Risotto to help you win friends and influence people!

OK, even if you aren't vegan- this post pertains to you. If you want to impress someone who is coming over to dinner (date, in laws, friends, bridge and majong players, what have you) I have the perfect dish for you- this risotto.

I have attempted to make risotto in the past and frankly found it not only challenging but annoying to stand over the stove stirring forever. This recipe from the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated it surprisingly low maintenance and easily yields perfect results. I feel like I can post it here because I have veganized it, but if you must use non vegan ingredients it's obvious what you would substitute. But make it vegan people. It's yummier and saves the chickens :)

p.s. A Dutch Oven for this recipe is a must. If you don't have one yet (Mom!) you should get one asap- besides this recipe there about a million uses for them, and there are some cheap but sturdy ones out there!

Almost Hands-Free Risotto with Herbs

• 6 1/2 cups fake chicken stock (I used 2 Edward & Son's Not Chick'n Boullion cubes), vegetable stock would work as well
  
• 4 tbs. Earth Balance
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• Salt
• 1 medium garlic clove, pressed
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbs. chopped fresh chives
• Ground black pepper

1. Bring broth to a boil in a large sauce-pan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and maintain a gentle simmer.
2. Heat 2 tbs. of Earth Balance in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. When the EB has melted, add onion and 3/4 tsp. salt; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened but not browned, 4-7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 mins.
3. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups of hot broth into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 19 mins, stirring twice during cooking.
4. Add 3/4 cup of hot broth, and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 mins. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand 5 mins. Stir in remaining 2 tbs Earth Balance, lemon juice, parsley and chives; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Now that I have made this once successfully, I am wondering how I could jazz it up next time! I had some wonderful risotto in December at a French restaurant with butternut squash, pecans and cranberries that might be interesting to try make. I'm honestly not nuts about mushroom risotto, so that's out... Anyone have any other ideas about different kinds of risotto you could make using this recipe as a base? :-)



Alas, I did not get a picture of the risotto when we ate it last night- this is the sad small portion of leftovers... you get the idea though!

Vegan Dinner for Carnavores (aka Mom and Dad)

I am at home once again visiting my Mom, Dad, and Sam. Last night they agreed to cook something from my Candle Cafe cook book... and eat it! We decided on cornmeal-crusted tempeh, a dish where the tempeh was marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger and garlic and baked for one hour, then coated in cornmeal and pan fried. The results were pretty tasty, and hearty (my Dad even had seconds and thirds!). We also made some collard greens and smashed and fried potatoes topped with a lemon parsley vinaigrette. The following photo makes it all look a little sad, because the plate is so big, but trust me, this is a meal that will satisfy skeptical meat eaters!


For desert, I made strawberry short cakes, following this recipe, which I chose because it only made 3 or 4 biscuits at a time (it can be dangerous to have leftovers!). Instead of vegan whipped cream, I heated up the biscuits and topped with some rice ice cream. I highly recommend this recipe, not only is it pretty fast and easy, but the biscuits were some of the best I'd ever had- a success!

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Olives

When I was visiting home a couple of weeks ago, my Ma and I found this recipe from her latest issue of Cooking Light. It instantly appealing to me, as it contained two of my most favorite things to roast EVER, cauliflower and chickpeas- but I was hesitant that the olives would fit in to the mix. Anyways, olives won me over yet again and the dish was super good (except for a little overly cooked garlic) and I decided to make it again tonight.

When I made it with my Mom we decided the olives and garlic should be added after the chickpeas and cauliflower had a chance to get a head start roasting, which I did tonight. The results were perfect! Cooking Light suggests serving this as a side dish or with other small plates, but I think it's a perfectly fine and filling meal on its own- an added plus is it doesn't result in a lot of dirty dishes :)


Please excuse the blury photo- I don't know what is up with my bad photography lately!

Chana Masala + Mac and Cheese

OY blogging. I have made lots of food and taken photos of it lately, but actually uploading them and writing something snazzy takes a lot of mental energy that I just do not have this week. Soooo, here's the quick version.

I have found 2 recipes recently online (which is very bad of me, as I have dozens of sad cookbooks crying out for attention) that are simple, yummy and quick-ish to throw together. They are both definitely winter comfort food, and both would be great for newer vegans to take for a spin (I'm talking to you, Shashley Sunshine!)

The first recipe I would like to introduce you to is a very simple, yet tasty, chana masala from vegweb (my interweb is acting crazy so I can't get the link at the moment, just go to vegweb.com and search for it). A dish I have often enjoyed at Indian restaurants, this is super simple to make at home. After trying this twice and reading the hundreds of comments accompanying the recipe, I suggest adding more tomato paste and a half can or so of coconut milk. We also added peas, cauliflower and potatoes last time we made this, making it a complete meal, served on top of brown rice.



