Category: Vegan

Meatless Monday: BLT Dip (sort of)

7/27/2020

In one of my recent media interviews, a journalist asked what was my go-to pandemic snack, and this was the only thing I could think of. I made it pretty early on in the pandemic as a way to have something indulgent but still vegetable-y. It's not based in history really, just straight out of my brain. But it combines the best worlds of BLTs, tomato sandwiches, and creamy chip dips in one.

I call this "BLT" Dip, but it doesn't actually have any lettuce or even bacon in it. And you can put bacon in it if you want to (heck, you could add a sturdy lettuce like chopped romaine, too, if you want), but the smokiness of the smoked Spanish paprika really does a better job, I think, at bringing out the smoky, salty, tastiness of bacon without the extra calories. It makes this dip more friendly for vegetarians, too! And you could replace with mayo and sour cream with all vegan mayo, if you want.

The smokiness and creaminess is what makes this dip extremely tasty with potato chips and kind of addictive. It makes a lovely side to grilled foods, or as a light lunch or dinner for when it's just too hot to cook.

If you garden and find yourself with a glut of cherry or grape tomatoes, this is a great way to enjoy them!

Creamy, Smoky Tomato Dip Recipe

1 pint cherry tomatoes
2-4 scallions
pinch of salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1-2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and then slice cross wise into chunks or slices. Place in a bowl and add a pinch of salt, stirring to combine. Then thinly slice the scallions, white and green parts, and add to the tomatoes. Add mayonnaise (at least 1 cup), sour cream (just a dollop or two), and the Spanish paprika, and stir thoroughly. Serve with potato chips - we prefer kettle chips.

You could also theoretically pile this on toast and pretend it's an extra-delicious tomato sandwich.

Step 1: Chop good-quality cherry tomatoes.

Step 2: add to a bowl with sliced scallions and salt.

Step 3: add mayo, sour cream, and smoked Spanish paprika.

Step 4: Stir well to combine - devour with chips!

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The Very Disappointing Birthday Present

1/30/2020

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Yes, dear readers, I bought myself a birthday present. I was so excited, too! I had read an article about this cookbook a while ago, and was delighted to find it in print with what I thought would be some historical analysis.

Alas, I was very wrong.

This is one of those things where someone takes a public domain cookbook, puts a modern spin on the layout, and pretends it's new.

SIGH.

I hesitate to even call this a review, as I won't be recommending much about my present to myself.

I purchased "Vintage Vegan: Recipes From the World's First Raw Vegan Restaurant." It's attributed to Vera Richter, despite the fact that the actual title of the cookbook she published in 1925 (and again in 1948) was "Mrs. Richter's Cook-less Book."

Vera Richter was a proponent of raw food and veganism and she and her husband John opened a raw vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, California sometime after 1918. And guess what! There's a Fargo, ND (my hometown) connection! John's father Frederick Richter (a trained pastor) became a physician and pharmacist there in the 1870s in the very early days of settlement. John later studied the sanitarium style healthcare pioneered by John Kellogg and started treating his father's patients with natural cures. He married Vera in 1918 and they moved to California where they opened a restaurant they later calledv"Eutrophion," which is apparently Greek for "good nourishment."

It's a pretty fascinating story and apparently the restaurant was fairly influential in LA's early health food and body building scene. But of course, none of that is included in the book. Which is a pity, because with a little effort the reprint could have been wonderful, instead of disappointing.

Essentially, the "editor" of the cookbook, wrote a 2 page intro which reads like a Wikipedia article (except the actual Wikipedia article is more extensive) and added a couple of editor's notes on the recipes. The editor is also quite clearly a proponent of raw veganism, and thus takes any and all claims at face value, and adds a few of her own.

I'm not really sure why I was so convinced it was going to be a history of the cookbook and the restaurant with the recipes included.

Just another case of expecting food history where clearly there is none! Sadly, so much context could have been given about California in the 1910s (when the restaurant was opened), the history of veganism and raw foodism in the United States and elsewhere, why California, etc., etc.

Thankfully Mrs. Richter's actual cookbook is quite interesting, although her egg-less mayonnaise calls for the use of a ripe banana - not sure the taste is quite the same. But fascinating nonetheless. If anyone is looking for good raw vegetable salad recipes, this is the place to visit. But maybe, visit the original, instead of buying the reprint.

And if you want to know more about Mrs. Richter? The LA Weekly has you (and me) covered.

