I'm always veganizing recipes that I love...so...I'm working my way
through all of the amazing recipes in Julia Child's
Mastering the Art of French Cooking...
...making a Vegan Version of each one...... sometimes successfully - sometimes not...Recipe Count 518/524 (from Julie's count)...but really 629

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

VEGAN COQUILLES ST. JACQUES À LA PROVENÇALE

[Scallops Gratinéed with Wine, Garlic, and Herbs]

...To finish up the Vegan Mo Fo with a bang - we decided to use up another can of the Vegi-Scallops that we brought back from NC...We had made another delicious version of Vegan Scallops a while back...

...and I must say that this recipe was just as good!...

...dust 'scallops' with salt pepper and flour...

...and allow to dry...

...get some butter (Earth Balance) very hot...

...and sauté the 'scallops' quickly in the hot 'butter'...

...until lightly browned...

...add the wine...

...some minced onions...

...and the herbs...

...boil until lightly thickened...

...butter some scallop shells...

...spoon on the 'scallops' and sprinkle with cheeze and dot with 'butter'...Julia says the recipe can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated...

...just before serving - run them under a broiler for 3-4 minutes to brown the cheeze lightly and warm them through...

...beautiful!...

...served with some rice and peas...

...so very good!...


Substitutions:
Earth Balance for Butter
Vegi-Scallops for scallops
Vegan Cheeze for the Cheese - I used Daiya Mozarella

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 218-219

Monday, November 29, 2010

VEGAN RÂPÉE MORVANDELLE

[Gratin of Shredded Potatoes with Ham and Eggs and Onions]


Well, I was going to do another omelette recipe for our Sunday Brunch for Lunch - but I found this one that sort of combines an omelette and a hashbrown - and we're still trying to use up our leftover Thanksgiving 'Ham' - so we tried that instead...delicious...

...first, chop up some onion...

...and dice some 'ham'...

...then you sauté the onion in some olive oil and Earth Balance until tender but not brown - I wonder how many times Julia says that...a lot...

...then you stir in the finely diced 'ham'...

...get out your herbs and garlic...

...and add that to your 'egg' mixture...

...add some vegan cream...

...stir it al up...

...until nicely blended...

...then add the 'ham' and onions...

...grate some potatoes...

...and squeeze out their water...

...I was amazed at how much water was in a couple of potatoes...

...add the potatoes to the 'egg' mixture...

...stir that all up...

...add some vegan cheese - I used Daiya mozarella, because that's what I had, but the recipe calls for Swiss cheese and one of the stronger flavored Sheese's might have been better - but it's hard to say because this was really, really good...

...Julia says to pat the mixture into a buttered casserole - but I used the same skillet that I had cooked the onions and ham in...

...bake until nicely browned - about 30-40 minutes...

...Julia says to serve straight from the casserole or skillet - but we inverted ours because it had such a pretty crust...

...and served it with some nice asparagus spears and a salad with pears and walnuts...

...it was so very good - crispy, and potato-y, and onion-y, and quiche-y all at the same time - good...really good...

...we all loved this and we'll definitely make it again...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for Butter
Vegan 'eggs' for the eggs
Vegan Ham for the ham
Vegan Creamer for the cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 153-154

Friday, November 26, 2010

VEGAN TRANCHES DE JAMBON EN PIPÉRADE

[Ham Slices Baked with Tomatoes, Onions, and Peppers]

...so, if you were wondering what to do with all that leftover 'ham' from Thanksgiving...you can transform it into an entirely different dish...

...you'll need some fairly thick slices of seitan ham - I used Tracy's recipe again - it's delicious...

...cook in a skillet for a couple of minutes until lightly browned and remove to a baking dish...

...lower heat and stir in some bell pepper and onions - cook about 5 minutes until tender but not browned...

...spread tomato pulp (I used diced tomatoes) over the peppers, onions and ham - add some garlic, pepper, cayenne, and thyme...

...bake about 20-30 minutes until bubbly and heated through...

...Julia suggests green beans and sautéed potatoes with this...

...and of course she's right - it was perfect...I've never had 'ham' with tomatoes and peppers before - it lightens the ham - Julia describes this recipe as interesting - relatively quick and simple to do...perfect for the day after Thanksgiving...

Substitutions:
Vegan Ham for ham

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 396-397

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

VEGAN FRICASSÉE DE POULET À L'ANCIENNE

[Old Fashioned Chicken Fricassee with Wine Flavored Cream Sauce, Onions and Mushrooms]


We made a fairly elaborate and time-consuming (and pot-dirtying) dinner last night - Julia says that this is a traditional Sunday dinner dish...but you know we uaually have omelettes on Sunday...

...you start with some butter (Earth Balance)...

...and some cut up 'chicken' we just used some extra firm tofu cut up...which you cook for a few minutes...

...then cover and cook for 10 minutes more...

...then you take the partially cooked pieces out...

...and roll them in a mixture of flour, white pepper and salt...

...then you put them back in the pan...

...cover again...

and cook until golden...

...then I added the carrots, celery, and onion...Julia has you sauté these first and then add the tofu...but that just seemed backwards to me...maybe you need to do that with real chicken...

...anyway, I sautéed those...

... and put the tofu back in...

...meanwhile, you make your pearl onions...

...you just make an herb bouquet and boil the onions in some vegan chicken stock with the bouquet...I used my little tea ball for the herb bouquet...

...and mushrooms for the garnish...

...it's a couple of whole recipes referenced in the main recipe here - which is fairly common with Julia...I'm going to count the onion recipe but not the mushroom because I sort of hodgepodged the real recipe as I only had canned mushrooms...

...next you add some vegan chicken stock...

...some wine and also the cooking liquid from the mushrooms and onions to the chicken pan...

...then mix some vegan cream with some flax seed goo...

...mix with a wire whisk...

...add some of the cooking liquid to the cream mixture...

...I did this step but I'm sure it isn't necessary with vegan eggs...

...add the cream mixture back to the pan...

...bring to a boil...

...and cook a few minutes until thickened - correct the seasoning adding salt, white pepper, drops of lemon juice and nutmeg...

...then get a clean casserole dish...

...and arrange the mushroom and onion garniture over the 'chicken'...

...and there you have it...

...with a roll and a side of what Scout still calls three/colour/veg we had a very nice (if late) meal...

...the sauce was superb - delicate with wine and herbs - the tofu/'chicken' was very chewy and tasty but not at all crunchy...

...definitely a success...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for Butter
Vegan Cream for the Cream
Extra Firm Tofu for the Chicken
Vegan Chicken Bouillon for the Chicken Stock
Flax seed goo for the eggs

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 258-261