Your Vegan Mom

Real Quick

1. Hey, I wrote a post for Veggie Meal Plans that might come in handy this weekend.  (Have I ever mentioned what a lovely site that is?  You probably already know this, but it's filled with highly accessible recipes and run by one of the nicest people on the internet.)  
2. I am half-heartedly using Twitter.  I still have mixed feelings about it.  Thoughts?
3. Happy, happy weekend.  

Pizza Sandwich

crusty roll + grilled seitan cutlet + pizza sauce + melty cheese

Grill open face sandwich under broiler until cheese is bubbly and everything is warm.  Put on top bun and serve.

Tomato n' Grits

 

You know that smokey tempeh we made on Tuesday?  Today we're going to class it up a bit.  Here's how this recipe came about:

1) I had this big beautiful heirloom tomato sitting on my counter for a few days last week before I figured out what I wanted to do with it.  After spending almost 4 dollars on one piece of vegetable-like fruit, I just did not feel comfortable hiding it between slices of bread.  No, I'm gonna let it shine.  

2) I managed to bring home some serious grits.  When I was living in Shreveport and read through every book on Southern cooking that I could find in the excellent local library, I kept coming across a chefy insistence on Anson Mills stone-ground grits.  I discovered that I could order them straight from the mill in South Carolina, or drive 6 hours to the Whole Foods in New Orleans, or ironically, purchase them with ease in Los Angeles from Surfas.  So finally, now that I am back in Southern California I have some honest to god grits.    

(I love Surfas.  Chances are, if you've looked everywhere for some obscure ingredient or tool, and just can't find it, Surfas has got you covered.  Plus, it's just so much fun to wander the aisles and play restaurant, picking out your industrial mixer and wiener warmer.  Also, they sell bakery boxes individually which can't help but make a hastily decorated cake or sloppy pie crust look professional.)

3) When I was reading all of those cookbooks and Louisiana Cookin' magazine, one of the most frequent recipes that I came across was for shrimp and grits.  As I unpacked my Surfas bag and set my new carton of grits on the counter next to that pound of succulent deep coral tomato flesh, I knew what we were having for dinner.

Which was really unfortunate, because I had forgot how flippin' long it takes for flippin' stone-ground grits to flippin' cook.  2 hours.  With a lot of stirring.  So after we made the boy a bowl of cereal I set to cooking, and the Paul and I ate dinner all cosmopolitan grown-up style at 9 PM and went to bed on incredibly unfashionable full stomachs shortly thereafter.   

I have to say, the stone ground grits were absolutely worth it, but assuming you have the normal kind that you buy in the grocery store or that you have pre-soaked your grits like the lovely Anson Mills website advises, well then this is one easy meal with a luxurious pay-off.  The smoky tempeh and creamy grits studded with little explosions of sweet corn just play so nicely with a perfect late summer tomato.  We all loved this meal.   

Tomato N' Grits

Serves 4

1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped 

1 clove garlic, minced

1 green onion, green and white parts, chopped

a pinch of red chile flakes

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 

2 tablespoons olive oil

about 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

4 slices of smoky tempeh

1 cup dry grits, cooked according to package instructions

1 ear corn

Prepare grits according to package or website directions.  Near the end of cooking, stir in the kernals of one ear of corn.  Scrape the cob with the back of a knife to get every last bit of luscious milk into the pot.  If you've never done this you'll be surprised at how much corny goodness you've been missin'.    

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add garlic, chile flakes, and white part of the green onion.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until softened and fragrant.  Add tomatoes, onion tops, and fresh thyme and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until tomatoes have given up some of their liquid, but still have some structural integrity.  Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.  

To serve: spoon grits into shallow bowls.  Top with crumbled tempeh and a scoop of tomatoes.  A sprig of fresh thyme would really make a nice garnish.  

Bacon

This is how I put the b in my blt: 

(Revised) Smoky Braised Tempeh
I have finally gotten around to writing an updated draft of this recipe.  The version that I first published here four years ago, calls for half a package of tempeh, and really, especially after you make this once, you will always want to double it.  But you need to do a couple things differently when you increase the amount.  Obviously, you'll use a bigger pan.  And then you need to pay attention a little bit more.  With the smaller quantity in the smaller pan, you really don't ever need to touch it, but here you should gently shake it around now and then so that the tempeh is evenly coated with the braising liquid and cooking evenly.  

Makes: about 20 slices of tempeh or enough for 4 smallish sandwiches
Takes: about 35 minutes (5 active) 

• 1 8-ounce package tempeh
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (the thin, cheap kind)
• 3 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 cup water

Slice your tempeh into thin strips.

