southwest wheat-meatloaf

This recipe, Southwestern Wheat-Meat Loaf, is out of American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes. This was terrific, held together and the flavors were wonderful, but the gravy she recommends you serve with it, Jalapeno Gravy, is worth its price in gold. I exaggerate not when I say we were all licking our plates. Just make sure to toast your flour with the nutritional yeast when making the roux. A golden roux (cooked for about 5 minutes) with the nutritional yeast and the adobo sauce combination gives this gravy such a unique and lovely smoky flavor.

 Outstanding.

I served it with garlicky Swiss chard and mashed potatoes. There was hardly anything left over to put away. Saved fridge space.

Cost Breakdown

TVP, gluten, seitan, flour: $4

oil, veg. broth, nutritional yeast: $2

potato, chard: $6

spices, chipotle: $1

onion, pepper, jalapeno,garlic: $2

tamari, corn, ketchup: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

$16.00

indian potato skins with curry of greens

Indian Night

I have been enjoying the Indian Nights on the menu, but this is the last official "Indian Night." Next week the Indian gets back onto Asian Night. Not that I've become an expert at Indian food, but the last weeks have certainly given me a wonderful taste for the different flavors and techniques that Indian fare favors. Besides the cooking, I think I've read at least a dozen cookbooks on the subject and I think I need to digest the info.

Tonight's meal is a fusion of sorts - Potato Skins with Curry of Greens. The potatoes are first cooked then broiled to get them crispy. Then they are topped with the curried greens. I used a combination of cilantro, kale, chard and collards. This came out very well and even the kids enjoyed it - some more than others depending on the offending green.

I served the meal with brown rice and sauteed mushrooms with Indian spices.

The curry paste was the most difficult part of this meal, and even that wasn't difficult, so all in all this was a successful meal: tasty, quick and easy.

Cost Breakdown

herbs, spices: $1

chilies, raisins, tomato: $1

nondairy milk: $.50

greens, mushrooms: $4

rice: $1

potatoes: $4

Total to make 6 servings:

$11.50

INDIAN POTATO SKINS PRINTER FRIENDLY RECIPE

udon noodles in shiitaki broth

Asian Night

Japanese udon or soba noodles are frequently eaten with a seaweed or mushroom flavored broth. Tonight I made a shiitaki broth after having tried to make a seaweed broth which I scrapped (the broth was too strong of seaweed and I knew the family would not enjoy it). A piece of kombu is the traditional way to flavor the broth, but I only had arame and apparently I used too much of it.

No matter; I started again and simmered some water with shiitaki stems, onion, garlic, tamari and mirin. After about 15 minutes I strained it and used this as the broth.

For toppings I steamed some kale, sauteed the shiitaki caps and diced celery root, and julienned some white turnips. I used the turnips raw since they were young and crunchy and delicious. Some slivers of raw onion and green pepper added some more dimension and dinner was complete.

It strayed a tad from tradition, but it was very flavorful and had a lot of umami (Japanese deliciousness).

Cost Breakdown:

shiitaki: $4

udon: $2

vegetables: $3

tamari, mirin: $1

Total to make 6 servings:

$10.00

butternut squash and quinoa

Has everyone been inundated with winter squash in their CSA, yet? I have. There is only so much squash soup one can enjoy, and there are only so many kinds of squash soup that are enjoyable. At least for my family.

What to do? I felt like the Sorting Hat when it was trying to decide what house to put Harry in.

To add difficulty to hardship, cookbooks don't exactly burst with winter squash recipes.

Here is my take on my Squash of the Week. Incorporating kale, another cold-weather produce item, I roasted the squash and then mashed it up with a little plant milk. Whipping it into a thick puree, I simply seasoned it with a little salt and pepper.

I topped that with steamed kale, sauteed with a little minced garlic and crushed red pepper. For the protein punch, I cooked some quinoa (1 c quinoa, 2 c water, cook 20 minutes) with a little smoked paprika and salt and pepper. I also pan-seared some tofu slices, just simply seasoning them again with salt and pepper, but this is totally optional since the quinoa is a complete protein. Lastly, since butternut squash is sweet, I accented the sweetness with some caramelized onions.

