Pumpkin For My Punkin!!!

Pumpkin French Toast And Pumpkin Tofu Scramble

   With O.J. & French Pressed Cafe Ibis Kona Coffee 

  

     It's sad. I realized that complete with work, commuting and sleep that I'm left with only 4 hours left in the day. So I've been slacking on the posting, especially for the vegan month of food. I only made two posts in October. Oh wells. However, I haven't stopped cooking! Instead, I just have a backlog of posts to get through. Not to mention the plethora of cookbooks and the donut pan that I bought. Most of my best cooking comes on weekends when my only enemy is how long I can sleep in. When the special one had a late night, I decided to sneak out to the store and surprise her with breakfast. She's not called the special one for nothing, so I decided to demonstrate my affection through cooking. How do I love thee, let me cut and caramelize an onion for me...or something like that.

Pumpkin Tofu Scramble

Nothing Says Fall Like Pumpkin

     Although, I failed at the vegan month of food. I have been following the posts and have a mounting list of recipes to try. This was one from AstroNOMZ was one of them that I finally got to. I was expecting a stronger pumpkin flavor, but in all honesty, I didn't have all the spices so I'll still give it another try. It's the first time, I added greens to the scramble so I was nervous, but it was a hit with the special one! The greens I added were arugula and parsley that I had leftover from my CSA with Bell Organic. Did I mention that this has ginger in it? Yup, everything is better with ginger.

Pumpkin French Toast aka Freedom Toast!

Freedom Toast > Freedom Fries, Just Saying!

     I've gushed like a Bieber fan enough about Isa's Vegan Brunch already so I won't subject you to my admiration. Hands down the best cookbook that I own. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I haven't checked in a while but I believe that I'm just a few recipes from cooking everything in it, though most I have documented. This recipe is no exception. it's kinda like the Banana Rabanada, but with pumpkin instead of bananas. I didn't get pictures, but I used the seeded baguette from Crumb Brothers, an organic bakery in Logan (and maybe the best name for a bakery period!). I think next time I'll add a bit of sweeter so to make the flavors pop a little more.I paired everything with French Pressed Kona organic coffee from Logan's Caffe Ibis and Apple Sage Sausage from Field Roast because you can't cook everything.

Vegan Brunch

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Superlative Cheesesteaks!!!

Philly Seitan Cheesesteak with Daiya Cheddar Sauce, Sweet Peppers, Vidalia Onions, & Vegenaise

 

Superlative (adj)- of, relating to, or constituting the degree of grammatical comparison that denotes an extreme or unsurpassed level or extent 2 a:surpassing all others b:of very high quality (from Merriam-Webster)

    Well, that makes me feel like my English degree was worth while. I could have just said the best cheesesteak ever, but since I already used that for my tacos I needed something fresh, something meta. And I'm not just being hyperbolic. Oh, and I used to live in Philadelphia so I should get some street cred. And not that Pat's or Geno's bullshit. Philadelphia's Blackbird, the owner used to work at two of my favorite restaurants Philly's Horizons and NYC's Blossom, makes the meanest cheesesteak I've encountered until now. (If you go be sure to try the Cubano, which tops the cheesesteak.)The recipe comes from Cooking With the Vegan Zombie.Since the video continues detailed instruction, I'll post it below (as well as the recipe so you don't have to click back and forth). I'll post my results and pictures after the recipe. I know everyone is into the Vegan Black Metal Chef, but this one actually includes a recipe instead of entertainment or concepts. 

The "No-Killy Philly Daiya Cheesesteak" from Cooking With The Vegan Zombie

-Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients, then mix both together for seitan:

Dry
1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup garbonzo bean powder (or chick pea flour)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp mesquite (I used this Mesquite Marinade because I couldn't find the powder)
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric

-Wet ingredients:
1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce ( I used Annie's Organic, which Whole Foods had)
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 cloves of shredded garlic
pinch of pepper

-add all ingredients together and form a dough. Cut in half and make two logs and place in casserole dish.

