spicy thai noodles, vegan MoFo.

It is Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food, Day 31.

This recipe is my husband’s creation. It’s really simple to whip up and it hits the spot when you’re looking for something a little spicy.

Spicy Thai Noodles

• Soba or Udon noodles, one package
• Silken tofu, one package
• 1/2 can coconut milk (regular or light)
• 1/2 lb mushrooms
• 1/2 lb  Brussels sprouts
• 1 Tbsp red curry paste
• Olive oil, for sauteing

Prepare noodles as directed.

Warm oil over medium heat in a large skillet and saute mushrooms and Brussels. Remove mushrooms and Brussels and reserve. In the same skillet, scramble tofu. Set aside.

In a small pot, warm coconut milk. Add red curry paste and combine.

Add noodles to large skillet with tofu. Add mushrooms and coconut milk curry mixture. Stir well to combine.

Serve with chopsticks.

Happy Vegan MoFo everyone!

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spicy mushroom phyllo, vegan MoFo.

It’s Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food, Day 22.

Yesterday, I shared a truly simple yet entirely delicious phyllo dessert with you – today I bring you its savoury cousin.

This is one of my husband’s house specialties. Just as I gave him full credit for yesterday’s dessert, I must do the same for today’s dinner. He’s an experimenter in the kitchen and lately it’s all been about phyllo. Getting him to write down what he was doing was no easy task. He doesn’t like to be held down by rules in the kitchen – he likes to feel and taste his way through it. Still, I persevered to get something in writing and this is what he came up with. It’s a little different each time he makes it, but that’s part of its charm. I’m not complaining – this is tasty stuff.

This dish is very forgiving – the recipe is more of a guideline than a strict plan of action.

Spicy Mushroom Phyllo

• Phyllo dough, thawed and ready to use
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped (or white mushrooms)
• 3 slices of bread
• 1 – 1.5 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced (to taste)
• 1Tbsp red curry paste
• 2/3 – 1 cup coconut milk (or almond or rice milk for a lighter dish)
• 3/4 cup sliced almond
• 1 bell pepper – yellow, red or orange, minced
• 2 – 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast (to taste)
• oil (for stir fry and for brushing dough)
• water (as needed)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Warm 1-2 Tbsp oil in a skillet at medium-high heat on stove and stir fry mushrooms. When mushrooms have reduced considerably in size, lower heat to medium-low. Drain mushrooms and finely mince. Return to skillet.

Add minced ginger to  mushrooms and toss together in skillet.

Turn heat off on stove but leave skillet there. Check on it occasionally to be sure contents do not stick to bottom of pan.

Cut the bread by quartering each slice three times – quarter a slice, then quarter those pieces, then quarter those pieces (you’ll end up with tiny pieces). Add almond slices and cubed bread to skillet and mix everything together very gently (you don’t want to completely break up the almond slices).

Add coconut milk (or almond or rice milk) a bit at a time until right consistency is achieved. You’re looking for everything to be quite moist, but not liquidy.

Lay phyllo over your work area. Layer three pieces of phyllo directly on top of each other. Lightly brush oil over the top of the phyllo. With a sharp knife, quarter the phyllo as it lays flat. Fill a small bowl or glass with water and keep nearby. Water acts like glue when you’re working with phyllo.

Spoon mushroom mixture equally onto each of the four pieces of phyllo. Now wrap the phyllo up into a square package, just as if wrapping a present. Dip your fingers in the water and touch the dough as you make each fold – this will help the dough stay together and not unravel.

Place each phyllo package on a parchment lined baking sheet and slide into oven. Bake until phyllo starts to turn golden, about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. Monitor closely to prevent scorching.

Watch out – it’s steamy when it comes out of the oven. Enjoy.

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chestnut stuffing, vegan MoFo.

It’s still Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food.

If you’re planning a festive meal for American Thanksgiving, Christmas, or another holiday or special dinner, you might be considering adding stuffing to the menu. I recently discovered a favourite recipe and thought I’d share it with you: Chestnut stuffing from VeganYumYum.

