"Beef" Stew & Outback Steakhouse Bread w/ Whipped "Butter"

TVP comes as unflavored chunks too!!!
I LOVE this new place that we discovered in Santa Monica on Sunday called "Co-Opportunity" because their bulk section is engrossing! And yes, yes, most of it is organic and/or fair trade! Dane went straight for the wonderful chocolate-covered goodies and gazillion types of granolas, and I dove straight into the cooking corner filled with so many different types of flours, beans, and grains. I think it's awesome that all these little co-ops came together to produce a Whole Foods-ish type store with lots of variety and super produce. We went to Pasadena afterwards so we couldn't stock up on the perishables, but man, I WILL be going back soon! Thank you again nice lady at Whole Foods in Santa Monica for turning me on to my new favorite grocery store! This recipe below was inspired by a non-vegan stew by evelyn/athens. SJG3483's rip off of Outback's Honey Wheat bread from top secret recipes: http://www.recipezaar.com/64435.

"Beef" Stew:
(no exact measurements)

Unflavored TVP chunks, rehydrated with boiling hot water and a pinch of vegan beef base
olive oil
onions, chopped
carrots, halved, cut into chunks about an inch long
good-quality red wine, dry is best
roma tomatoes, diced (or can use canned diced tomatoes w/ juice)
a nice amount of each: oregano, basil, thyme, parsley
a huge dollop of hoisin sauce (VERY important, don't leave out!)
a bay leaf
equal amounts of arrowroot powder (or conrstarch if absolutely necessary) and water for thickening stew

Heat a little oil in a stew pot over mediom-high heat. Add the rehydrated TVP chunks (should not be dripping wet, drain first if necessary) and "brown" them for a bit. Push them to the sides of the pan and add a little more oil, add onions. Sautee until soft, then mix with the "beef". Add carrots and tomatoes with their juices, sautee until juices start to leave the flesh and meld with onion. Add the garlic, herbs, hoisin sauce, and bay leaf. Bring to boil and add more wine (adding as much wine as you would like for a stew). Cover and turn heat down to a high low. Let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, season with salt and pepper if desired, and add the arrowroot/water slurry (I generally use 1 T. arrowroot to 1 T. water for 4 cups of liquid) to the stew. Bring heat up to a medium high and stir until thickened. Serve sprinkled with more parsley.

Easy Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup) & Diz's Spring Rolls

Pho is the THE dish you think of...
When you want authentic Vietnamese cuisine. It comes most often as Pho Bo (the beef version) but the chicken version seems to be a little more gingery in taste--definitely lighter. Believing this, I wanted to test my cooking skills and transform a traditional Vietnamese soup dish originally made with tons of chicken bones and meat into a vegan version of tastiness--of course with a convenient twist because I have a limited amount of time to prepare dinner on the weekdays. I have made a vegan version of Pho Bo before, but never a chicken one. My mum would be so proud of me right now!
For the spring rolls, I replaced the typical iceberg lettuce with baby lettuce mix. I feel that there is more flavor this way, and aside from that, I LOATHE iceberg. I think of it as the most insignificant tasting lettuce there is and my rabbit can't even eat it! Also, instead of the traditional addition of shrimp or a vegan restaurant's version that adds sliced tofu, I added some soy fish for extra flavor. Spring rolls are my mother-in-law's (Holly's) favorite!

Easy Pho Ga:

Soup:
2 pho spice cubes (the ones at the asian grocers with no beef or chicken, just spices)
as much water as you'd like
1 small onion, charred on stovetop or in toaster oven, sliced into big chunks
1 t. vegan chicken base
1/2 t. ginger paste
dash each of:
clove powder
allspice
cinnamon
black pepper

For topping soup:
a few vegan chicken strips sliced thin diagonally
fresh mint leaves
thin sliced onion (bulb and green)
hoisin sauce
Sriracha chili sauce

as many rice noodles as you want pre-soaked in warm water until softened, then drained

In a large pot, add all soup ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Set aside until ready to use. In another pot, fill with water and bring to a boil. Using a small rounded sieve, place as many noodles as you want into it, then lower into boiling water. Cook noodles until softened (watch out because they overcook easily!). Dump into a large bowl, ladle soup onto the noodles, top with desired toppings (bean sprouts are traditional, but I don't like them), and enjoy!

Diz's Spring Rolls:
(no exact measurements)

Spring roll wrappers (banh trang)
boiled rice vermicelli (important! ask if you're unsure if it's the right type for spring rolls)
baby lettuce mix
fresh mint leaves
lightly dry pan-fried soy fish cut into strips

For dipping:
hoisin sauce
sriracha
chopped peanuts

Dip wrappers into warm water briefly, until slightly softened. Lay on a flat surface and place vermicelli, lettuce, mint, and soy fish slightly off-center towards you, leaving about an 1 or 2 to fold away from you. Fold in the sides, and roll tightly. Repeat until all rolls are finished.

Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup, Potato & Eggplant Soup Dippers, and Sauteed Radishes

Every Wednesday...
I go to a farmer's market held over on the boundaries of Culver City and Westchester. Here, they have a hippie stand at the corner flashing peace signs to sell patchouli, the plant man down the way sells hardy little plants 6 for $5 and doesn't hesitate to give you gardening advice, the little Asian woman at the smallest stand sells gigantic sweet onions for seventy-five cents a pound, and the California citrus spill over almost every produce stand. I love to support a particular organics stand that has a very nice man that saves "top-off" greens for my bunny. Somehow, he manages to keep a smile on his face every time I see him even though I know that staffing an entire stand by himself must be overwhelming! This is the same stand where I buy my carrots, broccoli, green beans, and especially the little Indian eggplants only they carry on the strip. Radishes have been a a big thing the past few weeks at the market, so I decided to make something that screamed "Farmer's Market Supporter" this evening. I had an abundance of carrots, resulting in the formulation of a new carrot soup. I got the idea of using those cute little eggplants and purple potatoes as soup dippers (kinda like oyster crackers) because I didn't have any bread or crackers lying around and the thought of kneading bread seemed too strenuous. The radishes, well, they're radishes, but they are particularly tasty this evening!

Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup:

3 large carrots, peeled, sliced thin
1/2 c. sweet onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced thin
2 T. Smart Balance Light margarine
1 1/2 c. vegetable broth (low-sodium is a plus)
1/2 t. ginger paste
1/2 c. unsweetened soy milk
1/2 T. arrowroot powder
1/4 t. cumin powder
1/8 t. cayenne
a few dashes of hot sauce (optional)

In a medium pot, melt margarine, add carrots, onion, and celery. Saute until soft. Spoon mixture into a food processor and add about a 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth and blend until you get a nice thick paste. Return mixture to the pot and add in the rest of the vegetable broth. Add ginger paste, stir. In a bowl, mix together the arrowroot and the soy milk. Add to the pot along with the cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes. Soup will thicken as it sits.

Potato & Eggplant Soup Dippers:

Purple Potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
Indian Eggplant, salted, rinsed, and blotted, sliced 1/4" thick
a sprinkling each of:
cumin, cayenne, onion, garlic, black pepper
expeller-pressed cooking oil spray

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with oil. Lightly sprinkle spices on the oil and place potatoes and eggplants in a single layer. Lightly spray the tops with oil. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until desired crispness.

Sauteed Radishes:

1 bunch of radishes, cleaned and halved
1 T. Smart Balance Light margarine

In a little pan, melt margarine and add the radishes. Saute until slightly tender and golden.

Vegetable Indian Curry & Baked Vegetable Samosas

Ooooh yeaaahh...
Dane and I did the whole super low-fat thing yesterday night and for today's lunch so: it's time to give in to a little bit of spicy goodness and puff pastries! Of course, I had to go on the lighter side and omit the coconut milk in the curry and bake the samosas instead of frying them, but it turned out yummy anyhow. I miss my mum's Indian curry, but I didn't have the time to prep her version (veganized) this evening...oh well, sometime soon!
About the samosas, I decided to chop the potatoes a little bigger than usual, and left them unmashed for texture. I just felt like adding extra spices and not having a mashed potato stuffed pastry this evening, but I like both versions.

Vegetable Indian Curry:

12 baby potatoes (red), scrubbed, unpeeled, halved
2 carrots, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into pieces
1 small sweet onion, sliced in medium-sized chunks
1 (4 oz.) Golden Curry package
1/2 t. Madras Curry powder
5 c. water
pinch of vegan beef base (optional)

In a large pot, saute onions and carrots on medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until potatoes are tender--about 30 minutes. (Suggestion: Serve with fresh parathas, chapati, or any loaf bread for dipping!)

Baked Vegetable Samosas:
Makes 5

5 square puff pastry sheets, thawed (or one large sheet cut into squares)
4 baby potatoes (white), diced
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. frozen baby peas
1 T. Earth Balance margarine
1/2 t. Madras Curry
1/8 t. ginger paste
pinch each of:
Garam Masala
coriander
cumin
salt

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Saute potatoes and onion with the melted Earth Balance, and cover briefly to steam until softened. Add peas, stir, and saute for a bit longer--until peas thaw out a bit. Throw in the rest of the ingredients, mix well, and set to the side. Set puff pastry down on a flat surface and spoon the sauteed mixture into the pastry. Wet edges, fold over diagonally, and press edges to seal shut. Place on a cookie sheet. Repeat until all pastries are filled. Make sure each one is at least an inch apart, pop sheet into the oven and bake until golden brown--about 10 minutes.

