Food Network Friday: Kedgeree

Welcome to Vegan MoFo (Month of Food)! I can't wait to begin this crazy month of blogging. To start things off with a bang, here's my version of this week's Food Network Friday recipe. Enjoy!

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For those of you who are new to Food Network Friday: A few vegan bloggers pick a new recipe from a Food Network star every two weeks to veganize. In the past we've done banana-stuffed French toast as well as a Rachel Ray-inspired pizza panini. If you'd like to see my past contributions simply click on the Food Network Friday tag in the margin!

Our British blogging friend EFCLiz chose a pretty wicked recipe for this edition of Food Network Friday. Liz's selection--kedgeree--is a traditional breakfast dating back to the British Raj. Don't worry... I had to look it up too. According to Wikipedia, kedgeree is a dish usually consisting of smoked white fish, eggs, rice, and butter. I was beyond stumped at how to replicate smoked haddock--especially seeing as I never tried it as an omni. I decided to tackle the recipe based on the flavors and textures in the original to the greatest extent possible. Authentic? Definitely not. Tasty? In a word, yes.







Kedgeree




4 oz chantrelle or oyster mushrooms

4 pieces kombu

additional dried seaweed of your choice (optional)

1 tsp smoked salt, plus more to taste

2 Tbsp non-hydrogenated vegan margarine

1/2 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 cup basmati rice


1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

4 oz tofu, drained and crumbled

1/8 tsp black salt

1/4 tsp turmeric




In a small pan place the kombu (and additional seaweed if desired), mushrooms, smoked salt, and enough water to cover the mushrooms. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to a strong simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, and soak for an additional half hour or so.

Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Discard the kombu pieces. Shred the mushrooms into smallish chunks when cool enough to handle.


Melt the margarine in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute (until fragrant). Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the reserved cooking liquid and any additional water needed to make 2 cups total liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the peas and mushrooms; continue to cook for three more minutes. Remove from heat (with the cover still on); let sit for about three additional minutes.

In a small bowl combine the tofu, black salt, and turmeric. Fold the tofu into the rice mixture. Serve hot.

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Shared at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays 7/26/11.

Peanut Butter, Bananas, and Chocolate

What could be better than Vegan Brunch PB waffles topped with sliced banana and melted Dark Chocolate Dreams PB on a cold, rainy evening? That's right... nothing.

What's in Season Now?

If you're like me the thought of buying only local, in-season produce is a little daunting. How local? Only seasonal... really? What do I eat in winter?  I have to admit--I do buy frozen veggies and fruit imported from the tropics well into the winter. I am not nearly as much of a locavore as I'd like to be; still, I try to buy locally-grown produce whenever possible.  Epicurious has a great tool for figuring out which fruits and veggies (and dare I say fungi?) are in season throughout the year in different regions of the United States. You can find it here:

Peak-Season Map at Epicurious.com

I find that Epicurious has a lot of information now about which ingredients are in season along with flavor profiles and ideas about how to use them. I often find myself picking up a new type of produce at the market and coming home without having any clue as to how I should use it.  (Twenty different varieties of local apples? No problem!)  Just check out the Articles and Guides tab at the top of the Epicurious.com home page.

Happy seasonal eating!

Sound Bites

I've been meaning to blog about the hummus I've been eating, but other interesting things keep coming up. Today, though, I am sitting here in front of the computer screen eating carrot sticks and some fantastic hummus I found at the local farmers market.  Sure, hummus is a staple for many vegan kitchens... Well, okay. It is (or should be!) a staple in every kitchen!  This stuff, though, is a little different.  Sound Bites Sauce & Spread Company is based in Tacoma, Washington, and features "fiercely local" ingredients.  For instance, instead of using imported olive oil Sound Bites sources grapeseed oil from the Yakima Valley in eastern Washington.

This weekend I purchased packages of Riesling Garbanzo (pretty traditional) and the new Pepper Bacon-esque (100% vegan) hummus. Both are quite tasty, though I think my favorite spread variety is the Merlot Red Bean hummus I tried a couple of months ago.

If you're in the area, Sound Bites spreads can be found at many farmers markets as well as retail stores such as Whole Foods, Marlene's (Federal Way and Tacoma), Madison Market, and Tacoma Boys.  (Check out the Sound Bites website for a full list.)

