Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Merry Xmas!

So we are going to be hosting our first family Xmas at our little green house in Long Beach.  I will be doing most of the cooking for a predominantly carnivore guest list.  I have been prepped in that they "don't eat anything weird".  Which means, "we don't like to eat your vegan crap."

Bwahaha (cue evil laugh)

My sister-in-law will be bringing the pot roast, but that will be the only non-vegan item on the list.  Everything else will be vegan, and I don't think they will know what hit em.  I'm sure they won't be able to tell the difference, and I will be posting all the recipes in the next few days.

On the menu:
  • Cashew Nut Patties - my family's specialty, although I had to change a few things to remove the dairy and eggs
  • Better Than Blair Split Pea Soup - the tried and true favorite
  • Mashed Sweet Potatoes - I have never made these before, so hopefully they turn out okay
  • Potato Salad - the crowd pleaser
  • Tofurkey - unfortunately the store bought kind, didn't have time to make one from scratch
 Stay tuned for my recipes!  I'll let you know if everyone cleans their plates ;)

Thanksgiving Treats - Hail Seitan Style (better late than never)

see my little tofurkey there in the far left center?
Between working three jobs, playing in a band, and taking ten units of science courses at the local community college (I had finals y'allz!), I super duper lagged at posting the next two recipes. 
I made vegan mashed potatoes, a homemade "turkey", and fig and "bacon" stuffing.  At thanksgiving, my mom placed her regular fully loaded mashed potatoes next to my vegan variety, and did a blind taste test with all the fam.  One of my aunties came over to me later and said, "Jackie, I didn't even get a chance to taste your vegan mashed potatoes, my plate was too full".  When I asked her what crock pot she grabbed them from, she pointed to the vegan one.  Ha, she was fooled!  This xmas, my mother and I are only going to serve the vegan style potatoes.  Shhhhh.... don't tell the old folks......

Thanksgiving Tofurkey with Fig and "Bacon" Stuffing

Ingredients

For the Tofurkey:
  • 5 14-oz. tubs extra-firm tofu
  • 2 tsp. ground dried thyme
  • 2 tsp. rubbed sage
  • 2 tsp. italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • crushed red pepper (as spicy as you like it)
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the marinade:
  • 1/4 -1/2 cups low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
For the stuffing: (you can use your own recipe if you would like)
  • 1 loaf day-old Italian or French bread, cut in 3/4‐inch cubes (about 10 cups)
  • 3/4 c.  chopped walnuts
  • 1 stick vegan butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 package diced vegan bacon
  • 1 chopped yellow onion
  • 2 1/4 cup vegan chicken broth
  • 1/4 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning or ground sage
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup chopped dried figs
Directions:
THE DAY BEFORE T-DAY!
  1. Bring the tofu to room temperature, place between two paper towels or dish towels and squeeze tofu of excess water.  After tofu has been dried, break it up into small bits and place them in a processor.  Process them little by little until smooth, then put it in a large bowl and mix all the seasoning.  Taste the tofu to make sure it isn't too bland, this is where you can add a little more if it is.  If you make it too salty, just add more tofu!  Feel free to experiment! 
  2. Place some moist cheesecloth or paper towels into a colander.  The colander should be the shape that you want your tofurkey to be (the first time I tried it the colander was too large, and my "turkey" came out flat.  So find a small, domed colander). 
  3. Drop the tofu inside the colander and press it into the sides and bottom of the colander - really squish it in there.  Now put a plate right on top of the tofu press it down gently. Use a heavy object to place on top of the plate (I used my 5 lb. dumbbell that hasn't been getting much use this time of year). This is to help the tofu drain excess water through the colander. Place this inside the refrigerator overnight (at the very least). This helps the tofu to absorb the seasoning well too.

