Chow Vegan

Tomato Bread Salad

September 20, 2012 By chow 8 Comments

Autumn may be right around the corner, but here, it’s still summer at the farmer’s market. I’m cramming as much of the summer produce in as I can before it all slips away.

Today, I made tomato bread salad – freshly picked vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, fragrant basil, tender green beans, and cubes of crusty bread in a garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

I remember the first time I tried the salad, I thought the bread cubes was an odd soggy-sounding ingredient. But it’s actually really good! They’re sorta like giant croutons but softened from being soaked through with the flavors of the dressing and tomato juice.

Recipes for tomato bread salad also known as Panzanella abound online, I modified this one from Gourmet. It’s so simple and basic, it’s absolutely imperative to only use the highest quality ingredients.

Super easy to make and vary with other summery ingredients, such as corn or cucumber if they’re available. I’ve even tossed in small chunks of Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style Wedge. Oh my gosh.

Tomato Bread Salad
Serves 2

2 cups crusty bread cut into 3/4-inch cubes (optional, toast or grill the bread before using)
1/2 pound vine-ripened heirloom red tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
1/2 pound vine-ripened heirloom yellow tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
Handful of fresh French green beans, trimmed and blanched
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned

Dressing
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, bread and green beans. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar and oil. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Add the basil and salt to taste, mix well and serve.

Tex-Mex Tempeh From Grilling Vegan Style

August 31, 2012 By chow 8 Comments

After reviewing Grilling Vegan Style by John Schlimm, grilling is now officially my favorite way to prepare tempeh. It’s got a nice smoky taste with just a touch of spiciness, takes a bit of prep work but it’s well worth it. If you’re not familiar with tempeh cooking, you may not know that you need to steam or boil it first to remove some of its bitter flavor.

Grilling Vegan Style covers that information and more with a whole chapter devoted specifically to grilling tofu, tempeh and seitan. For this recipe, I simmered the tempeh in vegetable broth for 10 minutes (besides removing the bitter taste, also to soften it and allow the marinade to soak in) and then marinated overnight before grilling.

I served the tempeh sliced into thin strips alongside grilled vegetables. There’s really no better way to say so long to summer and hello to fall.

Tex-Mex Tempeh for Two
2 servings

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari preferred)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon adobo (from a can of chipotles in adobo), or your favorite vegan salsa
1 (8-ounce) package tempeh, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
Canola oil, for oiling the grill grates

In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, soy sauce, chili powder, garlic, oregano, cloves, and adobo. Arrange the tempeh in the dish, turn to coat all over with the marinade, cover and chill, turning halfway through, for 2 hours or overnight.

Grease the grates with the canola oil, then preheat the grill to medium. Grill the tempeh, flipping it once, until browned and hot throughout, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to plates and serve.

Disclosure: I received the book free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the book expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.

Chilling and Grilling Vegan Style

August 27, 2012 By chow 9 Comments

For these dog days of summer, there’s nothing better than grilling in the backyard especially after perusing a review copy of Grilling Vegan Style by John Schlimm. Too bad I don’t have a grill. Or a backyard. Luckily, I have a generous sister who I can impose on. Having almost as much experience grilling as I do baking, namely zero, I’m grateful for the extra help and supervision.

First up is Golden Tandoori Seitan, page 34. Seitan chunks marinated in a delectable blend of Indian spices and soy yogurt. Anything on a stick is sure to please and these seitan skewers are no exception. The marinade is so flavorful, I’m thinking of using it on other things.

Gotta have veggies to go with the protein. Usually, I’m plenty happy with fresh from the farmer’s market vegetables simply grilled, seasoned with a little salt and pepper. That’s it. Nothing fancy. I like my taste buds to get the full flavor of having something grilled.

But since I’m in cookbook review mode, I tried the Sweet Potato & Green Onion Country Salad, page 62 – grilled sweet potatoes and green onions tossed in a cider vinegar-Dijon dressing. While the salad tasted fine, I thought the dressing detracted a bit from the taste of the grilled veggies.

I had this same thought when I made Zucchinicotti, page 166 (not pictured) – a grilled zucchini and red onion mixture stuffed into manicotti tubes and baked. Again, there wasn’t anything wrong with it per se but the grilled taste gets a bit obscured by the other ingredients.

What was really exceptional though was the Homemade Vegan Parmesan Cheese (also on page 166) that was sprinkled on top of the Zucchinicotti. Super easy to make with everyday pantry items, there’s no need to ever get the store bought kind again.

For dessert, I went with grilled fruit – Grilled Cantaloupe with Fresh Ginger & Mint Leaves page 178 and Strawberry Skewers with Vanilla, I Scream! page 188. Once the grilled strawberries were off of the skewer they quickly disappeared courtesy of little fingers belonging to my niece and nephew. So good with ice cream, I went with the store-bought option but there is a recipe for the ice cream in the cookbook.

My niece tried the Backyard PB & J page 141 (not pictured) for lunch and gave a big thumb’s up to the grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For myself, I made a variation with banana and Justin’s Chocolate Peanut Butter that I ultimately had to share with little smiling faces. Grilling Vegan Style is sure to put a smile on your face too.

Disclosure: I received the book free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the book expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains Amazon links, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

Related Post
Getting Boozy with The Tipsy Vegan – Review of The Tipsy Vegan, another fine cookbook by the same author, John Schlimm