Chick*n

One of the blogs that I follow - Vegan Dance if You Want To - recently posted a link to a brand of vegan chicken that she recommends. She also commented on the 'mysterious pink mechanically seperated meat' that any and everyone on Facebook has seen. Nasty!

While I have eaten this brand before, Gardeins, it is not available in Denmark. We do have some interesting replacements here though.

I am a fan of a brand called goodsoy. They sell dried soy products. I especially love them because they have an incredibly long shelf life, come in a variety of sizes (crumbles, bites, nuggets, fillets, etc.) and come back to life with a bit of veggie broth. I have bought the 'steak' variation as well. Same flavor, different color.

Here are a few meals I have made using the goodsoy dried soy products.

Chick*n Parmesan: Noodles, fillets breaded in breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, and seasonings, tomato sauce and shredded vegan mozzarella.

Super Easy Vegan Chili (soygood crumbles)

Breaded fillets: breadcrumbs and seasonings

'Veef' Stew

John made dinner tonight! I suggested a vegan beef stew to use up the 'Veef' that we had in our freezer. I Googled and found this recipe, although it was incomplete. John said it listed several ingredients that were never in the instructions. I guess it was not difficult to figure out when to add them but still annoying no less.

We used shallots instead of onions and sweet potatoes and no celery seed. Here is the recipe. It really was excellent. Very hearty and flavorful and filling!

Happy New Year!

This was the view from our patio last night! Hundreds of people were setting off fireworks all over the city for hours!

This poor blog has sat neglected for far too long. I have been taking pictures of nice meals I have made; they just have not made it up! Eventually I will catch up, or more likely, not even try! But I am going to start posting more regularly!

...starting with our New Years Eve dinner. We had a frozen piece of 'salmon' that I just kept putting off. I guess mainly because I had no idea what to do with it.

We finally decided it would be nice pan fried with jasmine rice and Hollandaise sauce. On the side, roasted Brussels sprouts in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The sauce was great. The 'salmon' was what I expected. It was covered in a layer of seaweed to give it a fish-like flavor. Appearance wise, it looked just like salmon. But it was mushy and had that universal 'fake meat' flavor. I would have no problem eating it again, but it will not make it into a permanent rotation around here.  

Thai Green Curry - 2 ways

We make different varieties of Thai curry for dinner at least a few times per week, so we buy the curry paste in large quantities. Recently we ran out of green curry paste and replenished our stock from the Asian market. I was so irritated to realize, after getting it home and cooking with it one time, that this brand contained shrimp paste! Fortunately, the market also carries a brand that is vegan and my friend Miriam was more than happy to take the other off my hands.

We generally make the curry sauce the same: green curry paste, coconut milk, a little vegetarian stir fry sauce, and a little palm sugar. Sometimes a splash of Mirin or soy, sometimes extra ginger and garlic. The veggies are typically onion, bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, and whatever else seems good at the time.

The most recent variations:

Red Rice and 'Veef' (vegetarian beef)

Noodles and Vegan Shrimp

Manhattan Glam Chowder with Tomato-Parmesan Crackers

This recipe has been on my mind since I bought the Appetite for Reduction cookbook. I have never in my life eaten clam chowder so it isn't because I miss the 'real thing'. For some reason, it just appealed to me.

I did learn that Manhattan Clam Chowder is tomato based and New England is the creamy version. I am definitely a fan of a thin, veggie flavor over a heavy creamy one.

The soup was great, the texture was fun (the 'clams' are chewy shitake mushrooms and the 'ocean' flavor comes from nori sheets!) and the crackers added a nice crunch. I followed this recipe but used 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup fine corn meal. I added dried tomato flakes and sesame parmesan to the mix.

On the side, mixed greens, sunflower seeds, marinated red peppers, garlic and olives, and the leftover roasted veggies and chickpeas from dinner a few nights ago. 

Vegan Eating in Malmö, Sweden

John and I recently spent a long weekend in Malmö, Sweden. It is a little over a three hour train ride from Aarhus, Denmark (where we live). We took our bikes, crashed at a friend's apartment, and enjoyed the surprisingly perfect weather all weekend.

