Puerto Rican tempeh sancocho

I work with two women who love to cook traditional Puerto Rican food and are constantly talking about what they make. Of course, this makes me hungry and dying to try to veganize these dishes. This is probably not entirely authentic, but very delicious and fall oriented with all the root veggies and corn. If you can’t find all the exact veggies here, feel free to add or subtract. Taro, winter squash and yams would also work well in addition to or instead of some of the veggies.

ingredients:
*6 oz ñame
*1 lb sweet potato
*8 oz yuca
*1 lg yukon gold potato
*2 carrots
*1 plantain, peeled and sliced
*kernels from one ear of corn
*1 c sofrito
*6 c veggie or no beef stock
*2 tsp of salt
*3 bay leaves
*1 TBSP minced ginger
*1 TBSP fresh oregano
*1/4 c fresh parsley
*1 tsp dried thyme
*2 tsp ground cumin
*2 TBSP black pepper
*1/4 c brown sugar
*1 1/2 c chickpeas
*6 oz tempeh bacon or just tempeh, diced

method:
*peel and dice all root veggies, except for potatoes, just dice those without peeling
*put all veggies, stock, bay leaves, ginger, thyme, cumin, black pepper, sofrito and brown sugar in a stock pot, then bring to a boil
*reduce to a simmer for about 30 min before adding tempeh and chickpeas
*let simmer until thick, stew-like and delicious looking, about another 30 minutes
*stir in salt and fresh herbs and serve

Easy samosas with pear plum chutney

I absolutely adore samosas, so I decided to simplify them by using puff pastry instead of making a dough from scratch or using filo. Since I saved so much time in the pastry department, I had no excuse not to make a yummy sweet an spicy sauce.

Ingredients:
Samosas
*1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
*1/4 c frozen peas, thawed
*1 carrot, peeled and diced
*1 tsp minced ginger
*1 tsp olive oil
*1 med gold potato, peeled and diced
*s+p to taste
Chutney
*1 pear, peeled and diced
*2 plums, peeled and diced
*1 serrano pepper, minced
*1/2 c apple cider vinegar
*1/4 c dark agave nectar
*1/2 tsp allspice
*1/4 tsp salt
*1/4 onion, sliced
*1 TBSP olive oil
*1 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

Method:
*Preheat oven to 450 F
*Heat 1 TBSP olive oil over med low heat, then saute sliced onions until well browned, about 20-30 min
*Add the remaining chutney ingredients, then bring to a boil
*Reduce to a simmer, then simmer for about 20 min until the vinegar is absorbed and the fruit is very soft, then stir in cilantro
*Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a stock pot of water and bring to a boil
*Reduce boil to a simmer, then simmer for 10 min, drain and mash potatoes
*Heat 1 tsp oil over med heat, then saute the carrots and ginger until soft, about 10 min
*Stir together the veggies, potatoes, s+p
*Roll the pastry out on a greased cookie sheet to fit the size of the sheet
*Slice the pastry into 16 to 20 squares with a pizza slicer
*Put a few tsp of potato mixture on each square, then fold over to a triangle
*Press the edges of the triangles with a fork, then bake for 20 min
*Serve with a side of chutney for dippin’

And the sauce:

Green tomato and potato au gratin

I’m pretty shameless about my love of daiya, I just thinks it’s awesome. The only time I have ever had potatoes au gratin before, though, was just that kind from the box. I never particularly liked that kind, but the dish sounded like it had potential for intrigue, so her is my version.

Ingredients:
*1 TBSP margarine
*1 TBSP flour
*1/2 c non dairy milk
*1 c daiya cheddar
*1/2 fresh oregano, minced
*1 TBSP fresh basil chiffonade
*1 serrano pepper, minced(or less, I’m nuts, so this works for me)
*2 tsp black pepper
*1/2 tsp salt
*3 yellow potatoes, sliced thin
*2 green tomatoes, sliced thin
*1 head garlic

Method
*Peel the papery outside from a head of garlic, wrap in foil and bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven for about 30 min
*Let the garlic cool, then squeeze out of the remaining skin
*Melt margarine over medium heat, then add flour, cooking until slightly golden
*Add soy milk and bring to a simmer
*Melt in daiya and add the herbs, serrano, salt an pepper
*Lightly oil a square baking dish and place the potatoes and tomatoes in 3 layers, slightly overlapping in a pattern of 2 potato sliced to every tomato slice
*Pour the daiya sauce over the potatoes, then bake in a pre-heated 450 F oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbley
*Let stand for about 10 minutes, slice and serve

Here is what the whole casserole looked like fresh from the oven. Golden brown and crispy on the top (just look at those roasted garlic cloves!) and soft and creamy in the center.

