Bacon and Eggs, Vegan Style

When I was a kid, we used to have porridge for breakfast every single morning, except for Sundays, when we got bacon and eggs: one fried egg and two slices of bacon per person. It felt so special!

Maybe that nice memory of those special breakfast moments was the reason I was sure I'd never be able to become a vegetarian - I thought I just loved bacon too much.

But I was wrong - I haven't even thought of bacon for many years now. Until a couple of weeks ago a friend made breakfast pancakes with bacon - and I got an idea: why not use Liquid Smoke to create "bacon" out of thin aubergine slices?

Today I finally tried out that idea, and it worked much better than I'd never imagine! It looks like bacon, it smells like bacon, it tastes like bacon. But it ain't bacon ;)

I also tried to make "scrambled eggs" out of silken tofu and turmeric. It turned out really good as well - apart from the soy taste, of which I'm not a big fan.. (I know, at some point I'll get used to it.)

For 4 people you need:

• 1 large aubergine, cut in thin slices lengthwise


• 1/2 cup olive oil


• 2 Tbsp soy sauce


• Liquid Smoke to taste (I used 1/3 tsp)


• salt and pepper to taste


• 400g silken tofu


• 100g smoked firm tofu, cut in small cubes


• 1 Tbsp olive oil


• 1/2 tsp turmeric


• salt and pepper to taste


• a handful of fresh parsley

Set your oven to 250C. Place the aubergine slices on a baking tray. Combine olive oil, soy sauce, liquid smoke, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Brush the aubergine slices with the oil mixture and bake in the oven until they start to get some colour. Be careful - they burn quite easily!

For the "eggs", use your hands to squeeze the silken tofu until its texture resembles scrambled eggs. Add the turmeric and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Then, heat the oil in a heavy pan. Fry the smoked tofu cubes until golden brown, or 2-3 minutes, then add the silken tofu, and fry until all of the silken tofu is hot. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and parsley - and serve right away with the "bacon"!

Warm Zucchini and Tomato Salad, Greek Style

This dish is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. Serve with a slice of good bread and a glass of white wine, followed by a bowl of strawberries... What else could one ask for? Oh yes, for it to cook fast. And it does: I counted exactly twelve minutes from the time I entered my kitchen to the moment I started eating!

For two people you need:

• 400g zucchini


• 300g cherry tomatoes


• 120g onion


• 2 garlic cloves


• ½ tsp dried oregano


• a handful of fresh parsley (or other herbs available)


• 150g feta cheese


• olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste

This is how to make it:

1. Chop onion and garlic, and cut zucchini into cubes. Halve the tomatoes.

2. Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a large pan. Add onion and sauté 2 minutes, then add garlic and the zucchini cubes, and sauté over a medium heat until zucchini starts to gain some colour.

3. Now, add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and keep heating over a medium heat until the juices of the tomatoes start to flow. Let simmer a couple of minutes.

4. Take away from heat, add feta cubes and parsley. Sprinkle with some extra olive oil, salt, and pepper and serve right away! A slice of bread is obligatory to wipe that great sauce off the plate.

For a vegan version, replace the feta cheese with tofu – I would use Tofu Olive from Taifun.

 

Day Three: Flammkuchen, or Pizza the Alsatian Way

Once upon a time there was an Alsatian who wanted to bake pizza. Unfortunately, he had run out of most of the basic ingredients: he didn’t have tomatoes, he didn’t have yeast, nor cheese. But he insisted on baking pizza anyway - and invented Flammkuchen - or tarte flambée! Good for me, because I’ve run out of tomatoes and yeast as well, and the rest of our cheese is already earmarked for something else ;)

Flammkuchen is a pizza-like bread topped typically with sour cream, ham, and onions. In my veggie version, I used smoked tofu, chopped carrots and red pepper, corn, and onions. It was a good combination, but I’m so going to try with fresh tomatoes and rucola once this no grocery shopping week is over..!

Flammkuchen exists in sweet version as well. On top of my sweet Flammkuchen I spread sour cream, sour cherry jam, some sugar, and almond flakes. I was very pleased with myself for having thought of a use for my delicious cherry jam - that for some reason no-one eats! - and for the almond flakes that were left over from Christmas baking. And it tasted great as well! The traditional sweet topping would be apples, sugar, and cinnamon, and I’m planning to give that a try later, too.

One big Flammkuchen is enough for two eaters - especially if the dessert is half of a sweet Flammkuchen :)

For two big Flammkuchen you need:

• 300g flour


• 4g salt


• 2 Tbsp oil


• 125-150ml water (a bit more if you use plain flour, a bit less if not)

Salty topping:

• 150g sour cream


• 2 Tbsp water


• salt and pepper to taste


• any veggies of your liking


• smoked tofu, cut in small cubes


• onions, cut in thin rings

Sweet topping:

• 150g sour cream


• 2 Tbsp water


• 2-3 Tbsp sugar


• 150g sour cherry jam (or other jam you’d like to get rid of :) )


• a handful of almond flakes

First set your oven to 225 Celsius. Then prepare the dough: in a bowl, combine flour and salt, then add water and oil and work until it’s easy to form a ball out of the dough. Take half of the dough and roll it out on a floured work surface. Place the Flammkuchen on an oven pan covered with a parchment paper.

For the filling, combine sour cream and water (and salt and pepper for the salty version) in a bowl. Spread the mixture on the Flammkuchen. Then add the other ingredients you’ve chosen for the topping.

