Vegan MoFo #7: Baking Day!

Today I spent most of my day baking. That to me is a good day! I am going to a party tonight so I wanted to bring a few things. I often bring goodies (usually sweets) to parties and even to smaller get-togethers. I really love baking but I don’t necessarily want to eat a whole recipe worth of cookies, brownies, or whathaveyou so I get other people to eat them! They don’t complain.

So I made three different things today. I will post today about two of them and save the third for another post.

First off: Homemade soft pretzels!  A few weeks ago I picked up some Vanilla Bean Salt at a small kitchen shop in Half Moon Bay, Ca. When I think of large grains of salt I think pretzels so that is what I made first. Expect to see this salt in other upcoming experiments as well. I was really happy with how these pretzels came out and they were a lot of fun to make.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

From Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

4 tsps active dry yeast

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 ¼ cup warm water (110 degrees F)

4 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

1 tbls vegetable oil

¼ cup baking soda

2 cups water

Salt, for topping

Sugar cinnamon mixture, for topping

Few tablespoons Earth Balance or other non-dairy butter, melted

 Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast  and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center and add oil and yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead the dough until smooth, adding additional flour as needed, for about 8 minutes. Lightly oil the bowl, place dough in bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 410 degrees F.

Heat water in a sauce pan until boiling. Mix in baking soda and cover to keep warm.

When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope by rubbing the dough between your palms. Each piece should be about 18 inches in length. Twist each rope into a pretzel shape.

Dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution for about 10 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If using salt, sprinkle on before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, until browned.

While still hot, lightly brush melted Earth Balance on each pretzel using a pastry brush. If using sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle on right after brushing with butter.

Goodie #2: Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

These bars are pretty simple: pumpkin, peanut butter, oatmeal, sugar, and spices. The taste is fantastic. I was a little surprised at the texture. These bars are more like fudge than cookie bars. That’s a-ok because they are delish. Hooray for pumpkin season!  You can find the recipe here.



Expect to see a post on the third goodie sometime soon. I’ll keep it as a surprise but I will give you a hint: it involves a beloved vegan authoress, chocolate, and cayenne.

364 days ‘til the next pretzel day*

 *Bonus to anyone who gets the reference!

Vegan MoFo #6: Black Bean Chilaquiles

Whew! I’m having a great time looking at all the MoFo posts! I feel like I can’t keep up though. So much to see! Maybe if I took the time to figure out the whole RSS feed doohickey I might do better. As it is, I’ve been trying to get in a letter of the alphabet each day on the MoFo blogroll. Been seeing lots of good stuff out there!  I heart finding new vegan blogs!

This is a food that doesn’t photograph all that well but I swear it is tasty. This chilaquiles uses tortilla chips instead of the traditional day-old tortillas. It’s a great way to use all those little chippies and crumblies in the bottom of all those chip bags that tend to accumulate in the cupboard (or is that just me)?

Black Bean Chilaquiles

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Ingredients:

2 cups roughly crushed tortilla chips, divided

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

15 oz can black beans, drained

15 oz can diced tomatoes, or 1 ½ cups chopped fresh tomatoes

1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn

2 tbls lime juice

1 large avocado, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups salsa of choice, divided (I like Pace Picante for this)

4-6 ounces Daiya Pepperjack Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Lightly spray a 9 inch square baking dish. Spread 1 cup crushed tortilla chips evenly on the bottom.

In a medium saucepan, sauté onions in oil until softened. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, ½ cup salsa, and lime juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour bean mixture evenly over chips in baking dish. Place sliced avocado in an even layer on top of the beans. Pour ¾ cup salsa on top and spread evenly. Next sprinkle the rest of the tortilla chips. Spread the remaining ¾ cup salsa on top of chips. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 40 minutes.

Vegan MoFo #5: Matar Tofu

I never tried Indian food until I went vegetarian. I was missing out. I know a lot of people who have never tried it. Again - missing out! This is a very easy curry recipe and if you have never made Indian food at home this is good place to start.  This is also very mild so if you like it spicy you can add more cayenne.

This comes from the wonderful World Vegetarian Classics by Celia Brooks Brown. If you are interested in exploring the many diverse cuisines of this planet then this is a good book to start your journey. There is a lot of great cultural information and the recipes generally are adapted to use ingredients you can easily find here at home.

This dish is traditionally made with cubed paneer, an Indian cheese that retains its shape even when fried. Tofu is the perfect vegan substitute.

Matar Tofu

Adapted from World Vegetarian Classics

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound extra firm tofu, cubed
1 medium onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 cup coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of cayenne, or more to taste
2 cups tomatoes, diced small
2 cups frozen peas
Cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cubed tofu and fry until most sides are browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and sauté onions until softened. Add garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute. Add a splash of the coconut milk, spices, and salt. Stir for one minute. Add the remaining coconut milk and tomatoes. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the peas and fried tofu. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve over rice, garnished with the cilantro.

Vegan MoFo #4: Sweet-and-Sour Lentils

Summer has very quickly disappeared here so I am a little behind in posting this summery dish. It was still in the 90’s here last week so it’s not all that far-fetched. I miss those hot days already!

