Lisset's Mother's Legendary Croquetas

Many moons ago, I was known by my middle name, and my mother packed my school lunches with homemade goodies I would share with those lucky enough to be called my friends. In time, one lunchbox staple became the stuff of legend: Las croquetas de Sonia. A quarter century later, people (okay, maybe just my old pals Rita and Shirlene) still clamor for the secret recipe. Behold:

4 tbsp. butter

 1 small onion, chopped

4 tbsp. flour (any kind)

1 cup milk

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. each pepper and nutmeg

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 cups ground beef, cooked (just browned or lightly seasoned leftovers is fine)

eggs and bread crumbs for breading

oil for frying (Mazola, one assumes)

1.       Melt butter with onions. Add flour and milk and stir until thickened.

2.       Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice.

3.       Add ground beef.

4.       Mold mixture into croquetas.

5.       Bread by dipping first in egg, then flour.

6.       Fry until golden brown.

Now that we are vegan, she continues to make them, and they are even better. An easy series of subs: vegan butter for butter (we use Earth Balance), unflavored soy milk for milk, soy ground beef for the dead stuff (Boca crumbles are the best), and water mixed with a little of the flour for the eggs. You can also bread with plain flour if you don't find vegan bread crumbs.

Please, do not share this recipe with just anyone. They must be deserving.

Cooking with Celia: Mango-Papaya-Tempeh Salad

One can hardly call this a "recipe"--it's more like an idea, since it's just a bunch of things Rafael and I tossed together today for lunch. But it was soooooooo delicious! Behold:
 
 
We have an excess of mangoes--my godmother's neighbor just lets them rot on the ground, and we have been trying to rescue as many as possible. So we cubed some. We also had a giant papaya we've been trying to eat, so we cubed that, too.
Next, we sautéed some tempeh in olive oil, seasoning it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
To continue with the tropical theme, we added some delish toasted coconut flavored almonds.
 

Croutons have been a real challenge lately--it's insane how difficult it is to get ready-made vegan croutons. Even when they don't have cheese or butter as a flavoring, they sneak in dairy somewhere in the ingredient list. We found these organic ones at Whole Foods.
 

What we are mad crazy about this summer is the line of vegan salad dressings from Follow Your Heart. We've only been able to try those few Whole Foods deigns to carry, but the Honey Mustard is insane. It's still vegan--the honey is really a mixture of brown rice syrup, chicory syrup, maple syrup, and natural flavors.
 
 
All this over some nice romaine. Yay summer.

Cooking with Celia: Seitan Beer Stew

Had some wonderful seitan stew from Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago, and when I went back to get more (okay, okay, when I sent Rafael to get more . . . ), they didn't have it. I decided to make my own, which, of course, involves beer. Rule #1 of cooking with Celia: if it can be cooked in beer, it's better. I used a Coors nonalcoholic, which is what we have around in these sad times, but you can use whatever you like to drink. You could also sub 10 oz. of low-sodium veggie broth (reduce salt by half if regular), but then it wouldn't be "beer" stew, would it?

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: less than 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

¼ cup canola oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chopped onion

1 tsp. dry rosemary

1 tsp. dry thyme

1 tsp. cumin powder

1 tsp. dry oregano

1 tsp. salt (1/2 tsp. if using regular soy sauce)

½ tsp. - 1 tsp. black pepper

6 oz. sliced portobello mushrooms

½ each red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers, slivered (or two whole peppers of different colors)

16 oz. ready-to-eat seitan

2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp. maple syrup

1 bottle beer

2 tbsp. flour

1. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic until light brown. Add onions and spices. Sauté until translucent.  Add mushrooms, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes until mushrooms are slightly cooked. The mushrooms will release some moisture when they are ready. 
2. Add peppers and simmer, covered, another 5 minutes or so until the peppers are wilted. 
3. Add seitan and simmer, covered, another 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, syrup, and beer. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. 
4. In a small bowl, mix flour with about ½ cup of stew liquid with a fork. Keep adding liquid from the stew and mixing until you have a thick, lump-free mixture. Add to the stew and stir. Simmer for about another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The stew is ready when the liquid is the consistency of gravy. To speed up the process, simmer uncovered.

Serve over rice, with a nice green salad and, of course, more cold beer.

Cooking with Celia: Celia's Vegan Potato Salad

Still looking for your Fourth of July side? May not be too late to add my freaking awesome salad to the menu. It's not traditional potato salad--traditional potato salad is loaded with carbs and cholesterol, and not many people like it. This one still has that potato charm, but lots of veggies to make it healthier. The light vegan mayo dressing is virtually guilt-free.

Ingredients for 12 servings

3 1/2 pounds of mixed small potatoes
5 carrots, cut into disks
5 celery sticks, cubed
small package of frozen peas, thawed

one apple, cubed

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup vegan mayo

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup apple cider, white wine, or rice vinegar

1 tsp. dill (2 tsp. if fresh)

1 tsp. thyme (2 tsp. if fresh)

salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash potatoes and cut to bite-size pieces. I prefer to leave the skins on, but you can peel them if you like. Boil until soft (about 15 minutes). Salt the water generously. Drain.
2. Boil carrots separately to avoid overcooking, about 10 minutes. Salt the water generously, and drain.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, mustard, and vinegar.
4. Combine potatoes and carrots with peas, celery, and apple while still warm in a large bowl. Add the dressing a little at a time to avoid breaking the potatoes too much. Add cilantro and spices at the end.
5. I like it warm, but you can cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Cooking with Celia: Orzo-Stuffed Tomatoes

Given the popularity of my Black-Eyed Peas & Quinoa Salad post and my general lack of inspiration this week having to do with writing matters, I've decided a late-weekend "Cooking with Celia" post is better than no post at all. Ergo, I present to you my Orzo-Stuffed Tomatoes. I make these with veggie chicken strips and vegan mayo, but I assume it would work as well with a dead animal and something made out of an embryo. Any stuffed tomato recipe is only as good as the tomatoes, of course, so do try to get your hands on actual tomatoes. Try organic, vine-ripened. Also, be careful with the orzo: note that it nearly doubles in size as it cooks, so 1 cup cooked is just about 1/2 - 1/3 cup raw. As to the apple, any kind will do, but I prefer a nice, tart green one.

Ingredients

6 large tomatoes
1 cup cooked orzo
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
3/4 cup each of chopped celery, carrot, and apple
3/4 cup thawed peas
3/4 cup chopped curly parsley
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic (about 1 clove)
3/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
Romaine leaves for garnish

1. Prepare the tomatoes. I prefer to leave the peel on, because it helps to keep the tomatoes sturdy. If it freaks you out, however, lightly score a cross at the bottom of each tomato. Dip them in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute, until the scored part shrinks slightly. Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water, or they will cook. When they are cool enough to handle, the peel should come off easily. Otherwise, just cut the top off to form a bowl. You can be fancy if you like and make a cute pattern, like scallops or a zigzag. You can throw away the tops or use them later as a garnish. Also remove a small sliver from the bottom so the tomato will sit up when stuffed. Scoop out the insides with a small spoon, gently. You can save these for a soup or sauce.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the orzo, chicken, celery, carrot, apple, peas, parsley, and garlic.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, mustard, lemon juice, pepper, and salt until well mixed. Fold into orzo salad.

4. Using a spoon, stuff orzo salad into the tomatoes. Don't worry if there's leftover salad, you can use it for garnish.

5.  Serve over romaine leaves. Place any leftover salad around the tomato. Garnish with tomato tops, celery stalks, or parsley. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, overnight.