Vegan Bean and Beet Protein Patty

I had a vegan burger the other day at Red Robin (Keep It Simple: ancient grain and quinoa), and while I haven't tried to replicate the ingredients of this one, I tried another bean/beet centered recipe. As a carnivore who loves digging into a slab of grilled bovine, I have to say that this alone is probably not going to convert me from giving up my greenhouse-gas producing meat sources. After putting it on a bun slathered with deli mustard and homemade ketchup, and frying up the vegetarian patty with Tillamook Colby Jack cheese and plating it with some dill pickles, neither the taste nor texture even comes close to a real beef burger. Sad, I know.

As for cost, it's about the same as beef; unless you factor in the labor it takes to make these. Bringing the entire batch together took well over an hour of prep time. How I made this is not entirely vegan, since I used chicken broth to cook the dry lentils. And while I have all the ingredients on hand to make a vegan cheese sauce, the whole process seems daunting. My first foray into making vegan cheese with coconut cream as its base turned out disastrous and I hadn't thought about it for several years since then. Each patty is roughly 200 calories. After plating it as a "burger" like object, calorie count rises to around 500 from the dairy-based cheese and bun.

Makes 8 vegetarian patties.

The Foodening Blog: vegan bean and beet patties

Ingredients

1 can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c cooked lentils, drained
1.5 c organic old fashioned oats
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 large portbello mushroom cap and stem, chopped
olive oil, for cooking

Directions

1. Chop the mushroom into 1/2" pieces, including the stem, and fry over medium heat in a pan with olive oil. Remove from heat and drain.

2. Blend half of all the ingredients together in a food processor. I have a 7-cup food processor and I had to pulse in batches. You should probably add the nutritional yeast early in because the blended stuff will be rather dry-ish.

2.5. Use a patty mould to press into patties. Place each patty onto a square of parchment paper or waxed paper.

3. Heat a frying pan with olive oil and add the patty. Once you flip the patty, you can add a slice of cheese (dairy or vegan), cover the pan and let the cheese melt. Total cooking time is less than 5 minutes after the pan initially heats up.

4. Serve with mustard, ketchup, dill pickles, and bun if desired. Personally, I would not eat these things as is. 

Baked Tofu with Celery and Pickled Radish

This is a multi-part recipe. The first stage is to marinate then bake the firm tofu to replicate the taste/texture of Trader Joe's pre-packaged baked tofu. The reason for doing this is that Trader Joe's marinade has onions in it and we all know from reading this blog that onions are the spawn of hell. Eventually, I'll find a recipe that allows me to make the pickled daikon radish that's used in this dish. I've done this with firm, medium firm, and extra firm tofu, the latter of which works well. I'll still "press" the extra firm tofu to drain the excess water from the tofu. If you have ever purchased pre-packaged baked tofu, you'll note that it is supremely dense. Also, Trader Joe's tofu is $3.69 for 7 oz and a standard 16 oz package of "fresh" organic tofu from the supermarket costs around $2. 

The Foodening Blog: Baked Tofu with Celery and Pickled Radish

Baked Tofu

Tofu marinade:

3 tbsp tamari (wheat-free) soy sauce
3 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp raw honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tbsp filtered water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp celery salt
1 block organic tofu, extra firm

Press. Before marinading the tofu, put the tofu on a clean plate and place a plate on top of the tofu. Put a heavy object (a bottle filled with water) on the top plate. Let it "press" out the excess water for a half hour. There will be more water exuded from medium firm tofu than from extra firm tofu. Discard this water.

Marinate. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over tofu in a container large enough so that the marinade and tofu can fit. I use a 3-cup resealable container. Let tofu marinade in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer.

Bake. Preheat oven to 425 F. In a metal or glass baking dish, either oil the bottom of the dish or add a bit more water to the marinade; or bake the tofu slightly covered. I did all three and didn't end up with dried/burnt marinade in the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. You can flip the tofu half way through baking, but I don't think it matters all that much.

Onto the second stage:

Ingredients

1 recipe baked tofu, sliced thin into matchsticks
3 organic celery stalks, sliced into matchsticks
1-2 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1 6 oz jar of pickled radish
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only

Roughly chop the cilantro. Slice the celery and tofu into matchstick pieces. Add pickled radish and a splash of rice vinegar (can substitute apple cider vinegar). Mix well. Can refrigerate this until ready to serve.

Makes roughly 2 quarts (by volume).

Future note: The pickled radish is a specialty item; though most Asian grocery stores will carry it. And taste-wise, quick pickled radish recipes will not be a fair substitute for it.

Gazpacho (Chilled Tomato-based Vegetable Soup)

It seems that every time I make a soup for an event it is of a vegetarian flavor. The soup for tomorrow's Soup Sunday event (a fundraiser for a local religious organization) is gazpacho. The recipe ratio comes from Alton Brown's Good Eats show. The only ingredient I am missing is the ground cumin. In my last couple of moves between Portland and Seattle, I'm not sure where most of my spices ended up. It is likely that I tossed the ones that were several years old or it is simply misfiled in a box somewhere. You know you have too many spices when they reside in multiple storage boxes and in the kitchen cupboards. Onto the recipe...

