Vegan Miscellanies

Portabellas a la Normande

This dish, unfortunately, is not very photogenic. But it is a delicious treat.

Credit for this tasty, mushroomy dish goes to the people of Hezbollah Tofu. See their recipe here. I didn't have fresh shiitake  mushrooms, so I used the dehydrated ones I had on hand. I buy large bags of these dried mushrooms, sometimes called 'flower mushrooms', or 'black forest mushroom', at local Asian markets. As I learned today, they are all really shiitake.

As for the portobello mushrooms (apparently also spelled portabella), those I bought fresh at the grocery store. What I did not know -- I suspect many don't -- is that they are simply more mature crimini mushrooms.

Anyway, on to the dish itself. Though it doesn't look that great in the photo, this dish is quite delicious. The mushrooms and black pepper give this dish its hearty, meaty taste, while the coconut cream, golden cream sherry and apple add a delicious sweetness.

We served it over brown basmati rice, though Sara at Hezbollah Tofu says it goes well with bread and vegan cream cheese.

I did create a category for 'a la Normande' because I know (not from experience, mind you, as I come from a poor Mennonite family in Mexico not exposed to haute cuisine) that there are other dishes under that category that I'd like try in veganized form.

Homemade Pepperoni

Last week, while doing some research for this site, I came across Julie Hasson's cooking show site, Everyday Dish. While there, watching some of her shows, her recipe for Spicy Italian Vegetarian Sausages caught my attention. I'd been buying Yves and Tofurkey products, both slices and sausages, for quite some time for my work meals. Why not make my own, I thought.

I printed out the recipe and looked through my spices. I didn't have all the ingredients. So I got creative. I substituted durum atta for chickpea flour and Marmite yeast extract for Bill's Best Chik'Nish Seasoning (used only a teaspoon of Marmite for 2 tbsp Chik'Nish seasoning). It turned out wonderfully.

I put some diagonal slices through a few sausages, fried them a little, and took them to work. At work I sliced them up and gave two of my non-vegetarian coworkers a sausage each. They both loved it, asked further questions about it and requested the recipe. I directed them to Julie's site, of course.

Having so successfully made the spicy Italian sausages, I got to thinking about other types of sausages. I went online and, as difficult as it was for me to look at and read about all the meat sausages, learned a little about sausage making.

I decided, this time, to make a batch of vegan pepperoni. I found myself a recipe of spicy pepperoni at Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni, printed it and set out to combining the 'meat' of Julie's sausage recipe with the spices for Tammy's pepperoni. Since I didn't want to use aluminum foil for them, I decided to oil some cheesecloth and wrap them in those, twisting and tying the ends with twist ties before steaming.

Here's the recipe for my Spicy Vegan Pepperoni:

• 2 1/2 cups wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup durum atta flour
• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 2 tsp fennel seed
• 1 whole dried cayenne pepper, crushed (or a tsp chili flakes)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp sugar 
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp Marmite
• 2 1/2 cups cool water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, mix cool water, Marmite, olive oil, and soy sauce.
3. Add liquid ingredients to dry and whisk, using a fork, until just mixed. Do not kneed. If too dry, add cool water, a tablespoon at a time (I have not found it necessary to add any water).
4. Divide dough into four or five equal portions, depending upon how large you want the pepperoni to be, and scoop each portion into a piece of oiled cheesecloth. Wrap cheesecloth around it, snuggly, forming a log shape. Then twist ends firmly and secure with twist ties.
5. Steam for about 35-40 minutes. Pepperoni will firm up nicely after cooling, ready for slicing. Makes five 200g pepperonis.

These are quite spicy. Those less accustomed to spicy food may wish to skip or reduce the amount of chili flakes. If you wish, you can also use aluminum foil for wrapping, or damp muslin.

Here are some more pictures:

Enjoy!

"I Just Find it Bland": Reactions to Foods Considered Ethnic, Foreign, Other

Some time ago while traveling in the U.S., I stopped in a mid-sized Wisconsin town to grab a coffee and a bite to eat at a local coffee shop. Being vegan, I asked the server for a bagel with margarine and fresh vegetables, and a coffee with soy milk on the side. The server looked at me blankly and asked me to repeat the request.

"Could I have some soy milk for my coffee," I repeated. 

"I'm sorry, I've just never heard of such a request before," she said. "What's it like, soy milk in coffee?"

I told her that I quite liked it, but that some people, unused to the taste of soy, find the taste a little beany at first. She told me that she doesn't like trying new things, and that, in fact, she never eats anything she doesn't already know. How strange and boring, I thought, to spend your whole adult life eating only foods to which you had been introduced as a child.

I can't imagine spending my adult life within the narrow culinary confines of my childhood diet. There are so many wonderful things to try, so many ways in which to expand the palate, so many culinary traditions to discover, embrace and adapt. But I suppose, with food as with ideas and culture, many people find it frightening to wander outside the known. Yet food is often the most palatable aspect of culture, if you'll excuse the pun.

Anyway, for a few months now, working in a fairly small and quite homogeneous office environment, I've noticed people regard my eclectic lunches with considerable interest. Some have enjoyed sampling various vegan foods I've brought in--homemade spicy guacamole, hearty vegan potato salad, channa masala, aloo gobi, potato curry, Thai basil curry, hearty vegan chili, hummus, vegan adaptations of Mexican and Mennonite soups and stews, vegetable stir-fries, tofu and seitan (gluten or wheat-meat) sandwiches, etc. You get the picture.

Others , it seems, are interested only in the strangeness of my lunches, and don't care to partake. I don't mind, but I have found one commonality in these people's reactions quite interesting--at least three women, all thirty-something and white, have used a particular word to describe certain dishes. When people express interest in my food, the foodie that I am, I like to offer them a sample. One of them, to express that, or why, she does not like curries, says curries are bland. Curries bland? Maybe some watered-down British adaptations, but not the pungent, hot and spicy Thai and Indian curries I eat!

How could one possibly call Thai and Indian curries, Middle Eastern dips, and hot Mexican bean and vegetable dishes bland next to hot dogs, burgers, fries, onion rings, meat and potatoes with gravy and peas, or microwaveable frozen pasta entrees? Excuse me while I swallow some expletives!

An online medical dictionary defines 'bland diet' as "one that is free of irritating or stimulating foods". Hot Indian and Thai curries? Definitely stimulating! For many a Western palate even downright irritating. Health Square, a health and nutrition website, describes a 'bland diet' as "limited to foods that are soft, lightly spiced, and low in fiber," and prescribes it for people suffering from "ulcers, bowel problems, nausea, vomiting, or gas." Hummus? Soft, perhaps, but lightly spiced and low in fiber? Nope and nope.

So is saying some foods are bland just a new, less politically incorrect reaction to 'ethnic' or foreign food? Is it supposed to be a gentle, inoffensive way of declining foods one considers too strange, exotic, or foreign to try? I can't explain it any other way. If it's too strange, too foreign, too far outside of one's culinary comfort zone, call it 'bland'.

Originally Posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007