Meatloaf And Gravy That's Doggone Good

My husband loved meatloaf. Not me. No matter what I did to the fixings, the meatloaf was always too dry for my taste. Even smeared with catsup, it was barely tolerable. Fact is, I'd never had meatloaf in my life until I married my husband. He always raved about his mom's meatloaf, so I asked her to teach me how to make it. Jim always thought it was the best supper ever. He even liked leftover meatloaf in sandwiches. I tried. Honest, I did. But I just never liked it.

So last November, when I brought home a copy of the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook from my local bookstore and saw the meatloaf recipe, I skipped over it. Again and again and again. There would be no meatloaf in this house, even though all the other recipes in Lindsay Nixon's book had turned out delicious. Still, I had no hopes for anything called meatloaf.

Then came a dark and dreary winter eve when I looked into the pantry and came up with nothing that sounded good. Same with the refrigerator. But wait. I did have an unopened package of tempeh. What could I create with that?

Out of curiosity, I hauled out the Happy Herbivore cookbook and looked up tempeh, trying to get some ideas for dinner. Actually, the meatloaf recipe sounded like it might be tasty so I decided to give it a try. I added a few more ingredients than the recipe called for and stuck the dish in the oven. Thirty minutes later out came something that actually resembled meatloaf. I served it with my own version of brown gravy, along with creamed cauliflower, and garden peas.

It was delicious. I even have enough left to make sandwiches. Who knew?

MEATLOAF AND GRAVY

Set your oven to 350.

Place in a mixing bowl:

1 c. instant oats

1 8 oz. package tempeh, shredded with a box grater

1 small onion, minced

1/2 celery stalk, minced fine

4 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves of garlic, minced fine

1 jalapeno pepper, minced fine, seeds and ribs removed

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and let it set for a few minutes. In the meantime, grease a small casserole dish or small breadpan. I used a casserole dish so I wouldn't have to slice an already delicate product.

Pack the ingredients tightly for good cohesion. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Smother with my own version of brown gravy if so desired. Serves 4.

Faux brown gravy:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. flour

Mix together in a saucepan set over medium heat, stir until the mixture looks somewhat like paste. Add 1 cup vegetable broth. Whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet if a deep gravy color is desired. Serve over the meatloaf.

I apologize there is no photo of this delicious dish. When I went to download my pictures, I accidentally clicked remove instead of upload and before my brain registered what I'd done, the photos were gone. Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Breakfast Burrito Bonanza

Many people say breakfast is their favorite meal of the day. While I've never been a big breakfast eater, I do love what's come to be known as "Brunch." Mid-morning is when I get hungry. And breakfast is what I want.

Imagine my joy when I found a scrambled egg  recipe in the Happy Herbivore cookbook that turned out to be so delicious I adapted it to my version of a breakfast burrito. My mid-morning tastebuds jumped up and did the Mexican Hat Dance. Honest. Can't you just picture it?

The interesting part is that this completely  eggless recipe ends up looking just like scrambled eggs. Not only that, it has the mouth feel of scrambled eggs and a flavor reminiscent of the same. But it's all crumbled tofu with some added spices and a few vegetables tossed in for good luck. I loved it and so did my guests. Happy dancing.

MEXICAN BREAKFAST BURRITO

1 lb. firm silken tofu, drained and crumbled with fingers to look like feta cheese. See the above photo.
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. adobo seasoning (I got mine at www.penzeys.com)
1 red jalapeno, diced, seeds and ribs removed
1 small zucchini, diced
8  crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a shallow pan. I used one of my cast iron skillets for better heat conduction.

Crumble the tofu into a large bowl. Stir in the nutritional yeast along with all of the seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well so everything combines. Let it sit while you pre-cook the vegetables.

Cook the vegetables in a small skillet, about 5 minutes or just long enough to take the hard bite out of them. I cooked all of mine together, but if you prefer, you can cook each one separately. Add the vegetables to the tofu/spice bowl. Stir together till everything is mixed.

Put the tofu mixture into the greased or sprayed skillet and pat down firmly so there is good contact with the bottom of the pan. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until the top is firm and slightly brown. Let it sit a few minutes while you prepare the tortillas.

