New York Deli Rye: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

I know its been four months since my last post on this book, but I still intend to get through it. I've just started refreshing my sourdough starter again (after some neglect) so I can finish off the final recipes. I've made this bread before, and this time around made rolls for lunches during the week. It is wonderfully tasty for all kinds of sandwiches, especially reubens.

GENERAL NOTES:
1. I have no idea what "white rye" flour is, and in any event the bulk food store where I get my flour only sells one kind of rye flour.
2. I always find this dough to be rather wet and end up adding in plenty of bread flour so it can actually be kneaded. I'm not sure if this is because of the onions, or what. It still tastes great in the end, though.
3. I left out the caraway seeds because I don't really like them.
4. I made 4 oz rolls instead of loaves, and baked them at 400 degrees for 15 mins.

VEGAN NOTES
1. Replace buttermilk with soy milk.
2. Make vegan buttermilk by replacing 1 tbsp of the soy milk with apple cider vinegar and whisking.
3. Brush with soy milk instead of an egg wash.

Golden Crispy Tofu

Yes, this tofu is crispy. And yes it is golden. But, it is also pretty darn tasty. The mustard and the hot sauce combined with the spices makes it rather delightful on its own, or topped with a sauce of your choice. It is important to press the tofu well so there is not too much water trying escape during cooking that will sog your breading. The panko is also essential. Lastly, I don't see any reason why you could not bake these at 450 for 15-20 mins or so per side (spray lightly with oil, perhaps), but I have not tried it myself.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu

- 1 1/4 cup plain soy milk
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt

- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- large pinch ground pepper
- 1 tsp poultry spice
- 1 tsp paprika (smoked if you have it)

- about 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs

- oil for frying

METHOD
1. Cut tofu into 12 slices. Line a baking sheet with a towel, then place the tofu on top. Put a towel on top of the tofu, then put another baking sheet on top of that. Put a weight on top and press the tofu for 15 mins.
2. Get a frying pan heating on the stove over medium to medium high heat.
3. Whisk together soy milk, mustard, hot sauce, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together flour and spices in a another. Place 1/2 cup of the panko crumbs in yet another bowl.
4. Dip a piece of the tofu into the soy milk mixture, then dredge in the flour mixture. Set on a baking sheet. Repeat with all the tofu.
5. Add about 1/4 inch of oil to the frying pan. Re-dip 4 pieces in the soy milk mixture, then toss in the panko crumbs (one at a time of course, adding more panko to the bowl if needed). Fry for a few mins per side, until golden and crispy (adjusting heat as needed). Drain on paper towels or a paper bag.
6. Add fresh panko the bowl (another 1/2 cup or so) and repeat step 5 with another four pieces, adding more oil as needed. Repeat again with the remaining four pieces.

NOTE: a few pieces of panko will fall off during cooking that will start to burn and stick to your next pieces of tofu. If you don't care, then great. If you do care, then remove these pieces with a slotted spoon between batches.

Cajun Mushroom Soup

This recipe caught my eye because in its omnivorous incarnation it was billed as "mock turtle soup." This sounded promising, but I soon learned that since turtles are hard to find outside of Louisiana they had been replaced with veal. There was even a note in the margin saying "no reptile was harmed in the making of this mock turtle soup." Oh, good. So, a calf was taken from its mother, kept in the dark in a confinement pen, feed an iron deficient diet, and slaughtered at a young age; but at last the turtles got a pass! This recipe is an experiment in using seaweed to keep a seafood-like stock, which I think worked very well. The original recipe also called for diced hard boiled eggs which I replaced with some tofu and black salt. Feel free to leave this out and just add more mushrooms.

Seaweed Stock
INGREDIENTS
- 8 cups water
- about 1 cup seaweed (I had dulse on hand , but you could use kombu)
- 2 nori sheets, crumbled

METHOD
1. Bring all ingredient to a boil in a stockpot. Cover and simmer for 30 mins. Remove from heat and strain.

Mushroom Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 large yellow onion, small dice
- 2 celery stalks, small dice
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
- 1 tsp paprika
- cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb oyster mushrooms, washed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 lb shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 cup minced fresh tomatoes (chop as finely as you can)
- 6 cups seaweed stock
- 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
- 1 cup tofu, small dice
- black salt (or regular) and pepper to taste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup dry sherry

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a stock pot over med-hi heat. Add the onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme, paprika, and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and golden brown (about 10 mins). Add mushrooms and cook until just beginning to release their water. Add flour, mix well, and cook for 5 mins (add a splash more oil, if needed).
2. Add garlic, tomatoes, seaweed stock, sauces, and tofu. Mix well, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about an hour.
3. If the soup is too thick, add more stock. If too thin, add some tomato paste. Taste and adjust all seasonings as you see fit.
4. Add lemon juice, parsley, and green onions and simmer for 30 mins. Remove bay leaves, stir in sherry, adjust seasonings one last time and serve with crusty bread.

Tofu Etouffee Over Corn Cakes

I have been checking out cookbooks from the library so I can explore various cuisines and flavours for free. I have been having good luck with the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks--nice pictures, solid recipes, and some cultural history to boot. This recipe is inspired by the New Orleans collection. I thought the corn cakes would be a little ponderous, but they are actually a wonderful addition that complete this flavourful dish.

