68 posts tagged “thyme”

Poor hubby went on a wild goose chase yesterday around the house, literally.  We had some really strong wind for the whole day, and around 10 in the morning, a super strong gust blew a Canada goose onto our roof and it ended up being lame with a broken leg and sitting in our drive way.  We called the local wildlife rescue and were told to "bag" the goose by ourselves, put it in a box, and drive 50 miles to them.  We were trying to do the right thing.  It was really windy and rainy outside.  My poor hubby chased the supposedly lame goose for more than 20 minutes all around the yard and driveway and the silly goose really put up a fierce fight by flapping, flying, running, hissing, and puking.  It finally disappeared into the woods.  Now we know how the phrase "wild-goose chase" came about.

Anyway, after the goose chase yesterday, we had to have some comfort food today.  Hubby made his famous peanut butter sauce (1/2 container of peanut butter, soy sauce, hot chili sauce, paprika, oregano, thyme, chives, black pepper, and soy milk) and I made some udon noodles with shiitake mushrooms.  We were all set.  This is certainly not the meal that will make you lose 5 pounds, but your woes will be wiped out completely.  I guarantee that!

We are moving early next week, so I don't think I will be able to keep up with the blogging.  It is a shame but I will try my best.  If we can survive October, we will be able to have a breather then.

This is a wonderfully delicious pasta dish made with fried vegetables and seasoned with only salt.  Simplicity is beauty itself in this case.

I finally made this heavenly vanilla yogurt pound cake from Veganomicon because I found soy yogurt in the local store.  Moist and rich, this pound cake will send fat straight to your waistline if you don't stop eating it soon enough.

I was able to get us Teese and then I put plenty of it on this pizza with the classic mushroom marinara sauce.

Teese melts well, and has a rather mild flavor that blends well with the sauce, but don't try to eat it directly out of the package.  Other soy cheeses will taste better if consumed directly.  For the pizza topping, I will definitely use Teese.

This is my first attempt at the Chinese steamed buns.  I used this recipe from Kat of "A Good Appetite".  My filling was some leftover tofu and veggie bake.  Obviously, I still have to work on the cosmetics, but the texture and taste were really really good.  I made these steamed buns right before we left Florida to travel north.  We are on the road again, so I won't have much desire to cook or bake until we settle down in the middle of next week.  Till then, take care and God bless!

For once, I put the leftover food to good use.  I filled the leftover Mixed Veggie and Tofu Bake into some phyllo cups and turned it into a wonderful lunch.

Mu quiche-making passion has taken a new turn.  I have realized that the crust is really not the thing that I love so much about quiches, but the filling is the very thing that requites my love for all kinds of vegan quiches.  Instead of making a quiche, I have made a mixed vegetable and tofu bake, which is almost exactly like a quiche filling, except that it is a little less firm.  It will be a good companion for any greens or pastas, and it tastes great on its own.

Mixed Vegetable and Tofu Bake
(Makes 4 large servings)

What you need:

Veggie Mix:

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mixed gourmet mushrooms (baby bellas, chanterelle, shiitake mushrooms)
1 cup green beans, ends discarded and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
2 cups water-packed artichokes, or roasted artichokes packed in oil, drained well and roughly chopped
3 large tomatoes, seeded and diced

Tofu Mix:

1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
Healthy dose fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Saute the garlic, peppers, mushrooms, and green beans for about 12-14 minutes until the mushrooms have released some juice and green beans a bit softer.  Add the herbs and continue to cook for a minute.  Add artichokes and tomatoes and mix well.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  When done, remove from heat and set aside.

In a food processor, blend smoothly all the ingredients for the Tofu Mix.  When done, mix this mixture with the Veggie Mix very well.  Taste to adjust the seasoning.

Pour the mixture into an oiled casserole dish and bake for 40-45 minutes until slightly brown on the edges and on top.  It should be rather firm.  Cool for at least 20 minutes before digging in.  Serve warm.

Yes, I know, I made another quiche!  I can't help it.  A quiche is such a all-in-one-bowl kind of comfort food and we are such all-in-one-bowl-please kind of people.  Every time we eat these homemade vegan quiches, we remark that they are invariably lighter than we imagined, although they are very gratifying.  So far I have never used any store-bought pie crust, and I don't plan to, so I get to experiment with all different types of crusts, which is fun as well.

I studied the following three recipes for a while and compared them carefully, but didn't find a single recipe satisfying on its own.  In the end, I decided to combine all three recipes and change them.

