Vegan Irish Soda Bread

So on this festive St. Patrick's day I chose to enlighten my boyfriend into the world of Irish fare....vegan style. AND I AM HALF IRISH, so it's in my blood to be awesome at this kind of thing.

Evan, my lover, had never before experienced anything beyond corned beef (when he was an Omni) and so now was my chance to really shine and show him that Irish food is FECKING delicious as well as healthy when made in the way of the Voluptuous Vegan!

By far we enjoyed our Vegan soda bread the most! Having adapted from several recipes and memory, this is what I came up with!

The dry Mixins

2.5 cups unbleached bread flour

1.5 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons raw sugar

1/2 cup dried currants ( these really add to the bread!)

1 cup raisins

2.5 teaspoons caraway seeds

The wet Mixins

3/4 cup almond milk

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup earth balance all mushed up for mixin'

The Assembly

This is the fun part....throw everything into your kitchen aid and press go. The mixture will get tacky and sick and gooey and doughy and awesome. I love bread. Preheat your oven to 400 F. 

Pull the doughy ball out and knead the living heck out of it on a well floured surface before splitting the dough ball in half, kneading the individual balls into your desired shape!

Slap those puppies onto your greased cookie sheet spaced a little big apart! They aren't going to spread out so you don't have to worry about leaving TOO much space! Cook the bread for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden and beautiful! Make sure to let the dough rest before you cut into it! Soda bread is usually extremely dense and will be a little doughy in the middle if you don't give it time to cool down and set up! 

Slice like a pie and devour with a drought of ale, plate of hash, bangers and cabbage!

Enjoy.

XOXO

V.V.

Vegan Eggplant lasagna with a Twist

So I love lasagna, who doesn't? If you like a very classic version of lasagna full of season veggies and noodles, please click HERE, for my Finger-Licken Lasagna that is so sloppy and gooey it's incredible for those cold winter nights when you just need something gooey, warm and cheesy!

So my boyfriend wanted Lasagna for dinner and I didn't have any noodles and I was kinda looking for a firmer sort of lasanga that would hold it's shape but still appease that need for classic italian cuisine. This recipe incorporates left over, home-made, crusty french bread that you made way to much of because you are just too obsessed with your new Kitchen-aid! What I've done is essentially replaced the noodles with big crusty hunks of bread to firm up the dish! Surprisingly, the eggplant was SOOOO good on top of the bread smothered in sauce, this is definitely going to be a regular dish in MY home!

The Innerds


3 Roasted eggplants like I did HERE
2 loaves of crusty french bread sliced into 1/2 inch pieces (fried up in olive oil)
About 4 cups of your favorite red sauce (give or take depending on how saucy you want this!)
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 bag Vegan Mozzarella (Daiya!)
Olive oil to coat the Lasagna pan
Optional= Bread crumbs


The Assembly


First oil up the sides and base of your pan so nothing burns to the sides and sticks. Now lay 1/4 inch layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan and set a layer of crusty bread down, followed by a layer of the roasted eggplant. Now if you followed MY RECIPE for the eggplant, it should already be salted, peppered and oiled but if not, (tsk tsk!), you may want to salt it up a bit while layering. Once you've made a nice layer of your eggplant, spread a layer of sauce across it and lay down all of the spinach. Now do another layer of crusty old french bread, eggplant, sauce and finally a layer of delicious vegan mozzarella! Now I threw on some bread crumbs towards the end to give it a fun look and crunch but that is totally optional!

Place the dish in a preheated over of about 400 degrees for about 20 minutes! You don't want the cheese on top to burn so be careful!

Enjoy!

XOXO

V.V

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread with Walnuts

Since receiving my amazing kitchen-aid mixer for V-Day, I have gone baker-insane.

Literally.

I've never been a baker by nature. It's hard for me to comprehend the whole "once it's in the oven it's all over" idea. It honestly terrifies me. In the world of cooking, there is ALWAYS room for improvement, but baking....it's a whole other beast. I have the upmost respect for bakers.

So here I go.

