VEGAN CANNED ONIONS

[VEGAN CANNED ONIONS]

...this is one of Julia's rare English titled recipes...and she has this to say about these onions...All the brands of canned “small boiled onions” we have tried have tasted, to us, rather unpleasantly sweetish and overacidulated; they also need more cooking to make them tender. However they are so useful in an emergency that we offer the following treatment which improves them considerably....

...I got this $8.99 jar of cocktail onions at Amazon...as they had only a few ingredients...a couple of them being acidic...so I thought they'd be similar...

...the first thing you do is to rinse the onions...

...and then you boil them for a minute and drain them again...

...then I made vegan beef bouillon and an herb bouquet in my tea ball...thyme, parsley, and bay leaf...

...and vegan butter of course...

...put all of that back in the pot and cook for about 15 minutes or so until the onions are very tender...and the liquid is mostly evaporated...

...and that's it...a pretty simple recipe...

...and we served this spendy side dish with veggie burgers on buns and air fried potatoes...it was good like that...it complimented the veggie burgers well...mine onion had dijon mustard and lettuce on it...

Substitutions

vegan butter...and vegan bouillon...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 484)

Vegan Endives à la Grecque/Fenouil à la Grecque

[Endive à la Grecque/Fennel Endive à la Grecque]

...I was actually quite happy when I realized that this recipe included both fennel and endive as I was having such a hard time finding either of those ingredients...

...but I finally found some fennel...

...Julia says to quarter or halve the endives or fennel lengthwise, wash under cold, running water, then proceed with the recipe. Simmering time is 30 to 40 minutes...which seems a bit extreme...

...and like all of these LÉGUMES À LA GRECOUE...you need to make a Vegan Court Bouillon

...and I'm doing the simmering in the outdoor kitchen as it's very hot here again...

...but I finished the sauce inside...

...and poured it over the fennel...

...it makes an attactive side dish...and it does smell a little bit like licorice...

...we served it with baked tofu, rice, green beans from the garden, and a carrot salad...we were neither ones really fans of this dish...it does taste like licorice/anise and we don't care for that flavor...but it isn't sweet here...which helps some...and it's also cold...as I think a hot licorice/anise dish sould be stronger...so although we will definitely not be making this again...it wasn't horrible...

Substitutions: None...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
p. 539

Vegan Pommes de Terre Parisiennes/Pommes de Terre Sautées en Dés

[Vegan Potato Balls Sautéed in Butter/Diced Potatoes Sautéed in Butter]

...this is a variation of the [Potatoes Sautéed in Butter]...VEGAN POMMES DE TERRE SAUTÉES/POMMES DE TERRE POUR GARNITURE/POMMES DE TERRE CHÀTEAU...that we did years and years ago...I kindof thought it was funny that that recipe had 3 names and this one has 2...

...Julia says..."Use exactly the same system as that in the preceding recipe, but form the raw potatoes into balls with a potato-ball cutter, or cut them into 1/4 -inch dice"...

...of course I don't have a potato ball cutter...but I do have Grandma's Veg-O-Matic...which has discs for a 1/4 inch dice...so of course I used that...

...you need pretty specifically 1/16 inch of butter in the pan...(.158 cm)...

...then you just shake the pan every 2 minutes or so...the goal is to have the vegan butter very hot but not hot enough to discolour...

...cover...

...and continue to cook...

...until everything is nice and evenly golden...

...and we had it with tofu steak, Brussels sprouts and a salad...it was a nice side dish for that meal...

Substitutions

only vegan butter...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 528)

VEGAN CÉLERl-RAVE BRAISÉ

[Vegan Braised Celeriac — Celery Root]

...Julia says that Celeriac, a delicious winter vegetable, is not nearly as common in American markets as it should be...

...and based on how difficult it is to find...I definitely agree...

...since I wasn't thrilled with the raw version of celeriac...I'm happy to try a cooked version...

...you start by peeling the celeriac...

...which is not super easy to do...

...cut it into a 1/2 inch dice...

...drop it into a saucepan of boiling water...

...and cook for 5 minutes...

...mince some onions...

...and then cook the onions and bacon in a casserole without browning...I used vegan bacon bits...

...then arrange the celeriac in the casserole...

...and spread the onions and bacon on top...

...pour over some vegan bouillon...and bring to a simmer on the stovetop...

...then cover with buttered foil and bake for an hour...

...the celeriac is done when it is tender...

...we served it with beans and greens and cornbread...as I thought it was kind of like turnips...and I definitely prefer the cooked celeriac...still not my favorite food...and these are the only two recipes in MtAoFC...so I won't need to go searching for it again...

Substitutions:
Vegan Bouillon

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 492-493

Vegan Petits Oignons à la Crème

[Vegan Creamed Onions]

...Julia only tells you what to serve this side dish with... Serve creamed onions with roast veal, chicken, or turkey, chops, steaks, or hamburgers, sauteed veal, chicken, or liver.

...I couldn't find any cute little 'fresh' onions...but I did find a bag of frozen pearl onions at Suff Mart...so I'm going with that...(you can see a page of my spreadsheet in the corner...not many recipes are left ...and like this one they mostly require a special purchase)...

...first you braise the onions...for a long time...40-50 minutes...

...then you just need a VEGAN SAUCE BÉCHAMEL...

...then you just fold the cream sauce into the braised onions and simmer for a few minutes...correct seasoning...and off heat, fold in the vegan butter

...turn into a hot vegetable dish...and I must say that it's not the prettiest dish ever...

...we served it pretty simply with vegan meatloaf and green beans and some French bread...

...still not a very pretty side dish...

...but it really is so delicious...slightly sweet and definitely creamy...I'll make this again...

Substitutions

Vegan cream
Vegan butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 482

VEGAN FROZEN ARTICHOKE HEARTS

...Julia says "These usually come in 16-ounce packages and are baby, halved hearts with the tender center leaves still attached." Well...may be they were more common in the 1960s than they are now...I had a really difficult time finding frozen artichoke hearts...

...but Trader Joe's has them...

...only one ingredient...and by themselves...they are of course already vegan...

...Julia says to let the artichokes thaw so they will detach from each other and cook more evenly...

...sauté a couple of tablespoons of onions in some vegan butter...

...then add some vegan chicken broth...and boil slowly for 7-10 minutes...then raise the heat and cook off the remaining liquid...

...it's a pretty unassuming little side dish...

...it's fine...not the star of the show...and not nearly as impressive as a nice fresh artichoke...

Substitutions:
Vegan Chicken bouillon... Vegan butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 434