Sadly, the mighty Brussels sprout has been lumped into only being eaten at Thanksgivings, Christmas, and other chilly, holiday events. But, you guys, Brussels sprouts are RAD and should be eaten all the time while they’re in season!
Make sure you always buy sprouts that are firm and tight, so no critters are in there!
How to clean:
Don’t just rinse, soak in a bowl of water! Give them a swish around to get any little bits of dirt out. Drain.
Using a paring knife, cut the bottom off, and pull off any old, discolored, or spotty outer leaves. Now you can choose if you want to keep it whole or cut it:
◊Keep it whole- If they’re big, cut an X into the bottom to help with even cooking. Whole is best for steaming or roasting.
◊Halve it- Cut it in half! Good for a quick pan fry or stir fry.
◊Quarter it -Cut in half, then halve it again! You will get lots of the leaves falling off, this is good for a light stir fry.
This recipe using small, whole Brussels sprouts for roasting.
In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice, mustards and maple syrup, and add salt and pepper to taste.Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Add the Brussels sprouts and stir to coat.
Glazed and (to be) Consumed
Remove with a spoon and place in a baking dish, reserving extra sauce from the bottom of the bowl. Roast until very dark and just tender, about 40 minutes (This depends on the size, check after 30). Toss with remaining sauce and serve hot or at room temperature.
Great for a dinner party or plenty of portions to freeze for yourself!
This was also my contribution for the Vegan Potluck #6 (Hi new and newer friends!)
***THIS IS A DOUBLE PORTION FOR MANY PEOPLE!!! Please HALVE or QUARTER the recipe for “normal” people amount.***
Stuffed Shells
Eat us!
Main Ingredients:
1 bag of large pasta shells (about 60 shells)
2 jars pasta sauce, your choice of flavour
Bechamel Sauce:
1 white onion, diced
100g/½C margarine
70g/ ½C plain flour
1 t yellow mustard
750ml/3¼ C soymilk
1 bay leaf
10g/ ¼C nutritional yeast
pinch of fresh nutmeg, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
Tofu ricotta filling:
1 bag spinach, roughly chopped
2 tubs extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 T parsley, dried
1 T basil, dried
1 T oregano, dried
1 T garlic powder
1 t lemon juice
10g/ ¼C nutritional yeast
salt and pepper, to taste
They want to get stuffed so bad.
How to:
Cook pasta 2/3 of recommended cooking time (ie- bag says 15 min, cook for 10 min). It will be still firm, it will cook more in the oven.
For the bechamel sauce:
In a saucepan, lightly saute the onions with the butter.
When soft, add the flour and stir until it becomes a paste.
Whisk in milk, mustard, and bay leaf.
Bring to low boil until it thickens.
Remove from heat and remove bay leaf.
Stir in salt and pepper, to taste
Place plastic wrap on the top of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
Base for bechamel sauce with the only onions I had
For the tofu ricotta:
Lightly wilt spinach, drain, and pat dry.
In a bowl, combine the rest of the filling ingredients: tofu, herbs, nutritional yeast, and seasoning.
Crumble together until completely mixed and no large chunks are left. Use your hands! Massage that tofu!
Stir spinach in gently.
Preheat oven to 350F/180C
*If you are doing the full recipe, you may need 2 average baking dishes OR a deep dish that will have 2 layers of shells.
In your baking dish, lightly cover the bottom with a layer of bechamel sauce.
Appetizing, I know.
Stuff your shells with the tofu ricotta; do not over stuff or you will run out of filling.
Arrange shells on top of bechamel sauce.
I ended up squeezing more shells in this layer later.
Pour more bechamel sauce on top of shells. You will have enough sauce for how much you are making, whether it is one small dish, or a large dish with 2 layers.
Pour a layer of tomato sauce on top. Once again, this could be everything, or just enough for one layer.
Layer one is dainty
If necessary, start a new, second layer of shells, and repeat.
Layer 2, sans tomato
Scrape any last bechamel sauce stuck to the pan and drizzle on top of the tomato sauce. It’s not necessary, but it looks nice!
Artistic license.
Bake 30 min.
60 stuffed shells just waiting for you!
Pot luck analysis: This was literally gone in 5 minutes. Sorry late-comers!
