Glibertarians.com 2018 Archive

Author: Web Dominatrix

  • Vegan School: Holiday Recipes

    Vegan School: Holiday Recipes

    Many dishes at my holiday table are vegan by nature, like maple acorn squash, three bean salad, raw veggie platters, and cranberry sauce. But most holiday dishes aren’t vegan, which makes it a challenging time of year.

    Mr. WebDom and I are in the middle of moving this month, so I haven’t had a chance to do much cooking. Instead of delighting you with one of my custom recipes, I thought I would do a round up of Vegan Holiday Recipes to inspire you this holiday season.

    Vegan Christmas Roast

    Image from The Easy Vegan

    The Easy Vegan put together this recipe, which I keep meaning to try. I expect I will in January once I get my kitchen at the new house setup.

    OMWC has tried this recipe using this brand of wheat gluten and it seemed to work well. There was something that he wanted to improve, and I’m sure he’ll mention it in the comments.

    While this is not a recipe, I do want to mention the Gardein Holiday Roast. It’s delicious and tastes far more like turkey than you would expect. I had it with SP and OWMC last year. This year I tried the smaller single serving version for Thanksgiving. It’s awesome, and definitely hit that “holiday” food jones.

    The Best Damn Vegan Mashed Potatoes

    Image from Minimalist Baker

    Mashed potatoes are a necessity at any holiday table. Most of the time, they’re not vegan. On Thanksgiving I gave in anyway and tried the mashed potatoes my sister in law made. The phrase wallpaper paste comes to mind.

    For Christmas I’m doing the mashed potatoes and I am using this recipe by Minimalist Baker. It’s simple, requires only a few ingredients, and looks like it will fool my non-vegan relatives.

    Vegan Stuffing

    Sadly, I have no photo for this one.

    But, Epicurious has the best vegetarian stuffing recipe I’ve ever seen. It uses butter, but I just swap for a vegan alternative. Aside from just being, well, delicious, I love that stuffing is simple, and easy.

    Vegan Eggnog

    Image from Simple Vegan

    I. Fucking. Love. Eggnog.

    Yet it’s very much not vegan.

    Then I discovered this recipe last week. As soon as I get a blender, I’m doing it! It uses coconut milk and cashews to create the consistency and flavour profile. Supposedly (I’m a little skeptical…) it tastes very close to the real thing.

    Vegan Pumpkin Pie

    Image from Loving It Vegan

    Uhm, yes, please. I didn’t get any pumpkin pie yet this year because I had to leave my family’s Thanksgiving Dinner before pie. (Migraines suck.) I am going to be making this pumpkin pie recipe as soon as my kitchen is setup again. This recipe from Loving it Vegan uses full fat coconut milk in place of the cream. After much searching, I prefer this brand of coconut milk. No other brand even comes close.

    Bonus: Vegan Pot Pie

    Image from Minimalist Baker

    Not really a holiday recipe, but the holidays always make me crave pot pies. I usually make pot pie in a 9×11 pan, and between the two of us, we usually finish it off in one night. Maybe two if we use restraint. I’ll post my recipe next time I make it (because truth be told I don’t measure anything unless I’m turning it into a recipe for you guys).

    In the interim, this vegan pot pie recipe, also by Minimalist Baker, looks simple and delicious.

  • Vegan School: Thai Coconut Soup with Fried Tofu

    Vegan School: Thai Coconut Soup with Fried Tofu

    I love me some Indian and Asian food, and none more than Thai Coconut Soup.

    Ok, maybe curry.

    And maybe dosas.

    But Thai Coconut Soup is right up there at the top of my list.

    The biggest problem I’ve encountered with Thai Coconut Soup, however, is that most of them use a fish sauce which is #NotVegan. This recipe is modified for vegans. The cilantro is added at the end so cilantrophobes like SP can omit if desired.

    I use this sesame oil, this nutritional yeast, and this not chicken base. And if you can’t get sambal oelek in your grocery store, Amazon carries it here.

    Often this soup is served over glass noodles. If you choose to do so, simply cook the noodles according to package instructions and add to the bowl before dishing the soup.

