More Experiments, Better Results

While rather little will eclipse the jackfruit ice cream of a few weeks ago, tonight's concoction certainly works quite well for the entree category. Through a lot of appliance issues this weekend I still managed to (sort of) make these tempeh cakes from Isa Moskowitz's newest book (BUY IT) Vegan Brunch. They were stellar, but as I lack a stove at the moment, they are a bit beyond my ability to recreate. So I moved on to a staple that does not require boiling or steaming to remove bitterness before cooking, chickpeas. We pretty much always have them in the pantry or freezer, though I've used so many this weekend that I need to make a fresh batch to restock our supply. Rather than season my chickpea cakes like crab cakes I wanted to make them more similar to chicken croquettes, which lead me to think of my mom's recipe for swiss chicken salad, a very versatile salad that can be served hot or cold and takes some simple flavors and milks them big time. The high points are croutons, mushrooms, celery, onions and a creaminess from a milk/mayo dressing and somehow I wanted to incorporate the flavors and the crunchy/toasty texture from the croutons into this dish. What I ended up with were baked patties topped with a sauce that while not pretty, highlights the creamy mushroom flavor and provides a nice textural contrast to the patties' somewhat crisp veggie bits and crusty exterior. I served this to myself with a side of steamed fresh green beans and mashed cauliflower, but they'd be good with just about anything. Smaller patties would work great as appetizers and larger ones make for easier serving for a main course. Either way, they are addictive and I will be making these fairly often. Perhaps next time they'll last long enough to take a picture, but I doubt it.
Do make these immediately before serving, otherwise make the batter but hold off on forming the patties and baking them until just before dinner. They taste fine reheated, but the lose the crunchy exterior in the fridge, so keep that in mind if you're trying to impress someone.
You would probably guess that these are vegetarian (or vegan, if you use vegan dairy products) but you probably wouldn't actually care. As I've said before, if Dad will eat it, pretty much anyone will. If he's lucky I'll actually let him try these, and I will definitely make them for a dear friend who just does not like the texture of mushrooms, as you get the flavor but not the big, squishy chunks that turn her off of the fungi.

Swiss Chickpea Patties
(makes about 10-12 3-4 inch patties)

Ingredients:
2 cups panko crumbs
1 large can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (about three cups)
1 medium onion, diced small
2 tablespoons vegenaise or mayonaise
1 rib celery, diced small
4 oz white mushrooms
1/8 teaspoon each paprika, garlic powder and black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread about two cups of panko on a cookie sheet or toaster oven baking sheet in an even layer and spray with a fine layer of olive oil or cooking spray. Place in oven and toast until well browned, stirring frequently to brown crumbs evenly. While crumbs are toasting mash chickpeas until there are almost no whole peas left. Stir in onion, celery, mayonaise and spices. Pulse mushrooms in a food processor until thoroughly chopped, then stir mushrooms into chickpea mixture. Mix in toasted panko with a fork until a moldable dough forms--start with a cup, add more as needed, making sure to reserve some panko for dredging. Taste mixture and adjust seasoning if needed. Form mixture into patties of 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and sized from 1 inch to 4 inches across. Press both sides of patties gently into toasted panko crumbs and arrange on a greased cookie sheet. Bake patties at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, flipping at least once halfway through cooking to brown evenly on both sides. Patties are done when crispy and brown on the outside (though it's rather hard to overcook them, so don't worry too much). Serve topped with mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce

8 oz white mushrooms
2 ribs celery
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
2 or 3 tablespoons soy, rice or dairy milk
Salt and pepper to taste
About 1 tablespoon leftover toasted panko crumbs

Process the mushrooms and celery in a food processor until ground into a uniform mixture. Scrape into a microwaveable bowl and add the margarine, milk, salt and pepper and microwave on high for two minutes. Stir panko crumbs and serve on chickpea patties.
--If you have sauce leftover it is equally good on toast with or without scrambled or poached eggs or scrambled tofu for breakfast or brunch.

I scream...

Ice cream is an important thing in our family, even if I don't eat it that often any more. As with everything, I've been experimenting with vegan versions and made this one tonight. And, oh, is it good. Possibly even better than the white chocolate champagne of parties past, and with less bad things in it. Though the reduced champagne would probably be great here too. Regardless, a second batch of this will be made this week. This base of almond milk would work really well with peaches, pineapple, banana or any number of squishy fruits that would taste good in ice cream. I fully intend to do some experimenting later, and eat the results over sliced strawberries. Because that's just the most perfect way to eat ice cream, ever.


