Wild Rice and Artichoke Salad

This is the recipe that originally made me realize that I didn't hate wild rice, artichokes, or capers like I thought I did. Wild rice always smelled swampy to me, and my few attempts at artichokes had left me un-enamored. This recipe seems to bring together these ingredients in such a way that lets them really shine. The original recipe was more involved and called for fresh artichokes, but generally that just seems too time consuming. By using canned artichoke hearts in this recipe, all of the ingredients except for the parsley and red onion are shelf stable, so this can be a quick and easy pantry meal.

ingredients:

3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

dressing:
1/4 c veg broth
2 T lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
several grinds of black pepper
3 T of your good olive oil
2 T capers, minced

finally:
1 generous bunch of fresh parsley, minced

Wash your wild rice by rubbing between your fingers in a bowl of water, strain and rinse in a fine mesh strainer. Cook the wild rice with the 2 bay leaves and 1/2 tsp salt in about 1-3/4 to 2 c water. If there is water leftover after almost all the grains have split and popped, then drain off the rest of the liquid and remove the bay leaves.

While the wild rice is cooking, chop the onion thinly, and quarter the artichoke hearts lengthwise. Once the wild rice is finished cooking put it in a large bowl to cool. I usually add the onion at this point, since the heat of the rice partially cooks them and takes the edge off their bite. If you really like raw onion, feel free to keep them aside until the wild rice is cooled.

Next mix up the dressing. I find the easiest way to do this is to measure the ingredients for the dressing into a small tightly sealing container and shake. Once the dressing is emulsified, you can combine everything. Don't forget to add lots of fresh parsley, as much as you can stand, it really brightens it. I think this salad is best at room temperature because the flavors are dulled too much by cold. It's okay to prep ahead and refrigerate though, just give it a chance to come up to room temperature before serving.

Easy Big Bread

I've been sick for almost a week now, but life carries on, and we were running out of baked goods, so I decided to try out this recipe for bread that's faster than the overnight rise needed for the No Knead Bread recipe. Since the rise time was low for this bread I decided to try to compensate by increasing the gluten. I replaced 3 tablespoons of the flour with vital wheat gluten. Unfortunately I don't think that the kneading time was sufficient to thoroughly activate the gluten. The result is a very light, soft bread with a delicate crumb. It's really best toasted. It's a bit like what our local grocery store bakery sells as peasant bread or portuguese bread. It was a nice change of pace from the No Knead Bread, but I'm not sure that it really qualifies as spectacular. I think the No Knead Bread has a lot of flavor from the slow rise that is easy to overlook, until it's not there as with this bread. This bread is perfectly good toasted around a simple sandwich, but it isn't really the sort of bread that I would sit down and eat a slice of plain, and sometimes that's just what I like to do.

Veganomicon: Chickpea Noodle Soup

*cough*, *cough*, *snif*, *snif*
I've been under the weather for the better part of the week. We've had pizza that I fully intended to blog, but then lost the will to photograph, and Chinese food from the local restaurant that was gloriously greasy, spicy, and comforting. Finally yesterday I decided it was time to nourish myself with something home-cooked.

I decided it was time to try out the highly acclaimed Chickpea Noodle Soup. It was warm and rich and comforting. My first impression was that the noodles soaked up far more of the liquid than I thought they would, to the point where it was almost a very saucy pasta dish rather than a soup. It was very good and highly addictive though. My only quibble is that I couldn't finish the whole pot in one sitting (even my stomach has limitations) and the second day it just wasn't the same. Miso doesn't reheat well and the mushroom flavor seemed to take over the dish. I ended up adding enough seitan cooking broth to thin it out and frozen corn and peas to brighten the flavor. I think I might try this again, but without the mushrooms, and maybe adding something green...

Seitan Pot Pie with Brussels Sprouts and Biscuits

Seitan Pot Pie is one of our favorites. It's usually the first menu suggestion out of Paul's mouth whenever we have seitan in the house. I've even blogged a recipe here before. Tonight's version included brussels sprouts and was made using the Simple Seitan from Veganomicon. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. The broth turned out very flavorful, even without any added salt.

