Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Ragu

Gnocchi ( pronouced N'YO-kee ) originated in Italy and they are are thick, soft dumplings which main ingredient are of potatoes. I remember seeing these frozen at the market but because they are usually made with egg yolk, my only option is to make them myself. Something I totally don't mind! : ]

I saved this recipe for last because, to tell you the truth, I was really intimated to make them. It sounded really complicated to make. The idea of having to peel the potatoes while they are still smoking hot and having to rush to shape and boil them really scared me. But as I started to make them, it actually wasn't that hard at all. The dough came together nicely and if you have everything already set out ( the floured plate, a boiling pot of water ) everything should go smoothly. I loved watching them float to the surface and how cute and puffed up they looked once cooked.

Since I've never made gnocchi before I came across this recipe on Food Network and thought it sounded wonderful for a Friday dinner. They suggest using 2 pounds of wild mushrooms but because they are so high in price, I reduced the amount of wild mushrooms to maybe half a pound. There's no way I am paying over $20 for mushrooms but if you are working with a large budget, please do add them all. It sounds like it would be wonderful with mushrooms of all types.

I love everything about this meal. I am still searching for my main Christmas meal and now this seems like something I would want to bring over to my Aunt's house. It really did impress me in taste and appearance.

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Serves 4-5

Ingredients

Ragu

* 2 Tb extra virgin olive oil

* 1/2 onion, diced

* 2 small carrots, diced

* 1 celery, diced

* salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

* 1 to 2 lbs of mushrooms of all types, wild and cremini, stemmed and diced

* 2 Tb tomato paste

* 1 cup dry white wine or vegetable stock

* 1 cup of canned whole tomatoes

* 2 bay leaves

* 1/2 tsp ground coriander

* 1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds

* Pinch of red pepper flakes

* 1 Tb fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

* 1 1/2 lbs fresh gnocchi ( Recipe Below )

Gnocchi

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 lbs of russet potatoes ( about 2 potatoes )

* 1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Directions

Before you start making the ragu, it is suggested that you cook the potatoes. That way the potatoes will be done by the time you are done making the sauce.

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork than wrap in foil and bake for 60 minutes or until soft.

2. While that cooks, begin making your sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Add half the mushrooms and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining mushrooms and cook 3 to 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the wine or veggie stock, cook, scraping up the browned bits, about 2 more minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes, 2 cups of water, bay leaves, coriander, fennel, red pepper flakes, thyme, 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium heat, for 30 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

7. By now the potatoes should be done baking, if not wait until they are. Should be just a couple more minutes. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Once they are done, remove the foil and start peeling away the skin. Do not allow them to cool, you must work with them hot. I suggest using a towel to help protect your hands from burning. Using a knife to peel away the skin works best.

8. Place the potatoes in a ricer or food mill and mash. If you do not have one, using a fork or shredder will work just as well. Spread them out on a cutting board and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

9. Gather the potatoes and sprinkle half a cup of flour over them. Mix by hand until the dough is smooth. Kneading is not necessary here. Add more flour if it starts to feel too sticky.

10. Now divide the dough into about 5 pieces. Grab each piece and start to make them into a log shape. Rolling the dough did not work best for me because they started to break apart. So a slow squeeze and pull of the dough did the trick. Keep shaping until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

11. Cut the logs into 1 inch pieces and dust with flour. To shape the gnocchi, roll each pillow on the tines of a fork or a gnocchi board, if you have one. Place all the shaped gnocchi on a lightly floured plate. Now you can either freeze the gnocchi or it must be cooked immediately.

12. Your water should be boiling by now. Add the gnocchi, stir and allow to cook for a minute or two, until they float to the surface. Allow them to stay in for 30 seconds longer and them remove using a slotted spoon. Drain well.

13. Remove the bay leaves for the pot of sauce. Then transfer the gnocchi to the pot and gently stir over low heat.

One World Vegetarian Cuisine Restaurant Review

One World Vegetarian Cuisine is located in West Covina, California ( which is about 30 minutes away from Los Angeles. ) They serve food ranging from Amercian, Hispanic and Euro-Asian.

