Vegan Month of Food, Day 19: Potato-Rosemary Lasagna

Seriously, people? Pasta, potatoes, and white sauce? INSTANT COMFORT FOOD.

But it’s also got some good nutrition for you, with the beans, onions, and kale.

First, prep your mashed potatoes.
9 c diced potatoes, cooked until tender and drained
2 T vegan margarine or oil of choice
1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 c unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp salt

Use a masher or handmixer to blend together.

Then prep your veggies:
1 3/4 c red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 sprig rosemary, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c bell peppers
2 T oil
2 c finely chopped kale or other leafy greens, packed

Sauté all but the greens until tender; add greens and stir until wilted, then remove from heat.

And finally, combine:
6 c garbanzo, lima, or white beans of choice, not thoroughly drained (I used limas the first try, garbanzos the second. I liked garbanzos better.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c white sauce

You also need:
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Now layer it! Thusly:

3 lasagna noodles

Roughly 1/3 of the beans and liquid

Roughly 1/3 the veggies

A few blops of potatoes, scattered

Repeat twice, then completely cover top with a hefty layer of potatoes.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

To be perfectly honest, this was a LOT of work. It was good, but I’m not sure it was good enough to spend a couple hours to prepare. Granted, I was running to and from the garden to pick stuff for it, and I was baking bread at the same time I was trying to make it, but it just still seemed labour-intensive.

Vegan Month of Food, Day 14: Shepherd’s Pie

So, I’ve already posted a shepherd’s pie recipe that is more, oh, traditional. But since I twisted around tater-tot casserole yesterday, I decided to switch around shepherd’s pie today.

Chop up 8 potatoes, which should come to about 8 cups. Leave skins on. Cook them until tender and then mash them with:
2 T margarine
Unsweetened soy milk to reach desired consistency
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black salt (optional; I grew up putting an egg in my shepherd’s pie topping and I like the extra depth of flavour there)

In a 13×9, combine:
3 cups cooked bulgur beef or beef sub of choice
1 c chopped red onion
4 cups frozen green beans
2 c frozen peas
1 c chopped fresh tomato
1 1/2 T fresh dill
1 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 1/4 c white sauce

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. You could drizzle cheeze sauce or sprinkle Daiya on top if you want. I just baked mine plain.

Vegan Month of Food, Day 13: ‘Mater-Tater-Tot Casserole

Usually tater tot casseroles are cream-of-mushroomy and homey. I decided to give tater tot casserole a brand new face. The results were a little strange to me, not because it didn’t taste good, but just because it was so alien to not have creamy sauce with tater tots.

In a 13×9, stir together:
2 1/2 c frozen corn
2 c frozen green beans
3 1/2 c chopped tomatoes
2 c tomato sauce

In a saucepan, combine:
3/4 lb ground beef sub (I used bulgur beef)
1 small red onion (1/2-3/4 c)
3 cloves garlic
Dash of oil
1tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

Stir all together and top with tater tots. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

Vegan Month of Food, Day 9: Cabbage Soup and Dumplings Casserole

So, I really, really, REALLY like Isa’s Chickpea Rice Soup with Cabbage. It’s one of my favourite soups. It’s warm, comforting, simple, and delicious.

I also really like the recipe for Savoury Seitan Pie that I did for last year’s MoFo.

So, this recipe is what happens when you combine the best of both Isa’s soup and my savoury pie. It’s like a potpie on steroids. So filling. So homey.

Spray a 13×9 pan and heat oven to 450.

In a soup pot, mix together:
1 c chopped red onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp dry thyme powder
1 tsp salt
1 c cooked rice
1 1/2 c sliced carrots
1/2 lb shredded cabbage (roughly)
3 c garbanzo beans, cooked or from a can
2 T fresh dill
1 1/4 c white sauce
1 T nutritional yeast

Leave on low heat, covered, to heat through while you prepare the biscuits.

This is the filling waiting for the biscuits to go on. Mmmm.

Biscuit topping:
2/3 c vegan margarine
2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c white flour
2 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 c non-dairy milk, preferably unsweetened

Combine flours, baking powder, salt, and herbs. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until soft dough forms. It will be sticky.

Pour warmed cabbage soup mixture into 13×9 pan, and then drop biscuit dough in blobs over the top, spreading to cover. It’s okay if it doesn’t completely cover the cabbage mixture.

Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes.

Bonus picture of GooGoo raiding the bread bag while our lunch cools a bit on the table.

Vegan Month of Food, Day 4: Mexican Lasagna

Lasagna is always an obvious (to me) layered dish, but while I’ve heard of using tortillas instead of noodles, I’ve never actually made such a lasagna myself. So this was a fun experiment.

I’m not sure if Oregon just gets lousy peppers, but I tested this recipe twice and once I used a serrano and once a jalapeno, and both times they might as well have been a bell pepper. Even the seeds weren’t hot, according to Mr Pine Nut. You could really use any type of pepper depending on the level of heat you like. If, of course, the pepper is actually peppery.

I liked the way Mr Pine Nut’s serving fanned out a little, showing off the different layers. This was the less-saucy, Take 1 of this recipe.

Heat oven to 350.

In a skillet, sautee together:
3-6 cloves garlic, sliced or roughly chopped
1 packed cup green onions, sliced
1 T oil
1 T taco seasoning
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 c mixed greens, packed (I used dino+Russian kale and collards)
2 cups frozen corn

Once greens are slightly wilted, turn off heat and set aside.

In a saucepan combine:
1 1/2 c tomatillos (about 3), roughly chopped
4 c cooked black beans
1 c tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp oil
1 T taco seasoning
1 c tomato sauce (optional; use if you want a saucier lasagna. I preferred the not-as-saucy first test run.)

