A Passing in the Family & a Simple Vegan Meatball Sub

Today my Grandma on my father's side passed away rather suddenly.  She had been living in a nursing home for probably the last 3-4 years and my mother was taking care of her for two years before that.  She has not been in good health for many years, but did not seem to be doing too badly.  Very much a shock.  I'm very sorry to say that we were not close.  None of my siblings and I were too close with her.  I saw her about four years ago, then probably not for ten years before that.  I feel terribly for my dad and feel sad for the relationship we never were able to have with her.  My dad was able to take off three days from work for bereavement to take care of all the details - he is the oldest sibling and in charge of the details. 

 

I felt an overall sadness today, not really inspired to do too much.  I had a lot of things I should have been doing, but really never got around to them.  I spent most of the time with my dad and other siblings that stopped by to support him.  When he left to look into my Grandmother's affairs, I realized it was midway through the day and that I should eat something.  I decided on the quickest thing I could think of: a sub.  I had just bought some nice, fresh bread with the hubbs and had a package of Gimme Lean Ground Beef in the freezer for a couple months that I bought on discount at the local food coop.  I also had some homemade marinara sauce hanging out in the freezer so I knew a meatball sub would come together nicely.  Super easy and satisfying. 

 

 



Easy and delicious - before being toasted

1/2 package Gimme Lean Ground Beef, rolled into balls
olive oil

Fresh Rolls/Baguette
Marinara sauce
Vegan Sliced Cheese
Vegan Cashew Parmesan Cheese

Toppings:
Sliced Green Peppers
Sliced Onions
Fresh or Pickled Jalapeno Peppers
Sliced Dill Pickles
Kalamata or Black Olives

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Cook the meatballs in a small amount of olive oil until crispy and heated through.
3.  Slice the roll/baguette in half, spoon some marinara sauce on top, followed by the meatballs, the vegan cheese(s) and the toppings.
4.  Place the loaded sub on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is toasty and the cheese is nice and melty.
5.  Cut in half and serve with additional marinara sauce on the side for dipping.


Koko

Pasta with a Creamy Sauce, Spicy Vegan Chicken, Green Salad

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.  I definitely did.  I worked in the morning, preparing fun and beautiful pink vegan baked goods.  Then ran around doing errands, bought Hubbs some last minute V-Day gifts and figuring out a place for us to have dinner.  Yes, I know I am super last minute.  Hubbs decided that since he is usually the one that decides where we're going and what we're doing, that I would be in charge of where we went for V-Day.  I checked into a couple places but wasn't super into their menu.  Don't get me wrong - several places had specifically vegan options listed on their Valentine's Day Menu which I could have chosen from, right alongside fois gras.  Um, yuck and no thanks.  So I looked, but not really super interestedly.  I found a place in the afternoon and while browsing on Facebook, found out that one of my old high school classmates was going to be playing live at a bar downtown, and being as I've recently discovered that I love the live music scene here, we decided to check it out.  I wasn't super into the style of the music - all covers - but the group was very talented.  I ended up running into another classmate and got caught up with his life (which is funny, because he was one of the most popular kids when we were in school, and we've never actually even spoken before).  Then off to dinner with my Hubbs.  A great night!  And now some simple, tasty food.

 

 

 

Pasta with a tasty creamy sauce, crispy vegan chicken.  Yum!

 

 

Serves 2-3

8 oz. fettuccini, broken in half, cooked until al dente

2 vegan breaded frozen spicky chicken patties

Creamy Sauce:

3 tablespoons earth balance

4 tablespoons unbleached flour

3-4 cups unsweetened almond milk

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons unchicken boullion

1 teaspoon dried parsley

Green Salad:

1 small head romaine lettuce

1 carrot, shredded

desired dressing

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the frozen "chicken" patties on a baking tray and place in the oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through, or until the patties are crispy and firm.  You could certainly also cook them in a small amount of oil until crispy.

2.  While the patties are baking, prepare the creamy sauce.  In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the earth balance and allow it to melt.  Once it is melted, add the flour and whisk to combine.  Keep whisking this mixture for severeal minutes, until golden and the flour no longer smells raw.  Add all of the milk at once, immediately whisking until a smooth sauce forms.  It will be very thin at this point.  Add the black pepper, boullion powder and parsley.  Whisk together.  Continue whisking periodically until the sauce has thickened.  Season to taste, adding salt if desired.  Keep warm.

3.  Prepare the green salad:  in a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients, including the dressing, and toss to coat.  

