Animal Shaped Chick'n Nuggets

Super kid-friendly recipe! Have fun with these cute nuggets. If I had dino shaped cutters, I would have done that. Alas, I only had animal shaped cookie cutters.

Animal Shaped Chick'n Nuggets

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

* Ingredients:  

• 2 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp salt & pepper
• 1 tsp of Butler's Chik Style Seasoning, optional*
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup all purpose
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1 "egg", follow box instructions
• 1 block tofu, 10 oz., pressed, cut into animal shapes
• vegetable oil, for frying

* Recipe: 

1. Combine all ingredients except soy milk and egg in a bowl. Mix well. 
2. Combine the soy milk and egg in another bowl. 
3. Heat oil in a large sized frying pan. 
4. Press the tofu and then slice the block into four sheets. Use animal shaped cookie cutters to make animal tofu bites. 
5. Take your animal bites and coat with the soy milk mixture, then coat with the dry mixture. 
6. Place in heated pan and fry each side until golden. 
7. Use ranch or bbq sauce with these fun nuggets! 

* Note: The Butler's Chik Style Seasoning is something I found on Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe and thought it would be useful for my fried chicken, etc. I used it in this because I had it. It is not necessary. 

French Onion Soup

This week, my friend and I decided to co-blog a recipe. He posted his version on his website, Firewater Kitchen. His blog is dedicated to alcohol, either creating libations or cooking with booze. The French onion soup I normally make just has red wine, though we also made this with brandy.


French Onion Soup

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 1 hour

* Ingredients (for soup):  

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp soy butter*
• 4 small red onions, diced
• 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup red wine
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for topping): 

• fresh baguette, sliced
• mozzarella soy cheeze, sliced*

* Recipe:

1. Dice your onions and set aside.
2. Place pot on medium heat and add butter. Once melted, add the onions, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.
3. Caramelize the onions for about half an hour, stirring here and there so they do not stick.
4. Add the brandy and allow to deglaze. Add the stock, red wine, and thyme.
5. Cook the soup for another 20-30 minutes.
6. While the soup is cooking, slice the baguette and top with the cheeze. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until the cheese begins to melt.
7. Place soup in bowl and top with the cheeze bread slice. Enjoy!

 * Note: The soy butter I used is Earth Balance. For the cheeze, I used Chicago Soydairy's Teese brand. Make sure your alcohol is vegan. Check out Barnivore for more information.

Baked Crab Rangoon

Baked Crab Rangoon

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 8-12 minutes

* Ingredients (for filling):  

• 8 oz. vegan cream cheese*
• 8 oz. vegan crab meat*
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream*
• 1 tsp sugar*
• 1/2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce*
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• black pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for crab rangoon): 

• 1/2 package wonton wrappers*
• water, to bind wontons
• melted soy butter, to top*
• non-stick oil, for baking trays

* Recipe:

1. Mix together all the filling ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Begin building crab rangoon by putting 1 - 1 1/2 tsp of filling in the center of the wonton wrapper. Seal with water.
4. Spray baking trays with non-stick oil and put wontons on there. Brush melted butter on the tops of each crab rangoon.
5. Take out of the oven when golden brown. Wait to serve until warm to touch.

 * Note: For cream cheese, I used Tofutti cream cheese as well as Tofutti sour cream. For vegan crab meat, I used Match Meats which you can order online. Make sure your sugar is vegan! Same goes with Worcestershire sauce and the wonton wrappers. The soy butter I used is Earth Balance.

Chili Cheeze Fries

Earlier in 2010, I posted my Horseshoe Sandwich recipe which has an amazingly awesome homemade cheeze sauce I concocted. I wanted to do something with this sauce again because I liked it so much so I thought to myself, "chili cheeze fries!". I made this recipe along with the Po Boy Sandwich for my 87 year old father who is definitely not a vegan. He had never had vegan meat or vegan cheeze... he coudn't tell the difference in my cheeze sauce! He ended up really liking this recipe and wasn't too big on the sandwich. C'est la vie!


Chili Cheeze Fries

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes

* Ingredients (for chili):  

• 1 large can stewed or diced tomatoes
• 1 regular can kidney beans
• 1 regular can black beans
• 2 celery stalks, diced fine
• 1 med size yellow onion, diced fine
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 pepper, ancho or another non spicy pepper
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1-2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp yellow or brown mustard

• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch with twice as much water, mixed

* Ingredients (for cheese sauce): 

• 1 large red pepper roasted, peeled, and seeded
•  3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup beer (lager)*

• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch with 5 tsp water (combined)
• soy milk (to desired consistency)

* Ingredients (other): 

• 1 bag of frozen crinkle fries, cooked as package describes
• kosher salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp vegan sour cream
• 1 spring onion stalk, chopped

* Recipe (for chili):

1. Add all the chili ingredients in a medium sized pot.
2. Cook over low-medium heat until everything is tender, at least 30 minutes.
3. To make it thicker for the fries, mix the cornstarch with water in a small bowl. Add it once the veggies are about tender.