Jackfruit Ice Cream
(makes about 1 quart)

Ingredients:
3 cups vanilla almond milk (or rice, soy or lowfat/skim dairy milk)
1/2 cup coconut milk (or soy creamer, cashew cream, heavy cream) OR another 1/2 cup milk
3 Tablespoons sugar or 1/4 cup syrup from fruit can
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can of jackfruit (or equivalent amount of peaches, apricots, bananas, etc.), drained, syrup reserved if needed

Directions:
Pour all but 1/3 cup of the milk/cream into a saucepan along with the sugar and heat to near boiling. In a separate small cup or bowl mix the cornstarch and remaining milk into a slurry and set aside. While the milk and sugar heats up, either chop or process the fruit into the desired size and texture. Add slurry to hot milk, stirring often to keep from curdling. Taste the custard and adjust for sweetness or vanilla level if needed. Add the fruit to the custard and cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and leave a distinct trail when you draw a finger down the back of the spoon. Remove custard from heat and chill in the fridge until ice cold. The recipe up to this point can be done well in advance of when you wish to freeze the ice cream. When it is cold, usually after two hours in the fridge, freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions for your machine.

Notes
-Home made ice cream starts out far softer than commercial, but freezes much harder when you put it away due to the lack of air being added while freezing. If it comes out of the freezer too hard to handle you can either let it sit on the counter for five or ten minutes or zap it in the microwave for 7-10 seconds. The lower the fat and air content the harder it's going to freeze, so keep that in mind if you're making this with straight skim milk--it will be a brick in the freezer. Freezing the super low fat/sugar versions in smaller cups has worked well for me in the past, and makes portion control/counting easy too. They also soften up a bit faster due to the smaller size.
-Alcohol can also impede the freezing, but might not be the best idea if you're serving this to your kids. Mango rum would be ideal here, or another lighter tasting spirit like plain old light rum or vodka. If you're going to use it, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup to the cooling custard so that the alcohol doesn't burn off. You might taste it, but it won't be enough to make you tipsy.

Pizza for the Masses

This not-so-traditional pizza is one of those recipes I like to label "kitchen sink," as in everything goes on it but the proverbial sink. Casseroles and the like are great ways to use up leftover bits of things in your fridge and pantry but can get old quick or you can end up with just too much casserole and too many leftovers that don't get used. Pizza, on the other hand, doesn't usually last long enough to make leftovers for long even in single person households. To honor the upcoming non-holiday, unimportant weekend here is my take on super easy pizza.

There is no shame in using refrigerated pizza crust. These days most grocery stores carry them and some in several varieties. I'm a fan of the whole wheat, plain and garlic herb crusts at my local Trader Joes. The pictured pizza was made with a generic plain crust from a different chain. Most doughs for crust come in 1 pound quantities, so if yours is close to that then it should fit a pizza stone, pan or cookie sheet just fine. The pictured pizza was made on a cookie sheet, hence the rectangular slice. I find that if you are planning to have some leftover for lunch the next day the rectangles or squares from cookie sheet pizzas are easier to pack in lunch bags and boxes rather than the wedge shapes, but use whatever you've got handy. The point is easy pizza, after all.

The veggie combination I give here is the one I used for the pictured pizza. As long as you've got good coverage of toppings, use whatever sounds good together. Further suggestions are listed after the recipe.

Veggies and Leftovers Pizza
(makes a medium to large sized pizza, depending on how thin you like your crust and how loaded you like your pizza)

1 16oz ready made pizza crust
cornmeal (optional)
1 medium to large tomato, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, diced or sliced
12oz frozen artichoke hearts, cooked
1/4 cup pesto
olive oil
1 small or 1/2 large can sliced black olives (kalamata or black pearl work with this one)
6oz Tofu ricotta (recipe upcoming) or ricotta cheese OR 2-4oz feta, goat cheese or mozzarella

Preheat the oven and prep the dough according to your package directions. If desired, sprinkle some cornmeal over the baking sheet or pan you're using to bake the pizza. The cornmeal helps prevent sticking and adds that dusty crunch to the bottom of the pizza. Assemble whatever your chosen toppings are and layer them onto the pizza. I usually start with the tomato slices (and mozzarella, if using), then sprinkle on some onion and follow with whatever the chunkier bits are, finishing with the olives. Scatter the ricotta or other crumbly cheese over the pizza and drizzle the pesto over the top. A little extra olive oil is nice if you want it too. Then pop the whole thing into the oven and bake according to the package directions.

