Vegan and Vegetarian Sandwiches

Some folks cannot fathom what could make a sandwich good without meat.  As I said in my post for the hummus recipe, the secret is good bread and a delicious spread.  Then pile on the veggies to your heart's delight.  Here are some ideas for various vegetarian and vegan sandwiches (The ones marked with an asterisk are easily vegan if you check the bread.):


*1.  hummus with cucumber slices and roasted red pepper on baguette
*2.  olive spread (like you'd find on a muffaletta) with tomato, red onion, green romain lettuce, and sliced banana peppers on a hoagie bun
3.  goat cheese smeared on a toasted bagel with white onion, roasted red pepper, and and arugula
4.  pimento cheese (make this homemade by mixing grated cheddar cheese, mayo, and chopped pimento) and ruffley greenleaf lettuce on white bread
*5.  peanut butter mixed with smashed bananas on wholegrain wheat bread
6.  baguette split lengthwise, toasted, then spread with pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella, then run under the broiler


And here are some ideas that don't follow the bread-spread-veggie recipe:
*7.  falafel tucked into a pita pocket with green lettuce, cucumber slices, and tomato chunks, then drizzled with tahini-lemon sauce (I'll get you the recipe for this sauce later.)
*8.  veggie burger (Morningstar Farms makes a very nice garden burger if you don't have a recipe to make your own or don't have time.) on a sesame seeded bun with burger toppings
9.  grilled cheese on rye (with onion, tomato, and/or even jalepeno tucked into the sandwich before grilling?)...And American cheese isn't the only cheese you can use, you know.  You can even combine cheeses for a gourmet grilled cheese experience.


SO.  Now you know that vegetarians have puh-lenty of options for sandwich makings.  Here's to all the picnics you'll be making and the great brown bag lunches you'll be taking to the office now!

Hummus

There is a secret to making fantastic vegetarian sandwiches:  good bread and one exciting spread.  You need to have an exciting spread,  then just load on veggies to your heart's content.  Hummus is a spread that qualifies, and it can also be used as a dip for chips (corn, potato, pita, etc.) or crudités.

I'm going to share a recipe for hummus here that is based on the one in Mollie Katzen's classic vegetarian cookbook:  The Moosewood Cookbook.  Here's the 411:

2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas or ceci beans), drained and rinsed
1/4 c. plus 2 T. tahini (Tahini is ground sesame seeds, like peanut butter is ground peanuts.)
2 juicy lemons, juiced and deseeded
1 t. salt
extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, and salt.  Process until you have a nice texture (determine if you like it chunkier or smoother, and go to that point).  If the hummus is too thick, drizzle olive oil into the mixture with the motor running until it has thinned to your liking.  Serve the hummus as a dip with more olive oil and paprika on top, or spread it on a sandwich and sprinkle on paprika to taste.  YUM!

Hummus is often served with Middle Eastern mezzas along with things like dolmas, baba ghanoush, and tabouleh.  It's healthy and delicious!

Mayonnaise Rolls

Did that title get your attention?  Mayonnaise rolls sound like strange things, indeed, no?  Well, they are actually quite delicious, and this is one thing I use mayonnaise for even though I don't like mayonnaise, per se.  The rolls go really well with a soul food-type of meal.  They are yeasty and slightly sweet with a cake-y texture.

I got this recipe from my mom (Hi Mom!), and I'm not sure where she got it.

2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. mayonnaise (or vegan mayonnaise if you want the rolls to be vegan)
1 pkg. (or 2 and 1/4 t. if using a jar) bread yeast (This is for flavor only, not for rising.)
1 c. plant-based milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a muffin pan using canola oil, nonstick spray, or vegan butter.

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add mayonnaise (or vegan mayo) and plant milk, stirring until blended.  Evenly divide the dough among 10 muffin cups.  (Most muffin pans have 12 cups, but this recipe makes about 10 rolls comfortably.)  Bake until golden brown.

Homemade Mayonnaise

I have a friend, Jacqueline, who is from France.  I remember the first time I made mayonnaise at home, I was going crazy about how easy it was.  Jacqueline told me that store-bought mayonnaise was a novelty to her when she moved to the United States, because everyone just makes it at home in France.  Why would you buy it with a bunch of weird ingredients at the store when it is so simple to make at home?

I have to be honest about mayonnaise:  I don't really like it.  But I do occasionally have a use for it, which is why I started making it in the first place.  Now Scott makes it, because he does like it and will go through a batch easily if it gets made.  And Scott's not a cook...That's how easy homemade mayonnaise is.

This recipe is not mine.  I got it straight from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.  I hope she doesn't mind if I share it with you.  I should also mention that this cookbook has a recipe for homemade vegan mayonnaise, too, so if you're vegan, you should pick up a copy of her cookbook for that recipe (and many others).

