Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh from The Conscious Cook

L'Shanah Tovah!  Today marks the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  It is a time to reflect on the past year, as well as to reflect on life's blessings - friends, family and community.

Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated with a meal with family.  Growing up, I remember eating brisket, roasted potatoes and apple cake with my parents and grandparents.  Now that I follow a vegan diet, I wanted to capture the same sort of celebratory meal for my husband and me.  The exact elements of the meal don't matter as much as the intangible ingredients - care and love.  And, as our rabbi's remarks spoke about the importance of compassion, I find a vegan meal to be very appropriate for this holiday!  Philosophy aside, I also knew that getting home from services mid-day would give me plenty of time to whip up something special for us for dinner.

With all that in mind, I decided to crack open Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook.  In his introductory chapter, Chef Ronnen notes that his goal has been "creating vegan food that was just as mouthwatering and delicious as anything I'd ever had as a meat eater" and that "if you like hollandaise sauce, rich wine reductions and meat-like textures, you'll love these recipes."

I let my husband flip through the book to select what I was going to make.  I thought he would go for the Peppercorn-Encrusted Portobello Fillets with Yellow Tomato Bearnaise and Mashed Potatoes, but, to my surprise, he suggested the Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh with Smoked Tomato Sauce, Green Chile Relish, Black Bean Puree and Braised Kale.

This recipe has multiple steps and involves a lot of pots and timing, so I'll walk through some ways I multi-tasked throughout the two-hour (yes, you read that correctly) prep and cooking time.  If you're a beginner cook, you may want to pair up with a friend and use multiple kitchen timers.

Simmering the tempeh

The recipe has seven parts: pre-cooking the tempeh, making the smoky tomato sauce, making the black bean puree, making the green chile relish and breading, braising the kale and pan frying the tempeh.  The recipe is very clearly written out, so if you follow the steps as they're written, it won't be stressful.  Note that you'll have a lot of idle time while the tempeh and sauce are simmering, so I suggest doing a good amount of prep then, as the final minutes of the recipe will go by quickly.  For me, this included chopping the kale, chopping the onions and the garlic for the bean puree and green chile relish, and roasting the chile pepper for the relish. 

Since I was only cooking for the two of us, I halved the entire recipe, except the black bean puree (which I thought I'd use in a burrito or another dish).  I prepared the tempeh according to the recipe directions.  The broth, which included soy sauce, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, dried ancho and chipotle peppers and bay leaf, smelled fantastic.  While the broth was coming to a boil, I made sure to start chopping the veggies for the sauce.

The recipe said to reserve the cooking liquid from the tempeh, but I read through the recipe multiple times and couldn't figure out why it needed to be reserved, so I rinsed out that pot and used it for the black bean puree.

Another time saver was using an immersion blender.  Rather than putting the tomato sauce in the blender and putting the black beans in a food processor, I used the immersion blender to puree them.  I had better luck with the beans than the sauce (my guess, not enough liquid), but both came out fine, and this saved some dishwashing for us later.

Since we don't have a gas range, I roasted my pepper in the toaster oven, rotating it with tongs so it would blacken on all sides.

The recipe for the braised kale is in another part of the book.  I found it made sense to make the kale in one pan and fry the tempeh in the other concurrently, as the timing on both of them is similar.

Unlike some of the other recipes in the book, there's no accompanying photo, so I'm not sure what Chef Ronnen intended for plating.  I decided to do three "zones" - the tomato sauce, the bean puree and the kale, then layered the tempeh over the "zones" and sprinkled the top with the chile relish.

The tomato sauce definitely has a smoky flavor, and the black beans were surprisingly and pleasingly sweet.  Simmering the tempeh in broth very much improves the flavor and texture, and for once, I managed to pan fry something without the breading falling off.  If you want to simplify this recipe further, I think you can omit the chile relish.  I don't think it will make or break the dish. 

Sunday Football Lunch: Quorn Vegan Burger and Alexia Organic Crinkle Cut Fries

I've written before about my favorite vegetarian and vegan football eats, and I thought it would be fun to see what I eat on game days throughout the 2012 season.

Last week, I went to Rhino, which is DC's Eagles fan HQ.  They've changed up their menu (though the website doesn't reflect it), and added a veggie burger that's made with grains veggies and black beans.  It's a bit dry and was lacking garnish, so if I order it again, I'll remember to ask for some fixins and douse it in ketchup. 

