39th meeting. Costa Rican

Where? G's
Attendants: G, Y, A, D, plus guest star B.H.

Menu:
1) Gallo Pinto

Gallo Pinto
3 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 lucky jalapeno
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups brown cooked cooled rice
2 cans of canned black beans, drained and rinsed
6 tablespoons Salsa Lizano
Salt and black pepper
Handful of cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Pour the oil into a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion and the red pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. The onion should be translucent and the red pepper soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

2. Dump in the beans and the Salsa Lizano (or Worcestershire sauce). Stir, and let it cook for about 3 minutes. It should not get dry. Add more vegetable stock if it does.

3. Add the rice, and stir until well coated. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Top with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

38th meeting. Shepherd's pie

Where? G's
Attendants: G, D, A, E, Ch, L

Menu
1) Shepherd's pie

Ingredients
onion
celery
garlic
carrots
mushrooms
peas
frozen tofu
garlic mashed potatoes
vegetable stock
thyme
sage
corn starch
Earth balance
kitchen bouquet
soy sauce

Directions
Marinate tofu in mixture of soy and kitchen bouquet. Saute first five ingredients in order listed in olive oil. Add 1 can of vegetable stock and 2 tsp of corn starch to thicken. Brown tofu and add to other vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to 9 X 13 pyrex tray. Add frozen peas. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake in 350 oven for 20 min. Broil until top is golden brown.



Cooks need high-octane fuel, which comes in form of Manhattans ...


... or celery sticks



In the thick of it


Cooks take a respite for a snapshot


The creation


All is well at the VSC!

37th meeting. Polenta lasagna

Where? G's
Attendants: G, D, A, E, Ch, L

Menu

1) Polenta Lasagna
2) Lucky pepper soup

Polenta Lasagna (adapted from http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/02/polenta-lasagna-with-portabellas-and.html)



Pre-dinner chuckles



Skinning peppers





Polenta Lasagna




Lucky pepper soup

36th meeting. Mostly Greek

Where? A's
Attendants: A, Y, G, E, L, Ch, D

Menu:
1) Baba ganoush
2) Yigandes Plaki
3) Artichoke-potato medley

Baba ganoush (see http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/ganoushparsely.htm)

Yigandesh Plaki (see http://greekfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/gigantesplaki.htm)

Artichoke-potato medley (from Vegetarian Times)
Artichoke-Potato Medley
Makes 6 servings
1 lb small red potatoes, quartered
2 10-oz. boxes frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 1/2 T olive oil
1/2 C pitted kalamata olives, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. chopped parsley
2 T lemon juice
2 t grated lemon zest
1/2 t sweet or smoked paprika

1. Bring potatoes to a boil in large pot of salted water. Reduce heat to
medium-low, and simmer 5 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender. Drain.
2. Return potatoes to saucepan; heat over high heat with artichokes and oil.
Cook five minutes, or until vegetables start to brown, stirring occasionally.
Add other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes more or
until fragrant and heated through.




Artichoke-potato medley


Lima beans


The better halves


Leftovers

35th meeting. Chinese

Where? G's
Attendants: G, D, L, A

Menu:
1) Velvet Corn Soup
2) Mu-shu vegetables


Mu-shu vegetables (adapted from the culinary institute of America)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 oz dried wood ears (black fungus)
1/2 oz golden lily buds
3 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry wine
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced gingerroot
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 cup julienned celery
1 medium lucky carrot, julienned
1 cup shredded napa cabbage
1 1/2 cups julienned lucky bell peppers
1/2 cup minced scallions
1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1 pack smart strips
Wrappers
Hoisin sauce as needed
4 scallion fans, optional


VSC members warm up


Napa cabbage and mushrooms


Tofu


Soup


Wood ears, lucky peppers, scallions


Napa sauteeing


The chef


L, before his nose job

34th meeting. Stroganoff

Where? D's
Attendants: A, E, G, Y, C, L, Ch, D

Menu
1) Split Pea Soup
2) Seitan Stroganoff
3) Creme Brulee


Split-pea soup


G, putting the hurt on some sucanat.


A particularly-insightful member's intervention elicits concomitant signs of hilarity and surprise


This is proof that one member is more worried about knitting than dinner. The soup is still untouched.


All is well in the VSC!


Stroganoff


Everyone is merry in the VSC!


