Jerk Seitan

Another excellent dish from Vegan With a Vengeance! DH has decided to go semi-vegetarian so I bought him some seitan to try while I was out of town. He mixed it with bbq sauce and has become almost vegetarian! Go dh! I found this dish and decided to try it and we were both pleased. I loved loved the onion and red peppers and he enjoyed the seitan. I would add a serrano pepper to the marinade next time for more zing. I made the coconut rice- my first attempt at that- and loved it although the rice took a bit longer to cook than stated. Overall an excellent dinner with fab leftovers.

5 flamingos

Jerk Seitan
Vegan With a Vengeance

For the Marinade:
1/2 large white onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce (2 soy sauce, 1 braggs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg

For the seitan:
2 cups seitan, cut into strips (i left it as the chunks from the pkg)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded adn thickly sliced (i used a red bell pepper)

Prepare the marinade by pureeing all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until relatively smooth. There will be some chunkiness but that's ok. Place the seitan in a shallow bowl and pour that marinade over it. Mix to coat. Cover and let marinate for an hour.

In a large skillet, saute the onions and peppers in olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Remove the seitan from the marinade and reserve the liquid. Saute for 10 minutes, until the seitan has browned to your liking. Add the remaining marinade and cook for about 2 minutes to heat the sauce through.

Serve with coconut rice, sauteed greens, and baked sweet potatoes or roasted autumn vegetables; ladle the extra sauce over each serving. (we had steamed broccoli)

U Choy

I tasted a wonderful veggie at a Malaysian restaurant- U Choy. DH took me to dinner Thursday night at Malaysian Kopitiam in DC ( http://www.malaysiakopitiam.com/). I was pleased with the choice of veggie dishes/dinners when I had met a friend there for lunch a few weeks ago. They made an awesome veggie curry noodle soup and a very interesting salad- Achar- that was sweet/hot and included pineapple. This time I wanted to try something different and I found the U Choy stirfry. There was a choice of oyster sauce or garlic sauce and I chose the garlic. This was soooo good that I had to stop myself from picking up the plate when I was done and licking it clean! U Choy tasted a bit like broccoli, baby bok choy, and even a bit like asparagus. I found a picture on the restaurants website (http://www.malaysiakopitiam.com/menu_vegetable.php) and a link that includes a photo and description- scroll all the way down to the end of the page.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Cabbage.html

Has anyone else heard of this or tasted it?

Three minute baby bok choy

A very yummy quick dish. I found this recipe on the CL Boards but didn't remember to save who posted it or where it came from. My black bean sauce had chile in it and I loved the spicy spicy this added to the dish. A definite repeater.

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THREE MINUTE BABY BOK CHOY

Sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth (I used veggie broth)
2 Tbs Chinese rice wine
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp black bean sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
1 Tb vegetable oil (I used less)
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound baby bok choy, cut lengthwise into quarters

Sauce: combine all ingredients and stir to dissolve the cornstarch.

Place a stir-fry pan over high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic, and cook till fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the bok choy and stir-fry till crisp tender, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Add sauce and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the bok choy, about 30 seconds.

Soup Club

Still having Soup Club at work because of the freezing temps- It felt like Jan on Monday. I made a soup that could be served hot or cold and of course with the cold temps and no heat !! at work, served the soup hot. It was so delicious the first day with a lovely note of tarragon. On Monday when the soup was reheated the chile peppers became more assertive and the soup was equally delicious, just different from the day before. I can't wait to try this soup chilled (come on spring!!)

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Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Soup With Tarragon
Fresh Every Day

The roasted bell peppers give this soup an intense, smoky flavor- and also make it sweet. It's just as delicious served warm or chilled.

Serves 6-8 Makes about 2 quarts

4 tablespoons olive oil (I used less)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance and a bit less)
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
1 pear, peeled, cored, and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups chicken or veggie broth (I used closer to 5 cups of veggie broth)
4 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon

Melt the olive oil and butter together in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the raw bell peppers, carrots, onion, shallots, and pear. Reduce heat to low and cook the veggies for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until very soft. Add the garlic and cook for several minutes longer.

Add the broth, roasted peppers, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the saucepan and stir to mix. Bring the broth to a low boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Stir in the tarragon, season with additional salt and pepper if desired, and serve hot or chilled. This soup will keep, refrigerated in an airight container, for several days. It also freezes well.

Vegetarian Cashew Chili

Wow! That was a bit long between posts! Busy with spring break and just eating the new tried and trues. I do have 3 new recipes to post- all three are excellent. The first is Vegetarian Cashew Chili from Cooking Light. DH loves cashews and I thought this would help him not miss the meat in a chili. This was easy to put together and travels well according to CL. The vinegar added just the right note and I wouldn't change a thing.

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Vegetarian Cashew Chili
Cooking Light Oct 03

The ingredients for this quick-and-easy chili travel well. Place all the chopped vegetables and measured spices in heavy-duty zip-top plastic bags.

3 cups chopped onion
2 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (15.5-ounce) cans red kidney beans, undrained
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, undrained
2/3 cup cashews, coarsely chopped

At home, place first 4 ingredients in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Combine vinegar and next 8 ingredients (vinegar through bay leaf) in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Place in cooler or backpack.
At campsite, heat oil in a large Dutch oven over hot coals (or in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat if at home). Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Add vinegar mixture, kidney beans, tomatoes, and pinto beans; cook 20 minutes, stirring often. Discard bay leaf. Stir in cashews.
Yield: 7 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)