Ma’s Potato Salad

So I forgot to take a picture of this potato salad. But you remember the part in E.T. where E.T. and Elliot get sick and they put E.T. in that breathing chamber and he's so skinny and greyish and sickly and you were like, E.T., No ! You can't die! and you were still trying not to be freaked out by all those government dudes that barged into their house and who were like the scariest things ever, and you were trying not to cry because it just isn't right that E.T. would EVER die because he is a GOOD alien??!! Anyways, sick E.T. is kind of what this potato salad looked like. Not real attractive, to be frank.

But in flavor, it was pretty damn good. Admittedly, it didn't make for the best of lunches for the week. But as a side to take to an omni bbq, it will DEFINITELY please.

I made a half-batch, but I include the original recipe, in case you wanna use it for a picnic or something.

Oh, and I omitted the onion finally, instead of spending all lunch picking it out.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large Russett potatoes, cleaned, cut into large chunks, and boiled until just soft


• 1/2 c. Bacuns or Bac-o's (meat-free bacon bits)


• 1 c. pitted, sliced black olives


• 2 c. diced celery


• 1/4 c. balsamic vinaigrette


• 3/4 c. Veganaise (or other nondairy mayo)


• 1/4 c. spicy brown mustard


• 1/2 t. sea salt


• 1 t. ground black pepper


• 1 cup diced red onion

DIRECTIONS

Clean, cut, and cook the potatoes (with skins on) until just soft.

Drain and chill.

When the potatoes are thoroughly chilled, mix with all other ingredients and enjoy

Serves about 6 large-portions, 8-12 sides.

(Recipe from VegCooking)

Cookouts and Flavor Flav

So yes: like most of you, I cooked out on Memorial Day Weekend. Actually more than once. I forgot to take pictures at the first cookout though, which is a shame because there was some good stuff there, like my mom's vegan taco pizza, for example. But oh well.

My second cookout was at my friend P's and was very laid back and feminist-ic. We sat out on her huge voluptuous porch. I cooked burgers on my ex's little grill. We talked about books we were reading, bands, some really bad movies that we're fond of. One of P's friends quietly knitted while we sat and bullshit. It was a nice nice day.

I whipped up some peanut burgers with satay sauce for everyone and dragged along some of Veganomicon's blinding potato salad. P made a delicious chickpea salad with basil and mint (recipe hopefully forthcoming). And we battled it out upon realizing we'd both baked VwaV chocolate chip cookies.

The peanut burgers were decent--nothing special. Though I must say, coupled with the peanut satay sauce, they were quite scrumptious. (The sauce isn't exactly the epitome of healthiness though.) The potato salad, on the other hand, I found sorely disappointing. My mom's boyfriend liked it a lot when I brought it to my brother's cookout, but I just thought it was bland bland bland. Then again, I'm kind of a traditionalist when it comes to potato salad, so maybe THAT'S why I didn't like it? Who knows. But honest to god, I found it really super-boring on the flavor front.



Nonetheless, I post both recipes here. If you DO go the bean-burger route, definitely try it with the satay sauce. It adds a much-need oomph.




Peanut Burgers with Satay Sauce



INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. TVP granules


• 1 scant c. boiling water


• 1 T. tomato paste or ketchup


• 1 16-oz can pinto, kidney, or other beans, drained (I used kidney)


• 1/4 c. whole wheat bread crumbs (I used panko)


• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced


• 1/2 t. ginger powder


• 1 T. soy sauce


• 1 t. sugar


• 1/4 c. chopped peanuts


• salt and pepper to taste


• whole wheat flour for dusting

DIRECTIONS

Pour boiling water over TVP and tomato paste in a bowl. Stir and let rest for 10 minutes.

In food processor, combine TVP mixture and remaining ingredients except for flour and peanuts. Pulse until mixture is almost a puree. During the last pulse, add peanuts. Pulse just enough to mix.

Dust hands with flour and shape mixture into 6 burgers. Dust them lightly in flour. Layer the burgers with sheets of waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Cook on a grill covered with foil for about 10 minutes on each side.



