Vegan Thanksgiving Cake

So this is pretty crazy. I saw this recipe online and decided it was just wacky enough that I'd need to make it vegan. Of course, I'd have to make it a little more culinary since 1) I'm a masochist and 2) I watch too much Iron Chef America. Anyways, let's go through what it ended up with in it. (Sorry for the poor formatting. Blogger is a bit unforgiving and hard to work with...)

• Sweet Potato Puree

• Chipotle Pepper

• Adobo Sauce

• Butter

• Cinnamon

• Fresh Nutmeg

• Brown Sugar

Mashed Potatoes •

Butter •

Garlic •

Chives •

• Celery Root

• Green Apple

• Fennel Bulb

• Butter

• Apple Cider

• Non-Dairy Creamer

• Celery Salt

• Salt & Pepper

Cranberries •

Orange Peels •

Vanilla Bean Powder •

Water •

Maple Syrup •

Salt •

• Mushroom Gravy Mix

• Dehydrated Mushrooms

• Water

Dried 12-Grain Bread •

Dried Herbs (Thyme, Majoram, Sage, Rosemary, etc) •

Celery •

Onion •

Chopped Brazil Nuts •

Raisins •

Toasted Fennel & Coriander Seeds •

Cayenne •

Melted Butter •

Vegetable Stock •

• 1 Field Roast

• 1 Tofurkey

(There's only one picture, but each roast got its own pan and layer in the cake.)

Then I took all the ingredients and started the layering.

Tofurkey, Celery Root Puree

Tofurkey, Celery Root Puree, Stuffing, Celery Root Puree, Field Roast

I coated the Mashed Potatoes on the sides, capped it with the Sweet Potatoes, and spread (what was left of) the marshmallows on the edge.

I finalized the beast with the Orange Cranberries and toasted the marshmallows (with a kitchen lighter, hahaha!)

She's a beaut, isn't she? Tastes just as good as it looks. I poured the Mushroom Gravy over a slice on the plate and enjoyed it alongside a frosty Virgil's Root Beer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yuba Wrapped Eggplant w/ Sticky Date Rice & Lemongrass Cilantro Relish

This was very tasty. I came across a big sheet of yuba which is basically the skin that forms on top of soy milk when it is boiled. Its dried out and is used to wrap things in or fried and used as a garnish for a crispy texture in a dish. Its also referred sometime as tofu paper. Here's how it went down.....

Eggplant

1 eggplant sliced lengthwise

1 big sheet of yuba

2 Thai Chilies

1 shallot

2 cloves garlic

1 stalk of lemon grass

splash of mirin

salt

olive oil

pepper

Slice the eggplants and cover with some salt and let sit for a while. This helps pull some of the bitterness out of them. After they sit for about 25 minutes pat them dry with a paper towel. Then marinate them in chopped garlic, chilies, shallots, lemongrass, mirin, and olive oil. While them are marinating get the rice cooking and the yuba cut into squares.

Rice

Sticky rice

Dates

Siracha

Garlic

Rice vinegar

Sesame oil

salt

pepper

Cook the rice with all the ingredients above still its tender and sticky as hell.

Relish

Lemongrass

garlic

ginger

shallots

cilantro

Thai chili

salt

white pepper

Chop up lemongrass, garlic, ginger, shallot, chili, and cilantro. Mixed well, season and reserve.

For completion:

Remove eggplant from marinade and wrap tightly in the yuba. Get a bit of olive oil hot and fry the the wrapped eggplant in a pan until its golden brown and crispy on each side. Finish them in the oven until the eggplant is cooked through for about 7 to 10 minutes. Serve with hot rice and cold relish.

Chickn n' Waffels

So a while back we did soul food and it was fun and Delicious. I didn't have time to plan anything out so I wanted to revisit the theme once more for now and make another dish. I landed on chicken and waffles because its an awesome combo to re-invent for the vegans out there.

I didn't make the waffles because after making a buckwheat waffle batter my waffle press was no where to be found. So luckily I found some trader Joe's Waffles in my grandmas freezer and toasted them in the toaster. They worked fine but still not homemade.

But the chicken seitan consisted of:

gluten flour

garlic

onion powder

thyme

hot sauce

water

soy sauce

lemon juice

tapioca starch

Black pepper

Nutritional yeast

Paprika

Ground Mustard

This all got mixed, shaped and boiled for about an hour in better than bouillon, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and water. When it was done I soaked the seitan in hemp milk, hot sauce,thyme garlic, and black pepper for like an hour. I then dredged it in a mixture of flour salt and pepper and fried it in a pan until it was lightly golden and finished it in the oven for about 7 minutes. It seems like alot of work but it was well worth it. ( Sorry about not having exact amounts I made it awhile back).