Today, since the Eagles are televised and we're headed to Erev Rosh Hashanah services right after the game, I'm at home and thus able to prepare my own football food.  Since last week's burger was lackluster, I decided to prepare my own.

Quorn now has a vegan burger.  It's soy free and the texture isn't bad.  Husband was in the kitchen and helped prepared my lunch (it is unwise for me to be near hot ovens and sharp knives unsupervised during an Eagles game), and he thought that it smelled like barbeque.  I topped the burger with daiya, and garnished it with raw kale, grape tomatoes, red onion and german mustard.  Since our local market didn't have good vegan whole grain bun options, I ate it on Spring Mill Bread Company whole grain bread.

For a side, I tried Alexia Organics Salt and Pepper Crinkle Fries.  I was happy with the seasoning level and didn't feel the need to add any additional salt.

Vegan Hot Dogs at Bold Bite

When I was looking up vegan options near our place in Maryland, I came across Bold Bite Dogs & Fries, a new hot dog place in downtown Bethesda.  Hot dogs and vegan normally don't mix, but Bold Bite offers a Veggie Sausage option for all their menu items.

To be safe on the allergy and vegan side, I emailed Bold Bite over the weekend to ask what the ingredients were in the veggie sausage.  I got a nice response from Alonso with the ingredients: Eggplant, fennel, red wine, garlic, sweet peppers and gluten.

Tonight after work, I met my husband for dinner.  When I went to the counter, I asked about the ingredients in the arugula pesto, as sometimes pesto is made with walnuts and that would be an allergy debacle.  The gentleman at the counter asked if I was vegan, and shared that the pesto didn't have nuts, but it did have mayonnaise.  He then asked if I was the person who sent the email over the weekend.  When I told him that that was indeed me, he proceeded to show me how different menu options could be veganized, mentioning specifically that their Cajun Ketchup is a great option for vegans.

I went with the Veg-Out Show Dog: Veggie Sausage, diced tomato, red onions, lettuce, topped with crispy shallots.  It normally comes with the argula pesto, but I omitted that due to the mayo.  It was really good - the texture of the sausage was nice and meaty and seasoned well, and the toppings were fresh.  The fries were also delicious.

I really like it when conventional restaurants go above and beyond to make vegans feel welcome, and Bold Bite certainly delivered.  What restaurants do you feel go the extra mile for vegans?

I Am Jack's Human Science Fair Experiment: Or How I Learned That I May Not Be Allergic to ALL Soy Products

When I was diagnosed with a soy allergy in the early 2000's, I assumed that it was something I randomly developed.  After all, as a kid, I lived on terriyaki chicken from Yanagi Too at the Cherry Hill Mall Food Court.  However, when I was reading John Robbins' Food Revolution and Diet For a New America, he mentioned that in the late nineties, a new variety of soy that was genetically modified came on the market. 

The timing of the "new soy" piqued my curiosity.  Could I only be allergic to certain varieties of soy, just like I can't tolerate walnuts and hazelnuts, but I have no trouble with other tree nuts?  It's not impossible to follow a vegan diet without soy, but being able to eat the occasional soy product would sure be helpful.  So, I made a note to one day test this theory that I'm allergic to the "new soy," but not the "old soy."

Last weekend, I finally decided to bite the proverbial bullet and try some organic, non-GMO tempeh.  To be safe, I cooked it separately from some veggies, even using a separate spoon.  I ate it and had no reaction.  Not even a runny nose.  It didn't taste so hot, probably because I burned it a little due to my inexperience cooking tempeh, but it was improved the following night when I reheated it in a homemade tomato sauce.


Tonight, I had experiment #2 - Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick'n.  I was excited to experiment with Gardein because I've seen it on a number of restaurants vegan menus and I wanted to see if it might be an options for me if I eat out.  Gardein has both fresh and frozen vegan meet substitutes, and the ingredients actually aren't so scary - soy protein isolate, vital wheat gluten, pea protein, carrot and beetroot fiber, etc.  It's also got 17g of protein and 20% of the DV for iron.  On the sodium side, it's not too bad either - 260 mg without sauce and 325g with sauce.

