DDD #72 – Vegan New Year’s Day Hoppin’ John & Collard Greens for Instant Pot or Not

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All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Hoppin’ John is a traditional southern dish, typically served on New Years Day to bring a prosperous new year.  Here is WIKIPEDIA’S explanation.  I didn’t add peas to mine but you certainly can & I love the idea of serving each bowl with a coin beneath it to ramp up the good fortune.

This is CRAZY easy to make & tastier than you might guess.  I made these in my Instant Pot with dried beans but these can be done very quickly on your stove top with canned beans or with dry beans in a slow cooker.


Click the image above to watch the video.

Vegan New Years Day Spicy Hoppin’ John 

Serves 4 very well

INGREDIENTS

1 lb dried black eyed peas (or 2 lbs canned – drained & rinsed – if you are going stove top)

1 medium onion – diced

3-6 garlic cloves – diced

4 celery stalks – diced

1 red bell pepper – diced

1 4oz can diced green chilies or jalapenos (optional)

2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo – diced (more or less – to your taste)

1 TBS ground cumin

1 TBS olive oil

4 cups vegetable stock

S&P to taste

GARNISH OPTIONS:

Diced tomatoes

Scallions – sliced

Fresh Italian parsley – chopped

Fresh cilantro – chopped

Red onion – diced

Avocado – sliced

Tabasco, Crystal (or other hot sauce)

COINS (Pennies – silver dollars?  Your call) – for placement under each serving dish

Cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

Cook your rice according to the package instructions.

INSTANT POT:  Using the saute setting, heat 1 TBS olive oil & saute the onion, celery & bell pepper until soft.  Add the garlic & saute one minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients & cook, sealed, on the manual setting for 45 minutes.

SLOW COOKER: If you are using dried black eyed peas – bring a pot of water to a rapid boil.  Add the black eyed peas & boil for ten minutes.  Turn off heat, cover & let stand for an hour. Drain & RINSE WELL.

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil & saute the garlic, onion, red pepper and celery until the vegetable are soft.

Once your vegetables are sauteed, you simply combine the already partly cooked beans with the vegetables, chipotle, green chilies, cumin, and S&P with 4 cups of veggie stock to your slow cooker.    Heat on high for 5 hours.

STOVE TOP:

Use canned beans.  Heat 1 TBS olive oil & saute the onion, celery & bell pepper until soft.  Add the garlic & saute one minute.  Add a cup of vegetable stock and the rest of the ingredients & simmer until heated through & al the flavors meld.   Add more stock if the get too dry.  Cook on high if they are too watery.

Folded Money Collard Greens

INGREDIENTS

24 oz collard greens – trimmed, chopped & washed

1-2 TBS olive oil

1 large onion – diced

6 (or more) celery stalks – diced

6 garlic cloves – diced

1 TBS crushed red pepper

3 cups veggie stock

1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

1/4 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

2 tomatoes – diced

Hot sauce as garnish (optional)

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DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a pan.  Saute the onions & celery until they soften.  Add the chopped garlic & crushed red pepper.  Saute another 1-2 minutes.

Add the stock and collard greens & smoked paprika, stock.  Bring to a boil & then reduce heat to low, cover & simmer – covered – for about 20- 30 minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes & liquid smoke.  Stir in & let sit on low heat – or removed from heat – for about 30 minutes.  Don’t add salt…unless you really like being dehydrated & being unable to remove your rings.  Somehow – this is QUITE salty just from the stock.

And – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

Leftover Hoppin’ John Fritters with Heirloom Tomato & Avocado Salsa

Collard Green Burrito Wrap with Hoppin’ John Leftovers

Hoppin’ John – Revisited ~ SoCal-Style

 

DDD #28 – Vegan Chicken Shawarma Tacos with Garlic Paste (Toum) & Tzatziki Sauce

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All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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vromans back

My original post for shawarma (May 30, 2014) only presented the recipe as a traditional pita sandwich.  But – today on my Youtube channel (www.VideoVegan.com) – I offered the idea of making tacos.  They are a revelation!  I recommend them very highly!  Click the image below to watch the video & please subscribe to my channel.

