Country Fried Seitan Sandwich with Coconut Cheddar Cheese & Organic Baked Fries

I started a new job about two weeks ago.  It is a very interesting and fun job!  I am working at a food truck downtown and having a great time with it.  It is something I have really missed about NY - working for a place that doesn't have a ton of structure and allows me to do what I need to do, but without a ton of supervision and demands.  It's a pretty cool gig.  I am still working part time as a vegan pastry chef, which is good, but doesn't include a lot of hours.  This past week I definitely made my hours, which was great.  

The place is called Ez Cheesy, which is basically a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich truck.  Pretty cool and different menu.  Obviously it is not all vegan, but all but one of the sandwiches are vegetarian and the rest can be made vegan with the inclusion of daiya.  I love that!  This is part of the menu this year:

Tampopo: Ramen Noodles mixed with Kimchee, topped with Brussel Sprouts and Cheddar/Daiya

Old Mission Torta: Smashed Beans, Avocado, Queso/Daiya, Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, Shaved Radish, Spicy Mayo

City Middle: Local Made Donut with Goat Cheese and Fig Jam (would be great with vegan cream cheese)

Sweet Caroline: Shaved Carrot, Goat Cheese, Walnuts & Honey

There are more items on the menu, but I thought I would put a couple so you could see how different and cool this place is!

Making sandwiches all week, you would think I would get tired of them, but it actually inspired me to work more on the menu for our upcoming cafe and make a couple different sandwiches at home.  I made this tasty one as well as a couple veggie paninis.  Yum!  I found a really interesting recipe for vegan cheddar cheese, using coconut milk as the base.  It's very meltable and cheesy in texture, but I really didn't care for the flavor.  I definitely think it is something that warrants more testing and playing around with.  How cool would it be if it were actually that easy to make a meltable vegan cheese?!

This was Hubby's plate.  So Good!

To make the Sandwich:

- Country Fried Seitan

 - Fresh Baguette, sliced into portions and cut in half, toasted

 - Veganaise or other topping

 - Sliced Veggies: tomato, green pepper, red onion

 - Coconut Milk Cheddar Cheese or other vegan cheese

 - Baked Fries or side of choice


1.  Toast baguette.  Slather veganaise on both sides of the bread.  Place veggies on the bottom, followed by the seitan.  Layer the cheese in there somewhere.  (I should have put it next to the seitan so it could have melted slightly.)
2.  Add fries or other side and eat!

You can barely see the vegan cheddar peeking out from underneath the veggies!

Enjoy!

Koko

Vegan Enchilada Casserole, Roasted Vegetables, Salad

I follow several vegan (or mostly vegan) food blogs on a regular basis, including OhSheGlows, NeverHomeMaker and FatFreeVegan, among others.  I have made many recipes or used the recipes as a basis for dishes I make.  This idea for an enchilada casserole, or a Mexican Lasagna came from FatFreeVegan.  I made the casserole with a few changes that I think made the dish delicious.  This is definitely a fun and interesting change of pace as far as lasagnas go.  Hubbs keeps telling me of a Dominican Lasagna that he wants me to make, utilizing ripe plantains, a layer of "beef" and cheese with sauteed onions and garlic.  Sounds great to me.  The only issue with making that is waiting patiently for the plantains to ripen fully without eating them first.  ;)

 

 

 

Such a fun and tasty dinner!

 

 

 

Enchilada Casserole:

12 organic corn tortillas

2 1/2 cups homemade or store bought Enchilada Sauce

3 cups homemade or store bought refried beans

2 cups cooked black beans

Vegan Daiya Cheese

Sliced Black Olives

 

Veggie Layer:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, julienned

1 green bell pepper, julienned

1 jalapeno, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 roma tomatoes, diced

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

 

 

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Oil a 9x13" baking pan and set aside until ready to use.

2.  In a saute pan over medium-high heat add the olive oil and allow it to become hot.  Add the onion, green pepper and jalapeno.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and tomatoes.  Cook for a couple minutes more, until fragrant.  Add the seasonings: sea salt and black pepper, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper.  Stir to coat.  Season to taste.

3.  Place a layer of the corn tortillas on the bottom of the prepared pan.  Spread a layer of enchilada sauce, followed by refried beans, sauteed veggies, black beans and vegan daiya cheese.  Continue with the same layers until all of the ingredients have been used.  Top with the sliced olives.

