Vegan MoFo: Okra Fritters with Horseradish Creme

It's Day 10 of Vegan MoFo...we're into the double digits! whoa! The Iron Chef Vegan Challenge this week was to pair okra and horseradish. This challenge is from the Post Punk Kitchen forums, fyi. Check out their website for some awesome recipes!

I was really excited about this challenge, because I love okra and I had just bought some at the farmers' market! It was meant to be. For my dish, I made Crispy Okra Fritters with Horseradish Creme. Ohmigosh these are good! I have been tweaking the recipe in my mind for a few days now, and I got it all figured out yesterday; so dinner tonight was a perfect opportunity to try 'em out!

I used fresh horseradish root, got it at Whole Foods...
The fritters are pan-fried and then baked to finish them off...mmmm. Make these soon, before all the good okra is gone!

Crispy Okra Fritters with Horseradish Creme (makes 10-12 fritters)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup soymilk

1/2 cup beer (apple juice would work too; but add 1 Tbs vinegar if using)

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp hot sauce or more to taste

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch cayenne

2-3 cups sliced fresh okra

Canola or vegetable oil for frying

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, soymilk, beer, sugar, and hot sauce until well mixed and smooth. Sift in the flour, cornmeal, spices, and baking powder. Stir until just combined. Fold in the sliced okra. Pour oil into a skillet, to 1" deep, and heat over medium-high heat. Oil is hot enough when a bit of batter or water poured into it sizzles.

Pour 1/2 cup of the batter into the heated oil and cook on 3-4 minutes per side, until browned. 3-4 fritters should fit in the pan, depending on its size. Repeat until all the batter is used. When removing each fritter from the pan, transfer to a sheet pan. When all of the fritters are fried and transferred, bake for 10-12 minutes, until firm, but not overcooked. Serve hot with horseradish creme on top or on the side for dipping.

Horseradish Creme ( makes 2 cups-ish)

12 oz. block of silken tofu

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1/4 cup soymilk

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried dill or 2 Tbs fresh dill, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup horseradish root, peeled and diced

1 tsp olive oil

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the horseradish and saute for 5 minutes until golden. Add the sliced garlic and saute for 30 seconds, until lightly browned. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. When cooled, combine all of the ingredients together in a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

I served mine with some Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh from Veganomicon and sauteed kale.

It was awesome!

Yumbo Gumbo!

I am really pumped because I have been wanting to make gumbo for a while...I heart okra...and I finally made it for dinner tonight! I wanted to wait until Steven got back from his climbing trip to Texas to make it for him, so I just got my chance tonight. I kinda winged this recipe based on what I've had before and what I knew about creole-style cooking. Luckily, it turned out great!! The andouille sausage to which I refer in the recipe is another work-in-progress that I finally got to turn out wonderfully--I will post that recipe tomorrow, as I don't want to make this too long of a post with the long gumbo recipe and all. So here it is! I hope you try AND like it!"Andouille" Okra Gumbo (serves 4 hungry vegans)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno, minced
1 lb okra, sliced
1 can yellow or white hominy, drained and rinsed (corn will work if you can’t find hominy)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 vegan Andouille sausages, sliced into thin rounds
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs Louisiana-style hot sauce (Frank’s, etc. But really, Frank's is the bomb!!!)
2 Tbs paprika
1 heaping Tbs gumbo filé powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you want less heat)
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup vegetable broth or water

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the diced onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pan. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until onions are softened and translucent. Add in the minced garlic and jalapeno, and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the broth, vinegar, hot sauce, and maple syrup to the vegetables and stir. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in the sliced “sausages,” beans, hominy, and canned tomatoes. Stir in all of the spices and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 15 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent sticking. Add in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes, until the okra is fully cooked. Add extra salt and/or pepper to taste and serve immediately.
I recommend serving this hot with a thick slice of cornbread or over a bed of brown rice!

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can add your own twists and variations to it, and it will probably still turn out tasty! You can modify the cayenne and other peppers if you want more or less heat. I still threw a few dashes of hot sauce on mine once I plated it up, but that's because I like it pretty spicy. If you opt not to make the homemade andouille "sausages" (that I will post tomorrow), you can use any vegan link-style sausage, sliced seitan, or even cubed tempeh. But, seriously, you WILL want to make these fauxsages. For real.

