Vegan Cassoulet (yes, you read that correctly)

Prep time: 3 cocktails

1 pound flagoulet, navy, or other small to medium white beans

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 carrots, finely chopped

2-3 ribs celery, finely chopped

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, pulsed in food processor into 1/8 inch bits (about 8-10 pulses)

12-15 cloves garlic, minced

1 oz dried mushrooms, ground into a slightly coarse/chunky powder

5 cups homemade veggie broth

1.5 cups red wine

3 TBSP soy sauce (fish sauce is also great)

1.5 tsp liquid smoke

6 Bay leaves

4-6 sprigs fresh thyme

2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 whole cloves

Salt and pepper to taste (usually about 2.5 tsp tsp salt)

¼ cup Italian parsley, minced

Breadcrumbs

Soak beans overnight. Rinse well and drain.

In a large, oven-safe dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and add onions, carrot, and celery. Saute until starts to turn translucent to a little golden, about 12 minutes. Add fresh mushroom bits and garlic. Saute until liquid is mostly cooked off and bits are sticking to pan (but not burned), about 15 minutes, while scraping the stuck-on bits occasionally with a metal or wooden spatula. Add dried mushroom powder and cook another 6 or so minutes, while also completely scraping the browning bits on the bottom of the pan every 30 seconds or so using your spatula. Let the mixture cook and brown to the bottom one last minute without scraping.

(Note that these browned--but not burned!--bits that you scrape off the bottom of the pan give the cassoulet the majority of the flavor. So, extend the process of scraping and stirring even longer, if it seems as though you can)

Deglaze (unstick the delicious browned bits at the bottom of the pan) mushroom mixture with wine, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Bring to boil. Now add veggie stock, drained beans, bay leaves, thyme, cloves, rosemary and bring to a boil and cook until beans are soft and excess liquid has cooked off (adding water, if necessary).

Now, preheat oven to broil.

Fish out thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and rosemary.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in Italian parsley. Toss bread crumbs with a little olive oil and sprinkle top of cassoulet. Put it all in the oven and broil until bread crumbs brown (but don’t burn!).

Vegetarian Meatloaf

1 1/2 cups veggie stock, store-bought or homemade
2/3 cup brown lentils
1/2 cup TVP
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, chopped up a bit
4 TBSP butter or a vegan substitute
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup raw cashews
2 cups bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup ketchup + more for topping and serving
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (homemade is best) + more for topping and serving
2 eggs (or egg substitutes like ground flax and water)
2 TBSP dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
A couple handfuls of grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F.

Bring the stock to a boil and add lentils. Cook until lentils are soft, adding more stock or water if necessary. Once lentils are fully cooked, simmer off any excess moisture. Remove from heat and mash lentils with potato masher.

While your lentils cook, bring a couple cups of water to a boil in a small pan.Once boiling, add TVP and and remove from heat. Let sit 5 minutes, then strain TVP and it set aside.

In a food processor, pulse the mushrooms until they are finely minced.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Then add mushrooms and cook until they turn a shade darker and release some of their juices, about 4 minutes. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and saute until they become nice and tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, saute a couple more minutes then transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl.

In your food process now process cashews into fine little pieces.

Add lentils, TVP, and cashews to the veggie mix in the mixing bowl, as well as bread crumbs, cumin, cilantro, ketchup, BBQ sauce, eggs/egg substitute, and Dijon. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste (I usually have to add at least a teaspoon of salt and a good amount of pepper).

Spray a medium-sized loaf pan with cooking spray and transfer the mixture into the pan. Mold it into a meatloaf shape and make sure there's a small gap between the edge of the pan and the loaf so that when you add cheese and additional sauce later, it won't all dribble over the edges of the pan and make a mess.

Bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes, or until the top starts to get a bit browned and a tad crusty. Now take the pan out of the oven and slather the top with additional BBQ sauce and/or ketchup. Sprinkle the cheese on top of it all and return it to the oven. Increase heat to 375 and cook 12-15 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let it cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with additional ketchup and BBQ sauce on the side.

Divine Intervention Sapporo Ramen

Last night, we had a religious experience. My wife's eyes rolled back in her head and she started speaking in tongues. I started weeping out of a profound, unexpected joy. Even the dog made odd noises. Of course, we didn't find Jesus; I just made the most amazing ramen ever. The wife's expression happened to be "domo arigato gozimus" and my profound weeping was because I nailed the broth perfectly. And the dog turned out to just be gassy. So even though we didn't find eternal salvation, it turned out to be a pretty remarkable night, nevertheless.

This is a slight revision to Sapporo-style ramen. That ramen uses butter to add a richness to the broth. However, as a not-huge fan of butter, I opted for coconut milk instead. Also, since the broth is traditionally cooked with various animal bits to add umami, I make a few vegetarian-friendly tricks, like incorporating mushrooms, browning the miso, and adding some fermented black beans. The result is a perfect, harmonious balance of savory, rich, satisfying bowl of noodles and vegetables with just a touch of sweetness.