Before starting the trip, we checkout out the Happy Cow website and were so relieved to find a variety of vegan restaurants and health food stores. I give Malmö a thumbs up for vegan friendly city.

For breakfast, Chez Madame was a great choice. It had a granola, fruit, salad, and baked goods type buffet. They also make a heavenly soy latte.

I can't say enough about the vegan pizza at Pizzeria Algarve. We each got a pizza - taco for me, kabob for John - and devoured it. The menu has so many choices and they have homemade sauces to go with each. Without question, this is the best vegan pizza I have ever eaten, in the world.

Here is my taco pizza...

...including melty cheese. 

And the unique kabob pizza. They even have a huge chunk of 'meat' on a big stick that they shave off for the pizza. So authentic. 

We had dinner at Vegegarden one night. We decided to order the pre-set "Dinner for two" menu, which was delicious but way too much food!

On our way to the train station to head home, we stopped at Astrid and Aporna to pick up some supplies. They had a huge selection of vegan meats, cheeses, and goodies. 

Licorice, chocolate, and cookies:

Instant soup (lunch for me on days when I can't stomach the canteen) and rice mayo:

New soy cheeses to try (Mozzerella, Blue, Edam, and White Cheddar):

A smorgasbord of vegan meats (Veef, chicken nuggets, salmon, shrimp, and Tzay: something made by monks):

And dried soy nuggets in a variety of sizes and colors (brown for beef, strips, nuggets and wafers):

 

Courico Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Last time I was in the U.S. I bought two jars of chipotles in adobo sauce (Embasa brand) because they are impossible to find here in DK. Now, I am really stingy about using them because I want them to last! But, this recipe has been one I have wanted to try for a long time.

Here is the recipe.

We do not have a grill, so we just sauted the pineapple for a while, letting the outsides brown a little.

Instead of wrapping it all up in tortillas, we opted for taco salad style with tortilla chips. The courico is very spicy but in a smokey, vinegary, and sweet way. We had a little avocado on the side to cool things down!

Chilean Corn and Un-Turkey Chowder

Holidays are my favorite excuse to make elaborate, often expensive, and always gourmet meals that take days to plan and prepare. So, with Thanksgiving only 26 days away, I have already begun the search for the perfect meal!

When I was growing up, holidays were a big deal in my family. We would gather, eat the traditional foods, play games, eat more, and basically spend the day together catching up. Because John and I live so far away from both our families and rarely make the trip back during any of these peak days, friends are crucial to the plan. This year: Hannes and Joy!!!

Anyway, I found this recipe while re-reading the Vegetarian Times Nov/Dec2008 issue. The timing was just right because Joy wanted to make a batch of baked seitan (from this recipe!!!) and seitan was the perfect "un-turkey" for the chowder. Additionally, an important lesson was learned: Gluten flour is NOT the same as Vital Wheat Gluten and will NOT make seitan!

I ran out of veggie broth but substituted water with a few herbs sprinkled in. I used dried thyme instead of fresh and added a carrot and spinach but left out the avocado and cilantro.

The chowder was very hearty and creamy and rich. The flavor of lime was strong, in a good way!

Cholent

Yet another excuse to use my newly acquired TVP, this recipe is from Veganomicon. Great flavor and extremely filing. Also, lots of leftovers.

I made a batch of homemade crackers seasoned with nutritional yeast and topped with poppy seeds. It was a perfect addition to the meal.

Meaty Burgers and White Bean Salad

I finally found TVP here in Denmark so I was able to try this recipe from the blog, Your Vegan Mom. The burgers were chewy, like seitan, but the chunks of TVP made some bites spongy. I really liked the texture compared to some of the softer, pastey consistency bean burgers I have made in the past.

I made the buns from this recipe. They are so easy to make yet John still gives me a strange look for making hamburger buns. "Normal people just buy buns." Whatever.

Also from the Vegan Mom blog, I made Teriyaki sauce to top the burgers with. So freaking good!

And finally, I had cooked white beans that needed a nice recipe and this one fit the bill. I also added diced sun dried tomatoes.

