Ode to VEGAN BRUNCH Testing

Excuse me, Vegan Brunch is out!!!!

 Tofu Florentine with Bechamel

Once again, I had the honor of testing for an Isa Chandra Moskowtiz cookbook, and once again, I cannot stop raving about her recipes.   I tested twentysomething this time around, and many of them quickly made it into regular rotation in my kitchen, like the Swiss Chard Frittata and Chorizo Sausages.  There are also those, like the Tomato Rosemary Scones and East Coast Coffeecake, that I kick myself for not making more often.  Testing for Post Punk Kitchen books is always a fantastic ongoing project that has me trying things I wouldn't normally, and really thinking about what I can see myself making again.

If you've been to my apartment, or my flickr, you know I have a steamed sausage drawer in my fridge.  Everything I tested was awesome, no hype here - I mean, this is the author who gave the world tempeh bacon, the first recipe I ever made from Vegan with a Vengeance, and it's dear to my heart.  She fucking knows brunch.  Follow that with perfect, reliable and at many, many points - innovative, recipes for pancakes, waffles, morning greens, scrambles of the cubed and smushed variety (hell yeah, to throwing in cubes!), east coast style coffeecake, omelets and scones, and well, she gives anyone interested in vegan cooking another guide to impressing and feeding their friends and family any time of day.  

In fact, just last night I picked up my copy, and utilized the leftover olives from a party I threw, jar of capers I've had for a while (admittedly since Veganomicon Caeser testing!), and a block of bulk tofu from People's Coop and made the Puttanesca Scramble for dinner.

Let's embark on my Vegan Brunch test kitchen photo tour... (there were actually a few recipes I tested I didn't photograph, liked the Jeff-endorsed Chesapeake Tempeh cakes - shocking, I know, blame the winter lighting)

The Tofu Florentine with Bechamel

 served with steamed chard

The Puttanesca Scramble

What you and Zelda came for. Vegan Omelets.

With a spicy black beans and greens filling

To my dear Tofu Frittatas...

This one had shiitakes, spinach, rosemary and thyme

Asparagus

Swiss Chard, plated

Shiitake Dill (with creminis)

OMG, Sausages  - 

I made so many variations of Isa's Italian, Chorizo and Cherry Sage, I could never begin to name them all

You may know how it is....

Sausages and Greens 

Pan-fried

Cherry Sage - a couple weeks ago I made a 

Roasted Apple, Maple and Sage variation!

Spicy, spicy, spicy

Plated with extra mini-omelets

Poppy seed Pull-apart Rolls

Lemon Pepper Tofu

Scones! Chocolate Chip and Raisin something.  

These are actually rejects from a photo shoot for the book.  The recipes are all Isa's, but the sweet scones, Tomato Rosemary, coffeecake and mocha chip muffins seen in Vegan Brunch came from my little kitchen.  cough cough.

Tomato Rosemary scones (first test) and Smoky Shiitakes (and creminis)

Sesame Yam Tofu Scramble

White bean gravy

Tempeh Sausage Pastry Puffs

East Coast Coffeecake, with jam swirl

How to Swirl!  

Very East Coast meets Portland, with this Oregon Black Raspberry Jam

Peanut Butter Waffles AND Tempeh Bacon

Mom's Breakfast Casserole - (uncooked)

potatoes, tofu, tempeh sauce - which you then smother in a cheezy sauce or shredded cheeze.

Chelsea Waffles - 

which I finally made once I had the book in my hands!

I'm honored to share the 'all dishes taste better with the texture of cat hair' rule with Isa and Kirby.

So go out. Brunch. Enjoy!  

Thank you, Isa!

Please note that Isa is bribing me with a year of warm vegan omelets, whenever I want one, in exchange for writing this.

Peanut Coconut Grilled Tofu, Pasta, Savoury Blintz, Breakfast, Salad, whatever

I tolds ya they were coming! Random photos, that is.

Up first is a recipe I created for my upcoming veg/recipe column in my friend's magazine, Perpetual Toxins. It's a spicy peanut coconut grilled tofu steak, served over my first fresh chard leaf of the season from the People's coop. I just cut up the leaf with the tofu and smothered it in the sauce while dining.
If you're in New York, check it out! This, along with Asparagus, Almond and Basil fried rice will by in the May issue.

I picked up a pint of organic cherry tomatoes for a dollar not too long ago, and forgot about them at the peak of their freshness and ended up making a roasted sauce out of them, with garlic, fresh basil, sea salt, olive oil and crushed red pepper. I served it over tri colored pasta, with spinach, more basil and sliced olives, and topped it with homemade 'parmesan'. The dish was very loosely based on this recipe.

Savoury Potato and Mushroom filled blintz, a Veganomican/PPK test recipe. My batter wasn't exactly fresh, but topped with the test kitchen cheezy sauce, this was particularly tasty.
The best pancake I've made in a LONG time. In fact, the only truely edible one. I got rid of my old, square, teflon-y griddle when we moved, and picked up a fancy new crepe/pancake pan earlier this winter.
Learning to be super patient, greasing tips and knowing my electric stove, I finally had it down last weekend. This is a plain pancake, served with lightly cajun and salt and pepper spiced yam and red potato home fries and blood orange slices.

Why yes, I do eat salads. They're just often this boring, but check out the huge white mushrooms!

Blueberry chocolate chips bars - based on the VWAV raspberry bar recipe. I took these to a friends' house last week for a dinner, and I do hope (think) they enjoyed them. I know I thoroughly enjoyed the slightly-underbaked on purpose piece I had and know why this recipe is so beloved... By the way, last night I made another test batch of the honeyballs, this time with a chocolate glaze and oh, my. The recipe really is coming.

Lacheis' Seitan O'Greatness

This friendly blob is the making of Lacheis' Seitan O' Greatness (half batch). This was the easiest, tastiest seitan I've yet to make - full of spice and in this case, a bit of smoke as well. The recipe is located on the ppk forums.
For mine, some of the changes I made were to add a lot of freshly ground black pepper, and Trader Joe's savory pepper mix, subbed organic tamari for the vegetarian worcestershire sauce, decreased the cumin and added maybe 1/8 teas. liquid smoke.

There's no bathing in broth involed - you simply wrap in foil and bake away. I think I cleaned the kitchen and watched the third X-Men film banging my head into a wall while this baked.
The marks are from my oven racks, but seriously, once cooked, this HAS the consistency of a Tofurkey sausage. I actually liked it.

Voila. The seitan appears pan-fried in a recipe I'm working on for my upcoming veg column in Perpetual Toxins - Asparagus, Almond and Basil Fried Rice. Up next, sliced on pizza? I can't even remember eating pepperoni when I was little..so we'll see.