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

The Oyster Mushroom Sauté: For lunch that day, I sautéed about 2 cups of cleaned, sliced oyster mushrooms with some Soy Curls® (about 2 cups), already reconstituted with veggie "chicken" broth, lots of garlic, and some chopped fresh rosemary in a little olive oil. (You can substitute veggie "chicken" strips or tofu, instead.) After the mushrooms have wilted a bit, I added 1/2 cup of veggie "chicken broth", 1/4 cup of dry sherry, salt and pepper, and let it cook down (all this at high heat, stirring frequently). Of course, if you can't find oyster mushrooms in your grocery store, or you have no source of wild ones, or you don't grow them yourself (it's possible!), you can use another favorite mushroom instead.

I served the  sauté on top of the following colorful saffron risotto studded edamamé (green soybeans), and creamy with vegan cheese. 

I cook risotto in a microwave oven. (Afraid of microwave ovens? Click this link.) We love risotto, but I must admit that we would hardly ever have it if I had to stir it for half an hour.  Barbara Kafka, one of America's most renowned food writers and for many years a columnist for Gourmet magazine, writes in her book “Microwave Gourmet”: "If anything could convince the true cook, or even the ardent eater, that the microwave oven is a tool worth having, it would be that it makes risotto divinely, effortlessly, and relatively rapidly while the cook talks to the guests. From being a once-a-year treat, it can go to being an everyday delight." And: "The very idiosyncrasy of cooking that makes the microwave oven generally unacceptable for the cooking of floury dishes makes risotto work well. Starch absorbs liquid slowly in the microwave oven, and it also absorbs too much. That is exactly what you want the rice to do in a risotto."



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S MICROWAVE SAFFRON EDAMAMÉ RISOTTO WITH OYSTER MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

Serves 4 as a side dish or starter, 2 or 3 as a main dish

 (Afraid of microwave ovens? Click the link!)

This is the exception to the rule that it isn't really a time-saver to cook rice in a microwave oven. With this method, you can have creamy, savory risotto in under 20 minutes, with little or no stirring. Another advantage is that you can cook it right in the serving dish, so you have no dirty pot. And it saves energy, as do most countertop appliances.

Have ready the Oyster Mushroom Sauté described above.

For the Risotto:
1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup arborio rice (or other Italian superfino rice)

2 3/4 cups hot chicken-style vegetarian broth

pinch Spanish saffron

1/4 cup dry sherry (or more broth-- 3 use cups liquid in total)

Additions:

1 cup thawed frozen (shelled) edamamé (green soybeans)

a large handful of mozzarella-style vegan cheese

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Add the olive oil to a medium-to-large-sized microwave-safe casserole. Cook on High power for about 30 seconds. Add the onion, cover and cook on High power for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the rice, and stir well. Cook UN-covered on High power for 1 1/2 minutes, then add the liquids and saffron and stir well.

Cook uncovered on High power for 7 minutes. While the risotto cooks, you can make your sauté to top off the risotto. It doesn't have to be what I described above; it can be your own invention.

After 7 minutes, add the edamamé to the risotto and microwave on High power about 7 minutes longer. Stir the "cheese", stirring well but carefully, until it melts.

The rice should slightly sauce-y. I don’t like it too “soupy”, but that’s up to you. Taste the rice for doneness-- you may need to cook it for another minute or so— this will depend on the power of your microwave.

Serve very hot on a heated soup or pasta plates, with the Oyster Mushroom Sauté placed decoratively on top. Add a sprig of fresh herb, if you have some in your garden.

Enjoy!

Years later, here on Denman, I tasted haggis again at a friend's house. There was memorable for the moment when one young lady of about 7 years-old put some haggis in her mouth, promptly spit it out and deposited it on the first available receptacle, which happened to be my husband's plate!

In England and Scotland you can actually buy vegan haggis at butcher shops, but here in North America we have to make our own, as far as I know. With my, albeit limited, taste memories, and some knowledge of the ingredients, a few years ago I headed into the kitchen to develop a vegan haggis recipe (I do have some Scots blood on my maternal grandmother's side), for vegans of the Scots persuasion, or Scots of the vegan persuasion.

The recipe is in my new book World Vegan Feast, and it tastes better than the traditional version, in my opinion.  BUT you can also make it from this vegan "meatloaf "recipe on my blog (also with a gluten-free alternative), with about half the amount of herbs seasonings.  You steam it for 2 hours over simmering water in a well-greased 2 qt. ceramic British pudding basin or bowl that will fit into a large pot, covered with 2 layers of foil. (The blog recipe will give you a larger Haggis than the recipe in the book.)

