Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  Ours was fun, hectic, and full of family!  We had too much good, Christmasy food and still have lots of leftovers remaining, even though I sent some home with guests.  After several days of this, I'm craving rice, pasta, soup, tomato-y dishes, spicy food!  So, when it's just us after the festivities, this is the sort of thing that does the trick...a really quick, nutritious and delicious dish, a simplified, veganized version of a Thai dish called "Praram", which is often made with chicken.  (A birthday and the  New Year to go now!)



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BRYANNA'S THAI-STYLE SPINACH AND TOFU WITH PEANUT SAUCE (SIMPLIFIED VEGAN "PRARAM")
Serves 3

Quick Peanut Sauce: 
1/4 cup peanut butter 
1/2 cup vegan broth 
1/2 cup plain nondairy milk 
2 tablespoons coconut flour or creamed coconut (such as Let's Do Organic)-- a block of concentrated coconut milk that you can reconstitute as thick or thin as you like
NOTE: Instead of the soymilk and coconut flour or creamed coconut, you can use a generous half cup of lite coconut milk. 
2 tablespoons  Thai sweet chile sauce 
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 2 tablespoons lime juice) 
1 tablespoon soy sauce 
The rest of the dish: 
2 tablespoons mushroom-based vegetarian "oyster" sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand is called "Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce", and I have a homemade recipe here) 
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil 
a few shakes of Thai or Vietnamese hot sauce 
1 tablespoon peanut oil, or other oil 
12 ounces firm tofu (NOT silken), cubed 
12 oz fresh, cleaned baby spinach 
freshly-steamed basmati rice 

Whisk together the peanut sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heat gently. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of this sauce with the vegetarian "oyster" sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce in the pan. 

Heat the peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Add the tofu cubes and quickly brown them. 

Add the peanut sauce/"oyster" sauce mixture in the small bowl to the tofu. Stir this around until the tofu absorbs most of it. 



Add the spinach to the tofu and stir over high heat JUST until the spinach wilts. Spoon the mixture immediately over steamed rice and top with the remaining peanut sauce. 





Nutrition Facts (without rice)
Nutrition (per serving): 352.4 calories; 62% calories from fat; 24.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 582.7mg sodium; 1049.2mg potassium; 15.9g carbohydrates; 5.1g fiber; 7.2g sugar; 10.8g net carbs; 19.7g protein; 8.3 points. 

Happy New Year!

I almost forgot to announce this! Go to this link for the recipe(s) , which I developed a few weeks ago for the So Delicious Dairy Free blog, using their Coconut Milk Beverage (Original) in all three (dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free) components of the recipe.These recipes might seem complex at first, but as you'll see, with all three components, you'll be creating a stupendously delicious dairy-free (and gluten-free!) meal— crunchy waffles, crispy sweet potatoes, and the *exceptionally silky* chik'n gravy. (And all can be enjoyed in their own right with the appropriate accompaniment.)  And, since most of the recipes can be made well ahead of time, this hearty meal will be a snap to put together when it's time to serve.

Enjoy!

This blog post is going to be truly short and sweet, as I am recuperating from my first cold in 2 years and trying to summon up enough energy to organize and clean my house, and plan menus and make-aheads for my holiday guests.

I want to share a brunch recipe from my new book, The World Vegan Feast. (Actually, you can serve it any time of the day, and it's often served as a bar snack in Spain.) It's a Spanish omelet that is similar to an Italian fritatta, but it always contains potato. In Spain this omelet is called a tortilla de patatas or tortilla española.

I had developed a tortilla española recipe earlier on, but I'm always trying to improve on recipes. I was in the mood for a hearty Spanish potato omelet one day when we were taking lunch over to our friends Jane and Matsuki's house. I chose to make this dish because it’s a perfect choice for toting to potluck meals and picnics, given that it can be eaten hot or at room temperature. It's also open to many variations-- for instance, you might want to add sliced roasted red bell peppers or cooked artichoke hearts.  But I thought that my recipe lacked something, so I changed my formula to add some chickpea flour-- bingo!  Firmer texture and more eggy flavor-- just what I was after.

Just a little aside about spelling: "Omelet" or "Omelette"?

This omelet was made a bit thicker than the one pictured above-- those are my friend Jane's cute little bluebird salt and pepper shakers peeking from behind.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S TOFU AND CHICKPEA FLOUR TORTILLA DE PATATAS (SPANISH POTATO OMELET) WITH ROMESCO SAUCE
From my book “World Vegan Feast” © Bryanna Clark Grogan
Serves 4 to 6

This was definitely Brownie Day for me!  I posted three past brownie recipes from this blog on Facebook today (Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, Chai-Almond Brownies with Double Ginger Gelato, and my Almost No-Fat Brownies), and a new post here on this blog with a recipe for S'more Brownies that I had previously developed for my now-defunct newsletter.  But I just had to make some, even though DH and I are on Weight Watchers again.  So, I decided to test out an idea I'd been thinking about for quite a while.  If it turned out, we'd taste-test a couple each and freeze the rest for our company who will be here over the holidays.