It was the very first vegan restaurant I ever ate in and I have watched them grow immensely within the past five years that they have been in business. They've been featured in several local papers and even cater to the stars in many big Hollywood events. The service here is always nice and they even offer a customer appreciation day ( Tuesdays from 3pm to 7 pm ) where all entrees are $5.

I went to eat lunch here today with my boyfriend and a mutual friend. Here is what we ordered...

Appetizers

Crispy Imperial Rolls $3.75

Chili Cheese Fries $4.50

Entrees

Pho $6.50

Veggie Teriyaki and Broccoli with Brown Rice $7.75

Vermicelli with Grilled Teriyaki and Imperial Rolls $6.95

Sorry no dessert pictures...still so much of the yummy carrot cake left : ]

Carrot Cake with Candied Walnuts

Mmm carrot cake! What's a better way to celebrate the carrot season than to bake your very own carrot cake! I remember buying carrot cake at my local market and reading the ingredients to find the list to include nearly a hundred ingredients and I'd say that 80% of them were unrecognizable to me. This cake is filled with nothing but organic and real ingredients.

Only one small change I would make and that is to use flax seed instead of the egg replacer powder. I really wanted to but I forgot to buy some. If you happen to have flax seed at home, combine 1 Tb of ground flaxseed with 3 Tb of water and mix well. That will give you enough replacer for one egg.

Okay I am not going to lie, this cake was amazingly good..so good that my boyfriend's little niece could not tell the difference between this and regular non-vegan carrot cake. But of course you know what makes this cake so good? Its all the added sugar! So much of it in the frosting, cake and candied walnuts. So if you do make this, please share, as I will. You can always cut back and not add the candied walnuts or the frosting. It would make a nice carrot bread type of dessert.

One last thing I wanted to share with all of you. One of my favorite vegan fashion bloggers, Chic Vegan, has released an eBook that talks all about nutritional needs, vegan fashion, vegan cosmetics and what ingredients to look out for. So informative and best of all, she's allowing everyone to download it for free! Download it here.

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Makes 10 servings

Ingredients

Cake

* 1 1/2 cups vegan sugar

* 1 cup vegetable oil

* Egg replacer, equivalent of 3 eggs

* 2 cups pastry flour ( either both white flour, or 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat )

* 2 tsp cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp baking soda

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 tsp vanilla

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1/4 tsp nutmeg

* 3 cups shredded carrots ( about 5 medium sized carrots )

* 1 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting

* 1 ( 8 oz ) package of vegan cream cheese ( Such as Tofutti )

* 1 1/2 cups of organic powdered sugar

* 1/2 tsp vanilla

Candied Walnuts

* 1/2 cup walnuts

* 1 Tb vegan butter ( such as Earth Balance )

* 2 Tb vegan sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F and lightly grease a 13x9x2" baking pan or a 9" cake pan.

2. In a large bowl add the oil, sugar and egg replacer and beat for 1 minute with an electric mixer or by hand.

3. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt and add the vanilla extract. Beat for another minute.

4. Fold in the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts.

5. Pour in the glass or cake pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean when inserted in the center. Place on a cool rack and allow to cool before adding the frosting.

7. To Make the cream cheese frosting, add all the ingredients and mix well until smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cake.

8. To make the candied walnuts : In a small frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the walnuts, sprinkle the sugar, and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts and the nuts are toasted and caramel coated. Set aside to cool. When it has cooled enough, sprinkle on top of the frosted cake.

I used the recipe from here but added baking powder and changed the frosting recipe.

Bolognese

I got the idea to make this when I stumbled upon Olivia Wilde's recipe on The Kind Lifes website. I did use her recipe but I also made a few changes here and there.

