This recipe was tasty, but definitely a bit of a disaster for me. I haven’t really fried anything (other than pan frying in a tiny bit of oil), and I was unaware of how difficult it is to fry food. Little chunks of the croquettes would fall off and burn up in the oil. I think these croquettes would taste great fried or baked, and I thought they were delicious served on a sandwich.

La ricetta in Italiano…

Crocchetti di ceci e “manzo”

Ingredienti:

2 tazze ceci lessati
1 tazza TVP più 1/4 tazza salsa di soia (o tamari) più 3/4 tazza acqua bollente
1 fetta di pane
1/4 tazza lievito alimentare
1 cucchiaino prezzemolo
1 cucchiaino aglio in polvere
1 ouovo falso
Pangrattato

Metodo:

• Bollite l’acqua e ammollate TVP con salsa di soia e acqua bollente.
• Ammollate il pane in poco acqua.
• Mischiate ogni ingrediente. Attenzione per acqua bollente!
• Mettete in frigo per 1 ora.
• Modellate poi il composto in piccoli cilindri e passeteli nel pangrattato.
• Friggeteli in abbondante olio a completa doratura.
• Scolateli su carta da cucina.

The recipe in English…

Croquettes with Chickpeas and “Beef”

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup TVP plus 1/4 cup soysauce (or tamari) plus 3/4 cup boiling water
1 slice of bread
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 egg replacer
Breadcrumbs

Method:

• Boil the water and mix with the TVP and soysauce.
• Soak the slice of bread with a little bit of water. (You can always squeeze out the excess.)
• Mix all of the ingredients, after letting the TVP cool down.
• Let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Form into small cylinders and coat with breadcrumbs.
• Fry in a thick layer of oil until cooked thoroughly.
• Dry off on paper towels.

I figure, if this site has been on hiatus for such a long time, I can at least compile some of the recipes I’ve been using lately.

• Slow cooker hawaiian meatballs – You’re asking, why am I posting a recipe that calls for ground up animal flesh?! I use frozen vegan meatballs instead, and this recipe is delicious. I put everything in the crock pot on low all day, and when I’m ready for dinner just make some rice to go with. I love crock pot meals and it’s finally the time of year to make ‘em.
• Mexican mac and cheeze – I may not follow this recipe exactly, but that’s the amazing thing about mac and cheeze is that it’s so versatile. I use my favorite cheeze sauce which is from Vegan Yum Yum.
• Pizza burgers – From The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet, omitting the sour cream which I personally don’t like and never have on hand anyway. These were great on toast with some melted sliced cheeze.
• Pepperjack cheeze – From The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions and for a party. I didn’t get it to be as slicably thick as portrayed in photos in the cookbook, but it made a delicious dip with crackers.

Check out previous Recipe Roundups: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve

In the meantime, this summer I have developed a couple of iPad / iPhone apps for those interested in joining the Wine Century Club, as well as hikers of the Adirondack 46 high peaks. Enjoy!

We had refried beans, made from dried pintos we soaked on Saturday and slow cooked over night. (Which is by far the best way to cook beans, it takes almost no effort.) Also included was salsa with tomatoes, red onion and lime juice. It made for delicious nachos.

Also on the menu was popcorn, which I can happily eat now that my braces are off. Served with nutritional yeast Jeff and I ate this so quickly if you blinked you wouldn’t have even seen it.

For SnackFest dessert were green tea cupcakes courtesy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I enjoyed the slightly bitter flavor imparted by the matcha powder. I had purchased a vacuum sealed thing of matcha powder probably two years ago now and finally got to use it.

Sweet Potato “Risotto”

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato (garnet “yam” is great)
2 Tbsp soymilk (or non-dairy milk of your choosing)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Cup white rice
2 Cups water
5-6 white mushrooms (optional) and 1 Tbsp olive oil for sauteeing
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)

Method:

• Heat oven to 400 oF, and cook the sweet potato for 45-50 minutes, until tender.
• 20 min before the sweet potato is finished, cook the rice (1 Cup rice + 2 Cups water) until tender.
• When the sweet potato has finished cooking, slice a line through the skin lengthwise to expose the inside. Peel back the skin (be careful not to burn your fingers!) and scoop out the flesh into a medium-sized bowl.
• To the potato, add the soymilk, nutritional yeast and olive oil. Mash together until smooth and creamy. Then stir in the cooked rice.
• As an optional addition, sautee some mushrooms in olive oil for about 5 minutes until tender and juicy. Stir in balsamic vinegar until the mushrooms are completely coated.
• Serve the mushrooms on top of the “risotto.”
• Enjoy!

