Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The sauce on this was very flavorful. I think it would have been better with linguini but I had penne to use. Very yummy.

Asian-Style Pasta (adapted from Vegan on the Cheap)
4 T soy sauce
4 T tahini
2 T hot chili oil
2T rice vinegar
1 T sugar
1 t crushed red pepper
1 T canola oil
1 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
3 carrots diced
3 cloves minced garlic
2 t sesame oil
12oz pasta cooked according to package instructions

Combine soy sauce through red pepper. Set aside. Heat canola oil and stirfry onion, garlic, and carrots until tender. Add broccoli and cook 3-5 min. Add sauce and heat through. Toss pasta with sesame oil. Stir Veggies and sauce into pasta.

The flavors in this pasta were delightfully different and created a delicious blend. I didn't have the right veggies on hand so I just used zucchini and onions. I am sure it would have been fabulous with butternut squash and peppers too. I also used toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts.

Pasta with Carmelized Veggies (adapted from Vegan on the Cheap)
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried savory
1/2 t salt
1/4t black pepper
1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup veg broth
2 zucchini cut in large dice
1 lb linguini, cooked according to package instructions
2 T fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

In large skillet, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in spices. Add vinegar and sugar. Cook
about 5 min. Add broth and zucchini and cook until zucchini is tender.Stir in parsley and top each serving with pine nuts.
I have been wanting to try this for a while and finally got.around to it! It was very yummy and would be a great treat to serve to non-Vegans. They will be amazed there are no eggs or milk in the custard!

Berry Tart (adapted from Urban Vegan)
1 pie crust, baked until lightly browned (about 10-12 min)

Filling:
1 12oz box aseptic tofu (do not use refrigerated kind, it will be too grainy)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

In a food processor, blend all ingredients until silky smooth. Pour into prepared lie crust. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

Berry Topping:
2 1/2 cups frozen,unsweetened mixed berries (I used blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
1/4 cup apricot jam (I used Simply Fruit with no added sugar)
Cornstarch mixed with a bit of water to form a thin paste

In a small saucepan, heat fruit and jam until bubbly. Slowly stir in cornstarch mixture until desired thickness is reached. Serve atop pie slices.
Simple Wild Rice Soup...pretty yummy...

Wild Rice Veg Soup (adapted from Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease)
2 t olive oil
1 cup uncooked wild rice
3 ribs celery chopped
3 chopped carrots
1 onion, chopped
4 cups veg broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 T cornstarch mixed with 2 T water to make smooth paste
1 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T fresh chopped parsley

Heat oil in large pot. Add onion and carrots. Cook 5 min. Add rice and celery. Stir for 2 min. Add water and broth and cook for 40 m in or until rice is tender. Stir in Worcestershire and parsley. Slowly add cornstarch paste until thickened.

2 comments:

  1. Both of these pasta recipes look great! I might even be able to entice my omnivorous family into trying them out :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolutely!! I made the Asian pasta for company - both of these would be great "not weird" recipes to try out on non-vegans!

    ReplyDelete

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.