Lolo of VeganYumYum has an entire Thanksgiving menu outlined – just scroll down to find the Chestnut Stuffing recipe. FYI, the broiled green beans, slow roasted tomatoes, and tangerine cranberry sauce are also fabulous. It was that very menu that inspired me to make my own roulades for our Thanksgiving dinner last week – and this was the stuffing I used to fill those roulades with. I first came across this recipe when I was planning our Thanksgiving menu last year – made with crusty sourdough bread and roasted chestnuts, it’s an easy home run.

It’s the chestnut that really sets this stuffing apart from its plain jane cousins. I just love chestnuts. Love, love, love. There are fewer things more wonderful than the scent of roasting chestnuts wafting up from the oven on a cold, crisp Autumn afternoon. I love it with the celery but forgot to buy some in time this year, so I substituted carrots and the stuffing was still completely delicious.

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pumpkin puree, vegan MoFo.

We are almost half way there – blogging merrily along the Vegan MoFo III road.

I love my local Farmers’ Market.

Now that I’ve gotten that amorous declaration out of the way, allow me to share this: It makes me exceedingly sad that my local market will be closing up shop at the end of this month, marking the end of an especially colourful and bountiful season. But before that sad day comes, I’ll be taking full advantage of what the October market has to offer.

And my favourite October market find is pumpkin. Pumpkin is so versatile. You can use it in sweet and savoury dishes alike. Soups. Baked goods of all sorts.

But those elusive pumpkins show up about a month before Halloween and then, suddenly, they’re all gone.

There is a way we can extend the pumpkin bounty, friends: Pumpkin puree. And if you’ve never pureed your own pumpkin before, you’re in for a treat – it’s easy.

So buy up those pumpkins while you can, roast ‘em, and puree away – then freeze it all, stored in little ziploc bags, and use it for months to come. Don’t get me wrong – in a pinch, some nice organic canned puree will do. When you’re making that pumpkin pie during the holidays however, you just can’t beat fresh puree.

Trust me on this. It’s easy. It’s awesome.

There is an absolutely fabulous step by step tutorial all about pureeing your own pumpkin at Ree Drummond’s super site, The Pioneer Woman, complete with humorous anecdotes and lovely photos. My advice is to take Ree’s sage advice regarding allowing your puree to drain before using or freezing it if you suspect it to be on the wet side – I find, more often than not, that it is. Allowing the pumpkin to drain over a cheesecloth or sieve in the fridge overnight (or even a full day) will improve the texture and intensify the flavour.

Ditto regarding Ree’s advice about freezing the puree in 1-cup bags. That’s just clever.

I’ve heard, and Ree concurs, that smaller pumpkins generally yield more intense flavour. The pumpkins I used this time around were about 5 to 6-inches in diameter, which I’d classify as mediium. I have pureed bigger ones, like last year’s Halloween pumpkin, with fine results. I have yet to try those teeny ones from the supermarket (which look to be under 4-inches in diameter), and who knows, maybe those little ones would knock my socks off.

Now snap those pumpkins up.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the pumpkin pie I made with the first puree of the season.

chickpea cutlet roulades, vegan MoFo.

We’re almost half way through Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food.

Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and, as promised, I’d like to share some of the tasty morsels my family enjoyed this year.

The main attraction was something I’m going to call Chickpea Cutlet Roulades.

I was inspired to make roulades by Lolo of VeganYumYum – she presented roulades in her Thanksgiving post last year. I used Lolo’s recipe for Chestnut Stuffing (more about that later) for the filling and the Chickpea Cutlet recipe from Veganomicon for the roulade shell. If you don’t yet own Veganomincon, what are you waiting for?! It’s an amazing cookbook and (for under $20!) it will have you eating super delicious delectables from sweet to savoury and everything in between. By now, the V-con Chickpea Cutlets are legendary and for good reason – they never fail to impress. Ever.

My husband gets to take all the credit here – he’s the chickpea cutlet king of the household. He made the cutlets and assembled the roulades.

Hey, I made the stuffing.

Assembly is easy stuff – just whip up the cutlet dough and make each cutlet larger than you usually would, about 5 x 7 inches or so: They need to be large enough to roll up. Pan sear each side in olive oil for 1 minute. Add stuffing of your choice in a line down the centre. Roll cutlet and stuffing up. Rest on seams. Secure with twine (just tight enough to sink into the cutlets, ever so slightly). Transfer to baking sheet or pan. Brush with olive oil. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your cutlets. Eat, preferably with mashed spuds, rosemary mushroom gravy and lots of green veggies.

