Guilty Pleasures: Cincinnati-Style 4 Way!

For me, one of the the quirkiest regionalisms in American food is the Cincinnati style of "chili"-- especially as offered by places like Skyline Chili. Complex spices in the sauce include cinnamon, bay leaves, whole cloves and allspice, worcestershire and even baker's chocolate. And you eat it atop thin spaghetti noodles or hot dogs in buns under heaping mounds of shredded cheddar cheese (3-way!) and if you like, diced onions (4-way) and even under beans (5-way!). I've had a hankering these past weeks, so I've whipped up a batch and ate it 3 meals in a row. I'm down to just a little left...just enough for a midnight snack!

"I Can't Believe It's Not Skyline" Cincinnati-style Veggie Chili

2 c. water

1 12 oz. bag of frozen ground "burger" crumbles

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves smashed

1 Tb. cider vinegar

1 tsp. anchovy-free worcestershire sauce (with none on hand, I substituted 1 tsp. of A-1)

1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (chopped finely)

1 bay leaf

3 whole cloves

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

dash ground allspice

1 1/2 - 2 Tb chili powder

In a large pot, boil water. Add veggie-meat, tomato sauce, garlic, and onion. Simmer 5 min. Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is well-combined. I usually put a lid on it so the liquid doesn't evaporate.

While this is going, boil your thin spaghetti and/or veggie hot dogs (we love Yves The Good Dog). It's also good to get your shredded cheese to room temperature. I use the pre-shredded Mexican blend, but Skyline uses mountains of finely shredded mild Cheddar cheese. When you're ready to serve, steam your hot dog buns (or put them in the microwave with a cover for 30 seconds). To serve, top hot dogs/noodles with chili sauce, then cheese, then onions. To do it all the way, eat with oyster crackers and some generous doses of Louisiana-style hot sauce (Skyline uses Frank's Red Hot). It's an acquired taste. But one I whole-heartedly embrace!

What's for dinner? What's in the fridge?

Of course the down side to having a break from working is having a break from getting paid. It's dinner. We're out of everything. We've got a fruit bowl with oranges (3lb. bag on sale for $1) and some bananas. We have some frozen stuff we've stocked up on, but very little produce. We're sick of Boca burgers. I can't believe I'm out of soy sauce. (I can't believe I can't afford to buy soy sauce right now!) We have dry goods like rice and lentils but no broth.

So I did a little internet recipe searching and came up with:

Orange Sesame Ginger Chik'n with Brown Rice

Throw some brown rice (jasmine, basmati, whatever) in the rice cooker and whisk together this marinade:

2 Tb. sesame oil

1 Tb. soy sauce (I had 3 packets from a take out sushi from one of our travels)

2 Tb. honey

juice & zest of 1 orange

2 cloves garlic minced

1 Tb. fresh ginger minced

I thawed out a 12 oz. bag of frozen Quorn Chik'n Nuggets and marinated them for about 30 minutes. Then sauteed a little bit of onion (thinly sliced) and one more garlic clove in some sesame oil, threw in the marinated chik'n chunks and browned it, adding all the marinade. I sprinkled a teaspoon of corn starch so the leftover juice would thicken into a sauce (or at least a glaze).

Serve over the rice with some cilantro. Here I've pickled a little bit of red cabbage and carrot with rice vinegar, sugar, and a little sriracha garlic chili sauce.

It was a hit. And I didn't have to leave the house or do any shopping. Just gotta get to Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving! Make Your Own "Tofurky"

It's that time of year again, and I can't help but gorge myself all day on foods I spent the previous day preparing. Lately for the holidays we've roasted two "turk'y roasts" by Quorn and a Tofurky. But no one ever eats that wild rice stuffing that's stuck in the middle of the Tofurky ball. Last year I made my own vegetarian "tofurky"-- using a recipe and video I can't find now, but the result is absolutely delicious-- technically a "gluten roast"-- we'll have to work on making that sound sexier.

As soon as I re-discover the video and link, I'll attach it here, but for now, I'll just re-copy my gravy-spattered recipe sheet:

Sage-Roasted Gluten Loaf (or Homemade Better n' Tofurky)

Bring 2 gallons of water to a boil while you do the following:

In a bowl, combine:

2 1/2 c. vital wheat gluten flour

1/2 c. nutritional yeast flakes

1 generous tsp. thyme

1 equally generous tsp. sage

1 tsp. salt

In another bowl, mix together

2 c. vegetable broth (1 can)

1/4 c. olive oil

1 Tb. soy sauce

Stir the wet into the dry until well-combined and can be roughly formed into a ball. Roll the gluten-ball out onto some cheesecloth. Wrap it with the cheesecloth (forming it into the shape you want your loaf), twisting the ends and tying them off with twine.

