Vegan Lasagna

Yes, lasagna.  I don’t make it nearly enough.  And it’s so good–that is, if you make it like this:

To me lasagna is all about fresh pasta.  Those wide noodles with the curly edges just don’t do it for me.  Many people are intimidated by fresh pasta, but for no good reason.  It’s quick and easy, especially if you invest in a pasta rolling machine.

Start with about 2 cups of semolina flour.  Add a pinch of salt, a dash of olive oil, and enough cold water to bring it together into a hard dough.  I mix it right on the counter, adding just a few tablespoons of water at a time.  Knead it for a while, then either knead it for 10 minutes or start feeding it through the large setting of your pasta roller around a dozen times.  Either roll it out very thin, or use the machine to gradually thin it to the thinnest setting.  Cut pieces the length of the pan.  It cooks right in the oven.

Meanwhile, I steamed some spinach, squeezed out the water, and chopped it up.  I also made a white sauce–about a tablespoon of earth balance and a tablespoon of flour cooked into a roux, a little salt and pepper, a cup of soymilk (add gradually and whisk until smooth) and a little nutmeg.

The layers go like this:  Olive oil and a little tomato sauce (I used a jar this time).  Pasta. Tomato sauce and cheese (FYH jack or mozzarella slices). pasta. Spinach. Pasta. Tomato sauce. Pasta. White sauce. Pasta. Tomato sauce and cheese.

It goes into the oven at 375 for half an hour or so–feel free to cover with foil or put under the broiler to achieve your desired level of meltiness and crispyness on top.

Other things I sometimes add as layers: fresh basil, sauteed mushrooms, tofu mashed up with herbs, salt, and garlic.

It sounds kinda complicated, but it really only took about 20 or 30 minutes to make!  C and I inhaled 2/3 of it right away.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Many vegans have discovered the tasty whipped cream in a can made by Soyatoo.  It’s pretty good on desserts, although it loses its fluff quickly.  I recently picked up a little box of whippable cream by the same company, and decided to make chocolate mousse. 

It turned out pretty delicious, although I would make a little change next time.  I started by melting 8 oz of chocolate (yes, half a pound.  I used Trader Joe’s “Pound Plus” 72% dark chocolate).  Meanwhile, I whipped up the cream with the contents of about half a vanilla bean (it’s fine to use extract, or leave it out altogether).  It took about 4 or 5 minutes on high to get it whipped up really well in the kitchenaid.  I’m not sure if I would attempt it without an electric mixer.

I folded the whipped cream into the chocolate–here’s where I would make a change.  I was worried that the cream wouldn’t be very stable, so I let the chocolate cool down considerably.  It turned out the cream was quite stable, and the cooler chocolate hardened into very tiny chunks in the cream.  Anyway, I continued folding in the cream bit by bit (folding means gently scooping up the bottom of the bowl with a spatula and laying it on top over and over to break the fewest air bubbles).  I served it in some martini glasses with a bit of shaved chocolate on top.

I think this is definitely something I will make again, and work into some other pastry/cake recipes in the future!

Baked Potato and Roasted Tomato Soup

We made an especially satisfying dinner last night.

It started with the under-appreciated baked potato.  Just a nicely sized russet potato rubbed with some oil and salt and placed directly in the oven at 400 for about 45 minutes.  Take them out and either wrap with foil or put in a covered bowl for at least 10 minutes.

We served them with vegan sour cream (tofutti), green onions, and little slices of fried up smart bacon.

I adapted the tomato soup from a NY Times recipe.  I took a can (big one) of diced tomatoes, drained off the juice, and baked on a sheet pan with olive oil and salt at 400 until they just started to turn black on the edges.  Meanwhile, I sauteed some onion and carrot with a bit of rosemary and garlic.  I added the tomatoes, the juice, and a bit of water.   That simmered away for half an hour or so.  I added about a cup of breadcrumbs from some leftover sourdough rye bread to thicken up the soup. 

Add a simple green salad, and you’ve got an easy, cheap meal that’s satisfying and healthy.

Vegan Croissants/Pain au Chocolat

What better to do on a lazy Sunday than spend all day on a baking project?  I was inspired by Ariel’s gift of tubes of almond paste.  I’ve made croissants before, and I like to vary them a bit by rolling some chocolate in the middle to make pain au chocolat.  Adding a little roll of almond paste makes them a delectable vegan pastry that would satisfy anyone.

There’s lots of tricks to making decent croissants.  The first step is to knead 3 sticks of earth balance with about 1/4 cup of flour.  It’s important to get this mixture smooth, because any chunks of butter will later break through the layers of dough.  Form the butter into a 6×6″ square on some foil and put it in the fridge to chill.

The next step is to create a simple yeast dough.  Use 2 cups of warmed soymilk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons (or packets) yeast, and 4 cups flour.  Mix well, knead (adding more flour as needed), put it back in the bowl, and refrigerate.