1 large egg (I like to use free-range eggs.  Yes, they are more expensive.  However, the chickens have a better quality of life, and you CAN taste and even see a difference in these eggs.)
3 T. cider vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dry mustard
1 1/4 c. canola oil


That's all of the ingredients!  Aren't you amazed?  Here's what you do:


Put the egg, vinegar, salt, mustard, and 2 T. of the canola oil in your blender.  Start the motor running and let it go for a few seconds.  With the motor running, start drizzling in the remaining oil.  The mixture will change to mayonnaise before your eyes!  I never get tired of watching this happen.


Sometimes my mayo gets so thick before all the oil is incorporated that I have to turn off the motor and manually mix some oil in with a spoon, then turn the motor back on.  Either way, once all the oil is incorporated, turn off the motor and scrape every last bit of the mayo into a jar or container.  Refrigerate your homemade mayonaise, and there you go!

TVP Pizza

TVP stands for Texturized Vegetable Protein.  It's fairly bland when you first rehydrate it, but it's got a wonderful texture once you spice it up and put it in something.  This pizza is DELICIOUS.  I wish I still had some right now, but even the leftovers from this pizza go fast.

The crust recipe is basically from Annie Somerville's fantastic cookbook Fields of Greens, with only a minor adjustment.  It's simple to make, but it takes about an hour.  If you don't have time for this, use a store-bought crust, but I guarantee it won't be as delicious.  This makes two 14- or 15-inch pizzas.

For the crust:
2 T. cornmeal
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. bread yeast
1 1/4 c. lukewarm water (The best test for the temperature is to let it run on the inside of your wrist.  If you don't really notice it, it's the right temp.  If it feels warm or cool, adjust the temperature.)
1 t. salt
3.5 cups of all-purpose white flour, plus more for kneading and rolling the dough

For the topping:
1 c. TVP
7/8 c. boiling water
1 t. salt
oregano, to taste (optional)
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 - 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 handfuls frozen broccoli pieces
your favorite jarred tomato spaghetti sauce or a can of tomato pizza sauce

Toppings, as desired (e.g. kale, spinach, banana peppers, vegan cheese, whatever)

In a 2-quart bowl, mix the cornmeal and the crust's olive oil.  In a separate small bowl, combine the lukewarm water and yeast and allow the yeast to grow and become fluffy for about 5 minutes.  Pour the yeast mixture (You may have to manually scrape out all the yeast.) and the crust's salt in with the olive oil/cornmeal mixture and combine.

Begin adding the flour to the olive oil mixture, 1/2 c. at a time.  Stir to mix after each addition.  Once it gets difficult to stir, pour out onto a clean, lightly floured countertop.  Knead with your hands, adding more flour to prevent stickiness if necessary.  (If you don't know how to "knead" dough, you'll press in with the heel of your hand, then sort of pull the edge over on the rest of the dough and combine it using the same heel-of-the-hand motion.)  After vigorously kneading for about 5 minutes, your dough should have the consistency of an ear lobe.  If you pat it with your hand, it feels like someone's stomach, maybe.  At this point, pour a small amount of olive oil in the 2-quart bowl you used, and return the dough to the bowl.  Turn the dough over to coat it with the oil.  Cover with a tea towel or cloth napkin or something similiar, and put it in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 35-40 minutes.  (NOTE:  I often turn the oven on 200 degrees F for 1 minute to make it a "warm place."  Be sure to turn the oven OFF reasonably quickly before putting your dough in there!  You'll need to take it out about 10 minutes before cooking time so you can preheat the oven.)

While the dough is rising, mix the dry TVP with the boiling water, the optional oregano, and 1 t. salt in a medium bowl.  Allow this to stand for 10 minutes to rehydrate.

Heat the topping's olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, garlic, and broccoli pieces to the warmed oil.  Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.  Scrape everything from the skillet into the TVP, and mix.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.  (Be sure you've taken your dough out if you were warming it in there!)  Mix tomato sauce into the TVP mixture until it has reached the consistency you like for your pizza topping.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down with your fist.  It will deflate slightly.  Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.  Roll the first piece out to about a 14- or 15-inch circle or square, depending on the size and shape of the pizza pan or baking sheet you're using and also depending on how thick you like your crust.  Move the rolled crust to your pan, and spread 1/2 of the mixture over the crust.  Apply desired toppings.  Repeat with the other piece of dough and the other half of the topping.

