Beef-Less Bourguignon

Here's is my take on a classic Julia Child recipe. Beef Bourguignon redone using Gardein's Beef-Less Tips and Lightlife's Smart Bacon. This is something that I totally thought I would never be able to veganise so well. I am absolutely loving Gardein's new Beef-Less Tips. It was my second time cooking with them and they really do make dishes like this possible again. Serve this dish alone or with a side of pasta noodles or rice.

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Serves 4

Ingredients

* 2 Tb extra virgin olive oil

* 5 ounces vegan bacon

* 1 package of Gardein Beefless Tips

* 5 carrots, sliced diagonally into 1 inch chunks

* 1 yellow onion, sliced

* 2 garlic cloves, minced

* salt and pepper

* 1 Tb all-purpose flour

* 1/2 cups red wine

* 1 cup "beef" stock, such as Better than Bouillon

* 1 Tb tomato paste

* 18 small white pearl onions

* 4 Tb vegan margarine, try Earth Balance

* 1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

* 1 bay leaf

* 2 cups button mushrooms, quartered

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute the "bacon" in 1 Tb extra virgin olive oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add another 1 Tb of olive oil to the pan and the "beef" and cook 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and set aside.

3. Add the carrots and onions to the pan, add 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

4. Return the "bacon" and "beef" back to the pot. Add the red wine and enough "beef" broth.

5. Add the tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.

6. Combine 2 Tb of margarine and the flour and stir into the stew and add the pearl onions.

7. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of margarine for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and then add to the stew.

8. Bring the stew to a boil and the lower the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and season to taste.

French Toast

French toast! Something I am sure a lot of you thought you would never have again as a vegan. The trick to this recipe was the chickpea flour, which works well as an egg substitute. If you cannot find chickpea flour, you can make it yourself but grinding up small batches of raw chickpeas in a food processor.

I topped mine with some powdered sugar, strawberries and real maple syrup. A very healthy alternative to the traditional way French toast is made.

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Ingredients

* 1 cup soy milk

* 1/4 cup chickpea flour

* 1/4 tsp cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp nutmeg

* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

* Canola oil for the pan

* 6 slices of whole wheat bread

Directions

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the soy milk and flour. Once the flour is well incorporated, whisk in the cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla until throughly combined. There will be a little lumps left in the batter. Don't worry about them too much, just make sure the bigger ones are dissolved.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. The canola oil will be very important throughout this process. You will learn by trial and error what is too much or too little. Remember that the bread will absorb some of the oil so add a little extra in preparation for that.

3. Dredge each slice of bread in the soymilk mixture and add the hot oil. Cook the French toast until each slice is golden brown, approximate 2-3 minutes per side.

4. Top with vegan powdered sugar, strawberries and pure maple syrup if desired.

French Onion Soup with Homemade Baguette

Okay, I am officially addicted to making my own bread. Making it yourself really doesn't take that much work or many ingredients. The only thing you really need is time.

For anyone who hasn't had onion soup, you might think that this soup would taste really strong of onions. But because the onions are all caramelized, the flavor of onion isn't overpowering at all. I mixed half "beef" broth and half "chicken" stock for the base. When you throw in the bread and the melted cheese, this soup is very comforting and filling. This surprised me because there really isn't much in the soup but it is heavy. I served mine with a side of salad to complete the meal.

Anyone else love French Onion Soup or are there any that aren't a fan?

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Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

* 4-5 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced into thin crescents

* 1/4 tsp vegan cane sugar

* 1 Tb extra virgin olive oil

* 2 Tb all purpose flour

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* 8 cups of vegetarian "beef" stock ( try Better than Bouillon ) or vegetarian "chicken" stock or vegetable stock ( Do all 8 cups of the same broth or mix different broths together )

* 1 bay leaf

* pinch of dry thyme

* salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

* French bread, either store bought or home made ( Recipe Below )

* 1 1/2 cups of vegan mozzarella cheese ( try Daiya's Italian cheese )

Directions

1. Add olive oil in a large stock pot and heat over medium high heat. Add onions and saute 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar and saute until browned, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Browning all the onions will take anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes. If you stir too much the onions will never brown and if you still too little, they will burn. So one good stir every 5 minutes or so will be good.

2. Sprinkle flour over onions and garlic and stir until everything is well blended.

3. Add stock, bay leaf and thyme. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

4. Remove bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve

5. Ladle soup into 6 to 8 oven proof bowls. Place one slice of toasted French bread over the soup in each bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

French Bread

Makes 1 baguette

Ingredients

* 3 cups of all purpose flour or bread flour

* 1 ( 0.25 ounce ) package of dry active yeast

* 1 cups of warm water

* 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Combine the warm water with the dry active yeast, mix well and let stand for about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Stir in the warm water mixture and mix in using a wooden spoon.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Shape into a ball and place dough in a lightly floured bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

4. Once again, place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a large rectangular shape.

5. Roll up, starting on one of the long sides and seal edge using a little water. Shape ends to make sure everything is smooth.

6. Grease a large baking sheet and place loaf, seam side down. Brush a little water on the top of the loaf. Cover, once more, and let rise until double is size, about 40 minutes.

7. Using a knife, make 4 diagonal cuts across the top, about 1/4 inch deep. Bake in a preheated oven over 375 F for 20 minutes. Brush a little more water on top and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack.

Apple Tart

Last week when I was at Whole Foods, I glanced over to their bakery and saw so many delicious tarts. The one that caught my eye was their apple tarts, especially since we're now in apple season. All that I had to buy were a couple apples and some apricot jelly. The rest of the ingredients should be something that everyone already has in their cupboard. I recommend purchasing jelly instead of jam because you need something that does not have any seeds or chunks of fruit. If you can only find jam, then it must be heated and their sieved, to remove all the excess fruit.

Also if you don't have time to refrigerate the dough for an hour, it can be rolled out and put into the tart pan right after kneading. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate while slicing up the apples.

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Ingredients
Basic Single Pastry Crust ( From Veganomicon )

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 Tb sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/3 cup cold non-hydrogenated vegan shortening
* 1/4 cup cold water, plus 2 Tb if needed
* 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the Filling

* 4 granny smith apples
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 3 Tb vegan butter
* 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warmed jam, sieved to remove all fruit and seeds
* 2 Tb water


Directions
First prepare the crust
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.


2. Add the shortening by the teaspoon, but you don't need to be precise about this. You just want to add it in small chunks in three batches and then cut it into flour with each additional. Cut the shortening in until the dough in crumbly and pebbly.


3. Combine the vinegar with 1/4 cup of the water. Add the mixture to the dough in three batches, gently mixing it into the dough with a fork, until the dough holds together when pinched. If need be, add up to 2 tablespoons more water.


4. Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently a few times, just until it holds together. Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour, then flatten the ball into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

5. When ready to roll out the crust, place a large piece of baking parchment on your work surface. Unwrap the dough and place it on the parchment. Sprinkle your rolling pin with flour and roll the dough into a 12 inch circle. It may slip around a bit from the parchment, but that's okay, just work steadily and gently. Your crust is now ready to use.


6. Lift the parchment and flip the crust into a pie plate. Tuck in and trim the edges. Refrigerate while you make your filling.


Preheat oven to 400 F

7. Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baller.


8. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Then arrange the apple slices on top, in concentric circles. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of sugar and drop little pieces of butter over the top of the tart.


9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the edges of the apples begin to brown. Rotate once halfway through cooking.


10. When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the water and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture.Allow to cool before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.



On another note, there's a pumpkin festival going on this weekend at my old university. They raise them all year long and then sell them for about $5 each in mid October. So many pumpkin..really pretty!

Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon

My first time making and eating quiche and now I am a huge fan. I always thought 'warm, vegetable pie? I am not sure if I'd like it'. But it actually is really tasty and it turned out so pretty that I dreaded slicing it.

I bought a much needed tart pan just for this meal at Williams Sonoma for under $10. I would suggest purchasing one, if you don't have one already. The main reason why I got the pan and didn't just use a pie dish is because the bottom comes out. That makes removing the quiche from the pan so easy.

The only problem I encountered while making this was with the crust. Everything was fine until it came time to roll it. The texture was really crumbly and started to break apart as I rolled. So I ended up rolling it out a little and then just grabbing and pressing pieces into my tart pan until the entire thing was covered with dough. I don't know why it turned out crumbly, anyone have any ideas? Maybe I did something wrong? Water or shortening not cold enough I was thinking.

But anyways, I made the crust and the filling the night before, to help cut down on the time needed in the morning. It's just getting too hot to spend so much time in the kitchen during the day time. So when morning came, all I had to do with put everything together and do a quick bake. The end result was totally worth all the work and now I want to experiment with other quiche recipes.

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Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon

Time - 1 hour 30 minutes, plus cooling time
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
* 1 recipe Basic Single Pastry Crust or a Pre-Made Pastry Crust ( Recipe Below )
* 4 Tb olive oil
* 1 pound asparagus, rough ends discarded
* 2 shallots, skins removed, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic
* 1 cup walnuts
* 1 1/2 cups cooked navy beans, or 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
* 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon, plus 2 Tb finely chopped
* 2 Tb cornstarch
* 3/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
* Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup plain whole wheat bread crumbs
* 4 slices beefsteak or Holland tomato, or any really big tomato

Directions
1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the tips off four pieces of the asparagus and set aside for garnish. Slice the rest into 1/2 inch lengths.

2. Saute the asparagus ( except for the reserved tips ) in a tablespoon of the olive oil for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. While the asparagus is cooking, place the walnuts, the 1/4 cup of tarragon, and the nutmeg, salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse into crumbs, so that no whole walnuts are left.

4. Remove the asparagus from the pan and transfer to a shallow bowl to cool a bit. Saute the shallots in another tablespoon of the olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 3 more minutes, being careful not to burn it. Transfer the shallots and garlic to the asparagus and let cool for a few more minutes.

