Cooking Club Season 1, Episode 1

Some ladies and I have decided to get together roughly once a month, each of us bringing a different course, sharing the recipes, learning some new things. Among the group are people who eat meat, don't eat meat, don't do dairy -- lots of diets to take into account. I'm not sure how they all will pan out, but Episode 1 was all vegan and vegetarian, which works for me!

I tackled the vegan entree of Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Cashew Ricotta and Sage Crumb Topping, straight from the Veganomicon cookbook. Other deliciousness was squash/ginger/shallot soup, homemade bread, cheesecake, sweet potato hummus and the first recipe I'll share:

Kale with Peanut Dressing, with instructions by A.A.

1 head of kale
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
A few dashes hot sauce or sriracha, depending on how spicy you like it
water
Ginger, fresh or powder (optional)
Garlic, fresh or powder (optional)
Agave or honey (optional)
Sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
Red onions to garnish (optional)

I put on a pot of boiling water, and while I wait for it to boil I
make my peanut sauce. You may already have a peanut sauce recipe you
love, so feel free to run with that. Mine is a mix of peanut butter,
soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot sauce, and water. I don't really measure,
so the measurements above are really general. I usually heat a blob of
peanut butter in the microwave for 20 seconds. Then pour a little soy
sauce and stir. Then add the rice vinegar and hot sauce, stir again,
taste, adjust, then add a little water to thin it all out. (Sometimes
I'll add those optional ingredients above, but when I'm doing it
quickly, I leave them out.)

Now your water's boiling. Remove all the leaves from the kale stems
and then blanch the leaves in the boiling water for about 1.5-2
minutes, until soft.

Next, put it in an ice bath or run it quickly
under cold water to stop it from cooking further, and to keep it
green. Now you want to get the water out of it so it will soak up the
dressing. You can squeeze it with your hands (this will bunch it up,
but you can separate it again) or dab it with a clean kitchen towel.
Then mix it with the peanut dressing you've made. You can eat it right
away, but I actually like to refrigerate mine a little first.

The kale cooks down a lot, so a whole head of kale really makes about
2 portions.


This was delicious! AA confessed she put a ton of sriracha in it, but that's just fine with me. So good! I can't wait to try this on things other than kale too, as I've been on the hunt for the perfect peanut sauce.

Mushroom Tarts

I found myself with a few random ingredients and decided to make something out of them a couple of weeks ago when some friends were coming over to watch the Golden Globes. You won't see any specific amounts here, since I was just winging it. I'm sure all kinds of stuff would be good added to these, but this is a good starting off point for variations...

I used almost 2 pkgs of crescent roll sheets -- basically the ones without the perforations. I sprayed muffin pans with Pam, then cut squares of the dough and pushed them into the cups. Some covered the whole cup, some didn't -- it didn't really matter in the end.

Ingredients:
1 pkg sliced baby bella mushrooms,
onion and/or shallot
minced garlic
fresh herbs: thyme, sage
Italian bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese (you could easily substitute veggie cheese(s) here!)
salt and pepper

1. First, I sauteed the onion and garlic in a little olive oil, then added the chopped sage and thyme, salt and pepper.

2. Chopped and sauteed almost the whole package of mushrooms -- in the end I could have used more filling, so I should have used the whole thing.

3. After they were all soft and sauteed, I added just a little bit of shredded Parmesan cheese, and a sprinkling of bread crumbs to bind everything together.

4. I divided the filling into the cups, remembering that the dough would puff up a bit upon cooking. I sprinkled extra cheese on top of about half of them, knowing half of the people eating them don't love a lot of cheese.

5. I baked them according to a recipe on the side of the roll canister -- about 10 minutes at 350 degrees or so. I just kept an eye on them until the dough started to brown a little.

I realize this is all a little vague, but that's what's good about cooking sometimes -- it doesn't have to be exact. Everyone loved them, so I guess winging it sometimes works!

See the happy faces!!



I think if Scott was alone, he would have rolled around in them. He smacked my hand away when I tried to enjoy one of my own creations.

WOOL AND WATER: Mmmmm Lentils.....

Here is a delicious looking lentil dish, posted by another fellow Michigan crafter. Check it out!

