I grew up in New England, and rarely left that safety net, until fairly recently. Yes, I moved. I should probably go and change my bio and things. I will, eventually. I will miss my dear old New England, her weather, her people, her trees, and her coastline. But, I also welcome something that was probably needed in life: A change.
Hello, New York. Well, I should say hello Western New York. I do not wish to be confused for a New Yorker, as in one of those city people, with their evil baseball team.
Okay, so, when I do miss New England, which is bound to happen, I go and whip up something that is known in New England. It could be baked beans, it could be steaming my veggie burgers, and so on. Today, it is American Chop Suey.
Now, outsiders, those not from New England, will insist it is simply a goulash. I say no to that! I am a New Englander, no matter where I live, and it is American Chop Suey. Now, you are probably asking yourself, if you have continued reading, what in the world is this ” American Chop Suey” you speak of? Well, its a pasta, usually a macaroni, with some kind of ground, along with tomato sauce, onions, and green pepper.
When I was an omnivore I used to enjoy my mom making it for me, so it is only right and fitting I make one that does not include all that animal stuff, as that is just plain mean. Or something.
I have no facts, or history about the dish – I am just going to assume it came to popularity along with other dishes when New England saw a rise in immigrants from Italy. That sounds like a good guess. Not a fact by any means, but possibly a reasonable assumption to make. Would native Americans recognize it? Perhaps – perhaps not.
Ingredients
TVP Ingredients
-4 cups of veggie broth.
-2 cups of TVP, the the ground stuff.
- 2 teaspoons of celery salt.
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder.
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- 1 teaspoon of tarragon.
- Ground pepper.
- 3 tablespoons of steak sauce.
- 1 tablespoon of Braggs liquid aminos, or soy sauce.
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
- 1 teaspoon of thyme.
You basically just toss all this in a pot, and let it simmer for about an hour.The longer you let it soak up the broth the more flavorful the TVP will be. Or so I believe. This could just be in my head, but let us just pretend it is factual. That works best for me. Once it is cooked, drain most if not of the remaining liquids and put aside the TVP.
American Chop Suey Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- one large onion, diced.
- 2 small to medium green peppers, chopped into one inch pieces.
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
- 3 cans of diced tomatoes.
- 2 small cans of tomato sauce.
- 2 teaspoons of basil.
- 1 teaspoon of parsley.
- 2 teaspoons of oregano.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- A box of pasta, macaroni or any other smaller pasta, cooked.
- The prepared TVP.
First, you will want to heat that oil up in a pan, then add the onion and pepper, cooking over medium heat, for around 7-8 minutes, till they soften but still have a bit if texture. Toss in the minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. You can stir occasionally unless you find this far too tiring on you.
Toss in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and all the spices.Lower heat to between medium and low, stir a few times, and let it cook for 15 minutes.
While this is happening you can ice and rest you arm, as all that stirring probably tired you out.
Now, toss in the TVP, and stir – Again! Cook for 10 minutes, now toss in your pasta, toss well, and let this cook for another 10 minutes.
New Englanders like to top their American Chop Suey with either Worcestershire sauce, grated Parmesan, or a combination of both. So you can do that, too. If you want. No pressure.
You know how they have those bread bowls with like cheese and pasta in them? The carb in carb bowl? They seemed a bit much, even for this self-proclaimed carb addict.I do love carbs, but even I kind of second guessed a bread bowl that was filled with pasta. Oh, hey! I am eating a yummy bread sandwich! It has bread inside of other bread!!!111.
See, that does seem just a tiny bit of an overkill.Just slightly.
But! And this is a big but, I do think a bread bowl filled with other deliciousness seems like a good idea.No, not a great idea. A brilliant idea, if I say so , myself.And, I do say so, myself.
I decided, and I do not know how this inspiration came to me, but I decided on filling them with something like a Sloppy Joe.Then, to fancy it up, I tried to make it more of an Italian Sloppy Joe.That is what I did, and it was amazing. You should not doubt me about this.Not that I am saying you do doubt me about this.But, if you do indeed doubt me about this, well, you are wrong.
You do not want to be wrong, do you? I did not think so.
Bread Bowl Ingredients.
- 6-7 cups of flour.
- 2 and 1/2 cups of warm water.
- 2 packages of yeast.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 4 teaspoons of salt.
- Cornstarch.
-1/4 to 1/3 cup of melted Earth Balance.