The next recipe I recommend giving a go is this mac and cheese. Please note, it will never taste like the mac and cheese you remember from your pre-vegan days, but it's creamy and comforting, and also has waaaaaaaay less fat than it's cheesy cousin, I'm sure. Also note I have done the legwork looking for a good vegan mac and cheese recipe, and this is the best one I have tried thus far. I added about a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and the juice of half a lemon to the sauce to bump up the flavor. I left off some sauce because I thought it looked like way too much before I put it in the oven, but in retrospect I could have used most of it. That would be some roasted Brussels sprouts featured on the side- let me tell you, you have not had Brussels sprouts until you have had them roasted. For reals.

A Spicy Saturday Feast

Last night for dinner we made.....

Jamaican vegetable patties from Vegan Soul Kitchen. A lot of work, but very worth it. Not only do they taste yummers, the spices in the filling make your kitchen smell amazing while it is cooking.

I was missing one key ingredient, turmeric, for the dough, which would have given the patties a nice yellow glow. But through the magic of iphoto, I have added it here! We had a nice arugula salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette on the side- perfect combo. This cookbook has yet to let me down, and there are still so many recipes left I want to try! Fried green tomatoes, anyone?





For desert, we made Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I had a strange experience with these cookies- they didn't taste so tasty warm out of the oven... a cookie experience I don't think I'd ever had before. However, when they cooled they were chewy and delicious and had a nice spicy kick to them! Look out!

My Dinner- Quick Chard Stew with Garlic Bread

Will be making this again- quick and easy and perfect for a chilly fall evening. Highly Delicious!

Vegan MoFo: Pasta with Chickpeas and Roasted Broccoli

As per my mother's request, here is a peek at what I had for dinner tonight. I was really not in the mood to cook, and this was pretty easy to throw together.

I sauteed an onion, garlic and basil in some olive oil, the added a can of chickpeas. I boiled some pasta, roasted some broccoli in the oven, and threw the whole thing together and topped it with some fresh lemon juice. The only thing that would have made it better is whole wheat pasta, but this was a pretty easy meal with some quick protein I plan on making again.

Vegan MoFo Day 11: Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux

I am waaaaaay behind on the MoFo-ing, so I am posting a bunch of stuff in one day- hopefully it will make up for my absence. I have a good excuse, though, my Mom is in town!!!!

Cookbook: Vegan Soul Kitchen
Author: Bryant Terry

Result: I have made this recipe before and talked about it here. It's a lovely and tasty way to prepare oh-so-good for you collard greens quickly but with a lot of flavor. Tofu cubes tossed in vegan Worcestershire sauce and sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, and onions were put in the oven to roast to complete this yummy fall meal.

Vegan MoFo Day 6: Swiss Chard Frittata (with Kale instead!)

Cookbook: Vegan Brunch
Author: Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Result: It's been a long day. I was fixin' to come home and just make a simple tofu scramble, but I came across this recipe in Vegan Brunch and had a thought- if I made this, it would mean less time spent standing over the stove! I had all of the ingredients on hand (except for the chard), so I decided to use the rest of the bunch of kale I got this past weekend from the farmer's market instead. The whole thing was indeed very easy to throw together, and all things considered it was a pretty healthy recipe with almost no fat (with the exception of the oil the garlic and kale were sauteed in).


The finished frittata crisped up nicely on the outside and had a pleasant and not too mushy texture on the inside- which is good because I loathe mushy tofu. The kale worked OK, especially on the top parts where it became reminiscent of kale chips. However, I would definitely be interested in trying chard next time, the kale did become a bit overly wilted and brown on the inside of the frittata. In the end the whole thing kind of fell apart when I took it out of the pan and resembled a tofu scramble anyways, which was just fine with me. I ate it with a toasted sprouted bagel topped with apple butter, and was a happy camper. I love breakfast food for dinner and am looking forward to trying more recipes from this book soon...

Vegan MoFO Day 5: Lentils and Rice with Carmalized Onions and PIta Crisps

Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: This is another recipe I made a year or so ago with my Mom, and remembered fondly. Well, I remembered the flavors fondly, the mushy red lentils that dissolved during cooking, not so much. I decided to give it another go this evening, using some French green lentils I had in my pantry. These lentils held together much better, and there was no mush! The cloves, allspice and cinnamon added to the rice and lentils while they simmer makes the kitchen smell divine, as do the onions roasting in the oven. The whole meal takes over an hour to cook, and by that time after being stuck in my tasty smelling apartment, I was ready to eat!

The pita chips are perfect for scooping up the rice and lentils, and are so simple to make. If you have never made your own pita chips, do it now. Go to the store, buy some pita, cut it up, brush it with olive oil, shake your favorite spices on top, bake it, and enjoy. You won't be sorry. Trust me. We also threw some kale in the oven at the same time to make some kale chips, just for kicks.