OK!  There are not a lot of foods I really miss since I gave up meat 25 years ago but gyros & shawarma are two things definitely on the “miss list.”

I used Beyond Meat vegan chicken & I recommend it very highly – though you can use another brand.  At any rate – whatever you use – the longer you marinate if for the better – overnight being optimal.

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I made the garlic paste (or a version of it) that they serve at Zankou chicken, here in LA.  It is a bright, white paste that has a bit of a gritty texture & seems to be just mashed garlic.  I was HORRIFIED to discover – it does have a lot of garlic but it has even more OIL!  It is basically an aioli.  Or a mayonnaise.  Damn.  So – it is not a guiltless pleasure but you don’t need tons before you run the risk of setting things ablaze just by breathing your garlic shit storm on them – so do not sweat the calories too much.

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Mmmm!  Tzatziki!

There are a lot of ingredients in the chicken marinade but only the cardamom is remotely exotic & you probably already have most of them in your cabinets – so do not be intimidated.  If you do not have or cannot find ground cardamom – never fear!  Substitutes: equal parts ground nutmeg and cinnamon OR equal parts ground cloves and cinnamon OR nutmeg OR cinnamon

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Garlic Paste (Toum)

This makes quite a bit but it should keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 small potato (I used a Yukon Gold) – boiled until soft & cooled

1 full cup garlic cloves (peel fresh ones & do not use the pre-peeled cloves as they have been frozen & are not as flavorful)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cups grapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)

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DIRECTIONS

In your food processor, pulse the garlic, potato, lemon juice & salt until they are pureed.  You might need to scrape the sides of the bowl down a few times.  Then, VERY SLOWLY drizzle the oil in as the pureed is being spun about.  Do this in a very slow & steady stream.  Lots of recipes suggested it should take ten minutes.  I got it done in under five but if you add the oil too fast – it will not emulsify properly.  Check it as you go & if it begins to separate – stop adding oil & keep processing it until it comes together again.

That’s it!  You MIGHT want to experiment with an increased quantity of potato & a lesser quantity of oil.   I think I will the next time.

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Tzatziki 

Makes about 1.5 cups

INGREDIENTS

6 oz vegan yogurt

1 TBS lemon juice

1 garlic clove – minced

1/4 – 1/3  cucumber – peeled & diced

pinch of salt

1 tsp or more fresh dill – chopped

DIRECTIONS

Mix that shit up!  Add water if you think it is too thick – but not a lot.

Done!

Tahini Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

Whisk it together.  Use thick or water down to drizzle on your shawarma.

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Vegan Chicken Shawarma (for Pita or Tacos)

Serves 2 or 3

INGREDIENTS

Flour tortillas (for tacos) or pita bread or wraps or naan

9 oz vegan chicken

4 garlic cloves – minced

1 TBS smoked paprika (or regular)

1 TBS ground cumin

1 TBS ground cardamom (or substitute from the note above)

1 TBS chili powder

1 TBS ground coriander

1 tsp pepper

Olive oil

juice & zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup yogurt (optional) – but adding the yogurt makes a far more mellow marinade so I recommend using it unless you love heavily spiced food

Garnish ideas: sliced red onion, sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, parsley, cucumber slices, radish slices

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DIRECTIONS

Mix the spices in a large glass container with the vinegar, lemon juice & zest, 2 TBS olive oil & yogurt (if using).   This is pretty thick stuff.  Feel free to thin it with water if you like.  Add the chicken & marinate it for at least an hour or overnight.  Try not to use a plastic container as it could get stained or left stinky from the spices.

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When you are ready to eat – heat a little olive oil in a pan & heat the chicken.  Allow the marinade to come away as you likely won’t want as much in the actual sandwich.  When it is warm, assemble the tacos or wraps.  Slather some garlic paste on the bread or tortillas & layer the ingredients on top.  Add some tzatziki or tahini sauce or hummus & chow the fuck down!

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Vegan BBQ Ribs (Seitan) with Spicy Korean or Spicy Traditional BBQ Sauce

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All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I am reposting this recipe from June 2014 because I have a new Video Vegan Youtube recipe to go with it.  Check it out here:

Holy.  Fucking.  Shit.

