layers of great flavors. I served it over some mashed sweet potatoes with dill, and with the savory gravy from the recipe, this was a perfectly delicious, very comforting winter dish. With St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner this is a dish you should definitely keep in mind.

Oscar Noms #7: In-cèpe-tion

2011-02-18T11:48:00.000-05:00

Cèpes is just the fancy (fancy meaning French) word for porcini mushrooms. This recipe for Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Red Wine Risotto with Mushroom "Marmalade" calls for porcini mushrooms, and the moment I first saw this recipe in Food & Wine, it crept into my dreams, Inception-style, until I couldn't resist the urge anymore and I finally made it for dinner.

This recipe was actually very easy to veganize, the only things I had to substitute were No Chicken broth instead of the regular kind, and Earth Balance for butter. I left off the Parmesan garnish as well. Because I didn't invent this recipe I don't feel like I'm bragging when I say that this was the BEST RISOTTO I'VE EVER TASTED. Seriously, it was mind-blowingly good. I mean, you can't really go wrong when a recipe involves garlic, shallots, mushrooms, and red wine, can you? It actually tasted restaurant quality, which I guess makes sense, as the recipe comes from one of the most famous chefs in the world. I guess I was just surprised that it turned out even better than I had anticipated.

By the way, I found that the key to making a truly amazing risotto, besides using a recipe from someone the likes of JGV, is to imagine the voice of Gordon Ramsay in your head yelling at you about your RIS-AH-TO. Is he ever not yelling at someone about their RIS-AH-TO? Well, he yelled at me the whole time, but the pressure paid off. I think he would have approved of my recipe execution.

Vegan Red Wine Risotto with Mushroom "Marmalade"
(adapted from this recipe by Jean-Georges Vongerichten)
serves 4

For the Mushroom "Marmalade":
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 lb. fresh porcini or stemmed shiitake mushrooms (1/2 lb. cut into 1/2 -inch dice, 1/4 pound sliced 1/4 inch thick)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 med. shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. water
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. Earth Balance

For the Risotto:
5 cups No-Chicken or other vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 cup arborio rice (6 ounces)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. chopped mixed herbs, such as chives, mint and tarragon or rosemary, thyme

1. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. of the vegetable oil. Add the diced mushrooms; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat until tender, 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until browned. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate.

2. In the same skillet, heat another 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil. Add the shallot and garlic and cook over low heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir the cooked mushrooms back into the pan with the shallot/garlic mixture.

3. In a small saucepan, simmer the sugar and water over moderate heat, washing down the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush, until amber, 6 minutes. Add the wine* and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the vinegar and boil over high heat until reduced by half, 12 minutes. Stir the mixture into the skillet and cook over moderate heat until the mushrooms are glazed and most of the liquid is gone, 3 - 5 minutes. Season with salt. (*Note: when you add the wine, the sugar might "seize" up. It was like a big caramel lollipop on the end of my spoon. Don't worry if this happens, the sugar will melt and dissolve as it warms, just continue stirring.)

4. In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil. Add the sliced mushrooms, season with salt and cook over moderate heat until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Stir the mushrooms into the marmalade, then stir in the Earth Balance. Cover and keep warm.

5. In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer; cover and keep warm over low heat. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated. Pour in about 1 cup of the hot stock, or enough to cover the rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the stock has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Repeat, adding 1 cup of stock at a time and stirring until all of the stock has been absorbed. The risotto is done when the rice is just cooked and suspended in the creamy sauce, about 25 minutes. Stir in the Earth Balance and season with salt and pepper.

6. Spoon the risotto into bowls and top with the mushroom marmalade. Garnish with the fresh herbs and serve.

Oscar Noms #8: 127 Layer Cake

2011-02-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this cake doesn't take 127 Hours to make, and maybe it doesn't literally have 127 layers, but it has a lot of layers, like at least 20. Work with me here, people.

This cake is made out of stacks of crêpes, with a vegan lemon curd spread between each layer. I saw a photo of a "1000 Layer Cake" in some food magazine a while ago, and I thought it was such a great idea, I've been waiting for an opportunity to try making a vegan one myself. You could use any type of filling you want between the layers - chocolate, fruit jam, caramel, or a vegan dulce de leche would all be great, but I chose a lemon curd because, well, because I just love lemon desserts.

