vegan mofo: apple butter and salsa

a couple of years ago for christmas, i canned some organic homemade apple butter and salsa.  supplied were limited, so only my near and dear friends got a jar. 

status: good eating! (i hope!)

why i'm including it: i took pictures with the intent of posting the recipes.  however, i never got around to it.  plus i don't have any pictures of the 'making' of it - just the dolled up christmas jars.

would i make it again:  i'm thinking about making the apple butter again this year.  i'll be checking my list if you've been naughty or nice.

french lentil potato salad

although the food network show 'diners, drive-ins dives' isn't exactly vegan-friendly, it was the inspiration behind this recipe.  i saw an episode where guy visited a french bistro and the chef made this lentil dressing from dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and soybean oil.  as soon as i saw that dressing, my heart felt all aflutter - i think that flavor combo was put on this earth just for me.  :)  i've made tangy lentil salads before, so i wanted to try something completely new.  it's a perfect early spring recipe - not too heavy, but still warming and savory.  i think it would make a great holiday side dish.

• 4 small yukon gold potatoes
• 10 stalks of asparagus
• 3/4 cup french green lentils
• 2 tablespoons olive olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon rosemary
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soybean oil

the first step it to start cooking the lentils - 1/3 cup dry will make about 3/4 cup cooked.  bring them to a boil and then let simmer.  as they are cooking, dice up the potatoes into cubes and lay on a cookie sheet covered in foil.  drizzle them with one tablespoon of olive oil and and sprinkle on the rosemary.   toss the potatoes around, making sure they are covered with the oil and rosemary mix.  place in the oven at 375°f for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for another 15 minutes.

cut about 2 inches off the tops of the asparagus stalks, and then halve those again. pull the cookie sheet out and scoot the potatoes to one side.  toss the asparagus cuts in the other tablespoon of olive oil and place on the other end of the cookie sheet.  pop back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  the potatoes will likely still need some browning up, so put them back in the oven as well.  if they are are too crispy or in danger of burning, remove them when you cook the asparagus. 

the lentils should finish up cooking after the asparagus has been in for a bit.  drain them and set aside.  in a jar, or dressing shaker, mix up the soybean oil, red wine vinegar and dijon mustard.  when the asparagus is done, combine them with the potatoes and lentils and gently toss in the dijon dressing. 

makes about 3 side dish servings.

vegan pot pie

i wish i could say that this was made with all fresh veggies, but alas, it was not. i worked with what i had, which was a mix of fresh and canned vegetables. of course, if you have enough fresh produce around, you can just approximate the measurements (1/2 can = 1 cup). this recipe makes 2 ginormous pot pies.


for the crust:

• 1 ½ cups all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons softened vegan butter
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/8 vegetable oil

for the filling:

• 1 can vegetable mix
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1/2 can canned potatoes diced
• 1/2 can green beans
• 1/2 can corn
• 3/4 cup button mushrooms, diced
• 3/4 cup soy milk, unsweetened
• 1 tbsp veggie broth base(better than bouillon)
*could sub approx 1/2 bouillon cube
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  
• 3 tablespoons herbs de provence
• 2 tablespoons bragg liquid aminos
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

to make the crust, mix flour, salt and butter in mixing bowl. add in water and vegetable oil and continue mixing until everything is well incorporated. i just use my hands for this. form into a ball and let rest while starting the veggie filling.

you can use any veggies you like, but be sure to make about 4-5 cups of mixture if you are using 2 4 cup pyrex containers for cooking. heat veggies in a large sauce pan on medium heat. after about 5 minutes, add in the rest of the filling ingredients except for the cornstarch. simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes with veggies. if the sauce thickens to quickly, add another 1/4 -1/2 cup water. after simmering, add in the cornstarch and mix well for about a minute and then remove from heat. the sauce should be thickening up quite nicely at this point - the end result should be the consistency of a thick gravy sauce.

