Alla Helgons Dag

Swedish meatballs are something my mother never made from scratch, but we ate a lot of it, thanks to Stouffer's. I sure did love that crap, and didn't realize how much I missed that flavor until I started thinking about recipes for this week.

Swedish Meatballs have a LOT of ingredients going on, but with some shortcuts and Trader Joe's, I was able to pare it down. Lingonberry preserves are missing from this; you are welcome to add them if you'd like, but the only jar I could find was at The Wedge, and that shit cost more than I had in my account. Also, since the meatless meatballs from TJ's are already chock full of bread crumbs, we can skip the whole soaking bread in milk and adding it to the meat part. Blech. So glad I'm vegan. I don't miss that kind of prep work AT ALL.


This wasn't my favorite shot, but I'm using it because if you squint, you can see some cuddlin' felines in the upper left.

Swedish Meatlessballs
makes 5 servings

1 large onion, finely chopped
8 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
2 1/2-3 cups hot vegan beef broth (I used 2 Edward & Sons Not-Beef cubes dissolved in boiling water), mixed with a tsp of gravy browner (I picked up some Kitchen Bouquet gravy browner at the supermarket, and it has helped my beef-y recipes out a TON. Totally optional, though)
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 16-oz package meatless meatballs (if you don't have a Trader Joe's, I've seen other brands at the co-op, as well as Whole Foods)
splash wine
2 tbsp pickle juice
6 oz (about half a tub) vegan sour cream
2-3 tbsp fresh minced parsley
mashed potatoes or noodles to serve, if desired

Spray a large, deep skillet with cooking spray or heat a tbsp olive oil. Add onions and mushrooms, and cook until soft. Add a splash of wine to deglaze. Whisk cornstarch into 2 cups broth until dissolved, and add to the pan. Stir, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and cook until gravy thickens. Throw in the meatballs.  Stir, turning the meatballs over until they are heated through. Add more broth if needed. Push the meatballs over to one side of the pan, and stir the sour cream and pickle juice into the gravy. Mix well, and then incorporate the meatballs and remainder of the gravy. Throw in parsley, combine, and serve over mashed potatoes, noodles, or by themselves. 

Don't forget Swedish Fish for dessert!

And the winner is...

Today was Iron Chef at Animal Rights Coalition. I worked really hard all week, spent an outrageous amount of money, and ended up making The Beast. Some of you may remember that I've made it before, and it has always been a hit at Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out to be even more delicious with the addition of a vanilla-cardamom cranberries layer. Those who have experienced the Beast had plenty of helpings, which (almost) made up for the fact that none of my friends showed up. I'm not too worried about being all sour grapes about it on here, because none of them read my blog either. I need new friends.

So, I forgot my camera, but got a few shots with my shitty phone.

A blown circuit made the crockpot pointless, but despite being lukewarm, I ran out of extra gravy pretty fast. Well, and people were doing shots of it.

So, who won? My girl Kaylyn!!! I became her vegan mentor a ways back, and have watched her grow into a beautiful vegan flower. So proud of you!

Now, since you're all dying for the recipe...

The Beast
makes one deep dish 9x9" casserole, or one 9x13" (single layer)

Gravy:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp margarine
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
couple dashes white pepper
1/2 tsp granulated onion, or toasted dried onion
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 can pumpkin puree
2 or more cups vegetable broth
salt, to taste

Whisk the oil, margarine, and cornstarch into a roux over low heat. Add everything else, and slowly pour in the broth, stirring, until thickened and the consistency you want. Remove from heat. Salt to taste.

Potatoes:
3 or 4 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbsp margarine
unsweetened plain non-dairy milk
roasted garlic, if desired
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp dried rosemary

Boil the potatoes until fork-tender. Pass through a ricer or use a masher like this one so you don't get gummy potatoes (I also like it a little chunky). Stir in margarine until melted. Slowly add milk, whipping the potatoes to a spreadable consistency. Add some garlic, and rosemary. Stir.

