Les Noms: Pissaladiere & French Plum Cake

This weekend we were invited to a huge Bastille Day potluck dinner party. It was really fun! At first I thought "What will I make that's vegan and French?" But, once I got to thinking, and flipping through my cookbooks, I had a huge list of ideas. The most helpful book was "Vegan Mediterranean Kitchen" by Donna Klein- with tons of great vegetable dishes from the French countryside. Also "30-minute Vegan: Taste of Europe" had some good ideas, but they were more "veganized" and I wanted something classic. I ended up with lots of bookmarked recipes from both books!

So, after compiling a long list of possible Frenchie Foods, I decided to make a few different dishes for the party. I figured that not much else at the party would be vegan (because, y'know, French Food)... so if I wanted to have a nice dinner, I was gonna have to bring it for myself.

The first thing I decided to make was a Pissaladiere. I love this yummy French take on pizza - a delicious crust covered in caramelized onions, olives and roasted bell peppers. What's not to love? It is so beautiful and delicious! I used this recipe from the Food Network, with a few changes:
~ reduced the olive oil in the onions by half AND used 3 lbs of onions instead of 2 lbs
~ used roasted bell peppers instead of anchovies (blech!)
~ used Kalamata olives instead of Nicoise olives (which I couldn't find!)
It was totally delicious, made two big pans, and was totally gone by the end of the night!

I also made this nice simple Marinated Lentil Salad, from Vegan Mediterranean Kitchen. It was simple and light and healthy (again, I majorly reduced the olive oil). I didn't just want to eat pizza for dinner, so I was happy to have some lentil-y goodness in my belly. As it turned out, the other vegetarians at the party were happy to see this dish there as well!

Finally: Dessert! I made this wonderful French Almond Plum Cake, from a recipe I veganized years ago from Jacques Pepin's cooking show on PBS! (recipe below!). It is so delicious and quite easy too. I had a bunch of plums from my aunt's plum tree, and this was a good use for them. The cake is fun because the plums puff up while baking and then collapse, leaving plum-shaped holes in the cake - but also spreading their plummy goodness in the cake. It's topped with an apricot-jam glaze. So good!

In the end, there were actually a couple of other dishes at the party that were vegan : baguettes, some ratatouille, an excellent fruit salad, and a corn salad. So, together with my goodies, I was set! Plus, I actually met a few other vegans at the party (wow!) and they were stoked to find out that there was a vegan dessert for them!

In honor of the rising up of the people, I offer you this Bastille Day Doodelle*:

(* french for "doodle")

(not really)

Jacques Pepin's French Almond-Plum Cake 

(veganized)

ingredients:
1 c flour
1 c raw almonds (I used slivered almonds this time, but Jacques used whole almonds with the skins on)
1 c sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
2 "eggs" ~ I used EnerG Egg Replacer with good results
4 tbsp soy margarine/Earth Balance
1/4 c almond milk
4-7 ripe plums (it depends on the size of the plums)
extra sugar
1/4 c apricot or plum jam

to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 350F.

Add the flour, almonds, sugar and baking powder into a food processor and pulse until the almonds are pulverized. Add the margarine and pulse until blended.

Mix up your Egg Replacer and pour it into the food processor. Pulse until combined. Then add the almond milk and pulse briefly until you have thick, sticky batter.

Spread the batter into a buttered springform pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread it around and smooth it out.

Take the plums and use a paring knife to carefully cut out the pit, while leaving the other end of the plum intact (like an olive!). It's a little tricky, so don't despair if you mess it up a little. Just do your best.

like this

One plum at a time: use a little water or plum juice to moisten the skin of the plum, roll it in the extra sugar to coat the outside of the plum, and then place it "hole-down" in the batter of the cake. Continue with all your plums.

Bake for 45 min-1hour, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Heat the jam and add a tiny bit of water to make a glaze. Brush or spoon the glaze on the top of the cake. Enjoy!

VeganMoFo: Fancypoo Japanese Food!

Just a few days left, and today we make our meal in Japan! I haven't had much Japanese food, so I was excited to tackle something so new and unfamiliar to me. Here's what I made:

Pan-fried Tofu in Tempura Sauce from Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook*

*from the Santa Cruz Public Library

5 stars. Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats went totally nuts when he tasted this... "You have ascended to the next level! You are a true chef! This is amazing!"

He also said "This tastes just like the food at the Japanese buffet, but a thousand times better!"

I think he liked it.

This dish really was amazing. The tofu is simply dabbed dry, rolled in potato starch, and then lightly pan-fried (the recipe calls for deep frying), until crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. I used medium-soft tofu, which made everything a bit more challenging to work with, but all the more tender to eat. Then the tofus are placed in a platter of tempura sauce - made with a kombu-dried shiitake dashi broth, soy sauce, mirin, and nori bits (in place of bonito flakes). The garnishes include a simple, but wonderful, finely grated bit of daikon radish and dried red pepper. It added just the right little amount of kick to this dish. This dish was so delicious, and not all that hard to make... I'll definitely make it again.

I think it would be some sort of heresy to have a vegan Japanese dinner and not have edamame. I did not break the rules.

