Warm-Me-Up Dumpling Stew

The mornings are biting just a bit as the fall chill begins to creep in the windows and although the sun is still lingering here and there, I have made the menu switch in my brain to fall comfort foods. Yes, this is the weather for a warm bowl of chunky stew topped with sticky dumplings. It has been a favorite of mine since childhood, but I have never made a vegan version since making the change. This is by no means a lighter stew because of the absence of meat, in fact I think that it is just as heavy and stays with you just as long as my mum's original recipe. So curl up on one of these first chilly days of fall with a deep serving of this and feel happy and warm!

I have taken the fam fav recipe and veganized it with tempeh, but this is just as good with straight up veggies just skip to #2.

WARM-ME-UP DUMPLING STEW

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 pkg tempeh
1 T olive oil
1/4 C tamari (or soy sauce * tamari has a smoother flavor)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 T nutritional yeast (you can omit this as well)
1 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp sage

Stew:
2.5 C h20
1.5 crushed vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 large onion chopped
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp each rosemary, thyme, marjoram, basil, sage, tarragon
1 large turnip roughly chopped
1 large potato roughly chopped
1 T parsley
1 minced garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1 tsp tamari
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
2 T cornstarch dissolved in cold h20
salt and pepper

Dumplings:
1 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C milk (soy, rice)
2 T oil

1. Tempeh

1. Cut tempeh into small cubes.
2. Marinate for at least an hour in marinade.
3. Heat oil in a large soup pot and brown the tempeh cubes.

2. Stew

1. Add 2 C h2o, crushed bouillon cubes, and onions to the browned tempeh cubes. Heat for 15 minutes.
2. Add oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, basil, sage, tarragon and potato and turnip chunks. Cover and let simmer 15 minutes.
3. Add parsley, garlic, bay leaf, tamari, parsley, carrots and celery. Let simmer an additional 15 minutes.
4. Add the cornstarch with an additional 1/2 C h20. If the stew is too thick just add more water. Salt and pepper to taste. Let thicken to desired texture.

3. Dumplings

1. Mix dry ingredients together and slowly add wet ingredients stirring until just combined.
2. Drop 1 T sized dumplings into the stew along the outside first then in the middle. Cover and simmer on low 15-20 min.

After the stew cools just enough spoon out the dumplings and get yourself a heaping serving of warm comfort. Don't forget to top it with a few gooey dumplings!

This recipe was great, I initially added cayenne (bad idea) and parsley to the dumplings (another poor idea) but with the tweaking this is sure to satisfy on any cool evening.

Enjoy!

Vegan Treats and Tomato Canning Redux

September has definitely brought me far away from my kitchen, but I vow to come back for some fall favorites in the coming weeks. In the meantime I am posting some of the noteworthy culinary moments of past few weeks.

Earlier this month Nina, my cohort of the tomato arts, and I made it to the local farm to pick a bushel of ripe Roma tomatoes for canning. I cannot lie, it was not a perfect process, but we learned a lot and are well on our way to becoming masters of preserving! This time, instead of dealing with boiling, blanching, peeling, and squeezing, we were blessed with the amazing contraption below. This baby did it all! If you are a serious canner, or if you just have a copious crop of tomatoes this year, you MUST, I repeat MUST go out and by a food strainer/sauce maker.Then, and learn from our mistake, it is wise to cook your puree for at least 45minutes until it has almost halved in size. We did not do this and our finished cans are a bit too watery. But, despite that small oversight, this puree is great and merely needs a pinch of thyme or oregano to make a perfect simple sauce for anything. I am hooked, and before returning the strainer to its rightful owner I plan on trying my hand at pumpkin puree for pie and applesauce! I'll let you know how, and if those turn out!

In addition to discovering a new passion for preserving, I also turned 30! The milestone was celebrated with the most delicious cakes and cupcakes that I have ever been privileged to eat from Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, PA. Perfection!

The Ultimate Vegetarian Bolognese & Easy Bruschetta

The Plan: Go to a local farm to pick fresh tomatoes. Peel, seed and puree the tomatoes. Make an amazing sans-meat Bolognese.

The Reality: Local farm was CLOSED. Went to grocery store. Peeled, seeded, pureed the tomatoes. Added some additional tomatoes from the can (!) to make up for a major tomato puree underestimation. Made an amazing sans-meat Bolognese!

