Happy Holidays - Sunburst Muffins

It's a beautiful sunny morning in Northern California ... unlike the blistery cold snowy Christmas morns I spent in Big Bear.  Somehow it seemed appropriate to celebrate the annual return of the Sun with a bright vibrant navel orange. I remembered a coffee cake that my mother used to make ... pulverizing an entire orange, adding in walnuts, cinnamon and sour cream.

I carefully chose my fruit and nuts, deciding on making muffins instead. And it was so therapeutic crushing those almond shells.  Thanks to Post Punk Kitchen for the basic recipe.

Sunburst Muffins

2 cups organic unbleached flour
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Himalayan salt
1 large orange
 1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped dates

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.
Zest and juice orange. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add canola oil, orange juice, zest, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix just until all wet ingredients are moistened. Add chopped almonds and dates.
Fill muffin tins 2/3 full, sprinkle tops with coarse sugar, and bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean.
  

Holiday Feast - Stuffed Seitan Roast

Last night was the final meeting of my Empowerment Group for the year and we celebrated with a Potluck. I was surprised by the number of wonderful veg-friendly dishes that people brought. So I admit, I indulged in a few bites (well, more than a few) of food with dairy. One was a creamy pesto salad with wide noodles and green beans. It was very tasty and could easily be made vegan with a parmesan-free pesto and soy or coconut milk. Another was linguine with tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a white cheese sauce. Again, I think I'll try to replicate it without the dairy.

My contribution was a Stuffed Seitan Roast. Everyone seemed impressed that it was Vegan and several asked for the recipe. It's from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen with only a few modifications.

I should warn you, it will take about 2 hours from start to finish, so be sure to give yourself enough time ... not like I did!

STUFFED SEITAN ROLL

Stuffing

    1 large onion, chopped
    2 ribs celery, chopped
    8 ounces mushrooms, sliced or chopped
    1 1/2  teaspoons dried thyme
    1/2 - 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
    generous grinding of pepper
    4 slices whole wheat bread, cut into small cubes
    1 tablespoon soy sauce
    1/2 cup vegetable broth or water

Seitan

    2 cups vital wheat gluten 
    1/4 cup nutritional yeast
    1 teaspoon dried thyme
    1 teaspoon rubbed sage
    1 teaspoon marjoram
    1/3 cup quick oatmeal
    1 cup vegetable broth
    1 cup great northern beans or garbanzos, cooked
    2 tablespoons soy sauce
    1 clove garlic, peeled
  
Baking Broth

    1/2 cup vegetable broth
    1 tbsp vegetable oil
    1 tablespoon soy sauce
    1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil (optional)

Instructions

Sauté the onion and celery in a non-stick skillet until onion is becoming translucent. Add the mushrooms, thyme, sage, and  black pepper. Cook until mushrooms exude their juices, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients along with enough water to moisten the stuffing but not make it soaking wet. Remove from heat and keep covered.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Place the broth, white beans, soy sauce, and garlic in blender and process until liquefied. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the bean mixture, and stir until gluten is completely moistened.  Knead until dough holds together in a ball, adding more flour or liquid as needed. Set aside while you make the broth.

Heat the broth ingredients until hot but not boiling.

Assemble:

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil an oval or rectangular baking dish, 11-13 inches long and 6-8 inches wide. (Your seitan will expand to fit it, so try not to use a very wide dish.) Line your work surface with plastic wrap, parchment paper, or waxed paper. Place the dough in the center, cover it with plastic wrap, and roll out the seitan, making sure that it is the same thickness in all places, until it’s about 9×13 (an inch or so either way doesn’t matter, but make sure it’s not longer than your pan). Spread the stuffing evenly, leaving a 1-inch margin on all sides. Lift up the plastic wrap on one of the long edges and roll the seitan up like a jelly roll. (Alternatively, arrange the stuffing in a horizontal line across the middle of the seitan and bring one long edge up and over it to the other side.) Pinch the ends sealed first and then pinch well to seal the long seam. Take care to make sure that the edges are completely sealed and no gaps or stuffing shows. Lift the seitan roll carefully and place seam-side down in the prepared casserole dish. Pour the baking broth over it and seal tightly with foil so the roast can steam.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, baste with broth, recover tightly, and bake for another 25 minutes. Baste again and return to oven uncovered for about 30 minutes. Baste 2 or 3 times as it’s cooking. Seitan is done when top seems firm and brown and the broth has evaporated. You can test it by cutting a small slit in the middle; if it is doughy rather than firm, return to the oven.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Transfer carefully to a cutting board or serving platter and cut into 1/2-inch slices.

