Jackfruit "Pulled Pork" Sandwiches

WHOA! So, I'm back from overseas and I have been cooking up a storm, but not updating the foodblog. Trying to resume. Overseas, I was not vegan. I was too busy/isolated/infected with parasites not to eat whatever was put in front of me. I did manage to stay vegetarian. It's good to be back in the world of vegan.

I think our most recent "jackfruit pulled pork" sandwiches are a good recipe to get back with. Memphis Tap Room in Philadelphia had some pretty off the chain vegan jackfruit crabcakes, and I ate a fair amount of jackfruit when I was in Indonesia, but I hadn't thought about it in awhile. WHAT A MISTAKE. It's awesome.

Any Asian Grocer (i.e. H-Mart on Dequindre) will have canned jackfruit. Get the young/green kind in brine (not ripe or in syrup) because the ripe one is sweet.

I used 2 cans for the recipe. Start by prepping the jackfruit. Cut the center bits off leaving only the stringy part (where to cut will be self-evident on each piece). You can puree or finely chop the "waste" so you don't have to throw it away, or you can just throw it away. I threw it away the first time, but will probably try not to waste it next time.

You can veganize any BBQ pulled pork recipe with great ease, but the basics are:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sautee sliced jackfruit in pan with "dry rub" any combo of mustard seed, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.

2. Let that cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often to get nice and flavorous. In a separate pan, sautee some red onions-- about half an onion finely chopped will do nicely, and about 5-6 cloves of garlic. Combine that with the dry-rubbed jackfruit and then add the "wet ingredients" that turn it into barbecue. Again, any recipe for pulled-pork barbecue sauce can be easily veganized but the basics are: tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup (or brown sugar), catsup, water and more seasonings to taste.

3. Let that simmer for about 30 minutes. I like my BBQ really vinegary and spicy, but make it how you like it. You can also add some raisins (as long as you don't have to share a room with my husband for the nest 18-24 hours), or a grated apple (granny smith will do nicely). Also, if you want to make a shortcut, you can just dump a bottle of premade bbq sauce over the jackfruit.  Most of them are vegan (just check on honey).

4. Once the flavors have melded, dump everything into a lightly greased pan, spread it out thinly, and bake if for about 20-30 minutes to let it dry up a little. I think this step makes it have a more meatlike consistency.

5. Serve it with pickles and vegan coleslaw if you like that (I don't) on a bun (see next recipe for peasant bread).

IT IS SERIOUSLY GOOD.

Vegan Lasagna

This one has a long ingredient list, but it worked out very well, so I am posting it anyhow

-Lasagna noodles
-mozzarella Daiya Cheese
-1 eggplant, sliced into small cubes
-1 c. chopped spinach
-4-5 button mushrooms, diced
-1 jar of tomato sauce
-1/2 a log of "Gimme Lean" sausage
-1/2 small onion, chopped''
-1 package of "firm" tofu
-2 T. vegan gourmet sour cream
-2 heaping T of nutritional yeast
-about 1/4 c. almond milk
-salt/basil to taste
-1 T. oil
-nonstick cooking spray/oil
-salt, garlic salt, basil, seasoning to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, mix together the tomato sauce, onions, and sausage. Using a spoon, mash the sausage into bits while simmering on low, stirring occasionally. While you're doing that, saute the spinach, eggplant and mushroom in the 1 T. of oil in a skillet.Also bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

While those things are cooking, mix the firm (well squeezed-out) block of tofu, the sour cream, the milk, yeast, and seasoning in the blender. This makes a very convincing ricotta cheese layer.

By now, the water should be boiling, dump in your lasagna noodles... maybe about 25 of them depending on the size of your pan. Once they all sink into the water, take care to separate them so they don't stick together. You should not cook these until they are "done". They should be very very al dente, since they will continue cooking a bit more in the oven and you don't want them soggy. Mine took about 6-8 minutes, but they were whole wheat. Remove from heat, drain, rinse with cold water thoroughly.

By now the spinach mixture should be cooked and the sauce should have simmered enough. I use a large pyrex baking pan, but use whatever. Start laying. First put down a layer of nonstick cooking spray, then noodles, then spinach mixture with a bit of ricotta cheese. Then another noodle layer, then a sauce layer, then a noodle layer, then the remainder of the vegetables and sauce and all the ricotta, then a noodle layer, and top with daiya cheese. I suppose you could insert a layer of daiya anywhere you wanted, but I like it on top. Plus, I'm on a "diet" and with only 3/4 c. daiya, this recipe comes out to be approximately 200 calories per 1/16th square of this recipe.... sooooo... yea.

Thanksgiving 2010

Tempeh and Wild Mushroom Fricassee 
This is from an article the New York Times ran this year, but I'm having trouble finding the exact link. This is pretty much the recipe. It's super easy and so delicious and healthy and something like 320 calories in a whole cup sized serving. Not that anyone I know cares about that.
12 oz (1.5 packages) of tempeh
2 c. button mushrooms, chopped
2 c. crimini mushrooms, chopped
2 c. shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 portobella caps, degilled and chopped
2 large leeks, chopped finely
20 cloves of garlic, minced (seriously 20)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. flour
1/4 c. white wine
12 oz (1 can) veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste
2 T. oil

It helps if you chop up all the veggies first, because things get moving pretty fast once you start cooking stuff, and it helps to have everything ready to add all at once. Chop the tempeh into small cubes and cook in the oil in a dutch oven until browned evenly. Medium-high heat is desirable. Once the tempeh is browned, pour in the white wine and the soy sauce and stir it up with the tempeh til everything boils off. Remove tempeh from pan and set aside. Put the sliced leeks, all the mushrooms, and the garlic in the dutch oven and simmer for a little, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour, then the seasonings, and finally the veg broth. Cover and let everything simmer in there for a little while, when it's nearly done, add back in the tempeh and simmer for about 5 minutes uncovered until some of the liquid evaporates/thickens. Make it the night before and reheat it about 20 minutes before it's time to eat.


Family Recipe Vegan Stuffing
1/2 a log of the "gimme lean" fake sausage, cooked and chopped up small
1/2 a loaf of stale white store brand bread, ripped into pieces
1/2 c. celery, sliced very thin
2 small yellow onions, sliced thin
2-3 T. earth balance stick
1 c. veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste

Sautee the onion in the butter on medium heat until translucent. Add in the celery and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add in the fake sausage, the bread and the seasonings. Slowly stir in the veg broth, using more or less based on the staleness of the bread. This is best as a "drier" stuffing. Reduce heat to low, so nothing burns to the bottoms and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently/constantly.

Creamed Spinach
1/2 a package of frozen chopped spinach
1/3 a tub of tofutti better than creame cheese
1 T. earth balance
1-2 T. plain unflavored almond milk
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to taste

Thaw the spinach in a skillet with the earth balance over low-medium heat. Use a plate to cover the skillet so it defrosts more quickly.  Add the cream cheese and the seasonings. Slowly add the milk until the desired consistency is reached. I love the kick the cayenne gives it.

I also made my "usual" roasted garlic mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, both can be found in the way beginning of this blog with the tvp meatloaf. I also made a pecan pie which turned out really soupy and not that good, so I'm not posting it here. But thanksgiving was awesome this year.