Vegan MoFo Day 30: Bread colored with the blood of my enemies...

OK, so maybe that's not exactly vegan. Let's just call this "Beet Bread" and not ask too many questions. With a tiny amount of veganization, this is from Rosalie Hurd's Ten Talents (1968):

In a blender combine:

2 c cooked beets

1/3 c agave (I want to try sorghum molasses, next time)

2 1/2 c cooking liquid from beets

Pour the results into a mixing bowl and add:

1 T salt

1/2 c oil

1/2 c ground flaxseed

2 T dried parsley

1/2 c soy flour

5 c whole wheat flour

Separately, mix:

2 1/2 T yeast

1/2 c warm water

1 t agave

Allow the yeast mixture to sit for a minute or two. Then, combine with the rest. Gradually mix in:

5 c white bread flour

(I found that it did not take the full 5 cups - more like 4, really. It will depend on many factors, so you have to go slowly and let the dough take what it needs, but no more.) Knead thoroughly. Rosalie says 5 minutes, but I think more like 10-15 is appropriate.

Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise. Mine rose really quickly - doubled in less than an hour. Divide into loaves. Rosalie says 4 to 5, and I got 4 loaves from the batch. Place in greased pans, cover, allow to rise again. Bake at 375 F for 40 - 50 minutes.

The result is a slightly sweet, slightly herbal (from the parsley), soft and pleasant bread. The household Beet Hater pronounced the beet flavor undetectable.

Happy MoFo everybody!

Vegan MoFo Day 29: Caraway Potatoes

Today's retro-veg recipe is yet another caraway recipe from the Lukas Klinik's 1976 Cookery Book.

Chop potatoes into large chunks. The book does not indicate a need to peel, but looking at the potatoes I had on hand, I decided to. Grease a baking tray with vegan margarine, and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Press one end of each potato into a bowl of caraway seeds, and then place this end down on the salted baking sheet. Bake at 400 F until the potatoes soften. It will depend on their size but mine too about 3o minutes.

We liked these, and would make them again. Next time, I will grease the potatoes as well as the baking sheet, as they dried out just a bit more than I wanted them to.

MoFo + Thanksgiving is wearing me out, but have no fear! I will make it to the end! The posts may not be long, or well thought out, or well photographed, but they will appear on schedule!

Cricket picks a winner...

Cricket has looked into the souls of the commenters and picked a winner: Amey! (Check out her amazing MoFo posts if you haven't been following them.)

We've learned from zemmely that updated food safety rules advise refrigerating or freezing winter squash preserves, and the I-40 Kitchen does not possess a refrigerated truck to drive Amey's marmalade to her. Thus, she will have her choice of other, non-problematic items from the jam closet!

Vegan MoFo Day 28: Scalloped Collards

This most unusual casserole is adapted from the Rosicrucian Fellowship's New Age Vegetarian Cookbook (1968). I've never had collards in this kind of dish, and was surprised by how much I liked them.

Cut the large central stems from a big bunch of collards. Steam or boil these in salted water, briefly, maybe about 10 minutes or less. Drain.

Make a white sauce. You can use your favorite, but I cooked 2 T all purpose flour and 1 T chickpea flour into a roux, and then added 2 c plain almond milk, and cooked until thick. I then added salt and pepper to taste.

Open and drain a 19 oz can of ackees. Toss with 1/4 t black salt.

In a greased casserole dish, layer collards, ackees, white sauce, and vegan cheese to taste. Cover and bake at 400 F until everything is bubbly and melty. Enjoy!

Vegan MoFo Day 27: Butternut Squash Marmalade + Giveaway

IMPORTANT UPDATE: A commenter has helpfully pointed out that the USDA has changed its recommendations regarding canning winter squash since the time of this cookbook's publication. While one can find conflicting opinions from other sources, especially regarding a preserve like this which is more syrup than solid, I prefer to play it safe. This marmalade is going in the freezer (which is agreed to be a safe destination for it). As I can't ship it to you frozen or refrigerated, the winner will receive other jams or jellies, made from recipes that meet current USDA standards. By all means, try the recipe if you like butternut squash, but you will want to research the food safety issue, and decide if you want to freeze the preserves.

