Macaroni and (not)Cheese!

A while back during a study potluck that my medical school partner was having, one of his friends from class brought this amazingly delicious macaroni dish. It was so good that I hardly realized it was vegan. But, good news: it was! So, during the most recent potluck hosted by the Vegans and Vegetarians of the Tri-Cities I decided to try my hand at making homemade creamy vegan "cheese." Below, you will find my recipe for baked Macaroni and (not)Cheese with broccoli and zucchini on top.

Baked Macaroni and (not)Cheese with Broccoli and Zucchini Topping

Ingredients:
1 block of tofu (I use Twin Oaks brand)
4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
3/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes
1 can of pumpkin puree
1/3 cup of cashews, minced
garlic powder, onion powder, dill, thyme, salt, pepper to taste
3/4 cup almond milk
1 head of broccoli, chopped up
1/2 of a large zucchini, diced

Directions:
In your food processor or blender add the tofu and almond milk and blend until it the tofu is mostly pureed. Now, add the pumpkin and continue to blend until you have a nice, creamy mixture. Now add the yeast flakes, the garlic, and other spices. Continue to blend. Finally, add the cashews and blend until you have a nice creamy mixture.

Cheese is ready to go!

Pre-heat the oven to about 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta (I used rigatoni) and steam or boil your vegetables. Once your pasta is soft (after about 8 minutes of boiling), drain it and place in a baking dish. Pour the cheese on top and mix well. Now, drain your vegetables, mix them with salt and pepper and place them on top of the pasta and cheese. You can mix the cheese over the vegetables slightly (to make sure they are all nice and cheesy too). Bake until the vegetables and cheese on top are slightly browned and the cheese is bubbly. I baked mine for about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

When Life Gives You 10 Lemons for $2...

So, a little while back I was meandering around Earth Fare, absorbing all of the beautiful colors of produce and the fine smell of wholesale herbs and spices, when BLAM! right in front of me appeared this massive crate of Meyer lemons. Affixed directly in front of this magical crate was a sign that read: "Meyer Lemons: 10 for $2". Clearly, I had no choice but to purchase them. You know, like 30 of them. So I did. Once I got them home, however, I realized I had a problem: what was I going to do with this huge ol' sack of Meyer lemons? Upon careful thought I realized that I was sadly out of orange marmalade (delicious recipe by a friend of mine here), so DING! I had an idea: make LEMON marmalade! I got online, googled around a little bit, realized that I wasn't entirely crazy for thinking that lemon marmalade sounds delicious, and created the recipe below. So, if you are a fan of marmalades, I do highly recommend this one. It's sweet, a little bitter, and overall tasty.

Vanilla Meyer Lemon Marmalade:

Ingredients:
10 Meyer lemons
6 cups of water
6 cups of sugar
1-2 vanilla bean pods, or about 3 tablespoons of vanilla extract

You will also need:
A cheesecloth
Some sterilized jars (I used 5 8 oz Ball brand jars)
A candy thermometer
I also recommend a funnel to assist with pouring the marmalade into the jars

Directions:
Chop lemons and remove seeds and any white membrane that you come across (I found that quartering the lemons worked best, then you could just cut the white membrane directly off of the center of each quarter, and pop the seeds out after that, then you could chop up the lemons further without encountering either seeds or membrane)
Place the seeds and the membrane pieces in the cheesecloth
Add the water and the chopped lemons to a large pot. Tie up the cheesecloth, with the seeds and membrane inside, and place this inside the pot also. Bring to a boil.

Seeds and Membrane in the Cheesecloth                    Tied-Up Cloth

Boil about 25-35 minutes, until the lemons are soft. Remove from heat.
Now, remove the cheesecloth from the pot, and let it cool off. Once it is cooled you can squeeze out any remaining pectin and place this into the pot of lemons.
Add the sugar and extra pectin to the pot of lemons, and bring to a rapid boil on medium high heat. Boil about 20-35 minutes. Add the vanilla after about 15 minutes of boiling. There are two tests to know when your marmalade is ready: first, you can place a plate in the freezer (while you are boiling the lemons) and when you think it is ready, you can drop a bit of marmalade on the frozen plate. If it isn't runny and wrinkles to the touch, then it is ready. A more scientific method is to use the candy thermometer. The marmalade is done at 222-223 degrees F.

