Robin Robertson

Now that Quarantine Cooking has been a thing for nearly two months, there is a temptation to get into a cooking rut. Whenever my culinary mojo slows down, I page through one of my cookbooks for renewed inspiration.

Last night, Vegan Mac and Cheese was my muse.  Besides, what better comfort food is there than mac and cheese? I’ve been craving artichokes, so I decided on Bill’s Artichoke Mac and Chips.  It is named for our friend Bill who loves artichokes, mac uncheese, and our local Route 11 potato chips. I came up with this recipe that combines all three of his favorites for a special birthday dinner for him one year.

This time, to add more veggies, I also stirred in some steamed chopped spinach.  The finished dish was so good and reminded me of spinach-artichoke dip.  Here’s the recipe (minus the spinach, but if you’re using it, just add about 2 cups of well-drained chopped cooked spinach in Step #4 when combining all the ingredients.

Bill’s Artichoke Mac and Chips

This recipe is from Vegan Mac and Cheese by Robin Robertson (c) 2019, Harvard Common Press.

Sauce:

• 2 1/2 to 3 cups (600 to 720 ml) unsweetened almond milk
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups (140 to 210 g) unsalted raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, well drained
• 3/4 to 1 cup (172.5 to 230) vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons (34 g) white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon (16 g) tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 11/2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Pasta and Artichokes:

• 16 ounces (454 g) cellentani, cavatappi, or other corkscrew pasta
• 2 (12-ounce, or 340 g) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained, quartered or coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon (9 g) capers
• 1 cup (56 g) crumbled potato chips

1. To make the sauce: In a high-speed blender, combine all the sauce ingredients. Purée until completely smooth. Taste and add more salt, as needed. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly coat 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
3. To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until tender. Drain well and return it to the pot.
4. Add the artichokes, capers, and sauce to the pasta and gently stir to combine. Transfer the mac and cheese into the prepared baking dish.
5. Sprinkle the potato chip crumbs over the top, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until hot.

In our small town, the most vegan-friendly food available has been the local Chinese take-out restaurant.  Sadly, they closed down during this pandemic. To satisfy our cravings, I’ve included a few stir-fries in my menu rotation.  One of our favorites is Spaghetti Lo Mein.  (I make it with spaghetti because most traditional lo mein noodles contain egg and are therefore not vegan.)

This recipe is quite versatile.  Use fresh veggies if you’ve got them, but frozen veggies work quite well too. The last time I made them I used frozen bell pepper strips and substituted sliced zucchini for the mushrooms.  Use what you’ve got! Here’s the recipe from my quarantine-friendly cookbook, Cook the Pantry:

Spaghetti Lo-Mein

If you are using leftover cooked pasta, steam the broccoli for 3 to 5 minutes. If you don’t have fresh vegetables on hand for this recipe, substitute frozen stir-fry vegetables, cooked according to package directions. This recipe is from Cook the Pantry by Robin Robertson © 2015, published by Vegan Heritage Press. Photo by Annie Oliverio.

•  8 ounces spaghetti noodles
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
• 1 tablespoon neutral-tasting oil such as grapeseed oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/3 cup sliced scallions
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 cup reconstituted Soy Curls  or diced extra-firm tofu or seitan (optional)

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender.  About 3 to 5 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add the broccoli. Drain the pasta and broccoli and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, combine the tamari, hoisin, sesame oil, and sriracha, if using.  Add the water and sherry, if using. Mix well and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, bell pepper, mushrooms, carrot, scallions, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3 minutes.  Add the Soy Curls, if using and stir to combine.  Stir in the reserved noodles and the sauce mixture, and gently toss to combine until heated through.  Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings

Quarantine cooking can be fun — as in mei fun!  Mei fun noodles are very thin Chinese rice noodles (also called rice vermicelli). It is a popular street food in Singapore. Basic mei fun can be somewhat bland, usually stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and a few other ingredients, with additional condiments served on the side.

Singapore mei fun, on the other hand, is distinctive for its addition of curry powder. It usually features a number of vegetables, and some type of protein food — my version calls for tofu, but you can substitute seitan, tempeh, or soy curls.