I used the sweet crêpe recipe from Vegan Brunch, which you should absolutely order right now if you don't already have it, and I found this recipe for vegan lemon curd from the Cookies and Candids blog.

Isa's recipe for crêpes is super easy, you just throw all the ingredients into a blender, blend it up, then put the entire blender container into the fridge for about an hour before making your crêpes. Yes, I ruined the first crêpe, but I think that's a requirement when it comes to making them, like an offering to St. Julia Child. After the first one, I didn't have any more trouble.

The lemon curd was delicious and made me wonder why the heck anyone would ever need or want to put eggs into their version. I think I should have boiled it another minute or two longer, because it didn't thicken up quite as much as I wanted, but that wasn't any problem for this recipe, because you simply add 1 - 2 Tbsp. of the lemon curd (or any other filling you choose) to the top of each crêpe and spread it around evenly before adding the next layer.

The result is really impressive and beautiful, and it tastes delicious! The crêpes were light and delicate, as all good crêpes should be, with just a hint of sweetness to them. The lemon curd added just the right amount of tang, and was even better with a drizzle of some strawberry coulis on the side. I think I really could have eaten 127 layers of this!

Oscar Noms 10 & 9: "Shrimp & True Grits" and "The King's Peach Cobbler"

2011-02-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

I've been super excited to kick off my Oscar Noms series, which will be recipes posted from now until Feb. 27th, counting down the 10 Best Picture Oscar Nominations. Food puns are fun! Also, I'm a dork!

I was inspired to do this series after seeing the brilliant ideas on Serious Eats last year. I mean, look at these Avatarts! Inglourious Custards! Up in Eclairs! If there are two things I love, it's food and the movies. I was actually a Visual Communications / Film major in college, and I consider myself a pretty serious film buff. And you may have noticed that I like to eat. So a film / food mashup is right up my alley. In fact, I should start another blog that is entirely based on film/food puns... oh, if only there were more hours in the day.

At any rate, the first post of the series comes straight from the VGT archives (but don't worry, the rest will be new recipes I'm testing out). Oscar Nom #10 is my recipe for "Shrimp & True Grits" in honor of the film True Grit. This one was actually the first one I came up with, and kickstarted this whole series.

And for dessert? Oscar Nom #9 is "The King's Peach Cobbler," for The King's Speech. See? I told you food puns are fun!

Stay tuned for more Oscar Noms, coming soon!

When Life Hands You Strawberries...

2011-02-12T10:57:00.000-05:00

...you attempt to make a raw strawberry cheesecake, fail miserably, and buy something for your Valentine's Day dessert instead. Or at least that's what I did.

In my last post, I promised to give you a super sexy Valentine's Day dessert idea, and that was my intention, I swear. My special V-Day menu was intended to conclude with this stunning Raw Strawberry Cheesecake recipe from the PPK website.


Image via Post Punk Kitchen

I mean, look at that beautiful cheesecake. Those lovely pink and red colors! Could there be a more perfect dessert for Valentine's Day?

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. For some reason, the cheesecake didn't set at all, nor did the whipped topping. They were both completely liquid, even after a full day in the fridge, and though I followed the recipe exactly. I don't know what went wrong, I've since done some online research and it seems like a lot of people put their raw cheesecakes in the freezer for a while, then only take it out to thaw before serving. Maybe I'll try that next time. But I was very sad and disappointed, to say the least! I should have taken a picture of my cheesecake disaster to share with you but I didn't have my senses about me at the time. Sorry, Isa, I wanted to do you and your recipe proud, but I failed.

There was a lot to salvage though, I still had plenty of fresh whole strawberries and the strawberry coulis, which we poured over some So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean ice cream, along with some chocolate syrup. So there was that. No need to despair, dessert was still had by all.

So since I don't have any strawberry cheesecake photos of my own to share with you, and because I still had a hankering for some raw pie, we went with some dear friends last night to one of our favorite (mostly) raw restaurants, Caravan of Dreams. And this is what we shared:

RAW Coconut-Mango Pie, topped with strawberry sauce. Creamy, coconutty, tropical goodness.

