potato fritatta

4 medium red-skin potatoes
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley or basil
1 package of fresh poultry mix herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)
1 c. kale
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 12 oz package firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tbsp nutritional yeast

directions: Place potatoes in medium saucepan with enough water to cover by one inch. Bring to a boil, then gently boil potatoes, until tender when pierced with knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and let cool. Peel and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In large ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, 1 minute.

Blend tofu, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast in a food processor or blender until well mixed. Mixture will be somewhat thick. Add onions, garlic, and potatoes and pour into a greased pie pan. Mix in kale and herbs (you can sauté them, but i don't think i did).

Bake 45-50 minutes, until top is firm and cooked all the way through. The crispier the better in my opinion!

about the recipe: i based the recipe on the a more potato-heavy recipe and then switched to the tofu portion of this recipe to make a vegan fritatta! my roommate came home during the process with a bunch of free fresh herb packets so i threw in some of the poultry mix and then went to the garden to grab some kale and basil. it was a very satisfying fritatta, but i think next time i would do something different with the potatoes. they were too bland when put next to the delicious medley of tofu and herbs. it also crossed my mind of trying to make the entire fritatta with the potatoes next time instead of having a tofu-eggy base. who knows!

purple potato gnocchi

2 purple potatoes (or 1/2lb)

1 cup bread flour

directions: 

Bake the potatoes. As soon as the potatoes come out of the oven, remove the foil and then peel them. Put the hot potatoes through a ricer as soon as you can. The hotter the potatoes are during this step, the better the gnocchi will be. Rice them over a wide, flat surface to maximize contact with the air to help them dry out better. You can also grate them or shred them with a fork.

Let the potatoes cool/dry for 10-15 minutes. During this time, make sure you have everything in place you’ll need for shaping, cooking, dressing, and plating the gnocchi.

Gather your cooled potatoes into a flat disc and sprinkle 1/2 of the flour over it. Work the dough with your hands, adding more flour if needed. You probably won’t need the whole cup of flour. I had about three tablespoons leftover. If in doubt, use less as opposed to more.
Work your dough until just combined. Do not overwork it! It should be soft, not sticky or crumbly. You’re not even going to really knead it, just mix it together. You must shape the dough immediately.

Roll some of the dough out into a long snake, about as thick as your tumb. Cut the snake into little “pillows” and dust them with flour. To shape, simply roll one of the pillows down a ridged gnocchi board (or the tines of a fork!).

Gently place the gnocchi in to salted, boiling water. After a minute or two, the gnocchi will float to the surface. About 30 seconds after they begin floating, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, draining them well.

paraphrased from vegan yum yum

about the recipe: the gnocchi looks so good right? i mean i followed the directions to the best of my ability and they looked scrumptious! unfortunately when i put them in the pot the same thing happened to me that had previously happened to my roommate... they turned to mush. pretty much liquified in the pan of water! not appetizing to say the least. i had baked the potatoes à la lazy microwave style, maybe that had something to do with it. had i conventionally baked them in the oven they would've been dryer... maybe? 

i did manage to salvage some of them. my other roommate suggested that i bake the rest and then i covered them in my favorite mushroom gravy. next time i get some free potatoes from work i'm going to conquer this recipe!

have you ever made your gnocchi?

how did it go? any helpful suggestions?

if you try this recipe out, let me know how it goes!

potato coconut corn chowder

potato coconut corn chowder

1 T olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 small potatoes, cubed
1 t cumin (heaping)
1 vegetable bullion cube
3 c water (or enough to cover vegetables)
1 tiny (5.6 oz) can of coconut milk
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 c frozen corn
5 leaves fresh basil
freshly ground pepper & salt to taste
oystermushrooms

directions: In a medium sized pot, heat oil and add in diced onion, red pepper, celery and garlic. Saute until soft and stir in the cumin. Add in potatoes, bullion cube and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Add in coconut milk and rosemary and use a potato masher to mash down the potatoes and vegetables. Add in corn and fresh basil and grind in some pepper and add salt to taste (if necessary). Serve in 2 large bowls.

about this recipe: holy shit! i thought i would never be able to find a good vegan chowder. most always call for an absurd amount of heavy cream to get it chowdah'd. so when i found this recipe online a few months ago, i was a little hesitant. i put it in the archives to wait for a cold fall day to try it out. fast forward to today and a coconut craving that cannot be suppressed and i thought, "hey why not give this a shot". glad i did! the only downside to this recipe was that it doesn't leave much for leftovers so i'll have to double, if not triple, this recipe in the future! the original recipe does not call for mushrooms, but i added these in anyway, and if you do the same you won't be disappointed!

recipe & image courtesy of everybodylikessandwiches.com

in other exciting news!

my kitchen is getting a new counter space this weekend. this in turn means more dabbling in the baking arena... i'm thinking mini-apple pies (ha!), possibly pear as well, along with a new take on the vegan donut!