Pak Choi Stir-Fry with Seitan

One of the vegetables in our CSA share was pak choi (which I realized is actually just bok choy!). This chinese cabbage is fantastic for stir-frying, so I decided I'd go for something quick, easy and relatively simple.


The pak choi was relatively small (like a baby bok choy), so it mostly consisted of leafy greens.

Ordinarily when stir-frying I would add garlic to the oil first thing (to season). We also had some small onions in our CSA, however, so I decided to throw these in instead.


For my protein I decided to add seitan, which I think is the easiest vegan protein to throw into your stir-fry. (see my previous entry for more information on seitan)

Pak Choi Stir-Fry with Seitan
What You'll Need:
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 very small onion (or 2 large cloves garlic), minced
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 8 oz. package seitan, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp cooking wine (I used dry sherry)
1 small bunch of pak choi (baby bok choy), (sliced thinly on the diagonal, separate the chopped leaves separated from the chopped stalks)

What You'll Need to Do:
Place the peanut oil in your work (or frying pan) and spread around evenly. Raise the heat to medium-high, and after a minute add the onions. Sauté the onions for a minute or so, until fragrant. Add the chopped stalk of the pak choi, 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Sauté another 3 minutes or so, then add the seitan and turp up the heat to get a good sear. Add another teaspoon of soy sauce. Sauté the seitan for about 3 minutes on each side, until beginning to brown, then add the cooking wine to deglaze the pan. Add you greens, and...you guessed it...another teaspoon more soy sauce! Reduce the heat to low, and cover until your greens are just beginning to wilt and soften. Turn off the heat, stir and eat!



My Thoughts:
This is a really simple, straightforward stir-fry recipe. There are all kinds of fun ways to spice it up! You could add ginger along with the onion or garlic at the beginning, red pepper flakes or white pepper at the end, etc. My favorite stir-fry topping to add on is toasted sesame seeds! In the picture above there is some seared polenta on the side--a very weird starch pairing, I must admit (our pantry was running bare!). I'd recommend serving with rice, or even rice noodles or soba. If you want to serve with noodles, you can add the pre-cooked noodles to the stir-fry at the very end, along with some hoisin sauce and soy sauce, to moisten.

As with most stir-frying, I would recommend starting with your heat on medium-high and adjusting as needed. I like to use a non-stick wok, but any large non-stick, heavy-bottomed skillet should work well!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

We had a lot of fingerling potatoes from our CSA...I'd roast 'em in a side dish, and then I'd look in the bag and it was like they had multiplied or something...I made them in a lot different iterations. I found that they didn't work well just thrown in with other potatoes and such, they're more dense and less starchy, so they need a bit more work to break them down and make them nice and tasty. When prepared properly, however, my boyfriend couldn't stop raving about them!

I've got two recipes to recommend here, but the first step in both is to take those lovely potatoes, run them under some cold water, and scrub, scrub, scrub!

This first recipe is adapted from Emeril. I prepared these potatoes to go with a weekend brunch.

Pan Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
What You'll Need:
12 or so fingerling potatoes, washed and scrubbed clean!
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp (each), chopped fresh: rosemary, sage, and thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

What You'll Need to Do:
Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Raise to high heat and bring to a boil, cook until the potatoes are fork tender (a little less than 10 minutes). When done, throw them in a colander and cool them under cold running water. 

Once they are cool enough to handle (this may take a few minutes), place the potatoes on a cutting board and slice them in half lengthwise then sprinkle a little salt and pepper on 'em.

Heat a sauté pan (or frying pan) with olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the potatoes in the pan, cut side down, and cook them until they're browned and crispy, about 3 minutes. Turn them to the other side and add sage, rosemary and thyme. Cook for another three minutes or so, until they are brown and crispy like the other side. 

Remove from the heat, toss and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.



Additional Thoughts:
These were delicious with a weekend brunch!

For a different twist on preparing fingerlings, I also tried roasting the potatoes in the oven
Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
What You'll Need:
2 lbs fingerling potatoes, washed, scrubbed, and halved lengthwise
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced
A few drizzles of olive oil

What You'll Need to Do:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine everything in a bowl, tossing to coat. Line a baking pan with parchment paper (or aluminum foil) and put everything in there. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Turn them after 15 minutes or so, so that they bake nice and evenly.

Additional Thoughts:
No picture for this one--but they were delish!

