Cloyne Cookbook: Vegetarian/Vegan Cooking for 150 People
Cornmeal encrusted tofu
This is a great vegan and gluten free protein that omnivores also enjoy eating.
First cut 2 lbs of tofu into small rectangles, roughly 3 inches X 1 inch x 1 inch. Don’t worry too much about getting the size right, you just want to maximize the surface area of the tofu stick.
Next, pour two cups of unsweetened, non-dairy milk into a bowl. You can always add more, so start with less than you think you’ll need to minimize waste. Set this bowl aside.
Next, pour 3 cups of corn flour and 1 cup corn meal into another bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper (I prefer fresh ground), a few good shakes of herbs de provence, ground rosemary, sage, and thyme. Mix together. You can vary the spices depending on what type of cuisine you are making.
Grease two cookie sheets with olive oil.
Dunk the tofu sticks into the milk, then dip them into the cornmeal mixture and set on the sheet. Bake until golden at 350 degrees or higher (depends on the oven).
Coconut Tapioca Pudding
Empty a large can of coconut milk into a pot over medium heat. Empty a half-gallon of non-dairy milk, sweetened or unsweetened is fine (I usually use whatever needs to be used up) into the pot. Add about 5 cups of tapioca pearls to the pot right away. Stir in 1 cup of sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of salt, and dried coconut shavings (if available). You can also add other fruit, such as frozen mango or fresh banana. Stir frequently. As the pearls cook and grow you may need to add more milk. The trick is to keep the pearls from burning on the bottom of the pot, as it will ruin the coconut flavor.
The pearls should take no more than 15 minutes to cook. You can check by biting a pearl in half. If there is still white in the center or it is at all chewy then it isn’t done cooking.
Again, stir frequently and don’t be afraid to add more liquid!
Caramelized Sweet Potatoes
Wash a box of sweet potatoes (remember they can be orange, white or purple!). To avoid wasting time scrubbing potatoes, I often soak them for a few minutes so that the dirt and debris rinses off more easily.
Cut off any dirty or rotten parts that did not wash off.
Cut the sweet potato in half length wise, meaning cut down the centerline, ‘head to toe’ versus cutting at its waistline. This increases the surface area of caramelized potato. Grease cookie sheets with olive oil. Put the potatoes face down, skins up on the sheets. Put in the oven on high heat (400 degrees or higher) until the skins are bubbly and the side on the cookie sheet is light brown. This usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the oven.
After the potatoes are caramelized, turn them all face up, skins down and sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. From here you can add a variety of toppings, depending on what’s available in the house and allergies.
-You can sprinkle some of them with blue cheese and chopped up dates and roasted, crushed almonds and put back in the oven for a few minutes so the cheese softens.
-Another option is to chop up fresh green onion/chives and roasted sesame seeds.
Spicy Peanut Noodles
Boil a large pot of water (roughly 25 cups) with ¼ cup salt. Add handfuls of udon noodles, fanning out the noodles as they are dropped into the boiling water to avoid sticking. Don’t add so much udon that there isn’t enough space for the noodles to expand. The noodles will cook pretty quickly, so keep stirring and do not leave unattended. You do not want mushy noodles.
In a saucepan add 1 cup of sesame oil, 1 cup of chopped garlic, 2 cups of chopped onion. Let the garlic and onion soften. Add 1 cup of crunchy peanut butter and ½ cup of chili paste. You can add a bit of brown sugar to the sauce if desired as well. Stir together until well combined and saucy. Add more sesame oil if needed. Do not cook on high heat, cook low-medium. Add a cup of roasted chopped peanuts and salt to taste.
Drain the pasta and mix in the peanut sauce.
Ginger Tofu Boats
Chop up 2 lbs of tofu into small pieces, almost as if you are making ‘taco meat,’ but not a paste.
Peel and finely chop 1 cup of fresh ginger. Finely chop 1 cup of garlic. Chop 2 cups of fresh green onion/chive.
Thickly coat the bottom of a large skillet/saucespan with sesame oil and cook the garlic for a few minutes to soften it. Add the tofu and ginger and stir thoroughly. Add 1 cup of Braggs amino acid (or soy sauce if there are no gluten allergies). Grind fresh pepper over the tofu.
Stir in the green onion. Add more sesame oil if the tofu is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add more amino acid or soy sauce until desired salt profile. You can add dried chili or chili paste if desired.
Wash large, stiff lettuce leaves in a bowl shape. Spoon a scoop of the ginger tofu into the bowls and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.
Boil a large pot of water with salt. Put in roughly 10 cups of rice noodles (vermicelli). Drain