Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Southern Suppa

Here you go, some old time Southern favorite recipes done the vegan way.

Kum-Bak Dressing




This is the delicious blend of Ranch and Thousand Island dressings. A little sweet, a little spicy, and creamy smooth fabulous. Pour it over green salads. Spoon it over bitter greens, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and whatever else you can think of. This retro recipe needs to make a kum-bak!

Makes a generous cup.

Ingredients:
1 cup vegan sour cream
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup ketchup
1 T. sugar
1 T. water
1 t. vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 t. spicy mustard
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
2 t. finely minced onion
2 drops Tabasco
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper

Directions:
Mix all ingredients with a whisk. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.


Deluxe Ranch Beans


A spicy version of baked beans, this classic can be put together a day ahead, then baked and served warm to the table. Adjust the amount of chili powder to suit your taste.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 T. canola oil
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 ounces (6 T.) tomato paste
1 (10 oz.) can Ro-Tel (tomatoes with green chilis)
2 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. vegan Worstershire sauce
2 T. molasses
1 t. salt
½ t. black pepper
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chickpeas
3 cups pinto beans, canned (drained and rinsed) or homemade from 1-1/2 cups dried
¼ cup vegan cheddar or Jack cheese, finely chopped or shredded

Directions:
Heat oil in medium skillet and sauté onion, green pepper, and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add in tomato paste, Ro-Tel, chili powder, cumin, Worstershire sauce, molasses, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in corn, chickpeas, and beans and mix well. Put into a 2 quart casserole dish. You can refrigerate at this point if you want. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Stir in cheese until melted. Serve immediately.

Broccoli and Corn Pudding

A quick and easy recipe for a true classic.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen and thawed broccoli florets
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 lemon rind, grated
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup AP flour

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 pan. Arrange broccoli florets at either end and corn in the center. Sprinkle the lemon rind over the broccoli and the pepper over the corn.


Mix together the milk, cornstarch, and flour. (Add in 1 T. of melted margarine or canola oil if you like – I didn’t use it.) Pour over the veggies. Bake for 40 minutes or until pudding is set and tester comes out clean.


Obviously I used too large of a dish or should have doubled my pudding. I also used the broccoli stalks, because I love them, but they did not work here. But other than those two boo-boos, this stuff was surprisingly incredibly yummy! Next time I will put a ring of broccoli around a pie plate with corn in the center so each slice can have broccoli and corn. (My next veggie pie!) It was so delightful to taste the lemony broccoli against the peppery corn. The seemingly bland pudding was perfect. And the individual slices looked very nice on the plate.




My suppa plate was filled with Ranch Beans, Broccoli and Corn Pudding, a Green Salad with Kum-Bak Dressing, and some boiled kohlrabi (tastes like potatoes) topped with Eggplant Bacon. Do not make eggplant bacon – blech!




Gotta have dessert. Gotta have that Southern favorite, Strawberry Shortcake.

If you saw my previous posts you will remember I had some gorgeous strawberries. I swear these photos have not been enhanced. These strawberries were amaaaaazing!



Strawberry Shortcake

For the Strawberries:
Wash, dry, and slice your berries. In a glass bowl, mix together 1 T. sugar, ½ t. vanilla extract, and 2 T. grand marnier, brandy, or other boozy substance. Mix in the berries and let macerate 20 to 30 minutes.

For the Shortcake:
Ingredients
:
1 c. AP flour
½ t. salt
1 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
3 T. shortening
1/3 cup cold nondairy milk
1 t. vanilla extract
extra sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine flour, salt, 1 T. sugar, and baking powder. Cut in shortening until it is broken into pea-sized pieces. Add milk and vanilla, and stir with a fork to combine. Form into a ball with your floured hands. Roll out on a floured surface into an 8-inch circle about a ½ inch thick. Cut out 8 to 10 2-inch circles. Place cakes onto a parchment lined baking sheet with the sides touching. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To serve, split shortcakes (or use two!) and place bottom half on a plate. Top with strawberries, then top with the top half of the shortcake. Top with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt and garnish with a berry. Heavenly.



I hope you enjoyed this little taste of the South. Please let me know if you try any of the recipes!

24 comments:

  1. I love kohlrabi, thanks to you!

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  2. Oh I want that strawberry shortcake!!!

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  3. Yay for ranch beans! They were a staple when I grew up :D

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  4. That looks like the perfect summer meal!.. and those strawberries ..wow.. I can't wait for some real fresh ones!

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  5. That corn and broccoli pudding sounds interesting. However, I think I would use the batter from the "Fronch Toast" in VwaV instead. That dressing sounds interesting also.

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  6. Anonymous9:21 PM

    The beans sound really good. I have a feeling that they'll go over well here. Thanks for the recipe!

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  7. Anonymous9:36 PM

    Normally I don't get all drooly and googly-eyed over southern food, but yours looks so tasty and healthy! Especially the beans! And the dip! Ooh, and the corn broccoli pudding! And the short cake...ok, so it all looks amazing! Yum!

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  8. Everything looks delicious, and the shortcake is adorable!

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  9. I've never even heard of kum-bak dressing....yum!

    Those shortcakes are a thing of beauty!

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  10. lovely post! i think you should consider selling that dressing recipe to Kraft ;)

    the shortcakes sound great but is there a vegan shortening that you used?

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  11. How lovely! I have never heard of any of these. But now I plan to try all of them...especially that Kum Bak.

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  12. A and N, I just used Crisco - it's vegan.

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  13. Your little shortcakes are so cute! And that Kum-Bak dressing sounds amazing! I'd like that on my salad right now.

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  14. Wow!Everything looks so amazing!!! I've been looking for recipes of spicy dressing and your "Kum-Bak" sounds so perfect for me. (How did you get this name anyway?) I also love the idea of making corn & broccoli pudding and I need to tell you that I'm so in love with your beautiful strawberry shortcake. Thanks so much for all the recipes.=D

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  15. First thing I did, was to stop reading and to write down that recipe for the dresing. It sounds delicious. Then I was able to enjoy the rest of the food :)

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  16. Those 'berries do look amaaazing!

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  17. Awesome post! I want some of that dressing!! And those beans! And strawberry shortcake!! It looks absolutely heavenly!

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  18. Whoa! I want to try ALL of this!

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  19. Mmm, what I'd give for a strawberry shortcake right about now... Those look amazing!

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  20. your strawberry shortcake looks perfect, Diann! and those baked beans and broccoli 'n corn pudding have me oh-so huuuuuuuuuuungry! mmmmmmmmmmmm! i will let you know when i make 'em all! thanks for the recipes, and i hope you have a gloriously great weekend! :)

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  21. TXVegan,
    Your beans always look so good, not to mention your desserts!

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  22. mmm, I love your take on southern food! and you make strawberry shortcake like my mom always did, with biscuits instead of cake. much better!

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  23. That dressing looks great! And corn pudding?! Yum!

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  24. I JUST made strawberry shortcakes the other day. Tis the season!

    The kum-bak dressing sounds right up my alley - I love sauces and dressings with ketchup in them! And the corn/broccoli casserole is very interesting, something I've never heard of before.

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