All Vegan Wedding!

This weekend I married my boyfriend of 6 years and we had an incredible wedding. Chance was nice enough to let me have an all vegan wedding, even though he comes from a long line of beef farmers and his family was a little unsure about the idea. In the end everyone really got onboard with it and I think it tured out great. I served Thai Massaman Curry, Pineapple Fried Rice, Mushroom Stroganoff, and Penne with Red Sauce, in addition to fried spring rolls and wantons. His Grandmother was nice enough to make several potato dishes, and some sweet potato casserole too. Everyone said they loved the food (at least to my face, lol) and lots of people asked for recipes, so when I get back from the honeymoon I'll post them all.

For dessert we ordered a cake from Tidal Creek, a local health food co-op, and it was very very very tasty. It wasn't exactly what I ordered looks wise, but it tasted so good that I didn't care. They don't do large wedding cakes, so I also made a chocolate silk pie (I got the recipe off of www.vegweb.com), and a chocolate pecan pie (from www.veganmania.com).

A big thanks to my Mom for helping me do all the cooking, Chance's whole family for taking care of pretty much everything else (we couldn't have done it without you!) My Dads for doing lots of driving and running around, and everyone who drove a really really long way to come and make our special day even more special.

In the meantime, I would encourage people to visit their local Asian Food Markets. There is one in almost every city and you can find the best, most inexpensive things. Usually if I really like something I've eaten in a restaurant I go home, find a recipe and head to the asian food market to make it myself.

Bahn Xeo (Vietnamese Rice Flour Crepe)

From It's Just Food, It's Not Love

I LOVE getting Bahn Xeo out at places that serve Vietnamese food, but they tend to stiff you on the fillings if you're having them remove/replace the meat. Here's my version, it's good w/ tofu, mock meats, and other veggies added so feel free to experiment.

For the batter whisk the following together in a large bowl:
1 C Rice Flour
1/2 C Coconut Milk
1 3/4 C Water
and 3/4 t Turmeric (enough to make it a pale butter yellow)

Preheat a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with 1-2 T of oil. Non-stick is good here if you use it. Add enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, swirling the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Sprinkle w/ shredded carrots, scallions, and sliced sautéed mushrooms . The crepe will become a darker yellow as it cooks, and when it begins to brown slightly add a small handful of bean sprouts and flip onto a plate omelet-style. Serve lettuce and basil on the side, and use them to wrap around each piece before dipping into the sauce.

Traditionally this would be served with fish sauce for dipping (so ask for something else if you order this in a restaurant), but I prefer a mix of Mirin, vegetarian oyster sauce, soy sauce and ginger, all blended together in the blender.

Gingered Mushroom and Rice Soup

From It's Just Food, It's Not Love

This is loosely based on the Shiitake Rice soup they used to serve at the Peaceful Dragon, which is now closed. Mine is a bit more gingery and I've added a touch of lemon grass, but I love it and my tasters were very happy to help with this one

Preheat a large pot over medium-low, add 2 T oil then sauté
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, minced
1 T ginger, minced
and 2 Cloves Garlic, minced until soft.

Add 1 1/2 C brown rice,
1 T minced lemon grass
3 C mushroom broth (recipe to follow)
2 C vegetable broth
3 C water
3 T soy sauce
and 1 C very finely diced shiitake mushrooms, re-hydrated, woody stems removed.
Season with Salt, black pepper and 1/2 t crushed red pepper.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and keep at a simmer 1 1/2 hours, until rice is well cooked and flavors have melded, add more liquid if needed.

Garnish with green onion and a drizzle of sesame oil, if desired.

Mushroom Broth

1 1/2 C dried sliced shiitake mushrooms
4 C water
1 T vegetarian oyster + mushroom sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 T ginger, minced
1 Clove garlic, minced

Add all ingredients to a medium pot and bring to a boil, allow to simmer until the liquid is a very dark tea color, approx. 30 min. Strain liquid and reserve mushrooms for other uses.

This makes exactly enough mushrooms and broth for the soup.

Persian Rice

From It's Just Food, It's Not Love

If you make nothing else I post, make this. This recipe is one of my babies, it's exotic but perfect for a potluck or group diner. I was trying to capture some of the flavors in the Persian Rice we get at a local restaurant, The Moroccan Cafe, and while mine is very different it's VERY VERY good. I'm sure it's about as authentic as my last pair of "leather" shoes, but it's tasty and thats what counts.


In an oven safe dish toss 1 C brown rice and 1/4 C lentils in 2T margarine. Add 1 t curry powder, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 t cinnamon and 1 1/4 C boiling vegetable broth mixed with 1 C boiling tomato juice.

Cover w/ a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

When rice is done, allow to cool (or refrigerate for later).

In a large pan heat 2 T margarine, and 2 T olive or vegetable oil. Add 3/4 t curry powder, and a few shakes of cinnamon, allowing it to mix with the oil but being careful it doesn't burn. Quickly add sliced vegetables (I used 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 c broccoli, 2 sliced scallions, and 4 oz of mushrooms) Stir fry until they're tender, then add sugar, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 C re-hydrated raisins, and 1/2 C toasted pine nuts. Add rice and toss, allowing rice to heat through.
Garnish plate w/ olive oil, and curry powder around the rim.

Nacho Cheese dip

As far as I'm concerned this is perfection in vegan cheese. It's got good cheese texture, flavor, color-the works. My firmly omni boyfriend has requested that this be my contribution to his next get together and thinks I could easily bring this and share it with guests and no one would be the wiser. He says it tastes like I used a mild cheese rather than the traditional sharp chedder but thats the only difference.

It's also good if you replace the salsa with vegan chili, add "burger" or "sausage" crumbles, etc. Basically use this as a base for anything you would do with traditional cheese dip.

1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/2-2 C water
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4+ t cracked red pepper
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1 T cashew butter
1/2 c vegan margarine
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 t light miso
1/4-1/2 c salsa


Mix flour, nutritional yeast, and water in a sauce pot. Whisk in spices and cashew butter and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the margarine and then remove from heat. Add the miso and using an immersion blender* blend the mixture until it's very creamy and smooth. Add the salsa and adjust the seasonings. Serve with chips, over noodles as "spicy mac 'n cheese, or anywhere else you would normally use cheese dip.



* the immersion blender isn't essential, you'll get very good results with just a whisk but it puts a little air into the mixture making the color more "realistic" and improves the texture. You could also use a regular blender or a food processor but that would probably be too much work for me if I didn't have the immersion blender on hand.

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

2 T olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz cans of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1 C vegetable broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon cracked red pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon sugar or sweetener of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley and additional olive oil to garnish (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized pot, add carrot, onion and garlic and allow to cook slowly until onions are just beginning to caramelize, about 15-20 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about two hours until the flavors have melded. Use and immersion blender to puree until the soup is smooth. Serve with garlic bread garnished with parsley and olive oil.

I love the violin music....

I haven't forgotten about this place, but my apartment was broken into and my computer got stolen and thats put a hurtin on my blogging abilities. I now have access to a borrowed computer, so while I won't be able to post photos as promptly I will at least be able to post recipes and then go to my boyfriends and post all the photos at a later time. I've got lots of good stuff saved up, so hopefully I'll get a few posted by the end of the week.