Hot Hot Hot !!!

By Monica on June 12th, 2008

It’s said that Illinois has two seasons: winter and construction.  I’m adding a third season, which follows a never-ending winter, and that season is “Blast Furnace”.  We’ve gone immediately from below freezing into muggy, humid, clothes-sticking-to-you high 90’s.  And I am not a summer person… So my kitchen has stopped churning out breads and baked goods and has instead focused on foods which are quick and do not require turning the oven on.

I think I am officially the last blogger remaining who hadn’t tried V’Con Chickpea Cutlets yet, so let’s start there.  I definitely appreciated the easy alternative to seitan, I tried them on the 2nd day (as recommended by other bloggers), and I didn’t have any trouble making the cutlets.  I don’t think I’ll make them again, they were just kind of mediocre for me - but I did enjoy the innovative recipe.

Like most, I’ve been eating a lot of veggie burgers lately too, especially since Ray recently got himself a big ole’ griddle pan.  Now the notorious Rayburger has been upgraded to Grilled Rayburger, ooooo, ahhh!

SusanV’s Cherry-Chocolate Mousse Pie, perfect not only because it’s tasty as can be, but also because it requires no baking or heat whatsoever.  I even phoned this in with a store-bought graham cracker crust, shame on me.

And lastly, Rootbeer Floats.  You know you want one.

P.S. - If I have any readers in the Raleigh, NC area, please email me.  I have a few questions for the locals.  Thanks!

I am a banana!

By Monica on May 29th, 2008

Yesterday Celine posted a picture of Don Hertzfeldt’s banana.  (Sounds naughty!)  If you don’t know who Don Hertzfeldt is, and if you also have a bizarre sense of humor, I highly recommend checking out this video on YouTube.  Anyway, I’ve had bananas on the brain since.

So last night we had Banana Cake, using this VegWeb recipe as a very rough guide.  I decided it needed more banana, chocolate chips, almond icing, and no oil.  Take that, banana cake!

Chocolate Banana-Banana Cake
1 mashed banana
1 diced banana
7T applesauce
1T vinegar
1t salt
1t baking soda
1T baking powder
1t vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup water
3T cinnamon

To a large bowl, add the mashed banana and flour.  Stir well.  Add all the remaining ingredients except the diced banana, and mix well.  When batter is sufficiently mixed, fold in the diced banana.
Pour into a greased 9×9″ pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

And even though I did just post a pizza shot earlier in the week, today is Thursday, and that means Pizza & Lost night again! This is technically from a previous Pizza & Lost night, but it’s what I’m having tonight too.  These 5 Minute Whole Wheat Calzones were stuffed with hot giardinare, onions, black olives, and some fake sausage.

The “5 minutes” aspect is in regards to the rising time of the dough, which is about all the patience I have on Lost night.  I’d much rather spend my time on the couch hoping my prayers have been answered and this week is finally the week Sawyer dumps that slutbag Kate, gets rid of that whiny Jack, and saves the island - all while being totally naked, of course.   Oh yeah… calzone dough!

5 Minute Whole Wheat Calzone Dough
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1T sugar
2T olive oil
1t salt
2 1/2 - 3 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl.  Stir in sugar, oil, salt, and 1 cup of the flour.  Beat until smooth.  Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.  Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.  Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 4 equal portions.  Roll each out, stuff with goodies, seal, and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

And lastly, just so you know that I do consume things other than pizza and cake, here’s Golden Tempeh Curry, a recipe from the March 2008 Vegetarian Times.  I may lose my vegan-card for this, but I am not a curry fan.  I keep trying different curries trying to find some I like, but this is the only one I ate even part of, and that was mostly just picking at the mango and tempeh.  Still, an improvement!

Seitanic Sauerbraten

By Monica on April 23rd, 2008

First, I apologize for being AWOL last week. I have no valid excuse, shame on me! Hopefully a seitanic version of a Sauerbraten-Style Stew will make up for it. I love the contrasting sweet and sour flavors of sauerbraten and make several versions. Wikipedia says horse was the traditional ‘meat’ used in this German dish, thankfully I’ve never made that version and think I’ll stick with gluten!