A few hours later after the butter has firmed up and the dough has risen in the fridge, you’re ready for the next step.  The idea here is that the dough and the butter have about the same consistency.  Knead and roll out the dough into a square about twice the size of the butter, and place the butter on top.

Fold in each corner like you’re wrapping a present.  Keeping everything well floured, turn it upside down and start rolling out into a long rectangle, about three times as long as it is wide.

If the butter starts squeezing out, everything is too warm and return it to the fridge for a while.  If the butter seems too hard and starts breaking through the dough, it’s too cold–let it warm up a bit.  Fold in thirds, bringing each end in (like a letter).  Again, keeping things well floured roll out again into a rectangle.  This time fold into fourths–fold each end to the middle then close the whole thing like a book.  Things will really be warming up by now, so wrap tightly in plastic wrap and return to the fridge for a good hour.

Unwrap and roll out again into a rectangle.  Fold in thirds.  Wrap and return in to the fridge for 3-5 hours, or longer (overnight would be fine). 

You’re now ready for the final roll.  It’s really important to keep things cold at this point.  I let a bunch of ice cubes melt on my counter for a while–if you have a marble slab by all means use it.  Unwrap, and roll out into a large square/rectangle until things are about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into triangles with a sharp knife, place them on cookie sheets, and return to the fridge.

At this point you can simply roll them up into croissants.  I took about half and added a roll of almond paste (marzipan works fine too) and some chunks of bittersweet chocolate. 

Place them on a cookie sheet, let rise an additional hour, and bake at about 400 for 15-20 minutes.  They’re great right out of the oven, but they actually get more flaky as they cool.

They turned out pretty well this time.  I had a few issues–my triangles were a bit more like right triangles than the isosceles ones that work best. I sort of rolled each one individually to make them more in the right shape.  My first few ended up a bit ugly, but by the end they looked great.  The other problem was my oven heats much more from the bottom than the top–even on a high rack in a well-preheated oven, the bottoms got brown too fast.  I flipped them with about 5 minutes to go and they ended up looking fine.

 

I also have about a third of them in the freezer (unbaked) for a later occasion!  I’ll let you know how they turn out.

Roasted Asparagus

If you want a bit of a change from steamed, boiled, or sauteed vegetables, don’t forget your oven!  Last night I roasted up some fresh looking (and cheap) Asparagus that I bought at Uwajimaya. 

I simply tossed the trimmed spears (they were small, so I just broke off the ends–I usually peel larger spears) in some olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, salt, and paper.  Then I laid them out on a cooking sheet and put them in the oven at about 425 until they got just a little charred on the ends, about 12 minutes.

This treatment also works great for broccoli!  Or for something a little different, use lacinato kale (sometimes known as dinosaur kale).  Crispy and delicious!

Nutritional Yeast

By request… if there are any other topics you want me to cover, send me a message!

Nutritional yeast is one of those foods that you can probably find in any young, vegan household.  I don’t really know why it has become so ubiquitous–it probably has something to do with the fact that some (but not all) varieties have substantial quantities of vitamin B12, the only vital nutrient almost completely missing from a vegan diet.  Now that soymilk, fake meats, and other products are regularly fortified with B12, this is not a compelling reason to eat NuYeast.

So why eat it?  Well–because it tastes good.  It actually does have interesting nutritional properties–lots of protein and fiber–but these are things not usually missing from a vegan diet. 

There are two places it shines–as a topping on popcorn and in vegan mac and cheese.  (Sometimes I like it sprinkled on some pasta, and in my early vegan days I doused all kinds of things with it to enliven boring dishes my housemates made).

The recipe I use for “cheese” is somewhat adapted from the one in The Farm cookbook.  I start by making a roux with a few tablespoons of flour and a few tablespoons of earth balance.  After it gets nice and golden brown, I add a few cups of water and cook until it thickens.  I then add tons of salt, some fresh garlic or garlic powder, a tiny pinch of turmeric (for color), a heaping cup of NuYeast, and about half a stick of earth balance (you can make it as rich as you want using less or more).  Oh, and sometimes a dash of soy sauce.

You can also adapt this recipe (make it a little thicker and adjust the seasoning) to make a pretty good imitation of the sort of nacho cheese dip you would get at the fair or a baseball game.

If you like vegan mac and cheese and popcorn, eat NuYeast!  Otherwise, don’t try and eat it if you don’t like it.  There’s no reason that vegans need it nutritionally.

All about tofu

It’s impossible to avoid jokes about tofu when living as a vegetarian/vegan in this country.  The word is even used pejoratively, implying falseness or weakness.  Why all the hostility?  Tofu is soft, mild, and white.  What could be more unoffensive?

