Vegan Yum Yum (32 page)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
(optional)

1 cup hot water

Black pepper, to taste

Tanuki Soba with Spinach Tempura

T
anuki soba is a noodle soup in a soy/miso broth that is topped with fried tempura batter. Tanuki is a character in Japanese folklore, a raccoon dog who is both mischievous and jolly. The soup is named after him because the fried tempura batter, floating on top of the soup (see last photo), looks as though it is more filling and nutritious than it really is—it doesn't contain vegetables or anything substantial, just soft, fried batter, another one of Tanuki's tricks. Nevertheless, I decided to add some baby spinach leaves to the batter. Sorry Tanuki! Feel free to use the tempura batter for standard tempura as well, even if you're not making this soup.

Tanuki Soba with Spinach Tempura

Yields: Makes 4 servings

step 1
Put some salted water on to boil for your noodles.

step 2
In a medium-size pot, make the broth by mixing together the water, sugar, tamari, and kombu, if using. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Remove and discard the kombu, if using.

step 2
Place the miso into a bowl or a 2-cup measuring cup and add some of the hot soup broth. Mix until dissolved, then add back to the pot. Taste, adding more miso, tamari, or sugar to suit your taste. Cover broth and set aside. (If you reheat broth, be careful
not
to boil it again once the miso is added, as the delicate flavor of the miso will change if boiled.)

step 3
Add enough high-heat oil to a large skillet or wok until it is about ½ -inch deep. Heat the oil to medium-high (to about 375 ºF).

step 4
Boil the noodles, drain, rinse in cold water, and divide them between four bowls. Set aside.

step 5
Prepare the scallions and/or shredded carrot for garnishes and set aside.

step 6
Make the tempura batter by mixing together the egg replacer, water, and flour. Test the readiness of the oil by dribbling a little of the batter into it. The batter should bubble up immediately, but not turn brown. After a few minutes of cooking, it should be light and crispy.

Ingredients

1 package dried soba noodles
(250 grams/8.8 ounces)

Broth
(see recipe below)

High-heat oil
(like canola or peanut; amount will vary depending on what size pan you're using to fry the tempura batter in)

Scallions and/or shredded carrot for garnishing

Tempura batter
(see recipe below)

1 cup baby spinach

Broth:

4 cups water

1 tablespoon sugar

cup plus 1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)

1 x 2-inch piece of dried kombu seaweed
(optional but recommended)

2 to 3 tablespoons miso
(I use sweet white, but use whatever you have)

Tempura Batter:

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 3 tablespoons water

1 cup cold water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

step 7
When the oil is ready, dip the spinach leaves individually into the tempura batter and then slide them into the oil. Try to keep them separate, but if a few stick together, that's fine. Do not overload the pan. After 30 seconds to 1 minute, use tongs to gently flip them. If you do this too early, the batter won't be set yet, and you'll smoosh the spinach. If you want, sprinkle some extra batter into the oil. Fry on the other side for one minute more, then remove to a paper towel with tongs or a slotted spoon.

step 8
Cover the noodles in the bowls with hot broth until they are almost completely submerged, but some still break through the surface. Add fried tempura drippings over the top of the soup, then pile the tempura spinach leaves in the middle. Sprinkle with garnishes and serve immediately.

Velvety Vegetable Soup

T
his soup is so comforting. It's like a big vegetable hug. It has a nice depth of flavor even though it really doesn't have that many vegetables in it. I wanted it to be a creamy minestrone type soup—you can see in the photos that I added white beans, whole carrots, and greens—but I wasn't too pleased with how it meshed with the base. Honestly, I love the smooth, velvety soup by itself. This is the recipe for the soup base only. Feel free to add veggies or cooked pasta, rice, whatever to the soup if you want. Otherwise just make the impossibly smooth soup and drink it from a coffee mug on a rainy day while watching an old movie. This soup works best in a high-speed blender, such as a Vita-Mix.

Velvety Vegetable Soup

Makes 4 servings

step 1
Cut the onion in half lengthwise. Trim off the ends, remove the skin, and make width-wise cuts to form onion half-moons. These will break apart into long strips.

step 2
Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet with the olive oil. Add the onions and sauté over medium heat until beginning to color. Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook down until the onions and mushrooms are very soft and the carrots have begun to soften. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and softened.

step 3
Add the cooked vegetables and the tomatoes, water, celery salt, paprika, kosher salt, dried herbs, cumin, and black pepper to your Vita-Mix, blender, or food processor. Process on high for as long as it takes to get the soup smooth. If using a Vita-Mix, process for 4 to 6 minutes or until soup is steaming hot and serve. For blenders and food processors, remove the soup and strain if necessary. Add to the soup pot and heat gently until hot enough to serve. Serve with a large chunk of toasted sourdough or your favorite bread.

Ingredients

1 large sweet onion

1 tablespoon olive oil
(or vegetable oil of your choice)

2 small carrots, peeled and chopped into thin rounds

7 cremini mushrooms, brushed, de-stemmed, and sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 13.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1¼ cans water
(use the tomato can)

¼ teaspoon celery salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon dried herbs
(your choice, but basil, oregano, and marjoram work well)

½ teaspoon cumin

Black pepper, to taste

Optional mix-ins:

Cooked pasta, baby spinach, cooked barley, or your favorite mixed veggies

chapter
seven
Pasta

Baked Mac and Cheeze

P
eople are picky about their nutritional yeast sauces, so I figure the more recipes out there for people to try, the better. This is a mild one. I think it would be especially great for kids, but my husband and I like it a lot. It makes a divine baked mac and cheeze, but you can pour it over pasta without baking it, use it on baked potatoes, or with your favorite veggies.

Go ahead and examine your soup bowls. A lot of bowls are labeled “oven safe” on the bottom, making them perfect for individual baked casseroles, like mac and cheeze, or even baked soups. This recipe will work in a larger casserole dish, too, but who wouldn't prefer their own bowl baked to perfection?

Baked Mac and Cheeze

Makes 4 servings

step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 ºF.