Green Bean Casserole

I'll be honest. The thought of the traditional green bean casserole turns my stomach. Lifeless, canned green beans with salty, fake onion thingies on top? No thanks.

I recently had some fresh green beans, and wanted to do something special with them. Something saucy!
I made my own casserole based on this recipe for Green Bean Casserole Redux at Chow.com. And boy oh boy, was it ever good!



Like everything, I just eyeballed it. I used what I had on hand, which was a handful of green beans, enoki mushrooms, powdered garlic & thyme, and onions instead of shallots. No biggie, still delicious! I also used individual bowls to bake it in.

Green Bean Casserole Redux

* Béchamel Sauce (warmed) [Vegan Ronin's Béchamel Recipe]
* 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons minced thyme leaves
* 5 medium shallots, sliced (about 1 1/3 cups)
* 3/4 cup flour for dusting shallots
* 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and cook until bright green and just tender, about 6 minutes; drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until cold. Set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot and shimmering, add mushrooms and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are brown on edges, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

3. Combine green beans, mushroom mixture, béchamel sauce, and thyme in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer into a 2-1/2-quart baking dish and set aside.

4. Dust sliced shallots in flour and shake off excess. Set aside.

5. Pour vegetable oil into a large 10-inch frying pan (should be 1 inch deep). Heat over medium-high heat to 350°F, about 4 minutes.

6. Fry shallots in batches, until light golden brown on edges, about 2 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

7. Top casserole with fried shallots and bake in oven until shallots are golden and crispy and casserole is bubbly and heated through, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Vegan Empanadas

Empanada: a stuffed bread or pastry. South American empanadas are normally small and semi-circular. Thanks Wiki!

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times: March 2009, pg 85.

I followed the recipe in general, I will put my comments and ideas in regular (parentheses) but everything else in italics is 100% VT. Photos are mine of course.

Banana and Black Bean Empanadas
Serves 6
A more healthful variation on the classic Argentinean pastry, these empanadas call for whole-wheat flour and are baked instead of deep-fried.

CRUST
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-pupose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. chili powder
4 Tbs. cold soy margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar

FILLING
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup cooked black beans
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
2 bananas, peeled and diced (1 cup)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 ts. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. red pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

(If you DO NOT want/have bananas, use 2 CUPS of whatever. Corn, chopped peppers, more beans, spinach, fake meat, etc)

1. To make Crust: Sift flours salt, and chili powder into a bowl. Mix in margarine with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together applesauce, vinegar, and 1/3 cup cold water in a separate bowl. Stir applesauce mixture into flour mixture until texture dough forms, adding up to 1/4 cup more water if necessary. (I used 1/2 C of water- just remember add it slowly, not all at once!) Knead on lightly floured surface until dough comes together. Form into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour, or overnight.

2. To make Filling, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion 4 to 5 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Add beans and garlic, reduce heat to medium, and cook 3 minutes. Stir in bananas, cumin, cayenne, and coriander, and cook 2 minutes, or until bananas begin to break down and spices are fragrant. Remove from heat, and stir in cilantro and red pepper sauce.

3. Preheat oven to 400F. (Depending on your oven- wait until you're done rolling the dough, otherwise you will be wasting A LOT of energy) Divide dough into 12 balls. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll out each ball to 6-inch round (1/4-inch thick) on lightly floured work surface. Fill with 2 Tbs. Filling (More like 3 Tbs to fill it up with non-banana filling) and brush edges of pastry with water. Fold dough circle in half, press to close, and crimp edges with fork to seal.




Transfer to prepared baking sheet, and repeat with remaining dough balls and Filling. chill 10 minutes. Bake empanadas 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crusty. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before serving.
(I would brush a little oil on top before baking to give it some crunch)



I used the rest of my can of black beans, mixed peppers, corn, and veggie steak strips in my empanadas.
The spice mix is nice. The dough is really good and I would like to use it again to make calzones or Cornish pasties. It's a little soft- not a lot of crispiness, which is why I suggested the oil. They seem to be a bit dry though. You cannot add sauce to the inside or the dough won't be crisp. So some salsa or heated enchilada sauce might be nice to have on hand.
Reheat leftovers in the toaster oven- totally awesome.


