Thursday Dinner - Reuben Mac -N- Cheese (August 12)

Tonight's Meal is another Food Network Friday Challenge from over at Tami's Vegan Appetite blog. In case you don't know, Tami Noyes is the author of American Vegan Kitchen and a fantastic lady, not just a great chef!

This week, however, an unlikely combo in the form of Rachel Ray's Reuben Mac-N-Cheese is to be veganized. Let's see:

 Mac-n-cheese: good. tasty.

Reuben: great, yummy.

But together?!?

I was skeptical at best! Sauerkraut with a cheesy pasta sauce? Sounded like Hamburger Helper on crack lost in the dark woods on Mars.

So here is what I did:

First off, I made it soy free - no Daiya or fake cheese anywhere in site.

Second: Rachel says to rinse the sauerkraut. Uh.., after rinsing it it seems the kraut reverts back to a limp cabbage. Nope, no rinsing the kraut here.

Third: I used my corned seitan that I had in the freezer from Reuben sandwiches a few weeks ago and I cut them into small dice and fried them in olive oil until very crispy - almost like bacon, but better.

Fourth: Rachel's recipe makes no reference to the Thousand Island dressing and I love that in this sandwich, but a relish in mac-n-cheese seemed stranger than sauerkraut. So of course I thought of something even stranger than that: fried caper berries.

Fifth: I also fried the sauerkraut.

Not deep fried caper, seitan or kraut - pan-fried in some olive oil - almost like sauteing but with a tablespoon of oil and not a teaspoon.

My sauce has nutritional yeast, paprika, cashews, onion powder, garlic clove, tahini and salt.

I used Quinoa pasta, cooked half-way and finished cooking in the sauce. I mixed some of the sauteed sauerkraut and corned seitan with the pasta and sauce and also added some on the top with some caraway seeds. No bread crumbs, though. Sorry, Rache.

Turned out to be unique and actually very good. The kids loved it and David liked it. One of the few meals where the kids rated the dish higher than David did.

Cost Breakdown:

pasta: $3

cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini: $3

sauerkraut, corned seitan: $4

capers, spices: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$12.00

 

Reuben Mac-n-Cheese Recipe

Thursday Lunch - Chocolate Chip Waffles (Cat) (August 12)

Cat's theory about cooking is, 'when in doubt, make waffles...or pancakes or french toast.' And when really in doubt, add chocolate chips.

Well, she did make some great waffles. What is more, she makes better waffles than I do. She made her batter thinner than I did, so I adjusted the Waffle Template Recipe I have on here.

What else is there to say, really? Waffles are tasty, the kids ate heartily and not a vegetable was in sight. Except the ones in my salad.

Go Cat!

Cost Breakdown:

flour: $.50

almond milk: $1

chocolate chips: $1

baking powder, salt: $.10

sugar: $.25

Total to make 6 waffles:

$2.85

 

 

Wednesday Dinner - Lasagna Bolognese (August 11)

I had this scheduled for Sunday Dinner, but we had a guest tonight and she wanted the lasagna - "whatever the guest requests..." is our motto.

This is a favorite of Cat and she is the one who wanted this put on the menu. She likes this one better than the American Lasagna with the tomato sauce.

This is more authentic in that it has a white sauce (bechamel), ground 'meat' and a sprinkle of parm. Although I used Boca for my meat, it is easy to use seitan ground up or even a vegetable - although this I have not been allowed to test yet since I have vegan children who do not like vegetables - ironic, hmm?

The ground meaty sub is cooked for 2 hours on simmer in a creamy broth (this is the bolognese part) and a smooth velvety white sauce tops it in the layers of lasagna noodles. The bolognese sauce, white sauce, noodles and Parma! (a parm sub that is so good for you - having only walnuts (Omega-3 Fatty Acids), nutritional yeast (B12) and sea salt) are the only other components to this lasagna.

This lasagna can be totally soy-free and wheat-free with a proper wheat-free noodle.

It is a hit every time, although I remember the first time making it with some trepidation - it is not a traditional American Lasagna with the tomato sauce and cheese.

Different but just as good, if not better.

Cost Breakdown:
noodles: $3
ground soy: $5
carrot, onion, garlic, herb: $2
cashews: $3
wine and stock: $1
Parma!: $1
Total to make 10 servings:
$15.00

Wednesday Lunch - Quick Cassoulet (August 11)

What makes a cassoulet a cassoulet? White beans. The rest is preference. Tomato sauce, sausage, duck - or any animal - carrots, etc. Traditionally cassoulets take hours to bake, but it is summer time and there is no room in this house for hours of heat!

I used some Tofurkey for my cassoulet, but had I seen the zucchini lurking in the back of the crisper drawer, it would have usurped the sausage for sure. Other vegetables, especially harder ones like winter squash, turnip, parsnip, cabbage or cauliflower would also have been a fine addition in lieu of the soy.

I topped the cassoulet with breadcrumbs sauteed in a pan with garlic, spring onions and parsley.

It was ready fast and tasted lovely. In the winter I will make a true cassoulet, but for today the Summer Cassoulet was just right.

Cost Breakdown

beans: $4
carrot, onion, garlic: $2
tomatoes: $3
panko: $1
Total to feed a family of 5:
$10.00

 

Tuesday Dinner - Kung Pao Tofu (August 10)

Asian Night

Kung Pao Tofu was Mikel's favorite dish from Whole Foods when we veganized. At about $10 a container it was something we had to make at home.

