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

Dinner last night-- tabbouleh, olives, crackers, Syrian bean dip, and raw veggie dippers

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while-- many things keeping me from blogging.

The delicious dip (or spread) in the photos and the recipe below is my take on a Syrian dish called Fooliya (pronounced Foo-lee-ya), which is made with dried fava (or broad) beans. I have a hard time finding dried fava beans in my area. However, I have noticed that cooked, pureed dried favas are similar in taste to cooked, pureed dried yellow split peas, so I use the split peas as a substitute, with good results. (They are much cheaper and more available in many areas, too.) The onions cooked with the peas lend a lovely sweetness to the puree.

This dip makes a nice change from the equally delicious, but ubiquitous, hummus, and is just as nutritious.  Leftovers could be mixed with some broth and/or water to make a light soup, as well.


Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S SYRIAN-STYLE BEAN AND ONION DIP (FOOLIYA)
Approximate servings: 8 
Serve at room temperature with crackers, flatbread, or raw veggies.

1 cup dried yellow split peas
3 cups water
3 medium onions, peeled and cut into wedges
1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
Garnish:
1/4 cup (more or less) chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Optional:
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (many markets now sell these fresh in packages in the produce section-- they can be frozen)

Place the split peas, water and onion wedges in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium-low, cover and cook for 30-60 minutes, or until the peas are softened and the water is almost absorbed.

Pour the mixture into a food processor and process until smooth (Take the pusher out of the funnel and cover the hole loosely with a folded clean tea towel, so that steam does not build up inside the processor.) Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Process briefly again.

Scoop the mixture onto a large , flat bowl, or plate with a bit of a depression in it (see picture). Smooth the mixture out. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and use the back of a clean spoon to spread the olive oil around evenly. Allow to cool to room temperature, then sprinkle with the garnishes.

Serve with raw vegetable dippers, crackers or flatbread. Leftovers should be refrigerated in a covered container, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 165.5 calories; 37% calories from fat; 7.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 478.6mg sodium; 331.4mg potassium; 20.2g carbohydrates; 7.1g fiber; 4.1g sugar; 13.1g net carbs; 6.6g protein; 3.1 points.

Enjoy!

I made a thin-crust pizza the other night-- always such a treat! Used some leftover homemade spaghetti sauce with a bit of crushed tomatoes added, sauteed mushrooms and red bell pepper strips, slices of Tofurkey's vegan Spicy Italian "sausage", freshly-ground black pepper,and sliced fresh basil. I placed the veggies and herbs OVER the grated vegan mozzarella because it melts better that way and gets nice and creamy. I drizzled the whole thing with a couple of Tbs. of peppery extra-virgin olive oil.  I used 1 lb. 4 oz. of dough for the crust for a 16" pizza.

I made the following white bread loaf (it does have some oat bran in it) just as an experiment to see how little yeast I could get away with (most bread machine recipes call for WAY too much yeast, which does NOT improve the flavor!). For this loaf, I used only 1/2 tsp. yeast in total. I made a sponge (loose batter) with all of the water, yeast and some of the flour and let it rise in the ABM container for 6 hours, before adding the remaining ingredients and baking it. Look how it rose! The crust was nice and crunchy.

It tasted good for white bread, but was actually a little TOO fluffy for my liking! Here's the recipe:


Printable Recipe
BRYANNA’S “NOT QUITE WHITE” BREAD MACHINE BREAD
2 lb. (sponge method)
This can be used as basic bread for many variations. NOTE: This is the machine I have.

Sponge:
Mix for 5 minutes on dough cycle, then unplug and leave overnight, or for 6-12 hours:

1 and 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. dry active baking yeast (or 1/3 tsp. instant yeast)
2 c. unbleached flour (use bread flour in USA)

After rising the sponge, add:
4 tsp. brown sugar
2 T. plus 2 tsp. oil
1 and 3/4 tsp. salt
2 c. unbleached flour (use bread flour in USA)
1/3 c. whole wheat flour (or oat bran)

Set on the Basic Cycle, Dark Crust. Check the dough during the first knead to make sure that it is neither too dry, not too wet. If it’s too dry, add water by the tablespoonful, letting it knead in, until it looks right. If it’s too wet, do the same with flour.

If you want a more attractive top crust to the bread, 5 minutes before the bread is due to bake (I set my kitchen timer to remind me of this), you can make a decorative slash in the top of the bread with a razor blade, and you can also glaze the bread with some soymilk, using a pastry brush, or sprinkle the top with flour.

Cover the “window” in the top of your machine with foil, so that the top of the bread will brown properly. Remove the bread immediately from the machine when done, placing on a rack to cool thoroughly. This will insure a crisp crust.



