Day Eight - Week Two Recipe Catch Up featuring AMAZING Brunch Recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Aloha, dear readers. I’m back in Portland, and freezing my buns off. However, I’ve got some recipes that we have developed/eaten in the last two weeks (that I haven’t made for L and V yet) that I thought I would post now just to catch up and give you lovelies some fresh recipe inspiration.

These enchiladas are killer. Soyrizo brand soy chorizo is gluten-free (the Trader Joe’s brand is good, too, also gluten-free, and a bit spicier), corn tortillas are gluten free, and the zip of the enchiladas creates such a nice context for the daiya cheddar. These are super easy to make, and if you use 2 cans of beans and 1 whole tube of soyrizo, I think it’s the perfect proportions and then you have a great lunch for the next day (leftovers of the enchilada filling is probable…unless you’re into some seriously girthy enchiladas) with some organic corn chips: nachos!

Soy Chorizo Enchiladas__________________________________________________________

Ingredients: 1 large onion, 1 zucchini, 1 tube soyrizo, 2 cans drained black beans (or approx. 16 oz. of pre-soaked black beans), 1 packet of frozen corn (or two ears’ worth, fresh), 1-2 tomatoes, 1 avocado, 1 can red enchilada sauce of your choice, herbs/seasonings (garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, chili flakes, fresh cilantro), Tofutti sour cream (optional)

· Chop 1 large onion and sauté in a large pan with garlic and salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, (and optional chili flakes), toss in some peeled and chopped zucchini, as well

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees

· Add 1 tube of soyrizo to the onions and heat thoroughly, flipping to slightly brown and stirring/separating frequently

· Add 2 cans of drained and rinsed black beans and stir

· Add 1 packet of frozen corn or about two ears of fresh corn, cut from the ear and stir

· Keep hot, and stir in: freshly chopped cilantro, 1 large tomato or 2 small ones, 1 avocado (optional)

· Once this mixture is ready, heat a pan and get a little enchilada express conveyer line going: heat the tortillas on each side to ensure malleability, pour red enchilada sauce into a large casserole dish and flip hot tortilla on each side to sauce it, then fill and roll and set side by side one another. Pour the rest of red enchilada sauce over the top, as well as some grated cheddar daiya (go easy). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until as crunchy as desired.

If you want to top it with some Tofutti brand sour cream, I think you should. When I served this to G and J, I plated super cute with a little mound of Spanish rice with chips stuck in it. I think G has a picture. I might track that down. Extra fresh cilantro, the Tofutti sour cream, and some avocado are nice finishing touches to have on the plate/table.

J’s been making some pretty righteous miso soup on a regular basis for his lunch scene. I’ve been lucky enough to get in on it myself a couple times, and man is it good. And he whips this up in like 20 minutes. I think it would probably take me longer, but I asked him what he does, and apparently it goes a little something like this:

Miso Soup__________________________________________________________________

Ingredients: 2-3 cloves garlic (or to your specific garlic taste), olive oil, green onions, pick a couple vegetables/what you have on hand (carrots, celery, mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, daikon radish, and bok choy are my favorites), veggie stock, tofu (firm and pressed to reduce moisture), rice noodles of your choice (you could probably even use 100% buckwheat soba noodles if you wanted), seaweed (nori, wakame, haziki), and miso (we’re using Westbrae Natural brand vegetarian, unpasteurized, organic mellow brown rice miso).

· Pre-cook rice noodles before or during the following, and set aside

· Mince the garlic and sauté in a large pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil on medium/high heat

· Chop green onion – sauté the white part with the garlic and set aside the green part for garnishment topping at the end

· Chop carrots (small pieces), celery, and any other veggies you’re using and add to the pan – mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, bok choy, daikon radish, etc (sauté carrot and celery first, then add according to vegetable – be mindful of order/cooking times and to not overcook)

· Add 1-2 cups of water (depending on serving size)

· Add 1-2 cups of vegetable stock (depending on desired thickness and serving size)

· Add tofu, once cubed

· Add seaweed (nori, wakame, haziki) of your choice, and your call on how much, too – seaweeds are excellent for you, so be brave. They take on the taste of the miso in a heavenly way.

