Eggless Egg Salad

This was a request from my friend, Pam. It turned out pretty good! I've never had real egg salad (never ever liked eggs before I was vegan), so I don't have much to compare it to. But, I'd say it's awesome! 

Eggless Egg Salad

* Prep Time: 10 minutes

* Ingredients:  

• 3  tbsp onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 tbsp dill relish
• 3 tbsp stone ground mustard
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp agave nectar*
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 package medium grade tofu (14 oz.), pressed and drained, mashed*
• 3/4th jar vegan mayonnaise*

* Recipe: 

1. In a bowl, mash the tofu well.
2. Add the onion,celery, parsley, and dried dill to the tofu. Mix well.
3. Next, add the dill relish, mustard, lemon juice, agave, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
4. Lastly, add the mayonnaise. Combine well.

* Note: Agave nectar is a natural sweetener that is used to replace honey. You should be able to find it at your grocery store with the jams and honey. I used medium tofu in this recipe. If you wish, one could try this recipe with soft (not silken) tofu. Let me know how it turns out! I am not sure if it would be too "runny" which is why I opted for medium. For vegan mayonnaise, I prefer Vegenaise. 


Once you combine all the ingredients, if you feel the salad needs a little bit more of one of the ingredients, feel free to add more.

Dishes Men Like: Caesar Salad & Chick'n Divan

More recipes inspired by "Dishes Men Like". It is made by Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce and every single recipe contains their sauce! Clearly, men love these dishes. This is the rest of the dinner I made which composed of the previous blog entry (shrimp canapes and crab bisque), Caesar salad, and Chick'n Divan.
 

Caesar Salad
 

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 5 minutes
* Ingredients (for salad):  

• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 bunch endive (preferably curly), chopped
• handful of cherry tomatoes, split down the middle
• handful croutons

* Ingredients (for dressing):

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese*
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise*

* Recipe: 

1. Combine the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, and Parmesan in a medium bowl. Once mixed, add the mayonnaise until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mixed together the lettuce, endive and tomatoes.
3. Place the lettuce mixture in a serving bowl, top with croutons, then add the dressing. Sprinkle with more vegan Parmesan!

* Note: I used Galaxy brand vegan Parmesan cheese topping. For vegan mayonnaise, I used Vegenaise. 
 

Chick'n Divan with Buttered Rice 

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes

* Ingredients (for chick'n divan):  

• 1 bunch of asparagus, ends chopped off
• 1 can (16 oz.) cream of mushroom soup*
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup vegan Parmesan cheese
• 1 package vegan chicken, defrosted and sliced*
• 1/2 cup heavy soy cream, whipped*
• 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise*

* Ingredients (for buttered rice):

• 2 cups white rice, cooked
• 1 tbsp soy butter*
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe (for chick'n divan): 

1. Cook asparagus in boiling salt water until tender, then drain. Place the asparagus in a large baking dish.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Combine soup, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, and pour 1/2 mixture over asparagus.
4. Top the asparagus with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.
5. Defrost the vegan chicken and slice into 1/2 in. pieces.
6. Top the asparagus with the chicken and pour remaining soup mixture on top. Sprinkle with another 1/3 cup of cheese.
7. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.
8. While baking, combine the whipped cream with mayonnaise.
9. When chicken is done baking, spread the mayonnaise mixture over the chicken and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup cheese.
10. Broil for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

* Recipe (for buttered rice):

1. Cook the rice according to box instructions.
2. While still hot, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

* Note: The cream of mushroom soup I used was Imagine brand. The vegan chicken was Vegetarian Plus brand. For the soy whipping cream, Soyatoo was used. Vegan mayonnaise brand was Vegenaise. Earth Balance was the soy butter used.

The recipes above were fantastic! I hope you all enjoy them. I'm looking forward to modifying and creating more vegan versions of these retro dishes in the future.

