It's Just Food, It's Not Love

All Vegan Wedding!

2008-11-16T15:43:00.002-05:00

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)

2008-09-13T20:53:00.001-04:00

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

2008-09-13T20:51:00.001-04:00

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

2008-09-13T20:41:00.003-04:00

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

2008-02-03T22:16:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-31T13:50:00.000-05:00

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....

2008-01-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

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.

Fresh Rolls

2007-12-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

From It's Just Foo...

These are an awesome finger food for parties, and a great light appetizer. You can make the a bit more filling with avocado or fried tofu. With a nice salad they make a good meal on a hot day.

2 Cups of shredded daikon and carrots
8 leaves of shredded basil
1 C of cooked rice vermicelli
1 Head romaine lettuce
18 + sheets of round rice paper ( I use the 8.5 inch)
Soy sauce
Mirin
Peanut or sweet chili sauce for dipping

Toss shredded veggies and basil in a few shakes each of soy sauce and mirin, set aside.

Wash and de-vein the lettuce, you'll only want to use the large, dark outer leaves. Cut the leaves into 3 inch wide rectangles (they don't have to be perfect), I usually get 4 out of the largest leaves. Stack up your rectangles and set aside

Fill a 9 inch skillet with a few inches of water and heat it until you can just barely stick your fingers in there. Don't burn yourself!

Spray a large sheet pan lightly with cooking spray and set up an assembly line to make your rolls (soften rice paper, lettuce, veggies, noodles).

Place 1 sheet of rice paper in the water until softened (for my brand it's about 3 seconds, it varies) remove it from the water using tongs/your fingers and spread it out on the sheet pan. Place one piece of lettuce in the center, top it with a small amount (2 tablespoons max) of shredded vegetables, and an even smaller amount of rice noodles (maybe 1 tablespoon). Keep all the ingredients neat so the finished roll will look nice.

Fold down the top and bottom of the rice paper, and fold over 1 side just enough to cover half the filling. Tuck and roll the filling area over onto the remaining rice paper to create the finished roll. See my awesome art work for additional explanation:

Repeat the steps until you run out of ingredients, it's better to have smaller rolls than to over fill them and have them fall apart/look bad. They make lots of different sizes of rice paper so they can be bigger or smaller based on your needs.

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

2007-12-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

2 T oil
2 T margarine
2 C sliced white mushrooms
3 T flour
1 C shiitake mushrooms
2 C boiling water
1 C frozen peas
1 1/2 t italian seasoning
1/4 C nutritional yeast
3/4 C soymilk
1/2 C Tofutti sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Rehydrate shiitake mushrooms in boiling water, remove mushrooms, reserving the water. Finely dice the mushrooms, removing the woody stems. Set aside.

Preheat oil and margarine over medium-high heat, add white mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until they've begun to brown slightly. Add flour and mix with mushrooms, turn heat down to medium and cook for a few minutes. Turn heat down to low, add reserved mushroom water gradually, "mooshing" flour off the mushrooms to make a smooth sauce. Bring sauce back to a simmer. Add frozen peas, shiitake mushrooms, Italian seasoning, and nutritional yeast and simmer until peas are tender (5 minutes or so). Add soy milk and sour cream and return to a simmer, taste to adjust seasonings and serve tossed with pasta.

***Note- Normally I prefer to use whole wheat pasta, but this sauce just doesn't stand up to it. I like to use "egg-free noodles" if I can find them, but any wide noodle will do. You'll need about 12 oz.

Mostly Make Ahead Thanksgiving- The Concept

2007-12-02T15:05:00.001-05:00

From It's Just Foo...

I'm one of those lucky people that gets to work on the holidays. This year I volunteered to work on Thanksgiving, so that I wouldn't have to feel so bad for whoever has to work on Christmas (which I had requested off well before October). The plan was that my parents and my niece would come to my house, and I, without taking any days off work, would single handedly cook us a fantastic vegan Thanksgiving.

In reality my parents and my niece all got very very ill and couldn't come, and I had enough Thanksgiving food leftover to last me a week, but it was pretty freaking tasty so I'm posting it anyway, minus all the "happy family" shots, since that part didn't really happen. Maybe we'll get some next year.

In addition to my own recipes I used the "Boozy Chocolate Pecan Pie" from http://www.veganmania.com/ and these cinnamon rolls. For the cinnamon rolls I added maple flavoring to the filling and the cream cheese icing to make maple cinnamon rolls.

I wasn't happy with the nut roast recipe so I'm not going to post a link to it. Instead I'll post a link to a fantastic nut roast I've made before:http://kreeli.livejournal.com/12323.html#cutid3

In an unrelated note, I've never made a bad recipe from veganmania or kreeli's live journal (they're owned by the same person). She's very talented, you should go make her stuff.

Mostly Make Ahead Thanksgiving- Oven Roasted Cauliflower

2007-12-02T14:55:00.000-05:00

From It's Just Foo...

Like most cauliflower recipes this doesn't make very tasty left-overs, so only make as much as you need. Unlike most cauliflower recipes, it doesn't leave you saying "this would be good...if they had used broccoli".

1 small or half a large head cauliflower
Olive oil to grease pan and in which to toss cauliflower
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded herbs of your choice (basil, parsley, sage, etc.- Follow your heart)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Thinly slice the cauliflower, making bite sized chunks. In a large bowl toss it in a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, until it's evenly coated. Grease your largest baking sheet and arrange cauliflower in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes until any peaks are browned and crispy. Adjust seasonings, toss with fresh herbs and serve.

Mostly Make Ahead Thanksgiving- Maple Glazed Carrots

2007-12-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

From It's Just Foo...

So, this recipe isn't make ahead but it is really quick, you throw it together while your make ahead components are in the oven. It's also really really good, it's even vegetable-hater approved.

