Pesto Pups - Italian "Pigs"-in-a-blanket

You can be pretty sure it's a bad sign when there are spiders living under your apron. I don't know what got into me. I left for vacation mid-summer, and just never left that state-of-mind I suppose.

Either way, I was struck with inspiration today! I was perusing through some flicker photos and saw that Whole Foods makes these crazy, vegan pigs-in-a-b

lanket with all sorts of soy cheese and what not. I had to have one. Plus, I've been on this crazy eating bender, and the photos are all I really need to tip me over the edge.

SO, I guess all I have for you is a really easy, fun way to make some vegan PIAB (we'll say PIAB from now on). Traditionally, I think they're made with your run-of-the-mill dogs, with some sort of puff pastry or pizza dough, and maybe a slice or two of american cheese up in there. But, I'm not a HUGE fan of vegan cheese. I don't know. I'm on the fence I guess. Then from that hatred, came love. Vegan pesto love.

More Conscious Cook & Fasting

Hey all. We just got back from an amazing trip in Chicago, and now we're fasting. I have a lot of pictures and food spots to share. In the interest of not completely torturing myself, I'll just mention this really great recipe from The Conscious Cook. I made the cashew ravioli, and it is completely and utterly amazing. All the work and the time is totally worth it. So, if you want someone to bow to your feet in awe of your mad cooking skills or just worship the ground you walk on for the next couple days, make them this. It's so rich and creamy, and if you don't have a pasta roller [[like I don't]] just roll out the dough yourself. It takes a bit longer, but it works well. And if you roll out the dough, cut your circles with a wine glass top or something, and then roll out those circles ever more -- you get a really thin dough.

Thanksgiving and an Ode to Pesto

Thanksgiving was good. I got to get in Mimi's way while I tried to cook a whole other thrown-together Thanksgiving meal. It turned out well all things considered. I made a green bean casserole the night before, baked it without the onions, and carried it in a cooler as we drove to KY. I baked it there with some fancy fried onions I found at whole foods [[vegan!]]-- that way the onions didn't get soggy sitting in the cooler. Other than that, Mimi set aside some potatoes to make vegan mashed potatoes, and there were some sides of vegetables free of butter. Notably, this bean/corn stew type thing that Dave made the night before. And then the Tofurky with stuffing and gravy.






















I don't have any new recipes for you, as this weekend we only had about 60 dollars until payday which means no grocery shopping, which means easy, thrown together food. I do however love pesto, and made some before we left to KY for Thanksgiving. So, I got to make some stuff with that. This isn't the healthiest post ever, mind you. It is the holidays, though, so it's to be expected. Don't worry, you'll probably join a gym for your new year's resolution.


Pesto pizza: whole wheat crust, pesto with cilantro, sauteed peppers, onions, and garlic, chipotle field roast sausages, and pickled jalapenos


Pesto sandwich: Fried tofu marinated in pesto, pesto spread, vegenaise, and fried onions on ezekiel toast. It's a low fat dish. :)

Vegan MoFo Day 29: Italian Spinach Salad

Almost every day for lunch, I'll eat something small with a side salad of spinach and shiitake dressing. And that gets boring every day. So the other day for dinner, I decided to make something a little different, but still simple, so I don't get off the spinach bandwagon completely. A little variety to help me keep going strong.

And it's basically this: baby spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted and salted pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh pepper. The cool thing about this side salad is that you could easy eat this as a giant salad for lunch-- the pine nuts give you some protein and the artchokes are rich enough to fill you up. Plus, it's super tasty.

I found marinated artichoke hearts at Kroger-- it's hard to find ones not marinated, but they're really good. They are lightly seasoned with some Italian herbs and sit in a jar of olive oil. They really gush with flavor. Roasted pine nuts are pretty easy to find. I think you can get them in bulk at Whole Foods, or Kroger has little bags of them in their baking section. Anyway, try it out. It's a great salad.

