Your Vegan Mom

Breakfast Panini

 

During one of the 7 AM games of the World Cup we invited ourselves over to our best pals' house to watch the game. (They're those kind of friends.  I'm so lucky that I know people who will put up with me inviting myself over at 7 in the morning, with my children.)  With the chaos of all the babies running around (They have one too.  I didn't bring all the chaos with me.) and the grown-ups not having consumed anywhere near enough coffee, I don't even remember who was playing or what happened in the game, but I do remember what we ate.  

We ate breakfast panini.  To sweeten our presence, these pals needed a good breakfast.  A good breakfast that was not just tasty, moderately healthy, and belly-filling, but also portable.  The sort of breakfast that you can hold in one hand, with a cup of coffee in the other and a foot free to nudge a baby away from a power cord or an overstimulated cat.  This hot, gently oozy sandwich completely fit the bill.  

I threw thinly sliced tofu in a simple marinade the night before and then fried it up in melted butter the next morning while I waited for everyone else to wake up.  Wrapped in foil, the assembled panini were much appreciated by all the bleary-eyed soccer fans.  

They were so good in fact that I went home and made more to stick in the freezer to reheat for second breakfast on an as-needed basis.  Two days later they were gone, and I have made them since on a somewhat weekly basis, much to the happiness of the entire family.  This is a good, good sandwich.

Breakfast Panini
You know how you're supposed to read through the entire recipe before you start making it?  You should totally do that here.  There's a couple weird things I'll tell you about right now though, just in case you absolutely refuse to follow directions. 1) Don't skimp on the butter, even though it might look like a lot - you're going to use what's left in the pan to become a thick, kind of cheesy, gravy.  This gravy is crucial to the deliciousness and sticking-together-ness of the sandwich.  2) Don't chuck the marinade - that's going to go into the gravy too.  3) Have your rolls ready to receive hot, drippy tofu - you don't want to waste any of the good stuff - let that flavor soak into your bread.

makes 6 sandwiches

• 1 block extra firm tofu, cut into 12 1/4 inch slices
• 3 ounces spinach
• 1/2 small red onion
• 6 panini rolls
• 4 tablespoons non-dairy butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• tofu marinade:
• • 1/4 cup bragg's or soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
  • tiny pinch of turmeric
  • tiny pinch of paprika
  • ground pepper

Mix together marinade and soak tofu in it over night.  On the day, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low and melt butter in the pan.  Reserving the marinade, add the tofu slices to the hot pan and cook until golden brown on both sides.  

While the tofu cooks, measure your flour and have it ready to add to the pan when the tofu is done.  In a glass measuring cup, have your milk ready too and add 1/2 cup of the reserved marinade to the milk.

Now's also a good time to wash and drain your spinach and slice your onion as thinly as possible.  Cut the rolls in half too so that they're ready to receive cooked tofu.  

When your tofu is just about ready, heat the panini grill.  Remove the tofu from the cast iron skillet, placing two slices of tofu on the bottom half of each roll.  

Now add the flour to the melted butter left in the skillet.  Stir and cook for about a minute, until the flour is peanut-y golden brown.  Stir in the milk and marinade combo and simmer, stirring continuously, until you have a very thick gravy, about 1 minute.  (It will thicken considerably as it cools, but you want it spreadable so it doesn't immediately ooze off your sandwich.)  

Layer several slices of onion and a small handful of spinach on top of the tofu.  Spread the other half of the rolls with your thick gravy.  Put the halves together and grill in a panini press, in the George Forman grill that you got for your wedding, or in a pan with another pan weighted down on top.   

Serve hot, or wrap in napkins to take on a breakfast picnic, or freeze to eat all week.  

Meaty Burgers

 

We had a small-town-perfect Fourth of July.  We skipped the mayor's pancake breakfast at the fire station, but we made up for it, I think, by marching in the parade.  Desmond even waved a tiny plastic flag from the comfort of his tricycle and acknowledged, when reminded, the moderate crowds lining the sidewalks.  Felix wore a tiny novelty hat and was much photographed.  Along with the high school marching band, Desmond's preschool, the local cub scout den, and families in lawn chairs, we ate sandwiches and potato chips in the park under big shady trees.  (Desmond would like me to add here, that he also had a sno-cone - like I said, we did it up, all conventional-style.)  We came home and reclined in the backyard with the Sunday paper while the boy splashed in the kiddie pool and the baby took a nap.  And at 4, Paul lit the barbecue.

Along with the rest of America, we spent Sunday afternoon grilling burgers.  I've been working on this recipe for the better part of a year, if not three - I've lost count.  And I think it's perhaps ready to share.  It's awfully easy, and produces a satisfying meaty burger that you can dress up as you see fit.  We enjoyed ours underneath a tangle of that fancy tomato onion condiment and a nice crunchy leaf of red lettuce, crammed between two vegenaise slathered soft white buns.  It served as a hearty protein counterpoint to the grilled potato wedges and slices of zucchini sprinkled with dried oregano and lemon, and bowls of cold watermelon and blueberries.  I think I will embrace this barbecued suburban idyll everyday this summer, from the comfort of my cracked-concrete, big-city backyard.     

Meaty Burgers

• 2/3 cup tvp 
• 2 cups hot prepared better than bullion no beef base or any rich vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup vegan worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 teaspoon molasses
•  2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 6 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten

In a large bowl, pour hot broth over tvp and let soften for 10 minutes.  Add the remainder of the ingredients, except the vital wheat gluten, and stir to combine.  Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.  (The flavor at this point will be stronger than the final burgers because you haven't added the unseasoned vital wheat gluten yet.)  Now stir in the vital wheat gluten.  You should have a wet seitan dough.  

