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

I love the Vegg egg yolk sub for making French toast-- it makes the BEST, most authentic vegan French toast I have ever tried.  I made lots of French toast for my granddaughters this last weekend, but had some batter leftover (the recipe is on the Vegg package, by the way, but also below in the sandwich recipe).  (PS: You can use your own favorite vegan French toast batter, of course, as long as it's not sweet.)
This morning I decided to use the leftover batter to make an old-fashioned sandwich that I haven't had for years-- a Monte Cristo Sandwich.  It's basically a ham and turkey sandwich with cheese, dipped in French toast batter and browned on both sides until the cheese melts. Traditionally, this is served with currant jelly, strawberry jam or cranberry sauce on the side, but I ate my version just plain.  I also bucked tradition and used a lovely moist 100% whole wheat sourdough bread that we occasionally by from a local bakery, instead of the usual white bread.  The result was very satisfying, to say the least!

The origins of this sandwich are a little murky.  The Food Timeline website says: "Recipe-wise, food experts generally consider the Monte Cristo sandwich to be a simple variation of an early 20th century French dish called Croque Monsieur. According to several articles published in newspapers and magazines, Monte Cristo sandwiches were first served in southern California and were very popular in the 1950s-1970s. Therin ends the agreement. The who/what/why/where/when behind the Monte Cristo sandwich is still very much a subject of debate.

The earliest reference we find to a Monte Cristo sandwich is printed in a 1941 menu from Gordon's on Wilshire Blvd., Los Angles. We do not know how these were made. The oldest recipe we have (so far) for the Monte Cristo sandwich was printed in The Brown Derby Cook Book, 1949. The Brown Derby restaurant is located in Los Angeles, California and is famous for serving Hollywood's elite."
And...
"Several popular American cookbooks published in the 1920s-60s published recipes for sandwiches which are essentially Monte Cristos [ham--sliced & deviled/turkey/chicken sandwiches dipped in egg & then fried to a tasty golden brown], under different names."

If you'd like to try it, here's my vegan version:

BRYANNA'S VEGAN MONTE CRISTO SANDWICH

For each sandwich:

2 slices of bread (it's supposed to be white, but I used an artisan sourdough whole wheat:

This is my first "Use-It-Up Tuesday" post-- a great idea from the Urban Vegan, Dynise Balcavage.

The other day I experimented with a vegan omelette made with The Vegg, a new egg yolk substitute.  I tried four different versions, two with tofu and two soy-free. The soy-free versions seemed too much like stiff crepes to me, so I abandoned that idea and ended up with a quick and easy tofu-based omelet with eggy flavor-- soft in texture, but strong enough to hold up to folding over a filling (recipe below).  The tofu gives the VEGG mixture more substance-- it's too slimey by itself-- and the flours help the mixture set.

When I was trying to decide how to use leftover omelette (Pheobe the dog is getting some of the "crepey" experiments for treats these days), fried rice came to mind immediately.  I surmised that chopped, cold omelette would be perfect to use in place of the usual scrambled eggs in a fried rice dish-- or, in my case the usual scrambled tofu. I also had some cooked brown basmati and red rice and Chinese vegan "ham" in the freezer, lots of green onions, savoy cabbage (didn't have any bean sprouts), celery and mushrooms (which needed using)... perfect for a fried rice dish with more nutrition than most versions, and a tasty use of leftovers.

Below is the recipe for the new VEGG Omelette and below that is the fried rice recipe.  I hope you enjoy them!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S NEW TOFU AND VEGG OMELETTE (GF)
© Bryanna Clark Grogan 2012
Makes 5 omelettes
TIP: Use an 8-inch nonstick skillet for this recipe.  If you don't have nonstick, use well-seasoned cast iron or hard-anodized, but you may need a little more fat for cooking. Recipe updated December 1, 2013

3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons VEGG powder (egg yolk sub)
12.3 ounce box extra-firm silken tofu, drained and crumbled
1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Per omelette you will need: 1 teaspoon oil or vegan butter (try my homemade palm oil-free Buttah)
Filling: I used some Daiya shreds (use whatever vegan cheese you like) and sautéed mushroom slices with red pepper strips, but use your imagination! Have your filling ready and kept warm before you begin cooking the omelettes, because they cook quickly.