1. Classic Broccoli Quiche by Isa (PPK)
2. Veggie Quiche by Dr. Stonielove
3. Tofu Quiche with Spinach, Broccoli & Red Pepper by Rowena of "Life Is Better Vegan"

So that's how the mixed veggie quiche came about.  Without further ado, this is what I did to make this vegan quiche.

Mixed Veggie Quiche
(Makes 8 servings)

What you need:

Pie Crust:

150g white whole wheat flour
50g all-purpose flour
100g Earth Balance butter [soft or firm]
4-6 Tbsp. water (I used 6 Tbsp.)

Mixed Veggie Filling:

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mixed gourmet mushrooms (baby bellas, chanterelle, shiitake mushrooms)
3 cups finely chopped broccoli
1/3 cup fresh edamame
1 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

Quiche Mix:

1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 Tbsp. agar powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
Healthy dose fresh cracked black pepper

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Whisk flours to combine well.  Rub pieces of the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.  Add enough water to make a dough, knead well and roll on a floured surface to fit a pie pan or quiche dish.  Grease the pan and bake the pastry blind at 425F degrees for 10 minutes.  When done, cool the pie crust on a rack.

Lower the oven temperature to 350F.  Don't turn it off.

Saute the onion, garlic, green onions, red pepper, and mushrooms for about 10-12 minutes until the mushrooms have released some juice.  Add thyme and tarragon and continue to cook for a minute.  Add broccoli and edamame and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  If you want your vegetables rather on the crispy and fresh side, remove from heat now.  Otherwise, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and cook for 5 more minutes.  When done, remove from heat and set aside.

In a food processor, blend smoothly all the ingredients for the Quiche Mix and 2/3 cup of the Mixed Veggie Filling.  When done, mix this mixture with the remainder of the Mixed Veggie Filling very well.  At this point, you should taste to adjust the seasoning.

Pour into the pastry crust and bake at 350F degrees for 45-50 minutes, depending on your oven, until edges of the pie are lightly browned.

Let the quiche sit for 20 minutes before you dig in.  It is very easy to cut then.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

It's pretty easy to see that I love risottos since I've made many different flavors and I'm still loving it.  So here's another really delicious risotto that is my recent favorite.  And, it's a great way of incorporating Brussels sprouts into your diet.

Brussels Sprout and Tomato Risotto
(Makes 4 servings)

1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1 1/2 cups button mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. freeze-dry chives
1 1/4 cups white jasmine rice or arborio rice
2 cups warm organic vegetable broth
2 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded
3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped and juice reserved
3 cups warm water
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute green onions, mushrooms, and garlic over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes until the mushrooms have released quite a bit of the juice.
2. Add thyme and chives and cook for another minute.
3. Add rice, and mix well until the rice is throughly coated with oil.  Cook for a minute or two.  Ladle in the warm vegetable broth, one cup each time.  Mix well and make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.  Cook until most broth has been absorbed, and ladle in the next cup.  Repeat the same process until most broth has been absorbed.
4. Add in Brussels sprouts and one cup of warm water.  Again, keep stirring from time to time and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Add tomatoes and then another cup of warm water.  Keep cooking until all the water is used up.
6. Remove from heat.  Stir in parsley, paprika, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve warm.  Enjoy!

Happy (Easter) weekend to everyone!

Since I made Bryanna's vegan quiche, I have been on a quiche kick.  I made another quiche yesterday.  This time it was a crustless version.  The original recipe was from Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe.  Johanna has a beautiful blog featuring vegetarian food.  I often visit her blog to simply look at the food porn.  For this quiche, I adapted quite a bit from her recipe and let me assure you that the vegan version came out really delicious.

Crustless Asparagus and Potato Quiche (Vegan)
Adapted quite a bit from this recipe by Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe
(Makes 4 servings)

3 small potatoes, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2/3 cup carrot, grated
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped1 lb. asparagus, woody ends discarded, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces, 12-15 spears reserved and cut to fit halfway across your cake pan or flan dish (it doesn't have to be perfect)
2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1 tsp. dried dill weeds
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 block extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. plain soy milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame tahini
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven at 350F.

1. Simmer diced potatoes for 15 minutes until soft.  Drain, and set aside.
2. Sauté carrots, garlic, spring onion, and asparagus (except for the reserved spears) for 6-7 minutes.  Add the herbs and mix well.  Cook for one more minute.  Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Blanch the reserved asparagus spears in boiling water for 15 seconds.
4. In a food processor, add everything from tofu to salt and pepper, and blend very well.
5. Mix the cooked potatoes, sautéed vegetables, and tofu mix in a large mixing bowl.  Combine well.
6. Pour everything into an oiled 9-inch cake pan or a flan dish.  Arrange asparagus spears on top of the mixture with cut ends in center and heads at the edge to create a star or spokes pattern.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes.  It is cooked when golden brown on top and firm to touch.  Serve warm.

