vegan "beef" stew with bannock!

The other day my friend Karlene was talking about wanting to make some bannock, and suddenly I was overwhelmed with childhood memories of bannock or yorkshire pudding with a hearty beef stew.
I was recently gifted two of Jamie Oliver's marvelous cookbooks, which both have excellent stew recipes in them, so this turned out to be kind of a mish-mash of both of these.
(Also, can I just take a second to say how much I love Jamie Oliver... because I do. Rarely does one see a "celebrity chef" with his level of integrity and also serious passion for all things food; I'm not just talking about cooking and eating... but TRUE passion for the entire food process. Anyways... that's my two cents on Jamie Oliver. <3)

Regretfully, I don't recall the exact recipe for this stew, but it was my first attempt, and I must say that it turned out quite well. Following is the basic list of ingredients:

-1 package of fake beef chunks (I usually try to stay away from too much fake meat, but wanted to try it out on this occasion. One could also use tofu or seitan it it's place. Actually, the next time I make this, I will probably just use chickpeas)
-several potatoes
-two parsnips
-three or four carrots
-1 can of tomatoes
-half a guiness beer
-vegetarian "beef" stock
-flour (to thicken)
...
I don't really remember what else... probably a dash each of oregano and tarragon... likely a bit of maple syrup, some lemon juice...

Basically, I chopped up all of the root vegetables into chunks, and threw them in a pot with the spices, a bit of oil, and some whole cloves of garlic. After tossing these around for a bit, I added the fake beef, the can of tomatoes and the fake beef stock. Add flour as you see fit, depending on how thick you want the stew.
This takes A WHILE to cook. Even if you are not using real beef, it needs some time for all of the flavours to mix together, for the broth to thicken, and for the root veggies to cook. Next time I do this, I would actually boil the potatoes for a bit beforehand, as they take a bit longer to cook than the parsnips and carrots.

STEW!



Ok... so maybe the "recipe" above is a little loose to follow... sorry! I will make sure to post something more comprehensive the next time I take a crack at stew.

I'm not going to even begin to get into the bannock here... suffice it to say, it's delicious. If you don't know what bannock is, here's the wikipedia description. Karlene made the bannock. Who doesn't love fried bread products??

Ok, that's all for now.

YUM!

veggie skewers and spiced rice with tahini dill sauce

Hello!
I have not updated in a very long time. However, lately several friends have requested that I start posting again... so I am going to do my best to at LEAST post photos and descriptions, even if that means not always putting up recipes.

This dinner was made at my friend Lindsay's house. I had made a slightly different version for my brother and his girlfriend the week before. It's simple, full of vegetables, and delicious...

SPICED RICE!
I would never have thought of adding cinnamon to rice had I not decided to make dolmades a few months ago. Basically, you start with some oil in a hot pan, throw in some garlic, about a teaspoon of cinnamon, maybe a pinch of cayenne, and then a handful of either sliced almonds or pinenuts. Toss these around in the pan for a bit before pouring in a cup of rice. Stir this until the rice looks like it's covered in the various spices, and then add a cup and a half of water and cook rice as usual.
This is best served with Mediterranean-y dishes. It's fragrant and delicious.

TAHINI DILL SAUCE!
This is a recipe from veganomicon, so I shouldn't really post it in its entirety here. Basically, it's dill, tahini, some water, lemon juice and garlic all blended up into a sauce. It's AMAZING with the veggie skewers and rice.

VEGGIE SKEWERS!
These are so very simple. It's ridiculous. Preheat the oven to about 350 F
I like to marinate some tofu and then cut up various vegetables in huge chunks and put all of this stuff on a skewer. Then I mix together equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil and brush this over everything. Pop the skewers in the over (on a baking sheet), and about 20 minutes later, you have wonderful, flavourful, deliciously grilled vegetables. YUM!

If you're going to make this, I would suggest starting with the sauce, as it can be set aside. Next, prep the skewers and preheat the over. Pop the skewers in the over just as you are about to start the rice, and you are golden.

Finally, here's the part that really matters...


(photo by Lindsay Elliott)