Don't wrap the loaf too loosely, or it'll have air pockets. Don't wrap it too tight either, since the gluten will expand. Put the cheesecloth-wrapped loaf into the boiling water and simmer for about 1 hour. Unwrap cheesecloth and the roast can now either be eaten or basted with olive oil and herbes de provence (mmmmm!) and thrown into a 325 oven for about 3o minutes.

Here's our spread (with fried green tomatoes!). The gluten roast is the larger, darker of the "meats" pictured above.
And here's my favorite parts: my gluten roast and mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberries, and green bean casserole!
And this year, Zipper pretended to be a kumquat.

We also made a pear tart with an almond pastry crust and the best pumpkin pie in the world. But I'll save those for another day! Happy Holidays!

C is for Cookie...and Coconut and Carrot and Cinnamon...and Crumbles!

Since all of my adult life has consisted of being a graduate student and teaching, I associate summertime with being on a TIGHT budget. Since I have foodie ambitions, I'm learning to combine having no income with being creative in the kitchen. Since a staple for us is a vegetarian version of ground beef (for tacos, chili, spaghetti, lasagna, etc.) I've worked out a recipe that replaces what we usually buy (Morningstar Crumbles) that uses TVP. TVP is just soy-based textured vegetable protein. It's the major ingredient in a lot of veggie burgers and veggie sausages, and can be found (dehydrated) in the bulk sections of groceries and health food stores. (Not much to look at, I know. Just wait.)

"Ground Beef" Style Crumbles:

2 c. TVP

2-3 cloves minced garlic

2 c. boiling water

2 Tb. Kitchen Bouquet

3-4 Tb. soy sauce

garlic powder

onion powder

salt

black pepper

cayenne pepper

Measure out TVP and put it in a large mixing bowl with the minced garlic. When you water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add Kitchen Bouquet (this makes it a nice brown color without adding too much sodium), soy sauce, and spices. Combine thoroughly and then pour it into your tvp bowl (if you don't mix these together, the Kitchen Bouquet will turn some of the tvp--whatever it hits first-- a very dark brown and leave the rest of it rather blonde). Be sure all of the liquid is combined with the tvp and leave it to absorb the liquid (about 15-20 min).
Once the liquid has been absorbed, the tvp should be evenly brown. Now heat a large frying pan with a little vegetable oil. When hot, add the tvp mixture and heat it. Adjust the seasonings. For me, the onion powder (or granulated onion) is what evokes a kind of beefy flavor. Oh, and I didn't list it, but I use Fiesta brand fajita seasoning in everything. Depending on what you intend to use it in, you may also want to add oregano and other italian seasonings, or cumin and chili powder. Once the tvp has been heated through and browned even more, turn off the heat and let it cool. I did a double batch (4 c. tvp, 4 c. water) and made about the equivalent of three or four 12 oz. packages of crumbles from the store. HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP: Once you've got your crumbles tasting the way you want them, let them cool, put them in a freezer bag, and FREEZE IT! It affects the texture once you're using it in a recipe. You can use it "raw" no problem, but if you freeze it, and then cook with it straight from the freezer, it seems more toothsome.

And for a new treat we have a new cookie recipe! These are AMAZING. Like carrot cake. Only better. With a great lemon glaze icing. It's adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, which, like its sibling, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World has the most amazing, creative, delicious treats. (including tiramisu cupcakes, which are the single best cupcake I've ever had in my life. Vegan or not).

But back to the cookies... These are the second recipe in the book. Second only to chocolate chip cookies (which I'll probably be trying out tonight). They deserve this position. They are soon to be classics in this house.

Carrot Raisin Cookies or as we call them Get Your Own

(Preheat to 350)

1/3 c. unflavored soy milk (or any other non-dairy)

1 Tb. ground flax seeds. (I didn't have this, so used 1 1/2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer mixed well with 2 Tb. water)

1/2 c. canola. oil

1/3 c. dark brown sugar

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. orange zest

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

mix all these together. In another bowl, sift together

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

mix these dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Then measure out:

1 c. finely shredded carrots (I used about 2 medium carrots)

1 c. raisins

1/2 c. shredded coconut

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

mix the chunky bits into the cookie batter and spoon out onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes (I did 18 minutes). Let them cool on a wire rack. The lemon glaze that I overdid it on (to GREAT effect) is made up of 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, zest of 1 lemon, and juice of 2 small lemons). I drizzled mine on WAY too early when the cookies were still hot (couldn't wait). But then I drizzled more when they were cooler (too much of a good thing is even better).

