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

Saturday, November 26, 2011

VEGAN CANETON RÔTI

[Roast Duckling]

...we had our little Thanksgiving celebration a little bit later because we celebrated the actual day with friends...

...I had the day off on Friday so after we got our tree up I decided we should celebrate with another Yuba duck recipe...

...I used the same procedure as before to make the yuba...and really once you have that done...it comes together pretty quickly...

...some of the instructions about the handling of the dead body are quite gruesome...

...first you place your vegan duck in a roasting pan...and sprinkle on the herbs and some salt and pepper...

...then you strew some vegetables around it...carrots and onions...donchajusluv the word 'strew'...how often do you get to use that word...

...pour on some brown stock...

...I used Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth...

...of course you don't have to worry about medium rare or any such thing...just roast until everything is heated through and the vegetables are done...

...then add the 'optional' port...I definitely recommend adding this...you cook off the alcohol and it just adds another layer of flavor...

...mash up the vegetables...

...and stir in some Earth Balance right before serving...

...taste and correct seasoning...

...pour into a gravy boat...

...and pour some over the roast...

...slice and serve...

...we had ours simply with some plain steamed rice...

...and fresh peas...

...this was so (SO VERY) good...tender and a little bit chewy...the sauce was delicious...as all of Julia's sauces are...we really enjoyed it...and if I could get ready made yuba...I might make it a little more often...

Substitutions:
Vegan Yuba Duck for the duckling
Vegan Brown Broth for the Stock
Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 274-275

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Vegan Carottes aux Fines Herbes

[Braised Carrots with Herbs]

...Wow...sorry to be away so long...just busy...

...but I pulled these carrots from my little garden back in September...

...brought them home and washed them up...

...and stored them in my fridge...

...I'm amazed at how long carrots keep...and they're just as fresh and sweet and crisp as when they were picked...

...still I'm going to be making some carrot dishes and use them all up soon...

...peel the carrots...of course...

...I turn the carrot about 1/4 turn after each cut to get pretty assymetrical shapes...but I'm sure they're just as pretty sliced...

...put them in a pot...with a little bit of sugar...

...some Earth Balance...

...here they are after they've cooked for about 30 minutes...I know that seems like a long time...they're certainly tender at this point...

...then boil off the remaining liquid...

...toss with the fresh parsley...and some more Earth Balance...

...pour into a hot vegetable dish...

...and serve...

...this is really just the VEGAN CAROTTES ÉTUVÉES AU BEURRE with the addition of some parsley...Julia says you can also add chives or chevril...but I don't like onion-y things with my carrots...so I only added parsley...

...the dish is quite nice and pretty and colourful...but I preferred the plain braised carrots...that may be because I only had Italian Parsley and it seemed a bit strong with the sweet and delicate carrots...

Substitutions: Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 477

Monday, October 31, 2011

Vegan Deglazing Sauce with Truffles


...another recipe without a French Title...these are just variations of VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BRUN...so start by browning some tofu in some Earth Balance and oil...

...then when that's done...chop up some truffles...

...Julia says to use canned truffles with their juices...

...add those to your wine and shallots from the Vegan Brown Deglazing Sauce with Wine recipe...

...I added the juice from the jar as well...then boil down until liquid is syrupy...

...and pour over your sautéed tofu suprêmes...

...the wine colours the shallots purple...so this is quite a colourful dish...

...I'm loving these easy variations on the basic sautéed suprêmes...so quick and tasty...

Substitutions: Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 271

Friday, October 28, 2011

VEGAN PETITS CHAUSSONS AU ROQUEFORT

[Pastry Turnovers with Roquefort Cheese]


...I certainly seem to be on a finger food kick here lately...Scout has a dance tonight and I made these little lovelies for the Man and I to snack on as we watched the movie 'Fargo'...funny we've lived in North Dakota for 6 1/2 years and we've never seen it...

...you'll need to make some tofu roquefort like the VEGAN AMUSE-GUEULE AU ROQUEFORT...or use another bleu cheese substitute...the other recipes for Roquefort snacks were so good that I want to try them again with some Sheese Blue Cheese...

...mash the 'cheese' with some Earth Balance...and add some flax seed goo for the egg...

...and some kirsch...

...beat in some vegan cream...but don't thin too much...

...it should remain a fairly thick paste...

...then make a VEGAN PÂTE BRISÉE...

...roll it out pretty thin...about 1/8 of an inch thick...cut it into 2 1/2 inch squares...

...put a teaspoon of Vegan Roquefort filling in the center of each square...

...seal the edges with a little bit of flax seed goo...

...then press the edges together...

...to form a little triangle...

...then press them again...making a design with the tines of a fork...

...place them on a baking sheet and brush tops with some more flax seed goo...then poke a small hole in the center of each triangle to vent...

...bake in the upper third of the oven for about 15 minutes until puffed and lightly browned...you can see that mine really puffed up and not all of my seams held...

...Julia says you can bake these and then reheat them right before serving...

...we ate several still warm...

...they were so good and crisp and crunchy with that cheesy soft filling in the middle...delicious...another perfect little pickup finger food...

Substitutions:
Substitutions from the VEGAN AMUSE-GUEULE AU ROQUEFORT,
and also from the VEGAN PÂTE BRISÉE...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 204-206