    Thai Coconut Soup

    • 1 package extra firm tofu (drained and pressed)
    • 1 large white onion (chopped)
    • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
    • 1 tsp olive oil
    • 2 tbsp fresh ginger (minced)
    • 2 stalks lemon grass (trimmed to bottom 6 inches and minced)
    • 2 tbsp garlic (minced)
    • 1 can coconut milk (15oz)
    • 64 oz not chicken broth
    • 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
    • 2 tbsp sambal oelek (or to taste)
    • 2 tbsp soy sauce
    • 5 oz lime juice
    • 1 tbsp white sugar
    • 16 oz grape tomatoes (halved)
    • lime wedges
    • fresh cilantro (chopped)
    • green onions (chopped)

    1. Cut the tofu into cubes, and fry in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat with no oil or butter. Flip occasionally until golden brown on all sides. This takes longer than you expect it to. Resist the urge to mess with it for the first few minutes. If it’s still sticking to the pan, it’s not ready to be flipped. 

    2. In a soup pot, add the oils and the onion and ginger. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the lemon grass and garlic, stir until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add sambal oelek, broth, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce. Reduce heat and simmer partly covered for about 20 minutes.

    3. Add tofu, grape tomatoes, snap peas, and coconut milk. Simmer until tofu is warmed through. 

    4. Dish into bowl and garnish with cilantro and green onions.

  • Vegan School: Tuscan White Bean Fettuccine

    Earlier this week I made this dish out of ingredients we have in the pantry. It was fast, delicious, and didn’t require a trip to the grocery store. I love meals that involve no extra shopping.

    This can be made not vegan easily by using butter and garnishing with fresh parm. I think this would go quite well with some chicken, but as I’m vegan, I’m never going to know. If any Glibs try it with some chicken, do let me know in the comments how it turns out.

    Tuscan White Bean Fettuccine

    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 sm white onion (chopped)
    • 2 cans great northern beans (drained, but not rinsed)
    • 2 tbsp minced garlic
    • 2 tbsp butter alternative
    • 1 box fettuccine
    • 2 cups crushed tomatoes
    • 5-10 fresh basil leaves
    • 1/2 cup white wine
    • salt (to taste)
    • pepper (to taste)

    1. In a pan over medium heat add the olive oil and onion. Sautee until onions are translucent.

    2. Add garlic, tomatoes, white wine, basil, beans, butter alternative. Stir until combined. Cover and simmer until beans are mushy.

    3. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain, add to pan with sauce.

    4. Stir the fettuccine with the sauce over medium heat until evenly coated. Serve.

      If not vegan, top with fresh parm.

  • Vegan School: Turmeric Latte

    My electrophysiologist told me to eat more anti-inflammatory foods to help my heart problem. He recommended turmeric, ginger, and green tea (among others).

    This past week I’ve been drinking a cup of green tea and a turmeric latte daily.

    I was unhappy with the turmeric latte recipes I found, so I made my own. This recipe is quick, simple, cheap, and delicious. (Don’t worry: it doesn’t taste like curry.)

    I use fresh local honey as a sweetener. I buy turmeric in bulk anyway. I am partial to this brand of turmeric. And this brand of ginger.

    I currently use soy milk because that’s what I have in the house, but it’s delicious with Oatly oat milk.

    Turmeric Latte

    • 1/4 tsp turmeric
    • 1/4 tsp ginger
    • 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
    • 2 turns freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 dash iodized salt
    • 6 oz hot water
    • 6 oz non-dairy milk
    • honey (to taste)

    1. In a coffee cup add the spices, hot water, and non-dairy milk. Stir thoroughly. Add honey to taste. Enjoy.

  • Vegan School: Tortilla Soup

    Today’s recipe is super quick and easy. It’s for vegan tortilla soup. You basically throw the ingredients in a pot and simmer til it tastes good. I’m not even kidding.

    I use this vegan soup base to make the “chicken” broth, and this smoked paprika. I find it to be smokier than other brands.

    Vegan Tortilla Soup

    • 64 oz crushed tomatoes
    • 8 cups vegan "chicken" broth
    • 1 medium white onion (chopped)
    • 1 can black beans (15oz, drained)
    • 1 pkg extra firm tofu (drained, chopped into strips)
    • 2 tbsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tbsp lime juice
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1/4 cup green chile (or more if you're a chilehead)
    • 2 cups sweet corn
    • 6 corn tortillas (cut into strips)
    • salt (to taste)
    • black pepper (to taste)
    • cilantro (optional, to taste)
    • 1 tbsp olive oil (or less)

    1. Dry fry the tofu til crisp. Set aside.

    2. Spread the tortilla strips on a baking sheet and bake on 300 til crisp. Salt to taste. Set aside.

    3. In a large soup pot fry the onion in the olive oil. 

    4. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer til flavours are melded.