You need bowls, bro.Or, sista. You need some bowls.I am pretty sure 99 percent of all my recipes start of that way. How original of me. Anyways, in a large bowl, mix the yeast and warm water, and let it sit for a few minutes.
Now, add in the oil, salt, and then the flour.I added four or so cups of the flour, mixed that, and then slowly added the remaining flour.One you have a smooth dough, not stick, you should place it out on a floured surface, and kneed it for 5 minutes.
Place in an oiled or greased bowl, cover, and let it double in size. You know, let it rise.
Once it has risen, which could vary depending on temperature of the room in-which it is rising, punch it down.Form into the bread bowl shapes, on a baking pan, or two, that has been sprinkled with corn starch.
Cover, and let them rise again, nearly doubling in size.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Brush melted Earth Balance on the bread bowls. Cook them for 5 minutes, remove from oven, brush with more butter, and cook another 5 minutes.They should be golden brown.Golden brown equals yummy. Remember that.
Cut out a circle on top, the shape of the bowl, remove top, and scoop or pluck out the bread inside.You have made yourself some bread bowls.
But, wait! You need something to fill those suckers with.
Italian Sloppy Joes
- 1 cup of tvp.
- 3 cups of broth.
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
- Tablespoon of steak sauce.
- Few dashes of pepper.
- Few dashes of salt.
- 1 tablespoon of fennel seed.
- 1 tablespoon of basil.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 1 small onion, diced.
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- 1 cup of roasted red pepper, chopped up.
- 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
- 1/2 cup of tomato paste.
- 1 tablespoon of basil.
- 1 tablespoon of oregano.
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder.
- 1/2 to 1 cup of frozen corn.
In one pan, over low-medium heat, place the first ingredient, TVP, up till the basil.Let this simmer till all lthe liquid is gone.
Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in another pan, Add the onion and garlic, and saute for 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat.You may now add the roasted red pepper, and cook all that for another few minutes.Add the remaining ingredients,stir in the TVP, and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.Stirring occasionally.Pretty simple , eh?
Yeah, so don’t mess it up.
I placed some in a bread bowl,and topped it with some Daiya Cheddar, and some diced green onions. You could do that, if you wanted.Maybe.
I am not Italian.I am not even remotely close to being of any kind of Italian background, minus some non-blood family that are, or do.I am Irish, English, Finnish, and who knows what else? But, there is a part of me that liked to consider myself partially Italian?
Why, you ask? Well , no I do not have their charm, their good looks, their cultural history.No, I consider myself partially Italian because I eat a lot of pasta.
You might now be telling me that maybe I have to many carbs, maybe, oh maybe, I should lay off some of the carbs.You know what I say to that? I do not really know, as this carb coma is hitting me and it is making all my thoughts a fuzzy cloud of distorted thoughts and visions of tomato sauce dancing with little tubes of pasta.Yes, my mind is a glorious place. You are welcome in it, anytime.
But! I must really make this clear, pasta is not the only carb i bow down to and pray to at the alter of all mighty carbohydrate.No sir, no mam! The potato, oh, the potato.What a glorious and precious sight they are, and how wonderful they are.Can they taste bad? Is there one bad way to serve them?
French fried, mashed, whipped, on and on and on and on and on…
So, you tell me I can combine the love of pasta with the love of potato? Are you fucking serious? Have all the carbs finally caused me to have a stroke and this is some kind of dream world, some form of personal paradise?
Okay, I have known about gnocchi for a long while,but really, I mean what I say.
This is what I made, and this is what I am posting,Do with it what you will.I am not a great gnocchi roller person, so they may not be as pretty as some other gnocchi producers masterpiece.Oh, well.
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes, peeled, chopped up into one inch cubes.
- 2 cups of flour.
- 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance.
- A few dashes of salt.
- A few dashes of pepper.
- 1/4th cup of really chopped up Daiya Mozza.
So, you wanna heat up a pot of salted water, bring to a boil and cook your potatoes for twenty minutes.Do not over do it. Okay, please, relax and do not over-do the potatoes.Once they are cooked, place them in a bowl and mash them.
Now, add the remaining ingredients.I mix using a knife and then my hands till it is semi-firm dough, then I kneed it for only a few minutes, no more, no less.You just want it smooth.
Yes, smooth, the complete opposite of me.Or whatever.