4.  Once the chicken patties are fully cooked, chop into bite sized pieces.

5.  To serve, place a portion of the pasta on your plate, followed by a helping of the creamy sauce and several pieces of the chopped baked chicken patties.  Serve a portion of the salad on the side.

 

 

Enjoy!

-Koko 

The Good Ole Days: Summer in Prospect Park with our NY Family

Perhaps this isn't the best way to spend the new year, but I have been feeling very homesick for NY lately.  Among my "not-resolutions" is to become more organized and on top of things.  So I have been going through my stock of old recipes and pictures and trying to organize blog posts that I may have started before and never finished.  This is one of them, and I figured it would be the perfect time to post it, to remind myself and others out there that Spring and Summer do actually exist and they may eventually be here!

I've had quite a bit of free time lately and have been watching shows based in NY, heard the street names I would visit all the time and see places that would remind me of great places I've seen and great things I've done.  I think this terrible cold weather that has left me stranded inside for several days has not helped me feel so, sort of sad and missing NY.  The really funny thing is that when I really think about it, life was not perfect there - in fact, there were so many things that I thought were terrible and unlivable while I was there.  But now they don't seem so bad and I find myself wishing we had waited maybe a couple more years to move away.  But the fact that Hubbs and I want to open our own business here in our new city is what is keeping me chugging along.  Until that time, I've got to focus on the business and reorganizing everything and staying more on top of things.  So, in this terrible cold weather, you can enjoy these lovely pictures of grilling in Brooklyn in the middle of a hot, hot summer.  It definitely made me smile and feel a little warmer and more optimistic!

Veggie Dog with all the toppings, Greek Lentil Salad, Chippies

Greek Lentil Salad

Veggie Dogs

Hot Dog Buns

Chopped Onions

Ketchup, Mustard, Hot Sauce

Seasoned Baked Tortilla Chips

1.  Make salad and let it chill for a couple hours.

2.  Gill veggie dogs on grill until heated through.  Place in bun and top with everything - ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, onions.  If I had thought to bring sauerkraut, I would have topped the dog with that too!

3.  Place helpings of each item on your plate and eat!  And enjoy the sunshine! (Or pretend it's sunny out!)



Veggie Dogs Grilling - They look so Lonely!



Hubby & His Giant Cousin Grilling their non-vegan Chicken
(This is before the Hubby became vegetarian.)



Hubbs & I & our delicious picnic food in the middle of the
beautiful summer!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I did!

Koko

Vegan Chicken & Broccoli

 

 Happy New Year!

 

 

Hubby & I last night in a beautiful condo my mom
surprised us with for the night.  Fun!

 

I hope everyone had a great New Year's and is as excited as I am about this coming new year.  2013 was a very bittersweet year for me - one of the most difficult I have been through in recent years, but I know it has and will continue to make me grow into a better person.  I came to some interesting realizations about myself and have just really been forced to become stronger.  I have so many goals for this coming year, but unlike many New Year's past, I have not written them down or described them as "New Year's Resolutions".  So perhaps here is a good opportunity to write them down so I can remember them later, although I will not be going as crazy about them this year as I usually do.

 

• Focus on bettering my Spanish - hopefully I will be able to have more of a complete conversation with my mother-in-law by the end of the year

• Eat more cleanly - less snacking - that's my problem.  And use up a lot of the pantry items I brought back from Brooklyn with us- make more food items out of what we have - not going out and buying new things every time I decide to cook something

• Be more open to trying new things that usually make me uncomfortable: singing in front of others, dancing, saying "ok, sure, let's do it", rather than "uh ..."

• Focus on being healthy - yes exercise more, but not letting "weight loss" be the main focus

• Work on our business

What are some things you guys are wanting to do differently this year?  They don't have to be resolutions per se, just some things you want to focus more on. 


Going along with my concept of eating well and using the ingredients I have on hand (not too many fresh ingredients left - definitely have to go shopping!) I decided on this vegan chicken and broccoli that I served with brown rice.  So delicious and simple enough to make on this day of feeling tired after not getting much sleep last night.

 

 

 

 

 

Serves 4
 

Steamed Brown Rice, to serve

 

Vegan Chicken and Broccoli:

1 8 oz. pkg. vegan chicken, thawed

1 1/2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic, about 2 large cloves

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cups broccoli florets (I used the stems too, just peeled them first)

6 tablespoons unchicken broth, separated

1 tablespoon sesame oil

sea salt and black pepper to taste

5 scallions, sliced on the diagonal

1/4 cup organic hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons mushroom oyster sauce

Sesame seeds, for garnish

 

 

1.  Place a wok over medium-high heat and add the 1 ½ tablespoons of sesame oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and dried red pepper flakes.  Stir fry for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.  Add the broccoli florets (and stems if you would like) and 4 tablespoons of the unchicken broth. Stir fry broccoli for 2 minutes, or until desired doneness is achieved.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

2.  Add a little more sesame oil to the wok (about 1 tablespoon).  Add the thawed out chicken to the wok and cook just until heated through, and slightly browned if desired (keep in mind that this chicken is fully cooked and could even be eaten as is, although I wouldn't recommend that!).
3.  Add in remaining 2 tablespoons of unchicken broth, oyster mushrooms sauce, and hoisin sauce.  Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and move around just until the mixture is heated through.
4.  Serve over top of the steamed brown rice.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.