YUM!

Sausages!!

Thank you! Thank you Vegan Dad! For being totally super awesome!

This recipe is obviously from Vegan Dad: Homemade Sausages. They are dead easy to make, super customizable (more spicy? more savory? no prob!), half or double the recipe... can I say more? You won't being buying fakes from the store anymore!
Pro-tip: Fennel seed is the KEY to awesome sausageness, try not to skip it!


INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cold vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, grated (with a microplane, or very finely minced)
- 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Several dashes fresh black pepper

METHOD
1. Before mixing your ingredients, get your steaming apparatus ready, bring water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.
2. Have ready 6 sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the pinto beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 6 even parts. Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome.
3. Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes.


With Japanese curry


Sausage with onions and ketchup. No need to hide all those flavors!

The Vegan's Hundred

This is the vegan list in response to 100 things every omnivore should try, by BitterSweet.

I got an 84/100. Looks like I have a few things to make!

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea (blast you Bubble tea. I'm always full when I see you)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper (pureed)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly (Jell-o)
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear (I've eaten cactus, but not sure what kind)
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple (Did grow up with it in the house though)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Soy curls
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi (might be my most hated food)
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough

How about you?

Pheww

"Geez Vegan Ronin," you may be thinking, "you've been quiet for a month and now a flood of delicious recipes! I may have a mind explosion trying to figure out which one to make first!"

I may have been quiet faithful readers, but I was not dormant. I am returning to the States in a few days and want to make sure this will tide you over for a week!

I have plenty of things lined up for you! But tonight I must continue to prepare for my vegetarian cooking demo for some Japanese housewives! Maybe you'll learn a thing or two from it later =)

Enjoy the many recipes!!!

Shoujin ryouri

"Shoujin ryouri （精進料理) is a type of vegan cuisine that was developed by Japanese Buddhist monks. It is based on a foundation of vegetables and rice, and various vegetable proteins."

It is also amazing and amazingly hard to find on average in Japan, because the Japanese love to make the EXACT SAME FOOD but put fish stock in it (stocks, sauces, soups, dips, EVERYTHING).

So if you are in Japan, head up to Koya-san in Wakayama Prefecture which is littered with vegan monks and shoujin ryouri abound!

Before we get to cooking, lets take a look at some real traditional shoujin ryouri (top left, clockwise):


Dinner:Gomatofu (sesame seed block), green konyakku, rice noodles, fruit, mustard dipping sauce, beer, wakame soup with tofu skin and gluten balls, oily soup (in center) with tofu skin and veggies, hot green tea, pickled vegetables, rice


Dinner:Soba (buckwheat noodles) with mushrooms, pears, vegetable tempura, stuffed tofu, koyadofu (dried tofu), konbu seaweed


Breakfast: tofu burger, wrapped seaweed, stick potatoes with plum sauce ("eggs"), soy jerky, miso soup with gluten chunks, hot green tea, rice, pickled veggies, cold greens (center)


Lunch: gomatofu, veggie & fruit tempura, tempura dipping sauce, hot soba soup, cold veggies: koyadofu, konbu, veggies, tofu burger & soy jerky, rice, pickled vegetables, and cold greens (center)

After eating all this amazing food, I wanted to make my own version of shoujin ryouri... so I did!


Black goma tofu, dengaku eggplant with extra sauce, tandoori veggies, rice with beans and grains, soba noodle soup with gluten balls (fu), tempura & curry salt, tempeh bacon, stir fry rice noodles


Tempura: sweet potato, kabocha pumpkin, broccoli, mushrooms with mix of curry powder & salt to dip them in, tempeh bacon, rice noodles stir fry (soy sauce & sesame oil)



Tandoori veggie kebabs: Mix of tandoori paste and oil which I marinated tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and tofu, then grilled.


