Lower impact kugel

I am a strong believer in the power of food to heal. Lately, I have been in need of some emotional healing, and for this tough job what better healing foods are there than comfort foods? When I was younger my comfort foods were mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, fried potato latkes, cheesecake...mmmm, pretty much anything that was bad for me and the environment, but oh so good for my soul :) I believe that comfort foods don't have to be bad for you and the earth, they just have to transport you back to a place where you felt safe and loved. Now when I feel down or tired or...even slightly uncomfortable I make tasty lower calorie vegetarian or vegan versions of my favorite classics. Growing up, my mother always made us traditional Jewish treats like potato pancakes (latkes), noodle pudding (kugel), and chicken noodle soup. Kugel is still one of my favorite things to eat and every once in a while I sneak a slice and as I lay in pain from the dairy backlash later I think "it was worth it"...

So last night after two days of having a horrible cold, I decided I needed some kugel. I made a plan to morph one of my favorite kugel recipes into a dairy-free, egg-free masterpiece and set out to our local health food store. I was able to find all but the egg-free noodles (I am certain the salesperson later recounted the tale of the red-nosed girl who asked for egg noodles without eggs and then proceeded to stand in front of the selections for 15 minutes before sighing heavily and placing the egg noodles in her cart). So I decided that this batch will be close to egg free and when I locate some eggless noodles of sufficient breadth to take on my custard I will try again!!

Anyways, the recipe I am remaking is Emeril Lagasse's classic kugel recipe:

Emeril's recipe is absolutely delish but unfortunately here are the nutrition stats per serving:
446 calories
28g fat
16g saturated fat
150mg cholesterol
2g fiber
29g sugar
12g protein

And...here are the nutrition stats after making my modifications:

260 calories

12g fat

5g saturated fat

40mg cholesterol

3g fiber

19g sugar

6g protein

Still not a health food, but my version definitely has less impact on you and the environment...AND most of the fats are from plant products, yay! Ok, enough kugel-pushing ;) here is the recipe:

A Slimmed-Down Emeril's Kugel:

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound wide egg noodles (or egg-free noodles!!)
• 2 Tablespoons Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread
• 12 oz mori-nu firm silken tofu
• 12 oz greek-style plain coconut-milk yogurt (you can use regular coconut milk yogurt, but the greek style has more fiber!)
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup (or sugar, or your preferred sweetener)
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage (or your favorite milk substitute, preferably with some fat in it)
• 2 eggs (see note below)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and drain. Toss the noodles with the buttery spread. Mash the tofu with a potato masher, take 1/2 cup of mash and mix in 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, whisking well, then whisk in the two eggs. In a large mixing bowl, mix the mashed tofu, tofu/constarch egg mixture, yogurt, coconut milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Fold in the noodles and raisins. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a buttered 9 by 13 - inch pan. In a small mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar, pecan pieces and cinnamon, together. Mix well. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the egg mixture, evenly. Bake for about 1 hour or until the pudding is set. Remove from the oven and cool before serving.

There you have it, now just cut and serve to your friends and family without telling them it has tofu ;)

Note: To make this totally vegan which I will try next, just use egg-free noodles, and instead of adding the two eggs, just whisk another 4 tsp of cornstarch into another 1/3 cup of the mashed tofu. I'm sure it will come out great! Or if you prefer more eggs, just use all 5 eggs, and just add the tofu to the recipe mashed (without adding any cornstarch).

A pie half eaten

A better title for this entry may be "A pie half eaten...then fully eaten". Once again, I forgot to take any photos until the pie was halfway to my belly. I don't have much to compare this pie to, since pumpkin pie always disgusted me as a child (thank goodness your taste buds change every 7 years!) but I would have to say that this vegan pumpkin pie was just as good if not better than the original! I got the basic idea for it from vegetarian times (VT vegan pumpkin pie) but then really made the recipe my own. Thanksgiving has come and gone and my boyfriend's mother was so sweet as to make vegan versions of several of the dishes, love her! I brought along this pie and I swear no one even realized it was vegan! Until I told them of course...gotta spread the word :) Anyways, here is the recipe, this recipe makes a perfect 10 inch deep dish pie, reduce by 1/4 for a 9 inch regular pie:

Decadent vegan pumpkin pie:

Ingredients:

Crust -

1 1/2 sticks earth balance margarine, chilled then cut into cubes

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold water

1 1/2 c. white pastry flour

1/2 c. wheat pastry flour

3 Tbsp sugar

Filling -

3 c. pumpkin puree

3/4 c. regular coconut milk (reserve the rest of the can)