INGREDIENTS
Tofu Etouffee
- 1 pkg tofu, cut into small cubes
- oil
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes

- 1 tbsp smoked paprika

- 1 tsp sage

- 1 tsp smoked sea salt (or regular)

- freshly ground pepper
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 4-5 cups veggie stock, or water
- 2 generous tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- 2 bay leaves

- salt and pepper to taste

Corn Cakes
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups soy milk (less 2 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 4 green onions, finely chopped

METHOD
1. Fry in tofu cubes in a thin layer of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until crispy and golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and toss with thyme, pepper flakes, paprika, sage, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add oil, then whisk in flour to make a roux. Continually whisk for 4-5 mins, or until flour is a deep golden brown. If you burn it, you have to start again. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, celery, and peppers. Cook, stirring constantly, until veggies are tender (about 8 mins). Add a splash of water or two to the pan to deglaze if the flour sticks too much.
3. Add garlic and cook for 2 mins, then slowly add in stock, stirring well to incorporate. Stir in tomato paste and herbs. Add tofu, bring to bubbling, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 mins, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken. Add more water if it is too thick after reducing, or more tomato paste if too thin. Season to taste before serving.

While the etouffee is simmering, make the corn cakes
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Pour apple cider vinegar into a 4 cup measure, then fill up to the two cup line with soy milk. Whisk together, then whisk in oil. Add to dry ingredients and gently mix until just incorporated. Fold in green onions.
3. Cook, as you would pancakes, on a oiled griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake.

To serve, place two pancakes on a plate and cover with etouffee. The pancakes re-heat nicely on a griddle the next day (can be stored in the fridge, or you can just make a 1/2 recipe), and the etoufee tastes even better as leftovers.

How to Throw a Vegan Party that Everyone Will Like

On Friday I had the history department over for a reception to celebrate the impending birth of our department chair's second child. I decided that, rather than making it a pot-luck, I would make everything. I think this made some of the meat-dependent grad students a little wary, so I wanted to make sure that I could deliver a menu that would not disappoint. I think the trick is to keep the menu clean and simple by sticking to dishes that are more or less naturally veggie. It took some careful planning (i.e. a comprehensive chart of what had to be made and when) but the whole thing went off very well indeed. Here is what I did:

Since the reception was on Friday after a long week of work, and right after back-to-back departmental and grad faculty meetings, I wanted to make some food that offered protein and carbs to nourish and energize. To that end, I served Kung Pao Sliders from the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times. I made my own buns (50g of dough makes the perfect slider bun) and grated the zucchini and carrot for the slaw rather than julienning them as per the recipe. These were far and away the most popular item, with 36 of the 40 I made eaten. I also served white and whole wheat pita (sub 50% of the white flour for whole wheat) with hummus. I also included a veggie tray with the hummus (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots).

In keeping with the Asian flavours of the sliders I also offered Spicy Fried Shitake Mushrooms. I tossed 1 lb of cleaned and stemmed shitake mushrooms with a large minced clove of garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, a generous tsp of hot chili powder, 1 tsp black mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp tumeric, and some salt. I then fried the shrooms in a hot wok in some oil (adding more as needed), and when soft I poured in about 1/2 cup of coconut milk and heated through.

The other food was inspired by Italian flavours and dishes. I started with focaccia, which I cut into small squares and served with marinated veggies: I roasted 6 peppers (2 red, 2 yellow, 2 orange) and de-seeded, skinned, and thickly sliced them. I then tossed them with some olive oil, salt, 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves, some chopped fresh basil leaves, and salt and pepper and let marinate overnight in the fridge (let come back to room temperature before serving). I also thickly sliced 1 lb of washed and trimmed white mushrooms. I then sauteed 1 large minced clove of garlic in 1/4 cup of olive oil, added 1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary, and then 1 cup white white. I brought that to a boil, added the shrooms and let simmer for 1 min. I let them marinate in the fridge over night, then drained and served at room temperature. I also served Zucchini Pancakes with Tomato-Onion Relish. These were also very popular. Maybe not Italian per se, but the sage in the pancake and the tomato relish went well with everything else.

Of course we also had to have dessert. First up were Apple Turnovers. I used 1/2 block of puff pastry and rolled it into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle. I then cut out 2 inch squares, then filled them with a version of the filling here (1 tbsp margarine, 2 apples, 1 tbsp brandy, and white sugar instead of brown). I baked them as per this recipe, but for only 15 mins at each temperature. Next were Schnecken (filled with a strawberry/raspberry filling), as well as good old fashioned chocolate cupcakes.

Many apologies for not having a picture of the entire spread. Guests were arriving, I was making still firing food, and things just got too busy.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE LOGISTICS:
Guests: 20 adults, 8 kids
1. Make ahead and freeze: pita (I made a double recipe of white and a double of whole wheat. It was too much and I could have done a single of each); slider buns, schnecken (unfilled, as per the recipe linked above); puff pastry dough (make sure to put the dough in the fridge no later than the day before the party).
2. The night before: marinated veggies (I did a 1.5 recipe of the shrooms); schnecken filling; turnover filling; bake the tofu for the sliders; make and pan (and refrigerate) the focaccia; make tomato-onion relish; make hummus.
3. The day of: (several hours before) thaw previously baked and frozen goods; thaw and bake schnecken; bake focaccia; make and bake turnovers; make and bake cupcakes; make slaw for sliders; cut up veggies for veggie tray; mix wet and dry ingredients for pancakes in separate bowls; remove marinated veggies and hummus from fridge to get to room temperature; toss shitake shrooms in garlic, ginger, and spices.
4. 30 mins before (or so): Heat tofu in the oven in a covered dish at 250 degrees; make Fried Spicy Shitake mushrooms and keep warm; heat tomato-0nion relish; cut pita; warm pan for cooking the pancakes.
5. As guests arrive: assemble half of the sliders (keep tofu warm in the oven); start cooking some of the pancakes. Keep the pan warm and replenish the plate as needed. Make more sliders as needed.