-Stock to cook seitan in:
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 diced onion
4 smashed cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
2 cups water
-Heat on stove 5- 10 mins
-Pour in casserole dish to cover seitan. Cover dish and place in oven 350 for 1 hour. Then flip seitan and continue to cook for 1/2 hour uncovered. If still too soft, then cook for another 20 mins.

Daiya cheese sauce
1 cup Daiya cheese (cheddar)
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of pepper
1 tbsp dijon mustard
Stir it all together over med heat and set aside.

Slice up your seitan, and saute it together with a diced onion and diced poblano pepper. Toast a roll of your choice and add Vegenaise and your seitan saute to it. Add Daiya cheese sauce and you're good to go...Enjoy!

D.I.Y. Seitan (Before)

     If you live anywhere outside of the reach of Ray's Seitan or Wheat Meat, then you really need to make your seitan. Ray's is so good, they don't have a website! I know it sounds daunting, but this is a must. Kevin at veganbrew.com gave me my first seitan recipe that I feel in love with, but this one is superb. As far as a local source of vital wheat gluten, I recommend Cali's Naturals. It's the only place in the valley that sells an organic version and for about $5 a pound, which is cheaper than the conventional stuff. This recipe would make a really good pepper steak as well. The secret to this one is all the spices that are added to the broth.

D.I.Y. Seitan (During)

D.I.Y. Seitan (After)

D.I.Y. Seitan (Post)

     I took the seitan logs and shredded them against the weird middle thing on a cheese grater. I've always wondered what that was for. It worked perfectly.

Daiya Cheddar Sauce

     As far as I know, most philly cheesesteak use cheese whiz, which brings back memories, but is kinda gross. This sauce was pretty good especially with the roll slathered in Vegenaise (seriously, don't try another brand). However, this recipe made enough that I was eating a cheesesteak a day for about a week, which was awesome after a long day of snowboarding. After the cheese sauce ran out, I just used regular Daiya cheddar cheese and the result was much cleaner. I can't decide which one was better, but I would LOVE to try both with the new pepperjack Daiya. Oh, and I used regular hoagie rolls the first time, which were okay. For a really good twist, slice up a baguette instead of a roll. The bread seems much studier, too. Oh, and I think I would caramelize the onions, too.

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Equator Action

Mango Slaw Over Broiled Tofu Fillets And Pineapple Fried Rice

     Unlike most people, I have no problem with winter. I guess it's my love for snow, but I decided to bring the Equator closer to my kitchen anyway. I bought a used copy of this cookbook, The Tropical Vegan, months ago from amazon. I recently realized it was just collecting dust so I started to flip through it. I've always wanted to make fried rice. The grilled tofu with mango slaw seemed like a perfect match, except that I don't have a grill. Doh!

 Pineapple Fried Rice

      Wow. I never realized how much work something as seemingly simple as fried rice is. Not to mention the rice, which I made the night before. The recipe has three different times where bunches of stuff are added, just a few minutes apart. I took all the separate ingredients and combined them in three different bowls so I could pay more attention to the cooking. This is when a prep chef would come in handy. What really makes this recipe is the pineapple (of course) and the raisins. The first time I had this I thought it was great, but not so much the second day. Still, a decent way to make rice more interesting and more time consuming to make. Oh and since white rice makes me feel naughty I used brown basmati.

Broiled Tofu 

      Not exactly the most appealing name, but since I live in an apartment and can't have a grill this will suffice. This was a relatively easy way to make tofu. The marinade just requires toasted sesame oil, soy sauce and black pepper. I left it on overnight. The results were pretty good, but the texture isn't what most people think of tofu. It was more buttery than firm. For a more familiar version, maybe try freezing the tofu. I happened to like the texture. It reminded me of the Spice Roasted Tofu Fillets from my favorite restaurant, Horizons. Follow the first link for the recipe.

