VegInDC

  Way back in 2013, I had a recipe for a gluten free, vegan challah. It was fair, but it was a pain to make, and the end result was always disappointing. Fast forward to 2022, and I was looking for new inspo for Friday nights, using the then new, Just Egg. This recipe is also a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps, but the end result is a moist, tasty challah that often doesn't last until Saturday morning. The trick is letting the dough rise in the oven (OFF) but after the oven has been warm for a bit.  Also--it can be baked in any bread pan, but I like baking it in the pan where it takes the shape of a traditional braided challah .  2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or one packet) 1 teaspoon sugar 3/4 cup warm water 2 cups gluten-free oat flour 1/4 cup gluten-free rice flour (I prefer white, but brown works) 1/2 cup gluten-free potato starch 1/2 cup gluten-free tapioca starch 1 tablespoon xanthan gum 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup neutral oil, like v...

Tonight my wife and I attended a Zoom lecture for Tu B'Shvat by Jewish Veg ( Jewishveg.org ) on "Modern Eco-Kashrut:Ethical Eating for Today's World". It was informative both historically and interesting to hear people's questions about veganism. Anne became vegan in 2005 and I became vegan in 2013, our dogs eat a vegan diet and we love sharing vegan cooking and illuminating kind choices for animals whenever we have the opportunity. While on the Zoom call, we realized how we need to update this space more! So, thank you to Jewish Veg, our friend, Sibyl Kleiner for hosting, and to our new blog friends - we will be updating things more here with not only traditional Jewish recipes, but things that are working their way into our rotation. Meanwhile - new favourite cookie to try: Siete Mexican Wedding Cookies - both gluten free and vegan ... but addictive!

We are in the throes of that time of year: When it's cold outside, dark, and everyone seems to be sick with something. I recently was fighting a sore throat and had a hankering for my mom's chicken soup (but, with no animal bodies in it.) So I found a bunch of recipes and combined a few that seemed to really hit the sweet spot. Also, Anne has had COVID for over a week and this is the only thing she will eat. 

For every Jewish Holiday there is at least one (or maybe two!) good kugels (casseroles). For Passover, I like to make spinach kugel and potato kugel. For Rosh Hashanah, a sweet kugel is definitely called for to ring in a sweet new year! This recipe is adapted from a few different online sources and reminds me of the kugel my mom would make for Rosh Hashanah lunch. It is sweet, crunchy, and even more flavorful warmed up the next day. The hardest thing for me to find every year are appropriate noodles that are both gluten free and vegan. The easiest thing to use are lasagna noodles by Tinkyada broken up into pieces. I have also found gluten free Manischewitz egg-less noodles made from potato starch. In a pinch any noodle will do!

Quinoa, while seemingly a grain is actually a seed. It makes a great protein source during Passover and year round. This pilaf is a simple and tasty addition with Sephardic roots as it incorporates apricots and pistachios.

This will be the fourth year we do a vegan Seder. I have honed our menu over the years and have taken great joy in veganizing many of the main dishes I grew up eating at Passover. Passover can be a challenging holiday for vegans. Many recipes call for an inordinate amount of eggs. Additionally, many Jews of Ashkenazic decent forego the eating of kinyot (items like beans, rice and other legumes that "rise.") There are three key components to a Passover Seder food-wise. The Seder plate contains the various symbols that are used to tell the story of our liberation from Egypt. Additionally, there are foods you eat during the course of the Seder before the sulchan orech or "festive meal."

What is Passover without Matzah Ball soup? Traditionally, matzah ball soup is anything but vegan. Served in chicken broth with matzoh balls full of egg and chicken fat. But nothing is too daunting for me to try and make it vegan (and gluten free). And so I did. The secret here is to bake the matzoh balls instead of trying to cook them on the stove in the soup or water where they would simply fall apart. They also reheat really easily in the microwave so these can be made ahead of time and then re-heated and placed into the soup.

This recipe comes courtesy of a family friend who passed it onto my mom years ago. The trick (secret?) is to use prepared potato latke mix instead of fresh potatoes. The dried potatoes soak up the liquid really well and the end result is a delicious Passover kugel.

Traditional Ashkenazi charoset contains apples, nuts, cinnamon and sweet wine. Sephardic charoset is a bit more interesting culinarily as it tends to use dried fruits and different spices for a different flavor and consistency.    Also, if you were to pick one type that is more reminiscent of the mortar used by the Israelite slaves, it would hands down be the Sephardic charoset which is stickier and more mortar like. I make both for our Seder and this specific Sephardic recipe is one my mom has adapted through the years. 

My mom has made a spinach kugel for Passover for as long as I can remember. However, I also remember that her recipe calls for a dozen eggs. This was one of my favorite Passover dishes--I loved the way the nutmeg gives it an unique flavor. I set out to veganize this a few years ago and have been very pleased with the results. If you don't want to use silken tofu in this recipe, you can try Follow Your Heart's new Vegan Egg instead. Just be sure to bake it longer, as the Vegan Egg product takes more time to set.

This cake is sweet -it has three types of sweeteners! It is most definitely well suited for Rosh Hashanah where tradition dictates that we eat sweet foods to hearken in a sweet new year. As this is 100% vegan, I use date honey, which in all likelihood is what our predecessors ate in the Levant.

Vegan challah is sort of a misnomer, as challah is egg-bread. Vegan, gluten free challah is a difficult thing to make as it requires a lot of substitutions. This recipe doesn't really replace normal "gluten-full" challah, but provides a nice bread for Friday night. The next day it toasts really well too with some Earth Balance butter on top.