Those of you who read my blog may have read the entry about the black beans and brownie mix recipe that I tried from the Internet. I followed the directions and used canned black beans and their juice. The texture wasn't bad, but it tasted so "bean-y". But not "nice bean- was determined to make my own version, though, because it intrigued me to use black beans as part of the fat and instead of the eggs in a brownie. My omni friends had no idea there were beans in these brownies, and gobbled them up!  But they were quite rich for my style of cooking and I wanted to test out a fat-free version of the black bean brownies as well as for the okara brownie variation that I had also developed from that recipe.

So, below is the result of today's labors, the vegan butter replaced with applesauce to eliminate the fat (except in any nuts you care to add), and the method streamlined.  Another blogger had tried my original recipe but had forgotten to add the vegan butter-- but they still rated high with her and her tasters, so, I was confident that they would be acceptable without the fat.  But I was nervous that just leaving out the vegan butter would result in a dry brownie, so when I made them today I used a thick, smooth, unsweetened organic applesauce in place of the vegan butter, in both the black bean brownies and in the okara variation (yes, I made both!).  They both turned out to be amazingly rich-tasting and moist, without having that raw, over-gooey texture that I dislike. (And the nutrition stats are pretty good, too! In my original recipe, I cut it into 20 squares and the plain, no-options-added brownie contained 195 calories and almost 10 g fat. With the new recipe, you can cut it into 16 larger squares and each one [no nuts]contains only 159 calories and about 1.5 g fat.)

You will notice that there is only 1/2 cup flour to 1 1/4 cups cocoa powder-- this is one reason that the brownies are so chocolate-y despite containing no solid chocolate.  Also, you will notice that I bake the brownies at a low temperature (300°F) for fairly long time compared to other brownie recipes. This ensures the proper fudgy-ness without what I consider that distasteful raw texture and taste.

I'm going to use this version from now on-- who needs the fat?  A bonus-- I have goodies for my company in the freezer!

BRYANNA'S S'MORE BROWNIES
Servings: 16 (It's possible to make these GF-- see notes in recipe)
These are to die for, except you don't have to! Dark vegan brownies, baked on a graham cracker crust, with a luscious vegan marshmallow crème on top-- inspired by the old Girl Scout camp dessert.

INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (See Cooking Tips below, including ideas for GF)
1 Tbs organic unbleached sugar
3 Tbs melted vegan butter (try my homemade palm-oil-free Buttah)
Brownie layer:
3 Tbs vegan butter (try my homemade palm-oil-free Buttah) OR 3 T. oil (this works just fine!)
3 Tbs water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder, unsweetened (I use Dutch-process-- read about cocoa powders here)
1 Tbs espresso powder, or instant coffee or coffee substitute granules
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs flax seeds
1 Tbs Ener-G or Orgran No-Egg egg replacer powder
1/2 cup regular whole wheat or unbleached flour (NOT pastry flour) (OR use a GF flour mix)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
1 cup (approximately) Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme
(UPDATE: or try the 2nd vegan meringue topping recipe here.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the Graham Cracker Crust: Mix the crust ingredients and press in the bottom of a greased 8-inch square cake pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a cake rack.

To make the Brownie Layer:
In a small saucepan, melt the vegan butter and 3 T. water gently over medium heat, OR melt it in a medium microwave-proof bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then stir in the cocoa, vanilla and coffee powder. Set aside.

IF YOU USE OIL INSTEAD OF VEGAN BUTTER, skip the melting step. Just mix the oil with 3 T. HOT water and stir in the sugar, then the cocoa, etc. (I use a whisk for the cocoa).

Place the 1/4 c. water, flaxseeds and egg replacer in a blender. Blend on high for several minutes, until the mixture is "gloppy" like slightly beaten egg whites, with little brown flecks of flax skin throughout. Fold this into the cocoa mixture.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir briefly.

To bake the brownies:
Spread on the brownie batter top of the baked graham cracker crust. Bake for about 15 minutes. You may have to experiment with timing, according to your oven (try to use an oven thermometer to check the temperature, which can vary even in new ovens), and according to how fudgey you like the brownies.

Topping the Brownies:
Spread the brownies with the Ricemellow Crème while they're still hot-- and don't be tempted to spread on too much. It's very sweet and gooey and a little goes a long way! Use just enough so that the brownie layer is covered.

