9 posts tagged “cayenne”

I finally made the Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping from Veganomicon (page 194).  I mean, really, everybody has made it, and I finally caught the drift.

Needless to say, it was seriously good.  If you have Veganomicon, and have been waiting just like me, it is high time that you opened it and made this baked pasta dish.  The sage crumb topping mixed really well with the pumpkin flavor and you can never do wrong with the caramelized onions.

The pop overs might just put me over the top and get that popover pan in the store.  I saw a really good one the other day, but thought to myself I would have very little use of it.  Who knew that I came straight home and wanted to make breakfast popovers all of a sudden?  And I fell in love immediately (even though I had to use my muffin pan).  The recipe is by Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic.  Kudos to Susan!  The only change is that I used Ener-G egg replacers to replace eggs.

I have never used phyllo dough until three days ago.  I have always heard and seen people use it.  I have often heard the horror stories of tearing and ripping the finiky phyllo dough.  I have also seen dozens of exquisitely beautiful photos of food with intact phyllo dough (golden, complying, and docile).  Three days ago, my wonderful husband bought our first few packages of frozen phyllo dough.  I was therefore put in a position where I could no longer refuse to jump into the phyllo world.  My first try is an excellent recipe I saw long time ago on Fatfree Vegan Kitchen - Spinach and Artichoke Pie.  We absolutely adored this pie.  My husband said that he could live on this pie till he is 100, and I believe it is true.

Guess what, the phyllo dough is not so hard to handle after all.  The secret is to thaw out the phyllo dough really well in the refrigerator only overnight before using.  It took at least 10 hours in my experience.  There is no shortcut.  Patience is really the virtue in this case.  Once the phyllo dough is thawed out, you have to prepare all the fillings and everything else before taking the phyllo dough out from the fridge.  And act as quickly as possible to prevent the dough from drying out.  Any unused phyllo dough should be rolled up and put back into the package (sealed) immediately.  Cover the exposed phyllo dough completely with plastic wrap or a damp towel on the counter for later use if you need more than five minutes before brushing each sheet with oil.  Time is the essence.  Be quick and gentle.  And you will be completely fine.

I also gave in to another temptation - making Chinese dumplings.  I followed the recipe by Vegan Dad, but for the filling I used Vegan Dad's Lemon Parsley Potatoes.  So the dumplings are more like homemade pierogi.

These dumplings are easy to make, and they have certainly become another all-time favorite in our family.

And I served the Hunan Tofu with Indian-Spiced Quinoa from Vegan Planet (page 229).  I skipped raisins because I generally don't like them in the savory dishes and used walnuts instead of pine nuts as I simply ran out.  It's the first recipe I have tried out of this vegan cookbook.  I loved the flavors and short preparation time.  I will definitely try some other recipes soon.

Finally, a recipe from one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, Eat, Drink & Be Vegan - Monkey Minestrone (page 97).  I totally adored this soup, but my husband actually preferred my own minestrone.  How sweet!  I didn't use any corn, but added some potatoes and soy beans.  I think the soup was made more earthy and meaty this way.  I also added three tablespoons of tomato paste to make the soup thicker.

This is so weird.  It is the second to last day of VeganMoFo and I'm finally kicking into high gear.  I cooked for a whole day and I'm still looking for the next recipe in my collection to try out.  Well, now I have three beautiful photos to post here.  If you happen to think they don't look good, please just pretend they are.  :)

The first one is the Ten-Minute Couscous Soup (recipe by Heidi of 101 Cookbooks).  I just saw this recipe yesterday and I immediately made it.  101 Cookbooks is one of my favorite food blogs and I've already made a few things out of Heidi's recipes.  Her recipes usually yield wholesome and easy-to-make food, and the photos are just gorgeous.  For this soup, I used half broth and half water, subbed fresh tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, and added some zucchini because I have plenty.

The second thing I made is Banana Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe by Kittee of Cake Maker to the Stars).  Kittee's blog is another favorite of mine.  And from her blog title you can easily deduce that her cakes are hard to beat.  This banana cake is absolutely the most moist and fluffy cake I've ever had.  It was so good that I finished eating one-third of it before frosting.  I didn't have white chocolate chips so I used dark cocoa powder instead.

Then another great vegan recipe resource, Vegan Dad's blog gave me the recipe for the Quick and Easy Tofu Etouffee.  I've never even heard of etouffee before, but now I'm loving it.  I didn't make my own vegan sausages so I used Tofurkey Italian Sausage, and I made my own vegan sour cream (blending silken tofu, salt, sugar and lemon juice).  And I used culantro instead of parsley for a stronger flavor.  The Tofu Etouffee is a really meaty dish, so when you have omnivore friends over, you can definitely make this to surprise them.

I've finally opened my copy of Veganomicon again.  It's been weeks.  I looked through over 30 recipes in my collection on the computer and I consulted some other great vegan cookbooks but I just couldn't find the right one, until I reopened Veganomicon.  I turned to page 110 and there it was, Fresh Dill-Basmati Rice with Chard and Chickpeas.  I didn't have chard and we just had chickpeas a couple of days ago.  So I subbed bok choy and borlotti beans, the classic Italian beans (a.k.a. cranberry beans in America).  The fresh dill really made this rice dish extraordinarily fragrant, perfect for an aromatherapeutic session at home.