· Keep simmer to low once all ingredients have been added

· On a different burner, mix 1-2 teaspoon miso (to taste desired) with a small amount of veggie stock and simmer on the lowest heat possible for just a few moments, stirring until consistent throughout and then add to your soup mixture (boiling the miso kills it, and we don’t want to do that)

· To serve: put some rice noodles in the bottom of a bowl, ladle the miso/veggie soup mixture over the top, and garnish with the green onions

J is a big fan of the “A Vegan Taste of…” series of cookbooks (there’s A Vegan Taste of: Thailand, Mexico, The Middle East, East Africa, Italy, France, North Africa, Eastern Europe, The Caribbean, and Central America, Greece, etc.), and adapted a few of the recipes in the Vegan Taste of India one to make an Indian Feast last week that was To Die For. If you like these seasonings, you have to check this meal out:

Mung Bean Dahl_______________________________________________________________________

4 oz/100 g mung beans (soaked overnight at least, can go for 2 days, or until sprouted)

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

Chili flakes instead of green chili (very small)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon black mustard seed

¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek (very finely ground)

4 cardamoms, husked and the seeds separated

Black pepper

25 fl oz/750 vegetable stock or water

Finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

“Soak the mung beans in water for 2 hours. Heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic, and chili (flakes) until soft. Add the cumin, coriander, mustard seed, fenugreek, and cardamoms and stir around for 30 seconds. Drain the mung beans and add them to the pan together with the stock or water. Season with black pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender. Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher. Return to the stove and heat gently, whilst stirring, for a minute or two. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.” [For John’s version, add a cup of spinach and squirt of Bragg’s and substitute green chili for red flakes.]

From “A Vegan Taste of India” by Linda Majzlik, pg. 36-7

Spiced Cauliflower with Cashews__________________________________________________

Tomato celery shallot instead of onion

1 lb/450 g cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 onion, peeled and chopped [John used one shallot instead of a whole onion]

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 oz/75 g cashew nuts, ground

1 oz/25 g sultanas

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

12 fl. Oz/350 ml water

1 rounded teaspoon ground cumin

1 rounded teaspoon ground coriander

1 rounded teaspoon yellow mustard seed

½ teaspoon fenugreek

½ teaspoon turmeric

Black pepper

Toasted cashew nuts

Garam masala

[John also used 1 tomato and some celery in this dish]

“Blend the onion with the garlic and fry in the oil until soft. Add the cumin, coriander, mustard seed, fenugreek and turmeric and stir around for 30 seconds. Add the water, cauliflower, and sultanas and season with black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently until the cauliflower is just tender. Stir in the ground cashews and continue simmering for a couple of minutes while stirring. Garnish with the toasted cashew nuts and sprinkle with garam masala.”

From “A Vegan Taste of India” by Linda Majzlik, pg. 89

J’s Green Beans_________________________________________________________________

Ingredients: ginger, olive oil, carrots, green beans, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sweet chili sauce, red chili flakes, sesame seeds (amount of vegetables depends on serving size desired – use your judgment/palette to specify).

Finely sliver a small amount of ginger (tiny strips) and carrot (so everything is long like the green beans) and chop the beans in half after taking the ends off. Sauté the ginger in a little olive oil, add green beans, add carrots, add 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil, a little splash of rice vinegar, some sweet chili sauce (to taste), some red chili flakes (if you really want some heat), sprinkle sesame seeds, and serve.