The Wets


1.5 cups Pumpkin ( NOT pumpkin pie mix. Canned pumpkin!)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegan butter flavored shortening
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup water

The Bone-Dries


1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
1/2 cups crushed walnuts
1 2/3 cups flour of choice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt

The Assembly


Throw the pumpkin, sugar, shortening and applesauce into your mixer and let it go until smooth and full incorporated.
While your wets are mixing, sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and salt separately. Slowly add your Bone-Dries until everything is fully blended together! Now use a spatula to fold in your chocolate chips.
Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and pour in the mix. Sprinkle your walnuts on top liberally and stick it in the preheated over of 350F for approximately 60 minutes. Depending on your oven and your chosen loaf pan, it can take up to 80 minutes!!!

Now, I am being quite serious, this loaf of bread was amazing. I brought one loaf to work and just left it out on the store managers desk and it was gone within one hour AT 5 AM in the morning!!! I told everyone AFTERWORDS that it was vegan and...*gasp*.... They didn't care because it tasted so good!

 I do believe that if I set my mind to it, I can become a baker...or something close to it.

Enjoy

XOXO
V.V.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

By far the most ADORABLE, delicious little Shepherd's pies EVER.

I find this dish IRONIC, because, classically, it is made with lamb...the very lamb the Shepherd is meant to guard and protect from thieves, wolves and various predators...only to become the indirect predator himself! How sad.

FUCK THAT SHIT.

We are making a pie JUST as irish and JUST as delicious WITHOUT slaying innocent little lambs.

Game over, we win.

The Stuffins


1 handfull trimmed green beans (sautéed for 5 minutes in olive oil)
8 roasted broccoli floretts
1 can yellow corn
1 can white navy beans


The Toppins


10 red potatoes boiled soft
1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup almond milk

The Assembly


Mash up the potatoes and  PUREE those bitches in your kitchen-aid mixer ( I JUST GOT MINE FOR V-DAY). You want the potatoes to be SMOOTH but still firm and thick! Throw in the earth balance, almond milk, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cook up the beans and corn in a sauce pan with a little earth balance, the water they came in, and some salt/pepper. Roast the broccoli with a little olive oil for 15 minutes at 350F and sauté your green beans for about 10 minutes.

Now, I chose to make little person pies because it was adorable, BUT, you can choose to make a casserole type dish if you wish!

Put down the corn/navy beans in your dish of choice first, than the green beans, then the broccoli. Now, you will smooth on those mashed potatoes and pile em' high!

Place your dish in a preheated over of about 350F for approximately 20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown. Savor hot with a little mushroom gravy!

Enjoy.

XOXO

V.V.

Penang Curry with Tofu

This meal is something I know exactly where to go in town to eat.

This meal is EXPENSIVE at this one place in town I go to get it.... solution?

Cook it.

This was actually REALLY cheap and REALLY easy to make. Unless you want to go back a few hundred years in the culinary world, you are going to need a food processor or something of equal blending power to make the curry paste, otherwise you eyes may melt out of your face from all the spices. But don't be scared, it's not so spicy that it's inedible. On the contrary, it is the PERFECT amount of heat to savor every bite and all the right flavors.

Here we go.

Curry Paste


3 tbsp Tomato Paste
5 Red Chiles
8 Green Onions
6 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Lime (whole)
1/4 inch Ginger Root
3 tsp Tumeric
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp White Pepper
4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 8oz can Coconut milk
2 cups veggy broth

Quite literally shove all this sex into your food processor and let it go. I probably let mine go for at least 10 minutes total. The idea here is to make SURE the paste is practically liquified so it blends well in the mixture. You don't want it to be gritty or chalky!

The Extra Bits


Extra Firm Tofu
2 Red Bell peppers chopped into big chunks
1 Sweet Onion chopped into big hunks

Whatever the hell else you want!

The Assembly


Cut up your extra firm tofu into little inch cubes and fry it up all crispy and golden! Drain it of any oil and put to the side.
In a large wok or large teflon frying pan with deep sides start to saute the curry paste in about 2 tbsp oil. Don't let it burn! This is crucial. If the paste burns it will acquire a taste VERY unlike traditional Penang curry. Stir and fry the paste for about 5 minutes on medium heat, then throw in the veggy broth and coconut milk and gently stir until everything is incorporated. Now add the onion and bell pepper. Cover and let simmer on medium heat for approximately 15-20 minutes.
This curry is almost like a fine red pasta sauce. The longer you let it simmer on low heat, the better it will taste, but don't get cheeky.
Throw in the tofu about 5 minutes before you're ready to feast! Serve on a bed of brown rice with a side of steamed veggies! I like to serve it with black rice because it's DAMN sexy.