Thai Chick*n Pizza

Last time I was at Ganefryd, an organic grocery store here in Aarhus, I found frozen Sesame Chick*n nuggets. My original plan was to top a salad off with them but then decided to get a bit more creative. We are having a good friend stay with us this weekend (I think she is still a vegetarian too!!!!) and I wanted to have something easy and fun ready to eat when she arrived late in the evening. We also added two fantastic friends, David and Julia, to the mix. Julia helped prepare the pizza so I could take pictures!

Upon googling Sesame Chicken Pizza with no luck, I stumbled upon this Thai Chicken Pizza recipe. This "how to" video moves really quickly, but flashes the actual recipe for less than 5 seconds at the end, so be ready to pause it! The jist of the recipe is simple: crust, peanut sauce, chicken, veggies, peanuts, and cheese.

I made the crust from this recipe. It has a sweet flavor, is chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. For the peanut sauce, I added equal parts of the following: agave, peanut butter, and soy sauce. Delish! Along with the Sesame Chick*n, I included red peppers, yellow squash, carrot, and green onion. I still had a ton of Black Sesame Parm leftover, so that was sprinkled on top.

To balance flavors out, and ensure enough pizza for all, I also prepared a second, more traditional pizza. I followed the same crust recipe mentioned above, minus the sugar, plus Italian seasonings. The sauce was a jar of spaghetti sauce and the pizza was topped with veggies, soy Chorizo, and black olives.

The Ultimate Veggie Burgers

Or so Vegan Planet says! The author, Robin Robertson, has the recipe posted on her blog. I used Urad Beans instead of lentils. I bought them thinking they were black lentils, but found I was mistaken! They are delicious and did a nice job in these burgers.

John and I are going to see the band Deerhoof in Bratislava tonight. I am bringing dinner to his office so we can leave right away and thought burgers would travel nicely.

I found traditional hamburger buns at the store and was excited for see they were vegan! I added ketchup, onion slivers, pickles, and lettuce to our burgers. Wrapped up in foil, they were still warm when we were ready to eat them!

I also found Organic Spelt Pretzels (Bio-Dinkel-Brezeln). And, for a little extra green in our diet, I blanched some green beans and referred to them as green bean chips! They were crunchy and a little sweet, and were much more nutritious than other chips I could have bought!

Reuben Sandwiches with Carrot and Broccoli Salad

Here is the Reuben recipe I followed. Originally, I bought a loaf of Rye bread by accident. I thought it was Wheat bread. So, I intended to make Reubens with that. But, I waited around too long and it went stale beyond the point of use! (except for croutons, of course.) So, I bought these cute little Organic English-muffin-style Rye breads. I didn't have pickling spice, so that was left out. I used my new Rice Mayo for the sauce. I couldn't find a substitute for Swiss cheese but instead used smoked cheddar by sheese. It was a really good combination of flavors.

The salad is a version of this recipe. I shredded my carrots in the food processor to save time. I also added broccoli and pecans. The dressing is Rice Mayo, sugar, salt, and white wine. It tasted very much like a summer salad!

Three Scrambles in Three Days

I decided to try three of the scrambles in Vegan Brunch this weekend. Because it is a long, holiday weekend, we had time for a new scramble on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

First up, Saturday's scramble was the Basic Scrambled Tempeh. I steamed the tempeh first, removing the bitter taste from it. I have discovered steaming first is the only way that I enjoy eating tempeh. I substituted the Swiss chard for spinach. On the side, peanut butter toast.


On the menu for Sunday was the Pesto Scrambled Tofu with Grape Tomatoes. Tofu sauteed with onion and tomatoes, then covered in pesto! This is John's favorite scramble to date. On the side, Chevapcici, which is a very enjoyable soy based sausage substitute.

And finally, Monday's attempt was the Puttanesca Scramble. I had to practice saying Puttanesca a few times before it stopped sounding like Poo-tanesca because John said that made it sound very unappealing. This was my favorite of the three. It went well with fresh ciabatta bread.

Jackfruit "Carnitas" Tacos

This is what a Jackfruit looks like, in its original form. It is HUGE. Larger than a large watermelon. I had never eaten Jackfruit before, and honestly had never even heard of it.

