Archive for October, 2008
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Elvis-Fried Tofu with Mushroom Gravy, Fried Green Tomatoes, Grilled Asparagus
Dinner 10/31
Elvis Fried Tofu
Mushroom Gravy
Gobetti Pasta
Fried Green Tomatoes
Grilled Asparagus
Our next-door neighbors graciously gave us a huge grocery bag filled with green tomatoes, salvaged before the killing frost a few days ago — so we decided to channel our inner Elvis.
The fried tofu (recipe) we’ve made a couple of times, and the green tomatoes utilized the leftover seasoned flour from dredging the tofu (plus an equal amount of corn meal), so no waste tonight…
The gravy is shiitake mushrooms cooked down, then a simple roux (1 tbs. soy margarine, 1 tbs. flour) is added and cooked together until it turns light brown. Then you add 1 cup of veg stock, 1 tbs. tamari and black pepper.
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TLT
Lunch 10/31
TLT
(tomato, lettuce and tempeh sandwich)
Today’s lunch was an easy sandwich of grilled tempeh, crisp lettuce and heirloom tomatoes, held together with Vegenaise. The bread was one of the spent grain loaves that Liz made back in August that we froze for later use.
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Seattle – Part 2
One crisp Fall afternoon, Pete and I headed into Seattle for lunch. We just happened (completely by accident, of course) to choose a restaurant not too far from Mighty O’s. So we stopped by to pick up our very first batch of vegan doughnuts!
Starting at the top left, Chocolate cinnamon sugar, Grasshopper (chocolate mint), Vanilla with chocolate glaze and nuts, Chocolate peanut butter, Cinnamon sugar, and Raspberry chocolate.Yes, there were all as amazing as they sound. The raspberry was great because it tasted like real raspberries, and not like artificial raspberry flavoring. We both liked the peanut butter and grasshopper because they were different from any other flavors we’d ever had. And even though it’s simple, I just loved the one with the peanuts. Reminded me of an ice cream sundae!
(We may have made more than one trip to Mighty O’s, so you may get to hear more about it in a future post).
We exercised self control, and only tasted a few doughnuts as to not ruin our lunch. We were getting hungry, so we headed over to Chaco Canyon Cafe for lunch.
Chaco Canyon has a great feel to it on the inside, with a nice southwestern decor. The girl who took our orders was very friendly and seemed to know a lot about the menu. It was chilly outside, so we both ordered soup and sandwiches. Pete ordered the Reuben (made with Field Roast) with tomato basil soup. He liked the soup and really liked his sandwich. He remarked that there was no shortage of flavor.
I ordered the Basil Pesto Melt with the lentil soup. The soup was decent but a little too tart, and I would try another one before ordering it again. The sandwich was fabulous! It had lots of pesto, vegan mozzarella, tomato, and sprouts on toasted bread. It was pretty big, so I saved half of it for a snack later that afternoon (and it also tasted yummy after being microwaved).
Chaco Canyon is the type of place where you could eat every day. Pete and I can’t wait to go back and try some of the rice and quinoa bowls. There’s also a good selection of raw food, which I would like to try when it wasn’t so cold outside. If you’re ever in Seattle, I highly recommend you try this place!
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Seattle – Part 1
I have returned from my trip home. It was such a great trip. I was able to spend lots of quality time with family and friends. And, most importantly, Pete and I ate some great vegan food!
Our first day in town, we took a trip to Trader Joe’s in Bellevue. I seriously miss this place! I didn’t shop there a lot before we moved, but I know I will be there all the time once we move back. The prices are simply amazing and unbeatable. For example, I bought a jar of almond butter and cashew butter, each was under $5. I had never even tried almond butter before, because where I live, it ranges from $12-$17! I managed to get both jars back to Virginia still in tact, and can now say that I have tasted almond butter!
Anyways, here’s a shot of the store:
Pete was hungry, and there was a great selection of vegan baked goods, so he chose these Blueberry Mango Cranberry Bran Muffins. As you can see, “VEGAN” is printed in big letters, so there’s no confusion. There’s also a very short ingredient list, with no refined sugars. These were very tasty, and we would definitely buy them again!
Just look at that fruit!
We also came across these Beef-less Strips, and figured we’ve give them a try. Again, note the “V” at the bottom of the package. I love Trader Joe’s!
One afternoon I whipped up a speedy lunch for my mom and myself, consisting of bell peppers, broccoli, and the beef-less strips. I cooked the strips first, and then set them aside until the veggies were done. Of course, I snuck a taste, upon which I discovered that they were quite bland. I added a few tablespoons of sesame ginger dressing, which helped a lot.
These weren’t bad, but I probably wouldn’t buy them again. My mom and I both thought they were okay, but I would still just rather have tofu.
I hope you enjoyed this first installment about my trip to Seattle. I still have lots more to share!
You have all been very busy bloggers. I came home to almost 900 new blogs to read!!! I’m getting caught up, but it will take a little while. But I will be back to commenting soon – I promise!