 

The Hunan cuisine in China is known for being spicy and flavorful, chili-rich, and pungent.  So when you are tired of the average everyday food, some spicy Hunan home-style tofu will definitely awaken your taste buds and give you a good mood.  I found this wonderful Hunan-Style Tofu recipe on Bryanna Clark Grogan's blog "Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen".  If you haven't heard of it before, it is high time that you find out how a vegan feast can be done in your own kitchen.  I adapted the recipe a bit since I was fixated on eating some asparagus somehow and I didn't have some of the ingredients called for in the original recipe.  Also, I halved all of the ingredients because there are only the two of us in the house.  So below is my version of Hunan Tofu with Asparagus.  (My photo doesn't look as good as Bryanna's but I was really loving the rich taste of this tofu dish.)

 

(all ingredients halved to serve just two hungry people)

 

2/3 lb. extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed for at least an hour, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 Tbsp. safflower oil

2 leeks, skin removed and finely chopped
1 fresh red chili pepper, cored and seeded and cut in thin diagonal slices
1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2/3 lb. asparagus, tips intact and the rest cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp. Chinese garlic black-bean paste (easier to use than fermented black-beans) 
1/2 cup chicken-style vegetarian broth

1/2 tsp. dry white wine
1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce, or to taste (if you use the black-bean paste, it's enough)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/2 Tbsp. cold water
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

 

Cut the tofu into oblong slices, about 1/2-inch thick.  The size really depends on you.  I made the pieces smaller to increase the flavor.  Pat dry.

 

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over high heat.  You really just need to coat the skillet.  Add the tofu and fry until the slices are just tinged with gold on both sides.  This takes about 2 minutes each side.  Drain on paper towel and set aside.

 

Add the leeks, garlic, and chili pepper to the hot pan and let them sizzle for half a minute until fragrant.  Add asparagus and stir-fry.  Cook until asparagus becomes bright green (about 3-4 minutes).  

Add the black-bean paste, stirring a bit to combine.  Pour in the broth, soy sauce and white wine.  Add the fried tofu, mix well with the liquid in the skillet and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

 

Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the liquid thickens.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in the sesame oil and serve immediately with steamed rice.

 

Note: You can actually use less dark soy sauce and increase the black-bean paste to 2 Tbsp. to have a more pungent flavor.  It tastes really good too, I bet.

 

Now let's turn from China to Poland.  My husband commented on a sad-looking cabbage on our dining table yesterday and suggested that I should make some stuffed cabbage rolls.  He wanted a potato-filled version, which wasn't exactly my type of stuffed cabbage rolls.  Instead, I made this probably most-famous Polish dish: Golabki (pronounced gaw-WUMP-kee in case you were wondering).  I found this recipe on recipezaar.com which was actually a vegetarian version.  The only step I took to veganize it was to use olive oil instead of butter in frying onions.  You can find this easy-to-make recipe here.

 

Preparing the cabbage is rather easy.  You just have to stab it through the heart (from the bottom/base in this case) and boil it in salty water for about 12-15 minutes.  Wait until the cabbage is cool enough to handle and carefully peel off the tender leaves.  I was lucky enough not to have to peel off some leaves and then boil again.

 

The stuffing is just onion-mushroom white jasmine rice.  I loaded a lot of paprika and parsley because we love them.  The rice smelled so good that I almost wanted to eat it on the side without stuffing the cabbage.

 

Now the final product.  A lot of paprika again!  We are really a couple of paprika-hounds.  This is definitely a keeper.

 

My meek attempt to make a crusty Italian bread failed yesterday because of my carelessness.  Subsequently, I lost part of the enthusiasm in making an elaborate meal.  But I found a great fast and easy comfort food: Everything But The Kitcken Sink Vegetable Curry (La Dolce Vegan, page 143).  I had to repeat its long name because it is really true.  I saved a lot of vegetables in the fridge from going into the garbage again.  I was able to finally use one sweet potato in this savory dish since my husband doesn't like sweet food.  I would love to make a sweet potato pie one of these days though.

 

First of all, I wish all of you in the bloggerland a Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or Happy December!

 

Now on to what we cooked.  I failed to make the crispy peanut butter cookies (from VwaV).  I don't know why the cookies didn't become crispy at all.  I will have to try some other cookies to see if my cookie dough is just not right.  The scrambled tofu I made with loads of mushrooms and some zucchini worked out really well.  We just love mushrooms and zucchini.

 

With scrambled tofu, we need some nice rice dish to serve with the tofu.  So I made the Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita Crisps (Veganomicon, page 177).  This deceivingly simple rice dish was so comforting and satisfying that I couldn't believe it was just made of brown Basmati rice and lentils.  Well, roasted onion rings and the remaining olive oil in the baking dish really infused the rice with a wonderful flavor.  And one thing lead to another.  Once I made the lentils and rice, I had to make the spiced pita crisps too since i had two pita breads laying around waiting to be thrown out as usual.  I made use of them this time and I was really grateful that I did.

 

I started with what I had in the refrigerator and ended up with something really delightful, even a little soulful.  The first thing was Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu (from Veganomicon, page 125).  I can just sit at the table and keep nibbling on these crispy and spicy tofu slices.

 

The other dish I made is the Asian-Inspired Scrambled Tofu and Yuba with Garlic Chives (Chinese chives).  Garlic chives have a wonderful aroma and taste that resembles a combination of leeks, garlic, and chives.  I intended to make yuba rolls but my impatience and carelessness resulted in some torn strips so I started tearing yuba into strips to make a stir-fry.  It turned out to be a very healthy and tasty dish.  The recipe is quite similar to the good old scrambled tofu.  Ingredients: garlic chives, yuba, extra-firm tofu, ground cumin, turmeric, paprika, thyme, oregano, black pepper, salt, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil to make the dish really Asian.