    5. Dish into a bowl, add tofu, garnish with cilantro, and tortilla strips. Enjoy!

  • Vegan School: Quick and Easy Pineapple Curry

    I’m a curry fiend.

    I love it.

    In fact, I love it so much the other night I told my husband I need to open a shop called “WebDom’s House of Pain” and it will only sell curry.

    But, like all things I do, I don’t exactly play by the rules, so my curry dishes are more like a curry-ish because I love to throw in things you wouldn’t traditionally find in that type of curry.

    This week’s vegan school recipe is for my quick and easy pineapple curry.

    This recipe is pretty free-form, and it uses a curry paste as the base. It also uses frozen vegetables. This is what makes it “quick and easy” compared to my usual curries where I make the sauce 100% from scratch and use only fresh vegetables. Once it’s assembled you can basically walk away and let it simmer, only stirring every 5 or 10 minutes.

    I use this red curry paste as it’s what is available somewhat locally. Any red curry paste would yield a fairly close result.

    I use this coconut milk, which I have found to be superior to all other coconut milks. It’s very thick and very coconutty.

    I use this not chicken base to make the 8 cups of not chicken broth.

    Quick and Easy Pineapple Curry

    • 1 pkg extra firm tofu (drained, cubed)
    • 1 sm sweet onion (diced)
    • 8 baby carrots (chopped)
    • 1/2 bag frozen red peppers and onions
    • 1/2 bag frozen peas
    • 1/2 bag frozen cauliflower
    • 1 can pineapple chunks (15oz can)

    Sauce

    • 8 cups not chicken broth
    • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 can coconut milk (see notes)
    • 1 can red curry paste (see notes)
    • black pepper (to taste)
    • sesame seeds (to taste)

    1. Dry fry the tofu until browned on all sides. You may use a little oil to coat the pan. I do not but that is a personal preference.

    2. Add all the veggies. Add the sauce ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until sauce is thick.

    3. Serve over rice. Top with black pepper and sesame seeds to taste. 

  • Vegan School: Green Chile Potato Leek Soup

    Predictably on schedule the grey gloom of winter hit New York on the 1st of October. This weather is a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse, but it is a blessing in that I am fully embracing soups this year.

    Last week I made this delicious green chile potato leek soup that my husband says is the best thing I’ve ever made. (I disagree, but my comfort foods are all Asian.)

    This soup uses zero dairy, and is still delightfully creamy. You’ll need an immersion blender to whir it up at the end and blend it smooth. I use this one.

    You can adjust the spice by adding or subtracting green chile. I used sauce because I had a jar made up in the fridge already, and it was a lot easier than cleaning green chiles just for the soup. But you could use freshly chopped green chile just the same.

    Right before serving, I topped my husband’s dish with some freshly shredded Havarti, and then I stole a taste. It’s delicious. If you’re #notvegan, I highly recommend you add a little at the end.

    Green Chile Potato Leek Soup

    • 6 medium white potatoes (peeled and chopped)
    • 3 leeks (cleaned and chopped)
    • 1 large sweet onion (diced)
    • 1 tbsp butter alternative of your choice
    • 1 cup hard cider
    • 1 cup green chile sauce
    • 8 cups vegetable or not chicken broth
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp thyme
    • black pepper (to taste)
    • salt (to taste)
    • Havarti cheese for garnish if you're #notvegan

    1. Clean the leeks and chop off the rough dark green ends. Leave a lot of green. Slice into thin rounds.

    2. Melt butter alternative over medium heat. Add leeks and cook down until soft. Add the chopped onions. Cook until the onions are starting to go translucent. The leeks will be just starting to brown. Add the hard cider and turn temperature to a simmer.

    3. Add potatoes, broth, a little freshly ground black pepper, thyme, soy sauce, and green chile sauce. Simmer until potatoes can be mashed with a wooden spoon.

    4. Remove from heat, and whir up with an immersion blender until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you’re #notvegan, serve with some grated Havarti on top.