Dear WordPress: Your bullet points are cramping my style! Why do my line breaks not show up? Why my photos all messy? Ha-rumph!
Londoners! Friends of Londoners! People that happen to be in London!
Have you been to the Vegan Potluck yet?
Oh, you have? High five!
Oh, you haven’t? Well lucky you; it’s tomorrow!
A pot luck is when everyone brings a dish to share with everyone else. So that means a vegan spread of 40+ dishes to choose from. No need to ask what you can eat. Eat it all, my friends. It gets bigger every month, and with #6 approaching tomorrow you have plenty of time to think of something good to make! For all details, FAQ, & RSVP, please go to FatGayVegan.com! FGV is the brains behind this, so give him a high-five in person! Can’t make it this month? No worries- it’s the first Wednesday of every month!
: Personal Rant : Please try your best to bring something homemade. Some people bring 3 jaw-dropping dishes! Do they have to? Of course not, but they do it out of love! So don’t think a £1 tub of hummus is acceptable as a contribution! Technically, yes; it is a contribution. And I totally get there are a million valid reasons why someone cannot make a dish. So buy NICE hummus (raw avocado hummus anyone?) and baked vegetable crisps to go with it. Throw some grapes in there while you’re at it! A little effort gets you off my cheapskate, free-loader list. I probably shouldn’t care as much, but I am just a foodie who wants everything to be fair! :Rant Over:
I love these because they are fast and easy to make, and you can use anything you have on hand. They can be savoury or sweet. They make a great snack or appetizer, and look nice to impress your friends!
Hummus, basil, and onion pin wheels
Pin Wheels
Ingredients:
Puff pastry, pre-made *This would also work with phyllo dough, just prepare a few sheets as directed.
Fillings; your choice. Spreads, veggies, herbs, etc. Ideas below
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
I usually only use a small amount of dough, because I’m only making a few to eat fresh. Obviously, use as much as you want to make as many as you want! Remember that a little goes a long way.
Pre-heat oven according to the puff pastry’s instructions. Mine is 400F/200C
Roll out your puff pastry very thinly into a square. Rolling Tip: You can dust your rolling pin with flour, or place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll over that.
Thinly spread out your filling over the square, leaving about an inch free at one end (to seal when rolling up).
Lightly wet with water the edge of the dough without any filling on it.
Starting with the side opposite of the edge you just wetted, carefully start to roll the dough edge into itself. This rolling is like making a jelly roll/jam roly poly/swiss roll or sushi.
Roll until there is nothing left to roll! Press the wet edge into the outside of the dough, sealing it. Place the seam on the bottom. You now have a dough log!
With a sharp knife (or a serrated knife if your knives are dull), cut into medallions between 1-2 cm thick. Set on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. *Bake separately, or put them together in a circle for tear-apart pin wheels like cinnamon buns!
Repeat until all of the dough log has been sliced. If needed, clean knife every couple slices if it gets doughy. This will help the slices be nice and clean, and not squishing them down.
Bake! Check on your pinwheels halfway through the recommended cooking time. If you made them thinner or thicker, baking time will depend on that. When they are a golden color, it’s probably time!
Filling ideas:
Pizza: sauce, basil, nutritional yeast/cheeze
Pesto, pine nuts, diced tomatoes
Hummus, onions, roasted red peppers
Leftover curry
Deli slices & cheeze
Garlic Bread: margarine, garlic or garlic powder, salt, parsley flakes
Pâtés, artichoke heart spread, etc
Jalapeños!
Cinnamon buns: Margarine, cinnamon, brown sugar, nuts
Raisins, walnuts, brown sugar
Jam/Preserves/Marmalade
Apples or bananas with brown sugar and cinnamon (and margarine to keep it moist inside)
Apple walnut chutney
Anything really! I would love to hear more of your ideas! (Also expect more photos to continually pop up here as I make more of these.) I made mini cinnamon rolls one day, but we ate them before the camera came out!
Update: I made more! Made with brown sugar, cinnamon, and crushed walnuts.
I first had pajeon, what I know as “chijimi”, in Japan. There seems to be internet debate that chijimi and pajeon are different, but for what I ate, it was the same. I am only recently getting into Korean food, so feel free to enlighten me! (Also let me apologize for the crummy pictures. I was too busy messing with the sriracha tofu!)
