Vegan MoFo 3.2: Slow Cooked Tempeh, Roasted Red Pepper and Chanterelles over Brown Rice

Much to my surprise I actually ended up using tempeh in our dinner tonight as I mentioned in the earlier post. This was a bit of shock since I typically can’t plan our meals more than a few minutes ahead. Since the weather has turned cool here I wanted something for dinner that was comfort food. This dish was perfect for a cool evening. Here is what I made:

Slow Cooked Tempeh, Roasted Red Pepper and Chanterelles over Brown Rice
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced (will be approximately 2 cups)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 cups fresh or 28 ounces canned peeled diced tomatoes
4 roasted red peppers, cut into strips
12 ounces beer (or you can substitute white wine, veg stock or water)
2 tablespoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoon dill weed (dried)
1 teaspoon caraway seed
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 ounces tempeh, cut into small cubes (I used organic three grain with millet, brown rice and barley)
½ ounce dried chanterelle mushrooms, soaked in 3 cups of water and drained (soaking liquid reserved to add to braising liquid)
½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup dry oatmeal
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or to taste
2 stalks fresh dill (about 2 tablespoons finely diced)
1 ½ cups brown basmati rice
3 cups water

Directions:

Combine the onions, garlic, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, beer, paprika, dill, caraway, dry mustard, black pepper, tempeh, chanterelles, and the strained soaking liquid from the chanterelles and simmer for at least 30 minutes though longer is fine.

While the veggies and tempeh are simmering cook the brown rice.

When you are almost ready to serve place the raw cashews in your blender with the dry oatmeal. Using a ladle remove at least 2 cups of liquid from the simmering pot and add that to the blender. Process the cashews and oats until smooth. I used a Vitamix for this and it processes the nuts and oats quickly. Pour the cashew and oat mixture into the simmering pot and stir to combine.

Now it is time to taste the mixture and see if you think it needs the red wine vinegar to bring a little spark to the flavor. I added a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. The vinegar does similar things that salt would do to a dish but without the deleterious health impact.

Nutritional Information (for 1/6th of the recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories 387.44
Calories From Fat (21%) - 81.28

Total Fat - 9.71g
Saturated Fat - 1.86g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 27.75mg
Potassium - 824.61mg
Total Carbohydrates - 60.31g
Fiber - 6.03g
Sugar - 6.62g
Protein - 15.32g

Comments:

This dish screams comfort food to me. It tastes much richer than it actually is. The flavor is mild yet complex. The sauce is creamy without being fatty. I think this is the perfect cold weather dish. If you are worried about this tasting like beer it doesn’t. The beer gives the dish a very mild background flavor that my husband was unable to detect what it was. Speaking of beer since some portion of the alcohol evaporated during cooking the calorie count is overstated by that.

Signing out:

We need to get our rest tonight since Binky (aka Nicco) is going to the vet early tomorrow to have his dental work and Dan is flying to Norfolk for the day. Hopefully taking the dry cat food up tonight doesn’t result in an insurrection this evening. Our children tend to get very vocal when their food bowl is low so I can’t imagine what they will do with it missing. Wish up luck getting some rest this evening.

I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday. Talk to you all tomorrow.

TGIF and a Mushroom Goulash

We have not had mushrooms in at least two days, can you imagine. What am I thinking? Clearly this mushroom deficiency needed to be corrected. I came across a recipe in my new book German Culinaria for beef and mushrooms. The recipe sounded very simple but also tasty. I knew I could make it with either tempeh or seitan. I opted to go with seitan sausage because I just happen to have two seitan bratwurst in the freezer. Here is what I did:

Mushroom and Seitan Goulash (Gulasch mit Pilzen)
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 large onions, finely minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before heating)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
12 ounce bottle of beer, preferably lager
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon thyme, dried
2 cups water
2 tablespoons mustard (I used Dijon)
½ pound mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 seitan sausages cut into bite-sized pieces (bratwurst or kielbasa would be best here)
black pepper, to taste
¼ cup cashew crème fraiche, for garnish
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced. for garnish
1 pound potatoes, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces (Spätzle or another grain would also work)

Directions:

Combine the onion, tomato paste, beer, paprika, and thyme and simmer until the onions are soft and the beer has mostly evaporated. Add the water, mustard, mushrooms, and seitan and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked. You may need to add water so that you have enough “sauce” to serve. Stir occasionally to make certain it doesn’t stick.

