July 12, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Eggplant, Green Olive and Caper Caponata

Yield: approximately 5-6 cups

Scrumptious as an appetizer on pita triangles, the leftovers will either be used to stuff a tomato or pepper, tossed with pasta or spooned over grilled tofu for a satisfying full meal.

I found this recipe at the site listed below under “Source” and adapted it a bit. I omitted the mushrooms because one of our dinner guests doesn’t care for them; I used yellow instead of green pepper because it sits better with my husband; I reduced the amount of olive oil per the author’s recommendation; I used all green olives instead of part ripe as I didn’t have any; I substituted ketchup (sorry!) for tomato paste because, again, I didn’t have any; and I substituted red wine for red wine vinegar because, that’s right, I didn’t have any on hand.

The result was savory, beautifully golden in color, and lusciously balanced in flavors. I think I’ll make it my way every time. Here is my version:

1 medium eggplant, unpeeled and finely chopped

1 large onion, medium-fine dice

1/3 cup medium-fine diced yellow bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup pitted green olives, finely chopped

1/4 cup drained capers

3 tablespoons pine nuts

6 ounces or 3/4 cup ketchup (or tomato paste)

1/3 cup water2 tablespoons red wine (or red wine vinegar)

2 tablespoons natural sugar

1 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt

1/ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Accompaniment: heated or grilled whole wheat pita triangles, toasts or crackers

In a large heavy saucepan, combine first five ingredients. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Eggplant should be cooked, but not overly soft. Refrigerate until serving time. (May be frozen.) Serve at room temperature with heated or grilled whole wheat pita triangles, toasts or crackers.

Source: Adapted from www.cyber-kitchen.com/cgibin who shared the recipe from Noteworthy, the cookbook of the Ravinia Festival in Chicago.

July 12, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Israeli Cous-Cous Summer Salad with Vegan Champagne Vinaigrette

Yield: approximately 6 servings

There is something about the pleasantly chewy whole-wheat cous-cous, the juicy-crunchy cucumber and red onion, and the fragrant basil bathed in a decadent, but light, citrusy dressing that makes one bite feel like you have just done something very nice for yourself.

Salad

1 cup Israeli whole wheat cous-cous (you could substitute regular cous-cous and or the non-whole wheat Israeli variety), prepared according to package directions
1/2 of a medium red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and finely diced (I leave the skin on for color and nutrition)
1 tablespoon fresh basil chiffonade (stack leaves, roll tightly, and slice into very thin ribbons)
zest of one orange
juice of one lemon
Coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Vegan Champagne Vinegar Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Optional garnish: sprig of fresh basil and/or a fresh orange segment

In a medium bowl, gently toss all ingredients together. Drizzle dressing over, toss gently again, chill and serve over an optional bed of baby greens or watercress with an optional basil sprig garnish. If desired, you can reserve a tiny bit of dressing (or make extra) to toss with the greens.

Vegan Champagne Vinegar Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon champagne vinaigrette (it’s expensive, but worth the extra cost for an occasional splurge)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or cup.

Optional baby greens or watercress

July 12, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Spiked Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Yield: 6 servings

1/2 cup chocolate soymilk

9-10 ounce bag semisweet vegan chocolate chips (not carob chips)

12 ounces Silken firm tofu

1/4 cup Amaretto, Kahlua or liqueur of your choice (or sweetened coffee in your favorite flavor)

pinch salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

Optional garnish: sweetened cashew cream or a little sweetened vegan sour cream flavored with a tiny bit of vanilla extract plus a whole nut (I like cashews on anything!)

Heat milk in microwave for one minute. And chips and stir to melt and then whisk to combine. Place tofu and remaining ingredients in the bow of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth. Taste and adjust flavoring, adding a bit more almond extract if needed and processing another couple of seconds. Chill in a large bowl; individual bowls, glasses or ramekins; or an 8-inch or individual tart crusts for approximately 1 1/2 hours to chill through. The mousse will set up almost immediately.

Source: Adapted from www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000310.html

July 12, 2010February 22, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Rice Cakes with Fresh Plum and Sake-Maple Syrup

Yield: 8 pancakes

I love summer weekdays–I can indulge in a breakfast that, during the school year, I can only prepare on weekends. Some leftover brown rice from my Carrot-Coconut Milk Thai Soup and a gift of beautiful ruby-red fresh plums from a friend of a friend’s tree gave rise to this particular pancake iteration, a perfect melding of flavors, textures and colors. And you’ll swoon for the crisp buttery crust on the rice cakes. I wish I had another big stack facing me right now!

