Vegan Salami, Using Tapioca Pearls

I read somewhere that a chef used tapioca pearls in a dish to mimic fat.  Intrigued, I delved a little deeper into the subject, and found that vegans were already using them in seitan to improve texture.  I also found that you must use instant tapioca, so that it would actually cook through properly.  The tiny beads are barely recognizable in this, but I think it does add more softness and a little "bounce" to the texture.  Also, it does mimic the fat left on the tongue after eating salami.

This recipe tastes A LOT like salami, and slices thin (not paper thin, but pretty thin)!  

Ingredients:

1 C. celery, chopped

1 C. yellow onion, chopped

pinch of salt to saute

-----------------------------------

3/4 C. water

2 cloves garlic

1/4 C. soy sauce or tamari

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. liquid smoke

3 T. tomato paste (can substitute with ketchup)

2/3 C. nutritional yeast flakes

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 T. smoked paprika

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

-----------------------------------

1/2 C. minute tapioca pearls

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns (or cracked if you prefer)

2 C. vital wheat gluten

Spinz:

Without any oil, saute the celery and onion with the pinch of salt in a non-stick skillet until tender.  

Transfer to a food processor with water, garlic, soy sauce, salt, liquid smoke, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, fennel, paprika, and olive oil.  Blend until pretty smooth (no big chunks).  

In a mixing bowl, mix tapioca pearls, peppercorns, and wheat gluten.  Add the wet mixture and mix until it becomes a stiff dough.  Get your hands in there and knead it until everything is well incorporated.  Roll into a couple of tubes and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.  Steam or pressure cook until firm (about 45 minutes) with indirect water.  (Optional for dryer texture) Remove from foil, brush with olive oil, and bake for 30 minutes in the oven, turning mid-way through.  Let cool a bit before cutting.

Quick Vegan Meatballs

These little babies hold together well, and are deliciously easy to make.  And on the plus side for me, it feeds up to 10 people!

Saturdays are often "Semi-Homemade Saturdays," because I usually need to throw something together quick for the guys, before they go off to the club.  These were made with a package of Tofurkey Italian sausages and a can of organic chickpeas as the main ingredients.  I also added a little seasoned TVP for extra texture, but that's optional.

They're nice and crispy on the outside, and tender pillows of flavor on the inside.

Makes about 42 one-inch meatballs

Ingredients:

1 package of Tofurkey Italian style sausages (four links)

1 15oz. can chickpeas (drained)

1/4 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. dried oregano

pinch of salt & pepper

(Optional for added texture)

1/3 C. TVP granules

1 tsp. nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp. dried basil

pinch of salt

1/4 C. hot water

Spinz:

In a food processor, throw in sausages that have been cut into rough chunks, drained chickpeas, and seasonings.  Pulse until mixture starts to clump together and push against the walls (it should be finely chopped but not pureed).  Scrape down the sides and add flour.  Pulse until combined- if it's too stiff to spin, dump out into a bowl and knead with your hands.  

Optional TVP:  In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients except water.  Pour in hot water and stir until TVP is hydrated and fluffy.  Add this to the previous mixture and knead in with your hands.

Form into 1-inch meatballs.

To cook, add vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a skillet.  Put meatballs into the pan when hot, leaving room  to roll around and brown on all sides.  

Vegan Ham and Yam Cracklins

Meat analog. Is there any less appetizing way to describe vegan meat? Just using the word "meat" doesn't seem right either, given that our diets are meat-free. I propose we come up with another name- an entirely new word, perhaps. Something that sounds yummy, and not like something a replicator on the Starship Enterprise would produce. Any suggestions?