Now you get to make the little shapes.How fun!Meanwhile bring another pot of salted water to boil.Take a teaspoon or so, and roll it in your hand into an oval shape.Make an indent with the back of a fork, and then roll it out.Repeat about a million times or for how many you are making.
Cook them in small amounts, place a bunch in the boiling water, and when they pop up to the surface, they are ready.There you go, you just made gnocchi.
I had mine with tomato sauce, one I kind of whipped up with what was handy, I do not think I need to share that with you. If you have trouble buying or making tomato sauce then get back to me, and I can help you out.
They say waiting and working hard for something is truly rewarding.That tends to be fucking bullshit, and we know it.Sure, it is exciting and it makes you oh so happy but that is just because you have been driving yourself nuts waiting and working.
Oh, yay! How thrilling and rewarding!
I sound bitter, and I shouldn’t, as I am not.I just hate waiting, and I avoid working whenever I can.Is that so wrong? Yeah, it probably is.Whatever.
You are probably wondering what this has to do with anything, well it has everything to do with everything, including these vegetable pasties.They took work, and waiting. Two things I do not like! But, yes, they were quite tasty, so that whole fucking hard work bullshit probably does come to fruition.
Crap, does that mean my whole spiel about working and waiting is now void? It is possible, anything is possible, you will just have to wait and see.
Crust Ingredients.
- 2 cups of flour.
- Pinch of sugar, or two.
- Pinch of salt.
- 8 tablespoons of vegetable shortening.
- 1/2 a cup of water, if that.
Okay, so I did some research, as I so often do.You know, I like to know the facts, and then share them here. That is apparently how I roll, or whatever.Anyways, to make a truly flaky pie crust, you want to use as little water as possible.You use too much, you are fucked, too little? Well, you will not be able to make a crust and you will just have a pile of crumbly flour, silly person.
So, remember that, when you follow my directions, okay? Okay.
Mix the flour, salt and sugar.You can use a sifter, if you want.You may as well use that sifter you never use.Now, mix in the shortening, tablespoon at a time, mix in well with a fork.Now, add your water.Remember what I just said!
You will need to roll it out, and knead it.It is going to be super crumbly, and seem like you need more water, but the more you work it, the more it will become a dough.Does that make sense, does anything make sense?
Once you have made it into a dough, and it should be still be slightly crumbly, place it in your fridge, and let it cool for a couple hours.
Vegetable Filling Ingredients.
- 1 small onion, diced.
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- 1 medium sized potato, peeled, and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes.
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 cubes.
- 1 cup of zucchini, cubed, again.
- 1 cup of eggplant, cubed, again.
- 1 cup of vegetable stock.
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
- 1 tablespoon of oregano.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Okay, so heat up the oil in a skillet, or frying pan.Saute the onions for 5 minutes, over medium heat, then toss in them inced garlic and cook a further couple of minutes.
Now, add in the vegetable stock,oregano,balsamic vinegar, carrots, potatoes, and let it simmer for 15 minutes, till the stock is nearly gone.You should now add in the eggplant and zucchini and cook for a further 5 minutes, or so.
Now it is time to build the pasties, how exciting.First, pre-heat your oven to 410 degrees.
Roll out your dough, it will be tough, but can be done.What I did was I broke up the dough into several pieces and rolled out each piece.I used a bowl to cut out the dough.The bowl was about 5 inches, so work with that.
Cut the shapes out with a knife, and repeat the process till all your dough is rolled, and cut into circles.
Brush the edges of each circle with a little water, and place a large tablespoon of filling, maybe a touch more, in the the middle of each piece.
Fold the circle in half, slightly pinch and twist the two corners, and using a fork, a wet fork, poke and fold in the edges.Now, I should have told you this before, but I will now.Melt a few tablespoons of Earth Balance, and brush it allover each pastie, and brush a baking pan with melted Earth Balance, as well.
I should have maybe said that before, but it slipped my mind, deal with it.I am sorry, that sounded pushy and maybe rude.
Anyways, so filling, fold, fork, brush with butter, and place each piece on a baking pan that has also been brushed with Earth Balance.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, they are a nice golden brown.
While they are baking, you can make this tomato dipping sauce.Huzzah, or not.You could already have a jar of tomato sauce, as you may be lazy, or just think you are a decent cook yet use store bought tomato sauce.Hey, it is your life, buddy.