These are so crazy easy & so freaking delicious – I might eat them every day for the rest of my life!  As a kid, BBQ ribs with that red, Chinese BBQ sauce were my favorite food on Earth.  Having given meat up 25 years ago or so – I have often longed for those fuckers but nobody seemed to have any way to replicate them.  Until now!

These will not fool a meat-eater into thinking these are beef or pork but who cares about that?  Not fucking ME.  I was very pleased with myself yesterday – having eaten the entire plate of these spicy wonders and – and sat there wondering why I put off trying to make my own seitan (wheat gluten-based fake meat) for this long.

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This is the brand I bought & I got it at the local health food store.  I am certain Whole Foods & places like Erewhon must also carry it – perhaps even in the bulk items aisle.  If you live in a remote area – buy it online.  But BUY IT!

The rack of 8 ribs I made yesterday took 1 cup of this flour to make – which is only about 500 calories – plus the calories from the BBQ sauce.  Not bad for what feels like an enormous amount of meat because, remember, those ribs you see here are boneless – so that big slab is all eatin’ material.  Plus – it is really enough for two – I just completely lost my shit & shoved these down my gullet like hotdog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi.  It must have looked obscene (had anyone been here to watch me) and I will admit to a near-sexual level of excitement as I devoured these.  It was madness!  I had become unhinged!  And I write about it now without shame or regret.  Though I still suffer from a haunting, multi-pronged depression-anxiety that clings to me like a sticky burr on a pilly Irish sweater.  So – these ribs, magical as they are, do not cure THIS feeling (photographer unknown):

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Never fear – wine takes at least some of the edge off – if you also feel like that image above.  The combo of wine & these ribs will keep those demons at bay for at least a brief respite.

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OK – back to the ribs.  I made two kinds of BBQ sauce yesterday – Korean & traditional.  Both were very spicy but I ended up opting to use the Korean variety on my first faux rib effort.  The Korean one was made in my crock-pot as I hiked.  The other was made stove-top.   I used 2 TBS Gochujang (seen below) in the Korean BBQ sauce but only because I had it.  It is in NO WAY critical to the final outcome.

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Spicy Korean BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup low sodium tamari (soy sauce)

1/4 cup water

1 TBS rice vinegar

2 TBS chili paste (sambal oelek or other type)

2 TBS Gochujang (optional)

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground pepper

1 TBS fresh ginger (minced)

5 garlic cloves – minced

2 TBS cornstarch

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DIRECTIONS

I put everything EXCEPT the cornstarch into a little crock-pot & left it for two hours.  Once it was bubbly – I added 2 TBS cornstarch & whisked it in.  That made the sauce very thick & gooey.  Perfect!  You can do this stove-top by just bringing everything (except cornstarch) to a boil & then whisk in the cornstarch.  It would likely take only a few minutes to come together.

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Spicy Traditional BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

2 cups ketchup

1 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

5 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS white sugar

1 TBS ground pepper

1 TBS garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 TBS Dijon

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 TBS horseradish

1 TBS lemon juice

1 TBS vegan (or other) Worcestershire sauce

2+ chipotle peppers in adobo (minced) (use more or less to suit your heat tolerance – I used 5)

juice of 1 orange

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DIRECTIONS

Bring all ingredients to a boil & simmer until thick.  10-15 minutes.  Maybe more but not likely.

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Vegan BBQ Ribs

INGREDIENTS

1 cup vital wheat gluten

2 tsp chipotle powder (smoked or not)

1 TBS lemon pepper

1 TBS onion powder

1 TBS garlic powder

1 cup water

2 TBS tahini

2 TBS low sodium tamari (soy sauce)

1-2 drops (DROPS – as this shit is overpowering and gets nasty-tasting fast) – liquid smoke (optional)

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DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Also – get the barbeque ready.  It is the grilling of these guys that is the magic.  A regular BBQ with charcoals is best.

Mix the wet ingredients (water, tahini, tamari & liquid smoke) in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In a larger bowl – mix the dry ingredients (wheat gluten & spices) and add the wet ingredients.  Mix it up until that gooey hamburger-looking stuff comes together – which happens almost instantly.