Dinner the other night was Swiss chard from our garden (yum!) and tofu kebabs with peppers, mushrooms and onion. I had soaked the extra-firm tofu cubes in the Breast of Tofu (or Crispy Marinated Tofu from World Vegan Feast) marinade for several days, anticipating a meal such as this. I just threaded them on skewers with the veggies, slathered on barbecue sauce (my Bourbon BBQ Sauce ) and grilled them, serving them on a bed of Basmati rice.



I just had to post yet another picture of a wonderful organic, fair-trade soy cappuccino made with my homemade soymilk! I always get such lame foam when I order soy cappuccinos in restaurants!   I'm wondering if it's maybe because I use a cheap plunger-type milk foamer? I'm thinking that maybe foaming with steam dilutes the foam???

















Last, but not least, two incarnations (above)of my experiments with Egyptian Felafel (ta’amiyya), which is made with fava or broad beans instead of chickpeas. Spice Island Vegan raved about the recipe from Canadian author Habeeb Salloum's EXCELLENT books, "From the Lands of Figs and Olives" and "Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East & North Africa".

I have a hard time getting dried favas, but I often use split yellow peas instead of dried favas in soups, etc., because, when they cook down to a puree they taste very similar. So, I substituted split yellow peas (cup for cup, and I did soak them) in the felafel recipe and it was great. However, next time I go to Vancouver I will get some fava beans and compare. These felafel are very light, quite different than the chickpea ones. Actually, I could not shape the batter-- it was too runny-- so I just dropped little spoonfuls of it into the oil.

Enjoy!

Here are two bean recipes we've been enjoying in the last couple of days:

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S EASY BLACKEYED-PEASY DIP 

This dip is inexpensive, a bit spicy, creamy, and full of fiber! I like using blackeyed peas because they don't need to be soaked, and they cook quickly.

2 1/2 cups drained canned or cooked blackeyed peas
1/2 of a 12.3 oz. box extra-firm SILKEN tofu (regular or lite)
1 1/2 Tbs fresh or organic bottled lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. garlic granules
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 cup chunky no-sugar tomato salsa (medium to hot)
2 large green onions, chopped (white and green)
2 Tbs vegan "bacon bits"

Place the drained blackeyed peas, tofu, lemon juice, salt, garlic granules, and sugar in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the onions and pulse. Add the salsa and soy bacon bits and pulse again. Scoop into a bowl. Cover and chill. Serve with baked tortilla chips, wholegrain bagel or pita chips, or raw vegetable dippers.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/4 cup): 52.9 calories; 11% calories from fat; 0.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 285.6mg sodium; 137.8mg potassium; 8.1g carbohydrates; 2.3g fiber; 1.8g sugar; 5.8g net carbs; 3.9g protein; 0.7 points.



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S LEVANTINE-STYLE BEAN SOUP (a Canadian version of Shorbat Hummus wa Fool) 
Servings: 8 
This is a delicious and colorful soup. I used dried split yellow peas instead of the traditional dried fava beans, which are hard to find in my neck of the woods. When cooked down, they taste very similar.  PS: "The Levant consists today of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Hatay Province and other parts of southern Turkey, some regions of northwestern Iraq and the Sinai Peninsula." (Basically, the Eastern Mediterranean region.)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant

1 cup split yellow peas
1 Tbs olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/ 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (save the juice)
1/2 Tbs dried mint (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or cilantro, minced)
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
6 cups water
2 cups good vegetarian broth
2 1/2 cups drained canned or cooked chickpeas
1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano, rubbed between your fingers
1/2 Tbs salt, or to taste
freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Rinse the split peas and leave to soak in plenty of water overnight.

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot and saute the onions until almost soft, adding the garlic towards the end. Add the drained tomatoes, the mint, and the optional cayenne pepper, if using. Cook down for 10-15 minutes. Add water, broth, and reserved tomato juice, bring to a boil, then add the drained, soaked split peas. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until the peas are tender.

Add the chickpeas and the diced potatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the oregano, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning.
(I like to remove most of the chunky solids from the soup with a slotted spoon and blend the remaining soup with a hand immersion blender until smooth, then add the solids back to the soup.)

Serve immediately with good bread. You can garnish each bowl with a sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro, minto or parsley, or some dried mint.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 277.3 calories; 11% calories from fat; 3.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 831.7mg sodium; 1047.4mg potassium; 50.2g carbohydrates; 13.6g fiber; 9.7g sugar; 36.6g net carbs; 14.0g protein; 5.1 points.

Enjoy!