Cucumber World

Peanut Butter Cups

2010-01-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

Tofu with Leek-Barley Pilaf

2010-01-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

2010-01-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Thyme Bread

2010-01-26T14:53:00.002-08:00

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2010-01-26T14:53:00.001-08:00

Strawberry Frozen Lebna

2010-01-26T14:52:00.001-08:00

Spanakopita

2010-01-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

Seitan Stew

2010-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

Seitan & Dumplings

2010-01-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

Potato Pierogies

2010-01-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

Chile Relleno

2010-01-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Asiago Potatoes

2010-01-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Zucchini Frittata

2009-11-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

Kashk e Bademjan

2009-11-10T10:06:00.001-08:00

Eggplant Salad in Parmesan Cups

2009-09-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

I was hoping the parmesan cups would be crunchy but they were kinda chewy. Maybe I did something wrong?

recipe

Vegan Currywurst

2009-09-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

The recipe I found for currywurst sauce was already vegan so all I had to do was put it over a veggie sausage instead of a pork sausage, but I haven't had German fast food in a while so someone else will have to let me know how authentic the recipe is. I think currywurst usually has worcestershire sauce and there was no way I was about to put in 1/2 a cup of sugar so I doubt it was anything like the real stuff. According to the pictures I've seen, they're supposed to be served with fries on the side but that's just too much grease for me so I made potato salad instead.

Chickpea Salad

2009-09-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is either Israeli salad with chickpeas, or tabbouleh with chickpeas instead of bulgur (and less parsley).
Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, parsley, green onions and chickpeas. Olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar (I use rice vinegar but red wine vinegar probably makes more sense), cumin, sumac, salt and pepper.

original

Seitan Shawarma

2009-08-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

1 lb seitan, cut into squares
1 onion, sliced
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
black pepper, cayenne, salt
4 tbsp olive oil
4 pita bread
pickles, sliced

Israeli (Palestinian?) salad:
cucumbers
tomatoes
parsley
green onions
olive oil
lemon juice

Tahini sauce:
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup hot water

Make the salad and tahini sauce ahead of time and chill.

Mix the spices. Combine the seitan and onion slices in a large bowl and sprinkle the spice mixture over them. Add 3 tbs of the olive oil and mix it all together. Grill the seitan and onions in a little bit of oil until browned. Grill the pita bread to give it grill marks and pile everything on top of it.

Adapted from epicurious

Bean Burger

2009-08-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of good veggie burger recipes out there and I have no reason to believe that this one is the best, but it's the one I ended up trying first. It's pretty easy to make and doesn't have any weird veggie ingredients (except egg replacer). I left out the oats, which might explain why mine were sort of flimsy. Next time I'll try adding some kind of grain to see if that helps. Also, real eggs probably do a better job of binding than egg replacer. I doubled the recipe so I wouldn't have any leftover beans (I left out the black beans) and froze the extras. They tasted just as good defrosted but seemed to fall apart more.

recipe

Roasted Carrots

2009-07-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yum.

recipe

Bananas Foster

2009-07-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

I really need to stop forgetting that I have a blog. I'll start with the most exciting recipe that I've been meaning to post. I could pretend that I made this vegan, but there were witnesses who know that it wasn't even close. The vanilla frozen yogurt could easily be replaced with soy ice cream and I'm thinking it might be possible to stick soy creamer in the whipped cream maker (I don't think normal people own these, just ex-Starbucks employees) and make that vegan too, although I've never liked whipped cream so I doubt vegan whipped cream would be any better.

The exciting part was the flambeing. The last time I tried to flambe, I barely got a flame, but this time I'm pretty sure the flames reached the ceiling and looked a lot more like an explosion than this picture shows

Fortunately there was no damage to the ceiling (not mine) or the hand you see inside the banana fire (not mine either).

I think I used this recipe but without the banana liqueur.

Tofu Loaf

2009-04-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

I know tofu loaf is one of the things that makes normal people hate vegetarians but this loaf isn't squishy and it doesn't taste like tofu. I wasn't planning on liking this so much, but it really deserves a better name than "tofu loaf" and if you somehow end up with leftovers, it's even better fried the next day.

