VEGAN BOEUF À LA MODE

[Vegan Beef Braised in Red Wine]

...Julia describes this dish as a 'wonderful party dish'...and of course she uses one large piece of meat...and I chose to use TVP strips instead of a large seitan roast this time...

...you marinate the TVP strips with aromatic vegetables, herbs, cloves, bay leaf, halved garlic cloves...

...and red wine...of course...Julia says to make it a young one...

...then when you're ready to cook...drain the marinade...and add a few cups of stock...I used G. Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth...and I omitted the other ways Julia says to add body to the sauce...

...while the braising is in process...Julia says to cook some carrots and onions and set them aside...

...remove the bay leaf and the halved garlic cloves after the braising is complete...

...we served ours with some parslied turnips (Vegan Navets Persillés), mashed potatoes, peas and cornbread...

...garnished with the carrots and onions...the Vegan Beef Braised in Red Wine was delicious...

Substitutions:

Beef Flavored TVP Chunks for the Beef
G. Washington's Rich Brown Broth for the Broth

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 309-312

Vegan Navets Persillés

[Parslied Turnips]

This recipe is just the VEGAN NAVETS À L'ÉTUVÉE...with the addition of some parsley...

...Julia says that yellow turnips or rutabagas as they are commonly called here...are almost unknown in France 'as food for humans'...I'm guessing that means they feed them to their animals...but she says you can use them interchangeably...

...Scout definitely prefers the sweet yellow turnips to the stronger flavored sometimes peppery purple and white variety...

...we just boiled the turnips (rutabagas) for a really long time until the water was almost completely evaporated...

...then added some more Earth Balance and a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 487

Egg Yolk and Cream Enrichment

[Sauce Parisienne - formerly Sauce Allemande]

...not sure why this title is in English...and the bracketed subtitle is in French...that's sort of backwards...

...we had this for breakfast...as a sort of tofu Benedict dish...it was delicious...

....Julia says there are many varieties of Sauce Parisienne...flavored with fish, onion or mushroom...

...but to get the sulfur-y flavor of egg yolks...I simply used some Kala Namak...the sulfur tasting black salt from the Himalayas...

...so first you make the VEGAN SAUCE BÉCHAMEL

...then just add the cream...I simply used homemade cashew cream...1 cup cashews and 4 cups water blended in the Vitamix until creamy and smooth...

...a little bit of lemon juice..

...the Kala Namak...(black salt)...not much...just an egg-y hint of flavor...

...some white pepper...

...then finish with a couple of tablespoons of Earth Balance...

...off heat...just before serving...

...we spooned it over some fried tofu...which we often sub for fried eggs...

...to make a sort of vegan version of Eggs Benedict...

...it was really good...

...Julia spends quite a bit of time explaining how to keep from curdling the eggs...and how to remedy any stringy bits in your sauce...but with the Kala Namak none of that is a problem...

Substitutions

Kala Namak (black salt) for the eggs
Earth Balance for the butter
Cashew Cream for the cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 60 - 61