Tempeh Tantrum Burgers

The "Tempeh Tantrum Burgers" (page 118) are the first listed in the "Burgers" section, and the 9th one I've tried so far out of a total of 11. I've totally enjoyed this section, as I'm a big fan of veggie burgers in general, and happy to have so many options that don't utilize TVP (texturized vegetable proteins, usually soy). I really liked this preparation, it was hearty and chewy, and held up well on a bun (along with all the assorted condiments added afterwards). Along with tempeh, the burgers are made with onion, walnuts, oats, and assorted seasonings. Everything is combined in a food processor and shaped into patties (again, as is usually the case, the recipe calls for 4 patties, but I got 6, as I like them a bit thinner). The recipe instructions say to fry the patties in 3 tablespoons of oil, but I omitted the oil completely and just browned them in my non-stick skillet. These will definitely be showing up on my menu again.

Parmasio

It's getting easier and easier to find most of the "unusual" ingredients I cook with, even without having to search out natural food co-ops, yet one item that still seems to be hit and miss when I'm not near a Whole Foods or Sprouts, is vegan parmesan cheese. But now that I've found the recipe for "Parmasio" (page 193), I'll never have to worry about this again! A blend of toasted sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, and salt ground to a powder in a food processor, Parmasio stands in perfectly wherever parmesan is called for in a recipe. Robin Robertson named this for the Japanese condiment, Gomasio, made from sesame seeds and salt. The nutritional yeast gives it the cheesy component. You'll never miss dairy-based parmesan if you have Parmasio on hand.

Chilled Carrot Soup

The "Chilled Carrot Soup" (page 183) was perfect the day I made it, which was a couple of weeks ago, when it was still quite warm outside. (Today, the second day of Autumn, and the weather has turned decidedly cold here in Northeastern Michigan.) I have enjoyed the chilled soups in this cookbook, and wanted to make all 13 of them before the end of the summer, but only got through five. Now I have something to look forward to next summer! This recipe was very easy to keep within my oil-free guidelines by simply omitting the oil when sautéing the vegetables. The soup itself was a breeze to make, just simmering onion, carrots, tomatoes, and seasonings in broth until everything was tender, than puréeing and chilling. After the soup is completely chilled, fresh lime juice and coconut milk is added, along with a garnish of minced basil or cilantro (I used basil). If you are avoiding coconut milk because of the high fat content, especially the saturated fat, do what I do - substitute 1.5 cups of soymilk (or other non-dairy milk) mixed with ½ teaspoon of coconut extract. This works really well, adding creaminess and coconut flavor without the unhealthy fats. Tip for making this recipe a little easier: unless you buy your carrots shredded already, there is no need to shred them before simmering them, since everything ends up in the blender anyway - just cut them into chunks. This was an elegant soup that went perfect with the Rice Salad with Cashews & Dried Papaya.

 

Rice Salad with Cashews & Dried Papaya

The "Rice Salad with Cashews & Dried Papaya" (page 84) is a tropic delight! If you have cooked brown rice already on hand, this salad comes together very quickly. Toss the rice with roasted cashews, green onions, and sliced dried papaya. Toss with the dressing, and you're ready to go. The dressing calls for 1/3 cup oil, which I omitted. Instead, I added a little extra lime juice (along with the ginger and agave nectar) and that was enough to moisten the salad sufficiently. I am so used to eating the food I prepare with no added oil, the thought of adding that amount to a salad really sounds overwhelming to me! Leftovers held up well, so we were able to enjoy this over the course of a couple of days.

Chickpea-Tomato Wraps

So far I have loved every wrap recipe in this book, and the "Chickpea-Tomato Wraps" (page 114) are no exception. A quick and easy meal, especially nice on hot days when cooking something on the stove or in the oven is unappealing. Mashed chickpeas are mixed with sun-dried tomatoes, celery, onion, and parsley, then moistened with mayonnaise and spicy mustard. Wrap this up in the flat bread of your choice (flour tortillas or lavash flatbread is suggested in the recipe) along with lettuce leaves, and dinner (or lunch) is on the table in no time at all. If you are using marinated sun dried tomatoes, be sure to rinse the oil off before adding to the recipe. Use vegan oil-free mayonnaise, and whole grain wraps to keep things as healthy and McDougall friendly as possible.