The squash bakes, the quinoa cooks and the onions caramelize in about the same time, 20 minutes, so this is a quick meal. The last thing to do is steam or pan-sear the kale and the tofu, if using it.

Cost Breakdown:

quinoa: $1

kale: $2

tofu: $2

squash: $2

garlic, spices, onion: $1

Total to make 4 servings:

$8.00

greens (MoFo 10)

Greens is a renowned San Francisco fixture, on the bayside in Fort Mason. It is a vegetarian restaurant that has been patronized since 1979. Although it is vegetarian, vegans can find something to eat, albeit not as easily as their more frequent customers.

The restaurant boasts Chef Annie Sommerville, who daily chooses her menu based on the local offerings. The food is fresh, vibrant, local and delicious. It is time some of those wonderful dishes were veganized.

My first choice is a squash soup. I had given up on making any sort of squash soup, but since my CSA brought me squash and it has been almost a year since I've thrown in my squash towel, I figured I could give it another try; especially using a recipe from Greens. The soup is Kabocha Squash and Chestnut Soup. Outstanding. Finally a squash soup we liked. Maybe the secret was in the chestnuts or the stock the squash was cooked in or just because it was a kobacha squash...regardless, a winner.

Tarts and Filo pastries are a signature of Greens so I made their Red Onion, Goat Cheese and Walnut Tart. Goat cheese I had none of, but I did need to simulate the tartness, sharpness, and creaminess that it affords. I used a combination of Better Than Sour Cream and B.T. Cream Cheese with a splash of lemon juice. Nice crunch from the nuts, sweetness from the onions and creaminess from the nondairy sour cream and cream cheese. The tart dough was easy to make and turned out crispy and light.

I decided to make another dessert, since they use eggs and dairy. Another signature item on the menu is the Ginger Cake. The original recipe is a pound cake and calls for 6 eggs. I replaced the eggs with well whipped ener-G egg replacer and increased the bake time by about a half hour - it needed it. I also made poached cherries using dried cherries in a simple syrup that was decadent with the cake. 

My hubby worked almost next door to Greens in San Fran and while difficult to find something vegan right off the menu, what we did have was delicious. It was great to have now some of the dishes we couldn't have then.

And now for the cookbook, Sinfully Vegan, winner. I removed me from the count and the few who did not want to be entered in the contest for a total of 10 entrees. According to random.org, the comment from Tender Branson is the winner. 

Thanks everyone for participating. Another contest on Friday or Saturday. 

Cost Breakdown:

soup:

squash, chestnuts: $6

stock, herbs: $1.50

Total to make 7 servings;

$7.50

tarts:

dough: $1.50

onion, nuts, spices: $2.50

Better Than sour cream and cream cheese: $3

Total to make 8 tarts:

  $7.00

cake:

Earth Balance: $2.50

flour, baking powder: $1.50

sugar: $2

cherries, vanilla, lemon: $3

Total to make 8 servings:

$9.00

Squash and Chestnut Soup

Tart

Ginger Cake

Winter Squash and Chestnut Soup Recipe

Dough for Tarts Recipe

native foods (MoFo 5)

Native Foods is the brain child of Tanya Petrovna, who opened the first Native Foods in 1994. She will be opening the seventh very soon! That is impressive; a vegan restaurant that will be celebrating another grand opening. What is more impressive, though, is the food. I am literally licking the plate that I served the Azteca Ensalada on - that Mango-Lime Dressing rocks!

Another impressive feat is the preparation of her tempeh. While she actually makes the tempeh on the premises, my store-bought version did not suffer any using her technique. Delicious! If you are one of those tempeh-phobes this is the recipe for you. If after having tempeh this way you don't like it, then you never will and you may fearlessly throw in the proverbial towel. 

To the recipes...

Let's face it, nachos are good. Most any nachos. But these Native Nachos are great! Chef Tanya shares her Native Chi's recipe that go on this and the taco 'meat' is TVP. You can freely use seitan ground, however, or omit it at will and double the beans. Nothing processed. Even the cashew sour cream I have on there is very easy to make. THIS is one loaded nacho plate and go ahead and customize it to your palate.


