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Butler Soy Curls

January 14th, 2012

Butler Soy Curls

If you’ve been to Portland you’ll find plenty vegan food and you’ll also likely experience a thing called soy curls. They’re found everywhere from Homegrown Smoker to Native Bowl. Nothing more than dried soybean protein they have a chewy texture and, like tofu, Butler Soy Curls can take on the flavor properties of whatever you season them with. So when given a few bags of these versatile goodies I brainstormed on what I should prepare first. The obvious choice was a simple barbecue sandwich.

I’m no fan of meat substitutes and I’ve made that clear before. I do, however, realize that fake meats have their place for transitioning vegetarians and the occasional vegan who likes the chance of getting with some junk food. I’ll indulge in junk food from time to time and sometimes one of those fake meats might be what I choose if it’s new or really doesn’t have exact properties of actual meat.

I chose to make saucy barbecue sandwiches using some of the peach BBQ sauce I made and bottled over the summer. Instead of simply soaking the curls for a few minutes as the directions indicated I simmered them in a mixture of broth, seasonings and a little of the peach BBQ sauce for about 15 minutes until most of the liquid had boiled away leaving the soy curls well-flavored before I added them to a saucepan of peach BBQ sauce. I turned them down on low and simmered them again for about 30 minutes. Fresh baked buns awaited great vegan barbecue sandwich.

Butler Soy Curls

Butler Soy Curls hydrated. At this point they have a slightly chewy texture and are ready for your recipe.

 

Butler Soy Curls BBQ

Butler Soy Curls simmering in homemade Peach BBQ Sauce. Getting ready for a great vegan BBQ sandwich.

 

Butler Soy Curls - Vegan BBQ Sandwich

Vegan BBQ Sandwich with Butler Soy Curls

 

The soy curls are slightly chewy and have no flavor on their own so they can be made to fit into most any dish you choose. They’re great for stir fries, sandwiches, fajitas and could be chopped slightly smaller and used in soups or stews.

Butler Soy Curls are available from their website as well as many online retailers.

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Posted in Barbecue, BBQ, Cooking, Fake Meat, Food, Food Cart, Homegrown Smoker, Portland, Reviews, Vegan Products

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Seitanic Dumplings

November 3rd, 2011

When the weather cools down I crave comfort foods. Even better is a one pot comfort food. Nothing is quite as comforting and filling as dumplings. For this recipe I made my own seitan. Making your own seitan is quite easy and you can find plenty of recipes for doing it. I’ll post my seitan recipe later but if you don’t already have a recipe or you’re just not comfortable making it yourself you can always buy it pre-made. You can usually find it beside the tofu in Whole Foods or other grocery stores if you’re so lucky to find one that carries it. It’s very expensive to buy pre-made seitan versus making it yourself so if you start to rely on seitan for much of your cooking you’ll want to get into making it. Your cash flow will thank you.

This recipe is one I made from my little of this, little of that method and worked it to the right spot. I posted this recipe a few years ago but have tweaked it since and I think it’s worth posting again.   Try this one on a cold, damp day.

 

Seitanic Dumplings

 

Seitanic Dumplings

4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
1/3 cup Earth Balance
1/3 cup flour
16 oz seitan torn into small pieces
1 small onion finely diced
2 medium carrots peeled and diced into small cubes
2 medium potatoes peeled and diced into small cubes
1  TSP salt
1/2 TSP black pepper
2 TSP marjoram

Melt Earth Balance in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Remove onion and set aside. Add flour to the melted Earth Balance remaining in the pot and create a roux. Add water and stock gradually stir or whisking to remove any clumps. Add all other ingredients. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

For the Dumplings:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 TBS shortening or Earth Balance
1 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 TBS lemon juice OR 1 TBS apple cider vinegar

Add vinegar or lemon juice to the soy milk and set aside. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Using a fork cut in the shortening or Earth Balance and mix until only small clumps remain. Add the soy milk.  Mix with a spatula or fork until a large wet dough ball forms. You’re needing a sticky mass not a dry clump. If your dough is too dry add a little more milk.  Roll out dough on a floured board until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut rolled dough into 1 inch wide strips and cut strips into smaller lengths, about 2-3 inches long. Place dumplings on top of soup and let cook covered on medium-low heat undisturbed for 15 minutes. After cooking stir dumplings into soup and cooked covered for another 30 minutes on medium-low heat stirring occasionally.

Makes 6-8 servings.

 

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Posted in Cooking, Earth Balance, Recipes, Seitan

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Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Dip

October 6th, 2011

Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Cream Cheese Dip

Fewer ingredients hit a popularity during a certain season like pumpkin does in fall. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin spice lattes all hit a high during this time of year. One of our favorite snacks to make involves a generous taste of sweet pumpkin. Pumpkin Pecan Dip is a quick munchie that can be made on a whim and will have even the meat eaters asking for more.

As with all of the recipes I post don’t skimp on the ingredients with a cheaper version of something thinking you’ll get the same flavor. It doesn’t work. I’ve tried this with different brands of pumpkin spread and vegan cream cheese and the flavors just aren’t there. You’ll find the Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter at Williams-Sonoma and Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Plain Cream Cheese is available at most Whole Foods stores. Again, don’t skimp if you want the best flavor. You’ve been warned.