Stuffing:
1/2 of a 12-oz bag bread cubes for stuffing (I mixed sage & onion with cornbread), or homemade 
2 tbsp margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
any additions you like in stuffing: hazelnuts, almonds, dried cranberries, apples, etc
1 tsp poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, or whatever you'd like to add if using plain bread cubes
1-1.5 cups hot vegetable broth 

Cook the onion, garlic, and celery over medium heat in the margarine until soft. Pour over the bread cubes. Slowly add hot broth and stir until it's moist but not wet. Fold in any add-ins you like.

Soy Curls (if using them; you can also use Tofurky or seitan for this layer):
1 bag Butler's Soy Curls
2 cups hot not-chicken broth (I use Edward & Sons)
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Hydrate the curls in a bowl with all the other ingredients for about ten minutes. Drain, and sear in a pan for a couple minutes until brown. Set aside.

Cranberries:
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch cardamom

Mix that up in a bowl.

Crust:
1/2 package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (or your own homemade puff pastry; one sheet)
non-dairy milk for brushing.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to 375°
Spray a deep 9x9" casserole or a 13x9" roasting pan with cooking spray. If using a deep dish, you'll want to repeat the layers, so divide everything accordingly. 
Spoon about 1/2 cup or so of the gravy in the bottom. Add your stuffing layer, packing it down to make a firm base. Next is the cranberries. You can either blop it all over, or spread it out in an even layer. Next, make a layer of soy curls. Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the whole thing with a rubber spatula. Spoon about a cup of the gravy over this. If you're deep-dishing, you should have saved half of everything. Repeat your layers. 

Roll out the puff pastry to fit your dish. Lay it over the top, and crimp the edges, or tuck it in. Brush with non-dairy milk. Make two slits in the top with a knife. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Lest rest for ten minutes, and serve with extra gravy.

2012 Resolutions, Updates, and Pictures

Midnight came and went with hardly an acknowledgment from myself on Sunday. I think this is the first New Year in many, many years that I awakened without a hangover. I had a nasty cold, but that's never stopped me before; alcohol is the Great Alleviator.

One thing I will not forgo is making resolutions. I've made them before and had them stick (quitting smoking, losing weight), with or without stumbling and relapsing. This year, I resolve to blog more often. With that comes creating, experimenting, and experiencing. I also resolve to make more of an effort as an activist. Any lazy sonofabitch can share links on Facebook, but it takes some sacrifice and schedule shuffling to hand out leaflets and talk to people about what it means to be vegan, especially when people just want to fight with you. 2011 was very trying for me in the activist regard; I lost a friend over it, but it made me realize that this is not just something that will eventually pass with me. It's the barometer by which I make any decision. After six years, it's the one thing I've stuck to without a known slip-up; probably because sneaking a cigarette outside a bar or eating an entire pizza after losing 40 pounds only hurts me.

Anyway, here's some pictures I cleaned out of my camera today.

From the night of Paranormal Activity and chocolate-cherry-cheesecake, Aaron's Pumpkin-Pie-in-a-Pumpkin:



From Thanksgiving Day at Dallas & Brandon's:

Wild Mushroom & Walnut Paté (Dallas hates shiitake mushrooms with the fury of a thousand ninjas, but looooved this).



The Beast made another appearance.



Maple glazed carrots.



Creamed spinach and parsnips. This didn't turn out as good as I wanted (but it was much better as leftovers). I'll try it again next Thanksgiving, but now I know how to make it better.



Autumn Latkes from Veganomicon. Props to Brandon for doing all that peeling and shredding. My arthritic hands thank you!



I forgot to take pictures of dessert, which was eggnog pumpkin pie and apple-pear crumble. That just means I need to make them again!

Aaron and Kevin showed up for dessert that day, and showed us a piece from the news that night.

Rescued beagles get normal homes

Then they told us that they were adopting one of the beagles! Meet Kevin Junior:



Junior is still a little scared of stuff, especially doorways. I promised him that whenever I come through a door, I will always have hugs and treats.