Sauerbraten in the crock, ready to go in the oven. Feel free to use red cabbage if you fancy.

And Sauerbraten finished, heaped onto some bread dumplings. You could also enjoy it as a stew, or put it over some wide noodles. As usual, I’m partial to dumplings though!

Seitanic Sauerbraten Stew
1 lb. seitan, cut into 1″ cubes
1t salt
1/4t ground cloves
1/4t white pepper
1 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 cups No-Beef Broth
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 small head cabbage, coarsely shredded
1T packed brown sugar
1t ground ginger

Mix all ingredients in a 4 quart dutch oven, or ovenproof crock. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until cabbage is tender. (You can make this on the stove a bit quicker, but the flavors don’t meld together quite as nicely.) Enjoy!

Also, I finally got around to the ‘Nomicon Snobby Joes that have been making the blogger rounds lately. Shamefully, I put them on cheap white buns because that’s all Po-Dunk Grocery has and I’ve not been ambitious enough yet to make my own buns. Please ignore the refined, nasty, white buns and focus instead, on the delicious lentily goodness that is the Snobby Joe:

Irish-Italian?

By Monica on April 10th, 2008

A new fusion food?  No, that’s just what came out of my oven last night:  Tofu Stuffed Shells and Irish Soda Bread!

Every year as St. Patty’s Day approaches, my mother becomes exuberant over the availability of Irish Soda Bread.  After St. Patty’s Day passes, she mourns the loss of her favorite morning snack.  Growing weary of her complaints everyday, I tried making a loaf last night.

As it turns out, this is my kind of bread-making:  No rising, no kneading, no patience required.  It comes together in less than 5 minutes and goes straight into the oven.  Couldn’t be easier, pretty darn tasty, and using whole wheat flour makes it just a wee-bit more nutritious and filling for a morning snack.

Irish Soda Bread
1 1/2 cups plus 2T soymilk
1T plus 1 1/2t white vinegar
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1t baking soda
1t salt
1/2 cup raisins, optional

Combine soymilk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
Sift together flours, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Form a well in the center and add soured soymilk, stirring until the mixture becomes a dough firm enough to shape.  Knead raisins in.
Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a n 8″ ball, about 1″ thick.
Make some crosses across the top, about 1/2″ deep, which will make it easy to tear the bread into portions after baking.
Bake 40-45 minutes at 425 degrees until you have a firm, golden brown top and bottom.

And onto the Stuffed Shells!

Above are the naked little fellas before being covered in sauce and sent into the oven.  I use this Joanne Stepaniak inspired tofu ricotta for stuffed shells, manicotti, and lasagna.  It’s easy, delicious, and I always have the ingredients on hand.  Plus, every omni I’ve ever served it to is amazed that it’s actually tofu, they’re actually eating it, and they actually like it!

Tofu Stuffed Shells
16 oz box stuffed shells
2 lbs tofu (I prefer 1lb extra firm, 1lb soft), patted dry and mashed
4 cloves garlic, minced
2-4T soymilk
2T olive oil
3T lemon juice
1T sugar
2T chopped fresh parsley
1T dried basil
2t onion powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained - or 3 cups fresh
4 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce
Vegan Parmesan, optional

Prepare the stuffed shells according to package directions, drain, rinse, and cool.
In a large bowl, mix the mashed tofu, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, parsley, basil, onion powder, salt, pepper, and spinach together.  Add just enough of the soymilk to give you a ricotta-like consistency.
Line a 9×13″ baking pan with half the spaghetti sauce.
Commit right now that the best way to do this is with your hands, and messily stuff each shell with approximately one heaping tablespoon of the ricotta.  Line them up in your pan.
Cover the shells with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with vegan Parmesan if you like.
Cover pan tightly with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.