OH! P.S. That top chef challenge was VEGETARIAN, not vegan. I always thought Natalie Portman was vegan!?! Sell out.

I read since then she's become vegan, though.

Vegan MoFo Day 28: Pinot Noir Sauce

Vegan Month of Food is winding down and it makes me a little sad. It should be vegan YEAR of food. It's nice to have a network of bloggers to read and to have some extra motivation to cook and post about it daily. It will feel so silent when all is done.

Today I went to the dentist for the first time in like two years. I was a little scared. But sure enough, the dentist tells me my teeth are awesome and strangely plaque-free [[even though I switched to fluoride-free toothpaste]]. I'm slightly prone to cavities and I already knew going in there that one was really bugging me, so unfortunately I have to get two filled. The dentist says I need to start using fluoride again, but I wonder-- if I'm so good at taking care of my teeth already, what more can fluoride do for me? Is anyone else on the anti-fluoride train?

Anyway, back to food and not my disgusting oral hygiene. I love sauces. I think they bring a whole meal together and set the tone for the flavors. I make a lot of white wine cream sauces, just because they're velvety and homey feeling, but I think I neglect the darker, red wine sauces. After making a gardein marsala the other day though, I've been turned onto red wine sauces. I used just a really cheap pinot noir this time and added a little flour to make it thicker than the marsala sauce. Topped it with a cornmeal crusted seitan and had some brussels sprouts on the side.


[[Pinot Noir Sauce]]

about 1 tbs olive oil or any oil, after cooking a protein
1 cup thinly sliced red onions
3-4 cloves minced garlic
about 1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 cups cheap pinot noir, or any red wine
1 cup no-chicken broth
2 tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste

-- Cook your protein in the same pan as your sauce. If you have any left over oil, use that to sautee the onions, otherwise add about 1 tbs. Cook with minced garlic.
-- When onions are soft and translucent, add the seasoning through oregano and cook about 30 seconds.
-- Add the red wine. Allow to simmer on medium heat until reduced in half.
-- Add the broth and stir.
-- When broth is incorporated, add the flour and whisk quickly to avoid lumps. Sifting the flour beforehand may help this.
-- Allow to simmer on medium heat until thickened. Add salt and pepper-- be sure to taste. You may want to add more seasoning per your preference.
-- Top on protein, mashed potatoes, vegetables-- anything.

Vegan MoFo Day 19: Gardein Marsala Sans Mushrooms

I had gardein for the first time while eating a faux chicken salad sandwich from the Clintonville Community Market made by Del's Wellness Forum Foods. The "chicken" was suspiciously chicken-like, and ever since I discovered it was gardein, I've been trying to figure out what the hell gardein is. While I'm still not entirely sure what it is or how it's made, I did recently find it at Kroger. They had a bunch of other varieties, but I grabbed the gardein chicken filets. They're flavor neutral, so you can make them with whatever sauce you want. Each fillet is only 70 calories and under 2 grams of fat. The ingredients aren't too crazy looking either - it's a combinations of soy, vital wheal gluten, various vegetables, and "ancient grains" including quinoa.

I've never had Marsala wine before, and honestly I don't know very much about wines. It turns out this 18% alcohol wine is too high to be carried at Kroger. Or any other grocery store for that matter. I forgot about these alcohol laws here that don't exist in California. We could have gone to Huffman's in Arlington, but they close early.

Anyway, his parents came to the rescue at 9:30 last night and had half of a bottle sitting in their fridge. I almost got frustrated at Kroger and just bought a regular, generic white wine. But I am so glad I didn't. Marsala wine has a really distinct flavor that makes chicken - or gardein - marsala really tasty. I should also mention that this dish traditionally is served with mushrooms, but since I didn't have any, I made it with thinly sliced red onions.


