Epicurean Vegan

Healthy eating for discriminating palates

Field Roast and Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole April 3, 2011

Filed under: Breakfasts — epicureanvegan @ 9:12 am
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Yesterday’s nearly 80 degree day turned to a cloudy and soon-to-be rainy day today, so a breakfast casserole seemed quite appropriate for the morning. It didn’t disappoint and has proved to be ideal for a cozy day in. Turn it into a breakfast burrito by wrapping some up in a flour tortilla.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbs olive oil

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

3 small russet potatoes, diced

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 C mushrooms, chopped

2 Chipotle-flavored Field Roast sausages

1-1/2 C fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 pkg silken tofu

1/3 C nutritional yeast flakes

8-oz vegan pepper jack, or other favorite vegan cheeze, shredded

1/2 C Tofutti sour cream

3/4 C almond milk

1/4 to 1/3 C panko bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 13″x9″ baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add all of the potatoes. Cook, covered, on medium heat for 15 minutes, or until they just begin to soften (stir them often).

Add the bell pepper and Field Roast; cook another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the tofu, cheeze, sour cream, nutritional yeast, and almond milk. Stir in the spinach.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook until they begin to soften, 2-3 minutes.

Then combine the potato mixture to the tofu mixture and stir well to combine. Pour mixture in the pan and top with the panko.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 minutes. Let sit a few minutes, then dig in and enjoy!

 

Field Roast Breakfast Tarts January 2, 2011

Filed under: Breakfasts — epicureanvegan @ 11:09 am
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Happy New Year!

I love when The Husband and I collaborate on breakfast, especially on lazy mornings like this. “These were nothing shy of brilliant,” he says as we savor each bite in between sips of coffee. What I love about these is that (much to my dismay ;) ) The Sixth Grader and Husband don’t always like the same veggies and ingredients that I do (I know. . .can you believe it)? So these tarts (or pizzas) make it easy to come up with your favorite creation. One ingredient we all agree on are hash browns, so he fried those up while I threw together the dough. The only hard part was getting the kid out of bed—it was almost 10:00! (I guess that’s what Christmas vacation is for).

INGREDIENTS:

Dough: for 6 tarts

1-1/2 C flour

3/4 C Earth Balance margarine

1/4 C – 1/3 C ice water

The Rest:

1-16oz bag frozen hash browns, cooked

1-2 C kale, torn into pieces

4-5 mushrooms

1 Field Roast Chipotle Flavor, crumbed or ground

1/2 C- 3/4 C Dayia shredded cheddar or mozzarella flavor

Other ingredient ideas: diced potatoes, tomatoes, scrambled tofu, olives, spinach

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. To prepare the dough: Combine the flour and margarine in the food processor until crumbly. While the machine is running, gradually pour in the water until a slightly moist dough forms. Knead just a couple of minutes. Divide into 6 equal pieces and roll out. Gently line the tart pans with the dough, then press the excess along the edge to cut it off. Prick the bottom of each tart and bake for about 7 minutes. Add your favorite ingredients. We started with the kale . . .

. . .then went with the hash browns, mushrooms, Field Roast and cheese.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until they begin to brown. The crust is so flaky (and thin—depending on how thick you roll it out) and doesn’t take over the other ingredients; it’s the right amount and combination of ingredients. Enjoy!

 

 

Field Roast-Stuffed Bell Peppers December 16, 2010

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 8:09 pm
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These are one of my favorite things to make, especially since the the filling can be changed to suit your tastes and what you have lying around the kitchen. I used Field Roast’s Chipotle flavored sausages which has great flavor and seasonings, that there was no need to add any spices. These were creamy, spicy and filling. The recipe is for 4 bell peppers, but I had 3—luckily, the stuffing makes a great breakfast burrito filling.

INGREDIENTS:

4 bell peppers, any variety

1/2 C arborio rice

1 C vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs olive oil

2 Field Roast sausages, chipotle-flavor, crumbled

1 medium onion, diced

1-1/2 C mushrooms, diced

2 small tomatoes, diced

1 C vegan cheddar, shredded

1/4 C Tofutti sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375. In a small saucepan, combine the vegetable broth and arborio rice; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Slice the very tops off of the bell peppers and clean out the innards; set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the onions and Field Roast and saute until the onions start to soften and brown, then add the mushrooms and tomatoes. In a small bowl, combine the cheese and sour cream and then stir it into the Field Roast mixture.

