Big Mike's Eats. All Vegan, All Tasty, All The Time

VEGAN ROBERT BURNS' SUPPER

2012-01-26T02:08:00.000-08:00

Recipes to come. Someday.
Menu:
Scotch
Scotch eggs
Cabbage and broccoli
Scotch
Colcannon
Haggis & mushroom gravy
Scotch
Stovies
Oat cakes
Scotch
Shortbread crumbles over raspberry sorbet
More scotch

VEGAN ROBERT BURNS SUPPER MENU

2012-01-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BURNS NIGHT DAY!
In case the capital letters did not fully communicate the holy awesomesauceness of what's about to happen in the kitchen tonight, allow me to try again:

On this day in 1759 (maybe, those Scots were really bad at keeping time and dates), a wee baby boy was born who would one day grow into a wee baby man, and that man would become lauded poet of the people Robert Burns. He would become famous for drinking lots of whiskey and writing poems about haggis and head lice.

A national legacy!

Now, his birthday is heralded around the world by Scots and lots more people who are vaguely scottish-ish somewhere in their murky pedigree. It's an excuse to have a very long whiskeyfied dinner and eat HAGGIS and other delicious/gross/bad for you things.

People drink whiskey, eat a lot of potatoes, and recite Burns' poems about drinking scotch and eating potatoes.

I do not have haggis recipes for you, because I'm planning to invent one around 7:30pm tonight, but I thought I'd share a sample menu for a vegan Robert Burns Supper, just in case anyone else out there is half as gross as I & planning to host a Burns Night Supper.

The menu might involve these things:

-Scotch

-vegan haggis: I'm going to make a vegetable-potato-oatmeal sludge and shove it into spring roll wrappers for maximum stomach-lining-encasement effect. If you need a recipe that, you know, exists already, try this great one from my friend AK!

-vegan stovies

-vegan scotch eggs

-Oat cakes

-Vegan shortbread

-Vegan trifle (this one will probably not be pumpkin chocolate, though- a more traitional trifle involves berries and/or jam, and a vanilla custard)

There might be bagpipe music. Someone may get whiskeyed-up enough to recite Burns' poems in a bad fake accent. It will not be me. It probably might be me, too.

We will eat lots of good food and make lots of haggis jokes and drink some scotch, or maybe lots.

Then we will all go to sleep for a long time.

Sound good?

GOOD!

To whet your appetite, here's a translated version of ODE TO A HAGGIS:

Fair full your honest, jolly face,
Great chieftain of the sausage race!
Above them all you take your place,
Stomach, tripe, or intestines:
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your buttocks like a distant hill,
Your pin would help to mend a mill
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distill
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour wipe,
And cut you up with ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm steaming, rich!

Then spoon for spoon, the stretch and strive:
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all their well swollen bellies by-and-by
Are bent like drums;
Then old Master of the house, most like to burst,
'The grace!' hums.

Is there that over his French ragout,
Or olio that would sicken a sow,
Or fricassee would make her throw-up
With perfect disgust,
Looks down with sneering, scornful view
On such a dinner?

Poor devil! see him over his trash,
As feeble as a withered rush,
His thin legs a good whip-lash,
His fist a nut;
Through bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his ample fist a blade,
He will make it whistle;
And legs, and arms, and heads will crop
Like tops of thistle.

You powers, who make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare,
Old Scotland want no watery ware,
That splashes in small wooden dishes;
But is you wish her grateful prayer,
Give her a Haggis!

VEGAN JUICY LUCY

2012-01-16T00:44:00.000-08:00

The Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy, depending with South Minneapolis dive bar you ask) is an essential component ofMinnesota food culture. There’s plenty of lore around the true origin, but itboils down to this:

Once upon a time, a bar in Minneapolis (Matt’s Bar or the5-8 Club) made a cheeseburger with the cheese inside of the beef patty, instead of on top. Then another bar inMinneapolis (Matt’s Bar or the 5-8 Club) did the exact same thing, named it the same thing with one letter’sdifference (Matt’s Bar in South maybe fights the hardest for the title, andthey spell it “Jucy Lucy”), and a feud was born.

Now, I’ve never had a Juicy Lucy in my life, but somethingabout moving away from Minneapolis has somehow imbued me with a loyalty to andhomesickness for just about everything Minneapolitan.

So, can it really be a surprise that I decided the JuicyLucy needed to be veganized? (The answer is no)

I was fully prepared for the result to be inedible, butnovel, sort of like the vegan lutefisk, but they’re actually super tasty! I’vemade lots of vegan burgers in my day, the top two being the quinoa burger andthe walnut-chickpea burger, but this one is juicy and meaty in a way that theyare, and it was really good.

For the patties, I turned to lightlife, purveyor of the best vegan sausage you’ll ever have. I’d tried their hamburger before, andfound it disgusting. My omnivore BFF had some sage hamburger wisdom, however,and it saved the day: add a little soy sauce and garlic powder to your groundhamburger. It worked like a charm! The icky processed soy aftertaste was gone,and the soy sauce made it taste like I remember hamburger kind-of/sort-oftasting like. Good enough for me!

Trader Joe's had a surprising number of vegan burger-bunoptions; I got classic white buns and the adorable little sesame slider buns;both worked great, but it was a little trickier making teensy Juicy Lucy’s forthe sliders

VEGAN JUICY LUCY!

Makes 6 burgers

Ingredients

1 tube Light Life vegan ground beef

1 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp garlic powder

pinch salt

2 tbs canola oil for frying the burgers

1 tbs earth balance margarine (canola or olive oil will doin a pinch, in that order)

2 tbs finely diced yellow onion (about 3 sliced of onion,finely diced)

1 tbs plain almond milk or soy milk

¼ c. cheddar Daiya shreds

6 hamburger buns (toasted)

*To garnish:

mustard

sautéed mushrooms (about 2 crimini or white buttonmushrooms, sliced, per burger)

Cabbage, arugula, or spinach

Thinly sliced red onion

Instructions

1. Mixyour hamburger. In a mixing bowl, combine the tube of ground hamburger with garlicpowder, salt, and soy sauce. Use your hands- it supposed to be messy.

2. Pinchthe mixture into 12 even pieces, and flatten them into thin, round patties. Setaside

3. Finelydince about 3 rings’ worth of yellow onion, then melt 1 tbs of earth balancemargarine or oil over a low-mediumflame in a small frying pan. Cook the onions in the fat- they won’t fry,they’ll just get saturated with fat and translucent (this is called “sweating”)

4. Preparethe cheese filling! Add 1 tbs soy or almond milk to the onions, then add ¼ c.cheddar Daiya shreds. Stir over the low-medium flame until you get a thick,gooey, evenly melted blob. The trick with melting Daiya is to never stopstirring until you reach your desired consistency. Turn off heat and set aside.

5. JuicyLucy time! Scoop a spoonful of cheese filling into the center of a beef patty,place a second patty on top, and seal the edges carefully, making sure nofilling creeps out- this will pop and crackle in the fry pan, and you’ll getburned.

6. Onceyou’ve got your patties assembled, heat 2 tbs canola oil in a frying pan, thenfry your burgers until browned all over and a little bit crispy. Place on apaper towel or cookie rack to drain; they’ll come out super greasy

7. Ifyou’re making mushroom burgers, heat 2 tbs olive oil in a fry pan and sauté themushrooms until golden brown and drain on the paper towel as well

8. Assembleyour burgers! I prefer toasted white bread burger buns, whole-seed Dijonmustard, thinly sliced fresh cabbage, thin slices of red onion, and a ton ofsautéed mushrooms.

CHEESY CAULIFLOWER PIE

2012-01-12T00:28:00.000-08:00

Oh, vegan cheesy cauliflower pie, you just keep getting better and better. Especially when you are actually romanesco and broccoli cheesy pie.

Tonight saw an epic feast: homemade applesauce, warm radish green&cherry salad, roasted radishes, and cheesy pie!

I've been fiddling with this for awhile, but tonight involved the perfect crust, corn starch added to the daiya cheese sauce, and suddenly. . . bingo! I used romanesco and broccoli instead of cauliflower, but they're all sort of interchangeable with each other.

Recipe will go up soon, but first, a few photos:

VEGAN CREAM CHEESE WONTONS

2012-01-02T23:54:00.000-08:00

These are so easy to make! It's sort of baffling to me that, despite the bounty of vegan Chinese food available in restaurants, those same places don't make vegan cream cheese wontons. Woe! Even worse, the readily available wonton wrappers in every supermarket, co-op, and Chinese grocery I've checked have egg in them. Double woe!

I was determined to make them for Christmas dinner, and was fully prepared for it to be a big laborious mess, but it was really, really simple, and they turned out gorgeous!