A few weeks ago, John found Jackfruit in a can. I was less than thrilled and it just sat around for a while until yesterday he asked, "When are you going to cook that Jackfruit?" I have to be honest, I didn't even know you were supposed to cook it! I thought it was canned fruit, like peaches, that you open up and eat. So, I did a little noodling on the internet and found a taco recipe for the Jackfruit and became very curious about it. Apparently, Jackfruit is called "Vegetarian Meat" and used as a meat replacement in many dishes. Interesting.



So, we followed this recipe and I am now a huge fan of Jackfruit! The appearance of the fruit in the pan, after being cooked was alarmingly similar to pulled pork. But, thankfully, it tasted like salsa and spices, and the texture was a bit like eating an artichoke heart.



I could not find salsa verde, so I used regular salsa. We also included black beans, lettuce, olives, and guacamole in our tacos.

Vegan Brunch (for dinner!)

This was going to be our brunch spread this Saturday but we decided to go out of town this weekend, so I made it for dinner tonight instead. All recipes are from the cookbook Vegan Brunch. I think I can safely say I intend to make every recipe from this book based on the awesomeness of the ones I have tried so far.




Normally, when I made some sort of meat-substitute, John comments on how delicious it is but makes sure to tell me it tastes nothing like the "real thing." It has been so long since I have had meat that I always swear soy-bacon tastes exactly like real bacon. Anyway, I made the Tempeh Sausage Pastry Puffs and both John and I agreed, "This tastes like sausage!" It has something to do with the combo of tempeh texture and the seasonings, especially the fennel seeds. We ate the entire batch (18!) and I guarantee these will be making future appearances. My only change next time will be to buy regular puff pastry as opposed to light. They did not puff up as much as the picture in the cookbook but the flavor was so fantastic, like little thin crust sausage pizzas. It was my first baking experience with puff pastry and at first, I was really nervous because the sheets of pastry are so flat! But sure enough, they did puff.



We also had Roasted Butternut Squash. It was easy to prepare and very sweet. Next time, I will throw in a little sage to numb the sweetness a touch.



And finally, Pumpkin Pancakes topped with berries and soy whipped cream. I have made vegan pancakes in the past but like this recipe because a majority of the moisture comes from the pumpkin and therefore they don't need a huge amount of flour. Also, it has a large variety of spices including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves for a scrumptious flavor!

Tortellini with Red Wine sauce and Chopped Chick'n Salad

My second attempt at tortellini and it went much faster this time. I followed this recipe for the pasta and rolled it out by hand. The whole process took exactly one hour. I stuffed it with tofu ricotta (leftover from the last time I made tortellini, stored in the freezer, thawed and it worked out great!)The sauce is from a previous post and taken from a VegNews article. On the side, a chopped salad consisting of bib lettuce, mushrooms, beets, chick'n nuggets, all brutally diced and doused in a Balsamic Vinaigrette. The dressing was made with 3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. A nice meal for sitting in front of the TV and watching more Olympics!

Cheezy Noodles with "Chicken" and Broccoli

The combo of vegan chicken nuggets and broccoli on the pizza a few nights ago was so good I started to crave it again today. We have quite a few leftovers in a tiny fridge so I couldn't convince myself to make anything too extravagant. So, I settled on noodles with cheezy sauce, steamed broccoli and baked, then chopped up vegan chicken nuggets. It reminded me of something a mom would make in an attempt to get her kids to eat broccoli. Fortunately, we love broccoli!

Soup, Chopped Salad, and Granny's Hurry-up Dinner Rolls

The soup is left over Not-Chick’n Noodle Soup with a half cup of cooked white beans added.

John reminded me last week that we haven't made chopped salad for so long. I think since we lived in Florida! The method is really easy, just chop everything up into little bits. It doesn't seem like it would make that big of a difference, but it really does! The flavors mesh together in such interesting ways. Here is a before with the lettuce.



And an after!



I also added kalamata olives, sunflower seeds (they are already small enough, no chopping needed!), and a cooked beet. The dressing is the leftover marinade from the Marinated Italian tofu I made for my 2 year vegan anniversary a few days ago. There wasn't enough for another block of tofu, but plenty to dress a salad!

My favorite part of the meal, I have to admit a lot because of the fun name, was the rolls. I just googled dinner rolls and this recipe had so many positive comments. They were fast and easy, included simple ingredients, and yes, I added the butter to the top before baking!