 

Williams-Sonoma Pecan Pumpkin Butter and Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Plain Cream Cheese

Two of the main ingredients: Williams-Sonoma's Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter, Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Plain Cream Cheese and Lightlife Smoky Tempeh Strips (not pictured) are important ingredients in this recipe. Don't skimp on these as they lend the perfect flavor to this dip. I've tried others and they're just not as good.

Also, as with most of my recipes, they’re not really hardline recipes. For the most part, I don’t use recipes in my cooking and food preparation. I’m a little of this and little of that food creator. I have developed some of my “this and that creations” into traditional recipes to share and I plan on doing more of that in the future.  People keep asking me for recipes of the things I post pictures of on Twitter and I tell them there’s no recipe.  Some have said that I’m just not willing to share. No, I say that because I don’t have a recipe for the vegan cornbread that will destroy the milk and egg cornbread your grandmother makes, the vegan biscuits that make those from “that local joint, you know the one” seem like flavorless hockey pucks (they are) or the barbecue tempeh that’s full of perfect flavor all the way through that I like to have once a week. I say that because it’s true. I could write down general guidelines but it wouldn’t be in recipe form.  Some of the best things you’ll ever eat will come from a little of this/little of that approach. Damn the recipe!

 

With that said, here’s the….recipe.

 

Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Dip

1/2 tub (4 oz) Galaxy Nutritional Vegan Plain Cream Cheese

1/3 cup Williams-Sonoma Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter

2 strips Lightlife Smoky Tempeh Strips

1/2 cup Pecans

2 tbs chives or green onions, chopped fine

Toast the pecans until lightly and fry the tempeh strips until crisp. Finely chop both the toasted pecans and tempeh strips, set aside.  Spread the Vegan Cream Cheese evenly on a small plate about 1/2 inch thick. Spread the Pecan Pumpkin Butter evenly on top of the vegan cream cheese.  Sprinkle the toasted pecans and tempeh strips on top of the pecan pumpkin butter.  Top with chopped chives or green onions.

Serve with crackers such as wheat thins. I prefer Trader Joe’s Everything Crackers.

 

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Posted in Cooking, Food, Lightlife, Recipes, Trader Joe's, Williams Sonoma

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Robbie’s Worcestershire – Vegan!

May 24th, 2011

Robbie's Worcestershire

I’m a lover of sauces. I cook with it and pour it on my food. I even make my own barbecue sauce. One of my favorites is Worcestershire and one of my favorite uses is putting it on a baked potato. I know that may seem odd to some but until you try it don’t sneer at it. Up to now the only vegan Worcestershire sauces I’ve found have been Amy’s and The Wizard’s. While good, both of those are a little to thick for me and don’t quite hit the flavor. I just discovered Robbie’s Worcestershire, a vegan Worcesterchire that is the most perfect vegan Worcestershire I’ve found. What makes Worcestershire not vegan, you may ask. Anchovies. It is the ingredient in most conventional Worcestershire sauces though I never remembered tasting it in sauces from Lea & Perrins or French’s.

Robbie’s Worcestershire is thin, just as every conventional sauce I’ve used and has the absolute perfect flavor. As a plus, it is the same price as Amy’s and The Wizard’s for twice the amount.

Robbie’s Worcestershire is available at Whole Foods in Franklin.

Time for some potatoes on the grill!

BBQ Tempeh Sandwich and Baked Potato topped with Robbie's Worcestershire & nutritional yeast

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Posted in Cooking, Food, Grocery, Reviews, Vegan Products, Whole Foods

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

November 6th, 2010

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This time of year brings out the candy coffee lover in people and most make a line to Starbucks and other coffee places that have decided the Pumpkin Spice Latte is the coffee flavor of the season. They are very good, although Starbucks isn’t vegan and Panera’s is, but they are very expensive. At and average of $4 for a Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte it can add up quickly if you become addicted. You could opt for a store-bought syrup. Williams-Sonoma sells a very good Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup.  At $10 for a small bottle that can also get expensive if you’re enjoying a pumpkin spice latte once or twice a day. With home espresso makers more affordable than the 5-time-a-week or more trips to the coffeeshop having a way to make your own Pumpkin Spice Latte at home should be as easy.

I created my own Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup after both my wife and I decided there was something about a cold morning and a spiced coffee that just fit. It is very simple but extremely tasty, better than any you’ll find at Starbucks, Panera or any other coffeeshop I’ve ever had a Pumpkin Spice Latte from and without all of the added preservatives you’ll find in those syrups some of the coffeeshops use. Even better, your wallet won’t be taking that ridiculous $4-plus hit with each drink.

High quality, fresh spices make all the difference in this recipe as they do in all.  Cheap or old spices will give a weak flavor and a bad syrup.


Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

1 Cup Water
1 Cup Vegan Sugar or Evaporated Cane Juice
2 TBS Whole Allspice
2 TBS Whole Cloves
1 TSP Ground Cinnamon
1/2 TSP Ground Ginger
1/2 TSP Fresh Ground Nutmeg
1 TSP Vanilla
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree

In a medium pan bring water, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and add sugar. Return to boil and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Continue to boil for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add pumpkin, return to boil whisking until pumpkin is well blended. Remove from heat and allow to completely cool. With a slotted spoon or strainer remove cloves and allspice. Cool completely, add vanilla and pour into jar or bottle for storage. When making your latte use two tablespoons, or more for a stronger flavor, for an 8 ounce latte. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of syrup.

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Posted in Coffee, Cooking, Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup, Recipes, Starbucks, Williams Sonoma

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