Candied Citrus Peels

I'm not really into gift-giving (or Christmas) so I usually bake cookies or cupcakes for the in-laws instead of buying gifts. This year I went with a candied orange peels recipe from the whole foods website. The recipe doesn't mention how long they take to make but it took me about 7 hours and that's before the 3-5 hours of drying on cooling racks (mine only dried for 30 minutes because Martha Stewart said it was ok). I used 3 oranges, 4 lemons, 4 limes, and 2 grapefruits.

Peeling the fruit and removing the pith took about 3 hours.

But it's so worth it.

Rice Salad with Pine Nuts and Cranberries

1 cup long grain rice, cooked and set aside to cool
1/2 cup black rice, cooked and set aside to cool
4 stalks celery, chopped
8 green onions, greens parts chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
3/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp honey
2 tsp sesame oil
S&P

Whisk together the oil, vinegars, lemon juice, honey, sesame oil, and salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine the cooled cooked rice, celery, green onions, peas, dried cranberries, pine nuts, and dressing. Let it chill for a few hours before serving.

Adapted from here

Latkes & Cookies

This year, my sister and I made latkes by ourselves for the first time for her Hanukkah party. We somehow pulled it off and they turned out almost as good as my mom's latkes. The recipe looks simple but the frying is messy and time consuming and pretty easy to mess up. It's hard to keep the potato mixture from falling apart when it goes in the oil, the oil needs to be just the right temperature, and they burn pretty easily so you have to flip them at just the right time.

I don't think we've tried making these vegan but egg replacer powder should work instead of the eggs.

6 russet potatoes
1 onion
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt, optional
canola oil for frying (you'll need like half a bottle)

Grate the potatoes and onion in a food processor and place each batch of grated potatoes in cold water until they're all grated. Drain them and squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the potatoes and onion. Mix the grated potatoes and onions with the flour and eggs (and salt) in a large bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet (or 2) over medium-high heat until it's hot but not smoking. Spoon in about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture and flatten into a pancake (but not too thin). Brown on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side. Drain them on baking sheets lined with paper towels and then keep them warm in the oven at around 250F. Serve with applesauce and sour cream or yogurt.

My sister's lucky guests were also treated to some of these delicious cookies that we helped my cousin make the night before the party. I think this was the recipe we used.

Stuffed Shells

This is pretty much just my lasagna casserole recipe stuffed into shells. They looked really pretty right after being stuffed with the tofu-spinach mixture (and they were still vegan at that point) but I forgot to take a picture.

a few mushrooms, sliced
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 28-oz can of spaghetti sauce
6 oz jumbo pasta shells (about 18 shells)
5 oz fresh spinach
3/4 lb tofu
s&p
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
4 oz grated mozzarella

Partially cook the pasta shells in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly tender but still firm, about 6 minutes. Drain pasta shells and place on baking sheet, spreading them out so that they don't stick together and allow to cool.

Saute the mushrooms and onions and zucchini over medium heat in the oil until tender. Remove from heat and add the spaghetti sauce.

Heat the oil in a small pot and add the spinach until it wilts. When the spinach cools, squeeze out the water and chop it. Mash the tofu with the spinach and spices.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spread a large spoonful of the sauce in the bottom of a big baking dish. Lay out the pasta shells on the sauce and stuff each one with about 2 tbs of the tofu-spinach mixture. Spread the sauce over the shells and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese starts to brown.

Southwestern Pasta Salad

New Year's resolution #1: No more backlogged recipes. But it's still 2008 so here's another one from a few weeks ago that I forgot to post. I can't remember exactly how much of everything I put in this so you're better off going by the original.


1/2 pound pasta, cooked
1/4 red onion, minced
corn kernels from 1 roasted ear (or thawed frozen corn)
1/2 canned chipotle pepper
2 frozen meatless Italian sausages

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
a few drops of adobo sauce
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy milk
green onion, minced
s&p

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Combine the lemon juice and soy milk and let it sit until you're ready to prepare the dressing. Follow the instructions for cooking the sausages but slice them before sauteing in the oil and brown them on both sides.
Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Put the pasta in a bowl and add the veggies. Toss it with the dressing and add cilantro.

Flamin Baked Potato with Mushroom Sauce

I have a weird car wreck relationship with Paula Deen's show. I mostly watch it just so I can collect creepy Paula quotes ("I can't wait to wrap my lips around it!" "Come on over here and stick your head in this oven, y'all!") and to prove that her disgustingly fatty and meaty recipes can be made veggie and less fatty.