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
2 med carrots, diced
2 med celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced (tonight I used red onion, it lent a nice sweet flavor)
approximately 1 lb seitan, either home-made or store bought
4 cups seitan broth or a light chicken-flavored broth (I like No-Chicken broth by Imagine Foods)
1/2 lb brussels sprouts quartered
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced finely
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
2-4 tsp corn starch and cold water (we like our potpie soupy, but if you like yours more of a gravy consistency, then add more cornstarch and/or use less broth)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil until softened. Add the seitan and brussels sprouts and stir to coat everything with oil, saute for another minute or two, it's ok if things start to stick to the bottom a bit because they'll release when you add the broth. Add the garlic, herbs, and broth. Raise the heat to high until the broth boils, add the cornstarch mixed with a small amount of cold water (just enough to dissolve it), and then simmer on low while you prepare your favorite biscuit dough and the oven finishes preheating.

For this, I made the biscuits from the Leek and Bean Cassoulet, making sure to stir and combine everything more thoroughly this time. I used regular all-purpose flour this time and the biscuit dough was much softer and stickier. Instead of working it with my hands I used 2 spoons to form drop biscuits on the top of the potpie.

Just before adding the biscuits, I added the frozen corn and peas to the pot and stirred to combine. Remove the 2 bay leaves. Taste the broth now and make any adjustments for seasoning before you top with the biscuits. Then the entire thing goes into the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through and slightly browned.

FatFreeVegan: North African Chickpea and Kale Soup

I know I said last time that Paul doesn't like kale, but I had to use up the rest of the bunch that I had bought because it was starting to go wilty. I also had chickpeas and I always have carrots so this soup made a lot of sense. This recipe was our second win for kale!

Veganomicon: Braised Seitan with Brussels, Kale, and Sundried Tomatoes

We love seitan and brussels sprouts. Unfortunately Paul isn't so fond of kale, so I served it over linguini to sweeten the deal. The recipe called for 2 Tbs of oil with a note to add more if necessary and I was pretty much ready to cut way back on the oil because the only sundried tomatoes I could get were the kind packed in oil. But I went with the recipe for the sake of the whole staying-faithful-to-recipes-as-they-are-written experiment, and it didn't turn out oily in the least. The seitan soaked up a lot of the oil, but without seeming greasy. It also left a lot of fond on the bottom of the pan to be deglazed by the broth and wine. Everything was cooked just right, the flavor was spot on. The only problem was that I overcompensated for the saltiness of the seitan and stock based on the the last recipe and didn't add the salt called for in the recipe. I wanted to get this dish plated up before the kale went beyond done, but I should have taken the extra time to really taste and adjust the salt. The result was that the dish wasn't quite seasoned enough.

101 Cookbooks: Split Pea Soup

Don't go by my photo. Go here and salivate.

This is by far and away the best split pea soup I've ever had. The ingredients are so simple that I was tempted to add a few things here and there, but I'm glad I didn't. The fruity olive oil (I used my best olive oil for the finishing touch) and lemon brighten up the dish, and the paprika adds the smokey flavor that you expect in a split pea soup. Yum! This soup wasn't on my original menu plan for the week but I had to work it in as soon as I saw Heidi's photograph.

Veganomicon: Suateed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach

I will be the first to admit that this is not the most appetizing photo... But this dish was sooo good. Paul and I both love seitan, and I usually buy the Chicken-Style seitan from White Wave. The first seitan I ever tasted was one that I made myself when I was just a teenager in my mother's kitchen. I think that I had come across a vague description of what seitan was calling it a protein source made from kneading wheat dough and rinsing away the starches in water. I used flour, probably bread flour, made a dough out of it and then proceeded to knead and rinse he dough in the kitchen sink under running water. I don't even think that I used broth to boil it in, just water. But what resulted was as close to the White Wave seitan as I've ever come. Most recipes for home-made seitan use lots of flavor ingredients and vital wheat gluten flour. The result is, shall we say, globular. I think that the process of kneading and then washing out the starches later produces longer chains of gluten which give the seitan a more definite grain pattern rather than the chaotic grain of seitan made with vital wheat gluten flour. Of course this is all just conjecture based on a singular incident when I was very young, and I haven't bothered to test this hypothesis.