So, things didn't go according to the original plan. Do they ever? Nina and I started our day excited about the prospect of taking a tomato from the plant to the plate, but as we pulled up to the uncharacteristically unpopulated fields we realized, to our dismay that they were closed! OH NO! But, not to be thwarted, we swung over to the supermarket that stocks local produce and picked the ripest of the bunch. I must add here that I, not really thinking about how much of a tomato is actually water, incorrectly guessed the number of tomatoes that we would need to make 70 ounces of puree. Thus, later in the day, we had to scurry to our cupboards to supplement our homemade puree. We pushed on and in the end, despite our challenges, had two beautifully bubbling pots of a deliciously thick, potent, sauce that pleased our hungry husbands very much!

This recipe is in stages. First is the recipe for making a Quick and Sweet Tomato Bruschetta, a little snack that got us in the tomato mood. Then I add the process for making Homemade Tomato Puree that you can then use in sauce or even can for use later. Finally I give you an incredibly tasty Ultimate Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce recipe that is sure to please! Bear with this doozy of a post!

Before I begin, a hearty thanks goes out to Nina who let me massacre tomatoes in her immaculate kitchen.

Quick and Sweet Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 C diced tomatoes (any kind will do we used plum and half of a beefsteak)
tsp salt
T loosely packed and cut basil
T extra virgin olive oil
three -four slices of thick bread
l clove garlic cut in half

1. Add oil, salt and basil to the tomatoes and let sit for 15-30 minutes. Do not refrigerate.
2. Cut bread bread slices in half or into fours and toast in oven (or toaster oven) until crisp.
3. Rub raw garlic clove over the toasted bread and splash a bit of olive oil on each piece.
4. Spoon a heap of tomatoes onto the toasted slices.
5. Eat!

Homemade Tomato Puree

Ingredients:
16 large ripe tomatoes (you could also use Roma, but would need a lot more)

1. Heat a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice cold water.
   
3. Place tomatoes into the boiling water for 3-4 minutes until the skin begins to tear.
4. Place immediately into the cold water and let cool.
5. Peel off the skin of each tomato.
6. When all tomatoes are skinned, cut out the cores and quarter.
7. Squeeze the seeds out of the quarter slices into a bowl (or garbage if you don't want to save them) This is the fun part, but it leaves your counter looking like a battleground!
8. Take the rest of the tomato that has been skinned and seeded and place into a large food processor. Process to preferred consistency. I tend to like the sauce a bit chunky.
9. Set aside for use in sauce or can for later use.

Ultimate Vegetarian Bolognese

Ok, so a Bolognese sauce typically has a lot of meat, but the best parts of the sauce are the vegetables and wine which pair beautifully with the strong tomato flavor. This version omits the meat and substitutes the non-vegan milk and butter, but basically remains the very same super sauce that layered our family lasagna.

Ingredients:
1/2 C finely chopped red onion
1/2 C finely chopped carrot
1/3 C finely chopped celery
1/4 C olive oil
3 T vegan butter
1 C dry red wine
1C unsweetened soymilk
1 tsp salt and pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
70 oz (two 35 oz cans or 16 large pureed tomatoes)
6 oz tomato paste
1 T fresh basil

1. Saute onion, carrot, celery in oil and butter until softened.
2. Add wine and let reduce to half.
3. Add milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and warm through.
4. Add tomatoes, paste and basil and stir to blend well.
5. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 3 hours uncovered.
6. Before serving taste for salt.
   

There you have it my friends, the closest to homemade that I can get! I promise to document my trip to the farm when it is open and perhaps the second time around it will work out just right!

Dinner Party Notes

Last Thursday I decided to make a huge pot of Green Chile with apples, tomatillos, hot peppers (a few different varieties) and cilantro coupled with jalapeno fresh cornbread. Although I am not leaving the recipe (it was good - but too tart for my chili taste buds) I wanted to share some pics of the beautiful green bounty that decorated my table the entire week.

Isn't this just fantastic? Makes you want to eat GREEN everyday!


I've also included a pic of the finished product, which is not quite as exciting (although the entire dish did look better with fresh cut slices of avocado and a few pinches of chive and cilantro).




** My next post will include a trip to the local farm with my friend Nina to hand pick tomatoes for a stellar batch of spaghetti sauce. Stay tuned for our incredible adventures picking, blanching, peeling, and seeding!!!

Bursting Blueberry Scones

Scones are an easy and sophisticated breakfast for those weekends when the in-laws are in town. The fluffy, tart and filling triangles are deceptively simple to make, but sprinkled with a bit of powdered sugar they seem downright decadent.

Breakfast is particularly difficult for me as I typically don't like to eat anything with my over-sized cup of piping hot coffee, but scones are one of the few pastries that actually add to the delight of morning caffeination. They aren't too sweet, but have a soft fruity (if you use fruit that is) aftertaste that just slightly melds with the strong punch (I like mine dark!) of my morning cup of Joe.

I made these with some frozen blueberries and the dough turned a delightful shade of blue, which made eating them much more fun! Enjoy!