WOOL AND WATER: Mmmmm Lentils.....

Best kale dish and super easy too!

This recipe comes from my crafting partner in crime Jay (pictured* with me at our 2009 Detroit Urban Craft Fair booth). I was kind of a kale freak this summer, but never really found the perfect recipe. This one sounded sooooo good when Jay told me about it, I asked her to pass it on. Here it is!


Ingredients:
Kale (I like the dark purple kind best, with the stems removed and chopped coarsely)
sliced almonds
dried tart cherries
shallot
red wine vinegar or lemon juice
salt and pepper
olive oil

• Saute shallot, almonds and cherries in a little olive oil until shallots are soft.
• Add kale and toss around until wilted. sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice or vinegar.
• Serve over a bed of couscous (for extra flavor, use broth instead of water when cooking the couscous)


* Photo by Tafari

The return of the blog: Italian Eggplant Ragout

Four months without an entry? Does that even constitute a blog? Among my New Year's Resolutions (there will be some this year, for a change), is to get back to blogging. I've done a poor job of late, especially with my half-hearted attempts at a daily "Michigan Etsy Shop of the Day" over on Monkita Knits.

Not without good reason, I suppose. I've been nannying and knitting myself ragged. I see the light at the end of the Christmas-rush-order tunnel and I'm going to start with a few blogs in the next week or so (hopefully). For months I've been taking pictures of the delicious things I've been cooking (though few and far between), so now it's time to go back through iPhoto and catch up.

Up first is something I made last week, actually: Italian Eggplant Ragout, a vegan dish from the May 2008 Vegetarian Times



Eggplant can be a good hearty meat substitute and it's full of antioxidants. It's very good for people looking to lower their cholesterol too.

Serves 6

2 medium eggplants (I used one large and it was quite a bit)
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 c.)
2 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tsp)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp. capers
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

1. Half and seed eggplants. Cut into 3/4-inch chunks and toss with salt in a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes, then drain, rinse and pat dry. This draws out the bitter juices of some eggplants and helps it hold its shape and not get mushy while cooking.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute about 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.

3. Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas and eggplant. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 15 minutes or until eggplant is tender but not mushy. I stirred mine often to make sure everything cooked as evenly as possible.

4. Stir in capers and sugar, and cook about 2 minutes more. Fold in parsley and season with black pepper.




Enjoy!

On the side that night, I made some crispy rosemary potatoes, so I figured I'd take a picture of those too!

Cut up any combination of potatoes you like -- I used a few sweet potatoes and a couple of large redskin potatoes.




Preheat oven to 425

1. Peel potatoes (I left the skin on my reds) and cut into about 1-inch chunks.

2. Put in pot and fill with water until potatoes are just covered. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 5 minutes.

3. Drain and return to pan. Toss in 2-3 Tbsp. of butter and a drizzle (about 1 Tbsp.) of olive oil and coat potatoes.

4. Chop fresh rosemary (how much is up to you -- I used quite a bit and it still didn't seem like very much!), add to potatoes, along with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Spray a couple of cookie sheets/cake pans with PAM if you have it, then spread potatoes in a single layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, tossing at least once, until your desired crispiness is reached.

They are flavorful and delicious!

Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

New recipe time! It's been a long time, I know. I've got a backlog of things I've made in the last few months. The pictures are taken, the food is eaten. I just have to find the time to share them!

But I'll start with last night's victory. I was setting out to the grocery store to buy things to make dinner for some friends I decided could use a good, home-cooked meal. Then I realized, 'Hey, we could use a good home-cooked meal."

I was in a hurry though, and when I get in these moods, I like to try something new. With my keys and purse already in hand, I grabbed a few back issues from my pile of Vegetarian Times stacked next to my cookbooks and started flipping through. I wasn't sure what I was looking for -- few ingredients, easy and fast -- since it would be late by the time I got back from dropping off the meal to Chris and Jess and my chief taste-tester, Dan, would be famished.

Although it was the picture of the Artichoke and Green Olive Souffle that caught my attention on page 32 of the February 2009 issue, I scanned down the page to find a recipe for Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms. I had no clue whether Dan liked Brussels sprouts or gnocchi, but I decided I didn't care and I would go for it anyway.

