> Cross-posted at www.farmtophilly.com.
School’s out, summer’s here, and I couldn’t be happier than I am now, celebrating with CARROTS!
Archive for the 'veg*n' Category
I love a Friday glass of wine :) Here’s a glass next to my latest favorite meal by Jason, biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are Bisquick (file under “accidentally vegan”), made using the recipe on the box with soy instead of dairy milk. The gravy recipe is sausage-style, based on a recipe he found online at Pinch My Salt. This meal is perfect comfort food and one that all three of us love.
Jase’s Sausage Gravy
1 tablespoon oil
1 package Gimme Lean Sausage
1/2 cup 50/50 flour
4 cups soy milk
pinch of dried sage (or fresh, finely chopped)
pinch of salt1. In a medium saucepan, heat milk over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Make sure to keep an eye on the milk, don’t let it boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over medium high heat, then add sausage. Break-up and cook the sausage until it starts browning and is crumbled, about 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle flour over the sausage and cook, stirring, for a minute or two.
4. Add warm milk all at once and cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly.
5. Turn heat all the way down, add sage and season well with salt and pepper, stirring and tasting frequently until the flavor is to your liking. We usually tone the pepper down to AC’s liking, then add extra to our own servings. Turn off the heat. Gravy will continue to thicken as it cools. Serve over warm biscuits.
To make up for the complete lack of fiber and vitamins in this gluttonous meal of biscuits, gravy and wine, I served dinner with a healthy helping of spinach salad. Happy Friday!
The tempeh loaf I planned for and made for Tuesday’s dinner was incredibly simple to prepare and freaking rocked. The ingredients are common, the prep time minimal and the result delectable. When planning meals for the week, I knew that we’d all be eating together without a time constraint, like practice to get to. A rare occurrence of which I wanted to take full advantage.
The thought of a family sitting down to eat together led my mind to a 1950 image of mom in a dress, heels, apron and oven mits, serving a piping-hot dinner just as dad gets home and little Johnny comes in from playing. That image naturally led to my dinner selection of potatoes and greens aside meatloaf. (Huh. Not sure why I neglected the martini that surely would’ve been present at that table.)
The greens I had on hand were broccoli and asparagus, which I simply steamed. Since I already had the oven on to bake the loaf, I decided to cut up and the bake potatoes in a covered stoneware dish with a bit of olive oil and Earth Balance.
While everything was baking, I had plenty of time to set the scene. Place mats, forks, knives, napkins, serving dishes with spoons, water glasses and condiments were all set on the table before dinner. I even turned the radio on to a jazz station (no, not that ez listening crap) and pulled out a tray on which I could place the hot loaf pan and potato dish to bring to the table. Everything was finished cooking and I served dinner within ten minutes of Jason coming home and Avery’s friends leaving.
Feeling Fancy Tempeh Loaf
1 lb. tempeh
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 cup rolled oats (or 1/4 cup oats plus 1/4 cup wheat germ)
2 ribs celery, with leaves, finely chopped
2 carrots, grated
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup tamari
1 tsp. each of dried basil, oregano, turmeric, and thyme, plus a dash of black pepper
1/4 cup good quality ketchup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9×5 loaf pan. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Put the tempeh in a large bowl and mash well. Add the yeast, tahini, tamari, all of the dried herbs, and the ketchup. Stir until well mixed. Add the bread crumbs, oats and the cooked vegetables and mix well. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let the loaf stand for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter to unmold.RECIPE from Macrobiotic Foundation of Central Florida’s MacroNewsBite
I was actually out of tamari, so I substituted soy sauce; you could use Bragg’s, too. To make this easy recipe even easier, I added the grating plate to my food processor and grated the onion, carrot and celery into one bowl.
As we sat down and ate together, we couldn’t help but feel fancy — a stark contrast to another recent meal — and grateful for the simple pleasure of eating a no-deadline meal together. We’ll definitely be doing this more :)
With May looming, the anticipation of our CSA subscription and our own garden planting (that’s some of the seedlings, above) is killing me a little bit. I just adore the simplicity of going out to one’s backyard or to the farmer’s stand up the street to pick up meal ingredients for the week. In stark contrast to that simple is best philosophy, some recent why-is-food-so-complicated discussions:
1. I just got this email from my sister:
OK, to two of my favorite label readers…I’m munching on some yummy Grape Tomatoes for a snack and this is what I read:
“Coated with food grade vegetable, petroleum, beeswax and/or lac-Resin based wax or resin to maintain freshness.”
So – either I have petroleum on my tomatoes or my tomatoes aren’t even vegan since beeswax or lac resin which is from the secretion of the lac bug are both animal byproducts.