while the veggies are cooking, divide the dough in half. from each these two sections, you will use about 3/4 of the dough for the lining and the remaining for the top crust. flatten out both the lining and top layer dough with a rolling pin. spray the inside of a 4-cup round pyrex dish and lay the lining dough inside of the dish (all the way up to the top edge). you'll probably have to shift and spread the dough around inside of the dish to make sure it fits nicely. spoon half of your veggie mixture in, and lay the top layer across. with the remaining overage of dough, roll down to create a crust edge (you can press with a fork for decoration). cut slits in the the top for baking and repeat with second dish.

bake at 400°f for 40 minutes, or until dough is browned and veggie sauce is simmering over. let cool for a couple minutes, and then pop pie out of pyrex. :)

kickin' cornbread casserole

the first time i made cornbread was last year, to go with my smokey white bean chili recipe. since then, i've found myself craving different variations of standard cornbread and decided i wanted to make a cornbread casserole of some sort. below is the results.

• 3/4 cups cornmeal
• 3/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter (i use smart balance)
• 1 can corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can rotel
• 1 tablespoon onion
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ener-g egg replacer (w/ 3 tbsp water)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons tabasco or other hot sauce
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• vegan mozzarella (optional)

mix dry ingredients (except breadcrumbs) in a large mixing bowl. in a separate bowl, mix up the wet ingredients (butter, milk, tomatoes, rotel, egg replacer and hot sauce), and fold them into the dry.


spread into a lightly greased 8x13 glass casserole dish - top with a thin layer of vegan breadcrumbs. i prefer panko. if you prefer, spread mozzarella tofutti slices or other vegan mozzarella on top.

bake for 40-45 mins @ 350°f.

vegan lasagna

our traditional christmas dinner is lasagna, and for years my mother and i have stood side-by-side in the kitchen on christmas morning assembling our italian dishes. this was the first time i attempted a vegan one, which brought on quite a few changes - from the mozzarella to the ricotta to the parmesan. below is my recipe. also, i tend to like my lasagna really saucy, so just make modifications to the amounts as you prefer.

• 12 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 6 cups mom's mushroom pasta sauce**
• 3 cups spinach
• 1 large head of broccoli florets, steamed
• 16 oz. vegan mozzarella, shredded
• 6-8 tablespoons vegan parmesan
• 1 batch vegan ricotta (see recipe below)

**if you don't have a favourite sauce, add mushrooms to this recipe

for the ricotta:

• 12 oz. silken tofu
• 6 oz. tofutti sour cream
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 5 fresh basil leaves, minced
• 5-8 baby spinach leaves, minced
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

to make the ricotta, blend tofu, sour cream, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil in a food processor. after mixture is creamy (add more oil or lemon juice if necessary), mix the rest of ingredients in by hand. chill until ready to use.

to assemble lasagna:
in a 8x11 glass or ceramic casserole dish, spread about 2 tablespoons of the sauce in the bottom of the dish to prevent noodles from sticking. place 3 noodles across the bottom, then use a spoon to spread about 1/3 of the ricotta evenly. now layer about 1/4 of the sauce in the dish, followed by 1/3 of the spinach and the broccoli. sprinkle a mozzarella layer and a parmesan layer, and then place another set of noodles in the dish. repeat the process, building up the lasagna until you have used up all ingredients. make sure to save enough sauce and mozzarella for the final top of the dish.


a few notes: make sure you buy vegan lasagna noodles (no egg). also, for the mozzarella, i used veganrella this time as i often have a hard time getting fyh vegan gourmet cheeses to melt. veganrella's cheddar cheese is really good, but the mozzarella was just average. i think next time i will try using tofutti mozzarella slices... just a thought.

bake lasagna at 375°f for about 45 minutes. the top cheese layer should be browning and the sauce should be bubbly. makes 6 large pieces of lasagna.