Make sure your jars are ready!
Here is how to do this:
While your lemons are boiling, wash and dry your jars and jar lids with warm soapy water. After they have completely dried place the jars on a cookie sheet and bake them at 200 degrees F in the oven for at least 10 minutes. Bring a pot of water to boil and boil the lids and rings in the water.

NOW:
Carefully funnel marmalade into the sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4" of space between the top of the jar and the marmalade. Dry the lid and ring off, and affix these tightly to the jar. Do this for each jar until you run out of marmalade. You should hear the jars pop during the next few hours, this means that they are sealed.

Let your marmalade sit overnight (at least) and then enjoy!

Eastern European Night

So, after eating at a Ukrainian restaurant in New York City several months ago I have had a goal of making plum dumplings. They were soooo delicious, hearty, wholesome, a little sweet, fruity. Perfection. So, when my vegan friend came over one night and we were hungry and feeling a little creative, we ran to the store to grab some canned plums. Then we realized we probably should eat something more dinner-like also. So, the idea of vegan pierogies was created! (Because, what better to go with plum dumplings?)

So, below, find my recipes for vegan sauerkraut and potato pierogies and then vegan plum dumplings for dessert!

Vegan Sauerkraut and Potato Pierogies

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1/4 cup of oil
8 oz of vegan sour cream
3 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of baking powder

For the filling:
1 can of sauerkraut
2 cups of mashed potatoes (I boiled about 4 medium sized potatoes and mashed them with garlic)
5 tablespoons of Earth Balance vegan butter
1 cup of diced onions
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. Make the fillings: boil and mash your potatoes, stir in 1/2 cup of onions and 3 tablespoons of butter with the potatoes, add salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan (on med-low), add the sauerkraut, stir in the onions, add salt and pepper, cook for a few minutes (until everything is heated through). Now, you can combine the potatoes and sauerkraut into one filling (which is delicious!) or you can use the sauerkraut and potatoes each as separate fillings. I did all three (I had one bowl of sauerkraut and potato filling, one bowl of sauerkraut filling, and one bowl of potato filling). 


2. Make the dough: beat the oil and sour cream together, set aside. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together, stir this into the sour cream mixture. Knead until you have a relatively firm, but soft, dough.  I let my dough sit, covered, for about 10 minutes.

3. I have these handy dough cutters and folders, where all I have to do is cut a circle out of my rolled out dough, place the circle in the center of the dough folder, add the filling, sprinkle some water on the edges of dough, and fold. However, if you do not have these handy dough folders, you can easily fold your pierogies by hand (I just am really bad at this). So, what you need to do is roll out your dough to about 1/4" consistency, and then cut circles of about 2" in diameter out. You will then hold a dough circle between your thumb and forefinger, place about 1/2 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the dough circle. Now, line the outer edges of the dough with a little water, and fold together. Use your fingers to pinch the outer edge of the dough, to ensure that it is well stuck together. Do this until you run out of dough.

The first picture is of a dough circle in one of my handy dough folders. The second picture is of pierogies that have already been folded, and me adding filling to another.

4. Fill up a large pot about 1/2 full with salted water and bring to a boil. Add the pierogies, 4-5 at a time, and boil until they float to the top (3-5 minutes). We then melted some vegan butter with minced garlic in a bowl to serve as a dipping sauce for them.

A cooked pierogi!

 Now, for dessert!

