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

More vegan comfort food! When I had company, I was trying to make some easy dishes that would feed a crowd and that omnivores would like. I had reconstituted Soy Curls® (see info here) and lots of corn. I remembered this soup from somewhere in my memory. It usually just has corn in it, but I added some celery and carrots for body and interest. I left out the usual hard-boiled egg that is sprinkled on top, of course! It was a winner.




Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH-STYLE "CHICKEN" NOODLE AND CORN SOUP
Servings: 8

This is so simple, but my DH and omnivore guests just gobbled it up! It's really low in calories, but it seems "rib-sticking"! The quality of the broth is REALLY important to this recipe. Other alternatives to the broth paste I suggested are below in Cooking Tips.

8-10 cups good vegetarian "chicken-style" vegetarian broth
(I used Superior Touch "Better than Bouillon" No-Chicken Vegan Base, which is a paste-- see Cooking Tips below recipe for alternatives and measures)
2 cups re-hydrated Soy Curls® or other vegan chicken sub, in strips
(2 oz. dry-- see here for info on Soy Curls® and how to reconstitute)
2 to 3 medium carrots, scraped and diced small
2 stalks celery, with leaves, sliced
1 3/4 cups egg-free tagliatelle (see note just below), OR linguine or fettuccine, broken up OR use egg-free ribbon noodles
(NOTE: Tagliatelle is a dry flat pasta, often sold rolled up in "nests"-- see photo below [use 4 "nests", if they are packaged that way]. Check labels as it is often made with eggs. My supermarket carries 2 kinds of egg-free ribbon noodles [broad and medium], and a house brand of egg-free tagliatelle, so read labels and you should be able to find a flat pasta that will will work.)
2 cups    fresh or thawed frozen sweet corn kernels
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Mix together the broth, Soy Curls®, carrots, and celery. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta and corn. Turn the heat down and simmer, covered, until the pasta is tender. Taste for salt and pepper. Sprinkle each serving with chopped parsley or chives.

 Tagliatelle nests

Nutrition Facts 
Nutrition (per serving): 141.0 calories; 10% calories from fat; 1.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 718.6mg sodium; 218.7mg potassium; 27.2g carbohydrates; 3.0g fiber; 3.9g sugar; 24.2g net carbs; 7.4g protein; 2.4 points.

Cooking Tips
CHICKEN-STYLE VEGETARIAN BROTH

The product you use should contribute full flavor, not just saltiness. Unfortunately, many vegetarian broth powders do not deliver in the flavor department! And, sadly, the major organic brands are inadequate--too salty and not enough real flavor.

Brands of instant vegetarian broth, or bouillon, powders, pastes, and cubes seem to vary from region to region, even within North America. Many readers use brands that I have never heard of, or cannot get where I live in Western Canada. Fortunately, we can now order specific brands online if we can't convince our local grocer or health food store to carry the ones we like.

HERE ARE SOME THAT I LIKE:

#1 Seitenbacher Vegetarian Vegetable Broth and Seasoning Powder, a German brand which is widely distributed in the USA and in Europe. It is the #1 choice for the recipes in this book. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it in Canada, but Canadians can order it from veganessentials and the shipping to Canada is very reasonable.

Seitenbacher is MSG-free and "All natural; Vegan; No Gelatine; No Dairy; No Meat; No Eggs; No Artificial Flavor Enhancer; Fat Free; Cholesterol Free; Gluten Free; No Oil". (Another good MSG-free broth powder is Massel-- see below.)

#2: An excellent homemade alternative is my own broth powder mix. It's easy and cheap to make and has excellent flavor--but you must use 2 teaspoons for each cup of water.

#3: One of my favorite broth products--but not a powder: "Better than Bouillon" "No Chicken Vegan Base" (a paste) is delicious (and it's what I used in the soup above).  Ask your health food store or grocery store to carry it. "Better than Bouillon" also has a "No Beef Vegan Base", which is good, and a "Vegetable Base", which also comes in an organic variety (available at a good price in large jar form at Costco, even in Canada), but, while it's good, I wasn't super-impressed with the Vegetable Base. (Unfortunately, their "Mushroom Base" contains dairy products.)