Buffalo Seitan Salad

If the picture looks as if a massacre has just occurred, it portrays the correct idea. Jen and I couldn't get enough of this tasty recipe. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was deep fried. Anyway it was our first time working with seitan and we were very happy with the results. Just add the buffalo bits (recipe below) to some greens and add carrots and bleu cheese dressing for a spicy tangy good time.

1/4 cup vegan margarine
1/4-1/2 cup hot sauce
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. salt
Vegetable oil sufficient for frying
1 pkg. vegan chicken or 2 pkgs. seitan

• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the margarine, hot sauces, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook, stirring often, until the margarine is melted. Lower the heat and keep warm while preparing the “wings.”
• Combine the flour, paprika, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. • In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, heat enough oil to fry the “wings.”
• Tear the vegan chicken or seitan into “wing”-size pieces. Dredge in the flour mixture. Fry until browned, flipping halfway through. Drain on paper towels.
• Toss with the prepared sauce.

(all credit due to www.vegcooking.com)

Also when shopping for ingredients at the friendly local neighborhood Whole Foods, Jen approached a salesperson and asked where she could find the seitan. He responded, "In my country, seitan is the Devil." Basically Jen asked where she could find the devil. He then pointed us toward the delicious ingredient and we went on our merry way.

Summer Food

I just fixed my camera (found the charger) so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this blog a little better. Sarah and I have been craving some hearty, filling American food lately and this is what resulted:

The salad is just a mixed green with tomato and red onions, and the burger is pretty much just the veganomicon recipe. Except on the burger I used oats instead of breadcrumbs. I feel like that makes it more firm, Dr. Hollywood I'm going to need you to tell me what it actually does.

The only really interesting or unique thing about this meal was the quinoa, so here's the recipe for that:

Cheezy Jalapeno Quionoa

2 Jalapanos
1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup nooch
1/4 cup pho-milk (I used soy)
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chilli powder

1.5 cups cooked quinoa (.5 cups dry with 1 cup water, simmered for ~15 minutes)

1) Get the quinoa cooking.
2) Mince the onion, garlic, and jalapeno and simmer in medium/ hot oil for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to turn translucent.
3) Add everything else except the quinoa, if it doesn't look saucy enough you might need to add more water
4) Stir in quinoa and serve hot.

Nayonaise/Vegenaise

Okay guys, I just had a dressing with Nasoya Nayonaise in it. This is the first time I have tasted this mayo replacement.

It totally resembles the taste of MAYOnnaise more than Vegenaise.

Argument/Discussion Begin..... NOW

Food and Science!

So I have been obsessed with this molecular cooking craze for a while now and I bought some ingredients to fuck around with. Being the exhibitionist that I am, I was over excited and wanted to share my experiment with everyone.

What I bought to play with:

Sodium Alginate- This is a thickening agent that is a sodium compound from the cell walls of brown algae.

Calcium Chloride- This is a type of salt usually used in cheese making, and mainly as a dehydrating agent.

So I guess there was no science behind what I did because it was nature at its best doing what it does. I kind of just kept playing around with measurements until i got something awesome.

So I made, in the end some cantaloupe caviar. It was pretty cool. It was:

Cantaloupe juice, strained through sieve

Sodium Alginate

Calcium Chloride

Water

So after juicing and straining the cantaloupe, I added the sodium alginate to the juice and put it in a syringe. Then I added the calcium chloride to like a cup of water. Then I dripped little drops of the juice in the water solution. It was very small amount of everything. I let it sit in there for like 1-2 minutes and moved it to just a plain water bath. It was a really cool texture. The reaction creates a gel on the outside and a liquid center. The gelling is irreversible even to fire. I have extra stuff if anyone wants to play around. I forgot what was all in the sauces they were just like thrown together.

This is what they looked like.

Food With a Little Soul

A couple of nights ago me and Dave wanted to make a meal. We didn't have a theme as that's the norm for us. He said he was making mac and cheese. Soul, the next thing we know is that we want a light soul food undertone. With little time and even less disagreement we settled on a few dishes, invited some more people, and stuffed ourselves.

Dave did us well with an awesome mac n cheese which is a soul food staple, and this awesome spicy broccoli soup that could be at any dinner table no matter what the theme.