Google is just dying to tell you 101 ways to make a tasty vegan sweet&sour sauce to serve these with, but the cheap stuff from the corner market is just fine by me. Most of the storebought sweet&sour sauces I've found are already vegan. Unsurprisingly, they're super delicious with vegetable fried rice. Or, for a complete menu (theme: all the things you want to order in restaurants but they're never vegan):

1. these wontons

2. vegan hot and sour soup

3. Szechwan dry-fried green beans

4. Fried rice (with extra tofu or mock duck so it's entree-y)

5. Candied bananas!

VEGAN CREAM CHEESE WONTONS

Yield: about 30 wontons

Time: about 1 hour (including time for dough to rest)

Ingredients

2 c. all-purpose flour

½ tsp sea salt

½ c. water (room temp)

1 tub tofutti better than cream cheese

3 green onions, thinly sliced
-
Sesame seed oil for frying, about a 1/4 cup (canola oil will do in a pinch, but sesame makes a huge difference)

Sweet and sour sauce to serve (most storebought varieties are vegan)

Directions

1. Mixyour dough! In a non-metal mixing bowl, which together the flour and salt, addthe ½ c. water, and mix well- I usually switch from a spoon to mixing with myhands once it gets too thick. You might need to add a smidge of water to beable to get all of the flour. Once you have a very dense, evenly mixed ball ofdough, stop mixing! Leave it in the mixing bowl, and cover the bowl with a damp(not wet!) dish towel. (Just run the towel under the faucet, then wring it outthoroughly). The moist dishtowel will keep the dough from drying out while itrests for half an hour.

2. Whilethe dough is resting, prep the filling. Wash and thinly slice the green onions;use both the white and green parts. You can also add 1 tbs of the sweet and sour sauce to the mixture to make it sweeter. Using a fork, mix the sliced green onionswith the package of vegan cream cheese. Set aside in the fridge.

3. Rollout your dough. After the dough has rested for thirty minutes, divide it intotwo balls, leave one in the bowl under the cloth, and roll out the other. Ijust put down a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle a little flour over it, andrub flour on my rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a thin rectangle- about15’ by 9”. Slice the edges off the dough so you have a nice, even rectangle.

4. Cutyour wrappers. Slice three even widthwise cuts and five even lengthwise cuts,so you have fifteen 3”x3” squares. Dust each square (very) lightly with flourand make a stack, then set aside and repeat with the second ball of dough untilyou have two stacks of 15 3”x3” wrappers

5. Assemblethe wontons! In each square, drop ½ a tablespoon of the filling right in thecenter. Fold two corners together so you have a nice triangle. Pinch the sidesclosed very carefully, making sure that no filling comes through the seams, andthat the edges are entirely sealed. Once you have a sealed triangle, bring theside flaps together and pinch them together in the front. It will look sort oflike a tortellini.

6. Onceall thirty wontons are assembled, you’re ready to fry! Set up a cookie dryingrack or put a paper towel on a large plate before you get to work. In a frying pan, heat 4 tbs sesame oilover medium-high heat. The oil is ready when a test wonton sizzles right awaywhen dropped in the oil. Once the test wonton sizzles, plop in as many wontonsas can fit in the pan without touching. You’ll fry the wontons on both sides,plus the broad bottom. Once the wontons are pretty evenly golden brown, liftfrom the pan with a spatula or slotted spoon, and put on the cookie rack or papertowel to drain. Repeat with all of the wontons; I usually get four in the panat a time. The entire frying process only takes about ten minutes.

7. Servewarm with sweet and sour sauce.

SAVORY WAFFLE SANDWICHES

2011-12-31T01:39:00.000-08:00

Why aren't waffle sandwiches part of everyday life? WHY?

I totally thought I invented the idea, but a quick google search proved me wrong. I may not have done it first, but I'm pretty sure my Christmas morning brunch crew definitely did it best.

You can also do sweet waffle sandwiches, of course, with sliced strawberries, bananas, vegan cream cheese, and maple syrup

We made our own waffles, thanks to the best present ever: a spankin new waffle maker, but there are heaps of excellent vegan frozen waffle options available, even in the health food freezer section of most conventional grocery stores. Toasted, they'll work just as well, but are smaller than what you'll get from a home waffle maker, so you might want to use two whole waffles per sandwich instead of halving a giant one

Alternatively, these same sandwich fixins are pretty fantastic inside a toasted english muffin. There are some good vegan varieties around, including Trader Joe's dirt cheap version ($1.69 for six- yes, please)

SAVORY WAFFLE SANDWICHES
Serves six for a very filling breakfast (dainty eaters might scale down to a quarter waffle for each bread slice)

Ingredients

-6 homemade waffles, halved (or 12 storebought freezer waffles, toasted)
-
-1 box firm or extra firm silken tofu, sliced into 12 slabs
-olive or canola oil for frying
-1 tube Litelife Gimme Lean sausage (brand loyalty matters here; this one is infinitely superior to the other vegan sausages I've tried, and my omnivore taste testers all agree)
-1 lb dainty greens for wilting; I used baby arugula, but spinach or similar would be great, too (or fresh sprouts, left unwilted)
-1 tbs balsamic vinegar
-stone ground mustard to serve
-Goddess dressing (or Yumm sauce, if available) to serve
-Sauerkraut (optional) to serve

Directions

1. Make or toast your waffles, set aside in a 250˚ oven to warm while you prep everything

2. Slice the tofu into 12 slabs

3. Fry up the tofu! In a heavy bottomed pan (I used a wok), heat 2 tbs olive or canola oil, and once it's sizzling, gently add the tofu slabs (as many as you can without them touching each other) and fry until golden-brown on the bottom, then gently flip with a spatula and fry until both sides are golden. Lift them out of the pan gently and set aside on a plate to rest (or pop the plate in the 250˚ oven to warm alongside the waffles)

4. Fry the sausages! In the same pan, heat 2 tbs of fresh oil, pinch the tube of sausage into twelve equal pieces, flatten them into 1/4" thick discs between your palms, and fry both sides until browned and crispy. Add them to the tofu plate

5. Wilt your greens. In the same pan, reheat the remaining oil, turn the heat down to medium, throw in the greens, and add the tbs of balsamic vinegar. Stir regularly over the medium heat until they get evenly wilted; about 5 minutes.

6. Assemble your sandwiches! I defer to your personal sandwich assembly preferences, but here's my method: Half a waffle gets slathered with mustard. The other half gets doused with Goddess Dressing or Yumm Sauce. Two slabs of tofu go on the mustard side, add a smidge more dressing on top. Two sausages go on the dressing side. Wilted greens get heaped on, sandwich gets closed up, and then you're left to figure out how to stuff the thing into your face. It takes some strategic engineering, let me tell you.

CRANBERRY FRENCH TOAST

2011-12-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

This is the best possible use for the cranberry no-knead bread! it's pretty tasty with a cheeseball, granted, but this french toast sort of ruined my life on Christmas morning with it's magic deliciousness, and now it can ruin yours.

Of course, you have to have a fresh-baked (within 2 days) loaf of cranberry bread, and the bread takes about 21 hours to make, but it's very simple. The no-knead dough just needs to be mixed and covered (takes 5 minutes), then left to sit for 18 hours. Then you pat it with flour and wrap it up to rest (takes ten minutes), give it a 2 hour nape, then bake for 50 minutes. Your output is incredibly low, it just takes some planning.

The bread slices are big enough that one piece of french toast should be plenty for a grownup belly, but I'll defer to your personal portion expertise.

CRANBERRY FRENCH TOAST

Makes enough soak for about 8 slices

Ingredients
-fresh-baked (within 2 days) no-knead cranberry bread; ap. one 1/2" slice per person
-
-1 c. plain almond milk (you can also use vanilla milk, soy milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk, etc, but I think plain almond milk is perfect)
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 tbs maple syrup (I just use Trader Joe's maple-agave blend)
-
coconut oil for frying; about 1 tbs per 3-4 slices
-
Maple syrup to serve
Vegan powdered sugar to serve

Directions
1. Slice your bread nice and thick, cover with a towel to keep from drying out, and set aside
2. In a pie plate or other wide, flat bottomed dish, combine your almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Whisk together with a fork until you have a nice, even blend

3. Dip your first slice in the mixture, making sure to really saturate both sides) just press with your fingers if it needs help soaking up the mix)

4. In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat 1 tbs coconut oil over medium-high heat
5. After the oil has had a few seconds to heat up (about 30), drop in your first slice. It should sizzle right away. Let it sizzle and cook for about a minute before using a spatula to gently lift it up and check for brownness. When the bottom is a gorgeous golden-brown, flip and cook the other side to the same level of doneness

6. After your first slice, you can fry as many slices at a time as can fit in the pan without touch. Liberally add coconut oil as you cook to prevent sticking and scorching (and because it's tasty), and turn down the heat to a medium flame as the slices begin to cook faster once the pan gets really hot. You'll need the oven fan for this one; it can get smokey if you're doing a big batch
7. Scoop the finished toasts onto a plate to rest; you can warm them in the oven to 250˚ if you want to serve a big batch at once
8. Serve warm with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and maple syrup.