Satay Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small onion, minced


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1 small chili pepper, chopped (or alternately, red pepper flakes to taste


• 1 t. sesame oil


• 1 c. natural chunky peanut butter (make sure it's natural--I made the mistake of not doing so, and it coagulated very strangely)


• 1/4 c. teriyaki sauce


• 2 t. brown sugar (or regular sugar works too)


• 1/4 c. water


• 1 t. tomato paste


• 1 t. sesame tahini


• salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a heavy saucepan saute the onion, garlic, and chili pepper in the sesame oil.

When translucent, add the peanut butter and stir until melted.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Serve over grilled peanut burgers.
(Posted at Award-Winning Veggie Burger Recipes)




Prospect Park Potato Salad


                                    from Veganomicon

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 lbs. potato, washed and peeled (I used red, I think the original recipe calls for yukon gold maybe?)


• 1 seedless cucumber, sliced thinly


• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated


• 1 c. vegan mayonnaise


• 1/4 c. Dijon mustard (whole grain)


• 1/4 c. olive oil


• 1/3 c. white vinegar


• 2 T. sugar


• 1 T. dried dill


• 1 t. turmeric


• 1.5 t. salt (to taste)


• 1 t. fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Slice the potatoes between 1/2 and 1/4 inch thick. (If potatoes are large they can be cut into halves or thirds before slicing.)

Place potatoes into large stockpot, and fill with cold water about 4 inches above the top of potatoes.

Bring to a boil for about 15 minutes or until potato can be pierced easily with a fork. (With red potatoes, this took only about 5 minutes.)

While the potatoes boil, prepare the dressing.

If making the whole recipe, you will need the larges mixing bowl you have in order to add the potatoes later on.

Mix the vegan mayo, mustard, olive oil, sugar, vinegar, dill, turmeric, sal and pepper. Wisk together briskly. Add sliced cucumbers and place in the fridge until potatoes are ready.

When potatoes are done, drain and rise them quickly under cold water. Be sure to shake off any excess water. Add potatoes to the dressing and mix well.

Top with grated carrots and mix. Check seasoning and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

(from Veganomicon, posted at Recipezaar)

Maple Mustard-Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

                                    from Vegan with a Vengeance

I made these maple mustard-glazed potatoes and string beans (from VwaV) this weekend when one of my friends came over for dinner (I subbed in red potatoes for the yukon golds). And MAN were they fricking good. I post them today because they'd actually make a really fantastic side for a barbecue, especially since they really DO taste best at room temperature. They are sweet, sticky, mustardy, and just super f-ing yum.

The only thing that weirded me out about them was the green beans. By the time the potatoes were totally done cooking, the green beans looked kind of like crusty sidewalk worms--you know, the kind that get somehow get themselves stuck in the middle of the pavement right before the hot midday sun appears. They tasted really good, but attractive they were not. So... I'd recommend maybe waiting until you remove your foil and lower your oven temperature to throw them in with your potatoes. But that's just me. If you're into shriveled sidewalk worms, by all means, ignore me. (I have altered the recipe directions to reflect the change though. Just FYI.)

And now, a related question:

I know that Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar are both frequently used in vegan recipes, but I've always been a bit flummoxed about which brands to buy for each, because both contain wine, and most wines are not vegan. I usually just end up using balsamic vinegar instead. So my question is: How do you all go about selecting your dijon mustards and red wine vinegars? Do you KNOW of specific vegan brands? Or do you just say, fuck it, and buy whatever's available? (The dijon mustard is actually not as much of an issue for me anymore since I did finally find one that contains neither honey nor white wine. But I figured I'd toss that it out there anyways.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs. small Yukon gold potatoes (halved, about 1 inch pieces)


• 1/2 lb. string beans, halved, ends cut off and discarded


• 1 yellow onion, thickly sliced


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 3 T. tamari or soy sauce


• 1/4 c. pure maple syrup


• 3 T. Dijon mustard


• 2 T. olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400. Put the potatoes in a 9x13 inch casserole dish (or rimmed pan). Stir together the remaining ingredients until the mustard is dissolved. Pour over the potatoes and mix well. Cover with foil and put in oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Removed from oven, add the green beans, and toss. Turn oven down to 350 and cook for 25 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven and toss again, cook for 25 minutes more uncovered. Let them cool down a bit after they are cooked so that the sauce becomes more sticky. Best served at room temperature.