Enojy!

Koko

Eggplant and Soy Chicken with Brown Rice and Mixed Green Salad

The one thing I miss a lot about being away from NY, is the ease in finding vegan "meat" products.  There is a really great food coop here in Michigan that carries a ton of amazing, healthy, organic products, which I love, but I sometimes just really crave vegan chicken and other "fake" meats!  And they only carry veggie burgers, seitan, etc.  I remembered that there was this tiny, funky little health food store called Edson Farms that I literally had not been to for over ten years, and after finding out that it was still in business, I rushed over.  I remember that store carrying a ton of soy meat products.  After running over to the freezer section where those fake meats used to be, I was shocked to discover the same selection of veggie burgers and loaves that the coop carried.  There were only two packages of vegan "chicken strips" left in the freezer, which I immediately grabbed, for fear someone would take them, and rushed home. 

This just all goes to show how much I took for granted living in NY and the accessibility of really anything I wanted at any point.  Oh sure, I can and likely will order some fake meats online, but it was so much more fun and so much more interesting to be able to walk into a vegetarian supermarket and be able to purchase almost every item in there replicating all kinds of meats.  I was soooooo spoiled!  The whole reason I was wanting the soy chicken anyway was to make soy chicken and eggplant, a dish I used to get delivered to my apartment in Brooklyn all the time - pretty much every day I had off.  It was so delicious and I miss the ease and freedom of being able to pick up the phone and have something literally delivered right to my door.  So I found the soy chicken, had a couple Japanese eggplants in my fridge and made this dish.  It was out of control good!  Now I'll just have to have some soy chicken delivered and make this delicious dish again!  Yum!

Looks just like it did from Zen Vegetarian!

Omg, crazy good!

The whole delicious meal.  Just like in Brooklyn!

8 oz. soy chicken strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 small Japanese eggplants, halved and sliced on the diagonal
1/2 red onion, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1.  Place one tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sized saute pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the soy chicken strips and saute till browned and crispy.  Set aside.
2.  In the same pan over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the pan is hot, add the onion  and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until beginning to soften.
3.  Add the eggplant and saute, stirring frequently for several minutes.
4.  Place the lid on top of the pan and lower the heat slightly, allowing the eggplant to steam.
5.  After about 5 minutes of steaming, the eggplant should have softened.
6.  Add the mushroom soy sauce, filtered water, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until the water evaporates about halfway and the sauce has thickened.
7.  Season to taste.  Serve over brown rice.  Enjoy with a nice side salad.  That's it!


Enjoy!

Koko

Vegan "Shrimp" in a Creamy Sauce, Tomato "Cheese" Salad, Steamed Broccoli

One of the last times I went to the store May Wah in Chinatown in Manhattan, I looked at their board with posted sales.  It's usually the most random and strange veganized items you could imagine - like lamb, duck and shrimp - all vegan mind you!  So the shrimp were on sale and I decided on a whim to purchase them.  Years back, when I was still eating seafood, I had this delicious shrimp in a garlic cream sauce that I remember being out of this world.  I thought that would be a delicious thing to try to mimic. 

Since my husband still eats seafood, I decided I would just tell him that I was making a shrimp dish when he asked.  He thought that sounded good and I kept up the charade that it was "real" shrimp until I served it up.  When I put it in front of him, he looked at it a little strangely and asked me if I was sure it was shrimp.  I couldn't keep a straight face and ended up laughing a little hysterically.  I told him yes it was real shrimp - real vegan shrimp that is.  Way too funny!  He was very suspicious and kind of grossed out and took a tiny bite.  I have to say those things look way realistic and the texture was creepily reminiscent of how I remember shrimp being.  Hubbs thought the texture was similar, but the taste not even close.  I agreed that the taste was a bit strange - kind of sea-weedy.  It's probably not something I would buy again, but it was definitely fun and the sauce was crazy delicious!

