July 27, 2009February 10, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Calzones

Yield: 4 servings

Get in the “zone”…the “calzone“! Until recently, I had never made calzones, and any one I had ever ordered in a restaurant was doughy and heavy. However, I recently had a fresh veggie calzone at zPizza. The veggies were perfectly al dente, the vegan mozzarella quite good, and the crust surprisingly thin, light and crisp-tender. Knowing it could be done, I decided to try making one using my trusty pizza dough recipe reputed to be California Pizza Kitchen’s. I loved the results and think you will too.

Pizza dough is so ridiculously easy and quick to make (most of the time is hands free rising time) that I can think of few reasons to purchase it. I spent years intimidated by the prospect of “killing” the yeast with water that was too warm or not activating it with water that was too cool. “Quick Rise” or “Rapid Rise” yeast removes that concern.

Note that, while I use fresh herbs in most recipes, I used dried in this case because of the high cooking temperature. If you like a gooey filling, feel free to substitute shredded vegan mozzarella for my “cheeze“. For caloric and economic reasons, I like to make my own which, granted, would not fool anyone into thinking it is mozzarella, but I still like it very much.

Though it as delicious as is, you should consider this recipe also as a springboard to your own tasty creations by mixing and matching ingredients of your choice such as artichokes, olives and even vegan sausage, or some less traditional choices. Get creative and please share your winning combinations!

For this recipe and some 170+ more,
I invite you to purchase my first cookbook:

The Blooming Platter:
A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes

Vegan Heritage Press
Spring 2011

July 23, 2009February 10, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Antipasto Tart in Vegan No-Fuss Puff Pastry Crust

Yield: 4 servings

***My 100th Post!***

This main course was born out of a desire for a balanced meal starring fresh raw tomatoes because to cook them this time of year would be a sacrilege. The crust makes use of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa’s, technique for making a rim that is as easy as pie. The filling is a melange of fresh uncooked “slicing tomatoes,” white beans, and Mediterranean items found on the increasingly common grocery store antipasto bars. A tahini dressing lightly binds the ingredients together. So, while this meal is pretty enough for company, it is simple enough for a weeknight family dinner.

For this recipe and some 170+ more,
I invite you to purchase my first cookbook:

The Blooming Platter:
A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes

Vegan Heritage Press
Spring 2011

July 23, 2009July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Salad-on-a-Stick with Vegan Tomato Vinaigrette

Yield: 4 servings

A clever recipe for salad-on-a-stick in a recent issue of the Food Network Magazine inspired my slightly altered version. Because I decided to make a luscious tomato vinaigrette for dunking, I substituted red bell pepper chunks for cherry tomatoes on the skewers. And I also substituted folded Romaine leaves in place of the recommended iceberg wedges because the former looked especially good at the market. This fun salad might even have kids (and adult partners) wanting to eat their veggies.

4 long wooden or metal skewers

Salad:
12 cucumber slices, about ¼-inch thick, cut on the diagonal
12 carrot slices, about ¼-inch thick, cut on the diagonal
12 small to medium Romaine lettuce leaves
1 red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise, cored, and each quarter cut crosswise into three pieces

String ingredients onto skewers in the order listed above. Repeat three times per skewer. For the lettuce, cut or break off any tough part of the stalk end and fold the leaves over vertically and horizontally before spearing with the skewer. Note: you can substitute any veggies of your choice, including small wedges of iceberg lettuce for the Romaine.

Roma Tomato Vinaigrette:
3 Roma tomatoes, quartered
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Leaves from 5-inch stalk of rosemary
Pinch sugar
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth. Pour into a serving vessel, cover, and refrigerate until serving time. May be made in advance.

July 23, 2009July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Black Olive Paste (in Cherry Tomato Boats)

Yield: 4 servings

These cute, tasty and fresh appetizers were inspired by an olive paste recipe I copied years ago out of The Surreal Gourmet and by the bounty of fresh tomatoes in our area this time of year. When I decided on the ingredients and amounts that I wanted to use in the paste, I went back and looked at my old recipe and they were surprisingly similar. I guess I had “implanted” that recipe deep into my psyche.