Like other mild foods (rice, white bread, chicken), tofu needs a little attention to be delicious.  What it needs most is salt–under-salted tofu is probably the primary reason that people don’t like it.  Tamari is a natural pair, but a little table salt and garlic or herbs is wonderful too.

The other thing it benefits from is proper treatment in the pan.  Of course, there are many ways of cooking tofu, but for standard dishes this is the way to go:

First, you have to identify the kind of tofu you’re working with.  I’m not even going to discuss the stuff that comes in the aseptic package in the grocery isle.  The refrigerated stuff comes in two primary forms–in a tub with water or in a brick wrapped in plastic.  The tub tofu can be anything from silken (not appropriate for frying) to extra firm.  The wrapped tofu is usually either firm or extra firm. 

Softer tofu benefits from a thorough draining, and even pressing between some towels (paper or cloth).  Firm tofu is ok right out of the pack.  Heat a non-stick skillet (or well-seasoned cast iron pan or wok) over medium-high heat.  Add at least a tablespoon of oil and your tofu chunks, slices, or whatever, and SALT.  Even if you’re adding soy sauce later.  The salt helps draw the moisture out of the tofu.  Get everything settled in place and turn your stove to HIGH HEAT.  The highest you’ve got.  Before long (longer if you have softer tofu, be patient), a nice brown crust will start forming.  You can fry each side, but I usually just flip it once and get nice color on 2 sides.

Turn the heat back down, throw in some tamari and chili flakes and basil (what I did last night), let things dry up, and you’re done.  Or move forward with some vegetables for a stir fry.  Or use as-is with some soba noodles.

So… salt + high heat + nonstick pan = tasty tofu!

Perfect Vegan Pancakes

I shouldn’t really say perfect, because pancakes can be so many things to so many people.  I do think these were particularly good, though.

I never use a recipe for pancakes–I just mix up whatever looks tasty that morning.  In this case it was a mashed banana, about 3/4 cup of whole spelt flour (whole wheat is pretty much the same), and 1/2 cup white flour, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp baking powder, a dab of sugar, about a tablespoon of oil, some cinnamon, a touch of cloves, and some hemp seeds (for those omega-3 fatty acids!), and enough soymilk and water to make a batter.

There’s a few tricks to making good vegan pancakes.  One is to only lighly mix your batter–chunks are ok!  Another is to use it within a few minutes of mixing.  Both of these help the baking powder make nice, light pancakes.  I use a relatively hot pan.  Another important trick is to put a nice pat of earth balance or other vegan butter in the pan before each pancake.  The last is to do a nice, clean flip, allowing the pancake to expand nicely.

I ate them with real, grade B (it has more flavor than grade A) maple syrup.

As I make other versions of my pancakes, I’ll post the recipes.  Feel free, though, to mess around–try applesauce instead of banana, oat flour instead of spelt, cardamon instead of cinnamon. 

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

On three day weekends like these, I tend to take my cooking a little more seriously, and take the time to actually make things that sound good.  After that pasta, I needed something sweet, and a chunk of chocolate just wasn’t doing it.  I decieded to make these simple but great peanut butter cups.

The filling is easy–about equal volumes of peanut butter and powdered sugar with a pinch of salt (depending on if your peanut butter is salted or not).  Also, you can add some peanut oil (or canola oil) if your peanut butter is too dry.  The mixture should hold together in balls.

Meanwhile, melt some chocolate.  I use a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water.  It doesn’t need to be fantastic chocolate–I use the bitter sweet “pound plus” bars from Trader Joe’s.  The only trick is to “temper” your chocolate–necessary if you want nice, shiny cups with that chocolate snap.  Without getting into the science of it, you basically need to get the chocolate to crystallize in a regular pattern.  You can do this by continually stirring as it cools, or by adding some “seed” chocolate–unmelted, finely chopped chocolate that has its original crystalline structure.

Just make some little disks of the filling and dip in the chocolate.  After coating my cups, I had some melted chocolate left over, so I put in a handful of almonds, mixed them up, and scooped them out onto some plastic wrap.

The chocolate takes a while to solidify–they only really get shiny and nice a number of hours later, in my case the next morning.

Pasta – a little different

Most cooks know that pasta should be cooked al dente and only lighly dressed with sauce.   This is the traditional Italian way of appreciating the pasta itself.  There is another tradition in Italy, though, that is quite satisfying when you’re feeling a bit more saucy.

In this recipe I made last night, I parboiled the pasta for 2 or 3 minutes, and finished it in the tomato sauce as it cooked.  I made a simple sauce with onions, garlic, basil (fresh), oregano (dried), salt and pepper, pinenuts, olive oil, and a whole bag of washed spinach.  I reserved the pasta cooking water to add more if it got too dry.  I used half a bag of pasta for quite a lot of sauce.

The result is a nice thick sauce (partially thickened by the starch coming off the pasta) and very flavorful pasta.