I asked my taste tester for some concluding thoughts about this recipe. He deemed the meal "highly delicious," and commented, "I would eat it again." Works for me!

I've been giving the Veganomicon a lot of love. My other cookbooks might be getting jealous, but I can't help it, it truly is the Mother of all vegan cookbooks.

Vegan MoFo Day 4: Creamy Yellow Potato Soup with Rosemary Oil and Crispy Rosemary

OK, this is kinda cheating- I made this soup on Monday. But we ate leftovers all day and are about to head out for some brick oven (vegan) pizza and olives... Will hopefully be back to cooking tomorrow after work!

Cookbook: Vegan Soul Kitchen
Author: Bryant Terry

Result: An easy, quick(ish) and comforting soup. I love that you make a fresh rosemary infused olive oil first, and then use it to saute your onion and garlic and finish your soup. Homemade veggie stock gave this extra flavor, and cumin gave it an interesting kick you won't find in traditional potato soup. The recipe says to put the soup in the blender in the end and then put it through a strainer or something, but I used my immersion blender and it turned out just fine. All in all the soup still isn't as great as the one my Mom makes (that's a pretty high standard though), but I will definitely be making it again.


I couldn't decide if I wanted to serve the soup with bread or a salad, so I made a salad pizza. Great combo!!!

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits; Apple Wrapper Pie

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits
Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: I had made this recipe about a year and a half ago when I was at home with help from my mom. I remembered it being delicious and very comforting. It was pretty good again this time, although it lacked a little bit in flavor, so I added some more salt. It was still a little bland, but over all a filling fall meal with a good dose of protein (I added the suggested seitan).



Apple Wrapper Pie
Cookbook: Betty Crocker's Cookbook
Author: Um.... Betty Crocker?

Result: I love having people over for dinner because it always gives me an excuse to make a pie. I turn to my handy-dandy Betty Crocker cookbook whenever I need a really basic recipe, and it always comes through for pies. I wasn't in the mood to make a double crust pie today, but had a request for pie made from some apples scored at the Farmer's Market this morning.

The "Wrapper" pie is an easy and perfect solution when you want pie but don't want to put in a whole lot of effort, and don't want the fat that comes with two pie crusts. I sub Earth Balance soy butter for the shortening the recipe calls for, but the result is still a flaky and delicious crust, and I highly doubt most people can tell the difference... We enjoyed this puppy with some vanilla coconut ice cream.

Rosemary Chickpea Tomato Soup

This soup appealed to me today on many levels. I forget what the inspiration was exactly to look for a recipe for chickpea tomato soup, but I found one that was simple enough and decided to give it a go. I intended to cook the chickpeas from scratch (I have a bunch in the pantry) but then realized the whole process would take about 24 hours. Wanting instant gratification, I opted for organic canned chickpeas instead.


I kind of halved the recipe, and probably could have used a little less rosemary, but on the whole it was a very filling and satisfying soup. I encourage you all (vegan or not!) to try it on a dreary rainy day. Get the recipe here.

Calling a truce with Setian- Sort of.

Last night I finally made a dinner that was super tasty- it's been a few weeks, I have either had no time to cook, or cooked things that were just kinda blah. Why I have not tried the Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon until yesterday, I will never know. Mashed chickpeas are combined with vital wheat gluten (my former enemy) veggie broth, bread crumbs, and a few other things and then baked until crispy perfection. They needed just a little umph, so I made a quick white wine/shallot/picada like sauce for the cutlets- PERFECT. YUM!!!!! I made herb scalloped potatoes (also from Veganomicon) and Phil's new favorite thing, kale chips, as well. I only wish I had the energy to make the same meal tonight- I'm hungry!

Roasted and Toasted Pesto

I make pesto pretty frequently. It's easy to throw together, pretty cheap, and makes whatever you put it on taste better. I do, however, get a little bored with the same old formula from time to time. Today I decided to try to "turn up the volume," as our friend Ina Garten would say (I know! Yet another Barefoot Contessa reference... sorry!!!) on my basic pesto. Adding roasted cloves of garlic and toasting the pine nuts really upped the flavor, and was worth the extra effort.

Here's the recipe for the new and improved pesto:

• 1 head of roasted garlic
• 3 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3-5 tbs. olive oil
• salt and pepper (to taste)

First, roast the garlic. Turn your oven up to 350 degrees. Peel the paper off the whole head of garlic as much as you can. Cut of the top part of the garlic, so a little bit of each clove is exposed. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, wrap in foil, and roast in the oven for about an hour, or until the head feels squishy when squeezed with an oven mitt. Remove from the oven and let cool for 25 minutes or so before proceeding with the pesto.