That's it for now, but expect more soon. I hope I can keep my word on that.

Naughty and nice.

You know who's naughty? This guy.


Bowie, doing yoga.

I have never yelled, "Get offa there!" so many times in a week. I've had to close off the bathroom for the first time since he was a kitty for a) stuffing the bathmat under the tub, b) unraveling a whole roll of toilet paper, and c) knocking a teacup off the counter and breaking it. He has taken to chasing invisible prey across my bed in the middle of the night when I have to work at 6:45am the next day, he's scratched up the inside of the doorway from the hallway to the living room, he's knocked over every trashcan in the house looking for God knows what...I'm just about at the end of my rope. Anyone want a slightly used, slightly feral, adorable tabby? Your only requirement is returning to your bed after your shower for belly-rubbing time. His belly. But he gives a good backrub if you let him sit on the back of your office chair. Ahhh...sigh.

BUT, you know what's nice? These:


Gingerbread donuts with candy cane sprinkles

I need to work on these. I was not perfectly satisfied with how these turned out, and wonder if a gluten-free dough would work better (the dough for these was very elastic and hard to shape). I'm going to try another batch sometime after MoFo and edit this entry to include a recipe. People I shared them with liked them, but I wanted a nice cakey donut, and these came out sort of quick-bread-y. Too moist, or something. I think it's the pumpkin. I veganized this recipe, and need to figure out how to make them more gingerbread-y. It didn't seem like enough molasses. I will say they were damn tasty with coffee.

Thankful for carbs

This would be a fun thing to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers, or you could make it for the big meal itself, if you'd like. Even better, you could just make this for dinner anytime, because if we all love Thanksgiving food so much, why do we have to wait until November?

Stuffing, that's why. I went to Whole Foods and Target today, trying to find bags of bread cubes to make stuffing. No one had any (well, Target had Stove Top, but we all know what's wrong with that), so I knew that I would have to make do with bread, a low oven, and lots of herbs. It ended up working out quite well (dry herbed up bread slices in the oven, chop them up, add to cooked celery and onion and douse in broth). I used a Pillsbury seamless Crescent dough tube. Yes, vegan! No, not healthy! But what exactly about Thanksgiving is healthy? That's right. As for the bread I used to make stuffing? Who else but Rudi's. There's a contest below, so pay attention!


Thanksgiving Pinwheels, naked.


And gravied up!

Thanksgiving Pinwheels
Makes 6 small servings

1 tube Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Dough, rolled out
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups stuffing (make it extra moist)
6-8 slices Oven Roasted Tofurky slices
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce (mix it up in a bowl to make it spreadable)

1 batch pumpkin gravy

Heat oven to 375° Spread potatoes over the rolled out dough, leaving a two inch space at one end (you'll need to seal it). Place Tofurky slices on top of the potatoes. Spread stuffing over that. Spoon cranberry sauce over it all. Roll up into a giant burrito and seal with wet fingers (do not pinch the ends). With a sharp knife, cut the burrito into twelve pinwheels. Place pinwheel disks on a cookie sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pumpkin gravy.

Now, since Rudi's AGAIN saved my ass, I'm giving away another prize pack! You'll get a coupon and a nifty sandwich box, yo. For your grilled Daiyas and PB & J's, son.

 

Just go like Rudi's on Facebook and in the comments here on this post, tell me what your favorite part about Thanksgiving is now that you're veg/vegan (assuming you weren't born that way!). I'll announce the winnah (US only, sorry!) on Tuesday, so you have ALL WEEKEND plus Monday to enter. Okay? Okay.

Boo!

Yeah, not much scary about these cookies. However; I do think it was cute that while I was mixing in the chips and nuts, this song came on the radio: I used this recipe, but added chocolate chips and chopped pecans to it. They didn't spread very well, and kind of came out the same shape as when I dropped them. Lesson learned for subsequent batches. I wonder if oil would work better than margarine? If I can improve on these (I'm already thinking that oats are needed), I'll bring them to all the parties I'm invited to this year. :>/ Upon cooling, these are delightfully chewy and go GREAT with coffee.