How about saplatein?
Etymology: from the root words, satisfying, plant, and protein


Or maybe protegan?
Etymology: from the root words, protein and vegan


Anyway, it's not meat that I crave- it's the texture. Chewy, dense, tender, and fibrous... yes, fibrous. If you look closely at any good faux chicken or beef on the market, you will notice... fibers. Without them, the wheat gluten and soy protein only offer a good chewy texture, but no fibrous texture. On the ingredients labels of faux meats (another term I really hate) from Taiwan, I've seen everything from mushroom and pea fiber to ambiguous "vegetable fiber." The mouth feel of these saplateins (hey, maybe it'll catch on!) is definitely different than the homemade seitan I'm used to- much more like real meat. SO... I thought I'd experiment a little.

Scouring online, I found that there are really no sources of "vegetable fiber" on the market for this type of use. So then I got to thinking about vegetables that are naturally tough to chew and fibrous, even when cooked. One of my first thoughts was celery. It's very fibrous as well as inexpensive... nice!

Although this is in no way just like ham, it turned out delicious, and with great texture ( I couldn't stop eating it). If you look closely, you can see the little strands of celery poking out. It's a subtle textural thing, and I think I will experiment with other types of fiber in future batches too. Corn, asparagus, and peas come to mind.

Yam Cracklins

One of the best parts of a roast is the crunch of the "skin." Pork cracklins was one of my Filipino Mother-in-Law's favorite foods, and I remember having it once or twice before I went vegan. It was crunchy, fatty, and savory. This version is A LOT less fatty, even though it's deep fried, but it offers a good satisfying savory crunch that complements the roast, or can be eaten by itself.


Vegan Ham Roast (Serves 4-6 people)


Ingredients:
Roast
1 1/2 C. celery (roughly chopped into 1/2" pieces)
1 C. onion (also roughly chopped)
pinch of salt for saute
7 oz. firm tofu (1/2 of a 14oz. block)
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. soy sauce
2 tsp. liquid smoke
3 T. tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
2/3 C. nutritional yeast flakes
3/4 tsp. salt
2 C. vital wheat gluten
extra virgin olive oil for brushing


Maple Glaze
2 T. maple syrup
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil


Spinz
1) Saute celery and onions in a dry non-stick pan at medium-high heat with a sprinkling of salt. This will help get most of the moisture out of the vegetables, leaving the fibers more condensed. Do not add any oil or water. Stir often- if it starts to brown too much, turn down the heat. When the onions are translucent and very little steam is coming out, turn off heat and set aside.
2) In a food processor, mix all other ingredients except for the wheat gluten and olive oil, until smooth. 3) Add the celery and onions to the food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are finely minced. You don't want it too chunky, otherwise it'll be more like meatloaf (the resulting mixture looks like creamy oatmeal).
4) Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl, and add the vital wheat gluten. Mix until fully combined, then knead for a few minutes.
5) Form the soft dough onto a large sheet of aluminum foil. Fold up the sides snugly, but not extremely tight, as it will expand a little while cooking.
6) Pressure cook on a rack above water for 30 minutes, up to an hour if steaming.
7) Transfer the roast to a casserole dish or pan, and open the foil. Cut a shallow criss-cross pattern on top with a sharp knife. Brush on a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil, and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
8) Whisk together the Maple Glaze with a fork. Brush generously onto roast and bake for another 15-20 minutes until caramelized.
9) It will be done when it's no longer soft and bounces back to the touch.

Yam Cracklins

Ingredients
Skin of 1-2 yams (I picked longer ones) to make about two dozen strips
1 C. water
2 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. your favorite grilling herbs (thyme, black pepper, lemon zest, etc.)
1/4 C. nutritional yeast flakes

Spinz

Peel the yams with a good vegetable peeler to make the strips. Save the yams for another dish.

Mix the marinade in an appropriate container. Lay strips to soak for about an hour (or longer).

Heat oil to fry, then pat strips gently with a paper towel to remove excess liquid. Fry until golden and crisp, then drain to remove excess oil.

Super Colossal Vegan Roast

...or more affectionately named "Tofurken."