I’m still going to eat my tomatoes, but how t weird could our food get?
So, two things. First: I immediately responded, “Yet another reason to purchase your food from local farms,” to which she said, “They are local — Four Seasons Produce in Ephrata.” Dang. And Second: Wtf? Tomatoes, a natural whole plant food, not suitable for a vegan? Has anyone heard of such a thing? I know to avoid shiny apples and waxy cucumbers, but grape tomatoes?
2. On MotheringDotCommune, someone posted a link to this document titled, Guidelines for Feeding Broiler Litter to Beef Cattle. Apparently, feeding cows corn isn’t cheap enough, as farmers have been recommended to add this collection of chicken “bedding material, manure, wasted feed and feathers” to their diets. Hilariously, there is quite an emphasis on using the correct mixture of dry materials with the bedding as feed in order to avoid mold. You know, so the cows won’t get sick.
3. In vitro meat. I am not even kidding.
Seriously. At what point did our food become so complicated and weird?
Although our original virtual cooking date plans were ambitious, it had been six months since Kelly Ann and I had our first cooking date when we recently logged on for date number two. We went back and forth between a few recipes before finally landing on Urban Vegan’s Cashew Curry Casserole. It turned out to be a perfect choice, quick and simple, for our weeknight date.
I went to the market after work, then assembled the ingredients, plugged in the laptop and opened a bottle of local Chaddsford wine.
The recipe called for broccoli and tomatoes (I used ones I jarred over the summer), but recommended mushroom, bell peppers and squash as options. I just love to see color in my food, so I added yellow squash, orange pepper and red pepper preserved last season from Del Val College:
Urban Vegan suggests serving the casserole with a whole grain; I went a coconut-lime brown basmati rice. I replaced the water with a half coconut milk and half coconut water mixture, then mixed in some lime zest at the end and topped it with toasted shredded coconut. At first, I was just going to make brown rice, straight up, but I’m so glad I took the extra time to make this instead. The flavors were a perfect compliment to this fabulous creamy curry dinner.
The casserole recipe is simple to prepare, depending almost entirely on inexpensive whole foods, and is chock-full of nutrition. It’s basically two mixtures, one of the veggies and chickpeas, the other of the sauce, combined then baked. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
Somewhere, at some point, Kelly and I became un-synced. My rice took longer than I thought it would which was actually a good thing because so did the baking of the casserole. This all can be contributed to the fact that I have a bizarre, innate compulsion to cook for 12. I must have had eight kids in my previous life. Or worked in a school cafeteria. In any case, I doubled this recipe, as I do most, yet neglected to adjust prepping/cooking time. I’m slick like that.
Kelly’s a fabulous friend though, and hung in there as long as she could. We chatted online about world peace and astrophysics (or boys and hangovers), checking in on our dinners and sipping our drinks. Eventually, we had to disconnect so she could feed herself and her salivating boyfriend. My monster also got sick of waiting and came into the kitchen to make himself a PB and J.
When everything finally came together, it was pretty incredible. The creaminess of this meal is not-to-be-missed. Seriously. The textures are a great marriage of crunchy veggies and soft chickpeas, the spice is nice and flavorful, but it is the creaminess of the cashew butter mixture that makes this meal. This would be a perfect answer to a cheese craving.
So, our second virtual cooking date was a definite success! In addition to “hanging out” with one of my favorite people EVER, the night resulted in leftovers that served as several dinners and lunches for Jase and me. I’m excited for our next one… which, according to the standards we’ve now officially stated, should be sometime soon!
How fun is this?!
I think that this Lemon Pepper Baked Tofu is my favorite Fresh Tofu variety. The flavor is light and crisp with a little bite, and like all of Fresh Tofu’s baked varieties, the texture is sublimely dense.
The subtleties of this lemon and pepper tofu can get lost in some dishes, so I usually eat it as simply as possible. Diced into tiny cubes, it’s perfect for a lightly dressed salad, where the taste can shine. For dinner, they blend perfectly in lemon pepper pasta.
I use a pretty basic and quick recipe; the ingredients are simple and it’s easy to time everything to finish up at once. That, combined with a barely one-dollar-per-serving price, this dish could easily find it’s way into your weekly menu plan.
Lemon Pepper Tofu and Pasta
serves 6I package Fresh Tofu lemon pepper tofu
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 lemons
1/3 cup chopped parsley
2 teaspoons plus a dash black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Lemon zest for garnish
Parsley for garnish
Cut lemon pepper tofu into 1/4″ cubes. Heat tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, add tofu and sprinkle with a dash of pepper. Allow to brown over medium/high heat, tossing often. Right before removing from heat, squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon into pan, toss and cook for 30 to 60 seconds. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for three to five minutes, or until done; drain.
