I made this corn chowder twice the week of the great blizzard of 2011.  It was so good, comforting and just yummy.  With the weather warming up and the snow melting, I know I am a little late.  I’ve been super busy–which is a good thing for Ste Martaen.  I have a to-do [...]]]>

I made this corn chowder twice the week of the great blizzard of 2011.  It was so good, comforting and just yummy.  With the weather warming up and the snow melting, I know I am a little late.  I’ve been super busy–which is a good thing for Ste Martaen.  I have a to-do list a mile long and I purposely didn’t take the 4 year old to pre-k today so that I could accomplish writing to you at the very least.

The focaccia sandwich that we introduced last week was a huge hit!  We are overjoyed that people love our food.

We’re doing thanksgiving dinner this week, vegan style of course.  Check out the menu over on the vegan food truck page.

In honor of giving thanks week, we’re giving away all [...]]]>

The focaccia sandwich that we introduced last week was a huge hit!  We are overjoyed that people love our food.

We’re doing thanksgiving dinner this week, vegan style of course.  Check out the menu over on the vegan food truck page.

In honor of giving thanks week, we’re giving away all 5 of our cheeses to one lucky winner!  This contest is open to everyone, however if the winner is from Chicago, we’ll do our best to make sure you get your cheese before feast day.  Otherwise, we will ship your cheeses out between Monday and Wednesday of next week.  A winner will be chosen at random.

Instructions:

In the comments section: a) If you have tasted a meal from the vegan food truck, what was your favorite?  b) If you have not tasted a meal from the vegan truck, what would you try if you could?  c) If a) & b) do not apply to you, then what do you dream about eating from a vegan food truck?

Rules:

1. Keep it vegan.
2. Have fun.
3. All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, November 24th, 11:59PM.

Vegans are awesome!

This sandwich won for three reasons:

I bought the plantains today in anticipation of making this treat!  My only quandary is what vegan [...]]]>

This sandwich won for three reasons:

1. This sandwich starts with tostones.
2. We never heard of a sandwich with tostones in place of bread.
3. How can one go wrong with tostones as a foundation for a sandwich?

I bought the plantains today in anticipation of making this treat!  My only quandary is what vegan protein will I put in between my fried plantains?  We’ve discussed seitan, tofu, vegan pastrami, the opportunities are endless.  We’re going to have so much fun figuring out what is most delicious.

So Mark, you are the winner!  Contact laviyah@stemartaen.com to claim your vegan pecan pie!

Who doesn’t love lasagna? Who doesn’t love Mac-n-Cheese? Put the two together….can you say Vegan Heaven? Or as the famous food connoisseur, Homer Simpson, puts it “Aaaarrrrrrhhhh!”

I made this special for my oldest daughter, the diva extraordinaire. She lives with her mother in Cleveland and she’s always complaining about the extravagant [...]]]>

Who doesn’t love lasagna? Who doesn’t love Mac-n-Cheese? Put the two together….can you say Vegan Heaven? Or as the famous food connoisseur, Homer Simpson, puts it “Aaaarrrrrrhhhh!”

I made this special for my oldest daughter, the diva extraordinaire. She lives with her mother in Cleveland and she’s always complaining about the extravagant meals we make and she doesn’t get to share. Then she proceeds to complain I don’t put any pictures of her on our website. So, now I’m making food and trying to take pictures of her.

And, as any typical teenager…she complains about no pictures, but doesn’t want to take pictures. Never satisfied. True Diva! But you know what, this recipe made her and it’ll make you very happy!

The assembly of this is a cinch, but you’ll need to do some prep work first. You’ll need the following recipes:

Creamy Soy Cheese – 1 and 1/2 times the recipe. Add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of Sea Salt. You want the cheese salty because it will be flavoring the bland pasta.
Tofu Ricotta – 1 recipe
Ste Martaen Marinara Sauce – 1/2 recipe

Our Veggies:

1 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 bulb garlic, diced
12 oz sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in olive oil), diced
1/2 lb fresh spinach, washed

You’ll also need one package of Tofurky Italian Sausage links. Slice them up and put to the side.

All prep work is done, time to start cookin! Cook 1 pound of elbow macaroni until just before al dente. You want it a little firmer because it will finish cooking while in the oven. Other than that, it’ll get all mushy. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot saute your veggies (all but spinach) on medium high with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

After 5 minutes, add your Tofurky slices and saute and additional 5 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta to your saute veggies and mix.

Add Creamy Soy Cheese to the mix until everything is real creamy and moist. At this point you have Sundried Tomato Mac-n-Cheese. You can cook this by itself for 30 minutes at 350 degrees for a great tasting Mac-n-Cheese dish. But we’re taking this a few steps further.

Time to turn up the yumminess!

Ladle some Ste Martaen Marinara sauce in the bottom of a 11″ x 15″ casserole dish. Cover the bottom of the dish completely.

Add a layer of the Sundried Tomato Mac-n-cheese.

Add a layer of fresh spinach.

Next, add a layer of the Tofu Ricotta.

Top with some more Marinara sauce.

And, another layer of the Sundried Tomato Mac-n-Cheese.

