Spinach and Leek Quiche

This recipe is very loosely based on Bryanna's Vegan Bell Pepper and Mushroom Quiche. Obviously one difference is the vegetables, but I also substituted EnerG egg replacer for the cornstarch and agar, as well as increased the tofu and vegan parmesan and decreased the soymilk. I did try Bryanna's recipe as written, but I found that the blended mixture sat on top of the vegetables and was a little too pudding-like for my taste. I also lowered the temperature to allow the filling time to become dense before the outer surface forms a crust. The changes I made produce a pie that is closer in consistency to the quiches I remember from my pre-vegan days.

ingredients:
1 9" pie shell
1 Tbs olive oil
1 leek, cleaned and sliced thinly
1 lb frozen chopped spinach
2 Tbs EnerG egg Replacer powder
1-1/4 cup soymilk
1 tsp vegetarian chicken bouillon (amount needed to make 1 cup broth)
1 dash of turmeric
1 dash nutmeg
a pinch of salt and pepper
1 cup firm tofu
1/2 cup Galaxy Foods Vegan Soy Parmesan
a dash of paprika

1. Bake the pie shell at the temperature indicated for a no-bake pie filling. Err on the side of undercooked. My pie crusts called for 425 F for 11-16 minutes, so I baked mine at 425 F for 10 mins. Once the shell is baked, cool completely and set the oven to 350 F.

2. Sweat the leeks in the olive oil until translucent (I used a covered cast-iron skillet).

3. Add spinach to the softened leeks and stir uncovered until most of the moisture is gone and the spinach is almost dry. Patience and a med-low heat are needed here.

4. Once the spinach is almost dry, remove from the heat and let the mixture cool while you blend the rest of the ingredients.

5. Add the EnerG powder to a medium-sized bowl, and slowly whisk in the soymilk until it is a smooth but thick liquid. Whisk in the bouillon (pulverize with a fork first if you're using a cube instead of a powder or paste), turmeric, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Use enough turmeric to give the mixture a nice egg-y color.

6. Whir the tofu in a food processor or blender before adding the EnerG-soymilk mixture and blending the entire thing a few seconds until smooth.

7. Stir together the blended mixture, the soy parmesan, and the cooled spinach mixture before filling the cooled pie shell.

8. Smooth the top of the unbaked quiche with a spoon or spatula and lightly sprinkle with paprika before baking in a 350 F preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the filling is firm and has started to crack.

Brown and Wild Rice with Asparagus and Basic Broiled Tofu

This meal is the sort of meal that makes you feel energized, light and virtuous. I found the wild rice and asparagus recipe on the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog when I was searching for a way to combine two ingredients that I happened to have on hand. It is the perfect weekend lunch for this time of year when Winter lingers but the weather warms up just enough to make your soul yearn for Spring. The wild rice and almonds convey the warmth and comfort of Winter while the asparagus hints at the promise of Spring. I was almost tempted to add oil to this dish, either by adding a dab of Soy Garden at the end or by sauteing the asparagus in it instead, but Susan V has never led me astray, so I made the recipe as written, and I'm so glad I did. The result was a nutty and delicate pilaf without any sort of heaviness of greasiness. I'm all for fat when it serves a purpose, but sometimes it's just unnecessary.

The Basic Broiled Tofu from the Veganomicon was a wonderful protein accompaniment. The lemon juice provided the perfect link between the flavor palettes of the two recipes. I was a bit concerned that this recipe wouldn't work out since the tofu that I had was the 99 cent tofu from Trader Joe's rather than extra-firm like the recipe called for, and then when the tofu was broiling and the tofu released its water into the pan I thought for sure that the tofu would end up soggy and fall apart. But with only an additional 3 minutes under the broiler, the tofu firmed up and the liquid evaporated. Without any additional oil, the tofu managed to take on a wonderfully chewy texture on the top while maintaining a smooth creamy interior. WIth such a low fat content, and no sugary sauce, this is one of the healthiest tofu recipes that I've encountered.

