Polenta Bruschetta

It's Vegan MoFo, Day 4!

Today's recipe uses leftovers from yesterday's Californian Bruschetta recipe, with the addition of sauteed spinach and Kalamata olives, and polenta instead of bread. You can mix and match the toppings however you like. Makes a great appetizer, party snack, or meal on its own.

Toppings combinations, from left to right: sauteed spinach + tomato mix + sliced olives; ricotta mix + tomato mix; ricotta mix + tomato mix + sliced olives

P o l e n t a  B r u s ch e t t a

Ingredients

tofu ricotta mixture

tomato basil mixture

pre-cooked roll of polenta*

olive oil

2 cups fresh baby spinach, sauteed (optional)

Kalamata olives, sliced (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. 
3. Slice polenta log into 1/2'' slices (the log I used made about 12 slices).
4. Cover each slice with any combination of the following: a heaping spoonful of the ricotta mixture, a heaping spoonful of the tomato basil mixture, a spoonful of sauteed spinach, and a few slices of Kalamata olives.
5. Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes.

Notes

*I used the 18oz package of organic, pre-cooked polenta, from Trader Joe's

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P.S. I missed the deadline to sign up for the Vegan MoFo RSS feed/blogroll, so if you enjoy my posts, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if you added me to your feed! 

If you aren't sure how, here's an illustrated how-to guide I created! Or, if you're using feedly, you can simply enter "chooseyourownfoodchain" in the search box, click on my site, then add me! 

Here's my RSS feed url, if you need it: http://chooseyourownfoodchain.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

P.P.S. You can also find me on Instagram 

(http://instagram.com/megvegmeg). :)

Californian Bruschetta

It's Vegan Mofo, Day 3!

Tonight I made what I'm calling a "Californian" variation on an old Italian favorite: bruschetta. Why Californian? Because it's healthier (ahem, it's vegan), and as ya'll know, California is notorious for its healthy lifestyles, and because I used sourdough bread, which although I've read originated in ancient Egypt before spreading to Northern Europe and then to Northern California, is considered a staple bread here in all of California. 

Because it's so late, I'm just going to post some teaser photos for now, and I'll be posting the full recipe tomorrow.  The recipe is now posted, below the photos!

tofu ricotta, which is also used in my famous Stuffed Shells recipe!

The bruschetta mixture of tomatoes et al.

Finito. Bella, salubre, e deliziosa!

C a l i f o r n i a n  B r u s c h e t t a

Ingredients

Sourdough bread, sliced 

(I used San Luis Sourdough, but any kind will do!)

For the tofu ricotta:

1 package (~16oz) of firm tofu

1/2 cup (or slightly more) of Vegenaise

2 to 3 TB nutritional yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

For the tomato mixture:

2 1/2 large tomatoes*, chopped

1 cup basil leaves, cut Chiffonade style

2 garlic cloves, minced and sauteed

2 TB olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper**, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F***
2. In a large bowl, mix the olive oil and balsamic. Add the rest of the tomato mixture ingredients, and toss well. It's best if you can let it marinate for an hour, but not totally necessary.
3. Pat the tofu dry, and mash into a bowl. Add the remaining ricotta ingredients, and mash with a fork until all is blended. 
4. Lightly oil a baking sheet and/or lightly oil both sides of each slice of bread.
5. Add heaping spoonfuls of ricotta mixture to each slice of bread. Bake slices in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until ricotta has slightly darkened and firmed. 
6. Top with generous heaps of fresh tomato mixture and serve! This would make a great party appetizer, but is also good on its own! 

Notes:

*I used what I had, which was 1/2 beefsteak tomato (don't you hate the name?), 1 large garden tomato, & 1 cup of cherry tomatoes. The latter of the two, I picked from my neighbor's garden. I'll have to ask her what kind the garden tomato was. But 2 1/2 large tomatoes, whatever kind, should approximate the amount I used just fine.

**I really love using rainbow peppercorns. I buy mine at Trader Joe's.

***If you plan to let your tomato mixture marinate for an hour or so, no need to preheat your oven right away.

_________________________________________________________________________________

P.S. I missed the deadline to sign up for the Vegan MoFo RSS feed/blogroll, so if you enjoy my posts, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if you added me to your feed! 

If you aren't sure how, here's an illustrated how-to guide I created! Or, if you're using feedly, you can simply enter "chooseyourownfoodchain" in the search box, click on my site, then add me! 

Here's my RSS feed url, if you need it: http://chooseyourownfoodchain.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

P.P.S. You can also find me on Instagram 

(http://instagram.com/megvegmeg). :)

Vegan MoFo! Post #3: Capellini with Vodka Sauce

Foods of Various Cultures...

Hands down, my favorite pasta variety is capellini. I love the delicate texture, and how the thinness provides more surface area to pick up even the lightest of sauces and flavors.