 

Creamy Sauce, Fresh Crispy Broccoli and Yummy Tomato Salad

 Serves 3-4

1/2 package bowtie pasta, cooked until al dente

"Shrimp" in a Creamy Garlic Sauce:

1/2 package vegan "shrimp", thawed & cut in half if desired

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons earth balance

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2-2/3 cup dry white wine

1 cup unsweetened mimiccream

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Tomato "Cheese" Salad:

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup daiya mozarella-style vegan cheese, chopped into cubes

drizzle of balsamic vinegar

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Steamed Broccoli:

1 head broccoli, separated into florets, hard outside of stems peeled

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Prepare the tomato and cheese salad first.  It comes together very quickly, but definitely is better after marinating for a little while.  In a medium bowl, add the chopped tomato, chopped daiya, a splash of vinegar and olive oil and sea salt and black pepper.  Toss well to coat.  Taste a piece of tomato and add more vinegar and salt if necessary.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate while preparing the rest of the meal.

2.  Bring a medium pot with a bottomful of water and a steamer basket inside, to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, carefully remove the lid and place the prepared broccoli inside.  Cover with the lid and allow to steam from 3-5 minutes, or until broccoli is cooked to your desired texture.  Once the broccoli is cooked, turn off the heat, remove the pot from the stove and place the broccoli in a bowl until closer to the time when dinner will be served.

3.  While the broccoli is steaming, start your sauce for the shrimp.  In a deep saute pan, add the olive oil and earth balance over medium heat.  Once the earth balance has melted, add the minced garlic.  Allow the garlic to slowly cook.  Do not allow it to become crispy or overcook.  It is preferable that the garlic have a slight raw flavor than a crispy, overcooked flavor.

4.  Increase the heat to medium-high and add the white wine - remember, never pour directly from the bottle, like you see Chef's on tv doing it - that is extremely dangerous!  The flame can leap inside the bottle, causing the contents to catch on fire, exploding the glass bottle in your hands.  Always pour the wine into a cup before adding it to the pan.

5.  Allow most of the wine to cook off.  Lower the heat back to medium.  Add the mimiccream, sea salt and black pepper.  Whisk together  and allow to cook for a couple minutes.  Taste.  Adjust seasonings - you may need to add more earth balance to give it a rich, buttery taste.  Add the shrimp into the sauce and keep warm over very low heat.

6.  Finish the broccoli: in a medium saute pan, add the olive oil and allow it to become hot.  Once it is hot, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to crisp.  Add the cooked broccoli and sea salt and black pepper.  Toss to coat in the oil and garlic.  Season to taste.

7.  To serve: place a portion of the pasta on the plate and top with the shrimp and sauce.  Place a serving of both the steamed broccoli and the tomato salad and serve.

Enjoy!

Koko

Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chicken with Sauteed Rice & Green Salad

Hubby and I are officially moving out of NY in a little over a week.  Needless to say, things are quite busy here.  Packing, packing and more packing.  Seriously, where did all of this stuff come from?!  Also, the weather here, as I'm sure it is in most places, is hideously hot.  I love being in the kitchen, but this weather makes me want to take a nice long break.  I would be absolutely happy to eat giant salads everyday, but I have a hubby that works like crazy and goes to the gym everyday and needs some heartier food.  Also, since we are really getting down to the wire, I am trying to use up all of the ingredients in my fridge and freezer.  Have I ever mentioned that I have the refrigerator that came with the apartment, plus an additional refrigerator/freezer combo and a small chest freezer I bought a couple years ago?  So there was quite a bit of stuff to go through. 

I discovered a package of Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chicken that I bought a couple months ago when it was on special hanging out in the freezer.  I usually like to save those kinds of items, silly as it seems, for when I feel like I'm going to need them.  Today was definitely one of those days! Way too hot to deal with being in the kitchen for an extended period of time.  So I just cooked the chicken according to the package directions, made a big green romaine lettuce salad and sauteed some leftover rice I had in the refrigerator with some olive oil, onions, broccoli, tamari and red pepper flakes.  Simple, quick and filling.  Just what the hubby wanted.  I'm in trouble though - as soon as he finished his dinner, he decided he wants pizza tomorrow.  Really babe?  I'm wondering if he realizes I'm going to have to turn the oven on to like 450 degrees for an extended amount of time.  We'll see if that really happens!

Gardein Mandarin Oreange Crispy Chicken with Sauteed Rice & Green Salad:



I love how I didn't notice till now that hubby is standing in the
back of the picture.  Too funny!

Koko


Monday, Not Sunday Brunch

It's Brunch Time!  This was from the Brunch I made for Hubbs and I on Monday - the only day I don't have to be to work at 5 am. 