Olive Paste:
1-6 ounce can (dry weight) pitted black olives
2 tablespoons pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, etc.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup packed flat leaf parsley
1 ½ teaspoons fresh oregano leaves (or ½ teaspoon dried)
¾ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or ¼ teaspoon dried)
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth. Scrape into a serving vessel, cover, and refrigerate until serving time. May be made in advance.

4-8 fairly large cherry tomatoes (one or two per person)
a handful of smoked almonds
sprigs of flat leaf parsley

Prepare tomatoes one of three ways: halve them, cut an “X” in the top, or use a melon baller to scoop out a little bit of the flesh from the top (save for another purpose). Using a small spoon, dollop olive paste in or on tomatoes and garnish each with 1-3 smoked almonds and a sprig of flat leaf parsley.

July 23, 2009July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Catalan Tomato Bread

Catalan Tomato Bread
Yield: 4 servings

My friend Cindy told me to be on the lookout for this bread when my husband and I went to Barcelona a few years back. We had no trouble finding each other and beginning a torrid Spanish affair. No recipe could be simpler nor truer to the essence of its main ingredients.

You may either prepare this recipe just before serving or allow each diner to prepare his or her own.

4 slices grilled or toasted crusty bread (Ciabatta is nice)
4 garlic cloves, sliced in half
2 large Roma tomatoes, sliced in half
Extra virgin olive oil (choose a shimmering gold or green variety)
Kosher or sea salt

Rub each slice of bread liberally with cut side of garlic clove. Then rub with cut side of tomato, squeezing juice and pulp onto bread. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

July 20, 2009July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Smashed Plantains

Yield: 4 servings

Plantains may be my new favorite side dish. With their pleasant sweetness, about on the same scale as a potato, and unmatched texture, they play very nicely with others. Think of my recipe as a starting point for your own creations (and please share any you come up with). These plantains are delicious as is, but lend themselves to endless adaptations through the addition of other ingredients from herbs and spices to scallions and other veggies to chopped nuts.

3 large ripe (not green) plantains, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons vegan butter or olive oil
3 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk or coconut milk
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
generous 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
generous 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Optional Garnish: a drizzle of olive oil and fresh cilantro, sprigs or minced

Place plantain pieces in a steamer basket in a large saucepan over simmering water. Cover with lid and steam for 10 minutes or until a knife can be easily inserted into the center of one of the pieces. Turn off heat and carefully remove basket. Place plantain pieces into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add remaining ingredients, except garnishes and pulse until fluffy and completely combined, adding more soy or coconut milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Spoon into a serving bowl or individual serving plates and garnish if desired. Serve warm.

Note: I tried both pressing the plantains through a ricer and mashing them with a potato masher, but neither worked well, as they were too firm. I suppose I could have steamed them longer, but I liked their consistency, so the food processor is the ticket.

July 19, 2009February 10, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Snap Bean "Stew" with Vegan Double Corn Finger and Faux Ham Stacks

Yield: 4 Servings

A gift of snap beans from my friend Becky’s recent CSA haul partially inspired this updated southern-style recipe. Recalling that my kinfolk scarcely know how to cook snap beans without ham hock, I knew I wanted to include an oinkless substitute. And since my veganized version of my mom, Sallie’s, Double Corn Fingers are a mandatory side with southern veggies, I could suddenly picture little corn finger sandwiches or “stacks” filled with faux ham and nestled in a slightly thickened snap bean stew. I decided to fleck the latter with carrot for added color and nutritional value and with celery, onion and garlic for flavor. A tiny bit of flour thickens the veggie broth just enough and a smidgen of nutritional yeast imparts a toasty, rich taste and aroma. The presentation is very cute and easy to eat because you want a little of everything in each bite, so its fine if it all comingles. Incidentally, though, all of the components are delicious by themselves.

Before beginning, prep all of the ingredients for each of the three components of the dish so that it goes together quickly.

