Bok Choy Bohemia | A Vegetarian Blog

Potato - Broccoli Soup and Pasta Frittata

beershevaboheme6 — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:40:28 +0000

It cooled down for most of last week, and with that dip in temperature, I was craving soup again. I decided to pull out V’con again, since its been sitting on the shelf for awhile, and see if there were any new soups I hadn’t made yet and had all the ingredients for. I was in luck…everything for the Potato - Broccoli soup was in my fridge, and it even sounded like something I wanted to eat. As it turns out, I liked this a lot, although I did feel the original recipe was lacking a bit of “brightness” in flavor and added a generous splash of lemon juice at the end to modify.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture, but I did do a very simple loaf of soda bread on the side, which was quite yummy dipped into the soup. (yes, I just said yummy, don’t make fun!) I used this recipe, and simply subbed in some original flavor hemp milk for the buttermilk called for. Margarine or even oil work just as well in place of the butter. It’s things like this that make me ask myself why I ever bother with yeast…

I also whipped up a quick frittata out of leftovers, which is NOT vegan. It’s a combination of eggs, cooked spaghetti, mushrooms, a chopped Yves dog and some salt and pepper, cooked in a large cast iron skillet until crispy on top. Great with ketchup…and just a real easy go-to for leftovers if you don’t mind eggs or replace with silken tofu and cornstarch.

I’m really just in love with how the noodles get all crispy on top…everything else is secondary. :) Until next time…

Selah.

Broccoli-Corn Salad and Mediteranean Pizza

beershevaboheme6 — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:17:18 +0000

When you’ve got some beautifully colored veggies and it’s a hot summer day, cooking things seems almost criminal, and when I hit on the idea for a quick broccoli-corn salad, I knew it was paydirt. This was delish (as Rachael Ray would say) and quick and easy. I did blanch the broccoli a bit…but shhhh! Don’t tell and we can pretend it was all totally raw.

Ingredients
1 lg broccoli crown, chopped into florets
1 ear corn, shucked
1 lg carrot, peeled into thin strips
3 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon celery salt
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it lightly, add the broccoli and cook uncovered, stirring once or twice, until just crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, transfer to a bowl of iced water and, when cool, drain again and pat dry.

2. With a long, sharp knife, cut the kernels off the corn and transfer to a bowl. Add the broccoli, carrot, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the corn and the onion. The salad can be prepared to this point several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate, returning it almost to room temperature before proceeding.

You can see a baked potato pictured on the plate with the salad, but the more exciting meal component was a Mediterranean “pizza” that I made and pretty much ate all on my own because it was so darn good and I just couldn’t stop. This is going to sound like a strange combination of flavors, and if you aren’t huge on Middle Eastern food, it probably won’t appeal, but I LOVED it, so there. First off, take a look:

Looks awesome, right? I must admit I didn’t make the dough, this was a char-grilled prepared pizza dough that we picked up at the market, but it’s all natural and tastes great, so I’m ok with this short cut. Never mind how quick it is…and now for the toppings…

Ingredients
1 prepared pizza crust of choice
1/2 cup baba ganoush
1/4 cup green olive tapanade
1 cup caramelized slivered onions
1 green bell, chopped thinly
1 handful chopped green spinach
Zataar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450F. Spread the baba ganoush over crust as you would tomato sauce, and then add a layer of the tapanade over that.
2. Add onions, peppers, spinach, and a generous sprinkling of zataar.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, remove, and enjoy!

I won’t lie, it does sound like an odd combo, but this was TOTALLY my thing…I’d do it with hummus instead of baba ganoush if that was all I had on hand too…I’m sure I’d like it just as much. Along those veins, some grilled eggplant up on top would’ve been amazing, I just didn’t have any this time around…

Selah.

Indian Loaf and Spinach

beershevaboheme6 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:39:17 +0000

I had been craving Indian flavors, and although the recipe I was looking at called for a quinoa loaf with absolutely nothing Indian about it, I felt I could take it in an India direction, and that’s exactly what I did…although it’s pretty darn spicy, so I wouldn’t recommend eating without a healthy dollop of plain soy yogurt on top. Unfortunately I don’t remember exactly what was in the pkg of chutney mix I included, but I can tell you it was bright red and pretty hot…

I’m also a fan of recipe that allow me to smush a bunch of things together and oven-bake, which is pretty accurate for this one, so that’s another point for it in my book…

Ingredients
1 tbs mustard oil
8 ounces sliced, assorted mushrooms
1/2 cup garbanzo flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 8 ounce packet spiced chutney mix
2 cups cooked sticky rice
1 cup fresh shucked corn
1/2 chopped celery greens
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup brown sugar
S+P

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan, and pour mustard oil into a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Combine rice and water in a pot to cook.
2. Add mushrooms and onions to the heated skillet, season with S+P and cook until onions are translucent.
3. Combine flour, oats, 1/2 cup water, in a large food processor, and pulse until smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, rice, corn, greens, onions, and chutney mix. Then mix the two.
4. Transfer to loaf pan, flattening on top, and sprinkling with brown sugar. Bake for 1 and 1/4 hours, and allow to cool at least ten minutes before slicing and serving.