#4: "Massel Vegetable Style Stock Powder", all vegan, MSG-free, palm oil-free and gluten-free, now available in the US and Canada from VeganEssentials.com, and also from amazon.com and many kosher outlets. There is Vegetable-Style, Chicken-Style and Beef-Style, all vegan.  Massel broth powder contains no trans-fats, and has good flavor, without too much salt.

For 1 cup of broth , use 1 cup water and add:
* 1 teaspoon Seitenbacher or Massel vegetarian broth powder
* OR 2 teaspoons Bryanna's Homemade Broth Powder (see recipe here )
* OR 1 teaspoon Superior Touch "Better than Bouillon" Vegan No-Chicken Base

Enjoy!

This last weekend on the CBC Radio One program "North by Northwest" they were asking for readers'  stories and experiences looking for lost childhood favorite recipes or foods.  That got me thinking about my own childhood favorites.  Of course, like most of us, I was not raised vegan, so some of my old favorites were "meaty".  My late mother, Eve Urbina, was a great cook, but not a baker, so not many homemade desserts came to mind (we mostly had yogurt and fruit for dessert).  But one of my real favorite from my Mom's repertoire  was chicken sauteed in olive oil with white wine and rosemary, which resulted in a sticky, flavorful "goo" at the bottom of the pan, which she would mix with steamed long-grain rice to serve with the chicken.

So, I attempted a vegan version for our Saturday night dinner, using some Gardein-made meatless "chicken breasts" we can buy frozen in our local Great Canadian Superstore.  The most difficult part is getting the "goo" at the bottom of the pan.  I tried a trick from my Italian cookbook "Nonna's Italian Kitchen", agar-jelled broth, but made with Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Paste instead of my homemade broth from the book. However, despite my jelled broth addition and cooking it down, the residue in the pan refused to get as “sticky-gooey” as the original.  That’s probably because there was much more fat in my childhood version.  But no worries— the resulting sauce was absolutely delish!

I meant to blog earlier, but I was tired from my Portland blog-blitz and my poor mom went into hospital this week! She, typically, did not tell me she wasn't feeling well (some people are complainers-- I wish my mom would complain more!), so, when I went to see her, I was shocked at how wheezy and rattly her chest was and how weak she was-- she is generally in very good health. (She still was dressed to go, with her hair up and make-up on, at 92!) Whisked her off to her doctor, who told us to get her to hospital right away. Turns out she had congestive heart failure (water in heart and lung tissues). So she is still there, but feeling better and not on so much oxygen. My stepson Sean saw her last night and said she had finished the book she was reading and had make-up on-- a good sign.

Anyway, I have been reading about Peruvian food (some of you may know that my father was Peruvian) and also about breakfast in different countries, so this blog is a combination of those two interests. In Peru, depending on where you live, and probably your economic status, a typical breakfast (desayuno) might be a sweet bun, baguette, or some other kind of bread (mostly white) with coffee. (I remember it being cafe con leche, or, basically, a latte, when I was there.) But it could also be fruit, a sandwich, scrambled eggs, cheese, a Peruvian tamale or humita ( a sweet tamale), even beans or stews. Sounds good to me-- I like savory things for breakfast.

(Another interesting snack and breakfast is a fruit and oatmeal drink [taken hot or cold] called Avena or Cuaquer [Spanish translation of "Quaker", for the oats!]. It's popular in Latin America, especially Peru and Ecuador. I'll work on that for another post and I'm anxious to run it by my youngest daughter-- her son is part Ecuadorian as well as part Peruvian.  UPDATE: here's the recipe.)

Another common breakfast item is soup (sopa), and a favorite one is Caldo de Gallina, sometimes called "Peruvian penicillin". (It's also called "levanta muertos", or "wake the dead"!) I'm told that it is a favored cure-all of Peruvian mothers. So, especially since I woke up with a sore throat, I decided to try making a vegan version of this for our Sunday breakfast. I have always enjoyed leftover soup for breakfast.

Traditionally, the vegetables are strained out of the broth (since they cook down to nothing after 3-4 hours of making real chicken broth from scratch), but I left them in the broth, for extra flavor, nutrition, and color. I also decided to mash up the cooked head of garlic and throw it in along with the traditional ginger. (The ginger indicates the influence of the large Chinese population on Peruvian cooking). Ginger and garlic are both good for you and the taste is very mellow.  I think it was a good move.

