Author: betsy

by betsy

Vegan “Sausage” and Red Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Heart Tarts (Perfect for a Vegan Valentine’s Breakfast or Brunch)

Yield: 20 small tarts

Why not serve these savory heart-smart tarts to your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day? They are simple, special, quick and delicious, and they only look and taste like you labored for hours.

When I realized that Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, I began brainstorming brunch ideas for my vegan column, “The Veggie Table,” in The Virginian-Pilot. For it, I ultimately decided on unforgettable Red Velvet Pancakes. (I’ve posted a teaser with a photo, but will post the recipe as soon as it appears in the Pilot, as per my agreement with them.)

But these little morsels were one of my ideas and they are scrumptious. So if you prefer a savory to a semi-sweet breakfast, then I encourage you to whip up a platter of these heart tarts and serve them with a side of fruit for a very beautiful and satisfying start to the day.

The flecks of red bell pepper make them especially fitting for any of the “red” holidays, so you might cut the pastry out in the shape of stars and make tarts for a Christmas breakfast or brunch. But simple squares or circles would make them suitable for any day of the year.

Though they are especially fitting in the morning, they would also make delicious hors d’oeuvres on an afternoon or evening buffet.

Vegan Pastry:
1 box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (removed from box and thawed 40 minutes on counter)

Vegan “Sausage” and Red Pepper Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, finely diced
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
8 ounces tempeh (I used the “garden” variety–no pun intended–with flecks of vegetables)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Amino Acids
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 “squirt” of lemon juice
1 “squirt” of Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour (white would also work)
4 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk (plain would also work)
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Add bell pepper and saute for about a minute or two until it starts to soften. Add garlic and saute another couple of minutes or until garlic softens and just barely begins to develop golden color. Crumble tempeh into skillet, stir well and add next 8 ingredients, sauteing and stirring until tempeh is uniform in color, fennel seeds release fragrance, and mixture is warmed through. Sprinkle with flour and immediately add milk, cooking and stirring until flour no longer tastes raw and mixture begins to bind together. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and remove from heat.

Cut puff pastry into 20 hearts, 10 per sheet and place on a lightly oiled or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Using a spoon or small scoop, place approximately 2 teaspoons of filling into the center of each heart. Bake on the center oven rack for approximately 16-17 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot, warm or room temperature.

by betsy

Minnie the Mini-Great Dane as Lap Dog Extraordinaire

Those of you who follow this blog know that the marvelous Minnie, a one year old rescued stray, entered our lives in early December following the death of our wonderful Webster at age 16. From time to time, I can’t resist posting photos of the dogs assuming that virtually all vegans are animal lovers.

Saturday night, when our dinner plans with friends were, sadly, aborted because one of them broke both wrists when thrown from her horse, we decided to spend the evening in front of the fire with a glass of wine, dozing off and on. With Huff and Pyttle on the sofa and me in a side chair, Minnie decided that the only place for her 65-pound self was in Joe’s lap. As she “doggedly” struggled to find a way to make it work, her “lap dance” was pretty comical. But she prevailed!

That dinner was simply not meant to be. Just as I was preparing to cook and right before the phone call came from our friends, I went into the garage to discard something, returning mere seconds later to discover that Minnie had wolfed down three gorgeous hunks of tofu from my favorite Asian market. Annoying, yes. But not life-threatening, as was her consumption of 14 ounces of bittersweet chocolate which ended in a vomit-inducing trip to the emergency vet less than one week after she came to live with us.

Can I tell you how frightened I was? Chocolate and dogs are a potentially lethal combination. A mere 4 ounces is toxic for a dog of her size. If your dog should ingest chocolate, he or she must vomit it up before it is metabolized. Hydrogen peroxide may do the trick, but it didn’t for Minnie. The prescribed Rx was an injection to induce vomiting followed by a charcoal slurry to bind any remaining chocolate in her system (though the vet was quite sure, based on the floor of the hospital, that there was none left).

by betsy

Vegan Red Velvet Valentine’s Pancakes–A Teaser

With MLK Day off from school, I had some time for morning experimentation in the kitchen. For my February “Veggie Table” column in The Virginian-Pilot, I thought I would make a special Valentine’s Breakfast since the holiday falls on a Sunday. My aunt, Bessie Weed’s, red velvet cake has long inspired my love of Red Velvet everything causing me to transform her cake into cookies, shortcakes and, now, pancakes.