12 oz firm tofu, pressed
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
garlic powder, oregano, salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Saute the onions and carrots in a little bit of olive oil until they're soft. Mash the tofu in a large bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Spoon the mixture into an oiled loaf pan and spread a thin layer of ketchup over the top. Bake for an hour.

I thought this would be good with my leftover barbecue sauce but I actually liked it better with plain old ketchup.

original

Vegan Peanut Butter Squares

2009-04-16T00:41:00.001-07:00

These don't need much adapting from the original to be made vegan. The chocolate topping is VCTOTW's chocolate ganache.

1/2 cup earth balance
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups crumbled graham crackers
1 cup peanut butter
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips
1/4-1/2 cup soymilk
2 tbsp maple syrup

Line a small baking dish with foil. Melt butter in a small saucepan and add the sugar, cracker crumbs, and peanut butter and mix well. Spread it into the dish. Bring soymilk to a boil in the saucepan. Turn off heat and stir in the chocolate chips and syrup until it's smooth. Spread it over the graham cracker mixture. Refrigerate for about an hour. Cut into squares.

Fresh Pea Soup

2009-04-16T00:36:00.001-07:00

My sister got me some fresh peas so I boiled and blended them and it looked like that ^

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
2 small potatoes, diced
2 cups broth
1 cup water
1 cup shelled peas
S&P, to taste
sliced green onions, for garnish

Heat the oil and add the onion. Let them cook until they're soft. Add the potatoes, broth, and water. Let simmer until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Add the peas and cook for about 8 minutes, until soft. Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Season with s&p.

BBQ Seitan and Veggies

2009-04-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

This is the best barbecue sauce recipe I've found (with a few small changes). It's spicy and smoky (chipotle instead of liquid smoke) and won't be mistaken for cocktail sauce. I made half the recipe and it was just about the right amount for the seitan and veggies.

16 oz seitan, (add some adobo sauce if you make your own)
2 zucchini, cut into big chunks
2 medium red potatoes, cut into big chunks and parboiled
5-6 large mushrooms, quartered
1 sweet onion, cut into big chunks
about 2 cups of barbecue sauce

Spread the seitan and veggies out in 2 large baking dishes and cover with the sauce. Cook for about 45 minutes at 450.

Mushroom Pierogies

2009-04-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

I've somehow managed to forget what real pierogies taste like, even though I spent a week eating pierogies and not much else (except ketchup pizza from Pizza Hit) because it's pretty much the only vegetarian Polish food, unless you count Zywiec. Or at least if they weren't vegetarian, I couldn't tell--except for the ones topped with bacon. Those weren't vegetarian.

I used this recipe but I was lazy and went with wonton skins instead of making my own dough.

Seitan Scaloppine

2009-03-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

I have no idea if this tastes anything like chicken or veal scaloppine (or scallopini) but it does taste like good veggie food and it definitely doesn't have 71 grams of saturated fat like the copy cat Macaroni Grill recipe. The sauce was sweeter than I thought it would be (ok I used unsweetened soymilk this time, wtf?) but maybe it's supposed to be sweet.

1/2 ppk seitan recipe, sliced into thin cutlets
a few tablespoon of oil, for sauteing seitan
1/2 cup flour
4 oz veggie ham or bacon, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 12oz can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 tbsp capers
3/4 cup broth
1/4 cup soymilk
2 lemons, juiced
2 tbsp earth balance
1/2 lb orzo, cooked
chopped parsley

Adapted from here and here.

Pita Bread

2009-02-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

It usually takes me 3 tries to get my bread to turn out right because I'm terrible at baking, but these were easy and came out good the first time. The recipe suggested baking them for 3 minutes or 6-8 minutes for crispy pitas so I let mine bake for about 5-6 minutes and took them out just as they started to brown.