Now for that salad I was drooling over in the beginning - assorted greens with tomato, onion, jicama or apple or asian pear, cucumbers, cilantro, mango, raisin, pumpkin seeds, quinoa (superfood!) and that outrageous Mango-Lime Dressing and you not only have a complete meal but a little piece of heaven.

The last item on our tasting menu is the Gandhi Bowl - two kinds of rice, steamed greens, curry sauce and that tempeh of hers - blackened. Cajun-meets-Asian. Another out-of-the-park dish. She is batting a thousand.

The only real criticism I have is that she is inundating the east coast with her restaurants and is leaving the mid and west coast to suffer without her culinary contributions. Pure selfishness.

Cost Breakdown:

Nachos:
chips: $3 
cheeze, cashew sour cream: $3
TVP, beans: $4
tomato, onion, olive, pepper: $3
Total to make apps for 8:
$13.00


salad:
greens: $4
Asian pear, tomato, cuke, mango: $4
mango, lime, oil, cilantro: $2
raisin, pumpkin: $1
quinoa: $1
Total to make 4 servings:
$12.00

Bowl:
rice: $1.50
curry, coconut milk: $2
tempeh: $3
greens, cauliflower: $3
Total to make 5 servings:
$9.50

Native Nachos



Ensalada Azteca



Gandhi Bowl



braciole

Food Network Friday Challenge

Tami Noyes, author of American Vegan Kitchen, over at Vegan Appetite blog, challenged us to recreate Anne Burrell's Braciole. Braciole is an American-Italian dish of rolled beef that is stuffed and braised in tomato sauce.

I have seen many variations on this and each time that I do I think - this would be great vegan. Well, here was my chance to make it.

So the obvious question is - where's the beef? Or more to the point, what will replace the beef? While at first I thought a thin slice of seitan would be great, seitan does not bend or roll very easily. The solution of course, is to roll not seitan but gluten (which is raw seitan). I made a gluten using my Firm Seitan recipe. This worked beautifully and the dish turned out super delicious.

The stuffing was rustic bread soaked in rice milk, spinach, pine nuts, onion, garlic and three cheezes - Daiya, Follow Your Heart and Parma! .

The tomato sauce is a simple sauce of onion, garlic, tomatoes, and red wine. During the braising the sauce cooks down to a lovely, rich sauce. My cooking time was 2 hours on 325 degrees, but I think 300 would have been better since there was a slight seitan-y flavor. It was very slight and the tomato sauce covered it well, but a lower temp might help keep the aftertaste even less.

Everyone liked this! I also made a How-To Breakdown of the recipe, so take a gander. 

Cost Breakdown

seitan: $3

spinach, bread, pine nuts: $3

onion, garlic: $2

Daiya, Parma!, Follow Your Heart: $5

kale, orzo: $4

tomatoes: $3.50

Total to feed a family of 6:

$20.50

How-To Breakdown

garlicky ribz

We made a few recipes out of American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes. I love garlic and this sounded great.

She has a recipe for the seitan in the very same book. While I totally love all of Tami's recipes, I do not care for steamed seitan. When we first went vegan, the first thing I disliked about seitan was the 'seitan' flavor. Even packaged seitan has that flavor, which is one reason that I make my own. The seitan achieves that aftertaste because it is cooked at too high heat - steaming is hotter than boiling water, which is one no-no with cooking seitan. Do not boil! Whenever I cook my seitan on the stove top I constantly monitor the temperature with a thermometer to make sure it never climbs above 212 degrees. Of course, I am now too lazy for such vigilance, so now I bake it in the oven, low and slow. There is no aftertaste and the flavors are great. The textures vary according to the type of seitan being made.

With that said, the ribz were a hit and the kids loved it. The BBQ Sauce was fabulous - tangy, sweet and garlicky.

To accompany it, I made her Macaroni and Cheese with Greens. The sauce isn't as thick as I expected it to be, but the flavors were delicious. Even the kids liked this, with the fresh greens in it.

My hubby was given a few beautiful yellow squashes by a coworker, and I had visions of Luby's cheesy squash dish dancing before my eyes. Waaay before we went veg, we were regular costumers of Luby's, a cafeteria type restaurant, and one of our favorite dishes was this cheesy squash recipe. See? There are more than a variety of reasons why becoming vegan is a great idea!

