Vegan MoFo Day 23: Zucchini Casserole

Andrew and I joined a gym recently. Well, it's a club. As the rain and the snow and the harsh cold comes, it's becoming increasily difficult to run regularly. And this place has it all-- indoor pool, treadmills, weights, sauna, tv's, and even a little area where you get beer and food [[I know-- beer in a gym?]]. But with all the awesomeness and healthfulness going on, it's amazing to me how baffled people get when we ask if they have vegan options. Are you really just serving these people beef and cheese and beer at a gym? It seems like a schemy marketing ploy to keep you fat.

Anyway, they did have one maybe-vegan option. We're not sure about the bread. It's a veggie wrap. Something I think vegans get to know really well because that's often all you can get at omnivore restaurants. And that's a shame. I think it almost makes vegans NOT want to use vegetables anymore. They have all these recipes-- and me included-- featuring varieties of faux meats and cheeses and they completely forget about old faithful-- the vegetables.

Which brings me to a zucchini casserole. I was a little wary of making this because it sounds too healthy and like a lot of zucchini for one dinner. But this was a pleasant surprise. I still kept my beloved seitan and FYH cheese in here, because I don't think they're bad. They can be a part of the dish without being the main part. That being said, they could easily be removed, too.

[[Zucchini Casserole]]

5 medium sized zucchinis, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped seitan, tiny chops
3 shallots, sliced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tbs earth balance
1 tbs flour- white, chickpea, or brown rice
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
opt: a dash of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups of no-chicken broth

1/2 cup FYH mozzarella or whatever vegan cheese you like
1/4 cup bread crumbs

*Preheat oven to 400 F.
-- After slicing the zucchini, in a grease casserole dish make one layer of zucchini. Set aside.
-- Heat olive oil on medium heat. Season your seitan however you like-- I used a little creole seasoning. Then cook it in the oil until crispy.
-- Add the shallots and peppers, and cook until shallots are translucent. Set aside.
-- In a sauce pan, heat earth balance, garlic, and seasoning through parsley on medium-high heat. Add the cayenne now if you're using some. Cook for about 30 seconds and then add the flour and whisk until a smooth paste is formed. Heat for another minute or two.
-- Add the broth. Whisk until combined. It should thicken in about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
-- Place the shallot/seitan mixture in one layer on top of the zucchini in the casserole dish. Then ladle some sauce on top. Then, add another layer of zucchini and repeat. Your last layer should be zucchini.
-- Top with shredded FYH cheese and bread crumbs. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes. Then, place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown. Remove and serve with garlic bread.

Potatoes Au Gratin, With a Kick

I've been on a big soy cheese kick lately. Namely, mozzarella. I think it may have something to do with comfort food and fall coming. Cold weather and garlic cheesy bread or seitan parmesan just go together. They scream hybernation. And fat. Although it hasn't been a very chilly fall so far. Just dark. And humid.

Anyway, I don't think these are like traditional potatoes au gratin at all. I've never really had them, but they always seemed really delicious in my mind. For me, these are the ideal way I'd want them to taste [[because I dream about what potatoes au gratin taste like?]]. Rich with a creole kick. And they're really not that bad for you. You could even use olive oil instead of the earth balance and just keep out the tofutti sour cream. Then you're just eating soy milk and potatoes. I'm not making this sound very appetizing, but I swear these are great. Even if you keep the recipe the same, red potatoes instead of white and a little spinach makes me feel better anyway.

[[Potatoes Au Gratin]]

5 red potatoes, boiled
1/2 cup shredded FYH mozzarella soy cheese
whole wheat bread crumbs for sprinkling
spinach for layering
2 tbs earth balance
2 tbs unbleached white flour
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup red onions, chopped finely
1 3/4 cup plain soy milk
1 tbs tofutti sour cream
1 tbs creole seasoning

-- Preheat oven to 350 F.
-- Boil potatoes until easily pierced with a fork. Set aside and allow to cool.
-- Heat earth balance, onions, and garlic in a pan. Cook until onions are translucent. Add flour.
-- Whisk flour together with butter/onion/garlic mixture until fully incorporated. Heat while stirring for 5 minutes.
-- Add milk and whisk quickly to dissolve flour mixture completely. Let boil on medium heat for 5-10 minutes in order to thicken. Stir occasionally.
-- Add seasoning and sour cream, whisk together thoroughly. Set aside.