Grease a loaf pan & press the seitan into the pan.  Smooth it flat.  Bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven & transfer the seitan to a plate & slather it with the BBQ sauce of your choice.

When your charcoals are ready – flop the seitan, BBQ sauce side down, onto the grill.  Slather lots more BBQ sauce on the other side.

Now just cook this until it looks the way you would want ribs to look.  I took mine off too early & found the “ribs” still not chewy enough to seem like meat so – I cut the slab into ribs and cooked them all a bit more.

And then I commenced the food orgy.  I suggest you do the same!

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Easy Basil Pesto (Vegan or Not)

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All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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BathingandthesinglegirlCover

vromans back

Pesto is a lovely thing – when used sparingly.  I loathe a pesto pasta that is heavy with oily dense pesto – but if the pesto is light & clean & used delicately – it really is yummy.

Traditionally – it is made with pine nuts.  I have sworn off pine nuts ever since a friend got “pine mouth.”  Pine mouth is a horrid metallic taste that overwhelms your mouth whenever you eat or drink.  It is from eating rancid pine nuts.  Apparently, pine nuts have a relatively short shelf life & many come from China, Korea, Russia and Vietnam.  Nobody seems to really understand pine mouth but there is one easy way to avoid ever getting it – avoid pine nuts.  Easy.  Pine nuts are rich & greasy & are used way too liberally & frequently – much like sun-dried tomatoes in the eighties.  Fuck you, pine nuts.  I never like you much, anyway.

So – you can make pesto with almost any other nut – like pecans, walnuts, cashews, pistachios or – as I did here – with almonds.   You can toast the nuts or not – it does not matter much.

The real news here is the concept of blanching the basil.  I read that it makes for a smoother & more vibrantly green pesto.  Vibrant green is nice to photograph – so I blanched my basil.  Judge the results yourself.  If you wanna skip the blanching – there will be no repercussions.  I promise.

Traditionally – real Parmesan is used and I used it here.  If you are vegan – just use vegan Parmesan.

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Easy Basil Pesto (Vegan or Not)

Makes a lot

INGREDIENTS

6 oz (or 4 packed cups) fresh basil

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup grated Parmesan (or vegan alternative)

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

S&P to taste

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DIRECTIONS

Blanch the basil by submerging it in boiling water for about 30 seconds.  Drain & plunge into cold water to stop its cooking. Squeeze the water out.

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  I add water in tiny increments to thin it & to facilitate the blending.

Season with S&P.

I put mine into sandwich bags in small portions & froze it for later use.  Works great!

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A Purist’s Homemade Guacamole & Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

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All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I am an absolute purist when it comes to guacamole.  Three ingredients only!  Avocado, lime juice & salt.  I know people add salsa and cilantro or jalapeno or spices etc but if the avocados are perfect, I think it is a crime to fuck with them.

These chips used only cooking spray & 12 minutes in the oven.  So much healthier & just as crunchy.  I hear they keep in an air-tight container for up to 5 days but I ate all mine – so I cannot vouch for that.

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Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

INGREDIENTS

Corn tortillas

Cooking spray

Salt (optional)

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DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the tortillas & spread on parchment paper (or cooking sheet treated with cooking spray) – spread without touching each other so they crisp the most, spray with cooking oil (add salt if you want to) and cook 10-12 minutes or until they are golden & crunchy.  My oven heats unevenly so mine cooking unevenly.  To avoid this – you might want to spin the pan in the oven every few minutes.

Put into a bowl to cool & set aside.

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A Purist’s Homemade Guacamole

INGREDIENTS

2 avocados (keep the pits!)

juice of 1/2 lime (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

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DIRECTIONS

Scoop the avocado out of the skin & chop in a bowl.  Add salt & lime juice & keep mashing until it is as chunky or as smooth as you like.  Put the pits BACK INTO the bowl when you are done & this tricks the avocados into thinking they are still in tact & the guacamole will not brown nearly as quickly.  Serve with the chips & a cold cerveza & get your chow on.

