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Mmmm, Vegan Lasagna
I'm a fan of the vegan brownies and vegan banana nut chip muffin recipes in The Joy of Vegan Baking
, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. So when we found out that she had a new cookbook out, The Vegan Table
, I rushed right out to get a copy. (Okay, I ran to the computer and ordered it... but isn't that the same thing?)
The first recipe we tried was the less than successful Matzoh Ball Soup recipe I wrote about in my last post. But I know this author has some excellent recipes in her repertoire... so I begged Jane to make the Vegan Lasagna. She's got a few other things earmarked to try. But since she likes to "surprise" me, I couldn't tell you what she's got planned.
Back to the lasagna. YUM!!!! We've already had it twice, and we haven't had the cookbook for a month! We get three dinners out of this. We wound up using a slightly smaller pyrex dish, so Jane used a tad less pasta, but didn't cut down on the sauce and filling. We've found the first serving is a little wet. The second meal has the perfect level of moisture, and we tend to need a bit more sauce for our third dinner.
Having grown up in New York, on Sicilian-style Italian cooking... lasagna, ravioli, baked ziti, we tend to shy away from the veganized versions of these foods. Cheese is just something that doesn't usually work. But I can heartily recommend this recipe for even a cheese-loving omnivore.
Best Selling Vegan Products
In the past I've written about certain foods we haven't been able to successfully "veganize" -- no matter what other people might say. One of the things we'd pretty much given up on was a Vegan Matzoh Ball Soup, but then two things happened... 1) We picked up a copy of The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau; and 2) a reader sent us a recipe she'd developed that worked well for her. So we tried both.
Unfortunately, Goudreau's recipe completely fell apart. The matzoh balls looked more like gelatinous lumps, and I didn't care for the taste of the gelatinous lumps at all, so we won't be trying it again. But I have faith that there will be other recipes worth making. The cookbook looks divine!
The good news is Ellen A. from Connecticut''s recipe worked out well for us. We actually had matzoh balls that resembled matzoh balls. Jane thought the taste was a little off... but neither of us has had authentic Matzoh Ball soup in years, so who are we to judge. Also the matzoh balls were a little dense, so Jane will be using a bit of seltzer in her next batch. Anyway, below is Ellen's recipe verbatim. If you're still on the lookout for a vegan matzoh ball soup, I recommend giving this a try.
Start with a box of Streits' or Manischewitz matzo ball mix. For eggs - use egg replacer powder. The matzo ball box comes with two envelopes. For each envelope they ask for 2 eggs however this needs to be tripled....the equivalent egg replacer for 6 eggs per individual package. Whisk the mixture. Add the oil as directed. (do not increase amt. ) Whisk again.Then add the contents of one envelope of matzo ball mix. If the batter seems to be a bit loose, add 1-2 tablespoons of matzo meal. Combine well. Leave the bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Remove - roll into 12-15 balls. Reduce your large pot of boiling water to a simmer. Gently place balls in water and cover tightly. (there must be no rolling boil). Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool. Refrigerate. Reheat in the soup. (Jane used a vegan "chicken" soup powder she found at Whole Foods. It tasted surprizingly like Chicken Soup.)
By the way - my daughter Maribeth Abrams is the author of Tofu 1-2-3
, the book and the DVD. Her next book is out in a month - the 4 ingredient Vegan. both available at major book stores. We are always experimenting with new recipes.
Best Selling Vegan Products
In honor of Chanukah, and the first day of winter, Jane made the matzoh ball soup recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance
. This is the second time she's made this recipe. The first time, the matzoh balls disintegrated. The recipe suggests refrigerating the matzoh ball mixture one hour to overnight. We were both excited about the soup and so, after the hour was up, Jane made the balls and then the soup. What we got was not-so ball soup, or rather a gelatinous mess at the bottom of the soup bowl. That was very disheartening as we both loved matzoh ball soup in our pre-vegan life. We'd been rather hopeful about this recipe since many people have expressed real enthusiasm over this recipe.
Fast forward to yesterday in the grocery store. Jane grabbed a box of matzoh meal. I asked what she was planning on making with it. She replied, "I think it's time to try the matzoh ball soup again." This time she used extra firm tofu and refrigerated the mixture over 24 hours. (We decided the previous failure was due to the 1 hour refrigeration.) As they were cooking the matzoh balls floated; they sank when we removed the lid from the stock pot... as expected. But even though the matzoh balls held together, we were both unimpressed with the taste.
Over time, I've learned there are just some things you can't veganize. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining... perhaps that would have been a complaint last year when I was trying to acclimate to my new way of eating. But over this last year and a half, Jane and I have discovered some really wonderful dishes we might never have tried otherwise. I'm just not sure we'll be trying to veganize matzoh ball soup any time in the near future.
Anyway, we wish a happy Chanukah to all of our readers who are celebrating tonight.
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RFDs Asparagus Soup
I've been going to the farmers market to get my produce ever since I moved to California. Over the years I've noticed a change in the "seasonality" of certain produce, notably strawberries and asparagus. They used to be available only in the spring. But not anymore. The local growers have figured out how to make these items available year round. Shockingly, the strawberries taste like strawberries, not fake looking strawberries with ae pale white interior that I used to get when I lived in New York.
This week, we picked up asparagus. We knew it would be a warm week, and Jane had it in mind to make us asparagus soup. She used the recipe from the Real Food Daily Cookbook
, instead of her usual vegan cream of asparagus soup recipe. I can't honestly say which I prefer. This soup is more complex than Jane's recipe, with many more spices, while hers is more true to the flavor of asparagus. I can say however, that the asparagus we had was very fibrous. In any event, the soup was wonderful. We rounded off our meal with the end of a loaf of potato bread and a gigantic salad.
Having grown up in New York, on Sicilian-style Italian cooking... lasagna, ravioli, baked ziti, we tend to shy away from the veganized versions of these foods. Cheese is just something that doesn't usually work. But I can heartily recommend this recipe for even a cheese-loving omnivore.
