Lentil & Escarole Soup, Tofu Florentine, Blondies, and Green Smoothies February 2, 2009
Posted by Jay in Beans, Brunch, Soups, The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook, Uncategorized.Tags: Brunch, green smoothies
9 comments
Hey everyone! It’s been a couple of days since I last blogged.
Last week I made a very tasty and healthy Lentil & Escarole Soup from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook.
I have been wanting to try this soup for so long and I am glad I did. It had a very nice taste to it and the lentils created a nice thick broth which I loved. I don’t usually cook with lentils that much but this soup inspired me to use more lentils in my cooking! I recently got these awesome vegetable broth concentrated packets from Trader Joe’s and I must say they rock! They will definitely be used a lot in my kitchen! They made this soup taste really good without the trouble of making a vegetable broth from scracth.
On Saturday, I made another awesome dish that I have been wanting to make for so long! I made the awesome Tofu Florentine from Veganomicon!
I though this was very fancy in my option from what I normally eat for breakfast/brunch. The cheesy sauce rocks, I made mine with extra lemon. I just love lemon, I always find my self using more than the recipe says. I like how it gives food a nice light taste. The broiled tofu used for the Florentine was really good, next time I would probably reduce the water for the basting liquid so the tofu is more concentrated with the soy sauce-lemon flavor. I am so glad I found vegan English muffins! I looked for them in my regular supermarket and they had milk in them, but when I went to Trader Joe’s I found some awesome ones. This is definitely going to be a brunch regular!
Here are some tester blondies from Isa and Terry’s upcoming cookie book! These were really tasty!
Here’s my awesome and healthy green smoothie that I made tonight!
I have just gotten into the whole green smoothie thing. The first one I made was awful, as I was low on fruit. Then I started experimenting and made a great tasting green smoothie! This one was really good! For this one I used some leftover Escarole from the lentil soup that I made earlier, spinach leaves, a carrot, a banana, a couple of strawberries and blueberries, celery, parsley, pears, orange juice, and flax seeds. This blend makes a great tasting green smoothie and it is super healthy and makes you energized! Some of them may not look that good but the amount of vitamins you get from these is worth it! My family thinks it weird drinking green smoothies but I just tell them that you don’t know what your missing! It’s so good as long as you have a perfect balance of fruit and vegetables. I suggest everyone try a green smoothie, you’ll like it. Just try different combinations and see which one you like. Your body will thank you for sure!
Alright everyone, blog to you soon in a few days!
Pecan Crusted Seitan with Creamy Mustard Sauce, Asparagas and Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes November 5, 2008
Posted by Jay in My Recipes, Seitan, Side Dishes, The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook, Veganomicon Recipes, Vegetables.Tags: asparagas, coconut mashed sweet potatoes, pecan crusted seitan, Seitan
8 comments
Hey everyone! Yesterday I made Pecan Crusted Seitan and I served with my leftover Creamy Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce and Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Asparagus in Orange Sauce from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook. This month I am sampling some dishes I want to serve on Thanksgiving. I am post likely going to serve this Pecan Crusted Seitan or a Seitan Roast for thanksgiving. And I am defiantly serving the mashed sweet potatoes and possibly the asparagus. This dinner was really good, every thing shined on the plate! I really liked the texture of the seitan, it has been one of the few successful seitans I have made. I used the recipe for the seitan cutlets from veganomicon, I just added some nooch and that’s it. The seitan cutlets had a great texture. It was so tender, I didn’t even need a knife! I think I can officially say that I like seitan! I think the only thing I would change is flavor them a bit more when I baked them probably use some herbs or something. Anyway, I then marinaded them in a simple marinade consisting of soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and wine. I then breaded them in a Pecan Rosemary Panko mixture. Frying was a bit of a pain because some of the cutlets slighty burned, I don’t know why. The oil got too hot and the cutlets browned very quickly. Then, I also made mashed sweet potatoes for the first time but I gave it a little twist! I used coconut milk instead of soy milk, and wow the coconut and the sweet potatoes were amazing together! I usually just roast asparagus but I was looking for a little something new so I grabbed my Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook and I saw this great recipe for asparagusin orange sauce. It was really simple to make just take some fresh orange juice, wine, and vegetable broth and reduce it. I boiled the asparagus and then poured the sauce over it. At the end I had an awesome meal!
Pecan Crusted Seitan with Creamy Mustard Sauce, Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Asparagus in Orange Sauce
Here’s the recipe for the Pecan Crusted Seitan, Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Asparagus in Orange Sauce
Pecan Crusted Seitan
Serves 4-5
These Pecan Crusted Seitan Cutlets are awesome. They are a great main course to serve while entertaining. They would be perfect for a Holiday party! These are great served them with the Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce, but you can serve them with any sauce you wish.