In a blender, process the water and VEGG powder until well mixed and a bit "gloppy"-looking.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Scrape into a bowl or batter bowl.


Heat your omelette pan (see tip above in recipe intro) over high heat with the oil or vegan butter. 

Use 1/2 cup of batter per omelette. Scoop it into the center of the pan and, using the back of a spoon or a spatula in a circular motion, evenly spread the batter outwards to make a circle that's fairly thin, but with no holes.  Cover and let cook for a couple of minutes, or until the top is set and dry and the bottom is golden and a bit crispy.


Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and place some of your Filling and vegan cheese (if you are using it) over one half of the circle, then use the spatula to fold the other half over the Filling. Cover the pan again and leave for a minute or two to melt the cheese. Slide onto a warm plate and repeat with the remaining batter.


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And now, the fried rice recipe...


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S FRIED BROWN BASMATI AND THAI RED RICE WITH VEGG OMELETTE AND VEGETABLES (Recipe updated December 10, 2015)
Serves 6

Rice is normally eaten plain in China, but occasionally a savory (or "fried") rice dish will be made with leftover rice and other bits and pieces. This type of dish was made popular in Chinese restaurants in North America, so, like the flat egg foo yung omelettes in brown sauce, and ubiquitous chop suey, fried rice is really a Chinese-American dish. However, it is well-loved and can be very delicious. Savory fried rice doesn't need to be greasy and it should be seasoned with salt or just a little light soy sauce-- most American versions are too heavy on the soy sauce. You can use the suggestions I have made in the recipe, or change it to suit what you have on hand. Fried rice invariably contains scrambled egg, which can be replaced with scrambled tofu (or the quick version below the recipe), but I think leftover vegan omelette (recipe above) works even better. TIP: The rice should not be freshly-made-- it should be cold so that it is a bit dry and separates easily. 

                                                    INGREDIENTS:

I prefer Savoy cabbage in this dish because it's more tender than regular green cabbage.

1 tablespoon oil 
1/2 a small Savoy cabbage, core and hard spines removed, finely shredded or sliced
2-3 cups sliced mushrooms
7-8 large green onions, chopped 
2 stalks celery, thinly-sliced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup slivered vegan "ham" or "bacon", or smoked tofu
(Other options might be baked, marinated tofu, smoked tempeh, or any sort of seitan or commercial meat sub)
2 cups cold cooked brown basmati or Jasmine rice
2 cups cold cooked Thai red rice
(OR use 4 cups of the two varieties cooked together and chilled)
1/2 tablespoon dark sesame oil 
1 teaspoon salt 
freshly-ground pepper to taste 
approximately 2 cups of chopped leftover VEGG Omelette (see recipe above, or use your own version)
(Another option would be leftover scrambled tofu or the quick version for fried rice [from my book Authentic Chinese for the Contemporary Kitchen] below this recipe)

DIRECTIONS: Heat a large heavy wok, skillet or stir-fry pan over high heat. When it's very hot, add the 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables, garlic and "ham" or alternate. 



Stir-fry for several minutes, or until the cabbage starts to wilt, scraping the bottom of the wok with a metal spatula and adding squirts of hot water from a squeeze bottle if it starts to stick to avoid the need to use more oil). Add the cold rice, breaking up any clumps. 



Add the sesame oil, salt and a few grindings of pepper, and keep turning the mixture with a spatula until the rice is heated through-- again, scraping the bottom of the wok with a metal spatula and adding squirts of hot water from a squeeze bottle if it starts to stick to avoid the need to use more oil. 

 Add the chopped Omelette to the pan and stir-fry until everything is well-mixed and hot. 



Serve immediately. Any leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated.

Quick Scrambled Tofu for Fried Rice (from my book Authentic Chinese for the Contemporary Kitchen):
1 lb. medium-firm or firm tofu, drained and crumbled
4 T. nutritional yeast flakes
4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. onion powder
large pinch of onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the crumbled tofu with the other ingredients.  Heat a lightly-oiled nonstick or cast iron skillet over high heat.  Add the tofu and keep turning it with a spatula until it turns a bright scrambled egg color and dries out to your satisfaction.  Set aside.