Her Jacket Potato with Bacon, Mushroom, and Peppercorn Sauce recipe worked out pretty well except for the peppercorns. I had a feeling replacing green peppercorns with black ones wouldn't be a good idea, but I wasn't about to go out and get new peppercorns when I already had perfectly good ones. Apparently peppercorns are green when they haven't started to ripen yet so they're more mild than the black ones. The black peppercorns weren't completely inedible but they were sorta crunchy and way too strong for me. The sauce was a bit thin because I used soy milk instead of heavy cream (is it just me or did there used to be a soy cream that wasn't sweetened so it was more like heavy cream than creamer?) but I don't mind thin sauce. I replaced the bacon with Yves Canadian Bacon and used Earth Balance instead of butter but other than that I pretty much just followed the recipe.

Oh, and the most important part: flambeing. I was all ready for a huge flame so I took all necessary safety precautions and poured the brandy into a measuring cup first, took the pan off the stove before pouring it in, lit the fumes at the edge of the pan with a long match and had a big pot lid on hand in case the flame got too big. But the flame ended up being tiny and only lasting for a few seconds... see for yourself

Baby Pot Pies

They're just normal size individual pot pies but I usually make one big pot pie casserole so they're babies to me. The recipe made enough for about 8 pies but half the crust recipe only made enough for 7 (top crust only). I'm still trying to decide if these are worth all the effort of trying to make the crusts fit the tins perfectly just for the convenience and cuteness of eating out of a little tin. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pine Nuts

I'm a big fan of pretty much all the vegetables that kids really hate. Brussels sprouts probably aren't that great when they're boiled to a bland mush, but I can't really imagine anyone hating them when they're cooked right.

2 lbs brussels sprouts
2 shallots, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs maple syrup
salt and pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts

Preheat oven to 425.
Trim the brussels sprouts and get rid of any ugly outer leaves. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the brussels sprouts. Cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and drop them in a bowl full of ice water. Drain again. Cut the sprouts in half.

Put the sprouts in a bowl and mix with the shallots, olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and salt and pepper. Pour them onto a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for 3-5 minutes over low heat just until light brown. Sprinkle over the brussels sprouts and serve.

Studying

seeya after Dec. 5th

Wonton Salad

I wasn't really sure what to call this but I figured it wouldn't make sense to call it Chinese Chicken Salad since it doesn't have any chicken and it doesn't seem very Chinese to me, so I went with Wonton Salad, even though those crunchy things on top are made from gyoza skins instead of wonton skins.

I used this recipe but left out the chicken and added some cilantro, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds.

Lahmajoon (Armenian Pizza)

I've heard this takes a long time to make, but when you're not worried about authenticity and you use prepared flat bread instead of making the crust from scratch, packaged veggie ground round for the meat, and canned tomatoes, it takes about 30 minutes.

Lahmajoon
6 small flat breads
12 oz veggie ground round
olive oil for sauteing
1 onion, chopped
1.5 cups crushed tomatoes
garlic powder, sweet paprika, red chili flakes, salt n pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
lemon juice

Saute the onions in the oil until soft and add the ground round. When the ground round starts to brown, add the tomatoes and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool down. When it has cooled, add the finely chopped parsley and mix.

Preheat the oven to 400.
Spread the meat mixture in a thin layer on each of the crusts. Drizzle with olive oil and heat in the oven until the crust is crunchy, about 10 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice over the top and serve.

Adapted from here

Teriyaki Seitan Salad

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
2 tbs sugar
2 scallions, minced
2 small chunks of fresh ginger, smashed
1 shallot, minced
1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
sesame seeds
2 cups seitan, sliced

1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded
1 red pepper, sliced
1/2 small cucumber, sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
sesame seeds

In a saucepan, combine the soy sauce, sake, sugar, scallions, ginger, shallots, salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Bring to a boil over moderate heat and cook until reduced, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the sauce into a small bowl.
Saute seitan in 1 tbs oil until brown on all sides. Spoon over a few tbs of the sauce and cook until the seitan soaks it up. Combine the salad ingredients and put the seitan on top. Use the remaining sauce as dressing for the salad.

Adapted from FoodnWine

Mediterranean Feast

Having fly-infested barley makes barley tabbouleh kind of unappetizing so I got some bulgur to try to make it traditional and flyless. The package told me to get Bulgur #1 for tabbouleh (I wonder what kind of Mediterranean dish #18 Bulgar is used for) and I trust packages of bulgur so I did.



