Vegetable Pot Pie
The original recipe calls for seitan, cubed but I used baked tofu from Trader Joes and diced small. I would also suggest making a bit more marinade if you like the pie more gravy-like. Even though most of the liquid was absorbed, the taste was fantastic. We like our pot pies with crust on the top and bottom even though the recipe calls for top crust only – I say live a little!
Pot Pie (The Chicago Diner Cookbook)
Marinade:
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 -1/2 teaspoons poultry spice, or 1/2 teas. sage + 1/2 teas. thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1lb. seitan, cubed or tofu or tempeh
Vegetables:
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 medium potato, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2-2/3 cup unbleached flour
In a casserole or medium pan, whisk together all marinade ingredients. Add seitan and marinate 20-30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Bake on an oiled sheet pan 20-30 minutes, stirring twice. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To prepare the vegetables, sauté the onion, carrot, and potato until almost soft. Add the celery; cook 5 minutes and add peas. Add 1/2 – 2/3 cup of unbleached flour to the reserved liquid, and stir well. Pour slowly over the vegetable mixture, then add seitan or tofu. Cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Pour into a 4-quart casserole, top with a prepared pie crust and bake 35-40 minutes.
Pie Crust: (makes 2 crusts)
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup soy margarine
1/4-1/3 cup ice water
In a medium bowl, stir the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork. Cut in the margarine until the dough is crumbly and pebble-like. Make a well in the center of the bowl, and add the ice water. Mix until the dough forms a ball. You may need to drizzle a little more water to get it to the point where it will hold together. Shape into a ball and divide in half.
Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured board or countertop. Add to top of casserole.
Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies
We made these delightful little gems back in October and I forgot to post them. I'm a big fan of chocolate and orange mixed together and adding the zest of an orange really makes a difference. So.... if you've been working out and eating really well and are in need of a little treat, give these a try.
Quick & Easy Vegan Bake Sale CB by Carla Kelly
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons plain soy/almond milk
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 ½ teaspoons orange zest (1 medium orange)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In large bowl, vigorously mix together the ingredients from sugar through orange extract until the mixture is smooth and glossy, about 2 minutes. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt into the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Add the chocolate chips and mix well. The dough will be firm and will hold together well once pressed.
With dampened hands, scoop the dough into tablespoon-size balls, flatten between your hands to form disks 2 inches in diameter, and place 1 & ½ “ apart on the prepared sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops are puffy.
Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 5 min, then let cool completely on wire rack. Vegan Chocolate Mousse
This is my second time making this decadent dessert and I have a feeling that Kevin will be requesting it all winter long - and we're talking about a Michigan winter. Luckily it only takes 3-5 minutes to make, but that will be our little secret!
Vegan Chocolate Mousse (from Jazzy Vegetarian on PBS)
http://jazzyvegetarian.com/
3.5 oz. Dark Chocolate bar (I bought from Trader Joe’s), or Dark cooking chocolate
1 cup Rice, Almond or Soy Milk (I used Almond)
¼ t. Chili powder
¼ t. Cinnamon
1 T. Maple Syrup
¼ t. Vanilla Extract
Break chocolate bar into pieces and put in a blender. Heat almond milk in small saucepan – just to a simmer. Pour hot almond milk on top of chocolate in blender.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Pour into pretty bowl and chill. Should set in 3-4 hours.
Hearts of palm, chopped salad
I'm attempting to make more salads at home and get over my notion that salads from restaurants taste better than mine. I had a can of Hearts of Palm in my pantry that I finally found a use for and just added whatever fresh veggies I had on hand. I have to say, this is one salad I would definitely order at a restaurant!!
- 15 oz. can Hearts of Palm, chopped into round discs
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Red pepper, diced
- Cucumber, diced
- Shallot, cooked in oil w/garlic
- Romaine lettuce, chopped
Olive oil, red wine vinegar, a dollop of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
Strawberry Glazed Flax Cupcakes
My dad loves strawberries and since we were celebrating his 85th birthday, I thought I'd try this recipe that I found on-line. The frosting for this strawberry cupcake didn't turn out like normal frosting, but it sure wasn't lacking taste! I tried to add more strawberries to the frosting mixture and it never really firmed up so I poked holes in the cupcakes so the frosting could get into the cake. My tip would be to stick to the recipe because these cupcakes are strawberry delicious.
Cupcakes:
2/3 cup nondairy milk (I use almond milk)
1/2 cup vegan vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
Glaze:
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons nondairy milk (I use almond milk)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 fresh strawberries, minced
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Combine wet cupcake ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly.
2. Slowly add all of the dry ingredients while mixing until all lumps are gone.
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Place in oven for 20 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before glazing.
4. For glaze, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before glazing cupcakes.
Makes: 12 Servings, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes
Are you a foodie? If so, why not visit the great food blog of my friends, Kevin and Ramona Smith, at:
http://smithsvegankitchen.blogspot.com/
Delicious Bargain White Wine for Sultry
St. Louis Summer
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Place in oven for 20 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before glazing.