seitan holiday roast

when i was vegetarian, we would buy the quorn turk'y roast for thanksgiving meals. since that isn't a vegan option, i opted to get my hands wet and create a homemade 'faust' this year. not to mention, it was the first time i ever worked with seitan. i used the very basic ingredients from vegan with a vengeance, but apart from that, it was a miss v creation. not too shabby, i must say.


for the roast:

• 2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons thyme, sage & rosemary mix
• 1½ cups veggie broth
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegan worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 celery stalk, minced
• 1/8 small onion, minced

for the broth:

• 2 cups veggie broth
  
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons thyme, sage & rosemary mix
• 1/2 celery stalk, minced
• 1/8 small onion

optional: 4 baby red potatoes

for the roast, mix up the the first four dry ingredients. for the spice mix, just throw in whatever tastes good - i used thyme and sage as they remind me of thanksgiving flavours. mix the rest of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. for the onion and celery, i used a magic bullet to mince them up as i didn't want large chunks in my roast. slowly combine the wet into the dry ingredients, kneading as you go. knead for at least 2 minutes, and then divide into two small roasts.

put the roasts into a 1.5 quart baking dish. if you want, cut up the baby potatoes to bake with the roasts. mix up the broth ingredients, and pour half into the baking dish with the roasts. bake at 395°f for about 25 minutes. at this point, most of the broth will have evaporated. pour in the second half of the broth and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 340°f. serve warm.

as a side note, i cut my roasts into slices before i baked the second time. this allowed the juices to really get in and marinade the roast. but that's completely optional.

blog mom's zucchini custard pie

don't let the zucchini part fool you - this pie is delicious. a faithful reader of mine, lynn, sent me this recipe to try. she has supported my blog since the very beginning, sending me emails of encouragement and comments on my recipes. i now affectionately call her 'blog mom,' and she convinced me that this zucchini pie recipe would knock my socks off. she was right - it was a perfect sweet treat for the holiday and got rave reviews from everyone!

the original recipe called for 1 cup of evaporated milk and 1¼ cups sugar... below is what i used as substitutes. thanks lynn!!

• 2 cups zucchini, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup soy milk, mixed with 4 tablespoons soy milk powder
• 2/3 cup vegan sugar
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 egg replacer (i use ener-g)
• 2 tablespoon softened vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 nine-inch pie shell

boil the cubed zucchini until tender. drain and put in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to cool. drain again. in a food processor or blender, combine zucchini, soy milk mixture, sugar, agave nectar, butter, flour and vanilla. blend until creamy.

i did not make my own pie crust because of time restraints, but be sure and check that your store-bought ones are vegan. pour the mixture into a pie crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. bake at 325f° for 60-70 minutes or until a knife comes out clean (i ended up baking mine for about 80 minutes). the end result should still be creamy and custard-like.

blog mom noted that the 1/2 teaspoon measurements on the cinnamon and nutmeg weren't nearly enough, and that i should sprinkle the entire pie generously. moms know best, because this was what really set the pie off and gave it a gooey crème brûlée type taste.

poor girl's cheesy green bean casserole

we are on pantry clean-out mode. i get this way every couple of months - i refuse to go major grocery shopping until we've finished off everything edible that's left in our house. i created this little recipe and thought it would be a perfect cheesy green bean casserole for holidays!

• 2 cans french style green beans
• 1 tablespoons sriracha (or more to taste)
• 3 tablespoons roasted potato blend
• 1/2 sleeve saltine crackers (wheat preferably)
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup water

drain the green beans, and crumble a half sleeve of saltine crackers. mix all ingredients in an 8x8 casserole dish. i used half a pack of concord's roasted potato seasoning (original recipe). also, be careful with sriracha sauce - it is super spicy and those saltines soak it right up. i tend to love really spicy foods - but when i'm cooking for others (pot lucks, holidays, etc.), i ease up a bit.

pop it in the over for about 15 minutes on 350°f.

to be honest, i would have preferred to add soy milk instead of water to give it a more creamy taste. but it wasn't in our pantry so it didn't make it into this recipe.