Vietnamese Chick'n Baguette with Savory Dip Broth

This is a slight variation from the almighty Veganomican.  This has a couple of shortcuts, mainly I use pre made mock chik'n instead of making the seitan myself.  I have had good feedback from meat eaters on this one, it is especially good with sweet potato fries!

Dipping Broth:

2 1/2 cups veggie broth
2 tablespoon of soy sauce, low sodium
4 cloves of garlic, left whole with peel but gently crushed
1 inch piece of ginger root, sliced into 1/8-inch pieces and gently crushed
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoon lime juice, use fresh, the bottled stuff just isn't the same

Sandwiches:

1 pack of mock chik'n strips, I like
http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=smartstripschickn
4 (6-inch) French baguette, or individual mini baguettes
Several sprigs of fresh cilantro
Red onion rings, thinly sliced
Cucumber, seedless is best, peeled and sliced into long, thin strips
Vegenaise

In a 2 quart saucepan, combine the broth, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, and pepper flakes.  Do not cover.  Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, then turn down heat to medium-low and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, stir in the sugar and lime juice, and cover the broth until ready to serve.  Strain the broth in to individual bowls or ramekins when ready to eat!

Stir fry the chik'n slices with  a little soy sauce, salt, pepper, basil leaves and sliced red onion.  The original recipe has the onion raw, but I like it better cooked.

Slice each baguette in half, lengthwise, open up and lightly toast.  Spread the vegenaise on each half and layer one side with cucumber, onion rings and chik'n slices, top with the cilantro.  Close the sandwich and smush down a little.  Holding it down firmly, slice on the diagonal.  Serve it with a cup of broth and dip!

Taco Soup

1 fresh pablano pepper, or a bell pepper if you can't find the pablano
1 red onion
3 cloves of minced garlic, or more if you like garlic
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can creamed corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch dressing
1 lb of cooked minced chicken or beef if you don't want vegetarian
1 canned chipolte pepper, minced with a tablespoon of the sauce for more spice

In a large pot, sautee the onion for 5 minutes or until they become transparent, then add the pepper until it all starts to brown, then add the garlic for another 5 minutes.  Add all of the other ingredients, including the water in the cans of beans.  Add both seasoning packets and simmer for about and hour.  Serve on top of Fritos and sprinkle with cheese and sour cream.. Easy!

Vegan Stuffed Shells

This is easy, the prep takes a little while but it is worth it.  It also makes great leftovers.

1 box large shells
1 large bunch of spinach
1 handful of fresh basil
1 handful fresh oregano
7 cloves of fresh garlic
10 fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup kalamata olives in brine, pitted and drained
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 small jar sundried tomatoes in olive oil, drained but save 2 tablespoons of the oil
2 jars of Newman's Own Sockarooni pasta sauce

Cook the large shells accordng to the package directions, drain and rinse, set aside.

While the shells are cooking:

Rinse and remove stems of spinach, add spinach, basil and oregano to a food processor until minced.  Place in a large mixing bowl.
Add the garlic, mushrooms and pine nuts to the food processor until it forms a paste and add to the spinach and herbs.
Add the sundried tomatoes, olives and 2 tablespoons of oil to the processor and mince, mix all together in the mixing bowl to form a paste.  This is the stuffing for the shells. 

Spray a 9x12in pyrex backing dish with a light coating of olive oil such as Pam.  Spread 3/4 of the pasta sauce on the bottom evenly.

Stuff each shell and place in the pyrex 9x12inch backing dish on top of the sauce.

Pour all reaining sauce on top and spread evenly.  Preheat the oven to 375f, cover dish with foil and bake for 20mins.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the sauce starts to bubble.

I am always changing it up a little, sometimes I add onion or bell peppers to the stuffing, artichoke hearts work well too.  If you want to add cheese, baking with goat cheese on top is great, I have been using Daiya Mozzerella cheese!
http://www.daiyafoods.com/products/mozza.asp
I add the Daiya in the last 10 minutes.

Christmas Dinner

I did not start out with the intention to make a big Christmas Eve dinner, we bought a Field Roast and figured we would just have a few slices of that.  This is what we ended up with, enjoy!

http://www.fieldroast.com/products.htm Starting with the Celebration Roast

1 large yellow onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 Celebration Field Roast

Cut the onion in half length wise and then thinly slice into half moons.  Caramelize the onions in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Add the slices to the onions in the skillet, sprinkle the sage and soy sauce over the roast, flip the slices until brown on both sides and slightly crispy.  Serve immediately with onions.

