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

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!

New recipe for luscious Blueberry Vinaigrette (see below)

You can see over 100 color photos of many of the recipes in my new book, World Vegan Feast, in this photo album.   There are now twenty-seven 5-star reviews of "World Vegan Feast" on amazon.com. 

Blueberries are one of the prides of the Pacific Northwest and there is a bounty of them available right now. Sure, we can freeze some, or make jam, but it's so wonderful to be able to simply eat all of the fresh ones you can hold! Although I am trying not to make tempting desserts right now, I was sorely tempted to make a luscious blueberry pie, but I decided against it in favor of a blueberry shortcake. (I didn't make both-- trying to reign in the calories!) Besides, we (sadly) hadn't had a shortcake yet this year (DH LOVES shortcake!). We also had a British friend over for lunch one day and she had never had real American-style shortcake with the hot biscuits-- as good an excuse as any to make it. We had vegetables for lunch so that the dessert could be the main attraction!

  Blueberry Shortcake with lemon juice and zest in the filling, along with organic sugar; a bit of corn flour in the shortcake, and my homemade Almond Cream Whipped Topping (recipe here) from my new book, "World Vegan Feast"

Because I am trying not to make desserts very often (so hard when there's all this fruit around and pie-making beckons!), I'm looking for savory ways to enjoy berries (besides adding them to salads). One night last week I had to make a super-fast meal, so I got some Gardein "Chick'n Breasts" out of the freezer (actually, they were President's Choice Blue Menu brand, from the Great Canadian Superstore, but Gardein makes them) and made a quick savory sauce that was as delectable as it was fast. (Other possibilities for  the protein part of this dish could be my Crispy Marinated Tofu Slices from World Vegan Feast, or "Breast of Tofu" from my other books, or your own or Chinese mock "chikn" cutlets.) Served it with stir-fried asparagus and snap peas, on a bed of bulgur wheat pilaf.

PS: I'm off to Portland for about a week-- I'll do the Nutrition Facts when I get home!



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN "CHICK'N BREASTS" WITH SAVORY BLUEBERRY SAUCE
Serves 4
 (Other possibilities for  the protein part of this dish could be my Crispy Marinated Tofu Slices from World Vegan Feast, or "Breast of Tofu" from my other books (and recipe here, photos here), or your own or Chinese mock "chikn" cutlets.) 

4 frozen Gardein or PC Blue Menu (made by Gardein) "Meatless Chick'n Breasts" (see alternatives in recipe intro)
Cajun Spice or Old Bay Seasoning (homemade recipes for these here)
flour (unbleached or whole wheat)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1/3 cup dry red wine (can be non-alcoholic)
1/2 cup vegan "chicken-style" broth
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon grated organic lemon zest
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Rub the "breasts" with Cajun Spice or Old bay Seasoning all over, then dredge them in flour.  Heat the oil in a 10 to 12-inch nonstick skillet.  When hot, add the floured "breasts and brown them over medium-high heat on both sides.  Remove them from the skillet and add the onion and garlic, salting lightly.  Saute them until softened over medium-high heat, stirring often and adding a splash of water when necessary to keep from sticking.  (ALTERNATIVE METHOD:  While the "breasts" brown, place the onion and garlic in a microwave-safe casserole or Pyrex pie plate, salt lightly, cover and microwave for 5 to 7 minutes on High power-- or until they have softened.  Remove the "breasts" from the skillet and scoop the cooked onion and garlic into the same skillet. )

Add the wine to the skillet and cook over high heat until it has cooked down to about half its original volume.  Add the broth, blueberries, lemon zest and rosemary and tuck the "breasts" into the sauce.  Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning the "breasts" once, until they are heated through and the sauce has thickened a bit.  Taste for salt and pepper.