[[Gardein Marsala - Sans Mushrooms]]

1 tbs earth balance
1 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 box of gardein chicken-style fillet's - four fillets

3/4 cup dry marsala wine
1 cup no-chicken broth
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
a dash of oregano, thyme, parsley, pepper, and salt

2 servings of whole wheat spaghetti, cooked and tossed with a little garlic and earth balance

-- Pre-heat oven to 250 F and start the pasta.
-- Mix flour and first set of seasoning.
-- Heat butter and oil in a skillet on medium high heat.
-- Dredge the fillets in the flour mixture and cook in the butter/oil for 2-3 minutes per side until golden and crispy.
-- Place in a baking dish and put in the oven to keep warm.

-- Keep the oil and butter in the pan. Some of the flour should have come off of the fillets and make a sludge in the pan.
-- Keeping the heat on medium, add the Marsala wine while scraping excess bits from the bottom of the pan.
-- Add the seasoning and let the wine simmer and reduce about 5 minutes.
-- Add 1 cup broth and bring back to a simmer. Let that thicken slightly and reduce a bit.
-- Add the onions. Let simmer on low to medium heat until onions are limp.
-- Toss the pasta with a little earth balance and garlic, top with fillets from the oven, and add the sauce.

Vegan MoFo Day 12: Daiya Cheese on a Rustic Pizza

My Daiya cheese came in last week. I ordered the Italian shredded blend from Vegan Store, mostly because the cheddar was out of stock. So, I made a pizza!

I'm usually not a huge face of vegan cheese. I'll sprinkle a little on some seitan parm or drizzle a bit on a pizza, but it's never the centerpiece of what I'm eating-- always an accent. I don't really miss the melt-y, greasiness of dairy cheese-centric foods. I'd probably puke after a heavy dose of pure cheese.

That being said, I do have favorites... Well, one favorite. I love Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet's mozzarella. It's the best. It has a pleasant flavor with no strange after taste. It melts well. It's just an all around good product. I wouldn't have tried Daiya had everyone not mentioned it to me so frequently for the pure fact that I'm so please with FYH. But I did.

The Daiya cheese was good. Andrew and I realized we had tried it before because Z Pizza, based purely on our tastebuds, uses the same cheese. It didn't steal the show for me, though. It melted just as well as FYH. It tasted different, but still good. And I actually had one issue with it. It's almost TOO gooey and melty. It sticks to the roof of your mouth and your lips and face [[well, the lips and face thing may just be me heh]]. It's almost like glue cheese.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But I still love FYH...


Here's what I did for my pizza: I made one whole wheat pizza bread dough recipe. Preheated my oven to 500 F. I used left over Puttanesca sauce for my base, drizzled with cheese, topped with sauteed red onions, sliced roma tomatoes, and spicy tempeh. Baked for 10 minutes and ate.

I really want to make a vegan Canadian "bacon" and pineapple pizza. Maybe next time. . .

Vegan MoFo Day 10: Pasta Puttanesca

Happy Saturday, everyone. This is just a really simple pasta sauce. I jazzed it up a bit with the oregano and shallots, plus the toppings. Even though it's so simple, it packs a lot of flavor. I also read on the internet that this is a "whore" pasta. Something about it being easy for an adulterous house wife to make before her hubby gets home. That being said, you should still try it.

I also got my order of Daiya cheese this week! I'm excited to try it. I feel bad abandoning FYH because I do like it so much. But I had to see what all the fuss was about. I plan on making a pizza today and reporting back.

[[Pasta Puttanesca]]

3 tbs olive oil
4-5 shallots, cut into rings
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp oregano
salt, pepper, red pepper to taste
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
opt: pine nuts and nutritional yeast for topping
whole wheat angel hair pasta

-- Heat olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and shallots. Cook 4-5 minutes until shallots are softened.
-- Add oregano and red pepper. Cook for 30 seconds.
-- Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.
-- Dice and add kalamata olives.
-- Serve over whole wheat angel hair pasta and sprinkle with nutritional yeast and top with pine nuts.