Rice Noodle Stirfry

I haven't posted much in the last week because I've been feeling rather nauseous. For you nosey gossips: no, I'm not pregnant, and yes, I'm sure. I think it must have been a stomach bug and all I've wanted to eat is starchy things. Tonight is the first night since V-Day that I've felt like cooking, and I wasn't really feeling terribly adventurous. I wanted comfort food. I mentioned before that I grew up on PBS cooking shows including Yan Can Cook! My first ever kitchen implement was a wok set and I made lots and lots of stirfries. I could live on stirfries alone if Paul were game for it. Luckily for him I've branched out a bit since then.

This is my standard stirfry with rice noodles. I don't claim it to be authentically ethnic in any way, in fact I'm pretty sure that it's authentic in absolutely no way. I like my stirfries to be on the dry side. I'm not a big fan of brothy sauces on stirfries, even sauces that are thickened with starch, so expect none of that.

In this recipe I fry the tofu. I know that I've talked about not needing all the oil in the Veganomicon recipes, so you might have gotten the idea that I take after the Fat Free Vegan herself. Well, that's just not the case. It's not that I have anything against using fat in cooking, I just like to make it count. Unless you're the sort of person who is always trying to gain weight (which I'm not) I think that fat should have a significant impact on the flavor or texture of whatever you're using it in, or else it's just meaningless calories, and I have no need for meaningless calories. I don't fry every day, in fact it's less than once a month, so I think it's reasonable to splurge.

ingredients:
enough oil for frying
1 lb firm/extra-firm tofu
4 servings of a pad thai style rice noodle
2 leeks (white parts only, or 1 leek if using both the white and green parts), sliced thinly
2 small carrots, sliced diagonally
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 package baby broccoli, sliced on the diagonal
1 tsp thai green curry paste
1 tsp pureed ginger
1-2 clove garlic, pressed, smashed, or minced
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar/sushi vinegar
Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce (to taste)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Drain the tofu and press it between two plates weighted with something heavy while you go prep everything else to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Once the veggies are chopped, come back to the tofu and drain off the extra liquid. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and pat them all as dry as possible.

Go put on your rattiest long sleeved shirt and fill your wok with about 2 inches of oil. Heat it until you get tiny bubbles when you insert a bamboo chopstick. Fry the tofu cubes in very small batches. I like to use a long-handled slotted spoon to gently stir the tofu cubes in the oil to get all 6 sides as evenly as possible until they are light golden brown and then drain on paper towels or a cooling rack.

Once all of the tofu cubes as toasty and golden, drain off all the used oil into a heat-safe container and wipe out any burnt-on bits.

While the wok cools off a bit from the frying, break the rice noodles up into a lidded, heat-safe bowl, and boil enough water to cover the noodles. I like to use my electric kettle for this because you are just steeping the noodles rather than boiling them like you would wheat noodles. This way they cook gently enough that they don't turn to mush in the pot or dry into clumps in the strainer while you're trying to get your veggies just right in the wok. Once the water boils, pour over the rice noodles, give them a quick stir, to make sure they're all submerged, cover and let sit while you stirfry in your wok.

Now, the rest of this goes together quickly (less tan 10 minutes), despite my lengthy description. In the wok, add back the tiniest bit of oil to stirfry the veggies, really if the wok is hot you only need a tsp or less. The wok should already be pretty hot from the frying, if not let it warm up on high/med-high heat. Into the hot wok, add the sliced leeks and toss until they are shiny and starting to go limp, then quickly add the sliced carrots. This should go fairly quickly, just adding the next vegetable once the previous veggie has made a couple laps in the wok and has started to go shiny from the oil. Next is the bell pepper, and then the baby broccoli.

Once all the veggies are in the wok, I like to give it a toss, turn the heat down to medium and cover with a lid for a brief steam. I check it after just a minute, give it a toss, the veggies should still be a bit undercooked so that they can finish when you add the noodles.

