Andouille Tempeh Dirty Rice

This is the first step towards Dirty Rice Tamales.  We copied the spice combination of an authentic Andouille sausage recipe and marinated the tempeh in that solution overnight.  Tomorrow we will add whole mixture and marinade to a pot with 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water and some onion, celery and bell pepper. 

First we crumble the tempeh until it's crumbly.

Then  we add all of the herbs and spices. 1 teaspoon each of Oregano, Thyme, Paprika, Sage, Sea Salt, Thyme and File Gumbo (ground Sassafrass)

Then add 1/2  teaspoon each of cracked red pepper and black pepper

Then we add water to cover and 2 tablespoons Canola oil and mix well.  Refrigerate overnight.

Here is the finished Dirty Rice

Vegan Wedding

Ive been working on a vegan wedding for  J and B.  The wedding will be in October.  The following are the choices that will be offered to the couple at their tasting.  They will also get to taste a salad and two or three sides.  These are pictures of the practice entrees which could use a little tweaking.   The first picture is of the Butternut Squash Rotolo. This rotolo starts as a long piece of handmade sage pasta layed flat.  It is layered with a mild cashew cheese and roasted butternut squash, and then rolled up and boiled.  The finished roll is then cut crossways for individual servings.   It lays on a bed of wilted seasonal greens and is topped with grape tomatoes and fried sage.  This is a classic can't lose flavor combination.  When I crafted this one several months ago I just used plain flour to make the pasta (It was just for me and the old man).  Using semolina flour will give the pasta more bite and structure.  This rotolo was dee-licious though.

Next are the crepes.  These crepes are stuffed with a crazy assortment of exotic mushrooms (Beech, Maitake and Shitake) along with walnuts, spinach, ginger and sesame.  The sauce is a lemongrass kreem.  We will need to work on presentation.  I would like to see some nice plump goji berries on top of this and the crepes must be thinner.  Also, Lemongrass must be added to the crepe batter.   Nothing but the best.

And here is the puff pastry.  This is hand-rolled puff pastry. (Thanks Brittany of Sinfull Bakery) It's light and fluffy and speckled with rosemary.

The box is filled with artichoke bottoms, eggplant and tomato and topped with garden cilantro-basil pesto and a simple tomato sauce.  I will add cashew cheese to this recipe and more eggplant and tomato.  This box needs to be spilling over with veggies.

Vegan Superbowl

So happy to report that my cajun empanadas were just the good luck charm that the Saints needed to win the Superbowl yesterday. My (non-vegan)friends and I have a superbowl party each year. They know they can count on me for a few vegan options and this is this years fare. Above are the Geaux Saints Sweet Potato Maque Choux Empanadas (which came with a mango Chimmichuri) I'll give you the recipe below.

Next is the Annual Stadium cake made from My Sweet Vegan's http://www.mysweetvegan.com/ Lemon Lime Sunshine Bundt recipe and my stadium mold.

And this is the grid of guac. It's a whole bunch of big beautiful Haas Avocados, mixed with pico de gallo, lime, salt and pepper and the yardlines measured out in Vegan Cream Cheese

Geaux Saints Empanada Recipe:
1 big ole Sweet Potato
1/2 Onion, diced

1 Stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 bag frozen corn or one can, drained (about 8 ounces frozen)
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1 teaspoon gumbo file
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon cracked red pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tablespoon Vegan Cream Cheese
Empanada rounds (check the label) Also if you find the ones that say "para horno" that have no beef fat you're in business.

Preheat the oven to 350. Set your Empanada rounds (discos) out to thaw

Cut your sweet potato into cubes and place them in a large bowl. Add all the spices and the oil and toss the potatoes to evenly coat. Put the potatoes on a large sheet pan and toss them in the oven.

Chop your onion, celery and pepper. Drop them in that same bowl that you used for the potatoes and give them a little toss in the residual spice. After 10 minutes pull the potatoes out of the oven and toss the onion mix on top and replace in back in the oven. Cook for another 5 minutes.

When your done return the whole mix to the same big bowl and stir in the frozen corn and the Vegan Cream Cheese. Taste the mix and make sure it's good.

Lay all of your discos out on the table and scoop about two tablespoons full of mixture onto each disc.

Pick up one disc and fold it in half making a semi-circle and matching up the ends so that you have about a half an inch of seal.

Make a small fold or crimp in the empanada and smash it into place. In fact go ahead and make five crimps(or four like the picture).

Place the empandas on a well oiled sheet pan or a well oiled piece of

parchment on a sheetpan and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden bown.




Serve with Chimmichurri or Mango Chimmichuri:

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 onion

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 Jalapeno (preferably red)

1/2 Tablespoon red bell pepper

1/4 tablespoon sea salt,

1/4 tablespoon paprika

Blend together in a food processor and serve. Add two tablespoons of fresh or frozen mango for mango salsa.

Watch as Matt takes them home from the party.