I prepared the Gardein according to package directions, sauteing the Chick'n in oil on medium high heat.  The package said to use a non-stick pan and I definitely will do that next time, as a lot of the crust stuck to my stainless steel pan, but a little bit of wine and the sauce packet helped remedy that.  Unfortunately, that did mean that the breading came off my Chick'n, so I'll use our non-stick next time.

It wasn't bad at all - it reminded me of the chicken you get with Chinese take-out.  Granted, it's been about four years plus since I've eaten chicken, so my memory might be a little fuzzy.  More importantly, no sneezing, no wheezing and no upset stomach and other unpleasantness, so we can mark Gardein on my safe to eat list! 

Needless to say, I have been a bit like a kid in a candy store over the past few weeks, bookmarking recipes I had normally written off as unattainable (Tofu Scramble!  Tofu Lasagna!  Tempeh Bacon!).  Yeah, it's great that I've found food that doesn't make me sick, but I do know that a lot of the soy-based products, GMO-free or no, are still processed foods.  And, we're still not sure if I'm going to have a bad reaction to other soy products I haven't tried.  However, being able to eat organic/GMO free soy does give me a lot more options, especially when eating out at restaurants.  Also, in my mind, it makes it especially easy for me to really kick dairy products, which make me almost as miserable as the "new soy" do, but I tend to eat when I felt a yen for "comfort foods," like a bagel and cream cheese.  Case in point - I found a GMO-free soy cream cheese by Galaxy Foods that'll be checking out this week.

I am going to allow myself some minimal indulgence for a week or two, but also stick to my diet of whole, plant based foods - whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. I reminded myself of that tonight by having a small amount of Gardein and a big side salad of spring mix, red and yellow tomatoes and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  And tomorrow, I'll be having farro and fava beans with some veggies.

I'll try and keep everyone posted on other discoveries!

Vegetarian Deli at Home - Mushroom Lunch Meat and Almond Cheese

As I've noted before, as a good Northeastern Jewish girl, I've spent a lot of time eating deli food.  Clearly, as a vegetarian, I'm not eating corned beef, BLTs or tuna melts any more.  But, I did have a curiosity about vegetarian lunch meats and if they would be a passable substitute in a deli style sandwich.  To that end, I decided to make myself a vegetarian melt.

Some of the more popular vegan and vegetarian items, like Tofurky Deli Slices or Light Life's Smart Deli brand are off limits to me because of the soy.  But, Field Roast Grain Meat Company makes vegan deli slices that are soy free.  Varieties include lentil sage, wild mushroom and smoked tomato.  The only version I saw available at Whole Foods was the wild mushroom variety, so I grabbed that.

I had been eating regular cheese on occasion, but it's been upsetting my stomach more and more, so I'm cutting back.  Daiya has been a terrific option for me (in fact, I'll be using it in tonight's vegan cooking experiment - stay tuned), but I was curious to try a "nut cheese."  The raw food and vegan communities have embraced this type of "cheese," which has a similar texture to dairy, but healthier fats and no animal products.

At Whole Foods, I was able to pick up a shredded almond cheddar style cheese by Lisanatti Foods.  Upon closer inspection, I saw that the cheese contains casein, which is milk protein.  So, this cheese is not appropriate for those who are strictly vegan, those with milk allergies or those avoiding casein for dietary reasons.  So, you may, ask - why bother?  Well, like I mentioned earlier, I've been having stomach trouble with dairy-based cheese, but I was curious as to whether I can even tolerate casein.  Also, if you do a side by side comparison of one serving (1oz or 28 grams) of almond style cheese versus regular full-fat cheddar cheese, it looks something like this:

	Almond Cheddar Cheese	Traditional Cheddar Cheese
Calories	63	110
Fat	3g	5g
Saturated Fat	0g	5g
Cholesterol	0g	25mg
Sodium	190mg	180mg
Protein	7g	7g
Calcium	25% DV	20mg

So, there are some nutritional advantages here, especially if you're looking to avoid saturated fat and cholesterol.

With all that background, back to my deli melt experiment.  Our local market has excellent fresh pumpernickel bread, so we picked up a loaf of that.  I fired up our toaster oven and put in two slices of the  pumpernickel, topping them each with a wild mushroom deli slice and a generous sprinkle of almond cheese.  I let it go in the toaster oven at 400 until the almond cheese melted to my satisfaction.  Like daiya and other soy cheeses, it didn't get as gooey as traditional cheese, but it did achieve a decent meltiness.