Let dough rest while you heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.  Form the dough into patties, place on the parchment-lined pan, and cover.  Bake covered for thirty minutes for full-sized burgers, or twenty for slider-sized patties.  At this point, either turn the patties, baste with barbecue sauce or olive oil and bake for 15 more minutes uncovered (or 10 for smaller patties), or grill on lowish heat for 5-7 minutes per side.  

Makes 20 sliders or 8 full-sized burgers.

Leftovers: The Sandwich

 

Take one slice of really good bread.  Slather it with vegenaise.  Pile on slices of tofurkey roast.  Mound a bit of stuffing on top. 

Take another slice of really good bread.  Slather it with vegenaise.  Mash on about a half a slice of jellied cranberry sauce.  Carefully flip this onto the tofurkey half.  Eat.  

How are you enjoying your leftovers?

Salami

On a deli roll with pepperoncini, yellow tomatoes, avocado, vegenaise, and dijon 

No baby yet.  Close your eyes if you can't handle lady news, but as of my doctor's appointment yesterday, I'm five centimeters dilated.  So really, we should have a baby any second.  

I missed the sandwich deadline.  After the nice people at Mezzetta sent me some jarred peppers, I planned to enter a recipe in their recent Make That Sandwich contest, but I neglected to read the noon PST deadline.  I've been a bit absent-minded and self-absorbed of late.  

Fortunately, the performance pressure of coming up with a vegan sandwich to rival all those shoe-in melty cheese numbers resulted in a really good deli slice recipe that I think might come in handy for any lunch packing you have going on this September.  And in other lunch-packing news, I am totally digging Vegan Lunch Box Around the World.  And you?  What's for lunch?    

Roasted Red Pepper Deli Slices or Vegan Salami

wet:
1/3 cup roasted red pepper slices and surrounding juice (or if you have roasted your own pepper, just add a touch more water)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
water to make one cup

dry:
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a blender, puree the wet ingredients.  In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  Add the wet and stir to combine.  If necessary, knead just to incorporate all ingredients.  Shape into a fat log, about 6 - 7 inches long, and roll pretty tightly in aluminum foil, twisting the ends closed.  Steam for one hour.  Allow to cool before slicing.  

On grilled sourdough with (vegan) cream cheese and pepperoncini

 

Pan Bagnat

I've done this before.  Actually I think it's more my MO than anything apologize-worthy as an aberration.  I have the perfect recipe for you to make two weeks ago.  But maybe you don't use every foreign holiday (in this case Bastille Day) as an excuse to picnic or make some sort of themey dinner, and then really this is the perfect sandwich for you to make all summer.  Already, it has been the ideal hand held meal for 6 (along with salad and dessert)at the bluegrass concert in the park last Sunday, and an entire meal for 3 on the beach a couple Saturdays ago.  Earlier in the month, I halved the recipe for Paul and me, and made a peanut butter sandwich for Desmond to take to free family night at Kidspace.  

Did I tell you about all my picnicking plans this summer?  Our budget will not allow any exciting travels, so picnics are what we are doing.  It seems like there is a concert in the park or an outdoor movie or the lure of a shady table next to a playground to keep us entertained all summer.  And while, I still really want to figure out how to at least swing a little family camping trip before this baby comes, for the moment I'm content with my sandwich.

If you've never had one, a pan bagnat, is a traditional southern French dish that means bathed bread in the local nicoise dialect.  What turns it into a picnic ideal, is that unlike most sandwiches it gets better the longer it sits in your basket.  All the flavors merge and seep into the bread and it just becomes one whole delicious mass.  Normally it's made with tuna, yours has tempeh.  

Vegan Pan Bagnat
Inspired by Florence Fabricant's recipe for pan bagnat sliders in the New York Times, June 9, 2009.

1 baguette (it's fine if it's not super fresh)
1 clove garlic, sliced in half
1/4 cup olive oil
about 3 tablespoons tapenade
2 thin slices sweet onion, halved and pulled apart 
8 basil leaves
3/4 c. tempeh mixture (see recipe below)
1 plump summer tomato, halved and sliced
black pepper

Tear off a peace of foil big enough to securely wrap your sandwich.  Set aside, but within reach!  Cut the baguette in half length-wise, and rub each half with garlic.  Brush with olive oil, then smear with a thin layer of tapenade.  On one half, layer on your onion, basil, tomato, and mold your tempeh mixture on top.  Grind a bit of black pepper over the tempeh mixture, and place other half of bread on top.  Firmly wrap and gently press down on the sandwich as you go.  Now weigh it down with a cutting board topped with cookbooks, or a cast iron griddle works nicely too.  Press your sandwich for about an hour.  Unwrap and slice into pieces to serve.  

Tempeh Mixture for Pan Bagnat

8 ounces tempeh (that's 1 standard package)
braising liquid:
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
water to make 2 cups

Mix ingredients for braising liquid in a glass measuring cup.  Crumble or dice tempeh.  In a medium sauce pan, bring tempeh and braising liquid to a simmer.  Continue to simmer over medium low heat for 30 - 35 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed and cooked off.  Drain any excess liquid.   

You won't use all of the tempeh in your sandwich, but we have been making this sandwich so often, that I find it's nice to have the leftover mixture on hand.  Of course, if you like more variety, I bet it would be equally nice on a salade nicoise.