If rice vermicelli noodles are unavailable, you can make this with angel hair pasta instead (cooked al dente before adding to the skillet). Also feel free to change up the vegetables used (zucchini instead of broccoli, or green peas instead of snow peas, for example). The seasoning can also be adjusted to your taste, add more red pepper flakes (or a drizzle of Sriracha) for more heat, or use more or less curry powder.

Here is the recipe for Singapore Mei Fun.  Since I.m limiting my trips to the supermarket, I was out of bell pepper, snow peas, broccoli, and cilantro, so I just used cabbage, carrots, and frozen green peas – and it was still super-delicious.  Use what you got!  This is what my quarantine version looked like last night:

This recipe is from my most beautiful cookbook, Vegan Without Borders.  If you don’t have this book, now is a great time to get it — it’s like taking a culinary tour around the world, right in your own home!

Singapore Mei Fun

• 8 ounces rice vermicelli (mei fun noodles)
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
• 1 to 2 tablespoons good-quality Madras curry powder (I used 2 tablespoons  S&B curry powder blended with water)
• 1 medium-size yellow onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin matchstick strips (or shredded cabbage)
• 1 carrot, coarsely shredded
• 2 ounces snow peas, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (or frozen green pea)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t want it spicy)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cups small broccoli florets, lightly steamed (or steamed green beans cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Soak the rice noodles according to the package directions until softened. Drain well and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry until nicely browned, adding 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce and a sprinkling of curry powder while cooking. Remove from the skillet and set aside on a plate.

Reheat the skillet with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and snow peas, and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Stir in the remaining curry powder and stir-fry 10 seconds, or until fragrant.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, along with the sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes, stirring to mix well. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the drained rice noodles and return to a boil, stirring to coat the noodles in the sauce. Add the steamed broccoli and reserved tofu, and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the noodles. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve hot sprinkled with cilantro. Serves 4

Recipe is from Vegan Without Borders (c) 2014 by Robin Robertson

I hope you’re prepared for cooking during quarantine.  I know I am.  But I owe my preparedness in the path of hurricanes for many years.  Hurricane preparedness was so much a part of our lives, that we actually wrote a book about it!  And now, that the same kind of preparedness is helpful during these strange days of self-isolation.

Even though we’re allowed to venture out for groceries, I prefer to keep my interactions with the outside world to a minimum.  That’s why we made one trip to the store last week and shopped for enough food to last a month. The canned and dried beans and pasta was the easy part. I also stocked the freezer with an extra supply of frozen spinach, collards, broccoli, and other green veggies because I knew the fresh, more delicate produce would be the first things we needed to use up. I then loaded up the fridge with plant milk, tofu, and lots of fresh produce.

I planned menus that used the most delicate product first, so now, over a week since shopping, we’re nearly out of fresh greens — I have enough lettuce for about three more salads. But we still have a lot of other hardy veggies like cabbage, carrots, celery, winter squash, and of course, white and sweet potatoes.  I bought a lot of fruit that I’m keeping refrigerated to last longer, pulling out only what we’ll use in a day each morning.

Here is a list of what I plan to cook in the weeks ahead using what I have on hand:

Stay-at-home Menu Plan

• Chili Mac & salad
• Tacos
• Pizza & salad
• Hakka noodle stir-fry
• Lentil soup
• Stuffed kabocha squash
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Ramen bowls
• Vegetable fried rice
• Tofu tetrazzini with green beans
• Saag with tofu and basmati rice
• Enchiladas
• Pasta Fagiole
• Tofu scramble
• 15-bean soup
• Seitan Pot Roast with Cabbage, Carrots & Potatoes
• Artichoke Mac UnCheese
• Three bean pasta salad
• Veggie Dogs w/sauerkraut
• Chickpea salad wraps
• Singapore mei fun
• Hoppin’ John

If you have a copy of my book Cook the Pantry or Vegan Unplugged, you’ll find lots of useful tips and recipes using pantry ingredients.  I’ll be sharing some of those recipes in the weeks ahead.  For now, I’ll leave you with the recipe from Cook the Pantry for Spinach and White Bean Quesadillas or as they are now known, Quarantine Quesadillas.  Stay safe!