Bake each pizza for 12 minutes at 500 degrees F, until crust is risen and browned.  Top with crushed red pepper or serve with pepperoncini, if desired, and enjoy!  However, remember that you cooked this pizza at 500 degrees F.  It is hot, so please let it cool down before you put it in your mouth!  ;o)

Tofu Gumbo

Monday night I FINALLY made that recipe for a vegan tart I've been going on about since Christmas, and you know what? It was awful. Who posts a recipe for an awful, awful dish? I couldn't even get half of my slice of tart down. Luckily, Scott found it palatable enough to keep from wasting it, but I did not!

The good news is that I'm going to share a delicious tofu gumbo recipe with you. A couple of weeks ago, I reached into the freezer case at the market to grab a bag of field peas, and when I got home, the field peas had morphed into a bag of frozen okra. I don't really cook with okra, but I remembered that a few years ago I'd saved a Kwanzaa menu (with recipes) that was published in Vegetarian Times that included tofu gumbo. Sometimes I'll keep a recipe for years before it fits into my scheme. I made THAT recipe tonight, and it was delicious. As is often the case, I didn't make it exactly the way the recipe read, so I'm going to share it with you the way I made it. Here goes!

Ingredients:
3 T. plus 1/4 c. canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced (ribs and seeds removed, of course)
1 -2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, with packing juice
1 T. fresh thyme
1 T. fresh oregano
2 T. fresh basil
2 bay leaves
2 c. vegan vegetable stock
1 t. salt
freshly ground pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, and tumeric, to taste
4 oz. frozen okra
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 lb. extra-firm tofu, water squeezed out, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I usually freeze my tofu when I buy it at the store and let it thaw the day I'm going to use it. This changes the texture favorably.)
NOTE: I served this over white rice, so you should also get some white rice ready to cook.

Method:
You’ll need 1 large skillet and one medium-to-large nonstick skillet.

Heat 1 T. canola oil in the large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion, celery, pepper, and garlic until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are soft. This takes about 10 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes, the thyme, the oregano, the basil, the bay leaves, the stock, the salt, a generous grinding of black pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, heat 2 T. canola oil in the nonstick skillet. Sauté the okra until lightly browned. (I sautéed it for a couple of minutes, then I moved all the okra to the middle of the pan and let it cook until the bottom was lightly brown.) Remove the okra from the nonstick skillet.

NOTE: This is where I started cooking rice according to package instructions.

In the same nonstick skillet, add the tofu. Sprinkle the tofu with a generous grinding of black pepper, cayenne to taste, a couple of shakes of dry mustard, and a couple of shakes of tumeric. Sauté until it, too, is lightly browned. (I did the same thing I did to the okra, but I browned the tofu cubes on 2 sides.) Remove the tofu from the nonstick skillet.

In the same nonstick skillet, heat the remaining ¼ c. canola oil. Whisk in the ½ c. all-purpose flour, and continue heating until the mixture smells nutty (3 or 4 minutes). Stir this mixture (called the roux, unless you are Cajun or Creole, and then I apologize for any inauthenticity) 1 T. at a time into the tomato mixture until it creates a gravy-like texture. Remove the bay leaves and discard.  Stir in the okra and tofu.

I served the dish over white rice with some awesome white sesame-seeded bread and vegan butter. Scott drank his homebrewed beer, and I had a glass of red wine, then green tea. I wish I weren't full, because I'd love to eat some more! The recipe served about 4 as a main dish.

Warm Kale and Potato Salad with Mustard-Lemon Dressing

I tried a new recipe from Martha Stewart last night, and I felt it was worth sharing. Since The salad is a nice change of pace during the late winter when in-season produce is limited. The only real change I made was cutting down the mustard, so if you love mustard, amp it back up.  Here's the 411:

1.5 lbs. small potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 T. plus 2 t. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly-ground pepper
1/2 t. mustard, or to taste
1 T. finely grated lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 lb. kale, trimmed, cut into large pieces, and rinsed well (I just used 1 bunch of kale...no idea what it weighed.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the potatoes, onion slices, 1 T. oil, and 3/4 t. salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with pepper, and toss to coat. Spread mixture in a single layer. Roast, stirring potatoes and scraping the bottom of the pan every 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until potatoes are brown and crisp (35-45 minutes).

Combine mustard, zest, and juice in a bowl. Heat remaining 2 t. oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown (about 2 minutes). Add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 6 minutes. Add mustard-lemon mixture and toss to coat. Cook until heated through. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt, and season with pepper. Toss with potatoes.

I served it with a side of Great Northern beans, a warmed baguette, and a glass of red wine.

Martha says the recipe serves 6, but I'd say that's only as a side dish. As a main dish, it serves about 3-4. Here's the per-serving info she gives: 268 calories, 1 g. saturated fat, 6 g unsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 48 g carbs, 389 mg sodium, 8 g. protein, 7 g fiber.