Mango Slaw

 

     What really made the tofu dish shine was the mango slaw. I wanted to use fresh mango, but they didn't seem to be cooperating with me when I buy them. Does anyone know any secrets to mango buying? This was the star of the entree. I would make this again to top tempeh, tofu, and seitan with it. The chili sauce even gives a nice heat to it. The slaw isn't really thick so on the second day so I tried adding some cornstarch. It coated the tofu nicely, but I think I like it as is. I even had some leftover that I just poured over some leftover brown rice and it was excellent.

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Vegan Brunch: A Love Affair

Banana Rabanada (Brazilian French Toast)

     I love the idea of brunch. Laying in bed with someone special, and saying, "Opps. We missed breakfast. How about we combine breakfast and lunch together?" And thus brunch was born. I can't think of a better guide to understanding and mastering the two meals in one than Isa's Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For. It's simply one of the easiest and tastiest cookbooks out there. Everything in this post was made from her cookbook. Since I love French Toast, I decided to head south to Brazil to tackle the Bananna Rabanada. That's Brazilian French Toast for you gringos out there. I also paired it with tofu scramble and roasted garlic potatoes, but since I don't like the taste of maple syrup on my scramble, I used two plates. Don't worry, I have a dishwasher.

Banana Rabanada

 

     As long as I've been vegan, I've been making the French Toast from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. I've made it for so long I've memorized the recipe and it's about the only recipe I don't measure for. It's my specialty. Well, it was. This recipe might take the crown. Not to mention it's so easy with blended soymilk and bananas. The hardest part of this recipe is letting a baguette go stale to use in the recipe. But fret not Isa gives a suggestion if you've just come from the bakery. A trick for this recipe is something my mom taught me for making banana bread. Let the bananas get brown/black on the outside before you use them. If your friends come over and they give you the eyes because your bananas look disgusting, chances are they are ready. Thanks for the tip, mom! The recipe really comes together with the mix of cocoa powder and cinnamon that is sprinkled on top.  (Try to use fair trade certified, the farmers will thank you.) 

Tofu Scramble

 

     Remember those tofu scramble packets Fanatistic Foods used to sell? I used to think that was the only way to make it. Luckily, I got wiser. I've tried lots of tofu scramble recipes and even prepared versions from restaurants, but this is hands down the best tofu scramble I've had. Again, it's simple. Basically, tofu, spices and the magical pixie dust aka nutritional yeast. Isa really killed it with this recipe. She also includes tons of variations that I swear I'll try one day.

Roasted Garlic Potatoes

 

     What brunch would be complete without potatoes? Ever since I made this recipe, you can look in my fridge and I always have some on hand. I've taken them to work and eaten them as a snack. Delicious. Not to mention pretty cheap. I usually find organic potatoes for about a dollar per pound. Sometimes, puts russets on sale for about 50 cents a pound, which sucks because this recipe is stellar with Yukon Gold potatoes. I like to soak the potatoes, then scrub them. Let them dry a bit and then coat them up. Then, I let them dry a bit. I think this helps make them not stick to the pan (even though the picture shows me using parchment paper). I've even let them sit in the refrigerator overnight and then roasted them. This time though, I left them in the oven too long and they dried out. Don't do that. Again, Isa has numerous variations for this from fresh herb, lemon pepper to curry. In fact, the garlic is one of her variations. Now get to eating...

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Happy Vegan Pizza Day: A SLC Guide to Vegan Pizza

Cornmeal Crust Pizza with Crumbled Vegan Ground Sausage, Vegan Pepperoni Slices and Pineapple Chucks All Smothered in Mozzarella Teese

     Quarrygirl.com and Chicago based Teese teamed together to create the first annual vegan pizza day, which is today Saturday 1/29/2011. (It's also my brother Mike's birthday! Happy Birthday!)
     I'll be honest. I was never a big fan of vegan pizza. For years, I would order cheeseless pizza and just load up with toppings, but that was never really satisfying. Actually, I remember a time when a place missed up our order with pepperoni or parmesan cheese but gave it to us anyway. We ended up giving it to a homeless man, and his response was, "Where is the cheese?!". This from a man without a home. Needless to say vegan pizza has come a long way.

