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Olives for Dinner
Vegan Crab Cake Sliders
I've made vegan crab cakes before using hearts of palm, farro and tempeh. This version is deep fried and sits perfectly on slider buns for a casual brunch or as an appetizer for get-togethers.
These vegan crab cakes are golden and crunchy on the outside and super rich and flakey on the inside. Old Bay helps to give it that seafood feel while the toasted buns add the perfect texture. The special sauce pulls it all together, clinging to the top and adding some brine from the capers and spice from the sriracha.
Look at these beauties! These fry up to a perfect golden shade in minutes. You'll need to use the mixture right away for a crisp crab cake that holds its shape in the hot oil.
Vegan Crab Cake Sliders
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A vegan version of crab cakes made with hearts of palm and topped with special sauce. Deep-fried and served on a toasted slider bun.
Ingredients for the crab cakes- 1/4 cup vegan mayo
- 1/4 tsp dill
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1, 14 oz. can hearts of palm, halved, then smashed with the flat part of a knife, then rough chopped
- 2 tsp Old Bay
- 10 saltines, crushed up with your hands
- canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil, for frying.
- 1/4 cup vegan mayo
- 2 tsp capers
- 1/2 tsp sriracha
- toasted slider buns (use olive oil or vegan butter)
- arugula, microgreens or butter lettuce (optional)
- lemon wedges (optional)
- Combine the first 3 ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place the chopped hearts of palm into a separate bowl. Season with the Old Bay.
- Gently fold in the crushed saltines.
- Add the sauce to the crab cake mixture and gently fold again until combined.
- Form the mixture into 4 crab cakes and set aside.
- Place several inches of oil into a medium-sized dutch oven or cast iron pot.
- Heat the oil to about 375. It should take about 7 minutes over medium high heat.
- You can test the oil's readiness by inserting a chopstick into the oil so it touches the bottom of the pot. If bubbles form around the chopstick immediately, you are ready to fry.
- Place one of the crab cakes onto a skimmer and lower gently into the oil. You can add another if you like, but keep the fry number to 1 or 2 for each batch.
- Using the skimmer, gently roll the crab cakes around and allow to fry for 2-3 minutes, or until deeply golden.
- Using the skimmer, transfer the crab cakes to a baking sheet with a cookie rack over the top to drain while you fry the rest.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Add in enough vegan butter or olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Working in batches, add in the slider buns and allow to toast, gently pressing them down with your hand or a spatula to ensure even contact.
- Smear a tablespoon of the special sauce to the bun, and add the crab cake.
- Serve with greens and lemon wedges if you'd like.
The mixture needs to be used right away—do not chill.
You can add microgreens, arugula or butter lettuce for a pop of green and lemon wedges to serve if you'd like!
Pasta with a Garlic, Butter and White Wine Sauce
It's very cold here in Boston right now. We're surrounded by mounds of snow, with more coming next week. If that gives you a frowny face, may I suggest making this plate of carby goodness to help warm you up?
This pasta dish is easy to make, uses mostly pantry ingredients and hits the spot on these very cold February days in New England! I used Bucatini pasta here, but I think any kind of pasta will do. Oil-cured olives add the perfect amount of saltiness and umami to this dish, while fresh parsley gives it a little pop of color and freshness.
If you want to add more to this dish, here are a few suggestions!chickpeas or roasted cherry tomatoes
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Pasta with a Garlic, Butter and White Wine Sauce
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A simple pasta dish, tossed in a sauce made with garlic, vegan butter, shallots and white wine. Toss in vegan chick'n, halved fresh cherry tomatoes or mushrooms to taste! Finish with a squeeze of lemon or some fresh grated vegan parm.
Ingredients for the sauce- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 2 shallots, minced
- 6–8 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/3 cup reserved pasta water
- 2 servings pasta (I used 200 g Bucatini pasta)
- a few TB olive oil and a generous amount of salt, to season the pasta water
- 12 oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped
- a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
- crusty bread, warmed in the oven or toaster, with extra vegan butter to slater it with
- In a wide and shallow dutch oven or skillet, melt the vegan butter over medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, reduce the heat the medium low.
- Add the shallots and stir to combine with the vegan butter. Allow to soften until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and olive oil, stir to combine, and allow to soften for about 5 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, and allow to bubble for 1-2 minutes, making sure your garlic does not turn brown or burn.
- Add the wine to deglaze the pan, then let the wine cook down for about 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic powder to the pan, and reduce the heat to low.
- Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, making sure to season your water with olive oil and salt. Turn the heat off.
- Using tongs, transfer the pasta straight to the pan with the sauce, increase the heat to medium-low, and toss to coat.