RAW Chocolate-Açaí Pie, also with strawberry topping. The açaí gave it just a hint of tartness, which paired so well with the chocolate. Also delicious.

Berry Chocolate Cake. To call this chocolate cake doesn't do it justice. This was super moist, rich, and had a layer of (again) strawberry preserves in the middle. Are you picking up on a theme here? We went insane over this cake. It was SO good.

And finally, this ridiculously good banana split. Stogo vegan ice cream with the works, plus chocolate covered ice cream cookies in there. Yeah baby.

So I guess there's a lesson to be learned in this post. I wanted to make my sweetie a V-Day dessert, sure, but when that didn't work out, we improvised. And then we went out the next evening and got even better desserts. So maybe I should leave the raw cheesecake-making to other people. I'm content to just be really good at eating it.

Caravan of Dreams

405 East 6th St.

New York, NY 10009

Veganism is for Lovers

2011-02-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

Two-Hearts Salad

There are many reasons to be vegan. For the love of animals. For the love of the earth and protecting its environment. For the love of your own body and health. For me, I can add for the love of my amazing husband, who has been vegan for over 20 years, and is the biggest inspiration to me.

With this in mind, I was very excited to put together a Valentine's Day menu this year, because to me, cooking vegan food is an expression of love for everything I named above. And then I was even more excited when the fabulous blog Meet the Shannons wanted to include my menu in their special edition about vegans on V-Day.

The salad above is a Two-Hearts salad, featuring both artichoke hearts and hearts of palm, the recipe for which I found in the archives of Epicurious. You don't really need a recipe though - simply quarter some artichoke hearts, slice the hearts of palm, and serve them over salad greens with some halved cherry or grape tomatoes and a dijon vinaigrette. Simple, healthy, light, and a perfect first course for your romantic dinner à deux.

For the main course, I came across this recipe for Pasta with Asparagus in Lemon Cream Sauce from one of my favorite vegans, Melisser Elliott, which is also included in her book The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life. Asparagus is usually considered one of the "aphrodisiac" foods, so you can't really go wrong with that, can you? I only changed Melisser's recipe by adding some sliced portobello mushrooms, because I had them on hand and also because I love mushrooms almost as much as I love my husband. Well, maybe not quite that much, but you know, I love them a lot. Again this was a fairly quick and easy recipe to make, the cream sauce is cashew-based but does not require overnight soaking, which is great for someone like me, who usually doesn't read that part of the recipe until I'm halfway through making it. The sauce is thick but not too heavy, garlicky, and scented with lemon zest and juice. The flavors were very similar actually to my recipe for Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach & Peas, but I like that Melisser's cream sauce was soy-free, as I've been trying to temporarily cut back on that.

We enjoyed this pasta very much, and we all know that eating pasta together is romantic, right?

Pasta with Asparagus & Mushrooms in Lemon Cream Sauce

Stay tuned for a super sexy Valentine's Day dessert post in the next day or two!

Finger Lickin' Vegan Good!

2011-02-07T12:09:00.000-05:00

I was never big on fast food fried chicken, but growing up with a Southern family, one thing I really did love was my mom's homemade Southern fried chicken. It had a thick, crispy batter crust on it, just the right blend of spices, and was equally delicious hot or cold. When I stopped eating chicken, I really didn't miss it at all, thanks in large part to having so many vegan substitute options, like Gardein or Morningstar Farms and the like. But when I came across this recipe for Art Smith's Vegan Fried Chicken, it reminded me so much of my mom's recipe (well, except for it being vegan, of course) that I knew I really needed to try it, immediately.

Art Smith was one of my favorite chefs on Top Chef Masters because he seemed so sweet and friendly, and also because he managed to raise traditional Southern food to the level of haute cuisine. This recipe that he created using Gardein's Chick'n Scallopini is as inspired as anything I would expect him to make. And other than having to plan ahead in order to soak your cashews overnight, it's surprisingly simple to make. It definitely tastes like you worked a lot harder than you did on it.

The cashew cream is a cinch to make. You simply soak the cashews overnight then blend them up with water. The result is a thick, rich cream, and after stirring in some Tabasco, you use this to coat the chick'n pieces before dipping them into the flour/spice mix. Art's spice mix is a combo of garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, cayenne, and black pepper - it adds so much flavor and just the right touch of spicy heat. It's an incredibly messy process dipping the chick'n pieces first in the cream, then in the flour, then back into the cream, then back into the flour before frying, but the sticky fingers you'll get just make it that much more fun.