Turns out, he didn't know whether he liked either. And he didn't know what he was about to eat. But the first bite brought out the best reaction I've ever gotten from any food I've ever made. Ever.

"OH. MY. GOD. Oh, my god! This is the best thing I've ever eaten!"

SO, here it is:

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter (real or vegan, etc.)
1 16-oz. pkg frozen gnocchi (I used some that wasn't frozen, and wasn't traditional -- I bought Gia Russa whole wheat gnocchi with sweet potato. Vegan. Delicious. I popped it in the freezer for a couple of hours before I cooked it.)
2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered -- about 4 cups (Holiday Market didn't have creminis, so I went with baby bellas. They were great, but I think I'll try shitakes next time for the hell of it.)
8 oz. Brussels sprouts (I ended up using about 10 fresh sprouts, sliced the long way)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional (I used regular grated because it's what I had)

1. Heat butter in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi and cook 4 to 5 minutes, turning often, until both sides are browned. Transfer to a large bowl.



2. Pour 1 tsp. oil into pan and add mushrooms. Cook 7 minutes or until mushrooms have cooked down and all liquid is cooked off. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and transfer to bowl with gnocchi.

3. Pour remaining oil into pan and add Brussels sprouts. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until crisp-tender. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Return mushrooms and gnocchi to pan and saute a couple of more minutes to heat through.



4. Transfer to plates or a platter and garnish with cheese. Enjoy!

Guest Post: "Meat"Loaf

One of my BFF's Sally made this for a friend who requested comfort food for her birthday. From Sal:

So i kinda last minute invented this meatloaf recipe and to my surprise it was awesome - everyone including the meat eaters loved it and asked for the recipe!
I kinda was making it up as i went along, but it was pretty simple. Let me know what you think!


Meatloaf!

1 package Morning Star faux beef crumbles
----- I thawed in microwave for 1 min to make it easier to work with
mix with 2 eggs in medium bowl
chop up 3-4 slices of bread and add to "meat"/egg mixture
add about a 1/4 cup milk more or less - little at a time to a meatloafy consistancy
----saute about
1/2c diced yellow onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 stick of celery and about a 1/4 of a red pepper
just until soft
add this to the "meaty" mix and stir it up good
oh yeah- and i added some onion salt, paprika, a little black and red pepper
i sprayed the bread pan with a little spray on oil
then just smoosh it in there and throw some ketchup on top!

bake at 350 for 40min
yum!

Coffee Mug Chocolate Cake!

Ok, so this post is just for fun. Gooey, (not vegan) chocolate cake fun. A friend e-mailed this recipe to me and I knew it was something Claire would love.

Even though I told her Sally e-mailed me the directions, she said, "You should get a job cooking. You love cooking, right?" After she finally tasted the gooey mess, she said, "Now you really should get a job cooking."

Step 1. Get a large mug and spray it with cooking spray.

Step 2. Measure 4 Tbsp. flour and 9 Tbsp. hot cocoa mix into mug



Step 3. Crack an egg into the mug and mix as best you can.



Step 4. Add 3 Tbsp. water and 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil. Mix thoroughly until all dry ingredients are wet. Be sure to scrape the bottom to get all the flour and cocoa!



(Here we added some marshmallows and mini chocolate chips, but they all melted during the "baking." But, they were still melty and good.)



Step 5. Microwave on high for 3 minutes*. During microwaving, the cylinder of cake will rise out of the mug. As soon as the microwave stops, it will slink back into the cup.



* I looked at it and the top looked all sticky and wet so I thought it wasn't done and put it in for another minute. Four minutes was fine/didn't overcook it, but it still was wet looking after 4 minutes but was thoroughly cooked. I think 3 would have been fine.

Step 6. Turn over cup and tap until the cake falls out onto the plate. It will be extremely hot -- look at the steam! (And the bits of flour I didn't get quite mixed in.)


Step 7. Add any toppings, frosting, etc. you might like. We went for more marshmallows, chocolate chips and some chocolate sauce.





Step 8. Enjoy! Claire (and dad) tell me it was delicious.



