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 25, 2011

Vegan Fricassée de Poulet au Paprika

[Paprika Sauce]

...This is going to be a really quick post - I know - totally out of character for me...

...I did take all of the step by step pictures as usual...but there's really no reason to publish them all again...as they look just like the ones for the VEGAN FRICASSÉE DE POULET À L'ANCIENNE...

...I used tofu for the chicken again...just cut into cubes this time...

...So after the preliminary cooking - you just stir in a bunch of fresh smelling paprika...

...and then proceed with the sauce...Julia says that you can add more paprika after completing the sauce if it lacks colour...

...I didn't add any more paprika...I guess I thought mine was colourful enough...

...We just had this over rice - it was very good - sweet and creamy and very paprika-y - really...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for Butter
Vegan Cream for the Cream
Extra Firm Tofu for the Chicken
Vegan Chicken Bouillon for the Chicken Stock
Flax seed goo for the eggs

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 262

Friday, February 18, 2011

Vegan Fonds d'Artichauts à la Crème

[Vegan Creamed Artichoke Bottoms]

It's just the time of year when fresh artichokes start appearing in the grocery stores around here...I've documented the preliminary cooking of ARTICHAUTS AU NATUREL already...so we'll just begin after the quartering by making the cream sauce...


....I'm just using homemade soymilk mixed with a couple of tablespoons of powdered soymilk...this is just about my favorite cream substitution as most of the vegan creamers (even if they say unsweetened or plain) wind up being too sweet...

...add a little bit of white pepper...

...and a little bit of salt...

...some lemon juice...cook until reduced by half...

...Julia says to fold the artichoke hearts into the cream...but I just poured the cream over as my hearts were a little bit too tender and I didn't want them to get mushed up...

...that's it...a nice refreshing side dish...

...these were really tasty - they almost reminded me of an artichoke dip...very good stuff...

Substitutions:
Soymilk mixed with powdered soymilk for the cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 432

Friday, February 11, 2011

Vegan Sauce à la Crème

[Vegan Fresh Cream Sauce]


...we made a lovely cream sauce to accompany our Cauliflower...

...we used a pint of Wildwood Creamer...added some salt and white pepper...you just simmer to reduce by half...

...add some lemon juice...and whisk that in...

...then finally off heat stir in some Earth Balance...

...pour it into a gravy boat...

...and pour it over the hot cauliflower...

...it was definitely creamy...just a little bit too sweet for my taste - but that's probably the fault of the creamer I used - next time I'll use my homemade soy milk that doesn't have any sugar in it...

Substitutions:
Vegan Creamer for the cream - but next time I'll use soymilk...
Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 458-459

VEGAN CHOU-FLEUR BLANCHI

[Vegan Blanched Cauliflower - Preliminary Cooking]


...I love cauliflower...I really do...so I'm amazed that we don't have it all that often...but through the majority of the year fresh cauliflower is not available in the grocery store here...so when I found this in the organic section I snatched it up...

...cut off the green leaves at the bottom...but save those as you'll be reassembling the cauliflower later...

...cut into florets...

...drop into boiling water and bring back to the boil...

...Julia has you add a cup of milk to keep the cauliflower nice and white - I added almond milk...

...it's done when a knife pierces the stem easily but "with the merest suggestion of crunchiness at the core"...

...drain in a colander...

...Julia says that this step is 'not necessary, of course,'...'but it makes an attractive presentation'... - rearrange the florets in the shape of the cauliflower...

...put the cooked stems on top and invert it on a warm round bowl...

...pretty...n'est ce pas?...

...we served it with Sauce à la Crème...very good...

Substitutions: only almond milk for the milk

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 457-458

Monday, February 7, 2011

Vegan Soupe Gratinée des Trois Gourmandes

Vegan Onion Soupe Gratinéed de Luxe]

The weather has turned back very cold after our little reprieve over the weekend...and Scout asked for his favorite soup...French Onion Soup...

...this recipe - as Julia puts it is - 'a final fillip to the preceding onion soup'...

...mix some cornstarch with some clear flax seed goo...and add a little bit of vegan Worcestershire sauce...

...mix well...

...add some cognac...

...at this point you're supposed to ladle some hot soup into the egg mixture...but I didn't as there was no need to 'cook' the egg mixture...

...then you lift the crust and pour the mixture back into the soup...reach under the crust and stir gently to bland the mixture into the rest of the soup...

...None of us liked the soup this way as well as the regular Onion Soup Gratinéed with cheese...the cognac is a bit overpowering...and I prefer the Onion Soup without Worchestershire sauce as well...

Substitutions:
Clear flax seed goo for the egg
Earth Balance for Butter
Vegan Broth for broth
Daiya cheese for the Swiss Cheese
Vegan French bread
Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 45