These are deep-fried in oil, so this certainly can't be considered health food, but it was so incredibly tasty that it's totally worth the indulgence once in a while. The chick'n turned out exactly like I remembered it... it has this amazingly thick, crunchy, savory "skin," but was tender and juicy on the inside. I swear it tasted so much like the "real" thing that you could fool even the staunchest omnivore with it. It's so full of flavor that nobody could ever fault this dish for what's missing, it's just good, plain and simple. Finger lickin' good, in fact!

Cookin' Vegan's Sweet Potato, Chipotle Sausage, & Pumpkin Ale Chili

2011-02-06T14:08:00.001-05:00

It's ~~Superbowl~~ Puppy Bowl Sunday folks, and while I don't give a fig about football, I could spend hours watching puppies play. Plus, I like that the Puppy Bowl is all about pet adoption, and provides information about the shelters that the "players" came from, and other resources where you can find animals to adopt. For the love of dog, adopt! Don't support the puppy mills!

Now whether you're watching the Puppy Bowl, or actual humans playing football, or a Jennifer Aniston rom-com (that was a trick - if you said yes to that, we can't be friends), nothing goes with it better than a big bowl of spicy chili, right? I've had Cookin' Vegan's recipe for Sweet Potato, Chipotle Sausage, & Pumpkin Ale Chili bookmarked for months now, just waiting for the right day to make it. I mean it has three of my favorite things right there in the title: Sweet Potatoes? Check. Field Roast Chipotle Sausages? Check. Pumpkin Ale? Hell yes!

This chili is a snap to make, and the combination of spices smells simply amazing while simmering on the stove. It's warm and satisfying, with the sweet potatoes, sausage, and navy beans, yet also manages to avoid being too heavy and weighing you down after you eat it. And I should know, because it was so tasty that I went in for a second bowlful, even though one was plenty. Don't tell anyone.

Not to be overly dramatic about it, but this chili turned out to be everything I dreamed it would be and more. There was a little sweetness to it, and a lot of spiciness (the most important feature of any chili in my book), and all the flavors melded and went together so incredibly well. I also love having another chili option that isn't the usual tomato-based variety. It couldn't be any more perfect for dinner on a cold evening, especially one watching a sporting event or whatever else you have on the tube. Except for any show featuring a member of the Kardashian family, because if you're watching that, then you should probably take this pot of chili and pour it directly over your head.

Bella's favorite channels are Animal Planet and the BBC.

A Dun-Well Vegan Doughnut Party Done Right!

2011-02-02T22:49:00.001-05:00

I mentioned recently that there was going to be a launch party at Moo Shoes tonight for Dun-Well Doughnuts, a brand new company making all-vegan all-delicious yeast-raised doughnuts here in NY. Well I just got back from that party, and boy oh boy was it spectacular. A huge congratulations is in order for these guys and their epic doughnut launch party.

In NY, for the non-vegan doughnut lover, it's all about the Doughnut Plant, in terms of quality and variety of flavors. I even have a friend who paid, I swear, $100 in shipping costs alone to have a dozen from the Doughnut Plant overnight mailed to him in San Francisco (*cough* Antoinne *cough*). And all you vegan Portlanders (Portlandese?) out there have your Voodoo Doughnut shop, which has inspired a great deal of jealousy in me. Well now vegan NY'ers have their own specialty doughnuts that are fully worth bragging about, and that will be the cause of envy among vegans far and wide.

There are many vegan events held at Moo Shoes, but I have personally never been to one with such an impressive turnout. There was actually a line to get to the doughnuts that ran all the way around the store, then doubled back to snake nearly out the front door. If there is one thing that will get NY'ers out on a slushy winter night, it's free vegan doughnuts apparently. Well, and also ice cream from Lula's and cocktails from the new all-vegan bar Pinebox Rock Shop. That's right, we had vegan doughnuts AND ice cream AND cocktails, 'cause that's how we roll.

