Tempura Fried Green Onions- Vegan

Holy Geez, have I been swamped lately!  I almost didn't post this, but the kiddos are napping and I figure I've got just enough time to get this over with before life takes over again.  This isn't so much a recipe as a "Hey, you should try this."  All I did was dip the white parts of green onions (roots removed) in Kikkoman brand tempura (vegan!) and fry.  Well, there's a little more to it, but not much.

Here's the recipe, if you can call it that:

Tempura Fried Green Onions
-Prepare Kikkoman Tempura Batter as instructed, but add 1/8 tsp each of garlic powder and ground ginger.  Optional, but I think it really made these pop. 
-I also twice-fried mine, because the first time 'round the batter tends to be pretty thin (doesn't seem to be a problem with the non-vegan tempura batters.)  To double fry, just fry once, let drain and cool on paper towels or 100% cotton dish cloth, then dip and fry again.  Remember, tempura batter has to stay cold, so whatever batter you use, make sure you have a bowl of ice under your batter bowl to keep it chilled while you're working.  
-Sprinkle with salt and serve with whatever you'd like.  I ate mine with soy sauce, but truthfully, would have loved sweet chili sauce even more.  Darn my town store for not carrying it. 

These are so delicious.  Oh, and you can use the green parts if you'd like, I just prefer the white.  You can also make little bundles by bending the green onions in half and tying them around themselves (this actually works best when they've been sitting in the fridge for a while and are starting to get rubbery, as they bend well and don't snap.  Well, that's all I have to say about that. <--- (Forrest Gump reference.)  'Til next time.

Southwestern Grilled Green Onion Salad

I love grilled green onions.  Oh, how I love grilled green onions.  When we have barbecues we make two bunches- one for the guests, one for myself.  Veggie burgers?  Psh.  I'll pass.  Give me some of these salty, sweet bad boys, some corn, and some garlic bread and I am one happy camper.  But sometimes it's too much trouble to fire up the grill, and this is where my new best friend comes in.

 Photo cropped because I have an ugly stove... and maybe because I'm a messy cook...

Ahhhh... a cast iron grill pan.  I've been dreaming of one of these for ages.  Look at the lovely grill marks- and the charring!  No, that's no mistake.  The charring is the best part!  Those little blackened ends are smoky barbecue-y goodness.  So anyways, I think  we've pretty much established that I love these babies for who they are.  But I wanted others to love them, too, and not just as a steak topping.  So I created this salad, in which they play a starring role- and steal the show, as far as I'm concerned.  

I'm not afraid of salads.  I know of vegan and vegetarian blogs that practically apologize every time they post one.  Yes, there's a stigma that all we eat is salads- but when they're this good, why wouldn't we?


Southwestern Grilled Green Onion Salad
Yield: one big, filling serving

1 bunch green onions
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 cup cooked or canned (drained) corn
1 cup drained black beans
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 lime
dash of sriracha
1 tbsp olive oil + more for cooking
 salt and pepper to taste 
1 avocado, chopped

Preheat oven to 400.  Place tomatoes in 9" baking dish and coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 25 minutes, stir, then start on your green onions (below) and cook tomatoes for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Green onions- Bring your grill pan to medium high heat.  Chop the root ends off of the green onions and massage just enough olive oil onto them to coat and make them shine.  Sprinkle salt and pepper- the same amount as you would for corn on the cob (I like them really well seasoned.)  Cook for about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through.  Allow to cool enough to handle, then chop into 1 inch pieces.
Place green onions, corn, black beans, and cilantro in bowl.
Prepare dressing- Mix together garlic, lime juice, sriracha, and olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over veggies, toss, then taste again to see if more salt and pepper are needed.  Very gently fold in avocado, so as not to smash it.  Enjoy!

Round Table Gourmet Veg Copy Cat Recipe

There's been a lot of pizza making going on in the Wilson household this year.  For the first 6 months they were all soft and Digiorno-y- and that's about the biggest insult I can think of for a homemade pizza. I was being stubborn.  I'd heard that in order to make a good pizza crust you must use a pizza stone- I just didn't want to believe it.  And it's not that I didn't have one- I did.  But it was something new to me, and I don't do "new" well.  Finally, I broke down and pulled it out.  I must have researched how to use that thing for an hour straight, I was so scared!  But just like most things in life, this turned out to be much easier than expected, and I was able to create the pizza crust of my dreams.  Now it was time to face my next challenge: a pizza that can hold a candle to the Round Table Gourmet Veggie.

The secret to the Gourmet Veg lies in Round Table's creamy garlic sauce.   I tried making this with store bought garlic alfredo sauce, but that was a huge letdown  (probably because store bought sauce never tastes good anyways.)  I tried making it with ranch dressing, as some people on the internet had suggested, but that was a flop as well.  But this?  This- is magic.

I did without the zucchini and mushrooms, because this is how I always order it.  I may have made peace with mushrooms and be on speaking terms with zucchini, but I still don't necessarily want them on my pizza.  But of course, if it tickles your fancy, pile them on. 
I used Jay's Pizza Crust recipe, which is amazing, but yields an extra large pizza.  My stone is medium-sized so I cut the dough in half and stored the rest in the freezer or fridge.  But you can use any dough you feel comfortable with. 



Round Table Gourmet Veggie Copy Cat Recipe


Creamy Garlic Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk, warmed in microwave until lightly bubbling
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp italian or pizza seasoning
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch nutmeg

In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Use a baby whisk to whisk in the flour and stir for about 2 minutes.  Add milk and bring to a boil. Add garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper and nutmeg, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more.

 Toppings:
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup shredded fontina
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup ground parmesan

Assembly:
Spread sauce evenly over entire pizza.  Add spinach, then top with fontina.  Add rest of  veggies, then top with mozzarella, cheddar, and lastly, parmesan.