Friday, October 29, 2004
New Cook book for Vegan Day 2004
Photo from; Vegan, Hamlyn Publishing, 2004
Just in time for the holidays, on the eve of Vegan Day 2004, the Diamond Jubilee, we received a copy of Vegan, by vegan chef Tony Weston and nutritional tharapist Yvonne Bishop; publishers, Hamlyn.
Published for The Vegan Society and released to coincide with World Vegan Day celebrations, the new 120 plus page vegan cookbook is in full color, and richly illustrated with beautiful photographs of featured dishes. Handily broken down into four main sections: breakfasts, light meals, main meals and desserts this cookbook is a breeze to navigate.
With over 90 original vegan recipies and a cook-friendly layout which includes an easy-to-read ingredients list followed by usually no more than 5 or 6 preparation instructions this book breaks the mold of previous vegan cook books and would make the perfect holiday gift for the aspiring chef in your family - vegan or no.
The book has a quick reference to vegan ingredients for the beginner and a short preface regarding the nature and practice of veganism.
We could not wait to test the first recipe for which we chose
Enchiladas with Mushroom and Sweetcorn Filling
excerpt from: Vegan, Hamlyn Publishing, 2004
preparation: 15 minutes
cooking: 40 minutes
serves: 4
4 ready-made corn tortillas (minus the milk powder) 
Filling1 Tabls olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4 Tbls of soya mince
4 chestnut mushrooms, chopped
1 carrot, grated
4 oz cooked kidney beans
4 oz sweetcorn
1 Tbls ground almonds
1 teaspoon chopped chilli
1/2 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon each cumin,parsley and ground corriander
1 teaspoon yeast extract
8 fl oz Tomato end Orange soup (this is a make ahead - we didn't, but by substituting a little chopped tomato, orange juice and a pinch of salt we had very good results)
juice of 1/2 lime
black pepper
Sauce1 heaped Tbls corn flour
2 Tbls potato flour
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 Tbls vegan bouillon powder
1 Tbls Dijon mustard
2 dessertspoons coconut oil
8 fl oz sweetened soya milk
1 - Oil a roasting tin and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, Gas mark 6.
2 - To make the filling , heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the onion, mince and mushrooms for 5 minutes until soft.
Stir in all the remaining filling ingredients with 3 1/2 fl oz water and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3 - Cook the tortillas according to the packet and keep them warm while making the sauce, interleaving them with sheets of greaseproof paper so they don't stick together.
4 - Place all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat until the mixture thickens.
5 -
Put 2 Tbls of the filling on each tortilla, roll them up
and put them in the prepared roasting tin. Spoon any remaining filling over the tortillas, then pour the sauce over them. Bake for 20 minutes until they start to bubble and brown.
6 - Serve the enchiladas with a salad of red cabbage and red onions.
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Note: The 5 small photos used above were taken in our test kitchens to help illustrate the preparation for this review.
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Monday, October 25, 2004
Southern Blogs back on line
A rich heritage of Southern blogging has reemerged as the new Southern Blogs Ring. Full of good reading, eating, the politics and probity of the south all wrapped up for the holidays in a new and improved Southern Blogs Ring.
There is a special blog, the Southern Blogs Home, where you can display your Link banner, post comments, make suggestions to expand and improve the Blog Ring and check in with other Southern Blogs for content sharing and link exchanges.
If you were a previous member or a fan who aspires to be a part of this fine southern tradition follow the links below and sign up today. We would love to meet you.
Join | List | Previous | Next | Random | Previous 5 | Next 5 | Skip Previous | Skip Next |
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Sunday, October 24, 2004
Crepes with curried banana and raisins
Almost everyone has their favorite restaurants or diners, some place that you know and that knows you. One of ours is Benedict's in Dunedin. Benedict's serves great food consistently and they do something else that makes them special to vegetarians, they will make changes to the menu on request.
We give you Benedict's Indian omelet, for vegetarians - no eggs, using crepes instead, delicious. We substituted this vegan crepe in ours:
Ingredients
2 bananas sliced
1/2 Cup raisins
1/3 tsp curry seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 vegan crepes*
Preparation
Add banana and raisins to a small skillet and heat 3-4 minutes mixing gently - careful not to breakdown the banana slices. Add the curry and cayenne during the last minute.
