Vegan Thanksgiving: Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, Gravy

Homemade Cranberry Sauce Two Ways

One way ... Traditional Cranberry Orange Relish (serves 4)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 medium orange

Zest the orange and juice it. Set aside zest and juice.

Mix sugar and water in medium saucepan; stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to boil. Add cranberries. Return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes while stirring occasionally. Stir in orange zest and juice. Cook 2-3 more minutes.

Another way ... Cranberry Horseradish Cream
Add 3/4 cup vegan sour cream and at least 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) into recipe above.

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Vegan Stuffing with Chestnuts, Dried Plums (aka prunes), Sage, Thyme, and Rosemary
(Serves at least 8 hungry people)
(this might be one of my fave dishes I've ever made!)

12 cups bread cubes, toasted
1 large onion, diced
about 4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
about 1 to 1 1/2 cups chestnuts, quartered
about 1 - 1 1/2 cups prunes, quartered
4 cups vegetable stock
about 1 cup mixed chopped herbs (fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9" x 13" baking pan with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet. Add onions and celery and cook until onion is translucent and celery is softened. Add garlic, chestnuts, prunes, and herbs and cook about 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Mix onion celery mixture with bread cubes in a large bowl until well-combined and pour into 9" x 13" baking pan. Drizzle vegetable stock over mixture in pan evenly. Cover with foil and bake 30-35 minutes. Remove foil and cook an additional 20 minutes (until top is browned). Let stand 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

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Insanely Delicious Vegan Gravy (makes a lot)
(recipe from Vegetarian Times Magazine Dec 2012 issue, p.36)

2 x 8oz russet potatoes
12 button mushrooms
3 carrots, cut into chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
2 small onions, cut into eighths
3 cloves garlic, smashed
olive oil
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh sage
2 bay leaves
12 peppercorns

Preheat oven to 425F. Quarter 1 russet potato and place in a large Dutch oven with mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Toss with olive oil. Roast 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or until vegetables are deep brown on edges.
Transfer Dutch oven to stove top and stir in wine, tomato paste, and 8 cups water. Add fresh herbs and peppercorns and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
Strain liquid and discard solids (though I kept mine and ate them, yum!). Peel and chop remaining potato into small cubes. Return broth to pot with potato and season with salt and pepper (to taste). Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups. (Mine never made it to 2 1/2 cups ... mine was more like 4 cups, but it was just fine. I added a bit of cornstarch at the end to thicken it.) Blend liquid and potato in blender or using an immersion blender. Reheat before serving, if necessary.

I made this a day ahead and reheated it on the stove before the meal. It was wonderful! :)

Lillet Rose Cocktail

This might be the best cocktail ... ever.

Lillet Rose Cocktail
(recipe based on one from Martha Stewart Living magazine April 2012)

2 parts Lillet Rose aperitif
2 parts Ruby Red grapefruit juice
1 part gin

Shake in a cocktail shaker with some ice and serve up (picture above)
... or ...
Muddle some fresh basil leaves in a rocks glass, add ice, shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with some ice and pour over ice and basil (picture below) (optional: add some seltzer on top)

Vegan Summer Rolls

I finally made summer rolls! They were far easier than I thought they'd be! I thought I'd be wrestling with broken rice paper wrappers and unable to actually make a neat roll. Not shabby for my first attempt ...

The lovely filling stuffs ... some avocado, sprouts, basil, julienned orange pepper, sliced cucumber ... I also put some shredded carrots and cellophane noodles in these rolls.


To make cellophane noodles: The package should have the instructions, but all you do is drop them in boiling water, turn off the heat, let them sit for about 10 minutes, and drain.
To make summer rolls: Just dip rice paper wrapper quickly in room temperature water until it becomes pliable. Lay on a cutting board and put in some of the ingredients you've chosen to stuff them with. Roll wrapper over ingredients, tuck ends in (like a burrito), and finish rolling up.
Voila! So healthy ... so delicious! 

I like to dip these in peanut sauce or sweet and sour sauce (both of which you can buy over the counter).

Summer Tomato Salad (thanks to my local CSA)

Summer Tomato Salad

My CSA delivered some delish local organic tomatoes this week, so I made this simple salad that was out of this world. It's just fresh sliced tomatoes, roasted red pepper, pitted kalamata olives (capers would also be nice here), and some homemade pesto dotted on top. Yum!

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Cauliflower Curry and Cucumber Raita

My Favorite Cauliflower and Pea Curry ...