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Vegan BBQ Ribs (Seitan) with Spicy Korean or Spicy Traditional BBQ Sauce

86 Comments

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

~

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vromans front

vromans back

Holy.  Fucking.  Shit.

These are so crazy easy & so freaking delicious – I might eat them every day for the rest of my life!  As a kid, BBQ ribs with that red, Chinese BBQ sauce were my favorite food on Earth.  Having given meat up 25 years ago or so – I have often longed for those fuckers but nobody seemed to have any way to replicate them.  Until now!

These will not fool a meat-eater into thinking these are beef or pork but who cares about that?  Not fucking ME.  I was very pleased with myself yesterday – having eaten the entire plate of these spicy wonders and – and sat there wondering why I put off trying to make my own seitan (wheat gluten-based fake meat) for this long.

Image

This is the brand I bought & I got it at the local health food store.  I am certain Whole Foods & places like Erewhon must also carry it – perhaps even in the bulk items aisle.  If you live in a remote area – buy it online.  But BUY IT!

The rack of 8 ribs I made yesterday took 1 cup of this flour to make – which is only about 500 calories – plus the calories from the BBQ sauce.  Not bad for what feels like an enormous amount of meat because, remember, those ribs you see here are boneless – so that big slab is all eatin’ material.  Plus – it is really enough for two – I just completely lost my shit & shoved these down my gullet like hotdog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi.  It must have looked obscene (had anyone been here to watch me) and I will admit to a near-sexual level of excitement as I devoured these.  It was madness!  I had become unhinged!  And I write about it now without shame or regret.  Though I still suffer from a haunting, multi-pronged depression-anxiety that clings to me like a sticky burr on a pilly Irish sweater.  So – these ribs, magical as they are, do not cure THIS feeling (photographer unknown):

Image

Never fear – wine takes at least some of the edge off – if you also feel like that image above.  The combo of wine & these ribs will keep those demons at bay for at least a brief respite.

OK – back to the ribs.  I made two kinds of BBQ sauce yesterday – Korean & traditional.  Both were very spicy but I ended up opting to use the Korean variety on my first faux rib effort.  The Korean one was made in my crock-pot as I hiked.  The other was made stove-top.   I used 2 TBS Gochujang (seen below) in the Korean BBQ sauce but only because I had it.  It is in NO WAY critical to the final outcome.

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Spicy Korean BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup low sodium tamari (soy sauce)

1/4 cup water

1 TBS rice vinegar

2 TBS chili paste (sambal oelek or other type)

2 TBS Gochujang (optional)

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground pepper

1 TBS fresh ginger (minced)

5 garlic cloves – minced

2 TBS cornstarch

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DIRECTIONS

I put everything EXCEPT the cornstarch into a little crock-pot & left it for two hours.  Once it was bubbly – I added 2 TBS cornstarch & whisked it in.  That made the sauce very thick & gooey.  Perfect!  You can do this stove-top by just bringing everything (except cornstarch) to a boil & then whisk in the cornstarch.  It would likely take only a few minutes to come together.

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Spicy Traditional BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

2 cups ketchup

1 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

5 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS white sugar

1 TBS ground pepper

1 TBS garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 TBS Dijon

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 TBS horseradish

1 TBS lemon juice

1 TBS vegan (or other) Worcestershire sauce

2+ chipotle peppers in adobo (minced) (use more or less to suit your heat tolerance – I used 5)

juice of 1 orange

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DIRECTIONS

Bring all ingredients to a boil & simmer until thick.  10-15 minutes.  Maybe more but not likely.

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Vegan BBQ Ribs

INGREDIENTS

1 cup vital wheat gluten

2 tsp chipotle powder (smoked or not)

1 TBS lemon pepper

1 TBS onion powder

1 TBS garlic powder

1 cup water

2 TBS tahini

2 TBS low sodium tamari (soy sauce)

1-2 drops (DROPS – as this shit is overpowering and gets nasty-tasting fast) – liquid smoke (optional)

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DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Also – get the barbeque ready.  It is the grilling of these guys that is the magic.  A regular BBQ with charcoals is best.