The soup is often served with hard-boiled eggs, but not always.  I added a scrambled tofu option, instead.

I live on an island, and the only store is closed on Sunday, so I couldn't rush out to find fresh red chiles, limes and cilantro (if they even had them at our little store-- well, maybe the limes), so that's why I used dried chile flakes and dried cilantro, added parsley as a green garnish option, and used lemon wedges.


Salud!

VEGETARIAN BROTH CUBES, POWDERS, ETC.:
Instant broth powders, pastes, and cubes seem to be very regional. Many of my subscribers and readers use brands that I have never heard of, or cannot get here in my area of Canada.

I have tried every vegetarian broth cube, powder and paste that I can find in my area-- without prejudice. By that I mean natural, not-so-natural, organic, not organic, etc...Broth powder has been problematic for me. The product you use should contribute full flavor, not just saltiness. Unfortunately, many vegetarian broth powders do not deliver in the flavor department! And, sadly, the major organic brands are inadequate--too salty and not enough real flavor.  I really like Seitenbacher vegetarian broth powder, a German Brand which is widely distributed in the USA. (See more info below.)



Brands of instant vegetarian broth, or bouillon, powders, pastes, and cubes seem to vary from region to region, even within North America. Many readers use brands that I have never heard of, or cannot get where I live in Western Canada. Fortunately, we can now order specific brands online if we can't convince our local grocer or health food store to carry the ones we like.

HERE ARE SOME THAT I LIKE:

#1 Seitenbacher Vegetarian Vegetable Broth and Seasoning Powder, a German brand which is widely distributed in the USA and in Europe. It is the #1 choice for the recipes in this book. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it in Canada, but Canadians can order it from veganessentials and the shipping to Canada is very reasonable. 

Seitenbacher is MSG-free and "All natural; Vegan; No Gelatine; No Dairy; No Meat; No Eggs; No Artificial Flavor Enhancer; Fat Free; Cholesterol Free; Gluten Free; No Oil". (Another good MSG-free broth powder is Massel-- see below.)

#2: One of my favorite broth products--but not a powder: "Better than Bouillon" "No Chicken Vegan Base" (a paste) is delicious (and it's what I used in the soup above).  Ask your health food store or grocery store to carry it. "Better than Bouillon" also has a "No Beef Vegan Base", which is good, and a "Vegetable Base", which also comes in an organic variety, but, while it's good, I wasn't super-impressed with the Vegetable Base. (Unfortunately, their "Mushroom Base" contains dairy products.)

#3: "Massel Vegetable Style Stock Powder", all vegan, MSG-free, palm oil-free and gluten-free, now available in the US and Canada from VeganEssentials.com, and also from amazon.com and many kosher outlets. There is Vegetable-Style, Chicken-Style and Beef-Style, all vegan.  Massel broth powder contains no trans-fats, and has good flavor, without too much salt.

TIP: Broth cubes almost always contain palm oil.

#4: An excellent homemade alternative is my own broth powder mix. It's easy and cheap to make and has excellent flavor--but you must use 2 teaspoons for each cup of water. SEE RECIPE BELOW.

For 1 cup of broth , use 1 cup water and add: 
* 1 teaspoon Seitenbacher or Massel vegetarian broth/stock powder
* OR 1 teaspoon Superior Touch "Better than Bouillon" Vegan No-Chicken Base
* OR 2 teaspoons Bryanna's Homemade Broth Powder (see recipe below ) 



Here's my homemade broth powder:

I apologize for not blogging for so long!  Since (Canadian) Thanksgiving, we've had lots of family staying over, in and out, and I've been just keeping up with work and day-to-day stuff.  Consequently, I've done more quantity cooking than innovative cooking, and made many dishes from leftovers and/or foods that need to be used up.  But I did make a few dishes which were tasty enough to jot down (and take some pictures), and I'd like to share two of them with you today. One is based on chanterelle mushrooms, which are in abundance here right now, and the other on one of my current favorite vegetables-- leeks.  Leeks are so delicious, and not only in soup!  When roasted, they are out of this world!

The first recipe is a soup I made with chanterelle mushrooms picked here on Denman Island, BC.  If you don't have chanterelles, use any favorite mushroom instead.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S CREAMY MUSHROOM AND QUINOA SOUP

Serves 6 (Can be GF and/or Soy-Free)

Light and a bit sohisticated, but satisfying.

