Thanksgiving Tart

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IMG_4866

Serves 6-8 with sides

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, small dice
  • 2 stalks of celery, small dice
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 14-ounce can white kidney beans, rinsed (reserving 1/4 cup)
  • 3/4 cup walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons shoyu
  • 1-1/4 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 9-inch prepared pie shell, thawed
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (for brushing)
  • 1 teaspoon shoyu (for brushing)

What You Do:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for 7 to 9 minutes until onions soften and begin to caramelize. Set aside.
  2. In a food processor, add white beans (except 1/4 reserved cup), walnuts, lemon juice, and shoyu, and pulse to lightly chop (do not purée). Remove half of chopped mixture from food processor and transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Transfer sautéed onions to the remaining mixture in food processor. Purée until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  4. Transfer purée to bowl with lightly chopped beans and walnut mixture. Add spinach, cranberries, thyme, and cup of reserved beans. Stir to combine and transfer to prepared pie shell, spreading evenly.
  5. Combine oil and tamari, and brush on top of pie and crust.  Bake for 35 minutes until lightly browned.

Truffles, Pasta & More Recipe Contest

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Last night I created my recipe for the Marx Truffles, Pasta & More Recipe Contest.  I was provided with:

Challengers will receive samples of:

1) One pound of Italian dried  calamarata pasta
2) Black Truffle Salt
3) Dried Porcini Mushrooms
4) Fennel Pollen

I was to create an original recipe using the pasta and at least one of the other ingredients; all entries will be put in a poll on the MarxFoods blog from November 15 – 19, 2010 you can vote here!

Truffled Creamy Porcini Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 8oz button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1T dijon mustard
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1-oz dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/4t ume plum vinegar
  • 1/2t garlic powder
  • 1/4t cayenne pepper
  • Tofu Cream:
    • 1 pkg of extra firm water packed tofu
    • 1T olive oil
    • 5t lemon juice
    • 2t white wine vinegar
    • 1t agave nectar
    • 1/4t truffle salt
    • 1t dill
    • 1t smoked paprika

Directions:

  1. Place all the ingredients for the tofu cream into a blender or food processor and process until smooth.
  2. Boil water for pasta and while the water is boiling and pasta is cooking prepare the sauce.
  3. In a large skillet heat the olive oil place the onions in and saute for 7-10 minutes until softened.
  4. Stir in the button mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft.
  5. Stir in the dijon mustard and the vegetable broth.
  6. Stir in the tofu cream until completely blended; cook for a minute.
  7. Stir in the nutritional yeast, ume plum vinegar, garlic powder and cayenne pepper; taste for salt and pepper.
  8. Stir in the pasta and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika and vegan parmesan.

Dining Locally: American Flatbread

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Our pizza from the last post was actually inspired by a visit to American Flatbread a few weeks ago where we sipped the best beer and ate the most delicious pizza. This is one of our go to restaurants because they have amazing flatbread that is made from local and/or organic ingredients.  Plus they keep it simple- their menu has a salad (which is amazing) and a number of flatbread creations as well as an option to create your own flatbread.  THAT IS IT. They don’t need to put anything more on that menu because it is perfect keeping it simple.  They also have a special salad, vegetarian pizza and omnivore pizza each night as well as dessert specials.

On top of having a great salad and flatbreads they easily accommodate vegans and they brew their own beer. Now their dining menu maybe short and sweet but the beer list is extensive and filled with a great selection of microbrews as well as their house made which are all really good.

Veganized Special- white pizza with delicata squash, apples, garlic and maple glazed hazelnuts

It’s Starting to Look a Lot Like….

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…Christmas!

I know we are crazy, this weekend one of my girlfriends came over and we spent the entire Saturday afternoon/evening making crafts for Christmas gifts. We also enjoyed this wonderful pizza that was so delicious.