The spinach dish on the side was also Indian in terms of flavor and actually melded very well with the loaf as a cooling element. I heated up a bit of mustard oil and cumin, then wilted down a large bag of baby spinach and stirred in a couple spoonfuls of soy yogurt after turning off the heat. Quick and delicious. All this meal needed was a mango lassi on the side and it would’ve been perfection…

Selah.

Pecan Brussels

beershevaboheme6 — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:52:25 +0000

I think there should be a medical name for my addiction to oven-roasted brussels sprouts. I can literally go through a pound and a half of these by myself, the same way some people go through a bag of potato chips. (Not me, I don’t particularly like potato chips). I think it’s something about the crunch and caramelization (in the brussels, not chips) but I’m open to interpretation…

In the meantime, tell me you don’t want some of this:

I’ve never actually combined brussels and nuts, but seeing as Pecans came up when I started typing Brussels into google and I just happened to have some in the pantry, I figured it was worth a shot. Having done it once…I will probably never make brussels without nuts ever again, this is a DAMN good idea.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs brussels, de-stemmed and halved.
4 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
S+P

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 400F. Toss all ingredients together in a large glass casserole dish.
2. Bake for 25 minutes, flip with a spatula, and cook another 5 minutes if desired. I did…but I like mine slightly burnt.

Just thinking about this meal my mouth is starting to water again, and frankly I just had lunch. I could eat brussels for every meal day in and out..although I might develop a protein deficiency after awhile without tofu steaks or something along those lines on the side. And if you’ve only had steamed brussels and never oven-baked them until golden and crispy…what on earth are you waiting for??? Give this a shot!

Selah.

Cucumber-Tomato Salad, Pot Roast Seitan, Cornbread, and Green Bean Pepper Salad

beershevaboheme6 — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:47:24 +0000

With the exception of the quick salad I whipped up, all of these recipes came from the Passionate Vegetarian, a cookbook that is seriously undervalued in my kitchen, considering how much it has to offer. I wasn’t a huge fan of the green beans, which ended up tasting very “mustardy” but I did like the cornbread and seitan quite a bit, and my favorite (not surprisingly) was the quick cucumber salad I whipped up in two minutes. First check out some of the cookbook creations:

I roasted a red pepper on the stovetop for this dish, but it was just plain too overpowered by all the mustard called for…I wouldn’t do the same thing again.

I was a lot happier with the seitan pot roast and cornbread, which had actual corn and jalapenos in it. (the bread) and some serious flavor in the seitan. That is a recipe I would make again, because among other things, it made my apartment smell AMAZING. I’m all for dishes that make my place smell good…although I’m not getting anything from the cholent in the slow cooker yet….(a future post, assuming it’s edible).

Last but not least, was the quick cucumber salad that I really enjoyed. I peeled and chopped two cucumbers along with halving a handful of cherry tomatoes from my balcony plant. I then tossed the veggies with a healthy dosing of lemon juice, white balsamic, and pinch of raw sugar. I can’t imagine anything better…

I finally getting back into the swing of things, and will be spending my first weekend at home since returning to the East Coast, so hopefully I’ll get back into my normal posting groove here as well…until then, I appreciate your patience.

Selah.

Vegetable Millet

beershevaboheme6 — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:55:26 +0000

I wanted a grain that was a bit off the beaten-track the other day (unlike pasta and rice, which I see all the time) and unearthed about a cup of millet in my pantry. I googled the liquid to millet ratio (it’s 2 to 1 in case you were wondering) and simply sauteed whatever veggies I found in my fridge while the millet was cooking. It ended up being a combo of chili leaves, jalapeno, onion, garlic, carrot, and fried tofu blocks.

To be honest, I don’t remember what spices I tossed in here, it was whatever looked good on the fly, and with a combination of spices, peppers, and chili leaves, it had some serious heat. Millet still isn’t my favorite grain though…maybe I’m doing it wrong, but even cooked in stock it just seemed a bit dry and flavorless.

Selah.

Scones and Potatoes

beershevaboheme6 — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:32:21 +0000

I did a breakfast for dinner sort of thing the other day, with scones and maple-baked potatoes and carrots. The scones are actually the chive spelt biscuits from Vegan Brunch, except that I replaced the spelt flour with standard white, adding about a cup to create a dough instead of a batter, and cut them like scones. I think I cooked a bit longer then recommended as well.

Really good served warm with some Earth Balance…but then I bet you already knew that. I sprinkled some dry
chives on the plate as well…just for a bit of decoration, so feel free to skip that step.

I also simplified an old classic, tossing some potatoes and carrots in a mixture of maple syrup, water, S+P and then baking for just over an hour at 400F.

Pretty much anything baked with maple syrup is a win around here…is it the same for you?

Selah.