To make this vision a reality, I cooked my half-moon-cut squash until they developed some color, sprinkled a few tablespoons of flour on it, cooked the flour for a few minutes and made a sauce with almond milk, nutritional yeast, thyme and fresh pepper. This made a nice thick sauce, that was reminiscent of cheesiness. I was not concerned with overcooked squash in this dish - it sort of begs for it because of the creaminess of the sauce.

A little about the cost: We grew the tomatoes and peppers and the squash was given to us, but I priced it as I would have had I purchased them at Whole Foods.

Great dinner!

Cost Breakdown:

seitan: $2

tomatoes, sugar, flour: $4

spices, herbs: $1

pasta, spinach: $4

squash, red pepper, onion, garlic: $4

Total to feed a family of 7:

$14.00

stuffed poblano

It is summer and peppers are abundant! A few weeks ago I watched a Guy Fieri show where he was roasted peppers in the oven. I usually roast them on the stove over the open flame, but tonight I chose to do it Guy's way. Bad idea. I remember he mentioning that you have to be careful not to overcook them since the flesh of the pepper will sort of 'disapear.' Well, I overcooked them! I had to toss the peppers and start again.

Roasting them on the stove makes you keep an eye on them and they are ready fast and don't overcook, just char properly because you must stay by their side and consistently turn them.

I stuffed these poblanos with sauteed pinto beans and kale with sofrito. The sofrito I made a few weeks ago from the Viva Vegan! cookbook and it was still in the fridge.

I made a sauce for the peppers using aji amarillos - dried yellow peppers- carrots, onions, herbs, and to thicken it, cashew milk. I added roasted pumpkin seeds for crunch.

Cost Breakdown:

peppers: $5

kale: $3

pinto: $2

carrot, onion, garlic, herbs: $1.50

pumpkin seeds, cashew: $1.50

rice: $1

Total to feed a family of 5:

$14.00

ethiopian groundnut wat

African Night

I made a great African stew today, complete with sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower, cardamom, clove and peanuts. I served it over millet and quinoa that I cooked together and with an arugula salad that I lightly dressed with fresh lemon juice and homemade pickled onions. The pickled onions are raw since I did not blanch them or cook the brine.

The sweet stew over the nutty grains with the crisp, bitter greens and the vinegary onions were an awesome combination. The flavors complement each other very well.

Cost Breakdown:

sweet potato: $1

cauliflower: $1

lentil: $.75

onion, garlic, carrot: $2

peanut butter: $.50

arugula: $1

quinoa, millet: $1
Total to feed 6 people:
$7.25

ETHIOPIAN GROUNDNUT WAT PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

chimichurri tofu

For this dinner, I made three recipes from Terry Hope Romero's

Viva Vegan!: (Link through Vegan.com)

Chimichurri Tofu, Lime and Cilantro Rice and Braised Brazilian Kale. All three recipes were simple to make and tasted great. Our favorite was the kale, to which I added the rest of the chimichurri sauce after the tofu was done marinading in. Also, I used brown rice for the Rice dish instead of the white. It just extended the cooking time, but the flavors were spot on.

We were very pleased with the meal! Another three great recipes from this book.

Cost Breakdown:

kale: $4

onions, garlic, shallots: $3

parsley, cilantro, lime: $3

rice: $1.50

tofu: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$13.50

italian-style seitan with linguine

 Italian Night!

When I told my kids we were having Italian-Style Seitan with Linguine, they questioned why the recipe was from 'American Vegan Kitchen.' Kids are way too pragmatic! 

This was a delicious, easy and quick meal to make - thanks, Tami! I love her recipes because they are super simple to make and delicious to eat.

This dish has kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, seitan, greens, mushrooms and red pepper. It was a family hit!