But the doughnuts... oh those doughnuts! I got to sample a Peanut Butter & Jelly one and a Root Beer-flavored one. The PB&J, which was jelly-filled with a peanut butter glaze on top, tasted exactly like a PB&J on Wonder bread. I mean that in a good way. It was a very nostalgic kind of flavor, like the PB&J's of my childhood, not like the PB&J's on sprouted whole grain bread of my adulthood, if that makes any sense. It was so good. And the Root Beer doughnut! It tasted so... so root beer-y! I happen to love root beer, it's the one and only type of soda that I will drink on occasion, so I really enjoyed that doughnut too.

Please excuse the terribly blurry pics, I wouldn't usually post such bad ones but my camera was being difficult and they all came out looking kind of crazy.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Doughnut. Brilliant!

Me & Leanne with doughnuts in hand.

With Dan from Dun-Well Doughnuts

In addition to the PB&J and Root Beer flavors, they also had a Lemon Poppyseed that I didn't get to try. Check out their site for additional flavors and also for retail locations. I know they mentioned that they will be available at Boneshakers and Champs Bakery in Williamsburg, and also at Cocoa V, but not sure where else. Now go out & get yourself some vegan doughnuts!

Veganize This! Jenn Shagrin's Cumin "Crab" Tostadas

2011-01-31T10:50:00.000-05:00

I am a jackfruit virgin no more. Jenn from one of my favorite blogs ever, Veganize It...Don't Criticize It! and author of Veganize This!, has initiated me into the wonders of this fruit, and I just have to say that whoever first thought of using it as a meat substitute must be some kind of genius.

I was super excited to receive my copy of Veganize This! and have been flagging all the recipes that I want to try, which is pretty much all of them. Unfortunately for me, Jenn's book arrived just at the time that I embarked on a temporary gluten-free phase, and since the majority of her recipes are based around seitan, I'm going to have to wait a while to make a lot of them. Fortunately though, she also has some amazing looking recipes using jackfruit as a seafood substitute.

I'd been wanting to try a jackfruit recipe for quite a while now. I've seen a lot of recipes online, for everything from Chow Vegan's BBQ Pulled "Pork" sandwiches and Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos to the recipe on Jenn's own site for Jackfruit Crab Cakes, which is also included in her book. I made some vegan crab cakes recently, so I decided instead to make Jenn's recipe for Vegan Black Cumin Crab Tostadas over Cabbage Salad with Lime, Mint, & Wasabi Dressing. Oh yeah. How could you not want to make something with a description like that? So many of her recipes have titles like something you would order in the kind of fancy restaurant where they make you wear a jacket, and there are separate waiters to fill your water, fold your napkin, and hand you sculpted pats of butter with fancy little silver tongs.

I have to confess that I didn't have any black cumin, so I just used regular cumin. That might have fundamentally changed the flavor of this recipe, but it still turned out great, so I'm not too worried about it. You mix cumin and some other spices together, then coat the jackfruit with the spice mix, and pan-fry it until browned and slightly crispy. I should mention that these type of savory recipes make use of the young, green jackfruit that is packed in water or brine. When the jackfruit ripens, it becomes yellow and sweet, and is usually canned in syrup. That is not the kind of jackfruit you want to use for this type of recipe.

It amazed me how much the jackfruit actually did resemble jumbo lump crabmeat, or pulled pork shreds for that matter. You have to pull apart the chunks of fruit into these smaller pieces, and the texture is very similar to canned or jarred artichoke hearts.


Jackfruit lump "crab" meat

I wouldn't say that this really tasted like crabmeat, but it was delicious nonetheless. There were so many different layers of flavors and textures in this dish, from the crunchy tostada to the fresh, crisp cabbage salad that was singing with the lime/mint/cilantro/wasabi dressing, to the tender, meaty, cuminy (not a real word) jackfruit that was mixed with salsa before serving. Jenn recommends using a pico de gallo-type salsa, but again, that's not what I had on hand, so I used a spicy mango peach salsa which added a bit of sweetness to this dish and complemented the other flavors quite nicely. I just can't wait to try more recipes from the Veganize This! cookbook now, if they are all as creative and delicious as this one then we're in for many more vegan good things.

Happy Vegan Pizza Day!