- Add in about 1/3 cup of the pasta water, just enough to loosen everything up and make it glossy.
- Add in the parsley and olives and stir to combine.
- Remove from the heat, and distribute the pasta into two bowls.
- Serve immediately with the warmed bread.
Viral Tortilla Wrap Hack!
Instagram/TikTok is flooded with this genius wrap hack. I'm not sure who started it.
It's so simple: if your tortilla was a clock, start at the center and slice down to 6 o'clock. Put stuff in the four quadrants. Flip the bottom left-hand flap up, then fold two more times counter-clockwise. Whatever you put into your wrap, this method holds everything inside. Eat as is, or give it a quick sear in an oiled cast iron pan, air fryer or waffle iron/panini press. If you slice it with a sharp knife, everything stays put.
This version is packed with vegan sausage and cheese, red onion, mushrooms and black olives, then seared in a hot cast iron skillet. Ungh so easy, so good.
- JUST Egg/VeganEgg, vegan cheddar, onions, mushrooms
- Carrot lox wrap: carrot lox, vegan cream cheese, red onion, dill and capers
- Vegan sausage patty, vegan egg, sliced vegan cheddar
- Peanut Butter, bananas, chocolate
- Taco wrap: seasoned vegan crumbles or tvp, shredded vegan cheese, tomato
- Buffalo wrap: chickpeas, cauliflower, Gardein or soy curls. Add celery, avocado, vegan mozz and serve with vegan ranch or garlic dressing
- Fancy wrap: Apple, vegan cheese and onion (see full toppings list here)
- Jackfruit wrap: spicy jackfruit, cabbage and jalapeno
- Quick wrap: Tofurkey or Field Roast slices, vegan cheese slices, vegan mayo
- Vegan grilled cheese: vegan cheddar, shiitake bacon, tomato
- Falafel wrap: falafel, red onion, olives, hummus and tahini sauce
- Southwest wrap: black beans, vegan shreds, enchilada sauce, onion, vegan sour cream
- Mac and cheese wrap: vegan mac and cheese, buffalo or bbq sauce
- Korean wrap: use any of these components or these
- Tempeh reuben wrap
Viral Tortilla Wrap Hack!
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 30 minutes
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Total Time: 40 minutes
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Yield: 4 wraps
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Viral tortilla wrap hack! This version is stuffed with vegan sausage and cheese, sautéed red onion, pizza sauce, mushrooms and oil-cured olives.
Ingredients- 4 vegan sausages, finely diced (Beyond Meat or Field Roast Italian both work)
- 10 oz. brown mushrooms, sliced or minced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- pizza sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped oil-cured olives (kalamata or black works too)
- 4 handfuls of shredded white vegan cheese (chopped)
- 4 tortillas
- oil, for sautéing
- Preheat a large cast iron pan over medium heat. Add some oil, then the vegan sausages and allow to cook through. Scrape the vegan sausages into a bowl.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan with a little more oil if needed. Allow to soften. Scrape into another bowl.
- Add the onions to the pan, with a little more oil if needed. Allow to soften. Scrape into another bowl.
Vegan Mapo Tofu (Braised Tofu in a Spicy+Savory Sauce)
This is inspired and adapted from Omnivore's Cookbook Mapo Tofu recipe. It's so easy, so delicious and loaded with spice and umami funk.
In the Beforetimes, I would usually go to H-Mart in Cambridge to grab things like Doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns, which are essential to this dish. While there, I would either visit a friend or explore some part of downtown and find some vegan place to eat at. I really miss doing that. To get these two things for this recipe, I just ordered them from amazon, from my home, in my daytime sweatpants. : (
Traditional Mapo Tofu uses ground beef or pork in the sauce, but I used minced fresh shiitakes here. You could probably also use crumbled tempeh (steam first).
Vegan Mapo Tofu (Braised Tofu in Spicy + Savory Sauce)
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
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Cook Time: 25 minutes
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Total Time: 40 minutes
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Yield: 2 servings
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Ingredients
for the marinade
- 2 tsp dry sherry
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp finely minced ginger
- 2 tsp grated garlic (grated on a microplane grater)
- 2 scallions, chopped (separate white and green parts, use white parts here and reserve green parts for serving)
- 4 tsp finely minced shallots
- 2 TB vegetable oil
- 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 cup minced shiitake mushrooms
- 2 TB Doubanjiang
- 1/4 cup hot vegetable broth
- 15 oz. block tofu, diced into 1X1-inch cubes (I used Kettle-style firm)
- 2 tsp chili oil
- 1 cup hot vegetable broth
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch, whisked with 1 TB water in a small bowl
- the reserved green parts of the chopped scallions
- more chili oil, if desired
- rice (optional)
- Combine the sherry, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, scallions and shallots in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, warm the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppercorns. When they turn brown and crispy, strain them through a fine mesh sieve, catching the oil in a small bowl. Scrape the oil back into the skillet and reserve the peppercorns.