To plate, top the potatoes with the mushroom and seitan sauce, parsley and a dollop of cashew crème fraiche.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 335.59
Calories From Fat (23%) - 75.72

Total Fat - 8.37g
Saturated Fat - 0.93g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 458.85mg
Potassium - 1009.04mg
Total Carbohydrates - 40.14g
Fiber - 8.45g
Sugar - 3.3g
Protein - 20.96g

The calories are overstated by the alcohol that burned off when I evaporated 90% of the liquid during cooking. But since I can’t measure the amount that is missing I thought it was better to overstate the calories by keeping 100% of the beer in the calculations.

Comments:

Dan was shocked to see potatoes with dinner since I very rarely make them. His first words were, “what did I want”. Nice, right? Well once he tasted it he changed his tune. He gave this recipe a very enthusiastic two thumbs up and Dan is my biggest critic. We both think this would be a great meal to serve to omnis. Yes it turned out that well. I will say it is definitely better on a cooler day like today. We would not have enjoyed this as much in the heat yesterday.

Unrelated note:

I have had the most glorious day today. The weather was in the upper 70’s this morning until almost lunch time. I was able to turn off the AC and open the windows for the first time in weeks. It is so nice to have fresh air in the house. I had forgotten how lovely it is to have the windows open. Funny how a little thing like that can make such a big difference. A few different types of birds are in one of the big oak trees near my house and are very busy chirping to each other. I love the breeze that is blowing in the window on the back of my neck. It is just a perfect day.

I managed to get another picture of Masi with his eyes open. It looks like I was not the only one enjoying the fresh air. ;-)

After checking on my parents and going to the store I had the afternoon to myself. I made a quick collard wrap for lunch with red cabbage, lentil walnut pate, Dijon and tomatoes. It was quite tasty, but a little messy. Next time I will slice the red cabbage into threads to make it a little easier to eat. But overall I was happy with the nutrition and flavor of this wrap. I followed the collard with a fresh mango. This exactly how I like to eat in the summer. Nothing heavy just fresh food.

A few hours later I hungry. Undoubtedly because I had eaten a small lunch. To keep my tummy full until dinner I made myself a quick dish. I grated a medium zucchini on a box grater added salsa, ground flaxseed and nutritional yeast. The flax was for omega 3 and the nutritional yeast provided a cheesy flavor. It was a filling dish just to keep my satisfied until we have dinner.

Then I decided a tomato with a drizzle of good balsamico would be nice. I know Dr. Fuhrman discourages snacking but I don’t like to eat a large volume of food at one time and without snacking I don’t get enough calories. Funny, that was never a problem in my life before adopting this very healthy eating style. ;-) I am always fascinated by just how much food I need to eat to get adequate calories since I don’t rely on grains, oil and sugar. The other thing that strikes me about eating this way is that I never feel bloated or that uncomfortable fullness in your stomach that you get from eating heavy food. I always feel “light” even after eating a huge salad or bowl of soup.

The health benefits from eating this way have been nothing short of amazing. My unmedicated blood pressure was 94/56 this afternoon. I find that remarkable for a woman of 48. It feels so good to know that I everything that I put into my body is adding to my health and not detracting from it.

Nutrition conversation from last night I wanted to share:

Last night at dinner we got into a discussion about cooking and nutrition, and I didn’t start the conversation. Shocked right? I know, so was I. ;-) The conversation centered around two ideas. How long it takes to prepare healthy food and how to know what to cook since there is so much nutrition information that seems to be contradictory.

I will admit I spend a good bit of time making healthy food but that I because I make 99% of what we eat from scratch to avoid chemicals and preservatives. Any food that seems to be resistant to rot worries me. I don’t feel comfortable putting “frankenfood” into our bodies. However, even using only fresh food I can make a healthy meal in less than 15 minutes. It may get boring after a while, but healthy cooking doesn’t have to take a long time. Much of the time I spend cooking is coming up with new recipe ideas.

As far as what to believe regarding nutrition I try to make that easy on myself as well. If it is a whole natural plant based food we eat it. If it has been processed in some way I start to think twice about consuming it. I have no problem with frozen fruit and veggies provided there is no added “mystery chemical”. After that I become a little more wary. If the product has an ingredient list that is more than three lines long I am probably not going to buy it. Also if the ingredient list reads more like a science experiment it is also not going into my cart. I firmly believe that food that contains chemicals (which is most processed food) is not healthy.

