Showing posts with label cabbage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cabbage. Show all posts

Thursday, February 4, 2016

VEGAN POLISH-STYLE CABBAGE, BACON AND POTATO CASSEROLE

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This is going to be a quickie blog post!  I'm trying to use more cabbage this winter, due to the rising price of veggies in my neck of the woods.  (The low Canadian dollar is having an effect on food prices.)  This type of casserole is fairly common, but, not only did I want to make a vegan version (of course), but I wanted to use more cabbage and less fat than usual.  It was a hit!  The little bit of dark sesame oil is a must for rich flavor.  I will be making this again!













Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S VEGAN POLISH-STYLE CABBAGE, BACON AND POTATO CASSEROLE
Servings: 4

This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 13 x 11" baking pan. It can serve as a main dish or a side dish.

3/4 lb. yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut into large dice
8 oz.  Bryanna's Tofu "Bacon" or your favorite vegan bacon
1 Tbs dark sesame oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 lbs. green or Savoy cabbage (weigh after cutting out core), thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated vegan cheese of choice
a few shakes of liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Either steam the potatoes or microwave in a covered microwave-safe casserole (no water necessary-- 5 or 6 minutes) until just firm, but not soft.  Set aside.

Brown the tofu in a lightly greased large skillet or on a baking sheet under your oven's broiler (watch carefully). Remove from pan. Dice it after it cools.

Sauté the cabbage, onions and garlic in the (hot) sesame oil in the same pan until the cabbage is wilted and starts to brown a bit.  (You can do this on a baking sheet under your oven's broiler instead, if you wish-- watch carefully.)

Add the vinegar to the cabbage and stir to de-glaze the pan.  Add the cooked potatoes and "bacon", the nondairy milk and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and a few s to taste.

Spread the mixture into a lightly-oiled 9 x 9" baking dish and top with the vegan cheese. Cover loosely with aluminium foil.  Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 307 calories, 134 calories from fat, 15.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 260.4mg sodium, 837.1mg potassium, 34.6g carbohydrates, 6.6g fiber, 7.3g sugar, 11.2g protein.

Enjoy!


Monday, October 12, 2015

ASIAN CORN CABBAGE SOUP FROM KATHY HESTER'S NEW BOOK "THE EASY VEGAN COOKBOOK"

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Leave it to Kathy Hester to come up with a book full of easy-peasy, healthful, inspired vegan recipes for time-challenged cooks!  Kathy is the author of four previous books and blogs at healthyslowcooking.com This new book contains 80 recipes that are full of healthful ingredients (lots of beans-- a plus, in my opinion!) and many inspired by cuisines of other cultures.  She has a chapter of "Make-Ahead Staples", which is really handy, and everything from Soups, Stews, Pasta, Stir-fries, and other Mains, followed by more recipes for easy Sandwich Fillings and Spreads, Sides, and of course, Desserts and Drinks. The recipes are low-oil and there are many GF and soy-free recipes and options, as well.


I had a hard time selecting the recipe to try for this post on Kathy's blog tour, but I'm so glad I chose this soup recipe.  We had our vegan Canadian Thanksgiving feast (12 of us) last night and over-ate, of course. This easy, light and delectable soup (and I love corn so much!) is the perfect simple-but-delectable day-after-feasting meal. The chopped mushrooms in the broth give it wonderful flavor.

Congratulations on another winner, Kathy!



KATHY HESTER'S ASIAN CORN CABBAGE SOUP (From "The Easy Vegan Cookbook", with permission from Page Street Publishing)
• gluten-free option** • oil-free option* • soy-free option**
This soup isn’t the prettiest, but the taste is bold and delicious. This recipe is my favorite way to use up the extra cabbage from my CSA.
SERVES 4

½ small onion, minced
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil (*or sauté in water)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups (105 g) minced mushrooms
Pinch of salt
2 to 3 teaspoons (10-15 g) minced ginger
4 cups (356 g) chopped cabbage
2 cups (282 g) corn kernels (frozen or fresh)
4 cups (946 ml) water
1 tablespoon (5 g) nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vegetable bouillon
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ to 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce (**or use coconut aminos)

STOVE-TOP METHOD (This is the method I used.)
Sauté the onion in oil (*or water) until it’s translucent, then add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the mushrooms have cooked down and released their liquid, about 10 minutes. Add everything except sesame, sriracha and soy sauce (**or coconut aminos) to the pot and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Before serving, add sesame, sriracha and soy sauce (**or coconut aminos). Adjust seasonings if needed. (NOTE from Bryanna: I used 3 teaspoons of vegan broth paste [Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken vegan Broth Paste] and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce.)