Kale, Squash and Apple White Pizza

Recipe:

  • 1 whole wheat pizza crust (I buy prepared dough from our health food store)
  • 1/2 delicata squash, thinly sliced and roasted at 375F for 25 minutes
  • 2-3 cups of dinosaur kale, chopped and sauteed with 1T olive oil and 1T garlic until soft
  • 1 small apple sliced
  • 1/2 cup diced tofu, sauteed in 1T olive oil and 1T garlic until browned
  • Garlic Base- 2T Vegan margarine, 1/2T vegan parmesan and 3 cloves of roasted garlic; blend to a paste
  • red chili flakes, optional
  • salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 450F.

Roll out your dough and place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Spread the garlic base on your pizza and then begin to place on all of the toppings.  Sprinkle with chili flakes if desired and a little salt and pepper.

Place in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until the crust is brown.



Spooky Meal

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We didn’t do much for Halloween weekend- in fact we spent most the weekend making gifts for Christmas.  However on Sunday my parents were over so we decided to have a Halloween inspired meal which included Mummy Dogs with shriveled purple potatoes and a side salad

And Bloodthirsty Marys

Recipe:
Serves 4

3 cups tomato juice
3 tablespoons drained prepared horseradish
1/2 cup vodka
2 teaspoons vegan worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice of 1 lemon, more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Hot sauce
Celery stalks, for garnish
Celery Salt and Cayenne to garnish rims of glasses

Directions

In a pitcher, stir together tomato juice, horseradish, vodka, vegan worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and hot sauce to taste.
Wet the rim of 4 glasses with lemon juice and dip into a mixture of celery salt with a pinch of cayenne. Fill the glasses with ice and pour the tomato mixture over. Garnish with a lemon slice and a celery stalk.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Bloodthirsty Marys – Martha Stewart Recipes

Vegan Mofo Survey

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1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

My favorite non-dairy milk is Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond milk it’s creamy, low calorie, soy free and it works well in hot and cold dishes.  I really love Tempt hemp milk as well but it is awful in hot items- it curdles in coffee boo- but I love it in smoothies or in cereal.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

I plan on making some bean and kale soup tonight, I am working on a pasta recipe with truffle oil and a rice and bean dish with chipotle peppers and saffron powder.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

Nutritional Yeast and Cajun Seasoning!

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

ummm some Asian inspired dish with glass noodles- it was slimmy and gross.

5. Favorite pickled item?

Bubbies pickles!

6. How do you organize your recipes?

I don’t really organize them haha.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

Trash, Recycle and garbage disposal- we used to compost but don’t have the place to accommodate this now.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

I would bring avocados, brown rice and kale.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

Monkey Bread- my mom used to make this at Christmas and I loved it.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Salted Caramel at Stogo in NYC

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

My Blend Tec

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

cumin and chili powder

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

The Moosewood Cookbook- it’s my mom’s from the 80’s

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Raspberry jam- with lots of seeds

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Stuffed mushrooms

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

tempeh

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Love cooking dinner.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

Nothing.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

flax meal, spinach, butternut squash

20. What’s on your grocery list?

i haven’t made one yet- we are going out of town soon

21. Favorite grocery store?

Healthy Living in South Burlington

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

Nanaimo bars for the husband

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?

  1. http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/
  2. http://carrotsncake.com/
  3. http://fitnessista.com/

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

I love Sjaak’s peanutbutter cups

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

I haven’t really purchased any…I received dried wild mushrooms for a contest though!

Welcome Back!

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It’s that time of year again! VEGANMOFO! Wahoo! I love Vegan MoFo!

Right now we are on the ends of the political campaign season and after spending the day listening to a number of great democratic nominees and the Vice President Joe Biden I am exhausted and ready to curl up with fur baby. Blogging will resume to normal on Wednesday! Good thing I decided to participate in early voting- that means I get to sleep in before work tomorrow and a night of political events and parties- I love my job.

Cuddling with this cutie

P.S. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! GET OUT THE VOTE!