So now you are probably wondering what I buy. Typically it is whole natural produce, seeds, nuts, beans, quinoa, brown rice, bulgur, and millet. I also have a lot of spices, vinegars, and sea vegetables. These are the things that I use to make our meals and I can make hundreds of interesting healthy vegan meals with those ingredients. I will occasionally throw in a little seitan sausage here and there because my hubby really enjoys them. But seitan is not required and could be easily omitted. Of course I do make my own sausage and store them in the freezer to use later.

Time for me to clean up the kitchen and make dinner a little after dinner soft serve. I think I may try to convince him to try a different flavor tonight. If I am successful and he liked it I will share the recipe tomorrow. I hope you are having a good evening.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage and Apples

This was another request from my husband. To make it healthier I used stevia in place of sugar or agave. Stevia worked fine in this dish. I added julienned apple for additional natural sweetness. This dish gets a big flavor punch from the cloves.

When you make this dish it is important to lightly cook the cabbage so that the maximum amount of nutrition remains in the cabbage. I cook it until the cabbage just begins to wilt and is still a little crunchy. Here is the cabbage dish I made tonight.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage and Apples
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
¼ cup water
2 apples, cored and cut into julienne
8 cups red cabbage, finely sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 whole cloves, smashed (or ¼ teaspoon ground cloves)
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 scoops stevia, or to taste

Directions:

Water sauté the onion until tender. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Serve hot or warm.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 107.16
Calories From Fat (5%) - 5.63

Total Fat - 0.68g
Saturated Fat - 0.09g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 153.67mg
Potassium - 806.84mg
Total Carbohydrates - 24.93g
Fiber - 8.44g
Sugar - 4.84g
Protein - 4.01g

Comments:

This dish was well received tonight at dinner. My father asked me to show him how to make it once he picks up a head of red cabbage. I would say this dish is omni approved.

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 400IU of vitamin A, 130mg of vitamin C, 150mg of calcium, 175mcg of folate, 75mg of phosphorus, and 50mg of magnesium. Cabbage is good source of calcium and vitamin C, which is always something I forget until I get the nutrition numbers from the cookbook program.

Unrelated note:

I am going to relax the rest of this evening so there won’t be any more recipes until tomorrow. I have a few errands to fun tomorrow but should have time to post a recipe or two before dinner.

Have a great evening everyone!

Herbed Whole-Wheat Spaetzle

This evening we had a very German inspired dinner. My husband, who almost never has any idea of what he wants for dinner, asked for beefy seitan cutlets, with spaetzle and red cabbage. Since I have posted a spaetzle recipe before, I decided to try to simplify the recipe and make it a little different. To accomplish this I added fresh herbs to the batter and it added quite a bit of flavor.

If you are unfamiliar with spaetzle they are little German dumplings. Traditionally they are made with an egg rich batter. They are added to soup or baked in casseroles with cheese. I substituted tofu for egg and used whole-wheat flour instead of white flour. I added fresh parsley to the dough for flavor, color and vitamin K.

Fresh spaetzle is a very quick side dish to prepare. Including boiling water I made this tonight in less than 30 minutes. I served it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil that I added just prior to serving. Here is what I made tonight.

Herbed Whole-Wheat Spaetzle
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons firm silken tofu, organic
6 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely minced
1 cup whole-wheat flour

Directions:

Heat a pot of water to a low boil for cooking the spaetzle. Set up another bowl with cold water to place the cooked spaetzle in to keep them from sticking together.

Place the tofu, water, salt, pepper and parsley in your food processor and process.

Combine the flour and herb mixture in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. The mixture should be the consistency of thick waffle batter. You may need to add more water if your mixture is too firm.

Place a spaetzle maker or a colander with large wholes over the pot of simmering water. Use a spatula to place a quarter of the spaetzle batter in the spaetzle maker/colander. Use a silicon spatula to force the dough through the holes. Cook the spaetzle in the simmering water until they float. Then use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked spaetzle to the bowl of cold water. Continue making spaetzle until the dough is gone.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 122.86
Calories From Fat (5%) - 5.68

Total Fat - 0.65g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 298.31mg
Potassium - 79.98mg
Total Carbohydrates - 24.53g
Fiber - 1.05g
Sugar - 0.26g
Protein - 4.16g

Comments:

The parsley added a nice flavor to the spaetzle. In fact I liked it so much I don’t know that I will make the plain version very often in the future. Adding parsley to spaetzle worked so well, I will be trying other variations in the future.

Each serving of spaetzle contains approximately 300IU of vitamin A, 60mcg of folate, 60mcg of vitamin K, and 10mcg of selenium.

