Around the World in 80 Plates: Belgium

I was looking through books and on the internet for Belgium and everything was pointing to Carbonade Flamande and Frites. Lucky for me, back when I was testing for Terry Hope Romero's newest book, Vegan Eats World (which comes out October 30th by the way!) there was a recipe I had filed away but never got to make which fit the bill perfectly! Hers is a play on the two served together somewhat untraditionally but also perfectly, called Beer Bathed Seitan Stew with Frites (hopefully it made the cut, there were so many amazing recipes). She recommended using an authentic Belgian dark beer like Chimay so I asked Ryan to stop on his way home and grab some. I'm not usually one for alcohol but once again decided to go for it. This stew is perfectly balanced though and it just added a nice background flavour without it screaming "THERE'S BEER IN HERE!". I found it to be a nice mix of french onion soup and a beef stew and the frites that went along with them are now in my top five best fries (and yes I have a mental list). They are baked on parchment with oil, vinegar and thyme and it adds just a little something but again just the right amount and taste amazing dipped in the stew. Kiddo isn't usually one for vinegar but he loved these fries too, though his were next to Gardein sliders and peas not the stew. I will admit I skipped the seitan in this stew and just upped the mushrooms. I think it was great this way too but I'm sure it would be closer to authentic with it. I was making it quickly on a weeknight and didn't think to make the seitan ahead of time. Next time I'll give it a try and there will definitely be a next time since we all enjoyed it so much!

 

Around the World in 80 Plates: France (cont)

One more dish for France...a beautiful Potato Leek Galette. This one I basically just threw together one night and served it with some Baked Pressed Tofu (recipe in Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero) and steamed broccoli.

Not a real recipe here just a quick run down of what I did. I scrubbed but didn't peel six Yukon gold potatoes then sliced them thin on my mandoline. I tossed them in a bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt & pepper then layered them in a 9 inch cake pan that I generously greased. As I was layering I sprinkled in some thinly sliced leeks and topped it with some as well. I baked it at 375F covered for the first 30 minutes to get the potatoes to steam a bit then removed the foil in order to let it brown (probably another 30 minutes). To serve, I inverted it and cut into eighths which I think everyone at the table decided was too small of a portion! Ha! I wish I had had a little more time to let it bake to get it even more browned and crispy on the bottom so I would definitely recommend another 10 minutes after removing the foil and will do that the next time I make it. Mac really loved this one despite his supposed dislike of all things onion-y. The leeks were mild enough I guess for him not to notice. He quickly requested that I keep a piece for him for lunch the next day and he didn't forget either. At lunch time the next day he was sitting at the table early looking for "that yummy potato cake" and more baked tofu!

Testing Sweet and Savoury Jackfruit Carnitas

I'm still testing for Terry Hope Romero's newest project and I'm telling you...I'm really enjoying these tastes from around the world. This book is going to be epic! Just this weekend I made her Sweet and Savoury Jackfruit Carnitas and oh boy were they delicious. I love carnitas and have made them a few times now since being vegan, always with jackfruit because it really does mimic the texture you would expect. And once you caramelize it a little in a cast iron pan, it really does look exactly like what I made pre-vegan (almost eerily so). These were definitely a favourite of ours from this testing and will get made again for sure!

A carnita feast served up with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, warm corn tortillas, pickled onions, and rice

The star of the show

I love pickled onions (also a test for Terry)

You even need two tortillas to hold it all in!

Late Night Post after a Long Day!

I'll be brief since it's been a very long day!!! I took the time this afternoon to finally help my mom declutter her storage space. What I thought might take weeks ended up only taking three solid hours which was a bonus. I'm glad to be done for sure!

For supper tonight we had Curry Seitan Jamaican Patties which is another test recipe for Terry Hope Romero. They were soooo tasty! I have been strangely craving tourtiere and these, although differently spiced, hit the spot. The pastry is flaky, tender and flavourful. The filling was a bit hot but in the tasty way and it was perfectly spiced with the home made Jamaican Curry Powder (another test recipe). The recipe is great because you can do parts of it ahead of time and then assemble them when you are ready to eat. My pictures are less than stellar but I'm still sharing them anyways. I have yet to manage to capture the filling of a patty like this in a picture, they always seem to come out blurry! Ah well, they tasted fantastic and are definitely something I will make again!

How do you spell yummy?

After trying these....

I spell it Okonomiyaki! Damn! This is another test recipe from Terry Hope Romero and I will flat out say I am in love with these! I had never heard of it before (I need to get out apparently!) or seen an okonomiyaki but this will definitely not be my last. It is a delicious, almost pancake made out of cabbage that has these toppings that are pressed into it and then fried in a cast iron skillet on both sides to make it all browned and scrumptious! I went for baked tofu that is slightly "ham" like, edamame and some shredded carrot to press in. The real yummy part is the Tonkatsu sauce (another test recipe from Terry) that you slather on top of the baked okonomiyaki and the mayo drizzled on top mixes with it and makes magic. Like the kind of magic that makes you crave them again later that night. Like the kind of magic that makes you want to make them once a week and you would never get sick of them. Like the kind of magic that now that I have written about them and looked drooled over these pictures, I want to make them again!

Goldilocks and the Three Phos

           Once upon a time there was a thirtysomething girl with hair of gold (actually it's more silver than gold these days) and a taste for pho. She had made some life changes and became a vegan and didn't know where to go for pho anymore. Since Goldilocks was a girl who knew what she wanted and couldn't find it, she decided to make it herself. There was only one problem, she had no idea how. 

