Lentil Soup, Not!

Can you catch a cold online? I feel like I read a lot of MoFo posts where the blogger was sick, and I’m feeling a little off, myself.  I am definitely fighting something, but intend to rest enough and drink enough (no, not whiskey) to fend it off successfully.  I also have a lot of issues with my back and with sitting for any significant period of time, so MoFoing can be a slow going, piecemeal process.  Anyway, when I asked my son what he would like me to make today, this was the answer:

By which he meant that he just wanted to eat some raw choco chips right from the bag. And, can you blame him? That is a bag of chocolate chips that he pilfered from my baking drawer. 

The pilfering made me look into that drawer...not only do I have a problem in my basement pantry and in my freezer, but in all my drawers and shelves as well.  Oh, and in the fridge. Damn.

Here is my “baking” drawer (I have another baking shelf, too, btw):

Luckily while looking through my baking drawer, I found some new checks! There they are, lurking in the back of the drawer under some shredded coconut: 

I was just about to order new checks, too, so this works out well.

Question: does anyone have particular systems for keeping their pantry well stocked but not over full?  I find that balance is hard to strike, I either have too much or not enough (usually too much, but in the winter, I tend to grocery shop less, and then I make a lot of pantry-based meals, and my pantry actually gets pretty low).

It’s funny because when I started this blog, the first series I did was called “Stock Your Pantry.” J I guess I have a thing with the pantry. 

Is anyone else doing a pantry theme or a planning or grocery shopping theme? Let me know.  Let’s share our dirty pantry stories.

Gotta take some vitamins or something now.

Love to all my fellow ‘Foers,

Dawn

Cashew Ricotta, No one will know!

Stock Your Pantry Episode Seven: Raw Cashews Take the Stage!

Raw cashews are used very frequently in vegan cooking to make things creamier, including sauces and baked goods.  Get a nice big bag of them and keep them right in the freezer to preserve them.  I keep my bag of raw cashews in the freezer and just use them right out of the freezer without thawing them in recipes.  It works just fine! 

This is one of those plant-based substitutes for a popular animal food that most will agree actually tastes better than the animal product version.  Awesome!  And it is so easy.  My version is based on the one in Veganomicon, actually I sort of combined the Tofu Ricotta and Cashew Ricotta recipes into one!  I put Vcon's original recipe for Cashew Ricotta instruction below.  Recipe variation noted with the *.

I go lighter on the cashews and oil (using the water from the undrained/unpressed tofu as a sub for the extra oil as Isa does in her Tofu Ricotta). 

Vegan Fazool Does Veganomicon, Tofu-Cashew Ricotta!

¼ cup raw cashews *                                                                            
2 cloves of garlic

1 pound extra firm tofu, crumbled (but NOT pressed or drained)*      
Juice from ½ a lemon

¼ cup fresh parsley or basil  *                           
1 tsp Kosher salt*                
Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tsp. olive oil  *                                             

Process cashews and garlic together in a food processor until nuts are in a fine crumb.  Crumble tofu into processor and add the rest of the ingredients.  Process until smooth.  It will look exactly like the real thing.  Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.  Scoop out into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. You can make this ahead and I’m sure it lasts a while in the fridge. I make it the day before or the morning of to save time.  Done!

Here are the ingredients for the original Veganomicon Cashew Ricotta, which I made tonight:

    I used Kosher salt, not regular iodized as pictured. 

*original calls for 1/2 cup cashews, draining the tofu, 1 1/2 tsp dried basil instead of fresh parsley, 1 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 tablespoons of oil.  Veganomicon's instructions for the original Cashew Ricotta: Process cashews, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic until a thick, creamy paste forms.  Add the crumbled tofu and process until it is thick and well blended.  Blend in basil and salt.  VCon's is thicker, richer and a bit saltier than the hybrid version I make, but also amazing and works very well when you want a richer taste or are using it for a special occasion. 

Either way, it will look something like this:

You can use the ricotta in your baked ziti, your stuffed shells, on top of your vegan pizza, etc. etc.  I can also post my recipe for baked ziti using my version of the ricotta, with quick spinach marinara sauce, it is to DIE for!

Anyway, I also use this just on top of vegan take-out pizza.  Order a tomato pie with whatever, and just stick scoops of this on top, OMG.

Hope you guys enjoy this one.  It is SO easy and fast.  Try it right now!  If you don't have a food processor, then just make my hybrid version of it and leave out the cashews (which would be really close to Isa's tofu ricotta).  Blend up the tofu by hand and "squish" it with your fingers to get the right consistency (this is actually how Isa does her tofu ricotta, she doesn't use the food processor).

