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, August 29, 2013

VEGAN SALADE DE MOULES

[Mussels Marinated in Oil and Herbs]

...this is a lovely cool dish...perfect as a salad or as an hors d'oeuvre...

...you'll need the Mussels from the VEGAN MOULES À LA MARINIÈRE - I
...then you just make a marinade of olive oil, vermouth, lemon juice, and shallots or green onions...but I used chives, 'cause that's what I had on hand...and some parsley and pepper...
...then you marinate your vegan mussels for half and hour...
...we served ours on a bed of lettuce and they were delicious...
...then we used Julia's suggestion of adding mayonnaise...we used Vegenaise...
...just stir a half cup of Vegenaise into the drained vegan mussels...
...and we served ours on Vegan Canapés - Croutons...
...and they were quite delicious this way as well...

Substitutions: Vegan Mussels for the mussels - recipe here - VEGAN MOULES À LA MARINIÈRE - I
Vegenaise for the mayonnaise
and the substitutions for the Vegan Canapés - Croutons

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 229

Friday, August 16, 2013

VEGAN TARTE AUX ABRICOTS

...I've made the peach version of this recipe already...TARTE AUX PÊCHES
...and I did have 6 abricots...someone...(the Man) ate one before I got started...
...so this tarte begins the normal way...with a Vegan Pâte Brisée Sucrée...
...place the crust in a pretty pie plate and trim...I actually used my quiche dish with it's pretty fluted edge for this tarte...
...pre-baked...I used my springform pan on the bottom of the pie shell to make it lay flat with no bubbles...
...meanwhile prepare the apricots...dip them in boiling water for a couple of minutes...
...peel them...
...aren't they pretty...and juicy looking...
...halve them...and remove the pits...
...I think I'll have just enough to cover the crust...6 would have been better though...HA!...
...sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of sugar (I used beet sugar) on the bottom of the pre-baked crust...
...then arrange the fruit...
...see...six would have been perfect...but 5 is adequate...
...dot with Earth Balance...
...and bake until golden...
...make an apricot glaze...the Vegan Gelée d'Abricot
...and spoon it over the tarte...
...slice and serve...
...this was delicious...just perfect...defintely marking for a repeat performance...

...as often happens with Julia's recipes...you'll need a couple of other recipes to go along with this one...

Vegan Pâte Brisée Sucrée
Vegan Gelée d'Abricot

Substitutions: Earth Balance for the butter...this is a pretty vegan-friendly recipe...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 639 - 640

Friday, August 9, 2013

Vegan Aubergines à la Grecque

[Eggplant à la Grecque]

...the weather has turned steamy again...it's been a very mild summer...but now we're back to typical August weather...so this is a nice cool dish...

...and I thought it was funny that the English title is in French...
...just start with some eggplant...peel and cut into serving pieces and let stand for 20 minutes with some salt and lemon juice...
...drain, and add to the Court Bouillon...
...simmer for about 10 minutes...
...when it's done...remove the eggplant to a serving dish...and remove the herbs...
...then boil down the Court Bouillon...
...and pour it over the eggplant...
...so that was a really simple summertime recipe...

...the flavors work well together...very light and cool...

Substitutions: None...another of the rare Vegan recipes...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 539

Vegan Court Bouillon

[The Aromatic Broth]

...This recipe goes with the Master Recipe for LEGUMES À LA GRECQUE...

...Julia says that vegetables à la Grecque are a 'refreshing idea for any time of the year'...

...I put my herbs in a tea ball instead of cheesecloth...there's parsley, fennel, thyme, peppercorns, and coriander seeds in there...
...then add some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, shallots and celery stalk with leaves...
...then you just place all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes...easy...peasy...

...after the vegetables have simmered in this bouillon...you boil it down to make a sauce...

Substitutions: None...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 536-537