Pajeon
Makes 4 pancakes
Ingredients for pancake:
2 C all-purpose flour
pinch of turmeric for color
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 C cold water
one bunch of scallions (spring onions), cut into 2″ pieces
oil for frying
*You can add other ingredients like kimchi, chillis, corn, cabbage, etc to your pancakes. This is the basic recipe only.
Ingredients for dipping sauce:
1/3 C soy sauce
1/3 C rice vinegar
1 T sesame oil
Garnish ideas: Scallions, chilli oil or flakes, roasted sesame seeds.
What to do:
Mix dry ingredients together. Add cold water and mix to form batter.
Heat a medium sized frying pan on medium with a little oil.
Add a small handful of scallions to pan, to cook and becoming a little crispy.
Add more than this!
Slowly pour about a cup of batter over the scallions to make a thin pancake. *If you do this too fast, all the scallions will be pushed to the edge of the pancake. Doing it slowly keeps them evenly distributed.
Make sure the onions spread around more.
Cook, about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on each side.
What not to do: Flip before it's nice and brown.
Repeat with the rest of the batter. Should make 4 pancakes.
Cut pancakes into slices, like a pizza.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Mix all dipping sauce ingredients. Add garnishes to top, if desired.
Marinade the tempeh slices in the sriracha mix for a few hours. Pan fry until brown and crispy on each side. Done! Dine!
Marinading in terrible lighting.
Side: Cut onion and red pepper into thick slices, and stir fry on low until caramelized with the marinade.
Stir Fry-less Rice
The heartiness of the brown rice gives the recipe some bulk, while the sesame oil adds a nice Asian flavor to go with the tempeh. You can of course add more veggies, but I wanted to keep it simple.
Ingredients:
Brown rice
Carrot, chopped
Edamame, shelled
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Add brown rice and carrots to pot. Cook brown rice according to directions. 10 minutes before the rice is done, add the edamame on top (do not stir).
When rice is done (drain if needed), add a few shakes of soy sauce, and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Stir in pan. Taste to see if you need any more soy sauce or sesame oil.
"Tinie Tempeh"~ Omni Monkey
Bonus Tip:
Run out of sriracha? Just add a little water or regular olive oil to the bottle and shake it up! Instant flavoring for dishes! (If using water, keep in fridge.)
Imagine my delight when reading Bon Appetit‘s June 2011 issue two months late, and two of my favorite things are staring back at me:
Tofu and Sriracha.
Bonus: the recipe was already vegan.
Super Bonus: we had a brand spankin’ new cast iron grill pan to christen.
Mega Bonus: funny story about sriracha at the end.
Let’s do this!
Note: This is not for the faint of heart. The marinade is quite spicy!
Make a spicy version of tofu dae-ji, the Korean BBQ dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 14-16 ounce container extra-firm tofu
3/4 cup Sriracha
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds plus more
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon white miso paste
3 chopped scallions plus more
2 garlic cloves
Preparation
Cut tofu into 1″ blocks. Drain well on paper towels. (I cut it into 8 rectangles)
Mise en place
Put Sriracha, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, soy sauce, and white miso paste in a blender with 3 chopped scallions and garlic cloves. Blend with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Reserve a cupful for dipping; marinate the tofu in the rest overnight. (I started this in the morning to be ready at night, waiting at least 8 hours. I also put it in the fridge so it wouldn’t spoil)
Things get saucy.♪♫ "Goin' to the fridge-y, and we're, going to get mar-i-nated" ♪♫
Shake off excess sauce and grill tofu, brushing with sauce. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and scallions. (Grill marks are great for impressing guests, but next time I will just do it in a frying pan)
Let the gratuitous grilling shots being.
Things are heatin' up!Gorgeous!Dressed up and ready to go... to my stomach.Serve with extra marinade sauce for dipping.
I also kept with the Korean theme by making pa-jeon aka chijimi as a bready side dish.
Funny story: Sriracha is also called “rooster sauce” because of the rooster on the front of the most-famous bottle. I was speaking to a woman who was very scatter-brained and panicked. I mentioned about sriracha and how spicy it was, seeing she was buying it. She replies, “Oh I don’t know! My son wanted this! This is cock sauce, right?!”
“………………………..Yes.”
BAHAHAHAHAHA
I made the best guacamole last night, and I couldn’t wait to tell you about it! And there were peas in it!