 
Arrange the tempeh slices in a single layer in a large heavy bottomed pan - ideally cast-iron.  

Mix together the liquid ingredients and pour over the tempeh.  Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the tempeh is beginning to brown.  As the tempeh simmers, occasionally shake the pan or move it around a bit to encourage the tempeh to cook evenly.  

Use right now in a BLT.

Smoky Tempeh Slices (the old and still really good version that is mostly the same, just makes less)

• 4 ounces tempeh, sliced thinly
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tamari 
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (the thin, cheap kind)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke 
• 5 tablespoons water

Mix together liquid ingredients.  Heat an 8-inch cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Arrange tempeh slices in a single layer in pan (if you need to go up the sides a little, or overlap slightly that's okay).  Pour the wet stuff over tempeh.  Simmer until liquid is absorbed, and tempeh is browned.

Makes enough sweet smoky protein for two smallish sandwiches.  

Breakfast at M Cafe de Chaya

For the last month or so I have been mentally compiling a list of the best vegan breakfasts in Los Angeles.  No.  It's been longer than that.  It definitely started somewhere in the middle of my time in Louisiana where going out to breakfast was certainly not an option.  And I love going out to breakfast.  

On any given Saturday last Spring you would have found me, just partly caffeinated, struggling to pull together french toast for my family, or sweet talking Paul into making us pancakes, as I fantasized about an omelette from Flore or the no huevos rancheros at the 101 Coffee Shop, or most often, about the soy chicken breakfast at the Brite Spot.  Now that was a breakfast for a vegan long haul truck driver.  Really, it was the kind of meal that would make the ArkLaTex proud.  The whole heaping plate came smothered in a white sausage-studded gravy with a side of fried potatoes, because you certainly didn't get enough fried with your soy chicken.  It was my favorite breakfast in Los Angeles, and it's gone.  Well you can technically still order it, even though it's not on the menu, but please don't.  Apparently the Brite Spot changed management a few months back and things just aren't the same, for the vegans at least.  I'm pretty sure the chicken is now one of those breaded gardenburger patties that you can buy in the freezer section at Vons.   And I don't know what the gravy is.  But they charged me extra for it, bringing my sub-par breakfast into the $12 range.         

So now that my period of mourning has passed, I am ready to get back in the breakfast-eating saddle. Last Saturday, with my chin up and two cups of coffee under my belt, I headed to Culver City to try the new branch of M Cafe de Chaya.  You cannot get any farther from gravy-smothered plates in a fairly dingy diner than the macrobiotic offerings at this stylish cafe.  And I admit, that's probably a good thing.  

Settled on the sunny patio, trading off between reading the paper and chasing after the boy, the Jaconi Bierys enjoyed a comfort food breakfast of a whole different nature.  

Where the sourdough toast with a packet of mixed fruit jelly would have been, we shared two crispy little croissants stuffed with a wonderfully rough almond paste (though they had a slight, and disconcerting, hint of banana, whether intentional or from time spent in a shared fridge, I'm not sure).  They would make an almost perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee, but maybe you shouldn't call them croissants.  There was no shattering crust giving way to billowy pockets that once housed layers of butter.  Perhaps if we called them almond(-banana?) crescents, then we would be content with what they are - pleasantly crisp little pastries topped with slivers of almond.  

While I didn't find the breakfast enchilada quite as "amazing" as the helpful woman at the counter proclaimed, it was a comforting and flavorful breakfast dish.  A whole wheat tortilla enveloped a simple savory tofu scramble and a nicely dense, thinly-sliced tempeh bacon.  The whole thing was topped with a smear of mild tomato-based salsa and and a layer of wonderfully melty mozzarella-type cheese.  With a deliciously rich and spicy sauce on the side, and a bed of simple wholesome chili beans below, both Paul and his pint-sized partner in breakfast were happy.   

I would also place the breakfast panini into the category of healthy comfort fare, and yet, I liked this dish a whole lot better.  Served on a grilled whole wheat roll, slathered with the sweet and tangy beet-based ketchup that they make in house, and stuffed with that same scrambled tofu, bacon, and cheese, this is a substantial morning sandwich.  And it could very well be my current favorite breakfast. 

Invigorated by our perfectly balanced start to the day we took a jaunty family stroll through the neighboring park and happened upon a small production of King Lear set in the old west.  As Desmond made a break for the guy in the buffalo costume, I surprised myself with my ability to run after him so soon after breakfast.

Maybe that light and fresh macrobiotic fare does have something over the truck-stop gut bomb.  Maybe. Though I think this very important issue requires further research.  It's for humanity.  And I need your help.  What is your favorite breakfast in Los Angeles?  

Top ten list coming soon.