Green Beans with Mustard Glaze and Pine Nuts
I had a frozen bag of cut greens in a steam bag in the freezer and came up with this. 

1 small bag of pine nuts
1 frozen bag of cut green beans in a steam bag
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until the pine nits are browned on each side.  Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar and syrup.  Steam the green beans according to the directions.  Empty the green beans in to a bowl and toss with the nuts and sauce.  Serve immediately.

Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes

5lb bag of potatoes
2 Handfuls of Fresh Chives
1/2 Head of Fresh Garlic
Vegan Cream of Portabella Mushroom Soup
Earth Balance http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/#/products/original/

Blend the chives and garlic in a food processor until minced and set aside.  Boil the potatoes until fork tender then drain.  I used the Kitchen Aid mixer to mash the potatoes, while the potatoes are being blended, add the garlic chive mix, the soup and Earth Balance.  Mix in as much of the soup and Earth Balance as you want until you get to the texture and taste you like.  I find this is best when you still leave the mash a bit lumpy.
I sliced the roast in to 1inch thick slices after defrosting in the fridge overnight.

Happy Holidays!

Pablano Hash Browns!

These hash browns are lovely by themselves, with some vegan cheddar on top, or salsa on top, also good wrapped in a tortilla with stir fried pepper and onion strips.  I make a huge batch so that they are ready to go in the morning when I am rushing off to work, pre making the hash brown tortilla wraps ahead of time is a good idea to just heat them up in the microwave in the morning.

4 large russet potatoes
2 pablano peppers
1/2 of a large yellow onion
large handful of white mushrooms, about 7
3 cloves of garlic
1 red bell pepper
Salt and pepper
Chili powder

Peel the potatoes and shred in a food processor.  Soak the shredded potatoes in a bowl of cold water for a 30 minutes while prepping the other ingredients.
Chop the peppers, onions and mushrooms in to cubes and mince the garlic.  Drain the potatoes and squeeze as much liquid out with your hands then paper towels.  Mix everything together and heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet.  Do not panic when you realize you have a huge pile of stuff!  It will cook WAY DOWN!
Pour half of the goodness in to the preheated pan and spread it out, sprinkle salt and pepper and chili powder on top, as much as you like.  Turn occasionally until you get the desired texture.  We like ours cooked down so where they are crispy and brown.
Repeat with the other half.  This is time consuming depending on the quality of your skillet and the heat setting.  But worth it!  You can also turn them in to potato pancakes....

Vegan Muffins for the Morning, thank you Veganomicon!

Of course we had to sample one tonight... but I made them for breakfast back up.

3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup unsweetened natural applesauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed ( i used organic)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (i used organic)
3/4 cup oat bran (i used organic)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground organic cardamom
1/2 teaspoon organic nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried Oceanspray cranberry pomegranate pieces

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a muffin tin.  I used spray canola oil in a deep 6 muffin pan, but this recipe says it can make 12 in a regular size tin.  I ended up with 9 large muffins.
 In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar, allow it to rest for 1 minute to curdle.  Add the applesaurce, canola oil, and brown sugar. Whisk them together completely.
  In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.  Fold the dry ingredients in to the wet; stir only to moisten and don't overmix.  Fold in the cranberries.  Use an ice ream scoop or measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
   Bake for 28-30 mins, until a toothpick inserted in to the middle comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling.
  Good stuff!  I am going to make pablano pepper hash browns tomorrow morning as well as vegie bacon for a big brekkie!

The Veg Edge on The Cooking Channel

This was a great special on the cooking show tonight!  Please DVR the repeat and be sure to send a note to The Cooking Channel so that shows like this keep coming and maybe we can even get a regular series.  I am very impressed, Isa Chandra Moskowitz was featured as well as some of the best Veggie friendly cities in the US, including my heart, Austin TX.  I really wish Houston would get on board, I really feel there is a huge veggie gold mine here if people were willing to get past the brisket and see that the melting pot that is here would LOVE a few good veggie restaurants.