Vegan Double Corn Fingers:
generous 1/4 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons self-rising flour (plus extra for dusting work surface)
1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal mix
1/2 cup creamed corn

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and slide into oven just until butter melts. Remove pan and set aside. Meanwhile, in a medium size mixing bowl, combine self-rising flour and cornmeal. Make a well in the center and pour in creamed corn and about half of the melted butter. Stir together with a fork until completely combined. Dough will be a little sticky. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and turn ball of dough once or twice to make sure surface won’t stick. (Too much flour will toughen and dry out the corn fingers.) With lightly floured fingers, pat dough into about a 6-inch square. Cut in half crosswise, and then cut each half vertically into four fingers. Swirl butter around pan and then, working with one corn finger at a time, place it into the butter and then gently flip it over to coat both sides. Place corn fingers close together in two rows in pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden on top. For extra decadence, you can brush a little vegan butter on the tops while they are still hot. While fingers bake, make Faux Ham.

Faux Ham:
1 cup water
2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon Amino Acids or vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon brown rice syrup (or maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (you may substitute garlic salt; just omit sea or kosher salt)
1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon dried sage
8 ounces tempeh, sliced crosswise into 4 pieces

Combine all ingredients except tempeh in a large skillet and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. While stock heats, stand each piece of tempeh on one of its long sides and, with a sharp knife, carefully slice it in half through the middle to make two thinner pieces. Place the 8 pieces of tempeh into the stock and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until almost all of the moisture is evaporated, being careful not to let it scorch. Add a little bit more water, if needed, to prevent stock from evaporating too quickly. While Faux Ham simmers, make Snap Bean “Stew.”

Stock Source: Adapted from La Dolce Vegan! by Sarah Kramer

For the stew recipe and some 170+ more,

I invite you to purchase my first cookbook:

The Blooming Platter:

A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes

Vegan Heritage Press

Spring 2011

July 19, 2009September 12, 2023 by betsy

Vegan Double Corn Fingers

Yield: 8 fingers (one 8 x 8″ pan)

As a child, I loved my mom, Sallie’s, Double Corn Fingers. When my dad occasionally went out of town, she would make a batch and we would eat them warm out of the oven with a glass of milk, calling it dinner. As an adult, they were a cinch to veganize, allowing me to indulge in some nostalgic noshing.

Generous 1/4 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons self-rising flour (plus extra for dusting work surface) or same amount plain flour plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal mix or same amount regular cornmeal plus 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup creamed corn

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place butter in an 8-inch square metal baking pan and slide into oven just until butter melts. Remove pan and set aside. Meanwhile, in a medium size mixing bowl, combine self-rising flour and cornmeal. Make a well in center and pour in creamed corn and about half of melted butter. Stir together with a fork until completely combined. Dough will be a little sticky. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and turn ball of dough once or twice to make sure surface won’t stick. (Too much flour will toughen and dry out the corn fingers.) With lightly floured fingers, pat dough into about a 6-inch square. Cut in half crosswise, and then cut each half vertically into four fingers. Swirl butter around pan and then, working with one corn finger at a time, place it into the butter and then gently flip it over to coat both sides. Place corn fingers close together in two rows in pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden on top. For extra decadence, you can brush a little vegan butter on the tops while they are still hot.

Note: This recipe easily doubles. Just double all ingredients and bake in a 9 x 13-inch pan.

July 19, 2009July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Ham Steaks or Vegan Sausage Patties

Yield: 4 servings (2 steaks or patties per serving)

Created for my Vegan Snap Bean “Stew” with Vegan Double Corn Finger and Faux Ham Stacks, these ham steaks are great for virtually any application calling for sliced ham. With the addition of fennel seed, they take on the flavor profile of sausage and are perfect in Sausage Biscuits or in any other preparation calling for sausage patties. You could even try crumbling it.

1 cup water
2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon Amino Acids or vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon brown rice syrup (or maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (you may substitute garlic salt; just omit sea or kosher salt)
1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard
Sausage Patties only: 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/8 teaspoon dried sage
8 ounces tempeh, sliced crosswise into 4 pieces