Vegan Potage au Cresson

I special ordered a bunch of watercress from our green grocer and was thrilled when he called to say that they had come in. I had never bought watercress before - but I even called Mom about 'Creasy Greens' - they used to grow by the creekbank and my sister and I would cook them on our Susie Homemaker stove - Creasy Greens are related to the watercress and they have the same peppery flavor. Scout loved the little bundle and asked if we could 'grow' them - so we popped them in a dish and set them on the counter - I'll let you know how that turns out...

First you follow the directions for Potage Parmentier omitting the cream and butter until later - add a cup of packed greens (tops and tender stems)...

...simmer for 5 minutes...

...process with a food mill...

...garnish with a few watercress leaves boiled for 1/2 minute in water - rinsed and drained...

...This made a lovely 'green' soup for St. Patrick's Day - although Scout didn't like the flavor of the cress raw - he liked it in the soup...

Recipe link here.

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for butter
Soy Milk with 2 Tablespoons of Soy Milk Powder (Better than Milk) for cream

VEGAN CARBONNADES À LA FLAMANDE

[Vegan Beef and Onions Braised in Beer]

I much prefer cooking in the daytime as the photos are so much better...

...ah well...for supper we had CARBONNADES À LA FLAMANDE...

I had some beef flavored TVP chunks from my last visit to the SDA store in NC that I wanted to use up...

I got my onions cooking - in some Earth Balance instead of the rendered fat...

I added some boiling water to my 'vegan beef' - quicker and easier - but when I make this again - I'm going to make some heftier seitan chunks...

Cook the onions until lightly browned...

Remove from heat and stir in garlic, salt and pepper...

Arrange half the 'vegan beef' in the casserole...

Top with half the onions...

Then do it again...

Make up your herb bouquet - I used my tea infuser again - it works perfectly...

I stole one of the Man's Blue Moons - and added some vegan beef bouillon...

You're supposed to let it cook 2 1/2 hours - and if I had been using seitan I would have - but with the TVP - we only cooked it about an hour - at a simmer in the lower 1/3 of the oven...

Then you remove the herb bouquet and drain the liquid into a saucepan...
Julia and her pots - she doesn't care how many dishes you dirty up - she even says 'A pot saver is a self hampering cook. Use all the pans, bowls and equipment you need...'

Beat in some arrowroot powder and vinegar...

Simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened...

Serve with parslied potatoes and a salad - oh yeah - and a beer - I'm not much a beer drinker at all - but it did go well with this dish...

I think I'll definitely make this again...

Very very tasty!

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 317-318

VEGAN ARTICHAUTS AU NATUREL

[Whole Boiled Artichokes - Hot or Cold]

Would you believe that I've never eaten an artichoke? - I mean straight up - nor cooked one...

I've had them in dips and I think once on a creamy pizza - and I've had artichoke hearts in salad - so I'm familiar with the flavor - but I've never just cooked one and eaten it...

So here goes...

...they were 99¢ at the grocery - I thought that was probably a pretty good price - but I don't really know...

...Julia says to break off the stem - not sure why as later she has us trim it flat...
...and break off the little leaves about the base...

...then you trim the top...

...and all the little spikes on all the leaves...

...rub the cut edges with lemon juice and then submerge in some vinegar water...

...then drop them into a large kettle of boiling salted water...

...They're done when the leaves pull off easily and are tender when a knife is inserted in the bottom...

...I thought it was funny that Julia said the 'any Frenchman would look with disfavor on a bright green boiled artichoke, knowing that baking soda had been added to the water'...she says they should be olive green...

...we just served this as a first course - instead of salad - and we all had fun eating them...

...just served with some beurre fondu - i.e., melted Earth Balance...

...they were very tasty and I liked them just fine - except for the leftover bits - I sort of have an aversion for things that have been in people's mouths left lying on the plate...

recipe link: here...

Substitutions:
only Earth Balance for butter

Vegan Sauce à la Moutarde

[Mustard Sauce]

All you do to make the Sauce Bâtarde into the Sauce à la Moutarde is add some dijon mustard and some more butter...

...this was a perfect Sunday afteroon lunch...

I'm not sure I've ever had a mustard sauce on anything - this was very good...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for butter

VEGAN SAUCE BÂTARDE - SAUCE AU BEURRE

[Mock Hollandaise]
My goal was to have the Sauce à la Moutarde with the Filets de Poisson FILETS DE (Tofu) POISSON POCHÉS AU VIN BLANC - and so there were several steps - of course I had to make the Poisson again...

...then on to the sauce...

First I made some vegetable stock out of some veggie scraps I had saved in the freezer for just such an occasion...

...in this sauce the roux is uncooked - so you barely melt some vegan butter...

...then off heat - you blend the flour and butter with a rubber scraper...

...'til it forms a paste...

...then - still off-heat - you pour in all of your boiling liquid at once...

...stirring vigorously...

...my 'egg' mixture - just some soymilk - and some flax seed goo - to simulate the texture of egg - just boil some flax seeds in some water and strain - you get a very slippery goo...

...mix half of the hot liquid into the 'egg' mixture - probably not really necessary with vegan eggs - but we did it anyway...

...then put it all back together and heat to a boil - while stirring - until thickened...

Once that's thickened - you're done with the SAUCE BÂTARDE - and it's the base of several other sauces...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for butter
Flax seed goo for egg
Soymilk with powdered soymilk added for the cream