I mentioned in the last post that I still want to keep this blog going even though I have not had a ton of time to work on it lately.  What I had intended when I first started it was to take pictures of everything I cook and bake, write and post the corresponding recipe.  Most of the time I do take all of the pictures and write all of the recipes down.  Sometimes, somehow, I do not write down the recipe due to timing issues, or Hubbs inadvertently throwing it away, or some other mishap, but I still have all the pictures that I would like to share.  It makes me sad going through the thousands of food pictures I have taken over the last couple years and think of not being able to share them, simply because it would not follow the initial purpose I had of creating this blog, by not also posting a recipe.  So perhaps from now on, I may be posting some/more blog posts without recipes, but with more pictures.  Besides, food pictures are always fun to look at right?  So, here are all the lovely pics of the brunch we had, which was delicious!  I could barely get the pictures taken because the Hubbs was standing over my shoulder with his fork, declaring how "starving" he was.  So they were taken pretty quickly.

Monday Brunch!





The plate all loaded with delicious food: homemade vegan
sausage, diner potatoes, tofu scramble, pancakes.




Tofu Scramble.


 

Pancakes!





Diner-Style Potatoes.

 

The whole spread before it was dished up.  Beautiful!

Enjoy!



Koko

Unchicken Cutlet, Forbidden Rice Salad, Roasted Zucchini, Beet Salad

Today was a nice day weather-wise and I was craving something fresh, with tons of colors.  In came today's dinner complete with forbidden rice, beet salad and roasted zucchini.  It was so tasty and even though there were several components that had to be put together, I organized everything nicely and it came together pretty quickly.  Today was a strange day for work though, something that has made me appreciative that I spend my days on my feet for 10 hours a day, sometimes more when I have a class to teach.  Today I had to go to upstate NY with one of my bosses to renew a health certificate, which involved about 4 hours driving in the car total (on my butt the whole time!). 

Makes me even more appreciative that I either use my bike to get where I need to go, or the subway when the location is farther away.  We sat down for an additional 4 hours for the class.  My butt was literally asleep and when the class was finished, I felt more exhausted than when I am on my feet lifting 50-80 lb. things for 10 hours straight.  How does that make sense?  I actually fell asleep mid-sentence on the way back to work while my boss was driving because the traffic was so heavy, the car was so warm and we were basically stationary, while he went on and on about his accomplishments in life.  Sorry, but a little boring. 

I got home only an hour and a half later than I usually do and even though I didn't physically do anything today other than bike to and from work, I am more exhausted than ever!  Strange.  So I feel like taking a nap, which I did not give into - instead I am writing this post and made a beautiful dinner.  Then off to work on the business, waiting for the Hubby to get home from work, then off to bed and awake at 4 am to start it all over again.  But this time all day on my feet.  Yay!  (Funny to think that I complained when my feet hurt after a long day.  Appreciative now!)

Crispy Roasted Zucchini






The contrast in colors of the peppers and the rice is amazing!




My standard marinated beet salad.  Yum.

 Roasted Zucchini:
2 large zucchini, ends trimmed, cut into circles on the diagonal
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

heaping 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

Forbidden Rice Salad:

1 1/2 cups dry forbidden (black) rice, cooked

1 small green bell pepper, small diced
1 small red bell pepper, small diced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons toasted seasame oil
2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1.  Cook the rice.  Allow it to cool slightly.
2.  Prepare the roasted zucchini.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and dried oregano.  Place on a parchment-lined sheet tray and roast until cooked through and crispy. 

3.  Once the rice has cooled slightly, place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the green and red bell peppers, scallions, sesame oil, olive oi, sea salt and black pepper.  Toss very well to coat.  Season to taste with additional sea salt or black pepper as necessary. 

4.  Serve. Yum!


Such a tasty, colorful dinner!



 

Enjoy!

Koko

Veggie and Sausage Pasta

One of the cooks at my job is from Bangladesh and is always incorporating the spices and flavors from his home into Americanized dishes with delicious results!  He sometimes isn't great about describing what's in a dish, or when he does list the ingredients, he can't say how much of something he puts in it.  My "how much ingredient x is in this" question results in a "oh just a little bit" response.  He makes this delicious pasta dish with veggies and vegan sausage that is creamy, spicy and has a nice amount of spices, different than if I were to prepare it if I were the one cooking.  I would most likely just make it with a simple marinara sauce, which is his base, but he then adds a ton of other delicious ingredients. 