Dengaku Eggplant: Dengaku- sweet miso sauce is a mix of miso, sugar, mirin and stock. Placed on eggplant then grilled with sesame seeds on top.


Goma tofu: Actually, there's no tofu in it! It is sesame seeds crushed an pressed together to look like a block of tofu. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi. It is one of my favorite foods.

Let this bring inspiration to make your own mini-feast!!! The only thing that's holding you back are how many plates you have =)

British Scones

British scones are different than American scones. They're not flaky and are more like a soft, slightly sweet biscuit. Eat them warm with jam! British omni-monkey approved.

Vegan Scones by Charlotte O'Leary

8oz self-raising flour*
1 tsp baking powder
1½oz soya margarine, plus extra for greasing
2 tbsp caster sugar
150ml/4¼fl oz soya milk, plus extra for glazing
To serve
strawberry jam


1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, and rub in the soya margarine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the sugar and mix together thoroughly.
4. Make a well in the middle of the mixture, and slowly pour in the soya milk, stirring with a metal spoon. Bring the mixture together until it forms a dough.
5. Generously flour a large board and knead the dough for five minutes. Roll it out to a thickness of about 2.5cm/1in and, using a fluted 9cm/3in cutter, cut rounds from the dough.
6. Place the rounds on a greased and floured non-stick baking tray, and glaze the top using the extra soya milk.
7. Cook in the top of the oven for about 15 minutes, until a deep golden brown colour.
8. Leave to cool.
9. Serve with strawberry jam.

This recipe is from the BBC vegetarian recipe site.

*Make your own self-rising flour, Mix:
1 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Pot stickers

a.k.a. gyoza or Chinese dumplings




This recipe is pretty organic, working with what you have! I think mushrooms make a pretty good filling (in lieu of fake meat), I added some tofu just to bulk it up.


Mushrooms (pack), diced
Onions (1/2), diced
Tofu (1/2 block), drained & crumbled
carrot (1/2 stick),
sesame oil*
small bowl of water

Pack of pot sticker wrappers**
oil for frying

*Sesame oil really makes this meal, so try to use it!
**Big grocery stores don't really carry vegan wrappers, but little Asian stores do.

1. Stir fry all the veggies and tofu together with a little sesame oil until all the vegetables are soft and the liquid is gone. Remove from heat.



2. Place about a small tablespoon size scoop of filling in the middle of a wrapper.



3. Dab your finger in the bowl of water and rub along half of the edge of the wrapper, making a semi circle. This will keep it together.

4. Bring edges together and pinch together while trying to make sure the air is pressed out. (There are also pot sticker presser which makes it a little easier!).





5. When you are finished, heat a frying pan on medium heat. Place pot stickers in pan and cover with a lid to steam the top (you will not flip them).

6. When the bottom is nice and brown, flip them out onto a plate!

Serve with a soy dipping sauce!

Maple smoked tempeh bacon

Just a nice little snack!




1 pack of tempeh
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp Chipotle Tabasco sauce (or liquid smoke)
1/4 tsp salt
oil

1. Cut tempeh into strips

2. Mix soy sauce, maple syrup, Tabasco sauce, and salt in a shallow bowl or container.

3. Place tempeh strips in mixture to soak.



4. Marinate for one hour, turning at least once.

5. In an oiled frying pan on med-low heat, fry tempeh strips for about 5 minutes each side until crispy!
OR
Place in toaster over and toast til crispy!

Eat by themselves, in a sandwich with lettuce & tomato, in a salad, etc!

Tofu Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu, a fried pork cutlet, is a very popular dish in Japan. Imagine my surprise when I opened up The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh and saw its fatty fried vegan twin staring back at me! You use freeze dried tofu (called "koyadofu") which gives it a nice texture when rehydrated. It even passed omni-monkey's taste test. It's a little work, but SO worth it!