Pasta, pasta, and more pasta.

beershevaboheme6 — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:41:07 +0000

There’s definitely been a trend lately….I’ve been making a lot of pasta. First the breaded seitan made a repeat appearance as chicken parm:

Next I decided to break into a jar of Thai Kitchen pad thai sauce that had been sitting in the pantry for what feels like forever. So this is basically whatever veggies we had lying around, soba noodles, and that jarred sauce:

Last but not least, was some lo mein that looks more or less the same as the pad thai in the picture, but I had to make it since we picked up some fresh lo mein noodles at the Asian grocery.

With the exception of the carrots we had, all the veggies in there are from the Asian grocery. There are some long beans, chili leaves, black mushrooms and onion, along with a sauce of chili paste, mushroom sauce, honey, water and corn syrup, with an added splash of Shoyu at the end. Tasted exactly like takeout…minus the cardboard container.

Selah.

Chicken Fried Seitan and Corn on the Cob

beershevaboheme6 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:46:46 +0000

There are a couple knife blocks in my kitchen, and while the Chefs, pairing knife, and bread knife get used a few times a day, there is entire row that I almost never touch, and those are the steak knives. When you don’t eat steak, you simple don’t need to saw into anything most days, and normally when I make seitan or tempeh it is either finger food or in small enough pieces to not require a knife.

Well last night’s dinner changed all of that, and I must admit it felt pretty nice (and ok, maybe a bit primal) to need a knife again. This is definitely a recipe I will be coming back to time and time again. I got the basic recipe idea online, but tweaked as I went, and I suggest you do the same to taste….I also made use of some of the fresh herbs growing on my porch.

The gravy on top is the Jalapeno-Corn recipe from Veganomicon, always a favorite, especially when I’ve gor fresh jalapenos from my summer plant to put in it. So here comes the seitan recipe, enjoy!

Seitan Steak Ingredients
4 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 cup Nooch (Nutritional Yeast)
4 tbs whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups cold water
3/4 cup Braggs
2 tb Olive Oil
1 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Spike
1 lg clove minced garlic
1 handful fresh chopped parsley.

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and knead the dough until uniform.
2. Pull fist-sized chunks off the dough and stretch them into flat patties. They won’t stay really flat, but that’s ok.

Broth Ingredients
2 tbs Vegetable broth base
2 tbs fresh parsley
2 tbs fresh chives
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp asfoetida
Approx 10 cups water

1. Combine stock ingredients, cover and bring to a boil.
2. Place seitan in the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes. Remove and let cool.

To make the Chicken Fried “Steaks”
1 bowl Chickpea or White Flour
1 bowl with EnerG equivalent of 2 eggs, a couple cups soy milk, and a squirt of Braggs.
1 bowl breadcrumb mixture of choice. I used a combination of Panko, Whole Wheat and Italian Style.

Coat each seitan cutlet in the flour, then the egg/soy mixture, then the bread crumbs. Make sure to pack the crumb topping on thick.
3. Pur about 1/2 inch Canola Oil in a pan, and let it get real hot before adding the seitan. Cook on each side until golden brown and crispy.

I plan on frying up some more of these for “Chicken” Parm tonight…so basically the same recipe but over spaghetti and marinara instead of under gravy. They’re just that good…I’m craving them two nights in a row.

The corn was brushed with some Earth Balance/Lime Juice/S+P and then baked in the oven for ten minutes. Nothing special, but good nonethless. That’s some serious down-home comfort food for summer.

Selah.

First Meal Back: Asparagus with Tomato Relish

beershevaboheme6 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:41:27 +0000

Well for better or worse..I’m back from the amazing program in California. I was pretty concerned about having someone else cook for me an entire month, but I needn’t have worried…Miguel (the head cook there) is AMAZING and makes more than enough food options at every meal to please everyone. I did miss complex carbs (HOORAY WHOLE WHEAT TOAST) a bit, but other than that, was pretty darn happy…and I just can’t make Mexican food from scratch the way he can.

I came home to discover my San Marzano plant covered in ripe juicy tomatoes, and knew immediately that something had to be done with them. There weren’t enough to make a worthwhile amount of salsa, but I was thinking relish anyway, so with about 6 tomatoes, things were looking good. This was a really simple asparagus preparation, taking no more than 20 minutes for everything combined, and it’s just the sort of simple, delicious food I can’t get enough of these days.

And here it is…my first recipe in over a month!!!

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 cup couscous
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbs raw sugar
1/4 cup distilled vinegar
S+P

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 400F. Toss asparagus with olive oil and S+P in a glass casserole dish. Meanwhile, bring Vegetable stock to a boil in a saucepan. Heat 1 tsp oil of choice (I used mustard, but anything will work) in another saucepan.
2. Add garlic and onions to second saucepan at Medium heat, and cook 5-7 minutes, or until translucent. Add couscous to vegetable stock, remove from heat, and cover. Bake asparagus on the top shelf for 10 minutes at 400F.
3. Add tomatoes, sugar and vinegar to tomato mixture and bring heat down to ‘low’. Simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Serve! I created a bottom layer of couscous, followed by asparagus and a generous helping of relish, but set things up however you want, it’s great all mixed together too!

It feels good to be cooking again..look out for lots of fresh summer food in the coming days, and hopefully some exciting new recipes to share!

Selah.