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

This post is going to be a quickie, as I'm belatedly making the components tonight for a lasagna to bring to our friends' house where we're going to lunch tomorrow. I also decided to make this recipe with frozen rhubarb (the first year we've grown any) to bring for dessert, so I thought I'd share it with you. I developed them back in 2007 for my old newsletter, the Vegan Feast. These whole grain bars are easy to make, easy to store and easy to transport, so they're an excellent choice for taking along to a potluck or shared meal. Though scrumptious any time of the year, these bars are a perfect fall dessert-- delicious hot or cold with vanilla vegan ice cream (like my Vegan French Vanilla Ice Cream) or whipped topping (here's my Almond Cream Whipped Topping).  I think you'll like them!

Printable Recipe

Quick and Easy Vegan Spaghettata Yesterday was one of those days when I didn't know what I was going to make until the last minute.  (This seems to be happening more frequently than it used to-- I blame the computer!) In the late afternoon, after scrubbing the shower and hanging up the new shower curtain and liner, I had made the last of two versions of vegan popovers/Yorkshire Puddings (my cooking quest of the moment) I made that day (both just okay-- the quest goes on), plus some of my homemade mayonnaise.  Suddenly, it was 6 PM and "what to make for dinner"! (A small digression: I'm in the cooking doldrums lately, which is partly why I haven't been blogging much.  The other reason is that I've been very busy planning for a fund-raising event, which took up much of my time.  The event was last Saturday and was successful, but I was exhausted, to tell you the truth. A couple of days of doing almost nothing, plus alot of catch-up to accomplish in the house and elsewhere, has not yet resulted in a burst of creativity in the kitchen-- though I seem to have revived interest in the vegan popovers again. This is probably a good sign.) In this sort of situation, I open the fridge and peer in, looking for things that need to be used.  Usually, this will inspire me to come up with a fast, edible improv dish, or remind me of a recipe I've made before which is worth repeating.  This time I remembered the bunch of beautifully fresh spinach we had bought the day before.  You have to use that up pretty quickly.  I had been thinking before that a pasta dish of some sort might fill the bill for dinner, but I hadn't settled on anything, so this led me to wonder about pasta+spinach+?? for a quick, full-meal-deal. (This type of pasta dish, BTW,  is known as "spaghettata" in Italy-- a sort of Italian version of what my late husband Wayne's Irish grandmother called "bread-and-with-it".)  Fresh oregano in the garden, fresh mushrooms (also purchased the day before), a little white wine needing to be used up... the result was the following dish, which my husband declared "one of the best pasta dishes I've eaten in a long time"! I opted to add strips of browned President's Choice (made by Gardein) PC Blue Menu The World's Best Meatless Seasoned Chicken Breast (a Canadian brand).  My husband thought that was the least interesting part of the dish and said it could easily be left out without losing anything, so I've added that, or any favorite vegan chicken-y alternative, as an optional ingredient.  My cutlets from my newest book, World Vegan Feast (or "Breast of Tofu"  in my other books or at this post), or Soy Curls, or whatever is your favorite chicken sub. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as DH did! Printable Recipe BRYANNA'S QUICK & EASY "SPAGHETTATA" WITH MUSHROOMS AND SPINACH Serves 4 12 oz. spaghetti (made with durum semolina-- for GF, use a good one with some "bite", such as quinoa pasta)  1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, or 1/2 a medium onion, thinly-sliced 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) mushrooms (any kind-- white button is fine) 2 large cloves garlic, minced (or more, according to your taste) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried) 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed, spun dry and thinly-sliced (or 8 cups packed baby spinach)-- this will cook down considerably so don't worry that it's too much!  1/3 cup white wine, dry white vermouth, or dry sherry 1/2 cup good tasting vegan chicken-style broth (my favorite is Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken) 1/2 cup or so of shredded vegan mozzarella  To serve: your favorite vegan parmesan (Go Veggie! or EarthIsland/Follow your Heart are good brands) salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste OPTIONAL: Sliced vegan "chikn brest" or "chickn strips"  (Alternatives:  my cutlets from my newest book, World Vegan Feast (or "Breast of Tofu"  in my other books or at this link), or Soy Curls, or whatever is your favorite chicken sub. Put a big pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook for 9-10 minutes, or until al dente.  Drain and set aside.  NOTE: you can be preparing the rest of the dish while the water boils and the pasta cooks. If you are going to use the vegan chicken sub option, brown your choice in a little olive oil, cut into thin strips and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat.  Add the onions and stir-fry until they start to wilt (add a squirt of water every now and then, as needed to keep from sticking).  Add the garlic, mushrooms to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt to release the juice. Stir-fry until the mushrooms begin to cook. Start adding the sliced spinach one handful at a time and stirring until it wilts before adding another.  This will go pretty fast.  Then, add the wine, broth, vegan mozzarella and optional vegan "chicken" strips, if using. Mix quickly, but gently. Quickly add the cooked pasta and toss the mixture with a spaghetti rake and a spoon to mix evenly and to re-heat the pasta.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately in heated pasta bowls with the vegan parmesan. Enjoy!