SLOW COOKER METHOD
To prep the night before, sauté the onion in oil (*or water) until it’s translucent, then add the garlic and cook one more minute. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the mushrooms have cooked down and released their liquid. Store the cooked mixture with cut cabbage and corn in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, add everything except sesame, sriracha and soy sauce (**or coconut aminos) to your 4-quart (4-L) slow cooker. Cook 7 to 9 hours on low. Before serving, add sesame, sriracha and soy sauce (**or coconut aminos). Adjust seasonings if needed.

Per serving with oil: Calories 156.8, protein 5.5 g, total fat 5.8 g, carbohydrates 22.4 g, sodium 41.8 mg, fiber 4.9 g

TIP: Cheater Slow Cooker Shortcut: Skip the onion sauté and use ½ teaspoon of onion powder instead. Then add the raw mushrooms into the slow cooker for a throw-it-all-in-and-go meal!

Enjoy!


Monday, October 6, 2014

VEGAN OKONOMIYAKI (JAPANESE OMELET OR PANCAKE)

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I've worked on this recipe on-and-off for a little while. Besides making them vegan, I wanted to use ingredients that most North Americans would be able to obtain easily. These vegan savory omelets or pancakes, however you choose to think of them, are so simple, cheap and quick to make, but absolutely addictive!  They originated as frugal street food and were eaten often in the days of reconstruction after WWII. 

According to the book "Let's Cook Japanese Food!" by Amy Kaneko, "Okonomiyaki' means "grilled as you like it". (Update: This is a nice little book of Japanese home cooking; now out of print, but I notice that there is a snazzy new 2017 version.) And that's true-- you can add all sorts of odds and sods, leftovers, etc.-- use your imagination and use what you like!

The batter traditionally contains egg, but I've used some chickpea flour, vegan egg replacers and nutritional yeast, with excellent results. This is definitely the new go-to quick anytime-of-the-day meal in our house! (DH is very enthusiastic!)  



BRYANNA’S VEGAN OKONOMIYAKI (JAPANESE OMELET OR PANCAKE) (Can be GF and Soy-free)
Serves 2
For the egg replacer in the batter, you can use any number of egg subs. I recommend:
1/4 cup of blended silken tofu or plain soy yogurt; OR 1 teaspoon VEGG egg yolk sub (NOT the new VEGG baking mix) mixed with 3 tablespoons water; OR 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax seed (preferably golden flax) blended with 3 tablespoons water until “gloppy”; OR 1 tablespoon Ener-G or Orgran egg replacer powder whisked with 3 tablespoons water.

Once you have everything assembled, the cooking will take less than 10 minutes!

Batter:
3/4 cup cake & pastry flour (use white, or use white whole wheat pastry flour) OR a baking-ready GF flour mix
NOTE: If you have no cake flour, you can make your own with 7/8 cup (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) unbleached white flour whisked well with 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
1/4 cup chickpea flour or soy flour (This adds color, a slightly “eggy” flavor, and good nutrition.)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup liquid egg replacer (IMPORTANT: See text above in recipe intro for a number of possibilities.)
1 tablespoon dry to medium sherry, or Japanese rice wine
2 cups thinly sliced and chopped cabbage, with any tough parts discarded (I prefer Savoy cabbage.)
2 large green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped or sliced seitan, baked tofu, or commercial vegan meat or chicken sub, OR chopped vegan “ham” or “bacon”, OR reconstituted Soy Curls or textured soy protein chunks, chopped, OR chopped vegetarian "shrimp"
Optional: 1 tablespoon vegan “bacon bits” of your choice
1 to 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
My version of Okonomiyaki Sauce:
Note: Most recipes call for Worcestershire sauce, but Japanese Worcestershire sauce is made with pureed fruits and vegetables, rather than fermented anchovies, and I didn’t have any vegan Worcestershire sauce anyway—thus, this version:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons spicy fruit chutney (If it’s really chunky, mash it with a fork or break up with an immersion blender. This is the chutney I used.)
Sriracha Mayo:
1/2 cup vegan mayo (I use my homemade lowfat variety.)
1 tablespoon dry to medium sherry or Japanese rice wine
1 tablespoon Sriracha (Vietnamese hot sauce)
Note: Japanese mayo is sweeter than ours (more like Miracle Whip), so add a pinch of sugar if you like.


Optional Garnishes:
Chopped green onions
Toasted sesame seeds
Nori (seaweed) flakes
pickled ginger
Serve with:
I served it with some warmed-up leftover rice.  In Hiroshima, evidently they often serve it on Yakisoba noodles (my recipe for these noodles is in my book "World Vegan Feast"). But it’s good all by itself!

How-to:

You’ll need 2 nonstick skillets, at least 8-inch size. (If you only have one, you’ll have to make one omelet at a time and keep the first one hot in a warm oven.) If you don’t have nonstick skillets, use well-seasoned cast iron or hard-anodized skillets, but you may need a bit more oil. If you have a large griddle, electric or stovetop, you can make two at a time on that.