Whole Foods did this really neat thing - they put the ingredients on the label. All I had to do was figure out the how much and how to cook it. Easy enough since Kung Pao Tofu is tofu with a sauce and peanuts.

They used brown rice syrup for the sweetener and brown rice vinegar for the acid. Please note that this is an Americanized version of Kung Pao, which originally is not so very sweet; there is a hint of sweetness but it is the vinegar that is the accented flavor in the sauce.

I wrapped my tofu to extract the water and make it absorb the homemade teriyaki sauce as well as hold together when I saute it on my enameled griddle. I love this griddle because tofu does not stick to it - like a nonstick, but safer.

This meal is a great rendition of Kung Pao, even if it is the American version.

Cost Breakdown:
tofu: $4
rice syrup: $1.50
vinegar, tamari, spices: $2
peppers, garlic, scallions: $3
rice: $1
peanuts: $1
Total to feed a family of 5:
$12.50

Kung Pao Tofu Recipe

Tuesday Lunch - Taquitos (Mikel) (August 10)

The first on Mikel's cooking list is Taquitos.

Taquitos are too easy to make! No frying need be involved, just a tortilla and some good filling.

The filling can be beans, grains, vegetables, seitan or soy products - soy curls, tofu, TVP. You should have a nice thick sauce to bring the filling together, roll up the tortillas, place them fold down on a sprayed baking tray, sprinkle with a little olive oil and bake until crisp, about 15-20 minutes on 375.

Mikel made soy curls for his taquitos. He soaked the curls in Bryanna's Vegetable stock (about 1 c curls to 1 1/2 c stock). After draining the curls, he sauteed them with onions, garlic and pepper. He made sure the curls had a bit of color on them - important for flavor.

For the sauce he ground 1/4 c of cashews with the remaining stock he used to soak the curls and blended them well, making a cashew-stock milk. Even if you do not use the curls, blend some veg stock (about 2/3 c) with 1/4 c cashews to get the milk. Remember that nut milk (fresh) thickens when heated.

He added this milk to the pan, heated it until thickened and rolled up the filling in his warmed (to make them pliable) tortillas.

We devoured them - barely managing to save David some for his lunch tomorrow.

I am still on my chipotle kick so, I minced a few peppers and added them to a diced avocado with a squirt of lime. Goo-ood!

Cost Breakdown:
soy curls: $2.50
tortillas: $4
cashew and stock: $1.50
avocado and chipotle: $2
Total to make 10 taquitos:
$7.00

(plus $2 for the avocado)

Monday Lunch - Incrediburger with Chipotle Cream and Shaved Cucumber (August 9)

I had these Incrediburgers in the freezer since July and needed something quick to make for lunch. These came out of the freezer, went into the toasted oven, got a little splash of olive oil and tasted fantastic.

This proves that Incrediburgers are great frozen - so go and make yourself a batch to have when you crave a burger.

In case you don't know, Incrediburgers are out of American Vegan Kitchen by Tamsin Noyes.

I made a Chipotle Cream sauce for my burgers using the peppers in adobo - again, I freeze what I don't use of the can to have when I want it - and Better Than Cream Cheese. I seasoned it, sprinkled some cilantro into it and slathered my Incrediburger with it. To keep the party cool, I added some seasoned shaved cucumbers.

They are in a pita because... you guessed it, I had some pita frozen.

You'd think I haven't been to the grocers yet this week!

Cost Breakdown
burgers: $3
cucumber: $1 (sale!)
chipotle: $.50
pita: $2
cilantro and cream cheese: $2
Total to make 5 burgers:
$8.50

Sunday Dinner - Peppers Stuffed with Herbed Jasmine Rice (August 8)

Family Favorite

What a lovely meal!

As soon as I saw purple jasmine rice at Whole Foods, I knew it was time to make a stuffed pepper. I bought some gorgeous medium-sized red, orange and yellow peppers to stuff and my CSA  and herb garden provided the tarragon, parsley, basil and chives.

I cooked the rice with a little red lentils and before I stuffed them into the peppers I cooked them almost like a risotto - adding liquid in three stages until the rice was al dente. I then added 2 cups of fresh herbs.

After the peppers were stuffed, I added a 1/4 c of tomato sauce to each pepper and baked them for 1 hour.

Absolutely delicious.

Cost Breakdown:

peppers: $12.00

rice: $1.50

red lentils: $.50

herbs: $3

tomato sauce: $2

Total to make 8 peppers:

$19.00

Sunday Lunch - Sofrito Crusted Corn on the Cob over Red Couscous (August 8)

I made this light lunch today of Corn on the Cob and Couscous. I slow cooked onions, garlic and parsley and coated the corn with it. I let it marinade while I cooked the beets and peppers for the couscous.

I roasted fresh peppers and boiled small beets. I made the couscous using tomato juice for the liquid, added the veggies and sprinkled the done couscous with roasted slivered almonds. The almonds gave the couscous such a wonderful taste and crunch. Really excellent.

Grilling corn is imperative summer food. If you haven't had grilled corn, yet, you a depriving yourself.

Very tasty and colorful lunch. We were very pleased with the flavors and textures.

Cost Breakdown:

corn $2

couscous: $.50

beets: $2

peppers" $2

almonds: $1

parsley, onion, garlic: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$9.50