Vegan MoFo: Good Food for a Bad Day

Well, it's not really a bad day, but it is a pretty annoying day: I ordered a pair of rain boots a week ago, and they've only just shipped today--and we're having what feels like a monsoon; my housemates left so many dirty dishes on the counter and in the sink that I couldn't make my lunch without washing them first; the same housemates are now downstairs playing Grand Theft Auto very loudly, so I have to go all the way to the library to write my paper, despite the fact that it's pouring out. Hmph.

Well, at least my belly is full, and the ten minutes that I spent wolfing down my lunch were delightful. Plus, I have a recipe that's actually worth sharing! This dish has plenty of phytonutrients, but it doesn't have a "health food" taste. It's because of all the fat. Healthy fat, mind you.
Loaded Couscous
½ C Israeli couscous
½ C leek, sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil (omit if using sundried tomatoes in oil)
¼ C golden raisins
1½ C baby spinach
¼ C sundried tomatoes
¼ C kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. sliced almonds (for garnish)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the couscous in a large saucepan (I used my 3-quart, but 2-quart would be fine) for about 7 minutes while you chop leeks, olives, almonds, etc (I’m super lazy and I bought sundried tomatoes in strips). After seven or eight minutes, pour most of the water out of the pot so that only half an inch remains. Pour it slowly, or you’ll lose a lot of couscous!

Put the pot back on the stove, and lower the burner heat to medium. Add the baby spinach, and leek, and stir for a minute or so until the spinach shrinks. Add the oil (if you’re using sundried tomatoes packaged in oil, it adds a nice flavor to use the oil from the jar—if you don’t rinse the tomatoes off before measuring them, you don’t even need to add oil separately, you’ll get more than enough with the tomatoes). Add the raisins, tomatoes, and olives, and stir until heated through. Add a little more water if the couscous is sticking to the pan. Before serving, stir in the pepper flakes and the oregano. Garnish with sliced almonds. Serves two.

About 320 calories per serving, based upon two servings

As a bonus, it's so photogenic that even my camera can take a nice shot of it! Yum.

Vegan MoFo: You have given me cake when I have asked for bread and butter!

It's tea time!
Here's my vegan confession: when I first thought about changing my diet, I was planning on becoming 95% vegan, but allowing myself a little cheese at fancy restaurants every so often, and Devonshire cream whenever I went to tea in England. When I realized that I could be 100% vegan and be happy (and take a load off my conscious), the only thing I thought I would really miss was clotted cream. It's not that I have any special affection for raw milk goo; it's just that it's such a quintessential part of tea time. To miss the clotted cream is to miss the experience.

Fortunately, you can't actually get Devonshire cream outside of England--as aforementioned, it's made with raw milk, which makes it both not vegan and not legal. I grew up watching my mom make a substitute with cream cheese, so I decided to get out the Tofutti and see what I could do.

I didn't want to just add sugar to my vegan cream cheese. First of all, it's rather uncreative, second of all, my Mom's fake clotted cream was always a little too sweet and tangy--sorry Mom! But I admit, I didn't exactly do a whole lot more than that. Clotted cream is mostly fat anyway, so Earth Balance seemed like the perfect addition to mellow out the cream-cheesey taste of the Tofutti. A small amount of sugar evened out the sourness (is that a word? It looks misspelled), and a little bit of soy creamer smoothed it all out.

The verdict? I personally had to restrain myself from eating it with a spoon before my guests arrived, but I'm glad I did, because they both had two scones (orange-glazed from Vegan with a Vengeance) and positively slathered them with my clotted non-cream. One friend told me that she couldn't taste a difference between my concoction and the Devonshire cream she ate in England. Another friend, a self-proclaimed carnivore (he claims to be unable to make a salad without bacon grease. I claim that if it weren't for all the coke he does, he'd be fat), was still raving about tea time chez Gwenlet at a party a week later. Mission accomplished!

This isn't much of a recipe, but it does seem to be the magic formula, so it is with great pleasure that I share it with you:

Clotted Non-Cream
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance, cold
2 Tbsp. Tofutti Cream Cheese, cold
1 Tbsp. Vanilla soy creamer
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl (or large cup) until they’re incorporated. Mix with a hand blender to remove all the chunks. Let sit in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or more to thicken before serving. Serve with scones and a British dialect.

Vegan MoFo: Putting Out...

. . . recipes. The pictures in yesterday's entry were the most successful meal I've ever made. Of coures, I made it over fall break, and I spent about two and a half hours on it (seriously impossible in my current life), so I guess that makes sense. I could go on about why it's special--my family's British, I'm trying to get citizenship and move, British food isn't always vegan friendly, yadda yadda yadda--but I think I'll just give you the recipes instead.