Thanksgiving. A holiday created by Americans to reflect and appreciate, to spend time with family and celebrate the coming of Autumn and all its beauty. But let's face it- the most important thing about Thanksgiving is THE FOOD. It could be described as an obsession. The one day of the year when an entire nation actually prepares to feast. An elastic wasteband and a cozy chair for napping afterwards is a prerequisite for any guest, but if you're the cook- it's last-minute dashes to the grocery store for forgotten items, mountains of things to chop, and a multi-tasking marathon around the entire kitchen... All for the preparation of a meal that really represents our motto when it comes to Thanksgiving meals- "the bigger, the better!"

Of course, this motto has gotten us into a lot of trouble healthwise, but it's a VEGAN Thanksgiving around here, so what the Hell? In compliance with this motto, I decided to take all of the most popular vegan proteins and put them into one colossal roast!

Vegan sausage wrapped in green chard, surrounded by lemon cashew tofu, then wrapped in a chickpea tvp seitan, and topped with tempeh bacon

Ingredients:

Tempeh Bacon
half pkg. WestSoy multi-grain tempeh, sliced thin
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. soy sauce
pinch of salt
1 T. nutritional yeast
dash of liquid smoke
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
dash of garlic powder


Seitan
1 C. vital wheat gluten
1 C. TVP (textured veg protein granules)
2-3 T. vegetable oil (for saute)
1 C. yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 C. cooked chickpeas
1 C. water
1/3 C. nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. rubbed dried sage
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. celery seeds

Tofu
1 14oz. pkg extra firm tofu, pressed and drained
1/2 C. cashew ricotta (or soaked in hot water until softened, then drained)
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. lemon juice
pinch of garlic powder
salt to taste


Wrapped Sausage
1 pkg (4-pack) Tofurkey Italian sausage, or your favorite sausage
4 large green Swiss chard leaves


Spinz:

Wrap sausage: Blanch chard leaves one by one in a large pot of boiling water for a few seconds until just wilted (too long and they will fall apart easily), then transfer to a bowl of cold water. Lay one leaf on your work surface, patting dry gently with a towel. Use a knife to cut the main stem out, then carefully place the leaves side by side. Starting at one end, roll one sausage in the leaf until completely wrapped. Set aside.
Prepare Tofu: Put all ingredients into a food processor. The mixture should stick together but still have some lumps (not completely smooth). Taste and add more salt if needed. Set aside.
Prepare Seitan: Mix wheat gluten and TVP in a large bowl and set aside. Saute the onions and garlic in 2-3 T. of oil until softened and carmelized. Transfer this to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until fairly smooth (a few chunks are ok). Add wet mixture to the dry until completely incorporated- use your hands to knead a little..
Roll Seitan: Lay down a large sheet of plastic wrap, set seitan dough onto wrap, then place another layer on top before rolling out (this makes it easier to roll and assemble). Roll until about 1/4 - 1/2" thick, depending on size needed to encompass the sausages.
Spread Tofu: Remove top layer of plastic wrap (leaving bottom layer). Spread tofu mixture evenly onto the seitan, reserving some to spread in between and on top of the sausages. Do not spread all the way to the edges as shown.
Stack Sausages: Two on the bottom, and two on the top, with a little tofu in the middle.
Finish Tofu: Spread the remaining tofu on top and down the sides of your sausage "tower."
Assemble: Using the edges of the plastic wrap, pull up opposite edges and press the dough together to seal on top. Then press side edges to complete the seal. Make sure to pull it tight and gently squeeze and mold to shape.
Cook: Put the roast onto two layers of aluminum foil and wrap tightly. Steam for 45 minutes- 1 hour or until the surface springs back to the touch.
Add Tempeh: Brush on tempeh marinade on top of cooked seitan roast. Lay tempeh slices on top, then brush with more marinade. Broil in the oven to crisp up the tempeh, or use a torch like I did.

Reviews: I liked it much better than any of the store-bought roasts. Mark (the omnivore) preferred my Tempeh Roulade over this one, and I have to agree, but this one is prettier. Mike slathered it with green bean casserole and was lovin' it.