Five-Course Vegan Christmas Eve Menu

2011-12-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

I've been getting requests for more five-course menu plan examples, so here's a quickie update from the insanity of my kitchen as I'm prepping the second annual Christmas Eve dinner here in SF for a pile of friends

Five course menus usually have these five components:

1. amuse bouche (literally; "mouth amusement") this is just a little, pick-up-able appetizer, usually. Things like mini toasts, quiche, or other finger foods do the job nicely. You could also do fruit or olive flights, etc
2. Soup or salad course
3. Whichever you didn't serve for Course #2; soup or salad. I usually serve the lighter of the two for the third course; if I'm doing a rich, cream soup, I serve it for the second course, with a lighter salad for the third, but if the salad is something like warm greens with nuts and quinoa, it'll be the 2nd course
4. Entree! I usually make sure that my entrees have a protein, a starch, and a vegetable, and they usually involve a sauce, as well. . It will just be a smaller plate here because you don't want to overload the plates, or there won't be room for dessert!
5. The dessert course, of course!

If you want to do more courses, you can add on fruit courses as palate cleansers, a coffee course, etc. You can also do booze courses, if you're really fancy.

When I co-ran a secret restaurant in Minneapolis, we did the above five courses for every event, plus offered one red wine, one white wine, and one beer that would go with everything. We also usually served a booze with dessert, like prosecco floats alongside baked apples, or little glasses of port alongside dessert for a winer dinner

Tonight's menu:
1. Vegan cheeseball with fresh baked cranberry bread to spread it on
2. French onion soup
3. Caramelized brussels sprouts
4. Mock beef brisket
5. a christmas cookie assortment; guests are bringing more varieties, but my contribution will be russian tea cakes, because now I'm obsessed.

Uh, Thanks. I Think.

2011-12-20T01:24:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,
now that this blog has had bunches of thousands of pageviews, I feel compelled to gloat/say thank you.

So, thank you.

Also, I don't know whether I should be flattered or concerned over exactly why and how my blog has gotten the attention it has, most of it in the past few months (ever since vegan MoFo, and now holding steady). The blogger dashboard feature is a Pandora's box of internet vanity- you can see how many people are looking at which posts, and even worse, which google searches are bringing folks to your humble internet abode.

If the stats are to believed, this blog is stuck somewhere between notability and notoriety, and I'm not sure which is the better claim. Some of you dears genuinely come here for daily recipe stuff, but at least as many come here for such fancy treats as vegan lutefisk, vegan scotch eggs, the vegan cheese ball, vegan beer cheese soup, vegan lox, and even worse, barfing cupcakes.

I am so unutterably charmed that I am not alone in my deep, deep love for veganizing disgusting midwestern comfort foods! I am also a little worried that so many of you are googling things like "eating barf" and then navigating to my cupcake recipe. Harm reduction? I'd like to think so.

Moving into the new year, I've got some ambitions for the blog- namely keeping a more regular recipe-posting schedule, and adding restaurant reviews and the occasional article from people in the service industry about vegan dining/serving/restauranting.

Most of all, though, I want to keep making, eating, and posting about the gross midwestern food I veganize to fill the Minnesota-shaped hole in my heart now that I'm on the Left Coast. Hot damn, hot dish, but I miss you!

So, dear internet, thanks for being weird enough to visit my blog so often that it no longer feels like this is just a place to write down my recipes so I don't forget them. It's pretty sweet.

Keep on being all vegan, all tasty, all the time, sweetbeets!
XOXO Micah

VEGAN RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

2011-12-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

People, listen to me. These cookies are magic.

Proportionately speaking, I don’t post a lot of cookie recipes, because cookies just aren’t nearly as important to me as, say, variations on bread pudding.

However, one upon a time (yesterday), my housemates and I had a big holiday feast with more than a little Midwdestern influence (there may or may not have been a Minnesota V. Ohio/Hotdish v. Casserole bake-off)(and in case you wondered who won, in true midwestern fashion, no one won. Although at one point in the evening, half of Team Ohio (see below, sharing a Minnesota/Norwegian sweater/hat set)

Wore a pink zoot suit (see below)

So Ohio totally won on the merits.

so obviously, Russian tea cakes had to make an appearance.
I’ve never made them before, but the vegan recipes google offered weren’t appealing, so I consulted my safety blanket, good ol’ coconut oil, and my safety blanket said “bake me!”. So I did. And it was tasty as all get out.
Here you go. Don’t say I never gave you nothin.

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

Ingredients
½ c. powdered sugar
1 c. coconut oil (firm; if melted, you'll have to refrigerate the dough before it's firm enough to form cookies))
2.5 c. all purpose white flour (sifted or spooned)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Optional: 1/3 c. chopped, toasted walnuts or almonds (I like walnuts best!)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375˚. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, or leave them un-greased
2. Use an electric hand mixer or electric food processor to blend the powdered sugar and firm coconut oil until smooth. if your coconut oil is melted, that's fine; you'll just have to pop the batter in the fridge for a while for the coconut oil to firm up and make the dough a better consistency for shaping the cookies
3. Add the sifted 2.5 c. all-purpose flour, vanilla, and salt, mix with a wooden smooth until evenly combined; I usually abandon the spoon for mixing with my (clean) hands in order to get a really even, smooth dough- if the coconut oil wasn’t melted, you just need to make sure that no lumps of solid fat remain (press them out with your fingertips)

4. When you have a nice, even dough, make 1 tbs balls of dough by rolling them in your hands and space them one inch apart on the parchment paper or un-greased cookie sheet
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the balls are golden on the bottom but nowhere else, and relatively firm when poked

6. Using a spatula, gently lift the cookies off of the baking sheet and onto a wire cooling rack, if you have one, or a large plate. Allow to cool completely

7. When cooled, pour about ½ a cup of powdered sugar into a salad bowl, then roll your now cooled cookies in the powdered sugar until evenly coated, then set aside. It’s important to let your cookies completely; if they’re even a little warm, the powdered sugar will melt and you’ll get something more like icing than a powdered sugar coating. This isn’t actually a bad thing, but it does yield a much sweeter cookie. I trust you to employ informed decision-making, dear readers.

KALAMATA OLIVE AND CAPER NO KNEAD BREAD

2011-12-20T00:09:00.000-08:00

KALAMATA OLIVE AND CAPER NO KNEAD BREAD

I still can’t stop making NYT’s no-knead bread, and I have no intention of trying. The caper & kalamata loaf is good for parties with dip or for sandwiches.

If you want a lighter, airier loaf, be sure to use a medium-ground cornmeal to dust it instead of flour- using flour at the very end when you’re shaping your loaf will make it a bit denser.

Here’s a good litmus test: are you going to rip the loaf open, still hot, and eat fresh with olive oil or margarine? If so, a lighter loaf, dusted with cornmeal is your best bet. But if you want it for toast or sandwich bread, or want to serve it sliced up with a spread or dip, use flour to dust it so you get an easier to slice load.

Ingredients
3 c. white bread flour (or all purpose will do. Don’t use wheat unless you want a very dense loaf)
1.5 c. warm tap water
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. yeast
½ c. kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
¼ c. capers
-
a handful of cornmeal or flour for dusting/shaping

Equipment
-Large glass or ceramic mixing bowl
-Non-metallic mixing spoon
-Saran wrap, or plastic bag and tape, or snug lid for the bowl
-Clean dishtowel
-bowl or dish for the nap
-High-heat safe baking vessel with a lid- at least 9” wide and 6” tall. A dutch oven is ideal, but you can also just put a glass pie plate on top of a ceramic soufflé dish, or whatever other combination of heat-proof stuff you’ve got. Just get a big bowl-thing and a lid and you’re covered.

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, warm water, olives, andcapers until evenly mixed. You may just want to use your hands.
2. Once it’s well mixed, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap so it’s pretty well sealed. Set on top of the fridge or in another warm-ish place for 18 hours to rise
3. Spread out a clean cotton cloth and sprinkle 1 tbs cornmeal or flour evenly over it. Sprinkle the other tbs over your hands and the dough- pat the dough gently with the cornmeal or flour and gently lift it out of the dish; it shouldn’t be too sticky, but if it is just use more cornmeal/flour, being careful to pat it on the outside of the bread and not work it into the dough- otherwise you’ll change the consistency of the dough. You should get a big, cohesive, non-sticky lump pretty quickly
4. Drop the dough ball onto the cloth. Poke any visible olives and capers deeper into the dough; you want to avoid having things sticking out if possible (they’ll burn)
5. Gently fold the towel around the dough ball, swaddling it, and place it in a bowl to rise for two more hours
6. After its been rising for an hour and a half, turn the oven on to 450˚ and put your heat proof baking vessel into the oven to preheat
7. After the oven and baking dish have preheated at 450˚ for 30 minutes, pull the dish out of the oven, take the lid off, and carefully drop the dough ball out of the towel and into the baking dish. You basically just unwrap it and let it fall. The dough will fold on itself a little- this is how the bread gets its gorgeous, rustic folds and creases. You don’t need to shape it at all. Some of the cornmeal or dusting flour will stick to the dough- this is good.
8. Cover the baking dish and put back into the 450˚ oven for 30 minutes
9. After 30 minutes, take the cover off, rotate the baking dish, and bake for another 20 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and hard. Pull out of the oven, tip the bread out of the dish, and either allow to cool so you can slice it, or wrap in a towel to keep it warm until serving.
10. It may be difficult to slice before cooling, but you can just rip hunks off of it and eat it piping hot, or cool a bit and slice for toast or sandwiches

CRANBERRY NO KNEAD BREAD

2011-12-20T00:03:00.000-08:00

CRANBERRY NO KNEAD BREAD

For this variation on the New York Times’ no knead bread recipe, you should definitely use flour instead of cornmeal when you shape it- this extra bit of flour will make the loaf more dense, and if you let it cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting, you can get nice, warm slices perfect for eating with margarine for breakfast, or better yet, a vegan cheeseball! This is a really good loaf to bring to parties, and it’s properly holiday-tastic for the season.