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Meatless Monday: Cottage Cheese Sausage

10/7/2019

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A recipe page from "Kitchen Klatter Magazine," October, 1944.

Inspired by my Patreon patrons (please join us!), I'll be occasionally posting Meatless Monday historic recipes. I ran across a gem of a website with scanned pages of all the recipes from Kitchen Klatter Magazine. The magazine was an outcropping of a radio show by the same name, hosted by Iowa homemaker Leanna Field Driftmier. On the air for sixty-one years, Kitchen Klatter is thought to be the longest-running show of its kind in the U.S. Anyone interested in doing some research on Driftmier can find her papers as well as cookbooks and other materials at the University of Iowa Library.

I have an interest in homemaker radio shows, but my World War I research isn't quite ready to let go of me just yet, so more in-depth research is on the horizon. Sadly, it doesn't seem as though the Kitchen Klatter radio program survived, although I could be wrong. Few, if any of them, have been digitized. Although oral history collections and historic film are often preserved through digitization, historic radio is more neglected, particularly homemaker shows.

At any rate, this particular recipe page (listed above) is from 1944, toward the end of the Second World War. In my opinion, cottage cheese is completely under appreciated in modern American cooking, which is why I always enjoy finding historic recipes for it. High in protein and generally low in fat, it is creamy and delicious. Cottage cheese, and its siblings ricotta and farmer cheese, are well-used in many European cuisines, particularly in Eastern Europe.

RECIPE: Cottage Cheese Sausage

1 cup cottage cheese, drained dry
1 cup cracker crumbs or dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon powdered sage
1/4 teaspoon soda dissolved in
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped onion

Mix all together and roll in cakes. Roll in corn meal or cracker crumbs and fry like sausage. - Mrs. Earl Cochran

Note that the recipe calls for "cottage cheese, drained dry." Cottage cheese naturally has creamy whey in it, but for this recipe you need to drain the whey off or use farmer cheese, which is simply cottage cheese that already has the whey drained off. To drain, line a sieve with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, place it in a bowl to catch the whey, and add the cottage cheese. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before using, squeeze out any additional whey.

Frying "sausages" like this will require a fair amount of oil - preheat a pan (I prefer a cast iron skillet) and cover the bottom with enough oil to run when the pan is tipped. Or, add even more to shallow fat fry the sausages.

Serve with mashed or roasted root vegetables and a green vegetable, or, for a more breakfast sausage treatment, serve with pancakes, french toast, or fried eggs.

BONUS RECIPE: White Bean "Sausage" Cakes

As a bonus for the vegans out there, I made up a similar recipe last year using canned cannellini beans and oatmeal. Here's an approximation of the recipe (I make it differently every time).

1 can cannellini beans, drained (save the liquid)
dried sage
dried majoram
dried rosemary
dried thyme
white pepper
salt
3/4 to 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
breadcrumbs or cornmeal
olive oil

Put drained beans in a medium sized mixing bowl and mash thoroughly with a fork. You don't want them quite pureed, but close. In a separate bowl, mix the oats with the drained liquid from the beans. Add water if necessary not quite to cover. Microwave for 2 minutes to cook oats. Add spices to beans (go easy on the salt if your beans are already salted, as canned beans often are), then add the oats and mix. If they seem too soft still, add some uncooked oats. They should easily form patties but not be too thick. Pat into cakes and dust with breadcrumbs or cornmeal.

Preheat olive oil in a cast iron skillet (enough to cover the bottom) until a few drops of water pop and sizzle. Add cakes to pan - leave some space around them - 5-6 will fill a 14" skillet). Let cook for several minutes, until the edges are golden brown, then flip and cook again. Add more oil if necessary between batches.

Serve hot with mashed or roasted butternut squash with apples 'n' onions or (like in the photo) apple and celery vinaigrette salad on the side.

There are lots of "mock sausage" recipes that have been around since very early in American history. The sage is the primary suggestion of sausage, so don't leave it out, unless you prefer herbed white bean cakes to mock sausage.

Now that the colder weather is back with us, I think I may just attempt the cottage cheese recipe. Do you have any historic vegetarian recipes to share? What have you been cooking lately?

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Meatless Monday: BLT Dip (sort of)

Creamy, Smoky Tomato Dip Recipe

The Very Disappointing Birthday Present

Meatless Monday: Cottage Cheese Sausage

RECIPE: Cottage Cheese Sausage

BONUS RECIPE: White Bean "Sausage" Cakes

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