Vegan Plum Dumplings:

Ingredients:
(for the pastry)
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of oil
2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening or vegan butter
1 cup of mashed potatoes

(for the filling)
1 can of pitted, whole plums

(for the sauce)
1/2 cup of vegan butter
1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of flour


Directions:
1. Drain the can of plums, saving some of the plum syrup to add to your sauce later. Set aside and make the dough. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add potatoes (mix in with a fork or dough cutter), and then add the oil and shortening/butter (also mix in with a fork or dough cutter, until well incorporated). Knead until you have a firm, soft dough. Let sit for about 10 minutes, covered.

2. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/4" thick, and cut circles out of it like you did with the pierogies. Take one whole circle, put the plum in the middle of it, then add another circle on top. Wet the edges of the two circles where they will meet, and pinch them together tightly all the way around. Do this until you run out of plums.

Putting plums in dough circles!

3. Fill a pot about 1/2 full with salted water and boil. Boil the dumplings for 5-7 minutes. Remove from boiling water, strain. Now, heat oil in a frying pan (I used my cast-iron wok), and fry the dumplings until they are golden brown.

Frying the dumplings, after they have been boiled

4. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a frying pan, stir in the sugar and the plum syrup you saved earlier. Stir frequently for about 3-5 minutes, until the sugar is incorporated. Now, add the flour, and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened. Pour the sauce over the dumplings in a large bowl, make sure the dumplings have been well coated.

Serve and enjoy!

Our meal!

Mediterranean One-Crust Pie to Keep You Warm (and Full)

First of all I need to give you some excuses as to why I've been slacking on my job of helping you find delicious vegan/vegetarian meals. I started graduate school. And I think that sums it up. So, in the 30 minutes extra I have per week, I have been taking naps, or showering, or something like that. However, I think it is important to continue my mission here, and, thanks to an arthritic-induced day at home, I am here to give you some new recipes. I know you will love them.

So, for starters, I received this pretty amazing book for Christmas from one of my friends, it is simply called "Vegetarian" (subtitle: "Over 300 Healthy and Wholesome Recipes Chosen from Around the World") consultant editor is: Nicola Graimes. The book is pretty amazing. It is not, however, entirely vegan friendly. So, I have been working through it and "veganizing" many of the recipes I have made.

In the midst of a cold, snowy January day, in order to enliven our souls and eat some vegetables, I decided to veganize a recipe entitled "Mediterranean One-Crust Pie." Let me tell you! This is one of the best meals you will eat in your life (if you're all about some veggies). We loved it!

So, without further adieu, my vegan version of the Mediterranean One-Crust Pie:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds of eggplant (cubed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4-5 asparagus, cut into 3-4 pieces each
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
1 1/2 cup canned red kidney beans, or chili bean mix (drained)
1 cup of pitted black Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in 2-2 1/2 tablespoons of water
salt and black pepper

(note: You can use any vegetables you think would go with this; the original recipe called for red peppers--which I hate--but did not use asparagus, mushrooms or tomatoes. I found that they added a delicious taste, though. So, really, play around with this.)

(for the pastry shell)
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
6 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425; now, to make the pastry: sift the two flours together, using a fork or dough cutter mix in the vegan butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Mix in cold water (by the tablespoon, maybe about 8 tablespoons total) until you can form a firm dough with the flour mixture. Knead the dough for about a minute on a floured surface, wrap it up and let it refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Make the filling: cube the eggplant, place it in a strainer, salt it and let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse it and dry it. While the eggplant is sitting go ahead and mince your garlic, and wash and cut your asparagus. Now, heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Fry the onions for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes, add the asparagus, garlic, and oregano, salt and pepper and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring consistently now. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms, let cook for a couple more minutes. Add the beans and olives, let cook until everything is fully heated through, stirring frequently, and then set aside to cool.

3. Now, roll out your dough to about a 12" round. Place your dough in a lightly greased pie pan, or on a lightly greased baking sheet (if your dough is pretty firm and can hold its own). Brush some of the cornstarch mixture onto the dough. Now, add the filling and gather up the dough to mostly cover the filling. It should be like a little basket or bowl, holding the filling in but open on top. Brush the outside of the dough with the remaining cornstarch mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden. Add oregano and salt and pepper to the pie when it comes out of the oven.