The Veganomicon recipe for Simple Seitan produces a seitan that isn't pretty to look at, but the flavor is really quite good. I'm glad that the authors simplified the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance down to a more reasonable list of ingredients. The Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach was delightful. Paul and I both loved it. I served it with quinoa cooked in the rice cooker using the broth that the seitan was boiled in. Unfortunately I should have tasted the dish before adding the salt that the recipe calls for because the end result was too salty even for Paul who usually salts up anything I cook regardless of how much salt I add while cooking, I've stopped trying to compensate for his love of salt altogether. Having said all that, this dish was so good that we ate it all anyway.

Veganomicon: Spinach Linguine with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes

I love basil and I love cilantro, so loving this dish was destined to be. The pesto by itself is tasty. The artichokes accentuate the lemony tang of the recipe and lighten the dish considerably. I think the only thing I would do differently next time is to double the amount of linguine to a full pound since there was more than enough pesto for the half-pound of pasta that the recipe called for.

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.

Veganomicon: Chickpea Cutlet, Brussels Sprouts, and Broccoli Polenta

Tonight's dinner was Chickpea Cutlets from the Veganomicon with Miso Gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance, broccoli Polenta from Veganomicon, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. We love Brussels sprouts, they are a staple of our holiday meal planning. I also love broccoli, and the broccoli polenta is very good, and wicked simple. I have made the broccoli polenta twice so far, and I must say that the first time I made it using baby broccoli and the Imagine No-Chicken broth and I think it came out far superior than this time when I made it with mature broccoli and generic vegetable broth.

Tonight's dinner was also a little experiment. I made all 4 chickpea cutlets according to the recipe, except that I pan-fried 2 in Paul's grandmother's cast iron skillet, and I baked 2 in the oven, both methods are listed in the book and I wanted to see if it made a substantial difference. The pan-fried cutlets came out darker and crispier on the outside, while the inside of the cutlets remained quite moist and squishy. The baked cutlets were more uniformly brown, cooked through evenly though a bit tougher and required an actual knife to be cut rather than cutting easily with the edge of the fork tines. Overall I greatly preferred the oven baked cutlets over the pan-fried. I liked that they were more evenly cooked through, I liked their resistance to being bitten, and I liked that it was much more fool proof to set the oven to specific temperature, set the timer and do something else without having to keep an eye on them, which clearly the pan-fried cutlets required.

The chickpea cutlets themselves are a brilliant combination of chickpeas and wheat gluten, with all the benefits of the latter without the time commitment of making seitan from scratch. Not that making seitan isn't a worthwhile endeavor, but for a weeknight, this meal comes together quickly and easily. I think the one miss here was that the Miso Gravy was just far too overpowering for the chickpea cutlets. I think it was the wine that I used and perhaps a different white wine would make a more subtle gravy, though I haven't had any problems with using this wine in other recipes, so perhaps it isn't the wine but just a poor pairing of sauce and entree. This was a very Meat & Potatoes kind of meal, which I think Paul definitely enjoyed. I am more of a one-pot-wonder type of girl, but variety is the spice of life!

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.