Enjoy!

Your New Friend Nutritional Yeast, i.e. Awesome Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Stock Your Pantry, Episode Five: Nutritional Yeast is FRIEND not FOE!

*Do NOT fear Nutritional yeast.  I was literally afraid to use it more than sparingly, I was afraid it would taste funny or something, until like two months ago.  And thank goodness I conquered my fear because nutritional yeast, even in larger quantities, is AWESOME.  It is deactivated yeast, in either sort of flaky or powder form (looks like cornmeal).  Comes in a shaker (Red Star brand) or you can buy it in bulk in your health food store.  It is a great nutritional supplement found in many vegetarian and vegan dishes, low in sodium and fat, and very high in protein and B vitamins. The flavor and aroma are nutty and slightly salty, making it ideal in place of sprinkled cheese. It can also be used to make gravies and sauces. It is often my "secret" ingredient that people can't quite put their finger on, but the food tastes great.  It's called "nooch" by vegans/vegetarians in the know.

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo with “Shrimp,” Peas & Tomatoes

So, before Christmas I made this dish (minus the “shrimp” and peas, and plus broccoli).  It was amazing. I make a whole pound of pasta with the appropriate amount of sauce You can half the recipe easily if you’d like, or if you are only cooking for one person or two not so hungry people J.

Ingredients:
One pound (one box) fettuccine noodles, preferably DeCecco brand.

3 ½  cups  plain, unflavored soy milk (My new fave is Westsoy Organic Unflavored)
1 tsp soy sauce or Tamari (I always use organic Tamari)

5 cloves garlic, 2 chopped or pressed, 3 just smashed with the flat side of a knife.
2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried sweet basil
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2-3 tablespoons non-dairy butter like Earth Balance

1 tsp to 1 tablespoon tomato paste (you can leave it out if you want, no biggie)

3-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast* Here is your new pantry item! 
1/8-1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper if you want it a little spicy
salt and pepper to taste

½ to 1 cup frozen peas or 1-2 cups fresh chopped broccoli florets

1 package frozen vegan “shrimp,” defrosted

1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped

In a large, microwaveable 4 cup measuring cup, add the milk through basil.  Stir a bit to mix.  Microwave just to get the milk & herbs/garlic mixture warm.  It’s fine if it gets hot or whatever, nothing will happen.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for your fettuccine.  In the meantime, make the sauce:

In a large, stainless steel sauce pan, melt your non-dairy butter over medium heat and add flour, whisking to form a roux (in other words, a smooth paste).  Cook the roux for about 1-2 minutes (this is in the French style, some say don’t cook the roux, some say do, I say do!)  While whisking, gradually pour the soy milk mixture into the sauce pan and continue to whisk.  Once all the milk is added, keep whisking until the mixture thickens, about 5-10 minutes.  Add the nutritional yeast about 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking it to incorporate between additions.  The nutritional yeast will thicken it a lot, so don’t worry!  Add cayenne (if you want it spicy) and continue to whisk until sauce is thickened (it will be pretty thick, like will definitely coat your spoon, think of a nice, thick restaurant cream sauce). Add the tomato paste and whisk it some more.  Be sure to taste for seasoning at this point. Add whatever you feel it needs.  Remove the bay leaves, but leave in the garlic cloves.  Add the peas and the defrosted shrimp and stir to heat everything through while you are cooking your pasta, about 8 minutes.

Your pasta water should be ready now.  Salt it well and add the pasta.  Boil 8 minutes (for DeCecco fettuccine) If you are doing the fresh broccoli version, try this: boil pasta for 3 minutes, then add chopped broccoli florets to the water with the pasta for the rest of the cooking time (5 more minutes). Drain everything together at the 8 minute mark. A great technique. Fun! 

Using your long cooking tongs, add cooked and drained pasta gently to your big pot o’ sauce.  Use tongs to stir to coat.  Now you have Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo w/ Vegan Shrimp & Peas (or a big bowl o’ awesome).

A note on the vegan frozen “shrimp.” I got these guys, called, "Healthy Food," from a huge Asian market in Cherry Hill, NJ right on route 70.  About 5 min from my house.  I’m sure all the big Asian markets carry some brand of vegan shrimp.  Here is a picture of the empty package of the shrimp in case anyone is going to that store:

Don't forget to CHECK THE LABEL.  The last time I got lizardfish in my edamame dumplings (if you follow me on Facebook, well, you already know about this).  Here is a link to his lovely visage: http://www.itsnature.org/sea/fish/lizard-fish/.  Just scroll down to see him. OMG. 

Ok, guys enjoy your pasta.  And, have some of these guys for dessert!