I added to the mix by making greens, Hoppin' John, and Corn Bread. Here's how it went down:

Collard Greens

1 bunch of organic collards

6 cups of water

2 tsp better than bouillon

salt pepper

2 cloves garlic

Add bouillon , garlic, salt and pepper to your water and bring to a simmer. Rough chop your greens and add them to the simmering pot. Let them simmer on low for about a half hour. Serve them with some broth and enjoy.

Hoppin John

2 cans black eyed peas

1 package fake bacon

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

6 cups cooked rice

olive oil

salt

pepper

First get your rice cooking. Then dice your bacon,onion and garlic. Add a little olive oil to your saute pan. add the bacon onion and garlic to the pan with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat for about 6 minutes allowing for all the flavors to blend. Then add your peas to the pan with more salt and cook for about two more minutes. When the rice is ready add the bean, bacon and onion mix to the rice. It is a very tasty dish.

Corn Bread

unbleached flour

cornmeal

agave

rice milk

brown sugar

baking powder

cream of tartar

olive oil

salt

I forgot the measures for the corn bread mix but its pretty simple. You can kind just throw it together. Make sure you only use a tiny amount for the baking powder and cream of tartar. But mix this stuff up, grease a baking pan and bake for at 375 for about 12-15 minutes.

Serve with friends and beer and enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Dave's iPhone

Coco-Fever

I've been having a craving for a peanut butter cup recently because its been so long. The other other night me and c had a chocolate cook out. We made chocolate peanut butter cups, chocolate cups stuffed with a maple-walnut ganash, and chocolate walnut rounds. Best part about it was that it was all vegan!

Chocolate peanut butter cups
24 oz chocolate
2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp earth balance
tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
pack of wax paper cups

To make the peanut butter filling add the peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, earth balance, and salt in a sauce pan. Cook until everything is mixed. Cool it in the freezer until its firm but not frozen. Reserve

To make the maple walnut ganash take a 1/2 cup of the melted chocolate and mix it with some crushed walnuts, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 2tbsp of maple syrup. Mix well. It will really sticky at first but eventually it form a ball. Chill. Reserve.

Melt your chocolate in a double boiler. After it is melted let it sit in the boiler for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Set up the wax papers in a muffin pan to make it a little easier to fill them. Fill the papers just enough to cover the bottom of them. Put them in the freezer to harden them up. When the chocolate has firmed up spoon some of one of the fillings over them. (the ganash is a pain if its room temp) Them fill up the rest of the cup with melted chocolate. Put them in the freezer as well until they firm up as well. Close you eyes and enjoy.

To make the rounds use the melted chocolate and pour it into a greased muffin pan. Make the rounds real thin. Top with crushed walnuts and freeze. Super easy and oh so delicious.

Greek Themed Feast

Man it feels good to post again. Its been forever & now I finally have my camera again. This is a feast all the way back from valentines day. I made at the last minute not knowing what we really wanted to eat or having much time to really make anything extravagant. So we quickly picked a theme and it came together pretty alright. Its not too pretty but it was damn delicious.

On the menu

Gyros
Grilled 'lamb' Kabobs
Stuffed grape leaves
Hummus
Rice and lentils
Tzatziki

The Gyros

Da Meet

3 cups vital wheat gluten

1tsp tapioca starch

coriander

cumin

cumin seeds

cardamom

sage

onion powder

1/2 onion

2 tbsp lemon juice

2tbs soy sauce

2 garlic cloves

3/4 cup water

tbsp sugar

Add everything together that's not the water or the flour. mix it up till you like the taste. Then add the flour and water.

Fix it into a nice log. Wrap in foil.

Steam this gentleman for about an hour checking your water level

so you don't burn your pan (like i did!)

When the the seitan is done cut it in half. use only one half and slice it really really

thin. If you have a serrated bread knife or a

slicer knife, that works good in absence of a mechanical slicer of

some type. Marinate the slices in cumin, coriander, salt, olive oil

sugar and pepper for about a hour or so.

The same meat can be used for the kabobs and for the grape leaves. Cut the remaining half into two pieces ,a bigger piece and a smaller piece. Cut cubes out of the bigger piece and mince or chop the small piece to put into the grape leaves.

Marinate the faux lamb cubes in lemon juice, coriander, cardamom, paprika, cumin, oil, and sage for about an hour and a half.

Grill it. Enjoy.

Stuffed Grape leaves

1 jar of grape leaves

Ground lamb seitan

2 cups cooked rice

3tbsp lemon juice

coriander

cumin

dill

1 cup of cooked lentils

salt and pepper

add all ingredients together. let sit four 20 minutes for flavors to be absorbed

traditionally the dolmas are steamed but for lack of time

we cooked the filling fully and c wrapped it in the raw leaves like a pro.