First I checked online and, not surprisingly, there were a number of non-vegan iterations, including some from a particular restaurant that folks raved about, but that were unappetizingly pink. Others were thin and otherwise not what I was after. Quite honestly, only one appealed: a very romantic and lovely photo with a recipe on someone’s blog, but they were not vegan. Still, it was the look I was after and I knew it could be done.

So, I turned to the go-to pancake formula that I developed and then added the key Red Velvet ingredients. After a couple of adjustments, they were ready to cook and boy-oh-boy, can I just tell you: I ate all four from my photo shoot for breakfast. I’m off to go walk and dance them off (I have a lesson today)!

They were so pretty that I had to post the photo and a brief enticement. As soon as The Virginian-Pilot publishes my February column, I will post the complete recipe. So stay tuned!

Happy MLK Day!
by betsy

Vegan Chicken and Green Beans in Coconut Milk over Vegan Curried Couscous

Yield: 2 servings (easily doubles)

Tonight was cold and I was a little weary, so I craved a warming meal that didn’t require a trip to the grocery store. I decided to make dinner using only what I had on hand in the pantry, fridge and freezer. This desperation dinner turned out to be a meal that I’ll return to again and again. The white chicken strips, onion and coconut milk playing off the bright green beans and the golden-yellow couscous are lovely in their simplicity. Beautiful, fragrant, tasty and healthy, this dish is more than the sum of its parts.

Vegan Chicken and Green Beans in Coconut Milk:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a medium yellow onion, halved and slivered
4 ounces of Meal Starters chicken strips, thawed (you may substitute 4 ounces chicken-flavored seitan or tempeh, the latter recommended by a reader who felt the sweet coconut milk and natural bitterness of the tempeh were tasty complements to each other)
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans
3/4 cup coconut milk (I use lite)
juice of 1/2 of a lime
1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar
coarse sea or kosher salt
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat oil to shimmering. Saute onion, stirring frequently, just until it softens. Add vegan chicken, green beans and coconut milk. Cook, stirring frequently, just until ingredients are warmed through and green beans are bright green and crisp-tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer just a minute to to combine flavors. Serve warm over warm couscous (recipe follows).

Vegan Curried Couscous:
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup couscous
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon olive oil
coarse sea or kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring broth and scallions to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in couscous and golden raisins. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork while stirring in olive oil, salt, pepper and curry powder.
by betsy

Vegan Chicken, Mushrooms, Yellow Peppers and Broccoli in Creamy Tarragon-Scented Sauce with Lazy (Wo)man’s Vegan Palmiers

Yield: 4 servings with a side salad (includes two palmiers per serving)

This recipe was my answer to the desire for a warm, comforting meal that tasted decadent, but was actually quite healthy, and that would go together quickly on a frigid Sunday night. Though delicious on its own, the dish seemed to need something else. However, since it was ready to eat when I realized that I wanted something to take it “over the top,” and since I was hungry to boot, the “something else” couldn’t take very long to prepare.

I remembered that I had vegan puff pastry in the freezer and thought about some kind of “bread” sticks, but the dough takes 40 minutes to thaw. So, I wondered what would happen if I thawed it in the microwave. What happens is it sticks together. So, then, out of necessity, I simply left the sheet of dough double folded (like a business letter) as it comes out of the package, sliced it into inch-wide sections and baked them. To my delight, my method resulted in the cutest and world’s easiest palmiers that were ready in little more than 15 minutes! A sprinkling of paprika before baking made them extra-special. And they are the perfect accompaniment to the dish…and to my husband’s steak (ugh).

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

by betsy

Vegan Grilled Hearts of Romaine Salad with Vegan Chinese Mustard Dressing and Vegan Five Spice and Lime Roasted Cashews or Peanuts

Yield: 2 salads with leftover dressing (dressing recipe makes 8 servings)
This, my favorite new salad, was inspired by three restaurant dishes. One was a grilled salad from a local pub that was good but the Romaine wasn’t caramelized enough and it wasn’t served with anything very interesting in the way of dressing or garnish. The others, a Caesar salad with addicting spicy cashews on top (the only part I could eat) and a mound of haystack fried potatoes with a dreamy Chinese mustard sauce, were both served at the fantastic China Grill in South Beach. So, I decided to grill the Romaine lettuce typically used in a Caesar salad and replicate both the nuts on that salad and the mustard sauce from the potato dish, making it into a dressing. I didn’t want to use peanut butter as the creamy base, as I wanted the flavor to be more Chinese than Thai, so I decided on tahini which, though I usually associate it with Mediterranean food, is a sesame paste and sesame is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking. I think the result is fantastic–in fact, I ate both salads for lunch today–and hope you will too.

