Teavurst / Vegan meat-teaspread

Good luck there gives the radio and the newspaper. As every half year time changes eather into winter or summertime and mostly I got reminded by the radio the day before or on the day itself, when I look at my alarmclock (changing time automatically) and as most everytime I jump out of bed immediatly. Cause when it changes to summertime we are loosing one hour of time on that day. 

AND we had such good weather - I didn't wanna miss that!

After being outside for a walk, I made a quick and very easy tofuspread for my next snack or sandwich. (The tofu had to be made)

I found the recipe in one of my Tofu-Cookbooks. It immediatly caught my eyes and straight went into the kitchen. I was really astonished how great it tasted. Smoky, spicy etc. You wouldn't make a difference between this one and the "really meaty"-one!! My brother in law - defenetly not vegan - really liked it, when they came over and I served a small snack...... Good requirement!

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Here's a Translation if you can't imagine what a teavurst (spread) is.


Translation from Wikipedia:

"Teewurst is a German sausage made from two parts of raw pork (and sometimes beef)^[1] and one part bacon, which are minced, seasoned and packed in casings (mostly porous artificial casings) before being smoked over beech wood. The sausage then has to mature for seven to ten days in order to develop its typical taste. Teewurst contains 30 to 40 percent fat, which makes it particularly easy to spread.

Teewurst was invented in Pomerania, probably in the small Baltic town of Rügenwalde (now Darłowo in Poland), in the middle of the 19th century. The name, which means tea sausage, is said to derive from the habit of serving sandwiches at teatime".

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Tofu-teavurst (spreadable sausage)

Time: 15 min 
Resting time: overnight or for at least 2 h 

Ingredients: 
1 block smoked tofu (about 200-250g) 
1 onion, chopped 
1 knob of garlic, chopped 
2 tbsp oil 
5 Tbsp. Soy Cream 
2 tablespoons of tomato paste 
2 tablespoons soy sauce 
2 tsp paprika powder, sweetened 
1/2 tsp paprika powder, spicy
1/2 tsp white pepper 
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional or instead of the spicy pepper ) 
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp instant broth 
1 tsp sugar or Agavenectar 
2-3 El Chive 

Preparation 
Fry in oil onion and garlic golden brown. Allow to cool. Meanwhile cut the tofu into cubes, place in a bowl and add the spices except for the chives. 

Add the cooled onions to the bowl and puree all. Maybe you have to add some water for creaminess.

At the end stir under the chopped chives.

Give into a well-closing container and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Enjoy a really good and meat-tasty-spread on your favorite bread or in your next sandwich. 


Note: 
mine lasted not long as it was so good and fast eaten. But it will be good for at least one week, kept well cooled. 

Chickpea-Pancake with Wok-vegetable and Mango-Mint Topping

Too bad the warm and nice days have been gone and the cold days are back. But one good thing - they will come back soon - as said on the radio. AND they came back, luckely......

Anyway, after receiving bad news - my grandfather 93 - died the night, I had a really hard day at work. Tiers were running down my face the whole day, hard to concentrate on work. The day after was a little better and in the evening I had to focus my mind on something different, and what is better than to concentrate on food I might prepare for dinner. 

I had the idea a few days ago - knowing still having a started packed to be done - and instead of making old fashioned pancakes I decided to use them like a wrap filled with asian vegetables and a fruity dressing/sauce.

Unfortunatly it wasn't yet warm enought to eat dinner on the balcony - looking forward the time I could, but this didn't matter.

I really enjoyed a good dinner and it did help to focus on something else than the lost of my grandfather.

Hope you enjoy it and feel free to fill the pancake with whatever vegetable you prefer, but it should compare with the Mango-Mint-Topping

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Chickpea-Pancake with Wok-vegetables and Mango-Mint-Topping

ingredients:

for 4-5  pancakes:

pancake:
240 g chickpea flour
500 ml of mineral water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp sea salt, freshly ground pepper
Oil for frying

Mango mint topping:
250 g vegan yoghurt
½ ripe mango pureed,
½ tsp sea salt, mixed pepper, freshly ground
10-15 mint leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

Vegetable filling in the wok:
200 g bean sprouts
1-2 small leeks, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into cubes
2-3 carrots, cut into slices
1 hot pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small cabbage, cut into strips
50 g shiitake mushrooms, quartered
sea salt, mixed pepper, freshly ground
50 g coconut cream

3 tablespoons whole Cashews (Optional)

Direction:
For the pancake batter mix everything together in a bowl. Pour a little cooking oil and pour 1-1.5 small big spoon of  batter into the hot pan and fry until golden brown on both sides. Place finished pancakes on a plate and keep warm in the oven.