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Split Pea Soup, Grilled Figs, Grilled Romaine Salad with Roasted Beets
Dinner 10/27
Split Pea Soup
Grilled Romaine Salad with Roasted Beets
We were at the West Side Market in Cleveland last Friday, and picked up some nice organic bread to use as bowls for tonight’s split pea soup. We cut the tops off using a large cookie cutter, then scooped out the inside (to be used for bread crumbs) with a #20 scoop. The bowls were then baked in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes.
The soup itself used pressure cooked split peas, diced carrots, celery, zucchini, smoked tofu, smoked salt and pepper, and veg stock.
We also picked up the figs at the WSM, cut them in half and grilled them at the same time as the romaine for the salad. The (very large) beet was roasted for about an hour at 450F, peeled and cut into julienne for the salad.
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Lasagna
Dinner 10/25
Lasagna
Sometimes, while picking which pictures to use for the blog entry, I tend to over-analyze. Small variations in lighting, depth of field, background colors, will lead to loss of perspective. So I step away for a bit, check e-mail or Twitter and come back to it. On some nights, none of the pictures are particularly interesting or have some tiny flaw that makes me twitchy. On some nights, you start to see shapes hidden in the picture. Like tonight.
Is it Lasagna or a Sharpei?
Yes, I need a nap…
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Polenta with Cremini Mushrooms, Brussel Sprouts and Balsamic Vinegar
Dinner 10/24
Polenta with Cremini Mushrooms, Brussel Sprouts and Balsamic Vinegar
Tonight’s meal was a perfect fall dinner…
A simple saute of mushrooms and petit chou-chou splashed with tamari sitting on creamy polenta, finished with a little aged balsamic vinegar.
The polenta starts with 1 cup of fine cornmeal whisked into 3 cups of boiling water seasoned with 1 tbs. of salt. From there we turn down the heat to low and make it like risotto, adding an additional 3 cups of water, 1/2 cup at a time here and there (don’t sweat the timing, just don’t let it scorch the bottom of the pan). Finally we add 1 tbs. of soy margarine, 1 tbs. of nutritional yeast, and 1 tsp. of black pepper. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, and check for seasoning.
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Raw Food Wednesday: Beet Ravioli, Fennel Pizza, Fennel and Apple Soup, Kohlrabi and Mache Salad
Raw Food Wednesday 10/22
Beet Ravioli
(stuffed with fennel cheese)Fennel Pizza
Fennel and Apple Soup
Kohlrabi and Mache Salad
Tonight’s Keyword: Fennel.
So, there it was… a giant fennel bulb, taking up a lot of space in the vegetable drawer. Something had to be done and quickly…
First, starting with the salad, the kohlrabi was peeled and slice thinly on the benriner, then mixed briefly with a little pinch of salt. Then it was tossed with the mache and the olive oil and lemon juice vinaigrette.
The filling for the beet ravioli was fennel cheese — a combination of 1 cup of diced fennel and 3/4 of macadamia and 1/4 cup of pine nuts cheese, blended together with 1 tbs. of olive oil, 1 tsp. of freshly ground fennel seed, sea salt and pepper to taste, and enough water (start with a 1/4 cup) to process everything smoothly.
The (very large) beet for the ravioli was thinly sliced on the mandoline. This yielded about 40 slices, which were tossed with salt and olive oil and allowed to marinate (and soften) for 30 minutes. They were garnished with some fresh horseradish zested on the microplane.
The pizza consisted of the fennel cheese (as above) dehydrated on the previously made buckwheat shells for a hour or so at 105F. Afterward, we added a thin layer of sauce made from 1/2 red bell pepper and 1/4 cup of sun-dried tomato, pureed together with a 1 tsp. of olive oil, 1 tsp. of nama shoyu and pepper. This was topped with shaved fennel which was marinated with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes.
The soup was the easiest to make: 1 Melrose apple, peeled and cored, 1 cup of cubed fennel, 1/2 cup of cashews, 1/4 cup of pine nuts, 1/4 cup of water, 1 tbs. grated horseradish, 1 tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add everything to the vita-mix and puree for a good 30 seconds. Strain the soup through a fine strainer or chinois which will remove any pulp from the fennel and apple and make for a much smoother soup. Check for seasoning. We garnished with some dill and tiny cubes of leftover beets from the ravioli cut into brunoise.
The (delicious) irony? We only ended up using 3/4ths of the fennel.
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Mighty-O’s
I went. I ate. I conquered.
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Seitan Stew with Plums, Purple Potatoes, Green Beans
Dinner 10/21
Seitan Stew with Plums
Purple Potatoes
Green Beans
Surprisingly, some of the plums are still hanging there after a month, so we made a repeat of the Seitan Osso Bucco recipe, substituting the plums for tomatoes. And what better to have as an accompaniment to plums? Purple Potatoes!
I give you… PotatoHenge™!
To make your own PotatoHenge™, boil the potatoes for 15 minutes, drain and cut off the top and bottoms and then slice them in half, the long way. Roll them around in some soy margarine, and season with salt and pepper. Using a large ring mold, place the cut side touching the mold until you’ve gone all the way around without any gaps. Then add the stew in the center and let stand for a couple of seconds. Remove the ring mold and your PotatoHenge™ is complete!
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