Tabbouleh
1/2 cup bulgur #1
1 cup hot water
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small shallot
1/2 hothouse cucumber, diced
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
a few leaves fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Put the bulgur in a large bowl and pour in the hot water. Cover with a dish or plastic wrap and let stand for about 30 to 45 minutes to rehydrate. Drain if necessary.

In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallots, cucumber, parsley, and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bulgur, lemon juice and olive oil. Fold everything together. Refrigerate for a while before serving.

Adapted from Tyler



Red Pepper Hummus
1 red pepper
olive oil for sauteing
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup tahini
3 lemons, juice
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1/8-/1/4 cup olive oil
chopped parsley

Saute the red peppers. Combine all the ingredients except the parsley in a food processor. Adjust seasonings and fold in parsley. Serve with baked pita triangles.



Stuffed Grape Leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup long-grain rice
1 cup broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoons finely chopped dill leaves
1/8 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
15-20 grape leaves
1 lemon, juiced

To make the filling, coat a large saute pan with 1/8 cup of the oil and place over medium heat. Add the onion and lemon zest and stir until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rice, saute for 2 minutes, stirring to coat. Pour in just 1/2 cup of the broth. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes, adding more broth if necessary. Add the lemon juice and tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Scrape the parboiled rice mixture into a bowl and add the dill and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool. While it's cooling, drain the grape leaves and carefully pull them apart. Put them into a bowl and cover them with cold water. Let them soak until you are ready to roll.


To assemble, lay a grape leaf on a work surface, shiny-side down. Put 1-2 tablespoons of the rice filling near the stem end of the leaf. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and roll up. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat with remaining grape leaves and filling.
Place the dolmades in a wide deep skillet, seam-side down in a single layer. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of broth, remaining olive oil, and the lemon juice over the stuffed grape leaves. The liquid should reach halfway up the rolls.
add some water if necessary. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Serve at room temperature or cool.

Adapted from Tyler

This isn't a how-to video. It's too fast and this was my first time making them.

Mandarin Sake

If you have to drink flavored vodka, mix it with fresh orange juice, grapefruit juice, and sake. But don't spend $1.50 on an Australian orange, especially when you could walk down the street to what's left of The Valley's orange groves and get one for free.

1 oz sake
1 oz mandarin vodka
juice of half a small grapefruit
juice of half an orange

Shake ingredients with ice and fine strain into a martini glass.

original

Keep forgetting to try it with basil.

Pomegranate Seed Photo Shoot

Love my new camera.

Tofu Stir Fry

Marinade: some combination of broth, beer/white wine, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Chinese 5 spice sauce, sesame oil, vegan worcestershire sauce, maple syrup.
Carrots, onions, bok choy, cremini mushrooms, green onions, ginger, shallots.

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

I was hoping this would be a pretty light green like my Cucumber Radish Soup, but I guess that wouldn't really make sense with so much broccoli and yellowish broth. The taste of the broccoli kind of overpowered the cauliflower too so I'll have to try some cauliflower soup without the broccoli next time. I forgot to add the lemon juice to the soymilk when I made my soup but I'm pretty sure that would make it even better.

1 cup plain soy milk
juice of half a lemon
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small head of broccoli
1 small head of cauliflower
2-3 cups veggie broth
2 tbs (vegan) butter
2 tbs flour
salt and pepper
green onions for garnish

Add the lemon juice to the soymilk and set aside. In a large pot, saute the onion in the oil until softened. Add the cauliflower and let it steam for a few minutes. Add broccoli and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat until veggies are soft enough to blend. Turn off the heat and blend the soup with an immersion blender. In a small saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of margarine over medium heat until melted. Add the flour and whisk until combined. Gradually add the soy milk and whisk constantly until thickened and smooth. Add the soymilk mixture to the pot and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper and reheat until hot. Garnish with green onions.

Adapted from this recipe

Portobello Sandwich with Walnut Pesto and Avocado

This recipe looked absolutely delicious so I didn't make many changes. I marinated the portobellos in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and broiled them instead of sauteing. The walnut pesto is just the basic basil, olive oil, walnuts, and parmesan combination (I left out garlic because raw garlic kills me). The only roll-y bread I could find at Trader Joe's wasn't vegan so I didn't bother trying to veganize the pesto, although I have made some good vegan pesto using miso instead of cheese.