Since I don't like chocolate, I decided to make one out of my Ghiradelli white chocolate hot chocolate. Having never had white chocolate cake, I have nothing too compare it to, but it was a pretty good little treat!

What's a vegan to do?

My co-worker and regular recipe tester Mary T. recently found herself at a wedding where she had requested a vegan meal. She couldn't believe it when they showed up with a pile of cantaloupe and a pile of tabbouleh.

Per the waiter's instruction, she mixed it together and dove in. Sound crazy? I agree.

But Mary swears that it's now a favorite of her and her husband, Matt, who's not even vegetarian, let alone vegan.

On a recently night they filled a giant pasta bowl of the mixture and killed it, with the help of some pita bread.

I've never been much of a picky eater so I'm willing to give it a try! I mean, I've grown to love strawberry jelly on grilled cheese, so why not give this a shot, right?

If you try it, let me know what you think! On that note, if you try any of the recipes I post here, I would love to hear your comments on what you think of them.

African Chickpea and Spinach Soup

I have been subscribing to Vegetarian Times for almost two years now and, sadly, have yet to make a single recipe from any issue.

That is, until tonight. I've been saving my soon-to-spoil herbs, stalks, peels and more for a few weeks and decided it was time to make some veggie broth -- if for no other reason than the refrigerator at the new house is teeny so it was fighting veggie burgers and ice cube trays for space.

I filled a pot with my two gallon-sized Ziploc bags full of vegetable scraps and let it simmer for about five hours, then let it cool for another hour or so. It made almost 20 cups of broth! Most of it is in plastic bags in the freezer...

Out of three contenders I was deciding between, I realized I had 95 percent of the ingredients for the African Chickpea and Spinach Soup from the March 2007 issue so that's what won. That and the fact that it sounded goooood.

I just finished making it and -- holy cow -- did I choose wisely. A brief taste test is all I have experienced, but it's really good. In a way that's a little unexpected. One of those recipes that just works, but you can't figure out what your favorite part is. It almost doesn't make sense, but that's OK -- it's delicious nonsense.

Here it is:

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped (about 1 c.)
1 clove minced garlic -- about 1 tsp (I used 2 because I love garlic)
1/4 c. smooth natural peanut butter (I only had Jiff, which seems to have worked fine)
2 c. low sodium vegetable broth (or no sodium, if you make your own)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I added a touch more for extra kick)
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz. an of diced tomatoes
2 oz. spinach chopped (about 2 c.)

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more, or until garlic is lightly browned.

2. Blend peanut butter and 1/2 c. broth in food processor to make smooth paste. (Note: I don't see how this could be a paste. Maybe with natural peanut butter? It made peanut butter liquid for me, which seems to have turned out fine. Maybe it's because I just used a whisk instead of putting it in a food processor.) Blend in remaining 1 1/2 c. of broth.

3. Add paprika, coriander and cayenne into onion mixture and saute about 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in peanut butter mixture, chickpeas and tomatoes.

4. Simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in spinach just before serving. (Although I don't intend to eat it until tomorrow, I chopped up about 1/2 a bag of spinach and added it. I'm guessing it will hold up just fine until tomorrow).



According to Veg Times, per serving:
257 calories
11 grams protein
13 grams total fat (2 g. saturated fat)
28 grams carbohydrates
581 milligrams sodium
9 grams fiber
9 grams sugar

Guest Post: Chilaquiles

We've got a guest post from former Royal Oakian and new Torontan Tara Dziurman, who made chilaquiles (or a version of them she came across) last weekend and has morphed it into brunches and other meals she's continued to eat daily since.

Thanks for Tara for sharing! I can't wait to make it.

So I think there are a variety of different kinds of chilaquiles, but the one I made is like a Mexican lasagna. I made some improvisations to the recipe I found (some because I wanted to, some because Canadian grocery stores aren't quite up to par with what's available in Detroit).

This is what I ended up doing:

Half of a large onion (diced)

1 Large zucchini (diced)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 can sliced jalapenos (then chopped)

2 cans enchilada sauce (regular sized - 10 oz??)