Crossed sarcastic fire

Seitan Stroganoff (adapted from iva.org)

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 medium onion -- chopped
• 6 cloves garlic -- minced
• 3/4 lbs mushrooms -- thinly sliced
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon tarragon
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups wine
  
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 can tomato paste
  
• 2 lbs seitan
• Pasta
• Parsley
  

Heat oil in a large skillet and saute the onion, garlic and seitan, until onions are translucent.
Add mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms soften.
Add lemon juice and spices and mix well.
Mix broth, wine and tahini and add to mushroom mixture, add tomato paste and cook until it thickens.
Spoon mixture over hot noodles.
Garnish with parsley.

Creme Brulee

Ingredients
1 package of silken tofu
1 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons corn starch

Directions
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients until smooth. Pour into ramekins and bake in a water bath for 20 minutes until set, but still jiggly. Remove from bath and cool overnight. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to each ramekin and melt using a torch.

33rd meeting. Pasta

Where? L and Ch's
Attendants: L, E, Ch, A, D, G

Menu
1) Penne with traditional Madsen's sauce
2) 'Cowpies' and rice pudding

32nd meeting. Lentils

Where? G's
Attendants: G, D

Menu
1) Traditional Spanish lentils (Cook: G)


Traditional Spanish lentils (adapted from D's Mom recipe)
Ingredients

2 cups dried green lentils
2 medium tomatoes, diced
6 lucky medium carrots, chopped
2 large potatoes, diced
1.5 large onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, mashed
2 bay leaf
2 teaspoon cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste
5.5 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Seasoning (with saffron)

Directions:

The green lentils in Spain don't need presoaking. Check if yours do.

In deep pot, sauté onion and garlic in oil until it starts to color. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until lentils are done--about 30 minutes.

31st meeting. Pad Thai

Where? D's
Attendants: Ch, L, G, E, C, A, D

Menu
1) Pad Thai (cook: D)
2) Beets in orange sauce (cooks: D, G)
3) Blueberry-muffin-inspired cobbler (cook: A)

Pad Thai (adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance)

Ingredients (for 2 servings)
- 1/2 lb Rice noodles
- 1 Red onion
- 1/2 lb extra firm tofu
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 T lemongrass
- Chopped peanuts
- Chopped cilantro
- 4 scallions, cut in 1-in pieces
Sauce ingredients:
- 3 T soy sauce
- 2 T sucanat
- 1 T tamarind concentrate
- 2 T rooster sauce
- 2 T rice vinegar
- 1 T tomato paste

Brown tofu in peanut oil. Cook noodles according to directions on package. Drain water just before use. Sautee onion and peppers in peanut oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic and lemongrass and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the sauce. When heated through, add noodles and mix thoroughly. Add sprouts, chopped peanuts, and scallions, and cook for 2 more minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.


Tofu browning


Red peppers, red onions, peanuts, and bean sprouts


Lemongrass


Members mingle in close proximity to comforting tea and pad thai.


Behind-the-scenes cooking

Beets in orange sauce (adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance)

Ingredients
- 6 beets, chopped
- 3 oranges
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1 T sea salt

Zest the oranges and add the zest to the chopped beets. Juice the oranges and add the juice to the rest of ingredients. Boil until juice is reduced to a glaze and the beets are tender.




Blueberry-muffin-inspired cobbler

1 cup Flour
1 cup Sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
2 cups blueberries

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix together.
Melt the Earth Balance and then mix with the 1 cup of soy milk.
Pour the soy milk/Earth Balance mixture into the dry ingredients and stir
together until thickened to a batter.
Pour the batter into a greased 12 x 8 x 2 inch "glass" baking dish.
Lay the blueberries on top of this batter, distribute it all over the batter
evenly.
Place the pan into a 350* oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until it all turns
lightly brown.


Larger-than-life cooked blueberry muffin dough







Midwestern member readies to dive into the Eastern exoticism brought about by pawpaws


E delights the rest of VSC members by lending her mellifluous voice to a most eupeptic after-dinner reading

30th meeting. Pasta pesto

Where? G's
Attendants: Ch, A, G, C, D

Menu
1) Pasta with lucky pesto
2) Green beans
3) Coconut ice cream with grilled pineapple and chocolate syrup

Coconut ice cream(adapted from http://veganicecream.blogspot.com)

3½ c. coconut milk (full fat or light, or a combination of the two)
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot
½ t. vanilla extract
½ t. coconut extract (optional)
¾ c. coconut shreds or flakes

Mix ¼ cup of coconut milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the coconut milk and sugar together in a saucepan, and heat. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Stir in vanilla extract and coconut extract, if using.

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Add coconut shreds or flakes in the last five minutes of freezing.

Chocolate Syrup
1 cup soy milk
1 1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa

Boil 1 minute.

29th meeting. Breakfast for dinner.