1/2 c. vegan cane sugar

1/4 c. maple syrup

2 Tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 Tbsp arrowroot

Directions:

For crust, pulse together flour and salt in a food processor, add earth balance and pulse until just combined. Add sugar, and water and mix until a smooth dough forms. Remove from processor to a board and knead it with flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Wrap in plastic and freeze for one hour. Remove from freezer and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness then put into your pie shell and crimp the edges, that I cannot tell you how to do but here is a tutorial, see step 7: Real Simple Guide to Pie Crust

For filling, whisk together all ingredients until well combined. Pour into crust and bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake until pie is set, about 45 minutes. Cool, then refrigerate over-night. Whip the remaining coconut milk in a mixer with the whisk attachment, then fold in 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and a few Tablespoons of powdered sugar and you have the perfect whipped topping for your pie!

Vegan cooking for the soul

Yesterday was yet another beautiful fall day in the Midwest and one of the first times I have relaxed in months. My cooking revelation occurred when I had a little faith in my taste buds and allowed them to dictate what was on the menu. Man, those taste buds are smart because this meal rocked! I visited the farmer's market over the weekend and ended up with several root veggies (sweet potato, turnip, beets) and some Mizuna, a subtly spicy green (the guy at the booth basically told me this green would change my life, how could I say no?). Several days later the meal just came together in my mind after hours of involuntary starvation and I stopped at the store to pick up the rest of the ingredients. Here is a delicious vegan fall meal that will fill you up and leave your conscience clear! I bring you polenta with herbed mushrooms and mizuna served with orange-herb roasted root vegetables.

Polenta with herbed mushrooms and mizuna:

Ingredients -

1 cup medium-grind cornmeal

4 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Earth balance margarine

1 small package fresh "poultry" herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)

4 medium portabella caps, sliced into small pieces

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 large handful mizuna, stalks trimmed off, leaves chopped (if you can't find mizuna, arugula works fine)

Directions -

Finely chop herb leaves and set aside, each part of the recipe calls for some. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepot, add salt, reduce heat to medium. Very slowly shake in cornmeal, stirring with a whisk. Simmer while whisking for a couple minutes. Reduce heat to very low, simmer covered, stirring every ten minutes or so with a wooden spoon until polenta has a mild flavor (35-40 minutes). Stir in a couple teaspoons earth balance and a couple teaspoons oil. Add about a Tbsp of the chopped herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the mushrooms, heat some olive oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add sliced garlic and saute one minute. Add mushroom pieces and another Tbsp of the herbs and cook until browned and juices release, salt to taste.

Serve polenta topped with mushrooms and a handful of mizuna. The mizuna will wilt beautifully into the polenta, mmm...

Orange-herb roasted root vegetables:

Ingredients -

5-6 small beets

1 medium sweet potato

1 medium turnip

1 large parsnip

1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

zest of 1/2 orange

salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)

1-2 Tbsp chopped herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Directions -

Heat oven to 415 degrees F. Peel the root vegetables and cut into 3/4-1 inch pieces.Toss with remaining ingredients. Spread on a baking sheet (I used nonstick foil) and roast for about 30 minutes. Stir and roast for 10-15 minutes more.

Serve these two together for an exciting comfort food experience that could very well heal your soul!

Summer Harvest Panini

The farmers finally have produce! I'm leaving town for the weekend so I tried not to go too crazy at the market this week, but I picked up some small red potatoes and some baby zucchini from one of the stands. I really can't help myself around tiny things, these were just too cute to pass up!!! Anywho, I had no idea what to do with my veggies so I made some hummus last night figuring that the hummus would be my muse. Of course, I accidentally added too much tahini and oil and not enough liquid to the hummus which left me with a kind of paste (ew) so I went to the store and got some more chickpeas and somehow salvaged my creation into some very tasty hummus! Cue the inspiration (only tasty hummus can act as a muse :P), I decided to grill up my baby zucchini and then add some fresh mint and basil from the garden and make some delicious panini with the free french baguette I got from Panera yesterday (yes free!). Also see below the panini recipe for a recipe for some really tasty dippers for the leftover hummus, yummmmm...

"Summer Harvest Panini"

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Hummus -

2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drain reserving 1/2 cup of liquid then rinse

1 garlic clove

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp Tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 cup reserved chickpea liquid (to desired thickness)

salt to taste

Panini -

1 cup hummus

French baguette (About 16 oz)

Garlic

~1lb baby zucchini, stems trimmed but left intact!