1 Lb Carrots, sliced in 1/4" rounds
2 T margarine
1 T vegetable oil
1/4 C maple syrup (the real deal, not "maple flavored")
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan (I use a wok, but any large pan will do) preheat the vegetable oil and margarine over medium high heat, add the carrots and toss around in the hot oil to coat. Add the maple syrup, salt and pepper and and cook, tossing every few minutes until the carrots are crisp-tender. Adjust the seasonings, you're shooting for a salty-sweet kind of flavor, if your carrots weren't that sweet to start with a little sugar or extra maple syrup might help. Remove carrots with a slotted spoon, leaving the maple/margarine mixture in the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture down until it's a thick glaze, return the carrots to the pan and toss with the glaze. Carrots are now super-tasty and ready to serve.

Mostly Make Ahead Thanksgiving- Vegan Mashed Potato Casserole

2007-12-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

From It's Just Foo...

Much like the entire rest of the western world, I love me some mashed potatoes and gravy. Vegan mashed potatoes w/ a good, rich mushroom gravy could be the perfect potluck food, if only they traveled better and didn't require so much last minute prep time. This recipe solves all those problems and doesn't sacrifice that perfect, fluffy mashed potato texture or flavor. The gravy is slightly sweet, which sounds crazy but actually works incredibly well with the tangyness of all the "cream cheese" and "sour cream" in the mashed potatoes. In addition to potlucks this is awesome for holidays since you can make it up to 2 days ahead and bake it last minute.

For the potato layer-
5 lbs russet potatoes
1/2 C each tofutti vegan sour cream, tofutti vegan cream cheese, and vegan margarine
Soymilk to make get the correct texture (very variable, 1 cup or so)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the "gravy" layer-
16 oz mushrooms of your choice (I use white and crimini), thinly sliced
1/4 C oil
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T sugar
1 rib celery thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C flour
about 1 1/2 C water or vegetable broth
1/2 C tofutti vegan sour cream

Peel and chunk the potatoes, I usually do them in thirds. Don't cube them really tiny or they absorb too much water during cooking and make mushy potatoes. Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Bring them to a boil, add some salt, and cook until they're fork tender.

Drain the potatoes and put them back in the warm pot. Add the margarine, "cream cheese" and "sour cream" and mash with a hand masher until they're smooth. Add enough soy milk to make a pipe-able, but still thick texture and add salt and pepper to taste. If you want to add garlic, fresh herbs, etc. now is the time. Set aside to cool a bit while you make the "gravy" layer. If you try to pipe them too hot you'll burn your hands (yeah...I did that).

To make the gravy preheat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion and celery and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, sugar, salt and pepper and allow to caramelize a bit, if you under cook it your gravy will be pale. Mix in the flour and allow it to cook for a few minutes stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to low and add the broth or water in small amounts, "mooshing" the flour off the vegetables to make a smooth gravy, bring back up to a simmer. The finished mixture should be quite thick so it won't bubble out of the casserole. Add the "sour cream" and taste to adjust the seasonings. I like to try a bite of mashed potatoes with the gravy to make sure the flavors compliment each other. Smooth mixture into a 9 X 13 inch oven safe pan.

Fill your largest piping bag, filled with your largest star tip with mashed potatoes and pipe over top the mushroom mixture in an attractive pattern. I like to do a shell boarder, with rows of alternating ropes and stars. If you don't have the materials/don't want to pipe just smooth the mashed potatoes on top, and try to make some little peaks that will brown attractively.

Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. To bake allow to sit out at room temperature for at least half an hour then bake it in a 375 oven for 45-50 minutes, or until heated through and the peaks on the potatoes have started to brown. You can broil it for more browning, but not if you used those plastic "Glad" brand baking pans, they'll melt (yeah...I did that too).

Mostly Make Ahead Thanksgiving- Vegan Green Bean Casserole

2007-12-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

This is not ultra fancy "fresh green beans in a 5 kind of mushroom cream sauce with crisped onion topping". This is meant to replace that recipe on the back of the condensed soup can, which is (imo) infinitely more delicious. Normally I'm all about fresh or frozen veggies but canned green beans are the exception. I grew up in the south, I have to like some of my vegetables cooked-until-dead.

Ingredients:

3 T vegan margarine

6 oz mushrooms, sliced (white or cremini are good)

1/2 t sage

3 T flour

About 1 1/2 C water or vegetable broth (I use broth cubes 'cause they're cheap!)

1/2 C vegan creamer- I like Rich's

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cans of french cut green beans- well drained

French Fried Onions from a can

Melt margarine over medium high heat and add the mushrooms, sage, salt and pepper. Saute until the mushrooms are soft, then add the flour and allow to cook for a minute or so stirring/mooshing constantly. The flour will "gunk up" all over the mushrooms and look horrible-it's ok. Turn heat down to low-medium low. Begin adding water or broth a few tablespoons at a time, mooshing the flour off the mushrooms and getting rid of lumps, bring it back up to a simmer. Add just enough water to form an extra thick gravy, the amount will vary based on evaporation so just do it until it looks right to you. Remove from heat and add the creamer and you should have something slightly thinner than canned, condensed cream of mushroom soup. Taste and adjust your seasonings, over salt it slightly, since it will be flavoring your green beans but don't go crazy.

Mix the mushroom mixture with the green beans in an 8 X 8 oven safe dish. Cover it and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To bake, allow to sit out for half an hour or so to come back to room temp, cover the top with french fried onions (however many you like) and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until the onions are starting to brown and it's heated through.

** Note- this recipe is not picky, if you're short on mushrooms, only have soy milk instead of creamer, need to use oil instead of margarine, only have other herbs, etc. just follow the basic method, taste as you go and you'll come out fine.