Low-Fat Cream of Celery Soup & Diz's 10-Minute Creamy Cajun Noodles

This week's theme: Savory Soup Week...
After Eclectic Americana week, I feel like I need to go on a light diet for a little while...that's why I think that it would be a grand idea if this week happened to be a (main-course) soup week! We're going from last week's "meat" and carbs to, well, more carbs, but with hearty vegetable goodness in every meal.
I decided to start the week out with one of the best "diet" foods: CELERY. I can't imagine just eating an entire plate of raw celery, nor do I like the idea of eating the stalks with plain old peanut butter--so soup it was! This low-fat recipe was inspired by a non-vegan, high-fat version found on 'Zaar by Lorac. The consistency is not as smooth as I originally intended it to be--I had a blending accident which made such an incredible mess--but please do blend away if you'd like. Just remember: If you're using a blender, do so in SMALL batches or else you will end up under a rain of very hot celery soup...which does NOT feel pleasant on the face.

Low-Fat Cream of Celery Soup:

2 T. Smart Balance Light margarine
2 c. celery stalks, sliced thin
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1-2 T. flour
2 c. water
1 c. unsweetened soymilk
1/3 t. vegan chicken base (optional)
3-4 drops of hot sauce
salt & pepper to taste

In a pot over medium heat, melt margarine, saute celery and onion until soft. Add garlic, stir, and add flour. Cook for a minute or two. Add the water, base, and bay leaf, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and blend in a blender until smooth. Return to pot and add the soy milk, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Simmer until ready to serve.

Diz's 10-Minute Creamy Cajun Noodles:
(No exact measurements)

Sauteed carrots and onions (optional)
Non-hydrogenated margarine
Your choice of boiled noodles, as much as you'd like
Splash of non-dairy or soy creamer
A couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast
A bit of mellow yellow miso paste (this is a tastier salt replacer)
A dash each of:
Old Bay
Cayenne
Onion
Garlic

Melt as much margarine as you'd like in a pot, add the noodles, stir, then add all other ingredients. Mix well and serve hot.

Chicken 'n Dumplings & Southern-Style Lima Beans

A tasty Southern comfort dish turned Vegan...
This recipe was the result of a bit of recipe researching. I have used a lot of vegan recipes, but I'm usually not satisfied with the way certain dishes turn out after the recipe has been veganized--I tend to tweak it every time. I have learned to experiment with animal-free products quite well. The biggest mistake people make when converting recipes is assuming that a 1:1 ratio on ingredients will suffice. This is usually NOT the case--other additions must be made to retain a pleasant consistency.
Tonight's dinner was an experimentation on how close to authentic I could make one of my childhood favorites. Using poultry seasoning is the secret to its success!

Chicken 'n Dumplings:

Soup:
8 c. water
4 t. vegan chicken base (adjust to to taste, all brands are different)
1/2 t. poultry seasoning
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. black pepper
dash of cayenne (optional)
1 celery rib, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 tsp. non-hydrogenated margarine
5-6 strips of vegan chicken strips, diced (optional)

Dumplings:
3 c. unbleached flour -or- 1/2 c. King Arthur's white wheat flour plus 2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. poultry seasoning
1/3 t. salt
1/2 c. non-hydrogenated margarine -or- 1/4 c. plus 1/8 c. smart balance light and 1/8 cup vegetable shortening
1 Ener-G egg replacer
1 c. vegan chicken broth (reserved from the total amount of liquid above)

In a large pot on medium heat, melt the margarine, add in the onions and celery and saute until soft. Add water and vegan chicken base and turn up the heat to medium-high. Stir to mix well, scoop out a cup of broth for the dumplings (try to avoid the celery and onion bits) and set aside to cool. Add the carrots to the broth and bring the heat down to a simmer and cover while preparing dumplings.
For the dumplings:
Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Rub the margarine/shortening into the flour mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Thoroughly stir in the "egg" and the vegan chicken broth. Once combined, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead briefly, until smooth. Add more flour if needed to make the right consistency for a dough. Roll out the dough to 1/8" inch-thick. Cut into strips about 1" x 1" in size.
Uncover the broth pot and bring to a boil. Drop dumplings in a few at a time, occasionally stirring so that none stick to the bottom. Add diced chicken strips now, if using. Simmer down for about 30-45 minutes. Soup will thicken.

Southern-Style Lima Beans:

10 oz. package of frozen baby Lima beans
1 t. non-hydrogenated margarine
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 t. liquid smoke (I like natural mesquite)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. water
1/2 t. pepper
salt (to taste)

Melt margarine in a saucepan over medium heat, add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic, saute for a minute, then add water, liquid smoke, pepper, and salt. Lower to a simmer and cover. Should be ready in about a half hour.