4.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until warmed all the way through.

5.  Serve with roasted veggies (I used broccoli and cauliflower) and a simple salad. 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Koko



 

 

 

 

 

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

Savory Chickpea Pancake

I found this beautiful looking recipe from the OhSheGlows blog.  It looked so interesting, and I am always trying to find different kinds of recipes to make for breakfast to keep things interesting.  When I tried this the first time, I was surprised by how different it was, but in a good way.  Tasty.  It definitely needed some more spices, and when I made it a second time, it came out great!  This was from the second time I made it - one for Hubbs and one for myself.  Sometimes he is really good about allowing me to take pictures the food I make and sometimes he is pretty impatient and just wants to dig right in.  This was one of those days.  And most of the time I give him the prettier of the dishes.  So his of course was beautiful and I was left to take a picture of the funky looking one. ;(  It was equally delicious though!  Take a look at the one Angela makes on her blog and see what is should really look like!

The cooked chickpea pancake.  Sad looking, but so delicious!

One side cooked, waiting to flip!

Savory Chickpea Pancake

Serves: 1

1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 teaspoon unchicken boullion
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 cup red pepper, small diced
1/4 cup roma tomato, small diced


1.  Place the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. 
2.  Add the filtered water and the unchicken boullion and whisk together for several seconds.
3.  Add the veggies and unchicken/water mixture to the dry ingredients.  Whisk together until a medium-thick batter forms.
4.  Place a medium sized saute pan over medium-low heat and allow the pan to heat.  Spray pan with nonstick spray and pour the batter into the pan.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the top dries out and is able to be flipped over.
5. Flip pancake over and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.

Garnish with hummus, avocado and sriracha.


Enjoy!

Koko

Vegan Breakfast Sandwich: Tofu Egg Hollandaise

It is definitely no secret now that my Hubby and I plan to open our own vegan cafe here in Michigan.  We are working hard on it everyday it seems like.  In theory it doesn't seem so hard or involved - people open restaurants and other food businesses everyday.  But do they do it well?  Do they open simply because they like to eat?  Or because they see themselves as good cooks?  It definitely takes more than that to open a food establishment!  I have known since I was a teenager that I wanted to open up my own place.  It has certainly evolved over the years in regards to the theme.  I didn't always want to open up something vegan.  But I definitely know what I want now and have been working so hard over the last 10+ years to build experience and make it happen. 

 

 

I test recipes pretty much everyday.  Some days that means baking and decorating like 6 whole cakes, 10 different kinds of cookies, 5 different sandwiches, etc.  Some days that means only testing a smoothie or soup recipe.  Some are very involved, some are pretty simple and straightforward.  This is a recipe I tested recently.  As simple as it may look, it took quite a bit of time because each component was homemade.  And it was very tasty.  Hubbs and I had our own critiques, but both thought it was a great idea and definitely warranted further testing.  After I finish this post, it's time to work on the business some more.  Phew!  A lot of work, but it is going to be so worth it once we are open!  Can't wait!!

 

 





Crazy delicious!  And awesomely messy!
On a fresh baked vegan biscuit.



Fresh Baked Biscuit - it ended up being a bit too big for the sandwich.



Biscuit cut in half  - it looks so fresh!
And a juicy sliced tomato.



Tofu Egg cooking.



Almost done - just needs the sauce!  So pretty!

Hope you enjoyed the pics of the tasty sandwich!

Koko

Breaded Seitan Cutlets from the Vegan Diner Cookbook

I have this crazy thought that I will make most of the recipes out of the hundreds of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks I have.  I'll be honest, there are several recipes out of each cookbook that I would likely never make, simply because I do not like some of the ingredients, but lots of them look good and really make me want to make them.  That is the point of having a cookbook, right?

 

A couple years ago I purchased a cookbook called the Vegan Diner Cookbook.  All the pictures look great and I loved the theme.  Upon further investigation of the book, once it was delivered, I realized it had tons (and I mean tons!) of typos.  Really ridiculous ones too, like turn to this page for this sub-recipe, and the page it says is 000, as if they were going to go back and add it in once the book was completed, and just forgot.  Plus, I have been cooking for so many years that most of the time I am able to look at a recipe and realize if it will or will not work.  And there are quite a few in there that make no sense.  This really in-depth exploration of the book came after making several recipes, thinking that the recipe itself didn't make a lot of sense, then trying it and having it fail.  I cannot recommend this book for purchase, and after making several things from it that did not work, I put it on the shelf and haven't opened it in years.  But, like all meals that I cook, I took pictures of it (these are pics from Brooklyn) and felt I should post it.  So here are the breaded seitan cutlets from the book.  