(Recipe as posted at Stivers' Family Update, originally from Vegan with a Vengeance)

When They Were Bad They Were Very Very Bad, But When They Were Good They Were Awesome

So I feel a TEENY bit bad giving Veganomicon such a hard time yesterday. I don't hate the cookbook, and I don't want it to come across as such. Granted, I've had a couple major flops. And they flopped hard. But I've also had some damn good experiences as well. And I don't want the bad to eclipse the good here (speaking of eclipse: you catch the lunar one last night? fricking bad-ass awesome).

So today, I'm lacing up my boxing gloves, putting in one of them mouthguard thingies, and hopping around in the ring ready to take on the chickpea-cutlet dissers because, good god, peeps, I loves these things.

Yesterday, my mom had an appointment for a colonoscopy and endoscopy, which I took her to. (I'm sure she'll be EVER so pleased that I'm talking about her asshole for everyone around the globe to read.) Anyways, she was starving since she had to fast all day. So I decided to cook her dinner. And I decided that I'd whip up the chickpea cutlets again, this time in nugget form.

And seriously peeps: I know that tastes vary. So I'ma chalk up the haters to that fact. (I hate brussel sprouts, but I know many of you who would happily use them as anal beads, you love them that much. All a matter of taste, you brussel sprout pervs...) But *tightening the lacing on my boxing gloves* I'll totally rope-a-dope those of you who argue that the recipe itself stinks, because even after forming them into nuggets, I still had absolutely no problem with it, and they came out delightful (albeit, looking a little bit like poo-logs; but once you get around that, they're damn tasty, and I recommend the nugget form for those of you trying to feed kids). In nugget form, these would make an AWESOME finger-food for parties (with a few sides of dipping sauces) or an easy way to please an omnivore.


Seriously: poo or chickpea nugget?
Hard to tell...

For those of you interested in trying them out this way, you'll just want to form them into about 12-15 nuggety shapes (see pics) evenly spaced on your pan and flip them over every once in a while until they are firm enough that you can pick them up (I think I only ended up reducing the cooking time on the original recipe by about 5 minutes to make them in nugget form).

I also made the lemony roasted potatoes for dinner as well, and mother of god, these things were good. They left my house smelling wonderfully aromatic, like Thanksgiving day had made an unexpected layover in Cleveland. Despite the fact that I am the worst cutter-upper of potatoes, they turned out delicious, the perfect hint of delicate lemon flavoring.

So yeah: Veganomicon has disappointed me a couple times. But I'm hoping that the two incidents I mentioned yesterday were just isolated events and that the good moments (like the chickpea cutlets and lemony roasted potatoes) will engulf the bad moments, chew them up, and spit them out, as I try out more and more recipes from this book. *Fingers crossed* since I intend to whip up that eggplanty curry recipe this weekend along with the tomatoey-rice soup recipe.

Those are the technical names, obviously.

LEMONY ROASTED POTATOES



INGREDIENTS:

• 2.5 pounds Russet potatoes (medium to small potatoes work best)


• 1/3 c. olive oil


• 6 cloves garlic, chopped finely


• 1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice


• 1 c. vegetable broth


• 2 t. dried oregano


• salt to taste


• 1 t. tomato paste (or I used steak sauce)


• Freshly ground black pepper


• Chopped fresh parsley or dried oregano (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potatoes, slice in half lengthwise, and slice each half into wedges no more then 3/4″ thick.

In a large, deep baking pan or casserole dish (at least 10 17-inches or bigger), combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, vegetable broth, oregano, salt, and tomato paste. Add the peeled, sliced potatoes. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and toss the potatoes to cover with the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with foil (or use lid of casserole dish), place in the oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes are almost done. Several times during the baking process, remove the pan from the oven, uncover, stir the potatoes, place the cover back, and return the pan to the oven.

Uncover the pan one last time, stir the potatoes again, and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15-20 minutes, until most of the sauce has evaporated and some of the potatoes have just started to brown on their edges. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and/or more dried oregano before serving.

serves 4-6

(Posted at The PepperTree, originally from Veganomicon)

Southwestern Black Bean Potato Salad

I cooked out this weekend for the 4th of July. And because I am patriotic, I did so while wearing a large man-diaper made out of an American flag and a necklace sculpted from the bones of Iraqi terrorists. It was quite a sight to behold. Patriotism at its best, one might say.