* Recipe (for cheese sauce):

1. Roasted red pepper on broil until it is soft.
2. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
   
3. Add seeded, peeled, roasted red pepper to cheese sauce mixture. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour mixture into pot on medium heat.
5. Add cornstarch and water mixture, bring to boil. Add the milk in slowly; depending on how thick or runny you want the sauce, add more or less.
6. Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer. Keep stirring the mixture.
7. Continue stirring until you pour over fries.

* Recipe (for building):

1. Place crinkle fries on a baking sheet. Bake in oven as directed by instructions on fries.
2. When fries are done, place on a plate and sprinkle with kosher salt.
3. Top the fries with cheeze sauce, then the chili, followed by a dollop of vegan sour cream with fresh spring onions.

* Note: Make sure the beer is vegan! Check out Barnivore for more information on vegan alcohol.

Po Boy Sandwich

Many moons again, I had a Po Boy Sandwich for the first time at the Chicago Diner. It was SO good. Alas, they took it off their menu. This is my attempt to recreate it, although the Diner's is better (as always!).

 Po Boy Sandwich

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours (2 hours for seitan, 1/2 hour for au jus)
* Ingredients (for seitan):

• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 block tofu (5 oz.)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour
• salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste rubbed on the seitan loaf

• 1 cup vegetable broth, add more if runs out while steaming

* Ingredients (for au jus):

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 cup vegetarian chicken broth*
• 1 cup vegetarian beef broth*
• water, if necessary
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for building sandwich):

• 4 hoagie buns
• vegan mayonnaise, to taste on each sandwich

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Combine wheat gluten and nutritional yeast flakes in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix well. Let the wheat gluten mixture rise for a few minutes.
4. While you wait, add the vegetable broth to a medium sized pot. Do not turn on stove yet.
5. Form the wheat gluten mixture into a log and rub the top with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Wrap the seitan log in foil.
6. Put the seitan into the pot and now turn on the stove to low heat. Place pot cover on, but allow some room for the steam.
7. Steam seitan for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Make sure you don't run out of broth as you steam. Add more if you need to as you steam.
8. To store, keep the seitan in the foil you steamed it in.

* Recipe (for au jus):

1. In the pot you steamed the seitan in, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and carrots.
2. Once the onions begin to brown, add the rest of the au jus ingredients. After you add the broths, add enough water to cover 3/4th of the seitan log.
3. Baste the top of the seitan log and rotate here and there. Keep on extremely low heat during this time. You may choose to just let the seitan "soak" in the broth rather than have it on low heat.
4. Remove seitan after about 30 minutes. Take out the bay leaf then blend the onions, carrots, and broth in a blender.
5. Return back to pot and add in bay leaf again, let heat on medium heat for 30 more minutes.
6. Take out bay leaf before serving.

 * Recipe (for building sandwich):

1. Split hoagies 3/4th of the way, leaving a hinge. Slather on vegan mayonnaise on both sides of bun to taste.
2. Slice the seitan log into thin deli style slices. Add to hoagie and top with generous amounts of au jus.

* Note: I used Frontier vegetarian beef and chicken broths. 

Chicken and Buckwheat Waffles with Mixed Berry Preserves

Happy 2011! For Christmas every year, I hand make all my presents. This year, I sewed some Christmas ornaments with cute vintage holiday tags attached, sewed some cat nip toys for people with cats, made homemade dog cookies for people with dogs, prepared my own spice mix using spices from a local spice house near my place, made my own preserves from scratch, pickled my own pickles and cocktail onions, and made my annual variety of vegan cookies for everyone. I start sewing around October and do the pickling, spices, and preserves before Thanksgiving. The cookies I make in December and freeze them until I can give them to everyone. I used my mixed berry preserves for the waffles in this recipe!

Chicken and Buckwheat Waffles with Mixed Berry Preserves 

* Prep Time: 24 hours
* Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours (2 hours for seitan, 1 1/2 for rest)
* Ingredients (for seitan):

• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce 
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour  

• 10 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup soy sauce

* Ingredients (for fried chicken):

• 1 1/2 cup self rising flour*
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp season salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pepper, to taste
• 3 "eggs" via egg replacer (follow box instructions)*
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1/2 cup water
• peanut oil, for frying

* Ingredients (for buckwheat waffles):

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 "egg" via egg replacer (follow box instructions)*
• 1 cup almond milk*
• 1 tsp white distilled vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp soy butter, melted

• fresh berries (raspberries and blackberries), to top waffles

* Ingredients (for mixed berry preserves): *

• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1 1/2 cup sugar*
• 1/2 lemon, seeded
• 1 pound of mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Combine wheat gluten and nutritional yeast flakes in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix well. Let the wheat gluten mixture rise for a few minutes.
4. While you wait, add the vegetable broth and soy sauce into a big pot. Mix. Do not turn on stove yet.
5. Form the wheat gluten mixture uneven semi-round masses. You want it to somewhat resemble a "steak" for the rest of the recipe.
6. Put the seitan into the pot and now turn on the stove to medium heat. Place pot cover on, but allow some room for the steam.
7. Cook for 2 hours, rotating the seitan here and there.
8. To store, keep the seitan in the broth mixture and refrigerate. 