Breaded Cutlets - baked and topped with melty vegan cheese

Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara and the Breaded Cutlet.

Koko

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie with Spicy Vegan Chorizo and Mesclen Greens Salad

For the last two weeks I have been trying to follow the idea of writing down all of the dinners I am going to prepare for the week on a white board I have on my refrigerator.  So far I have followed 4 out of the 5 items for the two weeks I have done it.  The other three days of the week I either didn't make a big "meal" for the Hubbs and I or I ate leftovers, and one of the days we ate out (Valentine's!).  I think it is definitely a good idea and something I can manage to stick to if I don't get too crazy and rigid about it.  This was not one of the meal ideas for the week, but after looking through my fridge, I realized I had tons of miscellaneous items that needed using up (half used onions and bell peppers - thanks to the Hubby for doing that) as well as some spicy vegan chorizo I made for breakfast, but didn't finish up.  So was thinking of making a pot pie, but was feeling too lazy to make a crust.  I have been testing tons of recipes the last couple days, and the last thing I feel like doing is following another recipe to make the crust.  I decided on a Shepherd's Pie - easy and very tasty to make.  I was able to clean up the fridge and make room for preparing the rest of the dishes on the white board.

 

 

 

Delicious Shepherd's Pie with Spicy Vegan Chorizo

Shepherd's Pie:

Potato Topping:
4-6 medium red skinned potatoes, washed well and diced
3 tablespoons earth balance
unsweetened soy or almond milk
sea salt and black pepper to taste
granulated garlic or a couple cloves of roasted garlic

Filling:
1 cup veggie protein - I used spicy vegan chorizo, but could use seasoned tofu, seitan, etc.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, small diced
1/2 bell pepper - or whatever vegetables you need to use in the fridge
2 cloves garlic, minced
Nutritional Yeast Gravy
handful organic frozen corn or peas
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil.  Cook till just tender.  Drain.  Put back in pot - add earth balance, desired amount of nondairy milk, sea salt, black pepper and granulated garlic or roasted garlic.  Mash till desired consistency.  Season to taste.
2.  Prepare the filling: have the gravy ready and set aside.
3.  In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and allow to become hot.  Add the veggies: the carrot, onion, celery and bell pepper.  Cook for several minutes until the veggies begin to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes. 
4.  Place the veggies in a large bowl.  Add the veggie protein and enough gravy to cover the mixture.  Stir in frozen peas or corn if desired.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.
5.  Oil a glass pie plate or baking dish.  Place the veggie-gravy mix into dish and smooth out with a spatula.  Top with the mashed potatoes and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden and the filling is bubbly.


Enjoy!

Koko

 

Testing Recipes: Country Fried Seitan Caesar Salad & Smoked Tofu Sandwich

Now that Hubbs and I have broken our fast and gotten back into eating (yay!), I have been testing recipes maniacally.  Even if it means I only take a small bite of whatever it is.  I am definitely staying away from more refined sugars and trying to use more local maple syrup and agave as sweeteners, plus dates, when that works for the recipe.  I am also trying not to eat anything fried, or at least a very small portion.  Just really trying to keep things healthier. 

 

I was going through a bunch of photos and recipes I have saved as drafts for this blog and have found a ton that need finishing, which I will publish soon.  It's funny how many of them have fried foods and tons of carbs.  I'm not saying that's bad - it's damn tasty, but just how different it is from how I'm trying to eat now.  I also found a ton of photos of recipes I've tested over the years, especially gluten free.  I'm going to do a post soon with all the pictures of the gluten free items I've tested but don't necessarily have a recipe for.  It either got lost along the way or wasn't exactly great, but the pictures are always fun to look at. 

 

 

Here's two recipes I've been working on over the last several days.  One is for a Seitan Caesar Salad and the other for a Smoked Tofu Sandwich.  I liked the Caesar, I just wasn't crazy for the dressing.  I have researched and made tons of vegan Caesar-type dressings, but none of them have been nearly as tasty as I recall a "true" Caesar dressing tasting.  So I've still got to work on that.  The Smoked Tofu Sandwich tasted great, but was too hard to eat with that bread.  It was a locally made organic baguette that was just too crispy and hard to eat.  I ended up with a sore mouth afterwards!  But definitely easy to fix - I'll have to find another, less crispy local baguette and problem solved!  Testing these both another time, but that's the fun part, right?! We'll get to sample them all over again!