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I love berry vinaigrette and I wanted to make one with a hefty dose of fresh blueberries in it and not too much oil. I had read about a commercial blueberry and pomegranate vinaigrette, but I've never seen it around my neck of the woods, so I thought I'd add some pomegranate molasses to my recipe for extra tang (and antioxidants).  This one is delish!



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S BLUEBERRY/POMEGRANATE VINAIGRETTE
Makes 2 cups

1 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup aquafaba or Fat-Free Oil Substitute for Salad Dressings
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 large clove garlic

Blend everything together in a blender until smooth. Place in a covered jar and refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Spice Island Vegan told me about tasting the Gardein "Chick'n Breast" in a vegan restaurant in southern California and thought they were very good, so I couldn't resist when I saw them in my local health food store. I also bought the "Veggie Chick'n Strips". They aren't cheap, but not unduly expensive for two good servings (up to 4-5 servings for the strips if you mix them with other foods). UPDATE April 2017-- Gardein has been bought out my an American company and now we in Canada can only buy a very few of their products.

The "breasts" come already in a light sauce-- I got the Dijon mustard one. I saved it for a night when I was exhausted from working on the newsletter (I have had the computer week from hell!!-- corrupted files, disappearing uploads, internet service down....). I Just heated them in the microwave while I made a salad and cooked some orzo in veggie broth with mushrooms, green onions and choppped peppers (I cook it like rice, 1 part orzo to 2 parts broth for 15 minutes.)

The texture is pretty amazing! (Aside from the usual wheat gluten and soy protein, it contains pea protein, and carrot and beet fiber.) The sauce was very light, nothing exciting. If I buy this again, which I may or may not, I will rinse off the sauce and make my own. But we enjoyed it with the orzo.

Last night I used the strips (see alternatives in the recipe list) to try an interesting-sounding Palestinian recipe called "Chicken Fatteh" (I'm in a Middle Eastern cooking mode just now). "Fatteh" means that the recipe has fried bits of pita bread in it-- it can be a meat or a bean or a vegetable topping. I had some rather old pita in the freezer and thought I'd use some of it up in this and toast the reast for hummus dunkers.

So, here's the recipe:


Printable Recipe


BRYANNA'S VEGAN "CHICK'N STRIPS" FATTEH
Servings: 5

I used white basmati rice because I was in a hurry-- cooked 15 minutes in 1 1/2 cups water with a little salt. You could use brown basmati if you have more time (45 minutes). This sounds odd, but it was nice and garlicky, but comforting at the same time. I might add more herbs next time. My husband loved it! The crunchy pita was good.

1 large wholewheat pita bread, cut in little squares
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 cup (dry) basmati rice, cooked (see recipe text above)
1 cup vegetarian "chicken-style" broth
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 Tbs olive oil
200 g vegan "chicken" strips OR use about 2 cups reconstituted Soy Curls (2 oz. dry) (NOTE: read more about Butler Foods Soy Curls™  here.)
1 pinch nutmeg
freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups tofu sour creme (can be commercial or homemade)
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
Garnish:
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or chopped cashews
fresh parsley or mint, or dried mint

Heat oven to 400°F.

Heat the first 1/2 Tbs of oil in a nonstick skillet and fry the pieces of pita until golden.



Place in a 10" round casserole. Pour 1/2 the broth over the bread, and add 1/4 of the cooked rice and the one clove of garlic. Mix well.



Heat the second Tbs of oil in the skillet and brown the strips in it, adding some broth to keep from sticking. Add the nutmeg and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Spread the rest of the rice over the pita mixture and drizzle the remaing broth over it. Mix the 2 cloves crushed garlic with the Tofu Sour Creme and spread that over the rice.

Top with the Chick'n Strips.

Cover and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, just to heat. Garnish.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 320.9 calories; 25% calories from fat; 9.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 483.3mg sodium; 440.4mg potassium; 38.7g carbohydrates; 1.3g fiber; 2.4g sugar; 37.4g net carbs; 21.4g protein; 7.0 points.

Enjoy!