Don't feel wedded to the herbs, it would work just as well with an entire tablespoon of rosemary or thyme, or some other combination of these three.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World!

Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero have been pumping out awesome cookbooks since... well before I was even a vegetarian! (Hehe.) I love, love, love them. While their cookbooks are filled with lots of great recipes, the one thing that never ceases to amaze are all of their delicious vegan baked goods! I LOVE baked goods (well all dessert, really). So why did it take me so long to pick up Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World? I have no idea. One thing is for sure, though..since buying this book back in October, vegan cupcakes have taken over my world...here are just a few of the things I've baked up in the last two months:

 
Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes

 
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cucpakes with Cinnamon Frosting

 
Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes

 
Apple Cider Cupcakes (for my birthday)

 
Apple Cider Cupcakes (for Thanksgiving)

 
Golden Vanilla Cupcakes


and Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes, again (I've made this recipe three times in as many months, someone told me they were the best cupcakes they'd ever had, and I have to say I think I might just agree!)

Jelly Donut Cupcakes

As a final Chanukah hoorah, I made these the other night! I've been making these cupcakes for several years now. Jelly doughnuts are a Chanukah tradition for some (because of the oil used to fry them), and while I've always wanted to try making my own jelly doughnuts, these are much easier, and really do taste like doughnuts! I originally got the recipe from Veganomicon, but it has since been posted on VegNews, so I'm sharing it here as well!



Jelly Donut Cupcakes
What You'll Need:
1 cup soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup + 2 tbs sugar*
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup raspberry, strawberry or grape jam
2 tbsp powdered sugar*

What You'll Need to Do:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. In a mixing cup, whisk together the soymilk, vinegar and cornstarch and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Create a well in the center of the flour for the wet ingredients. Mix the soymilk mixture with a fork to dissolve the cornstarch and pour into the flour mixture. Add the oil, sugar and vanilla, and mix well.

Fill the liners with 3/4 full with batter. Place a heaping spoonful of jam into the center of each cupcake. The jam will sink into the cupcakes during baking. Bake cupcakes for 21 to 23 minutes (you won't be able to stick a toothpick in to check doneness, but the tops should be firm). Cool completely on a wire rack, and then set uncovered overnight in a cool, dry place. This will make the tops slightly crispy, like a donut crust! Using a sifter, sprinkle with powdered sugar.



Tips and Tricks:
This is a really easy recipe, and it's always a big hit. I love the way the jam just sinks right in during baking! 

If you want to get a little bit fancy with the powdered sugar, you can make some little stencils! (I got this idea from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)






Just be sure to use a sifter to apply the sugar!



*not all sugar is strictly considered vegan, see my "Vegan Pantry" section for a further discussion of this.

Latkes

You guessed it! Another Chanukah recipe!

This recipe (which I've adapted a wee bit) was posted quite sometime ago on VegNews by one of their columnists, Robin Robertson. It was featured on Girlie Girl Army and Alicia Silverstone's website as well. I've tried several different vegan latke recipes in the past. Some called for matzoh meal which did help to hold them together, but I wasn't a big fan of the taste. This recipe got two thumbs up from me and my experienced latke-eating friends who couldn't remember why all latkes aren't vegan...



Vegan Latkes
What You'll Need:
1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and grated 
1 small yellow onion, peeled and grated 
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
Canola oil, for frying 

What You'll Need to Do:
Using your hands, squeeze out the excess liquid from the potatoes into a separate bowl. Add the onion to your potatoes along with the parsley, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and mix well. 

Preheat you oven to 250 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat a thin layer of oil. Take a heaping tablespoon of batter and flatten it before gently placing it in the hot oil. Make three or four more potato pancakes this way, and add to skillet without crowding pan. Fry until golden brown (or a bit darker, if you like 'em that way!) on both sides, turning once, about 8 minutes total. Repeat with remaining potato mixture, adding more oil as necessary. Remove the cooked potato pancakes to paper towels to drain, then transfer to an ovenproof platter and keep warm in the oven until all pancakes are cooked.

My Thoughts:
This was enough to feed three very hungry people--multiply accordingly!

Grating: you can do it the old fashioned way (see below), but I found that after just one potato I was a bit exhausted! I was so grateful for the food processor my boyfriend's brother and sister-in-law gave us when I moved to New York in the fall--in just a few minutes it had beautifully grated more potatoes than I thought we could eat! This was my first time using the food processor for latkes, and it was somehow even easier than I'd imagined.