These are sugar cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  OMG.  I think I ate like seven of them today :-!

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Awesome Vegan Gingerbread

Stock Your Pantry, Episode Four: The Joys of Silken Tofu, continued!

The aseptic, silken tofu in a box is just about the perfect pantry item.  You can use it for so many things and it lasts forever in your pantry (like 8 months!).  And it is CHEAP, like $1.79 at Wegmans for a box of Firm Silken Mori-Nu. It is a very versatile egg replacer, as you have seen once already!  Now we will use it to replace eggs in a traditional holiday treat, gingerbread!  I love Nigella's version, which I made last year just before going vegan.  I wanted it this year, and decided to veganize it.  It worked out perfectly and I wanted to share it with you. 

Nigella’s Sticky Gingerbread, Dawn’s Vegan Version:

Makes 20 squares.

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons non-dairy butter (Earth Balance is the best for baking)

¾ cup dark corn syrup (Karo)----I used 2/4 cup Karo and ¼ cup Light Agave

¾ cup Molasses

2/3 cup packed organic, soft dark brown sugar (I used Trader Joe’s Organic)

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger----I used organic chopped ginger in the jar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon plus about 1/3 tsp baking soda, dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water

1 cup organic, unflavored soy milk (vanilla would be ok, too)

2 tofu “eggs,” beaten to mix.  Use 4 oz (1/2 cup) firm silken tofu, blended.

2 cups King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour (much better nutrition and taste than all-purpose flour).

Nigella calls for using a 12x8x2 pan (who has this??) and if you happen to have it, go ahead and use 350 as your oven temp.  Anyway, I was using a 9x9 cake pan, so I used 360 degree oven due to changing the size of the pan.  Line your baking pan with parchment paper.  If you don’t have parchment, you can use Aluminum foil, but be sure to grease it well with butter.  This is very sticky gingerbread!

Process tofu in a food processor or blender until smooth.  You could do this by hand with a fork or a tiny wisk o’doom, too.  Put your dry baking soda in a little mixing bowl and put the water in a microwavable coffee cup or whatever (do not combine yet).

In a saucepan, combine butter through cloves.  Prep your flour, the only truly dry ingredient in this recipe!  Measure the flour and sift it into a large bowl. Now, melt the ingredients (butter through cloves) over a low to medium heat. Heat the water slightly and make your baking soda mixture.

Take butter mixture off the heat, and add the soy milk, tofu and dissolved baking soda in its water.

Pour in the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the flour, beating until well mixed.  Make sure all the flour gets wet and incorporated.  It will be a very liquid batter, so don’t worry.  This is part of what makes it sticky later.

Pour it into the prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes (45-60 if you use the larger pan) until risen and firm on top.  Try not to overcook, as it is nicer a little stickier, and anyway will carry on cooking as it cools.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the gingerbread cool in the pan before cutting into 20 squares or however you wish to slice it.  Dust w/ confectioner’s sugar or leave plain (I love how Christmassy it looks with the confectioner’s sugar):

Make ahead tip: Make the gingerbread up to 2 weeks ahead, wrap loosely in parchment paper and store in an airtight container.  Cut into squares as required.

Freeze ahead tip: Make the gingerbread, wrap in parchment paper and a layer of aluminum foil then freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours and cut into squares.

Happy Holidays!

Matzo Balls from the Mix!

Stock Your Pantry, Episode Three (yeah, I was kidding in the last post):

We are lazier than our parents.  Thusly, if we find a really great, amazing mix for Matzo Ball Soup (and the Matzo Balls) then we are very happy and just use that.  Or at least I do, since I don't have a Jewish momma to catch me not making it from scratch :-)  Not that I wouldn't make it from scratch.  Sometimes, I'm just looking for a time-saving recipe, and this fits the bill nicely.

The Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix is one of the most amazing dry goods you can keep in your pantry.  If you like it, get a few boxes of the "Matzo Ball & Soup Mix" and check the box to make sure it isn't just the soup mix, or you won't get the awesome matzo meal pack, so make sure to check.

As far as I can tell from the ingredients, it is vegan and Kosher and Pareve, so, excellent.  However, the instructions tell you to use two eggs to make the matzo balls, we are going to sub the eggs with the same aseptic tofu that we used in the Triple Orange Bread Pudding.  Get a  few boxes of that aseptic tofu, especially the "firm" kind.  It is one of the most amazing, very long lasting, pantry ingredients to have on hand at all times. 