America, America

I was unsure what to make today. I almost did picnic food: hotdogs, burgers, potato salad, etc. Then I thought about a flag cake. Then I thought, let's make a mess! You know, because nothing says "God Bless the USA" quite like hot pink and turquoise cupcakes. Oh well, they taste delicious, at least. I used Jennifer's recipe for fluffy white cupcakes over at Schmooed Food, split the batter into thirds, and used food coloring. Apparently not enough of it. It doesn't mean I think any less of this country. However; if things keep getting worse around here, I may just be snowshoeing my way over the Canadian border by the end of 2012. Just sayin.

Zombie Jesus Brunch

My favorite part about Easter every year as a child (aside from the new stuffed bunny and basket of candy) was the brunch buffet we hit every year. Fruit, pancakes, waffles, and all the various animal parts and secretions. I still love brunch, and often make a big production when I get a weekend day off. Since I had to work today, I made brunch for dinner. That's right! Brinner, y'all.



Tofu omelet (I used chickpeas instead of chickpea flour because I hate the way that shit tastes) with asparagus, Daiya, and ham, multigrain waffles with berries, bagels with Tofutti cream cheese, and a mimosa (which I drank while trying to take pictures).

And much like when I was a kid, going up for foursies at the buffet, I'm totally stuffed. I wish there were fancy vegan brunch buffets in every fancy hotel.

Tonight makes love to all your kind...

tomorrow's making...valentines.



I have a hard time with Valentine's Day. On one hand, I love all things romantical and gooshy and sappy. Chick flicks make me cry. On the other hand...I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a sweet, romantic V-Day. Well, other than the ones I throw for myself. The closest I came to one was being told (while being dumped for someone else), "If this had lasted, I would have given you the Valentine's Day you deserve." Gee, thanks. *slams head on the desk*



This is something that failed, but I managed to cover it with enough frosting to disguise the fail. Apparently, veganizing cake mix isn't a snap like I thought it would be, at least not nearly as easy as brownie mix is. After 45 minutes in the oven, this red velvet cake had become an erupting volcano. I took it out, scooped out the unbaked part, sculpted it, and threw it back in for about ten minutes. The white top layer is cheesecake, which came out kind of thin. I put the two together, spackled it all together with cream cheese frosting, threw some berries on top to hide the cracks, and voila! Perfect for a romantic weekend with your lover, or one night with your bad self and How I Met Your Mother reruns.

Hoppin' New Year!

This week's theme is holidays. I'm glad I came up with seven holidays that are easy to find traditional and/or original ideas for, and still leave some holidays to fend for themselves (wtf do people eat on Labor Day?).

New Year's Day is all about good luck. Hoppin' John is a traditional southern meal eaten in the south on New Year's Day. The peas symbolize coins, and the greens (collards, etc) served with the meal are the color of money.

This is also another dish I can use that giant vegan ham to season!



You guys, this turned out so yummy! I was pretty scared to improvise with a dish I've never had before, but from reading the various recipes I found online, it stays pretty true to tradition (except for the veganness and the sherry). The sherry added a snap that was needed. Some HJ recipes call for vinegar, but I thought this would give it the right kick. Like my totally 80's champagne flute?

Vegan Hoppin' John
Makes 4-6 servings

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup diced vegan ham, diced or vegan sausage, cut up
1/2 lb dried black eyed peas, soaked overnight and rinsed
2 cups veggie broth
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cayenne
pinch salt
few twists fresh pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke
couple handfuls collard, mustard, or turnip greens or chard or kale, shredded
splash of sherry
steamed rice for serving

Heat oil in a largish pot. Cook the veggies for about five minutes, then add ham. Cook until veggies are tender and the ham is browned. Add broth, peas, and spices. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 40 minutes or until peas are creamy and tender (you may have to add liquid periodically; stir often!). Stir in greens and heat through. Add a splash of sherry and stir. Serve over rice.