Also, a heaping tablespoon of the "latke mix" makes for some pretty small latkes. I think it's fun this way--you can easily eat them in about two bites--but if you want something more substantial you can always make them bigger, just be sure to keep them thin so they can cook nicely all the way through! 

And I know the recipe already says it but do be very conscious about overcrowding the pan. I've made this recipe twice since Sunday (and I'm making it again before Chanukah is over! I love latkes...and apple sauce and sour cream....) and the second time I was super hungry, and without even thinking I filled my pan to the gills! The result is that the oil cools, your latkes don't crisp or brown well and they soak up too much oil, making for undercooked, soggy latkes (and nobody wants that!). 

Serve with applesauce and vegan sour cream (I like the Follow Your Heart brand). Yum! 

Roasted Winter Root Vegetables

If there was one thing we were not short on in our CSA share it was (not surprisingly) root vegetables! I've roasted my fair share of vegetables in the past, but this time I tried to come up with some new techniques that would bring out a variety of flavors. For that, I went to the internet!

Let's start out with the basics...my standard go-to recipe is adopted from Vegan with a Vengeance. I like to toss vegetables with fresh chopped rosemary, thyme, and sage, and a little bit of maple syrup and olive oil to keep them moist. You can also add a bit of ginger in there to spice things up a bit! If you chop your vegetables up into nice even chunks (about 1/2-3/4 inch each) you can throw them in the oven at about 350-400F. Toss them around a bit after about 20 minutes, and 45 minutes to an hour you'll have a nice tasty side dish! They're ready when they're fork tender (don't be afraid to try a bite to see if they're just right!). Perfect for Thanksgiving.

Keep in mind that different vegetables cook at slightly different speeds, so you'll want to chop up the slower cooking veggies (like carrots) a bit smaller. I find this recipe works well for things like sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, and squash. Things like sunchokes, black radishes, and fingerling potatoes, however, cook a bit differently. More on these "exotic" vegetables tomorrow...

Gingerbread Vegans

Happy Chanukah to those of you who celebrate!



This recipe comes from Shmooed Food, a blog written by Jennifer McCann, and featured in one of her books, Vegan Lunchbox. I bought Vegan Lunchbox many years ago. I was dating someone at the time who was a very picky eater, and I thought this book might offer me some good solutions. It has some really great recipes, good for kids and adults alike! I especially like a lot of the relatively simple, but tasty snack ideas, and the baked goods. I'm not a big fan of egg replacer, a common ingredient used in vegan baking. It can be very chalky tasting, and it makes for very dense baked goods, not things I much care for. This recipe, like most of my favorite baking recipes, avoids the use of egg replacer, which if you ask me is a very, very good thing.

I grew up eating gingerbread around the holidays, and I love the taste! I actually first made these cookies at a friend's house on Christmas, complete with lots of snowflake shapes, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, Santa Clauses and reindeer. They were so good I thought I'd adopt them as my own holiday tradition, so I now make Chanukah gingerbread vegans for my family and friends!



Gingerbread Vegans

The recipe says it makes about 2-3 dozen, I find it usually makes at least 3 dozen (it all depends on the size of your cookies!)

What You'll Need:

1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (I like to use Earth Balance), at room temperature
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sweet unsulphured molasses
3/4 cup water
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice

What You'll Need to Do:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or (as in my case) in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the margarine, brown sugar, molasses, and 1/2 cup of water.

In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding just enough of the water to form a dough that holds together well.

Form the dough into four equal balls. Wrap each ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you're ready to make your cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line some baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick and use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, placing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the surface is relatively firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then decorate with Gingerbread Vegan Icing.



Gingerbread Vegan Icing
makes about 3/4 cup, enough to decorate all your cookies!
What You'll Need:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp Silk Nog or 1 tbsp water
Food coloring (optional)

What You'll Need to Do:
Combine powdered sugar and vanilla. Add Silk Nog or water in slowly, stirring well with a small spatula and using just enough liquid to form a smooth icing. It should be soft enough to squeeze easily out of a piping bag, but not so runny that it runs out! Add food coloring, if desired. Transfer the icing to a piping bag (or a resealable sandwich bag with a very small hole cut in the tip of the corner to squeeze the icing out) and decorate the cookies as desired.

This is a relatively simple recipe, but ultimately quite time-consuming--I recommend making them with friends and family, if there are two of you it will go twice as fast and be (depending on your helper) twice as fun!