Ingredients
3 c. white bread flour (or all purpose will do. Don’t use wheat unless you want a very dense loaf)
1.5 c. warm tap water
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. yeast
¾ c. dried cranberries
-
a handful of flour (ap 2 tbs)

Equipment
-Large glass or ceramic mixing bowl
-Non-metallic mixing spoon
-Saran wrap, or plastic bag and tape, or snug lid for the bowl
-Clean dishtowel
-Bowl or dish for the nap
-High-heat safe baking vessel with a lid- at least 9” wide and 6” tall. A dutch oven is ideal, but you can also just put a glass pie plate on top of a ceramic soufflé dish, or whatever other combination of heat-proof stuff you’ve got. Just get a big bowl-thing and a lid and you’re covered.

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, warm water, and raisins until evenly mixed. You may just want to use your hands.

2. Once it’s well mixed, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap so it’s pretty well sealed. Set on top of the fridge or in another warm-ish place for 18 hours to rise
3. Spread out a clean cotton cloth and sprinkle flour evenly over it. Sprinkle the other tbs over your hands and the dough- pat the dough gently with the cornmeal or flour and gently lift it out of the dish; it shouldn’t be too sticky, but if it is just use more flour, being careful to pat it on the outside of the bread and not work it into the dough too much. You should get a big, cohesive, non-sticky lump pretty quickly
4. Drop the dough ball onto the cloth. Poke any visible cranberries deeper into the dough; you want to avoid having raisins sticking out if possible (they’ll burn)
5. Gently fold the towel around the dough ball, swaddling it, and place it in a bowl to rise for two more hours
6. After its been rising for an hour and a half, turn the oven on to 450˚ and put your heat proof baking vessel into the oven to preheat
7. After the oven and baking dish have preheated at 450˚ for 30 minutes, pull the dish out of the oven, take the lid off, and carefully drop the dough ball out of the towel and into the baking dish. You basically just unwrap it and let it fall. The dough will fold on itself a little- this is how the bread gets its gorgeous, rustic folds and creases. You don’t nee to shape it at all. Some of the cornmeal will stick to the dough- this is good.
8. Cover the baking dish and put back into the 450˚ oven for 30 minutes
9. After 30 minutes, take the cover off, rotate the baking dish, and bake for another 20 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and hard. Pull out of the oven, tip the bread out of the dish, and either allow to cool so you can slice it, or wrap in a towel to keep it warm until serving.

PERFECT FRIED RICE!

2011-12-10T01:18:00.000-08:00

VEGAN FRIED RICE!

For some reason, the perfect homemade fried rice has always evaded me. Until now!

I’ve finally found a nearly foolproof base recipe that you can adjust according to what you’ve got on hand. This is the closest I’ve ever come to the veggie fried rice of my childhood, and it’s pretty great. It’s so easy, too!

You can make a huge batch of it at a time and microwave (or re-fry) it for work lunches or leftovers, but it’s really tempting to just eat your way through the panfull, no matter how big that pan might be.

Here are the secrets:
1. Use stale rice. If you make fresh rice, toast it on a baking sheet at 275˚ for about 15 minutes or until it’s a little dried out. Using dried out rice makes such a big improvement!
2. Use sesame seed oil if you can- it adds a lot of flavor
3. Cut your vegetables really small! Taking the time to finely dice your onion and carrot really pays off- the tiny vegetables make a big difference in texture

Ingredients
-Rice: Leftover, kinda stale rice! However much you’ve got- leftovers from yesterday? A box full left from takeout? Perfect! If you’re making rice, use 1 cup brown or white rice and 2 cups water. You can use just about any kind of rice- sticky rice is an obvious choice, but I’ve just been using long grain brown rice and it’s great
-
-3 tbs sesame seed oil (canola will do in a pinch)
-1 small or ½ large carrot
- ½ red onion (yellow will do)
-1 c. frozen peas
-3 tbs tamari (maybe a little more, to taste) or soy sauce
-¼ tsp sriracha sauce (optional)
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ block silken tofu, cubed ( ¼ inch cubes) optional
-
Sea salt, to serve

Instructions
1. Make and dry our your rice (hopefully you have some left over)
2. Finely dice your half red onion and small carrot. Measure out your frozen peas. Set aside.

3. In a wok or large frying pan, heat 2 tbs sesame seed oil, then fry the red onions until golden brown. If using tofu, add the tofu cubes as soon as the onions are lightly browned and fry over medium-high heat until the tofu is golden.

4. Add the carrots and peas, and 1 tbs tamari. Stir well to coat with oil

5. Let the vegetables cook for a few minutes over medium heat, then dump in the rice. Add the remaining 1 tbs sesame seed oil and remaining 2 tbs tamari, and stir well to get the rice coated in oil and tamari. You want to get the rice an even saturation of tamari- you might need to add a little more

6. When the rice is saturated, add the sriracha sauce and red pepper flakes, if using. Fry the rice over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching. You’ll fry it until it gets really hard to keep the rice from sticking to the pan, and some of it is a bit crispy. I like a really well-fried fried rice with lots of nearly-burned bits, but you can just cook yours to your preferred texture.
7. Serve hot with hot sauce, tamari, and sea salt.

VEGAN LOX!!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-10T00:12:00.000-08:00

Dearest readers, I write to you tonight from THE KITCHEN OF VICTORY!

I fought the lox, and the lox won. Then we ate it. So everybody won.

VEGAN LOX ROUND II: SUCCESS!

Back in October, I invited folks to make requests for Vegan Month of Food. Unsurprisingly, a bunch of my omnivore friends requested loads of disgusting stuff, including but limited to corn dogs, haggis, and lox.

One such friend made one such request, and after I posted about it on the blog, legit vegans started emailing me about how excited they were for vegan lox and how much they missed it.

I had elaborate plans involving seaweed and pink salt and miso to impart a fishy flavor, but the winner turned out to be much simpler.

Beets were an obvious choice- pink or golden beets would give the right color, and when sliced very thin (with a vegetable peeler), you could get both the appearance of skin on the edges (from the dark outer peel of the beet) and a lovely pattern from the flesh of the beet that looks a bit like salmon.

I’ve never eaten lox before, but I sure have smelled it, and it never seemed appealing. My reputable sources told me these were the priorities:
1. Appearance: must be pink or golden, in thin, uneven strips that look a bit fleshy
2. Texture: must be tender and fatty with a smooth, rich mouthfeel
3. Taste: absolutely must be fatty and salty, preferably a bit fishy, too

Operation: Lox, Round I was basically fridge pickles. We sliced the beets and placed them, raw, in a light sugar-salt-vinegar soak overnight. The result was really tasty fridge-pickled beets, but they were only lox-like in appearance. It was salty and a touch fishy, but not fatty, not tender, and the mouthfeel was wrong. We’ve been eating the pickled beets plain and they’re mighty good, though.

For Operation: Lox, Round II, I opted for something much more straightforward: simmer the beets in melted fat (earth balance margarine) until tender, then sprinkle with salt.

Success! The result was gloriously fatty, smooth, and tender to the tooth. My resident lox experts, both omnivores, swear that it is lightly fishy, very lox-like, and delicious. I think it’s awfully tasty and worth making even if you don’t have an affinity/craving for actual lox.

The only trick is to work a bit quickly after slicing your beet because the beet will oxidize and turn dark, spoiling the beautiful color and making them look moldy about ten minutes after cutting. Once they’re in the fat, they will maintain their color beautifully. Just be sure that you don’t slice your beet until right before cooking.

Enough talk! Here’s the recipe!

VEGAN LOX!

Yield: make as much as you need; one beet will make a TON because you’re making paper thin slices. I used about 2 tbs earth balance to cook enough beets for both sides of a bagel

Ingredients
-1 pink or golden beet (it can be small- your slices will be paper thin so you probably won’t use the whole thing)
-Earth Balance margarine (stick or tub; either works), about 2 tbs for one bagel’s worth
-Kosher sea salt to taste (about ½ tsp for one bagel’s worth)
-
Vegan bagels (hint: Trader Joe’s sells dirt cheap vegan bagels with everything!)
Tofutti better than cream cheese (or make a nice cashew cheese spread)
Green onions or chives to garnish (or mix them into your cream cheese!)

Instructions
1. Scrub your beet really well to remove all dirt and any bad spots; you’re going to use the skin to give your slices a nice dark edge that looks like salmon skin
2. Slice off the rooty bottom, exposing the pink or yellow flesh, and grab your vegetable peeler or super sharp paring knife. A vegetable peeler will really, really help here

3. Starting at the edge, make your first cut, getting a wide swath of beet flesh that includes a bit of the dark skin.

4. Carefully pull the peeler or knife to make a long, wide cut, yielding a very thin, translucent piece. It’s sort of like trying to peel an orange to get the biggest piece of peel you can.

5. If you have a helper, one person can slice the beet pieces while the other person cooks them- you have to work quickly to keep the paper thin beet slices from oxidizing and turning dark and ugly once exposed to the air
6. In a small sauté pan over a very low flame, melt 1 tbs earth balance. You will keep the heat very low- the margarine should never bubble- just melt and simmer. If you are using a larger sauté pan, use more margarine- you need enough to have a thick layer over the whole surface of the pan. You are going to simmer the beets, not fry or sauté them.

7. Once the margarine is melted, add your beet slices. Let them simmer in the margarine, moving them around a bit with a wooden spoon to make sure they soak up all the fat. You will turn them once, about 4 minutes in, to get both sides nice and saturated. After you flip them, sprinkle a little kosher sea salt over them and continue to cook. They’re ready when your wooden spoon can easily cut the beets- about 8 minutes total (4 minutes for each side). Lift the beets with a fork or spatula and place them on a plate to cool and drain a bit. You might make several pans’ worth. You’ll just have to eyeball how many beet slices you want for each bagel half. Plan on making one even layer of beets over each bagel half.

8. While the beets are cooking, slice and toast your bagels, and slice your chives or green onions. I like to mix green onions right into the tofutti cream cheese- so much better than just putting them on top!

9. Once your beets have cooled and drained a bit, throw them on top of your bagel & cream cheese, and you’re ready to go! The beets were still a bit warm when we had them, and it was super tasty! You just don’t want them to be dripping with margarine or so hot that they’ll melt the cream cheese

VEGAN LOX ROUND I: FAILURE

2011-12-08T00:07:00.000-08:00

Update:Round I was a failure, but round II was amazing!

I said I'd do it, and this is round I.

VEGAN LOX ROUND 1

¾ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/3 c. rice wine vinegar

-
golden or pink beet, scrubbed
-
bagels and tifutti cream cheese or a cashew cheese to serve

1. very thinly slice or peel a golden or pink beet, catching bits of the darker skin, so you have translucent shavings

2. mix the vinegar, salt, and sugar in Tupperware
3. add the beet shavings, mix well, seal, refrigerate overnight

4. strain and serve over tofutti cream cheese (or a cashew-almond cheese)

UPDATE: NOT SO MUCH
Well, we made some pretty tasty pickled beets, and they did taste nice on out bagels, but they just didn't taste like lox, nor did they have the right fattiness and tenderness. On to Round II!

PERSIMMON CRISP

2011-12-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

Warning! You have to eat these right after baking- if you leave them to sit even a few hours, the tannins will emerge and you'll get awful drymouth. Do not make these ahead- they'll be awful by the time you eat them. Fresh from the oven, though, they're absolutely amazing!

At long last, we have the answer to the age old question: whatever to do with overripe, mushy persimmons?

The answer, dear readers, is persimmon crisp, and it’s pretty much the greatest.

PERSIMMON CRISP

Serves 6

Ingredients
3 overripe, mushy persimmons (they will be squishy to the touch, and bright, deep red. They may have some dark spots, but no mold)
1/3 c. vegan cane sugar (or sucanat, or brown sugar)
2/3 c. water
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
-
2 c. quick oats (aka rolled oats, or instant oats)
1 c. chopped walnuts
-
½ c. canola oil
¼ tsp sea salt (medium-sized granules- it really makes a difference!)
1 tbs vegan cane sugar (or sucanat, or brown sugar)
¼ tsp cinnamon

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Wash, then slice or rip apart three very overripe (they must already be mushy, just not moldy) persimmons. Everything but the leaves at the top goes in.

3. Dump the persimmons, sugar, water, vanilla, and cinnamon into a saucepan on the stove and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until the persimmons break down and get really mushy like applesauce. The liquid will reduce some, and you’ll be left with a thick, soft, applesauce-y mixture after about 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat once the persimmons are very soft and your mixture looks like this picture; it will thicken a little once removed from heat and you don’t want it to reduce too much.

4. While the persimmons are stewing, dump the oats and walnuts on a baking sheet and toast at 350˚ for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown

5. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, walnuts, canola oil, sea salt, 1 tbs sugar, and ¼ tsp cinnamon until you have a nice, saturated mixture and no oats are left dry.

6. Divide your persimmon mixture evenly among 6 individual ramekins, or scoop it all into the bottom of a pie plate or tart pan.

7. Evenly distribute the oats mixture over the persimmon layer

8. Place the pie plate or individual ramekins on a baking sheet to catch excess in case anything bubbles over
9. Pop the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown and a bit dark on the edges
10. Serve piping hot! These would be excellent with vanilla almond milk ice cream if you’ve got it!

NO KNEAD RAISIN BREAD

2011-11-28T02:18:00.000-08:00

The New York Times’ no-knead bread recipe is totally addictive. I make a loaf at least once a week, and it’s always tempting to throw different stuff in it. On my to-try list is powdered stuff, like ground cinnamon, right in the dough, and sugar dustings on the crust, but for now I’m just adding whole pieces of stuff like fresh rosemary and thyme, slice red onions, and today, raisins. The fresh rosemary bread is consistently amazing, the onion bread turned out weird- the onion bits were kind of slimy. I haven’t actually tried the raisin bread- I made it for friends, but it looked perfect on the outside, at the very least.

I always use cornmeal instead of flour to dust it for the second round of rising and baking, though you can definitely use flour. I think using corn meal adds a nice texture and works exceptionally well; you can use whatever grind of cornmeal you want; this loaf used a chunkier cornmeal and I thought it worked beautifully.

This bread takes just a few minutes of actual work, but requires planning ahead. I just make the dough the night before and bake it so it comes out of the oven immediately before serving; this bread is best piping hot! It’s hard to slice before it’s cooled down, but it’s great torn apart!

RAISIN NO KNEAD BREAD

Time: 5-10 minutes to mix, 20 total hours rising, 45-50 minutes to bake (21 hours total)

Ingredients
3 c. bread flour (all purpose white flour is fine if you don’t have bread flour)
1.5 c. warm water
¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
½ c. raisins
-
cornmeal or flour for dusting, about 1-2 tbs

Equipment
-Large glass or ceramic mixing bowl
-Non-metallic mixing spoon
-Saran wrap, or plastic bag and tape, or snug lid for the bowl
-Clean dishtowel
-bowl or dish for the nap
-High-heat safe baking vessel with a lid- at least 9” wide and 6” tall. A dutch oven is ideal, but you can also just put a glass pie plate on top of a ceramic soufflé dish, or whatever other combination of heat-proof stuff you’ve got. Just get a big bowl-thing and a lid and you’re covered.

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, warm water, and raisins until evenly mixed. You may just want to use your hands.

2. Once it’s well mixed, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap so it’s pretty well sealed. Set on top of the fridge or in another warm-ish place for 18 hours to rise. It will go from being a firm, shaggy ball of dough to a big spongy mess. This is good!

3. Spread out a clean cotton cloth and sprinkle 1 tbs cornmeal or flour evenly over it.

Sprinkle the other tbs over your hands and the dough- pat the dough gently with the cornmeal or flour and gently lift it out of the dish; it shouldn’t be too sticky, but if it is just use more cornmeal/flour, being careful to pat it on the outside of the bread and not work it into the dough- otherwise you’ll change the consistency of the dough. You should get a big, cohesive, non-sticky lump pretty quickly

4. Drop the dough ball onto the cloth. Poke any visible raisins deeper into the dough; you want to avoid having raisins sticking out if possible (they’ll burn)

5. Gently fold the towel around the dough ball, swaddling it, and place it in a bowl to rise for two more hours.

It will rise noticeably during this time.

6. After its been rising for an hour and a half, turn the oven on to 450˚ and put your heat proof baking vessel into the oven to preheat

7. After the oven and baking dish have preheated at 450˚ for 30 minutes, pull the dish out of the oven, take the lid off, and carefully drop the dough ball out of the towel and into the baking dish. You basically just unwrap it and let it fall. The dough will fold on itself a little- this is how the bread gets its gorgeous, rustic folds and creases. You don’t nee to shape it at all. Some of the cornmeal will stick to the dough- this is good.

8. Cover the baking dish and put back into the 450˚ oven for 30 minutes (on the center rack)
9. After 30 minutes, take the cover off, rotate the baking dish, and bake for another 20 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and hard. Pull out of the oven, tip the bread out of the dish, and either allow to cool so you can slice it, or wrap in a towel to keep it warm until serving.
After 30 minutes baking with the lid on, it'll look like this:

After 20 minutes with the lid off, it'll look like this:

10. It may be difficult to slice before cooling, but you can just rip hunks off of it and eat it piping hot. Serve with earth balance margarine and jam!

DAHL BAHT WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CARROTS

2011-11-17T02:39:00.000-08:00

When I was a bratty eight year old vegetarian, my third grade teacher introduced us to dal bhat- an easy as pie complete protein. This is probably not the proper way to make it, but the Minnesota mom version is just overcooking yellow lentils until they break apart into a thick paste. Serve it with rice and whatever vegetables you’ve got.

The lentils will just absorb any salt you throw in, so just add salt and pepper when serving.

DAL BHAT WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CARROTS

Ingredients
1 c. dry yellow lentils
6 c. water
-
1 tbs olive oil or coconut oil
¼ red onion
¼ c. water
1 fat carrot
2 tsp salt
2 cups whole brussels sprouts (you will only use part of these)
-
sea salt and pepper to serve

Directions
1. Start the lentils. Combine the lentils and water in a pot over medium heat. You’ll simmer the lentils, stirring every few minutes, until they break down on their own and absorb all of the liquid. You’ll get a nice thick yellow paste without needing to mash it- just stir occasionally. Turn off the heat when you have a nice thick, fairly even paste, without extra water floating around- this can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes. Just keep an eye on the texture, and turn of the heat once you have your nice, thick dahl.
2. Start the rice. Combine 1 c. brown rice and 2 c. water in a pot or rice maker and cook over medium heat or in the rice cooker until rice is fluffy and tender and all liquid is absorbed
3. Prep your vegetables. Slice your red onions into ¼” strips, and chop your carrots into ¼” rounds. Pull the dark leaves off of the Brussels sprouts and separate out the light green/white centers (you can roast these later- they’re amazing!)
Use these:

Not these:

4. In a large pan or wok, heat 1 tbs olive oil, then sauté the onions until translucent. Then add the carrots, stir well to coat with oil, and then add the water and salt. Simmer over medium heat until the carrots are a little tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts leaves and stir well, then simmer until the leaves are nice and tender, about 3 minutes.

5. Serve the vegetables over the lentils and rice. Salt and pepper to serve!

VEGAN QUESADILLAS

2011-11-17T01:48:00.000-08:00

Will the wonders of Daiya ever cease? These quesadillas are super easy and super tasty- the Daiya shreds melt and get gooey inside, but the ones one the outside edges get super crispy and amazing

VEGAN QUESADILLAS

Makes 1 giant quesadilla (serves 1-2)

Ingredients
1 large flour tortilla
2 tbs salsa
½ c. cooked brown rice
½ c. broccoli (fresh or frozen; either’s fine)
¼ c. cheddar Daiya shreds
a few thin slices of red onion
-
2 tbs Tofutti vegan sour cream or guacamole to serve

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400˚
2. Put the tortilla on a baking sheet, then assemble. Throw your ingredients on half of the tortilla. Mix the rice and salsa together until they’re evenly mixed. Add the onion slices and broccoli pieces; mix everything together so it’s all evenly distributed. Sprinkle the Daiya over the vegetables, concentrating on the edged. Fold the tortilla in half, and sprinkle a few extra shreds of Daiya on top.

3. Bake on the center rack of your preheated oven until the tortilla is golden brown and the Daiya shreds are crispy, about 8-12 minutes

4. Cut into 2” thick slices and eat with sour cream or guac (or both)

CACTUS PEAR SORBET

2011-11-14T01:56:00.000-08:00

If I could marry a grocery store, it would definitely be Berkeley Bowl. At the very least, I would have a lifelong affair with their produce section.

I’ve been hearing big talk about the Berkeley Bowl’s wide array of (dirt cheap) weird produce, and last night I finally went for the first time. Oh my gracious, but that place is amazing. I picked out a tiny assortment of weird edibles, including oca potatoes (bright red and sort of spiny), ginko nuts (tangy and squishy), and cactus pears.

This recipe is actually cactus pear granita, but if you’ve got an ice cream maker, the same recipe will yield a sorbet. Without an ice cream maker, you’ll get granita- a softer consistency, more like a slushy, but still really fantastic and perfect for serving in little cactus pear cups.

The fruits are very, very tart, and the edible seeds taste a bit sweeter and almost pear-like. Kiele was as excited about cactus pears as I was

CACTUS PEAR SORBET
Time: 20 minutes to prep, 2 hours to freeze

Ingredients
6 ripe (pink, not yellow or white) cactus pears, prickly spines removed
1 tbs lime juice, about ½ a lime worth fresh squeezed (lemon juice is fine, too)
-
½ c vegan cane sugar
½ c water
¼ c red wine

Special Equipment
A food processor
Fine mesh strainer
An ice cream maker is NOT necessary, but very helpful
Tinfoil or parchment paper

Ingredients
1. Prepare the fruits. I bought my pears with the spines removed and strongly suggest doing the same- it looks like a pain. At any rate, get the spines off, then carefully wash the fruits and cut off any bad bits. You’ll be using the skins later. Slice the fruits in half.

2. Using a regular metal spoon, scoop out the pink flesh and the dark red seeds, leaving the skins intact. Plop everything you scoop out into your food processor, and set aside the intact fruit shells if you plan to use them to serve (I like them; they’re tart and make great edible serving cups), otherwise you can compost them.

3. Prepare your simple syrup. Combine wine, water, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.
4. Stir well and simmer over medium heat, stirring every 30 seconds or so to prevent scorching, until the mixture reduces and becomes more thick
5. Making simple syrup is tricky; it will thicken after you remove it from the heat, so how do you know it’s time to take off the stove if you can’t judge by consistency? I stir until the sugar is all dissolved, about 3-4 minutes, and then give it another minute or so- this means I will get a thicker syrup when cooled. All told, it takes about 5 minutes on the stove
6. After 5 minutes of simmering, you should have a smooth, transparent, dark red syrup. It will still seem quite thin- this is fine. You should have about 1 cup of the syrup when you pour it out.

7. Pour the simple syrup into the food processor with the fruit and seeds, and add the lime juice.
8. Puree until you have a smooth consistency, except for the hard seeds floating around. Using a fine sieve or mesh strainer, strain the mixture to remove the hard seeds. No worries if you skip this step; the seeds are edible, they’re just very hard.
9. Pour the mixture into a wide, shallow container, like a brownie pan or big Tupperware container. The thinner the layer of liquid, the faster it will freeze, which is a good thing. Pop into the freezer. If you have an ice cream maker, do whatever it is you do with your ice cream maker to make awesome sorbet out of the mixture.

10. Freeze for and hour and a half, stirring the granita mixture every thirty minutes or so to keep crystals from forming. After and hour and a half, pull everything out of the freezer and pour the mixture into the pear cups (if using), then put back into the freezer. If you have more granita mixture than the pear cups have room, put the rest in a bowl and put back in the freezer on a pan covered in tinfoil or parchment paper.

11. Freeze these for thirty minutes, then serve. If you made granita instead of sorbet, you can eat them sort of like an oyster- the granita has a slushy-like consistency so if you’re using a pear cup you don’t even need a spoon!. If you opted out of the pear cups, just serve in a dish, but eat quickly before it all melts!

GINKGO NUT SOFT CHEESE SPREAD

2011-11-14T01:39:00.000-08:00

I bought ginkgo nuts because I could, but then I had to figure out what to do with them. They were a bit squishy and cheesecurd-like in their vacuum sealed package, so I decided to make a soft cheese sort of like cashew cheese spread with it. The flavor of ginkgo nuts was surprising- tangy and sharp, and a little pine nutty, but not quite as delicious. More like when you bite into an actual pine needle.

This was nice, but a smidge pungent/sharp for my preference, though the mustard and molasses helped mellow the ginkgo tang out a bit. If you want a sharp cheese spread, then you should definitely make this, but I don’t plan to make it again; I like my nut cheeses to be pretty mellow. That said, it’s really good if you like sharper flavors. I served this with a warm loaf of no knead bread, fresh out of the oven, and it was great spread over piping hot bread.

GINKGO NUT SOFT CHEESE SPREAD

Ingredients
1 (3.5 oz) vacuum package ginkgo nuts, about 1 cup
1/8 c. pine nuts
¼ c. vegetable stock or 1/8 c. sherry and 1/8 c stock or water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme (1/2 tsp dried)
1 tsp stone ground or mild Dijon mustard (1/2 tsp dried)
½ tsp molasses (optional)

Directions
1. Throw everything into the food processor
2. Blend until smooth, you may need to stir a few times to unstick stuff and blend again
3. Adjust the salt and herbs if needed
4. Serve with piping hot no knead bread fresh from the oven, or any other bread or crackers.

WHITE QUINOA WITH CHARD, CHERRIES, AND APPLES

2011-11-12T03:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry to keep repeating myself, but seriously people, cherries+warm greens is the greatest.

Tonight's variation on the theme:
This recipe, subbing out white quinoa instead of red, using 1 bunch green chard instead of kale, and adding 1 honeycrisp apple, chopped and added at the very last minute

RED QUINOA AND KALE WITH BING CHERRIES

2011-11-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Warm greens with bing cherries are my favorite thing right now, especially with roasted potatoes. Here's a nice way to add them to a complete protein (quinoa) for an entree. I’ve posted a similar quinoa recipe before, white quinoa with candied almonds, cherries, and warm greens, but here’s the (quicker, easier) version I made this week. I served it with molasses roasted root vegetables and warm homemade applesauce

RED QUINOA AND KALE WITH BING CHERRIES

Ingredients
1 c red quinoa
2 c water
-
1 tbs olive oil
½ red onion, sliced in ¼” strips
1 tsp stone ground mustard
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried rosemary
¼ c water
¼ c dried bing cherries
1 bunch kale, chopped in ½” wide ribbons or otherwise torn/coarsely chopped

Directions
1. Start your quinoa; throw the water and quinoa into a rice cooker, or simmer together in a pot over a medium flame, lid on, stirring occasionally, until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy and tender, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Prepare your vegetables per ingredient descriptions above, set aside
3. In a large pan or wok, heat 1 tbs olive oil, then sauté the sliced red onion
4. When onions are translucent, add the vinegar, mustard, water, and herbs. Stir well with a wooden spoon or whisk until you have a smooth, blended mixture.
5. Add the kale and cherries, stir well to coat both with the balsamic mixture, and allow to simmer, uncovered, over a medium-low flame until the kale wilts and stems are easily pierced with a fork, about 5-8 minutes.
6. Turn off the head and let rest until quinoa is cooked
7. Stir the cooked quinoa into the kale mixture until everything is well mixed. Serve warm, add salt to taste.

BING CHERRY BISCOTTI

2011-11-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

I can't stop making biscotti, and I'm not sorry about it. Although slightly time intensive, they're easily made with whatever's on hand; just a few pantry staples, plus any nuts or fruit or chocolate you have lying around. They keep for about a week in a sealed container, and it's awfully nice to keep a stack on hand for snacking.

The recipe for bing cherry biscotti is the exact same as cranberry walnut biscotti, just sub out cherries, and replace the walnuts with hazelnuts for extra credit.

Note: be careful not to over-bake; the cherries will get hard if they overcook.

BING CHERRY BISCOTTI

Yield: Makes about 14 ½” thick biscotti
Time: about an hour and a half
10 minutes to prep, 35 minutes to bake for round 1, 10 minutes to cool, 10 minutes to cut, 20 minutes to bake round 2

Ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
¾ c vegan cane sugar
½ tsp bkg soda
1 tsp bkg pwdr
½ tsp salt
-
1/3 c. coconut oil
1/3 c. almond milk or water
2 tsp vanilla
-
½ c dried bing cherries
1 c toasted hazelnuts, chopped
-
Optional: ½ bar dark chocolate for dipping

Directions
1. preheat oven to 300˚. Set aside a baking sheet and a sheet of parchment paper or a silpat if you have one, otherwise a plain, unoiled baking sheet will do
2. Measure out 1 cup of nuts and coarsely chop them, then spread on the baking sheet and toast at 300˚ as the oven is preheating for about 5-8 minutes; nuts will be lightly golden but not brown, and will have a lightly toasted flavor. Set the nuts aside and let the baking sheet cool
3. While the hazelnuts are toasting, measure out ½ cup of dried cherries, set aside
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the coconut oil, almond milk or water, and vanilla. Mix well with your hands to ensure that everything gets evenly mixed but not over-keaded. You will get a smooth, heavy dough
6. Add the nuts and cherries to the dough and mix in with your hands until they are evenly distributed and you have a nice ball of dough. Remember to only mix as much as you need to; over-kneading will change the consistency.
7. Plop your bal of dough onto the parchment paper or silpat on the baking sheet, and form a rectangular log that is slightly rounded on top
8. Pop the baking sheet into the preheated 300˚ oven for 35 minutes or until the log of dough is golden brown
9. Remove from the oven and allow the log, still on the pan, to cool on the counter for ten minutes. As soon as you remove it from the oven, turn the heat down to 275˚. Set the baking sheet on top of the oven and put a clean towel on top to help the loaf cool slowly; the internet tells me that this handy little trick will keep the top from cracking if the loaf cools too fast
10. Now for hard part: slice the cookies. You’re going to leave the towel on the loaf and just pull it back a little at a time to make your cuts. Get the biggest, sturdiest, sharpest knife you can find (not serrated!) and grab another clean towel to wipe off the blade after each cut.
11. Now, make a diagonal cut, starting ½ inch from the first exposed corner. You’re going to make ½” thick diagonal slices the whole way down the loaf, only lifting the towel as far as you need to make the next cut. The trick here is to keep the loaf soft and moist enough to cut. You also have to get the speed right; cut too fast, and it’ll crumble. Cut too slowly, and it’ll crumble. The best trick I’ve found is to use the sharp tip of the knife to make a firm, decisive cut at the end, then bring your knife down firmly, and slowly, to make one clean, decisive cut with you body weight behind the knife. I’m making it sound hard; it’s not. Once you find the right speed/firmness, the rest will be easy. I’ve never done this before and mine turned out pretty clean.
12. Once you’ve got your whole loaf sliced, carefully lay the cookies on their sides so one cut side is down.
13. Bake again at 275˚ for about 10 minutes on the first side (or until golden brown); you will remove the end pieces after the first round of 10 minutes because they only have one cut side to bake. You’ll just pull the pan out of then oven after the first 10 minutes to remove the end pieces and flip the rest (gently!)
14. After you’ve flipped them, put them back in the oven for 8 minutes or until the bottoms look golden brown and feel dry to the touch.
15. Once both sides are golden brown and feel dry, remove from the oven and allow to cool with your friend the clean towel on top.
16. If you’re going to dip your cookies in chocolate, wait for the cookies to cool until they are hard, about 20 minutes

Optional: Chocolate Dipped Biscotti!
1. Chop about half a bar of dark (65% or more) chocolate or vegan chocolate chips (1/3 cup)
2. Grab a frying pan that’s large enough to lay the longest biscotti flat on the bottom
3. Over a very low flame, melt the chocolate in the pan while stirring constantly with a spatula- it doesn’t take much heat to melt chopped chocolate, and you don’t want it to bubble, scorch, or get grainy
4. Just as soon as you’ve got a smooth, shiny, silky pan of melted chocolate, turn off the heat and work fast:
5. Grab a biscotti, place one cut side down in the chocolate, pick it up again, and put it aside on a plate. Repeat with all of your biscotti. You shouldn’t need to turn the heat back on if you’re working quickly, but if it firms up and is hard to work with, turn a very low heat back on and stir constantly until it’s easy to work with again. Near the end, it might help to just use the spatula to spread chocolate on the biscotti, but dipping is the fastest way to get a nice thick layer
6. Leave them to sit for at least 30 minutes; the chocolate won’t get hard but it will firm up.
7. After they’ve become room temp (at least 30 min) pop the plate of biscotti in the fridge for 10 minutes (not more); this will harden the chocolate, but if you leave it in for too long, or if the chocolate’s hot when they go in, you’ll get gross discoloration/chalkiness.
8. Store at room temperature on a plate or in Tupperware. Serve at room temp; really good dipped in French hot chocolate

BALSAMIC MOLASSES ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

2011-11-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

This is far and away the easiest roast vegetable dish I’ve ever made. Usually, I roast them without a lid so things can get nice and crispy/caramel-y, but that can get pretty finicky.

Here, you just throw everything into a covered pot to roast at high heat, so even though different vegetables cook faster or slower (ie. onions v. potatoes), the Dutch oven or other covered high-heat baking vessel will keep everything tender and prevent dehydration or burning.

Just spend a few minutes chopping the vegetables; the yam is the only veg that needs peeling, so it’s a quick chop job, then stir in the herbs and liquids, cover, and forget about it for about 45 minutes. It’s foolproof!

Ideal served with warm sautéed greens, such as kale or chard, cooked in a bit of mustard and balsamic with dried bing cherries or cranberries.