I Hate Eggplant: Eggplant Parmesan

For some reason, when I was in high school, my best friend's mom thought I just LOVED eggplant parmesan. Whenever I'd come over, she'd say "I made your favorite!" I tried not to be rude, so I'd always eat it. But I think that just perpetuated the problem. Something about that slimy, eggplant-y texture with the american cheese slices on top [[yes, american cheese slices]] just didn't do it for me.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if she was pulling my chain and made it just to torture me.

Anyway, ever since then I've hated eggplant. I never ordered it in restaurants or bothered to buy one. They were giant and purple and icky.

Andrew and I were feeling crazy in the produce section I suppose because that day we bought 2 coconuts [[more on that one later]] and an eggplant. The more I delve into my veganism, the more I'm discovering that I really enjoy things that before I completely detested. Bananas, tofu, Indian food -- now among my favorites. And since two days ago, eggplant.


[[Eggplant Parmesan]]
I freaking love this shit. Who woulda thought? This is BY FAR the best way to introduce someone to eggplant. Unless you use american cheese slices. Then it's not.

1 large eggplant, rinsed
2-3 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup chickpea flour, or white flour
1/3 cup water
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
oregano, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded follow your heart vegan mozzarella
1 recipe for spaghetti sauce
4-5 servings of whole wheat pasta

-- Preheat the oven broiler on low.
-- Slice washed eggplant, lengthwise, into 1/4 inch thick slices.
-- Mix water and flour into a thick paste. Set aside in a shallow bowl. Next to it, set aside a shallow bowl full of bread crumbs.
-- Lay out a cutting bored or piece of parchment paper. Dredge eggplant on both sides in the flour/water mixture, then press each side into the bread crumbs so they are fully coated.
-- When all the eggplant is coated, heat the vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Fry each side of the eggplant for 2-3 minutes or until crispy. Decrease time as you go, as the skillet will be hotter.
-- Place fried eggplant in a baking dish. Season with a dash of pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. Top with a little sauce and some vegan mozzarella.
-- Put under broiler for about 5 minutes, watching, to be sure it does not burn. Once cheese is completely melted, removed and serve with some pasta and more sauce.

Seitan Parmesan with Fettuccine

Italian food is pretty amazing. It's rich and cheesy and has aromas of basil and oregano that as Americans, we're very familiar with. And it's almost always good. Except for this one Italian-Mexican hybrid restaurant my family loves for some reason. They don't even have guacamole or sour cream for their burritos? I never bothered to try their Italian, but I'm guessing it isn't pretty . . .

When you become vegan, though, and you eat out, it instantly sucks [[regardless of the restaurant]]. It's like you revert back to what you'd eat as a kid. Pasta with plain tomato sauce or just olive oil. No meat. No funny cheeses. Just pasta and sauce.

If you have the time to fuss over homemade lasagna or spaghetti and vegan meatballs, then it doesn't suck so much. And while I have created those at home, I don't think any of my vegan Italian creations have blown me away as much as this seitan parmesan. A little spiced, homemade sauce mixed with some crispy homemade seitan-- it's perfection. As far as a seitan recipe goes, most that I've found on the internet are really good. I use a variation of the PPK recipe, it's a great base to start out with. Add a little Italian seasoning or some extra garlic for this recipe.

[[Tomato Sauce]]
You can just used canned sauce if you want. Newman's Own makes some good sauces. I just thought this was fun.

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14 1/2 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine or vegetable broth
3 tbs olive oil
about 1 1/2 - 2 cups diced red onion [[about half of a large onion]]
about 1 1/2 cups chopped baby bella mushrooms
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbs dried basil
a dash of marjoram, oregano, salt, pepper

-- Heat oil on medium high heat. Add the diced mushrooms, onions, bay leaves, and minced garlic. Cook until onions are soft.
-- Add the seasoning. Fold in with a wooden spoon.
-- Lower heat to medium. Drain diced tomatoes and crush with your hands as you add it to the oil and vegetables. Stir in.
-- Add tomato sauce, wine, and stir.
-- Simmer on low heat, uncovered about 15-20 minutes.


