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Indonesian Gado Gado

Kimberly,

You may or may not know that I’m not the biggest fan of the string bean. I’ve learned to tolerate them over the years since they seem to be the veggie of choice at sit-down wedding dinners and afternoon funeral luncheons. And now that I’m trying to make vegetables the focus of my meals, I’m forcing myself to try veggies in new and interesting ways that I might otherwise take a pass on.

I came across a website that intrigued me. It is called pickuplimes.com and the woman who runs the site is a Canadian currently living in the Netherlands. She is also a dietitian which gives her some additional credibility in my book. And what sucked me in were the Ultra Fudgy Sea Salt Caramel Brownies. I haven’t made them but, dang, do they look good.

Anyway, I came across a recipe for Gado Gado. I know less than nothing about Indonesian food but it just sounded so tasty and she mentioned that she eats it about once a week. Heck, if a vegan says they want to eat the same thing over and over again week after week, it has to be pretty special. So, I figured I would try it.

Hot damn, it is tasty. I’ve made it twice now. The first time I used vegetable textured protein – looked like ground beef. It was good but Tony didn’t like the texture – go figure. The second time I used Tofurky roasted “chicken” and it was even better. Apparently, there are lots of varieties of gado-gado based on region. I haven’t tried any other variety but if the rest are anything like this, it is definitely worth experimenting. I thought you would like this because of the green beans. I like it despite the green beans. I served it over brown jasmine rice but I’m sure it would be tasty over udon or rice noodles as well.

The recipe is Vegan Gado Gado with Sun-dried Tomatoes. I hope you enjoy it.

Carolyn

Italian Food Snob

Kimberly,

You’ve known me for a very long time so you know that I’m a snob when it comes to Italian cuisine. I refuse to set foot in an Olive Garden, no one can make a cannoli shell better than my mother, and cheese does not come out of a green can… ever. So, trying to find a marinara sauce recipe that doesn’t call for sugar is tough. Everyone wants a quick sauce and the only way to get rid of the acidity from the tomatoes quickly is to add in sugar. So not necessary if you have the patience. A good sauce is a bit of a time commitment but so worth it in the end.

I found a recipe from Bon Appetit that is simple, vegan and not a grain of added sugar in sight. Only five ingredients not counting salt and pepper and it makes an amazing sauce. Three things you do need to know: 1. Use only San Marzano tomatoes. They are more expensive, but so worth it. 2. Use good quality olive oil and only fresh garlic and basil. Dried will only disappoint you. 3. You’ll need to cook it more than the 1 hour that the recipe calls for. We simmered ours for about 2.5-3 hours. The longer it simmers, the thicker it gets and the sweeter it gets; thus the reason you don’t need added sugar. We also make a lot and freeze it in portions and then just defrost it in the refrigerator, or on the stove, or in the microwave to use for a last minute pasta dinner, vegetable lasagna or, what I did last week, eggplant rollatini. I used the recipe from Forks Over Knives but made two tweaks to it – I ditched the nutritional yeast (not a fan) and swapped out the millet for Israeli couscous.

I hope you try it. It is the closest I can get to a good Italian red sauce without adding meat.

Carolyn

Vegan cheese is NOT cheese

Kimberly,

I used the Vegan 8 recipe for Vegan Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake. I love me some Mexican so this was right up my alley – beans, corn tortillas, cheesiness. It was probably more carbs than I probably should have consumed but I’m justifying it with, “they are complex carbs”. Anyway, I made the recipe mostly as written and was pleasantly surprised with the result.

My biggest problem with this is calling it cheesy. It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, cheesy. Raw cashews do not magically become cheese because they have been pureed. They might lend themselves to providing a creaminess, but that is where the similarity ends. So, instead of using the cashews, I used white beans (per her suggestion if you have nut allergies). I’ve used pureed cashews for a couple of other dressings and find it bland and gritty. I wanted to try the beans to see how that would fair. It ended up being quite tasty and since there were black beans in the layers, I didn’t mind one more layer of beans on top.

Again, the end result is good but it lacked complexity. (I’m finding that 8 ingredients is limiting the depth of flavor quite a bit.) I used sprouted corn tortillas and while tasty, they were dry. Next time, I will probably dip the tortillas in enchilada sauce to moisten them before layering. The salsa I used was mild as I don’t care for really spicy food. However, the addition of green chilies would have been a nice touch and I ended up using them on top of my leftovers. Tony just piled on the hot sauce and was happy as a clam. It also screams for more texture. Everything was kind of mushy. It needs crunch or chew or something else besides soft. When I figure out what to use, I’ll let you know.

The hardest part of this vegan thing is the dairy. Nothing comes close to real cheese. Nothing. And it makes me sad.

Carolyn