I'm not a big fan of polenta, but from time to time I do have a certain craving for polenta.  My hubby often says that polenta is so bland and tasteless without a good texture.  The only way of preparing polenta that both of us can enjoy is to deep-fry polenta.  Even then, deep-fried cauliflower still beats it easily.  So, I have accumulated three tubes of prepared polenta bought in the supermarket (just in case my whims should dictate that I want polenta again), and I have been feeling worse and worse about buying them.  Besides, it is the weekend, so the fridge is full of half this and that, and leftover vegetables, a quarter loaf of bread, and whatnot.  This gave me an excellent opportunity of making a soup from everything but the kitchen sink, and finally submit the it to the Souper Sundays that I have been meaning to participate since over six or seven weeks ago.

I have planned to make a rather bland but nourishing soup out of potatoes, but before I knew it, I completely cut potatoes out of the equation, and I was determined to somehow make polenta a star of the show this time, not in the deep-frying pan.  So this is how the recipe came about.

Polenta Minestrone
(Makes 4 servings)

1 medium onion, finely chopped
8-9 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks or finely diced
1 1/2 cups portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
1 tsp. dried basil
Half (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1 cup organic vegetable broth
3 cups water
2 cups tomatoes, finely diced and juice reserved
1 tube store-bought polenta, cubed
2 tsp. dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and mushrooms over medium heat in a large pot for 9-10 minutes until onions and celery soften and turn translucent.
2. Add Italian herb seasoning, basil, and tomato paste and mix well.  Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the vegetable broth and water.  Add tomatoes and polenta.  Turn to boil and lower heat to simmer.  Simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Turn off heat.  Add parsley, salt and pepper.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Notes:

1. I used half a can of tomato paste because I really wanted a very tomato-y soup, but you can easily use from 2 teaspoons of that to any amount you feel like.
2. If you don't like polenta, feel free to use potatoes, like I originally planned.  It will be great too.  Though the creamy polenta cubes do lend a very pleasant texture to the soup overall.
3. The herb mix can be easily adjusted to suit different tastes and moods.  Fresh herbs will be great.

I am submitting this soup to Souper Sundays, an excellent event started and hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen.  If you are interested in sharing your soup recipes with other soup lovers, please see here for more details.

Gumbo is a very American dish.  Mixing gumbo and pasta together might be an unorthodox approach, but surely worth a try, at least once.  If you happen to have a craving for a pasta that is really spicy and flavorful and has some oomph, this pasta dish will hit the spot.

We first have to make a nice gumbo.  If you have leftover gumbo after making this pasta, serve it over rice, or add some rice into it.  Why not eat it with some good country bread too?

Seitan Tofu Gumbo
Adapted from the Seitan Gumbo recipe by Wes of Don't Lose Your Lunch
(Makes 5-6 generous servings)

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili pepper
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed, cubed
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup baked roux (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Salt to taste

1. Over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, bell peppers and celery in sesame oil and olive oil mix for 5-7 minutes until celery softens a bit.
2. Add everything from tomato paste to chipotle chili pepper and mix well.  Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add sausages and tofu cubes and mix thoroughly.  Cook for one minute.
4. Add water, broth, tomatoes, and bay leaves.  Combine well.  Bring to boil.  Lower heat to a small simmer.  Simmer for about 30-35 minutes.
5. Add roux, stirring constantly until completely dissolved.  Return to boil so roux can thicken.  Lower heat to simmer.
6. Add parsley and mix thoroughly.  Stir from time to time and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Add salt and adjust the taste.  Remove bay leaves.

Baked Roux:

2 cups white flour
2 cups canola oil

1. Mix flour and oil, dissolving lumps.
2. Bake in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan for about 3 hours, gently stirring every 30 minutes.

The end result should be darker than peanut butter but lighter than chocolate.  Allow to cool before handling.  Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Whole Wheat Linguine with Seitan Tofu Gumbo

Cook enough linguine for 2 people according to the package instructions (al dante).  In the last 5 seconds, add some fresh spinach into the pot.
Drain well.  Press lightly to release most water from the cooked spinach.  Put the pasta back into the pot.
Add plenty of gumbo to the pasta and thoroughly combine.  Plate.  Pour a little gumbo on top of the pasta.  Serve.

I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.  This week's host will be Aquadaze of Served with Love.