5. When the vegetables have stopped steaming, add them to the food processor. Pulse a few times and scrape down the sides. Add the beans and puree until relatively smooth, although the walnuts will still be grainy. Add the cornstarch ( sift first, if very clumpy ) and pulse until thoroughly combined. Transfer the mixture to a bowl ( use the bowl the veggies were cooling in, to cut down on dish duties ), cover, and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll out the pastry dough to fit an 8 inch glass pie plate. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.

7. Remove the baked crust from the oven. Spoon the asparagus filling into the crust and smooth out evenly. Sprinkle the top with half the bread crumbs and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then, place the tomato slices on top of the bread crumbs with an asparagus tip between each tomato. Sprinkle on the remaining bread crumbs, some freshly ground black pepper, a few pinches of salt, and the chopped tarragon. Drizzle again with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

8. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Basic Single Pastry Crust

Time - 20 minutes, plus chill time
Makes 1 pastry crust

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 Tb sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/3 cup cold non-hydrogenated vegan shortening
* 1/4 cup cold water, plus 2 Tb if needed
* 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the shortening by the teaspoon, but you don't need to be precise about this. You just want to add it in small chunks in three batches and then cut it into flour with each additional.

2. Cut the shortening in until the dough in crumbly and pebbly.

3. Combine the vinegar with 1/4 cup of the water. Add the mixture to the dough in three batches, gently mixing it into the dough with a fork, until the dough holds together when pinched. If need be, add up to 2 tablespoons more water.

4. Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently a few times, just until it holds together. Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour, then flatten the ball into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

5. When ready to roll out the crust, place a large piece of baking parchment on your work surface. Unwrap the dough and place it on the parchment. Sprinkle your rolling pin with flour and roll the dough into a 12 inch circle. It may slip around a bit from the parchment, but that's okay, just work steadily and gently. Your crust is now ready to use.

6. Lift the parchment and flip the crust into a pie plate. Tuck in and trim the edges.

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

This stew is so good and even though the directions look intimidating, it was really simple and quick to make. I've never made biscuits before and I was amazed at how easy it was the create the dough and bake. No more $5 biscuit bags for me! I used wheat flour for the biscuits because I wanted the extra fiber and protein but if you're going for taste, I would say to make them with white un-bleached flour.

On another note, I took this silly picture of Taffy playing with string. My boyfriend did a quick little edit and put him in a classroom. I hope it brings a little LOL to your day : ]

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Serves 6
Time : 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients
Stew
* 2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice
* 3 cups vegetable broth
* 3 Tb cornstarch
* 2 Tb olive oil
* 2 leeks, washed well and sliced thinly ( about 2 cups )
* 1 small onion, cut into medium-size dice
* 1 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 heaping Tb chopped thyme, plus extra for garnish
* Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 tsp salt ( more or less depending on how salty your broth is, so taste first )
* 3/4 cup frozen peas
* 1 ( 15 ounce ) can navy beans, drained and rinsed

Biscuits
* 3/4 cup plain soy milk
* 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
* 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour ( I used whole wheat flour )
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegan shortening

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

2. Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just ender enough to be pierced with a fork. Drain immediately so that they do not overcook. While they are boiling, you can prep the rest of the veggies and start preparing the biscuits - the potatoes should definely be done by the time you are.

3. Now, prepare everything for the biscuits. You're not going to make them yet, but it's good to have everything ready when it comes time to top the stew. Add the vinegar to the soy milk in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl.

Now leave that alone and start the stew

4. Mix the cornstarch into the vegetable stock until dissolved.

5. Preheat an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Saute in the oil the leeks, onions, and carrots until very soft and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Keep the heat moderate so that they don't burn.

6. Add the garlic, thyme, freshly ground black pepper, and salt, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the cooked potatoes and frozen peas, then pour in the vegetable stock mixture. Raise the heat just a bit; it will take a few minutes but the liquid will start simmering. Once it does, lower the heat again. Let it simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, but no longer than that. If you need more time for the biscuits, then turn off the heat under the stew.

Back to the biscuits

7. Add the shortening to the flour in small slivers and work it into the dough with a fork or with your fingers until large crumbs form. You don't want to cream it in; there should be clumps. Drizzle in the soy milk and mix with a fork until everything is moistened ( some dry parts are okay ).

8. Wash and dry your hands, then lightly flour them and get them dirty again. Gently knead the dough about ten times right in the bowl, just so that it is holding together and not very sticky. If it seems sticky, as in sticking to your fingers, then gently work in a little more flour. Set that aside and check on your stew.

9. The stew should be simmering and slightly thickened. Mix in the beans. Now, let's add the biscuits. Pull off chunks of dough that are about slightly larger than golf balls. Gently roll them into balls and flatten a bit; they do not have to be perfectly round. Add them to the top of the stew, placed an inch or so apart.

10. Transfer the whole megillah to the preheated oven. Bake for about 15 minutes. The biscuits should be just slightly browned and firm to the touch.

11. Remove from the oven and use a large serving spoon to place some of the stew and a biscuit in each shallow, individual bowl. Sprinkle with a little chopped fresh thyme.