Spoon the Field Roast mixture into the peppers—firmly pack it in. Place into a 8″ baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 minutes and enjoy!

 

Cabbage Rolls November 27, 2010

Filed under: Dinners,Vegan MoFo — epicureanvegan @ 7:52 pm
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Vegan MoFo, Day 27

I had such high hopes for this dish, but frankly it was a disaster. Well, the journey to the end result, that is. The first red flag was that the cabbage had been sliced, so the leaves weren’t very usable. So I opted for romaine leaves and the second red flag was that they had gotten frozen in the fridge, so some of them were damaged. Did that stop me? Of course not, but it wasn’t without some colorful language. It was like a horror movie. I knew I should have turned around from the ominous signs in the  kitchen and got the hell out of there. But I stayed. I fought. And crawled out from the carnage a hour later. There had to be a easier way. Iceberg lettuce. I think that would have worked so much better. No horror movie re-enactments necessary.

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 C rice, uncooked

1 C vegetable broth

1/2 red bell pepper, diced small

1/2 small onion, diced small

1-1/2 C shiitake mushrooms, diced

1 Apple-Sage Field Roast sausages, torn into small pieces

1/3 C walnuts, chopped

8-10 large iceberg lettuce leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauce:

1/2 tsp dried marjornam

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 green onions, or 1 large leek, chopped

4 Tbs Earth Balance margarine

1/2 C vegetable broth

1/2 C sherry

2-4 Tbs flour

DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 300–just to keep stuff warm. In a medium skillet, cook the rice in the vegetable broth. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and garlic. Add bell pepper and onion. Saute for 3 minutes, then add the Field Roast and shiitake mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms soften, then stir in the cooked rice.

So here is where the Wes Craven-esque stuff started to happen. I couldn’t get the cabbage leaves apart in one nice piece. I was able to get a few unscathed leaves, so I steamed them for just a couple of minutes to soften them a little. I didn’t have enough, so I pull out some (half-frozen) romaine lettuce which wouldn’t cooperate and roll up well.

I did the best I could . . .

I placed each roll in a 9×13″ pan, covered with foil, then placed them in the warm oven. To prepare the sauce, heat the margarine in a small saucepan, add the leeks or green onions. I had about 3 shiitake mushrooms leftover, so I diced them up and added them then, too. Combine the flour, marjoram, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then whisk into the saucepan. Immediately add the broth and sherry and whisk thoroughly. Add more flour, if needed, to reach a desired consistency. Serve with rolls with sauce ladled over them.

So the end result was good, but the process was so much more painful than it needed to be. Have you ever tried a similar recipe?  Have any suggestions?

 

Vegan Gravy November 15, 2010

Filed under: Dinners,Vegan MoFo — epicureanvegan @ 7:51 pm
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Vegan MoFo, Day 15

Thanksgiving leftovers are a given. We had some Field Roast leftover, so I made some vegan gravy to go with it. Luckily, we had some Israeli Couscous left, so I heated that up, too. Everything was even better the second time!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbs olive oil

2 C vegetable broth + some for thinning

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 green onions

4 mushrooms, diced small

1 Tbs Earth Balance margarine

1/4 C flour

1 tsp soy sauce

4 tsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp sage

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and add the garlic and green onions. In a large bowl, combine the broth and flour with a whisk; combine thoroughly. Add to the saucepan, along with the nutritional yeast, sage, salt, pepper, margarine, and soy sauce. Season with salt, pepper and heat to a boil. Add more broth, if needed and reduce heat once gravy is thickened. Ladle over a Field Roast slice and enjoy!

 

My First Vegan Thanksgiving November 14, 2010

Filed under: Dinners,Product Reviews,Vegan MoFo — epicureanvegan @ 10:49 pm
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Vegan Mofo, Day 14

That’s right, Thanksgiving. No, you didn’t just skip a week and a half, we celebrated Thanksgiving early with The Husband’s side of the fam because they were going to be gone over T-Day. So for our first vegan Thanksgiving, I brought a Field Roast for the veg side of the table. I think I picked it up for sale for $17.99. It comes frozen, so all you have to do is thaw it in the fridge overnight and then bake it at 475 for 45 minutes.

