Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Vegan Mother-in-Law made these from Vegan With A Vengeance for yesterday's family get-together. They were chewy and moist, and were delicate without crumbling or falling apart. I have never made them, but will have to whip up a batch when I get home.

Western Style Sandwich

In the spirit of Vegan MoFo, I am adding some extra posts this weekend about lunch. Generally, my lunch during the work week is leftovers from dinner, or a PB&J if I am in a rush (along with whatever fruits and veggies I grab). On the weekend, though, there is time to make something nice. My mom used to make something like this when I was a kid. This is a veganized and somewhat spiffier version.

First, make some scrambled tofu. Isa posted here recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance here. For this dish, I omit the cremini mushrooms and add 1/4 cup of salsa in at the end.

Next, saute some sliced portabello mushrooms in 2 tbsp oil. When oil is absorbed and the shrooms are starting to soften, splash with a bit of tequila and the juice of half a lime. Sprinkle 1 tsp of chili powder over top and cook until shrooms are soft but not totally flaccid. Remove from pan.

Then, saute up some sliced peppers for 5 mins or so. I used red and orange, but green would work too. Again, make sure peppers are softened but still have some crunch.

Lastly, make the sandwich. Toast some bread. Put down a good layer of scrambled tofu, top with some of the pepper, some sliced tomato, and the mushrooms. Stick some vegenaise and ketchup on the other slice of bread, then unite the two halves for one mighty fine sandwich!

Falafel with Homemade Pitas

When I told the boys we were going to have falafel tonight their eyes lit up like I just told them we would be eating cake and ice cream. They absolutely love Isa's falafel and tahini dressing from Vegan With a Vengeance! The other part of the equation is my homemade pitas. These take a bit of time, but aren't hard to make and are totally worth it. They are so tender and soft--not like the dry, crumbly, stale pitas they sell at my grocery store.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 6--feel free to double

- 2 cups white bread flour (substitute up to half of the flour with whole wheat flour if you want)

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

- 2/3 cup warm water

- 2 tsp olive oil

METHOD

1. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, dissolve yeast into water, then stir in olive oil. Pour into flour. Stir into a rough dough.

2. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (or in a counter top mixer with a dough hook) for 5 min, until smooth. Dough will be a bit tougher than regular bread--don't worry, it will soften when it rises. Place in a large clean bowl, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let double in size in a warm place (about 1 hour).

4. Punch down dough, divide into six, and shape into 6 balls. Brush with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 5 mins.

5. Roll each ball into an oval or circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a floured dish towel, brush with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 mins.

6. While dough is rising, place 2 cookie sheets in the oven and heat to 450. Heat is crucial here--make sure the oven is good and hot.

7. Remove cookie sheets from the oven. Quickly put 2-3 pitas on each and put back in the oven. Bake until pitas puff up (about 4 mins). This is the coolest part--they inflate like beach balls. Once all pitas have puffed, remove from oven and cool on racks. When cooled, wrap in a tea towel to keep soft.

These pitas don't stay fresh for long. If you won't be using them up in a day or two, put them in the freezer.

Caribbean Night

Tonight's meal plan started with the Jerk Seitan from Vegan With a Vengeance. This is a fantastic recipe that gets its heat from cayenne pepper instead of scotch bonnet peppers, so you can easily adjust the heat level (we kept it pretty low for the kids). Since cold weather never keeps me from the BBQ, I grilled the seitan for a wonderfuly smoky flavour. But what to serve with the seitan? I searched a few Caribbean food recipes online, made several modifications, and served up these dishes.

Sweetcorn Soup

This is delicious and creamy and filled with with pumpkiny goodness.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1/2 red onion, diced

- 1 rib celery, diced

- 4 green onions, sliced

- 1/2 pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, diced

- 2 cups frozen corn

- 2 tomatoes, diced

- 2 red potatoes, diced

- 2 yellow potatoes, diced

- 1 can coconut milk

- 2 cups water or vegetable stock

- 1 tsp dried thyme

- pinch of cayenne pepper

- salt and pepper to taste

- juice of 2 limes

METHOD:

1. Saute red onion and celery in a large stockpot until translucent. Add in green onions, pumpkin, corn, tomatoes, and potatoes and cook for 5 mins.

2. Add in coconut milk and water. Add thyme, cayenne, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes (until veggies are tender).

3. Before serving, stir in lime juice.

Rice and Beans

This is supposed to be made with kidney beans, but I did not have any on hand. The Black beans worked just fine.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 can kidney (or black) beans, rinsed

- 1 can coconut milk

- 2+ cups water

- 1 tsp dried thyme

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp pepper

- 2 cups long grain rice

METHOD

1. Put coconut milk in a saucepan and enough water to make 4 cups. Add thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

2. Add in rice and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 mins, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. I recommend stirring every now and then--the coconut milk had a bad habit of sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Soft Tacos and Corn Chowder

Prep Time: 50 mins

We bought some 99 cent tortillas (a mistake, quite frankly) last week at the store, so tonight I went for soft tacos accompanied by chips and salsa and the corn chowder from Vegan With a Vengeance. It is the perfect addition to any Mexican meal because it has jalapenos and lime juice in it, and has a creamy taste and hearty texture.

For the soft tacos:

1. Fry up strips of seitan in a few tbsp. oil a cast iron skillet on med-hi until browned. Stir frequently to keep from sticking.

2. Stir in 1/2 tsp. each of chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cinnamon.

3. Squeeze juice of one lime over the seitan and stir. This will help deglaze the pan. It should look something like this:

4. Serve from the skillet into warmed tortillas with chopped tomatoes, onions, lettuce, vegan sour cream, etc. (we only had tomoatoes and onion around tonight, alas).

I also made this vegan sour cream recipe. Not too bad, actually. Not as good as Tofutti, but far cheaper and really easy to make.

VERDICT:

Son # 1: I hate corn soup!

Son #2: Me too!

Son # 3: (too young to talk and who eats anything) Goo ga!

(Not that it mattered since they have to clean their plates to get a bedtime snack)

BUT, the tacos were a big hit (though they eyed the whole wheat tortillas with caution).