This is the exact recipe from The Asian Vegan Kitchen and you NEED to go buy this AWESOME book RIGHT NOW!!

"8 cakes koyadofu, about 6 ounces (170g) in total
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 C (125g) all-purpose flour
1/2 C (120 ml) water
1 C (100g) breadcrumbs (panko)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Shredded white cabbage, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Tonkatsu sauce

SIMMERING SAUCE:
2 C (480 ml) dashi stock
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon mirin
1/2 inch (1 cm) cube fresh giner, peeled and grated
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic



I used 5 large blocks that was about 6oz/170g

1. Soak the koyadofu cakes in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain.



2. In a saucepan use a large pan!!, combine the simmering sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Put in the drained koyadofu and simmer for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, until all the liquid is absorbed.



3. Dab the koyadofu in the dusting flour. Mix 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of water to make a thick paste. Dip the floured koyadofu in the flour-and-water paste, then roll each cake int he bread crumbs. Set aside.

4. Heat the oil for deep-frying to 350F (180C). Slide the breaded tofu pieces into the oil in batches and deep-fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with shredded cabbage, lemon wedges, and tonkatsu sauce."

Eggplant Rice Bowl

"Gyuu-don" in Japan is a popular beef rice bowl. Gross I know. But don't worry! A super tastier & healthier rice bowl is ready to take it's place as Number One!

EGGPLANT RICE BOWL!
"Nasu-don"

makes 4 bowls

2 medium Asian eggplants (or one regular large eggplant)
1 onion, chopped
1 C "dashi" (konbu, wakame, or vegetable stock)
1/4 C + 1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp mirin (rice vinegar)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 C water + 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Short grain rice, cooked (bout 4 cups)

Toppings:
grated ginger (the kind in the tube. or pickled ginger works well too)
scallions

1. Cut eggplants in half



2. Grill the eggplants until the skin is wrinkly and just starting to char.
Try broiling them in the oven, or on a high temp close to the heat source in your toaster oven. For a last resort, try a creme brulee torch!



3. Place them in an ice bath for 5 minutes.



4. While waiting, place dashi stock, soy sauce, vinegars, and sugar in a pan on medium heat and bring to a simmer.

5. After the ice bath, peel the eggplants and discard the skins (the smell will tempt you, but don't eat them yet!)



6. Cut each eggplant in four long strips and then cut those in half, giving you 8 pieces.



7. Add eggplant and onion to broth. Simmer for 10 minutes.



8. Slowly pour in the cornstarch/water mixture. Stir constantly until it thickens.



9. Pour over rice. Top with scallions and ginger. Dig in! (Oh it's so good!)



No eggplants? No worries! Use any veggies on hand with the same sauce.

Lentil dahl with sweet veggie couscous

Oh, such a wonderful little lunch!




A veggie sandwich with homemade big bread and tofu mayo.
Sweet Couscous from the McDougall Diet online cookbook.
Lentil Dahl by Gellian McKeith's You Are What You Eat.

Lentil dahl with vegetables

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 cup of red split lentils per person

1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
pinch of cayenne
½ a cauliflower
1 stalk of broccoli
½ a turnip
1 tsp garam masala
tamari
nori flakes


Put the lentils in a large pan with PLENTY of water. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that appears.

Turn down the heat, add the spices, except the garam masala, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped vegetables, tamari and garam masala and cook until the vegetables are soft.

Serve the dahl on top of the rice and sprinkle with nori flakes.

I obviously used brown lentils just fine and 1 cup makes a TON. If you want lots of leftovers, go ahead and double it! I also just used veggies at hand & no nori.

Sweet Couscous
Servings: 2
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes

1/3 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup couscous
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 tablespoons brown sugar*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Let rest for 3 minutes. Top with sliced bananas, if desired.
*Original recipe calls for honey.

Oh man, this is so good! The contrasting tastes with steamed vegetables and the dahl on the side are amazing!