       Then one day, a wonderful thing happened...a test recipe site came along with promises of flavours from around the world, things Goldilocks had never had before and things Goldilocks was waiting to have again. Things like Pho Noodle Soup with Bok Choy. As soon as Goldilocks spotted it she knew she wanted had to make it! She set out at once to the market and brought back all the ingredients she would need and set to work making a flavourful broth full of aromatic spices. She carefully sliced bok choy into thin shreds, picked the perfect basil and cilantro leaves and prepared rice noodles. She decided it would be even nicer to share her pho so she ladled up a bowl for her mother and husband. 

        Now there were three phos...the biggest one for Daddy, the medium sized one for Goldilocks and the smallest one was just right for Nana (who was afraid of a few of the ingredients). They sat and slurped and enjoyed the complex flavours of the broth mixed with tasty bites of baked tofu and a little oomph from a squeeze of fresh lime juice. They even attempted to eat it using chopsticks, only occasionally opting for a spoon. Goldilocks definitely enjoyed her bowl of pho and so did the others and they lived happily ever after from that day on knowing they could have pho now whenever they wanted thanks to Terry Hope Romero!

The End

P.S. I know that was crazy cheezy but how could I resist looking at those bowls, right?!

Supper Tonight - Test Recipes for Terry Hope Romero

Tonight I made three different recipes from Terry Hope Romero's test recipes for her upcoming book full of International recipes. I made a batch of preserved lemons (another test recipe) which required waiting two weeks and today was the day so I couldn't wait to break into them to make Braised Tempeh with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives. I saw that SaraJane over at Vegan Chicks Rock had tested this one already and served it with another of Terry's recipes, Fluffy Spiced Couscous. Her pictures and description convinced me this was the way to go so I made that as well. And apparently I was feeling fancy because I made Kale Salad with Preserved Lemon and Pomegranate as a starter (on a weekday no less!).

All three were so delicious and it was all tied together by the preserved lemons which are my new favourite thing! The salad was tart and crisp and I loved the pomegranate in it with their little bursts of tart juice that paired really well with everything else in the salad. The tempeh and couscous made for a delicious supper. I actually don't usually like green olives but in this dish they really worked and I actually found myself trying to find one for each bite. The tempeh was juicy and the sauce was citrusy and spiced. Again the preserved lemon was in this dish and it really made it something different than anything I've had before. It was all so healthy too but didn't taste like it, if you know what I mean. I am really loving this testing experience because it is definitely taking my palate places it's never been before, places it wants to go again!

Up next for tomorrow is Pho Noodle Soup with Bok Choy! I made the broth this afternoon and it smells out of this world good so I am really looking forward to it! Pre-vegan, I loved a good bowl of Pho and haven't had one since I went vegan so tomorrow we will be reunited!

My First Picture Post

Totally copping out on this post but I'm up to ears in cake and dinner so hopefully you will forgive me! Here's some pictures from this week in our kitchen. Most are test recipes for Terry Hope Romero's newest book project! (And if anyone can give me some pointers on placing pictures in Blogger...please help me!!!)

Tomatoes Stuffed with Creamy Rice
 - Test Recipe for Terry Hope Romero

Fennel Salad with Oranges and Olives
 - Test Recipe for Terry Hope Romero

Crispy Eggplant and Zucchini with Garlicky Potato Dip
 - Test for Terry Hope Romero

Gyro Roasted Seitan
- Test for Terry Hope Romero

Lemon Garlic Roast Potatoes
- Test for Terry Hope Romero

Crazy popcorn I bought at Rainbow Foods last week
because I just had to know what it would look like popped

Looked the same once it was popped though

Greek Village Salad - Test for Terry Hope Romero

Scramble Tofu Breakfast Bahn Mi
- Test for Terry Hope Romero

My First Korean BBQ and Kimchi

I have been intrigued by the idea of Korean BBQ and kimchi for awhile but had no idea how to make it. I had never had it and wasn't really sure what it ever tasted like but I liked the sound of it. BBQ is definitely not off limits to vegans, we love a good BBQ as much as the next, we just choose a different vehicle for our sauce. Now I'm sure it would have tasted much better had I gone out to grill it on the BBQ but the weather has gotten a bit cold here for that so I did the best I could inside on my cast iron pan on this one. The recipe was another test for Terry Hope Romero's newest book with a quick made kimchi (also a test recipe for Terry).

I will be honest and tell you I was scared to try the kimchi. Just washing out the food processor after making the red pepper paste made me choke up a little so I figured it was going to be hot and I can be a bit chicken when it comes to heat. It was hot too...but in that flavourful, good way not the burn your face off for no reason way. Mixing the kimchi with the Korean BBQ definitely made a magical pair too. Both were good but together they were delicious! I served it up and as suggested we ate them as a lettuce wrap. It was crunchy, salty, sweet, sour, spicy, complex and scrumptious (that's a taste bud I think...or maybe that's umami). It was everything I thought it would be and then more. I did a mix of tempeh and tofu and a few cloves of garlic too which really added a little oomph! Ryan and I both inhaled enjoyed this one and I will definitely be doing this again someday soon. It came together much quicker than I thought it would and the
flavours it delivered were worth every minute!

My BBQ is ready for it's close up

"Mommy, take my picture too!"

My First Test Recipe for Terry Hope Romero's New Book

I'm so excited to be testing for Terry Hope Romero's newest book project. It is all kinds of dishes from all over the world and I am so ready to try out some new things! Tonight I made two of the recipes for one big Indian inspired meal. First was Golden Tandoori Baked Tofu.

It was so tasty! Creamy and rich, spicy and bold, just a really amazing combination of flavours. It was so easy too! I had it all prepped and in the oven in like 20 minutes then the oven did the rest.

Then I made Shredded Cabbage with Toasted Mustard Seeds which was also really delicious.

It went really well with the tandoori baked tofu but would also rock any picnic or party spread. These two made quite a first impression...both Ryan and I were in love with both of these and can't wait to try out more!