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

by betsy

Vegan Lemony Parnsips Scented with Chili and Cumin and Topped with Warm Vegan Rosemary-Cashew Gremolata

Yield: 4 servings

My love affair with parsnips continues with this kicked up version. The gremolata is such a tasty accompaniment, you might want to double the recipe!

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

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by betsy

Vegan Poached Pears with Lemon, Garlic and Cinnamon Topped with Vegan Rosemary-Scented Sauteed Onions

Yield: 6 servings

My cousin, Earl, always sends a box of those beautiful Harry & David pears to my parents and sister at Christmas. They’re as pretty as a box of chocolates–I love the one foil-wrapped pear in the set–or, truthfully, even more so.

This year, when I arrived at my family’s house for our annual holiday visit, I noticed that the pears were ripening quickly, so I decided to poach them.

I opted for a savory, rather than a sweet, dish. Poaching the pears in burgundy wine with lemon, garlic slices, cinnamon sticks and salt and pepper, and topping them with sauteed rosemary-scented onions proved to be the perfect combination: as beautiful and healthful as it is tasty and festive.

Pears poach in markedly different amounts of time depending on their size and degree of ripeness. Start with about 7 minutes on each side, but be prepared to poach them for twice that long if they are very firm.

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

by betsy

Vegan Vegetable-Coconut Milk Rice Pilaf with Vegan Five Spice and Lime Roasted Cashews or Peanuts

Yield: approximately 4 servings

After a beautiful family-style pan-Asian meal at China Grill–much of which I couldn’t eat– over New Year’s weekend in South Beach, I was craving foods inspired by their creations, especially something with their spiced cashews that I picked off of their version of a Caesar salad. Here’s what I came up with and I have found it so satisfying as leftovers all week. Measurements of vegetables are approximate. Use what you have and it will still be wonderful.

Vegetable-Coconut Milk Rice Pilaf:
1 generous tablespoon vegetable oil (you may mix in a little sesame oil)
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup baby carrots, halved lengthwise
1/2 of a yellow or red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (shitakes are especially good)
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can (about 1 1/2 cups) coconut milk (I used the “lite” variety)
1 cup Jasmine rice (I recommend not substitute because the fragrance can’t be duplicated)
1 cup of trimmed broccoli florets
optional: coarse kosher or sea salt
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro and spiced cashews or peanuts (see recipe below)

In a wok or large saute pan over medium-high, heat oil to shimmering. Add green onions and stir fry for a minute to flavor oil. Add baby carrots and stir fry for another minute, followed by bell pepper and mushrooms, stir frying for a minute after each addition. Stir in vegetable stock, coconut milk and rice. Cover (use foil if you don’t have a lid to fit your wok) and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to insure that rice isn’t sticking. Lower heat if necessary. Stir in broccoli, cover, and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until rice is tender, most of moisture is absorbed and broccoli is tender but still bright green. Check for salt and add if necessary. Garnish with cilantro and spiced nuts. Serve warm.

Vegan Five Spice and Lime Roasted Cashews or Peanuts:
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice and zest of 1/2 of a lime
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (start with smaller amount and add more if desired)
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) five spice powder
1/8 teaspoon (or to taste) cayenne pepper
12 ounces lightly salted cashew halves and pieces or peanuts (reserve can)

Line a baking sheet with a brown paper bag, waxed paper or parchment paper. In a wok or large saucepan over medium high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients except peanuts. Stir into hot oil, being careful not to splatter, followed immediately by peanuts. Roast and stir for about 7 minutes, lowering heat if necessary, or until exterior is caramelized and peanuts taste slightly roasted. Avoid scorching or you will have to throw out the whole batch. Pour immediately onto prepared baking sheet to cool completely. Store in the reserved peanut can.

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