In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, parsley and black pepper; stir well. Toss with pasta.
Serve pasta with tofu cubes on top, garnish with parsley and lemon zest, pepper and salt to taste. Serve hot or cold.
Many lemon pepper pasta recipes call for basil rather than parsley, which I plan on trying this summer when the basil comes in from our CSA or garden. I’d also love to try this tofu over VeganYumYum’s spicy lemon pepper fettuccine or with this lemon pepper cous-cous. Any non-local veggies you find in lemon pepper recipes could easily be replaced with seasonal ones. Except of course for the lemon. Maybe Nicole’s Tuscarora Organic Growers Co-op will come through with some lemony citrus for us?
And now, all this light and airy lemon pepper herb talk has got me jonesing for spring something fierce. Drool!
Posted for:
> Cross-posted at www.farmtophilly.com.
Like just about everyone else I know, I was recently hit with a nasty cold. Working outside of the home and doing the mom thing while miserably sick means my kitchen (and gym!) get a break. For meals, quick and easy have been my MO, with a little bit of spice to alleviate the sinuses. I’ve had lots of soups and sandwiches, including this yummy creation of Fresh Tofu’s baked tofu, Blooming Glen onion, spinach, roasted red peppers, homemade hot pepper spread, hummus and refried beans:
Because this tofu is already seasoned and processed, there’s no reason to press, drain or marinade. Each package comes with four mini blocks, each of which I simply sliced “open” and heated in a non-oiled pan. I also grilled the bread, complet from Bakers on Broad, using a light coating of olive oil. There was no method to the rest of the ingredients — I just scavenged the refrigerator. I’m pretty sure you already guessed that, though ;) The result was a filling and flavorful meal that, most importantly, didn’t require too much strain on my foggy brain.
Although I prepare Fresh Tofu’s baked tofu fairly often, this was the first time I added it to a sandwich — something I’ll definitely do again. The texture is perfectly dense, and the flavor very mild with just a hint of sesame, making it a perfect addition to just about any meal. I absolutely recommend also using it as salad topper; cut into tiny cubes and crisped in a dry frying pan, they provide a fantastic protein punch with great texture and taste. It’s also great in stirfries, either sliced into strips or cubed.
Posted for:
> Cross-posted at www.farmtophilly.com.
Reason # 4,689: www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/30/undercover.slaughter.video
As my friend Justin says, “I’m sorry, this is news to some people?”
In other cow news, this one and her little friend nearly killed me:
by KCzarzastyEee! :)
Local vegan for Thanksgiving: so good! That’s because I’ve been hoarding sweet potatoes and shallots from my CSA share since September.
I found that the most efficient way to deal with the abundance of produce each week was to preserve whatever preserved easiest, so more often than not, each week’s potatoes and onions were put in the dark. My stockpile of sweet potatoes and shallots finally met the light of day on Thanksgiving morning as Jason and I created a smash for our vegan dinner with friends later that night.
While pulling the recipe together, my only objective was to stear clear of the traditional sugary and sticky sweet potato recipes. One of the most valuable lessons eating locally has taught me, is that simply is the very best way to cook and enjoy vegetables. Local food just tastes better; there’s little reason to doctor it up with loads of other ingredients. Think I’m overstating? Do a test of your own. A bite of local sweet potato vs. a bite of store-bought sweet potato. No contest. Be sure to note the incredible color difference while you’re at it, too!
Additionally, always considering a local vegan diet when preparing meals, things like marshmallows and white sugar don’t please either side. In avoiding a lot of ingredients, shallots and thyme seemed like a great way to impart a bit of simple savory loveliness into our dish.
Savory Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 84 pounds of sweet potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled and quartered (Blooming Glen Farm CSA crop share - 5 miles)
1/4 pound of shallots, chopped (Blooming Glen)
1 tablespoon dried thyme, crushed (Blooming Glen)
1 tablespoon olive oil (not local)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (not local)
1/2 cup soy milk (from Westsoy - 91 miles)
1/4 cup vegan buttery spread (from Earth Balance - 117 miles)Add sweet potatoes to boiling stockpot and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme to the oil and cook five minutes or until soft and fragrant. Drain potatoes, score skins (so they don’t get caught in your masher) and smash. Stir in two-thirds of the shallot mixture, soy milk and Earth Balance. Serve with shallots and thyme mixture sprinkled on top.
On top of being delicious, the simple ingredients mean super quick preparation. We had this in a serving dish and packed up in under 30 minutes. Maybe I should have started this post with “Local vegan for Thanksgiving: so good, so fast and so easy!”
> Cross-posted at www.farmtophilly.com.
comments
RSS