It’s stuffed with hazelnuts and cranberries, wrapped in a flaky pastry dough. It tastes much like their Celebration roast, but I will say that it did need some kind of sauce or gravy. Otherwise, it was fantastic!! Loved it!

We had all the other trimmings, too (only veganized). My mother-in-law made some mashed potatoes without milk and butter for us, as well as some separate stuffing. The sweet potatoes were cooked to perfection with some brown sugar and I brought Israeli Couscous. We came, we drank, we ate, we napped.

INGREDIENTS: HAZELNUT CRANBERRY
ROAST: Filtered water, vital wheat gluten, expeller pressed safflower oil, cranberries, crystallized ginger (ginger, cane sugar), toasted hazelnuts, naturally flavored yeast extract, barley malt, organic wheat flour, dried apples (non-sulphured), granulated garlic, onion powder, ginger juice (ginger, citric acid), yellow pea flour, toasted sesame oil, lemon juice, sea salt, spices, irish moss (sea vegetable) extract, red wine, tomato paste, black pepper, garlic,
natural hickory smoke flavor with tortula yeast , rubbed sage, rosemary, natural liquid smoke and paprika.

PUFF PASTRY: Enriched wheat flour, water, expeller pressed palm oil and sea salt. Contains: Hazelnuts.

 

Colorful Kale and Potato Casserole November 4, 2010

Filed under: Breakfasts — epicureanvegan @ 9:24 am
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Oh my gosh, this was delicious!! The flavors of the Field Roast sausage and Vegan Rella, really made this dish. This was the first time I used Vegan Rella’s cheddar flavor and like the mozzarella variety, I was in love at first bite. It is truly the best-tasting vegan cheese out there and it melts like it’s nobody’s biz. Combined with the Field Roast, there’s no need to add any other seasonings, which is always a time and money saver!

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil

1-1/2 C red potatoes, diced small

1-1/2 C kale, stemmed and chopped

1 Field Roast sausage link, Mexican Chipotle flavor, crumbled

1 C cracker crumbs

1 large tomato, diced

1-1/2 C Vegan Rella, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet, heat some olive oil and cook the potatoes until they begin to soften and brown. Add the Field Roast and kale and cook a few minutes more, covered, until the kale starts to wilt. Layer the crackers on the bottom of a pie plate and sprinkle some cheeze on the crackers. (Vegan Rella can be pretty sticky, so don’t knock yourself out trying to spread it too much).

Transfer the potato mixture to the pie plate and spread evenly.

Sprinkle on the rest of the cheeze and then the diced tomato.

Cover and bake for 10 minutes. Let sit a few minutes before digging into it. Enjoy! (And btw, thanks, Field Roast for the FB shout out–as you know, I LOVE your products and I’m hoping to get my local health food stores to carry more of them)!

 

Potato-Spinach Bake and Pesto Pizzas October 17, 2010

Filed under: Dinners,Lunches — epicureanvegan @ 4:37 pm
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I stared at a bag of small red potatoes, wondering what I should make with them before they go bad (and before getting more tomorrow from our CSA). It’s hard not to think of comfort food when making something with potatoes, so I threw together an easy casserole using stuff just sitting around in the fridge and pantry. I was going to make just regular garlic toast with some pesto butter,  but the Sixth Grader had the idea to make little pesto pizzas and they were amazing!

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 C red and/or russet potatoes, diced

5 C fresh spinach, chopped

8-10 mushrooms, quartered

1-1/4 C Tofutti sour cream

1 C vegan cheddar, divided

1/4 C almond milk (or other nondairy milk)

1-1.8 oz pkg. leek soup mix

2 Field Roast Italian Sausage links, diced (optional)

Pesto/tomato pizzas:

2 round flat breads, each cut into fourths

1/4 C pesto

1/3 C Earth Balance margarine

1 /2 large tomato, thinly sliced

3/4 C vegan mozzarella, shredded

Olive oil

Garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet. Add potatoes and cook until somewhat soft, about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime,  combine the sour cream, 1/2 a cup of the cheddar, milk, and the leek soup mix. If using, add the Field Roast to the skillet and cook just a few minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the potato mix, spinach, mushrooms, and sour cream mixture. Pour into a 9×13″ baking dish, cover, and bake for 40 minutes.