Finish it up by covering the top with the rest of the Creamy Soy Cheese.

Put in your 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Wow, that looks awesome! Let the Lasagna glory sit for about 7 minutes then dig in!

Layers of comforty goodness!

Our parting shot. Time to eat. My taste buds are happy…very happy .

Here it is…Tortilla chips, Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro…Nacho cheese sauce. The tasty glue that brings all of the aforementioned together. Look at it! Drippy, mouth watering fabulousness! Forget the runway, give me a seat and some nachos!

My oldest daughter came to spend the winter break with me and this is the first [...]]]>

Here it is…Tortilla chips, Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro…Nacho cheese sauce. The tasty glue that brings all of the aforementioned together. Look at it! Drippy, mouth watering fabulousness! Forget the runway, give me a seat and some nachos!

My oldest daughter came to spend the winter break with me and this is the first meal/snack we had. It was midnight, but the glory of these nachos lit the sky.

I could blab on and on about these, but let’s get to the recipe so you can start blabbing (where did that word come anyway…blab?).

Veggies:
8 cloves garlic, slice thin or minced
1 jalapeno (2 if you aren’t scared), diced
2 green onions, diced

Cheese:
No other than our Ste Martaen Colby and Olive (8 oz of each). However, you can pick whatever combination you desire

Spices:
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt and more to taste

And:
2 cups of unsweetened soy milk

Let’s start the madness!

Heat 1/2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium. Add veggies and saute for 5 minutes.

Add one cup of milk and heat to near boil.

While the milk is heating. Get the vegan cheeses ready. As seen above, we are using the Colby and Olive styles.

Rough chop the cheeses.

Add one half of the chopped cheese.

Whisk until smooth. Add the second cup of milk, heat, add the last half of cheese and whisk again until smooth.

Add the spices.

Whisk again.

This is the type of whisk I am using. I don’t know if it has a technical name, but the bottom is flat versus the traditional rounded bottom. This helps act as a masher. When the cheese is added, I mash the cheese in order to help break up the chunks. If you’re using a different kind of whisk, work it out.

There it is, creamy cheesy goodness. Now, stop admiring your nacho sauce and get some chips together. I emptied a whole bag on a pastry board. And let the magic begin…

Pour your sauce all over the chips. Don’t be stingy.

Yeeeeaaaah. Nice and covered.

Top off with some diced tomatoes and avocado. Maybe a little chopped fresh cilantro and your in there.

Right at ya!

How did the crowd react?

Deep concentration…

And happiness (that’s my daughter on the right…isn’t she lovely?) The elated guy on the left you ask…my friend, the Soul Veg East juice bar extraordinaire.

After 5 minutes…the remnants still being gobbled up!

OK, one more beauty shot.

UPDATE: The recipe above no longer applies, since the recipe to the cheese has changed.  I will redo this recipe.  Stay tuned.

The Mercy For Animals’ 2nd annual Celebrating Compassion Gala was amazing! This has been such a hectic holiday season and we prepped ourselves for this event, however it’s been a while and we don’t get out much…together. I had so much fun being around grown ups, dressing up, serving our cheese, taking pictures, [...]]]>

The Mercy For Animals’ 2nd annual Celebrating Compassion Gala was amazing! This has been such a hectic holiday season and we prepped ourselves for this event, however it’s been a while and we don’t get out much…together. I had so much fun being around grown ups, dressing up, serving our cheese, taking pictures, hanging with friends (Kevin & Chelsea) and spending time with my Silver Fox!

The man behind the Ste Martaen brand.

Our spread. Many people came back not only for seconds and thirds, but fourths and fifths. We were flattered!

We shared the table with other vegan Chicago local talent–Karyn’s and Great Taste Cafe. Their food was so beautifully presented!

Karyn’s Raw Sushi Rolls

Great Taste Cafe Roasted Sweet Potato with Chipotle Cream & Green Onions

So Pretty!

Early on in the evening before we were swarmed…

The decor was quite beautiful! The room where we ate dinner was amazing, however it was so dark in there I didn’t attempt pictures. The dinner meal was provided by the lovely people from Chicago Diner, dessert was Delicious Cafe, Raw Creations and Great Taste Cafe, the Late Night meal was provided by Uptons Naturals (someone stole our sandwiches) , Pattycake Vegan Bakery (They had so many vegan desserts to choose from, it was a true dessert buffet!) and Turtle Mountain.

The cast from Oh Brother Where Art Thou showed up! j/k

Kevin auditioning for the new Bond movie.

Not really.

Food, friends and fun!

Nothing like a dish that incorporates the goodness of faux meat, pasta, vegan cheese and tomatoes. Complete happiness in every bite. We are starting our 6 Weeks, 6 Lasagna’s with a bang. This lasagna is power packed with taste and body. There will be 3 types of faux meat and two types of [...]]]>

Nothing like a dish that incorporates the goodness of faux meat, pasta, vegan cheese and tomatoes. Complete happiness in every bite. We are starting our 6 Weeks, 6 Lasagna’s with a bang. This lasagna is power packed with taste and body. There will be 3 types of faux meat and two types of vegan cheese; and who can resist our own special marinara sauce.