More about that stuffing, other dinner accoutrement, and dessert in the coming days…

red bean chipotle burgers, vegan MoFo.

Guess what? It’s Vegan MoFo III, and we’ve seen a lot of sweets.

Let us look at something savoury, light even – dare I say, fat free?

Susan at FatFree Vegan Kitchen has much to offer in the way of tasty, fat free vegan fare and these spicy Red Bean Chipotle Burgers are no exception.

Yum and guiltless, these are easy to make and beautiful on the plate – serve with salad or your favourite crusty bread and enjoy.

chili almond asparagus, vegan MoFo.

We are well into Vegan Mofo, the Vegan Month of Food, 3rd Edition!

After a week of sweets I thought you might be ready for something savoury.

VeganYumYum is one of my favourite sites to turn to when I’m looking for something delicious to make, savoury or sweet. When I saw Lolo’s posting for Chili Almond Asparagus, I knew I had to give it a go, and I’m so glad I did.

This recipe is easy to follow and comes together quickly. More importantly, this tasty dish is made up of healthy ingredients and is completely delicious. You don’t have to twist my arm to eat asparagus and the addition of sesame oil is unexpectedly fabulous. Plus, I love the almonds. Love, love, love.

Warning: if you’re a spice wimp such as myself, seriously consider reducing the amount of red chili flakes – this is very hot stuff.

But it’s delicious stuff.

daring bakers, Vols-au-Vent.

It’s hard to believe it’s that time again: Daring Bakers. And what do we have in store today? Vols-au-Vent, or as my husband refers to them, vol-you-vaunts.

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

You can find the original recipe here via Steph’s blog. It was super easy to veganize. You’re looking at delicious pastry with no egg, dairy, or any other animal fats. I omitted the egg wash, subbed dairy-free margarine for the butter, and omitted the extra salt (since my margarine is salted). Super duper simple. My husband grew up on these and he’s been missing them a long while. They were a big hit over brunch. I balanced the richness of the dough with a super healthy filling: kale, red and orange peppers, mushrooms and garlic, lightly sauteed in a dash of olive oil. Still super rich all in all. Delicious.

I know posts have been few and far between this summer. I promise to do better. In fact, I’m storing up all my energy for October’s Vegan MoFo III – I’m signed up and comitted to bringing you a post a day for all of October. So stay tuned friends.

Be sure to check out the genius of my fellow Daring Bakers and Cooks at The Daring Kitchen.

Batzy found the Vols-au-Vent irresistible.

a vegan brunch.

When Natala at Vegan Hope offered to give away a copy of the newly minted Vegan Brunch, I knew I had to jump on the chance to get my hands on what will undoubtedly be my favourite cookbook ever. To say that I’m a big fan of brunch is a colossal understatement. Breakfast is my favourite meal and brunch is like an extended, multi-course breakfast.

The condition for the giveaway was that we must cook a brunch worthy vegan recipe for someone who is not vegan. Now, in my badly-in-need-of-a-second-coffee haze I misread the instructions. I thought that we were meant to make a vegan brunch with said recipes for that someone today and then post about it on our own blogs, today, before tomorrow’s deadline. So I looked up three of my favourite online vegan brunch recipes, whipped them up and carted them off to share with my grandmother, whom I was planning to visit. She gave me that pretty tablecloth in the photos – my sweet mama.

Silly me. Upon revisiting the original post at Vegan Hope and after rereading said instructions (3 coffees later), I now see that I was meant to promise to make one of the recipes from the book – as in make in the future - not cook today.

So what did I make for our impromptu vegan brunch? The deliciously satisfying Vegan Omelette from FatFree Vegan Kitchen, the scrumptiously perfect 5 Minute Vegan Pancakes from Recipezaar, and the sweetly toothsome Buckwheat and Banana Pancakes from GOOP. You can’t have too many pancakes.

I’ve made each of these recipes countless times and will unreservedly attest to their awesomeness.

For the Vegan Omelette, I doubled the amounts to make two omelettes. Easily done. I also like to increase the nutritional yeast by about 50% (so an extra tablespoon for two people), double the onion powder, add a pinch of garlic powder per person, definitely use the paprika and reduce the turmeric by half (sometimes I leave it out). Whatever I do to this recipe it never lets me down, ever. You can use whatever filling you like. I’ve even made this omelette naked, and liked it. The omelette was naked – just thought I’d clarify that. I blanched some veggies for today’s omelette – asparagus, spinach, snow peas, broccoli, red and yellow pepper.