Alexis' Purple Potato Gratin & Joe's Stuffed Bacon & Cheese Vegan Veggie Burgers

Alexis' Purple Potato Gratin & Joe's Stuffed Bacon & Cheese Vegan Veggie Burgers

 

* Prep Time: 1 hours
* Cook Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
* Ingredients (for purple potato gratin)

• 6-8 purple potatoes (roughly 2 lbs)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 leek, diced
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour or wheat flour
• 1 cup almond milk
• 3-4 slices cooked faux bacon, diced*
• 2 Cups cheddar cheese, Daiya brand*
• 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese*
• Salt & pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for stuffed bacon & cheese vegan veggie burgers)

• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 - 1 1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein), rehydrated with water or vegetable stock as directed by the package
• 4 large button or crimini mushrooms, diced to small bits
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (plus extra to dredge)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp arrow root
• 1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
• 1-2 tbsp catchup or tomato paste (to give moisture)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
• 3-4 slices vegan bacon
• Olive oil (to cook burger in frying pan)

* Recipe (for purple potato gratin):  

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 
2. Peel potatoes and cut away any bad spots and rinse of any peels or dirt from peeling.  Slice potatoes into a disc shape no more than 1/4" thick.
3. Dice the onion and leek and sautee in a skillet with the olive oil.
4. While this sautee's, toss potatoes with the flour, vegan parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to coat. Mix in the onion and leek and then cook the bacon.
5. Once the bacon is cooked, chop, add to the potato mixture and then add to a casserole dish.
6. Pour the almond milk in to the casserole dish containing the mixture.
7. Cover the potatoes in the Daiya and spread evenly.
8. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. 
9. Remove and let cool til it is warm enough to eat.

* Recipe (for stuffed bacon & cheese vegan veggie burgers):   

1. In a skillet, prepare the bacon and set aside to cool. Once cool, chop to small pieces.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the black beans and give it a light mash to open up the beans.  Add the TVP, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, and catchup and mix well.
3. Stir in the flour, cornstarch, and arrowroot and mix as even as possible. (You wont be able to get every little piece, but just do your best.)
4. Take a large tablespoon and scoop out enough to patty flat. 
5. Add 1 tbsp or so of the Daiya and bacon.
6. Take another scoop of the burger mixture (about half as much as previously) and add to the top.
7. Patty down to enclose the "cheese" mixture.
8. Once you have finished pattying out your burger, lightly dredge in flour and add to a shallow skillet or griddle that has been lightly oil.
9. Cook until both sides are browned.   
10. If you would like to grill these burger, preheat oven to 225°F and prepare as above. Bake patties until they are firm and have lightly brown.  This will hold them together so they wont break a part and fall into the grill. Add to the grill and cook until brown to your liking.
11. Topping Suggestions: Add some slices of vegan bacon, vegan cheese, and mushrooms and onions sauteed in a little vegan butter. Top with a little mustard on a toasted Bun. Top with standard burger toppings such as lettuce, onion, pickle, vegan mayo, catchup, and mustard.
    

*Notes: For the faux bacon, I used Lightlife Smart Bacon. Daiya is a great vegan cheese brand that uses tapioca instead of soy or rice. I used Galaxy brand vegan parmesan cheese. 

This food was for a vegan BBQ at my place. I also made a pineapple upside cake and curry chikin salad on mini toasts. Those recipes came from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan Table cookbook.

• Pineapple Upside Down Cake: 5/5 (so delish!) 
• Curry Chikin Salad: 4/5 (some people loved it, others weren't so keen on it)
  

Summer Is Here - Time for Chilled Soups!

Over the last couple weeks, I have acquired several amazing cookbooks. Not all of them are vegan or vegetarian. The list includes: Best Loved Food of the 50s, Pretty Party Cakes, Bake Me, I'm Yours... Cupcake!, Vegetarian Suppers, Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian, and Vegetarian Cooking Commonsense Guide. The last book was bought by the boy as a present, hoorah! Also - this book: Don't Throw It, Grow It! It's really cool and tells you how to grow crops and herbs from your vegetable seeds in your kitchen. Basically, it is kitchen gardening. So far, I've really liked using the 50s book for my dad and apparently the meat-based dishes have been excellent. Pretty Party Cakes and Bake Me, I'm Yours... Cupcake! are fancy pastry chef books but they look oh-so-cute. I need to have a party sometime now! Vegetarian Suppers has proved some great recipes out of there too. My bookshelf has overflown to the floor now... Eeep!