I had been telling my Hubby about the dish for several weeks, and even though I had intended to bring him a sample of it when Gany our cook prepared it, it always accidentally ended up in my stomach instead of his.  So one day when I was talking about it yet again and he was complaining about me never bringing him any to try, I was going through my chest freezer and discovered a package of frozen vegan sausage.  I pretty much always have homemade marinara sauce in the freezer, so I decided I would surprise him with the dish for dinner.  And although it isn't exactly like how Gany prepares it, it sure was delicious!  Hubby ate two giant plates out of it, saying there was something different about it, some kind of spice I don't usually use, something he couldn't figure out.  It made me smile because it was the exact same way I had reacted the first time tasting the dish.

 Veggie and Sausage Pasta:

Nicely spicy and so colorful!

Serves: 4-6


16 oz. penne pasta (or desired pasta - I was out of penne)
4 vegan sausages, cooked in olive oil and sliced on diagonal

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow pepper, julienned 1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into strips
1 large jalapeno, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups homemade marinara sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin

1.  Bring a large pot of salted, oiled water to a boil.  Cook the pasta until al dente.
2.  While the pasta is cooking, brown the sausages in the olive oil.  Once browned, set aside to cool slightly, then slice on the diagonal.
3.  Place a large saute pan over medium high heat and ass the olive oil.  Allow it to become hot.
4.  Once the oil is hot, add the yellow, green, red and jalapeno peppers, plus the onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently for several minutes until tender crisp. 
5.  Add the marinara sauce and the spices: black pepper, sea salt, garam masala, pepper flakes, granulated garlic and cumin.  Stir well to cover the veggies.
6.  Lower the heat and allow the mixture to cook for several minutes, until fragrant. 
7.  Add in the veggies sausages and toss to coat. 
8.  Add the drained, cooked pasta and toss to coat. 
9.  Season to taste - adding additional sea salt or pepper flakes to taste.


Enjoy!

Koko

Mashed Potaotes & Gravy, Fried Squash, Pepper Steak, Steamed Broccoli & Salad

Ever feel like you have rotating meals?  I certainly do and I feel like this is one variation that I find myself making frequently.  It is just so easy and simple.  It allows you to use every burner on your stove at the same time, but not feel overwhelmed and get it done quickly.  I love mashed potatoes and gravy and Hubby loves the potatoes, but not so much the gravy.  He has this weird things about "creamy" things, although he really likes gravy when it's in things like pot pies, etc.  And since the pepper steak is already made, all you have to do is thaw it out and saute it.  Easy and done.  I love that I don't eat meat.  Seriously.  Sometimes it is so damn easy!  But then again, sometimes it is super labor intensive.  But I love that too! 

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Fried Squash, Pepper Steak, Steamed Broccoli & Kale, Salad:





So Tasty and Simple!

Serves 4

Vegan Nutritional Yeast Gravy:
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped, about 1/2 cup
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tamari
3 cups filtered water, or as needed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or as needed

1.  Place a medium pot over medium heat.  Add the olive oil and allow it to become hot. Once it is hot, add the onions.  Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. 
2.  Add the unbleached flour and nutritional yeast and whisk together.  It will be a very very thick mixture.  Keep whisking periodically, until the flour loses its raw smell and turns a nice golden color. 
3.  At this point, you are going to add the liquids.  When making a gravy, it is important to whisk the mixture as soon as you add the liquids, or the gravy will be lumpy.  So, add the tamari and 3 cups of water and immediately whisk the mixture together.  It will feel like it's going to seize as soon as you add the liquids, but keep whisking until the gravy is smooth.  Add the sea salt and black pepper.
4.  Now let the gravy come to a simmer, whisking frequently and being sure that it does not stick to the bottom or sides.  Once the gravy thickens, you can determine whether or not you will need more water.  If the gravy is too thick, add water a little at a time until your desired consistency is achieved.  Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
5.  Serve over rice, potatoes, biscuits, or whatever makes you happy!



Enjoy!

-Koko

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Roasted Portabella Mushroom, Pepper Steak & Garlic Kale

I'm loving mushrooms right now, even the funky white ones.  Well, ok, I'm loving all of them except for straw  mushrooms.  Those have always and probably always will freak me out.  I've never eaten them and never intend to.  Ugh!  I just really think they look like mini people and that is creepy.  My sister-in-law Debbie used to always get Moo Goo Gai Pan whenever we went to get Chinese back home and loved those things.  Every time she popped one in her mouth, I cringed, thinking she was eating people.  Strange I know, but they really look like people to me!  Besides those, I love the mushrooms that I have tried thus far.  Especially morels!  Seriously delicious! 