BURSTING BLUEBERRY SCONES

Ingredients:

2 C self-rising flour
3T sugar
1/4 C shortening
1/4 C vegan butter
1/4 C silken tofu*
1/2 C soy milk (for sweeter scones use vanilla)
1tsp vanilla
1.5 C frozen blueberries

• Preheat oven to 435 degrees.
• Grease baking sheet (or use your amazing non-stick scone pan!)
• Combine sugar and flour and with forks smash in the shortening and butter until large crumbs begin to form.
• Stir soy milk, silken tofu and vanilla together in a small bowl.
• Add wet ingredients to dry until combined and knead a few times.
  
• Fold in the frozen blueberries until mixed through.
• Roughly roll out the dough into (or smash down with your hands) a circular shape about 9" and cut into equal wedges. (or spoon mixture into scone pan!)
• Pierce the tops of each scone with a fork and bake 19 min or until tops are slightly browned.
• Let cool, top with powdered sugar.

There you have it, a terrific breakfast for guests or for yourself! Try making these with a cup of chocolate chips or some walnuts and cinnamon for a sweeter twist.

* This is softer tofu that usually comes in smaller cardboard boxes. It is best for making desserts and can be used as an egg substitute, and is delicious in smoothies!

The Vegan Reuben with Plantains

Last Friday I was guilty of some delightful dinner spoiling on the Lower East Side at Babycakes NYC (all vegan, soy and gluten free AND delicious!!!) and I couldn't help but think of that other local foodie spot Katz's Deli, famous for stacked sandwiches and, of course, for that unforgettable orgasmic lunch with Harry and Sally circa 1989. Right then and there I was struck with a craving for a mean sandwich the likes of which I haven't experienced since omnivore days. Luckily, I was craving mostly the big tang of a dripping Reuben, a sandwich that can easily be made sans corned beef.

A classic Reuben is typically a mound of corned beef topped with Swiss cheese and sauerkraut bathed in a super tangy Russian dressing tucked between toasted slices of rye. There are, of course, many variations, and this one of grilled tempeh, no cheese, kraut and secret vegan dressing on pumpernickel is one of them! And because this recipe is heavy on the soy product (tempeh is a cake of fermented soy beans and is superbly rich and satisfying) I am also throwing in an awesome soy-free quickie from the ever-illuminating Alton Brown: Plantain chips!

On a side note, if you are interested in the fascinating origin of the Reuben sandwich it proves to be a sticky and contestable tale! Sandwich Origins

Thanks to Vegan with a Vengeance you have never steered me wrong!

Vegan Reuben w/ Fried Plantain Chips

Ingredients:
1/2 C white wine
2 T olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice
3 cloves crushed garlic
2/3 C Vegannaise (mayonnaise for the non-vegs)
2 T ketchup
2 T lemon
2.5 T pickle relish
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package tempeh cut however you like it (I do thin rectangles)
1 C sauerkraut
Rye, pumpernickel, sourdough, wheat, you name it or whatever bread

1. You need to cut the tempeh into your desired shape (the thinner the better) and then marinate in wine, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic for the afternoon.
2. Mix Vegannaise, ketchup, lemon juice, relish and cayenne and refrigerate until serving.
3. Heat up the grill or grill pan to the highest setting, a skillet to medium heat and a small sauce pan with the sauerkraut in it. Butter your slices of bread (with vegan butter of course!) When grill pan is heated grill the tempeh slices a few minutes on each side. Grill the buttered bread slices in the skillet until crispy. Heat the kraut until warm. This step is a bit tricky, but you want it all to be hot when it goes on the plate!
   
4. Assemble your sandwich! Bread, tempeh, kraut, Vegan Russian sauce.

Vegan with a Vengeance thank you for your answer to the famous Reuben!!!

Now for the plantain chips!

Ingredients:
1-2 green plantains
oil

1. Heat 1/4 inch oil in a skillet.
   
2. Cut the plantain into 1/4 inch slices and then slice off the peel.
3. Place the slices into the oil and fry 3 minutes per side or until golden on each side.
4. Place on wire rack w/ paper towel to dry.
5. Once dry smash the slices down to discs with a mallet or plate and fry again on both sides.
6. Lay on paper towel to dry and salt before serving.

Delicious!

There you have it, a sure (and more healthy) way to stave off deli cravings!

Stay tuned...

This week I am slated to try my very first Vegan Ruben, paired with smashed plantain chips, mmm!

Then I will dazzle all of you with the most incredibly savory tomato sauce on the vegan planet, maybe even the planet! Seriously this is full proof even if you want to swap the blanching, squeezing and peeling of tomatoes for the can opener - this tastes divine!