    This potato soup uses zero dairy, but if you’re just going vegetarian and you’re not vegan, add a little Havarti right before serving.

  • Not Vegan School: Green Chile Not Chicken Enchiladas

    Excuse typos, grammars, and ramblings. Awfully tired today, but didn’t want to leave my Glibbies hanging.

    As a New Mexican at heart (but not by birth) I craaaave New Mexican food. A couple weeks ago, I spent a day a roasting and processing green chile from New Mexico, and since then I’ve been adding green chile to everything.

    Last week I made green chile not chicken enchiladas, which, were not vegan #becausecheese, but really amazing and hit my New Mexico food craving.

    To make this recipe, you need first to make some green chile sauce. I modify the Rancho de Chimayo Green Chile recipe with a little soy sauce to flesh it out.

    I serve with refried beans, New Mexican rice, and garnish with iceberg lettuce and tomato.

    Vegetarian Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

    • 18 corn tortillas
    • 3 cups green chile sauce
    • 1 package tofu
    • 4 cups vegetarian "chicken" broth
    • 3 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese (or as much as you want)
    • 1 sweet onion (large, chopped)
    • chopped iceberg lettuce
    • chopped tomatoes

    1. Dry and chop the tofu into small squares. Pan fry dry over medium heat until golden brown.

    2. Add in 1.5 cups of the not chicken broth and cook until the tofu absorbs the broth. Remove from heat.

    3. Spray your 9×11 glass casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

    4. Dip each corn tortilla in green chile sauce, and line the bottom of the glass casserole dish.

    5. Sprinkle with chopped onion, cheese, tofu, and green chile. You can add more or less cheese or chile based on personal preference/veganness.

    6. Repeat layering until dish is full. Top with an additional layer of cheese.

    7. Take remaining not chicken broth and pour over the top of the casserole dish. Wrap with foil and stick in the oven on 375 and bake until cooked through. Apx. 30 minutes.

    8. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Garnish with chopped iceberg lettuce and tomatoes when serving.

  • Morning Links, WebDom is feeling snarky

    Hey hey Glibbys.

    Popping in to give you some quick links because it looks like Sloopy is still, uh….indisposed…as OMWC so generously shared yesterday morning.

    First up, this blasted hurricane. I have cousins down south who are going to be getting hammered. And they also have to deal with the hurricane. It’s a big motherfucker.

    Apple is getting ready for its annual device release, and looks like this might mean lower prices.

    Football season is back. For those of you who care, here’s how all the teams got their names.

    Scientists (ahem…some scientists) are trying to return Pluto to its former glory.

    The Baldwin Effect, which is some sciencey thing, has something to do with the adaptability of lizards.

    And continuing the busy week in science, some new sea creatures have been discovered.

    Georgia wants to beat the shit out of your children.

    The border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is reopening after 20 years.

    The Atlantic thinks NASA shouldn’t be putting logos all over its stuff.

    A collision in Phoenix resulted in dozens of beer kegs spilling out along the highway.

    And your boozey link: craft beers inspired by cocktails.

    Today is a great day to do a little dancing, so I leave you with…

  • For the love of cheese

    I. Love. Cheese.

    It’s the hardest part about being vegan. I don’t really miss butter. I don’t miss milk. Sometimes I miss some half and half in my coffee, but that’s rare.

    What I do miss is cheese in all its cheesy goodness.

    It’s important to let go of your expectations of cheese when trying to be vegan. There are some really good vegan cheeses out there that taste like cheese, but if you expect it to act like cheese and behave like cheese, you’re probably going to be disappointed, so don’t go expecting to make a really good cheesy pizza (though if you figure it out, let me know).

    With these vegan cheese recipes a lot of dishes are back on the menu.

    But before I get into the recipes, here is a pantry list for you of commonly used ingredients you should have on hand:

    You’ll also need a food processor and cheesecloth for some of these.

    And now for the recipes:

    1. Aged Camembert Cheese
    2. Blue Cheese
    3. Cheddar
    4. Cream Cheese
    5. Feta
    6. Mozzarella 
    7. Parm
    8. Queso
    9. Ricotta

    Do you have a great vegan cheese recipe to add to this list (she asks doubtfully)? Drop it in the comments.

    Or  don’t.

    See if I care.