Cost Breakdown:
pasta: $2
red pepper: $2
olives, sun-tomatoes: $3
greens: $3
mushrooms: $2
seitan: $2
Total to feed a family of 6:
$14.00

southern black-eyed pea soup

I made soup tonight! Black-eyed peas, southern greens and okra. Great flavors! Pressure cooking black-eyed peas are ready in 10 minutes (no soaking required). I added the onions, peppers, celery (the trinity) and garlic to the pressure cooker to cook everything in a single bang. After the pressure cooker was done I stirred in some greens - the residual heat wilted the greens just enough.

The okra needs to be used as soon as you slice it to avoid sliminess. I tossed them with some cornmeal - reminiscent of cornbread - and fried them in a little oil. 

Although the kids didn't care for the soup, they did keep saying, "Pass the okra!" David and I liked all of it.

Cost Breakdown:

okra: $3.50 

pepper, onion, celery, garlic: $2

peas: $1

cornmeal, spices: $.50 

greens: $2

Total to feed a family of 6:

$9.00

caramelized chickpea and chard over polenta

This dish started out so well!

I caramelized onions with chickpeas and garlic. The onions became sweet and the chickpeas were beautifully crispy. Then I put chard in it. Well that ruined it for the kids. I put it over a creamy polenta and sprinkled it with lemon zest.

When I tasted the chickpeas and onions, they were lovely. Delicious, sweet and a bit salty. The chard I'm afraid is too earthy. Kale or spinach would be much better in this dish. I've now tried over and over to make chard but the flavor is too deep for my family. I thrown in the towel and given up! There are some things that are not sanctioned by my family; chard is one.

 Sniff. Sniff.

Cost Breakdown:

polenta with almond milk: $2

chickpea: $2

chard: $3

onion, garlic, spices: $1

Total to disappoint a family of 5:

$8.00

tom kha

Asian Night

When we have the chance to go to a Thai restaurant, David, Mikel and I always want the Tom Kha soup - a coconut-lime soup. Invariably though, there is either fish sauce in it or it is made with chicken stock. There was a time we received it with a piece of chicken, even after interrogating the server; makes you think they weren't being completely forthright...maybe?

If we are able to find a place that follows our one simple rule of 'no animals in our food,' they charge an arm and a leg for a teeny, tiny bowl. It just makes more sense to make it at home and load it up with all your favorite vegetables, fungi or soy products. 

This soup should really be called Tom Yum, but that is this same soup without the coconut milk - so unfair.

We made ours with shiitake, green beans, red peppers, spinach, carrots, shallots and basil. This is one of those Thai meals, that although would be even better with the addition of kaffir, lemongrass and galanga, tastes spectacular with just lime, lemon zest and ginger. This is so because I've gone to the extent of having gotten those exotic ingredients, but not tonight. Still totally wonderful.

Cost Breakdown:

coconut milk: $3

homemade stock: $1

lemon, lime, basil, ginger: $3

vegetables: $3

fungus: $2

Total to feed 6 people your way:

$12.00

raw collard wraps

Monday Night is Raw Night

It seems my children have gotten used to the idea of Raw Night. I didn't say they've gotten to like it - just that they now remember to moan...'oh, yeah. It's Raw Night,' sigh and walk away.

No matter! Onward we go!

Tonight's culinary delights involved a marinated collard wrap, encasing a puree of fresh-shelled peas and kohlrabi. The puree is mixed with walnut pieces, slivered spinach, bean sprouts and minced Fresno peppers. Accompanying the wraps are a cucumber salad, marinated shiitake and nama shoyu vinaigrette.

I found the meal well-balanced, the flavors, textures and colors all complementing each other. David thought it wasn't bad. Kate liked it. Mikel and Cat humored me tasting the wraps. Mikel told me making raw taste good is hard. After I gave him a Mom-look, he amended that to getting him to like raw is difficult.

When dinner was almost ready, Cat sprang on me that it is her Half-Birthday. Great! So? Well, we have some dear friends who do celebrate all five of their children's half birthdays, and since I was just jumping out of my skin that my daughter was doing math of any kind, I immediately set to work to produce some dessert in celebration. ...a raw dessert.

Mudslide Pie.

No fear, blog readers, desserts of any kind - raw or otherwise- are always welcome at our house! Desserts are not collards, after all.

By the way, this pie has three fillings - almond butter, chocolate and vanilla. My blender needed to be cleaned thrice. And the food processor once. This is a gluten free, albeit not soy free dessert - the thickener is soy lecithin.