 

 

 

Vegan Caesar Salad with Country Fried Seitan

Smoked Tofu Baguette on Local, Organic Baguette



Closer view on that beautiful sandwich!

Enjoy!

Koko

Breaking our Fast!

Our juice fast is officially over!  Yay!  The fast was great and I think I can speak for both my husband and I that we are so glad we did the fast, and also so glad it is finished.  I feel so much better - so much energy and so light!  Of course I lost some weight (10 lbs.), but like I said beforehand, that is not the main reason I did the fast.  Of course immediately after I broke the fast I gained several pounds back, which I again lost and stayed away (thank goodness).  I wanted to come out of the fast with a greater appreciation for health supportive foods and not give in as much to the "bad" foods.  I also want to continue working out with my hubby and just overall become healthier.  So far, hubbs and I have been eating very healthfully (although he did admit he had some ice cream - brat!).

 

I've decided to get back into making a tentative schedule of our meals for the week and post them on our white board on the fridge, so that I can be more organized with our shopping and making sure that we get in enough greens and other vegetables.  We also have one of what I am sure is the biggest organic pantries ever.  Since I used to work in a coop and the Hubby currently does, we are blessed to be the recipients of the "shrink" coming from the bulk departments.  In the case of a coop, the shrink is simply the bags of items customers take and label, then decide against purchasing.  You cannot put the bags of brown rice, beans, nuts, seeds, etc. back in the bins after a customer has handled them, but it's not a good idea to just throw it away.  So the employees split up whatever is left over and get to take it home.  Now I have to find tasty uses for all of the ingredients, which is a fun and challenging undertaking.

 

 

This is what I have tentatively decided to make for the week:

 

 

Monday: Vegetable Tofu Stir Fry over Brown Rice

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday with all the veggie trimmings

Wednesday: Lentil and Quinoa Spiced Loaf with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Salad

Thursday: Vegetable and Mock Seafood Enchiladas with an Almond Bechamel, Green Beans frozen from our garden

Friday: Southwest Quinoa and Black Bean Bake, Garlic Broccoli

Saturday: Steamed Veggies over Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta with a Spicy Peanut Sauce

Sunday not sure - hubbs and I are off together, so we'll see what is easy and quick!

 

 

What are you guys making for dinner? Ever plan on what you're making for the week?

 

 

The first meal we broke our fast with:
Organic Mixed Greens with tons of fresh veggies

Second post-fast meal: Organic Red & White Quinoa, Chickpeas
& Raw Zucchini Slices mixed with Fresh Pico de Gallo

Enjoy!

Koko

Pasta Veggie Saute with Cherry Tomatoes

I am always on the hunt for a deal.  Even when I am shopping and not necessarily intending to purchase something.  Our local coop here in Michigan - Oryana - is great!  They have this really cool thing where when a product is close-dated or maybe a little bruised, they slap a half-off sticker on it and you get something healthy and organic (most of the time!) for a great deal.  Recently I have scored several fake meat items that I just stick in the freezer for a time when I don't really feel like cooking. 

 

The last time I was there, there was a bunch of stuff from the produce department that had half off stickers on them (all being organic): cauliflower, mixed greens, a couple packages of beautiful cherry tomatoes, a bag of apples and a bag of carrots that was ripped open.  Great score!  So I had a couple packages of cherry tomatoes sitting in the fridge for a couple days and decided to make a simple pasta dish  that came together quickly.  It also came out looking beautiful.  Hubby had two giant plates of it, which he of course immediatley sprinkled with cheese.  I ended up roasting the cauliflower with winter squash, juicing the apples and some of the carrots (then making muffins from the pulp), making a giant mixed green tossed salad with the greens and a pasta salad with the rest of the cherry tomatoes.  So good!

The pasta and veggies after cooking.



 

Pasta Veggie Saute:

8 oz. spiral pasta

8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 green bell pepper, julienned

1/2 red bell pepper, julienned

1/2 red onion, julienned

6 pieces tempeh bacon, cooked and chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetarian mock chicken boullion powder

1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper



Some nice veggie cheese to melt on top.  Yum!

