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

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Vegan Oeufs à la Bourguignonne

[Vegan Eggs Poached in Red Wine]

...the Man was not going to be home for lunch...so I thought I'd make something I knew he wouldn't like anyway...hehehe...

...first, I made some vegan hard boiled eggs...

...and gathered my ingredients...

...made the broth - which consists of Red Wine - Julia suggests a fresh young one...some brown broth, parsley, thyme, garlic, onion, and pepper...and 'cracked' my vegan egg into the broth...such fun that is...

...I put my loose herbs in my tea ball, but left the bay leaf and the garlic loose in the pot...and let that simmer until the vegan 'egg' was properly pink - it was already cooked...I think if I make this again I may use some wine for the liquid in the egg white to get a more uniform colour...and the vegan egg disintegrated a bit...but I think it makes it look more like a poached egg anyway...

...Julia only says to remove the parsley and bay leaf...but I strained my broth...

...made a roux and then added the strained broth to make the sauce...it smelled wonderful...

...Julia says to place an 'egg' on each canapé...

...I made two little flower shaped canapés as I generally like more 'toast' with my 'eggs'...HA!...

...pour over the sauce...

...and serve...just a green salad and a glass of tea make an elegant little lunch...

...slicing into the smooth 'egg' and the crunchy canapé is fun...

...and the elegant and rich sauce is delicious...

Substitutions:
Vegan Egg
Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth for the broth
Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 121

Saturday, April 7, 2012

VEGAN GIGOT EN CHEVREUIL

[Vegan Leg of Lamb or Mutton Marinated in Red Wine]

...with the Seder Meal coming up at Church...I needed some Vegan Lamb...

...so I decided to go the seitan route...I mixed up a pretty basic seitan using:

dry:
1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup soy flour
1 Tbsp vegan beef flavored bouillon
1/4 tsp garlic powder

liquid
1 cup red wine
1 1/2 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 tsp tamari

...nothing really special there...but that's the 'lamb'...

...I divided it into two Gigots...

...the real genius of this recipe is Julia's Marinade cuite...
[Cooked Wine Marinade]

...you cook some vegetables - carrots, onions, celery, with some garlic in some oil

...then you add some peppercorns, parsley, and rosemary...and juniper berries if availble...

...in Julia's recipe this is just a cooked marinade...but I used it for the cooking liquid for the seitan...

...this is the perfect little vegan lamb that we took to the Church for the Vegan Seder...

...the next day...we cut up the other roast...

...and skewered it with some peppers and onions...and grilled it up...

...we served it with a nice Shiraz, some homemade bread, a wedge of iceberg lettuce, and rice...

...it was a colourful and delicious plate...

...the lamb chunks held up well on the grill...

...and had just the right texture...toothsome...I believe the foodies say...

...it was delicious...and really pretty simple...I'll definitely be making with vegan lamb seitan again...

Substitutions: Vegan Lamb Seitan for the lamb

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 341-342