This makes two dozen cookies. I made them at about 10:00 last night. They were GONE by about noon today. You do the math.

Vegan Italian Sausage and Tempeh Bacon!

As a vegetarian convert, I can confess that I used to love bacon and sausage. I am happy to have given them up and don't miss them, but am always on the lookout for new delicious things to incorporate into my veggie lexicon. In a desire to work more with a new food and in an effort to re-create my delicious BLT from last week, I've been trying to approximate tempeh bacon. Zips recently gave me Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch, and there are so many yummy things to try, including Tempeh Bacon! Unfortunately, though, after two approaches (one involved steaming the tempeh strips, then marinating, then frying; the other just marinate, then fry) I've decided to press on with my quest for a satisfactory recipe. There's nothing wrong with the flavor here, it's just that the texture wasn't crispy, just a little dry and crumbly.

But as I said, the flavor was just fine, very near to what D'Lish served. If you wanna give it a whack, I only modified Vegan Brunch's in a couple ways:

Marinade:

3 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb maple syrup (VB calls for 1)
1 Tb liquid smoke
1 Tb apple cider vinegar
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb tomato paste (I didn't have any, so used *gasp* ketchup. I think it worked totally fine, though. Really.)
Whisk them all together (I omitted VB's 3/4 c. vegetable broth and 2 garlic cloves)

I used an 8 oz. package of tempeh, cut into about 16 thin slices. I laid them in a baking dish and marinated for about two hours. Then fried in a small amount of veg. oil.

I liked it, but didn't love it. The search continues. I hear light life has a nice "smoky tempeh strips" product, but can't find it 'round here. I'll have to use the rest of my tempeh for some other test kitchen adventure.

The BIG TRIUMPH of the day, though, was a happy coincidence of a recipe for Italian Sausages directly across the page from the bacon recipe. It looked weird (navy beans?!), but turned out amazingly! I can't wait to eat them the next time we make spaghetti!

Here's her recipe:

Before mixing everything up, get a steamer basket going over a pot of boiling water. I used a metal colander and lid over a kettle.

Also, get out four pieces of foil. These will be for shaping and cooking the sausage.

1/2 c. cooked navy beans, rinsed and drained (I used a can of Bush's)
1 c. vegetable broth
1 Tb. olive oil
2 Tb. soy sauce
1 garlic clove (or 2 if you like garlic) finely minced with a microplane grater
1 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
1/4 c. nutritional yeast (I utterly forgot this, and will have to include it next time!)
2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed (I couldn't find mine, but would have included it!)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
Several dashes fresh black pepper

Mash the beans in a large mixing bowl until every bean is completely obliterated. Add the broth, oil, soy sauce, garlic, and all the spices. (Here's where I depart from VB. She has you add the ingredients in the order listed, but once I added the vital wheat gluten, it was difficult to incorporate the spices into the dense dough that had formed.)

Pull dough into four equal portions, put them on the foil, and roll into 5" logs. Wrap in the foil (I used it to shape the dough more evenly) and twist the ends shut. Don't worry about how it looks, as she says, it will snap into shape while it steams, thanks to the magical vital wheat gluten. Place wrapped sausages into your steamer and steam for 40 minutes. You can use them immediately or saute in olive oil.

I was thriled with the results-- the texture, the spices, everything. I may even use the remaining 3/4 of the can of beans to make more on backup!

VB also has a recipe for chorizo, so maybe I'll try that too (once I have some pinto beans and some proper tomato paste!)

Holy Crap! I just made homemade veggie "meat"!!

So perusing Sarah Kramer's Vegan A Go-Go that Zips gave me for Christmas, I came across her recipe for homemade gluten. I've always wanted to try it out (in addition to her recipe for homemade tofu-jerky) In my summertime test kitchen, I decided to try it out, and ALTHOUGH
a) I started at around 11pm, b) didn't have whole wheat flour, so I substitued whole wheat pastry flour, c) didn't knead the dough nearly enough, and d) tried to shortcut the hour of simmering the gluten in spices and broth since it was after 1am, I was delighted at the result:

That's right! This ain't beef! Can you believe it?! When I make it again, the correct way with the correct ingredients, I'll post all the steps and ingredients.