Tofu Pot Pie

My Tofu Cookery has made a comeback lately. It's one of the first cookbooks I ever bought and it's one of the best, as long as you're not afraid to make some adjustments to the recipes. For this one, the main change I made was to just press the tofu and stir-fry it in a drop of oil to make it chewy instead of freezing and squeezing. This crust recipe was perfect with Earth Balance shortening. Other than leaving out the bottom crust, this could be a copycat recipe for Amy's Non-Dairy Pot Pie.

Tofu Pot Pie

Have ready:
top crust

Filling:
1 lb tofu, pressed and cubed
1 cup potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes
1 cup carrots, cut in 1/2" cubes
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp oil
1/2 onion, chopped
garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Gravy:
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cups broth
1 1/2 cups soymilk
salt, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, sage

melted (vegan) butter

Saute the tofu in a tbsp oil until it starts to brown. Set aside. Parboil potatoes and carrots for 10 minutes. Add the peas in at the last minute. Saute the onions with garlic powder and salt. When the onions are soft, add the tofu and veggies and let it simmer while you do the gravy.

Let the oil, flour and nutritional yeast bubble over low heat for a minute. Whisk in the rest of the gravy ingredients and keep whisking until it's boiling and thickened. Mix the tofu veggie mixture and the gravy together in a casserole and cover it with the crust. Brush some melted butter over the crust. Bake it at 350 for about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, I turned my oven all the way up for a few minutes to let the crust brown.

Lentil Soup

1 tbs oil
~1/2 cup onion, chopped
~1/2 cup carrot, chopped
~1/2 cup celery, chopped

~1 cup potatoes, diced

1 chunk ginger, minced

1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups dry lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 tbs tomato paste

4 cups veggie broth

1-2 cups water

coriander, cumin, garam masala, garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, salt

~2 oz fresh baby spinach

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot and add the onion, carrot, celery, and salt and cook until the onions are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and ginger and cook for about another 5 minutes. Add the lentils, tomato paste, broth, water, and spices and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, about 35 minutes. Give it a few pulses with an immersion blender, but leave it chunky. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add the spinach and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Adapted from my mom's recipe and this one

Corn Soup

I can't remember how I made this, but I think it was pretty much just fresh corn, veggie broth, and soy creamer. The soup came out creamy, delicious, and unusually sweet and I thought "damn, this is some sweet corn" but then I ruined some lemon caper sauce by using the same soy creamer and realized that the sweetness in the soup might not have been the corn. I've used Trader Joe's soy creamer to replace heavy cream in savory dishes before, and it never used to turn them into desserts. WTF, TJs?

Seitan Riblets

I'm not a fan of the whole low-fat vegan thing, but this is an excellent recipe from Fat Free Vegan. I left out the liquid smoke because I don't have any, and it sounds kinda dangerous anyway. I don't have a grill so I used the baking method that she links to at the end of the recipe. The first time I made this I tried to make my own barbecue sauce but it tasted more like cocktail sauce without the liquid smoke, so this time I was lazy and just used some Trader Joe's barbecue sauce. The green beans were boiled and then stir-fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, and if you can't tell, that yellowish lump is mashed potatoes. It's an All-American meal in honor of our amazing new options for VP.

Blueberry Muffins

The muffins looked better 3 days ago when I made them. They're not as sweet as cupcakes but they're definitely not bland and they contain no prostate medication. I used this Vegetarian Times recipe plus a dash of cinnamon, half the amount of berries, and a combination of honey and sugar.

Rosemary Bread

I've made this bread about 5 times since I found the recipe a few weeks ago, and last night I finally made it when I wasn't hungry enough to eat the whole thing before getting a chance to take a picture. It's good dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil just like that fake ass Italian restaurant does it.

Raspberry Breakfast Parfait

For the berry sauce, combine thawed frozen berries with lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan and stir until thickened. After it cools, mix it with plain yogurt, berry granola, and fresh raspberries.

Pretzel Dogs

1 recipe Pretzels
8 veggie dogs

Before cooking the pretzels, wrap the 8 dough ropes around the dogs and cook them for 8 or 9 minutes. The dogs might turn out better if they're cooked beforehand.

Tofu Tahini Dill Dip and Barley Tabouli

Cucumber and Radish Soup

1 cup soymilk

2 lemons, juiced

2 medium cucumbers

6 small radishes

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup dill

Squeeze one of the lemons into the soymilk and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the soup. Peel and chop the cucumbers, mince the radishes and chop the herbs. Combine everything and blend it until smooth. Pour it through a strainer to get rid of extra chunks.