Lamb-Friendly Shepherd’s Pie

2 C chickpeas, cooked
2 C Great Northern beans, cooked
4 tsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
3 tsp. Liquid Smoke
1 tsp. Fresh or Dried Rosemary, Chopped
1 tsp. Dried Thyme
1 tsp. Dried Sage
¼ tsp. Dried Mint Leaves
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 C chopped leeks
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 ½ tsp. Vegan Beef-flavored Broth Powder
¾ C warm water
1/3 C apple cider or juice
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 C frozen peas
4 medium-large Yukon Gold potatoes
generous ½ C plain soymilk
3 Tbsp. Earth Balance Margarine
salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Dissolve broth powder in warm water; set aside. Mash chickpeas and Great North beans together in a large mixing bowl until pasty, but leaving some pieces of bean. Mix in two or three tablespoons of the broth mixture, along with the liquid smoke, Bragg’s, and herbs. Set aside.

In a large frying pain, heat leeks and carrots on medium-hot. When the leeks are aromatic, add the bean mixture. Continue to stir it well; the bean mixture will stick to the bottom of the pan if you’re not careful. After a few minutes, when the bean mixture is heated through, add the remaining broth, the apple cider, and the tomato paste; stir well. Allow the mixture to bubble and reduce for 5-10 minutes, again, stirring to make sure that it doesn’t burn. When the mixture is thick and not liquid-y, add the frozen peas. Stir until they’re evenly mixed in, and then scoop the mixture into a 1 ½ quart baking pan. Set aside.

Cut the potatoes into quarters, peeled or unpeeled, and boil them in salted water until they’re tender (about 20-25) minutes, then drain. In a large mixing bowl, mash them with the soymilk Earth Balance, and salt.

Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the bean mixture, crosshatch with a fork, and bake until the top is golden, approximately 35 minutes. Serves 8.


Butter-ish Scotch Pudding

1 ½ C French Vanilla Soy Creamer
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
½ tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer
¼ C brown sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
Pinch salt
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance Margarine
3 Tbsp. Scotch
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Whisk ½ cup of the soy creamer with the cornstarch and Ener-g until they’re well-incorporated; set aside.

Combine the remaining soy creamer, brown sugar, molasses, and salt (since Earth Balance is salted, go easy on the salt—you won’t regret it), and heat on medium or medium-high, whisking all the while to be sure that the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, and when the sugar is fully dissolved, slowly mix the hot creamer into the creamer with the cornstarch.

Return to the same saucepan and heat, this time on medium-low, whisking until it starts to boil and thickens; it should take 5-10 minutes. When it’s thick, remove it from heat, and mix in the scotch (I used 3 T because I like it to taste pretty strong, but you might like to use less), Earth Balance, and vanilla. Allow it to cool, and divide into three ramekins. Cover and chill until serving (three hours or more is ideal). Serves 3 (obviously).

Vegan MoFo: Pizza!

Okay, my last two posts of have been really sucky, so I'll be more charming and interesting today to make up for it. Actually, I'm a little hung over (see yesterday's post), so I can't guarantee that I'll be charming, but I can give you a pizza recipe.

It's too bad that we associate pizza with junk food. Of course, it often is. Consider the average pizza-joint pizza: overly-sweet marinara on a nutritionally empty crust, covered in flavorless cheese that's inundated with grease. Yes, it's safe to say that too much Domino's will not help you get fit.

But who says that all pizza has to be like Domino's? Whole wheat crusts taste much more complex and interesting than ones made with bleached, refined flour. Pizza sauce doesn't need sugar or sodium. I put FYH cheddar and Tofutti cream cheese on the pictured pie, but it was mostly because wanted to use them up. I actually think that cheeseless pizza can be much better than pizza that's smothered in saturated fa--I mean, cheese. Roasted eggplants, fresh tomatoes, and roasted garlic are an amazing pizza combo that could only possibly be diminished by the addition of drippy, pus-filled cheese. But I digress--pizza topping preferences are as beautiful and unique as snowflakes, and therefore, I'll give you my crust and sauce recipe, so you can do with them as you please.

Gwenlet Piglet Pizza Crust
I used beer as a leavening agent instead of yeast here because I'm lazy. I'm also a college student, and beer is pretty much omnipresent. The vital wheat gluten adds a little protein to the crust, and makes it moister and springier. And everyone likes springy pizza.

½ C +1 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
½ C AP flour
1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
4 oz. beer of your choice (I like Sam Adams Oktoberfest)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the flours, salt, and the baking powder. Add the beer, mix it until it's incorporated, and then knead it with your hands. The dough doesn’t need to rise, but it’ll be pretty sticky (handle it with wet hands). Turn the dough out onto a cookie sheet (covering it with parchment paper makes the bottom of the crust nice and crisp), and flatten it with your hands, making an indentation in the middle for the sauce and toppings. Once you've assembled your pizza, bake it for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is golden and dark around the edges.

