Monday, August 30, 2010

Bok Choy with Ume Vinaigrette, Black-eyed Pea Croquettes, Sauteed Zucchini, and Herb Focaccia
I was so excited to try these croquettes (The Kind Diet) as I have heard lots of good things about them. My hubby liked them quite well but I really wasn't a big fan. I don't know if it was the flavor of beans that haven't been cooked (they were simply soaked before frying the croquettes) or some other hidden taste but I just wasn't fond of them. The bok choy (The Kind Diet) was a nice change but I probably wouldn't make it again either. I much prefer eating bok choy in a combination recipe rather than on it's own - a bit too wilty to me! The Focaccia is the same recipe as the one posted previously - just without the tomatoes.
Creamy Rice and Veggies
This was a thrown together meal made entirely of leftover bits and pieces. I had a small amount of sauce left over from the "Chicken" Divan (see recipe for sauce), some leftover veggies and a few fresh ones too (red pepper, bok choy, mushrooms), and some brown rice. I simply combined all of these ingredients, heated, and served. Very delicious!
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. shredded lemon peel
2 tsp. baking powder
Substitute for 1 egg
3/4 c. almond milk
1/4 c. oil
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 tbsp. plus 1 t lemon juice
Grease bottom of muffin tins. In large bowl stir together flour, sugar, lemon peel, baking powder and poppy seed. In small bowl combine egg whites, milk, oil, lemon juice and lemon extract. Add to flour mixture until just moistened. Pour batter into this. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown.


Chana Samosas - Okay so I was really excited about these little parcels. We love Indian food and I made a batch of spicy Masoor Dal to go along with them for a delicious after-church lunch on Sunday. The samosas were quote a bit of work but I was sure it would be worth the time (and the calories as they are fried). I was sadly disappointed. They had very little flavor and needed a ton of salt. They might have been okay had I added salt to the filling - trying to salt them after cooking didn't work well as the salt granules fell off the pastry and didn't make much difference. I won't bother adding the recipe as I wasn't impressed and won't make them again. If you are dying to give them a go, the recipe can be found in Vegan Yum Yum :-)
I didn't take a picture of the Masoor Dal as it was not pretty at all! It tasted really good though - it did need more salt. I would have added at least another teaspoon.

MASOOR DAL RECIPE (IndianFoodForever.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups masoor dal
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 head garlic, separated, chopped
1 (1-inch piece) ginger root, chopped
2 jalapeno chiles, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch coriander, chopped
Water

Preparation:
Rinse massor dhal thoroughly, until water is clear. In pot bring 1 quart water to boil. Add massor daal.
Cook half way, about 10 to 15 minutes, add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and salt. As massor dhal cooks, uncovered, water will evaporate and mixture will thicken.
Add more water to keep dal loose, like texture of thick cream. When dal is soft, turn off heat. Heat oil in wok. When oil is very hot, add onions and cook until tender and translucent but not browned.
Add garlic, ginger and chiles. Continue to fry until onions are deep-yellow. Add remaining 1 teaspoon each garam masala and turmeric.
Do not allow spices to burn. Keep stirring until mixture starts to stick. Add tomatoes and cilantro. Cook until tomato softens.
Pour in pot of masoor dal and simmer to blend flavors. Taste and add more salt if needed.

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Crispy Herbed Potato Stack

Crispy Herbed Potato Stack
I was going to try a recipe for herbed scalloped potatoes and at last minute decided to do something fast and easy. I made up the recipe and it was yummola! I layered sliced russet potatoes in a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, and then sprinkled with coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, basil, rosemary, paprika, and garlic powder. Then I baked them at 425 fr about 45 minutes. They were crisp and very flavorful!

My thrown-together salad today - after discovering I had no leftovers for lunch!

Tamale Fixings

Tamale Fixings
Plain pintos (for Keith), pintos, corn and onions; corn, jalepenos and Daiya; mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and chard

Making these was a bit time-consuming but kinda fun! They didn't turn out as good as I had hoped - the outer tamale part (not the filling) just wasn't as flavorful as tamales I have had in restaurants. I have another recipe I will try for the dough next time. Tamales are one of my favorite foods so I won't give up on this one!

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes
I modified one of my favorite pancake recipes to make it vegan and then I added blueberries. Turned out quite yummy. Soymilk sours and thickens well - very similar to buttermilk. I have been really impressed with it's ability to substitute for real buttermilk.

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

Egg replacement for 1 egg
1 1/4 cups soured soy milk (put 2 T vinegar into a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Add enough soy milk to equal 1 1/4 cups)
2 T canola oil
1 cup flour (I wouldn't recommend whole wheat or whole wheat pastry - it really takes away from the fluffiness of these pancakes)
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Blueberries, optional

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Heat griddle pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Sprinkle blueberries on pancakes after ladling onto griddle. Cook just until golden on both sides.

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein
Overall, this was fabulous! However, I don't think the seitan added much so I would just leave it out next time. The lo mein also needed about double the sauce so I would simply do that next time for added flavor. This was especially spicy and yummy with some Sriracha drizzled on top. I made our favorite veg egg rolls to go with this and it was truly a Chinese treat!!

Veggie Seitan Lo Mein

I really did my own thing for this recipe so I am just going to outline the instructions and include the sauce recipe. I heated oil in a large skillet and added 3 minced cloves of garlic and about 1 cup of half-moon cut onions (I was out of green onions but next time I would use green onions as I like them a lot in Chinese food) and about 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots. After about 5-6 minutes, I added about 1/4 lb of whole green beans. I cooked these veggies until tender. Meanwhile, I cooked a 16oz package of chow mein noodles. Once the veggie mixture was cooked, I poured the sauce on the veggies, heated through and tossed with the noodles. Next time I would double the amount of sauce and have adjusted amounts below to reflect double recipe.

Sauce (Source:Adaptable Feast)
3 T soy sauce
3 T rice wine (I used 3 T rice vinegar and 1 t sugar as I didn't have any rice wine)
3 t sugar
4 T black bean garlic sauce
Mix all ingredients and toss with above mixture.





Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth
Pretty yummy. I found that steaming the wontons worked much better than the recipe suggestion to boil them. The broth was very mild and a bit too mellow for us. Still pretty yummy though. I added extra veggies to the wontons and scallion to the broth. The seasoning in the wonton filling was quite tasty!

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth (Source: Vegan Yum Yum)

(As usual, I modified several things so it's not exactly the recipe in Vegan Yum Yum!)

1 cup chopped broccoli
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 T oil
1 t fresh ginger, minced
1 clove fresh minced garlic
1/2 t hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 t hot Chinese mustard
2 T plus 1 t soy sauce
4 cups water ( I think this might have been more flavorful had I used vegetable broth or faux chicken broth???)
6 slices fresh ginger
1 T mirin (I used a splash of cooking wine as I didn't have mirin)
1 1/2 t sugar
2 t rice vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup chopped scallions
16 wonton skins

For filling: Heat oil in skillet and add broccoli, ginger, garlic, carrot, onion and cook until veggies are crisp tender. Add chili sauce, mustard, 1 t soy sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make wontons, take one skin and place in diamond shape. Fill with 1-2 t filling. Fold in half to make a triangle and moisten edges with water and pinch sides to seal. Set triangle in front of you with point up and take the 2 side points and bring them together in front to cross. Set aside and prepare remaining wontons. When finished, place wontons in a steamer basket and steam over pot of boiling water until translucent.

Meanwhile, in a pot, combine remaining ingredients (except wontons) and simmer 10-15 min.

Place 3-4 wontons in bowl and ladle broth over wontons. Serve.