Between stereotyping anyone with dark skin as a potential terrorist, pasting my new I HEART GEORGE W. sticker on my car, and ripping off the head of a chicken with my bare teeth, I *ALSO* found time to whip up some of Susan V's delicious numblies, and damn if they weren't good!

If potato salad were a lover, and I was going to make sweet sweet love to it, I'd want it dressed in exactly this potato-y lingerie. Fiery red tomato bustier. Black bean pasties. Garters held up by golden gems of corn. And a sweet damp moistness, trickling its way down the side of its bowl.

Hot sexy patriotic potatoes at their motherf-ing best, my friends.

Oh, and not only does it LOOK sexy, it tastes sexy too, with just the right amount of chipotle to get you a little bit sweaty.

Because as you know and as I know, 4th of July is *ALL* about sweet hot patriotic potato sex.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 egg's worth of egg replacer (prepared according to the box's directions)


• 2 pounds small red potatoes


• 1 c. fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels


• 1/2 c. finely chopped red pepper


• 1/2 c. chopped green onions


• Two 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups cooked beans)


• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped


• 1 large tomato, chopped


• 1 -2 T. chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped


• 1/4 c. fresh lime juice


• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced


• 3/4 t. salt


• 1/2 t. ground cumin


• 1/4 t. chili powder


• 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Whip up your egg replacer according to the directions on the box--whip with a whisk until frothy and set aside.

Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; cool. Cut potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add corn, red pepper, onions, black beans (rinsed and drained very thoroughly), jalapeño pepper, and tomatoes and mix well.

Remove 1 chipotle chile from can. Chop chile to measure 1 to 2 tablespoons. (Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use--I like to mince them and freeze them in ice cube trays.) Combine chopped chipotle chile, egg replacer, lime juice, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle the lime juice mixture over potato mixture, and toss gently. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, stirring every now and then. Taste and add more lime juice as needed before serving atop mixed greens, if desired.

(Obviously the only thing I changed on the recipe was the flax-seed/water mixture, since I didn't have flax seed. I subbed in 1 egg's worth of egg-replacer instead.)

(about 5-6 servings)

(Recipe from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen)

Fluffy Sweet Potatoes from the Magical Banana Forest!

As mentioned yesterday, the other dish I made for my mom's Thanksgiving gathering was a sweet potato dish. It was inspired by a recipe I saw in the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook, but I varied it so much that it isn't even worth crediting, to be honest.

I was a bit concerned initially because once I'd mixed all the ingredients, the mixture was actually quite soupy. When you're trying to get a mashed-potato consistency and it ends up watery, it's hard not to be a little bit worried that things just aren't gonna turn out right. But thankfully, after the 50 minute baking time, they were firmed right up. Quite honestly, they firmed up so nicely that next time I make them, I actually think I probably would tinker with them a bit more by adding some more liquids, now that I know it all gets absorbed in the oven.

All in all, they were pretty damn tasty. My brother kept saying that they actually tasted like pumpkin pie, and I do agree. In fact, I suspect that these would make a good filling for a sweet potato pie. I've never actually *HAD* sweet potato pie though, so I can't be certain. But they taste like what I'd *IMAGINE* sweet potato pie to taste like, in the land of magical fairies and giant lollipops, where I've actually *TRIED* sweet potato pie. =)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 lbs. sweet potatoes


• 4 ripe bananas, mashed


• 1 c. soymilk


• 1/2 c. apple cider


• 3 T. agave nectar


• 1 t. allspice


• 1/2 t. cinnamon


• 1/4 t. ground cloves


• 3 T. or so of candied ginger, minced


• Toasted pine nuts

DIRECTIONS
Cook the sweet potatoes in boiling water until soft--about 40 minutes or so. Transfer to a colander and then remove the skins while running the potatoes under cold water. Transfer skinless potatoes to a large metal bowl. Mash with a fork or masher. Add the bananas. Mix well. Add the soymilk and apple cider. Whip with a whisk until fairly smooth. Add everything else but the candied ginger and pinenuts.

Preheat oven to 375. Transfer the sweet potatoes to an 8x8 casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for about 50 minutes or so. Remove from oven and sprinkle the candied ginger and pinenuts on top.

Serves a whole buttload.

Braised and Coffeed Seitan with Pine Nuts & Punky Mashed Taters

Oh glorious anger when my blog entry somehow doesn't get saved.