I can't remember if I've posted the recipe for my favorite dip/dressing but I'm pretty sure I haven't because I always forget to write it down. This might be it:

Tofu Tahini Dill Dip

Blend together:

4 oz silken tofu
1/4 - 1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup peeled and diced cucumber
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs chopped parsley
fresh dill
s&p

add extra water or lemon juice if it's too thick

Seitan Fajitas

2009-01-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Marinade:
1/2 lemon, juice
1 lime, juiced
olive oil
1 garlic clove
1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
a few tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
S&P

1/2 recipe of PPK Seitan, cooled. I added a little bit of cumin, lime juice, and a drop of adobo sauce added to the wet ingredients

1 pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
6 flour tortillas
homemade guacamole
tomatillo salsa, recipe follows
cilantro-jalapeno Sauce, recipe follows

Slice the seitan into long strips and mix it with the marinade. Set aside.

Fry the pepper and onions with olive oil in a grill pan until brown.

Remove the seitan strips from the marinade and grill them in oil in a grill pan until they start to brown. It might just be me but this part can be painful (must've been the chipotle) so turn on a fan, open a window, and stand back.

Combine everything in a tortilla and stick it on a grill (pan) until it gets those pretty grill marks.

Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 small jalapeno
1/2 lb silken tofu
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

Blend it all together until creamy.

Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa

5 tomatillos, halved
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped

Fry the tomatillos and garlic with olive oil on a grill pan until brown. Remove the garlic clove but save the oil. Chop up the tomatillo and blend it with the rest of the ingredients and the garlicky oil.

original recipe

Tortilla Soup

2009-01-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Rumor has it that tortilla soup is supposed to have shredded chicken in it so I was trying to think of the best veggie protein for shredding and the closest I could come up with was frozen tofu. Turns out it can't really be shredded, but it can be torn and it totally works in this tortilla soup recipe. The tofu recipe is from Tofu Cookery, the world's best tofu cookbook.

1 lb tofu, frozen, thawed*
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp cumin

3 corn tortillas, cut into strips
oil for frying

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (I leave it whole and just use it to flavor the oil but you can mince it and leave it in)
1/2 small jalapeño, chopped
4 cups veg broth
14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes

avocado, cheese, and cilantro for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350.
Whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, and cumin until smooth. Tear the thawed tofu into small bite-size pieces and toss with the peanut butter mixture. Spread out the tofu pieces in 1 layer on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until crispy. Set aside and try not to snack on them.

Cover the bottom of a frying pan with oil. Fry tortilla strips in a single layer until crispy. Drain on paper towels, set aside and try not to snack on them.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and jalapeno in oil for a few minutes until soft. Remove garlic if you left it whole. Stir in broth and tomatoes and bring it to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Add tofu and heat until the tofu is hot again. Garnish with cilantro, avocado, tortilla strips and shredded cheese.

Here it is with my new favorite recipe, Seitan Fajitas.

*To freeze tofu, cut firm (non-silken) tofu into 4 equal squares (or more if you want it to freeze faster) and wrap each square separately in foil. It's best to let it freeze over night but smaller pieces shouldn't take more than a few hours. You know they're ready when they've turned into yellow tofu bricks. To thaw, put bricks into bowls of hot water, replacing the water every few minutes until you get tofu sponges. Squeeze out as much water as possible from the tofu sponges.

Candied Citrus Peels

2008-12-31T14:11:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

seeya after Dec. 5th

Wonton Salad

2008-11-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

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)

2008-11-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-21T22:14:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-13T19:35:00.001-07:00

Love my new camera.

Tofu Stir Fry

2008-10-13T19:31:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-18T13:35:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-18T13:26:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Cucumber and Radish Soup

2008-07-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-29T01:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-10T21:40:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

~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

2008-05-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

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

Empanadas

2008-04-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Napa Cabbage Salad with Tofu Croutons and Peanut Dressing

2008-03-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Possibly the best salad in existence. From The New Soy Cookbook.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

2008-03-27T13:38:00.001-07:00

Banh Mi Chay

2008-03-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Banh Mi is all the rage but I dunno of any Vietnamese restaurants around here so I made my own. Heavily based on this recipe.

People love beets.

2008-03-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

Why is it blue?
This recipe sounds weird, and it is. It's delicious and aching to be veganized.

Good Old Fashioned Stir Fry

2008-03-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

Chow mein (yes, that's spaghetti), Thai tofu, and a stir fry made from Santa Barbara farmers market kale, garlic chives, and broccoli mixed with some other non-local veggies (sorry, Earth).

