Vegan Caneton aux Pêches

[Roast Duck with Peaches]

...The last time I made Vegan Roast Duckling...VEGAN CANETON RÔTI...I used sheets of homemade Yuba for the duck...

...this time...I took the easy way out...and used a can of Vegetarian Roast Duck...or...Mun-Cha'iYa...way...way...easier...and it smelled pretty good straight out of the can...

...I had no idea what to expect...and we've had some funny (read - not-so-good) experiences with vegan meats...but although this one looked alarmingly realistic...a quick taste of the 'raw' product led us to believe that it was going to be ok to proceed...

...so we opened a small jar of peaches...

...added some lemon juice...

...some white port...

...and a little bit of sugar...

...then after the vegan duck had roasted in the oven...we added the juices and deglazed the pyrex dish we had roasted it in...

...then Julia tells us to proceed as in the previous recipe...

...I realize that I've not done the previous recipe yet...I guess you're supposed to go through the book in order...

...but at this point you're supposed to remove the fruit with a slotted spoon...

...and boil the juices down to thicken them slightly...

...then...you arrange your vegan duck and fruit in a serving dish...we just used the same one we roasted the vegan duck in...

...and pour the reduced juice over...

...and you're ready to serve...

...we had some of Julia's delicious Vegan Épinards Étuvés au Buerre ...and also some of her RIZ À LA VAPEUR...

...see what I mean by alarmingly realistic...

...but it was delicious...and the fruit and fairly sweet sauce were truly complimentary with the vegan duck...

Substitutions:

Mun-Cha'iYa/Vegetarian Roast Duck for the duck... Earth Balance for Butter


Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 279

VEGAN CLAFOUTI

[Cherry Flan] ...Julia describes this dish as 'peasant food'...and 'about as simple a dessert to make as you can imagine'...

...it is just a pancake batter poured over fruit in a fireproof dish and baked in the oven...so...so simple...

...there are several different variations (really just changing the fruit) of this recipe...I've already done the Vegan Clafouti aux Mûres...the Blackberry Flan...

...Julia doesn't really explain why she calls this a flan...I typically think of a flan as more like a pudding than a pancake...

...you can see the Blackberry version for more detail on the pancake batter...but basically you start with some cherries...and add some sugar...

...then you put a thin layer of your batter in a pyrex dish and heat it until it sets...

...then spoon over your fruit...

...and cover with more of the pancake batter...

...Julia says the clafouti is done when it is puffed and browned...and a knife inserted comes out clean...

...it's a perfect accompaniment to our afternoon tea...

...as far as texture goes...I think it falls somewhere between cake and pudding...and you serve it by sort of scooping it out...not slicing it like you would a cake...

...a pretty jumble of tasty fruit and fluffy cake...

...delicious...not too sweet...although Julia says you can serve it with powdered sugar...we did not...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for Butter
Soy Milk for milk
Flax Seed Goo for Eggs

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 655 - 656

VEGAN SAUCE RAGOÛT

[Flour-based Brown Sauce with Giblets]

...there are so many French sauces...that I though I'd make one to go with some simple seitan for dinner...

...some of Julia's sauces are very elaborate and difficult...but this one was not that bad...

...in her chapter on Sauces...Julia divides the sauces into sub categories of White and Brown...this, of course, is a brown sauce...

...you start with some vegetables...carrots and onions...I had some gren onions that needed to be used up ...so that's what I used...

...then for the giblets...I used some 'trimmings' from my TVP chunks from the SDA store...

...you just brown those with the veggies...in some oil and Earth Balance...

...I got too rushed and neglected a couple of photos here...but you take all that out of the oil...and then brown some flour in the oil...and then add some boiling vegan stock...I used G. Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth...so now we're caught up to the picture above...sorry...

...stir your veggies and vegan giblets back in...

...add some dry white wine....

...and a little bit of tomato paste...and an herb bouquet...since you'll be straining this in a bit...you could just throw the herbs in...but I used by trusty tea ball infuser...

...and then...you let it cook for a couple of hours...seriously...Julia says 2 to 4 hours...

...and then you strain it...

...you'll have a lot of the veggie/giblet mixture left over...

...and a perfectly smooth sauce...

...we served it over seitan...with some Grandma's Mashed...and peas...

...it was really delicious...although it was not difficult...it did have to cook a long time...so plan ahead...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for the Butter Beef flavored TVP for the giblets...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 69 - 70