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 11, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan White Bean, Pistachio and Sage Spread

Yield: approximately 2 cups

2 tablespoons olive oil
leaves from 3 nice size sprigs of fresh sage
1-15 ounce can white beans (like cannellini), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
juice of one lemon
approximately 6 tablespoons of olive oil, or enough to reach desired consistency
pinch of sweet or smoky paprika
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish: a sprig of fresh sage

Accompaniment: heated or grilled whole wheat pita triangles, toasts or crackers

In a cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add fresh sage leaves and heat for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently, to release fragrance. Remove from heat and place in processor with all remaining ingredients except garnish. Process until fairly smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Serve with pita, toasts or crackers.

July 10, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Carrot-Coconut Milk Thai Bisque

If you’ve read my previous two posts, you know that I have been traveling and, hence, not grocery shopping. Late this week, starving, I suddenly realized we had precious little in the fridge or pantry to make a whole meal out of. Literally, the only produce on hand were baby carrots and a half a tomato that had seen better days.

So, the tomato had to be composted and the carrots had to be the main event, but how to prepare them so that they would be a full meal? A quick look in the pantry revealed a can of lite coconut milk and some ancient boil-in-bag brown rice. With these ingredients, a couple more staples, and a little Vietnamese basil, mint and chives from the garden, I knew I could make a delicious soup that would betray it’s “desperation dinner” roots.

I hope you find it as beautiful and tasty as I did.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

3 cups baby carrots

2 cups vegetable stock

1-15 ounce can lite coconut milk (yes, the regular has more flavor, but I just can’t justify those calories; if you can, feel free to substitute!)

6 tablespoons vegan fish sauce, or to taste (sold as “vegetarian” in Asian markets)

approximately 12-16 leaves fresh Asian basil (mine is a Vietnamese variety)

approximately 12-16 leaves fresh mint

brown or white rice (Jasmine is particularly good with Asian dishes, but I had brown)

Fresh chives or basil/mint sprigs for garnish

In a large soup pot over medium high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Add onion and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until a little color develops. Add carrots, veggie stock, coconut milk and herbs. Simmer until carrots are very tender. (Meanwhile prepare rice according to package directions.) Process in a food processor in two batches. Reheat if needed, check for salt and add if needed, and serve in bowls with an ice cream scoop of rice. Garnish with herbs as desired.

July 10, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan on Vacation Part 2

The other reason I haven’t posted a recipe in what is surely about a month was a visit to see my family in Laurel, MS, immediately on the heels of my trip to Shenandoah National Park (see previous post).

My father’s tomatoes were sweet and juicy and my mother’s zinnias, as you can see from the photograph, a botanical fiesta!

I don’t remember ever socializing quite so much with my parents’ and sisters’ friends, and it was delightful: a luncheon, happy hour at “the club,” dinner and fireworks the next night, and cocktail parties at a couple of their friends’ homes, one a beautiful contemporary on 40 acres in the country. My best friend since childhood still lives in Laurel and we did 4 mile walks every day. Years ago, we devised this efficient approach to catching up with each other’s lives and getting a heck of a workout.

My mother is a genius at seeking out the best “Ms. Sippy” has to offer. The first day, she had me chauffer her and two friends to Simply TeaVine in Hattiesburg, MS, for one of lady’s birthday luncheon. I told them I was “Driving Miss Daisy, Miss Petunia and Miss Tulip”! The destination was truly divine, located in a log cabin that had been in one of the owner’s families for generations. They had stripped it down to its original bones and updated areas like the detached kitchen, adding a rustic-glam bathroom for guests of their B&B. I fell in love with little touches like the back lit milk bottles of hydrangea blossoms on our table and a real bird’s nest with a tiny abandoned egg in a piece of furniture on the porch.

The meal was lovely. Mine, made specially for me because of my dietary preferences, consisted of wild rice with sauteed summer veggies, sweet and sour green beans, fresh-picked fruit salad and peach cobbler which they had made with non-dairy butter and no egg.

Mama is an adventurous cook and very supportive of my diet, as she has been since I first spurned meat in my teen years. She had devised a list of dishes she wanted to try which included, but wasn’t limited to, a new gazpacho recipe (a hit!), eggplant roll-ups with vegan ricotta (another hit, even with my sister and father who, as he says, doesn’t “wake up screamin’ for eggplant”), a veganized version of a peach cobbler made from peaches she got at the new local Farmer’s Market (and shhh!) white bread–you’d never know it thanks to plenty of Earth Balance, sugar and such–(it was delicious) and a veganized version of her favorite lemon ice cream to inaugurate the Cuisinart ice cream maker I had given them. We made it the last night and I didn’t get to try it, but Mama reports by phone that it was a big thumb’s up. Despite all of the home cooking, she even worked in lunch at a Thai restaurant she had sniffed out also in Hattiesburg where she needed to go for a doctor’s appointment. There are too many of those these days, but nothing much slows her or my dad down. He’s still working at age 82!