Unrelated note:

Next I am going to be posting my healthier version of sweet and sour cabbage.

German Inspired Beet and Apple Relish

(pictured: Seitan paillard with beet and apple relish)

My 80-year-old parents like my seitan, which still blows my mind. They seem to prefer it when I make meals with the seitan, as it more closely resembles the meals they are accustomed to. Tonight we had the seitan paillards from yesterday topped with a German inspired relish. This relish has a lot of flavor, which is a nice counterpoint to the subtle flavors of the seitan and creamed cabbage and spinach.

To reheat the seitan paillards, I place them in my cast iron skillet with a couple of tablespoons of water and turn the fire to high. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for a few minutes until the water evaporates (the sound coming from the skillet will change to tell you to uncover the seitan). This will happen in less than 5 minutes. Now cook the cutlets uncovered, on both sides to recrisp them.

The relish is meant to add a pop of flavor and color to the plate. I combined classic German flavors in an unexpected way to make the relish. Here is what I did.

German Inspired Beet and Apple Relish
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium beet, finely diced
1 apple, finely diced
¼ red onion finely diced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ tablespoon walnut oil
1 tablespoon apple cider
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced

Directions:

Place the diced beet in ice water. Allow the beet to sit in the water for 10 minutes to pull the excess color from the beet. This will keep the entire relish from turning fuchsia. Thoroughly drain the beet of water before the next step.

Combine the beet, apple and onion and stir to combine. Whisk together the mustard, walnut oil, and apple cider. Stir the dressing into the relish. Add the fresh dill and refrigerate until needed.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 40.13
Calories From Fat (29%) - 11.74

Total Fat - 1.34g
Saturated Fat - 0.12g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 42.66mg
Potassium - 91.88mg
Total Carbohydrates - 7.31g
Fiber - 1.43g
Sugar - 4.79g
Protein - 0.49g

Comments:

The most dominant flavor in this relish is the raw onion. Make certain you cut it finely and evenly distribute it throughout the relish. If you think your onion is too pungent soak it in water for 10 minutes or so to pull out some of the sulfur. I prefer the acrid punch of flavor from the onion but I am odd like that. The secondary flavor is apple, followed by walnut oil. The beet, dill and mustard flavors are more background notes that are not as easy to identify.

No one could pick up all the specific flavors in this relish tonight. The hubby, not a big onion or mustard fan, liked it and told me he would gladly eat it again.

Now I am off to finalize the Thanksgiving menu and check the pantry to see if I need to run to the grocery store tomorrow. I will post the menu and timeline as soon as it is ready and the individual recipes as I make then. For big meals like Thanksgiving I try to start cooking a few days before the actual meal. By precooking some the dishes I avoid the dreaded "chaotic day of cooking" that happens in many homes.

I hope you all have a great evening!

German Inspired Kale Soup with Whole Wheat Spaetzle

After canning a bushel of peaches today I really wasn’t much in the mood for cooking tonight, so I made soup. This is one of those clean out the refrigerator meals (like most soups) but it is different since it is flavored with German herbs. The German influence was driven by the desire to use the seitan beer brats. Once I had decided to make a German type of soup then I knew I wanted to make spaetzle.

Before today I had not made spaetzle without egg so I wasn’t quite certain it would work. My first attempt didn’t use tofu and the spaetzle texture wasn’t right. In fact, I hated the texture and immediately through it away. After considering the composition of egg (protein and fat) I decided to try the silken tofu and tahini dip I had in the refrigerator in place of egg. That substitution made a huge difference in the texture. The other change I made was to make the dough texture thicker (like a stiff waffle batter) and that should have also helped. Next time the only change I would make would be to add a little onion and garlic powder to the dough to give it more flavor, beyond that I think the recipe is perfect.

German Inspired Kale Soup with Whole Wheat Spaetzle
Serves 6

Soup Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3 leeks, finely chopped
3 green onion, finely chopped
6 carrots, finely diced
1 bok choy, finely shredded (or green cabbage)
10 kale leaves, finely shredded
8 cups of water (or enough to cover the vegetables)
1 ½ teaspoons of caraway seeds
½ teaspoon of poppy seeds
½ teaspoon of dry mustard
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
3 seitan beer brats, cut in half lengthwise, sliced into ½ moons

Spaetzle Ingredients:

1 cup of whole wheat flour
6 tablespoons of silken tofu, tahini, garlic sauce
6 tablespoons of water
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon of dry mustard

Directions:

Sauté the leeks, green onion, and carrot in the olive oil until tender. Add the remaining soup ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup simmers make the spaetzle. Bring a pot of water to the bowl while you make the dough.