- Reduce the skillet heat to medium. Add the shiitakes and allow to cook down for several minutes. Add the Doubanjiang and stir to combine.
- Add the 1/4 hot cup broth to deglaze and loosen the mixture.
- Add in the bowl of marinade. Stir to combine.
- Gently place the tofu on top of the shiitakes in the skillet.
- Whisk the chili oil, and vegetable broth together in a small measuring cup. Pour over the top and allow to come to a simmer. Don't stir or touch the tofu or it will break up. As it braises, it will firm up and then you can stir it.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes. The sauce will reduce and the tofu will absorb the marinade and develop a nice texture.
- Add in the sugar and gently stir with a rubber spatula.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the skillet. Gently stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat.
- Ground the reserved peppercorns in a coffee grinder.
- Divide the tofu into two bowls. Top with the reserved green onions, more chili oil and the ground peppercorns, to taste.
- Serve as is or with rice.
Braised tofu is amazing: pillowy soft and a perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture. I'll be making and shoving this into my face often!
Thai-Style Coconut + Crabless Soup
I love this broth. It's easy to make and full of clean and rich flavors. I've paired it here with jackfruit as a stand-in for crab and vermicelli noodles, but you can leave the noodles out or sub with ramen or rice and swap out the jackfruit with seared tofu cubes or mushrooms.
There's something so satisfying with making this broth: cutting and smelling the lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Scooping out a knob of fiery red curry paste and watching all of the fatty ingredients create an oily slick that disappears with a stir and reappears again in seconds. The smell is fantastic. Taste as you go, adjusting as you like.
Thai-Style Coconut and Crabless Soup
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
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Cook Time: 30 minutes
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Total Time: 50 minutes
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Yield: 2 servings
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Crabless soup, using jackfruit, in a creamy broth with lemongrass, curry paste and ginger.
Ingredients for the jackfruit crab- 1, 20 oz. can of jackfruit in brine, drained
- 1 teaspoon kelp granules
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 2-inch piece of ginger, minced
- 4 scallions, sliced
- 10 shiitake mushrooms, bases removed and quartered
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chunky peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon red curry paste
- 4 cups no-chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, bruised and chopped into 2-3 pieces (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup canned, full-fat coconut milk
- the juice from half a lime (roll the lime on the counter with the palm of your hand before cutting)
- a few torn basil leaves, lime wedges and the green slices of scallions, for garnish
- vermicelli noodles or rice, for serving
- Preheat oven to 350. Break the jackfruit pieces up with a fork or knife, discarding any tough ends and seeds. Add the kelp granules, stir and then add the grapeseed oil, stirring again. Spread out on a small baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir around on the baking pan and bake until mostly dried out, about 10 minutes more.
- In a large pot, warm the toasted sesame oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, ginger, scallions and shiitake pieces and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garlic and saute for three minutes more.
- Add in the brown sugar, peanut butter and curry paste. Stir everything until well combined, then add in the broth, lemongrass and soy sauce. Increase the heat to medium-high, and allow to come to a small simmer. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer 10-15 minutes more. Remove the lemongrass pieces.
- Stir in the coconut milk and lime juice and turn off the heat. Distribute between two bowls, topping with the jackfruit and basil.
- Serve immediately with rice or noodles as desired.
Bruise the lemongrass stalk to coax the most flavor out of it! Remove a few of the tough outer layers and tough tops to expose the softer, pale yellow interior. Give it a firm whack or two against the side of your countertop to loosen up the fibers. Slice lengthwise, then into two or three pieces before adding to the broth.
<3
Trying to maintain a balance of keeping informed, and knowing when to shut the news off, turn inward, and calm down. Escaping into another TV series also helps. These all offer great ways to do that:
A great podcast for staying informed, while having the right amount of humor to balance out the anxiety.
The present moment is all we have. Feelings are like drops of water in a river; they come and go. The key is bringing love and attention to all emotions—especially difficult ones—caring for them as if you would a small child. The one thing that can lift us out of past and reduce worry about the future is bringing attention our breath, which anchors us and reminds us that the only reality that exists is the present moment, right now.
We are finishing up Season One of Search Party and I'm obsessed. Great characters and enough mystery to keep us wanting to devour the next episode.
French Onion and Seitan Ramen
A bowl of rich broth, kissed with warm spices, loaded with buttery+caramelized onions and topped with ramen noodles and seared seitan … perfect cold weather food! This recipe is modified and veganized from Bon Appétit's French Onion Beef Noodle Soup recipe, and the seitan recipe method is adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's basic seitan recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. It requires a bit of time investment, but worth the work. It makes a lot, and you can freeze the leftover broth and seitan for later.
