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 551/524 (from Julie's count)...but really 629

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

VEGAN JAMBON BRAISÉ MORVANDELLE

[Vegan Ham Braised in Wine — Vegan Cream and Mushroom Sauce]

...Julia's recipe is for 16-20 people...yikes...I won't be making nearly that much...
...you start by slicing some onion...
...and some carrot....
...and sauté that in some vegan butter in the casserole dish...
...I added my herbs to my tea ball...parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme, and cloves...I used one...
...add your vegan ham to the casserole...and the white wine...
...add some vegan beef broth...and cook in the oven...
I put mine in the toaster oven on the back porch to avoid heating up the big oven..it's so hot here...
...when it's done...take it out of the casserole to a wire rack...and sprinkle with powdered sugar...
...then put it back in the oven for about 15 minutes...
...until lightly browned...
...then make the mushroom cream sauce...
...sauté until browned...
...degrease with some of the roasting liquid...
...mix flour and vegan butter into a paste...
...beat in the flour/butter and cream...
...we served ours with peas and crusty leftover Greek bread...
...peas go so well with a creamy musrhoom sauce...it was really good...

Substitutions:

Vegan Ham...I just made a quick ham patty using TVP and VWG...but if you're more ambitious than that...I often make Tracy's Version...but you'll have to go to the WayBackMachine to get that...
Vegan Beef Bouillon
Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Earth Balance...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 391-392)

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Vegan Homard aux Aromates

[Vegan Lobster Steamed in Wine with Herb Sauce]

...Julia says 'This is not a variation of lobster Thermidor...' funny...but it is a lot like it...
...we used Lobster Mushrooms soaked in a brine made with boiling water and Nori sheet...for a little bit more flavor of the sea...like we did for the Vegan Lobster Thermidor...
...chopped up some carrots, onions, and celery...the Aromates...
...then put those in a pot with the Lobster mushrooms...
...then you boil down the liquid...Julia says the carrots need not be removed...so I just left it all in there...
...then you blend together some flour and vegan butter...
...and stir that in off heat...
...bring it back to a simmer...
...then add the vegan cream by tablespoons...
...it should resemble a thick soup...
...we served it over toast...with a side of glazed carrots and spinach...
...it was pretty yummy...and I think it would be really good as a soup too...

Substitutions:
Nori and Lobster Mushrooms for the Lobster
Vegan Butter - we used Violife
almond milk for the cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 223

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Vegan Bifteck Sauté Béarnaise

[Vegan Pan-broiled Steak with Béarnaise Sauce] ...this was a super quick dinner...prepared while we were repainting the kitchen so sorry for the glaring light of the spotlight as all our kitchen lights were removed...
...sauté the vegan steak...we're using a pretty basic beef flavored seitan...
...then deglaze the pan with some vegan stock...or Julia says you can use a dry white wine or vermouth if you want...
...then boil that down to just a few tablespoons...
...make your vegan béarnaise sauce...and add the reduced stock back to it a few droplets at a time...
...it will colour it slightly brownish...
...then just pour it over your vegan bifteck...Julia says to serve with sautéed potatoes and watercress...but it's definitely a mashed potatoes and peas sort of meal for me...as it reminds me of Mom's cube steak meal when we were little...
...so that's what we had with it...
...it's definitely a delicious comforting home-y meal...

Substitutions:
...for the vegan bifteck we used the seitan from the VEGAN BIFTECK SAUTÉ AU BEURRE
Vegan beef stock - we used Washingtons Brown
almond milk for the béarnaise

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 295

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Vegan Pilaf de Mouton à la Catalane

[Vegan Lamb or Mutton Stew with Rice, Onions, and Tomatoes]

...Julia says to follow the recipe for Vegan Boeuf à la Catalane using vegan lamb...of course...
...so you start by boiling some lardons...I'm using vegan bacon bits...
...then you drain them and brown them...
...and remove them to a casserole...
...cut up your vegan lamb into 2 inch chunks...
...and brown in it some olive oil...
...when it's browned remove it to the casserole...
...sauté your onions...
...and when they're browned remove them to the casserole...
...then sauté the rice until it turns milky...
...remove it to a separate bowl...we'll add it to the casserole later...
...add some crushed garlic...
...thyme...
...and bay leaf...
...and a pinch of saffron to the casserole...
...then add the vegan beef stock...
...then into the oven to simmer for an hour...
...take it out of the oven...and add peeled seeded and chopped tomatoes...
...the par-cooked rice...
...and the rest of the vegan stock...
...then put it back into the oven...in a pan of boiling water for about a half hour...
...then the rice should be cooked...remove the bayleaf...
...add some vegan parmesan...
...and Julia says to 'delicately' fold that in...
...we served it with garlicky French bread...and a salad...
...and it was pretty delicious...I added more vegan parm...

Substitutions:
...for the vegan lamb we used the same recipe as for the VEGAN GIGOT EN CHEVREUIL
Vegan beef stock - we used Washingtons Brown
Vegan pamesan

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 348