And here is what my plate looked like moments before I devoured it!

Tie-dyed soup

This is the perfect soup for when you have some extra time on your hands and are feeling a little hippie-ish. Very filling and comforting as well, so gimme a bowl of this and “Send me on my way.” I bet you could also substitute other veggies as long as you keep it colorful.

Ingredients:
-3 medium potatoes, skinned and cubed
-12 cloves of garlic
-1 can of chopped tomatoes, drained
-1/2 a bag of baby spinach(about 2 cups raw)
-1 tsp fresh thyme
-1 tsp fresh rosemary
-1 tsp fresh oregano
-4 cups veggie stock
-1 large leek, sliced
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
-Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes, or until tender.
-Peel and mince 3 of the cloves of garlic. Take most of the paper off of the remaining cloves, leaving on the layer immediately surrounding the clove. Place the cloves on a sheet pan and drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes until the garlic begins to caramelize. Let the cloves cool until manageable and then squeeze then out of the peels.
-Saute the leeks and minced garlic of medium heat until soft. Add the stock, potatoes and salt + pepper to taste and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree in the blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Separate into 3 bowls in equal amounts.
-Steam the spinach for 5 minutes, squeeze out the water and set aside.
-To one bowl, add roasted garlic and rosemary. To the next, add tomatoes and oregano. To the third, add spinach and thyme. Puree each mixture until smooth.
-For the final step, you need to get a helper. Pour each mixture into its own measuring cup or small pitcher, or just use the bowls if you don’t have enough. Pour the 3 mixtures into the soup bowls, simultaneously. Swirl the mixtures into a tie-dye pattern and serve.

Harvest vegetable soup

You can never go wrong with the perennial favorite, vegetable soup. This one includes lots of my favorite.
Ingredients:
Stock:
-1 celery rib, sliced horizontally and vertically
-2 carrots, sliced horizontally and vertically
-2 onions, quartered
-3 garlic cloves, crushed
-Peel of 1 onion and 1 sweet potato
-1/2 tsp peppercorn
-1 bay leaf
-2 sage leaves
-8 c water
-2 TBSP soy sauce
-1 tsp salt
-1 potato, cubed
-1 TBSP olive oil
Soup:
-2 carrots, diced
-3 celery ribs, diced
-1 leek, cut in 1/2 and diced, 2 inches set aside
-1 small zucchini, diced
-1 small yellow squash, seeded and diced
-1 cucumber, seeded and diced
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 can kidney beans, drained
-1 can tomatoes, drained
-1/2 cup pasta, dry
-1 TBSP olive oil
-1 tsp fresh rosemary
-1 tsp fresh thyme
-1/2 tsp fresh oregano

Method:
Stock:
-Drizzle the oil in the bottom of a slow cooker, then add the veggies, herbs and seasonings and water
-Cook on high for 4 hours
Soup:
-Cook the pasta, drain and set aside
-Saute the garlic in oil on medium heat until soft.
-Add leeks and sautee until green
-Add zucchini, squash, carrots and celery and saute until soft
-Add tomatoes, cucumbers and half the stock (save or freeze the rest, simmer for 20 minutes
-Add beans, pasta and herbs
-Frizzle the remaining fine slided leeks in 1 TBPS of olive oil
-Simmer for 5 minutes and serve, topped with frizzled leeks

