Who says "Man Food" can't be vegan? St. Patrick's Day is always celebrated at our house with a traditional Irish meal. Being vegan sort of threw a wrench in the whole ordeal this year...until Dan went out and got Vegan Beer Brats and came up with this dish. It was delicious, and left us all feeling like we had the real thing! (Only I liked it better because of the brat texture)
Vegan Dublin Coddle:
1 package Vegan Beer Brats
12 oz Irish Stout
4 small onions
7 golden potatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
Parsley, Salt, and Garlic Salt to taste
Slice and brown the beer brats in a frying pan. Add all ingredients to a crock pot and let cook for 4 hours on low.
Dan became a vegan last week. (sigh). He already had an allergy to milk, so making the step to cut meat out of his diet wasn't as killer as it was/would/will be for me. I say was/would/will be, because I wasn't entirely convinced that I wanted to decrease the amount of meat in my diet until today when I watched Forks Over Knives on Netflix.
Now I'm sold.
Dan is a fantastic cook, and it's been so much fun to go to work each day with a new and fun vegan dish from him. This is one of my favorites, and it's so easy to make. The pesto is so flavorful. It would work excellent as a vegetable dip as well. My mouth is watering as I type...
VEGAN PESTO:
1 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
5 Cloves Garlic
1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Blend it all together in a food processor, and spread it on your bread. YUM
EGG PLANT:
Cut into thin slices (about 1/4 - 1/2 inch).
Set them in a colander in the sink and heavily salt both sides and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Rinse it off.
Rub extra virgin olive oil over it.
Lay it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven on broil for about 5 minutes on each side.
There are a few vegan breads that we've tried this with. Costco has a green olive flat bread that we toasted in the oven with the pesto and eggplant on it. SO DELICIOUS!
OK, I married a McMullin. My mother's maiden name was McKenzie. But even so, this dish is wonderful and a favorite of Crea & Cole's. I like it because it is EASY and a family tradition on St. Patrick's Day...and more!
1 3-4 lb. corned beef brisket
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
6-8 medium red potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
6 carrots, pared & cut into 2" chunks (or 2 c. small baby carrots)
1 medium cabbage, cut into wedges note: I use my crockpot - but if you have a Dutch oven, that works too
Place the brisket in the crockpot, fat side up, barely covered with water. Add onion, garlic, cloves & bay leaves (also add any any seasoning packet that may come with the brisket.) Layer onions, carrots and potatoes on top. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove meat. I scrape off and discard all the fat, then slice the meat into 3/4" chunks across the grain. Return the meat to the crock pot. Add the wedges of cabbage to the crock, spooning on some juices and adding salt and pepper. Cook for another hour on high (just until the cabbage is tender). Serve all together.
If you are using a Dutch oven, simmer the meat & vegetables, covered, for 1 hour per pound of meat. Then remove the meat, add the cabbage, cover and boil for 10 minutes until tender. Add the sliced, scraped meat back to the Dutch oven and serve all together.
Great with sour dough rolls. (or Irish soda bread!)