Avocados aren’t cheap here, so by adding in frozen peas, you double your yield without doubling the price. It tasted extra good, no pea flavor, and there’s some extra vitamins in there too!
The key is a 1:1 avocado to pea ratio
This makes 2 cups.
1 C avocado
1 C frozen peas, thawed
1/4 onion, minced
1 cherry tomato, minced
3/4 t powdered garlic
1 t hot sauce
2 t lime juice
salt to taste (couple shakes)
Mix it up! Or throw it all whole in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency.
Pea-ka-boo (wah wah)
Extra tasty and the half frozen peas makes it refreshingly cold if you eat it right away.
1. Vegan Month of Food (aka Vegan MOFO) starts Oct 1 and I will start out with a spicy bang! You will find me and lots of other vegans blabbing away more than usual; mine will be food based (durr).
2. Gojee.com. My new favorite food website. Half torn bag of brown rice? Boom: veggie burgers. Lentils taking over your cupboard? Cha-ching: curried lentil soup. Put in any ingredient and huge photos of recipes come up for the pickin’s. It’s so good for using up leftovers; making room for that new bag of dried porcinis; or subduing a food craving. You can put in more than one ingredient you have, keep favorites, and there is a dislike button for, well, dislikes or allergies. You can even “dislike” meat. I personally don’t; I want to see every recipe because the Ronins out there know how to “Make It Work!” (Tim Gunn, please contact me for some awesome eating when you’re in London.)
This is based on the recipe “Moroccan Lamb Stew with Chickpeas and Figs” to be served with couscous or brown rice. I have edited it to make it veggie friendly (duh), but also not as horribly salty and reducing the cooking time. I will definitely make this again.
Dolly the Sheep substitute ideas: Tempeh, seitan, fake lamb, veggie meatballs, eggplant & zucchini chunks, cannelli beans, or nothing at all! I think tofu would fall apart.
*I used a randomly picked up frozen package of “Vegetarian Style Mutton Pieces” I found at an Asian import store. It was also made in Malaysia, whereas most faux-meat is made in Taiwan or China. Omni Monkey said it was the best fake meat he has ever had; the texture was perfect. Honestly, the texture freaked me out a little bit as I think there was fake cartilage in the middle? It had a good flavor though, and it was made with 60% mushrooms.
It was cheap and I was curious; just like my dating career.
*I did not use figs or harissa. *I only used 1lb of the veggie mutton pieces.
Serves 6-8.
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds bambi-substitute or veggies, cut in 2 inch chunks (now referred to as “Main Ingredient”)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 – 14 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes with juice
2 cups vegetable stock
12 dried Calimyrna or Turkish figs, halved
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons ras el hanout (recipe below)
1 – 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Harissa or red chili paste
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. Mix to form a paste.
Place main ingredient in a large bowl. Rub paste all over main ingredient. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate covered up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 F/160C. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven or oven proof pot with lid over medium-high heat. Add main ingredient in batches and brown on all sides, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer to a plate or bowl.
Finally a chance to use my new bad-ass Le Creuset pot!
Add onion and carrot to the same pot. Saute, stirring up the brown bits, for 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and continue to saute 1 minute.
Oh Yeah.
Add tomatoes, vegetable stock, figs, cinnamon stick, ras el hanout, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Return main ingredient and any collected juices to the pot, submerging it in the stock. (Add additional stock to cover, if necessary.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot. Transfer to oven and bake until main ingredient is tender, about 40 minutes.
Transfer pot to stove. Remove main ingredient with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Bring stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil uncovered until sauce is reduced by about half and thickened.
Pre-peas.
Stir in chickpeas. Taste to check for seasoning. If necessary add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the stock. Return main ingredient to pot. (May be prepared up to 24 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate. To serve, rewarm over medium-low heat or in a 325 F/160C oven.)
It's time!
Serve with prepared couscous, and I bet brown rice would be yummy & hearty too. Pass bowls of harissa and fresh cilantro around the table as condiments.
Served on top of wholegrain couscous.
Ras El Hanout (as copied from the same Taste Food Blog recipe as above) “adapted from The Food of Morocco by Tess Mallos
Be sure to use very fresh spices, or grind the whole dried spices.
Ronin Dining 