Gardein Cutlets with Roasted Asparagus, Savory Amaranth and Cashew Cream

It is going to take longer to type this post than it took to cook this meal!

When I was originally stocking my pantry for my venture into vegetarianism, I dedicated an entire shelf to grains of all kinds. Most of my collection has been used multiple times in the past year (even teff, which I had never even heard of and now use often). I've had one package of amaranth sitting on that shelf, and had only used it once or twice for bread. Amaranth seems to be used quite often as a hot cereal. It cooks up a lot like Cream of Wheat, with a very similar texture.

Problem is, I'm not much of a "cereal for breakfast" kind of gal. So- there the amaranth sat, waiting patiently for it's turn in the bread-making rotation.

This recipe started out centered on the amaranth. I wanted to make something that was savory and creamy and warm in the belly. Start to finish was about 30 minutes, or the time it took for the amaranth to cook.

Cashew Cream
Typically, cashew cream is made after soaking the cashews in water overnight. I hadn't thought of making it, though, until I had already started dinner. I made it in less than 5 minutes, with no prior soaking, and it was still creamy and delicious. This keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can also freeze it (but may need to re-blend when it thaws). It's a beautiful and easy way to "cream up" a dish, from soup to sweets, whether you use it plain or add flavor like nutmeg and vanilla.

2 cups raw cashews, whole
Purified water (enough to just cover the cashews when they're in the food processor or blender)



1. Put cashews into a food processor or a really good blender (Vita-Mix seems to be the brand of choice on the foodie blogs I visit)
2. Do a quick pulse to break up the nuts a little bit prior to adding water. Most recipes I've read have you add the water and whole nuts together then blend them both. I tried that and the water sprayed out of my food processor and doused my t-shirt. (Sounds sexy, but it wasn't!)
3. Add only enough water to just cover the nuts. Thicker cream calls for less water.
4. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding little bits of water as necessary. If you're patient, it will get nice and smooth. I was mostly patient, so I had some teeny-tiny texture going in mine; it worked really well for this particular recipe, though.
5. Chill cream in the fridge until ready to serve.


Simply Savory Amaranth

1 cup Amaranth Grain
3 cups Imagine No-Chicken Broth
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 dollop Earth's Balance
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste



1. Add amaranth, broth, and seasonings to pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the grain has thickened.
2. Stir in dollop of Earth's Balance prior to serving up if desired.

Roasted Asparagus
This is a no-frills, easy-peasy way to cook asparagus.

1 bunch of fresh aparagus, cleaned and trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste



1. Preheat oven to 425° (I make this in my toaster oven at the same temperature)
2. Pour the oil and spices on the baking sheet and, using your hands, roll the asparagus around in the mixture until they're coated with yumminess.
3. Spread the asparagus out evenly, and roast in pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes.
4. When done, trim stalks into 1" segments.

Gardein Cutlets

1. Cook frozen Gardein cutlets in skillet on medium-high in some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook cutlets until they are heated through and begin to turn brown on each side.
3. Let cutlets rest about a minute prior to cutting them and serving.

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Bob's Red Mill, You Had Me at "Hello"

My Honey-Molasses Multi-flour Bread.



Bread is all mixed up with so much history and folklore. Baking bread, “breaking bread,” tearing into it with your hands, that yeasty smell while dough rises under Grandma’s white tea towel . . .

I love stories when the hero traipses off to seek his fortune carrying nothing but a sack filled with crusty bread and a jug of wine. I could totally do that. Add a stockpile of vegan jerky and I’m all for it.

I never made my own bread before becoming a vegetarian. I always loved to cook, but was never a baker. Anything with pastry or dough or a kneading stage was definitely out of my comfort zone. I know now part of that is that one should really follow a precise recipe to get the best results from baking. That’s not me at all. I’m a “little of this, little of that” kind of cook. Actually, I think it goes deeper. I have a real attitude problem and don’t like being told what to do. Then for my first post-meat Christmas I asked Santa for a bread maker. Soon I realized that even if I “screwed up” and the bread had a big old crater in the middle, it was still delicious.

With the bread maker I’ve become a (sort-of) bread baker. I’m still intimidated to go all “old school” and do the hand kneading and punching down and greasing of loaf pans. But now I love combining different flours and grains and coming up with a new loaf. Sometimes it’s a delicious (but damn ugly) loaf. Sometimes I get lucky, and it looks as good as it tastes.

A Book of Verse

A book of verse, underneath the bough,
A jug of wine, a loaf of bread - and thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness -
Ah, wilderness were paradise now!

- Omar Khayyam

NOTE: All flours and grains used in the following recipes are from Bob's Red Mill. Their products are wonderful and the sheer variety of grains makes me a happy baker!


One more note: I get my honey from a personal friend who is a caring, educated, ethical bee-keeper in Michigan. His honey is fantastic. If you're in Michigan, you can contact Don Schram via email (don@mibees.com), at his website, Huron City Bee Company, or Facebook. If you'd prefer, veganize these recipes by swapping out the honey for agave nectar. I just recently made the multi-flour loaf with agave in place of honey, and it was wonderful!



My Honey-Molasses Multi-flour Bread
This bread is dense, moist and “rustic.” It rises about half the height of an average loaf. It’s really good toasted for sandwiches.

1¼ cups water (warm for rapid setting)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or canola oil)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups spelt flour
¼ cup buckwheat flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add the following on the “add in” stage:
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds (or coarsely chopped pumpkin seeds)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped almonds

Directions:

1. Put the ingredients into your machine in the listed order, up to the seeds and nuts. Make a well for the yeast in the dough so it stays dry as long as possible.

2. Choose setting on bread machine: light crust, 1.5 pound loaf, rapid wheat settings.

3. Add the seeds and nuts at the “add-in” stage of the cycle.
 


My Soft White Bread

1¼ cups warm, unsweetened almond milk
1½ tablespoons honey
1½ tablespoons Earth’s Balance No-Soy spread, cold
1 tablespoon almond or cashew cheese (optional. If you add it the bread will be really soft. If you don’t the loaf will be yummy and soft as it is)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add the following on the “add in” stage:
¼ cup rolled oats OR wheat germ

Directions:

1. Layer ingredients in order listed in your bread maker

2. Use the white bread setting for a 2 pound loaf. Use the LIGHT crust setting

3. Add the oats or wheat germ during the “add in” stage


My Dense Wheat Germ Bread

1¼ cups warm, unsweetened almond milk
1½ tablespoons honey
1½ tablespoons Earth’s Balance No-Soy spread, cold
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ
1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast
½ plus ¼ cup rolled oats

Directions:

1. Layer ingredients in order listed in your bread maker, stopping at the oatmeal

2. Use the white bread setting for a 2 pound loaf. Use the LIGHT crust setting

3. Press start. When your machine reaches the “add in” stage, add the ½ cup of oats

4. When the dough reaches the final rise, sprinkle the ¼ cup of oatmeal on the top


Teff-Amaranth Bread
Stolen from Bob’s Red Mill with a few minor adaptations

1 cup water (room temperature)
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk (room temperature)
1½ tablespoon Earth’s Balance (room temperature)
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
¾ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons teff whole grain
1 tablespoon amaranth grain
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour, unbleached
¼ cup organic amaranth flour (I used soy flour)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Directions:

1. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature and follow your bread machine cycle instructions. Set machine for a 1½ pound loaf with a LIGHT crust setting

2. Allow bread to cool on rack 15-20 minutes before slicing

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