Stuffed mushroom caps

I bought a bunch of different kinds of really beautiful vegetables that I planned to cook for Mother's Day dinner, but then I had a small accident and had to put everything in the fridge and go to bed for a couple of days.  Now those delicious ingredients are calling to me from the kitchen - I want to hurry up and use them while they're still in their prime.  Last night's quinoa with LOTS of fresh asparagus and English peas was fantastic, if a little decadent for just two people.

So tonight I tackled the mushrooms - wish I had taken a photo, but they're all gone now!  I found these really big white mushrooms at Whole Foods - I don't know what kind they are but I got four of them.  I decided tonight that it would be interesting to stuff them and have them all hot and garlicky from the oven.  Here's what I did (all of these proportions can be adjusted to your liking):

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. 

Step 2: Clean:

• 4 big mushrooms (you could also use 6 or 8 medium ones)

Then remove the stems, and set them aside.

Step 3: Chop in food processor until small:

• one small onion (I used a Spring onion, but white or yellow would work, or shallots)
• 3 cloves garlic

Step 4: Saute the onions and garlic until translucent in:

• a Tablespoon or so of Earth Balance margarine

Step 5: Trim the ends off of the mushroom stems and discard; then chop the rest in the food processor.

Step 6: Add the chopped mushrooms to the onion/garlic mixture.  Then add:

• a generous splash of mirin
• a handful of panko bread crumbs (any kind of break crumbs would work)
• a dash or two of black pepper
• a pinch or two of dried parsley

Mix until combined, adding more mirin if it's too dry; continue to saute until heated through.

Step 7: Place the mushroom caps in a shallow ovenproof pan.  Brush them all over with some:

• olive oil 

Step 8: Divide the onion/garlic/etc. mixture into as many parts as you have mushrooms (in this case, four parts).  Stuff each mushroom and mound the filling over the cavity. 

Step 9: Top each stuffed mushroom with a little smear of:

• truffle oil

Step 10: Bake at 350 for 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how big your mushrooms are.  When they're done they will be brown on top and they will have started leaking a little moisture in the baking dish.

Serves 2.  Enjoy!

Red Lentil Pasta with Cauliflower

I've made this three times now, and it's a really satisfying meal - warm and hearty, with two sources of vegan protein: red lentils and roasted cashews, and a good dose of Vitamin C from the cauliflower and tomatoes.  The cinnamon adds a nice depth.  Adapted from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer.  Makes about 4 big servings.

Step 1:  Chop into small florets, and steam until done to your liking:

• 1 head cauliflower

Step 2: Cook, then drain:

•  16 ounces pasta - I like rotini for this recipe

Step 3: Saute in large saute pan:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp oil; more if needed

Step 4: When onions are translucent, add the following to the large saute pan:

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Stir until well-combined, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Step 5: While the lentil mixture is cooking, place in a dry pan:

• 1 cup chopped cashews

Roast the cashews over medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently

Step 6: Once the lentil mixture in your saute pan is cooked, pour it carefully into a food processor and blend until thick and creamy.

Step 7:  Add the cooked cauliflower florets to your cooked pasta.  Pour the sauce over it and mix it up.  Ladle it on to plates, and sprinkle some of the roasted cashews over each serving.  This would be nice (and pretty) topped with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.  Enjoy!

Cilantro-lime salad dressing

This salad dressing is delicious and fresh - great spooned over a green salad made with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, pumpkin seeds and slices of vegan Gardein Chick'n Scallopini.  Very easy too, and all natural - no high fructose corn syrup or xanthan gum or other scary stuff you find in many bottled salad dressings.  Adapted from a recipe found in VegNews. 

This makes enough salad dressing for about 8 people; it's best when eaten right away but will keep in a jar in the fridge for a day or two.

Put all ingredients in a food processor, and blend to your liking:

• 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (approximately 4 limes)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 3 lemons)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Miso-ginger soup with tofu and chard

I love a soup like this - warm, healthy, cures all that ails you, easy to put together, and makes the house smell great.  You can add pretty much whatever vegetables you have in the fridge - just saute them in a little olive oil until soft and add to the pot around Step 6.  This recipe very generously serves two.

Step 1:  Make vegetable broth in a big soup pan by combining the following:

• Bouillon and water to make 6 to 8 cups of broth (depending on how broth-y you like your soup - I tend to like only a little bit of broth)
• 2 bay leaves

Bring to a boil then turn the heat down and let it simmer while you prepare everything else.

Step 2:  Add the following to a saute pan:

• a 1-inch piece of fresh finely-chopped ginger
• fresh minced garlic to taste - I use about 6 cloves
• a small onion, chopped small
• 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

Saute over medium heat until onions are translucent, stirring constantly so that nothing burns.  Add to soup pot.

Step 3: Add to saute pan:

• 2 or 3 carrots, chopped small (a few pulses in a food processor will do it)
• generous splash of mirin

Saute for 4 or 5 minutes, until the carrots have softened a bit, stirring frequently.  Add to soup pot.

Step 4: Add to saute pan:

• One package extra firm tofu, drained and diced into soup-sized bites
• Hot chili sesame oil to taste - a tablespoon will probably do it

Saute until the tofu is slightly browned.  Add to soup pot.

Step 5:  Add the following to soup pot, and stir:

•  Half a package of wide, flat rice noodles, broken in half.

