Leek and again Leek. I can never get enought of leek. Last year I planted autumn/winter leeks and now it was finally the time for using it - before it's getting really bad by too much frost. Well the walk into the garden with snow falling in my nek - brr, but knowing soon I will enjoy a warm soup, made me even work faster. I harvest - late I know - about 10 leeks, so they will last for the next few days. Freezing as it was I needed a hearthy and stomachfilling soup. This soup was just right and warmed me from inside. Hmm, I felt like being in heaven! ;) Enjoy it..
Preparation time: 15 minutes (+ cooking time) Ingredients for 2 servings: 1 leek 1 bulb root parsley 100 g smoked tofu 1 onion 150 ml soy cream 400 ml vegetable stock sweet paprika Salt and pepper some vegetable oil
The root parsley peel and cut into cubes. Heat some oil in a vessel and add the cubes and sauté for a few minutes. Then place the vegetable broth and soy cream in a mixing bowl and my high puree.
Peel the onion and chop finely. Fry until soft with a little oil in the boiler. Cut, add and fry crispy smoked in the cube. In the meantime cut the leeks into rings and wash well. Then, with give and fry in the tank.
With the vegetable deglaze, bring to the boil and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Finally, season to taste with sweet paprika, salt and pepper and serve.
I'm singing and dancing in the rain. Well more by words than in reality. Today I have been freezing the whole day - no matter what I did. I really had a bad night hardly no sleep and strange dreams... To give this whole-day-freezing and end I get myself up and went for preparing Quiche for an early dinner. With the stove and oven on the kitchen filled with warm. As I knew the quiche would be a little much for one person I invited a friend short-time. I did not have realized how hungry I was, we almost ate the whole quiche. Soo good!
Ingredients: For the crust: 250 g of flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt 150 g cold vegan margarine 1 tablespoon soy flour vegan margarine and flour for the mold For the filling: 650 g sweet potatoes 200 g shiitake mushrooms, (substitute brown mushrooms) 200 g smoked tofu 2 cloves of garlic 1 leek 2 tbsp oil 250 ml dry white wine 350 ml vegetable stock 3 tbsp almond butter, salt pepper 2 stalks tarragon TIME 30 min 1 hr 10 min Baking Preparation: Quickly knead flour, salt, cold margarine, soy flour and 3 tablespoons cold water into a dough. Sprinkl a quiche dish (26 cm ∅) thoroughly with flour. Roll the dough slightly larger than the form, place it in the shape and form an edge. With a fork prick the dough several times and place it in the cold, covered, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven up to 200 °C. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into thick slices about 3 mm. Clean mushrooms and cut into 5 - 6 mm thick slices. Cut the Tofu first crosswise into 4 mm thick slices then cut into thin strips. Peel garlic and dice. Clean, wash and cut the leeks into thin rings. In a frying pan heat oil and fry tofu strips over high heat about 1 minute until crisp. Add the mushroom slices and cook fry for about 1 minute over medium heat. Add garlic and leek and fry another 1 minute.. Deglaze with wine and bring to a boil. Drain the liquid in a pot and add broth and almond paste. Boil everything while stirring, until the liquid is slightly thick. Season with salt and pepper. Wash and shake dry tarragon, chop leaves and stir into the almond cream. Take the dought out of the cold and spread half of the tofu-mushroom mixture onto the floor, a third of the almond cream, then place sweet potatoes like a fan. Repeat the layers once, thereby completing with a layer of sweet potatoes. Pour over the last third of almond cream and cover with a aluminum foil. Bake the quiche on the middle rack for about 55 min. After the time remove the foil and bake another 15 min.
First of all HAPPY NEW 2015 TO EVERYONE OUT THERE!! I know you may eaten enough roasts over the last time, but having guests over for New Years Eve and haven't prepared a roast lately- it was time for one and of course I wanted to surprise my guests. They never had vegan roast, nor are they vegan. This roast is really very easy and even if it will be your first one - you will get this one. The oatmeal gives it just the hint it needs. Of course you can use any vegetable for the filling you like, but I found out that broccoli just tastes great and.... I don't know - just too good. But go ahead and try out different vegetables.
