Tofu Picata w/gremolata crust

So, two parts to this recipe:

Picata Sauce:

I make this big, since the sauce can be used for a lot of things (like a creamy artichoke soup w/tofu (or chicken))

1 bottle of white wine

2 shallots, sliced in chunks

3 or 4 sprigs of thyme

10 or 12 peppercorns

8 or 10 garlic cloves

Cook down the wine until reduced by 3/4s

strain and add 4 cups of veg (or chicken) broth

add:

1 (15oz) can of artichoke hearts

and... 3 or 4 tbls of capers

****Trust me, I hate capers, but this is a really great sauce

Thicken sauce with a few tbls roux (roux: melt butter over low heat, add equal part flour and cook for 5 minutes, can be refridgerated for... a long time.)

after thickening, you can either refridg. for later use, or use immediately.

Before using, add about... I dunno, a lot of butter. Just don't add the butter until you're about to use it.

Part II:

Gremolata Crust:

Bread crumbs

thyme leaves

garlic, minced

S&P

This crust is great for either chicken or tofu (most classical recipes call for chicken, obviously)

Just make some breadcrumbs up (I always keep the heels of loafs in the freezer) and add the other ingredients to taste; I use about... 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs, 6 cloves garlic, 3 or 4 tbls thyme and just a bit of S&P (I try to avoid a lot of salt)

Coat your tofu (or chicken *bleh*) with olive oil, then pat on a generous portion of the crust. Bake and serve

Vegan Mac 'n' Cheezish

6 gloves garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, very small dice, or mince

1 or 2 heads broccoli (teh r00l), cut in very small florets

~1/3 cup butter

~1/3 cup flour

1 cup Nutritional Yeast

Soy milk 'til correct consistency (see below)

Dry herbs:

~10 black peppercorns

1 tbl dry mustard

1 tbl garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dry thyme

1 tsp dry marjoram

~1 tbl salt

Saute the onion, garlic & broccoli in the butter with the dry herbs. Add the flour once the onion softens (about 8 minutes on a medium heat) and stir for a bit (about another 5 minutes). Slowly add the soy milk, about a 1/4 cup at a time (stir and allow a minute between) and add the nutitritional yeast after the first soy milk 1/4 cup. Add the soy milk batches until it reaches the consistency you desire. Mix with pasta and enjoy!

Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki is a pretty basic concoction. Simply put, use these ingredients in a general sense:

Soy Sauce

Brown Sugar

Water

Garlic

Ginger

(optional: Onion, Celery, Apple)

Basically just add about... I don't know, a cup or so of soy sauce to a pan and add 4 cups water. Throw in about... six cloves of garlic and a "thumb" or two of ginger, peeled and cut in to chunks. The sugar should about equal the soy sauce, and if you want to add onion, celery, and apple, just sort of toss them in - about the same amount as the garlic or ginger. Play with it and see what you think.

Add all the ingredients in a pan and reduce it until you can coat the back of a spoon and write a W (For Wendell, of course) and not have the sauce run. Strain and use.

Tofu and Veg Soup. Aka: Dippy Wraps.

So, it's funny - Hannah's not a fan of soup. The fuck, eh? I make soup only to strain it in to this supper tasty dinner, but... well (as you will see) I'm a big fan of left-overs. I try to make a lot of food most nights in case people come over.... You know, all two or so of my friends.

So, Tofu and Rice Soup:

The most important part of any soup, really, is the dry-rub. Personally, I use a coffee grinder and add all the ingredients, mostly so you don't get those dry sprigs of thyme in your teeth. And for the fresh-ground b. peppercorn taste. Nearly all my recipes for dry-rubs use thyme, but I hate to get stabbed in the gums by it.

Dry Rub (I just wing this, and recommend the same to you. I've had chefs tell me only what goes in recipes, instead of how much of each, just so I'd get more familiar with my own tastebuds):

~15 black peppercorns

~2 tbls dehydrated onion

~2tbls garlic powder

~3tbls sage

~3tbls thyme

~2tbls margoram

~2tbls coriander

Honestly, I don't measure; I tap each jar a few times on the grinder - sometimes I even add Lavender.

So, the chunkiness of the soup comes from the veggies:

I would just tell you to have fun with this part. Whatever sounds good. Personally, in Seattle, I've got my choice of farmer's markets and they have "dollar bags" of produce that they need to move that day. I usually base my recipes on those, as they are the best deals and give me a fun time.

Tonight I'm using:

(oh, and everything is small diced - about 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch)

6 brussel sprouts

2 crowns broccoli

2 onion

3 carrots

4 stalks celery

2 smallish zucchini

1 med. summer squash

8 or 10 green beans

lots of garlic - probably a fist or two, as I really like it.

salt & pepper to taste

*in seattle I've found a great *(GREAT)* veg. bouillion that's all-natural and really adds that bottom flavor to what I'm making. Usually I'll add about 6 cups of water and 3 bouillion cubes to this recipe.

So, I get the advantage of getting home around 2:30pm each day, so basically I chop up this shizz, set about a (dry) cup of rice (basmati) cooking (with 2 cups water) on low-heat and walk away after I'm done prepping. Oh, and the dry-rub, of course. Any recipe is best done, completely, in advance. Hannah usually gets home around 6pm, so that my intended finish time.

So, if you're like me, and the peoples you're cooking for don't want soup (only dippy wraps) then you can go ahead and make this any time.

Saute the tofu ahead of time (or chicken, beef, pork, lamb, whatever the f you want)

Go ahead and saute the veggies for a bit with the dry-rub. A lot of people say to not saute a dry-rub, but I find that it adds more flavor to the broth. Sometimes I'll even dump in the second-half of a beer I'm drinking (or wine) when the veggies are nearly done. If you do, let the alcohol cook down a bit, then add the tofu (or meat) and maybe a splash of balsamic vineger, if you want. If you do this, toss in some boiullion cubes (if you're using them) and let the alcohol cook down about half-way, stirring and stuff.

*if you're not using boiullion cubes, or some sort of canned veg. stock (You want to shoot for about 6 cups of stock total) then you want to make sure you have a decent amount of salt, just for a base-flavor. You don't want to ever go "ack, that's got salt in it." Just.... not also think that it is tasteless. It can work between.

Cook for a bit and serve. Any left-overs can be strained, wrapped in tortillas and dipped in the thickened broth.

Honestly, this is the most easy recipe, and the most forgiving. Oh, and tasty!