Suggested toppings:
Broccoli florets, tomatoes (grape, plum or regular), olives, leftover chicken, ham or ground beef or turkey, toasted slivered almonds (sounds weird, but really good), roasted garlic, sausage, pineapple, thin sliced pears, peanut butter, corn, frozen mixed veggie blends, curry sauce, raisins, zucchini, eggplant, peppers...etc. The choices are endless and limited only by what you have to hand.

Suggested combinations:
-Leftover chicken, fresh broccoli and toasted slivered almonds with white garlic or canned alfredo sauce and just a little mozzarella (Sounds odd, but this was my favorite pizza from my favorite takeout place in college)
-Pears, almonds or chopped hazelnuts, provolone or swiss cheese, and caramelized onions (bonus points for a little crumbled bleu cheese and/or a salad of mixed greens tossed with bleu dressing piled on top.)
-Apples or pears, peanut butter, raisins--the peanut butter can be spread thin before baking or after, just be careful to let it cool before eating. Also great with sliced bananas added after baking.
-Leftover chicken, curry sauce, raisins, chopped apples, cauliflower and leftover roasted potatoes
-Leftover barbeque chicken or pork, cheddar cheese, red onions and apples (apples optional)
-Caramelized onions, leftover roast beef and cheddar cheese
-Feta cheese, red onions, kalamata olives, tomato slices and grilled lamb or pork
-Leftover chicken, duck or pork, canned hoisin sauce, green onions and mozzarella
-Goat cheese, caramelized onion, sliced and/or sundried tomatoes

Almost Easter Muffins

Another cross post, another one I actually took a picture of before figuring out that muffin liner=bad :)
I made these muffins for a treat, though they really weren't much work at all. The can be mixed with whatever berry type fruit you have floating around in your kitchen or in your freezer. The lemony body of the muffin is the perfect foil to the jammy pockets of fruit that result from the berries cooking in the oven--you don't even need to butter these to enjoy them. As breakfast pastries go, these are lower in fat than most using just two eggs or tofu and no butter or oil so enjoy without guilt.

If you don't already have a mini food processor in your kitchen it might be time to consider one. It makes the tofu version of this recipe a snap since all the liquids can be mixed together right in the processor bowl and cleans up very quickly due to its smaller size. I have one from cuisinart that I found in a thrift shop for $3, but I've seen them on sale for $20 or so fairly often. If you like having fresh pesto or making smaller batches of salsa or just don't like having to put together a huge machine to do a little job it might be the right appliance for you.

Lemon Berry Muffins

Ingredients:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs OR 1/2 cup warm water mixed with 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed
1 cup yogurt OR 6 oz silken tofu, blended smooth
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 Tablespoons applesauce
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 c diced strawberries, cherries or other berries (frozen is fine)
cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling on top

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients except zest in a bowl and set aside. If using eggs and yogurt mix all wet ingredients and zest together in a separate mixing bowl and stir in sugar until all is combined and there are no large lumps of brown sugar left. If using tofu and flax you can blend the tofu and wet ingredients together in a small food processor or blender until smooth, then scrape into a mixing bowl with the sugar and stir to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Fold in berries until evenly distributed. Prepare muffin tins and fill cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and tops are light golden brown. Remove from tins and cool on a rack.

Notes:
-If using the tofu/flax option when making these muffins I highly recommend either greasing the bare tin or using silicone pans as the batter really likes to stick to the paper liners. If opting for the traditional eggs and yogurt paper liners should be fine, but the reusable silicone cups are adorable if you happen to have them floating around.
-You can use dried berries for this recipe, but plump them a bit in some warm water first so you don't get hard bits of fruit when you bite into your muffins.

Oh. My. God.