Cucumber Buck

2008-03-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

1 shot gin
1 shot cucumber juice
ginger ale

Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour in the gin and cucumber juice. Fill it with ginger ale.

Soju Apple Cocktail

2008-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

recipe

Mapo Tofu

2008-03-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

this recipe

but with veggie ground round instead of beef

Murphy's Stout Cupcakes

2008-02-26T17:09:00.001-08:00

More Cucumber Drinks

2008-02-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

Cucumber Saketini

Kurkku Hunajameloni Cocktail

Kurkku Vesimeloni Cocktail

Lasagna Casserole

2008-02-24T01:51:00.001-08:00

5 mushrooms, sliced
2 zucchini, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp water
1 28-oz can of spaghetti sauce
~4 oz fusilli, cooked
5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 lb ricotta or tofu
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
4 oz grated mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Saute the mushrooms, onions and zucchini over medium heat in the oil until tender, adding water if it gets dry. Remove from heat and add the spaghetti sauce. Mash the ricotta with the thawed spinach and spices.

Spread a large spoonful of the sauce in the bottom of a big baking dish. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on the noodles. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Add another large spoonful of sauce. Cover with another layer of noodles and then spread the remaining ricotta mixture over them. Sprinkle most of the rest of the cheese on that and then top with a final layer of noodles. Pour the remaining sauce over this and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Cover the dish tightly and bake for 30-40 minutes. Then, remove the cover and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until it's bubbling and the edges start getting brown. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

original recipe

Asparagus Soup

2008-02-24T01:29:00.000-08:00

12 oz asparagus
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 small onion, diced
1 tbs vegan butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups broth
1 cup soymilk
1/4 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup soy creamer
1/4 tbsp dry vermouth

Clean asparagus, snap off the tough ends and discard. Chop the rest of the asparagus into small pieces, leaving the tips intact. Cook the asparagus until crip-tender in salted boiling water. Drain and rinse. Separate the tips and save for garnish. Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir to a roux and gradually add stock and milk. Keep stirring and bring to a boil. Add asparagus stalks, onions, potatoes, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Cook until asparagus and potatoes are very soft. Take it off the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Bring it back to a boil and stir in the cream, vermouth and asparagus tips. Cook just until heated through. Add extra salt and pepper if it needs more.

Coolest Cucumber

2008-02-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to get good lighting in this place. The actual color of the drink was somewhere between the light yellowish-green in the first picture and the ugly muddy green in the second one. For some reason the camera refused to capture the sexiness of this awesome cocktail.

Inspired by eos's Cool Cucumber, but mine tastes better and doesn't cost $12.

1/4-1/2 cup cucumber juice
2-3 oz vodka
2 oz white grape juice (or simple syrup)
lime-flavored sparkling water

Fill a tall glass halfway with ice. Add cucumber juice, vodka, and grape juice, and top up with sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of cucumber.
Use less cucumber juice if you're not that into cucumber; use more vodka if you're a boozer.

Tofu Satay

2008-02-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

I guess it's not really a satay without skewers but "Tofu Satay" sounds better than "tasty ass thai flavored tofu stuff".

Marinade:
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 package tofu, drained, squeezed and cubed
a few mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red pepper, julienned
1/2 cup snow peas
1 tbs minced shallots
1/2 tbs minced ginger

Peanut Sauce:
1 cup coconut milk
1-3 tablespoons red curry paste (3 tbs makes it crazy spicy)
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup veggie broth
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt

Cucumber Relish:
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1 tbs shallot, minced
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Cilantro leaves, for garnish

In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients. Mix in the tofu cubes and marinate for an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Bring the coconut milk to a simmer in a small saucepan. Whisk in curry paste until dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in peanut butter, broth and sugar, reduce heat and cook until smooth, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add lime juice and salt. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Prepare relish: Place cucumber and shallots in a small bowl. Heat the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan, stirring, until mixture reaches a boil and sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, and then pour over cucumber mixture. Garnish with cilantro leaves and set aside.