Rice and lentils

3 cups of rice

3 cups lentils

2 cloves garlic

2 onions

salt pepper

cumin

turmeric

lemon juice

add cooked rice and lentils together with olive oil salt and pepper lemon juice and cumin. sweat onions in saute pan with garlic and turmeric until nice and soft. add onions on top of lentils and rice bake in an oven at 350 for about 12 minutesto get the top of the mixture nice and crispy.

tzatziki sauce

1 tub vegan or Greek yogurt

half of a seedless cucumber

2 cloves garlic

lemon juice to taste

salt pepper

so now that we got everything..... cut up some lettuce, onion and tomato. grab so awesome olives, toast some pitaand oil and paprika up your hummus wrap a fat gyro and chow down.

cheese recipe over at my neglected food blog

http://theapeman.blogspot.com/2010/03/aged-cashew-brazil-cheese.html

Check it out!

Teese Coupon

I know this isn't a recipe, but totally an awesome link to a great product coupon, check it out!

FREE Teese Vegan Cheese Coupon

Enjoy! Thank me later.

Orange Tofu

Hey everybody. I decided that I had to learn how to make orange sauce as good as the Mandarin Wok and it turned out to be better than any orange sauce I have ever had (modest, I know). So I decided to share my recipe with ya'll so you could enjoy it too. Here it goes.

Orange Tofu

1 block of tofu, extra firm, cubed
salt
white pepper
oil for frying in wok

4 Tbsp garlic, minced (about 5-6 cloves)
4 Tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 jalapeno, super thinly sliced
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 cup mirin or sherry
1/3 cup OJ, fresh squeezed or whatever
2 Tbsps orange zest or rind chunks
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup agave nectar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp arrowroot mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp siracha
white pepper
crushed red pepper

Start out by frying your tofu until golden brown on all sides over medium/high heat. Season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.

Keep you wok hot add the 1 Tbsp oil, and stir fry the garlic, ginger and jalapeno for about a minute. Add the mirin or sherry, the OJ, the orange zest, sugar and agave nectar. Cook for a minute or two. Add the soy sauce and siracha. Then once its boiling add the arrowroot slurry and let it get nice and gloopy. Adjust seasonings and make it hotter if you wish. Pour over your crispy tofu and some steamed broccoli. Serve with rice or like in my case some leftover low mein noodles.

Pairs nicely with a sweet wine like a Riesling to counter balance the spice. Beer is always a good option too. Maybe a nice pale ale would work well.

Indian Food

Hey dudes, good to see the blog is active again. Let's keep this going with an old one that I keep forgetting to post. Here's a dish that I made weekly for a while. Good for filling you up and warming your bones. Serve everything up with basmati rice and mint chutney, enjoy!



Channa Masala w/ TVP

1 large yellow onion
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp hot curry powder
2 cans chick peas
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 handful tvp

Wow, I've been cooking with can's too much. I didn't realize that until I wrote down what goes in this recipe. The TVP makes this dish really filling and hearty. I think the recipe would be great without it. Pretty much here's the process:

- get the onions going in a cast iron skillet over medium heat with the oil and curry powder until the onions get translucent
- let your can opener do the cooking and add everything else
- keep adding water as the tvp soaks it up so it stays real saucy
- let it stew for a bit to mix all the flavors

Creamy Curry Kale

Alliteration alert! This dish's title would look good on a brew pub menu. Stephen? For this one I start the same way with the oil, curry powder, and onions. Once the onions are translucent, I add the kale and let it cook down. I finish it off by adding some cashew or almond cream and molasses.

Haven't tried it, but it might be nice to toss in some nutritional yeast to give it a Paneer kind of taste. I'll let you know how that goes.

Teese Challenge// Loaded Sweet Potato Fries.

So, the fine folks of Chicago Soy Dairy put out a little tweet, offering some free product to those of us who have food blogs. http://www.chicagosoydairy.com/. So awesome, thanks guys!

I received a tube of both Mozzarella and Nacho Cheese flavored Teese. Due to the fact that it has been so long since I have cooked with any sort of "cheese," my first attempt with Mozzarella Teese ended up being quite a failure. It was a delicious mush of a failure though, to say the least.

For my second attempt, I chose to mix two delicious dishes: Sweet Potato Fries and well-topped Nachos.

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

2 Sweet Potatoes, skinned and sliced into small fries

1 Poblano Pepper, diced

1 Jalapeno Pepper,diced

1/2 medium Red Onion, diced

1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil

1 TBSP Maple Syrup

5 Green Onions

1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 tube Nacho Cheese TEESE

Avocado

Sea Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400'F.