Warm 6 flour tortillas in the oven, microwave, or stove top. Spoon a generous portion of the scramble mixture down the center of each tortilla. Pour 1 Tbs. of red salsa over the top and sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro. Roll the tortilla into a burrito shape and serve immediately.

Makes 6

I served red rice as a side and baked apples for dessert. We were all too full to move, but our tummies were doing a happy dance.

These burritos will set your feet 'a-dancin'.....

Salad Too Pretty To Eat

You all know how family potlucks are. Everyone brings something to share and chances of finding anything vegan on the table is slim to none. But that isn't what happened to me on my family Christmas Eve get together. In all, about thirty-five of us showed up and I was glad my sister has a three-story house because we seemed to fill it to the rafters.

The appetizer table alone was so full of goodies I wondered how it remained standing on it's skinny legs, but with all the people gathered around it, I think all the bodies helped hold it upright. I didn't graze that table because I was pretty sure there was nothing there that I could eat. How wrong I was. One niece had brought a big tray of jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon and a small dish of poppers stuffed with vegan cheese and no bacon so I could partake too. I have to say they were delicious.

In order to keep the big tables for sitting, my sister laid all the food out on her two big kitchen counters, loading them down with all manner of goodies in every color. Thanks to another of my nieces, there was a small pot of vegan chili on the back of the stove and thanks to one of my sisters, another small pot of vegetable soup with dumplings sat on another burner. One cousin came with her family-famous and vegan friendly salad, which I love and knew I could eat with relish. I did, too.

How grateful I am for family that takes my vegan diet into their plans in order to make sure I have something to eat at our get togethers. I know not every family is like that and I thank God for giving me relatives who love me enough to take special care that I have food on the table. They know how many years I have spent in and out of the hospital with intestinal disease and how many bowel resections I've had.

They know that since the doctor changed my diet to vegan that I've been doing well, feeling well, and lost weight. They care about me to the point that they take extra time to cook a small dish of something I can have. So while everyone else filled up with big bowls of turkey chili and chicken and dumplings, I was content with the vegan renderings they'd cooked just for me. It doesn't get any better than that. Food is just food. But food cooked for one single person at a gathering of thirty-five relatives, says a lot about family ties and the love that binds.

I like this salad so much I purposely asked my cousin to bring it. She made enough so that I could take some home with me. 

FRESH SALAD TOO PRETTY TO EAT

4 bell peppers, all colors, chopped

2 limes, juiced

1-2 garlic cloves, pureed or grated

1 jalapeno, minced

1 small red onion, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch cilantro, minced

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of corn, drained and rinsed

Mix everything together about a day before you want to serve it. This dish is crunchy, spicy, fresh, and addictive. Trust me on this.

Salad photo and recipe courtesy of Lydia Buchanan

A Whole Lotta Enchilada

San Diego's Old Town is home to the best Mexican restaurants in the city. If any of them were vegan, they'd be hounding me for my enchilada recipe. Hey, it could happen!

I've outdone myself. Yes, I created an enchilada that tastes every bit as good as if it came from your favorite Mexican restaurant. Please understand that I love Mexican food and enchiladas in particular. I had not yet tried creating a vegan one because I wasn't sure how to go about it. So on one especially ambitious day, I began mixing this with that and threw in a pinch of spice and a smidgen of herb and by the time everything was mixed together, it tasted pretty doggone good. So I went ahead and stuffed it into my corn tortilla shells, covered the whole thing with enchilada sauce and a flurry of vegan shreds and stuck it in the oven. Guess what? It was so good I thought I'd been time-warped to Mexico City.

Remember now, I like my food spicy, so if you don't I suggest you cut down either the chili powder or the jalapeno. I recommend you leave some spice in or it won't taste like Mexican food and you'll blame me for blogging a yukky recipe.

I served my enchiladas with a small garden salad and it was just the right amount of food. At least for me. I made extra enchiladas because I like them warmed over the next day. I think they're even better if they sit a bit.

VEGAN ENCHILADAS

10 corn tortillas

1 24 oz. can enchilada sauce, any brand

3/4 cup black beans, drained, rinsed, and slightly mashed.