[[Seitan Parmesan]]
If you don't have seitan or don't want to make any, this would go really well with sliced tofu, too. I'd press the tofu, then marinate it in a little oil, wine, garlic and basil first.

5 slices of seitan cutlets, about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick
3 tbs whole wheat flour or corn starch, seasoned with salt/pepper
3-4 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, mixed with 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup bread crumbs, or cornmeal, seasoned with salt/pepper
2 tbs canola oil
1/3 cup follow your heart mozzarella, shredded
1 cup tomato sauce

-- Preheat oven to 375 F.
-- Set up an assembly line: flour, brown rice flour mixture, bread crumbs.
-- Heat oil in pan on medium high.
-- Dredge seitan cutlets in flour, then brown rice mixture, then bread crumbs. Be sure to allow excess to drip off before adding to the bread crumb. Firmly push down in the bread crumbs to ensure it's completely coated.
-- When oil it heated, cook each side about 5 minutes until crispy. As the pan gets hotter, you may want to check your next pieces sooner to ensure they don't burn.
-- Spray an oven-safe pan with some no-stick spray and lay the cooked seitan in the dish. Top with one cup sauce and shredded FYH mozzarella.
-- Place in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Turn the broiler on high for 1 minute to allow cheese to melt. **Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!
-- Serve with a side of whole wheat pasta [[[preferably angel hair, but we use fettuccine]] and sauce.

Basil Oven Roasted Tomatoes on a Tofu Wrap

Roma tomatoes before roasting

This is my "I'm sorry, let me bust out the most awesome meal ever" lunch wrap. I got short with Andrew on Friday and I felt bad, so while he was napping I tried to think of the most deliciously decadent wrap ever. This wrap is loaded with great stuff - a basil cream, roasted roma tomatoes, sauteed baby bellas, red onions, and cornmeal fried tofu. The result is a sweet and savory combination of flavors with a hint of garlic and basil.

If you've never roasted tomatoes at home, you should definitely try it. Your house will smell like garlic-y, basil-y goodness. They're also one of the simplest ways to make something instantly beautiful and fancy looking.

[[Basil Roasted Roma Tomatoes]]
This is enough for 2 wraps. You can also serve these as an appetizer. If you wanted to get crazy, when they're done roasting, grate some Follow Your Heart Mozzarella and leave under a low broiler for about 2 minutes.

one roma tomato, in 5 slices
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs dried basil
2-3 gloves of garlic, minced or pressed
a dash of salt

-- Preheat the oven to 300 F
-- Slice roma into 4-5 thin slices and place on a baking sheet
-- Coat each slice with olive oil, front and back
-- Season with garlic, basil, and salt
-- Roast in oven for about 15-20 minutes. They should look slightly withered and be sizzling.

Roma tomatoes after roasting on top of cornmeal tofu. See, doesn't it look fancy?

[[Crispy Cornmeal Tofu]]
This also serves 2 people. I've been using chickpea flour a lot lately when I batter and fry things. I have to say, it works amazingly well. Before, I would just dip it in the bread crumbs or whatever I was breading with and it would fall apart in the pan and burn. Even white flour and water mixtures didn't seem to work well. This is by far my best experience I've had with battering.

1/2 block of tofu
chickpea/water slurry

• 2-3 tbs chickpea flour
• 4-5 tbs water

cornmeal mixture

• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 tbs cholula seasoning, or any Mexican spice medley
• a dash or two of chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

vegetable oil for frying

-- Wrap tofu in a cheese cloth or in paper towels and place something heavy on top. Press for about an hour to remove excess moisture and to ensure a nice, firm texture. It will fry a lot better if you do this, but it's not necessary.
-- If you're making the whole wrap, start this while your tomatoes are roasting. Cut tofu into 2 inch rectangular cubes.
-- Create a batter station, with the chickpea flour slurry and cornmeal mixture. Heat the vegetable oil on medium high heat.
-- Dip tofu is slurry then cornmeal mixture, then fry on eat side about 1-2 minutes.