I topped my open faced sandwich with spinach leaves and sliced grape tomatoes.  The taste evaluation?  Fell solidly in the "decent" level.  I wasn't swooning over it, but it wasn't awful either.  The texture was good, and the cheese especially had a good mouthfeel to it.  The biggest bonus?  No allergic reaction whatsoever, which, after a week where I've been particularly soy sensitive, was a welcome relief.

I think the deli slices will be a good addition to my convenience product staples - sometimes, I may not have time to make a proper lunch, so it will be nice to have these handy if I want to make a quick sandwich. 

Choosing My Plate: Veggie Loaf with a Side of Mushrooms and Spinach

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I was super excited about today's USDA announcement of Choose My Plate, especially about the recommendation to make half your plate fruits and vegetables.  Even before I was a vegetarian, I tended to have a ton of fruits and veggies with every meal, and, now that I've given up most animal products, I'm eating more produce than ever before.

So, I kept Choose My Plate in mind with tonight's meal - half a plate of veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 grains.

I decided to try The Field Roast Meat Company's Classic Meatloaf.  The "Meatloaf" is made from a variety of veggies - carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, garlic, etc., along with some whole greans and soy-free, vegan friendly protein. To prepare the "Meatloaf," you put it on a baking sheet, baste it with ketchup and let it cook in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  When it's done, slice and serve (and douse with more ketchup - it definitely needed a little more moisture).

For my veggie half, I sauteed red onions and portabello mushrooms in olive oil, then stirred in fresh baby spinach and fresh chopped chives.  I topped the veggies with toasted pine nuts and mozzarella style daiya.  Loved how the veggie mixture came out!  I am usually impatient with cooking mushrooms but I let these go until they really had cooked through, and it was worth the wait.  The pine nuts added a nice crunchy texture to the dish as well.

Linguini with Eggplant, Tomato and Vegan Sausage

Ever on the lookout for soy free meat replacements, I was happy to stumble upon Field Roast Grain Meat Company's products in Whole Foods.  Field Roast takes Seitan and seasons it with European style flavors to make sausages, meatloaf, roasts, cutlets and other meat-style products, all vegan and soy free!

I picked up two flavors of the sausage on my latest shopping trip - the Italian flavor and the Smoked Apple Sage flavor. For tonight's concoction, I decided to cut two Italian sausages into half round slices.  I sauteed the sausage pieces in olive oil until they were browned, then set them aside.  Then, in the same pan, I sauteed shallots and cubed eggplant in more olive oil, then added fresh garlic, two cubed fresh tomatoes and a handful of halved grape tomatoes, freshly ground pepper and two large handfuls of fresh baby spinach.  While the sauce was still coming together, I stirred in linguine to finish.

The fiance was willing to try vegan sausage after smelling it cooking, but he drew the line at vegan cheese.  So, I topped mine with mozzarella daiya, and he topped his with freshly grated parmesan.

Quorn with quinoa, arugula, and tomatoes

I've mentioned Quorn before as a meat substitute.  It comes in a variety of forms - patties, grounds, tenders, etc.

Quorn is primarily mycoprotein.  According to the Quorn website:

Mycoprotein is the main ingredient in all Quorn products. It's made from a member of the fungi family, which includes mushrooms and truffles, and is a high-quality meat-free protein that's naturally low in fat with very few calories. Mycoprotein also is high in dietary fibre, which is important for your digestive system, and has the essential amino acids your body needs, with no cholesterol or trans fats. 

There are egg whites in quorn, so it's not vegan.  But it is meat-free, so if you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian like me, I encourage you to check it out. It's also soy free, which means I can eat it without having an allergic reaction.  And, with 10 grams of protein per serving, you're getting 20% of your DV on a 2,000 calorie diet.  

Tonight, I threw together a super quick meal using the Chick'n Tenders.  I sauteed the tenders in olive oil, and gradually added chopped onion, tomato chunks, pre-cooked quinoa and arugula.  I seasoned it with cumin, garlic powder and freshly ground pepper, and stirred in some mozzarella style Daiya.  The tenders are spongier than chicken, but it's a texture I prefer to actual chicken.