The coolest and most delicious seitan roast ever! 3-4 Persons 90 min Ingredients: 1 cup gluten 1 tablespoon flour 3 tablespoons oatmeal 1 tsp salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1 pinch of sugar 1/2 tsp smoked salt 1 cup vegetable broth 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tbsp tomato puree 75 g broccoli 2 pickles 1/2 small onion 4 tsp mustard salt pepper For about 8-10 slices It tastes wonderful to vegetable side dishes and other side dishes. Tastes great with a gravy. Preparation: Give the glutenflour with the oatmeal and spices in a bowl. Mix the vegetable broth with the oil, lemon juice and tomato puree. Mix the liquid mixture with the gluten mixture and wisk with a fork till everything is smooth and its getting into a dought. . Cut the broccoli into small cubes or brake the smaller florets, cut the onion aswell into small cubs. Mix in the mustard and season with salt and pepper. Spread the seitan with your hands into a rectangle. Spread the filling on top and roll the seitan with the shorter side up to gett rolled roast. For getting smaller but more pieces, roll together from the large side up. Roll the roast in foil, put it in a freezer bag, close well and then simmer in a pot of boiling water over medium heat for 1 hour. After cooking take the roast out and cool (still in the freezing bag) in cool water and then get out of the freezer bags and aluminum foil. Preheat a frying pan with oil roast the filled roast on all sides sharply and then leave nor cook on all sides for a while, with low to medium heat. In general, the seitan is already cooed inside but roasting it in the pan gives it nice crust outside. If your not sure if it's well done, cut and test. Cut the roast into slices and serve at the end.with a dark gravy and vegetables and grains of your desire. All I can tell - it's delicious!!!
Tuesday morning, being early awake - must have -cause we are having another surgeryday and I will be alone with the doctor - which means doing work for two people (the other assistent isn't here) and what is best to wake up the inner sleepy ghosts and getting some strenght for the day? A healthy smoothie. First I thought about making a orange-clementine smoothie, but I eat clementine every day, therefore my body screamed for different fruits with more calories. Smoothies are great, various and sooo fast done (well it may depend was you use for your smoothie). Just try out what you like. As I don't have a juicer I can almost only make fruit smoothies - I like more anyway ;) Ready to start the day. Take care and stay healthy!
2 Persons Ingredients: 4 Kiwis 1 Banana 1/2 Lime squeezed 250 ml Kokosnusjuice 1 Tbsp. maplye syrup 1 Tbsp. coconutflakes Direction: Peel Kiwi and banana, puree in a blender. Add squezzed Limejuice together with the coconut juice. Taste with maple syrup to sweet up. Fill in glasses and serve sprinkled with coconut.
Every year there will be a hug firework at the River of Basel (City). A few times I've be in the crowd, watching the great firework.
This year I watched I from a little bit more outside of the crowd and my jacket won't smell smoky with some burned holes in it.
I just love the feeling by then in the city.
Hope you enjoyed also a great evening with your friends or even alone by yourself.
The time before the firework I spend alone at home and made myself something good, with a drink and then some wine. Nothing to be sad about.
For my festive New Year's dinner I made a good delicious meal. I kept it simple, but even a simple meal can look and taste great!
Kale and Brussels sprouts Soba Noodles
Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 bunch tuscan kale 5 tsp. toasted sesame oil 10 brussels sprouts 1 plump clove garlic 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (white or black) 2 pinches red pepper flakes 500 g soba noodles 4 slivered green onions, for garnish Direction: Slice the kale leaves from their stems and discard the stems. Working in batches, stack the leaves, roll them up tightly lengthwise, and then thinly slice them crosswise into narrow ribbons. Put the ribbons in a large bowl with 1 tsp. of the sesame oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Massage the leaves with your hands until they glisten. Discard any funky outer leaves from the brussels sprouts. Slice them paper thin (mandoline works best, peeling them by hand would take you some time..) then toss them with the kale. Pound the garlic until smooth in a small mortar (I used a bowl and minced the garlic fine). Stir in the vinegar, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss well. This much can be done in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to serve, or enjoyed alone as a salad. Bring the water to a boil. When starting the noodles, finish the salad with the sesame seeds, pepper flakes and green onions. Cook the noodles according to package instructions and drain well. Toss the noodles with the greens. The noodle salad can be served warm or cold.
Christmas is coming closer and closer. Holly time I really do like this time - if only it wouldn't be such stressfull at work. All the "end-of-year"-stuff that had to be done before Christmas. This year I did not even had the time to make a stop at the christmasmarket of even going to the city. Luckely I don't wait till the last time to go for presents, I kept my eyes open trought the whole last 5 month, made it much quiter and easier around Once when being at a congress in "Murten" (city in the middle centre of Switzerland) and using the free afternoon to walk around in the little, cute center of the city, I entered a little store with all kind of special spices, gravys, snacks, mustard from Texas -wow! I was immediatly caught about the variousity and I knew that I would find some presents - and not even planing it before. - That's the way I mostly get a present. The unexpected ones are the best..... This year I had the idea to make a homemade present for every couple sitting at the decorated table, placed in front of theire plate. The idea was pretty easy found, a chutney. I bought all the needed ingredients and filled the kitchen with a great spicy-sweet-taste in the air.