Shredded cheddar cheese (I used a cheddar / mozzarella mix because it was cheaper)

12 Corn tortillas - quartered (Canadian grocery stores don't carry corn tortillas so I used multi-grain tortillas meant for wraps. I figured the texture was closer than flour tortillas. Also the package had 8 so I used 8 and it was fine)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown onion in a pan, once browned add zucchini, tomatoes, beans, cumin and jalapenos. (recipe actually called for corn and I substituted it with jalapenos because I like spice, the fresh corn was crap, and I didn't feel like dealing with the frozen stuff). Cook for about 3 minutes.

Take a baking dish (I used 8 x 8, but the recipe called for 13 x 9. My chilaquiles just came out really deep) and line it with some (half?) of the quartered tortillas.

Spoon in half the veggie mixture, pour on half the enchilada sauce and sprinkle as much cheese (cheese substitute?) as you want.

Then layer with the rest of the tortillas, then the veggie mixture, then the rest of the sauce. I made my two tortilla layers rather thin so I added a layer at the top with what was left of the tortillas.

Then sprinkled cheese on top of that. I think this made it sit better, so when you cut squares they were more apt to stay in tact.

Pop into oven covered in foil for 15 min. Then remove the foil and cook for another 10 min so the cheese can get bubbly.

I cutup avocado slices to have on the side, which was yum-o!

Next day scrambled some eggs, and made it into brunch.

It was so easy to make this and I love how you can use whatever veggies you want but provides a Mexican craving fix. There really aren't any Mexican restaurants in Toronto, can you believe that?!

- Tara

Cakes and more cakes.

Vegans, I'm sorry. This blog just isn't for you. It involves all the deliciousness that dairy can be.

This weekend I made desserts for my
mom's birthday.

The first -- the easy one, recipe wise -- was a cigarette cake.



Weird? Yeah, I guess so. But my mom smoked for a really long time. And she finally put down her Marlboro's on her 59th birthday in 2007. So I thought making it a year without smokes, deserved a little recognition.

I took a box of Betty Crocker Funfetti (or wait -- is that Pillsbury?) anyway, funfetti cake mix, and made it according to directions in a 9x13 pan. Once it was cooled, I got it out of the pan the best I could (I had greased and floured the pan, which helped), and I used the entire length and about 2/3 of the width of the cake.

For the majority of the cake, I used plain vanilla Betty Crocker frosting. For the filter, I mixed in a ton of yellow, a bit of red and exactly one drop of green food coloring.

For the burning end, I used red food coloring to make a bright red frosting, then covered it in crushed Oreos to make the ashes.

And that's about it! I could have done better, but I think for my first shot out of the gate, it's not bad!

The "real" dessert I decided to make was a Key lime cheesecake. I've only made it once before and it was well received. So, when I learned my brother-in-law likes Key lime, I was in.

Even though I learned a new recipe for Key lime cheesecake with tropical fruit chutney while covering The Longacre House Cooking Show the other day that had coconut in the crust and was topped with this chutney of dried mango and raisins and cooked in sherry and all kinds of craziness, I decided to go with the old tried and true recipe I had used before. I have a hard time presenting a recipe to people when I've never tried it before...

Before I wrapped it up, I copied a handful of recipes from a cheesecake cookbook I bought my cousin, Leigh, a few years ago for Christmas and this was one of them. It's really simple. This is how you make it:

Crust:
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
2 Tbsp. sugar

Mix and press into the bottom of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Filling:
2 XL eggs, separated
2 Tbsp sugar
1 lb. (2 pkgs) cream cheese
1/4 c. Key lime juice
1 c. sugar

1. Beat egg whites until stiff, add 2 Tbsp sugar and beat for another few seconds
2. In a separate (your bigger) bow, beat yolks and cream cheese together until smooth
3. Add 1 c. sugar and lime juice to the cream cheese mixture
4. Fold whites into cream cheese mixture and fold by hand so it stays fluffy
5. Pour batter into crust and bake for 40-45 minutes. Be sure not to open the oven door at least for the first 35 minutes.
6. Once it passes the toothpick test (you prick it with a toothpick and it comes out clean) then you're good to go.
7. Ideally, you'll be able to let it cool completely and then refrigerate at least four hours before serving. But if not -- who cares. It's still going to taste freakin' GOOD.

