Lazy Veggie Pot Pie!

I've been cooking a bunch since the weather began getting chillier, so HOPEFULLY I can get back into the blogging game :-) Here's one of my favorite "comfort" foods of all time...

This recipe was inspired by this pile of produce I got from the Utah CoOp - for some reason I looked at it all and thought, "Pot Pie!" BUT, I'm too lazy and/or afraid of making pie crusts. And really, soggy pie crust is NASTY, so we wouldn't want to contend with that either. Then I remembered a long-ago Bisquick box recipe for "easy" pot pies, and ta-da! A new vegan classic was born!

Here's the CoOp share and the prepped veggies (I think I made about 4 times this recipe!)

 

Liz’ Lazy Veggie Pot Pie

1 large yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 bell pepper, diced

6-8 cups of any assortment of the following veggies (really, probably anything you have):

red potatoes, peeled and diced

carrots, peeled and sliced

cauliflower, separated into bite-sized chunks

broccoli, separated into bite-sized chunks

sweet potato, peeled and diced

spinach, chopped

zucchini, diced

mushrooms, quartered

green beans, cut into 1” lengths

frozen peas

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 “un-chicken” bouillon cubes or 3 tablespoons Frontier ‘chicken-flavored’ vegetarian broth powder

Water

1 16-oz. package of seitan or other “Chicken” substitute

Salt 

Pepper

Garlic powder

Basil, Thyme, or Parsley

Place oil, garlic, onion and salt in soup pot. Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent and soft. Add bell pepper and assorted veggies. Stir for a minute to slightly warm all the veggies. Sprinkle flour all over everything and stir-fry for three minutes. Add nutritional yeast and broth powder. Mix well, then add water to just below level of veggies. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until veggies are barely tender (but not mushy!). It should resemble a thick stew. If it doesn’t, whisk more flour in a bit of water and add to pot. Add seitan, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and herbs to taste.

While veggies are simmering, make “crust” from your favorite biscuit recipe -OR- simply use refrigerated biscuit dough. (Also, you can make this recipe GLUTEN-FREE by substituting cornstarch in the stew and using a gluten-free biscuit mix for the crust!)

Here’s the recipe I used, based on a scone recipe:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup plain soymilk

1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Whisk flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in margarine until crumbly _OR_ use a food processor to do that for you. Whisk vinegar into soymilk, make a well, and mix into dry ingredients just until everything is moist - do not overmix! It should be quite crumbly! 

Ladle stew into casserole dishes or ramekins or pie tins or whatever. Put a thin layer of dough on top. (This is a good time to wrap and freeze if desired). Cook in a 375° oven until the filling is bubbling up the sides and the top of the crust is golden, about 25 minutes depending on the size of your “pies.” ENJOY!

Asian Rice Noodle Soup

Put in a large soup pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes:

5 quarts water
3 bouillon cubes* (you want a light broth)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup cilantro stems, minced (reserve leaves for later)
1/2 cup tamari/soy sauce

Boil 3 quarts water in another pot and cook a 16-oz. package of rice noodles according to directions, rinse with cold water, and drain. Set aside.

While the broth is boiling, prepare veggies:
1/2 head green cabbage
4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 bunch green onions, white part and green tops, thinly sliced
1/2 cup minced cilantro leaves

Add cabbage, carrots, and bell pepper to broth. Cook for five minutes, or to desired tenderness (I like them still a bit crunchy). Remove from heat and stir in green onion and cilantro.

One 16-oz. package chicken-style seitan (wheat meat), shredded

To serve: place 1/2 cup noodles in a bowl, add a 1/4 cup of seitan, and scoop a cup and a half or so of broth and veggies on top. Then, add a dollop of garlic chili paste and a splash of additional soy sauce (the broth is light and mild so my kids will eat it too, so my bowl needs some amping-up.)

Definitely a must-have in my fridge:

Enjoy!

*Any will do, I like to use Frontier "chicken-flavored" veggie broth powder or Rapunzel "Herbs and Sea Salt"

Vegan Triple Pepper Dark Chocolate Cookies

This is a vegan-fied and spicy-fied version of a Martha Stewart cookie recipe that can be found here...

LIZ' TRIPLE PEPPER - DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 teaspoons good-quality instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) Earth Balance "vegan buttery sticks," softened
1 cup evaporated cane sugar
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg replacer powder (plus three tablespoons water) -OR- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed into 1 tablespoon applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


Whisk together dry ingredients (the first eight ingredients) in a medium bowl.

With mixer, beat Earth Balance and sugar until fluffy. Whisk egg replacer or flaxseed mixture in a small bowl and add to sugar mixture along with vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients just until blended.

Shape dough into a 2-inch diameter log on a piece of parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour. (You can see in the picture above that I managed to make a heart-shaped log for Valentines day...)

Preheat oven to 375° and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice log into 1/3 inch thick rounds. Sprinkle with black pepper. Bake for 9 minutes or until there is a "slight resistance' when you poke them.  Cool on rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired when completely cooled.

