Potato Salad to Rule the Universe

We all want things to eat in the summer that are light and filling and that don't require us to do much cooking. Turning on that oven when it's already an inferno in your place is not fun. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with summer salads lately. I have a bit of an aversion to mayonnaise, as I think I've mentioned before, so let me tell you - I was so excited for this potato salad. It's pretty much a tweaked version of a recipe I saw on Jamie Oliver's show. I was a little skeptical at first for some reason. But really... you shouldn't be. It's amazing. I loved this so much that I just ate a bowl of it for lunch one day instead of just using it as an accompaniment to something else. Yes, it's that good.

The original recipe called for creme fraiche. Interestingly enough I find that most commercial vegan sour creams kinda taste like creme fraiche, so it works out nicely. If you have something that you think might work better to replicate that flavor, then by all means, use that instead. Just steer away from using anything that has that sour tang to it.

Potato Salad to Rule the Universe

12 or so small yellow potatoes
3 Tablespoons capers
1 lemon (for juice and zest)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a handfull of fresh dill, chopped
a few dollops of vegan sour cream

Boil the potatoes in salted water just until they're tender. You don't want them to fall apart. A good test is to stab one or two with a fork until the potato gives easily. Depending on the size of your potatoes, it could be anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, so do check them every 5 minutes or so. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and add them to a large bowl.

To the potatoes, add the capers, juice and zest of your lemon, salt and pepper and olive oil while the potatoes are still hot. Stir it up until the potatoes are well coated and then let the bowl sit on the counter until the potatoes are room temperature. Don't put it in the fridge to cool it in a hurry, though. Part of what you want to happen right here is for the flavors to meld together and seep into the potatoes while it's cooling down. Putting this in the cold of the fridge will stop that from happening as well. Be patient, it won't take too long.

Once everything is room temperature, add the dill and the vegan sour cream and stir it up. How much of the sour cream you add is up to you, I think I used about two-thirds of a container and that seemed to work out nicely. Maybe you want more, maybe you want less. It's your potato salad. :)

Eat and enjoy the awesomeness.

Samosas!

I've been trying not to neglect the recipes in cookbooks that aren't brand new. Veganomicon swooped in and took all of my attention. There are just so many awesome things to make! And even though I've made at least half (if not more) of the recipes in Vegan with a Vengeance, there are still some that I've been wanting to try. Recipes like these samosas! Potato-Edamame Samosas to be exact.

I didn't use edamame, though. I didn't have any and I did have some frozen peas just chilling out in the freezer. (Get it... chilling out? See, it's funny because...) I also had some mango chutney that I'd bought and needed to use so I didn't make my own. That's okay, though. I think I would have regretted it if I had. Not that I think it would have tasted bad or anything. Just these samosas were a hell of a lot of work. It took me like 3 hours to make them. I was exhausted by the time I put them in the oven.

I did find them utterly delicious. It's a nice alternative to fried samosas. And hey - they heat up rather nicely if you want to eat them for lunch the next day! Just beware of the nuclear potato heat in the center if you microwave them. Cut them in half first or something.

Make these when you have some time on the weekend, definitely not on a work night or when you're pressed for time. They're quite yummy, just time consuming.

Veganomicon Strikes Again

It's interesting how certain recipes seem to be what all the kids are making these days. Veganomicon has a huge selection of things to make, but certain ones really stood out as a "must make" for whatever reason. The chickpea cutlets, smlove pie (I have yet to make this one, though I will soon) and leek and bean cassoulet are some of those.

At first I thought this was going to be like a different kind of stew with dumplings, sorta like my vegan "chicken" and dumplings. But no! The flavors blend fantastically, with a nice assortment of colors and textures in the dish. The biscuits add that little something extra to make this a great vegan stick-to-your-ribs kinda thing; perfect for those cold winter days.

Remember all that vegetable stock that I made and froze into little portioned thingies? I used that when making this. Let me tell you, using my own broth made a huge difference in the flavor. I could definitely taste it, so if you have your own broth hanging out somewhere, use that for sure. You won't be sorry. And really, veggie broth is the easiest thing in the world to make. You just chop up a bunch of veggies, put them in a pot with water and then go watch Dexter while it's simmering for 3 hours. Easy peasy.

Seriously, eating this will fill you up. I took some leftovers to work for lunches and I noticed that I didn't get hungry until dinner time after eating this. Usually I grab a pear or an apple and almond butter around 4:00 or so, but not after this. It stayed with me. Definitely something I'll make the next time it snows. My theory is that if I make this and then go out and play in the snow, I will be able to stay out longer. Yeah... that's what I want to think anyway.