Cost Breakdown:

1/2 collard bunch: $1.50

filling: $4

mushroom: $3

1/2 cuke: $.50

nama shoyu, limes, pepper, oils: $2

Total to feed 3 people:

$11.00

Raw Mudslide Pie Recipe

raw kale salad with sun-dried tomato + chili-crusted cheese

Kale salad was the first food I remember eating raw (Excluding the obvious raw fruits and vegetables. You know what I mean.) I was fortunate enough to be friends with a few ladies in California who were interested in raw preparation and invited a chef to show us how to cook live food. The first thing she made was this salad and David and I were hooked. In fact, he ate too much the first time I made it!

Lesson to those wishing to make this :)

To prepare kale raw, you need to massage the kale with the dressing; this breaks down the cell walls of the kale, not just making it more palatable but ensuring that your body can get to those powerhouse nutrients. 

The cheese (dip or spread) I made using nuts and sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, grape tomatoes, and then I rolled it in chili flakes. The cheese might be spicy (and of course you do not have to roll it in hot chili) but the kale and the crackers cool things down. The cracker is sun tomatoes, peppers, flax seeds, ground and dehydrated. I will make a whole batch and they keep really well in a tightly sealed jar.

Cost Breakdown:

2 bunch kale -$4

shiitake -  $2

onion, garlic, tomato: $2

crackers: $2

avocado and lemon - $2.50

  sun-tomato and almonds- $3

Total to feed a family of 8:

$15.50

Raw Kale Salad Recipe

Raw Sun-Dried Tomato Dip or Spread

Raw Flax Crackers Recipe

lima bean bake with garlic rapini

This is a perennial favorite around here. We've been making it for years; not just for the family, but as potluck dishes for recitals, parties, homeschool clubs, etc. It is amazing! The buttery bean, contrasted with the bitter, garlicky rapini is a flavor explosion! I can't go on enough about it. The cooking broth is always sopped up by the children with French or Italian bread. Mmmm.

It takes just 15 minutes to make on the stove, but requires a few hours of baking in the oven. I always overindulge on this. Oh, well.

The recipe is enough to feed a family o five, but the leftovers from this are in demand, so I always double this recipe.

Cost Breakdown:

2 cans of beans: $2.50

onion, carrot, garlic : $1.50

tomato: $1

rapini: $3

bread: $3

Total to feed a family of 5:

$11.00

toasted noodles with kale and navy beans

Tonight is Italian/Pasta Night

Although tonight's meal is not Italian, but Jewish, it is a pasta dish.


The kids love this meal and requested a repeat, especially Kate who did not want me to forget about making garlic bread! Traditionally it is simply referred to as 'fideos'; the noodles are first sauteed in olive oil and then baked with just enough vegetable broth to soften them. After baking I crispen them in the oven on broil. I added kale and navy beans this time around. I know the kids will add some Better Than Sour Cream -it is just how they roll and this can be traditional as well.

Then they'll do an un-traditional thing and put it on some fresh garlic bread. Yeah, we live adventurously here.

Cost Breakdown:

brown rice pasta: $2.50

vegetable broth (homemade): $.50

tomatoes: $2

1/2 kale: $1.50

bread: $2

garlic and onions: $.50

Better Than Sour Cream: $1

beans: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$12.00

Toasted Noodles with Greens and Beans Recipe

poblano and potato tacos

I was looking through a Rick Bayless cookbook and came across a taco recipe using poblano peppers, potatoes and swiss chard. I am always on the lookout for different taco recipes and this one fit the bill. In fact, except for the chicken stock (easy to fix) and the cream it called for, it was vegan. To sub the cream, I blended 1 c of cashews with 1/2 c of water and strained it through my milk bag. I was left with the needed 3/4 c of cream.

I love poblano peppers,leftover from living in Texas for many years, and the potatoes were an interesting addition. The cream made the tacos delicious, but the swiss chard lent too much earthiness for the kids.

Cost Breakdown:

poblanos: $3

beans: $2

chard: $3

potatoes: $2

onions, garlic, spices: $1

tacos: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$13.00