Tomato Dipping Sauce Ingredients.
- 1 small onion, diced.
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- 2 or so cups of diced tomatoes, or one can of diced tomatoes.
- 1 tablespoon of basil.
- 1 tablespoon of oregano.
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
heat the oil up in a pan, saute the onion for 5 minutes, add the minced garlic, cook that another 5 minutes.Stir once in a while, as it will make you feel like you know what you are doing, and it will impress any dates that may be watching you.
Toss in the tomatoes, basil, oregano, balsamic vinegar, and let that simmer for 15 minutes.Has it been 15 minutes? Alright, place this in your processor, and puree it.I left mine slightly chunky, as was my wish, but you can choose chunkiness levels for yourself.
You made your pasties, you made your dipping sauce, you may now eat.I hope.I mean you could just make food for fun, but that sounds totally odd to me, and that is saying something.I know odd, and would be indeed odd.
So, there.A lot of work, and some waiting, and some time, and you have yourself some delicious vegetable pasties.Pasties as a word confuses me, aren’t those also those thing people put on boobs?I think so, and by ” people” I mean those dancer types, not just people, that would also be odd.Maybe.
-
I suppose you could also call this poor man’s lasagna.Perhaps.But, skillet lasagna seems to be the pervading moniker for it.Poor man’s anything seems to be a slight, if anything.
I recall one day, many years ago reading that the Scottish band Trashcan Sinatras were a poor man’s The Smiths.Sounded just a tad mean.They sound perfectly well in their own right, and this skillet lasagna is tasty in its on right, too.
We can listen to some Trashcans as we make this dish, won’t that just be an added pleasure to what will already be a pleasurable night?
I gather you may be getting ab it antsy about starting this , or maybe you are just sick of my ramble and just want the god damned recipe.Fine, I can’t win with you,here is the recipe.Excuse me for trying to make you just a bit more civilized.
Ingredients.
- 10 Lasagna pieces, broken up into shards.
- 3 and a half cups of vegetable stock.
- 4 cups of washed and fresh spinach.
- 1 tomato, chopped, diced, whatever.
- 1 teaspoon of sage.
- 3 teaspoons of thyme.
- 4 teaspoons of basil.
- 1 small can of tomato sauce.
- Half a cup of Cheddar Daiya.
- Half a cup of Mozza Daiya.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
You may have noticed by the the title of this post, this is skillet lasagna.You know what that means? Yes, oh you are a clever one, you will need a skillet.On medium heat, bring the stock to a boil, and once it has, add your pasta.Cook for 4 minutes, then lower the heat to low.Throw in your spinach, thyme, sage, basil, tomatoes, and mix well.Cook on low for a couple minutes, then add the tomato sauce.Again, mix that well.
Alright, mix the two flavors of Daiya, and then lovingly sprinkle the top with the cheese.Let it sit on top for a couple of minutes, then
serve.
I shall end with another Trashcan Sinatras song.Why? Because I can.
Well, you can, but it just does not sound very nice, does it? Peasant food gets a bad rap, or it did.Food basically made originally by poor motherfuckers is now what we call peasant food.They could not afford the supposed finer things in life such as some dead cow, or strangled chicken.So, it was called peasant food.Yet, so much of it is tasty, hearty, rich, and just plain awesome.Who can hate a tasty stew? Well, perhaps a soulless monster, or whatever.
Pasta Fagioli, falls under that moniker, and it wears it well.You like tomato sauce, pasta, and cannellini beans ? Well, then you will love this, jerks.
Do not question me, I speak the truth.Now, I have given you a semi tomato sauce, made from semi scratch, so you can stop being lazy and buying jarred fully made sauce.Okay? Good.I say semi, as I will save you some time by purchasing some canned sauce and canned diced tomatoes.So, I am not that much of a task master, am I? I am a bit testy, today.So be it.
This recipe is inspired by Veganomicon’s pasta fagioli recipe, tho they do things a bit differently, and lack some of the spices that I adore.
let us begin…
Ingredients.
- Box of pasta, smaller shells, or penne, basically anything other then something over the top large.I like wheat pasta, but that may just be me.
- 2 cans , 14 ounce, of diced tomatoes.
- 2-3 cans of tomato sauce, the plain, unseasoned and such kind.
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, or the equal in minced garlic.You decide your level of laziness, here.
- 1 small to medium onion, diced.