Whisk together the cake flour, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix in water, egg replacer and sherry or rice wine and whisk in until smooth. Stir in the chopped cabbage, green onions, meat sub of choice, and optional vegan “bacon bits”, if using, mixing well.




Heat the skillets over high heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil to each skillet (you may need a bit more if your skillets are not non-stick). Pour half of the mixture into each skillet and pat out with the back of a soup spoon into a round 8-inch pancake. Cover the skillets and cook for 2 minutes. 



Flip the pancakes over. If they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down a little. If they need a bit more oil, dribble just a bit around the edges. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Flip them over again, lower the heat a bit if necessary, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.


Brush the tops of the omelets with Okonomiyaki Sauce and dribble artistically with the Sriracha Mayo.  Serve immediately with as-is or with desired garnishes and dig in!




Enjoy!





Monday, March 19, 2007

WHAT WE ATE FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY DINNER

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Vegan Irish Stew and Colcannon
With a name like Grogan, you've probably guessed that my husband is Irish (well, half-Irish, and half-Scottish). His request this year was my vegan Irish stew with dark Irish ale or stout in it. (see below about vegan beers, stouts, and ales.) The recipe from my book "The Almost No-Fat Holiday Cookbook" (Update: you can get the recipe here). This time I had an organic turnip, so I used that in the stew (you can use parsnips instead, if you like), along with mushrooms and carrots, and I used textured soy protein (TVP) chunks for the "meat" (but you could use seitan chunks instead). I served it with Colcannon (recipe below), a traditional dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale added (I only had savoy cabbage in the house, so that's what I used, along with some green onion). My version is almost fat-free and very delicious with the gravy from the stew.

For dessert
, we had an Irish Apple Bread Pudding (also from my Holiday cookbook and also low-fat-- RECIPE HERE)...


with Brown Sugar/Whiskey Sauce and my vegan Poured Custard (see recipe below). (You can leave out the whiskey, but it's traditional. I only had about 1 1/2 Tbs. left in one of those mini-bottles, but that was enough to spark up the sauce!)

RECIPES:


Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S VEGAN COLCANNON (MASHED POTATOES WITH KALE OR CABBAGE) 
Adapted from a recipe in my book, "The Almost No-Fat Holiday Cookbook".

There are many variations of traditional Irish Colcannon. Besides the cabbage or kale suggested here, mashed parsnips, onions or green onions are used in some parts of Ireland. It's delicious, especially when served with the gravy from vegetarian stew, instead of the usual melted butter. (The nutritional analysis was done without the optional Earth Balance)

3 lbs russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
2 lbs kale, or green cabbage or Savoy cabbage
2 cups vegetarian "chicken-style" broth
1 Tbs Earth Balance or olive oil (optional)
2 cups minced leeks or green onions
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the potatoes into chunks and boil in water to cover until tender, but not mushy.

Meanwhile, wash and trim the kale or cabbage, discarding any tough stems. Chop it and braise it in the broth for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain it and gently squeeze out the liquid by pressing with the back of a large spoon. At the same time, in a nonstick skillet sprayed with oil from a pump-sprayer, steam-fry the leeks until softened, adding drops of water as needed to keep from sticking, OR saute in the Earth Balance.

Drain the potatoes well and mash with a potato masher. Beat in the soymilk; then the cooked kale or cabbage, and leeks or green onions. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot with vegan stew or gravy.

Servings: 8

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving):
188.1 calories; 2% calories from fat; 0.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 44.2mg sodium; 934.0mg potassium; 42.9g carbohydrates; 6.4g fiber; 6.7g sugar; 36.5g net carbs; 5.6g protein; 3.0 points.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN POURED CUSTARD OR CUSTARD SAUCE
Servings: 6
Yield: 3 cups

This is a rich-tasting custard. You can serve it chilled in pudding dishes for dessert, topped with fruit, or use it as a hot sauce poured over bread pudding or cake.

6.15 ounces (1/2 a 12.3 ounce box) extra-firm SILKEN tofu (reduced-fat, if you like)
2 cups water
4 3/4 tablespoons plain custard powder, plain (see below recipe for where to purchase),
OR cornstarch plus a pinch of Spanish saffron
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients except the vanilla in a blender until smooth.

Pour into a medium nonstick saucepan and stir over high heat until thickened. Whisk in the vanilla.
OR microwave:
at full power in a microwavable bowl for 3 minutes. Whisk the mixture. Microwave 2 minutes more. Whisk well. Whisk in the vanilla.

If serving cold, pour into 6 custard dishes, cover and chill. Or, pour the mixture hot over cakes or bread puddings.

NOTE: You can also purchase custard powder in gourmet food stores that sell international foods.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 cup serving):
110.7 calories; 3% calories from fat; 0.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 137.4mg sodium; 33.7mg potassium; 23.0g carbohydrates; 0.1g fiber; 16.9g sugar; 23.0g net carbs; 4.1g protein; 2.2 points.