(BTW, if you don't know what a traditional haggis is or how it is made or what it is made from, see this page but, be warned, it isn't pretty!)

I use some oatmeal, of course--it's traditional-- but also potato, which is not, but it is common in Scottish cooking. I tried it originally with ground seitan, then with textured soy protein, then with vegan "hamburger crumbles". It works with all of them. You don't want it too spicy, but I find that vegan foods often need more seasoning, so I use plenty of onion and some traditional spices. I make it in an authentic way called “pot haggis”, which means that it is formed in a bowl or pudding basin, packed into a bowl and steamed. You can wrap it in a cloth first, like a real savory pudding, if you like. It's actually very tasty, especially with some vegan gravy.

We like to celebrate Robbie Burns' Day every year on January 25th-- my husband is only half Irish, after all-- his mother was the only one of her siblings not born in Scotland.  We have the vegan haggis, of course, with gravy. For the rest of the meal, it's traditional to have Scotch whiskey, of course (I don't like Scotch, but DH enjoys it now and then) and Cock-a-Leekie Soup (a chicken and leek soup) to start, but this delicious white bean and leek soup is a great vegan alternative.

Tatties'n'neeps (mashed potatoes combined with mashed turnips) is the traditional accompanying dish. I like to roast the turnips  in the oven first and then mash them into the potatoes-- the turnips have so much more flavor that way-- or even just serve mashed potatoes accompanied by roasted turnips, usually roasted with parsnips, carrots and onions.

An alternative could be a dish of mashed potatoes and kale (in old Scotland, vegetable gardens were called "kaleyards").  You can alter a recipe of mine for Mashed Potatoes with Sauteed Kale and Garlic, also from my book "World Vegan Feast", or at this link. It's easily adaptable to a Scots meal by using kale instead of chard and chopped green onions instead of garlic.

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For dessert, a gorgeous sherry trifle called "Typsy Laird" (photo above) is traditional and there is also a recipe for this in World Vegan Feast, including the vegan sponge cake used in this delectable dessert. 

You can obtain the vegan sponge cake recipe (and variations) as a Google Doc at this link: https://bit.ly/3sPWsDc

THE FORMAT FOR A BURNS SUPPER

Chairperson's opening address:

A few welcoming words start the evening and the meal commences with the Selkirk Grace.

(Vegans can  adopt another traditional Scottish Grace without all the references to meat, such as this one:

"Grace be here, and grace be there,
And grace be round the table;
Let ilka ane take up their spoon
And eat as muckle’s they’re able.")

The company are asked to stand to receive the haggis. A piper then leads the chef, carrying the haggis to the top table, while the guests accompany them with a slow handclap. The chairman or invited guest then recites Burns' famous poem To A Haggis (translation included), with great enthusiasm. (My friend Fireweed can read Burns' To a Haggis in its original form -- quite a feat, and she does it beautifully!), in translation, and also in a veganized translation, clever girl.  I'll have to ask her transcribe that..

When the person reciting reaches the line "an cut you up wi' ready slight", he cuts open the haggis with a sharp knife.  It's customary for the company to applaud the speaker then stand and toast the haggis with a glass of whisky. 

(An aside: Reading To a Haggis reminds me of an incident when my stepson Sean stopped in Aberdeen, Scotland after serving for a few weeks on a Dutch tall ship where no one would speak English to him. He thought, "Finally, they speak English here!" No such luck-- he couldn't understand a word they said! The Aberdeen brogue was like another foreign language.)

I hope this inspires you to celebrate with a vegan Burns' Supper, if not tomorrow, then next year on January 25th.

PS: Another day when haggis is often served is St. Andrew's Day (patron saint of Scotland), November 30th.  I have even read of "Haggis Puffs" being served-- I assume that refers to the haggis mixture being baked in puff pastry. UPDATE: Here's a recipe for Haggis Puffs, if you're intrigued-- to make vegan, use leftover vegan haggis, such as one of the two recipes above, vegan puff pastry, and brush the dough with soymilk instead of egg wash.

Cheers!

BRYANNA'S CHOCOLATE CHIP/COCOA NIB SCONES
 Servings: 6

Yield: 6 large scones

Dry Mix:1 cup whole wheat pastry flour       

Finishing:
non-dairy milk for brushing

Optional Additions:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.  Have ready a cookie sheet or 2 cake pans sprayed with oil or lined with baking parchment.

Nutrition (per serving): 343.2 calories; 36% calories from fat; 14.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 144.7mg sodium; 183.1mg potassium; 49.2g carbohydrates; 4.0g fiber; 6.7g sugar; 45.2g net carbs; 6.6g protein; 7.3 points.