Tempeh Cacciatore

"Tempeh Cacciatore" (page 300) is the vegan answer to this normally meat based dish. Browned tempeh is stewed with onion, bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes, wine and Italian style seasonings. If you are a tempeh fan, you will love this preparation, as tempeh is the main star in this dish. To keep it McDougall friendly, I omitted the oil when browning the tempeh and veggies; no other changes were necessary. This can be served over noodles, rice, or potatoes.

White Bean Salad with Fennel & Avocado

Bean salads are great on hot summer days, and the "White Bean Salad with Fennel & Avocado" (page 77) is especially delicious. So many wonderful flavors - sweet tomatoes, pungent kalamata olives, creamy avocado, the distinct taste of fennel, and the tang of red onion - all blend delightfully with any variety of white beans (I used cannellini, the first choice offered in the recipe). The dressing for this calls for a vinaigrette style mixture, including ¼ cup olive oil (around 50 grams of fat!), but I omitted the oil and the lemon juice, and instead just moistened the salad with the juice from one lime. The tomatoes add some moisture, and the avocado adds creaminess, so I didn't miss the oil at all. I also added fresh minced garlic, a nice touch if, like me, you love garlic on just about everything! J

Chilled Avocado-Tomato Soup

The "Chilled Avocado-Tomato Soup" (page 182) was another wonderful recipe that required no adjustments to keep it McDougall friendly. Just a handful of ingredients (garlic, avocado, tomato, and tomato juice) whipped up in the blender, chilled 2-3 hours, with a last minute addition of fresh avocado and basil leaves, plus a few seasonings. Perfect on a hot summer day!

Rainbow Slaw

I'm always thrilled when I find a recipe that I don't have to alter to fit into the McDougall guidelines I've adopted for my way of eating. "Rainbow Slaw" (page 74) is one of those recipes, and one of nine slaw recipes in this book. Of the four I've tried so far, this one is my favorite. I mentioned before that I'm more a fan of creamy coleslaws as opposed to vinegar based ones. Rainbow Slaw is definitely a creamy style slaw, using vegan vanilla yogurt for the dressing. The veggies include cabbage, carrot, fennel, and green onions, while the fruit (yes, fruit!), consists of a pear or apple (I used an apple) and dried cranberries. The sweet flavors provided by the fruit and vanilla yogurt made this into more of a fruit salad than not. I really loved this salad, and I might make a double batch next time, as it keeps very well in the refrigerator.

Corn Fritters

The "Corn Fritters" (page 366) are surprisingly easy to make, and I wonder what took me so long to try them. I read the recipe several times while browsing through the book, and finally took the time to make them. I thought the batter was going to be the same consistency of pancake batter, so when I mixed up the flour, cornmeal, soymilk and corn kernels (along with baking powder and salt), and ended up with something closer to drop biscuits dough, I was sure I made a mistake. I looked at the recipe again to make sure I hadn't left anything out, and when it looked like I had done everything right, I figured this was how it was supposed to be. The batter is dropped into a hot skillet and fried on both sides until golden brown. The recipe calls for oil for the frying, but I used my nonstick skillet and no oil was necessary. These are a delicious treat! They would go well alongside soups or stews, or drizzled with maple syrup, or just eaten out of hand for a quick snack.