Okay friends, here’s a couple especially amazing recipes that I am really excited to share with you. These recipes are straight out of “Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For – From Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes" by the truly gifted Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author/co-author of such ground-breaking and widely-popular cookbooks as “Vegan with a Vengeance”, “Veganomicon – The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook”, and “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”. Isa has graciously given her permission for these recipes to be used on this blog, and I want to both thank her and compel ya’ll to give these a try. These omelets are totally customizable – G had a broccoli cheddar (daiya) one, J had a spinach/tomato version and I did what J did, but added some sautéed mushrooms. You might have to go to a specialty salt/seasoning shop to get the salt, but the high sulfuric content really does make it seem strangely and inexplicably egg-y. In the best way possible, not in a gross imitation way. Anyway, these recipes are seriously to die for, and if you like what you see – go buy Vegan Brunch. It’s flippin’ awesome.

Tofu Omelets_______________________________________________________________

· 2 garlic cloves (optional) (but heck yes!)

· 1 pound silken tofu, lightly drained (not the vacuum-packed kind) or soft tofu (Nasoya brand is recommended)

· 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· ½ teaspoon turmeric

· 1 teaspoon fine black salt, plus extra for sprinkling

· ½ cup chickpea flour

· 1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch

· Chop up the garlic, if using, in a food processor. Add the tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, turmeric, and salt. Puree until smooth. Add the chickpea flour and arrowroot and puree again for about 10 seconds, until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides so that everything is well incorporated.

· Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Well-seasoned cast iron works great or use a regular nonstick skillet. Lightly grease the pan with either cooking spray or a very thin layer of oil (the less oil the better for the nice brown speckles we’re going for). Also, make sure that you use a large skillet, as you need room to spread out the omelet and to get your spatula under there to flip. Don’t use an 8-inch omelet pan or anything like that. Here you’ll need at least 12 inches (tee hee).

From “Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For – from Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Buckwheat Pancakes__________________________________________________________

· ½ cup buckwheat flour

· ¼ cup quinoa flour

· ¼ cup corn flour (not cornmeal; corn flour is finer)

· 2 tablespoons tapioca flour (cornstarch or arrowroot would be okay, too)

· 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (or flax meal)

· 1 tablespoon baking powder

· ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

· ¼ teaspoon salt

· ½ cup soy milk (or other nondairy milk)

· ½ cup water

· 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

· 2 tablespoons canola oil

· ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

· Cooking spray

· In a large mixing bowl, mix together all flours and the flax seeds, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the remaining wet ingredients. Use a fork to mix well for about a minute. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes and preheat a large, heavy-bottomed, nonstick pan, preferably cast iron, over medium heat.

· When pan is hot, spray with a thin layer of cooking spray and use an ice cream scooper to pour batter and form pancakes. I usually make two at a time, but do as many as you can fit. The pancake should start to form little air bubbles, but not as much as “normal” pancakes do, so don’t worry. Cook on one side for 2 ½ to 3 minutes, then flip and cook for 2 minutes more.

From “Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For – from Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Diner Home Fries________________________________________________________________

· 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 to 6 potatoes), cut in half lengthwise, sliced ½ inch thick or so

· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

· 1 green pepper, seeded, cut into ½-inch wide, inch-long pieces

· 1 medium onion, cut into ½-inch wide, inch-long-pieces

· ¾ teaspoon salt

· ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

· Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down just a bit (to medium high) and cook for about 15 more minutes, until potatoes are thoroughly cooked but still firm. Drain well.

· Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and let the oil get hot. Add the potatoes and flip them around with a spatula to coat in oil. Let them cook undisturbed for about 5 to 7 minutes; they should be lightly browned. If not then bring the heat up a bit. Toss them and let cook for 10 more minutes, flipping occasionally to brown all sides. They won’t all get browned and crispy; just do your best.

· Add the peppers, onions, salt and pepper, and another tablespoon of oil and cook for 5 to 7 more minutes, stirring often, until onions and peppers are cooked.

From “Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For – from Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Enjoy these recipes – L and V are still eating leftovers, they loved the minestrone soup (it’s their favorite thing I’ve made so far), and there will certainly be loads of updates posted this week!

Much love,

JRW