This dish has a wonderful tangy bite to it that really makes you want to savor every mouthful. The lentils are cooked in a broth of fruit juice and then combined with summer vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers.  I used Le Puy lentils here because I like them the best but you could also use brown lentils. Another winner from the Moosewood Collective!

 Sweet-and-Sour Lentils

Adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Le Puy (French) Lentils
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cups water
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup carrots, diced
2 bell peppers, diced (any color)
2 zucchini or yellow squash, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tbls tamari or soy sauce
2 tbls rice vinegar

 Directions:

Rinse the lentils and combine them in a saucepan with pineapple juice, ginger, and water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. You may need to add extra water (or juice) towards the end of cooking to prevent sticking.

In a skillet sauté the onions, garlic, and carrots in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, squash, and tomatoes. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the tamari and vinegar.

When the lentils are done, combine the cooked veggies with the lentils. Serve over rice.

Vegan MoFo #3: Pesto Tofu & Fire-Roasted Tomato Mushroom Sauce over Angel Hair

It finally feels like fall here in Sacramento. When I left the office this afternoon I was greeted with that indescribably wonderful smell of rain. The first rain of the season. It smelled so good I didn’t even mind that I would be riding my bike home in it.

Now I feel like I am finally in the mood for all the pumpkin, spice, and apple delights I have been seeing on other food blogs lately.  So expect that soon.

In the meantime, this is a recipe I am very proud of. But I really can’t take all the credit. What makes this dish great is the Pesto Tofu I discovered at my local co-op. This is a local company and they have several other flavors, such as Smoked Jalepeno, Jasmine Tea-Smoked, and Salt and Pepper. I also happen to like their plain tofu better than any other brand I have tried. (No I am not being compensated for that!) I plan on trying all their varieties, so expect to see them in future blog posts.

What I envisioned for the tofu was a breading made of pine nuts and garlic. The coating did not go as planned (there wasn’t enough and it didn’t stick well) so consider this a draft version. Next time I think I will add bread crumbs. It still tasted damn good though. I will be experimenting more with this and will eventually post a revised version.

That seemed like a lot of talking. Let's get to the recipe already!

Pesto Tofu with Fire-Roasted Tomato Mushroom Sauce

For the tofu:

9 oz package Pesto Tofu, sliced into 8 pieces

3 tbls ground pine nuts

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 tbls vegan parmesan

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp tamari or soy sauce

For the sauce:

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

¼ pound white or crimini mushrooms, sliced

Pinch of dried basil and oregano

28 oz can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

Directions:

Preheat the broiler.

For the tofu, combine the pine nuts, garlic, and vegan parmesan on a saucer. On another saucer, combine the oil and tamari. Briefly dip each tofu slice into the oil mixture, then press into the breading mixture to coat. Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Broil the tofu for 5 minutes on each side.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add onions and garlic and sauté until softened. Add mushrooms and dried herbs and cook until mushrooms are soft. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.

I served this over whole wheat angel hair pasta but I also think polenta would be great.



Vegan MoFo #2: Waffles & an Anniversary

I am really excited about participating in my first Vegan MoFo! I have been following it for several years now and always looked forward to all the great posts during that month. Now I am actually participating. Go me.

Yesterday was also my one year anniversary of going vegan. Awesome. I was a vegetarian for five years prior. I thought a five year anniversary was a good time to re-evaluate my choices. I decided to go vegan for one month as a test run. I never went back and now it has been a year. I won’t say it has always been easy but there is so much great vegan food out there that it is hard to feel deprived!

Not much else going on this weekend but we did have these waffles from Vegan with a Vengeance. They are the Banana-Pecan Waffles. These had walnuts instead of pecans and we used green bananas instead of old soft ones. I think I like it better this way. I actually can’t stand bananas except in breads. Weird I know.

Tippie wants a bite

Vegan MoFo #1: Seitan-Green Bean Curry

Chewy seitan. Toothsome green beans. Crunchy cashews. I love the contrasting textures in this dish. Plus it’s easy to make and really delicious. This is a mild curry but if you like things hot you can add more cayenne. For the seitan I made the Seitan Cutlets from Veganomicon. The cashews really make this dish something special, so don’t leave them out. If you don’t like cashews you can sub peanuts. To toast the nuts, bake them in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes, stirring once.

Seitan-Green Bean Curry

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

Ingredients:

2 tsp canola oil

2 medium onions, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tbls garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

Pinch of cayenne, or more to taste

1 pound green beans, cut into bite sized pieces (about 3 ½ cups)

1 pound seitan, diced

3 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup coconut milk

2/3 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

A few handfuls of toasted cashews

Instructions:

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil for a few minutes. Add the garam masala, cumin, and cayenne and sauté for a few more minutes, or until the onions are softened. Add the green beans, seitan, tomatoes, coconut milk, and water. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook covered, for about 15 minutes, or until the green beans are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice with some cashews sprinkled on top of each serving.