Update: This roast tastes even more amazing the next day! I would definitely make this again, but a day ahead to reheat later.

Tempeh Roulade en Croute

 

Here's how my typical vegan Thanksgiving goes:  
Stuffing- check.  Cranberry sauce- check.  Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie- check, check, check.  Vegan turkey substitute... ugh!

Let's face it- side dishes are a breeze, but the tasty proteins that we usually eat may not be as grandiose as we'd like for Thanksgiving. And no self-respecting vegan wants to be shown up by a turkey (although that's happened to me plenty of times).  Sure, I've thrown up my hands before, and declared a big "F" on faux meat! But I realize that giving up so easily is just plain laziness, and a big lack of creativity... that's just not me. I'm the chick that makes her own rocks.

So here's one clever way to make something meaty, with that "wow" factor for your vegan Thanksgiving dinner plate- much better than heating up a frozen pre-made thingy that you bought last minute at the grocery store! 


Ingredients:
1 package tempeh, or multi-grain tempeh*
Marinade for Tempeh:
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. soy sauce or tamari
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper, thyme, sage, and celery salt or
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
Stuffing:
2 links of your favorite vegan sausage (I used Tofurkey Italian Style)
1/2 C. yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. carrot, finely chopped
1/2 C. celery, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 C. bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)
1 C. vegetable broth
splash of white wine (optional)
salt to taste
Pastry:
1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 C. refrigerated vegetable shortening (I used non-hydrogenated)
1/4 C. or more ice cold water
small amount of plain soy creamer for finishing

Spinz:
1. Roll the tempeh.  I used Trader Joe's multi-grain, which crumbled more than I would like, and I think the West Soy brand would hold up better, since it's also easier to slice than the Trader Joe's brand. Update: West Soy is actually more crumbly, so I'm sticking with Trader Joe's brand for now!
Let the tempeh come to room temperature before rolling out.  Spread a piece of plastic wrap under your tempeh.  Press evenly in all directions with a rolling pin to flatten slightly.  Roll to flatten further to about 1/2 inch thickness, being careful not to break the edges.
2. Marinate the tempeh.  Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.  With a pastry brush, brush on the mixture evenly over one side of the tempeh.  
3. Cover.  Place another piece of plastic wrap over the tempeh, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Prepare the pastry. Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the cold shortening until fully incorporated into the flour with pea-sized lumps.  Add cold water gradually, pressing into the dough with mixing spoon.  Use hands to quickly press into a ball. Flatten into an inch-thick disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Make the sausage stuffing.  Heat a saute pan to medium-high, add 1-2 T. oil.  Saute the onions and carrots for a few minutes (adding salt), then add the celery, garlic, and sausage. Saute until vegetables and sausage are slightly brown on the edges, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add bread crumbs and seasonings and saute for a couple minutes, then add water and wine and cover until slightly reduced.  The result should be a stuffing that sticks together when pressed.  Let the stuffing cool down before the next step.
6. Make the roulade.  Unwrap the unseasoned side of the tempeh, leaving the plastic wrap on the bottom side.  Spread the stuffing evenly over the tempeh, leaving some room at the end to close the roll (see pics above).  Carefully lift the starting end with the plastic, squeezing slightly as you roll to keep its shape. Use the plastic to help roll- squeeze, then lift plastic, repeat. Don't worry if some of the tempeh crumbles off- just press it back in.  Wrap the finished roll tightly in plastic (you may need an additional piece).  Refrigerate while you roll out the pastry dough.
7. Roll out the dough.  You'll want it to be 1/4" thick, in one large piece, large enough to wrap your roll.  Unwrap and place your roulade in the middle of your pastry dough.  Wrap around lengthwise, then pinch together at each end.  Use any leftover dough to make decorative shapes to place at the ends and on top.

Put onto a prepared baking sheet, and bake at 375 F for about 30 minutes, or until golden. To give it some shine, you can brush on some soy creamer 10 minutes before finishing.

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.  Hold firmly and use a sharp serrated knife.