2011-01-29T17:57:00.000-05:00

It's Vegan Pizza Day! In my house, every day is Vegan Pizza Day, although I confess we don't observe it every single day. But some geniuses went and made it an official day, so hopefully you have the day off from work to properly celebrate, and by celebrate I mean stuff your face with some delicious vegan pizza!

I have some favorite homemade pizzas. First, there's the Two Moons Special, our beloved creation of Shitake Mushrooms on a Cornmeal Crust.

Then there's the close second runner-up, my Mexican Pizza with Homemade Seitan Chorizo:

I've even made a Zucchini Blossom Pizza:

And this quick Mushroom & Sausage Pizza, inspired by Pala, one of our favorite places to get vegan pizza in the city:

But in honor of Vegan Pizza Day, we wanted to do something new. I decided on making two different pizzas, both with gluten-free crusts that I made from a Bob's Red Mill mix. I found the gluten-free crusts to be slightly chewier than the normal kind, but not unpleasantly so. I would definitely make them again.

The first pizza was a classic Veggie Lover's pizza because, you know, I love the veggies. Simply topped with organic pizza sauce, mushrooms, red pepper, artichoke hearts, fresh garlic, black olives, and Mozzarella Teese. It would have been good with some spinach on there too, but I didn't have any, so whatever. I didn't reinvent the wheel or anything with this one, but it was really, really good, and more than satisfied our pizza craving.

Veggie Lover's before going in the oven...

And after! Delicious!

The second pizza, a Pesto Potato one, was a little experimental for me. I made a homemade pesto with fresh basil, pine nuts, vegan Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. I cut a potato into some very thin slices, sprinkled them with salt, and soaked them in cold water for about an hour before draining and patting dry. The potato slices went on top of the pesto sauce, then I topped with fresh garlic, fresh thyme & rosemary, and just a small amount of the Mozzarella Teese.

Fresh from the oven!

The result was a hearty, flavorful pizza. The potatoes got just lightly crisped, and the flavors from the fresh pesto and fresh herbs on top really complemented each other. I was glad I didn't put too much cheese on this one, because it might have become too heavy, but as it was it was a perfect winter pie. And the best part is that with the leftovers, I can hereby declare January 30th the official Vegan Pizza for Breakfast Day.

My Weekend Eats: More Good Things from The Urban Vegan

2011-01-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone. It's a whopping 13°F here in New York today, so to combat my winter-induced grumpiness I'm going to tantalize your taste buds with photos of all the good stuff I made this weekend, yet again thanks to recipes I'm currently testing for The Urban Vegan. Rest assured, I will soon be back to posting my own original recipes and will be busily veganizing other recipes I find elsewhere, but for now, feast your eyes on these goodies:

Island-Style Tempeh. This tempeh was marinaded in a mixture of fresh chopped pineapple, orange and lime juice, garlic, chili sauce, and a blend of spices. It managed to stay moist and tender, and the marinade sauce was fresh, tangy sweet, and delicious. I served it over some cinnamon-spiced sweet potatoes and steamed kale. Delicious!

Lemon Tartelette. Lemon desserts are my favorite. I will choose lemon over chocolate any day. (Sorry, chocolate.) This lemon tart was just perfect - a delicate balance of sweetness and tartness, with a homemade pastry crust. We ate these for dessert and then, um, for breakfast too. Don't judge.

Asparagus-Filled Crêpes with Hollandaise Sauce. Crêpes! I've had kind of a crazy craving for crêpes for a while now, so I was thrilled to see a crêpe recipe pop up on The Urban Vegan's list. This is a classic savory version, filled with asparagus (if you didn't figure that out from the photo above) and topped with a super easy hollandaise sauce made in the blender. Light, delicious, and it made me feel very Frenchy.

Crepes with Bananas and Gianduia (Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread). And more crêpes! It was a crêpe party. Gianduia is a chocolate-hazelnut paste, much like the familiar brand Nutella, but Dynise's version is homemade and, of course, vegan. And what's a better combo than chocolate and hazelnut? Chocolate, hazelnut, and banana, helloooo!

Vegan Doughnut Launch Party! DOUGHNUTS PEOPLE!

