Veganomicon's Chickpea Cutlets

Now that I've settled in a little bit in my new home down south, I've had to start cooking more for myself. When I lived in NY, I cooked often enough--I made dinner at least 4-5 nights a week, but since I was tired from commuting and work, it was more likely than not to be a lazy girl dinner--taco night or veggie burgers with a plethora of vegetables as a side so that I could feel like I was being somewhat healthy. Since that would get boring 7 nights a week, which is how often I'll be cooking now that I'm a phd student, I am now cooking from my cookbooks more often. This recipe for chickpea cutlets from the newly published Veganomicon is spectacular. It was easy, came out well and tasted pretty awesome. Delightful! And now I'll have dinner for tonight, tomorrow and monday even :0) so I can still kind of have lazy girl dinner until Taco Tuesday comes.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs because they were the only vegan breadcrumbs I could find)
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely grated
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sage
oil for frying

Instructions:
Mash the chickpeas and olive oil until there are no whole chickpeas left. Add remaining ingredients and knead for about 3 minutes until gluten is stringy. Heat frying oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Divide the chickpea dough into 4 even sections. Knead each section in your hand then shape into a patty or cutlet, about 4" x 6" or so. Fry for about 6-7 minutes per side until golden brown, then drain/pat excess oil off. They say you can also bake these at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes which might be a bit healthier...I think when I reheat these tomorrow night I'll probably do it by baking them so they come out just as crispy as they were when I fried them. So good! I love this cookbook!

More recipes to come soon, I promise!

I swear I have not abandoned my blog :0)

I am in the process of moving, and the craziness of the past few months (getting into grad school, finding a new apartment, quitting a job I loved, and starting to pack) has kept me from doing much cooking or experimenting with new recipes. Once I am moved into my new apartment at the end of the month I'm going to start posting more regularly.

In the meantime, I highly recommend the cookbook Veganomicon. My office purchased a copy for me as a going away gift and it is amazing. I made apple spice cupcakes with caramel penuche frosting this morning and my sister made me the incredible chocolate mousse pie with a peanut butter/caramel topping sprinkled with candied pecans. True to form, I went straight for the dessert recipes, but the entrees and sides look great as well. It should definitely inspire me once I have time for cooking and baking again!

Strawberry Shortcake

My market had a sale on strawberries today and I just could not resist--they looked so perfect and sweet and summery! I briefly considered making a strawberry rhubarb pie, but then remembered I had some of that soyatoo soy whip and decided on strawberry shortcake instead. This is one the easiest desserts ever given the Bisquick and pretty much embodies summer BBQs and outdoor eating for me.

Ingredients:
1 pound strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/3 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup soymilk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted vegan margarine
soyatoo soy whip

Instructions:
Mix the sliced strawberries with about 1/4 cup of sugar. You can use more or less sugar depending on your personal preference; I don't like my strawberries too sweet so I actually used a little less. Set these aside so they get nice and juicy. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix the Bisquick, soymilk, sugar and margarine into a dough. Divide the dough into six parts and then drop onto a cookie sheet or into a baking pan. Bake until golden brown on top (about 10 minutes or so). Allow to cool slightly, then split each shortcake and fill and top each generously with strawberries. Squirt on some of that delightful soy whip and serve! Seriously, so good.

Cornmeal-encrusted Tempeh Cutlets

Yesterday I realized I had a package of tempeh sitting in my fridge, so I decided to make some fried tempeh cutlets. I wasn't in the mood for my regular flour/spices coating, and I didn't have any panko or breadcrumbs, so I used cornmeal instead. I make these cutlets when I'm feeling kind of lazy and uninspired because they're quick, easy, and remind me a bit of some of the meals my mother used to make us when we were little. This was a nice, protein-packed main course for dinner (I ate two pieces with a side of wilted greens and some fruit)--with leftovers for me for tonight. These cutlets would also be good on a sandwich/grinder with some vegannaise, lettuce and tomato.

Ingredients:
1 package tempeh, any flavor
1 cup cornmeal
Garlic powder, to taste
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Any other favorite seasonings, to taste
Favorite marinade or 1 cup vinaigrette, 2 tablespoons tamari, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon bbq sauce
4 tablespoons Canola oil (or other frying oil)

Instructions:

Cut the tempeh in half to form two squares. Cut each of these squares in half lengthwise so that they are still squares, but now half as thick. Mix together the marinade in one bowl and set aside. In another bowl mix the cornmeal with your choice of spices. If you have time you can marinate the tempeh for up to a half an hour in your desired marinade. If you are pressed for time just dip each piece of tempeh in the marinade to coat on all sides. Heat the canola oil in a frying pan (you'll know it is ready for frying if a small glob of cornmeal starts to sizzle when you drop it in). Dredge the marinated or dipped tempeh in the cornmeal mixture. Once all four pieces are coated in the cornmeal mixture on all sides, place in the frying pan and fry until golden brown (1-2 minutes). Flip and fry the other side. Remove the tempeh cutlets from the oil and drain/blot with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve immediately with your favorite condiment or a bit of the leftover marinade.