Mix the wet ingredients (water, tahini, tamari & liquid smoke) in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In a larger bowl – mix the dry ingredients (wheat gluten & spices) and add the wet ingredients.  Mix it up until that gooey hamburger-looking stuff comes together – which happens almost instantly.

Grease a loaf pan & press the seitan into the pan.  Smooth it flat.  Bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven & transfer the seitan to a plate & slather it with the BBQ sauce of your choice.

When your charcoals are ready – flop the seitan, BBQ sauce side down, onto the grill.  Slather lots more BBQ sauce on the other side.

Now just cook this until it looks the way you would want ribs to look.  I took mine off too early & found the “ribs” still not chewy enough to seem like meat so – I cut the slab into ribs and cooked them all a bit more.

And then I commenced the food orgy.  I suggest you do the same!

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Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Made From Scratch

6 Comments

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

images (1)download (1)

~

All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

~

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I do not eat meat.  No poultry, beef, lamb, pork or otherwise.  And I recently gave up seafood because of reports about what the Fukishima disaster is doing to sea life.  Call me crazy but I do not want to eat a fish that has such terrible radiation poisoning that it is bleeding from its gills & eyes.  And there are so many other carcinogens we are exposed to every day over which we have no control – I just think avoiding seafood seems smart from now on.  Freshwater fish – I might still sample.  We shall see.

So – no – I do not eat chicken soup but I did back in the day.  And my badass boyfriend, Miles, exists on a nearly 100% animal protein diet.  He is here in LA this week & arrived with a terrible cold – so – I made him this soup.  Though I was not able to try it, it smells outrageously good & is truly easy.  The key is getting a cooked chicken.  Or roast your own but that adds a whole procedure that seems more work than it is worth.

The cooked chickens at Ralph’s were $7 and anemic-looking compared to the Flintstones-sized, ginormous $5 roasted chickens at Costco.  Having purchased the Costco chickens in the past for my dogs – I can also report that they are juicier & far less greasy than the Ralph’s jobby I picked up yesterday.  So – if you live near a Costco – get the chicken there.

Like lots of my recipes, the ratio of ingredients here is just a suggestion.  The size of your chicken will determine how much you need of the other things.  Yes, people.  Size matters.  So – if you have a glorified Cornish game hen-sized chicken – this ingredient list will work.  If you get the whopper chicken from Costco – you might want to ratchet up the veggie quantity.  Also – this is a very traditional chicken soup (because Miles is an old-school kinda guy) but you could add chopped kale or diced zucchini or whatever the fuck you want in it.  Go crazy.

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Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup From Scratch

INGREDIENTS

1 roasted chicken

2 onions

10 celery stalks

1 bunch parsley

5 garlic cloves

4 bay leaves

5 carrots

Several sprigs each of fresh thyme & fresh sage

1/2 lb noodles ( I used egg noodles)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Extra parsley as garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, add a glug or two of olive oil.  Quarter ONE onion & roughly chop FIVE celery stalks.  I added the base of the celery to my pot, too.  Cut the garlic cloves in half.  Saute the onion, celery & garlic for about 2 minutes.

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Meanwhile – remove all the nice meat from the chicken & set aside.  If there is liquid in the COOKED chicken packaging (NEVER add raw chicken “juice” to anything!)  – feel free to add that to the stock.  Put everything else from the chicken (skin, bones, wings & icky bits – ALL of the rest) into the stock pot with the veggies.  Add the parsley, sage & thyme whole.  Add the bay leaves.  Add enough water to cover all the ingredients in at least an inch of water.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for at least thirty minutes.  Get another large pot & put a colander over it.  Pour the stock through the colander & throw away all the bits the colander catches.  Return the fresh chicken stock to the stove. Dice the remaining onion & add it to the stock.  Add the reserved chicken pieces.  Dice the celery & add that.  Chop the carrots & add them.  Add the noodles.  Bring to a boil & simmer until the noodles are cooked & the veggies are tender.  If the soup needs more stock, just add water.  Add salt (at least 1 tsp – maybe as much as 3 or 4 – but TASTE IT after you add each quantity of salt).  Add pepper.  Serve it up with some more parsley & let the healing begin!!