Enjoy.

XOXO

V.V.

Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini Rounds

YUM

My boyfriend calls it awesome, my brother calls it SMOOSH, I say eggplant is just a big, purple, rubbery bundle of AMAZING waiting for me to force it into a delectable dish, ready for consumption by those nearest and dearest!

The Stuff


-2 large purple eggplants sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
-4 medium green zucchinis sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
-1 tbs salt
-2 tbsp olive oil

This is how you Do It


In order to avoid a big piece of rubbery nasty or a small wrinkled piece of limp smoosh, you must first adhere to the "Sweating" procedure necessary when dealing with eggplant. Lay the sliced eggplant rounds out on a cooling rack, roasting rack or any rack held above the surface you are working on and sprinkle this side with salt. Flip the rounds and repeat the sprinkle on the opposite side. Allow the rounds to sweat for at least 20 minutes. When you return, the rounds will literally be speckled with perspiration which we will then wipe off.
 Coat the eggplant and the zucchini with the olive oil and salt, place them on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until the eggplant is slightly golden on top. You can flip and allow to bake a little longer if you want the eggplant and zucchini less firm.
Take them out and enjoy accompanied with a little couscous or use them as a meat substitute in your favorite dish!

Savor every moment.

XOXO

V.V.

Finger-Licken Lasagna

This is the much friendlier version of my absolute favorite meal as a child. I don't know if the nostalgia is caused by the smell of the baking pasta, the sounds of my mom working in the kitchen like a pro, or if it's the actual act of EATING this mildly italian masterpiece, but this dish elicits so many warm and cozy happy feelings in me that I couldn't keep the secret all to my self any longer.

Now, this recipe is not the exact replica of my mothers seeing as how I was raised omnivorous (CLOSE to carnivorous!) and her recipe called for mounds of mozzarella, ricotta and ground sausage.

My recipe replaces the sausage with mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant!
The mozzarella is booted out by DAIYA vegan mozzarella!
The sauce is a home brewed variety I particularly LOVE for baked pasta dishes!

She's saucey....

She's Messy....

She's a little ooey, gooey, cheeeeeesy........ (Minus the cow secretions, naturally)

She's a damn good italian dish that you can basically make any time of year with any vegetable in season!

The Saucy Sauce


-8 big fat tomatos
-2 tsp salt
-2 tsp oregano
-a handfull fresh basil chopped up
-3 garlic cloves smooshed

The Guts


-1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
-1 large eggplant (sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds roasted with a little olive oil)
-4 medium zucchinis (sliced into 1/4 inch rounds)
-2 cups sliced mushrooms
-4 cups fresh spinach leaves
-2 cloves garlic finely minced

-1/2 cup red wine of choice

The Assembly


(Preheat oven to 350F)
To make the sauce, cut your tomatoes into quarters and arrange skin side down onto a lightly oiled, rimmed cookie sheet. Lightly salt them and throw a few garlic cloves (smooshed with the side of your biggest baddest knife to release their flavors) into the pan. Roasting the garlic is important. If you try and throw it into the food processor RAW with the roasted tomatos, your sauce will be OVERCOME with spicy garlic flavor. Roast the tomatos for approximately 30-40 minutes depending on your oven and your tomato sizes. They should be darker red and wrinkly. Once they are done, let them cool slightly and throw them into your food processor with the garlic and the 1/2 cup red wine of choice. You can really process the living hell out of these tomatos, OR you can choose to let it be chunky. I leave it chunky for texture. Pour out the sauce into a nice, heavy bottomed sauce pan and throw in the chopped up basil and the oregano. Put the sauce on medium-low heat while you prepare the rest of the guts.

NOW is the time to boil the noodles! Make sure they are al dente so they don't get ripped while your handling them in the assembly of the dish!

Take your lasagna pan and put about 1/4 cup of your sauce in the pan and smear it around to cover the entire pan bottom. Lay down a layer of noodles.
This part is fun because the layering is really very simple. You can quite literally layer the fillings however you want but just make sure the sauce and the Vegan cheese together because when they melt together  it is absolutely heavenly.

Make sure you finish off the top with a layer of noodles, a BUNCH of sauce and a sprinkling of cheese!

Throw the whole thing in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the top of melted and a little crispy!

Enjoy.

XOXO

V.V.