Next, move the veggies up the sides of the wok to leave a space in the bottom center to make the sauce. Add the curry paste, ginger, garlic, and rice vinegar and stir together vigorously until the curry is dissolved in the liquid before stirring the veggies back into the center and adding the fried tofu cubes. The liquid will evaporate very quickly if your wok is hot, so work fast.

Now it's time to drain the noodles and add them into the wok. Don't worry too much about excess liquid because it'll help keep the noodles from sticking to the wok. Now it's time to add the Bragg's / soysauce slowly while stirring the noodles, tofu, and veggies to make sure that everything is seasoned evenly. This is where it's important to taste. Once your stirfry is seasoned to your taste, stir in a splash of sesame oil to finish, and serve immediately before everything goes limp and the noodles start sticking.

Veganomicon: Lasagne Marinara with Spinach

You may have noticed that we eat a lot of pasta. I think it's one of those food-ruts that vegetarians, especially vegans fall into when they dine frequently with omnivores. It's easy, it's not so weird that other people feel the need to comment on and "judge" your food choices, and it's a very comforting and traditional meal for a lot of modern Euro-American families. We happen to love pasta, not only for those reasons just mentioned, but also because it's a romantic and sensuous food. Pasta cooked al-dente has a soft, yet resilient texture that brings to mind other carnal activities. It also happens that some of our first meals together as a couple revolved around pasta and red wine, which makes it a very evocative menu specifically for us as a couple. So it shouldn't come as too much of a shock that our Valentine's meal came from the pasta family.

I love lasagna, I often make my own version of this dish for us, and I really wanted to love this recipe... but I didn't.

I chose the pinenut cream White and Red Lasagne variation with the standard recipes for Marinara Sauce, Tofu Ricotta, and Almesan (almond-based parmesan substitute) from the book. Unfortunately I think that the combined effect of all of that lemon flavor was overpowering to the finished lasagna. I do love lemon, don't get me wrong, but there is such a thing as too much, especially in a tomato-based dish. Instead of lending a subtle "sparkle" as Christina Pirello would say, the compounded lemon flavor turned into a cloying distraction from what should have been the main cast of characters. If you choose to make this recipe, I suggest making a decision as to which cast member gets the sparkle, and omitting the lemon from the other players.

The second problem with this recipe is that it turned out exceptionally soupy. I don't usually have that much of a problem with excess liquid in my lasagna, and while I did drain and squeeze the spinach, the liquid levels of the dish were overwhelming. I suggest using no-cook noodles and skipping the extra water that the recipe calls for.

Lastly, the amount of oil called for in the various parts of the recipe seemed excessive and really didn't add anything to the flavor or texture of the final product. Go ahead and skip most of the oil in this recipe and give your fat cells a break. Feel free to use a good canned or jarred sauce to save yourself the extra work of preparing the sauce, go ahead and use a frozen spinach instead of fresh, and feel free to use dried garlic instead of fresh here too. I don't think that any of those things would make a significant impact on the recipe, and there's no point in additional work if it doesn't result in exceptional flavor.

VwaV: Scrambled Tofu and Herb-Roasted Potatoes

Today is Paul's day off, and the start to our weekend, so to start things off right I wanted to cook a hearty breakfast that's a little fancier and more savory than pumpkin bread. After skimming through some cookbooks I settled on the scrambled tofu and herb-roasted potatoes from vegan with a vengeance. Both are dishes that I make frequently, but instead of winging it as I usually do, I decided to follow the recipes from VwaV so that I could write a review here on my food blog.

The potatoes are divine, and easy to boot. These are definitely worth making for a nice brunch or even dinner. The scrambled tofu was definitely good, but more complicated than the version that I usually make. I was concerned that the paprika might be too strong a flavor for the mildness of the mushrooms, and the amount of cumin seemed like a lot, but it turned out that both were spot on. The lemon was unusual and I think I might use less next time because I think it was a bit overpowering, but that might just be because I was using a particularly juicy lemon. Overall it was still quite good and although I would have liked to see some spinach or other leafy greens, Paul thought it was excellent.