Yet Unnamed Pizza Sauce
Unlike a lot of tomato sauces, this one actually counts as a serving of vegetables, and won't give you hypertension. I like it on pasta, too.

2 tomatoes
1 red pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 + tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried rosemary
5-10 fresh basil leaves

Roast the garlic cloves in an oven or a toaster oven. Slice and roast the red pepper in a cast iron pan over medium high heat, until the skin blackens. Using a blender or an immersion blender, blend the tomato, garlic cloves, basil, and red pepper together. Mix the oregano and rosemary into the sauce, and pour it onto the pizza.

Topped with veggies and divided into three slices, this pizza comes out to about 210 calories per slice, low in sugar, sodium, and really low in fat. Does that sound like junk food to you?

Vegan MoFo: Stumped!

It's kind of embarrassing that I'm nine days (or, for me, six) into Vegan MoFo, and I'm already out of ideas. No, scratch that; I'm out of topics. I'd love to throw a vegan dinner party and write about that; I'd love to spend a day volunteering at an a farm sanctuary and write about that (that's actually a possibility, if I get a move on this 30 pages paper--but not for a few weeks at a minimum); I'd really, REALLY love to spend all day experimenting with original cookie recipes, but since I'm trying to shed a little weight/not get sick while the rest of my housemates are wheezing, that's not even a vague possibility.

So, even though I've been living off leftovers (supplemented with lots of oranges and antioxidant-rich broccoli to ward off the debilitating sickness that's reigning supreme in my house) and fretting about my reading rather than being brilliant in the kitchen, what I can do is give you recipes. Whenever I create something I love, I write down what I did so that I can make it again. Now, it's all nothing fancy; I'm not these people. But while their creations may be exciting, sophisticated, and gourmet, there's something to be said for cheap, fast, and easy, too.

So, without further ado, here's some schtuff I make:

Forgive the cutesy name of this one. I made this on a day when I missed greasy, drive-through Chinese restaurant Vegetable Fried Rice, the kind with questionable bits of egg in it. Fortunately, I don't miss it anymore, because I created something better:
Tof-egg Fried Rice:
1/3 C brown or wild rice
½ lb. firm or extra-firm tofu
2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. soy sauce
½ C. white wine
½ tsp. Indian black salt
pinch turmeric
2 carrots, diced
½ C peas (frozen is fine--I'm not sure I've ever had the privilege of using fresh)
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, crushed
pinch ginger
canola oil

Press the tofu. After it's pressed, mash it into small or stringy pieces, and marinate in ½ cup of white wine, a teaspoon of the soy sauce, turmeric and Indian black salt. Let it marinade for half an hour on each side, or more.

Prepare the rice as you normally would; set aside.

Heat canola oil in a frying pan, and add the garlic, ginger, and tofu when it’s sizzling. Stirfry the tofu to let it get as brown and crispy as you like before adding the carrots, broccoli, and peas. You can put in a little of the tofu marinade, too. Stirfry the vegetables and tofu for a minute longer before adding the rice, and possibly a little liquid too (oil is the obvious choice—water is alright too). Fry until heated through and slightly crispy, adding the soy sauce as you go. Serves two.


Roasted red peppers are my crack, and tomato soup is a quintessential comfort food. This is kinda like comfort-crack.
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup:
1 large red bell pepper
2 large tomatoes, diced
½ small onion, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
¼ C. water
¼ tsp. beef-flavored veggie broth (onion works well)
½ C seitan pieces
2 Tbsp. Tofutti cream cheese
1 Tbsp. Nayonaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the pepper into four large pieces, and place in a hot cast-iron pan or grill pan, and roast until the skin begins to blacken and the pieces start to get soft.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in the olive oil for two minutes or so. When it starts to look transparent, add the tomato, water, and beef-flavored broth powder. When the peppers are ready, chop them and add them to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring; then, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Uncover, and turn the heat on low. Using an immersion blender, blend until the soup is as chunky or smooth as you like; I like it really creamy. Put back on low heat, and add the seitan pieces. Let it cook until the seitan is heated through, two or three minutes. Remove from heat, and add tofutti cream cheese and nayonaise, stirring until they’re fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 2.


This is warm and spicy, but not at all heavy. It's a good food for sick days. Too ugly to post a picture, though:
Curried Carrot Soup:
2 tsp. curry powder
½ tsp. beef-flavored veggie broth
1 tsp. canola or olive oil (optional)
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cups light veggie broth
2 Tbsp. onion flakes
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ C fresh spinach

Saute or smoke the curry powder and broth powder until they’re fragrant (or smokey), around three minutes. When they’re done, add the vegetable broth, carrots, onion flakes, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Partially cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender (30-40 minutes), adding the spinach in the last ten minutes of simmering.

Reduce the heat. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it’s smooth. Serve with parsley, if you have it. Serves 2.

There. Now you have all my secrets. Promise not to use them against me?