Gazpacho is a raw soup made of vegetables and its main ingredients are tomatoes, water and garlic. At least those main ingredients are in this batch. I doubled most of AB's ingredient quantities and didn't substitute the cumin with anything. I also added pineapple chunks to this (and drank the juice it came in 'cause I was thirsty). I also omitted the onions because I hate onions. Hopefully the soup will taste fine in the morning after the flavors have mingled together.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
Two 14 oz cans organic diced tomatoes
2 large red bell peppers, diced
2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 c EVOO
2 small limes, juiced
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well. Remove 1 1/2 c of the diced ingredients and puree for 15 seconds in a food processor. Return to soup and stir in. Chill for at least an hour or overnight before serving.

Notes

AB's recipe calls for tomato juice. I didn't have any so I used the juice from the canned tomatoes and pressed the tomatoes in the can until no more juice came out. Between the fresh and canned tomatoes I think it was almost two cups of liquid. The leftover canned tomatoes were added to the puree.

Ratatouille Tart

I made a double cornmeal crust for this and even after baking it twice, once for the crust and again with the assembled tart, the crust did not hold up too well to slicing. Some potluck guests had suggested that instead of it being the crust, to use the cornmeal as a topping on top of the crust. That would be an interesting notion. I'll have to think about how to make it so that it cuts well and is crust-less. It is entirely doable if the bottom layer is comprised of sturdier slices of vegetables like more overlapping layers of eggplant and zucchini. This tart only had a single layer of roasted eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices. Without the 1/4" cornmeal crust it can easily accommodate more layers of vegetables. The inclusion of the shredded Gruyere and Swiss cheese into one of the cheese layers was certainly worth repeating. The original Food Network recipe only called for shredded mozzarella cheese, and three ounces was not enough for a 10" tart. I don't think it would be enough had I used a 9" tart pan.

For roasting:

1 green zucchini
1 Japanese eggplant (the long, thin one)
3 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Slice vegetables into 1/8" slices and lay out in a single layer on a 9" x 13" glass baking dish (for easier cleaning) or onto a Silpat-lined baking tray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake vegetables for 12 minutes. The vegetables should be soft and doesn't have to be cooked all the way through. Take roasted vegetables out and set aside to cool until ready to fill the tart pan.

The cornmeal crust (optional):

One batch will supposedly fill a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom. But, that is not the size I had on hand. I made a double batch and packed it all into the 10" tart pan, which turned out to be way too much crust.

2/3 c. finely ground white cornmeal
1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt

In a food prep, pulse together dry ingredients, then add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Add in the olive oil and pulse until well combined.

If you managed to roast the vegetables first, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F. After packing the crust into the tart pan with a 1/4" edge around the base of the tart. Place a sheet of aluminum foil between the top of the tart and the pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and pie weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the crust no longer looks shiny.

Kitchen note: this crust did not hold together and tasted very dry. The combination of olive oil and butter did not do much as a binder. Perhaps just a water, butter, flour crust would have sufficed.

Putting it all together:

The remaining ingredients for this recipe involves shredded cheese, sliced basil leaves, and grated Parmesan cheese (or some comparable tasting hard cheese).

3 oz - 5 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 oz Gruyere and Swiss blend cheese, shredded
5 medium fresh basil leaves, sliced
1/4 c. grated Parmigiano-regianno cheese

Bottom layer:  roasted eggplant slices and mozzarella cheese. When I did this, I placed the slices in a circular manner with the slices slightly overlapping each other.

Middle layer: zucchini slices and Gruyere and Swiss cheese

Top layer: tomato slices, fresh basil leaf slices, and the remainder of the mozzarella cheese. Generously scatter the grated hard cheese on top of the tart.

Bake tart for 30 minutes, or until all the cheese has melted. It will smell a lot like a pizza because it is made up of similar ingredients.

Remove tart from oven and let cool before serving.

Pumpkin Potage

"Potage (from Old French pottage; "potted dish") is a category of thick soups, stews, or porridges, in some of which meat and vegetables are boiled together with water until they form into a thick mush." --Wikipedia

This recipe comes from the Cooking with Dog video series on YouTube. It can be made in just under an hour, prep and cooking time; and it is really easy to make. I used a whole kabocha squash that was just under a pound. I also used turkey broth since it was available that day; you can also use chicken broth, water + a chicken bouillon cube, or vegetable stock.

Also called: kabocha squash soup

Ingredients

One medium kabocha squash, peeled, seeded and diced
One yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
sea salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 c. broth
3/4 c. whole organic milk
2-3 tbsp heavy cream

Directions

1. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Carefully peel the green rind from the kabocha squash using a sharp knife and vegetable peeler. Cut squash into chunks.

2. In a skillet, add butter, onions, and squash. Sauté over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the onions are about to caramelize. Add broth and simmer covered for 20 minutes.

3. When the squash is fork-tender, use an immersion blender to blend the squash and onion into a thick mixture. Add milk. Blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Bring potage up to a boil over medium heat. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat and stir in 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream.

Serve while hot.