For the mango mint topping stir all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.


For the filling fry all the prepared vegetables in the hot Wok, stirr pretty often to beware from sticking. Season with salt and pepper. After 3-5 minutes, add coconut cream and mix well. Sprinkle with Cashews. Distribute the chewy vegetable mixture onto the preheated pancakes and roll up.

Serve with mango mint topping. And enjoy!

Coconut crusted Tofu with Mango salsa and green rice

We had such a great and warm weather the last week, I really enjoyed it. Cycling, Walking, just being as often outside as I could.

Defenetly the time for a fresh and "somehow already summer" dish to prepare later on. But first I needed some inspiration. I made myself up to the lokal weekly market, looking for something that will catches my eyes. Well, got to say my eyes catched a lot, but at the end I saw those great smelling fresh Asian Mangoes (defenetly the best ones) I bought a few, beside others and fresh herbs.

Born was the salsa idea, the other dish-partners were easly found. And we enjoyed a great and fresh tropical dish - of course we cheered with a tropical drink. Life is just great!

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Coconut crusted tofu with mango salsa and green rice

Take you taste buds on a tropical taste adventure!

Preheat oven to 50°C and place your plates in it to warm up till you serve the meal.

Now the main players:

Coconut Crusted Tofu
1 block of tofu - sliced into 0,5 -1 cm  pieces
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
pinch cayenne

Direction:
Using a bowl mix the breading. Set aside and peheat a frying pan with some oil.
Dip the tofu ( both sides) in the flour. Place in the hot pan and allow to golden on both sides.
Drain on paper towels on a plate and set aside in a warm place.

Green Rice
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 cup rice (of your choice)
1/2 bunch of cilantro stems - minced
1 small onion - minced
1 3/4 cup water
pinch of salt

Direction:
In a small pot with a tight fitted lid, heat pot add some oil. Cook onion and stems together for a few minutes, till translucent, then add the rice and saute for a few more minutes.

Add water bring, to a boil, then reduce heat till it only simmers.

Cover and let cook for 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let stand for 5 minutes. Then fluff the rice with a fork. 

Mango Salsa:

Ingredients

• 1 large ripe yet firm mango
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced into small pieces
• 1 medium Jalapeno, seeded and diced into small pieces (optional, but I liked the little heat)
• 1 small red onion, diced finely
• 1 -2 tbsp lemon/lime juice (adjust to your taste)
• Salt to taste
• Little sugar to sprinkle if your mangoes are not sweet enough
• Few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
• 
  
• Direction:
• Dice the mango into small pieces. Add them to a bowl.

Deseed the jalapeno well before you chopp it into small pieces.

Now add the rest of the ingredients into a bowl with the Mangoes and Jalapeno. Toss well and set aside in the fridge covered with a plastic wrap. Leave the salsa in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to mingle the flavor. 

Serving:

Arrange some rice on your plate, set tofu beside and arrange around the mango salsa

Vegan wild garlic Gnocchi with rucolapesto

Lately receiving the monthly cooking-magazine (unfortunatly non-vegan and every time I'm thinking of canceling it, but in there I see so much ideas, and most can be veganized). 

Anywhere, I saw their wild-garlic gnocchi-recipe -which called for 800 g Potatoes, 200 g flour, 50 wild garlic,100 g Ricotta and one egg, salt and nutmeg, and I was immediatly caught, trying to veganize it, shouldn't be a big problem. I thought.

But  my "second-try" since years of making gnocchi, was hard work. Instead of the ricotta I used silkentofu and replaced the egg with 1 Tbsp. soyflour. At the end the dought was a very wet and not kneatable. I added flour after flour and more salt and nutmeg, but still didn't get a dought. I was close to give up and wasting everything, but no!! So, I took a injection bag (hope you understand), filled the wet dought in there and instead of rolling them on floured plate I pressed them out, cuting them down right into the boiling water. Well of course they wouldn't have those "gnocchi-looking" with the rills - but as a long as they will taste I didn't matter. AND they did taste! Fluffy, and not so stomach filling as they had silkentofu in it. 

