Vegan cooking for the omni family

Yes you too can wow your omni family! Bold flavors will erase any doubts they ever had!
Use this as a template to pump up your own hearty meal.


Menu:
Sage biscuits
Fresh salad and croûtons
Polenta with roasted red peppers
Homemade ravioli
Garlic Brussels sprouts
Fresh fruit in phyllo cups

*Appetizer*
Sage Biscuits



Recipe here
Fast and easy and a crowd pleaser!

*Salad*
Fresh salad & croutons



Use any combo of veggies for the salad. The croûtons are what really make this!
Croutons:
Bread (fresh is best!), olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary
Lightly rub bread with oil, shake on garlic powder and rosemary. Rub into the bread. Cut into squares, place in toaster oven oil side up. Toast until light brown.

*Side*
Garlic Brussels Sprouts

How to clean & cook Brussels Sprouts:
Rinse them well. Chop off the stem and peel off the outside layer of dirty leaves. Make an X with your knife in the bottom of the stem (to cook evenly). Steam for about 5-8 minutes (until they are bright green). You could also boil them for a little less time.
While sprouts are cooking, prepare a skillet with a splash of oil and minced, fresh garlic over medium heat. When sprouts are done, add them to the skillet. Roll around in the hot garlic for about one minute. Serve immediately.

*Main 1*
Polenta with roasted red peppers



Make polenta according to box (if using cornmeal, use corn mush recipe and let it rest & cool). Use a boullion cube/broth for extra flavor. I chopped pre-bought roasted red peppers and mixed them into the much before it set. I used decorative cookie cutters to cut out designs from the peppers for the top.

*Main 2*
Handmade Ravioli



Dough: Recipe here. I added chopped basil to this. Maybe because I only had regular unbleached flour, but I needed a lot of extra flour to roll it out in my machine.

Filling: Basil, soy chorizo, roasted red pepper. (I really wanted a faux-meat free dinner. Ideally, I would have used a mushroom/artichoke filling, but my aunt is allergic to mushrooms.)

Assembly: Pass a piece of dough a few times through a pasta roller, setting the dough to get thinner one or two times, until you have a long piece of dough. Repeat. Place 1.5-2 tsps of filling on top of one strip of dough, every few inches. Brush water around the edge of the filling. Place second dough strip on top, pressing down around the filling, sealing it in while pressing the air out. Take a ravioli stamper (or cookie cutter) and cut out ravioli.
When finished, boil only a couple minutes until they float to the top.
Refrigerate or freeze any extra non-cooked ones.

Sauce: I make a 4+ hour sauce that is totally worth the time. For basic instruction, watch it here. (I will have a post completely about it soon.)

*Dessert*
Fruit filled phyllo cups



Prepare phyllo (thaw & layer) according to box directions. To make cups, press into a muffin pan.
Fruit mix: Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (chopped), apples (chopped). Toss with lemon juice (to prevent browning and to add flavor). Sprinkle with cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.
Opt- add brown sugar or agave nectar (suitable for diabetics) for some sweetness.

Spoon into baked cups right before serving.



Let the feast begin!

Mushroom ravioli and polenta bites

Ok, It's not really ravioli, although that's what Vegetarian Times called it (similar recipe, skip the cheese and add garlic and rosemary). All you need is gyoza/wonton wrappers (most are NOT vegan so read carefully. Asian food stores are your best bet over supermarket brands). Lightly pan fry! No sauce needed with 'butter', garlic and onions!
Also made cute polenta bites, which I made using small cookie cutters. Sauce is pure tomato sauce mixed with artichoke hearts (until creamy) and a dash of nutmeg. Num!

Breakfast Buddies Pot luck

I have given these guys their official name, Breakfast Buddies! Let the "mc" rule your language no more! I made mini Breakfast Buddies with Gimme Lean sausage for a potluck. They were a big hit and that makes me very happy! My recipe is super easy. Try them with any of your fav fixin's!

Old Country Food, Take me home

Garlic Brussels spouts, polenta and Tofurky Beer Brats with onions.

Breakfast Buddies

EDIT: I have named these "Breakfast Buddies" and their glory can be seen in an updated version HERE! =)



Advisory Warning: This post uses filthy language. I'll give you a hint, it starts with M and rhymes with mcdonalds (not worthy of capitalization).

Like most veggies, I was not raised vegan. Thus, sometimes guilty cravings creep in every now and then. Sometimes, I want a mcdonalds breakfast sandwich biscuit. THANKFULLY, I have a healthy alternative that quenches those cravings!

