Vegan MoFo
Reason Number 19: If the word "cartilage" is part of what you eat--ewww?
Reason Number 20: I will never have to sit through a "surf" and "turf" corporate dinner again. (And. . . I have had to endure this and was not good at playing the "Oh, it's okay, just bring me the salad or baked zucchini" card to appease the administrative assistant/dinner team who planned the menu--not meaning any ill will, of course).
Sometimes you have to go there. I have really had my share of "food rudeness" (the looks of, "Can't you just sit there, nibble that salad and eat that roll and shut up?" No.--and that was when I was vegetarian, not quite vegan). It is through this blog that I hope to at least inspire some of you to create a humane dish or two. Now, on to the recipes.
Side dishes. Such a mystery and complicated thing for me. Basically, when I begin my plans for dinner, I don't usually have a "side" in mind. Perhaps this story has something to do with it. When my mother cooked her round steaks and placed the canned lima beans, brussel sprouts or asparagus in front of me, I nearly always found myself banished to my room for "not finishing" my veggies. So, it seems odd that I am now a voracious veggie lover, but of my own liking (not my mother's, thankfully). So pardon me if I never post a succotash salad or braised, roasted or something brussel sprout recipe, they repulse me. Asparagus is okay, but in limited quantity.
For two dinners this week, I created these sides that in my humble opinion, were quite tasty. Both were inspired by two of my favorite cookbooks. They are easy and you can begin them prior to making the main course--both serve well at room temperature or just a bit warm.
First is the Roasted Green Tomato salad. The inspiration for this came from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Specials. This cookbook is one of my favorites. (I know I say this a lot.) Here's why green tomatoes were on the menu. I have thirty of them sitting on my kitchen counter right now. The other night it was predicted we'd have a freeze. I read that if the tomatoes are not brought in, even the greenies, they will burst and be worthless. I was not about to let this happen (though I went through my tomato burnout last month, these plants are still beautiful, even if the deer have consumed the top third of most of them). So, I rescued my green tomatoes. I thought, well, if worst comes to worst, I'll make a green tomato apple pie (which is really good!). Then this recipe. In the Moosewood version, they call for feta cheese. For obvious reasons, not for my version. They state that this is actually an adaptation of a Turkish recipe. I changed a few things in this, and overall, I was quite pleased with the result.
The second side is simply the best. Why? Potatoes. I love any recipe with a potato. Period. I used to make this amazing potato gratin with layers of portabello mushrooms, onions, butter and heavy cream and lots of herbs. I loved it however, it most likely caused my cholesterol to jump a few points. Well, I came across a recipe in Robin Robertson's new cookbook: 1000 Vegan Recipes (I know, Robin's cookbook again--well, there are a thousand choices--I am bound to have a few inspirations here!). She offers a chard and new potato gratin recipe (and besides tomatoes coming out of my ears, I also have bunches of my beautiful chard!). I took this recipe a step further by adding slices of vegan Swiss cheese in the layers and topped it off with a bit of soy creamer (to take me back to my "cholesterol killer" days).
Roasted Green Tomato and Olive Salad
5 large green tomatoes, quartered
1 large onion, sliced about 1/2" thin
4 garlic cloves minced
fresh basil (about 8-10 leaves) chopped--or use 1/2 teaspoon dried
fresh oregano (about 3 stalks) chopped--or use 1/2 teaspoon dried
4 tablespoons lemon-flavored olive oil
Spike seasoning or S & P to taste
fresh ground pepper
1 cup shredded vegan parmesean and mozzerella cheese
2 tablespoons pimentos
2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives
Preheat oven to 500. Lightly oil a baking sheet. In a large bowl toss the quartered tomoatoes and onions with seasonings, flavored olive oil (I highly recommend this oil) and salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on your baking sheet. Bake on middle rack for about 25-30 minutes. Be sure to watch this, you don't want a bunch of burnt onions. Toss it a few times during baking. Remove from oven when edges of tomatoes begin to brown just a bit. Let it sit for about five minutes. Place mixture on a serving plate. Top with pimentos and olives. Spread the cheese over it and around the edges of the veggies for a lovely presentation. This can be served a room temperature and is great the next day!
Vegan Potato and Swiss Chard Gratin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
10 leaves of Swiss chard chopped--discard the stems
5 red potatoes, sliced to 1/4" rounds
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
Spike or S & P to taste
lemon flavored olive oil for drizzle
3 slices vegan Swiss cheese
1/4 cup soy creamer
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a medium 9" casserole dish by lightly oiling it. Place the olive oil in a saute pan and add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, seasonings and cook an additional 3 minutes. Then remove from heat, toss in the chopped chard to wilt it a bit. Place one layer of potatoes in bottom of dish--overlap is okay. Add half of chard mixture on top. Add layer of vegan cheese, and a few dashes of the lemon olive oil. Plus, add a few dashes of S & P. Add a layer of potatoes and the rest of chard and a final top layer of potatoes. Drizzle more of the lemon olive oil over the top, sprinkle just a small amount of thyme and marjoram over the top. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes before slicing. *If you think you need the gratin to cook further, do so. Test the potatoes with a fork. This was delicious!
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