BUT at the end I such a big amount of gnocchi, my eyes witend and all I thought was - who is going to eat all this???? Defenetly too much for just myself, and I don't really eat a lot at once. My parents and sister are gone for holiday - freezing, yes but my small freezer is completly full! But, what I will do is going to give a big amount to a friend of mine I'm going to meet the next day. She will takes the most and she is happy about it! You may think I'm grazy but so I am and I really do it with big pleasure. Making others happy, makes he happy :)

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Wild garlic Gnocchi with Rucolapesto

4-5 Persons

Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

800 g Gnocchi-Potatoes

220 g flour and 1 Tbsp. soyflour (maybe more)

50 g fresh wild garlic 

100 g silkentofu

1/2 tsp. grounded nutmeg

1-2 tsp. salt

salted cooking water

Rucole Pesto for the sauce

Optional Sauce:

Fresh Lemoncreamsauce:

1 Tbsp. vegan margarine
1 shallot, chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 dl. vegan cream
2 Tbsp. vegan grated parmesan
salt, pepper

Direction.
Melt margarine a pan, add the shallot and roast till translucent, Add lemonzest, juice and vegancream and lightly let the sauce cook for 10 min. At the end wisk under the parsmesan, taste and dizzle the warm gnocchi with the sauce and enjoy a fresh dish. 

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Gnocchi Direction:

Cook the potatoes for about 20 min or till soft. Meanwhile chop the wild garlic add silkentofu and mix everything into a cream. 

Peel the finished potatoes and press them trought your potato press into a big bowl. Lightly let cool down, add the flour and stir, then add the wild garliccream and kneat. If the dought is too wet add more flour till it won't stick on your finger.

(or like mine, gave up and fill it in a injection bag).

Form the dought into 4 rolls about the size of 2 cm thick and cut rolls in about 2 cm. On a fork, back-side up, roll down the gnocchi with your thumb and you will get the special gnocchi-look. Set them aside on a floured towel.

Preheat oven to 60 °C and place your plates in it. 

Then cook the gnocchi step by step in saltet boiling water, for about 6 min till they will come on the surface and swim. With a skimmer take them out and place in a big bowl, dizzle with oil. Keep warm in the oven till all gnocchi are cooked. (mine stick a little bit together, as the dought was too wet)

Preheat a frying pan and lightly roast the gnocchi, then add back to the bowl and wisk the rucola pesto over the gnocchi and serve on your warm stayed plates.

You may also just serve them with a light sauce, such as a freshly lemoncreamsauce (I had made days before - and no leftover and no lemon in the house.)

This is just a hint if you prefer a more creamy-cheese-sauce with a fresh touch :) Recipe above

Note:
altought the dought wasn't kneatable the taste was good anymore, fluffy, fresh a.s.o

Enjoy and hopefully your won't have the problems I had

A fresh, italian dish!

V-Tunasalad / Spread

I'm so glad springtime is coming closer and closer. I was really getting tired from the dark, cold and unsunny-days. Tireness from winter or even in spring fever. But the tireness can't stopp myself and at that point I don't know myself anymore... Since weeks or even months I'm in the mood trying to veganize meat-stuff. Even stuff I never tried eating before being vegan. Weired, he.

Guess cause this young bakery-son inspired me so much! Now sometimes I really have to stopp myself from trying new stuff (I'm a single-living) and I can't eat at all at time. But every few weekends something new. Mostly stuff I can't buy veganized in Switzerland - and that's a lot. 

My today's prepared food is something I was afraid of trying. Guess cause I was afraid how it would taste like - really like tuna??? I never tried or eaten REAL Tuna before (just not mine, don't like it). BUT somehow I was curious and nowing I won't really eat "Tuna", relieved me "a little" bit.
You may wonder why I wanted to make it anyway - just curious and I know that people around me like Tunasalad and are non-vegan-persons - maybe it's going to be a Hit-wonder at the next party I will hold or be part off.

Of course it had to be improved by non-vegans! Especially my parents, as they can't imagine veganized food tastes good. 
My friend at work liked it very much!

I have to say the tunasalad was really good, but stomach-filling. BUT it's all about the way you serve/eat it  :))

Now enjoy to try this tunasalad - kept on the lighter side - rather than often seen in recipes.

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V-Tunasalad

Time: 15 min
2-4 Persons

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas
1 small glas artichoke in oil
1 small onion
1-2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1-2 Tbsp. soysauce
1/2 - 1 tsp. brown algaepouder (or morterd nori sheet)

Tofunaise:
100 g plain tofu
1 Tbsp. vinegar
salt
1 Tbsp. oil
water

Direction:
First prepare the tofunaise.
Cut tofu into pieces and pulse together with the oil, vinegar, salt and some water till you get a smooth cream.  Maybe you have to add some more water to get the consistence you prefer. Set aside in the refrigerator. 