Start by gathering your ingredients, prepping them and placing them in bowls so they are all ready to go.
- Seitan (Can and should be made the day before if you want to simply or save time. You can store it in the broth you simmered and refrigerate until ready to use. Store-bought seitan works too.)
- Caramelized onions (I used a mix of white, red and some shallots—what I already had here—to yield a huge bowl of paper-thin (sliced on a mandoline slicer) onion slices) plus a lot of vegan butter and salt to sprinkle in throughout caramelizing them.
- Broth, seasoned with scallions, ginger, garlic and warm spices.
Combine the caramelized onions and broth. Ladle into bowls with ramen noodles. Top with seared seitan. Shove into your face.
French Onion and Seitan Ramen
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
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Cook Time: 2 hours
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Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
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Yield: 6-8 servings
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A super warm and comforting soup, kissed with fragrant spices and loaded with caramelized onions.
Ingredients for the seitan (can be made the day before)- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 TB dried shiitake mushroom (place 1 large or two small dried shiitakes in grinder and grind into fine powder)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup cold broth
- 1 TB toasted sesame oil
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 TB soy sauce
- 6–10 TB vegan butter, plus more as needed
- 5 lb onions (8–10 big onions) sliced on a mandoline slicer
- salt
- 2 TB vegetable oil or refined coconut oil
- 6 scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
- 1/3 cup smashed and chopped garlic cloves
- 1 TB grated ginger
- 6 star anise pods
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 8 whole cloves
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 12 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 TB rice vinegar
- dried ramen noodle packets, 1 per serving
- reserved green onions
- sesame seeds
- In a large prep bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten with the shiitake, onion and garlic powders.
- Whisk the cold broth and toasted sesame oil together in a measuring cup. Add to the prep bowl and combine with a spatula until the dough comes together.
- Place the dough onto a work surface and knead for a few minutes. Shape as best you can into a log shape, about 4 inches long.
- Place the 6 cups of broth and soy sauce into a large Dutch oven and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Cut the seitan log in half and in half again to make 4 pieces. Drop the pieces into the broth. Partially cover the pot. Make sure the broth stays at a simmer, but not a boil—otherwise, your seitan will get spongy.
- Simmer for about an hour, turning the pieces every 15 minutes or so.
- Turn off the heat and let everything cool on the stovetop. This allows a firmer texture to develop.
- Once completely cooled, transfer the seitan to a cutting board and slice into thin pieces.
- Reserve the broth to store the seitan in if not using right away.
- In a large or extra large Dutch oven, melt the vegan butter over medium heat. Once it starts to sizzle, add the onions. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your Dutch oven. Don't add in so many you can't stir them. Just let them soften and collapse a little, adding a few pinches of salt and more vegan butter if needed, then add more onions until you can comfortably stir them.
- Let them develop some color (don't touch or stir too much) over medium-low heat. Once you see some golden color, stir just enough to turn, to promote even cooking. Then you'll need to babysit them, turning every now and then, for about an hour to caramelize and get a little jammy.
- In a large Dutch oven, melt the vegetable or coconut oil over medium heat. Add in the white scallion parts, garlic and ginger and stir, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Add more oil or reduce the heat as needed.
- Add the star anise, cinnamon, cloves and coriander and stir for about a minute.
- Add in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits with a spatula. Allow the wine to completely evaporate. Add in the vegetable broth and soy sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Strain the broth to get rid of the cinnamon sticks, anise pods, cloves and coriander seeds. Return the broth back to the pot.
- Add the caramelized onions to the pot and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add in the soy sauce and rice vinegar if needed.
- Add some oil or vegan butter to a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Sear the seitan pieces until golden on both sides, then set aside.
- Prepare dried ramen noodles according to package instructions. Divide into bowls.
- Place browned seitan over noodles, and ladle broth into bowls. Top with the scallions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
The broth freezes well and any leftover seitan can be tossed into sandwiches or stir-frys.
I love Adriene's calm voice, slow and intentional movements and reminders to tune into the breath. This practice will mean and be something different to everyone … for me, it's a chance to turn inward, become more observant and calm down. Grateful for this series.
I'm done with beer and wine.
Alcohol has slowly, over the past few years, made me sick. But I love the taste and smell, and the little ritual of drinking a beer with Jeff. He brought home some non-alcohol beer from Athletic Brewing Company and I LOVE IT.
A beautiful+heartbreaking love story.
Watch Chef Roy Choi and writer+director and home cook Jon Favreau cook stuff and eat it.