This recipe features oven roasted tomatoes, which are absolutely incredible. If you find yourself with an excess of Roma tomatoes next summer, I highly recommend making them. Otherwise, feel free to use store bought sun dried tomatoes. If they are packed in oil, keep in mind you will probably have to add less water to the mix in order for the dough to have the same consistency.

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (you can use all-purpose flour instead if you want)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or a pinch each of any of the following: marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil)
1/2 tsp salt
1 package yeast (or equivalent amount of instant yeast)
1 1/4 cups lukewarm or hot water (if you are using instant yeast, lukewarm is fine, otherwise use hot water)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp roasted garlic
1/2 cup coarsely chopped oven roasted tomatoes

Method:

• Combine the flour, nutritional yeast, Italian seasoning, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Stir together, and add the water and oil, mixing until smooth. Mix in the chopped tomatoes and roasted garlic. Knead by hand or with a stand mixer using the dough hook until elastic.
• Let the dough rise in a greased bowl, covered, in a warm place, for about 30 minutes. Punch down. Shape into a greased loaf pan and let rise again for 30 minutes.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on the top of it.

Apple Sage Stuffed Squash

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 apple (golden delicious or other tart apple), diced
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
generous pinch of dried sage
1/2 loaf of stale bread, cubed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 oF.
• Saute onion and garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil until translucent.
• Add apple, raisins and sage to the skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the bread to soak up the savory oils and stir in pan to coat.
• Add the vegetable broth to the skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes until most of the broth is absorbed or cooked off.
• Rub the halved and seeded acorn squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, and pack the cavity with the stuffing.
• Place the squash on a baking sheet and loosely cover with foil.
• Bake the squash 30-40 minutes or until squash is tender (can easily be pierced with a fork.)
• Serve with your favorite vegan gravy.
• Enjoy!

This recipe is so easy that we don’t even have to make a bunch and freeze it because it takes almost no time to make it in the first place! And all it takes is a bowl, spoon, hands and a fork to prepare.

Instant Vegan Gnocchi

Ingredients:

1 cup instant potato flakes (if you can, buy organic)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp tapioca flour, Ener-G egg replacer, or dry egg replacer of your choice
1 cup water

Method:

• Prepare a medium-sized sauce pan with water over high heat to boil.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the potato flakes, all-purpose flour and tapioca flour (or dry egg replacer of your choice).
• Add the water, and stir to combine. At some point you will want to start kneading with your hands. Continue to knead until everything is mixed.
• Remove teaspoon sized pieces of dough and roll into little balls. Optionally roll the balls over the tines of a fork (or if you’re fancy, a gnocchi board) to obtain the trademark gnocchi ridges.
• Boil for 3-5 minutes until gnocchi is tender. They will float when they’re done. Drain the pasta in a colander and serve.

By the way, the ice cream in the photo was flavored with maple extract, and as a topping I poured on some peaches in rum sauce, recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Super Easy, No Cook Vegan Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cornstarch + 1/2 cup soymilk
1 tsp flavor extract of your choice (vanilla or maple make great picks)
3/4 cup sugar
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cup additional soymilk

Method:

• In small saucepan, thoroughly whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup soymilk until completely mixed. Add the extract. Heat on medium/low until just simmering and the soymilk begins to thicken.
• Transfer the cornstarch/soymilk mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the sugar until dissolved.
• Add the coconut milk and additional soymilk to the mixing bowl, and stir everything together until fully mixed. (You do not have to worry about only skimming the cream from the coconut milk, just dump in the whole can!)
• Put into your ice cream maker and make as per your model’s instructions. It may take a few extra minutes to fully form into ice cream due to the slightly warmer temperature of the mixture, plus the whole hot summer weather making indoors without A/C very hot. Don’t worry, it’ll be worth the extra few minutes!
• Enjoy!