Roasted Jalapeno Poppers

For me, this is a day of one of America's most popular pagan rituals. It is a day when people gather around the sacred god (otherwise known as "The Flatscreen," "The Tube," or "The Teli"- as my friend from England would say), and watch two opposing tribes battle it out.

Personally, I try to stay out of the way of all those obnoxious war cries and ensuing celebratory touchdown dances, but it's hard not to get caught up in the hype surrounding such an occasion... especially when it involves all sorts of sinful food! Oh, the gluttony!

Well, since this is a blog about food, how could I stay away? ... if not only to make a small food contribution. So here it is. It's not deep fried, but it's gooey, it's crunchy, and deceptively sinful (as most good vegan food is). Enjoy!

You'll need: 1 dozen jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise

Filling:
1 C. cooked potatoes, mashed but chunky
1/4 C. Tofutti cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 C. green onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
cracked black pepper and salt to taste
1/2 C. vegan cheese (shredded)
Bread Crumb Topping:
1/2 C. plain bread crumbs
1 T. dehydrated onion
1/2 tsp. ground rosemary
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
cracked black pepper and salt to taste

Bacony Bits:
3 T. TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)
2 T. water
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. maple syrup (or agave nectar)
1 T. extra virgin olive oil

Spinz:

Pull out seeds from jalapenos and set them on a prepared cookie sheet cut side up.

For the filling:
Mix together the softened cream cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and set aside. Chop green onions and mix in with cooked potatoes. Mix in the cream cheese mixture and vegan cheese until it becomes a chunky mash.

For the bread crumb topping:
Mix together all the ingredients until uniformly combined.

For the bacony bits:
In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, maple syrup, and water, and heat in the microwave until hot (about 30 sec). Mix in the TVP until well coated and let it soak for a few minutes. When it has finished soaking and rehydrated, add the extra virgin olive oil and mix well.

Mix the bacony bits with the bread crumb topping until well combined.

To assemble:
Spoon in the potato mixture into each jalapeno half, careful not to mound it. Then, while holding each pepper over your bread crumb bowl, press in some of the bread crumbs to mound over the jalapeno half.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Morel Mushroom Stuffed Teriyaki Burgers and Morel Tater Tots, with Roasted Garlic Aioli & Asian Slaw

It's the Morel Mushroom Challenge! -I feel so "Iron Chefy!"

After recently being introduced to the Morel Mushroom, courtesy of Marx Foods, I found that I knew very little about this odd looking wild fungi.

Fresh Morels from Marx Foods

So I did a little research and found that these wonderful mushrooms have been around since the last ice age, and can be found wild in most parts of the world. Known for it's "brainy" conical structure, it also comes in several varieties, ranging in color from white creams to grays and blacks. Experienced morel hunters look for certain types of trees to find morels growing nearby, and it has become a big Spring pastime to gather them. As for the taste, I would describe them as having a distinctive fragrant earthy flavor with a more delicate texture than most common mushrooms found in markets.

Large dried morel

Now for the recipes:

The Burger...
After tasting the morels, I decided not to incorporate them directly into the burger, but to both "stuff them" with chopped morels and top them with sauted morels to bring out its maximum flavor. This way, the texture and flavor would not get lost -plus there's nothing like picking up a stray mushroom and popping it in your mouth!

Makes one good burger

Ingredients:
4 oz. dried morels, rehydrated in water (reserve 1 cup of the water)
5 oz. Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style Veggie Protein
1 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. mirin cooking wine
cracked black pepper (as desired)
1/4 C. thinly sliced yellow onion, lightly coated with unbleached all purpose flour and a pinch of salt
extra virgin olive oil (for cooking)
canola or vegetable oil for deep frying
whole wheat bun, toasted
Spinz:
After rehydrating the morels for an hour or more, remove 1 cup of the morel water and pour into a sauce pan. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, and mirin, and simmer until reduced to a syrup. In a large mixing bowl, break up the Gimme Lean and add cracked pepper. Add the syrup and mix well to incorporate evenly. Form into two thin patties (about 1/4 inch thick each). Chop half of the mushrooms and spread evenly between the patties. Squeeze the patties together to form one big patty. In a flat skillet, add the olive oil and cook each side of the patty for a few minutes, covering with a smaller metal lid before and after flipping. For the other half of the morels, cut them into large pieces. Saute them in olive oil and garlic until softened and edges are golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. For the onion straws, shake off excess flour and deep fry onions until golden and crisp. Drain on a paper towel or bag. Transfer the patty onto the toasted whole wheat bun. Top with a layer of fried onions, followed by a pile of sauted morels. Spread some of the garlic aioli onto the top bun, if desired.