You’ll need to prepare the following basics:
2 recipes Creamy Soy Cheese – *add 1/4 cup Dried Parsley to each recipe
1 recipe Ste Martaen Marinara Sauce

Our 3 faux meats are:
1 package Upton’s Naturals Ground Beef Style Seitan
1 package Upton’s Naturals Italian Sausage Style Seitan
1 package Tofurky Italian Sausage

Most of you have most likely heard of Tofurky. In Chicago, there’s a great vegan owned company Upton’s Naturals. They are not national yet, but as good as their products are, look for them soon. Check out their website and order you some faux meat excellence. The seitan products we are using are already pre-crumbled and taste outstanding. They are better than any of the national brands I have tried.

For the Upton’s Naturals “meats” you’ll need to sauté each one separately in 1 ½ tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil until evenly browned. It should only take about 5 minutes for each. Once browned, remove from heat and empty into a small bowls.

For the Tofurky Italian Sausage, slice in ¼ inch pieces and also sauté until browned in 1 ½ tablespoons EVOO. Remove once browned a put aside in separate bowl.

There we have it, all 3 browned and ready for duty.

While browning your faux meats, boil your lasagna noodles according to directions. You want to cook them to just before al dente. You want the noodles to be pliable, but not thoroughly cooked. They will finish cooking with the sauce once baked.

Assembly time!!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×13 cassorole dish, cover the bottom with the Ste Martaen Marinara sauce.

Add a layer of lasagna noodles. Lay your strips side by side lengthwise overlapping each row.

Add your sauteed Upton’s Naturals Ground Beef-Style seitan.

Cover with marinara sauce.

Pour on a layer of Creamy Soy Cheese.

With a spatula, spread out the Creamy Soy Cheese in an even layer.

Add another layer of lasagna noodles.

Add the Upton’s Naturals Italian Sausage-Style seitan.

Cover with marinara sauce.

Pour on some more Creamy Soy Cheese and spread out.

Now add your Tofurky Italian Sausage pieces.

Shred 1/4 pound of Ste Martaen Vegan Muenster Style Cheese evenly over the top.

Ready to bake. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Oh. My. God. That looks good.

I know this will be hard, but let the lasagna cool for 10 minutes, then go ahead and cut a piece. As Kevin from Delicious Cafe said: “The combination of the creaminess of the cheese and the faux meats is mouth watering. I ate a piece and I couldn’t resist going back for more.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Enjoy!

Alright, enough with the fake hype. As you may know, I hate store bought tomato sauce. For years I have tried every brand under [...]]]>

The base of all things good. The sauce that took weeks to perfect. The base that flavors the whole. Yes, The One. Yes, it’s here…The Ste Martaen Marinara Sauce.

Alright, enough with the fake hype. As you may know, I hate store bought tomato sauce. For years I have tried every brand under the sun and still couldn’t hep but to add a little of this or that to any sauce I purchased. So, after finding the glory and wide uses of canned tomatoes. Bam!!! I figured out what was missing…my flavors. I’m picky, but I believe great food can be made easily. Why waste your money buying half made products, when you can create your own masterpieces at home with a quarter of the budget?

A good marinara sauce can take you a real long way. Marinara is the essential flavor you taste in so many dishes…pizza, pasta, lasagna, etc., etc., etc. So, here’s our foundational glory…The Ste Martaen Marinara.

The Veggies:
1 medium sized red pepper
1 poblano pepper
1 cubanelle pepper
1/2 medium red onion
1/2 bulb garlic

Dice all your veggies. Heat 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a medium stock pot. Make sure you use a good grade of Olive Oil. Remember, the better the quality, the better your meal will be.

Add your diced veggies and a pinch of Kosher salt to the pot and saute for approx. 10 min on medium high heat or until your onions become translucent. I love onions, they’re like little timers that tell you when to start the next step.

The onions have dinged!!

Add 1/2 cup of a sweet to slightly sweet white wine. For example a sweet would be a Reisling and a slightly sweet would be a Sauvignon Blanc. Let the wine reduce for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Next add two 2 cans (roughly 56 ounces total) of whole peeled tomatoes. It is important to find a brand you like.

For us, it’s Trader Joe’s again. I prefer an unsalted variety and this one with the added fresh basil gives a good flavor punch. Reduce your heat to medium and simmer the sauce while you get your spices together.

Our spice mixture includes:
2 Tablespoons Mexican Oregano
1 Tablespoon Basil
1 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
1 1/2 Teaspoon Coriander
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

Dump your spices in and get ready to blend.

Using my favorite tool, the hand-blender, blend all of your ingredients until the tomatoes are completely pureed. Reduce the heat to low and begin to simmer.

Lastly, add 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup (No Aunt Jemima please). The maple and the sweetness of the reduce wine help balance the bitterness of the tomatoes.

That’s all folks. Continue simmering for at least 20 minutes to as long as you want. Use in as many dishes as you like. Next up for us, 6 Lasagna’s in 6 weeks.

Salute!!!