For the wrap, I just chopped some raw red onions and sauteed a handful of chopped mushrooms in olive oil. Then I mixed some tofutti sour cream with lemon juice, basil, and parsley to make an Italian-y cream sauce. I wrapped it all in a whole wheat tortilla. Add a little romaine lettuce for some texture contrast and it's perfect.

Alfredo Pizza and Garlic Bread Sticks

I remember when all the pizza places started coming out with crazy pizza toppings. Specifically, Round Table came out with this "white sauce" chicken pizza that sounded god awful to me. I was a plain sauce and cheese kinda girl, and the thought of combining two perfectly good dishes together -- chicken alfredo and pizza -- seemed so stupid. Anyway, the point being -- I tried it and loved it, and it quickly became my favorite kind of pizza. Nothing beat a "white sauce" chicken pizza with some garlic bread sticks. Plus a pepsi of course.

But alas, I no longer enjoy the fruits of suffering, and pepsi is my vice. So these days I enjoy a vegan alfredo sauce pizza topped with creole seitan. Plus water of course.

For the pizza I used my standard whole wheat crust recipe, topped it with my alfredo sauce and creole seitan recipe, with one crown of broccoli finely chopped, 1/4 white onions chopped, and a handful of chopped baby bellas sauteed lightly in oil seasoned with a little chili powder, and finally some chopped scallions, chopped tomatoes and shredded Follow Your Heart mozzarella.


Garlic bread sticks are fun. You just get to play with the dough, twist them up, grease, and season-- no need to worry about tossing and stretching and all that. For these, again, I used the other half of my whole pizza dough recipe plus the standard tomato sauce recipe. I stretched out the dough into 6 5 inch strips, and grease the tops with olive oil. I spread some minced garlic on top. Then I twisted them so the oil was tucked inside and the garlic was all embedded in the dough. Then I greased the tops and seasoned with garlic powder and onion powder plus some oregano. Baked these guys at 500F like the pizza for about 8 minutes.

This dinner was originally going to break our fast on Thursday, however, it's important to wean yourself back onto proteins and solid foods. Instead we ate smoothies for a couple meals and made this on Friday night. This pizza was out of this world. I know I probably don't have to tell you what to put on your pizza, but this is one of those things that was so good, you should try it.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Creole Seitan

When I was little, my younger sister and I would make boxed pasta-roni fettuccine alfredo a lot. My sister would always want me to put on a fake cooking show, and pretend I was making some amazing, extravagant plate of food -- when really it was water, noodles, and a seasoning packet. I think she just really liked the stupid, fake Italian accent I would do. I'd add random stuff from our cupboard to it, and it would turn into the strangest concoction that we ate anyway. The point being, I never felt more like a chef [[in my own mind]] as when I was making boxed pasta-roni for my little sister. I don't think any one will watch me cook with that much enthusiasm again.

Last night, trying to create a vegan alfredo sauce, that same "random" feeling came over me. What's the best way to replace a white cheese? I found myself pulling out anything I could find in my cupboard [[complete with random, fake Italian accent in my mind... I'm truly a nerd]]. And what I came up with, I found to be pretty darn close to the alfredo sauce I ate as a kid [[minus my childhood spice combo]]. I don't know how authentic you could call pasta-roni, but I imagine it falls a little short of the real thing. Andrew, who doesn't really understand my love of boxed things, enjoyed it thoroughly as well.

This pasta dish really knocked my socks off, though. The crunchy, creole seitan was a well seasoned substitution for chicken. I think I like it better. I can't really describe the alfredo beyond -- alfredo-y. It's herbaceous and creamy, exactly what you'd want from an alfredo sauce.