These Greens with Black Sesame Sauce were super fancy-looking and super fancy-tasting. (recipe also

from Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook)

The recipe called for spinach, but I had some beet greens and kale, so I went with that. I made a half batch of greens and a full batch of the sauce... The sauce was very, very magical. Sweet and salty, with dashi broth, tahini, black sesame seeds, sugar, mirin, soy sauce... just an incredible combo of flavors. The sweet and salty elements of the sauce both complemented the greens perfectly. The sauce was crazy delicious, but somehow I think the dish would have been even more elegant if I had only made a half batch of the sauce to go with my half-batch of greens. The flavors of the sauce were very strong, and slightly overpowered the greens. Mr VE&T positively loved this stuff, so I know I'll get another chance to make it.

Last, but not least, I bravely conquered my sushi fears. I've only had sushi maybe 2-3 times in my life, and I didn't really like it. I find the seaweed flavor overbearing and most unappetizing. But geez, people love the stuff. And plus, you can't really have Japanese night without sushi, can you??

So, I made a Cucumber-Avocado California Roll, using Alton Brown's recipe from The Food Network. First of all, let me just say, his sushi rice recipe is so freaky delicious. I was nibbling little spoonfuls out of the rice bowl the whole time I was cooking everything else. Incredible. Just a few simple little ingredients really elevate it to something special beyond "plain rice." So, check that out. As for the roll, I followed his recipe exactly, only leaving out the crab. I even went out and bought pickled ginger and wasabi... hoping it wouldn't be a one-time thing. Well, guess what?? Even though I'm not a good sushi roller, I really enjoyed these little sushis! I think I'd even make them again! I still don't like the nori flavor... but the wasabi & ginger help me get past that in a jiffy! :)

It's very exciting! I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a sushi fan just yet... but perhaps I am on my way??

I also picked up a little bottle of sake. I was going to make one more dish, which called for sake in the ingredients, but ended up skipping that one. I'd never had sake before, and I'll admit this was the cheapest one at the store, but I took one little sip and didn't really like it. On the other hand, I've never been a drinker, so what do I know?

So, all in all, Japanese night was a big hit. Just shopping for this meal made me realize that this is a culinary world that is completely unexplored for me. There were all sorts of noodles and misos and sauces and seaweeds, all of which were a mystery to me. Clearly, I need to hunt down some more vegan Japanese recipes and start investigating.

More exciting and new kitchen fun tomorrow!

VeganMoFo: Bibimbap-a-roo-bop!

BeeBop? Little Bunny Frou-Frou? No! Bibimbap!*

I had never heard of this fun meal until just a few weeks ago, but apparently it is a common and popular meal in Korea. This was my first time ever eating or making Korean food, and it was very inspiring! I can't wait to explore more!

*(pronounced bee-beem-bap)

I used a variety of recipes for my Bibimbap experience... First I made a whole bunch of little side dishes, mostly using recipes from Fat Free Vegan (great recipes!), and also getting some tips from this Food Network recipe. I was only making 3-4 servings, so I made half-batches, or even quarter-batches in some cases.

Zucchini Stir Fry with Garlic. Well, in my book, you just can't go wrong with a simple saute with garlic. These little zukes were mighty tasty. Here's the recipe.

Korean-style Cucumber Salad. Heck yeah!! I loved this! It was cool and pickly and hot-spicy all at once. Just a tiny little crunch from the onions and cukes... This was a new flavor-texture experience for me and I loved it. It was one of my favorites of the meal. Recipe here.

These are the little mung beans - transformed into Mung Bean Sprout Salad, again a recipe from FFVegan. Like so many of these dishes, this was quick and simple and very tasty. The spouts are quickly cooked, so they maintain their crisp quality, but soften a bit too.

A few shiitake mushrooms, cooked with a little peanut oil and a pinch of salt.

Simple sauteed carrots with a dash of peanut oil and garlic.

Oshitashi, Spinach with Toasted Sesame Seeds. I used Susan's recipe, and LOVED IT. Next time I make Bibimbap, I might not make quite so many side dishes (just in the interest of time), but I won't skip this one. Very yums, and very easy!

Also, I used Susan's recipe for the special Korean hot sauce, Kochu Chang, which - according to the internet - is a critical part of the bibimbap experience. I was really grateful for this recipe, because we don't have any Korean markets here. I used my extra hot cayenne, and this stuff packed a serious spicy punch. We were all blowing our noses about halfway through dinner. Ha! There's still about half of this stuff left... which I guess means I get to make Bibimbap again soon! :) Lucky me.

Here's the whole plate, all assembled. First of all, there is a layer of white rice under all of this... Then you can see on the left there, a little section of Super Mega Tasty Soy Curls, which I didn't photograph separately. I used this same Food Network recipe, and marinated Soy Curls (instead of ribeye steak). I used about 4 big handfuls of soy curls and made a half batch of the marinade. First, I re-hydrated the soy curls with a little hot water and a not-beef bouillon cube. Then I drained them, squeezed out the liquid, and put them in the marinade for a few hours. Then I just sauteed them while I was making the rice and other goodies. Each time the pan would start to dry out, I would add a little more marinade, until it was all gone. They were officially So Freaking Good. This is most definitely a recipe I'll come back to.

All sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds for an extra touch of flavor and elegance.

Mr. Vegan Eats and Treats says: "Draw a picture of me inhaling my food like in a cyclonic action of food consumption!!!" This is the best I could do. :)

Bibimbap takes some work, but it is very convenient that so many of the elements can be served cold or at room temp. That makes advanced prep pretty easy. My friend Alana recently suggested a bibimbap potluck party, and I didn't know what she was talking about. Well, sign me up! Bibimbap is a great idea for a potluck!

Hoorah for bibimbap!