I was just talking to my Mum the other day, who lives in Michigan and she was telling me that hopefully this coming spring will be a good time to go hunting for mushrooms in the woods.  The last few years have not been great and she has not found a ton of morels, but even finding one is so worth it!  She usually dries them at home and then will send them to me because they're too fragile to be shipped all the way from Michigan to New York fresh.  But damn, I remember them being the most amazing thing in the world when they were fresh picked from the woods behind our house.  I remember seeing small containers of dried morel mushrooms at Whole Foods Bowery for over $200 per pound.  Yes that is $200 / lb!  No thanks!  And where the heck where they picked?  I'll stick to my Mum's home picked morels, thanks!  Unfortunately, since it is still a little early for morels, I had to settle on portabellas, even though that is not really settling because portos are super tasty too.  Waiting (not so) patiently for those morels! 

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Roasted Portabella Mushroom, Kale & Pepper Steak:





Sauteed Kale, Roasted Portabella, Pepper Steak & Mashed Pots



Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, prepared

Sauteed Kale, prepared

Pepper Steak, prepared

Roasted Portabella Mushroom:

2 portabella mushrooms, large stem removed

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pinches onion powder

2 pinches garlic powder

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2.  In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Get your spices and fresh garlic ready.  Drizzle the mushrooms on one side with the oil and immediately sprinkle with the sea salt, black pepper, fresh minced garlic, and garlic and onion powder.  Flip the mushroom over and do the same to the other side.  Place the seasoned mushrooms in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes on each side, flipping the mushrooms over half-way through the baking.

3.  The mushrooms are finished when the edges are browned and crispy and the very center is soft and juicy.

4.  Allow the mushroom to cool for at least 5 minutes for the juices to distribute.  If you try to cut the mushrooms right away, all the juice will immediately come out and the flavor will not be as good.  It's worth the wait. 

4.  To serve, place a portion of the potatoes and gravy, pepper steak, sauteed kale and sliced portabella mushrooms on the plate.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Vegan Shrimp Sushi

Sometimes my husband really surprises me with the food items he likes and really wants me to cook for him.  Of course, being Dominican, most of the time he craves Spanish food.  Which is great for me, because I love learning about his food and culture.  But he has been on this sushi kick lately, which is just very funny to me.  I'm not even sure where he tried it the first time, but I decided to make it once and he ate like literally 4 whole rolls of it.  I was stunned, even more so when several weeks later, asking him what he wanted for dinner, his response was "sushi".  Hmm.  I'm very glad he likes it because it is such fun making and of course eating!  It is also such a pretty procedure, and I have never taken pictures of the process, which I thought would be fun this time around.  So, enjoy the nice pictures and make some.  It is sooo delicious.  Maybe I'll make it again for dinner tomorrow!


Vegan Shrimp Sushi:

Topping the nori with the seasoned rice.


Seasoned Rice:

1 1/2 cups sushi rice
3 cups filtered water

4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons agave
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Suggested Fillings:
peppers
scallions
vegan shrimp
carrot shavings

Suggested Toppings:
pickled ginger
shoyu or tamari
wasabi paste


1.  Rinse the rice well.  Place in a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once the water boils, lower flame to low and place the lid on top of the pot, with a small space for the air to vent.  Cook rice till completely cooked through, about 15 minutes. 
2. Once the rice has cooked and the flame has been turned off for about five minutes, add the rice vinegar, agave and sea salt.  Stir well to coat.
3.  Allow the rice to cool slightly.  I like to use it when it is still warm, but not hot, or it will kind of "melt" the nori. 
4.  Place about 1 cup of the prepared sushi rice in the middle of the nori, and press out with dampened hands, leaving about 1" from the top without rice.  Place goodies like veggies and vegan shrimp in the center of the rice, being careful not to overload even though it may be almost impossible not to. 
5.  Roll the nori roll tightly toward the end, sealing the nori with some water. 
6.  Place the nori seam-side down while preparing the rest of the rolls.  Using a sharp knife, slice the nori into bite sized pieces, wiping off the knife after every pass through the roll.
7.  Arrange on a plate and garnish with your favorite toppings.  


The giant mound of rice & all the goodies ready to go.




Rice pressed out, about 1" bare at the top.




The veggies and vegan shrimp




Beautifully rolled up!




Sliced, Topped with wasabi & pickled ginger.  Yum!!



Enjoy!

Koko

Spicy Chorizo Calzones

Sometimes when Hubbs and I pass the pizza store on Church Avenue as we do our grocery shopping, he thinks he needs pizza suddenly, but costing $3 a slice (meaning just sauce and cheese - Hubbs is not vegan, remember), it can add up.  And what quality of ingredients to they really use anyway?  I am always telling him that I would much rather make it myself with quality ingredients and have him eat something made with love.  So he got the brilliant idea the other day to make calzones.  I'm not sure if he's even ever had them before, but saw them in the pizza store, got really excited and wanted them. 

