Vegan Breaded Pork Chops, Creamy Horseradish Mashed Potatoes with Shitake Gravy And Green Beans (Welcome to the Wiener Schnitzel Chronicles)

Sometimes the food I grew up with gets a hold of me and just won't let go, no matter how hard I try. Now, I'm not saying ALL the food I grew up with should make a re-appearance on my vegan menu (Spam, round steak. . . ew), but there are some dishes so worthy of a vegan attempt, it'd be a sin not to at least try. Take last night. I had this overwhelming desire for an ultimate childhood comfort dish: pork chops (minus the pork), a side of mashers made with vegan mayo and horseradish and then, an easy, but oh-so-good shitake mushroom gravy and a heaping side of green beans. . . I had earned it. (Note: *If your grocery store does not usually have shitake mushrooms on hand--like mine never seems to have, I found a bag of frozen shitakes and this really helps in those dire circumstances where shitakes are called for. Just a suggestion: check the frozen food area.) 

Vegan Empanadas de Papas

All of this veggie goodness wrapped in one bundle--amazing!

See how nice and golden these are. I put them in the oven to keep warm while I made the others.

My latest knitting journey. Knitting in the round on two circular needles!

I spent yesterday afternoon at my LYS (local yarn store) knitting with the "social knitters." I don't make it a practice to do this every week. In fact, I think it's been several months since my last visit. I am not all that social by nature. I know, might think a person with a blog--all "out there" would be the opposite. I suspect I am not alone in this category. I have my few close friends. That is all one needs. A few close friends--and time alone (like running and most of my knitting, in a way--has to be done alone). Anyhow, these ladies are knitting Einsteins. Every single question you have about the world of knitting can be answered in this group. I am the youngest of the group--and that is not saying much. This is the place I turned to when I first wanted to pick up knitting again. This is the place I turn to when I need to inject the old knitting with something new and sassy--like knitting some fingerless mittens on two circular needles! (Versus using threee or four of these teeny-tiny needles that made the toothpick rejection test line--I am not kidding!). Yes, it can be done--but I learn best with being shown in person--visually, not on a video, thank you very much. I brought along some of my delicious mostacciaolli cookies for them to sweeten the deal for a little help here. (It is frowned upon to just "show up" on social knitting day and expect full attention given to you for some ginormous "learnings." )

I have to be honest, when I take to the knitting like I am now, everything else, well--it can take a back seat. I just want to knit, knit, knit. Oh, and I started getting Christmas cards this week. I am not much of a holiday gal. That whole Black Friday to me is a sign that this world is long for getting back to the things in life that really do matter--not standing in line at four in the morning for a Kitchen Aid Blender. I don't send cards, well, haven't for the past several years. We will get many cards--however, slowly my "cards received" are dwindling. I know some love to have the list out and go through the address book and make this a real event (or a real task)--that's great for them. It's not my cup of tea. Baking cookies, that's more me. Plus, I think my holiday spirit is dampened because of all of the crappy news I've had lately. I have family that is, to put it bluntly, is single in nature and a train wreck. This non-existent person will probably read this. If so, that is all that needs to be said. I'm lucky to make it to the 25th without some sort of meltdown. I am fine through November, but right about now, it's not pretty (thus an afternoon knitting is very theraputic). I have a few engagements to attend to before Christmas--plus my anniversary and a significant birthday coming up. I think that the powers that be put all this in front of me to fire up my spirit just a tiny bit. (Once American Idol comes back on, I'll be fine!) We've slowly seen decorations dwindle in this house as well. Last year I bought this little Smokey Mountain pre-lit tree on sale. I love it. My theme for it is western--cowboy, cowgirl--just western. It's up--and I like the lights on it and how it makes everything inside so cozy.

Maybe it's the fact it was ten degrees last night. (All of those pretty veggie shots are gone for a while, the cold just knocked everything dead.) Maybe it is the lack of daylight--December being our darkest month and all. I don't know. But my cooking inspiration ebbs and flows. I am tired by four in the afternoon. Once this week I started dinner at five thirty--I never wait that long. I just sat and stared at the stove. I got nothing.

Therefore, I am pulling out a recipe for you that came together this past weekend. It is a great one to try. Empanadas sound like a big deal, but they are so easy! Empanadas are a favorite food in Chile. Coincidentally, I have a favorite author who grew up in Chile, Isabel Allende. I recently finished one of her books: Paula. What a wonderful, inpsiring and heartbreaking memior about the life she and her family had in Chile (surviving the military coup in 1973), to tackling some of her own personal demons, to having her daughter--and then watching her daughter suffer from a grave illness and fall into a coma. Suddenly the story is more intense and filled with her stories as this is what the book is about--Isabel sharing her life story orally with her daughter as she lays in a coma. This book truly moved me.

Given all of this, Sunday was my most productive cooking day of the week so far. I spent nearly four hours in the kitchen cooking. I made albondigas soup (recipe to come later) and then these empanadas to accompany it--plus a really easy dipping sauce. I like everything dipped. These were so easy to put together. But be warned, you will need to make your own dough for this--I think it makes all the difference. I got my inspiration for this from one of my favorite cookbooks: Sundays at Moosewood. I gave the filling an upgrade and added a few more spices and I added golden raisins to them. In the dough department, I added a bit of spelt flour. It is a very basic recipe.

Vegan Empanadas de Papas

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion diced
1 russet potato diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 small jar of pimentos
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds crushed in a mortar
Spike seasoning or S & P to taste
dash of cayenne
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add onions, peppers, potatoes and seasonings. Cook for about five minutes more. Cover and let cook about ten minutes to get those potatoes to soften up--about 12 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients once the potatoes have been tested and prove to be fork tender--but not mushy. Remove from heat. Now make the dough.

1/4 cup canola or sunflower oil (for cooking the empanadas in)
1 cup warm water mixed with 1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Dipping Sauce
3 tablespoons of vegan mayo
1 tabelspoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon horseradish
Mix all together in a bowl and set aside for dipping!

Preheat oven to 300. Mix all of this with your hands--no blenders needed! Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add liquid. Begin to mix together. Mix it until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers and that all of the mixture has been well combined. Don't over knead this.Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to a log about 7 or 8 inches long. Now, cut this log into 7 or 8 equal pieces. Take each piece and flatten it with your hand. Then, take a floured rolling pin and roll each piece flat--to create about a seven inch circle. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle. Wet the edges of one side. Fold over and with the tines of a fork, pinch the ends closed. Now, heat the oil in a large pan with high sides--makes for less mess. Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, carefully place about 3 empanadas in to cook. Don't crowd the pan. Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side--until they get nice and golden. Remove them from the pan and place on paper towels. Since you have several more to make, place these drained ones on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in the oven to keep warm.

Two New Vegan Sides (Vegan MoFo Reason 19 & 20)

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!