Enter The Daiya!

     Follow Your Heart's Vegan Gourmet was the first decent vegan cheese but it didn't really melt. It was still better than a cheeseless pizza but I doubt it would fool any no vegans. Everything all changed when Daiya came along, a vegan cheese that melts AND stretches. Honestly, I never thought veganism would come that far. Several nonvegan friends have said it taste like the real thing. Cheese was the veganism's achilles heel, but not anymore!

A Salt Lake Guide to Vegan Friendly Pizzerias

     Living in Salt Lake, we have two places where you can get pizza with vegan cheese, The Pie's Delivery/Take Out Location and Este. Daiya said all Nick and Willy's location now have their cheese, but I haven't been to able to confirm. It's not like we're Philadelphia with an all-vegan pizzeria, Blackbird (Their Cubano and Philly cheesesteaks rock, too!),  but we're doing just fine. Because I live just a few blocks from The Pie, I've never been to Este. However, their menu clearly indicates what can be made Vegan with a "V" next to it. They even run ads in S.L.U.G. that say, "Eat vegan". I wasn't able to locate one, but check out an issue of S.L.U.G. and it might be there. The ads include coupons as well. UPDATE: ReDirect Guide's ISaveGreen is offering a coupon for free garlic knots or zeppoles, both are vegan or can be made vegan according to their menu, with a purchase of $15 or more. Get the coupon HERE.

The Pie is more of a secret. Their website doesn't mention their vegan menu., but last time I was in they had a copy on the order window. They have vegan specialty pizzas, such as Vegan Bar-B-Que 'Beef' Pie and Vegan Xtreme Veggie Pie as well as Zappis (like a calazone) and Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings. I'll try to take pictures of the vegan menu to post online. The sad part is that despite having five locations, vegan cheese is only available at the takeout/delivery location in Salt Lake.

Less secret is Sage's Cafe. Every Tuesday, they host all you can eat vegan pizza and salad night. They don't deal with Teese or Daiya but make their own nutritional cheese sauce, which is like going back in vegan time. However, they make up for it with innovative pizzas such as cheeseburger, breakfast, taco and even dessert pizzas. You never know what the chefs are going to cook up so the surprise is part of the experience. I plan on doing a complete post on their pizza night so keep checking back.  
 UPDATE: The review of their pizza night can be found HERE.

Cakewalk Baking Company not only makes delectable desserts, but occasionally they make pizza pockets and pizza rolls. The pizza pockets are way better than the rolls. Just saying. I'm pretty certain they use Teese. Follow them on facebook to find out what they have as well as events coming up.

I haven't been to the Pie Hole yet but based on the comments. I contacted them and here is their response. "We do Vegan pie by the slice on Sundays and Tuesdays. But any day we can make a whole vegan pie for you! Options for sauces are: Vegan red w/ nutritional yeast cheese, BBQ sauce, Thai Peanut Sauce, Hummus, olive oil. And top that with your choice of veggies!" Follow them on facebook for the daily slice updates.   

Tofurky Makes A Pizza: A Guide to Frozen Vegan Pizza

  

      When I heard Tofuky made a vegan pizza I was stoked. Everything they make is delicious, they are one company who understands that the needs of vegans don't have always have to be fat free. Their breakfast links and sausages are simply delicious. But the dropped the ball on the vegan pizza. First off, the crust is whole wheat, which is forgivable. Not to mention that pictures don't lie, the picture on the box shows a cheese lined pizza loaded with vegan pepperoni. Inside the box is a different story, the pizza is loaded with pepperoni but is lacking in Daiya cheese. Just look at how much red (sauce) is in the picture. I'm not sure if it's a cost saving measure or what, but they need to increase the amount of cheese on their pizzas. Just a note that this wasn't a fluke but similiar results happened with other pizzas and their italian sausage one. In my opinion, the reigning champ of frozen vegan pizza is Tofutti. It reminds me of Ellio's pizza that I had as a kid. Unfortunately, it's hard to find in stores. Veganessentials.com does sell it though. In fairness, Amy's does make a few vegan pizzas that are pretty decent. I recommend the Rice Crust Spinach Pizza.