Heating the Kitchen - Apple Crisp

The pilot is out in our unit and we're still waiting on the gas company, so we're using small space heaters and the range to help keep the house warm.

Since the oven was nicely (pre-)heated to 350 degrees and there were a dozen apples in the bowl, an Apple Crisp seemed the logical solution. This recipe is modified from Post Punk Kitchen. I thought it was incredibly tasty and my son (who doesn't care for sweets) must have as well ... this is all that was left!

APPLE CRISP

For the filling
4 lbs apples
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup vegan organic sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried chopped dates

For the topping
1/2 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tablespoon soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F
Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.
Place fruit in the baking dish, add sugars and spices and combine everything well (you may need to use your hands to do this). Pour cornstarch mixture over everything.
Prepare the topping, in a medium bowl, combining all dry ingredients. Add oil, soymilk, and vanilla, mix well. Crumble topping over the apples. Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tofu Spinach Lasagna

As much as my friends enjoyed the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, by the second go-round they were a little burned out on some of the food. So I decided to look for something new and found a Two-Week Vegan Meal Plan with recipes on the PETA Website. It uses more fake animal products than I care for, but it's great for my friends to be exposed to some meat alternatives, especially in the early stages of vegetarianism/veganism, helping them make the transition.

This recipe is an adaptation of one on their site. I added some white beans and nutritional yeast to the tofu mixture to give it a little more body, texture and taste. And I apologize for the photo. It looked a lot prettier before a ravenously dug in.

Tofu Spinach Lasagna - Serves 3-4

1/2 pkg oven ready lasagne noodles
1 lb. soft tofu
1/2 cup cooked white beans
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup soy milk
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 10-oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tbsp basil
2 cups tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process tofu, beans, nutritional yeast, soy milk, garlic, lemon juice and Italian seasonings until smooth.

Place small amount of tomato sauce in bottom of baking dish. Top with layer of noodles, followed by tofu mixture, then spinach. Sprinkle with basil. Repeat layers, ending with a layer of noodles. Top with sauce and bake about half an hour.

à votre santé - Savory French Lentils

Inspired by Annie and Dan Shannon's Betty Goes Vegan, along with the movie Julie & Julia, I had briefly considered veganizing Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But the uninhibited exaggerated use of animal-based products, made it nearly impossible. Still, I had some authentic herbes de provence (a souvenir from a friend's European vacation) that needed to be used. So I substituted the seasonings in this dish for the ones I had on hand.

SAVORY FRENCH LENTILS - Serves 3-4

3/4 cup dry French (puy) green lentils, rinsed
2 1/4 cups water
1 mushroom bouillon cube
3 large garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried savory
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 dry or fresh bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
freshly ground black pepper to taste
lemon wedges (for serving)

In a saucepan on high heat, combine all ingredients, except lemon wedges, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 35–40 minutes, or until lentils are tender and have absorbed most of the water. (If more water is needed to soften lentils, add 3–4 tablespoons of boiled water). Remove from heat and season with additional pepper if desired. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over portions.

Recipe from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton of www.plantpoweredkitchen.com.

Oriental Restaurant in my Own Kitchen - Tofu and Eggplant in Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Every once in a while, I cook a meal that is so aromatic, it turns my entire house into an ethnic restaurant. This is one such dish!

Tofu and Eggplant in Black Bean Garlic Sauce

1 tbsp peanut oil
12 oz firm tofu, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2lb eggplant, cubed
1 bell pepper, sliced
5 green onions, sliced diagonally
3 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce
extra green onions, sliced, to garnish
steamed rice, to serve

Steam eggplant until tender crisp. Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add oil. Stir-fry tofu for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan and set aside. Stir-fry eggplant, garlic, pepper and onions for 6 to 7 minutes until tender. Thin bean sauce with 1-2 tbsp warm water. Stir into vegetable mixture. Return tofu to pan and stir to coat. Spoon into rice bowls. Top with extra onions.

Vegan MoFo - Mushroom Marsala

I loved being part of 2013 Vegan MoFo but I'm not accustomed to tracking and photographing my meals then blogging about them every day. So, now that life is back to what I consider normal (at least for me), I did take a picture of my dinner last night ...

MUSHROOM MARSALA - Serves 2

1/2 lb Mushrooms, sliced
1 small Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup Vegetable Stock
1/4 cup Cribari Marsala

Saute onion in oil until transparent, Add garlic and mushrooms, stirring and cooking until lightly browned. Add stock and wine. Simmer about five minutes until desired consistency. Serve over noodles.