Ingredients:
For the marinade
1/4 Cups Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/3 cup white wine or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
half a lemon squeezed
3 garlic cloves minced
For the breading mixture
1 1/4 cup pecans
3 tablespoons panko
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
5 seitan cutlets (I used the recipe from V’con)
Oil for Pan Frying
Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the seitan in a small casserole dish or ziplock bag and pour the marinade over it. Marinade it for about an hour in the fridge.
After one hour, start making the pecan mixture. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Dip a seitan cutlet in the marinade and then bread it with the pecans. Make sure to press the pecans well into the seitan cutlet. Repeat with all of them.
Heat a pan over medium heat with oil. You need just enough oil to pan fry, you are not deep frying. Pan fry the seitan until nice and golden.
Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes
The mashed Sweet Potatoes are perfect to serve anywhere where regular mashed potatoes are served. They would be perfect for Thanksgiving!
Serves 4-5 people
3 medium sized Sweet Potatoes peeled and cubed into large pieces
Half a cup of coconut milk
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat a pot of water. Add the sweet potatoes. Then salt them generously with salt. Bring it to a low boil. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender. When the sweet potatoes are done drain them. Add them back to the pot. Add the maple syrup, Earth Balance, and coconut milk. Mash until nice and fluffy.
Asparagus in Orange Sauce
From the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of pencil thin asparagus, trimmed
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Bring a pot of water to boil. Boil the asparagus for 3 minutes. Run them through cold water.
Meanwhile, combine the orange juice, wine, and broth and bring it to a boil, reduce to 1/4 cup. Pour over the asparagus, and then season with salt and pepper.
Today I made the Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from V’con. I will post the pictures hopefully tomorrow.
Pumpkin Waffles and Pistachio Crusted Tofu with Creamy Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce November 4, 2008
Posted by Jay in Brunch, My Recipes, Rice, The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook, Tofu, Vegan With A Vengeance.Tags: Pistachio Crusted Tofu, Pumpkin Waffles, Vegan With A Vengeance
14 comments
Today for dinner, I made the most awesome Tofu I have ever made besides the Chile Cornmeal Tofu which was also awesome. I made Pistachio Crusted Tofu which I was dying to make for so so long. I am glad I finally got to it and created a recipe for it. I was so happy at the result, my brother (a.k.a. my toughest food critic) liked them, he said they were really good. The only thing I would change is add just a bit more pistachios to the breading mixture. By the way pistachios are extremely addictive, I love them so much. I also had some Garlicky Kale and Lemon Provicenal Rice from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook. I served the tofu with a Mustard Cashew Cream Sauce which complicated the tofu so well. I finally figured out an awesome to replace heavy cream in sauces, its really simple, just combine some cashews and soy milk together and then just put it in whatever recipe you are making. The cashews add a great richness to the soy milk. Here’s the recipe for the Pistachio Crusted Tofu and Mustard Cashew Cream Sauce.
Pistachio Crusted Tofu With A Creamy Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce
Pistachio Crusted Tofu
Ingredients:
For the Basic Tofu Marinade
2-3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
half a lemon squeezed
Splash of White Wine ( I use Ariel Non Alcoholic Wine)
1 pound of Extra-Firm Tofu cut into 8 picuies lengthwide pressed and drained
For the Breading Mixture
1/2 cup of pistachios shelled finely chopped (This is what I put originally but I would increase by 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup Panko or Breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
A pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper
4-5 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Mix the ingredients for the marinade into a bowl. Then brush on to the tofu and marinade it for about 15-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Grind the pistachios in a food processor until crumbs form. Mix the breading ingredients together.
In a small bowl add the Dijon mustard. Brush the tofu with the Dijon mustard and then bread it in the breading mixture.
Bake it for about 15 minutes until golden, if you want put it under the broiler for 3-5 minutes for extra chewiness.
Meanwhile make the sauce (recipe follows)
Cashew Mustard Cream Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup Plain Soy milk
2/4 cups preferably raw cashews
4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard or more if you like
1 Tablespoon Whole Grain mustard
1 shallot minced
1 garlic clove minced
2 Tablespoons Chopped parsley
A Splash of White Wine (Optional)
Half a tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
In a food processor, blend the cashews and soy milk until very smooth.
Heat a sauce pan to medium heat, and add the garlic and shallot. Saute for 2 minutes. Then add the cashew cream and the two types of mustard and blend together. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 4 minutes. This thickens up fairly quick. Season with Salt and Pepper. Add the lemon and parsley and that’s it. Now you can use this to top any protein dish like tofu, seitan, tempeh, and even the great chickpea cutlets!!!