1/3 cup corn, fresh or frozen

1/3 cup diced zucchini

2 Tbs. chopped cilantro

1/2 cup chopped green onions, both white and green parts

1/2 cup vegan cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. ancho chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 roasted jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

Mix everything together except for the enchilada sauce. This is enough to stuff 10 corn tortillas. Soften the tortillas in the microwave then fill and roll and place seam side down in a greased casserole dish. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with another 1/2 cup of shredded vegan cheddar.

Bake at 450 for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. Serve immediately.

Chilly Enough For Chili

Okay, okay, okay, so maybe it didn't snow,
maybe it just felt like it was going to. Do
you buy that?

Even Southern California gets cold. Stop laughing. Believe me, when your blood gets as thin as ours does, what with living in a temperate clime, when that thermometer hits sixty something, it's time to turn on the furnace and put on another sweater. Now add pouring rain into the mix, skies as dark as dusk, and clouds hovering low, and you have perfect chili weather. Just like today.

Wouldn't you know, my favorite recipe for this thick, watch a spoon stand up in the middle of the bowl, concoction isn't vegan. Yet I wondered if I could change things around a bit, delete a  little of that and add some of this. So I gave it a try. Doggone, it's every bit as good as my non-vegan recipe. I kid you not. I served the heady mixture in big, steamy bowls and sprinkled the top with vegan sour cream, minced green onions and Daiya cheese shreds. Corn muffins hot from the oven were my only side. I ate two. Since I was now too full  to move, I rolled myself into the living room, covered up with a favorite afghan, and laid on the floor to watch the Movie Channel.

Life doesn't get any better than that.

Vegan Chili for Chilly Weather

No vegan sour cream left for this photo-op.
We used it all during the actual eating.

Into a soup pot put:

2 Tbs. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small jalapeno, minced, seeds and ribs removed

Cook until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.

Add to the pot:

1 14 oz. can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. paprika

2 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

pinch of cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Cook everything together over medium heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn it to low, cover, and let simmer for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. I let mine simmer an hour. If the chili is too soupy, remove the lid and continue cooking till the mixture thickens to your liking.

Serve with vegan sour cream, minced green onions, and vegan cheese shreds.

Yummy.

Perhaps I ought to warn you that this is a spicy chili. It won't make your mouth burn to eat it, but it you don't like any heat at all, leave out the jalapeno and the cayenne pepper. But be warned! You'll be turning a GREAT chili into a mediocre one.

Off To Morocco--Vegan Style

While I've never set foot in Morocco, I've always enjoyed photos of the area, what with the colorful street vendors crammed against the dun-hued architecture. It seems a study in beauty set against the starkness of a desert landscape. And even though I have visited the country only in my imagination, the foods of Morocco have been reality on my taste-buds.

It isn't that the dishes are so unusual, for many of the ingredients are familiar to us. The secret to their tongue-tantalizing recipes are the spices used in every dish. The interesting thing is, these are spices we are familiar with. Yet the Moroccans blend them together in a way I would never have thought of and maybe you wouldn't have either. Give this recipe a try and see if you don't become a Moroccan vegan. Who ever would have thought such a thing existed?

I let my bean mixture get too dry. Don't make
the same mistake. Your bean mixture should look
brothy but not like a soup.

Moroccan Medley

Into a saucepan put:

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

10 oz. of couscous
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Bring vegetable stock and spices to a boil. Stir in the couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Set aside till later.

In a big skillet put:

1 Tbs. oil
1 big onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. minced jalapeno or more if you like lots of heat
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
Cook till the vegetables are soft.

Add:

1  14 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
1  15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup of chopped dates or figs
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. paprika, not the smoked kind.
pepper to taste

Cook over medium heat until the spices marry. Turn heat to low and simmer about 1/2 hour. If the mixture gets too dry, add some vegetable stock. The resulting product should be a bit on the saucy side rather than dry, but it should not look like soup.

Fluff the couscous with a fork till it is light and fluffy. Center big scoops of the couscous on a dinner place. Pour a good portion of the bean mixture on top.

Sprinkle the dish with chopped cilantro and pine nuts (optional)
Drizzle with a bit of good olive oil

Serves 2 hungry people or 3 not so hungry ones.