I suppose I should preface this post by saying that I absolutely adore caramelized onions. I start nearly every soup I make by caramelizing an onion, I stir them into otherwise-boring pasta, lentil and rice dishes, pile them on top of polenta and potatoes and have even been known to stir them into mashed potatoes for special occasions (which is smashingly good, btw). The general rule of thumb for me is that if it comes smothered in caramelized onions I'm probably going to try it at least once. With this attitude, it was no surprise that one of my favorite lunches when I was in my old job was a goat cheese and onion tart from the cafe around the corner. It was heaven and combined just about everything you could want in a dish like that--buttery pastry (and I HATE piecrust, this was puff and therefore acceptable. Stellar, actually.), gobs of soft, almost gooey goat cheese swimming in a sea of caramelized onions and served with an exquisitely dressed salad of field greens that served to cut *some* of the richness of the meal nicely. I gave up the dish when I lost the job, as even though it was far from the most expensive thing on that menu I've not had any reason to go back to the restaurant since the loss of the job. Besides, I always figured I could make a perfectly good version myself and probably still could, if I tried. That said, I've not had much luck convincing myself to make a copycat version, as then I would know just how much butter and cheese I was consuming in one sitting and these days I'm not entirely certain I could comfortably stomach it. Don't get me wrong, I'd try, but still.

But seeing as I'm leaning towards less is more when it comes to dairy a full version just isn't going to happen. Fortunately for me and the other onion addicts everywhere my recent experimentation with tofu has lead to one of the best dishes I've ever made, hands down. This one was so good even my mom ate it, which is saying a lot when it comes to tofu-based alternatives. The version I made this evening used polenta as a base because that's what I had, and it came out damn near perfect. Tomorrow night I'm reverting to a dough-based alternative and using a purchased whole wheat pizza crust and making it more pizza-like. I'll grant, this isn't exactly low fat, but it's a great deal less fatty than the traditional version and the fats involved are of the good, olive oil kind. If you opt to make your own pizza crust you can make it more whole-grainy (I'm tempted to work a little millet into my dough to see how it goes and give it some more texture) and if you'd rather make your own polenta for the crust you can seriously cut down on additives, preservatives and sodium. Leftover polenta is a whole other post for another time, but I will advise that if you opt for quick cooking polenta you pay attention to those directions very carefully. Learn from my mistakes--the stuff sets up FAST compared to the regular old cornmeal version.
This recipe is really comprised of three separate recipes, all of which are worth making on their own. You can skip the gremolata pesto if you like, but I wouldn't since you'll find all sorts of things to top with it--pasta and seafood come to mind. Tossing some with some shrimp and linguini would make an easy and lively meal, especially with some good garlic bread. The ricotta-textured "goat cheese" tofu recipe makes enough to use for this dish, but doubling the batch would leave some excellent leftovers to use on pizza (there will be a post on that very soon), stir into pasta or spread on crusty bread. I have been known to clean out the processor bowl with a piece of fresh french bread for a quick snack, and it's even better when combined with Trader Joe's Eggplant Garlic spread.

Gremolata Pesto
Ingredients:
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
zest of two lemons
2 cloves garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Chop the bottom half of the bunch of parsley off where the leaves start, discard the stems and rough chop the rest of the leaves. Smash the garlic cloves with the flat of the knife and place parsley, garlic and all other ingredients except for olive oil into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until all ingredients are chopped fine, scraping down sides with a spatula as needed. Add the olive oil to the bowl and process for 15-30 seconds until combined into a paste.


Tofu "Goat Cheese"-style

Ingredients:
4-6 oz firm or extra firm regular tofu (don't use silken)
1 Tablespoon gremolata pesto
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons capers
2 teaspoons caper brine
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Crumble 6 to 8 ounces firm or extra firm regular tofu into the bowl of a food processor. Add all other ingredients and pulse until tofu is processed to a texture resembling ricotta cheese, about a minute to a minute and a half, scraping down the sides once or twice if needed. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, garlic powder, lemon juice or caper brine if desired to achieve the saltiness and tang of goat cheese. Allow to sit for at least fifteen minutes before using if possible.

Vegan Onion Tart

Ingredients:

One recipe tofu “goat cheese”
3-4 large sweet onions, sliced thin (about 2 pounds)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 whole wheat pizza crust, store bought or home made OR 1 sheet puff pastry
Balsamic vinegar
8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced
Coarse ground black pepper

Directions:
Make the goat cheese and set aside to let flavors meld. Caramelize the onions with the olive oil over medium to medium high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When onions are golden and browning on the edges season to taste with balsamic vinegar—start with a tablespoon or so and add more if you like. While onions are cooking, stretch the dough into your preferred shape or line a cookie sheet with prepared puff pastry. Spread the tofu goat cheese in an even layer over top and distribute the sliced mushrooms and caramelized onions evenly over the cheese. Sprinkle coarse ground pepper over top and bake according to the package directions.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

