Vegan Chicken Pot Pie in Winter Squash ~ Vegan comfort food

These were pretty fun to make.  I had a hankering for some chicken pot pie, vegan style of course.  I also have quite a few little winter squash around, some acorn squash, small pumpkin squash, and the black futsu squash I picked up at the People's Coop Farmer's market.  I had a weird notion that they would make excellent crusts or bowls for my pot pies.  I roasted three of them about half way so they'd be easier to get into.  The futsu squash shell was about as tough as the acorn squash.  I cut them in half, filled them with the chiken pot pie mixture and covered them with a baking powder bisquit crust.  They were really nice, more filling than they look.  We enjoyed these for lunch and dinner a few days.

Vegan "Chicken" Pot Pie

    * 1 package super firm tofu, died in ½" cubes
    * 6 cups vegetable stock I used low sodium vegetable broth
    * 1 cup yellow onion, diced
    * 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
    * 1 cup diced potatoes

    * 1 cup green peas
    * 3/4 tsp thyme, minced
    * 3/4 tsp sage, minced
    * 3/4 tsp sea salt
    * 3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
    * 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
    * 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
    * 2-4 tbsp olive oil
    * 3/4 cup flour
    * 3/4 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
    * 1 puff pastry sheet rolled out to by 12x10 inches

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 375º.

Brown diced super firm tofu in a saute pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside. To make a roux, melt the vegan margarine in a saute pan, add flour and whisk constantly until light brown in color. Cool and set aside.

In a 5.5 qt. stock pot, cook onions in oil or water, adding 1-2 TB at a time to keep from sticking to the pan, for 3 minutes and add carrots, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add already boiling stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in nutritional yeast flakes.

Add the roux a bit at a time and continue to cook as sauce begins to thicken. Stir in "chicken" cubes, tamari and peas. Pour mixture into a large shallow pan to cool.

Once mixture is cool, pour into individual ramekins, glass pie pan or small casserole dish. Cover mixture with puff pastry (be sure to leave a small excess of pastry for folding and fluting of the edge) and seal edges. Cut small slits.

 

I used a simple baking powder bisquit recipe and rolled small crusts and gently placed over the top of the filled winter squash and baked until thouroughly heated and the crust was golden brown and crispy.

Pine Nut Polenta with Cherry Sauce - Another Way to Get Your Grains

In preparation for the big VegFest weekend, I purchased a cookbook by each chef I'd be working with so I could have them ready to sign for my collection.  I didn't get Robin Asbell's cookbook in time so I purchased one at the VegFest which she graciously signed for me.  I bought The Big Vegan at the festival and her Sweet & Easy Vegan just came in the mail yesterday. I opened the book and chose the first recipe I saw:  Pine Nut Polenta with Cherry Sauce.  A warm whole grain treat made with coarse corn meal and teff that can be eaten for breakfast or dessert.  I had just about everything the recipe called for except for a little teff.  I took some cherries out of the freezer to thaw, picked up some more teff and whipped it together Saturday afternoon.  I chilled it overnight and grilled it for a delightful Sunday breakfast. Oh yeah, did I mention this is an Easy recipe?  The cherry sauce is very simple.  I just did something similar with raspberries for the thumbprint cookies.  Any berries will work for this recipe.

Pine Nut Polenta with Cherry Sauce
    Robin Asbell, Sweet & Easy Vegan, page 47

Polenta

1 Cup coarse cornmeal/polenta
3 Cups filtered water
1 Cup amaranth or teff or 1 cup additional cornmeal
1 Cup vanilla non-dairy milk
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

The grains can be substituted with other grains and cashews or other nuts can be substituted for the pine nuts.

Cherry Sauce

10 oz. frozen dark cherries (your favorite berries)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple juice
1 TB corn starch

Lightly oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

To make the polenta:

Put the cornmeal in a medium saucepan, then add the water gradually while whisking continuously.  Whisk in the amaranth or teff.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cook, whisking continuously until thick, about 5 minutes.  Stir in half the pine nuts.

Scrape the polenta into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer.  Sprinkle the remaining pine nuts on the top and press to adhere.  Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.

To make the sauce:

In a small saucepan, combine the cherries and maple syrup.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Lower the heat to maintain a simmer.  In a cup or small bowl, whisk the apple juice and cornstarch together until smooth, then stir the mixture into the cherries.  cook until shiny and thickened, about 5 minutes.

