Vegan MOFO - Day 6 - Fred's Tuna-ish Helper-ish

First I want to start off by talking about communication breakdown. Many times I am running at a frenetic pace for no apparent reason. I think I have to fit a million things in to each day. To add to this I have this tendency to hear things one way when they are actually said another way. I can't remember what Myers-Briggs pesonality type this is: but I tend to jump right in and do something, then correct things later if I screw something up.

Such was the case with this conversion. Fred described this favorite from his childhood to me. Somehow I got it in my silly clutered head that he was describing tuna casserole. I promptly went on the internet and found a vegan recipe for said casserole. I got to work and did some tweaks and got that bad boy in the oven. As kitchen karma would have it, it was an utter disaster. While it looked picture perfect, it was anything but. The texture was like thick paste and had no flavor. Fred hates to waste anything, but even he wouldn't eat this. Major FAIL!




Two lessons here. Lesson one: listen carefully when people speak to you. It is uncool when you half listen. It can save you a lot of time and grief in the long run. Lesson two: trust your inner chef. When you read a recipe and it looks like it won't work, trust your gut. Modify that bad boy so you don't end up with something so nasty even the wild javelinas won't eat it.

I've ranted long enough about my failings as a communicator and kitchen disasters. On to what Fred really wanted! This is an easy, quick, filling recipe. It won't win any culinary awards, but hopefully it will make your family happy and full.

Fred's Tuna-ish Helper-ish

6 Servings
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (elbows or other small-ish pasta)
Water for cooking Pasta
1 cup Butler soy curls
1 cup vegetable broth, hot
1 Tablespoon Kelp powder
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance or other vegan butter
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cups cream of mushroom soup (vegan of course)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pour hot broth over soy curls to re-hydrate. Let soak for 5-10 minutes. Drain. Dice soy curls and sprinkle with kelp powder. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and transfer to large mixing bowl. Add earth balance to HOT pasta. Mix soymilk and nutritional yeast in small saucepan. Heat until slightly thickened. Pour onto hot pasta. Heat cream of mushroom soup in same saucepan and add heated soup to the pasta mixture. Add soy curls and mix. If pasta has cooled of it can be re-heated quickly in large pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Update: Fred has spoken. He says this is supposed to be soupy. Easy enough. To eat this Fred style you will have to add more cream of mushroom soup just before serving to your liking. If you add the soup ahead of time, the noodles will soak it all up and it will be very sad. Hee hee.
Now this is the recipe in it's original form. For me, I like to get more of a nutritional bang for my buck. As an option you could add some steamed spinach or kale to up the nutritional value.

Hail to the Chief and See ya El Diablo Bush!

Today is a very historical day in history. For the first time I can remember I was actually excited about voting. It feels like real change is coming...good change. OK I'll stop spewing my political joy and get down to the real business of this blog...FOOD.

Tonight I am attending an inauguration celebration. I wanted to bring food that was Obama - esque, but hadn't a clue what to make. I plunked around the internet and read that the Obama's are fans of Rick Bayless. Easy enough. I set out to find a good Bayless recipe. I found quite a few that would be easy enough to veganize. The one that kept catching my attention was his Tequila-Infused Queso Fundido. I have grown to love nooch based "queso" so this is right up my alley. I wanted it to be flavorful and spicy and a little special for such an occasion. I think I may have come up with my favorite queso to date. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tequila Scented Queso with Hatch Green Chiles

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 medium red onion diced small

1 large heirloom tomato diced small

2 hatch green chiles, roasted, peeled, and diced (seeds left intact if you like the heat)

2 Tablespoons of your favorite tequila

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/3 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1 Tablespoon Earth Balance or other vegan butter

1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

Heat oil in saute pan. Add onions and saute until just soft. Add tomatoes and chilies and saute for about 5 more minutes. Deglaze with tequila. Cook down until mixture is slightly sticky. Turn off heat and let cool while preparing the rest of the queso.In a medium sauce pan whisk dry ingredients into water. Turn heat to med-low and cook while whisking frequently. Don't leave the pan unattended or you will end up with a glop of yuk. Once it has thickened turn off heat. Add Earth Balance and stir until melted. Add tomato mixture. Finely chop cilantro and stir into queso.

Serve warm with chips.