-Polenta based alternative: Pat cooled polenta (about 2 1/2 cups) into a greased 9 inch round cake pan, square casserole or 8x8 brownie pan into 1/2 inch thick layer. Set in the fridge to chill and firm up--overnight is best, but an hour or so will do just fine. Brush with a very thin layer of olive oil, if desired, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Make the goat cheese and cook the onions while the shell bakes. Remove the shell from the oven and spread the cheese in the pan, follwed by the mushrooms and onions. Put back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove pan and allow to let cool for a bit before cutting into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

-Feel free to add more onions to the recipe. The more, the better. The amount I've started with is good, but the true addicts will probably want to add more. Any onions you don't use will make for excellent sandwiches later with some more tofu goat cheese spread on a toasted baguette and whatever roasted veggies you can find to add.

In Other News...

I no longer hold my old job of selling soap. I'm hoping to hear back soon on the prospect of another job selling different soap. Keep fingers crossed :)
And on other notes, the site I post on more these days is having some technical difficulties, so I'm going to post a few recipes on here that normally would have gone up on Busy Mommy first. And as another first on this site, I'm including a picture of the finished product. Because I finally had my camera handy and actually thought about it before finishing the meal I made for once. Enjoy :)

There are literally hundreds of ways to enjoy (yes, enjoy) eating tofu. This particular version is easy to make, tastes great and is a fantastic substitute for more traditional scrambled eggs and works equally well as breakfast or dinner. My version is based on bits and pieces of other recipes and a frozen version that I've eaten and liked over the years. If you're looking for an easy way to introduce tofu into your regular diet this is a great place to start.

My scrambled tofu tends to have a high proportion of vegetables incorporated compared to some recipes. I find it's an easy way to fit in an extra serving of vegetables (and who isn't trying to do that?) without having to resort to hiding them in anything. My favorite combination is the one I've given here, but do feel free to use this as a canvas to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Grated carrots, frozen peas or broccoli, leftover sautéed leeks, zucchini, corn—they all work pretty well. The only vegetables I consider absolute musts when making scrambled tofu are greens and mushrooms. I'll use whatever mushrooms I have on hand, which is usually either sliced white buttons or rehydrated dried or fresh shiitakes. If you use dried mushrooms, be sure you've swished them well in their soaking water to remove any remaining sand. For greens I tend to use either fresh baby spinach straight out of the bag or a few handfuls finely chopped kale.

You can serve this scramble with toast, fruit and juice, soy milk (or regular milk) or coffee for a more traditional breakfast spread or use it to stuff a pita for an easy and portable pocket sandwich. It reheats well either in the microwave or on the stove (sprinkle in a little water if it's looking dry) and leftovers work great in breakfast burritos—either veggie style with some vegetarian sausage crumbles (or non-veg with regular sausage), cheese or soy cheese and salsa or even just wrapped on it's own. A one pound brick of regular tofu cooked like this should serve 3-4 depending on how many veggies you cram in and how hungry your crowd is.

Scrambled Tofu

Ingredients:

1 16oz package of firm or extra firm regular tofu, drained and pressed and cut into 1/3 inch dice*

Olive oil, canola oil or cooking spray

1 small to medium onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ to 1 teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon dill weed (optional)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)**

1 or 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced OR about 2/3 cup (two good sized handfuls) dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 2 cups boiling water

2 big handfuls kale, rinsed and chopped (this is usually 8 or so good sized leaves for me, I don't usually measure it in cups)

1 medium tomato, diced

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Dice your tofu and chop your vegetables before you start with anything else. When your ingredients are prepped, spray or lightly oil a heavy pan and heat up over medium heat (cast iron is best, non-stick is fine). Add the onions to the pan and cook until they are translucent and just starting to brown, then add the garlic and spices except dill, stirring to combine. Add the tofu to the pan and stir to coat with the onion and spice mixture. Add the soy sauce and nutritional yeast to the pan (if using) and stir, adding a quarter cup of the soaking water from your mushrooms or plain water to aid in the distribution of the yeast and to keep the whole from burning. Add water to the pan in small doses as necessary throughout the rest of cooking to keep the tofu from burning or sticking—this allows you to refrain from adding any additional oil and allows the tofu to soak up the spices more thoroughly. Add the kale to the pan and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently to keep from sticking. If it's sticking a lot, lower the heat a bit. Add the dill if you're using it, taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, soy sauce and/or turmeric to to your liking. Add tomatoes to the pan and heat through. Add a little more water if the mixture seems too dry for you, stir one more time and serve.