Slice the polenta and either fry it in a lightly oiled, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or bake it on an oiled baking sheet at 400º for 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through and browned.  Serve topped with the warm sauce, reheating it, if need be.  Stored in separate airtight containers, the polenta and cherry sauce will keep for about 1 week.

Looking forward to breakfast again tomorrow. Yum!

Nutty Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

This weekend at the Portland VegFest I had the pleasure of organizing the prep kitchen.  Scott & I packed up the kitchen and had two wonderful days of playing with our food.  We assisted seven vegan chefs from around the country for nine chef demos.  We learned a lot, especially about working together.  I have a lot more confidence Scott & I can work as a team whichever way this vegan cooking adventure takes us.

The first chef we got to work with was Chef Del Sroufe, author of the Forks Over Knives cookbook.  I opened it at work Wednesday and chose the first recipe I saw for my "plan review" treats, Nutty Raspberry Jam Thumbprints.  They look easy and made with the oat flour, they're gluten free. Today is just a little bit tense having the budget reviewed by our superiors.  I like to break the ice with some vegan treats.  If nothing else goes well, and it will, the cookies usually cause a little smiling.

I had most the ingredients in the recipe, except some nuts.  I stopped by the grocery store after the garden last night and picked up some nice pecans.  I didn't have any applesauce handy, but an apple in the Blendtec worked out just fine.  Yesterday morning before I went to work I took some raspberries out of the freezer to thaw.  I made a little jam with some pure maple syrup and Agar and let it cool.  You can use a good pre-made jam.

My Quick Jam

About 2 cups fresh or frozen berries
3 TB pure maple syrup
1 TB Agar
1 Cup boiling water
1/4 tsp cinnamon, optional
1/4 tsp nutmeg, optional

Heat the berries with the maple syrup until they come to a gentl boil.  Add the Agar to the boiling water and dissolve.  Add the Agar mixture to the hot berry mixture, mix well, add cinnamon and nutmeg.  Bring it to a gentle boil again, remove it from the heat and let cool.  It will thicken as it cools.

Nutty Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
     Forks Over Knives Cookbook, page 271

Makes 18 cookies

1/2 Cup unsweetened applesauce,
1/4 Cup almond butter
1/2 Cup dry sweetener:  raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, sucanat, etc.
1 TB ground flaxseeds
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups oat flour (If you're not concerned with gluten, unbleached wheat or spelt, flour will work fine)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, (I used pecans)
1/2 cup raspberry jam, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.

In a large mixing bowl use a  strong fork to mix the applesauce, almond butter, sweetener, and flax seeds.  Once relatively smooth, mix in vanilla.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well.  Fold in the oats and walnuts.

Roll about 2 tablespoons of batter into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining batter until you have 18 balls.  They can fit into once cookie sheet because they don't spread much at all during baking.  Moisten you thumb (or index finger) and make a deep indent in the center of each cookie.  Place about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in each indent.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookie are golden brown. 

Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

I sprinkled them with a bit of powdered sugar, that's optional.

Quick and Easy ~ Lively Mexican Vegan Hash

We've got some beautiful little red and purple potatoes coming out of the garden now.  I was looking for a quick and easy meal the other day.  I thought about potato hash.  I had some tempeh in the fridge and thought it would make a nice addition.  I sliced some into little cubes and gave them a quick marinade of tamari, lemon juice, and a little garlic chili flax oil. I let them sit in the marinade for about 15 minutes.

I browned the cubes and set them aside. Then sauteed some fresh onions, shallots, red bell pepper, and fresh red potato slices in a little water. While the potatoes cooked, I added a little mexican spice blend: cumin, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, and garlic powder. I put the tempeh back to the mixture and about a  half cup of filtered water and simmered it all until the potatoes were tender. Added a handful of chopped Italian Parsley and topped it off with some vegan chipotle cream sauce and avocado.

Chipotle Cream Sauce: 1/2 cup veganaise, 1 tsp chipotle chili powder, dash cumin, (or favorite spice), 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, dash salt, (optional). Whisk it all together until blended.
One of the spice blends I like to keep on hand is a mexican blend.  It's handy to have around to change up the flavor of a stir fry or bean dish. 

Mexican Spice Blend
     Makes 7 tablespoons

1/4 cup chili powder
2 TB cumin powder
2 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and mix well.  Store in a glass jar.

Add to casseroles, beans, vegetable stir-fry or any recipe you'd like to liven up.