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 "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

Marinara with Fresh Tomatoes

We have sooo many tomatoes coming out of the garden right now that it's kind of ridiculous.  I've been canning tons of them - about 20 quarts so far.  I've also made about 6 quarts of homemade marinara sauce from those tomatoes and froze it, rather than canning it, although now that I think about it, I could probably make the marinara sauce and can it too.  We do have tons of onions in the garden and garlic that should be ready to harvest by the end of the month.  This is a basic marinara that can certainly be altered depending upon your preference, but I like to make it this way so that I can adjust the flavors to whatever I am making it with.  Back when I was living in Brooklyn and was given tons of ripe organic tomatoes from the place I was working, I made a salsa and canned it.  It wasn't great, but it was pretty good as a first attempt, so that may be what I'll make next.  I've also dehydrated tons of roma and cherry tomatoes for "sundried tomatoes" that I plan on reconstituting in olive oil in the winter.  Yum!  Any other tomato ideas would be appreciated!



Marinara with Fresh Tomatoes:




Fresh Tomato Marinara! So Tasty!

Fresh Tomato Marinara:
1 medium onion, small diced, about 1 1/4 cup
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes = 5 1/2 cups pureed sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
11/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme


1.  Prepare the tomatoes: wash, cut in half and remove the stem.  Chop the tomatoes into manageable pieces and  place them into the blender jar.  Blend until completely liquefied.  Set aside until ready to use.
2.  In a medium pot over medium heat, add the olive oil.  Allow it to become hot, then add the onions and garlic.  Saute for a couple minutes, or until fragrant. 
2.  Once the onions and garlic have cooked, carefully add the raw tomato puree.  Stir to combine with the veggies.  Lower the heat, add the herbs and stir again.  Allow to simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are cooked all the way through and the sauce is flavorful and thick. 
3.  Use as desired over pasta, or wherever else you would use marinara.



Enjoy!

Koko

Creamy Pasta Salad with Veggies from the Garden

We have been having a ridiculous amount of veggies coming out of the garden lately.  And because my mom spent so much time putting the garden together (all because of Hubbs and I - she hasn't had a garden since I've been away from home), it makes sense that I am the person picking the produce from the garden and trying to come up with creative ways to use up all of the ingredients.  The idea of throwing anything away because I have not been able to come up with something to use it for or didn't get to it in time is kind of nauseating.  So with the cherry tomatoes and bell peppers from the garden, as well as kalamata olives, carrots and local celery and scallions that I picked up from my local coop, I made this tasty pasta salad.  My mom is a huge fan of pasta salad, albeit the one with just celery and mayo, and surprisingly thoroughly enjoyed this one.  She loves tomatoes - she will eat the roma tomatoes from the garden like apples, so she loved the cherry tomato addition.  She was surprised at the flavor of the olives - I think she's only ever had those gross canned black olives.  And she is already a fan of edamame (thanks Aunt Nancy!), although she had no idea what they were called.  So try this pasta salad, or use it as a base and add in your own favorites/preferences.  It is delicious and I have actually already made it again, this time with lots of fresh cracked black pepper.  Crazy good!


Creamy Pasta Salad with Veggies from the Garden:

Creamy, delicious pasta with fresh veggies.  Yum!

Creamy Pasta Salad:

Serves: about 6

1-16 oz. package pasta (I used elbows)
2/3 -1 cup vegan mayo
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives
2/3 cup shelled edamame, blanched
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cook the pasta in salted, oiled boiling water until just tender.  Drain and rinse under cold running water.
2.  In a small pot with boiling water, cook the edamame until just tender.  (Be sure to check your package to see if the edamame is already cooked or needs to be simmered first.)  Drain the edamame and run under cold water.
3.  Toss the pasta, edamame and remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until completely combined.  Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.



Tomatoes and green bell pepper from the garden.



Enjoy!

Koko

Homemade Pizza with White Sauce, Tomatoes and Fresh Basil

When Hubbs and I left NY, we had to use up all of the ingredients in our small chest freezer and two refrigerators (yes, two refrigerators in our Brooklyn apartment!).  Once we made it to Michigan and began cooking, we had to start all the way over from scratch.  Oh, there were a few things we couldn't use up and were fortunately able to take with us, like a couple containers of earth balance, a few packages of daiya vegan cheese and several containers of vinegar, etc.  But nothing that was ready to eat.  Once we plugged in our refrigerator and freezer, it was kind of frightening to see how empty everything was.  I mean completely empty.  I should have taken a picture of it, because it was pretty crazy. 

