BON Appetit!: Julia Child's Vegan Ratatoullie

More aggrigation all! Last night I saw Julie and Julia and was completely astounded. I had seen parodies of her TV show The French Chef and impersonations of Julia Child and her various cultural manifestations. Sadly my most authentic Julia experience was on youtube! Maybe that will change when I try this recipe. Wondering whether a Julia meal with out eggs and butter was possible, I found that it was with this vegan recipe for Ratatouille!

Julia Child's (Vegan) Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1/2 pound eggplant

1/2 pound zucchini, trimmed

1 tsp. sea salt

7 T olive oil, divided

1 8-ounce onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced into strips

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 pound firm but ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/8 to 1/4-inch-thick strips

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, mincedfresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Peel eggplant; cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then cut into 3-inch-long, 1-inch-wide strips. Cut zucchini into same size strips. Place vegetables in large bowl; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain; dry with paper towels.

2. Heat 4 T oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add eggplant and zucchini to skillet; sauté until light golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate; reserve.

3. Add 3 T oil to skillet; heat over medium heat. Add onion and peppers; sauté until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

4. Place tomato strips atop onion-pepper mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover skillet; cook over low heat until tomatoes begin to juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover; baste vegetables in skillet with juices. Boil until juices are almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Transfer 1/3 of onion-pepper-tomato mixture to 2 1/2-quart pot; sprinkle with 1 T parsley. Top with half of eggplant and half of zucchini then, remaining onion-pepper-tomato mixture; sprinkle with 1 T parsley. Layer remaining eggplant and zucchini over; sprinkle with 1 T parsley.

6. Cover; simmer over low heat 10 minutes. Uncover; tilt pot and baste with accumulated juices. Increase heat to medium; simmer uncovered, basting several times with pan juices until only 2 to 3 T juices remain in pot, watching closely to avoid scorching, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper.

Yields 8 servings. Serving size: 1 cup. Nutritional content: 152 Calories, 12.05g fat, 1.75g protein, 11.15g carbohydrates, 3.17g fiber, 440g sodium. *Can be made 8 hours ahead of time. Cool slightly, cover then, chill. Serve at room temperature or rewarm over medium-low heat before serving.

For The Love Of Chutney!

Life Changing Peach Chutney Recipe

from Canadian Living.com

Add cardamom as a secret ingredient!

Servings: 8 cups (2 L)

2 tsp (10 mL) vegetable oil

2 cups (500 mL) chopped onions

1 tbsp (15 mL) yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp (5 mL) each ground ginger, cinnamon and salt

1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cloves

1/4 tsp (1 mL) each hot pepper flakes and pepper

8 cups (2 L) sliced peeled peaches

2-1/2 cups (625 mL) granulated sugar

1 cup (250 mL) golden raisins

1 cup (250 mL) cider vinegar

PREP

heat oil over medium heat; cook onions, mustard seeds, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, hot pepper flakes and pepper, stirring often, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
Add peaches, sugar, raisins and vinegar; bring to boil, stirring. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, uncovered and stirring often, until reduced to 8 cups (2 L) and thick enough to mound on spoon, 1 hour.
Pour into four 2-cup (500 mL) sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) headspace. Seal with prepared discs and clean bands. Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes; transfer to rack to let cool. Store in cool dark place for up to 1 year.
Additional Information
Tip: Here's how to peel a large amount of peaches: with slotted spoon, lower a few peaches at a time into a pot of boiling water; blanch until skin starts to peel away, about 30 seconds. Submerge immediately in bowl of ice water until cool enough to handle; peel off skin.

Chutney & Cheese Toast

Latest favourite snack and way to eat soy cheese - also great with cheddar slices if not vegan or if you're a lacto-ovo vegetarian! Cheese has been one of the hardest things to give up in the path towards veganism. However this is one way that I think soy cheese tastes great! Chutney is a spicy jam like spread and is a part of Indian cuisine. Mango and tomato are popular and kiwi is great too. Simply spread on toast and place cheese slices on top!

Peach Chutney Recipe Post to follow!

PHO PHO GOOD!

I have just returned from an Atlantic Canadian month long road trip! Along the way my friend and I encountered many vegetarian and vegan successes and hurdles while camping, travelling and dining across the eastern portion of the country. I can't wait to share all of the amazing recipes and ideas on ecovegfootprint!

One of our favourite meals came from a restaurant in Montreal's Chinatown. My friend Jessie and I tried our first veg Pho! This is a Vietnamese noodle soup that is so yummy and really feels like it envelopes the whole body. It feels so healthy to eat and would keep anyone warm during cold Canadian winter months. The veg aspect of the soup is incorporated by easily using any other type of broth besides beef. Traditional ingredients are interesting and slightly complex if you are not used to cooking Asian cuisine. As there are many ways to make it depending on the region, Pho recipes can be easily morphed. I find that a key ingredient besides noodles is fennel. I have been growing this herb in my garden for the first time and it has been interesting! More about that in another post because I want to share this Pho! I tried a recipe that came from the memories of my taste buds. I recommend going out to try some that is authentic. Nevertheless here is what I came up with and my friends, family and I thought it was a very good!

Keep in mind that quantity depends on how large a batch you want to make. Also that these are the specific ingredients I used but any can be substituted. It only takes about 5 minutes cooking time which I suppose makes it a somewhat rawish dish.

Simple Veg Pho Recipe

In a small pot of water on the stove add:

Japanese buckwheat noodles

sea salt

soy sauce

mushrooms

cashews

fennel

chives

green onions

nutritional yeast

beansprouts