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

This was our lunch the other day and you could hardly hope for a more delicious, inexpensive and healthful, even though it was made from simple ingredients and leftovers.  The soup is my rendition of an Italian soup and, in true Italian style, the flavor belies the simplicity of the few ingredients.  My husband raved over it and wants me to make it regularly. The sandwich was made with thin slices of my second batch of homemade sprouted wheat bread made with minimal flour.  (Read about my first trial here.)  I didn't have much to make a sandwich out of, so I spread both sides the last of my homemade Okara/Cashew Ricotta (2 other vegan ricotta recipes here) and sprinkled one side with grated carrots and the other side with thinly-sliced red bell pepper.  Doesn't sound very exciting, does it?  But, surprisingly, the combination of the smooth ricotta, the crunchy fresh veggies, and the nutty sprout bread was scrumptious! The first batch of my sprouted wheat bread included about 1 cup flour per loaf-- the rest was the ground sprouted wheat, kneaded together with the yeast, salt, etc. (no oil).  The loaves rose beautifully, cut well, had a lovely crumb and flavor, and looked like a "normal" loaf of homemade sandwich bread:  1st batch of homemade sprouted with bread with minimal flour (Here's the final recipe.) My second batch was made the same way (but I oiled everything the dough touched to avoid having a sticky mess like the first time!), except that I used only 1 cup whole wheat flour for 3 loaves.  As you can see by the photos below, it didn't rise as nicely, but it was easy to slice and smelled and tasted divine. 2nd batch of homemade sprouted wheat bread with minimal flour (but less than the 1st batch) I want to test the sprouted wheat bread at least one more time, or until I get it to our satisfaction (so close!), before I post the recipe on this blog, but I doubt I'll get it done until January-- too many other things to do  right now! (UPDATE: Here's the recipe!) But we love it so much that we don't mind consuming the experiments!  Happy Holidays, everyone. (I will post again before Christmas.) So here's that soup recipe: Printable Recipe BRYANNA'S SIMPLE-BUT-DELICIOUS LEEK AND GIGANTE BEAN (OR WHITE BEAN) SOUP  Serves 4

I utilize the leek greens (which are often discarded) as well as the white part. Despite its simple ingredients, this soup is absolutely delicious and soul-satisfying! 1 lb.  leeks, cleaned 4 cups  tasty vegan broth (I like Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Base) 1/2 teaspoon  dried sage (rubbed, not powdered) 1 tablespoon  olive oil 2 cups  cooked or canned Gigante beans (giant lima beans or butter beans) OR white beans (Great Northern, cannellini, etc.) salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste Trim the roots off the leek tops and discard any tough outer leaves. Cut the leeks in half across the middle and then cut them in half lengthwise. Wash well to get any of the dirt that might be stuck between leaves, etc..  Pat dry and slice thinly (across, not lengthwise), keeping the green parts separate from the white parts. Place the sliced leek greens in a pot with the broth. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. While that simmers, sauté the white leek tops and the sage in the olive oil over moderate heat until they are softened. (OR, microwave the leeks, sage and olive oil in a covered microwave-safe dish or casserole at high power for about 4 minutes.) Rinse and drain the beans. Add the beans and sautéed leek tops mixture to the pot. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes more. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.  Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 207.2 calories; 17% calories from fat; 4.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 714.7mg sodium; 681.9mg potassium; 36.7g carbohydrates; 8.6g fiber; 8.1g sugar; 28.1g net carbs; 10.0g protein; 5.3 points. Enjoy!

This was a quick supper that I made a few nights ago-- no real recipes needed!  For the sandwich, I wanted to make a savory one using my new Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Pear Butter (it's so tasty that I'm trying to devise ways to use it other than on toast).  I had some Daiya Mozza Shreds in the freezer and also a chunk of frozen leftover homemade seitan "pork tenderloin".  So, here's what I did:

The ingredients: Bottom left to right-- slices of seitan "pork", DH's homemade bread (mostly whole wheat with some oats), fresh Italian parsley that grows in pots on my deck (you could use arugula instead); Salted Caramel Pear Butter, my homemade lowfat vegan mayo, Daiya shreds (or use any favorite vegan cheese), and, in the middle, my homemade palm oil-free vegan Buttah.

Heat up your indoor grill or panini maker. The mayo goes on both sides of the bread and the seitan slices (and freshly-ground black pepper) on one bread slice; the pear butter on another.


Over the pear butter goes the Daiya shreds (or any favorite vegan cheese), and then the sliced Italian parsley (or use arugula if you have it around).

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: