Potato Rolls

As I mentioned yesterday, this is supposed to be the post about 10 things that have changed in my 10 years of running. I'm almost done with that one. Tomorrow, for sure. Tonight? Potato rolls.

But first: You should see my desktop. Having a baby isn't my excuse for for everything. Especially not my shoddy filing system. I do regular photo dumps onto my desktop, yes -- always my desktop, and have absolutely no organization system in place.

Look! It's embarrassing. (Equally embarrassing: That is a photo of Win Butler as my computer background. Not Ada or Stephen. Win Butler.)


I name my folders random things that pop into my head because I usually dump photos of all different topics into one folder (Ada, dinners, outdoor shots, house things, family, etc.). A folder with images of all sorts might get a title of something inane like: "Boogie" simply because Stephen may have said it to Ada while I was transferring.

You know. Making it nearly impossible to find stuff when I need to. Ada isn't my excuse, but I'd say that things got 10,000 times worse when she got here. I think I take a million photos of her each month.

Anyway, it's clear I need to get better at organization as it relates to the blog. A couple weeks ago I promised I'd be posting some recipes (I mentioned them in passing in photos) and I never got around to it. Here's just one of them!


MASHED POTATO ROLLS

What you'll need . . .

• 1-1/2 to 2 cups mashed potatoes (see notes below***)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt (if you don't have any in your mashed potatoes -- otherwise, omit)
• 1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons hot water

***NOTE: If you already have mashed potatoes (or other puree, like pumpkin) on hand, you can use it. Otherwise make mashed potatoes for this recipe. I actually peeled and cubed mine, then put them in a large, shallow baking dish, poured a 12-ounce beer over top of them, salt, pepper, and olive oil, too. And let roast until soft. Then mashed. Delish.


Method . . .

1. Combine the 1 cup of warm water with the yeast and let sit for five minutes. Until frothy. 
2. Pour your flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. (You can do it by hand, too -- but I've been lazy lately.) Then pour in your yeast mixture, maple syrup, mashed potatoes, olive oil, and flax mixture. Mix well -- adding more flour or mashed potatoes as necessary.
3. Then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic. 
4. Spritz some olive oil in your original mixing bowl, return the dough ball to it, and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour. 
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spritz a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside. 
6. Atop a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 12 to 16 large portions, depending on how large you want your rolls. Alternatively, you may freeze some of the dough for use at a later time. 
7. Take each piece of dough and shape it into a round, tucking under the excess to make the roll appear more roll-like (I can't think of a better way to describe it. Look at the first photo of this post!). 
8. Then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. 
9. Rolls are done when they are lightly browned. You can also cut into one to see if it's still too moist/dense. 
10. Let cool before slicing/serving.

You can eat these rolls on their own. But we used ours for tofu burgers. Sort of the same setup as when we made this Open-Faced Asparagus-Tofu Sandwich. Just burger-ized and slapped together with some Vegenaise (a big splurge for us), basil, ketchup, and mustard.


SITE UPDATES: The banner is back by popular demand. The sliding features option is gone. The "read more" is gone for good. And I think we're getting better. I do have goals to make a new banner this summer to reflect more current times. But I can't do everything at once as much as I'd like to.

PS: Today on Writing Chapter Three I share my first real victory as a new mom. And it wasn't facilitated by anything I read in books, blogs, or other websites. Nor was it advice from friends or family. Score one for the home team!

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Our Recipes: Sandwiches and Burgers

SANDWICHES AND BURGERS:

• Black Bean-Tempeh Burgers*
• Vegan Churchkey New Luther MEGA Sandwich*
• Black Bean-Spinach Burgers*
• Caprese Sandwich
• Moosewood Asparagus Melt
• The Ultimate Vegetarian Sandwich
• The Ultimate Stuffed Veggie Burger
• Open-Face Portabella Sandwich
• Vegan Sloppy Joes*
• Green Hummus Sandwich
• Apple-Cheese Bagel Sandwich
• Chickpea Burgers*
• Vegetarian Juicy Lucy
• Veggie Behemoth: The Lover Sandwich
• High Maintenance Melt
• Mayo-Less Egg Salad
• Black Bean Burgers*
• Fire-Grilled Camp Sandwich
• Gourmet Grilled Pizza
• Hummus Melts
• Seitan Dogs, Part I: The Dogs*
• Seitan Dogs, Part II: Toppings

* means VEGAN

BACK TO ALL RECIPES >>>

OR BROWSE BY CATEGORY:

GRANOLA & OATS	PANCAKES, ETC.	SMOOTHIES
SPREAD, SAUCES, DIPS	SALADS	SOUPS & STEWS
SNACKS & STARTERS	SANDWICHES & BURGERS	PIZZA, ETC.
STIR-FRIES, ETC.	OTHER MEALS	BREADS
CAKES & CUPCAKES	COOKIES & BROWNIES	PIES & TARTS
ICE CREAM & PUDDING	DRINKS	CONVERSIONS

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Oh-so Vegetarian Juicy Lucy

Some of you who follow us on Twitter may already know what's up. For the rest of you: We created yet another mammoth, jaw-busting beast this weekend . . . a Juicy Lucy sandwich that might just put THE LOVER to shame. What exactly is a Juicy Lucy? Well, we first learned about it on one of our all-time favorite shows, Man versus Food.

In short, it's a gigantic stacked burger with cheese baked into the meat (in our case, tofu) patties.



A more detailed explanation follows (from Wikipedia): Originated in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Jucy Lucy (or Juicy Lucy) is a cheeseburger having the cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top. A piece of cheese is surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty. This scalding hot cheese tends to gush out at the first bite, so servers frequently warn patrons to let the sandwich cool for a few minutes before consumption.

Exhibit A:

Vegetarian Juicy Lucy from (never home)maker on Vimeo.

Intense, right? Our version, as you may have learned above, is layered with tons of great stuff. Starting with a hefty sourdough roll, a bed of sweet potato fries, the meat of the whole thing -- two tofu burger patties with melted cheese in the middle, then a generous serving of mashed avocado, some grainy mustard (with whiskey!), and the top of the sourdough roll.



To make the tofu burgers (which would also be great on a "regular" sandwich), you'll need . . .

• 1 package extra-firm tofu
• 1 small (or enough to make up 1 small) potato -- we used purple fingerlings, kept the skins on
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pepper to taste
• 2 squares of cheese -- your choice -- the place in the center of patties

Method . . .

1. Blend the tofu and potatoes together in a food processor and blender until well combined. It may be easier to first chop up the potatoes so they blend more easily (we used fingerling ones, so it wasn't an issue).
2. Transfer the mix to a large bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix well.
3. Form into 4 large patties (or however many depending on what you plan to do with the mix). Put on a sheet covered with wax paper so it doesn't stick.
4. Put the cheese on one patty . . . and then cover with another patty and press the edges together to encase the cheese inside. Repeat with the other two.
5. In a frying pan (greased with olive oil) over medium-high heat, fry the burgers until golden brown. We also covered ours at points so we'd be sure the cheese would melt.

ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICH

You'll need . . .

• Two buns (or we used mini sourdough rounds)
• 1 large avocado
• Grainy mustard
• Sweet potato fries
• Sliced cheese (Stephen used Swiss and I used some hot sauce specialty kind. Whatever you love will work.) 

Pile everything -- high. Enjoy! And be sure to check out the details about our Something for Nothing Giveaway of Martha Stewart's Cooking School cookbook -- to celebrate 500 (and now 574) followers :)



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