Veganomicon: Pasta della California

OK, so I'll admit that this isn't my first time with the Pasta della California, but it is my first time blogging it. I made it once before when my sister and her husband were over for a game night, but I was too carried away in the moment to stop to take pictures. I just want to say that this is a fabulous dish if you take the time to get the right ingredients. The first time I made this I went the 30 miles to a Whole Foods market to get arugula because none of our local stores carried it, and everything was fresh and it was wonderful. This time I used baby arugula from the local store and used a lemon because my limes were beyond sad. Tonight's dinner is a pale imitation of the delicious dinner we had on game night. The lesson here: go get full-grown arugula, it makes a huge difference. In my heart of hearts I knew this would be the case, but sometimes you just don't want to drive 30 miles to get $1.99 worth of produce. I think the other splurge in this dish is to use a nice light broth like Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth rather than a boullion or a darker broth. Otherwise, if you love avocado, garlic, lime and pasta, then this is definitely the dish for you.

Veganomicon: White Bean Aoli

I had canellini beans and I wanted a hummus-like "schmear" for our freshly baked bagels. This aoili is smoother and runnier than hummus and would probably be a wonderfully rich sandwich spread, a perfect veggie or chip dip, or even an impromptu white sauce for pasta. I don't think it's quite thick enough for a bagel spread, but the flavor is wonderful.

Veganomicon: Tempeh Shepherdess Pie

I can count on one hand the number of tempeh dishes that I really love, and now this is among them. I get nervous using tempeh. When I was still a young vegetarian living at home with my parents I tried to cook with tempeh. I knew nothing. I thought that tempeh would be like tofu and that I could cook it any old way I liked. Needless to say it wasn't and my first tempeh creation was completely inedible. It wasn't until a few years ago that I tried tempeh again using a Carolina-style BBQ recipe from Veggie Life Magazine. And then more recently, the other tempeh recipe I've tried from Veganomicon was great. The texture of the filling was perfect. The taste was fabulous, though I'll probably boost the thyme next time. The one little problem I had with the recipe was that the potatoes came out a bit crumbly and dry when I first mashed them, so I added a bit more soymilk to them. But with that one exception the dish was a huge success. I might just have fallen in love with tempeh after all!

More Bagels: Onion and Sesame Seed

My original plan for this weekend was to invite my sister over for a bagel bake-a-thon, but unfortunately her husband was sick and she felt like she might be coming down with it, so I figured it was best for all parties concerned for us not to spread the germs. So instead I baked bagels by myself until I ran out of yeast.

Veganomicon: Green Pea and Lemon Risotto with Roasted Red Peppers

I love risotto. This risotto is a lovely combination of the sweet peas and roasted red peppers and the rich, herby, and creamy rice in harmony with the sparkle of the lemon. I think this would be a dreamy dish for a Valentine's dinner with the one you love.

Bagels from Baking Bites Blog

Ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to bake bagels, but my mother convinced me that it was too complicated. I'm happy to report that is not the case. It was actually really fun and I even made an audible squee of delight while they were baking.

I used the recipe over here on the blog Baking Bites, and you should too. It's laid out so nicely and the photos are gorgeous. I did make a couple substitutions though, because I just can't help myself. I don't have bread flour in the house, so I used all purpose flour plus a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. I also used a cornstarch wash instead of an egg wash. I whisked 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water then whisked that mixture into a cup of boiling water. I brushed the bagels before they went into the oven and then again afterward. I can't wait to try this recipe out again with flavors and toppings.

Veganomicon: Pasta E Fagioli

The authors tell us this is pronounced Pasta Fazool. It's an utterly simple dish of pasta, beans, tomato, garlic and herbs. I used some tricolor radiatorre for an extra color boost. I think that this is a recipe that would be beautiful for those full summer, fresh from the garden or farmer's market tomatoes. In the winter, I think canned tomatoes would be much nicer in this dish than the pale pink things I got in the produce section... Lesson learned. Instead of using canned beans I used dried beans cooked in the slow cooker. Unfortunately I was less than attentive and overcooked the little buggers, so they were mushy. And yet, despite all of that, the end product was warm, tasty, comforting, and completely satisfying. This is stick to your ribs cooking. So go ahead and make this in February, but I suggest using canned tomatoes, it'll save you chopping time as well.