VEGAN HARICOTS MANGE-TOUT À L'ÉTUVÉE

[Wax Beans Braised with Onions, Lettuce, and Cream]

...This recipe...although totally delicious...just isn't all that photogenic...

...start by buttering a casserole with Earth Balance...

...layer in your onions...

...then your wax beans on top...

...salt and pepper...

...an herb bouquet of parsley, bay leaf and thyme...Julia says tied up in cheesecloth...but of course I used my reusable tea ball for that...

...buried in the midst...Julia says...

...pour in the stock or broth ... I used veggie broth...

...distribute the lettuce over the beans...add some more slivers of Earth Balance...

...then Julia says to cover with a round of wax paper...I just used the casserole lid...and left it set slightly askew so that some steam could escape...

...baked the casserole about 45 minutes...regulating the heat so that the liquid simmers...

...removed the bouquet...

...I made my 'cream' by adding soy milk powder to soy milk until it was thick like cream...brought it to a boil...

...poured it into the casserole...

...and baked for about 30 more minutes...

...and there you have it...ready to serve...

Substitutions: Earth Balance for Butter
Soy milk and soy milk powder for the cream
Vegetable broth for the broth

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 448

VEGAN VEAU POÊLÉ

[Casserole Roasted Veal]

...so this was our Christmas Dinner!...and it was delicious...

...start with some Earth Balance...get it hot...

...add your seitan veal...I just used a mildly flavored seitan...I have detailed instructions here...I just added some beef flavored bouillon...and I must say that vegans probably shouldn't read Julia's descriptions of the meat she's cooking...which are just graphic and horribly sad to think about...

...anywhoo...brown the seitan on both sides...

...add some onion and carrots...

...and your herbs...Julia says tied up in cheesecloth...but y'all know that I prefer to use my reusuable tea ball for this purpose...

...you're supposed to wrap the seitan with bacon...mine is frozen here - I used Smart Bacon...

...Julia says that the roast (and vegetables) will produce about 1 cup of juice...I knew that my seitan wouldn't be producing any 'juice'...so I added about a cup of water...

...popped it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours...

...meanwhile...Julia usually gives suggestions for accompaniments...so I cut up some organic potatoes...

...and roasted them alongside the 'Veau'...

...and put everything on a pretty platter...

...while I made the gravy...

...Julia says to mash up the roasted vegetables in the 'juice'...I mashed up about half of the onions and carrots in my gravy...actually I ran it through the food processor so it'd be perfectly smooth...

...poured it in a gravy boat...

...and served it alongside the roast...

...we had VEGAN CAROTTES GLACÉES as well...

...all served on our Christmas plates...

...it was a perfect meal...the sauce really makes this dish special...savory and a little bit sweet from the onions and herbs...

...it was delicious...

Substitutions: Seitan for the Veau

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 353-354

Vegan Crème Chantilly

[Lightly Beaten Cream]

...Happy Thanksgiving...I realize this is pretty much an American Holiday...but I needed some 'whipped cream' to top my vegan Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving Dinner...

...so I gathered my implements...

...a big bowl of ice...

...and a chilled metal bowl...

...two cans of chilled full fat coconut milk...I don't think you can use the lowfat coconut milk here...

...just scoop the 'cream' off the top...there really wasn't much 'milk' in the can...it was mostly 'cream'...

...just put it all in your chilled bowl and start whipping with your balloon whisk...

...it will get really smooth and soft peaks will form when you lift the whip out of the 'cream'...

...then add some powdered sugar...I'd say just to taste...and Julia recommends 2 Tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar for a pint of cream...I also added a quick sprinkle of salt to mine...

...just fold the sugar in...

...until it's all incorporated...

...put a big ole dollop on your vegan pumpkin pie...

...this stuff is delicious!...and super simple to make...

Substitutions: Coconut cream for Whipping Cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 580 - 581

Vegan Mofo Wrap-up

...I didn't do nearly as well with the Vegan Mofo challenge as I have done in previous years...we had a lot going on in October this year...with the wedding week in NC...and then the big snowstorm and power outage...

...but it's always a lot of fun...

2012 Vegan Mofo Recipes:

VEGAN MOUSSAKA (pp. 349-350)
VEGAN JUS LIÉ (pp. 70-71)
VEGAN RATATOUILLE (pp. 503 - 504)
VEGAN QUICHE AU ROQUEFORT (p. 148)
Caramel (pp. 583-584)
Un Moule Caramelisé (pp. 584-585)
VEGAN FLAN DES ISLES (pp. 631-632)
Pulverized Macaroons (p. 583)
POIRES AU GRATIN (pp. 630-631)

...so here's to another great year of Vegan Food...

VEGAN POIRES AU GRATIN

...right after I got my Macaroons pulverized...

...I set about the Poires...I greased a dish (2 inches high) with Earth Balance...

...then I peeled...

...quartered and sliced the pears...

...and arranged them in the dish...

...mixed some apricot preserves with some white wine...

...and ran it through a sieve...over the pears...

...then sprinkled the Pulverized Macaroons on top...

...dotted with Earth Balance...

...and baked about 30 minutes...

...Julia says you can serve this hot, cold or warm...ours was warm...and it was very good...I nibbled on the cold leftovers and she's right it's good that way too...

Substitutions: Just Earth Balance for the butter...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 630-631