Note that you can get the needed Japanese ingredients at any Asian grocer, including kombu, wakame, hijiki, mirin, bonito flakes, fermented black bean paste, and buckwheat noodles.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

Egg marinade:
2 eggs
2-3 TBSP soy sauce
2-3 TBSP mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
1/2 cup water

Broth base:
2-inch square kombu or 3 TBSP wakame or hijiki
5 good-sized shiitake mushrooms
6 cups water
1 cup bonito flakes
1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)

Seasoning mix:
1 TBSP sesame seeds
2 tsp untoasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, grated with microplane or finest side of a box grater
3 scallions, chopped
2 TBSP miso paste
2 TBSP fermented black bean paste
1/4 cup mirin or sake
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 cup coconut milk

Soup elements:
8 ounces dried buckwheat noodles
1/2-1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 bunch spinach, stems removed
1/2-1 cup frozen sweet corn
1 block tofu, chopped into 3/4" cubes (can be firm or silken/soft, depending on preference), optional

Optional garnishes: 
Bonito flakes, chopped scallions, and/or a drizzle of toasted sesame oil

A couple hours before you start the soup, you'll need to make the eggs, since the need to marinate. You want to medium-boil your eggs by gently dropping them in boiling water and reducing heat to a very low boil. Boil them for 7-8 minutes. Remove and place under cool running water and remove shells. Then combine the peeled eggs with the rest or the marinade ingredients in a small Tupperware container or zip-lock bag and put in the refrigerator.

Now make the broth by combining all the broth ingredients in a pressure cooker. With the lid off, bring to a boil but remove the kombu right before you boil or it will become slimy (if using hijiki or wakame, no need to remove). Once boiling, put the lid on it and bring up to normal pressure for your altitude for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and let pressure drop completely. Remove lid and strain out mushrooms and any remaining seaweed.

While your broth is cooking, you can pre-prep the some of your soup elements. Cook the noodles according to the directions on package and cool them under running water and set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the bean sprouts for 1 minute and strain them out. In the same water, you can then blanch the spinach for 3-4 minutes and strain out. Let cool and then squeeze all the moisture out and chop it up coarsely. Finally, add the corn to the boiling water for a couple minutes, then drain and set aside (you can obviously make all these veggies in separate pots of water, if you would prefer).

Next, start on the seasoning mix. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add sesame seeds and toast for a couple minutes, stirring pretty frequently. When they are lightly toasted, transfer to an electric spice grinder and grind into a powder. Set aside.

Now in a large pot or dutch oven, heat the untoasted sesame oil over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and scallions and saute for 1-2 minutes. Now add miso and bean paste and stir constantly for a couple minutes. You want some of the paste to get browned stuck to the pan, but don't let anything fully burn. Next, deglaze the paste by adding the mirin/sake and sesame seed powder. Once everything is incorporated and the bits that were stuck to the pan are unstuck, add the soy sauce and coconut milk. Stir everything well and add the broth from the pressure cooker (after removing mushrooms and seaweed). Adjust seasoning if necessary by adding salt or soy sauce to taste. Add tofu cubes and bring to a low boil for a couple minutes. Then it's ready to serve!

In a bowl, combine your noodles, corn, spinach, sprouts, and tofu. Pour the broth over the top and slice your marinated eggs in half lengthwise and add a half an egg. Top with any of the additional garnishes of your choice and serve!

Quick Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

You can make this in just a few minutes. Great as a marinade, stir fry sauce, or topping all kinds of good stuff!

Prep time: 1/4 cocktail

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
2-3 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp ginger, grated with Microplane or the finest setting of a box grater
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBSP mirin cooking wine
The greens of 2-4 scallions

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 3 TBSP water until fully incorporated.

Combine all ingredients except the scallions in a small pan on medium-low to medium heat and bring to a boil for about 4 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature, stir in scallions. If it gets too thick, add a bit of water until you get it how you want it.

Goddamn Delicious Sriracha Aioli

This is delightful on fusion sushi, sandwiches, or as a dressing or dip. In fact, I like it so much, I'd even recommend it on cereal, in coffee, or as a facial cleanser. It's that good!

Note that if you want wasabi aioli, you can swap out the Siracha for an equal amount wasabi paste.

Prep time: 1/4 cocktail

1 egg yolk

1 TBSP Siracha 

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp agave nectar (you can adjust this up or down to taste)

2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

Roughly 3/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed--NO olive oil 

A small handful of sesame seeds

Combine everything except last 2 ingredients in food processor and puree until well incorporated (scraping the sides down with a rubber spatula once or twice). 

Then, with the processor running, slowly drizzle the oil in. Add until you reach your desired consistency--meaning that it may vary a bit from the recommended 3/4 cup.

Adjust siracha, soy sauce, and/or agave to reach desired taste. 

Once it is all incorporated, transfer to a bowl and stir in sesame seeds and serve!