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and dry mustard and whisks to combine. Add the tofu and stir with a fork to combine. Add the water a tablespoon at a time, stirring with each addition until the dough resembles a waffle batter.

Using a spaetzle maker, large holed grater or strainer, scrape ¼ of the dough to the top of the spaetzle maker. Use a silicon spatula to press the dough through the maker and into the boiling water. The spaetzle will fall to the bottom of the pot and will rise when they are cooked (about a minute). Remove the floating spaetzle with a strainer to a bowl of cold water to keep them from sticking together. Continue making spaetzle using one quarter of the dough at a time until you are finished.

To serve the soup, place the hot vegetables and broth in the bottom of the bowl and top with spaetzle. The hot soup will warm the spaetzle. You don’t want them to cook the second time in the soup or they will be overcooked and mushy.

Refrigerate the soup and spaetzle separately so the spaetzle do not get water logged.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 323.6
Calories From Fat (16%) - 53.18

Total Fat - 6.1g
Saturated Fat - 0.83g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1089.28mg
Potassium - 1039.96mg
Total Carbohydrates - 46.19g
Fiber - 7.23g
Sugar - 8.35g
Protein - 22.94g

Comments:

Much to my surprise my husband loved this soup. This was unexpected since he isn’t thrilled by kale and doesn’t like vinegar. When I asked what he liked about dinner tonight he told me it was caraway since I don’t normally cook with it.

Seitan Beer Brats with Sauerkraut and Baked Potatoes

My German heritage husband is not overly fond of sauerkraut. This fact is still one of those things that makes me go, huh? What kind of German doesn’t like sauerkraut? I love the stuff so I have devised a way that we can both enjoy the sauerkraut.

If I soak the sauerkraut in a bowl of water for a few minutes and then strain it, rinse it and soak and rinse it a second time then my husband likes sauerkraut. Additionally, soaking and rinsing removes most of the salt from the sauerkraut making the dish healthier. I add a few common German spices to this dish to make up for the reduction in saltiness.

Seitan Beer Brats with Sauerkraut and Baked Potatoes
Serves 2

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
28 ounces of sauerkraut, drained and rinsed of excess sodium
1 teaspoon of caraway
1 teaspoon of dill weed (dried)
½ teaspoon of fennel seed
½ teaspoon of sweet paprika
½ cup of water, white wine or beer
2 seitan beer brats
pan spray
2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 4 ounces each)
4 tablespoons of silken tofu, tahini, garlic sauce or tofu sour cream

Directions:

Sauté the onion in olive oil until tender. Add the remaining ingredients, except the seitan beer brats and simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes.

Scrub the potatoes and pierce them with a paring knife so they don’t explode in the microwave. Cook until tender. Time will depend on the wattage of your microwave.

Cut the brats on the bias into ½ inch slices. Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium low heat. Spray the pan with cooking spray and add the brat slices. Cook the brat slices on the first side until they are brown and a little crisp (about 3 minutes). Spray the top of the brats before you turn them so that the oiled side will be down. Cook the second side it is also a little crisp. Remove from the pan and keep warm until ready to serve.

To serve, put the sauerkraut on the bottom and top with the crispy brat slices. Garnish the potatoes with a dollop of tofu tahini garlic sauce or tofu sour cream.

If you make this earlier in the day (or your husband is running late as mine was) you can hold everything in a 200 degree oven until you are ready to serve. If you need to do this, I would suggest that you add the bratwurst to the sauerkraut so that it stays more moist. The presentation won't be as pretty but the texture of the brat will be better.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 519.81
Calories From Fat (19%) - 100.91

Total Fat - 11.46g
Saturated Fat - 1.59g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1471.34mg
Potassium - 1682.41mg
Total Carbohydrates - 65.64g
Fiber - 15.28g
Sugar - 8.79g
Protein - 38.38g

The sodium in the statistics above is overstated. I could only find numbers for drained low sodium sauerkraut. I feel certain by soaking and draining the sauerkraut the majority of the sodium is rinsed away.

Comments:

We enjoyed this meal tonight. It was very filling and satisfying on a stormy night as tropical storm/depression (whatever it is now) Danny is coming up the east coast.

Update:

I have changed my mind on the brats after breakfast this morning. I would recommend stirring the crisped brats into the sauerkraut so that they are more moist. After having our brats simmered this morning I now think simmered is definitely the way to go.