IRISH STYLE BEER STEW

This recipe has quite a few steps to it but the gravy tastes so good that it makes it all worth the extra time! Make sure you have a lot of bread to dip in.
I used Yves "beef veggie tenders" the last time for a change but I personally like Gardein "beef-less tips" better. Either works, it's a question of personal taste.

IRISH STYLE BEER STEW

Ingredients

2 packages *Gardein beef-less tips (255g/9oz each) or Yves "beef veggie tenders"
1+1+1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup flour (I like whole wheat)
1 large red onion cut in half and sliced thin
2 garlic cloves minced
2 large carrots sliced
1 pack of mushrooms (227g-7 1/2oz) sliced thick
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cups red lager beer
2 cups **vegan beef bouillon
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon of water
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup ***vegan sour cream
Pepper



Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 c)
Put flour in a bowl, coat "beef" chunks with flour and cook in a pan over med high heat with 1 Tablespoon of oil until golden, set aside.

In the same pan, with another tablespoon of oil, sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until translucent. Set aside.

In a large heavy bottom pot, cook brown sugar and vinegar under high heat for 1 min.
Add the beer, broth, tomato paste, mustard and carrots. Bring to boil. Turn off the heat, add the Cornstarch mix with water, the reserved beef and onion mixture and place in the oven, covered. Cook for 45 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.

Meanwhile in a pan, sauté the sliced mushrooms with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over med-high heat until golden. Add to the stew 10 minutes before end of cooking time.

When the stew is ready, remove from the oven, add the vegan sour cream, mix well, pepper to taste and serve over mashed potatoes (optional).

This will make 6 servings


Bon appetit!


*For the beef chunks I like to use "Gardein beef-less tips" (my favorite)www.gardein.com
or "Yves beef veggie tenders" www.yvesveggie.com
**For the vegan beef bouillon, I like "Better than bouillon" by superior touch www.superiortouch.com or "Not beef bouillon" by Edward and son www.edwardandsons.com
***For the vegan sour cream I like "Better than sour cream" (my favorite) by Tofutti www.tofutti.com
or "Follow your heart sour cream alternative" www.followyourheart.com



All of the above can also be found at most natural stores, including whole foods.

CAESAR SALAD

My daughter is a vegan, the funny thing is, she doesn't really like salads. She does like Caesar salad though, as it is creamier and crunchier. After playing with this recipe, I came up with something she really liked. The great thing is, my whole family enjoyed it!


CAESAR SALAD


Caesar Dressing:

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise (I use *Vegenaise)
3 cloves garlic
6 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh pepper to taste



Heat the oil and garlic over medium heat in a small pan until the garlic begins to turn pale gold. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, carefully add the oil and garlic mixture, keep mixing until you get a nice texture. Add fresh pepper to taste.

Caesar Salad:

1 head of romaine chopped small
2 tomatoes diced small
1 avocado diced small
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella (I use **Daiya brand)
2 tablespoon vegan parmesan (I use ***Galaxy Parmesan topping)
1 recipe Caesar salad dressing

Toss in all the salad ingredients to mix, add the dressing over the salad. Mix and serve.

This will make 4 servings

Bon appetit!





* Vegenaise from Follow your Heart can be found at Whole Foods, most organic section of super markets or at http://www.followyourheart.com.

** Daiya products can also be found at Whole Foods and at http://www.daiyafoods.com.

*** Galaxy products can also be found at Whole Foods and at http://www.galaxyfoods.com.

SPICY CHINESE STYLE NOODLES

I have been asked by a lot of friends to show them how to cook vegan. Lots of people seem to be showing interest in eating that way whether on a full time or part time basis. There are lots of reasons why there is a growing interest in this diet: Mainly animal rights, environment & health reasons. Vegan cooking is known to be lower in fat and calories than regular meat base diet. The only thing is nobody wants to eat grains and veggies only! Most people don't mind once in a while, but they’d rather eat food that reminds them of their old favorite. Foods they can relate to do not make them feel like they are missing out on anything.

I have been working on writing up a few recipes lately. Some have been my house staples, some I have created and some are recipes I liked from cookbooks that I have found a way to make a vegan version. I am going try and post a weekly recipe, with a picture of the final product and links of where to buy the vegan alternatives I am using in each of them. They recipes are very easy to make, they are "carnivore" approved, which means I have made it for a non vegan friend or family member and they have loved it. The recipes are also healthier than the original meat version.

For my first recipe I have decided to make an updated version of a childhood staple from Quebec. We call it Chinese noodles "nouilles chinoises". The original version usually use pork or chicken, my version is made with veggies and is a spicier, lower fat version.


I hope you all enjoy!




SPICY CHINESE STYLE NOODLES



Ingredients:

300g/ 10.5 oz brown rice macaroni style noodles
1+1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, or 1/2 of a big one, diced
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 celery stick, chopped small
1 carrot grated
3 baby bok choy, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek (optional, do not use if you do not like spicy, I like very spicy so I use the full 1/2 tsp)
1 tablespoon + 1/2 cup low sodium tamari sauce
pepper to taste

Preparation:

In large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions, about 6 to 10 minutes with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Drain and rinse under cold running water until no longer starchy. Drain well; shake. Set aside to air-dry.

In a wok, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and stir fry the onions for 3-4 minutes on medium heat until translucent.

Add the ginger, celery and garlic and stir fry another 2 minutes.

Add the grated carrots, baby bok choy and sambal oelek and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, stir fry another 3 minutes.

Add the cooked noodles to the wok with 1/2 cup of soy sauce, stir fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes until the excess soy sauce has evaporated. Add soy sauce to taste if needed.

Pepper to taste.

This will make 4 servings


Bon appetit!