2011-01-19T23:29:00.000-05:00

Photo by Ryan Pfluger via Dun-Well Doughnuts

Who are these dapper dans? Why, they are Dan and Christopher, the newest vegan doughnut-making mavens on the NY scene. Their soon-to-launch company Dun-Well Doughnuts specializes in vegan yeast-risen doughnuts, which are the "gold standard" among doughnut lovers and described as "light, fluffy, and sweet doughnuts that melt a little with each bite."

You might remember what a doughnut lover I am, and to say that I am excited about these new treats is an understatement. I'm turning into Homer over here, just thinking about these doughnuts. I have it on good authority that lemon poppyseed will be one of their flavors, and peanut butter & jelly another. Peanut butter & jelly doughnuts??!! I think I've died and gone to heaven.

So by now I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats wondering when and where you can get your greedy little hands on some of these sweet little gems. You're in luck, because they're having a launch party on February 2nd at Moo Shoes, where we'll not only get to taste these doughnuts but we'll also have treats from Lula's and cocktails from NY's first all-vegan bar, Pine Box Rock Shop. What more incentive do you need, people? I'll see you there!

If You Can't Stand the Heat, Put Away Your Kitchen Torch

2011-01-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

I have a new toy. I've been wanting to get this kitchen torch for a while now, ostensibly to make vegan versions of crème brulée, French onion soup, toasted meringues, and things like that, but really just because it looks so cool when you see chefs using those torches on TV and such. It's so... dangerous. It makes me feel like I'm really serious in the kitchen. Like I'm someone who knows how to sous vide things, or make foams and crap like that. (For the record, I understand the basic principle of sous vide, but I have never attempted it, nor do I plan to do so.)

So now that I am torch-equipped, the first project was this Holiday Spiced Crème Brulée recipe that I found on Chef Chloe's always-inspiring blog. The cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger make this a perfect alternative to the usual holiday cakes, pies, and cookies. The base of the "custard" is non-dairy milk (I used almond) and coconut milk, with cornstarch as a thickener. The result is rich, creamy, spicy, and as sinful-tasting as a holiday dessert should be.

The best part of any crème brulée, however, is the crackly layer of sugar on the top. That's where the fun comes in. You have to sprinkle a layer of sugar over the chilled brulée, and then torch it until the sugar becomes bubbly and melts. It's harder to do than it looks, and as this was my first time ever torching anything, I had a few uneven overly-dark spots. Chef Chloe's version is certainly more photogenic than mine, but I'm going to keep working on it. Right after I sous vide something, and top it with a foam.

More Urban Vegan-ing!

2011-01-17T14:55:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted many new recipes or homemade dishes lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy in my kitchen. On the contrary, I have been quite busy testing more recipes for The Urban Vegan's next cookbook. I think when you see what you're going to get, you'll be as excited as I am for her book to come out. Here's another sneak preview:

Old Bay Cakes. Reminiscent of Maryland-style crab cakes, these are tofu-based and manage to be crisp on the outside, and flavorful and juicy on the inside. They were delicious to eat on their own, but would also be great on a sandwich with some vegan tartar or remoulade sauce.

Jambalaya. You probably already know how much I love Cajun & Creole cuisine, as I've made my own étouffée, gumbo, and "shrimp" and grits in the past. The Urban Vegan's recipe for jambalaya was a dish after my own heart, with just the right balance of spiciness, tempeh bacon, and vegan chorizo.

Spicy Seitan "Wings" with Cumin-Harissa Dipping Sauce. Admittedly my wings look more like nuggets than wings, but either way they are just the right size for dipping into this addictively spicy Vegenaise-based sauce.

Fig-Pecan Stuffed Acorn Squash. What a perfect autumn dish. The agave-sweetened fruit and nut mixture is a perfect contrast to the buttery savoriness of the roasted squash. This would be a welcome addition to any Thanksgiving menu.

Kale with Raisins and Chana Dal (Yellow Split Peas). Bursting with flavor despite a deceptively short ingredient list, this is a tasty side dish or could make a light meal served over rice, quinoa, or any grain of your choice.

Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding). Rice pudding is such an easy and comforting dessert. Cardamom makes this delicious and fragrant, and the slivered almonds, pistachios, and raisins add additional flavor as well as texture. This was a simple yet very elegant dish.

There will still be some more testing to come, so stay tuned!