Homemade Pizza DIY Style:

     As you can see, I wasn't up for the frozen pizza and I just had pizza from the Pie last weekend so I was looking to switch it up a bit. I started with a frozen organic corn meal crust from Vicolo's. It's loaded with almost as much fat as you should eat in a day so just try not to eat the whole thing. Then I layered an organic pizza sauce from Eden foods. Then, I shredded almost half a tube of Teese on top. I'll admit that I'm a Daiya addicted but I heard Teese reformulated their cheese so I gave it a whirl. I was impressed! It melted and stretched just like Daiya. As a bonus, Teese uses organic soybeans unlike the conventional Diaya. For Salt Lake readers, the only local source of Teese is Cakewalk. (They also carry a bunch of other brands such as Daiya and Cheezly.) Then, I pan fried some Gimme Lean Sausage (mixed with some rice and crushed fennel seeds) and Lightlife's Vegan Pepperoni slices. For the final touch, I added canned organic pineapple. Happy Vegan Pizza Day. Any Leftovers?

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Winning Hearts and Stomachs.

Spicy Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh with Tamarind Sweet Potatoes and Gingered Green Kale

     I've been told the way to win over a woman's heart is through her stomach. So when someone special came over I decided to don my apron and chef's hat and see what I could come up with. I love trying to combine different recipes together to come up with a restaurant style meal (see my A Feast Fit for a Joe). The theme for this meal was ginger, which was found in every dish.  

    Gingered Green Kale

     One of my New Year's resolution is to break my addiction to making broccoli. It's just so easy to through some in the steamer basket and serve alongside the dish. I've been looking for new ways to cook greens that I normally overlook in the produce department. Not to mention that Kale is one of the most nutrionally dense greens out there. Well, it's tied for first, anyway. This recipe comes from The 30-Minute Vegan: Over 175 Quick, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes for Everyday Cooking. One of the best parts about this and their other cook book (Taste of the East), is that they include variations with each recipe, which was good because Whole Foods was out of Collard Greens that the recipe called for. The variations for this recipe call for kale or swiss chard, which turned out well since the kale was on sale. So now I just need to find a recipe for mustard greens and I'll be done with one resolution. The recipe came together really easy (and in much less time than the 30 minutes stated) and had a great taste that didn't overpower the kale. I might double to ginger and leave the spines on for a more crunchy texture.

 Tamarind Sweet Potatoes

     My second resolution is to break my addiction to brown rice. Like broccoli, making brown rice is simple soak and press start on the rice cooker. I was hoping to make this be the starch of meal. It was also the wild card. I've been meaning to do more with sweet potatoes. The results were incredible. The tamarind provides an excellent tangy flavor that is hard to describe; just dip in finger into the paste and you'll understand. My local Indian grocery store, which also carries fresh curry leaves!, had about 5 different types. I used concentrate, yet the recipe calls for paste. Not sure what, if anything, the difference is. The sauce also calls for Medjool dates that I've been snacking on lately. A new love for sure. The recipe from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East: 150 Asian-Inspired Recipes was spot on. I wouldn't change much but try the variations listed (broccoli, cauliflower or carrots). Oh and I probably wouldn't overcook the sweet potatoes. 

Spicy Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh

     My friend, Kevin over at Veganbrew.com, bought me the Candle cookbook. I've been to both Candle locations and they're both impressive. Living out West, I don't have the opportunity to eat there often so the cookbook is a good way to get my fill. Though my local Whole Foods does carry their 3 of their desserts, but I have yet to try them. Since I was trying to impress, I didn't want to try something new so I turned to this tried and true recipe. Normally, I lower the soy sauce and bake them after breading instead of frying, but I followed the recipe exactly. The frying is great because it doesn't dry out the tempeh. Well, I did alter slightly and dipped the tempeh triangles in some soymilk before breading. I've also used Egg Replacer and that works well.

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