Bake in the oven until the edges start to get colour, or about 15 minutes. Flammkuchen is supposed to be really, really crispy, so don't underbake it!

This was a very practical dish: while we were eating the salty Flammkuchen, the sweet one was in the oven - and it was ready just in time for dessert! A Güeter!

P.S. I have no idea how this dish REALLY was invented :D

Root Vegetable and Cabbage Curry with Sticky Tofu Sticks

I got the idea for this recipe from two different sources: the curry from a cooking wizard friend of mine, and the tofu sticks from a book called Vegan for Fun, written by one of Germany’s leading vegan chefs, Attila Hildmann. The ingredients cost next to nothing - provided you’ve got oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, and agave syrup. I had, and ended up paying 3,50 euros for the rest - and I only bought organic (of course, I also live in Germany, the promised land of cheap, high quality food! ;) ).

This recipe is just perfect for two quite hungry eaters!

For the curry you need:

• about 700g veggies (I used a mixture of carrot, celeriac, swede, broccoli stem, and cabbage)


• 1 smallish onion


• 2 garlic cloves


• about 1cm piece of fresh ginger


• (chili flakes if you like - I don’t)


• 1,5 tsp curry powder


• 3 Tbsp oil for frying


• 2 Tbsp soy sauce


• 3 Tbsp (vegan) cream


• salt to taste


• a bit of water, if necessary

For the sticky tofu sticks you need:

• 200g tofu


• 3 Tbsp oil for frying


• 2 Tbsp soy sauce, agave syrup, and peanut butter, each


• ½ tsp curry powder

First, cut all vegetables into thin sticks - the thinner, the better. Crush the garlic and chop the ginger. Heat oil in a frying pan or a wok and fry the vegetables over a medium heat, starting with onion, then adding garlic, ginger, and curry powder (and chili if using), and then adding the rest of the veggies. Once the vegetables are starting to get tender, add soy sauce, cream, and a bit of water if needed. Season with salt, cover with a lid and set aside to wait while you prepare the tofu sticks.

Cut tofu in long sticks. In a cup, mix together soy sauce, agave syrup, peanut butter and curry powder. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry tofu sticks from all sides. Once they are light golden, add the soy sauce mixture and continue frying over a low heat until the mixture gets sticky - be careful not to burn!

Divide curry on two plates and arrange tofu sticks on top. Decorate with fresh herbs, like parsley or cilantro. Serve immediately!

Pizza with Smoked Tofu and Pineapple

I’ve eaten a couple of times in a vegan restaurant in Stuttgart, called Coox&Candy. Once I happened to eat there on a Tuesday, pizza day. We just couldn’t get enough of their vegan pizza with smoked tofu and pineapple! Since they are a vegan restaurant, their pizza includes a special type of cheese, which they also sell to take away. I immediately bought a package of No-Muh-Cheese (the spicy one) and was ready to try my first vegan pizza. It was a success! Unfortunately, we live in a small town where there are no vegan cheeses available (yes, one could buy it on the internet, but somehow I’m not that deep in the world of internet shopping just yet), so today I used a local cheese from our organic farm instead. This time, I wanted to try whole-grain spelt flour in the dough, and it was really tasty (according to my hubby, it was the best pizza ever, but he was so hungry I’m not sure if he can be trusted ;) ) - in the future, anyway, I’ll be using only whole-grain flour in my pizza dough.

This recipe yields 2 big pizzas - that’s usually more than enough for us 5.

Dough:

• 250ml water


• 12,5g fresh yeast or half a package instant yeast (that would be about 5g)


• 1 tsp salt


• 2 Tbsp olive oil


• 1 Tbsp sugar


• about 450g flour

Tomato sauce:

• 1-2 onions, peeled and chopped


• 600g tomatoes, peeled and cut into cubes


• 2-4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped


• olive oil


• salt, pepper, and oregano to taste

On top:

• 200g smoked tofu in thin slices


• 5 Tbsp chopped pineapple


• grated cheese of your choice

Preparing the sauce

Begin with the tomato sauce: sauté onions in olive oil, add garlic, continue frying for 2 minutes or so, then add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and oregano. Bring to a boil and let simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, reduce heat and let simmer over a low heat for about one hour. (If you’re in a hurry, feel free to reduce cooking time - and if really in a hurry, just take one can of tomatoes, and purée it with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, and olive oil.)

Preparing the dough

To prepare the dough: measure the water in a baking bowl, throw in yeast and stir until dissolved, then add salt, oil, and sugar, stir again, and then add as much flour as you need to get a good dough. Then knead for a couple of minutes, cover the bowl with a cloth, and let ferment for an hour or so.

Depending how quick you were, you now have some time to do other stuff - go for a walk, read a book, call a friend.. But if your memory is as good as mine, it’s better to set an alarm, though!

Once your dough and sauce are ready to go, set your oven to 250 degrees Celsius. Knead your dough so you get the air bubbles out, divide into 2 pieces, and roll them both into a square a bit smaller than the oven pan you’re using. Transfer onto the pan, bake in the oven for 5 minutes or so, take out, and then cover each pizza with a layer of tomato sauce, tofu, pineapple, and finally cheese. Put back in the oven for some 15-20 minutes more, or until nicely brown and crispy.

Serve with a side salad - und ein kaltes Bier!