Lisa's Culinary Atrocities

     I got an extraordinarily thoughtful Christmas gift from someone very dear to me: a Breville Pie Maker.  Oh goodness…I am beside myself with excitement; a whole new arena of possibility!  And I Looove pie!  Almost as much as waffles.  Maybe more.  Wait, did I say that?

So what will I be doing this long weekend?  Well, making lots of little pies.  First mini pie lab: Tofu, broccoli and cheddar quiche.

There was a little bit of a learning curve, but I figured it all out by the second try.  I used Trader Joe’s pie crust (which is amazing), mixed up my ingredients (below), gently placed the dough in the preheated maker and plopped in the filling.  Within about 10 minutes it was ready.

Now, glorious pie apparatus aside, this recipe is tasty.  Really…  I even bet tofu fraidy cats would like this.  Although tofu lends to different texture, I didn’t miss the egg, but that could be because eggs have been grossing me out lately.  That’s a different story. The mustard in the filling really made it for me.  That and Trader Joe’s South African Smoke (paprika, sea salt, garlic and basil) which I am totally crazy about. I am proud of my recipe!

So, I am on my way to Mini Pie 2012.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dan.

Tofu Broccoli and Cheddar Mini Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust dough
• 1 pound broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 green onions, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 pound firm tofu
• 1/4-1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Trader Joe’s South African Smoke (paprika, sea salt, garlic and basil)
• 4 tablespoons sharp white cheddar

Directions

Preheat pie maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Cut 4 rounds of lightly floured room temperature dough with large round cutter.

Steam broccoli and set aside.  Lightly saute green onion and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat.  Add steamed broccoli and cook 2 minutes.

For the filling, combine tofu, mustard, salt and seasoning blend in a food processor.  Add soy milk a little at a time while blending to make sure the filling remains more on the thick side.  Fold in cheese.

Carefully but quickly place dough round into heated pie maker.  Spoon filling into wells, top with cheese and cook until crust is browned, about 10 minutes.

Multi-seed baguette from Trader Joe’s,  broiled with olive oil and:

top left: black mission fig, walnut and shropshire blue cheese (yellow stilton)

top right: fresh pico de gallo topped with micro greens

middle left: homemade basil/walnut/garlic pesto, made chunky, topped with tomato

middle right: chunky garlic hummus, chive, cucumber

bottom: basil leaf, roasted garlic, olive oil/Herbes de Provence marinated mozzarella

I found adorable mini La Piana Raviolis with Squash Filling at Cost Plus-World Market and just had to try them. So glad I did as they are very delicious! After roasting asparagus with olive oil and sea salt in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes, I then topped it with the cooked ravioli tossed in olive oil, shaved rosemary asiago and a dash of nutmeg.  Simple and fantastic.

One of my comfort foods is farina, made thick and buttery, with soy milk and agave nectar. It settles my tum-tum when she’s cranky unlike most anything else.

In this particular case, I made more than usual and had to use 2 small bowls.  To my delight, after taking a photograph of the super cute bunny bowl of warmth, and deciding to eat it all, I went to combine everything in one bowl and Voilà–art was created.

Neat.

I received a great lasagna recipe from my friend Sheila and have meant to try it for some time.  Seeing as how the weather here in Portland right now is rather chilly, I decided that lasagna was in order (somehow that just pairs).

I have made a several modifications to her original recipe, making it completely vegan for zeh husband and also modifying it so I don’t have to use the stove much.  I have realized, since starting this blog, that I am an oven girl.  I avoid using the stove as much as possible, unless it’s to boil water/steam things.  Hmm.  I am not sure why.

So here it is:

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu

1 cup plain, unsweetened soy yogurt 

1 small lime, juiced

1 roasted bulb of garlic

5 chopped green onions

1/4 cups nutritional yeast

1-2 Tbl. fresh rosemary

1 pkg Trader Joe’s soyrizo, relieved of it’s casing

1/2 bottle Amy’s Marinara Sauce

1 small steamed acorn squash

3 cups fresh & raw spinach

lasagna noodles (Tinkyada brown rice noodles, wheat and gluten-free and has a great texture)

(for me) rosemary asiago

(for him) Vegan Gourmet mozzarella

Panko

Zinfandel

 Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F

• Open Zinfandel and pour yourself a glass.

• Make vegan ricotta by combining crumbled tofu, soy yogurt, lime juice, roasted garlic, nutritional yeast and rosemary, and let sit for 1 hour in refrigerator.

• Peel squash and cut into 1/4 inch chunks.  Steam until just soft.

• Combine soyrizo and marinara sauce in separate bowl.

• Boil noodles (or use no-boil)

• Layer: ricotta, noodles, soyrizo mixture, vegetables, repeat.  Top with panko. Bake until panko is browned.

As with most things like this, the second day is even better.  I think next time I will prep the lasagna and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Note: This was a hit!  The sweetness of the squash contrasted so well with the spiciness of the soyrizo, and the textures were just wonderful.  The rosemary in the asiago, as well as the ricotta was fantastic.  I will definitely be making this again!

Corn Dog Muffinettes

Oh yes I did!  I put some of those damned little hotdogs inside a teeny little cornbread muffin and now they’re in your FACE!

I definitely want to try this idea with other things, such as soyrizo or a reallly good italian cured meat, or a veggie dog if I can find one that tastes good.

Great with a dollop of mustard—it makes them stick out their tongue. How rude.

Very rude muffin