Tag Archives: Earth Balance

Dec 28 2012
1 Comment
Main Dishes

Chanterelles Sauteed in White Wine and Herbes de Provence

Sounds fancy, right? It tastes fancy…. and delicious! It’s also crazy simple and works with just about any mushroom including the button mushrooms and portobellos you’ll find at your supermarket. You’ll need the following:

1 tbsp vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

1 tsp herbes de provence

1/2 cup of white wine (I like pinot gris for this)

and a pound or so of mushrooms

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I’m using chantarelles because I love their texture and flavor. You’ll be able to recognize them by their straw color, trumpet shape and frilly looking edge if you see them at your market.

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I added the butter to a pan and waited until it was melted over medium heat. I simmered these, stirring occasionally over alternating low heat and no heat until the volume of the liquid and the mushrooms was reduced by about 1/3. It took about 45 minutes. I saved the remaining reduction, salted my mushrooms to taste and munched away.

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They’re soft, lightly meaty and have a delicate umame flavor that’s complimented by the buttery herbs and crisp musky wine. I didn’t share with Brent. It was that good.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 26 2012
1 Comment
Cooking, Reviews

Speaking of Shrimp…

After posting about lobster mushrooms I did get a hankering for shrimp. So these exist…

I know, right? They look vaguely like the real thing and I’m here to tell you about it.I was excited that they’re gluten-free and soy-free. The ingredients are pretty good, mostly starch and flavorings. They’re low calorie and non-GMO. I thought they were a little expensive at $8 per package, particularly considering the ingredients, but I also don’t know how to make pseudo-shrimp at home.

I decided to cook them like any self respecting lover of shrimp would; I heated up a pan with copious amounts of Earth Balance butter and garlic.

They smelled divine, not fishy. Shrimp shouldn’t smell particularly fishy anyways as long as they’re fresh.

Sauteeing them I got a better idea of their texture. They’re slightly rubbery, like shrimp that you’re likely to find at most restaurants. I personally like the texture a lot.

After adding some pasta, sun dried tomato and Teese mozzarella to the mix, things were starting to look delicious.

We topped it with some fresh basil. It was a welcome change so far as dinner goes. I think they’d be great in stir fry or in gumbo but I’m not sure about as a shrimp cocktail. I’d buy these again. Let me know what you think if you get to try them!

 

This is Christie, signing off!

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Oct 05 2012
14 Comments
Main Dishes

Did you say… lobster?

Yes. I said lobster… mushrooms.

Lobster mushrooms are actually 2 kinds of fungus that live in parasitic relationship with one another. The fungus Hypomyces lactiflorum gives the characteristic red color to the outside of the white fleshed Lactarius piperatus. L. piperatus feeds the parasite which will eventually render the host unrecognizable.

Above is the sliced uncooked mushroom which does bear a striking resemblance to chopped cooked Maine lobster. I decided to do a more traditional preparation of these mushrooms by sauteeing in Earth Balance vegan butter and garlic.

This is more butter than I’ve used in years for anything so I was excited for something decadent. As with most foraged foods, these mushrooms should be cleaned carefully and inspected for insects and dirt. Also some people can have a mild adverse reaction to these mushrooms the first time they eat them so if you’re unaccustomed to these mushrooms, sample sparingly.

While cooking, these mushrooms have a delicate seafood smell and that with garlic and butter was very confusing for someone who hasn’t had lobster in a few years.  I served this up with steamed asparagus and some chipotle lime quinoa.

The flavor of this mushroom is light, fruity and with a mineral flavor that is not unlike real lobster. The texture is a little tougher than appropriately cooked seafood, not quite rubbery but more crumbly. This isn’t an ersatz meat but really a food with uniquely desirable qualities. I’m hoping that the next time I get my hands on a few of these I’ll be able to make a lobster mushroom bisque. I hope you get to try it!

This is Christie, signing off!

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Sep 17 2012
1 Comment
Cooking

Steak & Potatoes

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight when I spotted this:

Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick is a pretty damn good spice blend. “Hmm,” I thought. “This seasoning makes steaks so delicious. It’s too bad that I don’t eat steak anymore. But I can still use the seasoning!” Then I spotted some red potatoes and decided that I wanted steak and mashed potatoes for dinner, dammit.

I used soy curls for my ‘steak’ and I mashed my potatoes in the laziest way possible.

Soy Curl ‘Steak’ Ingredients

1 cup soy curls
1-2 tbsp McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
a sprinkle of Butler Chik-Style Seasoning (optional)

Lazy Mashed Potato Ingredients

um… potato(s)
Earth balance
salt
pepper

First, I put my soy curls in a bowl with water to rehydrate. Then, I washed my potatoes, covered them in a wet paper towel, stuck them in the microwave, and pushed the “baked potato” button.

These are the post-microwave potatoes.

Once the soy curls were rehydrated, I mixed them together with the other ingredients. I set it aside while I prepared the potatoes. Okay, stand back while I amaze you with my dazzling mashed potato method: quarter the ‘baked’ potatoes, throw them in a bowl, plop some Earth Balance on them, and then mash. Once they’re mashed, add salt and pepper to taste. I would have added some almond or soy milk, but I didn’t have any. Crazy, right?

Next, I heated the soy curls in a frying pan. Baking is good, too. Do whatever floats your boat.

Holy crap, you guys! I didn’t expect this to taste so good and be so satisfying. This was super easy to make and didn’t take a ton of time.

I will never crave real steak again! Okay, that’s probably not true… but I have a great vegan alternative and that makes me happy. –Melissa

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Apr 16 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes

Cuban Inspired Shepherdless Pie

After working with plantains more often, I wanted to try a vegan shepherdless pie using ingredients popular in cuisine from our island neighbor to the South. Cuban food commonly has a lot of interesting vegan elements: plantains, yuca, beans, rice and bananas. I’m a big fan of those things so this dish made sense. This is what we started with for the mashed plantains:
8 plantains (8 fist sized potatoes would work too)
1/4 cup of Diaya cheese
1/2 cup of soy milk (any non-dairy milk will work, almond if you’ve got a soy allergy)
2 tbsp vegan margarine

I peeled the plantains and put them into water to boil. Plantains and potato have similar nutritional profiles except that plantains have a significant amount of vitamin A, where potato has none. They’re both starchy, provide vitamin C, and are free of fat and cholesterol. Getting back to business, while that was happening I prepared the filling with the following ingredients:
1 white onion, diced
1 jalapeño, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of black beans, soaked overnight or 1 can of beans, partially drained
1 can of diced tomato
10 okra, ends removed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 lb. frozen corn kernels
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and chili powder to taste

I browned the onion, garlic and jalapeño along with the cumin until the onion became translucent. Then we added the okra, tomato, beans, corn and cilantro and stirred until everything was steamy and sticky from the okra.

Brent took the plantains and combined them with the milk, cheese and margarine and mashed them until they were gloriously creamy. They were really dry so you might need to add more soy milk depending on your plantains (or potatoes).Check out that radical dedicated mooshing face.

He also prepared a base layer in our baking dish of tortillas and daiya to aid in scooping but it’s not necessary.

He spread the mashed plantains over the hot veggies and we put it into the oven for 20 minutes at 350C/175F until it was bubbly and delightful.

It was a hearty filling meal, loaded with vegetables and flavors. It made even better leftovers after everything had a night to marinade in it’s own juice.

Next time I might tweak the seasoning but overall it was a success. We ate half the tray and the rest is disappearing fast.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off.

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