Midwest Vegan Radio

So, I thought I'd posted this, but I guess I didn't. Duh.

I'm on a podcast! If you're just DYING to listen to my nasally Midwestern voice drone on about gravy and hotdish (broken up by occasional throat clearing), and learn what Ryan has decided is the past tense of "tweet."

Here it is.

Oh, and here's the recipe for Pumpkin Gravy:

2 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tbsp cornstarch

Make a roux, and add to it:

2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
1 14-oz can pumpkin pureé (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Whisk until smooth, and stir over medium-low heat until thick and delicious. Taste for salt. Add more herbs and pepper if desired. Great with Thanksgiving Calzones, or seitan cutlets and stuffing. Or just on mashed potatoes, which as an entreé? Fantastic.

It's that time again!

Twin Cities: Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale
317 West 48th Street (48th & Grand)
Easter Sunday, April 24, 1pm-5pm or until everything's gone, so GET THERE EARLY!

I'm making at least two kinds of cupcakes. I hear there will be vegan Cadbury eggs. As always, there will be lots of yummies, friendly faces, and no tables full of dead pig or baskets full of chicken periods dyed festive colors. Where would you rather spend Easter? I think Jesus would be much more down with a cruelty free holiday, don't you think?



Oh, and another thing. I bought these at Marshall's because I thought, "Whoa, no pan needed? I have a cookie sheet that could hold way more than 12 cupcakes!" No no no no no. Maybe three cupcakes came out looking normal. The rest either got HUGE, or baked around another cupcake. It's hard to describe. Just know this: When making cupcakes, use a muffin pan. That is all.

Last Iron Chef of MoFo IV: Cranberries

I was really quite proud of my cranberry sauce this year. It had vanilla and cardamom in it, and had a warmth to it that was very different from all my years using orange zest. Cardamom is up there with nutmeg as spices that bring back all kinds of memories. My mom used them interchangeably, and always made for delicious rice and bread puddings. I wanted to do something similar for Iron Chef, but not just sauce. I had just picked up another quart of Silk Nog, although I still had plenty from the last one. I also had a fresh nutmeg.



If you like sugar, and who doesn't, you'll love these.

Cranberry Walnut Nog Fudge
Makes 30-40 pieces
(thanks to cute and delicious for posting her Best Vegan Fudge recipe, so I had a starting point)

1 1/3 cups Silk Nog
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp Earth Balance
2 tbsp light corn syrup
3/4 cup vegan white chocolate chips I use these dudes)
1 tsp rum extract (or vanilla if you have no rum)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 nutmeg + more for sprinkling

Melt the first six ingredients, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches 250° (if you don't have a candy thermometer, you can try the cold water test. You want it at the firm ball stage). Remove from heat, stir in the rum extract, and cool to 110° (about 15 minutes or so). Take a wooden spoon, and beat the fuck out of it for about ten minutes, or until it starts to not look so glossy. Beat in the cranberries, walnuts, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.

Meanwhile, have ready a nonstick brownie pan that you have buttered with EB. OR, line it with foil and butter the inside.

Pour the hot fudge into the pan. Sprinkle with nutmeg like it's a big glass of delicious nog. Cover with foil and refrigerate for a couple hours. Eat, or wrap up as gifts.

The Feast of the Beast

I just want to shake my head in disappointment of all the people who said, "Happy Turkey Day!" today. There is not much happy in the US today for turkeys. Except these guys playing soccer.



With that said, I will finally say that I am thankful that I got to spend this holiday with vegans. It really is a relief to have a meal with friends and not have to explain, educate, and defend myself while asking, "What's in this?" about everything on the table.

I headed over to the home of Dallas and Brandon this morning, and got to work. My poor time management caused us to nix a couple of items from the menu, but there was still enough food to disable five healthy adults for the rest of the night.



