Vegan Coney Dogs

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Vegan Coney Dog and FriesThere is a “hot dog and root beer stand” type of restaurant in our town that is renowned for their Coney Sauce. They are called Jaenicke’s. They’re only open in the warm weather months, so opening day each spring is a much anticipated event here in Kankakee.

When Claudia and I were first dating, it was a sort of rite of passage for our relationship to have a “sauce bun with cheese” together at Jaenicke’s.

I still miss the sauce buns, and feel a little nostalgia for “Wiener Wednesdays” in the summer months. So I figured I would try to replicate the fare using plant based ingredients.

I had used the Jaenicke’s knockoff recipe from Geek Eats TV before, substituting black lentils for the ground beef. Although I like the lentils as a substitute in Moussaka, I wasn’t nuts about the sauce. This time I used Beyond Burger, and it was quite a bit better, and very close to the original, except for that characteristic BB aftertaste. I think Impossible Burger may be the way to go, and I’ll try to make the sauce again using that product soon.

Two other components that were not quite spot on this time. First, I really should have steamed the buns. Our teenager, Caro, says that one of the great things about the buns at Jaenicke’s is that they are so soft that it’s always a risk that they will fall apart in your hands.

Secondly, the “cheese” sauce came out a little too thin, and just a tad vegetal tasting. I think that this is because I added a splash too much of the steaming water to the Vitamix.

All in all, not a bad attempt. Field Roast franks stood in well for the dogs, and I have no complaint at all about those.

Stay tuned!

 

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Aloo Tikki

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Aloo Tikki PlatedI had a few potatoes that needed to be used, so I made these Indian potato cakes for a quick brunch on Saturday Morning.

Using the recipe from Tiffin and Tea, I left out the corn starch and green chilies.

I peeled and cubed three potatoes and boiled until tender. After draining, I mashed them with the remaining ingredients.

  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • 1 t Chilli Powder
  • 1/2 t Turmeric
  • 1 1/2 t Cumin Powder
  • 1 1/2 t Coriander Powder
  • 1 t Ginger Powder
  • 1/2 t Garam Masala
  • 1 T Coriander (I used Parsley)
  • 4 T Breadcrumbs
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 T Avocado Oil

These were easy to form into patties, and frying in the iron skillet didn’t take long. They were delicious. Three potatoes made a nice plate each for Claudia and I. We topped with a dollop of sour cream, but I would use cashew cream spread next time to keep it vegan. In India, they would likely top with yoghurt.

As a child, I always loved it when my mom would make potato pancakes from left over mashed potatoes. This was like that, but with the nice warm flavor profile of Indian spices.

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Chana Dosa

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Chana Dosa with Cheese and Veggie SautéFor Sunday Brunch this week I made my second run at dosas, which are sort of like crêpes, except made from plant protein sources instead of eggs. Chana Dosa is a delicious and nutritious version using chickpeas as the batter base.

We had these last summer at the ISKCON Temple in Naperville during their vegetarian food festival, and have been wanting to make them ever since.

I adapted a recipe from the Bhusanur Cooking YouTube channel.

  • 1 c raw chickpeas
  • 1/2 c uncooked rice (we used brown Basmati)
  • 1 t Fenugreek
  • 1/2 t Asofoetida
  • 3/4 t salt

Rinse the chickpeas and rice a few times, then soak for at least 8 hours.

Drain, and place in Vitamix with 1 c water and the other ingredients, and mix until batter consistency.

Let mixture rest and ferment in a bowl at least 8 hours. After this, add a few tablespoons of water at a time and mix by hand until it’s pancake batter consistency.

I added probably 6 T of water total, and think I could have used more.

The first time I made these, I used a crêpe pan to cook, and had issues with sticking and trouble getting the thickness correct, so I opted for a cast iron skillet this time. I got the best results on medium/high heat using olive oil spray.

Add a dollop of batter to the hot pan and use the back of the ladle to spread it thin in a circular motion. Cover the pan with a lid and set a timer for 1 minute. At that point, the dosa is nearly done, it just needs to be flipped for a few seconds to toast the other side a bit before adding the filling.