The final unexpected treat was running into a long-lost high school friend at the Jackson airport where I fly in and out of. As the barrista was handing me my green tea soy frappucino, I heard a male voice say, “Will you bake me a pie?” My response to the handsome man about my age was, “Sure…but who are you?” It was Lee Fuller, one of the best guys in high school and who, after we had chatted for 45 minutes, evidently still is. The pie question was in reference to him frequently, as my mother recalls, “standing on the front porch with a cake mix” needing something for his Phi Kappa bake sales (I was one of the fraternity’s “Little Sisters”).

Here’s to wonderful families and friends and to fresh food in the deep fried Deep South!

July 10, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan on Vacation Part 1

I’ve been experiencing posting withdrawal!

Almost as soon as school was out on June 21, I left for a much anticipated hiking trip to the Shendandoah National Park with my beloved soul mate cousin, Earl III. (Almost immediately afterward, I went to my hometown of Laurel, MS, for a week. See my next post.)

Earl comes the closest to a Renaissance Man of anyone I know: he is a very ethical attorney for Shell Oil in Houston (we had some interesting mountaintop discussions about BP), a musician, a writer, a fairly serious art collector, a great cook, and an intrepid hiker to boot. Oh, and an avid reader. In the car on the way home, he read selections from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s new book, Flow. When we couldn’t take it any more, we stopped for a low-brow moment at the Citgo station: a box of fried potato wedges we ate in the car.

One full day of hiking was sandwiched between half-day hikes on our arrival and departure days. At night, we roughed it in a 2-bedroom/2-bath suite at the brand new Marriott Residence Inn in Waynesboro, no more than 10 minutes from the southern entrance to the Park at Fish Gap. (Earl said he didn’t want insects crawling on him in the middle of the night, so no cabins for us.)

At the local market, we stocked our room with cashews, wine, soymilk and the like for before-dinner gnoshing. Breakfasts were complimentary and quite impressive. Dinner on the patio of the South River Grill & Wine Shop in Waynesboro the first night was very respectable. (The bottle of wine we brought home was even better: Stone Mountain Vineyards 2008 Pinot Grigio.) Dinner the second night at Emilio’s in historic and quaint Staunton (just about 10-15 minutes away) was exceptional (I lapped up a scrumptious bowl of vegan minestrone with some of Earl’s crunchy-juicy bruschetta). Lunch going and coming was the aforementioned potatoes (hardly balanced, but we made up for it at other meals). And in the middle of our full day of hiking, we stopped at a “wayside” located in the park where I enjoyed a very satisfying veggie burger.

Summer is a terrific time to visit the Park, as it’s the shoulder season, so there are few fellow hikers and campers. It is perhaps most beautiful in fall, but lines of cars to get into the Park can be a mile long or more. Fortunately, we’re having a reasonably cool summer, often in the 80s, so we were very happy to be outdoors. Though, there are few people, there are apparently plenty of bears. The people we did run into all had a bear story. And ever since we began planning this trip, our mothers, who are sisters, have spoken of nothing but bears. When I told Earl that this trip was a kind of spiritual quest for me (both the destination and the opportunity for he and I to travel together), he said, “Oh, you mean like J.R.R. Tolkien only with bears?!” Alas, we saw no bears, just fresh bear scat (with, as Earl likes to add, a human finger in it), a deer, a turtle, some birds and an utterly spectacular snake.

It was also an utterly spectacular trip. It’s always good to come back, though I’m looking forward to exploring the upper reaches of the Park, entering from the D.C. side where Earl sometimes goes on business.

June 26, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Another Vegan Recipe from The Blooming Platter Featured in FARM’s "Meatout Monday" eNewsletter

The folks at FARM, including my contact, Cindi Saadi, are such great supporters of The Blooming Platter. Once again this week, they featured the following recipe in their Meatout Mondays eNewsletter:

Vegan Black Bean, Roated Corn and Orange Salad with Vegan Cumin-Citrus Dressing and Vegan Sweet and Spicy Paprika Pecans

They do important work and are great people to work with, so I hope you might visit their site and consider signing up for their eNewsletter, joining their organization or whatever suits you. (There is also a link to them under “Important Platters” in my sidebar). If you are interested in their animal rights conference this July in D.C., please click on the banner at the top of my sidebar.