From center L around the front, L to R: Tofu pot pie;  traditional sage and onion bread stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce with port and orange; No-Knead  Fluffy Hazelnut/Bran Dinner Dinner Rolls;  vegan brown gravy; Back: sauteed Brussels sprouts with homegrown yellow patty-pan squash and red pepper; seitan turkey; Fireweed's mashed Denman island potatoes; roasted red beets and golden beets with olive oil and za'atar

 
(Not shown is Fireweed's delicious Gazpacho starter course, which we had already devoured; my Smoked Tofu Cheese Spread appetizer, which I had developed for an article in Alive Magazine; and the roasted sweet potatoes, which I forgot to put on the table until after we had taken pictures!)

From center L around the front, L to R: Traditional sage and onion bread stuffing and my seitan "turkey", stir-fried Brussels sprouts, home-grown yellow pattypan squash and red peppers; roasted red beets and golden beets with olive oil and za'atar; tofu pot pie; my homemade palm-oil-free vegan Buttah; vegan brown gravy; mashed Denman Island potatoes brought by my friend Fireweed.

"Yours truly" carving the seitan "turkey", stir-fried Brussels sprouts, home-grown yellow pattypan squash and red peppers

Top: Roasted red beets and golden beets-- the red ones sprinkled with balsamic vinegar; the golden with rice vinegar; both drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with za-atar herb mix. Bottom: sauteed Brussels sprouts with yellow patty-pan squash and red pepper

L to R: Tofu pot pie, traditional sage and onion bread stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce with port and orange, No-Knead Fluffy Hazelnut/Bran Dinner Dinner Rolls

Traditional sage and onion bread stuffing and my seitan "turkey"

See the accidental stylized vegan "V" symbol at the top (composed of a swirl in the filling mixture and a crack after baking)?

New (divine) Flourless Chocolate Cake I tested for Betsy DiJulio, author of the wonderful book, The Blooming Platter Cookbook, and a slice of vegan pumpkin pie with Mimicreme.

I feel so badly that I can't participate in Vegan Mofo this year!  But, it's just not  feasible for me this year, as I am organizing a fund-raising event, which is taking up alot of time and energy. Next year!

But, we still have to eat, and I had some nice pears to use up.  I decided to make some muffins with them, and, before I had thought of pear muffins, I had been been considering making some corn bread.  This led me to an idea for pear muffins made with some cornmeal.  And then I thought adding some of my favorite organic candied ginger (it has some real zing to it!) would be nice, and why not a handful of pecans for good measure?  The results were excellent-- good enough to share with you.  They would make a wonderful breakfast muffin because they are whole grain, substantial, and rather rustic, but not heavy or overly-sweet.

BRYANNA’S RUSTIC GINGER-PECAN-PEAR MUFFINS WITH CORNMEAL
Makes 12