I used a sauté of onions, bell peppers and celery, with savory seasonings and just a bit of the Fenugreek and Asofoetida. We also added some freshly shredded Swiss Cheese. After spooning that on half of the dosa, fold the top over and let things get hot and gooey.

This recipe made six nice size dosas, and they were delicious and surprisingly filling. Definitely a keeper.

Thank you, India.

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Vegan Chorizo Hash with Tofu Scramble

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Tofu Scramble and HashWhenever I run across recipes from Weber Grills these days, my first thought is often “I don’t eat that.” When I am conscious, my second thought is “How can I adapt this to not use meat?”

This Chorizo and Potato Hash with Egg recipe is a perfect example. It’s the sort of thing that would have had me running to Jewel for Chorizo and firing up the Genesis back when I was carnivorous. So when it hit my inbox, I was intrigued, then momentarily disappointed. Then I realized that I already had a recipe for Chorizo made with plant-based meat that I’d been wanting to try. I’d also had good luck with Tofu Scramble in the past, and although it’s not quite the same as a gooey, runny egg yolk dripping over the potatoes, I figured it would stand in nicely.

So I filed the recipe away in my Evernote, hoping I’d remember to get around to it. On a recent trip to Aldi, they had Beyond Beef  bulk burger on sale, so we picked up a couple packages, and I finally remembered to put this meal together for Sunday Dinner this week. I opted for cooking indoors, just for the sake of efficiency, but I’ll definitely make this again on the cast iron plancha out on the Genesis this summer.

The Chorizo seasoning comes from America’s Test Kitchen’s Cooking With Plant Based Meat.

  • 4 t Ancho Chile Powder
  • 4 t Paprika
  • 2 t Ground Cumin
  • 1 t Ground Coriander
  • 2 t Dried Oregano
  • 2 t Sugar (I used Turbinado)
  • 1/2 t Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 t Cinnamon
  • Pinch Cayenne Pepper
  • Pinch Ground Allspice

This is supposed to be enough for 12 ounces of ground plant-based meat, but it did fine to season a full pound of the Beyond Burger.

I used two pounds of potatoes, cubing them with the skins on, and soaking them in a bowl of water with a little salt and white vinegar until I was ready to cook. Once they were in the pot and about starting to boil, I sautéed the Chorizo in my wok with a little olive oil. When it was done (five or six minutes) I removed it to a bowl, deglazed the wok with a splash of vinegar, and then sautéed a diced green bell pepper and yellow onion. Once those were done, I removed them, and added the drained par-cooked potatoes. I debated on using another type of oil, but at the temps I was cooking the olive oil was just fine. The potatoes were seasoned with cumin, paprika, Ancho Chile powder and black pepper. They cooked for about fifteen or twenty minutes, and then I added the onion and pepper back in to cook for awhile, and then finally added the Chorizo.

My tofu scramble turned out good, although I added a bit too much dry mustard. The recipe calls for prepared Dijon, so I should have cut back a bit using the powder. Once it was on top of the hash, with a little salsa and scallions, it was fine.

This was a hit even with the carnivores in the household, though Claudia did make actual scrambled eggs for herself and her mom. She brought out some soft corn tortillas and folks were putting the hash and scramble into those for seconds.

The hash turned out better than any I’ve ever made. It occurred to me that I could adapt this recipe for Corned Beef Hash using my Pastrami seasoning instead of the Chorizo spices. I might add a little Vegan Worcestershire next time.

I will definitely make the Chorizo again as well, and use it this summer when we cook Paella.

Vegan Chorizo Hash in the Wok

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Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheese

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Bowl of Vegan Mac 'n' CheeseI’ve been experimenting with nutritional yeast lately, and found this recipe from Deli Devi.

Cook 12 ounces of macaroni.

Steam:
2 C chopped carrots
1 C cauliflower florets
1 C potato cubes

Add to a blender with:
3 C of plant based milk (I used oat)
1 T olive oil
1 T maple syrup
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 C of nutritional yeast
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t smoked paprika
1/2 t ground turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste

Maybe add a little bit of the pasta water to the blender if you’d like.