Taking inspiration from Macho Pineapple's resolve to tackle his pile of CSA produce, I turned my attention to my growing collection of winter squash.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship's New Age Vegetarian Cookbook (1968) includes a recipe for pumpkin marmalade. If it is good enough for pumpkin, it is good enough for butternut squash.

3 quarts butternut squash, diced small

8 cups unrefined sugar

1 lemon

1 orange

Mix butternut squash and sugar. Cover and let stand overnight. Remove seeds from orange and lemon and grind them (rind, pulp, and all) in the food processor. Add to the squash/sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and cook until the squash goes translucent - about 1 hour. Pack in sterilized jars and keep frozen or refrigerated.

Yield: 10 1/2 cups.

I will give away a jar to one (or possibly more) lucky winners. Just leave me a comment and check back tomorrow to see if you won.

Bonus MoFo: Gravy-Baked Polenta Seitan, Revealed!

This recipe has nothing to do with this month's retro theme, but it follows on many Facebook requests:

Some years ago, Susie - everyone's favorite vegan food scientist - sent me a recipe for polenta seitan. We love it in its original Italian-ish version, and in Thanksgiving and Breakfast Sausage & Gravy variations which we have concocted over the years. With Susie's blessing, I give you this amazing recipe. You will love it.

ORIGINAL SUSIE VERSION

3 heaping T tomato paste
3 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 T soy sauce
2 t basil
2 t oregano
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t white pepper
3/4 c polenta-grind cornmeal (regular works, too, but changes the texture)
1/2 c water
1 c vital wheat gluten

Mix everything but the vwg until well combined. Gradually add the gluten. You may need a little more or a little less. You want it to pull together into a cohesive dough. Tear off chunks the size of a large marble and flatten them into little medallions. Steam these for 30 minutes.

Place the steamed seitan into a casserole pan, more or less in one layer. Cover with a mixture of half tomato sauce, half water. Place chunks of Teese on top, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until Teese has melted and it looks done. (If using another vegan cheese, it may be necessary to wait until the end to add it, and then raise the temperature and/or cover the pan to get it to melt. It is good without cheese, too.)

THANKSGIVING VARIATION (see photo above)

Replace spices with a mix of sage, fennel, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and black pepper. (Once, in desperation, I used poultry seasoning and it worked fine.)

Instead of tomato sauce, make a batch of the Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance. Replace the gravy spices with the same mixture as above. One year, I added finely chopped celery to the gravy. Dilute the gravy with about 2 c water. Pile the steamed seitan medallions in a casserole. (For some reason, this version works better piled up instead of in one layer.) Cover with diluted gravy, and bake at 400 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it looks done.

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE & GRAVY VARIATION

Make whichever version of the polenta seitan you prefer. (I like the Thanksgiving spices for this, as sage and fennel belong in sausage.)

Make a milk gravy like the Almond Milk Gravy in Yellow Rose Recipes, and dilute with a couple of cups of water. Pile seitan in a casserole, cover with diluted gravy, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it looks done. Serve over hot biscuits.

Vegan MoFo Day 26: Rosicrucian Ladies Who Lunch, Part 2

After the success of the prior salad (yesterday's post), we decided to try another "ladies who lunch" concoction from the Rosicrucian Fellowship's salad booklet. Throwing caution to the wind, we went for the Asparagus and Pineapple Salad, which turned out to be really pleasant. The Rosicrucian ladies have been holding their salad secrets behind the veil, but no longer!

2 c. asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained

1/2 c walnuts, chopped

1 c celery, chopped

enough vegan mayo to coat it all

Steam asparagus, drain, and cool. Mix with everything else. I didn't have a lettuce leaf for the photo, but you can visualize it.