St. Patrick's Day Dinner and Some Product Reviews

With my love for holidays, celebratory meals, and my Irish roots, I really have no choice but to prepare an Irish-inspired meal for St. Patrick's Day! I made Seitan Corned "Beef" and Cabbage, with Maple-Mustard Roasted Potatoes, and it was so delicious! Unfortunately, it was in the 80's here, so it was almost too hot to make such warm, comforting food! It was worth it, though. Seitan Corned "Beef" and Cabbage (serves 4)
1 lb seitan, chunked
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 cup yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups cabbage, shredded
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup pickle juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup beet juice (optional)
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs paprika
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs mustard powder
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs caraway seeds
1 Tbs dill seeds

In a large pot, combine the 2 cups of water, pickle juice, vinegar, and the rest of the seasonings with the chunked seitan. Simmer for 20 minutes, until some of the liquid has reduced. Add in the vegetables and the 1/2 cup water and cover. Simmer on medium-low with the seitan for 20-25 more minutes, until the vegetables are softened and the liquid is mostly gone. Serve with roasted potatoes or Irish soda bread!

Maple-Mustard Roasted Potatoes (serves4)

4 medium russet potatoes, large diced

1 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss diced potatoes in olive oil and bake on a sheet pan for 30-45 minutes, until tender on the inside and lightly browned on the outside. While the potatoes bake, prepare the maple-mustard sauce (below).

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard

2 Tbs maple syrup

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1 Tbs dill weed

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. When potatoes are done roasting, toss the maple-mustard sauce with the potatoes until completely coated. Serve hot, with Seitan Corned "Beef" and Cabbage.

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And now for some product reviews! I have tried a couple of new finds lately, and I have to talk about them!

First up, White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter from Peanut Butter & Co!!! I know, I know, everyone has talked about PB&C0's awesome products, but I am going to put my two cents in! I am in love with this peanut butter! OK, I am in love with peanut butter in general, but this white chocolate variety is definitely the creamiest and sweetest pb I've ever tasted!! I can't wait to try more of their flavors...I think I'll go for the cinnamon raisin variety next...

This white chocolate pb goes especially well on toast with organic raspberry jam!

Next is the Blueberry Lavender Sorbet from Archer Farms, Target's gourmet store brand. If you like sorbet, then you will love this product! I have always enjoyed the flavor combination of blueberry and lavender, and I was very pleasantly surprised when my mom surprised me with this last week! Very refreshing flavor, smooooooth texture (especially for a sorbet), and not loaded with sugar! I'm picturing this on a hot summer day, topped with some chocolate chips and fresh berries....ahh.

Eating it straight out of the carton is also delightful....

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

White Chocolate Chips!!!

Now I've seen it all (ok, maybe not "all," but a lot)! I recently received a box of goodies in the mail that I ordered off of the Pangaea Vegan Superstore. In this happy little box was: a bag of VEGAN WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS! It has been almost 3 years since I have had white chocolate, folks!! Too long. I have only found these on one other website, but the ingredients in the kind I bought on Pangaea seemed much better. But if you like another brand, holla at me so I can try them! When I was younger, my favorite kind of cookie was white chocolate chip macadamia nut, because it has a perfect balance of salty and sweet and rich and chewy...and because it has a ridiculously long name! So, this bag of yumminess went straight into a batch of Vegan White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies. I took the recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking, but swapped out white chocolate for regular chocolate chips, and added roasted macadamia nuts. These might be the best cookies I have ever made. ever. They were so chewy and moist, but not too soft so they could fully support the insane amount of chips and nuts in the dough! And they were so buttery...God, they are so buttery and salty and good!! They just scream for a glass of soymilk :) Here's the original recipe and the pretty bag o' chips (empty bag...yeah, I snatched a few before putting them in the cookies. can you blame me?)
And here they are all baked up and huggin on each other, waiting to be consumed by my hungry vegan belly!

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies (makes 12 big fat cookies)

4 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer

6 Tbs water

1 cup Earth Balance vegan margarine

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I use sucanant)

3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups vegan white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Whip the Egg Replacer and water together in a small bowl or with your food processor, until all combined and foamy.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla together. Add the "egg" mixture from above and combine thoroughly. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture until it forms a dough. When almost completely combined, fold in the chips and nuts and stir to distribute evenly. Roll into 12 evenly-sized balls and place about an inch or two apart on greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown (or until you can't stand it anymore and HAVE TO eat these freakin cookies!!!) Let stand for 2 minutes after removing from oven. Transfer to wire rack to let cool completely. Pig out.

(Adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

No, seriously. Make these.