Preheat a dry frying pan on your stove for a few minutes. Throw the pine nuts in the pan and move them around every 30 seconds or so until they are nicely toasted. Watch them closely, they can go from perfect to burned in seconds! While you let the pine nuts cool, carefully squeeze out each clove from the head of garlic. You can use a fork to help the process along, being careful to remove all bits of the papery skin. Put cloves in the food processor with basil leaves, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Process until it becomes a thick paste. Add pine nuts and process again.

Once everything is combined, keep the processor going while you drizzle in the olive oil, one tsp. or so at a time until it is the thickness you desire. Taste and re-season as needed with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Enjoy on your favorite whole wheat pasta, as a base for pizza, on a sandwich, etc...

Busy Bee...

I've been a busy lady lately, even though technically I am on summer vacation... I have been cooking a lot, baking for a soup kitchen in my neighborhood once a week, and took a cake decorating class (more on that in a bit). AND I dropped my computer and it died, so I had to buy a new one, which I should have soon... I hope. I know. I'm a genius.

Last night, my fabulous friend Tommy came over for dinner. I made my trademark pizza...




And a flour-less chocolate tart, from my newest cookbook, The Vegan Table.



Pizza was yum, as always, and the chocolate tart was yum but very rich. So rich I didn't even have a second piece, which is unheard of for me! I had so much fun with Tommy, and he brought me beautiful flowers- what a doll! I felt just like Ina Garten with Jeffery out of town!!!


Last Sunday, we made Mushroom Risotto, also from The Vegan Table. I've only attempted to make risotto twice, and both times I have given up and Phil has taken over and stood over the pot stirring constantly for a looong time. It was pretty yummy and filling, and would probably be even more delish on a cold winter day (instead of a miserable muggy summer one!).

Farmer's Market Skillet

When in doubt, throw it all in one pan and hope for the best...

So, I have caught on to this whole CSA thing a little late, and was not able to join the one down the street from me for this year. I've been kinda bummed about it, so I have been trying to be diligent about going to our neighborhood Farmer's market every week and stocking up.

This week I scored some apples, maple syrup, rainbow chard, a parsley plant, fingerling potatoes, and garlic scapes. The scapes were free because I told the nice man at the potato stand I was curious about them and he gave me a few to try.

I had planned to cook all these veggies this weekend, but things got kind of crazy and we ended up going out for every meal. The chard was looking a little sad today, so after trying to think of different ways to use each veggie, I decided to cook them all together.

I chopped the scapes and sauted them with some olive oil, then tossed the fingerlings in and cooked them for about 20 mins until they were crispy and tender. I then turned off the heat, threw in the chard and put the lid on the pan so it would wilt. With some salt and pepper, it wasn't half bad!

I've been thinking a lot about how much food we waste, even when we are trying not to. I am going to try to start throwing any veggies that are about to go bad and odds and ends from cooking into the freezer to use at some point for broth, hopefully it will yield yummy results...

Indoor Grillin'

Just because I don't have access to my backyard (and yes, our building does have one, ugh!) does not mean I have to be denied the privilege of a nice meal of grilled tempeh and veggies! I marinaded the tempeh in tamari, garlic, salt and pepper for a few hours, then we threw it on the grill with some zuchini, onions and red pepper. We served the whole shabang over couscous, and it was healthy and yummy. If only I had the energy to wash that indoor grill every night of the week, imagine the possibilities!

Sunday Night Setian

Here's last Sunday night's country-fried-seitan dinner. Full disclosure: the setian was store bought, I still haven't found a solution for the icky tasting vital wheat gluten I was using. A shout out to Phil for the delish mushroom gravy and snazzy plating skills.

Back on the Chain Gang

This week I conquered two of my fears: soba noodles, and kale. I've been meaning to try out soba noodles for ages, but never knew what to do with them...After reading this posting about soba noodles, I felt inspired, but wanted to cook something that also used portabello mushrooms and kale while watching the movie Ghost on television, possibly the strangest movie I've ever seen. Here's what I came up with based on that idea:

Portabello Mushroom and Kale Soba Noodles

two generous servings

two portabello mushrooms

1 bunch of kale

half of a tomato (except for Lindsey because she doesn't like them)

1 can of butter beans

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbps balsamic vinegar

1 tbps tamari

juice of half a lemon

splash of tabasco sauce

2 bundles of soba noodles

*how fun is it to have bundled noodles? seriously...I took a picture.

Ok so here's the drill: while you're boiling the water for the noodles, cook the sliced mushrooms, and then add the beans. After a few minutes, add the kale, and stir-fry together, and begin to cook the noodles.

Mix together remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and then add to the pan. Drain the noodles, toss in a little olive oil, mix together and presto:

Bonus: soba noodles are so good for you! They are made from buckwheat flour, and have nine (9!) grams of protein per serving. Add the protein from the beans and you're in serious business.