I'm super bummed that I didn't take a few pictures of this because this is the only one, and it sucks a whole ass. It's green bean casserole, and quite possibly the tastiest one I've ever made. Mimicreme, creminis,and white wine. It made all the difference, and made up for the fact that I kind of burned the french-fried onions. Oops.



Loads of mashed potatoes and pumpkin gravy. There's only a smidge of stuffing in that dish because so much of it went into...



The Beast. Layers of walnut and cranberry stuffing, roasted seitan, pumpkin gravy, and mashed potatoes, sealed in with puff pastry. Inspired by Robin Robertson's Thanksgiving-in-One-Dish recipe. It was a HIT, and the Beast will be making appearances at holiday meals to come.



Inside the pan, inside the Beast.

Gingery Pumpkin Cheesecake was had again. The crust turned out very cookie-ish and yum, but the filling just wasn't as high. It was still awesome, though. You've already seen pictures here and here.



Milo the cute.

Two salads tomorrow, I promise. I am just zonked.

Waiting for the snow

I have never been so ready for winter. I know, I always duck when I say that. But living here my whole life, I know I'd miss the cold and the snow if I moved somewhere warm. My dad packed up everything and moved himself, my mother, and their business out to Hawaii after the Halloween blizzard of '91, declaring that "This will be my last Minnesota winter." Well, he was right, sort of. He retired to his hometown of Valley City, North Dakota, which is not Minnesota, but may as well be. At least Minneapolis has city-run snowplows. Also, driving down to the Cities for holidays kind of puts him back into Minnesota Winter territory.



Shannon also picked tonight's recipe. A very snowy-evening kind of dessert. The original recipe, from Bon Appetit, calls for an obscene amount of eggs. It's supposed to be light, puffy, and soufflé-like. I tried. I whipped silken tofu in a frozen bowl with frozen beaters. I added agar. Powdered sugar. It wasn't going to happen. Instead, I focused on making the pudding taste rich and wonderful, and stopped worrying about being some sort of vegan meringue pioneer.



The pudding is pretty close to the real recipe as far as ingredients go (minus the eggs), with a tofu/Silk Nog/agar/almond extract mixture folded in. The topping is pecans, Earth Balance, brown sugar, gingersnaps, and pumpkin pie spice. The ginger-orange marmalade I used has big pieces of orange zest, which really adds to it. It came out fluffier than I'd expected, which was a nice surprise. In future attempts, I'll add a little cardamom. Because my mom would have.

Calm before the storm

The first week of MoFo is usually a hodgepodge for me, and I get right into themes on the second week. Tonight, I decided to make myself some leftover soup, and a grilled Daiya sandwich.



I like to mix dried rosemary into some Earth Balance and spread that on the outside before grilling. Try it. It's addicting.

So, I went grocery shopping today. I forgot my piece of shit camera, and took cell phone pictures, but they're all too small and bad. I really want a new camera. Something with a great macro setting for food photos. Not incredibly expensive. Good optical zoom. Post recommendations in the comments!

But, one picture I will share is this one.



Oh, hells yes.



Goodnight, MoFoers! Magazine week starts tomorrow.

Thanksgiving 2009

Some pictures from Thursday.

The faux turkey:



I used Robin Robertson's recipe for the seitan, and made a pecan/apple sage sausage/orange cranberry/mushroom stuffing.



Sorry that's so blurry.

Autumn rolls from Veganomicon:



From the same book, Autumn Latkes and Horseradish Dill Sour Cream:





Gingerbread Apple Pie from VwaV:



Pumpkin Cheesecake from VeganMoFo last year (not the cake, the recipe):



Brandon made the mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts. He also supplied the comedy and beer.



'Lona supplied the adorable Floridian accent.



Aaron had seconds. I was impressed. I had one plate and passed out.



Warren helped clean up by catching everything I dropped on the floor.



Dessert is always my favorite.





Taz wants to jump up on the table and join us.



And Milo's in the potatoes.