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, April 28, 2015

Vegan Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme

[Vegan Casserole-roasted Chicken with Bacon, Onions, and Potatoes]

Julia says "This is an all-in-one dish where bacon and vegetables are cooked with the chicken and each item takes on a bit of flavor from its neighbors"...which is pretty much the definition of casserole cooking...
...the first step is to boil your bacon...so what am I doing with the Earth Balance in the casserole...
...just getting it ready for step #2...which is to sauté the vegan bacon after it's boiled...

...so melt some Earth Balance in your casserole dish...
...then boil your vegan bacon for a few minutes in water...I used some of the bacon I got from the SDA store in NC...but Bacos are easy to find and vegan...
...drain your vegan 'lardons'...
...then sauté the vegan bacon in the Earth Balance...
...I'm just using plain baked tofu as a sub for the roasting chicken...
...next step...boil some pearl onions...drain and set aside...
...boil some potatoes...making sure they're fairly uniform in size...sorry for the blurry pic...
...and sauté them in the casserole in a little bit of Earth Balance...Julia explains that this step is to evaporate their water and keep them from sticking to the casserole...
...then spread the potatoes aside...salt the tofu and place it in the center of the casserole...
...make an herb bouquet...which I did in my tea ball...
...and place it on top of the tofu...
...then put your onions and vegan bacon over the tofu-chicken, potatoes, and herb bouquet...
...Julia says to baste with a bulb baster using the butter from the casserole...I'm using some vegan broth instead...
...heat until sizzling...then cover - Julia says with aluminum foil...but I used my pretty glass lid...
...place it in the middle of the oven for an hour or so...basting once or twice...
...Julia says no sauce is necessary...
...this was really delicious...creamy and full of flavor...
...there are a lot of steps for this casserole...and I'm wondering if it would be (almost) as good if you just threw everything into the casserole at once...ahem...but that wouldn't be the Vegan Version of MtAoFC way now would it?...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for the butter
Baked tofu for the roasted chicken
Vegan Bacon for the bacon - Bacos are vegan
...and I also used some vegan broth for basting...but you can just use more Earth Balance...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 252-253

Thursday, April 23, 2015

VEGAN CÔTES DE PORC POÊLÉES

[Vegan Casserole-Sautéed Pork Chops]

...Julia says that 3 or 4 chops may be sautéed in a covered skillet...so that's the way that I did it...instead of a casserole in the oven...
...so I used these chops from the SDA store...
...this is what they look like right out of the can...
...Julia says to dry them well with paper towel...
...first brown them on both sides in the skillet...
...then add some butter - we used Earth Balance...
...the optional garlic - we did not use...
...add the chops back to the skillet...overlapping them slightly...
...you're supposed to baste them with the juices that they cooked in...which we didn't have...so we used the reserved liquid from the can...
...cover and cook 25 - 35 minutes...
...and they're done...
...remove them to a serving platter...
...and add a half cup or so of dry white wine...
...taste for seasoning and pour over the chops...
...we had ours with slaw...stuffing...and butternut squash...
...they were tender...moist...and very flavourful...delicious...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for the butter
Cedar Lake Chops for the pork


Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 385-387

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

VEGAN SALADES DE RIZ

[Rice Salads]

...not sure why it's plural...but maybe because of the individual servings on a bed of lettuce...

...anywhoo...we had some ham seitan left over from our Easter Feast that I wanted to use up...so I went looking for a recipe that would use that...
...and basically this is an assembly recipe...in that you just dice a bunch of things and put them into some cooked rice...
...to which you've added some 'good salad oil'...I used a light Olive oil...
...and some vinegar...I used a white wine vinegar...
...then you just add all your diced veggies and vegan ham to some VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR...to which you've added some chopped shallots including the green parts...but I didn't have any shallots...so I subbed some green chives...not quite the same I know...sorry...
...Julia specifies that the olives are to be quartered lengthwise...and that you stir everything together with a wooden spoon to avoid breaking the rice and making it sticky...so I did...not too sure it was necessary because the VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR really is the most perfect way to cook rice...it has never failed me (yet) and it's always perfectly fluffy and separate...
...all stirred together...it made a very pretty and colourful salad...
...Julia says to serve it on a bed of romaine...which I also didn't have...so I subbed the more tender red leaf lettuce that I did have...and I shaped the salad in a little plastic storage container...just to make it pretty...Julia says to mound the rice salad on top of the lettuce...
...and then you top that with some broccoli spears that you have "steamed and seasoned nicely beforehand with salt, pepper, lemon, and oil"...see...you really do have to read the ENTIRE recipe before you begin...or you won't have your broccoli ready when you need it...
...it made a lovely and delicious little salad...a perfect first course...

Substitutions:

...there aren't any subs from VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR...but you need to make that recipe first...
Vegan Ham for the ham in the recipe...I described the recipe I used here...but Tracey's blog, that I got it from, no longer exists...I have it copied in my notebook if you want it just let me know...

It's really strange but the recipe is not in the online version of Mastering the Art of French Cooking that I usually link to...but in mine it's on p. 532

...sorry I couldn't find an online version of the recipe...but it's a pretty straight forward assembly of ingredients...where the amounts don't have to be too exact...

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Vegan Petits Pots de Crème

[Cup Custards, Unmolded]

...then...for a delicious creamy dessert...we had custard...
...this is exactly the same recipe as the VEGAN CRÈME RENVERSÉE AU CARAMEL(pp. 610-611)

..you just mold it in pretty little cups...and set them in a pan of boiling water...and bake for 20 minutes or so...
...then to unmold...you put the little cups in hot water...
...leave them a couple of minutes...
...until the pudding (custard) will leave the sides of the cup...
...then turn the mold over and lift it off...to reveal the pretty little custard mold...
...the texture was perfect...
...just creamy and sweet and good...you can't go wrong with this dessert...

Substitutions:

...almond milk for the milk...
...flaxseed goo for the egg yolks and eggs...
...vegan sugar for the sugar...
...directions here for Un Moule Caramelisé...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 611