4. For glaze, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before glazing cupcakes.
Makes: 12 Servings, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes
Are you a foodie? If so, why not visit the great food blog of my friends, Kevin and Ramona Smith, at:
http://smithsvegankitchen.blogspot.com/
Delicious Bargain White Wine for Sultry
St. Louis Summer
by Donna J. Gamache
Photo by Basheer Tome
Many wine drinkers favor white wines as the seasons change to warmer days and nights. This makes sense considering that white wines are best served chilled, while reds are best served at a “cool” room temperature (that is, 40-50°F for white wines and 50-65°F for red wines.) Also, white wines generally have a lower alcohol content than reds, which reduces the heat factor. A chilled and light-bodied white wine during the sultry St. Louis summer is a light and refreshing drink. Pop a bottle of white wine in the fridge or a bucket of ice for about 30 minutes, pour, and enjoy!
One easy-drinking white wine that seems to please a wide range of tastebuds and budgets, in my experience, is an Italian white wine from northern Italy’s Soave (pronounced so-AH-vay) region. All authentic Italian Soave wines come from northern Italy, in a region generally around the city of Verona. The Garganega(pronounced gar-GAH-na-ga) grape is the signature grape of Italian Soave wines.
Some of the Soave wines are blends, but they are made primarily from the Garganega grape. One blend that I like is 90 percent Garganega and 10 percent Trebbiano grape, which adds a subtle hint of almond on the finish. On its own or in a blend, a Soave wine is a crisp, light, dry wine perfect for sipping on a summer day or evening. In wine speak, dry is the opposite of sweet. Often the dryness in white wines comes across as “tangy.” A Soave wine can be a “still” wine or a bubbly.
Summer wines with screw-caps are good for people on the go, and there are many premium wines now using screw-caps, so don’t judge the quality of a wine solely based on its having a screw-cap—and don’t apologize for serving wine from a screw-cap bottle. Screw-caps are easy to open, besides. I sure don’t want to work up a sweat in the summer getting a cork out of a bottle, do you? Repeat after me: Screw-caps are a good thing!
Soave wine is one you can enjoy easily on its own. It also goes well with a wide range of foods, including thin crust “St. Louis style” pizza, Italian meats and cheeses from “The Hill,” summer salads with peppery or spicy ingredients and seasonings, and with oysters. Soave has a fragrance that the experts compare to lime and a taste profile they compare to grapefruit, with a bit of a salty mineral taste in there. I would say that if you like Pinot Grigio, you’ll probably also like this wine.
Soave is not only an affordable wine, it’s a bargain wine. You can find many delicious Soaves for under $10 (750 mL bottle.) What’s not to love about a delicious bargain-priced wine that’s easy summer drinking?
Photo by Basheer Tome
Many wine drinkers favor white wines as the seasons change to warmer days and nights. This makes sense considering that white wines are best served chilled, while reds are best served at a “cool” room temperature (that is, 40-50°F for white wines and 50-65°F for red wines.) Also, white wines generally have a lower alcohol content than reds, which reduces the heat factor. A chilled and light-bodied white wine during the sultry St. Louis summer is a light and refreshing drink. Pop a bottle of white wine in the fridge or a bucket of ice for about 30 minutes, pour, and enjoy!
One easy-drinking white wine that seems to please a wide range of tastebuds and budgets, in my experience, is an Italian white wine from northern Italy’s Soave (pronounced so-AH-vay) region. All authentic Italian Soave wines come from northern Italy, in a region generally around the city of Verona. The Garganega(pronounced gar-GAH-na-ga) grape is the signature grape of Italian Soave wines.
Some of the Soave wines are blends, but they are made primarily from the Garganega grape. One blend that I like is 90 percent Garganega and 10 percent Trebbiano grape, which adds a subtle hint of almond on the finish. On its own or in a blend, a Soave wine is a crisp, light, dry wine perfect for sipping on a summer day or evening. In wine speak, dry is the opposite of sweet. Often the dryness in white wines comes across as “tangy.” A Soave wine can be a “still” wine or a bubbly.
Summer wines with screw-caps are good for people on the go, and there are many premium wines now using screw-caps, so don’t judge the quality of a wine solely based on its having a screw-cap—and don’t apologize for serving wine from a screw-cap bottle. Screw-caps are easy to open, besides. I sure don’t want to work up a sweat in the summer getting a cork out of a bottle, do you? Repeat after me: Screw-caps are a good thing!
Soave wine is one you can enjoy easily on its own. It also goes well with a wide range of foods, including thin crust “St. Louis style” pizza, Italian meats and cheeses from “The Hill,” summer salads with peppery or spicy ingredients and seasonings, and with oysters. Soave has a fragrance that the experts compare to lime and a taste profile they compare to grapefruit, with a bit of a salty mineral taste in there. I would say that if you like Pinot Grigio, you’ll probably also like this wine.
Soave is not only an affordable wine, it’s a bargain wine. You can find many delicious Soaves for under $10 (750 mL bottle.) What’s not to love about a delicious bargain-priced wine that’s easy summer drinking?
A St. Ann resident and wine enthusiast, Donna J. Gamache hangs out part-time at an area wine shop every week – and gets paid for it!