Add the rest of the cheese and bake uncovered until cheese melts, about 2-3 minutes.

To make the pesto pizzas, preheat broiler on high. Combine pesto and butter in a small bowl.

Brush flat bread with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. Spread about a tablespoon of pesto onto flat bread pieces, then some cheese and a tomato slice.

Place under the broiler about 3 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Enjoy!

 

Potato-Leek Breakfast Casserole October 12, 2010

Filed under: Breakfasts — epicureanvegan @ 8:55 am
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As some of you may already know, I LOVE to make breakfast stuff, I just don’t always have the time. This morning is rainy and chilly and a good morning to stay in. So since we get lots of vegetables from our CSA, I usually have to have at least one meal a week where I need to raid the refrigerator of on-the-verge produce that needs to get eaten. Oftentimes, its a mixture of stuff you wouldn’t think of putting together, but you’d be surprised how well vegetables get along with each other! Of course, I had to add my favorite go-to protein. . .Field Roast! A shocker, huh? Because of the flavor and spices in the grain meat, there is no need for a long list of spices, plus you’re getting 23 grams of protein per link! If you have the time, this is a great way to start the morning, or serve at brunch.

Cute little potatoes from the CSA–perfect for a dish like this!

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil

1-1/2 C red potatoes, diced

2 leeks, chopped (mostly white parts, with some green)

1/3 of a napa cabbage, chopped

1/2 a bell pepper, diced (any variety)

1-2 Field Roast sausage links, Mexican Chipotle flavor

Salt and pepper, to taste

1-1/2 C vegan cheddar, shredded and divided (or use a mixture with vegan Jack and cheddar)

1-1/2 to 2 cups hearty cracker crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9×13 baking dish, line the bottom with the crackers. I like a hearty cracker that won’t fall apart. I just scoured our pantry and used a variety of leftovers–some stone-ground wheat ones and some Ritz-like ones. I would stay away from Triscuits–they make it too dry. Layer on about 1/2 of the cheddar cheese onto the cracker crust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, covered. but stirring occasionally. Add the bell peppers and leeks and cook another 5-10 minutes.

Next, add the cabbage and Field Roast. Don’t worry about chopping the cabbage up too small—it will cook down and wilt quite a bit. Season with a little salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are a little soft, but still with some crunch, layer vegetable mixture onto the cracker crust. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake, covered for 20 minutes. If the cheese isn’t melted enough, uncover and bake another 3-4 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

Field Roast Sausage and Vegetable Hash September 8, 2010

Filed under: Breakfasts — epicureanvegan @ 8:12 am
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When I began to make this, just throwing stuff together, I wasn’t planning on posting it, but then I tasted it and damn, I knew I had to share it. Even The Husband called it hands-down the best, most phenomenal breakfast burrito/hash he’s ever had. Wow. Now that my “chef-ego” is inflated, here you go:

INGREDIENTS:

2 Field Roast sausages, Italian flavor

3 small potatoes, peeled and diced

1 small green bell pepper, diced

1/2 a large onion, diced

1 small zucchini, sliced then quartered

1 C sliced mushrooms

2 Tbs olive oil

vegan cheddar, shredded

Flour tortillas, warmed

Garlic & Wine seasoning, to taste (So this is a blend that we got from The Melting Pot a million years ago and here’s what’s in it: salt, soya flour, garlic, sherry wine flavor, cracked pepper, select imported spices, citric acid, and parsley).

DIRECTIONS:

Saute the potatoes in the olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until they just  start to soften. Add the green pepper, onion, and zucchini. Over medium heat, cover and let saute for about another 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft. Season with the garlic blend and then add the sausage (I just tear it apart into small pieces) and the mushrooms. Season again with the garlic blend and cover another 4-5 minutes until the mushrooms are just softening.

Scoop some onto a warmed tortilla and add a little cheese. YUM! Enjoy!

 

 
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