* Recipe (for fried chicken):

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the prepared mustard with the water. Add in the egg replacer and mix well. Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to this mustard mixture and blend until all bumps are gone.
3. Drain the seitan of all its liquid by squeezing it firmly.
4. Coat each seitan chicken piece with the mustard mixture completely then the flour mixture completely. Do this for each piece until finished.
5. When done, wrap in cling wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 24 hours. This helps the seasoning stick better when you fry it.
6. Heat up a semi-deep skillet with peanut oil. Once hot, place chicken in the skillet, enough that they all fit (if you have to do batches, do that). Cover and fry all sides until golden.
7. Drain in a strainer lined with paper towels. 

 * Recipe (for buckwheat waffles):

1. Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a cup, combine the almond milk and vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes. This is your "buttermilk".
3. Combine the milk, butter, water, and egg replacer in another bowl. Fold into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Heat up the waffle iron. Add 1/2-3/4 cup batter into the iron and close. Wait for the iron to stop steaming. The waffle should be slightly brown and crisp.
5. Pry the waffle out of the iron with a fork. Set aside. The recipe makes 2 waffles.
6. Add the fresh berries and the preserves to top the waffles!

* Recipe (for mixed berry preserves):

1. In a large saucepan, toss the strawberries with the sugar and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 hour.
2. Squeeze the lemon over the strawberries, add it to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the strawberries are just softened, 5 minutes. Add the mixed berries and cook over moderate heat until the liquid runs off the side of a spoon in thick, heavy drops, 20 to 25 minutes.

* Note: If you can't find self rising flour at your grocery store, try this recipe. For egg replacer, I used Ener-G. Feel free to use another non-dairy milk other than almond milk. The preserve recipe came from this website. For the preserves, make sure the sugar is vegan!

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Stuffed Crust Pizza

* Prep Time: 1 hour
* Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
* Ingredients (for dough):

• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup bread flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal & flour (used to dust counter to roll out dough)

* Ingredients (for pizza filling):

• 1/2 package Upton's Naturals All Natural Italian Sausage*
• 1 package mozzarella flavored Daiya*
• 1/2 package mozzarella flavored Teese, cut into slices*
• 1/2 package Lightlife Pepperoni slices*
• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup (yellow or white) onion, sliced (optional)
• vegan Parmesan cheese*
• dried basil, for taste

* Ingredients (for sauce):

• 1 8 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Salt & pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

1. In a separate bowl, combine water, sugar, and active dry yeast to activate yeast and let sit for at least 5 minutes.  
2. In a mixer, add the dry ingredients and mix on a low setting using a bread hook. When the yeast is ready, add it to the mixer with the olive oil. Let the dough form in the mixer until it forms a uniform ball and starts to climb the bread hook. (If you do not have a mixer, then combine the dry ingredients with the bowl of yeast, kneed until smooth.)
3. Remove and let stand for about 45-50 minutes or until it doubles in size. You want the crust to be more fluffy for your end product, so you should allow more time for the dough to rise.
4. While waiting for the dough to rise, prepare the other ingredients. To prepare the sauce, add all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and let simmer on low heat until ready to use, stirring occasionally.
5. In a lightly oiled skillet, add the seitan and lightly brown. Prepare the mushrooms (and onions, if using) now while you have the time.
6. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and then use the the cornmeal and flour to dust the counter. Form an even roll.
7. Stretch the dough to fit a round pizza baking pan and allow some dough to hang over edges. Lightly dust with flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
8. Preheat the oven to 450°F. 
9. Cut the Teese into short 1-2" sticks about 1/4 inch thick. Line the edge of the pizza, overlapping the teese just slightly. Once the Teese is in place, take the extra dough hanging over the edge and fold over the Teese to seal it.  Add the the sauce followed by the toppings, then the Daiya cheese and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle dried basil over the cheese for a little added flavor. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is a nice golden brown.
10. Remove and let cool enough that you can handle. Slice and enjoy!

* Note: Upton's Naturals is a local Chicago seitan company. They sell their faux meats here in Chicagoland. You could use other seitan-style meat crumbles such as Boca Ground Crumbles, Gimme Lean Sausage by Lightlife, or Yves Meatless Ground Round Original. As many of you have heard, Daiya is great. You can find it at Whole Foods as well as vegan websites such as VeganEssentials.com. Teese is a local soy cheese made by Chicago Soydairy. You can order it online from vegan websites as well. I used these two types of cheese for this pizza specifically since they melt well and taste good. Please try to use these brands if you can get a hold of them. For the pepperoni, I used Lightlife's Deli Pepperoni. You could also use Yves Meatless Pepperoni. Lastly, for vegan Parmesan I used Vegan Topping by Galaxy Nutritional Foods which you can also find at your local health food store or places like Whole Foods.