For two Glasses (400ml) 8 fresh Figs or dried ones 1 knob piece of ginger 1 garlicknob 300 g Onions, chopped 80 g tried apricots 2 Cardamons 1 Tbsp. oil 1 staranis 70 g sugar 2 Tbsp. whitwine vinegar 250 ml red wine (or if you prefer balsamico) Salt fresh grounded black pepper
Direction:
1 Rinse figs, pat dry, peel and dice. Peel and chop ginger and garlic. Peel the onions. Dice along with the apricot. Crush cardamom pods. 2 Heat oil in a pot. Fry ginger, garlic, star anise and cardamom. Add onions and apricots and cook about 3 minutes. Pour vinegar and wine. Let simmer all together while stirring for about 15 minutes. 3 Add Figs and cook for a further 3 minutes, mix or puree everything trough (not if you desire chunchy bites). Allow Chutney to cool a little bit and season with salt and pepper. Immediately fill in jars and seal. The chutney with fresh figs will be good for about 2 weeks, stored in the fridge. The chutney stay's longer good if you use dried figs. It is especially good with vegan meat and cheese.
Christmastime, always the time when you enjoy being together with your family, lighting the candles in the evening, maybe a fire in your chimnee. Hopefully some snowflakes falling outside - just so great. It's always a magic, special time. Unfortunatly most people don't really know why we're are celebrating Christmas and that's sad.
Anyway. Every years from the beginning of december till christmas we have a christmas market in the city (I posted pictures the year before) and beside clothes, goods, sweets, spices, candles a.s.o. there're alway the "houses" were they serve food and sweet things.
One thing I mostly buy during this christmas time are chrunchy roasted sweet almonds (thought I don't really like almonds) but those chrunchy ones just taste soo great - hard to resist.
This year I still hadn't the time to go to the market and therefore I decided to make them on myself. They are simple and quick done.
Ingredients:
1 dl water
200 g sugarr
1 tsp. vanille sugar
maybe 1 hint of cinnamnon
200g unpeeled amandes
Direction:
Add everything exept the amandes into a pan and cook up. When cooking add the amandes. Cook under constantly stirring, till the sugar stick to the amandes and they look chrunchy. Shortly roast till amandes "shine". Immediatly give the roasted sweeted amandes to a lightly oiled backing sheet, spread out and let cool!
They taste chrunchy and sweet and of course so course. If you like amandes then you're defently going to love those chrunchy sweet roasted amandes. They are just tasting so great and they can be always bought during pre-christmas time at the christmas ferry. People just love it. No one can resist them ;)
Sunday, bright shining sun but very cold. All I wanted was to spend a lazy day with some hours in the kitchen, but when I saw the bright, sunny weather outside I had to go for a morning walk around the neigbourhood to get some fresh air. The walk did very good and my mind was cleared and filled with fresh cold air. READY to start the kitchen work. The fresh air made me hungry, so lets start with lunch/dinner dish.
It's been a while since I made vegetable tarte and I knew there's a frozen dought in the fridge waiting for me to be done, perfect for this meal I've been thinking about.
In this savory tomato galette recipe the red onions are a little sweet from caramelization and a little sour from red-wine vinegar, but they complement the slow-roasted plum tomatoes perfectly. The result is rich and deeply satisfying. Serve this rustic tart with a green salad for a light lunch or a roast vegan meat for a hearty dinner.
Rustic Onion & Tomato Galette
Makes: 8 servings
Active Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients: Pastry Dough:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup vegan cream cheese
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons cold soymilk (or any other you prefer)
Tomato Layer:
12 small fresh plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon water plus 1 tablespoon, divided
Onion Layer:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 cups sliced red onions (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
4 ounces crumbled vegan goat cheese
Preparation
To prepare pastry dough: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it starts bubbling, cook, stirring and watching carefully so it doesn’t burn, until golden brown, 2 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a metal bowl and refrigerate until solid again, 25 to 30 minutes.
Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse once or twice to mix. Cut the butter and cream cheese into pieces; add and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add canola oil and pulse until it looks like wet sand. Add milk and pulse until small clumps form.
Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and press into a ball, then press the ball into a disk about 8 inches wide. Wrap in the parchment and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day before rolling out.
Preheat oven to 320°C
To prepare tomato layer: Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place cut-side up on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place garlic cloves on a square of foil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon water. Wrap into a package and place on the baking sheet. Roast until the tomatoes are very soft and beginning to brown on the bottom, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
To prepare onion layer: Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until just starting to lightly brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, 30 to 35 minutes. Stir in raisins, vinegar and 1 teaspoon thyme.
Unwrap garlic; when cool enough to handle, squeeze out of the skins into a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water and mash together into a smooth paste.
Increase oven temperature to 400°F.
To roll out pastry: Place a large sheet of parchment on a work surface and dust it with flour. Place the pastry disk in the center and lightly dust with flour. Roll out into a 15-inch circle. The pastry may crack a bit as you roll it, so go slowly and just nudge the cracked parts back together, pressing lightly. Dust with more flour as needed and keep the circle as even as you can, but don’t worry about rough edges.