Putting my almost perfect peanut sauce to use...

I'm pretty sure my search still is on for the perfect peanut sauce, but in the meantime, I'm going to keep fudging with the recipe I've been tossing around for a couple of months. Now I have a couple of pictures at least to go with it.



The peanut sauce listed in my previous post begins with some red curry paste, coconut milk, soy sauce, peanut butter and the like (go to the post for measurements and specific whatnot).




In the meantime, you take some veggies, clean and cut them up. Our preferred assortment includes green pepper, onions, mushrooms and broccoli.

We steam them in a regular old on the stove steamer, along with some drained and cubed tofu (but now they sell it pre-cubed and I'm hoping that will stay together a bit better!)

Meanwhile, make some rice -- we prefer brown, as its much better for you.
The process that produces brown rice removes only the outermost layer of the rice kernel and is the least damaging to its nutritional value.




(The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese (my favorite of all of them), half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids.

SO, take your nutritionally superior brown rice, place steamed veggies on top and douse with a ladle full of your semi-perfect peanut sauce. Enjoy.

Now you can see the best soup in the whole wide world.

A while back I posted a blog and recipe about
The best soup in the whole wide world.

More recently, I poached a blog and recipe from my friend Megan about The best GD salad you ever will eat.

I finally have pictures of both!

OK, the pictures of the soup were taken with the exact purpose of posting on this blog, so they were taken with more care.




The salad, on the other hand, I happened to make while having dinner at my sister's when my dad was in town. I happened to get a shot of it in the foreground of a photo of he and my little brother, so I suppose I should happen to post it for all the curious salad eaters.

Mrs. Schwitter's Mashed Potato Tower

This blog comes from my good friend Karyn, who soon will be marrying her tall drink of vegan water, Kevin. So happy to have her contribute a recipe to I Eat Veg!


Mashed Potato Tower

When I fell in love with a vegan, I thought cooking would be difficult. I'd been vegetarian for years, but it was hard to imagine eliminating cheese. We are less than 30 miles from Wisconsin for god's sake.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that cooking vegan isn't as difficult as I had imagined, and in fact, it forces me to be quite creative, which I find to be more fun. However, most of my recipes to date have been of Asian or Mexican flair, and I haven't actually cooked much American food, unless of course you count veggie burgers.

Years ago I used to order this item called "Mashed Potato Pile" from a local restaurant. The name is admittedly not too enticing but the dish itself was the perfect cure for a comfort food craving. I have changed the name slightly and recreated this meal, and it was damn tasty-- very filling too!!


Ingredients for the tower:
4-6 Yukon gold potatoes
Pole green beans (a good handful)
3-4 medium to large carrots cut into quarter to half inch round slices
Whatever other veggies you desire -- I added asparagus too.
Margarine (I prefer Earth Balance)


For the Mushroom Gravy:
1-2 shallots
Olive Oil
4 c. of your favorite mushrooms (crimini, portabella, shitake)
3 cloves of garlic
4 c. of vegetable broth
1 c. white or red wine ( I used a little of both because I'm a lush)
2 Tbsp. sage
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. regular soy milk
4 tsp. flour dissolved in 1/2 c. cold water
(You can also dissolve corn starch in cold water to thicken)

1.Start the gravy first because it needs time to cook down. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet.
2.Add sliced mushrooms and shallots. Sautee for 10 minutes.
3.Add minced garlic, salt, pepper and sage. Saute 5 minutes more. Add wine and sautee.
4.Add vegetable broth. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until liquid is reduced by about half.
5.Add flour mixture and combine well until sauce is thickened. Add soy milk and cook only 1 or 2 more minutes.

While the gravy is doing it's thing, boil the potatoes and wash your other veggies to steam. Put your carrots in the steamer ( I put them in a little before the other veggies, since they take a little longer to cook), along with your other veggies until soft, but not mushy.

When the potatoes are soft, drain and place in a large mixing bowl with margarine, one clove of garlic, a dash of salt and pepper, and a half a cup or so of soy or rice milk. Mash using a mixer and add margarine and soy/rice milk as necessary to gain the desired consistency.