Seitan cutlet with sides

I love seitan and veggies a 1950s meal type thing.
Ingredients:
Cutlet main:
(from La Dolce Vegan)
-1/2 cup wheat gluten
-1/2 cup water
-2 cups water
-1/4 soy sauce or tamari
-2 tsp vegan worcestershire
-1 tsp liquid smoke
-2 TBSP nutritional yeast
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp oregano
-1/4 tsp sage
Cutlet Breading:
-1 cup of crushed cornflake cereal
-1 1/2 TBSP nutritional yeast
-Flour
-Non-dairy milk
-1 TBSP olive oil
Gravy:
-2 TBSP Earth Balance
-2 TBSP flour
-1 cup vegetable stock
-1 cup nondairy milk
-1 tsp rosemary
-1 tsp sage
-salt and pepper to taste
Lima Beans:
-1/2 box frozen lima beans
-1 TBSP Earth Balance
-Scant tsp white wine
-1 tsp dried dill
Mashed Potatoes:
-3 red-skinned potatoes
-1/3 cup nondairy milk
-1 TBSP Earth Balance
-1/2 TBSP garlic powder
-1/2 TBSP dried dill
-Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Seitan:
Mix the wheat gluten and 1/2 cup water and knead for 5 minutes. Cut the mix in 1/2 and press into cutlet shapes. Mix the remaining cutlet ingredients, then bring to a boil. Drop in the cutlets, then simmer for about an hour, stirring and turning every 10ish minutes until the broth is evaporated.
Pour the non-dairy milk, flour and cereal + nutritional yeast mixture into three different bowls. Dredge each cutlet into flour, then “milk” then the cereal nooch mix. Then saute til each side is brown.
Gravy:
Melt the Earth Balance, then add the flour to make a roux. Next, add the stock and seasonings and reduce until thick. Add the “milk” and then reduce some more.
Lima Beans:
Heat the frozen beans according to the directions. Melt the Earth Balance with the wine and dill, then mix them all together.
Potatoes:
Dice the potatoes, then boil them for 20 minutes. Mash the potatoes with the remaining potato ingredients and serve.

Caribbean twice baked potato

This is just a for fun wacky take on a twice baked potato.

Ingredients:
-1/8 tsp cardamom
-1/4 tsp anise seed
-1/4 tsp ground clove
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/2 tsp allspice
-1/2 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1 TBSP brown sugar
-2 TBSP Earth Balance,extra to top
-1 TBSP olive oil, plus extra for brushing the potatoes
-Salt and pepper to taste
-2 large russet potatoes
-1/2 a bell pepper(about, I had leftovers of three different colors,diced
-1 medium onion, finely slice
-1/2 cup pineapple, diced
-3 slices of Ives fake ham, diced
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 habanero pepper, minced

Method:
-Rub the potato with oil, prick twice on each side, and bake the potato for 1 hour at 450 degrees F, turning half way through
-Saute the onions and garlic in oil until translucent, then add the rest of the veggies, the “ham” and the spices.
-After the potatoes are done baking, let them sit to cool about 10 minutes, then slice off the top and scoop out the insides. Mix the potato innards together with the veggie mixture and Earth Balance, then add it back into the potato. Put the lid back on the potato and cook at 350 for about 15 minutes and serve!

Those are some colorful veggies!

And the potatoes themselves:

saurkraut pierogies

I know I post alot about cabbage, but I can’t help it, I love it. So here goes:

Ingredients:
Dough:
Flour(1 cup per 6)
Olive oil
Water
Salt(1/4 tsp per 6)

Filling:
1 lg russet or 2 small whatever potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz. sauerkraut (recipe for fresh kraut in earlier post)

Method:
Mix salt and flour together. Mix in a little water, then splash in a little oil. Add enough more water to make dough. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch. Cut rounds out with a glass(I used a pint.)
Dice and then boil potatoes for 20 min. Mash with the sauerkraut, 1 1/2 tbps each caraway seed and dill seed. Scoop some filling into each round, then fold those in half and seal with a fork. Saute in about 2 or 3 tbsp olive oil, flipping often, until browned on both sides. In the mean time, super carmelize 1/2 an onion in olive oil. Combine and serve.

Or, alternately, instead of sauteing, deep fry the prepared pierogies until golden brown (as pictured above).