Ingredients:

Cayenne Pepper
Flour
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets and steamed
About 10oz frozen peas, defrosted
Canola oil
curry powder (I like Madras style)
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
about 3 tablespoons tomato paste
cilantro leaves for garnish

Method:

Steam cauliflower florets. Mix a small amount of flour and a generous amount of cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like things - I make my flour light pink!) in a gallon-size zip lock baggie. Add steamed florets to baggie a little at a time and shake to coat the florets with the flour/cayenne mixture. Heat oil in a 12" skillet with sides and saute the onion until soft. Throw in the garlic and saute for about 1 minute to release garlic flavor. Put cauliflower florets into skillet and coat with curry powder so that each piece has a bit of curry on it. Add broth, peas, and tomato paste. Stir to break up the tomato paste and dissolve it into the broth. Mix the whole mixture well so that all the cauliflower is coating with the tomato paste/broth mixture. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Serve over basmati rice with cilantro leaves as a garnish. Yum!

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Cucumber Raita ...

I serve this as a side dish for any spicy Indian curry, but sometimes I also eat it for breakfast! It's so yummy!
Ingredients:
8oz plain yogurt (vegan or otherwise)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 of an English seedless cucumber, grated

Method:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and chill. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Yum!

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Quick Black-Eyed Pea Slaw and Polenta Fries (vegan)

Quick Black-Eyed Pea Slaw

Ingredients:

1 (15oz) can black-eyed peas
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
3/4 of a 10oz bag thinly sliced red cabbage
1/3 cup prepared salsa verde (I like La Costena brand.)
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon gomasio or 1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:

Whisk together the sour cream, salsa verde, vinegar, and olive oil in a large bowl. Throw in the black-eyed peas, cabbage, parsley, and grated carrot and mix well. Season with gomasio (or salt) and pepper. Yum! (My husband really liked this slaw! It's going to become a regular.)

Easy and Inexpensive Grilled Polenta Fries



Ingredients:

About 3 cups prepared polenta, cooled so that it's firm. (I used some leftover polenta from the other night's dinner.)
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Old Bay seasoning

Cut cooled polenta into rectangular sticks. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Old Bay Seasoning. Heat some olive oil on a grill pan. Grill polenta on two sides until warmed. Delish!

My recipe how to make polenta is here: http://sundaegirl108.blogspot.com/2010/05/polenta-with-roasted-tomatoes-vegan.html

Saag Tofu (vegan)

Saag Tofu (Spinach Curry with Tofu)

Ingredients:
23 oz fresh baby spinach
olive oil
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3/4 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup vegan sour cream
1 (14oz) package firm or extra firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet with sides and fry the powdered spices for a minute. Put as much spinach as will fit into the skillet along with the water and stir to coat with the spices. Cover and let that batch wilt until you can fit more spinach. Add more spinach (and water, if necessary), cover, and let that wilt. Fold in the vegan sour cream and tofu cubes. Add the salt and sugar and stir well. Continue cooking over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the flavor of the spices gets into the tofu. Serve with basmati rice. Mmmm.

My basmati rice recipe is here: http://sundaegirl108.blogspot.com/2010/12/sweet-potato-curry-with-spinach-and.html

The above saag tofu recipe is losely based on the Paneer Sak recipe (p.184) in The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking by Adiraja dasa. You can purchase that book here: http://www.amazon.com/Hare-Krishna-Book-Vegetarian-Cooking/dp/0902677071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344987514&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hare+krishna+book+of+vegetarian+cooking

HARE KRISHNA!

Garlic Scape Pesto with Orecchiette, Roasted Tomatoes, and Roasted Eggplant (one of those rare recipes that are not vegan)

Garlic Scape Pesto with Orecchiette, Roasted Tomatoes, and Roasted Eggplant

Garlic scapes are usually only available in June from your local farmer's market, so take advantage and enjoy these summer treats!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
11 garlic scapes, green parts chopped into 1" pieces
2.5oz (70 grams) of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan or parmigiano-reggiano cheese (grana padano would also work nicely)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
3/4 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half and roasted at 400F for about 20 mins
1 large eggplant, roasted at 400F for about 1 hour (i'd say this is optional ...)
1 pound orecchiette pasta

Method:
1. Roast eggplant: Coat eggplant in olive oil and prick with a knife on all sides. Roast at 400F for about an hour.
2. While the eggplant is roasting, make the pesto. Place pine nuts, chopped garlic scapes, basil leaves, lemon juice, and grated cheese in food processor and add olive oil as you are processing and then add water if you want the pesto to be a little thinner.
3. After the eggplant is done roasting, remove from oven and scoop out the flesh and place in a separate bowl. Discard the skin.
4. Roast the tomato halves: Place cut side up on the same pan that you roasted the eggplant on. Spray with a coating of olive oil spray. Sprinkle with fresh black pepper. Roast at 400F for about 20 minutes - until withered and slightly brown on underside.
5. While the tomatoes are roasting, cook the pasta. Boil orecchiette for about 10-12 minutes (until al dente).
6. When pasta is done, drain and combine in a large bowl with pesto, eggplant flesh, and roasted tomatoes.

Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Tempeh Over Soft Polenta

Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Tempeh Over Soft Polenta
(recipe adapted from the one in The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliott - buy this book!)

Ingredients and Method:
Crispy Tempeh:
8oz tempeh, sliced very thin (at least 24 pieces)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I minced mine)
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a shallow pan, covering each side of the tempeh, and then allow to marinate while you chop the brussels sprouts and onion. Preheat a deep skillet over medium heat and spray it with a coating of cooking oil. Add the tempeh strips, reserving the marinade, and cook until crispy - about 5-7 minutes each side. Remove the tempeh and set aside.

Brussels Sprouts: 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 pound brussels sprouts, cut in half
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
leftover tempeh seasoning
1/2 cup water

Reheat the skillet over medium heat, add the oil, and sauté the onion until it begins to soften (3-5 mins). Add the brussels sprouts and sauté until slighty browned. Add salt and pepper. Add tempeh seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for about 7 minutes (until the sprouts are tender). Remove lid and simmer for a few more minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly.

Polenta:I just add one cup polenta to 4 cups already boiling salted water and stir continuously until the mixture thickens.

Spoon polenta onto plates and cover with tempeh, sprouts, and sauce. Mmmmmm...

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Chewie goes vegan!

I've been thinking about switching little Chewie over to a vegan diet because I don't want him to eat anything gross that I wouldn't eat. Plus, he seriously needs to outlive me; I ♥ Chewie! I came across V-Dog vegan kibble today which looks amazing! I ordered it and I'm so excited to see how Chewie likes it. I'm also going to get him some Organic VEGA Antioxidant Omega oil blend to put over his food as his vet has suggested he needs some oil in his life.

I also ordered the Simple Little Vegan Dog Book by Michelle Rivera and I can't wait to make him some yummy yum yums to enjoy in addition to his nutritionally balanced doggie food. Fortunately, Chewie actually likes his greens and eats zucchini. Good boy.

Here are some resources about meatless meals for your furbabies:
PETA's article about vegan dogs and cats

Good vegan nutrition for doggies

A list of "people foods" by ASPCA and whether or not those foods are OK for your pup.

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International Travel 2012 ... Cancun, Mexico

My husband and I enjoyed 5 days of paradise in Cancun last week at Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancun.
I want to go back immediately!



Link to full album:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150769654647174.465901.514802173&type=1&l=5de05f9c64

Israeli Couscous Salad with roasted tomatoes, peas, and olives ...

Israeli Couscous Salad

2 cups Israeli couscous
2 1/2 cups water
3-4 cloves garlic - sliced very, very thin
1 package grape tomatoes
1 lemon (juice of and zest)
1 small package frozen peas, defrosted
3/4 of a can small or medium black olives, all olives cut in half
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine
olive oil
ground black pepper, to taste
oregano (fresh or dried), to taste

Method:
Preheat oven at 400F. Cut grape tomatoes in half. Spray cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Place grape tomatoes, cut side up, onto cookie sheet and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle some black pepper and dried oregano on grape tomatoes and then put in the oven to roast for about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan and saute the garlic in the oil for about 30 seconds over low-medium heat. Toss in the dry couscous, turn heat up to medium, and stir continuously for about 3 minutes just to toast the couscous a bit. Pour in the water, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to lowest setting and cover the saucepan. In about 10 minutes, most of the water should be absorbed by the couscous. If it still needs to absorb more water after ten minutes, let it go for another 5 minutes. Once the couscous is done, toss in a bowl with the peas and olives. Cover and refrigerate for a few minutes to chill it slightly before adding the rest of the ingredients. Let the grape tomatoes cool before adding them as well. When both things are cool, combine and add the chopped parsley, zest of one lemon, and juice of one lemon. Add black pepper and oregano (fresh or dried) to taste and maybe a little more olive oil drizzled over top if you're feeling decadent. Enjoy!

Chickpea and Prune Tagine (vegan)

*Recipe adapted from Dec 2011 Vegetarian Times magazine.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (15oz) can crushed tomatoes
3 cups cooked chickpeas
prunes (quartered) for couscous
fresh cilantro leaves as garnish

Instructions:
Heat oil in saucepan, add onion, and saute until onion is soft and translucent. Stir in spices and saute 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1/4 cup water, simmer 10 mins. Serve over couscous (recipe below) and sprinkle cilantro leaves on top.
*This would be even better with some okra in it! Definitely doing that next time.

Couscous recipe here:
http://sundaegirl108.blogspot.com/2011/08/beet-greens-with-black-eyed-peas-and.html