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

Friday, February 26, 2010

A French Lunch


The Man and I had Stuffed Eggplant for lunch - Scout was a school but I bet he would have loved this as much as we did...

Menu:

AUBERGINES FARCIES DUXELLES - [Eggplant Stuffed with Mushrooms]
Bryanna's Breast of Tofu
Concombres Persillés
and some steamed beet greens from the freezer

VEGAN AUBERGINES FARCIES DUXELLES

[Eggplant Stuffed with Mushrooms]


First you cut striations in the eggplant...

...salt and lay face down on a towel for 30 minutes or so...

...then place face up in a roasting pan with some water...

...place about 4 to 5 inches beneath broiler...

...make sure you leave the door ajar...

...broil until nice and brown on top....

...cook some mushrooms with butter and olive oil...

...chop up some onions...

...cook slowly without browning...

...make some white bread crumbs - you can buy them I know - but it's so easy just to make them - I just toast some white bread and whirl in the food processor...

...scoop the flesh out of the eggplants..

...chop it up...

...mix in a bowl with the onions and mushrooms...

...mix your herbs and cream cheese - I used Follow Your Heart Vegan Cream Cheese...

...stuff your eggplant shells with the mushroom/onion/eggplant mixture...

...top with bread crumbs...

...grate some vegan cheese - I used Sheese...

...then top with your cream cheese and herb mixture - and sprinkle on the Sheese...

...pop them back in the oven (again surrounded by water) to bake (not broil) for about 30 - 40 minutes...

...until nicely browned...

...it made such a lovely lunch...

...it was truly delicious! Like most of Julia's recipes - there are a lot of steps - but each one is quite simple and the results are awesome!

recipe link: here...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for butter
Sheese for the cheese
Follow Your Heart Vegan Cream Cheese for the cream cheese

Vegan Concombres Persillés

[Parslied Cucumbers]

This is just the baked in butter cucumbers (CONCOMBRES AU BEURRE) sprinkled with parsley...

Monday, February 22, 2010

Another excellent meal!




I'm finding that, like most things in life, if you commit a lot of time and effort to something, it will turn out well...

Menu

SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC
RISOTTO, PILAF, PILAU
POINTES D'ASPERGES AU BEURRE



I thought you might like a glimpse at all of the recipes I have marked for the next couple of weeks - one must plan ahead if one intends to have all of the necessary ingredients...

VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC

[Breast of Chicken with Cream] Once again a few extra steps are needed to make the 'meat'... ...another one of Tracy's recipes for the Compassionate Breast - once again you blend up your wet ingredients... ...Mix up your dry ingredients... ...then mix the two together... ...knead... ...let rest... ...cut into 6... ...shape into 'breasties' on oiled foil... ...wrap up in foil and bake at 250 for 2 hours... ...when they come out - they will be plump and golden and moist... ...brush with lemon juice... ...and roll in melted butter in a casserole... ...cover with buttered wax paper and pop it back in the oven while you make your sauce... ...which is just cream (I used a cup of soymilk with 2 Tablespoons of soymilk powder added) - a 1/4 cup of white wine and a little bit of lemon juice - some salt and white pepper... ...so pretty and so good! Julia suggests serving with a Traminer - We had this Gewürztraminer - delicious! asparagus in butter and risotto cooked in vegan chickn broth - so that's what we had... ..it was a delicious late Sunday lunch... ...the risotto was creamy and the asparagus was so good - both perfect accompaniments to the Chick'n... ...which was tender/moist/crispy perfection - with the slightly sweet/tangy white sauce! SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC - recipe link! Substitutions: Tracy's the Compassionate Breast for the chicken Earth Balance for butter Soymilk (homemade) with 2 Tablespoons of Soymilk powder (Better than Milk) for the cream

VEGAN RISOTTO, PILAF, PILAU

[Rissotto - Braised Rice]
...measure out your rice - I used an arborio rice - Julia says one cup rice to 2 cups water (or stock)...
...saute in a pan with some vegan butter - this cooks the rice flour on the grains and prevents sticking...
...I used vegan chicken bouillon for this recipe...
...just stir in your stock...
...transfer to a casserole - I must admit that this is the first time I've ever cooked rice in the oven - set on the lower third and the boil should be regulated so that the liquid is absorbed within 14-15 minutes...
...Do not touch the rice! - then after that amount of time check by pulling away the rice with the fork to make sure all of the liquid has been absorbed...

...and your Risotto is done...

RISOTTO, PILAF, PILAU - recipe link!

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for butter
Vegan Chicken Bouillon for the Chicken broth