Wednesday Dinner - Root Vegetable Shepherd's Pie with Whipped Parsnip-Potato (June 2)

European Night

Is it just my kids or do all kids and root vegetables not get along? Is it something in their genes?? Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed this variation of Shepherd's Pie, with sweet potatoes, adzuki beans, turnips, carrots and peas, but the kids...well, didn't. I bet they will when they get older. I've learned that children actually are very sensitive to certain taste profiles, especially bitter. My job, as I see it, is to keep exposing their juvenile taste buds to different flavors, and let them figure it out later.

Mission accomplished tonight.

3 out of 5 stars

Root Vegetable Shepherd's Pie Recipe 

Thursday Dinner - Paprika Potatoes (May 28)

European/Potato Night

I am Hungarian, and I love Hungarian food. It is important to teach my children what their heritage is and what it means. A big part of that is food. Hungarians are know for Attila the Hun and for food. I'd rather it be the latter. According to my dad, we trace our ancestry back 500 years of restaurateurs. Since I do not currently have a restaurant, I can at least impart the love of Hungarian food in my children. It seems to be working because this meal is one of their favorites, although an alternative of it, March of the Grenadiers (mashed, mixed with pasta, and baked), is more of a favorite.

This is, once more, a very easy and quick meal. It takes about 15 minutes by the stove, cooking the onions, and peeling and slicing the potatoes, and then about 30 minutes simmering on the stove. It is a classic Hungarian dish that also has the Chicken Paprikas as the more famous counterpart. This was one of my favorites growing up, and it is turning out to be a favorite of my progeny, too.

5 out of 5 stars 

Paprika Potato Recipe

Friday Dinner - Seitan Scallopini (May 22)

If you are not familiar with Bryanna Clark Grogan, it is time you should be. Tonight's dinner was inspired by her scallopini recipes in

 Nonna's Italian Kitchen.

I made some seitan a few nights ago, and if you are intimidated by making seitan, don't be. (I am in the process of making a video to help you conquer the fear of seitan.) I made a 'light', 'chicken'-flavored seitan, and sliced it 1/4 inch thin. After breading the slices, I pan-fried them until golden, added mushrooms, shallots, and garlic, and about a cup of wine (or Marsala, sherry, or just vegetable broth). I let the sauce reduce and served the cutlets with whipped potatoes and sauteed garlic spinach.

Originally I had the cutlets over pureed baby turnips, but that was a bit much for the rest of the family - too bitter for them - so the picture is of whipped potatoes. If you do use potatoes instead of turnips, consider changing the greens to kale or rapini (broccoli rabe). - it will give a nice flavor contrast. I liked it a lot with the turnips, however, so here is your chance to use up those last turnips in your CSA box. 

4.5 out of 5 stars

Seitan Scallopini Recipe

Thursday Dinner - Georgian Potato and Seitan Filled Flat Bread (May 20)

I must admit that this was very close to a knish, but the dough was risen and the filling was outstanding. I diced the seitan and pan-fried it until it was crispy. It was mixed with mashed potatoes that were seasoned with chives and sauteed onions. Everyone thought it was very tasty. Next time I will make some gravy to go with it, but tonight I was sidetracked with making sweets for the kids for tomorrow's end-of-year-party.

4 out of 5 stars

Brownies three ways:

Chocolate
Death by Chocolate
Strawberry-Chocolate

Recipes from Sinfully Vegan by Lois Dieterly

... and Almond Toffee Bars

Sunday Lunch - Seitan Kabobs and Patatas Bravas (May 16)

We are still camping.

I had been marinating the kabobs since Friday night, and had half-cooked the potatoes and marinated them as well. At camp, we got the fire going, placed the kabob pieces - seitan, artichokes, cherry tomatoes, elephant garlic, and yellow peppers - in kabob baskets, and grilled them. I highly recommend these baskets; seitan pieces, as well as veg dogs and tofu tend to break apart and fall off the skewers. No more lost tofu to the fire! They should be called 'vegan kabob baskets' as far as I'm concerned. Aldi has them for $1.50 each.

The potatoes were grilled as well, after all, we are camping and B-B-Q-ing, then covered with a spicy tomato sauce I prepared at home. That's right, I tried to prep everything so I wouldn't have to do anything. It worked really well. The kabobs were nicely charred, as you can see in the photo.

4 out of 5 stars

Sunday Breakfast - Cheeze Tofu and Potato Skillet (May 16)

We are still camping.

For this morning I had precooked the hash browns, and the 'egg' tofu, the cheezy sauce. I heated up the components on the fire (no need to wait for coals - love that!), and assembled them in a skillet. This was inspired by American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyen. The tofu, however, is mine. I like to fake eggs using black salt - a mineral rock Indians use in their cooking; it has an unusual sulfuric flavor and smell - perfect to imitate eggs. The tofu should be pan fried in soy margarine (Earth Balance is best), then add 1/2 c. water, 1 t. turmeric, 1 t. black salt, 2 T. nutritional yeast to the pan, cover, and simmer for ten minutes. Simmering the tofu changes the texture, very much like freezing tofu changes the texture. Drain from the cooking liquid and serve over the skillet of hash browns.

4 out of 5 stars 

Friday Dinner - Lemon 'Chicken' (May 14)

I used Gardein protein to make this dish. Whenever we go to a Chinese restaurant, the kids are always asking for Lemon 'Chicken'. There are no vegetarian/vegan places around here that have this, so I tried my hand at it. I soaked the cutlets in lemon juice for  a few minutes, then dredged them in seasoned four, and pan-fried them. In the same pan, I added 2 T lemon juice, 1/2 cup of water, 2 T nutritional yeast, 1 t. turmeric (trying to get that gaudy yellow color Chinese places manage to impart - not quite there, though), and 2 T arrowroot to thicken. I brought the sauce to a boil and then poured it over the cutlets. The lemon slices were decorations that my children and husband promptly removed. Good thing I only cut them for the picture. The potatoes are Roasted Rosemary Potatoes from Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey by Karen Davis. Everyone thought it was very good, but the kids insisted it was too lemon-y. I think the stuff they get at restaurants is too lemon-y.

 Kids and their palates...

4 out of 5 stars

 

Thursday Dinner - Spinach-Artichoke, Potato Gratin (May 13)

Thursday night is European/Potato night.

Again, a quick and easy dish to make. The inspiration was a recipe from 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson. I saw the recipe and my mind went "Spinach and artichoke dip!" So, I seared the sliced bottled artichokes in garlic olive oil (saute garlic in the oil and remove the slices before they burn), added the spinach to it, and cooked it until the spinach wilted, returning the garlic back to the pan. After thinly slicing about six Yukon gold potatoes, and making a layer, I added half of the spinach mixture, seasoning the layers as I worked. Another layer of potatoes, spinach, and the last layer of potatoes rounded out the dish. I then mixed about a cup of rice milk with 1/2 cup of Better Than Cream Cheese (I blended it to incorporate the cheese well.) and poured it over the gratin. Covering it very tightly, I baked it at 375 for about an hour and a half. The oven did most of the work. Verdict? All but my oldest daughter loved it. (Spinach is on her no-no list, as well as most of the vegetable world.) Sigh.

Letting the gratin sit for about 15 minutes lets the potatoes rest and the gratin comes out very clean. My youngest asked for some 'cheese' on the gratin, so I put about half a bag of Daiya cheddar flavor on the top and broiled it until it melted (not a necessary component, however). This was a huge hit - only one serving remained.

5 out of 5 stars