Enjoy!
 

It's a New Year!

Hello everyone! In case you missed it we are, in fact, beginning an entirely new year. 2011 to be exact. And, as you have probably figured out by now if you browse through this blog, I am from the south (south-east, Appalachia to be precise), and I had to celebrate this new year in Southern style...black eyed peas and collard greens! Black peas are a traditional New Year's meal in this region, and symbolize good luck and prosperity for the new year. Greens, eaten along with black eyed peas, symbolize folding money, and enhance the prosperity capabilities of the peas. This tradition has apparently been in this area for about 300 years, though black eyed peas have been eaten throughout India and Africa for thousands of years. So, there you have some history and magic, now, onto the recipes!!


Hoppin' John

Ingredients:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
2 medium onions, minced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1-2 chile peppers, diced
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
3-4 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 green onions, sliced
Liquid smoke (4-5 dashes)

Directions:
 Prepare your dried black eyed peas by soaking them in water the night before, or by covering them in water and boiling them for 2 minutes, simmering for 15, and then letting them sit for 1 hour. After they have soaked for 1 hour, drain and rinse them, then return them to their pot, cover them in about 1" of water, boil them for 2 minutes, and then let them simmer for 2-4 hours (until they are soft).  Or you can purchase canned or pre-soaked black eyed peas.

Now:
In a pan, heat some oil and add the minced garlic and onions. Let this cook for a few minutes.
Add the black eyed peas, cover in water (only slightly) and let them boil for about 20 minutes.
While they are boiling, prepare your rice (boil 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water, then let it simmer on low until the water is gone)
Once most of the water has boiled out of the peas, add the rest of your ingredients, seasonings and the rice. You may add more or less of anything according to your taste.  Let them simmer a couple of minutes longer, and then serve.


You may find a recipe for collard greens here.

Now, you will need some delicious cornbread to finish off your meal. Below is a recipe that I found once upon a time, and cannot remember where it is from. But it is vegan, amazingly moist, and always makes the perfect cornbread.

Vegan Jalapeno Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of soy or almond milk
2 tsp of  lemon juice
1 2/3 cups of flour
1 cup of cornmeal
4 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp of salt
1 jalapeno, minced
2 cups of sweet cream corn
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of syrup


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375
In one bowl mix the soy/almond milk and lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and jalapenos
Mix 1 cup of sweet cream corn with the syrup, then add the soy/almond milk mixture to this.
Now, mix in the flour mixture, and stir well.
Grease a baking dish, and bake for about 25 minutes.
Spread the remaining 1 cup of corn on top of the cornbread, and bake 5-10 more minutes.
(note: baking time may be longer, the first time I made this cornbread I had to bake it about 45 minutes, as it turns out very moist, the second time took only 30, so check the consistency with a toothpick after 25 minutes and decide how much longer to bake it from there)
Let it cool for about 7 minutes, then cut and serve!


Wishing wealth, health, luck, and good will to all! Happy New Year!

A Cold Winter's Soup

I haven't really had soup this year. As in, I mean that I have not even had soup once this entire year, as best as I can recall. So when it started to get really cold outside and a facebook friend of mine posted a link to a recipe entitled "Chickpea and Bread Soup," I was thoroughly intrigued and decided it was time I ended my unintentionally anti-soup diet and try it out.

Below you will find my tweaked recipe, taken from this website: Bitchin' Camero

Vegan Chickpea and Bread Soup

Ingredients:
oil for frying
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of onion, chopped
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup of sweet dumpling squash, peeled and cut up
1/2 cup of freshly diced tomatoes
3 cups of vegetable broth
sage, thyme, parsley
1 cup of vegan bread, toasted and chopped into cubes

Directions:
In a pan heat oil, add garlic and onions, saute for about 2-3 minutes.
Add chickpeas, let them toast well on all sides stirring about every 4 minutes or so
Add vegetable broth, squash, tomatoes, and herbs. Bring to a boil.
Boil for about 7-10 minutes, until squash is soft, stirring occasionally.
Turn off heat and stir in bread.