-- Slice your cooked red skin potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.
-- Grease a deep baking dish. Make a single layer of the sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Top with a layer of spinach. Fully coat with a scoop of sauce. And repeat until you have used all your sauce and potatoes. Make sure the top layer has sauce!
-- On the very top layer, top with shredded mozzarella soy cheese and sprinkle some bread crumbs on top.
-- Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and place under broiler for 2 minutes to crisp.

Green Bean Casserole

Please excuse the splotches on that pan. Oven dishware tends to gain stains and wear over time, but I kind of like that. It gives the pan "battle wounds" and a more rustic look. Those Top Chef, Home and Garden photos are too pretty sometimes... if that makes sense.

Last night I made some green bean casserole. This was a bit of a pantry raid. I'm trying to limit my weekly food budget to 100 dollars, which forces me to make what we have. We had a bunch of canned green beans, a disgusting amount of earth balance, soy milk, and 1/2 an onion-- so this came about. It's kind of unfair to call this a true pantry raid, I must admit. The more you cook, the more stocked your kitchen is, and the more extravagant your pantry raids become. I don't think many people have corn meal or Dijon mustard laying around, but to be fair, those are easily substituted. That's the cool thing about casseroles. You can do flour, butter, garlic powder, milk, nutritional yeast [[all vegan staples I'd imagine]] and make this. It'll still taste awesome. The fried onions, while delicious, are hardly necessary. Throw some bread crumbs on top or even fritos.

This really rocked my socks off though. I'm a freak about green beans. I freaking love them. I'll eat a whole can of them if I can. Andrew will always shake his head and tell me how not healthy they are, and all I can really say is that their not unhealthy. It's like eating lettuce-- but slightly better. At 2 grams of fiber and a healthy dose of vitamin A and C for a 1/2 cup, with the amount I can down in a single sitting, I'm not doing too bad. You got to be careful with canned green beans, though, they tend to be high in sodium.

Anyways, this dish brings back sobby memories of Thanksgiving and all that. But I'll spare you today. These are creamy and flavorful, and who doesn't love a fried onion?

[[Green Bean Casserole a la Vegan]]

sauce
1 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, or white flour
1 tbs earth balance or olive oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic - about two cloves
1 cup plain whole soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable broth
2 tbs dijon mustard, or any grainy mustard
1 tbs tofutti sour cream
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
dash of salt and pepper

-- Heat butter and garlic on medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until combined.
-- Add milk, broth, and whisk thoroughly. Turn up heat to medium high and allow to thicken. It will foam up a bit. It should take about 10 minutes.
-- When it's fully thickened, remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Whisk together thoroughly.

onions
about two slices of a large onion, chopped into 1-2 inch long strips
2 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, or white flour
5 tbs water
1/3 cup cornmeal
salt and pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil

-- Whisk together flour and water. Place in shallow bowl. Combine cornmeal, salt, pepper, and place in ziplock baggy.
-- Dip onions in flour/water mixture. Shake off excess and place in bag. Shake them up in the bag until full coated.
-- Heat oil, and lay coated onions in oil to cook for about 15 minutes, flipping.
-- Lay on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

casserole
3 cans of green beans, drained
sauce
fried onions

-- Preheat your oven to 375 F.
-- Lay green beans in a medium sized casserole dish.
-- Cover and mix in the sauce.
-- Top with homemade or store-bought fried onions.
-- Bake about 15 minutes. Put under low broiler for 1 minute.