I decided to make this today because my little guy has a nasty, runny cold and he LOVES this soup.  Here are the ingredients:

Easy, Vegan Matzo Ball Soup

One box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix (Did I mention this already? Surprise, surprise, they carry it at Wegmans and every other store I have ever shopped at, so many of you should be able to find it).
10 cups water
1, 12oz box of Firm Silken Tofu (I buy the Mori-Nu brand, they have it at Wegmans!!)
2-3 tablespoons of good olive oil (I am using Trader Joe's President's Reserve right now, $6 for a liter!)
3 carrots (or two if you aren't obsessed with carrots like my family is)
1/2 cup frozen peas

Other possible additions:
1/2 cup frozen corn (not my thing, but my hubby + kid like this)
1/2 cup rice or pasta (precooked and added at the end so it doesn't suck up all your delish soup)

Alrighty, we are going to modify the package directions a bit, but not much. 

The Soup:
Put the 10 cups of water plus packet #2 (the soup mix) into a medium or large stock pot just to get that out of the way.  Don't turn it on just yet.

Make the matzo ball mix: 
Unleash your aseptic tofu and regard its beauty.

Crumble roughly 3/4 of the tofu into your food processor with the olive oil and pulse until creamy, like this:

Save the other quarter (or even a bit less) of the tofu and just cube it to put into the soup at the end when you add the peas, kinda like miso soup style.  Now, put the processed tofu into a bowl and combine it with package #1 (the matzo ball mix), and mix it with a fork, to get about this consistency: 

Cover and put in your fridge for about 30 minutes. You could probably leave it in there up to overnight and it would probably be fine.

In the meantime, peel and chop your carrots, add them to the cold soup.  Now, check your email, your facebook page, and change the opera music to Dido and Aeneas.  Or kill about 15 minutes some other way.  Now, turn on the soup.  Bring it to a boil and add the peas and the cubed tofu wait again another minute or two to come back to a boil (the peas are frozen, so they cool off the water).  By the time the soup is boiling, your matzo ball mix should be cold.

Add the matzo balls to the soup (the fun part!!).  Get your handy medium oxo scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons) and scoop the mix flat against the scoop, then into your hand.  Round the blob of mix into a nice ball and THEN drop it into the soup.  If you just plop it into the soup, the ball will start to disintegrate and break up (I did this with the first two, so that's why my broth has bits of broken up balls in it, all the other balls stayed together nicely).   It makes about 10 or so balls.  It is getting just a little funny to me to keep writing about balls, but ok...Plop them all in then cover tightly and turn heat down to a simmer for 20 minutes. 

And here is a nice bowl with three balls:

Ok, ok, I'll stop.  Anyhoo, Wha-la!  Easy Vegan Matzo Ball Soup.  Happy Holidays!

Get Your Chips At Wegmans

Stock Your Pantry, Episode Two:

Get Your Chips At Wegmans!

I just discovered, with the help of a friend of a friend on Facebook, that store brand chocolate chips are often vegan.  I promptly rushed out to Wegmans, hoping that this would be true for their store brand chips (since their store brand products are great).  And, friends, it is!  Also, I checked another brand, an "artisan" chocolate called Scharffen Berger, which some of you may be familiar with.  Also vegan, meaning made with non-gmo soy lecithin instead of unnecessary milk based stabilizers.  The 6 oz semisweet and baking bars at Wegmans are $5 each, though this website lists a 3oz semisweet bar for $5, so rock on Wegmans with your five star self  I have taken the liberty to round up. 

If you haven't been to Wegmans, you must go.  Overall, their prices are excellent (but I never purchased meat/fish/dairy there, so I don't know about the prices on that stuff), it will not break the bank like, for example, Whole Foods. Wegmans has everything I want to eat.  They are a grocery store, a bakery, a restaurant, a great natural foods store, a mini kitchen wares store, a florist, a pharmacy...They stock everything from Tofutti Better Than Creme Cheese (um, they did run out like two weeks before Thanksgiving, though, good thing I already had mine) to black sesame seeds, crystallized ginger, you name it.  They have a HUGE organic section and you could do almost all your shopping there.  They carry Braggs Liquid Aminos near the soy in the organic section, which is also nice.  Their store brand stuff is GREAT, often better than the name brand competitors. 

It is always crowded, though, so expect to take a few extra seconds to park and do expect to be there a while.  You might have to wait behind someone with a "big order" or some rowdy toddlers in the check-out line, so don't have a fit, it's worth it!  If you go at like 2pm, right before school gets out, it's usually ok for like 30 minutes :-)  If you can go late, right before it closes, you will probably do well, or at 6am when it opens, probably also good. Let me know if you find a great time to go.  It is way worth the drive over the bridge from Philly, so common' over Philly people, and stock up.

