Our Veggie Kitchen

There's veggie coffee house in town that serves 'Silly' Cheesesteak. How can you not like that? Well, Shortly before I discovered this phenomenon, they decided to close their kitchen for a remodel. They've been closed for about a month and I've wanted cheesesteak ever since. Last night, I finally took matters into my own hands and made my own. Later, I spoke with my dad on the phone and I could hear his eyes blink as he tried to comprehend vegan cheesesteak.



Philly Cheesesteak:
This really isn't a recipe. Basically, take 4 beefy seitan cutlets from the freezer and allow them to partially defrost. Keep them as frozen as possible, though. Slice each cutlet as thinly as possible, then roughly chop the pile of seitan. Saute about 1/4 cup diced green pepper and half an onion (sliced in half rings) in a little oil and, when soft, add the chopped setian. Cook, stirring frequently, until the seitan is hot. I added a little of the cooking liquid from the seitan, but I don't know if it made any difference.

Spread a little Earth Balance on a hoagie roll and put under the broiler until browned. Pile on some of the steak mixture, then pour on some cheese sauce. I used the sauce from VeganDad's Mac & Cheese, but Nacho Sauce would work too, perhaps even better. I also smeared on lots of horseradish.

Chickpea Romesco:
I also made Chickpeas Romesco from the Veganomicon. I made it straight from the book, hence no recipe, and I must say, I was fairly impressed. It had nice fresh taste and the flavors came together well, which was a concern because I'm not a big roasted pepper fan. I was going to stir in some pasta shells, but, instead, poured it over rice. I think next time I will add some tomato paste, or a mix of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook it with pasta.

I learned (or remembered) two things this week.

1) When I try hard enough, I can really turn the kitchen into a disaster zone. And it seems, I've been trying all week. On Monday, I made Ginger Tofu and fried rice. I tried to cut corners on the fried rice and cook the rice and veggies together in a pot. It turned into a soppy glutenous mess. And I grated too much ginger for the tofu and used it anyway. Strike One! I really liked it, which is good, because no one else touched it. Tuesday's calzones had a paper-thin crispy crust and a thick wad of doughy mess. Strike two!

On Wednesday, I tried converting a chickpea soup recipe into a rice dish and It almost worked. I added some sugar after the fact and it made a world of difference. Next time I'll add some cabbage as well. I'll call that a foul tip. Tonight, I'm making orzo & rice. Will I strike out for the week or hit a home run? Or maybe I should go for a bunt-single.

2) I really really really really like sauces. I made four this week and, not a one was for a planned meal. I routinely have, at least, a couple in the fridge. And, when I started veganizing recipes, sauces and gravies topped the list. Last night, I had three sauces with dinner: Nacho Sauce and mushrooms smothering a baked potato, carrot sticks with Yummy Sauce, and Jalapeno Corn Sauce on Cauliflower.

The Jalapeno Corn sauce is adapted from the Veganomicon, which is quite good. I changed the spices, added a shake of nutritional yeast and some pimentos for color. I also strained out all the corn fibers that never blend. I like to mix it with black beans, poured over a potato and it was really liked with cauliflower. So, here it is:



Jalapeno Corn Sauce
(Adapted from Veganomicon)

1 tbs vegetable oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 oz jar pimentos
1 1/2 tbs nutritional yeast

In a medium sauce pan, saute the onion and pepper in the oil until soft. Add corn and garlic and cook until the corn is fully cooked and the garlic is fragrant, maybe five more minutes. Pour the onion/corn mixture into a blender, along with the remaining ingredients. Blend thoroughly. Pour the sauce, through a strainer, back into the pan. Heat the sauce until it begins to thicken. Remove and serve. Makes a little less than 3 cups.

10 servings: 72 cal (2g fat, 12g carbs, 2g protein)

I haven't been keeping up too well this week. My laptop crashed on Saturday and I spent Sunday (my normal cook/prep day) working on computer [expletive]. But I did get make some wonderful meals inspired by some of the many great bloggers out there. But before I get to that, I'm going to rant.

I bought an ASUS laptop almost two years ago. This weekend I plugged it into a wall socket that has a tendancy to spark. Needless to say, I fried my motherboard. It was my fault for being a dumbass. I called ASUS and they gave me an RMA and said they'd fix it. They even said they'd fix the hard drive that died when i tripped over the laptop while running for a beer between commercials during March Madness. I shipped my computer on Monday and I got it back on Thursday. Four days! including shipping! for something that I BROKE! AMAZING!

My assistant needed a new computer anyway, so I decided to buy a computer that I could use while mine was RMA land, then pass it on. I bought an HP at circuit city. I went against my better judgement, I've had a long history or receiving poor support form Compaq and HP and bought another. It was a lemon. The Network adaptor only works intermittently. I insisted it was a hardware issue. Linksys insisted it was a hardware issue. My brother, the network administator insisted it was a hardware issue.

Circuit City plugged it in saw that it worked and blamed my network. I told them all the things I've checked, including swapping network hardware, and messing with DHCP settings, checking client tables, etc. They said "It works here, there's nothing wrong." Did they not hear INTERMITTENT?? Did they not hear that I have some knowledge and that I talk to experts?? Oh, did I mention that I spent 90 minutes on hold with HP tech support and never got through!

So I am boxing up the computer and return it to Circuit City, being as assertive as I know how. If they refuse to return it, I will leave it in thier care and sick VISA on them. I've learned my lesson. And my word of advise: Dont' by a HP Desktop. Again, DON'T BUY HP! DON'T BUY HP! DO NOT BUY AN HEWLETT-PACKARD DESKTOP COMPUTER.

---------------

Now that that's off my chest, I did take some photos of some pretty decent meals. None are my own creation, but things that looked good (and tasted good) out there in the ether.

Monday night, I was oging to make some split pea burgers, but they take a while to simmer, so I went for an easier aternative. I made Veganomicon's Black Bean Burgers. They were a bit bland, but had a nice meaty bite and, with good rolls, and chunks of avocado, cilantro and tomato, they really hit the spot. The roasted red potatoes with White Basil Sauce were a perfect addition.




I'd planned on making Tofu Mom's Vegan Pesto and that came on Wednesday. Knowing that I had no time to cook, I whipped the pesto ahead of time and had dinner on the table in 20 minutes. The only thing I do differently, is that I hold out half the basil leaves and hand mince them. Blend everything else with a little water, then mix in the rest of the basil. I add miso sometimes too. It is really good. I served it with bread and a spinach salad drizzled with yummy sauce.



Last night, I tried something that looded and sounded really good, and it did taste really good. So here is Omadsa's Pumplin Chili. I followed the recipe verbatim (except I was out of kidney beans so I used pinto), adding 1/4 tsp pepper and 3/4 tsp salt. I tested the sauce and was determined that it deeded something else. Turns out, it needed beans. Once I had a spoonful of everything I was sold. It's even better the next day. Great job Omadsa!



Well that's about it today. I did finish the modificaitions to my vegan cornbread muffins. Finally, they held toghether and tasted good all at the same time. I'll post them shortly.