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
- 2 Tbsp of Thyme.
- 2 Tbsp of Oregano.
- 3 Tbsp of basil.
- 2 cups of cooked, and soaked, ready to go Cannellini beans.
Now, as usual, you will need a few essentials, such as , oh , an oven, some pots, and pans, basic things.Music playing in the background would also be a nice idea.Now, cook the box of pasta to its directions.Fairly simple, pot, boiling water, pasta, and so on.While that is going on, place the oil, onion, and garlic into a skillet, a large one, and saute for 8 minutes or so.Till you can smell their aroma, but not till they are brown and gross.Do not burn them!Now, add the diced tomatoes, including the liquid they were in.Bring that to a boil, and let it cook, mixing a bit, for about 15 minutes.This is how you wold generally make sauce from scratch, but I like a chunky sauce, so do not let it cook all the way down.
Okay, now add the sauce, and seasonings, as well as salt and pepper.You can add more or less of the seasoning, just try it out.Test the sauce!Mix here and there, not constantly.You can now add your beans, followed by the cooked pasta.Mix well, letting it cooking a few minutes to heat up the beans, and the pasta as it has more then likely cooled down by now.
Serve, and eat, and all those good ideas.
Let me begin this wonderful post, and it is wonderful, by saying this may very well be the yummiest thing I have ever made.This is not hyperbole, by any stretch.No, friends this was damn tasty.
I made everything from scratch, other then the cheese, but you could make what you feel comfortable with, it is your life.
Pizza Crust
- 2 cups flour.
- 1 packet of yeast.
- Pinch of sugar
- Pinch or two of salt.
-2 Tbsp Olive oil.
-1 Cup of warm water.
In a small bowl, mix the water and yeast, let it sit for ten minutes.While that sits, mix the flour, salt,sugar in a large bowl.Add the yeast with water, and oil to the bowl and mix well.Use a mixer, or a spoon, but mix well.Beat the dough, till you have a stiff dough.Cover the bowl and let it rise, about an hour, maybe two.
While that is rising, you can work on the sauce and seitan.
- 1 white onion, chopped and diced.
- 2 Tbsp Minced garlic.
- 4 8 ounce cans of Tomato sauce.
- 2 Tbsp Basil.
- 2 Tbsp Oregano.
- Pinch or two of salt.
- Pinch of sugar.
- Pepper, to taste.
Okay, as you may have noticed, and I trust you did, This is far more sauce then you need, but You can jar it or bottle it up for dunking later, or on pasta for another dish.
Saute the onions and garlic for about 8 minutes, you do not want to burn them, do this over medium heat.Now, add in the other ingredients, and bring down to a simmer, mixing occasionally.There, your sauce is done.
Sausage Seitan
- 1 cup Gluten.
- 1 Tbsp Fennel seeds, crushed.
- 1 Tbsp Paprika.
- 1 Tbsp Oregano.
- 1 Tbsp Basil
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce.I use Braggs.
- Water, about a cup.
Set up your steamer, and have it going, and ready.Mix all the dry ingredients, well.Now add the water and soy sauce, mix and kneed till you have a somewhat solid dough.Form the gluten into a sausage shape, wrap in tin foil and steam for 45 minutes.This is a fairly basis sausage seitan recipe, but it does the trick in this recipe.I then took it, and sliced it and fried then up in a little oil.
Now, for the construction of your stromboli.You will basically be building a pizza, here.Then rolling it up.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.Okay, got that? Not 375, not 425, just 400.
Take your risen pizza dough, and on a floured table
roll it out into a pizza crust shape.
Now, add sauce to your crust, I used about a cap, spreading it out along its surface, leaving a small border around it.Top with your choice of cheese, or vegan cheese.I used Daiya, and it was amazing.Add slices or chunks of your sausage seitan, and i added green peppers, and mushrooms.You have a favorite pizza topping? or just like plain? Well, you can do that, too.
Now, take one side of your pizza, and roll it up, being careful not or rip it as you go.Slice a few lines in it, to let steam escape.
Now, place it on a baking pan, and put in oven,and cook for 20-25 minutes.When it is done cooking, let it cool about ten minutes, as it will be super hot, and then slice it up.
You can use some of that extra sauce for dipping sauce if you want, and this tastes just as good the next day, its very yummy.
But, if you go away with something, let it be this:It is fucking yummy.