Place a third of the mixture into each warm crepe and blanket roll. Serve with warm syrup and fresh seasonal fruit.
*Vegan crepe recipe
Traditional crepe recipes call for 2 to 3 eggs, I'm not sure why.
By definition crepes should be paper-thin and pale, egg white raises dough and egg yolk browns when heated.
These simple crepes are made with just 2 ingredients:
Thoroughly mix the Bisquick and soy milk ensuring that there are no lumps. Hint - if the soy milk is room temp (something you don't want to do with dairy milk) the lumps won't form, don't ask me.
Spray a small non-stick pan lightly with vegetable oil and heat just to the smoke point. Immediately add 1/3 Cup of the crepe batter to the center of the pan and rotate the pan to spread evenly out to about an 8" diameter. When the crepe starts to bubble flip and finish, don't brown.
Makes 3 crepes
serves 1
vegan
We give you Benedict's Indian omelet, for vegetarians - no eggs, using crepes instead, delicious. We substituted this vegan crepe in ours:
Ingredients
2 bananas sliced
1/2 Cup raisins
1/3 tsp curry seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 vegan crepes*
Preparation
Add banana and raisins to a small skillet and heat 3-4 minutes mixing gently - careful not to breakdown the banana slices. Add the curry and cayenne during the last minute.
Place a third of the mixture into each warm crepe and blanket roll. Serve with warm syrup and fresh seasonal fruit.
*Vegan crepe recipe
Traditional crepe recipes call for 2 to 3 eggs, I'm not sure why.
By definition crepes should be paper-thin and pale, egg white raises dough and egg yolk browns when heated.
These simple crepes are made with just 2 ingredients:
plain soy milk 1/2 Cup
Bisquick mix 1/2 Cup
Thoroughly mix the Bisquick and soy milk ensuring that there are no lumps. Hint - if the soy milk is room temp (something you don't want to do with dairy milk) the lumps won't form, don't ask me.
Spray a small non-stick pan lightly with vegetable oil and heat just to the smoke point. Immediately add 1/3 Cup of the crepe batter to the center of the pan and rotate the pan to spread evenly out to about an 8" diameter. When the crepe starts to bubble flip and finish, don't brown.
Makes 3 crepes
serves 1
vegan
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Saturday, October 23, 2004
Hot Kentucky chicken ham sandwiches with gravy and mashed potatoes
OK, it's a mouthful, but isn't that the point?
Ingredients
sandwiches
2 vegetarian chicken patties
4 slices vegetarian soy ham
4 slices of whole grain bread
gravy (roux)
2 ounces sliced mushrooms
3 Tbls vegetable oil
3 Tbls all purpose flour
1 tsp vegetable bouillon paste
1 tsp soy spread
3/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
black ground pepper to taste
1 Cup mashed potatoes
Preparation
Roux: Heat vegetable oil and soy spread in pan and add flour - stirring constantly until medium brown, add water, vegetable bouillon and whiskey. Continue stirring (its all about the stirring) while the roux thickens.
When the roux has thickened and browned add the sliced mushrooms to simmer for 6-8 minutes covered.
Place chicken patties into the gravy pan and on top - in alternating layers, stack the bread and ham slices. Cover for 4-5 minutes while the bread and ham heat through.
Assemble the sandwiches, cover with gravy.
serves 2 with mashed potatoes and extra gravy
vegetarian
Ingredients
sandwiches
2 vegetarian chicken patties
4 slices vegetarian soy ham
4 slices of whole grain bread
gravy (roux)
2 ounces sliced mushrooms
3 Tbls vegetable oil
3 Tbls all purpose flour
1 tsp vegetable bouillon paste
1 tsp soy spread
3/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
black ground pepper to taste
1 Cup mashed potatoes
Preparation
Roux: Heat vegetable oil and soy spread in pan and add flour - stirring constantly until medium brown, add water, vegetable bouillon and whiskey. Continue stirring (its all about the stirring) while the roux thickens.