Where? G's
Attendants: C, G, E, Ch, L

Menu
1) Mimosas
2) Green banana omelets (cook: G)
3) Waffles (cooks: E and C)
4) Lucky watermelon

Green banana omelet recipe from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine filled with onions, mushrooms and lucky peppers

Waffle recipe from http://waffleparty.com/2009/05/18/naked-vegan-waffles

28th Meeting. Ethiopian

Where? D's
Attendants: A, G, Y, E, D

Menu
1) Lentil-tomato stew
2) Baked seitan with lucky peppers
3) Coconut Cupcakes
4) Guilt-free non-dessert grape sorbet


Lentil-Tomato Stew (adapted from the post punk kitchen, theppk.com)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup brown lentils
1 large yellow onion, diced small
3 carrots, peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 lb tomatoes, chopped
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 cup frozen green peas

Spices:
2 TBS cumin
2 TBS chili powder
2 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
Boil brown lentils in 5 cups of water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and reserve. Sautee onion and carrots in oil for 10 minutes. Add ginger and crushed garlic and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add the spices and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add chopped tomato and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add water, lentils, and tomato paste and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the green peas and simmer for 5 more minutes.



Lentil-tomato stew


Baked seitan with lucky peppers (adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance)
Ingredients:
2 lbs seita
6 lucky chocolate bell peppers
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS fresh ginger
3 TBS olive oil
1 cup red wine
6 hot lucky peppers
1/4 tsp cardamom

Directions:
Cut seitan and lucky peppers in 2x1/2 inch strips and put them in a 9x13 pyrex tray. Blend the rest of ingredients, and cover the seitan and peppers with it. Bake at 400 F covered (tin foil) for 20 minutes, remove the tin foil and bake for 20 minutes more.


Seitan and lucky peppers

Guilt-free non-dessert grape sorbet

Ingredients:
Grape Red grapes
Truvia
Lime juice
Lime vodka

Directions:
Pulverize grapes thoroughly in blender and strain out skins to yield 3 cups of juice. Add 4 packets of Truvia, 1 shot lime juice and 2 shots of lime vodka. Process in ice cream machine.






Remnant coconut cupcakes. Note: each cupcake is HALF serving.


Coconut cupcake stoichiometry attack: one equivalent of cupcake combined with excess frosting yields ...


... a remorseful member with a sugar high



Someone spent some good time smothering cupcakes, ahem, muffins with coconut frosting

27th meeting. Lucky zucchini extravaganza

Where? G's
Attendants: G, E, A, Y, Ch, L, D

Menu
1) Lucky Zucchini Cream
2) Mushroom Risotto
3) Lucky Zucchini Bread
4) Peach Sorbet

Lucky Zucchini Cream

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 Huge Lucky Zucchinis
- 3 Potatoes
- 2 Onions
- 2 TBS Garlic
- Curry powder

Directions:
Dice onions, potatoes, and zucchini. Sautee them in olive oil until mushy (20 minutes). Add curry powder and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Blend. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper. You can add tomato or carrots and experiment with color.

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients
1.5 # crimini mushrooms. sliced
2 large onions
garlic
2.5 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup vermouth
9 cups of vegetable stock
10 sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated in 1 cup vermouth and chopped.
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
Truffle oil

Directions
Sauté one onion in olive oil in a frying pan until brown. Add garlic. Remove the onions/garlic from the frying pan to a large bowl and sauté the sliced mushrooms in the pan in batches. When they are done, also transfer to the large bowl. To the last batch, add 2 Tbl chopped thyme and the rehydrated tomatoes. Meanwhile, sauté the other onion in a large pot and add garlic. Add the rice and stir to coat with oil. Add the vermouth and allow the alcohol to cook off. Add warm stock, one cup at a time with constant stirring. Once the last stock has been added, reduce the heat and add the cooked mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and thyme. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve drizzled with truffle oil



Lucky Zucchini Bread (adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kingmans-Vegan-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder or corn starch
  
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease one 9x5 inch deep pyrex tray. Whisk together the flour, flax seeds, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and arrowroot in a bowl until evenly blended; set aside.

Whisk together the applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture and shredded zucchini until moistened.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

26th meeting. Lucky Pizza.

Where? D's
Attendants: C, G, D, Y, A, E

Lucky carrot soup and homemade pesto pizzas made the back-to-school week a little bit easier.

Menu
1) Lucky Carrot Bisque
2) Lucky Pizza


Lucky starting material for pesto


Two phat babies


Deflation


Empty lucky wine bottle serves as rolling pin


Garlic-happy tomato sauce


After-dinner dyspepsia?