Eggless Fritatta

I've never been a big breakfast person. Unlike my hubby, who considered breakfast the best meal of the day, I tend toward supper being the height of epicurean delight. I do, however, like the things people eat for breakfast so I consider it normal that I chow down later in the day, gobbling up all manner of goodies and sometimes serving breakfast twice a day with no complaints from my spouse.

With my doctor prescribing a vegan diet about 2 years ago, I had to wave goodbye to bacon and eggs and toast slathered in butter. I bid farewell to homemade biscuits dripping with honey, potatoes fried in bacon grease, and coffee topped off with real cream.

On the other hand, I lost a lot of weight, my senior citizen skin looks great, I have more energy, and I never have to lay down and take a nap after eating a huge meal. Not that I don't eat humongous meals, it's just that they aren't the sort I used to pamper myself with and I no longer want a nap after eating.

One of my favorite dinner recipes has always been a frittata. Especially if it's topped with about a pound of cheddar cheese. Well, those days are gone--and at best, I haven't been subjected to another hospital stay or, worse yet, colon surgery because of twisted plumbing. And all from eating vegan from the minute I got out of the hospital till now.

As you know, if you've read my posts for a while, I'm always messing around with recipes, either veganizing an old family recipe or taking recipes from vegan books and trying to make them suit my own taste buds. Sometimes I fail--utterly. But sometimes I come up with a good one. Those are the ones I post so you can enjoy them too.

So for any of you who love breakfast, either in the morning or for supper, here's my latest endeavor. I do have to say that you'll know instantly that this fritatta wasn't made with eggs. But the mouth-feel of eggs is there and while your brain won't be fooled, your tummy will be happy because this fritatta actually tastes pretty good.

EGGLESS FRITTATA

1 lb. firm tofu
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. black salt
Pepper to taste
1 large or 2 small potatoes
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 lb. mushrooms of your choice, chopped
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp. dried dill weed
2-3 drops of your favorite hot sauce

Pre-cook the potatoes until they are half done. I microwaved mine wrapped in a piece of paper towel. When the potato is cool enough to handle, slice it into rounds and place them in a heavy skillet lined with 2 Tbs. of olive oil. I used my big cast iron one. Place the potatoes in a circle on the bottom of the pan. If you have potato slices left over, use them to line the edges. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to flavor the potatoes themselves.

Spread the diced onion on top of the potatoes.

Add the mushrooms and artichoke hearts. We are building layers, so don't stir your ingredients.

Add the spinach. Lightly sprinkle the vegetable layers with salt and pepper.

Into your blender place:

The drained tofu, nutritional yeast, mustard, onion powder, diced garlic, turmeric, hot sauce, black salt, and dill weed.

Blend until the mixture is smooth. Poor it evenly over the skillet contents. Sprinkle with more dill weed. If you desire, you can add vegan cheese, but I didn't have any so I made the frittata as above.

Place the skillet, uncovered, into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the top is set and nicely browned. The tofu mixture will have spread throughout the vegetables and baked evenly. Allow the dish to stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Because the mixture is nearly impossible to remove from the skillet in one piece, I serve right out of the pan by cutting in pie shaped wedges.

I served fresh fruit and my version of cornbread as sides.

Serves 4-5

Black salt is available at www.myspicesage.com. It is the only place I've found it. For some unexplainable reason, it adds an eggy taste to the recipes it's used in. The salt is quite inexpensive and a small bag goes a long way. I am now never without it in my cupboard. It adds a lot to vegan versions of eggs. 

Friends don't let friends eat bad food.

Meet my friend Judith Levine. She is someone who always lights up a room with an abundant smile and a quick wit. She is a native of Fayetteville who lived for a number of years in France before coming home to marry the love of her life. Her life is lived with passion and flair and she possesses a curiosity in everything around her. Not only that, she is a fabulous cook. And I do mean fabulous. Every meal is an event and an adventure. And she never picks up a cookbook or uses a recipe!

Judith and I recently started a business together called www.conegratulations.com . We sell petal tossing cones to brides and florists along with display cases. Lest you think this is just a shameless plug(okay, it is...) there is a food connection. The cones are food grade and perfect to hold snacks, canapes, pannise(great vegan treat by the way), hors d'ouvres, candy and the like. Perfect for parties and catering. So every week, Judith and I hold a strategy session at her house and she makes lunch. Sometimes it is more lunch than strategy but really, you should not mix business with food anyway right?

Today my sweet friend made us a lovely soup with ingredients she had on hand. There was no recipe, no prior planning and it took all of ten minutes to make. Coincidently it was vegan(she is not) and it was incredible. I never even thought to ask if it had a name and am constructing a recipe on the hoof.  Come to think  of it, I don't even know if it has a name.It is a delicious quick vegan meal and I urge you to try it.

Judith's Mushroom and Tofu Coconut Soup

1 container silken tofu, drained
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
   juice of one lemon
6 cups or so vegetable or No Chicken stock
1 oz shredded dried shitake mushrooms
a handful of scallions, chopped
a handful of cilantro, chopped

Bring the liquids to a boil with the shitake mushrooms. Simmer five minutes. Add the tofu and simmer a few more. Throw in the scallions and cilantro and serve. Now how easy was that! And oh, so good.

Thanks for the wonderful meal my friend. I hope we have many more together!

Busy Day Stir Fry As Good As Take-Out

Every Christmas I ask myself the same question: If Santa has elves to help him get ready for the big day, why can't I? I never receive an answer, so this year I took myself seriously and began hunting for elves for rent.

I looked in the yellow pages, the want ads, Googled elves for rent, put an ad on Twitter and posted my desires on Facebook. Not a single elf to be found. I suppose Santa has them all tied up this time of year. Personally, I think that's being selfish. But then again, the elves are likely thrilled. Seems they are the only ones who never have to deal with being unemployed.

My wishes were few: elves to make the presents or shop for the presents; wrap the presents; write the Christmas cards and get them in the mail; fill the candy dishes with goodies; put up the tree and decorate it; then make the cookies for Santa and make sure they were on the table Christmas Eve, along with a glass of milk. After all, sliding down chimneys has to be hard work.

After reaching the conclusion that no elves were available, I picked myself up and decided to do things myself. Just like always. I'm busy, busy. Just like all of you. That's why I dug out a favorite vegan cookbook and stirred up a favorite recipe. I like Robin Robertson's "Vegan On The Cheap", not only for its tasty offerings, but because everything in it is economical to make.

Since I love Chinese food, and Robin's recipe for stir fry that's as good or better than take-out is not only a favorite dish, but quick to make, I thought you might like to give it a try during this busy season. I made a few adjustments, as I always seem to do. You know me by now. I always have to change something for my own palette. You can do the same. Oh, and by the way, if you hear of any elves for rent in your neighborhood, send me a note so I know where to find them next year.

BETTER THAN TAKE-OUT STIR-FRY

3 cups broccoli florets, cut small

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1 pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. cornstarch

4 green onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

2 Tbs. dry sherry (I left out since I didn't have it on hand)

1 Tbs. ketchup

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp. Asian chili paste

2 Tbs. water

Freshly cooked rice

I used my big wok since it makes stir-frying a cinch.

The recipe calls for steaming the broccoli and carrots until tender, but I don't care for steamed veggies, so I stir fried them and placed them aside till later in the recipe.

Cut the tofu into small dice and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the corn starch over the tofu and toss to coat.

In the wok, place a thin layer of vegetable oil and set the heat to medium. Add the tofu and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the tofu from the wok and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok set over medium heat. Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, and cook till soft. Stir in the stock, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sherry, ketchup, sesame oil, and chili paste. 

Combine the remaining 1 Tbs. of corn starch with 2 Tbs. of water and pour into the wok, stirring to thicken. Add the tofu and cooked vegetables back into the pan and cook long enough to heat everything through. Serve over hot rice.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. Even the non-vegans I've served it to always go back for more.

Serves 4

These are the non-vegans who ate my stir fry. Don't they look happy?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Deli Take Out

There is always so much to do between Thanks Giving and the New Year. One good thing about my man refusing to participate or even taste anymore Vegan food is that I only need to worry about my own needs on my day to eat Vegan. Furthermore, whenever I don't have to cook, why would I bother? It's not as if I live to experiment with food recipes.  Besides there are several high end grocers in Santa Barbara to pick up ready made vegetarian or vegan meals.

As pictured, I found these dishes in the deli section. A marinated tofu dish and a red, whole grain rice salad. I have to tell you, I was ready for bland and tasteless, but, surprisingly, I actually dug in with gusto! I wrote down all of the ingredients for a future blog. However, marinating bite-sized pieces of firm tofu is a no brainer! Just buy a pre-made marinade, how could you go wrong! My Japanese friends grew up on tofu sitting in plain soy sauce, and it's great tasting too.

The whole rice salad had raw onions, white corn kernels, bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, and spinach. The vinaigrette, had olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper as its ingredients. The nutty Bhutanese Red Rice was fabulously hearty and satisfying. The bright corn kernels crunched sweetly inside the balance of other savory flavors. I mixed a fruit drink out of cranberry and one of those berry mixes that Naked Juice or Odalla puts out. I had all my protein, carbs, and vitamins to last me all day, practically.

Well, got to festoon my house inside and out, because I volunteered to host the Animal Clinic's Christmas dinner party. The doctor is ordering catered food. Yippee. Since his wife is vegetarian, I'm sure to find some yummy vegan options too. Now, I All I have to do is clean, decorate, move some furniture around to fit long tables in my living room, and clean some more. Happy Hustle and Bustle to you and yours!