I'm not going to share the recipe for everything that I make from cookbooks, but I am going to share this one because I'm hoping you will make it and then go buy Veganomicon. I will definitely be making this again. I don't have a cast iron pan (*cry*), so I just transferred everything from a big pot on the stove to a casserole dish, which worked out just fine.

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

Stew:
2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 cups vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, washed well and sliced thinly (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, cut into medium-size dice
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less depending on how salty your broth is, so taste it first)
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 (15 oz) can navy beans, drained and rinsed (about 1/2 cups)

Biscuits:
3/4 cup plain soymilk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated vegan shortening (like Earth Balance or Spectrum)

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender enough to be pierced with a fork. Drain immediately so they do not overcook. While they are boiling, you can prep the rest of the veggies and start preparing the biscuits - the potatoes should definitely be done by the time you are.

Now, prepare everything for the biscuits. You're not going to make them yet, but it's good to have everything ready when it comes time to top the stew. Add the vinegar to the soy milk in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

Now leave that alone and start the stew. Mix the cornstarch into the vegetable stock until dissolved.

Preheat an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Saute in the oil the leeks, onions, and carrots until very soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Keep the heat moderate so that they don't burn.

Add the garlic, thyme, freshly ground black pepper and salt, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the cooked potatoes and frozen peas, then pour in the vegetable stock mixture. Raise the heat just a bit; it will take a few minutes but the liquid will start simmering. Once it does, lower the heat again. Let it simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, but no longer than that. If you need more time for the biscuits, then turn off the heat under the stew.

Back to the biscuits: Add the shortening to the flour in small slivers and work it into the dough with a fork or with your fingers until large crumbs form. You don't want to cream it in; there should be clumps. Drizzle in the soy milk and mix with a fork until everything is moistened (some dry parts are okay).

Wash and dry your hands, then lightly flour them and get them dirty again. Gently knead the dough about ten times right in the bowl, just so that it is holding together and not very sticky. If it seems sticky, as in sticking to your fingers, then gently work in a little more flour. Set that aside and check on your stew.

The stew should be simmering and slightly thickened. Mix in the beans. Now, let's add the biscuits. Pull off chunks of dough that are about slightly larger than golf balls. Gently roll them into balls and flatten a bit; they do not have to be perfectly round. Add them tot he top of the stew, placed an inch or so apart.

Transfer the whole megillah to the preheated oven. If you are worried about spillover, place it on a rimmed baking sheet, but we've never had that problem. Bake for about 15 minutes. The biscuits should be just slightly browned and firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven and use a large serving spoon to place some of the stew and a biscuit in each shallow, individual bowl. Sprinkle with a little chopped, fresh thyme.

Serve at last! Especially yummy when you break up your biscuit and mix it in a bit with your stew.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Tofurky Sausage Saves Breakfast!

Okay, so there wasn't really anything wrong with breakfast that needed saving, really. But these sausages are damn good. I only just discovered them a few months ago and now they've become one of those things that I make sure to have all of the time. I go through phases with breakfast. For a while there I was addicted to the Vegan McMuffin (and I still salivate when thinking of them). Then I went through my tempeh bacon period. Right now it's all about the tofurky sausages.

I'm not normally one to buy a ton of fake meats and stuff. I try and stick to veggies and grains or seitan and tempeh and tofu. Every now and then it seems like the faux things just sort of fit with what I'm making, though.

I also have a confession to make... I eat breakfast all the time. Sometimes I'll eat it for dinner a few nights in a row. It's a fast and easy way to have a yummy dinner when I'm too tired to cook. The trick is to keep a bag of frozen potatoes in the freezer for hashbrowns. Sometimes I'll also cook some polenta or make some toast to go with everything. Sometimes the sausages go on the side, though lately I've been loving mixing them in with the potatoes.

As luck would have it, my potatoes didn't really brown the one time I was taking a picture of them.

And I have to thank Roman for introducing me to hot sauce on potatoes. I made fun of him for it until I tried it one day. Yay for hot sauce on hash browns! Especially Cholula. Even better... the Garlic Cholula. Yum! I can't find that one here in Vancouver, sadly. I'll have to have one of my friends in Texas mail me some. That's right... I'm gonna get people to mail me some hot sauce. You're jealous. I know it. ;)

Too bad I just ate dinner... now I want breakfast. Maybe I'll just make a nice cup of tea instead. Oh yeah... there's gonna be a post about tea in the near future. Yay tea!

VWAV Potato Asparagus Soup

Some days it's harder than others to have the energy to make dinner. Especially when you get home from working a 12 hour day. I don't know how I manage it sometimes. This is where soup comes in and makes itself even more awesome than it normally is.