Every week I get a grocery box from New Leaf Natural Grocery. It is a local, organic health food store in Roger's Park by Loyola. In this box, there is $15 worth of local (well - as local as possible), organic produce, fruits and vegetables. I love this box because it makes me experiment with different vegetables I wouldn't normally buy. Oftentimes, I have no idea what kind of vegetable it is. For isntance, how many of you have cooked with black carrots? Hah.

This weekend, I went out to the 'burbs and visited Mitsuwa Marketplace. Here, I got the ingredients to make inari and vegan wonton soup. I also bought shochu and for those who do not know the wonders of chu-hi, please look up how to make homemade chu-hi drinks out of shochu ASAP! In Japan, they sell cans of it at conbini's (convienent stores) for cheap. It's an excellent and different kind of drunk. Anyways, back to the food. The wonton soup ended up to be desired. I will not post the recipe because of that. Oh well, time to experiment some more! The inari I bought pre-packaged and made the sushi rice myself in my personal rice cooker (it's so tiny and cute!).

I've made another care box for the month of May too. Can't post pictures just yet, it has not arrived. But, it is very well done and let's just say my kitchen was messy after wards and I had to go to the 'burbs to get something needed for it.

This is a really easy recipe.

Miso Cucumbers and Shitake Mushrooms.

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

* Cook Time: mix!

* Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons miso paste
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil or stir fry oil - not olive oil, though
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• water - to taste
• 1/2 a cumcumber - chopped
• 5 fresh shitake mushrooms - chopped

* Recipe:

1. Mix all ingrediants by hand in small bowl - add as much water to taste depending on how thick you want the dressing.
2. Chop up some cucumbers and fresh shitake mushrooms.
3. Mix the vegetables and the dressing!

* Notes: None! Enjoy!

Sweet & Sour Soy Meat w/ Rice

* Prep Time: 5 minutes

* Cook Time: 20 minutes

* Ingredients:

• 1/2 an onion - chopped
• 1/3 ginger root - minced
• 3 cloves of garlic - minced or pressed
• 2 tablespoons stir fry oil
• 1.5 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 cup of fresh shitake mushrooms - chopped
• 2 mini bok choy heads - chopped
• 2 cups of soy meat - boiled & drained
• dash of garlic powder
• dash of onion powder
• 2 dashes of sea salt
• dash of black pepper
• half a bottle of Kikkoman Sweet & Sour Sauce
• 1 cup of white rice - cooked

* Recipe:

1. Put soy meat in small pot with boiling water and let it become soft. Let it cook while doing the below directions and then set aside when it is done. Drain.
2. Cook your rice in whatever way you wish - microwave, rice cooker, stove top. Let it cook while doing the below directions and then set aside when it is done.
3. Put the onion, ginger, and garlic in a deep frying pan or wok with the stir fry oil. Fry until the onion is translucent. Add all the spices.
4. Add the soy meat, the vegetables, and the Kikkoman Sweet & Sour Sauce. Stir until everything is completed covered in the sauce.
5. Add the wok ingredients to a bowl of white rice!

* Notes: I was lazy and used pre-bottled sweet & sour sauce. This is a quick fix meal for a lazy evening. Also - instead of soy meat, you can use tempeh or tofu. Tofu would probably taste better. For soy meat, I use Now Textured Soy Protein (which is actually the correct wording for soy meat). You can find it at most health food stores, if not online then. In my experience, where you can find vegan food in Tokyo, they love textured soy protein!

Organic Summer Chilled Carrot Ginger Soup

* Prep Time: 10 minutes

* Cook Time: 30 minutes

* Ingredients:

• 1/2 an organic onion - chopped
• 1/3 organic ginger root - minced
• 2 tablespoons organic olive oil
• 8 small-medium organic carrots - chopped
• dash of organic sea salt
• dash of organic black pepper
• dash of organic ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons organic coriander
• 3 cups of organic vegetable bullion

* Recipe:

1. Place the chopped onion and ginger root in a small pot with the olive oil. Cook until onion is translucent.
2. Add the spices and the carrots. Cook for a few minutes, mixing.
3. Add the vegetable bullion. Boil until the carrots are soft.
4. In batches, blend the soup in a blender.

* Notes: While this recipe does not have to be organic, I just happened to make it that way. I used Organic Gourmet vegetable bullion which you should be able to find most places.

'Ta for now!