Serve this dish with naan bread or any other flatbread that you like.

There will be couscous leftover. I made extra so I could make another Moroccan dish. I'll post it next week.

Happy Eating....

Some Thoughts On Cheating

My Hoagie was so big I had to nestle it inside a small bowl to contain it for picture taking. It was delicious--if I do say so myself.

I cheat. A lot. Woe is me, vegan for less than a year, trying to come up with three meals a day and maybe a snack too. In the beginning, the whole process seemed an impossibility. My brain kept spinning at the thought of what I'd make for the next meal when what I really wanted it to do was think about the quilt I needed to finish or the hand knitted socks just short of being done. After all, I've tried for years to make food just a necessity of life rather than something my whole world revolved around. I have to say that I pretty much accomplished that goal. Until the vegan thing entered my life.

All of a sudden I was thinking about food all day long. For someone who hates to cook only slightly less than I'd like running with the bulls in Pamplona, I could forsee a future filled with sallow cheeks, droopy skin and hollow eyes. I'd have to just quit eating. My 70 year old brain had thousands of recipes in its storehouse, but none were what the doctor had told me to eat in order to be rid of the painful abdominal disease that had plagued me for decades. So I decided to make my own rules. I could still be vegan. I'd just cheat. So I took myself to the nearest health food store.

What an amazing array of tofu products I discovered. Sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, pizza, and row upon row of pretend cheese--more food than I'd ever dreamed possible. And while it was on the pricey side, I decided that now that I live alone, it would be cost effective because I would no longer be buying meat or dairy. Besides, it would give me reason to experiment. I LOVE experimenting in the kitchen. I always have. For while I despise cooking, I thoroughly enjoy taking a product and changing it into something of my own. So I filled my cart with all manner of bland, tasteless tofu products formed to resemble something they are not and brought them home. I would work my magic on them and pass on the best of the best results to my vegan friends so they could cheat too.

Sausage, Cheese, Pepper & Onion Hoagie

Makes 1 serving

One tofu sausage, any kind you want

1/2  cup beer of choice

1/2 of a medium onion, sliced

1 tsp. herbs de provance

1 sprig fresh rosemary, bruised to release its essence.

With a toothpick, prick small holes in the sausage, then place all of the above ingredients into a plastic bag and let marinate for at least an hour to overnight. Retain the marinade in case you really like the finished product. It can be used again and again. If you do not enjoy highly spiced food, you may wish to change the spice amounts. I grew up eating food with lots of flavor from spices, so anything else is boring to my palette.

Peppers, according to choice. I used 1/2 of a red bell and 1/2 of a yellow bell, and 1 small jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed.

The other half of the medium onion, minced

Saute the above in 1 Tbs. olive oil and a splash of vegetable broth. Cook till the liquid is evaporated and the peppers and onions are barely tender. Remove to a plate to keep warm.

Add the sausage to the pan along with 1/4 cup of beer or vegetable broth and cook on low until the liquid is evaporated. Add the vegetable mix back into the pan and saute everything together for a few minutes. Do not overcook.

Take a warm hoagie roll, line the sides with soy cheese of your choice. Add the hot sausage and then scoop the pepper, onion mix all across the top. I chopped a few cold sun dried tomatoes and some parsley and dotted the top of the hoagie with them.

While the hoagie was a meal unto itself, I served mine with a small salad of shredded carrots and raisins, dressed with a mixture of mayonaise, sugar, soy milk, and a hint of freshly grated ginger.  

Since I was now too full to move, I took my latest mystery book and went outside to laze in the warm winter sun while I read. I probably would have dozed off had I not let the dog accompany me. It was in Bonnie's mind to play. Now where did she hide her favorite tennis ball? She looked at me as though she expected me to beat the bushes for it. I told it to go find it herself. I was too tired from all that cooking and eating.

Bonnie was my husband's dog. We adopted her from the Humane Society when she was two years old. She fit into our home perfectly because she was what Jim wanted and she liked cats--which is what I wanted. Bonnie is half Golden Lab and half German Shepherd and while it took her many months after my hubby's passing to be my friend, she is now my faithful guardian and I have not one doubt she would protect me with her life.