Serve with your favorite gravy.

This was very hearty and tasty, and even meat-eating Mark said he'd be happy with this on his Thanksgiving plate!  You can prepare the roulade ahead of time, and wrap and bake on the day of. 

Vegan Hot Dog, v. 1.0

I was craving a hot dog the other day- one of those old fashioned, nitrite-filled rat part cravings (yes I am ashamed)... and I thought to myself, "Why spend five bucks on four little veggie dogs that don't even fit in the fricken buns? I mean, how hard could it be to make some?"

Well, as it turns out... it ain't that easy. What does a gal have to do to make a good simulation of processed meat? Haha! There has been a couple of "beta" versions before version 1.0, so I am making progress.

This dog was a little on the bland side (needed more salt, seasoning, etc.), but the texture was really good, and it tasted pretty good with all the fixings piled on it. I think it would be better as a burger though. I might do less TVP next time. Any thoughts out there on how to improve the texture, let me know! I read the ingredients in most commercial brands, and they contain agar, which I might throw in too.

I added beet juice to make it pink, but it turned out brown after cooking.

Grilled to get those cool marks!

Makes 8 Jumbo Dogs

Ingredients:
1/2 C. fresh white button mushrooms (about 2 large mushrooms)
1/2 block (7 oz.) extra firm tofu
1 tsp. salt (I would add 1/2 tsp. or more next time)
3 T. tomato ketchup
1/3 C. nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic
2 T. ground flax seeds
1/2 C. beet juice
1/2 C. water
2 T. extra virgin olive oil (plus a little extra for brushing)
1 C. vital wheat gluten
1 C. TVP (granulated kind)

Spinz:
Throw everything but the wheat gluten and TVP into a food processor and spin until smooth. Incorporate the last two ingredients half a cup at a time (still in the food processor) until a soft ball forms. Turn it out onto a flat surface and shape into a round form. Cut into eight equal parts, and roll into hot dog shape. Wrap tightly in foil and steam for about 30-40 minutes until firm. Brush with a little olive oil and cook briefly on a grill on all sides.

All kidding aside, these are pretty easy to make if you have a food processor- so easy, I barely left my barstools. For my next post, I will be doing my first GIVE AWAY! Hint: it's a cool kitchen gadget that you probably don't have, but have always wanted to play with. That being said... stay tuned!

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Fried Rice

After two weeks of the flu, I'm ready to do more in the kitchen than retrieve instant soup from the microwave. And since it's getting colder- less than 80 degrees (yeah, California's a biotch), I thought I'd make something that'll warm you up!

Our habanero peppers are in peak ripeness, and what better way to use them than in a dish that invokes thoughts of warm breezes and sand between your toes? Ok, not much of a stretch since I'm in Cali, but not everyone here lives near the beach! Really!

Anyway... the jerk tofu is rather spicy, so if you want to tone it down, use less habanero.

Jerk Tofu
Ingredients:

14oz. block of frozen tofu, thawed (you can do 2 packages, but there won't be a lot of sauce left over)
1 C. orange juice
juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. olive oil
2 T. brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. fresh minced ginger
1/3 C. nutritional yeast
2 T. balsamic vinegar (I used a blackberry ginger flavored vinegar, which was a gift- Thanks, Annie!)
1/2 C. chopped green onions
pinch of ground black pepper
1 habanero pepper
all-purpose flour for dredging

Spinz:
Drain and gently squeeze out as much water from the thawed tofu. Slice into 1/2" pieces and place onto a towel to further drain. Throw all other ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Be careful with handling the habanero- don't get any juice on your hands! Marinate the tofu for about an hour. Scrape off excess marinade and lightly coat with flour. Fry in a little oil in a skillet until both sides are golden and crispy. Save the marinade and heat until thick and bubbly. You can use this to drizzle onto your tofu as a sauce.