You get home from work and it's dark outside so early and you're tired and the kitties are yelling for their dinner and all you want to do is sit the hell down and relax. Feed the cats, realize you have no leftovers and sigh. But wait! You have a big pot. And this big pot really likes it when you fill it up with stuff. What stuff? It doesn't always matter. Lots of times when I make soup, I'm just randomly throwing in whatever veggies or grains are still in the refrigerator.

This particular day, I had some asparagus that I really needed to eat and some potatoes just hanging out on the counter. Yay! Potato Asparagus soup! This Vegan with a Vengeance recipe rocks because not only does it taste wonderful, it's super easy and fast. Enter my most excellent immersion blender and I don't even have to go through the step of pouring the soup in a blender or food processor to puree it.

In all fairness, I make this soup even when I'm not feeling tired or lazy, but it's a lifesaver for those very days when you barely have the energy to open the cabinet and peer inside.

The Infamous Chickpea Cutlets Come to My House

On my trip to Seattle last weekend, I went down to Barnes & Noble and got my hot little hands on the Veganomicon. It still hasn't been released in Canada and I've been so jealous of everyone else that already had theirs.

Interestingly, I noticed that the employees at the Bellingham, Washington Barnes & Noble can't spell worth a damn. Even though there are books above the very shelf that the label was on with the same word they were trying to spell, they still spelled it wrong.

Yeah... good one, Barnes & Noble.

So it seems like the two things from Veganomicon that are the most popular in vegan blogland are the Jelly Donut Cupcakes and the Chickpea Cutlets. The very first night that I was home from Seattle, I made those awesome Chickpea Cutlets. Yummy!

I was also craving some sort of potato so I also made the Herb Scalloped Potatoes. They were so delicious! I decided to make the mustard sauce for the cutlets also. Even cooler, I needed to get mustard from the market and they had this amazing Tarragon Mustard. That really made the sauce something special. I definitely think you should try and find some sort of fun flavored mustard if you make this sauce. Not that it wouldn't be great all on it's own, but the extra little punch of tarragon... mmmmm!

Potato, Tomato and Oregano Bake

One day I was watching Food Network. Well, not just one day, I watch Food Network a lot. I especially like Food Jammers, Ricardo and Jamie at Home. The cool thing about those shows is that they typically use locally grown, organic produce and use lots of fruits and veggies. Good stuff for vegans on a channel full of meat. I'm not trying to pimp out Food Network (except Food Jammers, that show rocks so hard it's not even funny), but I have been inspired to make some cool stuff of my own from watching cooking shows. Cool stuff like this awesome recipe that I made after watching Jamie Oliver one day. I didn't grow the potatoes in a pot on my patio like he did, but I guess if I said that I did, everyone on the internets might believe me. Except then you get to know me and realize that I have a very hard time even keeping cacti alive for some reason... So unless there's been a rip in the space/time continuum, I don't think anyone would believe that I was growing veggies on my tiny little balcony in the city.

I love this dish so much, I make it quite frequently. I've not even been tempted to change it up, the flavors are so simple, but divine. This is really, really easy and fast to make. It reheats awesomely which is always a bonus for work lunches. Yay! I need a real name for this, but until I can think of something better, I'll call it

Potato, Tomato and Oregano Bake

2-3 lb baby light-skinned potatoes
1 package cherry tomatoes
1 package faux chicken (I use Yves brand), seitan, tofu or tempeh
1 bunch oregano
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.

If your potatoes are on the big side, cut them in half or thirds to make them uniform. Boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until they're soft when you stick a fork in them. After they're just soft, drain the water.

With a small knife, poke a little hole or make a small slice in the skin of each of the tomatoes. Boil the tomatoes for 1 minute. Immediately drain them and rinse with very cold water. Because you poked a little hole in the tomatoes, you can now easily peel the skins off. What are you waiting for? Start peeling those suckers!

Set aside 3 sprigs of oregano and chop the rest. Make sure to chop it super fine. In a small bowl, add the oregano, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Wisk all of this together until the oil and vinegar have cominbed. If you have a blender, food processor or immersion blender, you can skip chopping the oregano and just blend all of this stuff together. I like to use my immersion blender for this.

Add the potatoes, peeled tomatoes and chick pieces (or seitan, tofu, etc.) and pour the oregano mixture on top. Gently stir the stuff in the pan until everything is coated. Put the last 3 oregano sprigs on top and push them into the potatoes a little bit. They're not just for decoration, you want the sprigs to add some extra oregano flavor.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Let everything cool for 5-10 minutes and then dig in! I can usually get 3-4 servings from this depending on how hungry I am. Yummy!