Soup about to boil

Enjoy!

Southern Savory

So, despite my absence from posting recipes as of late, I am, in fact, still eating. In fact, eating so much that I haven't had time to post blogs. It is the holiday season, after all. Really, though, what else is there to do when you have a blizzard brewing outside? There's only so many books you can read, presents you can wrap, and house to be cleaned. Therefore, I've been cooking up something of a storm (as us fine Appalachian folk would say). To rekindle my blogging inspiration this post will describe a deliciously savory holiday-style southern feast, complete with a perfectly holiday squash dessert crisp. So grab your pots, pans, baking dishes and enjoy!


Savory Vegan Nut Roast with Hearty Mushroom Gravy

Roast Ingredients:
Oil for frying
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of flour
1 1/4 cup of vegetable stock
1 1/2 cup of finely chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds, walnuts, and cashews)
3 cups of breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of soy/tamari sauce
1/2 teaspoon each of sage, thyme, parsley
1 cup of mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
extra flour to coat
extra vegetable stock to baste

Directions:
Fry onion, garlic, and mushrooms.
Sprinkle flour on top of this, add vegetable stock, and boil.
Turn this down to a simmer, stir in nuts, breadcrumbs, soy/tamari sauce, and seasoning herbs and salt and pepper
Shape into a loaf on a floured board, then coat the top with flour
Place in a baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, basting with additional vegetable stock about every 10 minutes

Mushroom Gravy Ingredients:
(note: this recipe comes from an AMAZING book called "Country Wisdom and Know How: Everything You Need to Know to Live Off the Land." In fact, it is so useful that everyone should have a copy of this book.)

3 tablespoons of butter (I use vegan butter)
1 small onion, diced
2 1/2 cups of mushrooms, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
garlic salt
liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Melt the butter in a pan, then add onion and mushrooms.
Saute for about 2-3 minutes
Add flour and mix well
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring frequently
Remove from heat, and add half of the gravy over the nut roast in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Serve the rest on the side for additional gravy


Southern Style Mashed Turnips
1 large turnip (you can find some really good, large turnips at your local farmer's market!)
salt and pepper
3 strips of Vegan/Vegetarian bacon
liquid smoke

Directions:
Wash and cut the turnip up into small cubes
Boil for about 10 minutes, or until tender
While the turnip is boiling, heat some oil in a frying pan and add your veggie bacon
Season the bacon with salt, pepper, and liquid smoke (on both sides)
Once your bacon is well cooked, remove it from heat and set it aside.
Once your turnips are soft, drain them, and mash them. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, and liquid smoke to taste.


You can find additional Southern-style side dishes here. In this meal, I also had collard greens, but really you could use any side that you want.

Roast, turnips, and collards! 

Now, time for a savory winter squash dessert:

Savory Fall Crisp

Ingredients:
2 apples, washed, peeled, and sliced
1 cup of pumpkin , peeled and cubed   (note: do not used canned pumpkin or pumpkin mush, you will actually have to buy a whole pumpkin and cut it up yourself, on the bright side this will give you plenty of seeds to start your pumpkin patch with next year)
1/2 cup of sweet dumpling squash, peeled and cubed (farmer's markets have a great selection of local sweet dumpling squash!)
1/2 cup of raisins
1 cup of flour
1 cup of oats
1 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter (as always, I use vegan butter)
1/4 cup of water
cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice

Directions:
Place the apples, pumpkin, squash, and raisins in a lightly greased baking dish (make sure to mix them up well)
Mix about 1 tablespoon of flour with the white sugar, add cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice (to your preference) and then place this over the apple mixture in the pan.
Add the water, making sure it is spread evenly over all of the apples/pumpkin/squash
Now, in a separate bowl mix the rest of the flour, the oats, and the brown sugar. Cut the butter in, until it is well mixed and has a crumbly texture.
Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the apples/squash/raisins and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!