*Pitiful sniffle*

Anyways, as I mentioned yesterday, I was in the mood to do a bit of fall-cooking this weekend. So, inspired by the coffee-marinated tofu and seitan that What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyways blogged about recently (yet one more reason I love you, Coffee!), I decided to track down some sort of coffee marinade of my own and do a bit of experimentation.

And there are a BUTTLOAD of coffee marinades on the internet, folks--who'da thunk it!

But after much roaming around, I decided to fiddle with THIS RECIPE. I had most of the ingredients, and it sounded like the kind of recipe that would make you feel all warm and cozy from the inside out.

I was not far off. If there's only one thing you take away from reading this little ramble about the seitan recipe I made this weekend, it's this:

IT TASTES LIKE CHRISTMAS!

I kid you not.

As I'm sure you can figure out, it's totally all about the cinnamon and cloves--they make you wanna sing carols and string popcorn around a Christmas tree.

I cannot wait 'til the holidays roll around, because I am *so* whipping this recipe out and wowing my friends and family with it. It is damn fricking good, ladies and gents. Damn fricking good. *AND* it's damn simple, to boot.

I was a bit leery at first, because it's a strange variety of ingredients. And after it marinated overnight, there was a weird film of scum along the top of the marinade (kinda like when Lake Erie is not looking so clean), and it had a strange kinda boogery slimey consistency (I can tell I'm *REALLY* getting your tastebuds going with *this* description). But lo and behold, this stuff knocked our socks off.

The seitan holds the marinade wonderfully, and it cooks up really delicately and tenderly. The final result is a rich and roasty, ridiculously tender seitan that will melt on your tongue with a wonderful Christmasy bouquet of flavors and put any fatty, gristly hunk of animal flesh to shame. Good stuff.

BRAISED AND COFFEED
SEITAN WITH PINENUTS



INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup strong coffee


• 1/2 medium onion, diced


• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar


• 3 T. packed brown sugar (I used light)


• 1 T. soy sauce


• 1 T. teriyaki sauce


• 2 cloves peeled garlic


• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon


• 1/2 t. ground ginger


• 1/4 t. ground cloves


• 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes or to taste


• Two 8/12 oz. packs of seitan (or you can make your own)


• 1/4-1/2 C. toasted pine nuts

DIRECTIONS:
Toss all the ingredients except for the seitan and pine nuts into a food processor. Process until pretty well-blended. Remove marinade and place in large, sealable container. Drain seitan. Place seitan in marinade. Refrigerate overnight (or at least a few hours).
To prepare: Heat up a large pan. Scoop out the chunks of seitan and toss into pan. Add enough marinade to the pan that it covers the bottom and the seitan is sitting a tiny bit deep in it. Cover and heat at medium heat for about 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. (This is considered stovetop braising, apparently--alternately, you could braise the seitan similarly in the oven.) Serve topped with the toasted pine nuts.

Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are)

PUNKY MASHED TATERS



INGREDIENTS:

• About 4-5 blue potatoes


• About 4-6 little white potatoes


• Soy milk


• 1-2 T. vegan margarine


• 1 clove garlic, diced real tiny or pressed


• Dried rosemary


• Pine nuts

DIRECTIONS: Cube all your potatoes (but don't peel the skins off!). Toss into a pot of water. Boil potatoes until tender (about 15 minutes or so). Drain potatoes. Mash them up with a fork (but not completely--chunky mashed taters are da best!). Toss in about 1-2 T. of vegan margarine and your soy milk (how much you add of the latter will depend on how whippy you like your mashed potatoes, so I've not included measurements). Add garlic and dried rosemary. Top with toasted pine nuts.

I don't really know that the blue potatoes taste any differently or better than normal potatoes, but they SURE IS PRETTY!

(I didn't originally intend this dish to have pine nuts since the seitan already did, but since there were leftovers of the pine nuts, I just thought I'd toss some on top when I went back for seconds. Holy mother of god--I never would've guessed that some simple pine nuts could add so much to a potato recipe!)

(Blue taters are the COOLEST--even if
they DO look more purple than blue!)
Serves 2-4 (also depending on how hungry you are)

Really and truly, this is a damn good cold-weather meal. So store it away in the back of your brain (or in the back of your recipe box), and when you get in the mood to get yourself excited about winter and Christmas, pull this baby out.

Merry seitan to all, and to all a good night!