*A note on preparing tofu:

Normally pressing tofu can take a rather long time, and I'm not usually that patient in the morning. I've found that cutting the brick into 2-4 pieces, wrapping in paper towels and squeezing gently works just fine for getting enough water out to make this.

Dicing the tofu—this is me copying one of my preferred frozen versions. It's not entirely necessary, though it looks nice. If you're not in the mood to dice the brick, just cut it into large chunks and squish in your hand over the pan. The tofu will break up a bit during cooking, and the irregular lumps look more like scrambled eggs. Just break up any huge bits with the spatula or spoon as you go.

**A note on nutritional yeast:

This is a very common ingredient in many vegan recipes that gives a savory, almost cheese-like note to many dishes. It's easy to find in many vegan food websites, but is also available in many brick and mortar health food stores. I get mine from the bulk aisle of the organic food sections of my local Wegmans grocery store. If you can't get it, don't worry about it for this recipe—it's nice, but you don't absolutely need it. If you're interested in trying it, this might be a good time to hit up any vegan friends you have to get a little before you get stuck ordering a full pound of the stuff. I love it, but it can be an acquired taste. If you do end up with a good quantity of it and decide you're not a fan, try adding it to batches of chili, soups and even use it in the broth you cook crock pot roast beef in. It's a pretty common ingredient in dry soup mixes as well, so you can bump up the savory notes in onion dip or spinach dip with it as well. Or just feed everybody a batch of Vegan Mac & Cheese—someone's bound to like it.

A New Dawn, A New Day...

...A new "tuna" salad.
I really need to post a bit more often. Much has happened in the literal months since I actually posted anything, and many recipes are sitting on the back burner waiting for me to write them up. One of the new things is that my more mainstream types of recipes are likely going to be posted at Busy Mommy, a site run by one of my dear friends who has opted to take me on as a writer for the Cooking Mommy page. I'm quite happy with the arrangement so far and am hoping she is too :)

On to more usual topics, or in this case, more experimental. I'm working more and more towards being a full out vegan, having only occasional lapses with cheese and even less occasional meals with meat. As such I've been branching out again and playing with more random foods, which lead to today's new staple recipe. I've been looking for all sorts of easy foods to replace things I am used to making on a regular basis. Tempeh has been making many appearances, but takes more time to prepare than I tend to want to give it for something like lunch. I was browsing around through a lot of vegan recipes on all sorts of sites and cookbooks and came across several for vegan "tuna" and "chicken" salads--almost all with the quote marks. The ones that were chickpea based appealed to me because I always have chickpeas on hand and have yet to meet a chickpea recipe I didn't at least like enough to finish. Most of them were rather complicated or had fairly long ingredients lists, so I ditched them and made this version, which I've stripped down to its simplistic roots. You could flavor this with whatever you want, but I'm sticking with just the pickles and hot sauce for the moment. Even my mother, who has not taken well to most of the stuff I give her to taste of late, liked this one and wanted to finish it with some crackers, a preparation I think would go over nicely. I myself stuffed it into a sandwich with tomato slices and were I ok with cheese right now I think it would make a great base to a melt with a slice of cheddar.


Vegan Tuna (or Chicken) Salad
Makes enough for about 3-4 sandwiches

Ingredients:
-1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-1/4 cup vegenaise (or mayonaise if you so prefer, I don't)
-1/2 kosher dill, small dice
-salt and pepper
-1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

Directions:
Mash the chickpeas with a spoon or fork until there are no whole peas left. Mix in the vegenaise and stir, mashing as needed, until combined and the texture of tuna salad. Stir in the pickle and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the hot sauce if using. Serve with crackers, salad greens or in a sandwich.

Notes:
-You can add in whatever you happen to add in to tuna or chicken salad. My mom's version favors chopped onions and celery along with the pickles for both tuna and chicken salads, and she makes an easy pasta salad by mixing the tuna salad with cooked medium shells. I imagine this would work pretty well in that too, though the color would be different.
-This doesn't look vegetarian, so would make an easy sandwich to take along for lunch that no one will question. I for one am a little tired of people's continued interest in my lunch as the afternoon's entertainment. This doesn't look odd, even if you put it on salad greens.
-I like my egg/tuna/chicken/whatever salads a little on the dry side so as not to have them leak all over the place when trying to eat them. And because I don't really like the taste of straight mayonaise. So this recipe starts with a small amount of mayo/nayo, feel free to add a bit more if you like.