Enjoy!

UPDATE Sept. 2015 : We can no longer buy Vegg products (and there are 5 now) in Canada, and our low dollar comparison to the US dollar, plus shipping costs, makes it beyond my means to purchase it from the States right now.  So, for me, experiments mentioned below will have to wait. 

I've been slow about experimenting with the new vegan egg yolk alternative, The Vegg.  A couple of weeks ago I made a version of my lowfat mayonnaise with the "Vegg "vegan egg yolk" and it turned out very well, the Vegg adding a richer flavor, I thought (but not necessary).  We really enjoyed the French Toast recipe from the Vegg recipe page. ( I used regular wheat bread, homemade),  but I've had less success with some of their other recipes. They tend to be very short on detail, and, in my opinion, use too much Vegg in many of them, giving the result a slimy texture that I don't like.

I altered the fritatta recipe from my book Nonna's Italian Kitchen to include The Vegg, but, though it tasted good and wasn't slimy, it wasn't as substantial as my original recipe, so I have to try it with more tofu next time.  I notice that many of the recipes use tapioca flour or cornstarch because The Veg does not have thickening qualities like egg yolk does.  Not that I object to using these starches, but in a recipe like a fritatta or an omelet, which is a main course in many cases, I want more nutrition in the dish than starch can provide.  Tofu can thicken as well as add nutrition, but I also want to experiment using nutritional thickeners such as chickpea flour and corn flour.

Despite the learning curve, I think that this ingredient (which is sold in powder form and mixed with water) has great potential once we learn the ways to use it properly, so I want to test out some further ideas. On my list: a soy-free, nut-free, coconut-free vegan creme brulee and other custard-type recipe (in conjunction with British-style custard powder); revised versions of my fritatta and quiche recipes, and also my vegan Spanish omelet (Potato Tortilla) and vegan egg foo yung recipes; adding it to my vegan spoonbread recipe; adding it to my vegan "eggnog" recipe and perhaps vegan sweet yeast breads , etc.  I don't really feel the need to add it to my vegan pasta recipe-- a little chickpea flour provides good color and a slightly "eggy" flavor.

In any case, yesterday I experimented with a recipe from The Vegg website (by Sandy DeFino and Rocky Shepheard, the creator of The Vegg-- the recipe's not there anymore) for French Vanilla Ice Cream.  It was a very simple recipe and I followed it pretty much to the "T", except that I used commercial almond milk plus 2 tablespoons of canola oil instead of the coconut oil they recommended.  It turned out very well, although I think using a vanilla bean next time would add a richer vanilla flavor. Here's the recipe:


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S VERSION OF VEGG FRENCH VANILLA ICED CREAM by Sandy DeFino/Rocky Shepheard
Makes about 3-31/2 cups

The recipe took just a wee bit of modifying and it turned out very well.  You can't really taste the egg-y flavor right up front (which is a good thing, in my opinion), but there seems to be an added richness to the mixture.


Printable Recipe

Next, I sauteed some sliced cremini mushrooms that needed using-up, and then added some vegan pesto (only 1 tablespoon-- should have used more).

I cooked up about 6 ounces of farfalle (bowtie pasta) from an opened bag, drained and mixed that with the sauce.  I layered half of that in a casserole, topped it with the "cottage cheese" and then the mushrooms...


I layered the rest of the pasta over that, and topped it with the little but of my Okara Parmesan that I had left. (I could have made a  white sauce or a "cheese-y" vegan sauce, but I didn't want to get complicated, and, after all, my intention was to use up various items.)



Baked in the oven for 30 minutes, it was nothing to be ashamed of, and provided a tasty, thrifty, nutritious lunch entree for each of us on our next workdays!

                                               
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About that second experiment, I'll be announcing the recipe (which will go up on vegan.com) as soon as I get do a few adjustments and get some photos done, but I've been working on a second version of my vegan palm oil-free buttery spread, Buttah, a softer "tub" version. UPDATE: April 2017....Check out my new, easier, cheaper Vegan Palm Oil-Free Butter-y Spread. It's a softer spread but can be frozen and evne used in its frozen state.

                                                       So stay tuned!

           Have a great weekend!