That said, vodka sauce is not, by any means, a light sauce. It's okay. It's still a great pairing, trust me.

It is common in Italian cuisine to use alcohol to bring out the flavor in tomatoes and other vegetables. This is often accomplished with wine, but vodka sauce uses, well, vodka. This was my first time making vodka sauce and I totally winged it. I didn't even know I was going to be making vodka sauce until mid-way through the process of making it. If you tend to shy away from free-style cooking, I encourage you to experiment with whatever's in your kitchen. No recipe, no plan, just go with it and feel liberated! When it comes to cooking, I'm a firm believer in not having firm beliefs. This is why there is jalapeno in my vodka sauce.

So, in the spirit of experimentation, take this recipe as a guideline rather than a formula!

C a p e l l i n i  w i t h  V o d k a  S a u c e

Ingredients:
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced 
3 large-ish roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups of mushrooms, diced - I used white button
1 1/2 cups basil, cut into fine shreds
1/3 cup French Onion style Tofutti cream cheese 
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup tomato paste 
2 ounces of vodka (or, one and a half shots)
sea salt to taste 

Saute the onions until softened. Add the jalapeno and garlic, then the tomatoes, then the mushrooms and 1 cup of the basil.

Heat some olive oil in a separate, large pot. Add the tomato paste and cook until almost boiling. Add the ingredients from above, along with the vodka, olive oil and water. Stir. Add the cream cheese and stir until evenly distributed (the sauce should lighten). Bring to a boil and then immediately turn down to simmer. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt to your taste.

When serving, garnish with the remainder of the finely shredded basil.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time:
Incorporate the vodka earlier. I think this would enhance the flavors of the vegetables even more than adding the vodka when I did. Use more roma tomatoes.

I served this with a side of broccoli and Tofurkey Italian sausage.

Vegan MoFo! Day 4: Stuffed Shells Because I Love You

This recipe is another one among my favorites, right up there with kale salad and Death Row Mac 'n Cheese. I must credit my former housemate, Muckford, for discovering the original recipe somewhere on the internet a while ago. I've modified it slightly, but only slightly. This is another one of those recipes that delights vegans, omnivores, and Italian families alike.

In fact, legend has it that one of my uncles, a lover of all dishes meat-and-cheese-related, had no idea this was vegan until I told him. After he ate a plateful. I believe his words were something like, "This is vegan, really?! It tasted exactly the same as regular stuffed shells." Hell, I'm betting even babies and dogs would love these shells, but please, please, don't test that hypothesis. Because I love it so much, let's repeat that one sentence real quick: "This is vegan, really?! It tasted exactly the same as regular stuffed shells."

I am tagging this as "students," too, because it can be made cheaply, and we all know students are poor.

The following, I share with you, because, CYoFC readers, I do love you. <3


V e g a n  S t u f f e d  S h e l l s

Ingredients:

About 40 jumbo shells
3 jars tomato sauce
2 pounds firm tofu
2-3 cups of baby spinach (optional)
1 & 1/3 cups low-fat vegan mayonnaise
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons dried parsley
4 teaspoons dried basil
4 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder

NOTE: If you don't want to make this much (the above serves about 12), just halve all of the ingredients. Don't forget to halve the seasonings and salts, though!

Directions: 

• Cook the pasta according to directions the on the box
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Drain the tofu well and pat dry. With a fork (or potato masher), mash the tofu, vegan mayonnaise, nutritional yeast, salt and seasonings together until the texture resembles ricotta vegan cheese. Yep, no blender or food processor needed here. OPTIONAL: include 2 cups of baby spinach leaves in the mix before you mash it.
• Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with a thin layer of pasta sauce. Using a small spoon, fill each shell with a scoop of the tofu mixture. Lay each stuffed shell gently on top of the pasta sauce, seam facing up. (FYI: The original recipe said seam facing down, so choose what you will.)
• When the baking pan is full, pour the rest of the tomato sauce evenly over the shells. Sprinkle with a small amount of nutritional yeast. OPTIONAL: gently arrange a baby spinach leaf over each shell. The vein of the leaf should run perpendicularly to the seam of the shell. This will make your tray of shells look prettier, and your friends/family may think these are actually basil leaves. Mine did. Extra cooking cred points, score.
• Bake for 30 minutes or so.  

This looks complicated and daunting, but really, the basic steps are 1) cook the pasta, 2) mash together the fillings, 3) put sauce and pasta in the tray, 4) fill pasta, 5) cover pasta with more sauce, 6) bake.

In da tray.

What do I mean by "jumbo shells," you ask? Here's a photo:  

There they are, looking all jumbo and menacing.

 

Yep, that's an American flag napkin. I made these for our 4th of July party like two years ago. When I was in preschool, I used to do stuff like refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing My Country 'Tis of Thee, so making "foreign" food on a patriotic holiday is pretty standard for me.

iMangia, my pretties! 

Love,
CYoFC