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Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara & a Really Long Podcast (if you know what I’m saying)

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All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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First of all – I did a comprehensive interview a few months ago that was recently posted.  I talk about just about everything important over the course of my entire life.  If the minutiae of my existence intrigue you – HERE is the i-tunes link.  I talk about the old 90210 & being on set with Chucky & this blog & film festivals & what scandalous whores TV characters are these days.  Plus more!  And more.  And more.  That said –

This might be my favorite friggin’ pasta dish I have ever made!  Insanely easy & outrageously delicious.  Looking back over my past recipes I couldn’t help but notice that I seem to rave about most anything I put salmon in.  Like these:

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon, Capers, Cream Cheese & Dill

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Potato, Salmon & Asparagus Tall Tart (Pie) with Fresh Dill

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Spicy Hoisin BBQ Salmon Tacos with Asian Slaw & Micro Cilantro

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Roasted Salmon & Potato Hash with Hominy & Poached Egg (AWESOME!!)

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Easiest Spicy Thai Coconut Salmon Soup for the Slow Cooker (with a Vegan option!)

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But this smoked salmon carbonara is just something you must try if you like smoked salmon.  If you do not, make this with the traditional bacon (or the more authentic guanciale).  But try this.  Contrary to many folks’ idea of carbonara – true carbonara has no heavy cream.  It is simply whatever meat you use, eggs & Parmesan.  And pasta.  I made homemade spaghetti and that takes this dish to another level entirely but that is completely unnecessary.

This attachment for my Kitchenaid stand mixer is so awesome – I might marry it.  I make the pasta dough in my bread machine & then this thing turns that into spaghetti.  It is virtually effortless.   If you have a stand mixer – this attachment is worth its cost – assuming you eat lots of pasta.  And it makes several kinds of pasta – including tube pastas.  Think about it!  HERE is my original recipe for making homemade pasta.  And below is an image of the spaghetti I made.

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So – this carbonara requires these items:

Spaghetti

Eggs

Parmesan cheese

Pepper

Smoked salmon

Garlic

Olive oil

I am going to let you decide whether or not to use homemade (or store-bought fresh pasta) or dry pasta but spaghetti is the traditional noodle used.  Check out how easy this is.  I am going to list the ingredients in a “per serving” way & you can just figure out how much of each you need to feed your headcount.

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Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

Spaghetti (1/4 lb dry per serving)

Eggs (one per serving)

Parmesan cheese – grated fine (1/4 cup per serving)

Pepper – to taste

Smoked salmon – roughly chopped – this is to taste, too.  You don’t need that much.  Think of it like bacon & allot an amount similar – per serving

Garlic – cut very thin (I used 2 cloves per serving)

Olive oil – a glug per serving

Parsley (Important!  Parsley is more than a garnish & really improves this dish.) – chopped – to taste

Extra cheese & pepper as garnish

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DIRECTIONS

Cook the pasta.

While that is going on, saute the garlic & salmon in the olive oil over medium heat.  You do not want to brown the garlic & you are really only trying to heat the salmon through.

Whisk the egg & cheese & some pepper in a bowl & set aside.

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When the pasta is done – reserve about a cup of the hot pasta water & drain the rest.  Add the pasta to the pan with the garlic & salmon.  Toss & combine well.

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Transfer to a large bowl & then add the cheese & egg mixture.  The heat from the pasta will cook the eggs.  TRUST ME.  Add a bit of the hot pasta water (not all of it – GO SLOW) and mix it in.  Once you have a nice creamy texture (and you might not use much pasta water at all), serve it up on plates & be sure to top with lots of freshly chopped parsley.  Add more cheese & pepper if you like.  Shove it in your pie hole & wash it down with copious quantities of wine.  Fuck that whole “white wine goes with fish” thing, too.  If you want white – go for it but this dish holds its own against a big red, too.  Eat your carbonara!  Drink your Cabernet!  Think, “I am one badass son-of-a-bitch!”  Because you are!  AAAAAAARRRGGGGH!

I said badass – not pirate.  It’s a thin line.

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