Now you can either chop the onion and artichoke (without the oil) finely by hand or crush them shortly in your blender (not creamy!!!). Give in a big bowl. 

In your blender pulse the chickpea into a smooth cream and give into the bowl. Stir and give in the nutritional yeast, soysauce and algaepowder, stirr well under and then add the tofunaise (amount up to you..)

Taste and season with salt and maybe some more vinegar. Set aside in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (I let it over night).


Serving suggestions:
- Take your favorite piece of bread lightly roast in your toaster, let cool, lay on some salad and spread on your tunasalad top again with salad and cover with the second piece of bread
-  Or serve it with some crackers as a snack


Note:
I used the tofunaise as it's lighter and not so "naise-tasty" but feel free to use whatever Veginaise you prefer

Baked Potatoes with spicy dhal

I got to say that I'm not a big lentil-lover. For a long time I only could eat them when cooked and pulsed to puree. But I guess it took me a while - with trying out many kind of variation to prepare them. And the more I try out the more I learn to like them. May sound strange but it's a kind of childhood rememberies. (It's kind of grandparents-stuff). 

A few weeks ago was taking pass the first indian market with indian foodcorners. I while looking for spices and whatever I saw, there was a odor in the air that catched my nose and I followed the smell. What I found was a truck who showed how to cook indian dishes and I was immediatly caught up. 

For a small price you could buy the dish and tried. It's taste was delicious, spicy, tasty everything. They served the spicy dhal over rise or over a jacket potato. 

For luck the had the spices they used standing around the dish and I wrote everything down, even the way they prepared the dish and I knew I'm going to try this dish once at home. 

And now came the time and the preparing was really easy and the odor that filled my kitchen was great (and as most times my whole appartement will smell a while after food, no matter how often I open the windows..) 

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Baked Potatoes with spicy dhal

Ingredients:
2 baking potatoes
1 tbsp. sunflower oil, or any other oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic gloves, sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
85 g red lentils
1 tomato, chopped
400 ml vegetable stock
210 g can chickpeas, drained
handfull chopped coriander

Optional: Chutney or lime pickle, to serve with

Direction:
Preheat oven up to 200C. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 hr until tender and the skin is crispy. You may wrap them in foil, as I did 

While they are baking, prepare the dhal. Heat oil in a pan and fry the spices till they pop and the flavours exvaporate. As soon as they start to crackle,  give in the onion, garlic and chilli, add a splash of water to stop the spices from burning. Cook for 5 mins until the onion softens.

Add the lentils, tomato and stock, then cover and cook for 10 mins. Add in the chickpeas, cover and cook for 10 mins more until the lentils are tender. Season to taste, stir in the coriander and spoon onto the jacket potatoes. Serve with chutney or lime pickle.

And enjoy a healthy and delicious meal. 

Vegan Pepper-Mortadella (Ham-like)

Last weekend I planned a lot what I wanted to try to cook - mostly meat-like stuff. For one reason that I found some recipes in the web I wanted to try and for second - as I mentionend I wanted to give the backery-son a hint about another idea for a sandwich or even thicker sliced as a piece of "meat" as a warm take-away-meal with sides.

And of course I wanted to make my first self-made ham curious how it will taste like, cause till now I've only eaten bought ones.

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(Video at the end)

Vegan Pepper-Mortadella

Gives about a pound or more of Mortadella 

Ingredients:
200 g seitan-flour
4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp. vegetable broth, powder or instant
1 Tbsp. garlic granules
1 middle-sized red pepper
1 small onion
1 Tbsp. flour
250 ml water
30 ml neutral oil

Direction:
Wash the pepper, cut in half and remove the inner cores and seeds, peel the onions and chopp both into very small cubes - or use your food processor- add to a big bowl. (The smaller you chop it the better it will remain in the dought, when you knead it!).

Dizzle with the flour and wisk well through (the flour binds the liquid).

Now add the seitan-flour and stir everything well through. Add the spices and stir again.

Make a hole in the middle center and pour in water and oil and stir, after a while you have to use your hands to knead the dought properly.

When well kneaded arrange it in that shape you wanna have the mortadella and wrap it first in baking paper and then with aluminum foil. Seal well.

Preheat a pan with water, bring to boil, and with your steamerinsert steam the dought-roll for 1 hour.

When done, take the roll out and set aside to cool down and unpeel the mortadella. 

Enjoy the mortadella on your favorite bread or for your next sandwich.

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Here's the video for the recipe