Bolognese originated in Bologna, Italy, ( go figure hehe ) is another one of those recipes that traditionally is made with meats of all types. Olivia suggested using shredded tempeh and mushrooms in replacement of the meat. It worked well and as you might already know, I only love tempeh when it's shredded. Very different in texture when it's broken up in tiny bits, than when left as one big block.

The Bolognese is so hearty and filling that if you're watching your carbs, you can leave out the spaghetti noodles. This meal is sure to be a hit with all your vegan and non-vegan friends.

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Serves 6
Ingredients

* 1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
* 1 Tb vegan margarine ( such as Earth Balance )
* 1 onion, finely diced
* 2 large garlic cloves, minced
* 1 medium carrot, finely diced
* 1 medium celery, finely diced
* 8 ounces of cremini mushrooms, finely diced
* 1/2 package tempeh, shredded
* 1 zucchini squash, diced
* 1 small to medium eggplant, diced
* 1 ( 28 ounce ) whole tomatoes, with their juices
* bunch of basil, chopped
* bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
* 1 bay leaf
* oregano, a dash or two
* rosemary, a dash or two
* salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* a splash or two of red wine or vegetable stock
* 1 lb spaghetti, prepared according to packaged directions

Directions
1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant or about 30 seconds. Add the onions, carrot and celery and saute about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.


2. Add the mushrooms and tempeh to the pan and saute another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.


3. Add a splash or two of red wine or vegetable stock, margarine, salt and pepper and stir until evaporated, about 5 to 8 minutes.


4. Add the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano and rosemary and stir. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered until vegetables have softened, about 20 to 30 minutes.


5. Turn off heat, remove bay leaf and stir in the chopped basil and parsley.


6. To serve, divide hot pasta noodles among 6 deep bowls. Pour a ladle or two of bolognese over the noodles and enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowls

It officially feels like Fall now. The high temperatures have subsided and the past few days have been really gloomy and rainy. When it's so cold and cloudy, it puts me in a mood to knit and sip hot soup. Broccoli cheddar soup sounded perfect and by making my own bread, my house got filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread.

I had such a hard time finding faux chicken stock because my local Whole Foods was out. So if you cannot find any, vegetable stock can be substituted.

I also found it easier to bake each bread bowl in a small duralex glass bowl or any other oven safe bowl. It helped it to keep its shape because when placed on a baking sheet, it tends to start going flat. I kept all the soft bread filling that I scooped out to dip in my hot soup. Really good and so filling!

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Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients

* 2 Tb vegan butter ( such as Earth Balance )
* 1 onion, diced
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 2 cups soy creamer or any other non-dairy creamer
* 3 cups faux chicken stock ( try Better than Bouillon )
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 lb broccoli
* 1 1/2 cups carrots, diced
* sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* a dash of nutmeg
* 2 1/2 cups vegan cheddar cheese, finely grated ( I recommend Daiya Cheddar Cheese )
* 6 bread bowls ( Recipe Below )

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.


2. Whisk in flour and cook 2 more minutes.


3. Then slowly whisk in soy creamer and faux chicken stock. Stir until smooth. Add bay leaves, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered until thickened, about 20 minutes.


4. Add broccoli and carrots and cook another 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.


5. Puree soup either in a blender in batches or by using a immersion blender.


6. Return soup to pot over medium heat. Add cheese and stir until melted.





Bread Bowls
Makes 4 Medium Sized or 6 Small Sized Bread Bowls

Ingredients

* 2 ( .25 ounce ) packages of active dry yeast
* 2 1/2 cups of warm water
* 2 tsp sea salt
* 2 Tb canola oil
* 7 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting

Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Mix well. Add remaining 3 cups of flour. Mix again and then knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.


4. Punch dough down, and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape them into round balls, not flat. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.


5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Uncover loaves and heavily spray with water.


6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 22 minutes or until they are a golden brown. Cool on wire racks.


7. To make bowl, cut the top fourth off of bread; carefully hollow out bottom of each, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use).

To Serve - Ladle hot soup in each bowl.

I got the recipe for the bread bowls here and changed it around a little the bowls large enough and the ingredients vegan