Seitan Picatta, Sauteed Kale and Mushroom Risotto

More than a July hiatus but I'm back in the game! For 2013, I've vowed to average one new recipe per week!
For January, I prepared a trumpet and porcini mushroom risotto, served under dinosaur kale aka tuscan kale sauteed in evoo and shallots and topped with seitan picatta. All recipes motivated by Candle79 Cookbook.

July Hiatus

The world's loneliest refrigerator, comforted only incidentally by the 2000 Dom Perignon.

I've emptied out my fridge and am not allowing myself to go to the grocery store for the next month. But don't worry, I'll be back in August to fix up editing issues on the old posts and to indulge myself (and hopefully you) with some new culinary adventures. In the meantime, feel free to be amused byNYC Restaurant Reviews at http://eatinvegannyc.blogspot.com/ and Vegan Food Product Reviews at http://epicuregan.blogspot.com/.

Spicy Fennel Seitan Sausage Grilled Pizza

Spicy Fennel Seitan Sausage Pizza, on a patriotic plating.

With even more patriotic color play, this is a close up of the topping; check out the grill marks!

Burying the lede a bit: here's the grilled crust.

Who says vegans can't have grill marks?!

Spicy Fennel Seitan Sausage and Porcini Mushroom Mixture

Notes
Recipes, Substitutions, and Tips

1. Crust

I followed the Vegan with a Vengeance Pizza Dough Recipe, using whole wheat pastry flour, a pinch of ground black pepper, and ample amounts of semolina to prevent tackiness in the humid East Coast weather. This recipe was really easy and though it requires a bit of forethought to prepare, the time spent making it is almost entirely passive. Worried about equipment? If you're thinking "Yeah, this looks awesome, but I couldn't possibly without a rolling pin," you'd be wrong. I bet you have one of these:

It's a shot glass, a double shot (or 2.5 ounce glass) to be precise. I actually thought this "tool" worked really well given the small size of the crusts and the subtle transference of body heat through the glass kept the dough pliable. Also, the heft of a wooden rolling pin would have caused the delicate dough to tear. A word of caution: friends have told me I have "kindergartener hands;" if yours are larger or stronger, roll with caution or else the marinara won't be the only red sauce you're adding to the dish. Once you've shaped the dough, place a few drops of olive oil--I used white truffle olive oil to kick up the smoky flavor--on either side of the flatted crust and spread to coat with a brush or your fingers. Heat a grill pan (or grill if you're so lucky) and then grill for about three minutes at a time on a side, flipping four times to create hatched grill marks. You'll need to watch the crust closely to ensure the grill marks develop but that it doesn't overly brown. Once cooked, set the crusts on a baking sheet covered with foil.

2. Spicy Fennel Seitan Sausage

I followed The Artful Vegan Seitan Sausage Recipe. However, instead of making the seitan from scratch, I used store bought and made a few other adjustments. I started by putting 1/2 cup dried porcinis in 1 cup of boiling water with 2 bay leaves to reconstitute. I chopped three cloves of garlic and fried them for about three minutes in 1 TBSP of white truffle olive over medium heat in a small sauce pan. I then added a box (8 ounces) of West Soy Ground seitan and cooked for another five minutes. To this mixture, I added the seasonings suggested in the Artful Vegan Recipe, omitting the Chili Powder, Paprika, Sage, and Tamari, and adding a TBSP of chopped fresh rosemary and 1.5 TBSP fresh basil. I then added in the dried porcinis, bay leaves, and reconstituting water and allowed them to simmer for about twenty minutes or until most of the cooking water had evaporated.

3. Assembly

While other things were going on, I reheated1 cup of frozen Viva Vegan! Basic Onion-Pepper Sofrito over medium heat in a sauté pan. The mixture is essentially green bell peppers, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, chopped and sautéed. While this was caramelizing, I chopped five slices of Tofutti Mozzarella Cheese. I then coated each crust with about 2 TBSPs each of Middle Earth Tomato Basil Marinara, added half of the chopped cheese, about 1/2 cup of the porcini mixture, and 1/2 cup of the sofrito or pepper mixture. I then placed the crusts under an extremely warm broiler for four minutes; again, be extremely attentive so that the soy cheese melts without scorching.