When everything is done, place a large scoop of mashed potatoes on a plate and cover with the steamed veggies. Then pour some mushroom gravy over all of this and dig in.

Thank you Kirsten for letting me be a guest blogger!!

Karyn

Makeup Casserole -- vegan goodness

Now that I've made my way to my new home, I actually will be making and photographing the food that I talk about making. First up is Makeup Casserole. The name comes from the fact that it's basically a really amazing marriage between Breakup Soup and Pockets Full of Gold.

In short: Breakup Soup is crushed tortilla chips and salsa. Pockets of Gold will be referred to as tofu and black bean tacos, as that's just what they are.

So, this is a recipe I adapted from one I cooked for my sister, Sarah. She's on bed rest for her second pregnancy, so I'm going to be showing up at her doorstep ready to cook whatever she tells me too (meat eaters, check out the note at the bottom of the post).

After I got home from making this for her on Saturday, I took a stab at vegan-izing it and it went great, but made WAY too much. So, I would use less tofu or less beans or something. Or you can do it just like I did and have a new-and-improved version of the tofu tacos to make with the leftover filling...

Here goes...

Ingredients
2 pkgs. tofu (any firmness, you're going to be demolishing it)
2 pkgs. soy cheese (or regular if you're not vegan)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 16 oz jar hot salsa
1 bag of your choice of tortilla chips (I went with blue corn)
1 small red onion
1 hothouse or beefsteak tomato
1 pepper (color of your choice)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
cilantro
green onions
sour cream (if you're not vegan)



1. Crush chips (eyeball the amount) into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.












2. After draining all the water you possibly can from the tofu* smash it up with a fork or your hands or let the cat go at it -- whatever gets the job done -- and place it in a separate bowl. Drain and rinse beans and add to the bowl, along with the drained corn.

* This time, I simply squeezed the tofu in my hands over a strainer to drain it. If you're just not as barbaric as I am, you could place it between towels, between two pans/bowls/plates and put something heavy on top of it for a while.



3. Dice the onion and green pepper and add to mixture. Now's a good time to add the cumin, salt and salsa. You can throw some chopped cilantro in there too, or just save that to use as a topping at the end.














4. Put half (or less if you made a crapton of it like I did) on top of the chips and then put half of the cheese on top of that. (In the non-vegan version, the recipe suggests a mixture of Monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses. I, personally, think pepper jack would be awesome too).

Repeat. So it goes: chips/filling/cheese/filling/cheese.




5. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 35 minutes.

When I took it out, the top was kind of a crunchy cheese crust but the inside layer of cheese was melty. I wonder if this would have been different, if I had used my favorite soy cheese.

6. After you remove it from the oven, take a big ol' slab of it, top it with a slice of tomato, chopped cilantro and chopped green onion. Add a dollop (yes, a dollop) of sour cream if you're not vegan. I also served it with corn muffins. Yum.


7. Eat your face off. Impress your loved ones.


I made this Saturday, had it for leftovers on Sunday and leftovers right this very moment on Tuesday. I think it's better and more flavory after hanging out for awhile, so make a ton and eat it for a few days.


FOR THE MEAT EATERS: Replace tofu with 3-4 cooked and shredded or cubed or otherwise cut up chicken breasts.

Breakup Soup

The following guest blog comes from Daniel Johnson over at Wingstroke. Music -- he knows. Culture -- his finger's on the pulse. How to talk his child into eating one more bite -- he can do. Cook a damn thing -- he cannot.

Nonetheless, we here at the I Eat Veg test kitchens have very fluid policies when it comes to guest blogging. You need not "cook" at all to create your dish, nor does it have to constitute an actual meal. So, here's Dan's recipe for Breakup Soup. Maybe you can find comfort in a big bowl of it someday too.




I've never been much in the kitchen. It's just not my gift and I'm jealous of the people with the cooking skills. They make it seem so easy, throwing spices, adding dashes and turning oven knobs with a taunting confidence.

But today I'm making my contribution to the culinary arts; a recipe I created last summer called Breakup Soup. It's cheap, delicious, and single-person friendly. And it takes, like, a minute and a half to make. I literally lived off this for months. Of course I also lost about ten pounds during that time, so maybe it should be more of a treat than the entirety of your diet.