For the Tots...
These are more like "disks," but remind me of tots. Using the muffin tin helps cook them evenly and gives them shape. And they'll be crisp on the outside and nice and tender on the inside.

Makes about 15 tots

Ingredients:
4 oz. morel mushrooms, rehydrated and finely chopped
1 large russett potato, peeled and grated
1 tsp. corn starch
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. water
salt & pepper
oil spray

Wrap the grated potato in a tea towel or clean cloth, and wring out as much water as possible. In a bowl, mix together with morels. Next, make a slurry of corn starch, olive oil, water and seasoning. Mix together well, then press the mixture into the muffin cups to about 1 inch thick. Make sure you press them tightly! Bake in a 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden. To give extra color to the tops, broil them on low for a few minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before popping out. You may need to loosen some with a small knife.

The Roasted Garlic Aioli was simple- Add chopped roasted garlic to some Vegenaise (vegan mayo of choice). A tip to make this less fatty and just as flavorful- do one part silken Mori-Nu tofu blended with one part Vegenaise.

The Asian Slaw was also simple- Toss finely shredded cabbage, carrots, green onion, whole bean sprouts, and cubed avocado with an Asian vinegrette. I mixed together soy sauce, rice vinegar, agave nectar, and a dash of sesame oil to make mine. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.

Now, get ready to VOTE (if you like) on the Marx Foods blog. The winner gets 2 lbs. of fresh morels (oooh!) The recipes should be up soon, if not already. Unfortunately, mine was turned in a little too late to qualify, due to my unrealistic belief in multi-tasking! But please do head over there and gawk at all the lovely morels!

Special thanks to Justin Marx- you rock!
Also, special thanks to Mark (house mate extraordinaire) for helping me develop and execute these recipes.

I Heart Potatoes

I stumbled upon this pic of a heart-shaped potato- a natural mutation that was made into a cute little postcard (bottom). So, I got to thinking... for those of us who aren't so lucky to actually find a potato shaped like a heart, why not make one?

Well, it was an easy concept in my mind, but it took a few tries to keep the sucker from falling apart. But once I figured it out, it turned out to be a really simple side dish to make!

Step 1: Pick out your spud- use a waxy potato (not russet), and look for one that's evenly shaped and more on the tubular side if possible.

Step 2: Wash it and put it straight into your microwave, zapping it on high for 7-9 minutes, turning it over half way through. Test with a light squeeze to make sure it's soft, if not, zap if for a bit longer (times may vary).

Step 3: While it's still warm, gently make an indentation with a chopstick lengthwise, shimmying it back and forth, being careful not to break the skin.


Step 4: Turn it over and gently pinch to make it pointy. Then let it cool down to room temp.


Last steps: Slice into 1/2" thick pieces (using a wet knife helps), sprinkle with smoky paprika and ground sea salt, and fry in a skillet with a little margarine or oil. Serve with vegan sour cream and chopped chives.

Note: This would be great with red skinned potatoes if you want to be extra Valentine-y!

Skillet Potato Fritatta

I've been experimenting a lot lately, and haven't been coming up with anything blog-worthy. I guess you could call it "blogger's block." So Mark (my housemate) stepped up again, and saved the day! I wasn't sure what to call this, and for once, Mark was stumped too- no clever nasty names to think of (thank God)! It has layers of thinly sliced potatoes, grilled onions, and tofu salad that I threw together, resulting in a delicious breakfast treat... not really a fritatta in the traditional sense, but has that sliceable cake-like quality, so I went with that. There wasn't a written recipe made, so I'll describe what he did.

By the way, Mark is only 90% vegan, but came to our household a fully-fledged omnivore- leaning more towards lacto-ovo-carnivore, just last year. Needless to say, he's lost over 20 lbs. and is singing the praises of veganism, but still has his little binges outside of the house, as well as that small chunk of cheese he keeps way back in the 2nd fridge in the garage that he doesn't know I know about! Gotta love the guy for trying though!

Ok, back to business!
1) This layered potato dish starts by adding a thin coating of olive or canola oil to the bottom of an oven-safe skillet.
2) Layer thinly-sliced potatoes in a spiral-ish pattern on the bottom of the skillet, and season with salt and pepper.
3) Then, add a layer of grilled onions, and a thin layer of Eggy Tofu Salad. Press each layer down a bit to make it flat.
4) Then, add another layer of potatoes (like the first one), and seaon the top with a little more salt (he used ground sea salt), cracked black pepper, and a sprinkling of dried dill.
5) Drizzle a small amount of oil on top and put the whole skillet into a 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the whole thing moves together in one big block when you jiggle the pan. Broil for a few minutes to brown the top, then remove from the oven and wait for it to cool down slightly before turning it out onto a platter uspide down. You may need to let it cool a bit more so the slices stay intact.