I have definitely mastered the pizza thing, but I've never made a calzone before.  So, I of course went online and followed some instructions off of someone's blog (of course I can't remember which blog now).  I really liked how they weighed out the dough to keep things consistent.  They suggested using 4 oz. pieces of dough.  I've made the dough a thousand times before but have never weighed it, so that seemed like a decent number to me.  Now, however, thinking back, that was a HUGE piece of raw dough, because it still had to proof, then bake, which would make it about 2 times the size. 

So, using a double batch of pizza dough, I ended up making 8 incredibly giant calzones, 3 of which I ended up freezing, because once we ate them for several days straight, we didn't want to see them for a long time to come!  So here is the process I went through making them for the first time.  I will definitely make them smaller next time and not fill them as full, because several of them lost their delicious cheesy filling.  We'll just have to wait till next time to see how much better they will be.  They were crazy delicious though, especially when dipped in warm homemade marinara sauce!  Yum!

Spicy Chorizo Calzones:

Yes, I am a GIANT calzone, but made Hubbs happy!


Pizza Dough:
1 cup warm water, not too hot
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups unbleached flour

Toppings:
vegan cheese, shredded
sauteed green peppers and onions
homemade marinara sauce
vegan sausages, cooked and sliced

1.  To prepare the dough: place the water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.  If it does not bubble up, the yeast may be dead, so start over.
2.  Into the bubbled up mixture, add the olive oil and sea salt.  Mix again.  While the stand mixer is working, add the flour in 1/2 cup increments until it is all incorporated.  Mix for a couple minutes, until when the dough is touched, it springs back. 
3.  Place a towel over the dough, place it in a warm place and allow it to double in size, about 45-60 minutes. 
4.  In the meantime, prepare the rest of the ingredients: saute the veggies, prepare the marinara sauce, shred the cheese, saute and slice the sausages.
5.  Punch the dough back down and separate the dough into 2 ounce pieces.  Generously flour the countertop, roll the piece of dough in the flour and roll out into a nice sized circle. 
6.  Place the cheese, veggies, sausages and marinara in the very center of the circle.  Do not overfill.  Carefully place the top of the dough over the center, and using a fork, press the dough together to create a good seal. 
7.  Finish the rest of the calzones as above.  Once the calzones are filled, place on a oiled baking sheet and again cover with a towel.  Allow to rise for about 30 minutes.
8.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
9.  Once the calzones have risen again, place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough has cooked all the way through and the top is nice and golden.  Let cool for several minutes before serving.




The uncooked pizza dough with the "cheese" & sauteed veggies
& my flour bin in the background (didn't notice it there before)




Topping with the cooked vegan sausages




Homemade Marinara




Sealed the calzone




After the calzone baked, all the cheesy goodness
seeping out the side.




Fresh baked calzone sliced in half for the Hubbs

 

How freaking delicious does this look??

Enjoy!

Koko

Vegan Takeout in Brooklyn: "Shrimp" Pad Thai & Sesame "Chicken"

Hubbs and I try not to eat out a lot.  Here in NY eating out can happen a lot and is so convenient that you're eating out before you even think about it.  Unfortunately, with our busy schedules, sometimes it's unavoidable.  Thankfully we have this place in the neighborhood that delivers right to our apartment.  It's called Zen Vegetarian House.  It's an Asian Fusion restaurant that has pretty tasty food, you just have to watch out for the overly fried stuff.  Hubbs being from a tropical place right on the water loves everything to do with fish.  Even vegetarian fish (I know it doesn't seem to make sense, but it tastes very realistic).  So he ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai and I ordered the Sesame Chicken.  I'ev used the vegan shrimp before in recipes I've made at home, so I know how tasty it is, and that was my suggestion for the Hubby to order.  He loved it!

I used to absolutely love the sesame chicken offered at Chinese restaurants back in Michigan when I wasn't vegetarian.  I've tried to make the sauce several times and serve it over seitan, but it isn't exactly the same thing.  However, when I ordered it for the first time at Zen, I was amazed that it tasted exactly like what I remembered it tasting all those years ago.  So, that's another challenge I think I should take on coming up - figuring out how to make sesame sauce so I can make my own vegan sesame chicken using the soy chicken I buy at May Wah in Chinatown.  The best place ever - check it out!



"Shrimp" Pad Thai




Sesame "Chicken" with Broccoli

Enjoy!

-Koko