Veeegs: July 2006 Archives

Hey vegetarians out there--shake what your mama gave you! The imitation meat thang can be overrated. It's important to remember that you're a vegetarian because you like vegetables. So, here we've gone and stolen some tricks from the carnivorous Frenchies and applied it to yams, cauliflower and cashews. Savoir Faire indeed.

"Au Gratin" with garnish
2 purple yams
1 bulb ginger
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. rosemary
2 Tbs. ground black pepper
1 Tbs. salt
1 cup raw cashews
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. ginger powder
1 Tbs. dry mustard

Cauliflower "Gravy"
2 heads cauliflower
2 Tbs. fresh ginger, sliced
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tsp. Sriracha sauce
1 Tbs. basil, chopped

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Skin the yams, and slice width-wise into thin chips. Skin your ginger with a spoon, and slice into thin strips, reserving 2 Tbs. for later. Toss the yams in a large bowl with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

2. Then place yams in a casserole dish in layers with the ginger, add the excess olive oil and bake until yams are tender (about 30 minutes). Place another pan filled with water in the oven to keep the yams from drying out.

3. In a skillet, toast the cashews on medium heat until they begin to brown. Toss often to avoid burning. When they start to color, turn flame on high and add 1 Tbs. soy sauce and 1 Tbs. vinegar. When the liquid is nearly gone, repeat and add ginger and mustard before removing.

4. Steam the cauliflower until semi-soft, remove and strain. In a food processor, blend the cauliflower and ginger in shifts, adding splashes of coconut milk and veggie broth until the mixture is smooth.

5. When blended, put in medium sauce pan, add soy sauce and Sriracha, and simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat. Once gravy is nice and hot, remove from heat, add basil and set aside for at least 10 minutes for the flavors to marry.

Beverage: Westmalle Trappist Dubel
Soundtrack: Yo La Tengo's And then nothing turned itself inside out.

Nothing says summer like watermelon. And personally we'd rather be eating it then lubing it up with baby oil, throwing it into a swimming pool and trying to bring it ashore. So, when Hot Knives threw a bit of a backyard BBQ last week we prepared our waz melz two ways: a crisp, fresh herb-laden jicama and watermelon salad, and a vodka watermelon. Here's a recipe for the former, the latter you can figure out on your own (pictured above).

Watermelon Salad
2 medium sized jicamas
2 juiced limes
1/2 cup grapefruit soda
2 Tbs. honey
4 Persian cucumbers
1/2 medium sized, seedless watermelon in chunks
2 cups chopped mint
2 cups chopped cilantro

Skin the jicama and shred them with a cheese grater. Mix the shreds in a bowl with limejuice, grapefruit soda and honey. Skin and slice the cucumbers and watermelon. Add all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss.

Beverage: PranQster Golden Ale
Soundtrack: Gong's Angel's Egg

Who the hell has pectin in their cupboard--ready, in a pinch, to make some jam for breakfast? Not we. Here's a whisky-flamed jam heavy with onions and jalapeno peppers that requires nothing more than a pan and a fire. It's strong in booze, sugar and spice. And besides being a perfect topper for you biscuit people, it'll flame up for all you kitchen arsonists out there.

Whisky pan jam
2 cups cipollini onions, quartered
3 shallots, minced
1 cup whiskey
1⁄4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs. ground black pepper
1 Tbs. smoked paprika
4 Tbs. corn starch
2 Tbs. vegan Butter

1. Toast the onions and shallots in small sauté pan until they begin to brown, about three to five minutes on medium heat.
2. Add whiskey and turn the flame to high. When the whiskey is bubbling with vim and vigor, turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by more than half. Be very careful, as your reduction will catch on fire if your flame is too high. If it does, blow it out.
3. Add the maple syrup and spices.
4. Now in a bowl, mix the cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water and mix with your hands to make slurry. Whisk the jam while you add the slurry in a steady stream. Finish your jam with the butter. Serve on biscuits (we made Meagan's 'Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' Biskeez) or sliced wheat toast.

We'd like to think that when Marlon Brando was getting ready to emerge on the set of Apocalypse Now he started gorging himself on something that was regionally specific. He wanted something that would keep him cool and satiated in the jungle, something that would soothe and excite his sizable abdomen when Francis Ford Coppola pumped him full of drugs after butchering cows and freaking out in front of Playboy Bunnies. "I don't need to read the script," he thought, "I just need another goddamn sandwich."

This is our take on the most old school of Franco-Asian fusion: Bahn Mi, the fresh and awesome Vietnamese baguette sandwich. Make one of these and terminate...terminate with extreme prejudice (serves eight).

The Sandwich
1 brick firm tofu
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups canola oil
1 Tbs. sea salt
1 Tbs. garlic powder
3 medium carrots
1 large shallot, minced
3 Tbs. grapeseed oil
3 Tbs. seasoned rice wine vinegar
3 Tbs. minced lemongrass (or 2 Tbs. lemongrass paste)
1 lime
1 small bulb ginger, skinned and minced
2 Tbs. ground black pepper
2 baguettes
4 cups cilantro leaves
4 jalapenos, thinly sliced
2 cups mung bean sprouts

Sriracha & Basil Mayo
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or sub veganaise)
3 Tbs. Sriracha hot sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 basil leaves, chiffonated

Slice the tofu width-wise, leaving thin rectangles. Mix the two flours together and coat the tofu thoroughly. In a shallow pan heat canola oil on high and fry tofu, flipping to crisp both sides. Season with a pinch of salt and garlic powder when removed from heat. Wait until cool then slice into thin strips.

Skin the carrots and cut them in half lengthwise so you can slice them into thin, long strips like the tofu. Set them aside. Mince the shallot and steep in oil, vinegar and lemongrass. Zest the lime, juice it, and add both to the mixture. Skin the ginger, mince it and add with black pepper. Whisk. Drench the carrots with dressing and let sit.

Slice each baguette length-wise, being careful not to sever both halves. Pick all the leaves off your cilantro, and slice the jalapenos. Slather one face with Sriracha mayo. Pile on tofu, carrots, sliced jalapenos, mung bean sprouts, a drizzle of vinaigrette, and cilantro in that order (use more cilantro than you think is necessary). Slice and serve. "Smells like...Victory."

Beverage: Stone's Ruination IPA
Soundtrack: D Yellow Swans' Psychic Secession