To assemble & bake: Spread the onion mixture over the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Spread the garlic paste over the onions. Place the tomatoes, cut-side up, on top of the onions in a circular pattern. Scatter cheese over the tomatoes and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme.
Use the parchment paper to lift the edges of the pastry and fold loosely over the filling in 2- or 3-inch sections at a time. The pastry may crack as you lift and fold it, but that’s fine. Lift the galette on the parchment and transfer it, parchment and all, onto a baking sheet. Trim off any overhanging parchment.
Bake the galette until the filling is bubbling hot in the center and the pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Let cool at least 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Lift parchment and galette onto a serving platter.
Use a spatula to very slightly lift the galette so you can slide the parchment out. Serve the galette hot, warm or at room temperature.
Note:
Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate pastry dough for up to 1 day.
Yammy was the piece of Tarte good!!!!!! Hard to resist eating more.....
Beetroot-soup together with some other ingredients is a traditional Russian recipe called "Borrtsch". I ate Borrtsch a few times - as my grandmother grew (they flee during world war) up some years in Russia she brought back the Borrtsch-Soup and we always ate it on Easter Sunday when being over at them together with my fathers brother's familily.
But for now I'm not posting a russian Borrtsch-Soup recipe. I just had Beetroot on the hand and if you have precooked ones you can make a pretty fast soup. AND I defently needed a hearthy soup as I'm feeling sick today. Cold, hurt throat, running nose, cough etc. This soup will give me some more warm from the inside and hopefully helps.
Red Beet-Soup
4 Portions
Ingredients:
1Tspmustard seeds
1Tbsp.cross cumin seeds
2 Tbsp. vegan butter
1largeonion, finelychopped
500grawredoryellowbeetroots, coarselygrated.
1Litervegetable broth
2Bay leaves
1Tbsp.apple cider vinegar
Sea salt
freshlygroundwhitepepper
Direction:
Heatmustard seedsandcumininhotclarified butter, stirringuntilitsmellsgoodandtheseeds are poppin. Addonion, cookatlowheat til soft. Stir in the root Beet and cook. Pour in the broth, addBay leavesandboil. Simmer for 30-40minutes (less if you used the precooked Betts). Season withApple Cider vinegar, salt, andpepper, and continuesimmer forseveralminutes.
Consistent with freshlygratedhorseradish. (it gives the special taste to it!!) Love it
Happy third advent to everyone! Today's the big kinship meeting, we will be about 11 person, but this is only my mothers side. My fathers side would be much more. So every kind of meeting the kinship is always a big crowd. Mostly we see each other on special occasions, and this will be one today. As a recently posted it will be a christmas pre-celebration, but without a christmastree and presents.
As I'm the only person being vegan, I will bring some food for myself, cause the others eat "fondue", witch I don't like - too much of cheese. I would not even eat it, if it would be a vegan fondue. Not my food. This might sound strange, but....
For those who like fondue I will post a recipe
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VeganFondue
Ingredients for cheese fondue:
-500 g Yofu natural
-Glass vegetable Bolognese of Alnatura
-Onion
-black olives
-Oil
-Italian herbs (dried)
-Garlic spice
-Vegetable stock
-Mushroom stems
To the pure dip:
-Roasted mushroom heads
-Rigatoni, tortellini, ravioli (vegan of course)
-small potatoes
-Baguette cubes and/or different bread cubes
-Broccoli
-Zucchini
-Eggplant
Preparation:
Very small cut onion and olives. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop the also very. FRY in a pan with oil. Yofu and vegetable Bolognese and season with quite a lot of Italian herbs and garlic. give as much vegetable stock to do so until the desired consistency is reached.
The whole then fill the fondue pot and enjoy with the vegetables and baguette/bread.
Preheat
oven to 375. Place the whole beets on a non-stick baking sheet; roast uncovered
for 30 minutes. Add the onion, zucchini, and bell pepper to the pan and roast
everything for an additional 15 minutes, until vegetables start to brown around
the edges. While the vegetables are roasting, place the tomatoes, avocado and
beans in a bowl. To make the dressing, combine the tofu, lemon juice, non-dairy
milk, garlic powder and avocado in a blender or Vitamix, and blend until
smooth. Add in the onions and dill weed, and blend for just a couple of seconds
(so that specks of dill are still visible). When the vegetables are done
roasting, combine them with the tomatoes, avocado and beans, and toss with the
dressing. Serve warm with a sprig of dill garnish.
Notes: You may also use red beets, but they may
color your salad red. This salad may also be made with all the same salad
ingredients, but raw (in this case, grate the peeled beets and zucchini, and
dice the onion and bell pepper).