Ok, enough of this commercial for Weggies.  Get out there and Stock Your Pantry.  Seriously, they have everything.  You need that vital wheat gluten to make Grandma Margies' Meatballs?  Or some aseptic tofu to make that Triple Orange Bread Pudding?  It's called Wegmans, people. 

And this concludes the Stock Your Pantry Series.  Just go to Wegmans.  Grandma Margie says so!

Just don't leave your list in the car.  Trust me. 

Become A Flax Chicken

Stock Your Pantry, Episode One:

You want to be able to bake for the holidays, but you are going vegan or you ran out of eggs!  Problem solved.  Become a Flax Chicken.  First, you need some flaxseeds:



The brand doesn't really matter.  Bob's Red Mill makes organic ones (pictured above), Hodgson Mill makes them packaged in a box, etc.  Just get some.  I like the ground/milled ones so that you don't need to grind them yourself, but you could do that, too.  Keep them in the fridge or freezer (if you have room in there!).  I didn't know that until recently, so my first box of flaxseeds just sat in my pantry for a year, and honestly, they still seem fine.  I'm still here, basically unharmed, and the box is empty.  Go figure.

Anyway, my very first ever and now beloved vegan chocoate chip cookie called for ground flax, and I got permission to post the recipe.  They are crisp-chewy and almost candy-like, thin and delicious.  We are going to make them together, and I took pics to help you out.

Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
It is from a fantastic vegan cookbook called Veganomicon.  Check it out.

1 3/4 cup oat flour (I always just use Old Fashoined Quaker Oats and grind them in the food processor)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds (yeah, baby, the SYP item is right here! This is going to be your "egg")
1/4 cup soy milk (I love Vanilla Silk or Eden Soy Organic Original, they are very different, though, so see what you like)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375.  So far, so good.

Now, in the bowl of your food processor, add the oats, just measure them in your dry measuring cups and put them right into the bowl with the metal blade attachement.  Also put in the baking soda and the salt, I just like to wizz it all together and wha-la, your dry ingredients are done:

If you have the oat flour, then just sift the ingredients together into a large bowl.

Ok, now, get a medium mixing bowl and in it, put your flaxseeds. Get your Teeny Tiny Wisk O' Doom, too.  Unless you haven't lost your Sir Whiskalot, that is. It will look like this:

Now, just wisk the flaxseeds and the soymilk together.  No big thing, nothing magical will happen, excepting that now you have become the unimaginable, you have become a FLAX CHICKEN!  You have laid your first flax egg (or maybe your 300th if you are a vegan already!).  Sorry to say, that for your first one, it is pretty liquidy (unlike some other flax/liquid mixes that use less liquid, like 2 or maybe 3 tablespoons per tablespoon of ground flax.  Then, you will then get an egg-white like consistency, but not in this recipe).
Then it will look like this:

I have thought about adding another tablespoon of ground flax to get a more egg-whitey consistency.  I think I will try that next time.  Anyway, let us soldier on...

Now you are going to add the brown and granulated sugars and stir, add the vanilla and stir, and then, start adding the canola oil in a thin stream, wisking vigorously (really give the Tiny Wisk O' Doom or a bigger Sir Wiskalot a workout) until it is emulsified.  I find it takes a few minutes of adding the oil and wisking a lot (at least with the Tiny Wisk O' Doom, anyway).  Then it will look like this:

Now you are going to commit a baking faux pas, unless you want to dirty another bowl.  I always err on the side of NOT dirtying another bowl, so, my true bakers, please turn your heads...
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ones (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! But, a tiny voice says, yes!! Do it!! It will be fine!).  Mix them around.  It will look like this:

Now, get out your cookie scoop (a medium Oxo scoop  if you want to know what I use) and plop those bad boys on your silpat or on a greased cookie sheet (Veganomicon says ungreased, but I don't like to take chances, these cookies are crisp-chewy and candy-like, and I have had them stick), like so:

And bake them in your 375 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes.  You will see the edges start to brown slightly, they are done when you see that.  Take them out and let them cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way:

If you try to take them off the sheet too early, they may tear, so wait the full 5 minutes!  I get 18 cookies using that medium oxo scoop.

Congratulations!  You have vegan cookies for the holidays and you have Stocked Your Pantry with some very useful ground flaxseeds.  A nice seasonal variation that I have tried is to sub 1/4 tsp of orange extract plus 3/4 tsp of vanilla extract (instead of the 1 tsp vanilla extract in the original recipe) and adding dried, organic cranberries (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup) and reducing the chocolate chips to 1/2 cup. 

Enjoy!