[[Alfredo Sauce]]

I'm sick of stupid names for vegan food. Like really. No more "nooch" or "nom nom" or "bad *ss b*tch alfredo sauce". We're vegan, not angst-y babies. Let's use big people words. This is an alfredo sauce.

This is the sauce, pre-thickening time. It will be very thin. If this is your first time making an alfredo, just be patient. It's not ruined.

1 heaping tbs earth balance buttery spread
3 cloves garlic
2 heaping tbs chickpea flour
1 1/2 cups whole plain soy milk
1/2 cup white cooking wine
a coupe dashes of thyme, oregano, and onion powder
a small pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 heaping tbs sour cream
a squirt of lemon

-- Melt butter and cook garlic about 30 seconds on medium heat. Then, add chickpea flour and whisk until a thick paste forms.
-- Add milk and wine, and whisk constantly. Let sit for a minute and allow to thicken. Whisk some more. Let sit again. About 10 minutes.
-- When thickened, remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Whisk together thoroughly. Keep on low burner until ready to serve.

[[Creole Seitan]]

creole seasoning, Tony Chachere for instance
chili powder
seitan
2 tbs olive oil

-- Chop up seitan into tiny, bite sized pieces. Lightly season with creole and chili powder. Enough to get them lightly seasoned.
-- Heat on medium heat, 2 tbs olive oil. Add seitan and cook until cripy and browned.

You can see that a couple are starting to get a cripy brown coat, I cooked these anouther 5-10 minuntes after this picture was taken.

Italian Vegetable Soup

This is a really herby, healthy soup. It isn't hardy and full of bold flavors like I usually make. Sometimes you need simple though. The flavor of rosemary is very prevalent and the huge slices of zucchini give it a unique and interesting touch. Growing up, we ate a lot of canned vegetable soup, drenched in beef broth and full of starchy potatoes. It was delicious then, but the more I think about it, the less that sounds like "vegetable" soup to me. I tried to keep mine vegetable heavy, and light feeling. The garlic croutons give it a great, crunchy contrast.


[[Italian Vegetable Soup]]
You don't have to use the same vegetables. The great thing about vegetable soup is it can change with the seasons and still taste great. Use whatever is available locally to you. I got all this at the Clintonville Comminity Market.

2 larged chopped carrots
1 chopped zucchini
1 small red onion chopped
2 chopped celery sticks
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
4-5 cloves garlic
4 tbs olive oil
1 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
2 tbs Italian seasoning
a dash of salt and pepper

-- heat olive oil and add all vegetables. Cook about 8 minutes. Then add the undrained can of tomatoes.
-- add broth and water with the bay leaves and cook covered on medium heat about 10 minutes until vegetables tender.
-- remove bay leaves, and add the seasoning and stir.
-- serve with garlic croutons.

Quick, Easy Olive Oil Pasta and a Video

This week, I still feel jet-lagged. Between shooting Andrew's new magic video for the upcoming documentary and getting back into the swing of work and rediscovering the xbox-- I haven't really done much in the terms of culinary extravagance. I have, however, been making some quick, delicious no-recipes.



I boiled some whole wheat rotini pasta [[actually this was kamut]]. Then in a large pan, I just sauteed some garlic [[like 4-5 cloves]], zucchini, and red onions in some olive oil for a couple minutes until the zucchini was soft. Then, I added the spinach and cooked it for about 10-30 seconds until it was slightly wilted. I salted and peppered it all, then added it to the cooked and drained pasta. Lastly, I topped it off with a little more olive oil and with some oregano and red pepper. It was simple and took about 20 minutes. It's 100% regiment approved, as well. It's full of greens, whole wheat, and good fats.


If you aren't following Andrew's blog, you should check out his site for updates. Here's the video we shot last week, too.