Chow Vegan

Pumpkin Lasagna Cupcakes

October 29, 2012 By chow 11 Comments

With Halloween just about here and pumpkins everywhere, I made pumpkin lasagna cupcakes. Basically, it’s the same recipe as my vegetable lasagna cupcakes but instead of tomato sauce, it’s pumpkin puree. Spicy pumpkin puree.

Have little ghosts and goblins not into spicy? Just tweak the seasonings. I made a batch there were half spicy and half not spicy. It’s easy to do when lasagna is cupcake style.

Pumpkin Lasagna Cupcakes
Makes 12

24 wonton wrappers
1/4 cup of your favorite cheese

Pumpkin Filling
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot chili sauce or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable Filling
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
3 baby yellow squash and/or zucchini, peeled, washed and sliced crosswise
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Tofu Ricotta
8 ounces firm tofu with water squeezed out and crumbled
10 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, combine the pumpkin, ginger, and soy sauce. Season to taste with the salt and pepper and Sriracha sauce. Mix well.

To make the vegetable filling, heat a wok or sauté pan to hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds, add the squash and cook for a minute or so then add the mushrooms and cook for another minute until the vegetables are tender. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Next, make the tofu ricotta. Crumble about 3/4 of the tofu in a bowl, add the basil, olive oil, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until smooth but still slightly lumpy. Crumble in the remaining 1/4 tofu, mix to combine and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Lightly coat a 12 cup muffin pan with oil. Layer a wonton wrapper in each cup, gently pressing down on the bottom and up the sides of the cup.

Divide the tofu ricotta in half. Using the first half, distribute evenly on top of each wrapper. Layer the vegetables next using the same distribution method. Top with the pumpkin then cheese.

Place a wonton wrapper on top but going in the opposite direction. Repeat the layers of the ricotta, vegetables, pumpkin and finally a sprinkling of cheese on the very top.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until the wontons wrappers are golden. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before serving.

Variation
For a non-spicy pumpkin filling:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Sal’s Sandwiches San Luis Obispo

October 18, 2012 By chow 8 Comments

On a recent trip down south, I picked up lunch at Sal’s Sandwiches & Beer in downtown San Luis Obispo, CA. As always, I’m deliriously happy to see vegan options on the menu.

I got the Just As Good! – vegan turkey, vegan salami, vegan cheddar, sprouts, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion, vegan mayo, dijon mustard on a wheat roll. Comes in full or half size. The sandwich for the most part was good; the bread could be better.

Coming from the SF Bay Area, it’s hard not to compare Sal’s to Ike’s Place – from the menu of meat, vegetarian and vegan sandwiches with fun and interesting names down to the lollipop that comes with your order. The space is nicer though with its sidewalk seating, high ceilings, and dark colors for that cool, hip look.

It looks like they’ve since updated their menu – I’m bummed the Just As Good! is now listed as being on a honey wheat bun. Not sure if that’s the same bread as always, but why have vegan fillings on what sounds like a non-vegan bread? Next time, I’m going the custom-build-your-own-sandwich route and have it served hot. And I’m double-checking the bread options.

Baked Matcha Fries

October 4, 2012 By chow 7 Comments

There is nothing wrong with your screen. Do not bother to adjust the color. You are in fact viewing Baked Matcha Fries, the color you see is the actual color of the fries [end Twilight Zone theme music].

I thought the fries would come out as a bright green color instead of a muted green shade. I’ve seen beautiful green colored Matcha Fries on one of my favorite blogs, Modern Vegetarian (sadly, the author has move on to other things and no longer updates the blog). The original recipe calls for fries tossed in matcha powder and then toasted in a oven toaster.

For mine, I started from scratch and tossed the cut potatoes in matcha powder before baking them in the oven and that’s the color they came out.

I’ve tried another batch, this time adding the matcha powder at the very end to the cooked fries coming out of the oven. Same dreary green color. But I liked the taste of the baked-in matcha powder much better.

I can only conclude that the muted green shade is the result of the particular green tea powder that I was using – some random brand from the Asian supermarket. Perhaps I should just rename them to Ghoulish Green Fries in celebration of Halloween?

Baked Matcha Fries

1 large or 2 small Russet potatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
Salt to taste
Minced fresh parsley to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice the potato into 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch french fry shape. Place the potato strips in a bowl. Add the olive oil, green tea powder and salt to taste and mix well. Spread the potatoes out on a baking pan in a single layer. Bake about 10-12 minutes on one side, flip over and bake another 10-12 minutes until crisp and browned. Garnish with the parsley if using. Serve immediately with ranch dressing.

Ranch Dressing
Makes a little over 1/3 cup

1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Chill until ready to use.

Related Post
Amy’s Spicy Chili Fries