Fry tofu in 1 tbs canola oil until brown on all sides. In a separate pan, cook veggies in 1 tsp olive oil just until hot.

original recipe here

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

2008-02-10T22:47:00.001-08:00

Orange Seitan

2008-02-04T00:46:00.001-08:00

This recipe makes a shitload of glaze. Gotta figure out what to do with the rest.

Gazpacho

2008-02-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

Gazpacho and Grilled Jarlsberg Sandwiches

Split Pea and Barley Soup

2008-01-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

6 cups veggie broth (plus extra water if your pot sucks)
1 1/2 cups dried split peas
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup pearl barley
salt and pepper

Put broth, split peas, onion, carrot, celery and shallot in a big soup pot.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Blend soup with an immersion blender. Add barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 45 minutes or until barley is tender. Add extra water if your pot doesn't close completely like mine and all the liquid evaporates, making the soup way too damn thick.
Season with salt and pepper.

adapted from this

Almond Tofu

2008-01-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

Finally got this dish to not suck. Gotta use half the amount of water that the recipe calls for and heat the sauce separately so the veggies stay crisp. But Tofu Cookery is still awesome.

here's my slightly edited version of the Tofu Cookery recipe:

have ready:
1/2 cup roasted almonds

cut into 3/4" pieces:
2 lbs firm tofu (drained)

whip together then mix with the tofu cubes:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder

brown the tofu over medium heat in 2 tbsp canola oil.

in another pan, saute together only until crisp-tender:
1 tbsp oil
1 large pepper, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 8oz can water chestnuts, drained
1 tbsp ginger, grated

heat in a small saucepan and stir until thickened:
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch

Add the soy sauce mixture, the tofu, and the almonds to the veggies and cook just until everything is hot. Serve with rice.

Chili

2008-01-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

from veganyumyum

I used broth instead of cubes, tomato paste for the tomatoes, hot sauce in place of chipotle, barbeque sauce instead of jerk sauce, left out the liquid smoke and added some green peppers, green onions, and asiago cheese.

Seitan Tikka Masala

2008-01-12T20:39:00.000-08:00

I went the almost vegan route and used dairy yogurt for this. It'd probably be almost as good with soy yogurt.

1 cup plain (soy) yogurt
2 tbs lemon juice

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground red pepper

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of salt

1 tsp ginger, minced

2 8oz packages of seitan

1 tbs earth balance (butter)

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garam masala

a pinch of salt

1- 8oz can tomato sauce

1 cup soy creamer

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For marinade, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, salt and ginger in a bowl. Stir in seitan. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour. For sauce, melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt. Stir in tomato sauce, simmer 15 minutes, stir in creamer. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat broiler. Broil seitan until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove seitan from broiler, add to sauce. Simmer 5 minutes; sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve with basmati rice, flat bread, and raita.

adapted (stolen) from here

Seitan Marsala

2008-01-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp each: oregano, thyme, paprika
a dash each: cayenne, salt, pepper
2- 8 oz packages of seitan, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons earth balance (butter)
3 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1 cup veggie stock
1 tbs parsley
salt and pepper
chopped scallions

Combine the flour and seasoning mix in a bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. Add the seitan chunks to the bowl and cover them with the seasoned flour mixture, then get rid of the excess flour. (a strainer works) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the seitan until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil. When the wine has reduced by half, add the stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the seitan to the pan and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add parsley and salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve immediately.

original recipe: Emeril

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2008-01-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, of course. I think I heated the soy milk for too long so the ganache got chunky. Tasted damn good though.

Sichuan Green Beans

2008-01-12T19:18:00.000-08:00

1 lb fresh green beans; trimmed, and cut into small pieces
a dash of salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
a dash of sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot chili flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
a pinch of sesame seeds

Mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, olive oil, and chili flakes. Fill a frying pan 2/3rds of the way with water. Bring water to a boil and add beans and salt. Cover and cook, stirring once, until beans are bright green and still sorta crunchy, 8 or 9 minutes. Drain and rinse beans in cold water. Stir soy sauce mixture and add to pan. Bring to a boil. Add the beans and cook through. Garnish with sesame seeds.