When we were in NY, we always had several meals already cooked and frozen in single or double servings for those days when we just didn't feel like cooking or were just too busy.  We also had homemade pizza dough frozen in ziploc baggies, seasonings frozen in ice cube trays, etc.  So it is definitely time to start using our freezer again.  Hubby decided that he wanted pizza, and instead of having some pizza dough pre-made, I had to make it for his dinner, and took advantage of needing the dough so I quadrupled the recipe.  Yes, I made 4x the recipe, which seems completely crazy, but man did it feel good to put all of those baggies of made pizza dough in that empty freezer!  I'm also planning on filling that freezer with homemade marinara sauce from all of those tomatoes continuously coming out of the garden, plus pesto from our basil, and hopefully more tasty dishes.  But at least if there is nothing that comes to mind food-wise, we'll definitely have pizza to fall back on!


Homemade Pizza with White Sauce, Tomatoes and Basil:



 Super Tasty, Creamy Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil

Pizza Dough:

Yields 2 Pizzas

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon organic sugar
1 envelope yeast

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 1/2- 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Pizza Toppings I Used:
White Sauce
Daiya Cheese
Fresh Roma Tomatoes
Fresh Chopped Onions
Fresh Basil, Chiffonnaded


1.  In a medium mixing bowl, add the warm water,  organic sugar and yeast.  Whisk together until combined.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes bubbly.  If It does not bubble up, the yeast is most likely dead, so begin again with some fresh yeast.
2.  Add the olive oil and whisk to combine.
3.  Add the 3 1/2 cups of flour in increments of 1/2 cups.  Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together and is no longer easy to mix with the spoon.
4.  Liberally flour a clean surface to knead the dough until it becomes elastic and is no longer sticky.  Add more flour as necessary to achieve the right texture.
5.  Place the dough ball back into the same bowl used for mixing, drizzling a couple tablespoons of olive oil into it first.
6.  Cover the bowl with a clean towel or a sheet of plastic and place the bowl in a warm place to double in size.
7.  Once the dough has doubled in size, it is ready to use.  Punch it down and press it into the desired pizza pan.  Place desired toppings on pizza.  I baked ours at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.  (Hubbs and I don't like super crispy crusts - this yields a softer crust.)

Enjoy!

Koko

Giant Colorful Salad & a Ridiculous Amount of Pies

Sometimes I just don't have the energy.  For anything, especially cooking.  This past week has been completely insane at work.  My department is severely understaffed and cannot seem to retain the final person that will make everyones' lives easier.  Because of that, I was forced to make the pies for Thanksgiving all alone - one person preparing 210 standard size pies by themselves in three days.  Yes, 3 days, 30 hours, with only a small 2-rack half-sheet convection oven that cooks 200 degrees too hot and an ancient 2-rack full-sheet conventional oven that requires constant turning of the pans in order to not burn whatever is cooking inside.  This all amounted to a grand total of 5 pies cooked per hour.  Do the math - it was an impossible feat that almost killed me.  Because on top of making all the pies, I had to do inventory, ordering, covering breaks and all the rest of the stuff I usually do, all while getting over a terrible cold.  Very not cool.  Seriously.  It had me reevaluating how much longer I intent to stay working at this place.  February 1st will be one year, and that's what I was shooting for, but we'll see.  I still have to take my vacation, which was approved over a month ago, but was not able to be taken because of being so understaffed.  Sigh. 

Anyway, done with all this complaining.  All this means is that I had zero time or energy to focus on cooking anything, and since I was recovering from a terrible bout of fever and sore throat, I didn't have a strong appetite at all.  So a simple salad drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper was all it took for me.  I had a package of heirloom cherry tomatoes that needed to be used up in the fridge, and I love cherry tomatoes, just not the weird explosion they make in your mouth when you eat them, so I cut them all in half (my one weird picky habit), added some julienned carrots and used my simple dressing.  Simple, stress free, easy.  Let's hope the next couple weeks heading to Christmas are less stressful.  *Fingers crossed*



My gorgeous simple, colorful salad

Mixed Green Salad

Mixed Greens
Julienned Carrots
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Dressing as desired.

Toss all ingredients together, add dressing and toss to coat.  That's it.  Eat.  Feel happy, light and stress free.


Koko