Steak Dinner--Photo Copied and Veganized

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm not sure about that, but what I can say is that when the following photo showed up in my mailbox, along with a greatly discounted coupon for the meal itself, my mouth began salivating.

The picture that got
me thinking

Now I receive a lot of coupons in the mail and most get tossed into the recycle bin without further notice. But this one caught my eye. And even though I'm seldom tempted by meat anymore, this particular meal called to me and I just had to take the time to make it vegan so I could partake of it's lusciousness.

As you know, if you've followed this blog, my years-long medical problems caused a doctor-prescribed vegan diet for the rest of my life, and while I didn't think it would make any difference in fighting the intestinal disease I had, I was more than surprised when I began feeling so fit and fine. What keeps me vegan is the horror of ending up back in intestinal surgery. Four times was enough. I don't ever want to go there again.

Thus, I veganize just about everything that appeals to my appetite. Or at least I try to. And while this "photo-copied" dinner won't taste quite the same as the original meal, it turned out to be so good one of my guests  commented that "she liked that meat." The rest of us chuckled. We weren't eating meat. But what we were indulging our senses in was so good, it gave the idea of meat. We all left the table full and still fit. Who can argue with that combination?

FAUX FILET MIGNON

4 giant portobello mushroom caps

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. Montreal Seasoning

Rub the mushroom caps with the oil and sprinkle with the Montreal Seasoning. Allow to rest on a counter top for at least an hour so the mushrooms absorb the flavorings.

Use a cast iron skillet heated to hot. Place the mushroom caps in the pan and turn the heat to medium. The water that comes from the mushrooms should be enough to keep them from burning. If not, add a tsp. of olive oil to the pan. Cook the portobello caps about 10 minutes on each side or until they turn dark brown and take on the look of a seared steak.  Top each cap with 1 tsp. of Bearnaise butter and serve immediately.

BEARNAISE BUTTER

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

2 tsp. fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped

2 tsp. minced shallot

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. salt

Mix the ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator till needed. This recipe makes enough for the current meal with some leftovers for another time. Serve atop the hot mushroom caps where it will slowly melt and give the mushroom an even more distinct hint of eating real steak.

As for the fresh asparagus, I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, and oven roasted it at 450 for 20 minutes. Turns out delicious everytime, even though the tips  become caramelized, which only adds to the great taste.

The potatoes were scrubbed, covered with foil, and oven roasted at 375 for 1 hour. I served them topped with vegan sour cream and chopped chives.

Sometimes I wonder who made up the lie that vegans
only eat unattractive foods. I'm out to dispel that myth.
Are you with me?

This Spud's For You!

I seldom eat potatoes. I grew up eating them at nearly every meal, but once I was doing my own cooking, I discovered I much preferred rice or grains or pasta. Even so, there come times when I yearn for a giant baked potato, burst open to expose its fluffy, white interior and then stuffed with all manner of tantalizing delicacies. Since the usual trappings of butter and sour cream were out of the picture, I wondered if I could even create something akin to all that non-vegan goodness.

Then came the day I looked into the refrigerator to find a bevy of vegetables that needed to be used. I tossed them on a large sheet pan, drizzled them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and put them in the oven. My plan was to make pasta primivera. But then I had this off the wall idea: why not make potato primivera? Figuring it might be a tasty solution to my stuffed potato quest, I tossed a well-scrubbed Idaho spud into the oven with the veggies. Hey, what could it hurt?

While I was waiting for everything to get done, I made my usual vegan bechamel sauce. Once the vegetables were roasted, I tossed them into the sauce, along with a few dashes of cayenne pepper and a couple drops of hot sauce, and then I poured all that creamy goodness into the potato and atop and then let it run down the sides. I sprinkled it all with fresh chives. Doggone, it sure looked inviting. But would it taste good?  Give it a try and let me know what you think. Far as I was concerned, it was the best stuffed potato I ever ate.

My stuffed spud turned out great but wouldn't you know, the battery in my camera is dead, so no pix because I ate all the evidence while I waited for it to recharge. I guess you'll just have to imagine how it looked. Of course you know what I have to do now. Make it again so I can take a photo. Life is hard.


STUFFED SPUD 

What You'll Need:

Baking potatoes, large

Vegetable medley, roasted

Vegan Bechamel sauce


The following recipe makes enough sauce for 2-3 large potatoes. If you cook for one, as I do, you'll have enough left to use in another recipe.

2 cups roasted vegetables. I used zucchini, yellow squash, onion, tomatoes, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic. I cut them in pieces, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh thyme and rosemary and spread them on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 for 20-30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the vegetables into small pieces so they'll fit into the baked potato easily.

Make the bechamel sauce while the veggies are roasting. You'll find the recipe in my post called Seitan, Onion, and Mushroom Pasta, which I posted on 7/29/11.

Stir the roasted vegetables into the creamy white sauce, give a stir to marry the flavors and add a bit of cayenne and hot sauce if you like things spicy. Stuff the results into a fluffy hot potato.

It doesn't get better than this.