Smoky Baba Ganoush a la Liz

Here is the promised recipe from the picture in the last post...

Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and roast at 475° until charred and soft all over (about 40 minutes):
Eggplant: 5 small or 2 large
Yellow onion: 1, coarsely chopped
Garlic: 1 whole head (cut off top, sprinkle with olive oil, and wrap in foil)

Remove from oven and place in a large glass bowl, covered with foil to trap moisture in while they cool.

When cool enough to handle, scrape insides of eggplants into a large food processor (or back into the glass bowl if you are using an immersion blender instead). The skins are bitter, so avoid getting any eggplant skin in your ganoush. Squeeze roasted garlic out of papery skin and add to eggplant along with the following ingredients, and pulse or blend until smooth:

Tahini: 1/3 cup
Parsley: 1 cup of leaves
Cumin: 2 teaspoons
Salt: 1 teaspoon (minimum, more to taste)
Pepper: 1 teaspoon
Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon
Olive oil: 1 tablespoon (minimum, more to taste)

I've found that this ganoush is best very fresh and served at room temperature...and to give it a little extra smokiness I like to char the eggplants before roasting them by rotating them over a flame and blackening the skins. Enjoy!

"Fertile Crescent" Red Lentil Soup

Last night I utilized both of my top hobbies – cooking and drawing on people with henna – for a party that was a fundraiser for my church. Several people asked for the soup recipe, and since I haven't blogged for two months, it seemed a great time to get back on the wagon! (The lapse is due to buying a house and moving, but who needs excuses to slack off?)

Put in a large pot and bring to a boil:

2 cups small dry red lentils

8 cups water

2 cups chopped yellow onion

6 minced garlic cloves

2 tsp. freshly ground cumin seed

2 tsp. freshly ground coriander seed

Cook until the lentils are mush and breaking down, about 30 minutes depending on size. Let it cool a bit, then puree at least half of the soup (I use an immersion blender, you really need to get one – see my post for Tunisian Pumpkin Soup). Add more water as necessary to get a good consistency, you want it to be soupy, not gloopy. Return to low heat, and add:

3 cups chopped fresh spinach

1 cup white wine

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Cook for ten minutes, until spinach is turning dark, and then add:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup chopped cilantro

Stir, and adjust salt and pepper to taste! Enjoy!

p.s. I'll post the recipe for the pictured baba ganoush next :-)

Ginger Madness! Muffins and Biscotti

I've not been a fan of candied ginger in the past, but last week I decided to try something new when I made scones in the cafe...so I made a batch of Orange-Ginger scones - I simply added about 1/2 cup chopped candied ginger and the zest of one orange to 1/2 batch of the best.scone.recipe.ever (I'm afraid to post it here, because A) it's not mine, and B) it is chock-full of dairy, especially BUTTER and I'm trying to keep my blog recipes vegan and low-fat...). And oh my goodness, I think I've discovered my new favorite scone - and I thought nothing would top the pineapple scones in my book!

So...being on a ginger jag, I made two vegan treats in the cafe today with candied ginger - Raspberry Triple-Ginger Muffins and Gingerbread Biscotti.

Raspberry Triple-Ginger Muffins

2 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
3 tsp. ener-g egg replacer powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup oil (I've experimented with none, and with less...all good muffins - just changes the texture somewhat)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. chopped candied ginger
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2/3 cup frozen raspberries (I smashed a few into bits)

Whisk-sift flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger. In a small bowl, whisk egg replacer with two tablespoons water until smooth (and a little frothy) and set aside. Whisk sugar, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and ginger pieces. Add egg replacer, then fold wet ingredients into dry, add raspberries, and stir just until mixed. Fill muffin cups 80% full, and bake at 400° for 25 minutes! YUM!

Real Gingerbread Biscotti (from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar")

• ¼ cup molasses
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons nondairy milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces candied ginger, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat together molasses, sugar, flax seeds, oil, non-dairy milk, and vanilla with a wire whisk until smooth.
3. Sift in the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to form a smooth dough, then knead in the chopped candied ginger, pushing any bits that pop out back into the dough.
4. For a log about 11 inches long by 4 inches wide, using a rubber spatula to even the edges and flatten the end sides of the log. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes until the log is puffed and firm but not too brown. It will spread a little, and some cracking is okay. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack, turn off the oven, and allow the log to cool for at least 45 minutes. If any edges of the log are too browned, gently trim them off with a sharp, heavy knife.
5. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Very carefully, slide the log off the baking sheet and onto a cutting board. With a sharp, heavy knife, cut log into ½-inch-thick slices, using one quick and firm motion, pressing down into the log. Very gently move slices to the baking sheet, standing them of their bottom edge if possible. Rebake the slices for 22 to 24 minutes. The slices should appear dry and slightly toasted, but do not allow them to get too browned. Allow the biscotti to cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully move them to the wire racks to complete cooling (warm biscotti may be fragile). Store in a loosely covered container.