Vegan MoFo Begins October 1st!

Hold on to your hats, folks, Vegan MoFo (Month of Food) is set to begin October 1st.  I'll be posting about wonderful vegan food and cooking at least every weekday, and hopefully every day, in October along with lots of other vegan bloggers.  Kittee of Cake Maker to the Stars is handling the master list, so for more information visit her blog.

Food Network Friday: French Toast

This edition of Food Network Friday comes to you courtesy the Neelys.  Holy Shitake over at The Melting Pot Menu chose the Neelys' recipe for Banana Stuffed French Toast to veganize this week, and added the challenge to veganize other recipes in the "Ready Set Breakfast" episode.  I have to admit that stuffed French toast intimidated me a little, so I ultimately decided not to stuff my French toast and kept the bananas as a topping.  As I looked through the other recipes in the episode I decided to use the coconut in the hot chocolate as a theme and run with it.

Coconut French Toast with Bananas and Mango Sauce

(serves 3-4 hungry people)

for the French toast:

6-8 thick slices slightly stale French bread, about 1 lb.

1 15 ounce can coconut milk

3 Tbsp flaxseed meal

1 tsp vanilla extract, preferably Mexican

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.

In a wide shallow bowl whisk together the coconut milk, flaxseed meal, vanilla, and cinnamon. Set aside for a few minutes. Put the shredded coconut onto a small plate.  Dunk each slice of bread into the coconut milk mixture with one hand, and transfer to the shredded coconut. Using your dry hand,  turn gently to coat the bread thoroughly. Transfer to the baking dish using your dry hand. Repeat until all slices are coated.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until coconut is lightly golden. Serve immediately.

Meanwhile, prepare the bananas and mango sauce (recipes follow).

for the bananas:

1 tsp canola oil

2 large bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 cup dark or spiced rum

1/4 cup brown sugar

pinch salt

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Sautee bananas until slightly golden and soft. (They'll break down a bit,and that's okay.) Add the rum and brown sugar. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the rum and sugar are thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and set aside.

for the mango sauce:

3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried mango

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

pinch ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the mangos are soft. Transfer to a blender and process until smooth, taking care to let steam escape.

to serve: Top each slice of French toast with a little of the bananas; then drizzle with the mango sauce.

Since I was feeling a little ambitious, I served the French toast with homemade brown sugar coconut "bacon" and some basic home fries.  Here's the recipe for coconut bacon:

Brown Sugar Coconut "Bacon"

(serves 2)

1/2 cup medium-to-large flaked coconut (unsweetened)

3/4 tsp liquid smoke

1 Tbsp tamari

1/4 cup light brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  Bake for about 20 minutes at 350, stirring occasionally, until a chocolatey color.  The coconut will not be dry since there is brown sugar involved. It will crisp up when you take it out of the oven.  Remove from oven, break up with a fork, and allow to sit for about five minutes before serving.

We didn't have much room left after dinner, so we waited a few hours and had a night cap of coconut drinking chocolate. The Neelys' recipe is white-chocolatey, but not only is vegan white chocolate hard to come by here we just really like the semi-sweet stuff better here. Instead of making big mugs of hot chocolate with soy whipped topping, I went for the rich velvety feel of drinking chocolate by using light coconut milk. Decadent!

Coconut Drinking Chocolate

(serves 2)

1 1/3 cup light coconut milk

1/3 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla extract, preferably Mexican

Heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until about 130 degrees F, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Stir in the vanilla and chocolate chips; stir constantly until chocolate is incorporated. Remove from heat and ladle into fancy tea cups.

Another Testing Picture: Cake!

Okay, so I lied. I ended up doing another couple of last-minute tests for "American Vegan Kitchen."  Here's a little something to finish off a meal:

PPK Cookbook Challenge, Week 2: Vegan With a Vengeance

Last night I made the Jerk Seitan and Coconut Rice from Vegan With a Vengeance (Isa Chandra Moskowitz), and served with a mess of sauteed beet greens. The seitan is phenomenal and pairs very well with the coconut, lime, and hint of cinnamon in the rice. And the smells coming from my kitchen while I made dinner... Well, you get the picture.