Thursday, December 31, 2009

Wednesday night dinner....

For my co-op meal I made Smoky Refried Bean Soup. The recipe is from fatfreevegan.com. It was quite simple and tastes great. I served it with some sweet potato cornbread from the cookbook How It All Vegan. I estimated the cost of the meal to be approximately $10 for both the soup and cornbread. Not to shabby for feeding 8 adults. And the ingredients are either organic or local. Enjoy!
Here is a picture of the cornbread. No picture of the soup though. Tasty soup, crappy picture.


And Claire's meal from Tuesday night. It was definitely some of the best comfort food I have had in a long time. I was sad to see the leftovers go. Creole blackeyed peas w/rice, collard greens and sweet potatoes. Delicious!

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Claire's meal for December 29

Creole Black-Eyed Peas (from Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen), Rice, Sauteed Collards

Creole Black-eyed Peas
(printer-friendly version)

This is so much faster in a pressure cooker, but if you don't have one, soak your peas overnight and follow the instructions at the end of the recipe.

1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried black-eyed peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon hot sauce (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke flavoring

Spray the bottom of a large pressure cooker with a light film of oil. Over high heat, sauté the onion until it begins to brown; add the bell pepper, celery, and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the black-eyed peas and water, seal the cooker, and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally.

Once the pressure is down, open the cooker and add all remaining ingredients except Liquid Smoke. Cook for 15-30 minutes, until peas are completely soft and thickened. Add the Liquid Smoke and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve hot over rice with more hot sauce on the table.

To make without a pressure cooker, soak the peas overnight in cold water. Drain. Follow the directions for sautéing the vegetables. Then add all ingredients except liquid smoke to the pot, along with enough additional water to cover the peas by one inch. Cook until peas are completely tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding more water as necessary. When they're tender, add the Liquid Smoke, cook for 5 more minutes, and serve over rice.

Makes 6-8 servings. For 6 large servings (not including rice), each contains 299 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (6% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 58g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 481mg Sodium; 12g Fiber.

Karen's Meal for December 31

Asian Marinated Tofu
(Vegan with a Vengeance, page 145)
serves 2-4

1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/2 cup mirin (or 1/2 cup red wine)
3 tbs. tamari
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tbs. sesame oil
2 tsp. Asian chile sauce
A 1-inch chunk ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tsp. hoisen sauce

Prepare the marinade:
Combine all marinade in gredients in a wide shallow bowl.

For grilled tofu:
Cut the tofu withwise into four equal pieces. Marinate for an hour, flipping over after 30 minutes.
Grease a stove top grill pan (preferably cast iron) with vegetable oil. Preheat over a high flame for about 3 minutes Use tongs to distribute the tofu slabs evenly onto the grill. Gently use the tongs to press the tofu into the grill ridges, to get nice dark lines. Cook for 3 minutes on one side without lifting, then turn the slap 90 degrees to create a crosshatched pattern on the bottom of the tofu. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip over and cook for another 2 minutes. Move to a cutting board and cut each piece diagonally across into two triangles with a sharp knife.

Punk Point:
Don't throw the tofu out with the bathwater; reserve your marinate and get creative. Remove the garlic and/or ginger and mix in a little water and arrowroot or cornstarch, then heat it up and you've got yourself a gravy. Or, use it to stir-fry broccoli or asparagus for a nice, fast side dish: heat up some vegetable oil over high heat, then add your chopped vegetables, pouring on splashes of the marinade as you cook.

Garlicky Kale
(Vegan with a Vengeance, page 120)
serves 4

5 0r 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tbs. olive oil
1 bunch kale, well rinsed and coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp. salt

Saute the garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Add the kale and a few splashes of water. Use tongs to toss the kale around, coating it with the garlic and oil. Stir frequently for 4 to 5 minutes.