When the roux has thickened and browned add the sliced mushrooms to simmer for 6-8 minutes covered.
Place chicken patties into the gravy pan and on top - in alternating layers, stack the bread and ham slices. Cover for 4-5 minutes while the bread and ham heat through.
Assemble the sandwiches, cover with gravy.
serves 2 with mashed potatoes and extra gravy
vegetarian
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Friday, October 22, 2004
Boeuf Bourguignon
This recipe started as a vegetarian homage to great French cuisine and ended somewhere south of the Greek archipelago with a nod to the Chilean highlands. You can use a merlot from Maipo - Santiago de Chile or an Agiorgitiko from Greece.
excerpt from: A Vegetarian Cooks' Book, The Green Cutting Board, 2004
Ingredients
4 oz soy steak sliced
1 cup flat noodles
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1 small onion sliced
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tsp vegetable bouillon paste
3/4 Cup water
1/3 Cup Burgundy wine
1/2 tsp diced jalapeno pepper
2 oz crumbled feta cheese
ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
Add the onion, mushroom, jalapeno and garlic to a dry pan and cook covered on medium low until they start to form a liquid, add the noodles, water, wine and 1/2 the bouillon - cover and continue cooking.
In a separate non-stick pan spray vegetable oil and heat to medium, add the remaining bouillon paste, a little wine and the sliced soy steak. Cook until wine forms a moist coating to the beef.
Gently toss the beef strips with the mushroom pasta. Serve the dish hot with a garnish of crumbled feta and fresh ground black pepper.
serves two
vegetarian
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Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Kitchen garden soup
My grandmothers both had kitchen gardens on their farms, gardens from which grew this and other great recipes.
Ingredients
1 bunch leeks
4 oz mushrooms
1 medium potato
1 tsp vegetarian bouillon
1/3 cup vermouth
2 Tbls soy spread
1 tsp cane sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 oz smoked Gouda (soy cheese if vegan)
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Wash the potato and cut into 3/4" cubes. Bring to boil in 3 cups of water, turn off the heat and set aside covered.
Cut the root end from the leek and about 2-3" off the dark green end, discard. Slice the leek lengthwise an rinse between the layers, cut into 14" slices. Melt the soy spread in a pot and add the leek and sugar. Saute, stirring occasionally, on medium low until the leeks just start to brown.
Cut mushrooms into large chunks and add to the leeks, cook until the mixture is fully browned and semi-dry. Deglaze the pot with 1/3 Cup of vermouth and cook off the alcohol, add the water and bouillon.
Drain the potatoes and add to the soup, continue to cook 1/2 hour on medium low heat, salt and pepper to taste.
The staff and publishers of The Green Cutting Board wish to acknowledge the contribution of Donald Watson
who founded the Vegan Society in 1944, he coined the word Vegan.
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Tuesday, October 05, 2004
World Vegetarian Month, 2004
Inaugurated in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society October 1st is International Vegetarian Day and kicks off a month long celebration around the world. Governments, organizations and individuals are encouraged to observe the occasion through education, conferencing, festivals, social events or simply by coming together as friends and family to enjoy a vegetarian experience.
This year, our first observance since we began publishing in 2003, The Green Cutting Board has designed a poster and several new recipes to mark the occasion. Please feel free to download our Vegetarian Day Web Poster for your own event and try the recipes, we think you'll be pleased.
For more information about Vegetarian Day celebrations and related group events around the world visit the International Vegetarian Union
Hawaiian Chicken Burger
Ingredients
1 vegetarian chicken patty
1 1/2" slice fresh pineapple
2 slices veg soy bacon
1 hard roll
1 oz soy mozzarella
1/2 tsp soy spread
Preparation
Melt soy spread in pan and cook bacon until not quite crisp, set aside covered.
Sauté the pineapple slice until brown on one side and turn onto chicken patty. Sauté the chicken, browning on one side. Flip the patty and continue to brown with pineapple on top.
Cover with bacon strips and mozzarella. Cook covered on low just until cheese begins to melt on toasted hard roll and serve hot.
Serve with sauteed spinach, raisin and carrot sliver salad.
serves 1
vegetarian
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