1 tsp EVOO

salt and pepper to taste

Large tomato, thinly sliced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

16 basil leaves, kept whole

A dozen or so mint leaves, sliced

Directions:

To make hummus, process drained and rinsed chickpeas with garlic clove until finely minced, add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

To make panini:

Heat balsamic vinegar in a small saute pan until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes until it has thickened to a syrup consistency (don't do it for too long because it thickens upon standing!) Slice baguette in 4 pieces then cut in half lengthwise to make sandwiches. Rub both sides of baguette with a cut garlic clove and toast for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Preheat grill and toss whole baby zucchini (cut any large ones in half lengthwise) with olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill, turning until brown and tender. Remove and toss with mint leaves. Assemble baguettes by spreading 3-4 Tbsp of hummus on both sides of each sandwich, layer a few tomato slices, 4 basil leaves, and the baby zucchini. Drizzle with the reduced balsamic vinegar and enjoy your sandwich! Try not to get too messy with this one :)

"Crispy potato slices" For dipping in hummus!!!

Ingredients:

6 small red potatoes, thinly sliced

~1 Tbsp EVOO

salt and pepper

1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Toss potato slices with the olive oil, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally until browned and crispy on the edges. Drain on paper towels and dip in hummus, it may sound weird but it tastes amazing!

Master Chef here I come!

So after feeling pretty defeated the other day about my ability to make vegetarian food taste good without dairy, I was rejuvenated by a trip to Whole Foods. Something about the rows and rows of delicious treats and friendly ladies in aprons handing out samples of sweets (vegan ones!) made me feel like maybe I am not doomed to a life of tasteless meals. I picked up some Follow your heart vegan cheese (more on this later), So Delicious coconut milk yogurt, and a ton of bulk stuff for really good prices (~1 1/2 lbs of arborio rice for $5!). So I've been craving some good comfort food lately and what better than a meal my father used to cook for me all the time when I was little! He always called these little fried rice balls "suppli" and until now I thought he just made up that word because I've only ever seen risotto balls called "arancini," but it turns out that suppli or "suppli al telefono" is just the roman version and the telefono part is because the cheese looks like sagging telephone wires when you pull apart the risotto cake. When I was little my dad would take any leftover white rice and mix it with some simple spaghetti sauce, stir in some egg, then add some cubes of mozzarella to the middle, roll the suckers in some bread crumbs and fry em up! He would let me help put them together and I would often sneak in an extra cube or two of mozzarella when he wasn't looking. Nowadays cheese doesn't agree with me and often isn't too friendly to cows either :( but that definitely doesn't mean that I don't still crave it or just wither a little when I see someone else biting into a slice of cheesy pizza. Now imagine my surprise when I order some lactose free cheese on my pizza at a restaurant and my pizza arrives and is virtually indistinguishable from the cheese-laden one next to me in both appearance and taste! In walks Follow Your Heart vegan cheese, a deliciously melty gift from above. So if you have followed all of my many tangential stories, I decided to make some suppli that would be delicious and not make me feel awful afterwards! :)

"Nearly vegan suppli al telefono"

Makes about 20 croquettes (isn't that a fancy word?) or ~5 servings

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

2 large shallots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 cups arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

1 28oz-can whole tomatoes with juice, tomatoes chopped

No-chicken stock (3-4 cups)

Handful basil leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil to fill a skillet about 1/2 to 1 inch

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 oz Follow Your Heart Vegan Mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 cups breadcrumbs

Directions:

Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat over Medium. Add shallots and saute for about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook another minute. Add rice and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add wine and cook over medium until it is absorbed. Add a cup or two of tomatoes with juice, cook until absorbed, then repeat until all tomatoes are added. Start adding liquid a cup at a time and cook until absorbed. Do this until almost all the liquid is gone and rice is tender. Stir in basil and salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat and let cook about 15 minutes. Stir in 1-2 of the beaten eggs until mixture is moistened. Heat oil over medium-high until shimmering. Place about 2 Tbsp of mixture in your hand and put 6-8 small cubes in the center then top with another Tbsp of mixture and shape into croquettes. Roll in bread crumbs.

Add to oil and cook a few minutes per side until browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes to avoid burning your mouth (believe me, they are worth the wait!) and then enjoy!!!

These suppli filled up my tummy void and my cheese void all at once, so happy!!! I did use eggs in this recipe, but honestly don't know if they are needed as the rice sticks together pretty well on its own, so if you are going totally egg free, try them with no egg and let me know how it turns out!

