Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sometimes One Must Keep It Simple

Sometimes I forget I'm, in essence, cooking for baby boomers. I go in, tempeh-touting and ready to present originally-flavored, palette-surprising creations...and am met with "we miss meatloaf". Or "we don't like tofu". Ugh. I love my SP3 (which is now more like the San Pedro EIGHT! Guess that community dinner was a success!), don't get me wrong - but I am learning that being virtually a private chef comes with a certain power dynamic. At the end of the day, no matter if I'm the expert - these people want to eat things that are accessible to their very-formed mental constructs about food. They have or are working on serious dietary changes already; I can't rock the boat too much. I can't be Captain Tofu. [And not just because I don't own this get-up.]

Remember L in Portland and my commitment to remain free of outcome expectation and think of this always as a ministry of planting seeds? Some may germinate, some may root and flower, some may not - that's not my domain. My domain is the planting of ideas and knowledge fertilization, so to speak.

Yeah, that still needs to be kept in mind (talking to myself here).

I sent out a menu to those that were interested in buying into the San Pedro group for Tuesday, and was really proud of it. Tal Ronnen-inspired deliciousness, painstakingly adapted for TruNorth (no oil/salt/sugar added, all gluten-free, as well as vegan). And then I immediately got e-mails galore poo-poo'ing the menu. So I sent out a revised menu the next day. And lost a person altogether for Tuesday because she was excited for the original idea, and not into the revised one.

I'm not complaining here, I'm just saying that you can't please everyone all of the time. Duh? Duh. But I put a lot of myself into what I make for the San Pedro group, which is fine - but I have to know where I end and the food begins then, if that makes sense. I am not the food I make. You can dislike the food, and I won't take it personally. But then I'm oddly disconnected. Love and Heart are ingredients in everything I'm cooking, cheesy as that may sound. I'd be interested in feedback from other chefs that are deeply impassioned about what they are doing/cooking: is it hard to not take it personally sometimes when the feedback is less than glowing? And they didn't even poo-poo my food...just my menu! Lol. I'm in trouble. Time for an ego check.

So, wanting to honor various said e-mail requests to not use tofu or tempeh, not have anything too spicy, use lots of cooked vegetables at both meals and little to none raw, and not include cole slaw nor split peas, here is what I ended up making those 'boomers, and they liked it, and I love that we are all being authentic on our mutual path of food discovery and that they feel open to communicate their needs and that I am in touch with myself enough to self-reflect around my process of frustration in re-designing this week's menu with grace and acceptance...and even humor. Sooooooo...mashed potatoes and gravy, anyone? ;-)

Menu: Minestrone Soup and Wilted Garlicky Mixed Greens
Ginger Carrots & Green Beans, Grilled Portobellos, and Mixed Russet/Sweet Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy

Minestrone Soup recipe is here. The only difference is I broth-sauteed instead of using oil, and I used straight-up water (kangen water, though, of course) without the bouillon cube(s) for proper liquid ratio.

Wilted Garlicky Mixed Greens____________________________________________
1 head red kale
1 head kale - other (dino/lacinato or green curly)
1 head other green (I used chard this time around)
5-6 cloves garlic
2-3 tablespoons veggie broth, for sauteing
squirt of Bragg's
squirt of balsamic vinegar
additional broth or water on hand to keep things moist

Wash and de-rib the greens and cut or tear into pieces. Finely mince the garlic and saute in a non-stick pan or wok on low-medium heat in the veggie broth for a couple minutes. Raise the temperature and toss in the greens, flipping with tongs to ensure garlic gets evenly dispersed throughout. Add the Bragg's and balsamic, and keep flipping. As the greens cook down, add additional liquid as needed to keep the pan moist and be careful not to over-cook or scald the leaves.

Ginger Carrots & Green Beans__________________________________________
1 lb. green beans, rinsed and ended
3-4 carrots, rinsed and cut into thin strips
2-3 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
squirt of Bragg's
freshly ground black pepper to taste
squirt of rice vinegar
2-3 tablespoons of veggie broth for sauteing
(optional additions I didn't use due to the dietary restriction of the San Pedro group: chili paste, chili flakes, sesame oil, sesame seeds)

Saute the ginger in a pan or wok on medium heat for a couple minutes until it softens, then add the beans, carrots, Bragg's, pepper, and vinegar, turn up the heat, and toss/stir fry until green beans are just tender. If the pan/mixture becomes too dry, add another squirt of Bragg's and/or rice vinegar and continue.

Grilled Portobellos_____________________________________________________
[I wish I had pictures of the other side of the caps, because my grill marks were nice!]
4 portobello mushrooms, rinsed, stems set aside for gravy
Marinade:
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons Bragg's
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all of your marinade ingredients together and spoon over the portobellos and let them soak it up for about 30 minutes. I grilled these on a grill pan in the oven at 400 degrees and didn't use oil (stuck to TruNorth), which meant I had to frequently be moving them every few minutes so they didn't get too stuck to anything. I kept some marinade aside and spooned over the shrooms every other time I moved/rotated them or so. Start gill side up, and when you rotate, rotate 90 degrees to get nice cross-hatched grill marks. Flip occasionally, but let them spend most of their time gill side up. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the mushrooms and temperature of the grill. It took me about 40 minutes until they were done. You know they're done when you press the center with tongs where the stem was and they're soft and juicy. Remove from heat and let cool for about five minutes, which helps the flavors set up. Props to Isa's recipe, which this is a variation on.

Mixed Russet/Sweet Mashed Potatoes_______________________________________
2 lbs (910 g) large sweet potatoes or “yams”, peeled and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
4 lbs (1820 g) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
¼ to ½ cup (60 to 120 ml) nondairy unsweetened almond milk
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place yams and potatoes in a large-size pot. Cover with water. Cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 25 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Using a potato masher or an electric hand mixer on low speed, mix potatoes, milk, and pepper until well combined and creamy. Use more almond milk if a creamy consistency is not achieved through mixing alone.

Jessica's Mushroom Gravy (TruNorth style)____________________________________

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 cups finely chopped mushroom/the portobello stems from above finely chopped

3 cups Pacific brand low-sodium veggie stock

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons thyme

1 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

baby squirt of Bragg's

1 tablespoon marsala cooking wine

2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup of water (entire mixture added)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a lidded small pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the veggie stock on medium heat and saute the garlic, thyme, sage, oregano, and basil for a minute. Add onions and mushrooms, and stir ocassionally, cooking down on medium heat until soft and onions translucent. Add a cup of the broth and stir. Let the mixture homogenize for a few moments, and then add another cup of the broth with the marsala, Bragg's and nutritional yeast. Stir and let cook for another moment, then add the 2 tablespoons cornstarch in dissolving water, the remaining broth, and pepper to taste. You may need to turn up the heat slightly when adding the cornstarch so it thickens properly, and any other additional portions of the herbs/pepper to taste to your liking.


So I am indeed the new L.A. Vegan Restaurant Examiner on Examiner.com. Check out my first two posts here and here...and if you have a hot vegan L.A. insider tip or recommendation - I'm all ears!

Blessings & Bon Appetit,
JRW

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