2. Mix together ingredients up to maple syrup. Make sure all of the fries are coated well with both olive oil and the onion/peppers mixture.

3. Bake for 15 minutes in a casserole dish.

4. Remove from oven, mix up well.

5. Add ingredients through TEESE, mix a bit more.

6. Bake for 15 more minutes.

7. Remove from oven and garnish with some avocado slices.

8. Enjoy

.

Snowed in Breakfast - Biscuts w/ Snausage Gravy

About 2 weeks ago, Philly got like 20 inches of snow and freaked out. With the city totally shut down we declared a a 2 day cooking and eating binge. In Sarah's cold apartment we made an array of fatty, creamy dishes to warm us up inside and out. We also had a chip buffet, but that's irrelevant to this dish.

The sausages in the gravy were made using Vegandad's sausage recipe. I always forget to leave the dough really wet before I steam them so it was a good experience for me to use the recipe on this one. We tossed those sausages in EVERYTHING we made, but this dish really stood out to me. I won't bore you with other recipes for the gravy and biscuits, because we pretty much just pulled the off the internet, nothing special. Fresh baked biscuits.... MMMMmmmm.

Also, I think that since people write vegan cheese like "Cheeze", we ought to be able to say "snausage" instead of "vegan sausages". It's saving you a couple of syllables dropping the vegan from the phrase even if the 'sn' sound is a bit tough to get used to. Who's with me? If I can get the support of a few good spellers on my side, that might add some legitimacy to my campaign. Every team needs a speller.

Asparagus and Lemongrass Risotto

Risotto has been on of those foods I was intimidated to make because, well, you spend over 1/2 an hour stirring, and food patience has never been my forte. I recommend making this with a friend to trade off stirring duty, or get a good book to read with your free hand to pass the time. I promise it'll be worth the wait - cream, tangy, rich and hearty. Not to mention asparagus season is right around the corner.

broth:
4 whole
cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, sliced
1 T dried lemongrass
3 c veg broth
3 c water
3 T soy sauce

risotto:
1/3 c sherry
1 lb asparagus
5 T peanut oil
1 c basil leaves
2 T fresh mint
6 large shallots
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t red pepper flakes
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
1 t sugar
2 T lime juice


1.) Bruise the ginger and smash the garlic, place those and the lemongrass inside a loose leave tea bag. Put the teabag and all the broth ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Turn heat to low and remove the teabag.
2.) Cut asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces, and saute in 4 T of oil until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. add basil and mint, saute for 30 seconds and remove from heat, but in a separate bowl.
3.) Warm the sherry in a small pot over medium-low heat
4.) Add 1 T oil, saute the shallots and garlic until soft, about 7 minutes. stir in pepper flakes and rice, saute for about 8 more minutes until the rice sounds slightly toasted. Add the sherry and stir until absorbed.
5.) Now get ready to stir. Ladle 1/2 cup of broth at a time into the rice, stirring constantly until all the liquid is absorbed each time. When the broth is almost gone, stir the sugar and lime juice into the last of the broth before absorbing it into the rice. This will end up taking about 35 minutes total.
4.) Stir in the asparagus stems and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped peanuts.

Alternative Medicine.(Cream of Broccoli Soup)

So after about a week with a pretty sore throat, I had two choices tonight. I could either say Phuqit and go see Castevet and go out in the 15'F weather, or I could make some soup. The fact that I am posting this blog means I chose the latter.

Ingredients:

32 oz. Frozen Broccoli

4 Cups Vegetable Stock

1/2 tsp powdered dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3 TBSP Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Small Yellow Onion

3 TBSP Flour

2 cups Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk ( I used So Delicious Coconut Milk as it was on sale this week)

sea salt & black pepper

1. Put on a great Outkast record,(I chose Stankonia) and then Cook Broccoli until tender in stock.
2. With a slotted spoon, remove one cup of broccoli florets. Set aside
3. Peel/Dice garlic cloves, dice onion and Sauté on medium heat in 1 Tbsp olive oil until translucent. Add to pot
4. Place remaining broccoli, liquid, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and salt in the blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.
5. Heat the olive oil in the soup pan. Add the flour and cook on low for 5-8 minutes.
6. Stir in coconut milk, bring to a boil then simmer till thickened, stirring constantly.
7. Stir in broccoli puree and non-blended florets.
8. Heat gently & serve immediately

http://vegetarianstar.com/2008/11/30/andre-3000-benjamins-last-meal-on-earth-broccoli/

.Get into themed meals/listening sessions.