Hungry for more...

Do you ever have one of those days where no matter what you eat you just never feel full or satisfied? I know there's not really anyone listening, but seriously, don't those days suck? Anywho, today I was called into work (yay $!) and quickly threw together some egg salad to take with crackers. I had a big breakfast so this lasted me pretty much to dinner. When I got home I had some leftover pasta, good but not really exciting, I was looking for more of a punch in the mouth from my food, the kind of taste that makes a day full of chasing young children just melt away. So I whipped up some vegan queso from my new cookbook, the queso was not bad tasting by any means, but left a deep cheese void in my nacho-shaped heart, sigh. So I moved on from this (yes, I was still hungry!) and used some of the leftover avocado, some tomato, vegan sour cream, olives, and chili peppers to make a layer dip with some stale tortilla chips on the bottom (chilaquiles, anyone?) which was actually quite good but disappeared quickly and then that massive tummy void was back. Tapeworm? So, I've had big plans to veganize (and make healthier) my famous zucchini bread recipe. After all was said and done the loaf came out looking fantastic with a crispy outside and amazing smell!!!

and then I cut into it, dense mushy zucchini bread. Too much liquid? Too much baking powder and soda? Not enough baking powder and soda? Too low of heat? Oh, why didn't I heed your warnings Alton Brown! So my dense zucchini bread came to fruition during a viewing of the most recent episode of Master Chef where the 3 chefs auditioned amateur cooks for the reality show. I had a brief fantasy of myself standing before these 3 chef idols, with Gordon Ramsey just swearing loudly, Joe Bastianich choking and spitting zucchini bread onto the floor, while I sob and Graham Elliot pats my shoulder and smiles while he chokes it down. Thankfully this fantasy is not reality and I am the only one who had to spit zucchini bread on the floor, we all have bad cooking days right? What's the worst thing you've ever cooked?

"Panera, eat your heart out creamy vegan tomato soup"

After a long day of walking around in the sweltering heat, I was really in the mood to come home and enjoy some nice hot soup, wait...what? Yea, you heard me, HOT soup. Thankfully, this recipe didn't require too much cranking of the AC. I stopped at the bookstore on the way home from a lovely art festival and happened upon a very non-vegan magazine that provided a basic recipe for soup. I love soups but I often find myself following any recipe I use to the tee without any room for creativity, but this formula is perfect for just that! All you do is sautee about 1.25 cups of aromatics (onions, garlic, celery, etc) in some oil, add some salt and spice, then add about 1.5 lbs of veggies and 5 cups liquid and simmer until cooked and flavors are melded. Puree the soup then add some final touches like cream, lemon juice, or herbs and you are done! The magazine suggested pairing tomatoes with fennel seed so I went with that combo as the basis for this recipe...I added some really neat touches though which I think turned out great! I popped into Kroger on the way home and picked up everything I needed for the recipe which came to a grand total of $11, not too bad considering I still have some ingredients leftover to use later. This soup would be fantastic for dipping in a panini, which I did a half-a$% version of with some leftover baguette and daiya cheese, yummmmy!

Here is the recipe:

"Creamy" vegan tomato soup and herb croutons

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for croutons

1 cup sliced leeks, washed well to remove grit

1 minced shallot

2-3 cloves minced garlic

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds, I used a mortar and pestle, how fun!

1 orange, zest and juice

1 sprig rosemary, chopped

2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

~ 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1/4 cup so delicious coconut milk creamer

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. chopped basil

Multigrain baguette

Directions:

Slice multigrain baguette in half then cut half lengthwise like you are making a panini. Rub each side with a cut garlic clove, then cut into slices and cut these in half to make croutons. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, pinch of salt, half sprig chopped rosemary, and about 1/4 of the orange's zest. Bake for about 10 minutes, tossing once, until toasted.

While croutons are baking, heat olive oil over medium-low heat, add leeks, shallot and garlic and saute on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add salt, fennel seeds, half of the rosemary sprig and the zest from 1/2 of the orange. Add crushed tomatoes and broth, then squeeze in the juice of half the orange (squeeze the rest into your mouth :)). Bring to a simmer and boil for about 15 minutes until flavors come together. Remove from heat, let cool for a few minutes then puree in batches in the blender (make sure to leave the lid vented to avoid a hot tomato volcano!), then pour the pureed soup into another pot. Once all of the soup is pureed, stir in the creamer, vinegar, and basil. Serve with croutons.