ABOUT INGREDIENTS AND VEGAN ALCOHOL:

IS BIRD'S CUSTARD POWDER REALLY VEGAN? YES! Read on....


Two people have written to me saying that they saw nutrition information about Bird's custard powder that indicated that it contained milk.

The powder does not contain milk or milk proteins. The CUSTARD someone makes from it might contain milk products, if it's stirred into dairy milk to make the custard, but you can use soymilk or nut milk (and trust me, rice milk does not work!). I think the nutrition info they saw was for the cooked custard made with milk.

The following is from http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Birds-Custard-
Powder/10764011


"Allergen Information

Does Not Contain:
Nut, Gluten, Wheat, Egg, Fish, Lactose, Sesame, Peanut, Celery, Mustard, Soya, Shellfish, Milk, Sulphites, Phenylalanine, Oats

Ingredients
Cornflour, Salt, Colour (Annatto), Flavouring."

And that is exactly what it says on the can of it I have in my cupboard. You have to add milk-- dairy or non-dairy-- and sweetener. It's not like a cocoa powder mix where you just add water.

If you don't believe me, here's an article on it from a British newspaper:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/retro-delights-birds-custard-789786.html

"...So what happened to Bird's? The answer is nothing. It's still there on the supermarket shelf, boasting the 'original homemade taste". This is nothing special – the complete list of ingredients is "Cornflour, Salt, Colour (annatto), Flavouring'. Sampled for the first time in maybe 40 years, it was unobjectionable, two-dimensional, unchanged."


VEGAN BEER, STOUTS AND ALES:

In the book mentioned above, I call for Guinness Stout in the stew. I later learned that Guinness is not vegan. UPDATE: And, hooray! Guinness is vegan now!)

Why isn’t alcohol necessarily vegan?

Wine is clarified, or cleared, after fermentation. Some of the ingredients used include:
- edible gelatins (made from bones)
- isinglass (made from the swim bladders of fish)
- casein and potassium caseinate (milk proteins)
- animal albumin (egg albumin and dried blood powder)
In the UK beer (bitter) is also commonly fined using isinglass. Many bottled bitters and most lagers are vegan. Guinness is not suitable for vegans. Most spirits are vegan except for Campari (contains cochineal) and some Vodkas (passed through bone charcoal).

Resources
The best resource for finding vegan wines, beers and other alcoholic beverages is http://barnivore.com/

From the UK Vegan Society: links to how different alcoholic beverages are made and vegan brands

Australian site with a very comprehensive list of alcoholic beverages, marking those suitable for vegans



Cheers!


Thursday, February 1, 2007

SPICY STIR-FRIED CABBAGE, TOFU AND PEANUTS, MY VERSION

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This is going to be a short post about a quick dinner I made the other night with what I had left in the refrigerator before I went shopping!

I found this recipe in an old Homemakers magazine from the library where I work. It sounded good, and I thought I'd serve it with quinoa instead of rice. When I made it, though (with less oil), I found it a bit boring, and I added some soy sauce and otherwise jazzed it up a bit. I also added sliced green onions for a garnish, because the color was kind of dull. You could use thinly-sliced red bell peppers, or anything colorful and tasty. We enjoyed it. It's simple, tasty, homey, inexpensive, and easy.


SPICY STIR-FRIED CABBAGE, TOFU AND PEANUTS, MY VERSION

3 Tbs water
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs Chinese black bean and garlic sauce (if you can't find this in a store near you, here's a homemade recipe; use veggie broth, of course)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs oil
3 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red chile pepper flakes
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 pkg (350 g or 12 oz.) extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed (NOT silken tofu)
8 cups coarsely chopped Savoy cabbage
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped
1/2 tsp ground Szechuan pepper (optional)
1 tsp sesame oil
For garnish: 2 more green onions, diagonally sliced

In small bowl, mix together water, soy sauce, black bean sauce, vinegar, sugar and water; set aside.

In wok, stir-fry pan, or large skillet (preferably nonstick), heat oil over high heat; stir-fry onions, garlic, pepper flakes, and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tofu. Add cabbage; stir-fry until cabbage begins to wilt. Add black bean sauce mixture and stir-fry until cabbage is tender and sauce is dry, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in peanuts and Szechuan pepper (if using); cook until just heated through; stir in sesame oil.

Serve with rice or quinoa.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving):
291.6 calories; 54% calories from fat; 18.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 43.8mg sodium; 741.3mg potassium; 21.2g carbohydrates; 6.5g fiber; 11.2g sugar; 14.8g net carbs; 16.0g protein; 6.6 points.

Original Recipe Source
Homemakers Magazine: February/March 2005

Enjoy!