Bring to a simmer and cook until tomatoes and tomatillos are soft but not mushy.

To assemble, spray the bottom of 13×9 pan. Layer 6 corn tortillas, then spoon half the bean mixture, spreading evenly, then half the kale mixture, spreading evenly. Add a layer of 6 more corn tortillas.

Repeat, topping with 6 tortillas to finish. I grated some Daiya jalapeno-garlic havarti (you could also do a nut-based cheeze sauce if you wanted to) and drizzled 3 T lime juice over the top, then covered with a cookie sheet and baked for 25 minutes, then uncovered and baked another 5 minutes or so.

Tomorrow: Almond Joy Cake!

Vegan MoFo #16: Chickpea-Rice Casserole

Cat and casserole.

This recipe was originally Chicken-Rice Casserole, found on page 88 of the 1978 Betty Crocker cookbook.yyyyyyyyyyyt<—that was the cat.

1/4 c vegan margarine
1/3 c white flour
1 tsp salt
1 c chickenlike broth
1 1/2 c unsweetened nondairy milk (I used just water)
1 1/2 c cooked brown or wild rice (I used 1 c brown, 1/2 c white)
2 c or 1 can garbanzos
1/3 c chopped green pepper
2 T pimento
1/4 c sliced or slivered almonds

Melt margarine in 2-quart saucepan. Whisk in flour and salt. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in milk and broth a little at a time until smooth. Return to heat. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Mix remaining ingredients in an ungreased 2-quart casserole or 8×8″ pan. Pour broth mixture on top and stir together. Cook uncovered at 350 until bubbly, 40-45 minutes. Garnish with parsley if desired.

GooGoo wanted me to take a picture of her casserole, on this stool, in her acorn bowl. She was very particular about these points. Here is the picture in all its glory.

Vegan MoFo #14: Bulgur-Bean Bake

This was brilliant, gleaming, and beautiful as I stirred it up in the pan, and I was in love with the sight of it. Then Mr Pine Nut walked by and said, “That’s really pretty.” Then he added, “It looks gassy.”

Ha ha.

I have always loooooved lima beans. Not dried ones, not canned ones, but frozen ones. OMNOMNOM FROZEN LIMA BEANS. Well, frozen lima beans COOKED, that is. Anyway. Therefore this recipe looked really yummy to me.

In the end, though, it left me a little cold. Partly because the celery hadn’t been sauteed quite enough to suit my celerycrunchphobia, but mostly it just seemed not that spectacular. It was good enough that I’ll eat the rest of the pan, but I don’t know that I’ll make it again. BUT! If you want to try it, here’s the recipe.

This recipe was originally “Hamburger-Bean Bake”, found on page 33 of the 1978 Betty Crocker cookbook.

1 1/2 lb bulgur “beef” (about 2 cups’ worth; see the note for plain “beef” in this post)
1 1/2 c finely chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1 tsp beaf or other beef-like seasoning
1/3 c boiling water
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 c tomato sauce
1 T lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb frozen limas
1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained
2 T vegan bacon bits

Cook and stir burger, onions, and celery together until onions are tender.

Dissolve beeflike seasoning in boiling water. Add with garlic, tomato sauce, lemon juice, salt, and beans into burger mixture.

Pour into 8×8″ pan or 2-quart casserole. Cover and cook at 375 until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle fakey bacon on top to serve.

Vegan MoFo #1: Savoury Seitan Pie

It’s an absolutely gorgeous day outside today at our house. It started off being pretty cold, but it’s pleasant out now, and GooGoo and Mr Pine Nut are out doing things like grinding up food refuse to feed the garden while I have a lot of other things going. Today I made homemade laundry soap, the powdered kind, because I needed it immediately and didn’t have time to wait for the liquid kind to gel overnight. I had an astonishingly small amount of laundry today – only two loads!

And then after I got the laundry going, it was time to make tasty MoFo food. GooGoo wanted to help.

GooGoo the helper

Savoury Seitan Pie fresh out of the oven

This recipe was originally “Savoury Beef Pie”, found on page 14 of the 1978 Betty Crocker cookbook.

1/4 – 1/2 c chopped onion
2 T chopped green pepper
2 T oil
2 cups beefy seitan (I used my mother-in-law’s gluten steak recipe, chopped it into cubes and stirred up with 1 T of Bill’s Best Beaf seasoning)
10 oz frozen mixed veggies
1 c “beef” gravy of your choice (here’s the gravy recipe I used)
1/4 c water

Cook and stir onion and green pepper in oil until tender with seitan chunks. Add veggies, gravy, and water; heat until hot (about 5 minutes).

Preheat your oven to 450 and pour the above mixture into ungreased 8×8″ or 12×7.5″ pan and set aside.

Prepare Sesame Drop Biscuits:

1/3 c vegan margarine
1 c white flour
3/4 c whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c non-dairy milk
2-4 T sesame seed

Combine flours, baking powder, and salt. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until soft dough forms (it will be sticky). Drop dough by 12 spoonsful onto casserole and sprinkle with sesame seed.

Bake uncovered at 450 for 15-20 minutes, until biscuits are light brown.

And then you eat it.

Mr Pine Nut and I were both very happy with the way this came out and it’s definitely one I’m going to be making again. I used just peas as my veggie, because I didn’t have mixed veggies on hand, but you could really use any kind of veggie. Corn and carrots would make for a vibrant pop of colour. You could even use chopped-up cabbage, so there are lots of variants you could try. It was really yummy. We decimated the entire pan here for lunch and GooGoo even ate some.