Pineapple Fried Rice
Ingredients:

Olive oil (or other veg oil)
Rice (amount of choice)
Vegetable Broth (low sodium)
Chopped pineapple
Green onions, chopped
Garlic, minced
Cilantro, chopped
Soy sauce
salt

Spinz:
Theres no measuring here- go on taste and instinct! Steam your rice with the vegetable broth instead of water. If you have leftover rice from take-out, you can use that, but add a veg bouillon cube to your skillet before adding the rice (low sodium or unsalted preferred). Put the pineapple in a towel and squeeze out all of the juice (you want it to be dry so the moisture doesn't turn your rice into mush). Heat the oil in your wok or large skillet until hot. There should be enough oil to coat all the herbs and to slightly coat your rice. Add the onions, garlic, cilantro, and pineapple and stir fry for a few minutes. Add your rice, add soy sauce and salt to taste, and mix well. Be careful not to burn the bottom.

Serve with fried plantains and greens.

Lighting Fast Seitan Cutlets With Amaranth and Miso Almond Gravy

Crispy, tender, but not too chewy seitan cutlets that literally take 15 minutes to make! Serve with a side of onion and garlic amaranth and miso almond gravy.

Amaranth was the original focus of cooking tonight, because I had never tried it and was eager to test it out. It's a fine grain that looks like fish roe and tastes like a fine couscous when cooked. It has a nutty, faintly bitter taste, and has a sticky overall texture, yet pops with the grains intact. Please let me know if I cooked this the wrong way, as I'm not sure if I used too much water in the cooking process. I'm sure there are MANY different ways to prepare this.

The seitan was a secondary thought, as I wanted to make a complete meal and not be lazy! As it turns out, I WAS being lazy, and wanted to make it up quick. I know from experience that wheat gluten turns out chewy and, well, GROSS if you don't take the time to cook it right. So I added in both firm tofu and black mushrooms to help with the texture.

Verdict? The partially omni household all gave it a thumbs up, with a few "maybe's" concerning the amaranth and its unusual texture. Mark, my resident omni chef and most scrutinizing critic, said the cutlets and gravy were "pretty damn good!" and even liked the amaranth.

Seitan Cutlets:
(makes about 8-10 thin cutlets)

2 C. vital wheat gluten
1/2 block extra firm tofu
6 fresh black mushrooms (about 1 1/2 C.)
1 tsp. grated ginger
2-3 T. soy sauce
1/2 C. water
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
salt (optional)
1 medium carrot

Spinz:

Place wheat gluten in a large bowl. In a food processor, blend all remaining ingredients, except for the carrots, until smooth. Add carrots and process until small but still chuncky. Add wet mixture to the gluten and mix until a smooth dough forms (no need to knead).

Form into a log shape, and cut 1/2-3/4" slices. Put a slice on a flat surface (no flour needed), and push from the center outward to flatten as thinly as possible, which is very quick and easy!

Fry in a skillet for a few minutes on each side, until their golden and crispy.

Miso Almond Gravy:

1 C. almonds
2-3 T. white miso paste
1- 1 1/2C. water (depends on desired thickness)

Spinz:

Grind up almonds to a fine meal. Add miso paste and water and puree until well combined. Heat on the stove for a few minutes until heated through. Add more water if a thinner gravy is desired. Add chopped green onions and turn off heat. Serve warm.

Onion & Garlic Amaranth:

Saute 1/2 chopped onion until tender and brown, add a few cloves of minced garlic and stir fry for a few minutes. Add 2 cups amaranth and toss until mixed and coated with the oil. Add 3 cups of water and cover. Check and stir often so as not to burn the bottom. The grain will turn a darker brown when done. In hindsight, using a rice cooker could save a lot of effort! Season with salt to taste.

Another useful tip: I pulled out my good 'ol Foreman Grill to grill my veggies - just cut them and tossed them in there for about 6-8 minutes.