Spinach and White Bean Quesadillas aka “Quarantine Quesadillas”

Frozen spinach and canned white beans combine with garlic and spices to make a delectable filling for these hearty quesadillas.  No cheese needed.  Serve with your favorite salsa.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or 2 tablespoons water to water-saute)
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Large flour tortillas

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.  Add the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the beans, lemon juice, coriander, and cumin.  Cook, stirring, until the spinach is cooked and the flavors are blended, about 5 minutes.  Mash the beans well while cooking. Set aside.

Place a large tortillas on a flat work surface. Spread a thin layer of the spinach mixture evenly over half of the tortilla. Fold the remaining half of the tortilla over the half with the filling and press gently to enclose and spread the filling close to the edges.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place the quesadilla in the hot skillet.  Flatten with a spatula and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the quesadillas and cook until the other side is golden brown.  Cut into wedges. Repeat with more tortillas and filling as desired. Serve hot with salsa.

This recipe is from Cook the Pantry by Robin Robertson © 2015, published by Vegan Heritage Press. Photo by Annie Oliverio.

Chocolate mousse pie has long been a stalwart of vegan desserts, but leave it to Laura Theodore (PBS’s Jazzy Vegetarian) to “jazz up” this favorite with a few new (and delicious!) twists that are right in the recipe title: in this recipe chocolate teams up with coffee giving it a wonderful mocha flavor.  And then, it gets all fancy with a beautiful marbled effect, making it off-the-charts gorgeous.  Another thing to love about this pie is a crust made with dates, nuts, and coconut to add even more flavor and texture.

You can find this recipe and more in Laura’s latest book, Vegan for Everyone.  In addition to many all-new recipes, the book features updated versions of 60 fan-favorite recipes from her earlier books.  Check it out, but first, check out this pie…..

Mad Mocha Marbled Mousse Pie

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

This pie is gorgeous to look at, delicious to eat and a delight to serve! Your family and guests will think you slaved for hours creating the “fancy” marbled effect, but it’s actually super easy to do! You will please chocolate and coffee lovers alike with this impressive sweet indulgence!

CRUST

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to coat pan

11 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped

2/3 cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut

FILLING

1 block (14 to 15 ounces) extra-firm regular tofu, drained and crumbled

5½ tablespoons vegan cane sugar

½ cup cold, strong brewed coffee

1½ cups vegan dark chocolate chips (55% to 70% cacao)

½ cup unsweetened or sweetened nondairy milk

Generously coat a 9-inch round pie pan with olive oil. Put all of the crust ingredients in a high-performance blending appliance and process into a dough, stopping the machine and scraping the bowl several times. The dough will be very sticky. Transfer the dough to the oiled pan and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (see note). Put the pie pan in the freezer for 6 to 8 minutes, and then transfer to the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling, put the tofu, sugar and coffee into a blender and process until very smooth. Transfer 1/3 cup of the tofu/coffee mixture to a small bowl and reserve. Add the chocolate chips to the top of the remaining tofu mixture (that is still in the blender container).

Put the nondairy milk into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-low heat. Immediately pour the simmering nondairy milk over the chocolate chip mixture and process for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until it becomes completely smooth. Pour the chocolate filling into the chilled crust (it will mound up slightly, above the crust). Immediately drop 5 to 6 spoonfuls of the reserved tofu/coffee mixture onto the top of the pie. Then, using a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife, gently swirl the tofu/coffee mixture into the top of the pie in a pleasing, marbleized pattern. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or overnight), until completely set. Slice and serve!

Chef’s note: If you are cooking gluten free, make certain to purchase certified gluten-free tofu, available in most supermarkets.

Chef’s note: If desired, create a decorative edge to the crust. Using the tines of a fork, press gently down around the entire outer edge of the crust to form evenly spaced lines.

Photo Credit: Laura Theodore

Recipe from Vegan For Everyone by Laura Theodore Published by Scribe Publishing Company, ©2020. Reprinted by permission.