3/4 lb. mushrooms (preferably chanterelles, but use whatever variety available to you), cleaned

1 Tbsp oil or vegan butter (try my homemade vegan palm oil-free Buttah)

salt
1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped vegan "ham" OR 1/4 cup vegan bacon bits soaked in 1/4 cup very hot water

(For GF and/or Soy-Free, you may have to use homemade Shiitake "Bacon", chopped)

3 Tbsp dry sherry (or non-alcoholic white wine)

1 Tbsp unbleached flour (can be GF)

1 tsp. dried thyme leaves (or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh)

4 cups "chickeny" vegan broth + 1  extra tsp. broth paste or powder (I like Better Than Bouillon Vegan No-Chicken Broth Paste)

1 cup whole cooked or canned white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup cooked or canned white kidney or cannellini, rinsed, drained and pureed with a bit of the broth until creamy (use a hand/immersion blender or regular blender)

NOTE: Other beans  you could use would be Great Northern or small white beans

To Finish:

1/2 cup So Delicious Original Coconut Milk Creamer (or other favorite non-sweet  vegan creamer)

2 cups cooked quinoa (or 1/2 quinoa and 1/2 medium bulgur or millet)

Slice the mushrooms.  Heat the oil or butter in a large heavyskillet over high heat.  Add the mushrooms, salt lightly, and turn the heat down to medium-high.  Saute until the mushrooms exude their juice.  Add the onion and garlic and keep sauteing (adding small squirts of water as needed to keep from sticking).  When the onion is soft, stir in the flour until well mixed. Stir in a little of the broth to distribute the flour throughout the mixture. Scrape all the contents of the skillet into a soup pot with the remaining ingredients (EXCEPT for the creamer and quinoa). Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Stir in the creamer and the cooked quinoa.  Taste for salt.  Serve hot.

Note: If leftover soup gets too thick, add a bit more creamer or any plain nondairy milk.

*****************************************************************

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S GARLICKY ROASTED LEEK AND CAULIFLOWER PASTA WITH KALAMATA OLIVES AND CREAMY LOWFAT PASTA SAUCE (can be GF and/or Soy-Free)
Serves 6
The roasted vegetables add so much flavor to the simple sauce and pasta-- you'll be amazed! Not much oil is needed for roasting the vegetables and the sauce is very low in fat, BTW.

Make ahead and set aside: 1 recipe Bryanna's Low-Fat Quick Creamy Sauce for Pasta (recipe here)
NOTE: Use the wine option in the recipe (can be non-alcoholic) and also the miso option.  Use the tahini also, if possible.
3 large leeks, or 4 medium leeks
12 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
about 8 oz. of cauliflower, trimmed and sliced to make about 4 cups
olive oil
salt
1/2 to 1 cup of vegan "Chickeny" broth (I like Better Than Bouillon Vegan No-Chicken Broth Paste)
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
12 oz. dry farfalle (butterfly or bowtie pasta-- can be GF variety)
salt and pepper
Go Veggie! Soy Parmesan or other favorite vegan parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut off the very dark green parts of the leeks (I save them to add to other soups) and trim away the root ends. Cut the white parts in half lengthwise and clean them thoroughly under cold running water. Place them cut-side-up in a large baking pan oiled with olive oil.  Nestle the garlic slices around the leeks. Spray with olive oil from a pump-sprayer  and sprinkle with salt.

Place the cauliflower slices in another oiled baking pan and spray with olive oil from a pump sprayer. Sprinkle with salt.  Add 1/2 cup of the broth.  Place both pans, uncovered, in the hot oven.

While the vegetables roast, heat salted water for the pasta in a large pot.  When it boils, add the pasta and cook about 10 minutes, or until "al dente".

Keep an eye on the vegetables.  I stirred the cauliflower around a bit-- the broth should evaporate and some of the cauliflower will brown, but add more broth if necessary to tenderize it.  I didn't stir the leeks-- they gave off enough juice to keep them moist and brown them and the garlic nicely, as you can see below.

Chop the roasted garlic and slice the roasted leeks:

When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it back to the drained pasta pot, along with the roasted vegetables, olives and the pasta sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in shallow pasta dishes with vegan parmesan to sprinkle on top.