Tasting

Honestly, if I had been served the seitan-porcini mixture at a non-vegan restaurant, I would have sent it back thinking that the kitchen had made a mistake. It has everything that good Italian sausage has: ample seasoning, fattiness from the truffled olive oil, umami savoriness from the porcinis and their reconstituting sauce, protein and chewiness from the seitan. The crust was also perfect: smoky and earthy (obviously enhanced by the truffle oil), with a density that could stand up to the weighty toppings despite its small dimensions. The other components round out the dish nicely: the cheese is light but fatty and actually melts, unlike many other vegan cheeses, and the caramelized onion and pepper mixture add another flavor dimension of smoky sweetness. In closing, please note: the bay leaf is an inedible garnish, as are the quilt and cutting board.

Rosemary Focaccia with Roasted Garlic Broccoli

Rosemary Focaccia, based on the Horizons: New Vegan Cuisine Rosemary Focaccia Recipe, and Roasted Garlic Broccoli, with Marinara and Herbed Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Rosemary Focaccia and Roasted Garlic Broccoli

Rosemary, Green Onion, and Garlic Focaccia Topping

Roasted Garlic Broccoli

Notes

Recipe and Substitutions:

Rosemary Foccacia

The recipe's intended topping sounded rustic but a bit boring. Instead, I sauteed 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 6 green onions (white bulbs only, chopped), and 2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary in a Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for about 8 minutes. I then lightly coated the bread with about a teaspoon olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper and sprinkled the rosemary mixture over it.

Roasted Garlic Broccoli:

Preheat the oven to 450. In a small bowl, Mix 1 1/2 Tb. EVOO, 1 TBSP Sea Salt, 1 TBSP Ground Black pepper, and 1 TBSP crushed red pepper flakes. Coat 1 lb. of broccoli with seasoning mixture and place on baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, until browned and crispy.

Tasting:

The bread was excellent. I think the heartiness of the whole wheat pastry flour made it substantive enough for a full meal. The topping was excellent: the salt made a crunchy crust and the bitterness of the alluvial vegetables entirely cooked out. Perhaps more olive oil across the top would have given it the more traditional texture, but I liked that it was a bit lighter and less greasy. The broccoli is a basic staple, but punched up a bit with flavor, and excellent as a side with basically any italian dish. A squeeze of fresh lemon brightens the spicy notes and cuts through any residual bitterness.

Blueberry Crumb Cake Muffins

Blueberry Crumb Cake Muffins.

About to take flight on the world's largest muffin-top wings.

Oh, just kidding, collapsing under the muffin top's weight.

Regardless, a really pretty confection; just store it like this to prevent structural implosion.

Recipe

Adapted from the Almost Vegan Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe.

After freezing, simply reheat for 45 seconds in the microwave.

Tortillas, Guacamole, and Black Bean-Butternut Squash Four Ways: Chips & Dip, Nachos, Tacos, and Tostadas

The Bean and Squash Mixture, which plays an integral role in all of the subsequent iterations.

Chips, flavored with Sea Salt (L) and cumin (R), & Dips.

Dips: Black Bean Squash and Guacamole.

Nachos with Guacamole.

A nacho, close up.

Pre-baking and pre-soy-cheese.

Hard-shell Taco

Tostadas, garnished.

Tostadas, naked

My $0.03 Serrano Pepper. The cashier at the grocery story was really amused by this.

Notes

Recipe and Substitutions

I followed the Viva la Vegan! Black-Eyed-Butternut Tostadas Recipe, substituting Black Beans for the black Eyed Peas. I also followed the Viva la Vegan! The Only Guacamole Recipe I Ever Make Recipe, but was consternated by its lack of tomatoes(!) and didn't have any cilantro.

Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Notes

Recipes

I followed The Joy of Vegan Baking Chocolate Cookie Recipe, simply adding a quarter cup of cocoa powder to the second batch of cookies to get a chocolate dough.