Shirataki Spinach Mushroom Alfredo

Whoo, it has been a long while since I've posted. Work has been insane lately, and between that and figuring out my move to Virginia in a few months, I've not been cooking or baking as much as I usually do. Well, that and now that I'm leaving New York I feel a tremendous urge to visit my favorite restaurants, despite my usually frugal self. (p.s. Buddha Bodai on Mott Street is a new favorite!) However, today being Sunday, I had plenty of time to make up a nice homemade dinner. I've decided that Shirataki noodles are basically the most amazing thing ever--they're noodles and hence they taste really good, yet they're not made with the usual noodle materials and therefore are super low in calories. Like a serving has 20 calories low. Insanity. So anyway, I made this up, proportions of ingredients can be shifted as desired, since when I cook I just sort of guesstimate and dump stuff together. Cooking isn't the exact science that baking is after all.

Ingredients:
1 package shirataki, spaghetti style
1 onion
Olive oil
1 bunch fresh spinach
1 container sliced baby portabella mushrooms (buying pre-sliced mushrooms is the height of laziness, I know)
1/2 to 1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup plain soymilk
A generous spoonful or so of basil pesto
If desired: a few fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup shredded Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella, tofurky sausage, salt and pepper as needed

Instructions:
First, clean the spinach and cut some of the ends off. Bring the veggie stock to a boil and then place the spinach in to wilt a bit. Remove from heat. In another pan, heat olive oil (maybe 1 tablespoon? I tend not to measure so much when cooking). Dice the onion and saute it in the oil. After the onions are nice and a bit softened, add the mushrooms and cook down. Once these have melded nicely add in the spinach, the tofurky sausage, a small amount of the veggie stock, and the soymilk. Allow to cook down. Once its all hot, stir in the pesto, basil leaves, and vegan cheeze and mix well. If the sauce isn't thick enough for your taste you can add a bit of flour or cornstarch. Once the cheeze has melted and everything is well mixed, open the packet of shirataki. Drain it well, then add it to the pot (did I mention you also don't need to actually cook the shirataki so much as just heat it up? amazing). Stir well to mix the noodles, which admittedly stick together a little, and cook for a few more minutes. Serve hot. So good!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

One of my friends invited the whole gang over on Saturday night, so I decided to throw together a quick coffee cake to enjoy with coffee/tea and conversation. I love how easy this recipe is and how totally decadent it comes out. It is easiest to use an 8" square or round pan, but you can also make this in a bundt pan or make coffee cake cupcakes. This recipe is super moist because of the soy sour cream and comes out so beautifully.

Ingredients:

Cake
1.5 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons softened vegan margarine
Egg replacer for 1 egg (1.5 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer and tablespoons warm water)
3/4 cup Tofutti sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Struesel topping
1/2 cup cup Bisquick
6 tablespoons sugar (I like to use a mix of dark and light brown)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons firm margarine

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the pan. Mix cake ingredients well and then spread in the pan or spoon into muffin tins. Mix the dry streusel ingredients, then cut in the margarine until crumbly. Spoon this mixture on top of the cake batter. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean, then allow to cool. I sometimes like to drizzle the cake with frosting (either store bought if I'm feeling lazy or confectioners sugar + margarine + a bit of soy milk + vanilla + lemon flavoring mixed in the kitchenaid until a drizzle-able consistency). This is amazing served warm or room temperature. I actually had the small piece that was leftover for breakfast this morning haha!

Tag I'm it...

I was tagged by Veggie to tell you 5 things you might not know about me, so here goes:

1. I play 6 instruments: oboe, english horn, guitar, bass guitar, drums, and saxophone. I've recorded well over a hundred songs in the past 8 years and have released 11 eps and 3 lps/cds on indie labels.

2. I'm trying to learn to speak and read Polish.

3. I was just accepted to a PhD program in History and I cannot wait to move out of NY. The only thing that is going to make me sad about this is that I will no longer live near my darling gentleman, and I know that is going to rip my heart out. Hopefully we'll get to visit each other often.

4. I think about food basically all the time and I love to eat. Thank heavens I like to exercise too or my figure would not be so girlish.

5. I'm obsessed with mid-century modern furniture and have had dreams about finding that once-in-a-lifetime score at the flea market.

I'm tagging these 5 fellow bloggers:

GenPink
Vegan Crunk
Vegan Lunchbox
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Eat'n Veg'n