Enjoy!

I haven't made Jambalaya for ages and I had a craving for it today, so, guess what we had for dinner?  I wanted to make a spicy Cajun jambalaya that doesn't contain the tomatoes used in the Creole version. I had all of the major ingredients for a vegan version at hand. In Cajun jambalaya, protein and vegetables are cooked separately from the rice, which is cooked in a savory stock. The rice is added to the protein and vegetables before serving. It's called a  "white jambalaya." (We could call this one a "brown Jambalaya", since it's made with brown rice.)  This version works best with brown rice, in my opinion, because the brown rice needs a longer cooking time and if you cook everything together, it might get a bit soggy.

In any case, it worked well, we loved it, devoured it, and were very happy that there is enough left for lunch tomorrow.

NOTE: This dish is easy and fast to put together just before you eat if you treat it  as you would a Chinese stir-fry-- which means, have all of the ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. For convenience, you can cook the rice the day before or earlier in the day, if you wish.


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S CAJUN-STYLE WHOLEGRAIN VEGAN JAMBALAYA
Servings: 5
NOTE: If you can't find Cajun Spice Mix/Seasoning, there are many recipes online for making your own.

1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice (preferably Basmati or jasmine)
2 1/4 cups vegan chicken-style broth (I like Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth base)
1  Tbsp dark sesame oil
1 vegan chorizo-style sausage (such as Field Roast Chipotle), crumbled
1 mildly spicy vegan sausage (such as Tofurky Andouille or Italian, or Field Roast Italian), thinly sliced
1/2 cup vegan "ham", diced small
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped (or use 1/2 a green pepper and 1/2 a red bell pepper)
1/2 cup celery, chopped, with leaves
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Cajun Seasoning/Spice Mix
3/4 cup vegan chicken-style broth (I like Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth base)
1 cup shredded or thinly-sliced vegan chicken substitute, such as reconstituted Butler Soy Curls, or vegan chicken-style strips, or vegan "chikn brest"
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 green onions, whites and tops, chopped

Bring the brown rice and 2 1/4 cups broth to a boil in a medium pot.  Turn down to Low, cover and cook for 45 minutes. OR, to cook the rice in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 22 minutes and use natural pressure release.  Set aside. PS: You can make the rice earlier in the day, if it's more convenient.

Prepare all of the other ingredients before you start assembling the dish.




In a large heavy skillet, or flat-bottomed wok/stir-fry pan, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat.  Add the crumbled "chorizo" sausage and stir-fry for a few minutes.


Add the vegan "ham", chopped onions, green pepper, celery, garlic and Cajun or Creole seasoning.  Stir-fry until the onion has softened a bit, raising the heat as needed, adding a squirt or two of water if necessary to loosen any stuck bits, and keeping the mixture moving.


Add the cooked rice, the remaining 3/4 cup broth, shredded chicken sub, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir well to mix. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, stir in the green onions.  Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 467 calories, 91 calories from fat, 10.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1153.9mg sodium, 596.6mg potassium, 59.9g carbohydrates, 7.6g fiber, 6g sugar, 36.3g protein, 12.7 points.



Enjoy!

We planted two rhubarb plants last year and this year they have grown amazingly!  Yesterday I picked several stalks and then had to decide what to do with it.  I didn't feel like making a dessert , so I decided a savory dish with rhubarb added for some tang was just the ticket.  Rhubarb (which is actually a vegetable) is used in savory dishes in Iran, Afghanistan, India (three cuisines which continue to intrigue and delight me), and also Eastern Europe, where it is often paired with potatoes (which actually makes alot of sense to me), and used in soups and even salads. Lots of inspiration here, which I may need if these plants keep producing at this rate!

Some time ago, I had seen a recipe from Bon Appetit magazine for rhubarb-stuffed chicken breasts and a lemony rhubarb sauce.  The sauce sounded delightful and, since I had just received a case of Soy Curls™ (see about this versatile  product, made with the whole soybean, here), I thought I could make a simpler, vegan version with them-- a little less sweet and using less fat, but keeping some of the richness to complement the tangy quality.  We enjoyed the results immensely, and the leftovers were even more delicious for lunch today!


Printable Recipe