Seitan Curry

1/2 recipe PPK seitan
(I added cumin and coriander to the broth-tomato paste mixture but it didn't change the taste much)

Marinade:
dash coconut milk
dash Worcestershire
½ tsp curry paste
½ tbsp peanut butter
¼ cup veg broth
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Curry Sauce:
1 tsp red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
dash (vegan) worcestershire
1/3 cup broth
2 tbsp brown sugar
¼ cup whole Thai basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

5 mushrooms, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1 1-inch chunk ginger, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 green onions, chopped

Cut the seitan into small chunks and let it sit in the marinade while you prepare the curry sauce and the vegetables. Brown the seitan with the marinade in a tablespoon of oil. Heat the curry sauce until it begins to boil and add the vegetables and the browned seitan chunks. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve with rice.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 shallot,minced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
dash sriracha
dash (vegan) worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Combine all of the ingredients except for the peanuts. Let it marinate for an hour. Sprinkle with peanuts just before serving.

Cucumber Sake Cups

Easiest cucumber cocktail ever. I just scooped out the center of a big chunk of cucumber (leaving the bottom, obviously) and filled it with sake. Mine were pretty small; they probably held a bit less than an ounce of liquid. The original recipe tried to get all fancy and add extra fruity flavors to the drink but I think the hint of cucumber you get from drinking the sake out of a cucumber is all the extra flavor it needs.

Sandra Lee's version

Lentil, Radish, and Cucumber Salad with Goat Cheese

I was all excited about making these two recipes but when I finally got off my ass to make them, my asparagus was moldy because I got the nasty crap at Whole Foods instead of the Farmers' Market after finding out on Thursday that it mysteriously switched to Wednesdays. So I combined the recipes.

Seitan Cacciatore

16 oz seitan, chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup veg broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Sprinkle the seitan pieces with the flour to coat lightly. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the seitan pieces to the pan and saute just until brown on a few sides. Set aside. Add the pepper and onion to the same pan with some more oil and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the seitan chunks to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the basil on top and serve over pasta.

Adapted from Giada's Chicken Cacciatore.

Seitan Bourguignon

~2 oz veggie bacon, diced
3 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 recipe of PPK seitan (or about 2 packages), cut into large chunks

10 baby carrots, sliced in half diagonally

5 pearl onions, sliced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup of full-bodied red wine (I used Pinot Noir)

leftover seitan simmering broth or 2 cups of veggie broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 sprig of thyme

bay leaf

18 pearl onions, braised in broth (recipe follows)

1/2 pound quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter (recipe follows)

chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sauté the bacon in 1 tbsp oil over moderate heat for a few minutes. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Add a few more drops of oil and sauté the seitan chunks until slightly browned on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add some more oil if necessary and brown the carrots, onions, and celery. Combine the seitan, bacon, and veggies in a casserole dish and sprinkle them with the flour. Toss it to coat everything with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the seitan and return to oven for 4 minutes more. Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 250-300 degrees. Transfer everything to a pot (or use the casserole if it's stovetop safe) and stir in the wine and enough broth to almost cover the seitan and veggies. Add the tomato paste and herbs. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then put it back in the casserole, cover it, and set in lower third of preheated oven. Let it simmer for an hour or until ready to serve.

While the seitan is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

Before serving the seitan, add the cooked mushrooms and onions to the casserole and put it back in the oven, uncovered, until it starts to simmer again. Garnish with the parsey and serve with mashed potatoes.

Braised Onions:
18 baby onions

1½ tablespoons butter

1 ½ tablespoons oil

½ cup of broth

1 sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

When the butter and oil are hot, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions so they brown evenly. Add the herbs and broth, cover and let them simmer for about 30 minutes until the liquid has evaporated.

Sauteed Mushrooms:
2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

½ pound fresh mushrooms, quartered

Heat the butter and oil. When it's hot, add the mushrooms. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often until the liquid evaporates and they start to brown.

Adapted from Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

Bagels, Take One

It's probably a bad idea to replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat, but it worked. Dunno what the hell bread flour is, but I had some leftover vital wheat gluten from (finally) making my own (absolutely delicious) seitan, and I heard adding a little bit of wheat gluten to the dough makes it more like bread flour, so that's in there too.

Black Eyed Pea Tostadas

They were supposed to be like Orean's African Tostadas...

Empanadas

I don't remember what I put in these but it was a vegan version of this recipe. I'm not a fan of that dough; the filling was better stuffed in peppers the next day.