New England Clamless Chowder and Fried Chickn

This soup was inspired by the current issue of Veg News, and the chowder recipe by Allison Rivers Samson (my hero when it comes to cashews). It's a creamy, decadent, soup with mushrooms to take the place of the clams. The cashews give it an unbelievable richness, but could be left out if you want to go lower-fat. To me, it's very much like clam chowder, but it doesn't have that clammy-seafood flavor (which is fine with me). My friend suggested adding a little vegetarian fish sauce (found in Asian markets), which sounded intriguing. So she added some to her bowl, and liked it, but made the comment that the salt would have to be reduced in the recipe to compensate for the salt in the "fish" sauce.

The base of this soup (cauliflower, potato, cashews, onions, & broth) could easily be made into any creamy soup you can imagine!

I cheated again with another Asian faux meat (been doing that a lot lately)... for the Fried Chick'n, I used these ingenious drumstick-shaped faux meat on a stick. They come in packages of 6 or 12. One note of caution: Make sure to read the ingredients label- some of these faux meats contain eggs or whey(milk product). I simply battered them in a mixture of flour, cold water, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (resembling thin pancake batter). Then, dredged them in panko bread crumbs and fried them in a little oil at the bottom of a big skillet- turning them once to fry both sides). I must say, these are VERY much like real chicken, it's a bit scary.




















Accompanying them, are some delicious crispy roasted kale - stripped leaves tossed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roasted in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes (careful not to burn).

Chowder

This makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes (about 3 C. chopped)
2 C. chopped mushrooms (the original recipe called for oyster mushrooms, but I used plain old white button mushrooms)
oil for saute & roasting
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium head of cauliflower (about 3 C. chopped)
1/4 C. broth powder
5 C. water
1 C. raw cashews
salt, pepper to taste
vegetarian fish sauce to taste (optional)

Spinz:

In a sauce pan, put half of the chopped potatoes (1 1/2 C.) with enough water to cover. Cover the pan and boil until potatoes are tender.
Heat your oven to 425 degrees, and toss mushrooms in a little oil, salt , and pepper, then spread onto a sheet pan and roast for about 5-6 minutes.
In a large soup pot, add a little oil and saute the onions on med-high heat (do not brown) for a few minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute or so. Add the cauliflower and remaining potatoes, and broth powder, and toss together. Add the water and let simmer until everything is tender.
In a food processor, process the cashews until you get a fine crumble. Add about 1/2 C. of the broth in the pot to the processor and spin until smooth and creamy.
Add the cashew mixture to the soup and mix well. When veggies are tender, turn off the heat and puree the soup until smooth, using a stick blender. Mix in the remaining cooked potatoes (drained) and mushrooms, and season to taste.

Seitan Roast #3

This is the latest seitan roast (although it's not roasted, but steamed). I was very pleased with the texture-the right amount of chewy vs. tender! The flavor was good, but could use a bit more seasoning... excellent with gravy! The BEST thing is that it didn't take me hours and hours to make, with a similar outcome to the roast from Bryanna's recipe. Like her's, I mixed in pureed tofu to make it less chewy. What I've been finding, is that no matter how bland or chewy your seitan turns out, DO NOT throw it out! Grind it up and make a fantastic meatloaf or meatballs out of it by adding minced veggies, seasonings, breadcrumbs, etc. So, even if your roast isn't the best, it'll be a good excuse to get creative with it afterwards...I'm definitely gettin' closer though!!

Ingredients:
Dry
2 C. vital wheat gluten
1/3 C. nutritional yeast
2/3 C. soy protein powder
1 T. onion powder

Wet
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 T.)
1/2 C. blanched almonds
1 block frozen extra firm tofu (thawed and drained)
1/2 C. fresh mushrooms
1 C. water
1/2 C. soy sauce
1 T. hoisin sauce
2 tsp. agave nectar
1 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

Broth:
1 T broth powder*
1/2 C. hot water
1 tsp. salt*
*I make my broth powder without the salt so I can add it to recipes and adjust the salt later, so if you're using broth powder with the salt in it, leave the extra salt out- and taste and adjust by adding more water or more powder.