Three-Tomato Gazpacho with Chipotle Crème

There are 13 recipes for Cold Soups in this book, and four of them are types of gazpacho. The "Three-Tomato Gazpacho with Chipotle Crème" (page 180) looked especially enticing (I love anything with chipotle) so I decided to try that one first. The three different tomatoes include fresh, canned, and sun-dried, each providing a slightly different characteristic. The sun-dried and canned tomatoes are puréed in a blender along with onion, bell pepper, cucumber and garlic. To this mixture is added the fresh tomatoes, more cucumber and tomato juice (I used Spicy V8). Because of all the fresh vegetables in the purée, the end result is very thick and creamy, almost like a smoothie. After the soup has been thoroughly chilled, it is topped off with the best part - the Chipotle Crème (along with minced green onions). The Chipotle Crème is a mixture of vegan sour cream and canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce. The recipe instructions say to combine olive oil, chipotle chili and sour cream in a blender until well combined, but I found it easier to bypass the blender for such a small amount of crème (which would be hard to scrape out) and just blend some of the adobo sauce into the sour cream in a small bowl using a spoon. I didn't include the oil at all, and I used homemade, oil-free, tofu sour cream, thereby omitting any added oil. The recipe does call for oil-packed sundried tomatoes, however, but you can buy the dried variety and rehydrate them in hot water, or rinse off the oil-packed variety and wipe dry with a paper towel. Here's a trick I've learned along the way: If you find the flavor of raw onion doesn't agree with you, slice the onion and heat it briefly in very hot water or the microwave before using in a recipe. This produces a milder onion taste, and since this recipe calls for one entire raw onion, that is what I did. The recipe makes about 12 cups of soup, so both my husband and I were able to enjoy it over three separate meals - and enjoy it we did!

Sesame Soba Noodles

"Sesame Soba Noodles" (page 236) is a simple dish that combines cooked buckwheat (soba) noodles with stir-fried vegetables. Normally my husband does the stir frying, but this dish looked so easy and straightforward, I decided to give it a go. The vegetables include cabbage (or bok choy), onion, carrots, and snow peas, seasoned with ginger and soy sauce. The instructions say to coat the cooked noodles in a tablespoon of sesame oil, and buckwheat noodles do tend to be a bit stickier than other varieties, but even ½-1 teaspoon of oil is plenty to for a light coating, and to provide that unique sesame oil flavor. Another two tablespoons of oil is called for to stir fry the veggies, but I used my non-stick skillet and a splash of sherry and no oil was necessary. The cooked noodles and stir fried veggies are tossed together, heated through, and topped with sesame seeds. This dish comes together quickly, and in fact is identified in the cookbook with an "f" for fast food. Doesn't get much simpler or fresher than this!

Cajun-Style Tofu

"Cajun-Style Tofu" (page 284) proves that you can still enjoy flavorful Cajun spiced foods even after you give up animal products, and put deep fried foods to the wayside. Sliced tofu, dredged in Cajun seasoning, is browned in a skillet, and added to a piquant sauce of onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and tomato for a short simmer. No need to use the oil for browning the tofu if you have a good non-stick skillet, and aside from that, there are no other changes necessary to keep this dish McDougall friendly. I served this with grilled potatoes and steamed broccoli. These cutlets would also be great over a bed of brown rice.

Green Bean & Mushroom Stroganoff

If you are lucky enough to have garden fresh green beans on hand, the "Green Bean & Mushroom Stroganoff" (page 327) is a wonderful way to prepare them. Cooked green beans are combined with sautéed mushrooms and onions (I omitted the oil, and just allowed the onions and mushrooms to release their own juices in my non-stick skillet), simmered in broth and wine, thickened with tomato paste and flour, and made rich with the addition of vegan sour cream. In this recipe, as in most recipes where a sauce is made in a skillet with sautéed veggies, flour is stirred into the mix, and some sort of liquid is slowly stirred in until the flour-veggie-liquid mixture is smooth. However, I have found this methodology doesn't work well in the absence of fat. The flour will not dissolve into the veggies and I end up with a lumpy sauce at the end. To get around this, I have started putting the liquid ingredients plus the flour into a blender and processing just long enough to combine, then adding that back into the skillet for the cooking and thickening. I've had excellent results doing this. For this recipe, I combined the broth, tomato paste, and flour in the blender, then added this back to the sautéed onions and mushrooms, then proceeded with the rest of the recipe as written. This worked out great, and the final sauce was smooth and delicious. I served this over wide noodles with steamed spinach on the side.