Ingredients:

Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Salsa

STEP 1 - Have a debilitating breakup




STEP 2 - Pour chips onto a plate or bowl and try not to think about debilitating breakup



STEP 3 - Crush the chips in a million little pieces, just like she did to your heart



STEP 4 - Add salsa, red like the color of valentines, roses and your pain-poisoned blood



STEP 5 - Mix.



STEP 6 - Eat.




STEP 7 - Go where it takes you.

The best GD salad you will ever eat

That's according to our friend Megan over at the now defunct blog, The Realist. She posted this recipe back in February and it sounds so good, I decided to poach it for I Eat Veg. Enjoy!

Avocado, Mozzarella & Tomato Salad

Ingredients (for two people):
2 - 3 super delicious huge Haas avocados, sliced length-wise
1 1/2 cups fresh cherry or grape tomatoes
1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella (not the shredded bagged stuff, look in the "fancy cheese" section and buy the balls of fresh plain mozzarella.)
2 cups mixed baby greens or microgreens
12-year aged balsamic vinegar

To assemble:
Splitting all ingredients in half onto two separate plates, pile the tomatoes, mozzarella and avocado slices atop a bed of greens. Drizzle with balsamic. Enjoy!

Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas

Last year, I got Daniel a student's vegetarian cookbook with the theory that he was going to learn how to cook some things. All of the recipes have only a handful of ingredients, are on the easy side and many of them involve beer (I guess that's what makes it a student cookbook).

The first thing I made from it were these sweet potato and black bean quesadillas. Dan would pop into the kitchen and say, "OK, what are you doing now? Got it...." then would go back to painting Claire's room. So, more than a year later.... I made it for us for dinner last night. It has remained a favorite and is really easy to make.

There are specific amounts for everything, but I mostly wing it. Here's my best guess...

2 Tbsp. oil (veg is fine)
1 c. grated sweet potato
1 can black beans
1 med. onion, diced
2 tsp. garlic minced
2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
tortillas
shredded cheese -- soy if you like

Heat the oil in a skillet, then add onion and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes until onion is soft.

Add sweet potatoes, black beans and spices and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are soft but not mushy.

In another skillet or on a griddle, layer mixture with shredded soy cheese (see previous post for insight on that!)

If you attempt to turn the quesadilla over, you likely will make a huge mess, though I still do it every time. I'm not sure how to prevent this.... Less filling? Cheese on both sides of the filling to melt and hold it together better? Good luck.

Cut the rounds into fours and serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole or whatever your little heart desires.

It's a simple recipe that somehow always turns out really flavorful, even if you find that you've almost run out of cumin when you go to make it, like I did last night...

Pockets full of gold. I mean, "oro"...

I'm a big fan of Mexican food. One can't be sure when it started or how, being inundated with meat and potatoes or Italian food as a child, but now it's tough to see me go more than a week without some form of tacos or nachos.

This is easy enough when it comes to being vegetarian -- use black beans, right? Which I often do. But one day, I decided to take it a step further, and now it's something Dan and I enjoy reguarly -- last night even.

Here's what you need:
1 can of black beans
1 pkg of tofu
1 pkg of taco seasoning
and anything else you might want for tacos

Basically, I take a package of tofu (any kind really) and drain it as much as my time, patience and hunger will allow. Smash it up with a fork, your hands or whatever other kitchen implement you have on hand.

Rinse and drain a can of black beans and throw these together in a small sauce pan on the stove. Then mix in a package of taco seasoning -- using some water, just like you would with meat (only probably not as much water as you would for meat, especially since there's so much water in tofu). What's cool, too, is that Ortega now makes bulk shakers of it, similar to a large container of Lawry's seasoning salt, for example. So, instead of making sure you have a little packet of seasoning, you always know you have that on hand. It should last a long, long time, using only a couple of tablespoons at a time.

Sometimes I include onions or fresh jalapenos at this point too.

Cook it up and then make it into burritos or tacos or use as a dip for chips.

It's really, really good. And a good way to get some protein in there. I think this is something even meat-eaters would like, but maybe that's just me!