Don’t let the pictures fool you – there are no eggs here. This omelette is egg and dairy free, low fat, chock full of protein and so, so tasty.

I have made the 5 Minute Vegan Pancakes a zillion times. The recipe says to use whichever flour you prefer and I’ve tried quite a few. For me, the best result comes from unbleached all-purpose flour or that mixed half and half with unbleached whole wheat pastry flour. So delicious. They puff up high just the way I like it. Maple syrup seals the deal.

Nothing is lacking in these babies.

For the Buckwheat and Banana Pancakes I usually follow the recipe to the letter. I once substituted apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice and it worked fine. I haven’t tried this recipe with rice flour but they offer it as a gluten-free option – good to know. The only thing I like to add to this recipe is extra bananas. They say one banana, I say three. I like to cover the top of each pancake completely with slices of banana before flipping them. The bananas caramelize and become incredibly sweet. It’s entirely delicious.

Slathered with copious amounts of organic maple syrup, the deliciousness is hard to beat.

I may have jumped the gun a bit, but that’s okay. My mama and I had a lovely meal together and I got to indulge in some of my favourite treats – plus I got to share my faves with you. Trust me, I could live on pancakes. If I could only bring one food to a deserted island, it would be pancakes. As for the vegan omelette: let’s just say that I wanted to kiss the ground that Susan from FatFree Vegan Kitchen walks on after coming across that one.

Clearly, I need to eat a good vegan brunch before reading instructions.

coconut cardamom arborio rice pudding.

This scrumptious spin on my favourite rice pudding is like a warm bowl of coconut cream pie. It is absolutely delicious, completely satisfying, toothsome comfort food.

Who doesn’t like pudding?

You can go ahead and use your favourite non-dairy milk , however making it with unsweetened almond milk makes this incredibly rich, complex flavoured dessert downright lo-cal. That means you can have extra, right?

Coconut Cardamom Arborio Rice Pudding
Serves 2

1/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut*
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or your favourite non-dairy milk)
1 – 2 Tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you like it – I’ve tried it both ways)
1/4 vanilla bean, split (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
Pinch of cardamom (my 1/4 tsp measure was about 1/3 full)

*Note: If your shredded coconut is coarse or tough (and you prefer a softer pudding overall) try putting it through the food processor, blender, or spice grinder to achieve a finer texture. Alternatively, you can soften up tough coconut by soaking it in advance (as you would soak raw nuts in preparation to make nut milks) – this should soften the coconut significantly.

In a large saucepan, place all the ingredients (except extract, if using). Bring to a gentle boil and turn down immediately. Allow to simmer gently, stirring often (or it will stick to the bottom) for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on how thick you like it. A silicone spatula makes an excellent stirring tool, allowing you to easily scrape the pudding down the sides and off the bottom of the pan. The rice should be soft and significantly plumped up. Check it often towards the end of cooking to ensure it does not get overdone or burn.

Once it’s cooked to your liking, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Serve immediately in the cutest bowl you can find, if you like it hot – otherwise let it chill in the fridge and enjoy later. It can also be reheated. Enjoy.

I’ve made this pudding a few times now and I LOVE it. It’s perfect for breakfast on days when I’m not in the hugest rush and it so so tasty. I like the added shredded coconut a lot and wouldn’t describe it as sandy…I think that’s the whole point! If someone has very petrified coconut and they don’t like that sort of thing, I’d say give it a whirl in a spice grinder or good blender to make it finer before using. LOVE the cardamom too. Warm, spicy goodness.

Reply

September 7, 2009 at 12:37 am

madcap cupcake

(edit)

Hi CocoLoco! That’s a great suggestion (pulverizing the coconut in a blender if it is tough). Another option for those who prefer a softer texture – if you think your coconut is on the harder/ tougher side, try soaking it first, as you would soak raw nuts in preparation to make nut milks. That should soften the coconut significantly. Another option is to make the pudding without the coconut, and then sprinkle it on top. I am going to amend the instructions to reflect these options too – thanks for the input!