Po(e) Boys!

Day 11 of Vegan MoFo sure was a yummy one! For dinner, I was craving a big fat sandwich, and I wanted to try something new. I decided to try out the Tofu Po' Boy sandwich from Isa and Terry's Veganomicon...and I am sooo glad I did! I must admit that I am a little biased because this sandwich and I share a name, so I have wanted top make this for a while now. Maybe I should rename this sandwich the Poe Girl instead of the Po' Boy, because this is one of my new favorites! I could not believe I had never made this before!! The Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu was strangely similar to fish in texture, but I didn't mind, because the whole sandwich was freaking amazing! Especially since it was on a loaf of crusty baguette from our local Uprise Bakery! I served the Po' Boys with some oven-fried local okra (which I've posted about before) and slices of local Purple Cherokee heirloom tomatoes, that Steve got at the market today! This was a perfect weekend dinner for sure! mmmmm! If you haven't made this sammie, do so please!!
Dessert was a true celebration of fall, in these Sweet Potato Bars, based off a recipe from Main Squeeze...with my special touch, of course! I want to start calling these Sweeties, because they are the sweet potato version of a chocolate brownie or vanilla blondie. Maybe I should just keep my dorkiness to myself :) Sweet potatoes are one of my absolute favorite foods, and I have a huge sweet tooth, so these just make sense!! I will post the recipe for these another time...there are a few more perfections I need to make...

I Went Apple Picking!

You know it's fall when you finally get to go apple picking!!! Fall is my absolute favorite season...what's not to love?? Sweaters, beautiful weather, squash, apples, and bonfires. Perfect! On Sunday, I went with Steve and a bunch of friends to an orchard about 30 minutes outside of Columbia, and we picked a literal butt-load of apples! I could barely carry all of them! There are about 6 or 7 different varieties, too! This was so much fun...the perfect combination of celebrating fall and local food! Hooray! I, of course, want to bake with these bad boys, so I need your help! Any good recipes for desserts using apples? Help me out! :)

In other food happenings, we also had our traditional Sunday breakfast at Cafe Berlin this weekend! I had one of my favorites: the vegan breakfast burrito! This isn't on the menu, like the slinger I had, but Steve, Eli (the chef), and I came up with this as an amazing alternative to the breakfast burrito already on the menu...filled with meat and eggs and cheese. boo! This creation is a big tortilla filled with scrambled tofu, tempeh bacon, roasted red and sweet potatoes, cilantro, spinach, and a drizzle of maple syrup...served with a side of their homemade salsa! I always load mine with a healthy dose of hot sauce and wash it down with a biiiiiig 'ol mug of fair trade coffee! aaaahhhh perfection!Last night, I was feeling some comfort food, particularly some nice southern dishes. I had a few more ears of local corn and some local okra to use up, so I already had a good start on dinner! I made the Blueberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce from the PPK Blog and used it with sliced seitan(I even got to use up the last of my local blueberries in this dinner! score!). If you haven't made this, please please please do it! So sweet and spicy!!! I served it with ears of roasted local corn...slathered with Earth Balance and sea salt...homemade whole wheat biscuits, and my oven-fried okra. Outta this world! Steve couldn't stop raving, either! The okra tastes a lot like my grandma's real fried okra, but it is much, much healthier! Try it out next time you get okra from the market!

Oven Fried Okra (serves 2-4...depends on how much you like okra!)

1 lb fresh okra, sliced into 1/2" rounds

2 Tbs canola oil

1 tsp hot sauce

1/4 cup soy milk

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the soymilk, oil, and hot sauce. Add in the okra and coat with liquid mix. Let sit for 10 minutes to absorb the liquids. Add in the dry ingredients, and stir to coat with dry mix. Spread okra in an even layer on the prepared cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until coating gets crispy and brown, and you can smell the yummy okra. Serve warm with any of your favorite southern meals, especially bbq seitan :)

I may love the big city, but homestyle cooking is still one of my favorites!!