Place the pan 4 inches under the broiler and WATCHING CAREFULLY, broil until it bubbles up and browns. This takes very little time!  Or, use a culinary butane torch.

Cool on a rack, then cut into 16 squares. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 154.0 calories; 29% calories from fat; 5.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 107.4mg sodium; 130.6mg potassium; 26.8g carbohydrates; 1.7g fiber; 18.8g sugar; 25.1g net carbs; 1.5g protein; 3.2 points.

Cooking Tips
Instead of the Ricemellow Creme, you could  place vegan marshmallows ( this brand or this one) on top of the brownies, broil as instructed.



Happy National Brownie Day!

I made this the other day for my husband's photography students (they were having a little party at the end of the course), and I'd like to share it with you for holiday entertaining.  It's adapted from my book, The Fiber for Life Cookbook. This type of vegetarian pâté appeared in mainstream magazines in the early 80's and became deservedly popular party fare.  I think it must have originated with this Blue Diamond® Almonds recipe, which is listed on their website as one of their "classic" recipes.

For the book, I modernized (and veganized, and lowered the fat) it by omitting the butter, using fewer almonds and more mushrooms, and using slightly more authoritative seasoning.  This time I decided to use smoked-hickory almonds for even more flavor, and it worked beautifully-- it's even more delicious, I think.


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I'm going to be posting more low-fat or fat-free recipes this month (interspersed with holiday recipes) because DH and I are back on our vegan version of the old WW Core Plan (lost 4 lbs. each last week).  This morning I had a rare craving for granola, so I dug out my old recipe for almost-no-fat granola made in the microwave and tweaked it for my new, more powerful microwave, and also to what flavors I fancied.

Our vegan dinner group of 5 couples enjoyed our 2nd annual "Thanksmas" dinner last Sunday. It's a joyful celebration of vegan holiday food on a date halfway between Canadian Thanksgiving and the Christmas/Winter holidays.  Our dinners are sort of  "planned potluck".  The host/hostess sends out an email asking what people want to bring and it usually works out to be a quite balanced meal.  If not, the host/hostess will fill out the menu or put it out there that there is a gap in the menu.  It always works out perfectly.


The female half of the table-- our friend Ellen was unable to attend-- in Sarah's kitchen.

I wrote a post about the Fluffy Vegan No-Knead Hazelnut/Bran Dinner Rolls I made as part of my contribution in my last post (recipe included):


They were a perfect accompaniment to Fireweed's ambrosial Wild Mushroom Soup, which was our first course, and nary a one left over.






The first course could have been a meal in itself, but we soldiered on and filled our plates with: 

Fireweed's delectable Roasted Vegetable and Spud Platter:



Pelka's Creamy, Cheezy Cauliflower Casserole:



My Seitan Wellington (served with Madeira Gravy and homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange, Ginger and Rum-Soaked Raisins )-- recipe in World Vegan Feast:



Pelka's colorful, fresh and crunchy Winter Holiday Salad:



Here are two views of the main course buffet table (we filled our plates and met around Sarah and Gordon's lovely large square table):






And, then, even when we thought we could not eat another morsel, we were tempted further by Sarah's gorgeous and sensational Steamed Pumpkin Pecan Pudding with Brandy Sauce & Tofu Whipped Creme: 



Ellen was not able to join us on Sunday, but her husband Rudy brought some of her wonderful traditional Scandinavian treats and truffles that are a tradition in their family, so we nibbled ourselves into blissful oblivion:



Until next time!


Happy Vegan Thanksgiving to all of my American friends, relatives and readers!

Last night we had a fabulous vegan "Thanksmas" dinner (which is becoming a yearly tradition) at our friends Sarah and Gordon's lovely house with our 5-couple vegan dinner group.  I'll post about the dinner in a day or two, but there was some interest expressed on my Facebook page about the recipe for the dinner rolls I was making, so that's the subject of this blog post.

I wanted to make a nice fluffy roll, but with some fiber, and I wanted to go the no-knead route because it's so easy and convenient.  I couldn't find a suitable recipe in any of the six no-knead bread books that I own, or even online, so I "winged" it.  I kept it simple, using a combination of unbleached white flour with wheat bran for added fiber (without cutting down on the "fluffiness"), and using soy milk for most of the liquid, because soy acts as a "dough conditioner", making light, soft breads.  (I already know that the no-knead method allows the dough to develop exceptional flavor and gives strength to the gluten the way kneading ordinarily would [see the following posts for more info: 1.), 2.), 3.)].)  The hazelnuts add an elegant touch.

Well, it turned out to be a great success (not one left!) and I'm happy to share the recipe with you-- these rolls would be great with just about any holiday dinner.


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