Tempeh Sliders

Here's a delicious dinner:  tempeh sliders garnished with tomatoes, avocado, and onion with a side of waffle fries!  Recipe for the sliders here.

Potato-Leek Soup

A couple of nights ago I made a version of potato-leek soup adapted from Barbara Kafka and Christopher Styler's cookbook Vegetable Love.  I didn't expect much from it.  The recipe is simple, and I was really just trying to use some leeks I had in the fridge before they went bad.  But wow!  It turned out great!  Vegans, I'm sorry to say that, surprisingly, the cream made a fair difference, but you can certainly make this without it.

I didn't photograph it, because puréed potatoes don't make much of a photograph, but it was still quite delicious.  I served it with bruschetta (recipe and photo here), because we are still getting fresh tomatoes from the garden.  Here it is:

Ingredients:

1 lb. white potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 leeks

3 c. water

1 pkg low-sodium miso soup mix (to prepare 8 oz. miso soup...I used Edward & Sons Miso-Cup brand.)

2 T. organic heavy cream (optional - As many of you know, I prefer Organic Valley brand.)

salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Remove the green leafy end and 1 inch of the root-end of each leek, and compost the removed parts.  For the remaining leek stalks, cut them into ½-inch sections crosswise.  Wash them in a basin of water to remove any grit.

In a large saucepan, add the potatoes, leeks, water, and the miso soup mix.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer, covered, 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Working in batches of approximately 2 cups each, purée the prepared potato mixture in a blender.  Salt and pepper to taste.  (I used approximately 1 tsp. salt.)  Add the organic heavy cream, if using, and serve warm.

Swiss Chard with Potatoes

If you've been reading posts since this summer, you know I've had a ton of Swiss chard on my hands from the garden.  It's been my pleasure to try to find new and interesting things to do with this garden green, because we had great success with it this year.  Here's a delicious dish based on a recipe from Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican cookbook.  I served it as an entrée with a side of black beans and with garlic toasts, but you could easily use it as a side dish, too.



Ingredients:

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 fresh jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, deveined, and thinly sliced

1 (maybe 2 - try it both ways) medium tomato, cored and coarsely chopped

6 small red-skinned boiling potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch dice

1/4 c. water

3/4 t. salt, separated

1 bunch Swiss chard (about 6 large leaves), stems cut out and leaves sliced crosswise into 1-inch strips

Method:

In a large, lidded skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and jalapeno and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onion is lightly browned (about 7 - 10 minutes).  Add the tomato to the pan and cook a little longer to reduce the liquid slightly.

Stir in the potatoes, water, and 1/2 t. salt.  Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Mix in the chard and remaining 1/4 t. salt.  Cover and cook over medium heat until the greens are tender, about 3 minutes.  Stir to coat the vegetables in the tomato-y broth, and serve immediately.

Hillbilly Caviar

My friend, Pam, gave me this recipe.  She called it "Hillbilly Caviar" and said she got it from Southern Living magazine.  It's an attractive, healthy, filling, vegan appetizer, and it makes a very decent amount for a small crowd of 20 or so.  Serve it with scoop-style chips or anything that can be hollowed (like maybe thick zuchinni slices).

Ingredients:

1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can niblet corn, drained

1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (I used the fire-roasted kind of chopped tomatoes, and it worked very nicely.)

1 green bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1 orange bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped (white or yellow works fine, too)

vegan Italian dressing, to coat

something to scoop the caviar with (like scoop-style chips or any edible, hollow thing - see intro)

Method:

Mix first 7 ingredients, then add just enough vegan Italian dressing to coat everything.  Serve with scoop-style chips (or any hollow edible thing - see intro).

Fried Green Tomato Po'boys

Let me thank Southern Living magazine right now for this fantastic idea:  fried green tomato po'boy sandwiches!  I also based this fried green tomato recipe on theirs.  I made these sandwiches for a late lunch/early dinner today, and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with the results!  I didn't use rémoulade sauce, but you certainly can if you want.

Fried Green Tomato Ingredients:

½ c. all-purpose flour, separated

1 egg

½ c. rice milk

½ c. cornmeal

3/4 t. baking powder

heaping ½ t. salt

heaping ½ t. freshly ground black pepper

3 medium green tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/3 inch thick

canola oil

Sandwich Ingredients (per sandwich):

6-inch baguette, sliced lengthwise

2 slices fried green tomato

4 slices avocado

thinly sliced onion rings, to taste

shredded lettuce

2 slices red tomato

Tabasco chipotle sauce

salt and freshly ground pepper



To make the tomatoes, set up a dredging station with 3 shallow bowls.  The first will have 1/4 c. AP flour.  In the next bowl, whisk together the egg and rice milk.  In the last bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 c. AP flour, cornmeal, baking powder, heaping 1/2 t. salt and freshly ground pepper.

Heat the canola oil in a deep-sided cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Dredge each slice of green tomato in the AP flour first, then in the egg mixture, then in the cornmeal mix.  Place the slice in the hot oil.  It should sizzle but not splatter.  (No sizzle = not enough heat.  Splatter = too much heat.  Be VERY CAREFUL with hot oil!  Protect your skin and clothes!)  Fry each slice until golden brown, about 2 - 3 minutes on each side.  You may have to add more oil as you work through the tomato slices.  Drain the fried tomatoes on paper towels.

Once you have the tomatoes fried, the hard part is over!  Now open your baguette and layer up your sandwich like this or in whatever manner suits you:  2 fried green tomato slices, avocado slices, thinly sliced onions, shredded lettuce, red tomato slices, generous salt and pepper, and Tabasco chipotle shots to taste.  Close up your sandwich and get to work!

Scott and I ate them with cold homebrewed beer and finished up with a chocolate chip cookie from a local bakery.  Tres bien!!!

Summer Fruit Salad

Here's a simple summer fruit salad that was inspired by a couple of recipes I saw (one in Southern Living magazine and one in Martha Stewart's Living magazine).  They were both twists on the same idea, so I just took it down to the bare bones.  It's delicious!  This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1 pink grapfruit, halved crosswise (This way each section will be exposed in each half.  It will have the design of a sunburst, if you're not familiar with grapefruit.  Hey, some people aren't!)

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1/2 juicy lime, juiced

Method:

In a medium bowl, mix the mango, avocado, and lime juice.  Using a paring knife, make a circular cut so separate the grapefruit meat away from the peel.

Now, hovering over the salad bowl, use the same paring knife to slice each section away from the membrane.  You'll have to cut on each side of each section's membrane.  Let the grapefruit meat and juices fall into the bowl. 

Mix and enjoy!

Vegan Southern-Style Biscuits with Vegetarian Sausage

I previously posted the recipe for vegan Southern-style biscuits (link here).  Scott loves it when I serve them with Morningstar Farms vegetarian sausage.  Unfortunately, the sausage is not vegan, but if you put vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance vegan margarine.) and/or fruit preserves on them, it is still delicious!  You can serve them with pan-fried potatoes for a REAL Southern breakfast, vegan-style.