1st make polenta. This will be your 'egg'.
1 part polenta (corn meal/grits) & a few shakes of salt: 3 parts water
slowly add polenta to boiling water, constantly stirring until thick. Stir a minute or two more or until polenta pulls away from the pan sides. Pour into a container and let cool until firm. While cooling...

2nd, make biscuits (American type)! You can make them super easy with Bisquik, or there's plenty of biscuit recipes all over the web (basic uses: flour, baking powder, salt, oil, and 'milk').


3rd cut biscuits in half. slice polenta and place on each biscuit half. Add a slice of cheez, and maybe a little soy-sage if you're feeling a bit saucy. Place in toaster oven on a low-med heat for about 2-3 minutes.

4th Enjoy them open-faced or put the sides back together for a monster craving smasher.



I ended up eating them open face because they were too tall! The fella on the left has some fake shredded pork on it (I like them better plain).

YUM!!
Polenta really can make wonder-foods!

Sammiches, Guac, and Polenta fries

With my new love of working with yeast and a realization that I had a small pouch of rare whole wheat flour I had stored away, it was bread time baby!!


Look at that golden whole wheat mama!!

But moving on...


Fresh warm bread sandwich= onion, tomato, and some sort of lettuce. And guacamole ^_^
Polenta fries. With guacamole ^_^
Fresh carrot slices.

I actually had two sandwiches the bread was so good =#)

Guac
Seriously, the best I've ever had and I can't believe I made it. This makes about 2/3 cup?

1 ripe avocado
1/3 tomato chopped
squirt of lemon juice
couple shakes of garlic powder
salt (opt)
couple dashes of garlic Tabasco sauce (opt)

Mash together!
If you don't eat it all at once, make sure you keep the avocado pit and put it in with the guac in your airtight container. Keeps it greener longer.


Polenta Fries
Make polenta.
Once set, chop into fry-sized sticks.
Place in the toaster oven. 350F/175F for 10 minutes. Flip. Bake 10 minutes more.
If you want them more crispy, just keep 'em goin'! They will be crispy on the outside and softer/chewier on the inside.

Polenta

For years and years and years growing up, I turned up my nose at the polenta my Grammie would (and still occasionally does) make for my dad. Even when I ate meat, it looked unappetizing, bland. Possibly a texture issue.
In my early vegetarian teen years, knowing that your tastes change, I attempted to try this mush. But the mush factor, to a person who will have a gag-reflex on soggy bread, well.. it didn't work out. My mom stated I needed to pan fry it and add- NO NO NO! I wouldn’t even let her finish. I wouldn’t even pan fry my pierogies! (of course now, fry those babies up!) I wasn’t going to happen!
Last summer, I gave that weird tube of mush another shot. And I pan fried them. And I would put them in the middle of a fresh biscuit, maybe with a little Tofutti cheese... tasted exactly like an egg mcmuffin (only healthier and moralier) . Sometimes I would get the basil flavor, or just add some basil and garlic. I was really liking this polenta stuff.
Last week I visited a Brazilian grocery store tucked in an alley. I got some Pizza flavored crunchy things, and Polentina, which I only assumed was polenta! Bought some in a heart beat.
I have never made polenta from a mix, so I broke down and used the magical forces of the internet. I found this wonderful list of how to make polenta, sauces, and topping ideas.

I don’t like to use the microwave, but this was a very easy recipe with a smaller portion.

3/4 cup Polenta
3 cups broth
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Mix the Polenta, broth, and salt in a 3-quart pyrex bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Remove and stir briskly until well blended. Microwave for another 2 to 3 minutes for thicker Polenta.
The Polenta may be eaten as soft Polenta at this point, or you may spoon it into an oiled baking dish and let it cool until it gets firm.
When firm, cut into pieces and reheat in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes, or pan-fry in a nonstick pan with a little oil.


Cooled and sliced


Frying


Looking delicious!



I put it in my bread pan, cooled it, cut it, fried it with some basil, garlic, oil. That hit the spot! MMMM.
Later, I pan-fried some of the leftovers with tomato sauce and basil until crispy! Now that’s good eatin’!
**Embarrassing side note: As I took the bowl out to stir it, upon smelling it, I exclaimed to myself out loud: “This really DOES smell like Brazil! … How does I know that?! …. How does I… oh my…”

The fact that I have never been to Brazil and the poor grammar clearly shows I am going crazy here. Maybe it was the micro-waves.