ON T-DAY
For the stuffing:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread bread cubes over 2 large baking sheets. In large skillet over medium‐low heat, toast walnuts for 3‐4 minutes, shaking pan several times; set em aside.
  2. In same pan melt 3/4 of the butter stick over medium heat, add garlic and rosemary, and cook 1 minute more.  Pour this deliciousness over bread and turn it to coat. Bake for 10‐15 minutes until goldenish.
  3. Meanwhile, in same pan over medium heat fry vegan bacon until brown then remove and set it aside.  Add last 1/4 butter stick and onion, and over medium‐low heat, stir onions until clear. Mix toasted bread and onion in large bowl with broth, parsley, seasoning, and pepper. Stir in pancetta, walnuts, and figs. Place into a 9" x 13" baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until goldenish on top and desired crispness.
For the marinade:
  1. Whisk/mix all the ingredients for the marinade until combined.  Easy no?
For the tofurkey assembly:
  1. Your oven should still be 375 from the stuffing. Drain the tofu water from the plate on which you placed the colander.  Remove weight and plate from colander.  Now scoop some tofu from the center. Make sure to leave at least 1-2 inches on the sides and bottom.
  2. Now fill this hollow with the stuffing, and top the stuffing with the scooped out tofu.  Make sure to smooth the surface and level it out.
  3. Take a pie plate large enough to cover the colander opening on top of the colander.  Mine was a 9 inch plate.  Hold tightly, and slowly invert colander onto the plate so that tofurkey drops gently onto dish.  I had to have my boyfriend hold the pan as we flipped it over.  It was sooo scary, I thought for sure I was going to drop it.  Now slowly remove the cheesecloth from the tofu.  Can you see the white dome now?  Baste the tofu turkey with the prepared marinade and bake for 15 minutes.
  4. Baste again. reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 1 hour or so, basting as many times it strikes your fancy.  When it is done, you will see a crisp tofu crust over the top (just like in a real turkey!)
ENJOY!

Friday, December 3, 2010

White Bread Yo!

It is so easy to make your own bread.  I'm serious.  You don't even need to buy some crappy breadmaker or anything, and it costs less than a dollar a loaf.  FOR REALZ!

old guy
the supremes



And everyone loves white bread!  Even this old guy and 
the Supremes!





So why aren't you going to make it yourself already!  Here's the recipe, it will make two loaves.  It's so easy it will make your head explode.  And best of all?  It is totally vegan! 

White Bread Yo!
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups warm water (think hot tub temperature)
  • 1/2 - 2/3 cups white sugar* (depends on how sugary you want it)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 6 cups bread flour (it is cheaper than all purpose flour, but you can use pretty much any flour you want)
Directions:
  1. In a big ass bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water (make a sugar jacuzzi!) and then stir in the yeast.  Remember, yeast is a living organism, so if the water is too hot it will kill the yeast.  Allow to "proof" until the yeast resembles a creamy foam.  It will kinda smell like beer and bread, and will get hot.  Don't stir it or disturb it until it foams up to a head, about 15 minutes or so.
  2. Mix the salt and oil into the foamy concoction.  Mix the flour in one cup at a time, and knead the flour into the mixture.  Sprinkle some flour into the bowl, and knead the dough until smooth.  Kneading is an art form, basically grab both ends of the dough, smash it into the middle with your palms, then turn it 90 degrees and repeat.  Do this until it doesn't stick to your hands anymore.
  3. Take the dough out of the bowl, wash it, and then sprinkle oil all over the bowl.  Put the dough ball back into the bowl and roll it around to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl and dough ball with a damp cloth.
  4. Go watch some Bad Girls Club,  It is going to take about an hour or so for the bread to rise.  Or go be a productive mama and do some laundry.
  5. Once it has risen, you get to take out your aggression and punch the dough ball down.  This is seriously fun.  Knead the beaten ball for a few minutes, and then divide in half.  Smash the dough down into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans.  Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until the dough has risen 1 inch above pans.  This gives you time to change your facebook status update to "Guess who has two thumbs and is making their own bread - this guy!"
  6. Bake this sucker at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  There is nothing better than fresh baked bread.
Real picture from last night's breadstravaganza:



*little known vegan fact - white sugar is not always vegan, they use animals bones to bleach out the sugar to its white consistency - check to make sure!