Spinz:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a food processor, pulverize the almonds and garlic cloves until fine and grainy. Add the thawed tofu (after squeezing the excess water out of it) and mushrooms, as well as all the other wet ingredients. Puree until smooth. Add the wet to the dry and mix until a dough forms -get in there with your hands! Make the broth - if you haven't made Bryanna's broth powder- DO IT! It's fantastic! Take two good sized sheets of foil and make a double layer. Form the dough into a rectangular shape and place into the center of your foil. Carefully fold up the foil to create a "bowl," and pour the broth over the roast. Close up the top, twist up sides, and put into your steamer for 30 minutes. I put mine on a wire rack inside of a big covered wok, with water just below the rack, turning down to a low-medium temperature after coming to a boil. Check periodically to make sure water hasn't evaporated. Then, carefully open the foil and flip the roast over with good utensils, re-seal, and steam for another 30 minutes. Unwrap, set on a platter, and brush the top with some olive oil (optional), or pour excess broth over it.

I also made this incredible "Challa Bread" from the post punk kitchen. It makes two gigantic loaves, so you may want to cut the recipe in half if you don't have a lot of people. This bread is tender and slightly sweet, faintly tasting of bananas (one of the ingredients). Delicious!

Pigless In a Blanket

It was time for the Company holiday party, and I was trying to figure out what to serve. I knew I wanted to do some good, easy finger-foods and not make too much work for myself. So, I put a spin on a cinnamon roll recipe from vegweb, which was basically a good potato bun recipe, and turned it into a tasty bread roll for my "hot dogs." It's a pig in a blanket, without the pig, and also includes a creamy cheeze sauce in the middle. A little of the cheeze did ooze out after baking, but it may be because I added too much margarine (which wasn't needed), and have cut it down in the recipe. I served them with the traditional condiments (mustard, ketchup, relish, etc.) Both vegans and omni's loved them, and devoured them!

Makes about 24

Ingredients:

2 packages of your favorite tofu dogs (I used Ive's 4-pack)
4 1/2 C. flour (up to 1/2 may be whole wheat)
1 T. vital wheat gluten (optional, but especially useful if using the whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 C. warm water (or soy milk)
1/2 C. mashed cooked potato (I use instant potato flakes and water to equal 1/2 cup)
1/3 C. melted margarine

Cheeze filling (optional)
- 3 or 4 T. Tofutti Cream Cheese
- half block of Vegan Mozarella (I used the 10oz. Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet)
- 1 T. Vegenaise or vegan margarine
1 tsp. parsley flakes
cracked black pepper

Spinz:

In a small bowl, add the hot water and cold soy milk. Add the yeast to the warm liquid and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix up all of the dry ingredients (flour, gluten, sugar, salt, garlic powder). In a processor, put in all the filling ingredients and blend until smooth. By now, the yeast mixture should be nice and foamy. Make a little well in the dry mix, and add the yeast mixture, mashed potato, and melted margarine. Mix/ knead together until it forms a nice smooth dough. Place back into a greased bowl, cover and set aside for an hour to rise.

Meanwhile, cut up your soy dogs into 1 1/2 - 2" pieces. I cut mine into thirds. Now go watch TV, make some cookies, or just stand around and goof off until that hour has passed. The dough should have just about doubled in size. You can now twist off a softball sized piece and roll it between your hands to form a "log." From this, you can cut golf-sized pieces with a knife, and roll each piece into a ball. Flaten and roll out the ball to about 1/4" thickness, and start contruction by placing about 1/2 to 1 tsp. of the cheeze mixture in the center of the dough. Then, place a soy dog piece on top of that, and bring opposite sides of the dough to the top center (like a taco) and pinch together. Close up the sides to seal and pull the dough up towards the top to form a nice ball. Put the ball onto a prepared sheet pan, seam side down. Now let them puff up again for another hour. At this point, you can either cover them in plastic and hold them in the fridge 'til later, or place in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, then broil for about 2 minutes or until golden on top (optional).