Once the mixture is blended smooth, heat it in a sauce pan on medium for five minutes or so until it thickens, and then combine well with the cooked, drained pasta.

I added a little hot sauce and soy sauce for flavor and umami.

This turned out super tasty, ooey gooey, and is a lot healthier and more nutritious than a Kraft box.

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Plant-Based Albondigas Sandwiches

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Beyond Beef Albondigas SandwichesI love to cook outdoors. Before I quit eating meat, I was obsessed with learning to prepare new recipes on the Weber Kettle and Genesis grills.

I still get emails from Weber, and my first reaction when I received the one with this recipe for Grilled Albondigas with Charred Salsa was “this looks really interesting, too bad it has meat.” I sometimes still forget that there are decent plant-based ground beef alternatives available nowadays.

Meier’s happened to have Beyond Beef on sale for a little over $5 a pound, so we picked up two pounds and adapted the recipe. The meatballs turned out really well. I used a little olive oil in place of the egg. I did use sour cream for the crema, since we haven’t left off dairy yet, but I imagine that you could easily substitute a little nut or oat milk for that.

For the salsa, I used two cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and seven or eight slices of pickled Jalapeños along with the onion and garlic in the recipe. It turned out great as well.

I’ll have to work on the queso. I followed the recipe pretty much as is, and it came out thick and globby. I really would like to find decent alternatives to dairy cheese, but haven’t experimented enough with the products available to find things that we like yet.

The family, including the carnivores, seemed to like this recipe a lot. Along with a nice green salad, it fed four of us for Sunday Dinner, and there were leftovers enough for one evening meal for Kid this week, and snacks as well.

If I make this again, I’ll probably try it with Impossible Burger, as I like the texture of that product a bit better. Otherwise, the recipe is “a keeper” and something that the entire family can enjoy together, regardless of whether they are meat-eaters or not.

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First Run at Tofu Scramble

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I had picked up some tofu to try it out when I made Pho awhile back, mostly out of curiosity. I don’t miss the protein portion on my plate when it’s absent from a meal, and I get plenty of protein in my diet from the grains and legumes that I eat (and I also still consume dairy from time to time).

But shortly after that, Claudia ran across tofu at Aldi’s and picked up a block for me, figuring that I’d find some use for it. I searched for something along the lines of “best way to prepare tofu” and got several returns for scrambles. It seemed like a fairly simple, almost elegant way to use the product, so I narrowed down the search and came up with three iterations that informed this meal.

I grabbed a potato masher and was ready to go, except for one odd thing that was not in our pantry. More than one article listed a spice called Kala Namak as an essential ingredient to get an “eggy” flavor. At $4 for 3 1/2 ounces, I figured it was worth picking some up to try and have on hand. It is a pinkish salt from the Himalayas, but despite its hue it is generally referred to as “black salt.” It has a slightly sulfurous aroma, as one might expect.

I used the spices and proportions from this recipe at Loving It Vegan. We didn’t have soy milk so I substituted almond. I also started with a sauté of Portobello Mushrooms and spinach in the pan before adding the tofu, and used olive oil instead of vegan butter.

Here’s the sauce, the way I made it.

2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Black Salt (Kala Namak)
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/3 cup Almond Milk

I whisked that together in a measuring cup while the mashed tofu and veggies were heating. Once I added it to the pan and tasted, it still seemed just a bit bland to me, so I added another 1/4 tsp of the Kala Namak, some fresh ground black pepper and a little bit of my favorite barbecue spice mix.

This turned out to be a decent meal. It’s not something that I would go out of my way for, but if someone served it to me and I didn’t know better, I would think it was eggs. The main difference is that in our household scrambled eggs get loaded with cheese, and although the nutritional yeast adds some cheesy flavor, the gooey texture isn’t there. I suppose we could use some vegan cheese if we wanted, but it’s not something we keep on hand.

The nice thing about preparing a meal like this is knowing that if someone I love had a dietary restriction that precluded eggs, whether for ethical or health reasons (albumen allergy or cholesterol limits, etc.) I could still turn out a satisfying, flavorful, traditional breakfast dish for them. This makes me happy.

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