Pretty Empanadas with Hatch Chimmichurri

Vegan Buffalo Wings

My version of Vegan Buffalo Wings

Made with tofu skins wrapped up into drumsticks, baked at around 425 to develop a nice crust and then dipped in Louisiana Hot Sauce and served with vegan blue cheese dressing

Butternut Squash Raviolis

OK this is a really pure version of this dish. My clients wanted no salt, no oil and one needed no wheat. So I made homemade ravioli using whole wheat pastry flour, oil (just a little), water and salt. Then a mushed up some cooked butternut squash with some allspice and stuffed the inside of the ravioli with them.

I made the sauce using oat milk, sherry, garlic, onions, thyme, a small amount of coconut milk, a dash of vegetarian worchestershire and oh yeah wild mushrooms (shitake and oyster). You don't have to saute the veggies you can just cook them in the sauce if you want.
Then I cut the rest of the squash into the same cute shapes as the raviolis and I baked them with a little allspice. She loved it.

Green Party Luncheon

Lunch for the Green Party Convention consisted of Mediterranean Wraps, Cilantro Pesto Pasta Salad and Melon balls in a Balsamic Mint Vinaigrette. The Wraps were Falafel, Lettuce, Tomato, Tahini Sauce and Pickled Turnip (that's the pink stuff in the middle).

Vegan Chili Rellenos

Howdy there,

These are my chili rellenos made with baby bella mushrooms, brown rice, walnuts and fresh herbs from the garden There is also a layer of soft tofu underneath the stuffing that you can't see. The sauce is a mild tomato with onion and peppers and the cheez is Toffuti brand, which by the way, melts very quickly. If you don't get your dish out of the oven in time the slices of cheez will disintegrate into your food.


3 big Poblano Peppers

Stuffing

1 cup of cooked brown rice

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup any kind of mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts

2 or 3 cloves of garlic

1 heaping tablespoon fresh savory herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, cilantro, rosemary etc..

1 tablespoon soy sauce

salt, pepper and an pinch of cayenne

2 tablespoons of canola oil or 1/2 cup water

1/2 lb soft tofu

Tomato Sauce

1 can cubed tomatoes

1/4 cup onions

2 cloves of garlic

Slice Toffuti Mozzarella cheez.

Put the poblanos in the oven on high heat (like 400 f or higher). Cook the poblanos until they blister all around. You will want to turn them so that all sides get a nice blister.

When all is blistered, place the poblanos in a plastic container and cover them. You can use a big old ziploc if you have to but treat them delicately. Set aside.

Take the onion, mushrooms, walnuts, garlic and herbs and give them a rough chop in the chop chop (food processor). If you don't have a chop chop, just mince these suckers up very fine. This is a mixture I use constantly as a fake meat. It has the earthy base note of meat with the mushrooms and the chewy texture with the walnuts.

At this point you can do one of two things; you can either saute this mash in oil or steam it in water. If your on a diet do the water. Put the 1/2 cup water in a saute pan with the soy sauce and dump the mix into the pan and spread it around evenly. Cover the saute pan with whatever you can. You can use another saute pan or a plate if you don't have a cover. Let this cook on medium heat for 3 to five minutes. After you open it up you can just stir it around and cook it like normal (add the rest of your seasonings) until it's done. If it's dry add a little more water. You need a little juice because you are about to add it to your cooked brown rice. Add your brown rice to the mix, stir and taste for flavor. Set aside.

For the sauce; Puree all ingredients in the chop chop then transfer to a saute pan and let it simmer.

Now you are ready to assemble.

Peel the poblanos carefully. You may want to do this near the sink with the water running but don't put the poblanos under the running water. Just use it to clean your hands. You'll see what I mean. You can leave the stem and all of its parts intact.

Cut a slit in the pepper. Stuff the pepper ,first with a generous portion of soft tofu, then on the top with your mash put this in the oven for about twenty minutes and then add a few slices of the fake cheez. That cheez will melt in about two minutes. Pull the rellenos out and place them on a plate on top of the tomato sauce and your done. I put those in the saute pan with the tomato sauce because I wasn't sure what time the Old Man was getting home and I didn't want the cheez to disintegrate.

Wally and Larry from the Progressive Forum enjoying a Chili Relleno casserole I made with the extra intredients (I always make way too much food)

Napolean of Avocado and Heart of Palm

Howdy there y'all,

This is my first blog post and I confess that this is an old picture of one of my favorite little tarts (other than my girlfriend Cherri). It's almost raw but the heart of palm and the pepinos (pumpkin seeds) are cooked. The crust is tamari pepinos and dried chili mangos ground up in the chop chop. Followed by layers of avocado and lime, heart of palm and gazpacho salad respectively. The dressing is an avocado-cilantro creem with artichoke juice.

Whenever the new camera cord comes from e-bay (I lost the old one) I'll post some of my latest adventures. For now at least I have something up.