Step 6:  Add to saute pan:

• One bunch of red chard (or any dark leafy green), deveined and chopped into 1/2-inch ribbons
• A little olive oil

Saute until chard is small and tender.  Add to soup pot.

Step 7:  Once the noodles are fully cooked, turn off the heat and add:

• 2 Tbsp miso paste (I have mild yellow miso paste, but other kinds would work).

Stir until the miso paste is completely dissolved.

That's it.  Basically, get the broth going, then keep cooking things in your saute pan and adding them to the soup pot until you're done.  Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.

Aloo gobi

Again, no photo, but this was too good to not post.  I pretty much followed the aloo gobi recipe in Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan! cookbook, with just a few adjustments.  This is my favorite kind of comfort food - warm, soft, and fragrant - and it's nice and healthy.  The cauliflower is full of Vitamin C, and the spices have all kinds of restorative properties.  Have this for dinner, and you'll wake up the next morning feeling great. 

1.  Mix the following spices together in a small bowl, and set aside:

• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric 

2.  Combine and set aside:

• 1 vegan bouillon cube (I like this bouillon by Rapunzel)
• 1 cup hot water

3.  Add the following items to a soup pan, and saute until the onions are translucent:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-inch chunk of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced (I use a garlic press, similar to this one)

4.  Add the spice mixture to the pan, and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

5.  Add the vegetable broth to the pan.  Then add the following:

• 2 lb. small red potatoes, skin on, diced into bite-sized pieces.

6.  Stir, cover with lid, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7.  Add to the pan:

• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets.

8.  Stir, cover with lid, and cook for another 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

9.  Stir in the following:

• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

10.  Cover with lid and let sit for 5 minutes.  Serve over fluffy jasmine rice mixed with Earth Balance margarine.

Kale-beet-carrot salad

This was one of the most delicious salads I've ever had, and really easy to put together.  Here's what I did:

1.  Wash and de-stem two bunches of kale.  Cut into bite-sized pieces and put in a big bowl.

2.  Wash a red beet, a golden beet, and a few carrots.  Chop each into a few pieces, then grind in the food processor into easy-to-eat pieces.  Add to the kale.

3.  Make salad dressing by combining roughly equal parts (start with a tablespoon of each) of: olive oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice, miso paste, and honey.*  Add salt and pepper to taste, then whisk together until well-combined.  Sample it, then adjust until it tastes amazing.

4.  Add dressing to your portion of salad only when you're ready to eat it.  That way, if there are leftovers, you can store them in the fridge without the vegetables becoming wilted.     

* Some vegans don't eat honey.  You could use agave nectar instead.

Gyro-ish seitan wrap

Well, we ate all the evidence, so there's no picture of the delicious dinner I just made.  We've been doing that more frequently than not lately, then I decide not to blog the recipe since there's no photo, but now I'm re-thinking that idea.  The point of this blog is to share my recipes, so here we go.

First, I sliced the homemade seitan I made last night* into large coins.  Then I sauteed about 4 cloves of garlic in olive oil until tender, then added about 3/4 teaspoon each of cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stirred until combined.  Then I added the seitan coins and cooked until they were warm and well-coated with the garlic-spice mixture. 

I also made a small pot of quinoa, then when it was done I added a healthy squirt of lemon juice and mixed it in.

Then I pulled out some dinner plate-sized wraps and laid them out on plates, then started layering:  First, a smear of vegan sour cream sprinkled liberally with dried dill weed.  Then a layer of lemony quinoa.  Then a layer of the spiced seitan.  Then a layer of chopped, salted, fresh tomatoes, and finally a layer of chopped fresh spinach.  Amazingly delicious, and fresh-tasting and healthy.  A great way to kick off the first day of Spring!

* Here's the recipe for my homemade seitan.  I got it from the Chicago Diner cookbook.  It's delicious, and pretty fun to make, although the kneading can be hard work.  I usually cut the recipe in half because the full recipe is just too much for a two-person household.  The following is the full recipe; it makes four big chunks of seitan:

Mix together:

-  4 cups vital gluten flour
-  3/4 cup whole wheat flour
-  3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
-  2 Tbsp onion powder
-  1-1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
-  1-1/2 Tbsp salt
-  2 Tbsp Italian spices
-  2-1/4 cups warm water
-  1/4 cup tamari

Knead well to combine, then knead for about 10 minutes more.  You have to work pretty hard to get all the dry ingredients worked into the dough.  Then let the dough rest 15 minutes.

While the dough is resting, fill a large pot about 3/4 full of water and put it on the stove to boil.  Throw in 3 or 4 bay leaves, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled, and the trimmed ends and tops of a few carrots and celery stalks.

After the dough has rested for 15 minutes, cut it into 4 pieces, then put it in the boiling water. Let it boil for about 1-1/2 hours.  The seitan will grow as it cooks, so keep an eye on the pot to make sure they're not sticking out of the water.  If this happens, add more water and/or turn the seitan chunks over with a big spoon periodically.

Once the seitan is done cooking, you can slice it and eat it or use it in a recipe right away.  It has now become what some people call "wheat meat," and you can use it the same way you would use tofu or fake meats.  Store it in the refrigerator covered with water with a splash of tamari.

I'll definitely make this again, and I'll take pictures then!