BALSAMIC MOLASSES ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

Ingredients
3 lbs fingerling potatoes, skins on, halved lengthwise (cut the larger ones crosswise as well, you want nice large bites)
1 large yam, peeled, sliced in ½ rings, then quartered
½ red onion, sliced in ¼” strips
3 large or 6 small carrots; multi-colored if available, skins on, sliced on the diagonal into ½” thick rounds, halve the particularly large ones
6 fresh sage leaves, chopped or torn, or ½ tsp dried sage and ½ tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs molasses
¼ c. red wine or water

Yield: Serves 8 as a hearty side
Time: About 15 minutes prep, about 45 minutes roasting time
Equipment: Dutch oven or other high-heat baking vessel with a lid (ie. a big glass mixing bowl with a glass pie pan on top)

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 450˚
2. Wash and prepare your vegetables per ingredient descriptions above
3. Generously rub olive oil to your baking dish to prevent scorching while the vegetables roast
4. Quickly rinse the cut yams and potatoes to remove excess starch. Towel dry, then dump all of the vegetables (carrots, yams, potatoes, and onions) into the Dutch oven or other baking vessel
5. Pour in the wine (or water), molasses, balsamic vinegar, and herbs. Stir well with a non-metal spoon until everything is evenly coated and the molasses has mixed with the wine and spreads more easily.
6. Apply the lid, making sure that the vessel is completely closed, then place on the center rack of your oven and roast, covered, without stirring, at 450˚ until the vegetables are all tender and easily pierced with a fork; check on them after 45 minutes; if the potatoes are still too firm, recover and continue roasting, checking every 10 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced.
7. Serve warm, ideally with warm sautéed greens and dried cherries.

DAHL BAHT WITH CARROTS AND KALE

2011-11-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

DAHL BAHT WITH CARROTS AND KALE

Ingredients
1 c yellow lentils
7 c water
2 tsp salt
½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp thyme
-
1.5 c rice
3 c water
-
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 red onion
2 tsp tamari
½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp thyme
2 c water
1 fat carrot
half head of kale

Directions
1. Prep your rice. Combine 1.5 c. brown rice and 3 c. water in a rice cooker or covered pot and set to cook. Fluff and set aside when down.
2. Prep your lentils. In a large pot, combine 1 c. washed yellow lentils, 7 c. cold water, ½ tsp thyme, 2 tsp salt, and ½ tsp rosemary. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat and allow to cook on high heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils break down and you get a nice yellow mush. When lentils are decimated (by heat, not over-stirring or mashing), turn the heat down to medium and allow to simmer for about ten more minutes to reduce the liquid, then turn off the heat and let everything congeal. The whole lentil process will take about an hour and 20 minutes, give or take.

3. While lentils and rice are cooking, prep the vegetables. Coarsely chop half a bunch of kale, set aside. Scrub 1 large carrot and slice, into ¼” rounds, halving the fattest pieces. Finely chop a quarter of a red onion. Set aside
4. When your rice and lentils are done, cook the vegetables. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pan, and sauté the red onions until translucent. Add the rosemary , thyme, tamari, and carrots. Stir well to coat the carrots, the add the water. Simmer everything until the carrots get tender. Stir in the kale, and give it a few minutes for the kale to wilt and get tender.

5. Once the carrots are tender and kale is wilted and tender, turn off the heat and stir in the lentils. Pour everything over the brown rice. Salt to taste, and serve warm.

VEGAN MOFO RECIPE RECAP

2011-11-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Vegan Month of Food ended yesterday, and I passed my goal; 31 original recipes in 31 days, with a post every day. There were a couple of days where posts came a few minutes after a calendar day, but as far as I'm concerned, I held up my end of the bargain!

All told, I did 32 original recipes for MoFo, not counting stuff like roadtrip fondue (melting chocolate in tupperware on the dashboard), variations on the New York Times' no-knead bread recipe, and veggie mixes for long airplane rides. I did a total of 37 posts this month, 36 of which were recipes in some fashion or another.

The new blogger layout no longer lists past post titles in the sidebar, so for convenience, here's the complete, hyper-linked list of my 32 original recipes for Vegan MoFo:

October 1: Creamy brandy-parsnip soup
October 2: Vegan corndogs
October 3: Chocolate pumpkin trifle

October 4: Tomato, basil, and zucchini orzo
October 5: Vegan cheesy fried potatoes

October 6: Heirloom tomato & arugula pasta
October 7: Walnut-arugula crostini and pumpkin risotto

October 8: Creamy roast garlic soup base
October 9: Chickpea-walnut burgers
October 10: Vegan beer-cheese soup
October 11: Quinoa with chickpeas and kale
October 12: Potato-leek soup
October 13: Candied fried bananas
October 14: Warm Radish & Apple Salad
October 15: Tofu, arugula, basil, & tomato breakfast sandwiches
October 16: Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
October 17: Barley Brulee
October 18: Spicy Broccoli Orzo
October 19: (Love your) Hot(body) Dish, for National Love Your Body Day
October 20: Cheesy orzo with chili flakes
October 21: Vegan Chicken (mushroom) Pot Pie
October 22: Chicken (tofu) noodle soup
October 23: Chicken (mushroom) noodle soup
October 24: (Chocolate-dipped) walnut-cranberry biscotti
October 25: French hot chocolate
October 26: Mushrooms, Lentils, and Kale
October 27: Farro-Kale Stew(& a bonus "recipe" for Roadtrip Fondue)
October 28: Potato-Leek Pumpkin Soup
October 29: Baked Potato Pizza
October 30: Pumpkin Chai
October 31: Pumpkin Biscotti

PUMPKIN BISCOTTI

2011-10-31T23:55:00.000-07:00

To wrap up Vegan Month of Food, and to celebrate Halloween, I bring you these adorable chocolate-dipped pumpkin biscotti! I strongly recommend that they be served with a hot mug of pumpkin chai.

PUMPKIN BISCOTTI
Yield: Makes about 14 ½” thick biscotti
Time: about an hour and forty-five minutes
10 minutes to prep, 45 minutes to bake for round 1, 10 minutes to cool, 10 minutes to cut, 30 minutes to bake round 2

Ingredients
2 c flour
¾ c sugar
½ tsp bkg soda
1 tsp bkg pwdr
½ tsp salt
-
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. pureed pumpkin
1 tbs almond milk (I used pumpkin chai instead)
2 tsp vanilla
-
Optional: about 2 tbs large grain vegan sugar (like turbinado, or most organic cane sugars) to dust the top
Optional: ½ bar dark chocolate for dipping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300˚. Set aside a baking sheet and a sheet of parchment paper or a silpat if you have one, otherwise a plain, un-oiled baking sheet will do
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the canola oil, pumpkin, chair or almond milk, and vanilla. Mix well with your hands to ensure that everything gets evenly mixed but not over-kneaded. You will get a slightly sticky heavy dough. Make sure to get the pumpkin evenly distributed without over-kneading

4. Plop your ball of dough onto the parchment paper or silpat on the baking sheet, and form a rectangular log that is slightly rounded on top

5. If dusting with sugar, take about 2 tbs of large-granule sugar and sprinkle evenly over the top immediately before it goes it the oven (if you let it sit, the sugar will dissolve into the dough)

6. Pop the baking sheet into the preheated 300˚ oven for 45 minutes or until the log of dough is golden brown and fairly firm to the touch.

7. Remove from the oven and allow the log, still on the pan, to cool on the counter for ten minutes. As soon as you remove it from the oven, turn the heat down to 275˚. Set the baking sheet on top of the oven and put a clean towel on top to help the loaf cool slowly; the internet tells me that this handy little trick will keep the top from cracking if the loaf cools too fast
8. Now for hard part: slice the cookies. You’re going to leave the towel on the loaf and just pull it back a little at a time to make your cuts. Get the biggest, sturdiest, sharpest knife you can find (not serrated!) and grab another clean towel to wipe off the blade after each cut.
9. Now, make a diagonal cut, starting ½ inch from the first exposed corner. You’re going to make ½” thick diagonal slices the whole way down the loaf, only lifting the towel as far as you need to make the next cut. The trick here is to keep the loaf soft and moist enough to cut. You also have to get the speed right; cut too fast, and it’ll crumble. Cut too slowly, and it’ll crumble. The best trick I’ve found is to use the sharp tip of the knife to make a firm, decisive cut at the end, then bring your knife down firmly, and slowly, to make one clean, decisive cut with you body weight behind the knife. I’m making it sound hard; it’s not. Once you find the right speed/firmness, the rest will be easy. I’ve never done this before and mine turned out pretty clean.

10. Once you’ve got your whole loaf sliced, carefully lay the cookies on their sides so one cut side is down.

11. Bake again at 275˚ for about 15 minutes on the first side (or until golden brown); you will remove the end pieces after the first round of 15 minutes because they only have one cut side to bake. You’ll just pull the pan out of then oven after the first 15 minutes to remove the end pieces and flip the rest (gently!)

12. After you’ve flipped them, put them back in the oven for 8 minutes or until the bottoms look golden brown and feel dry to the touch.

13. Once both sides are golden brown and feel dry, remove from the oven and allow to cool with your friend the clean towel on top.
14. If you’re going to dip your cookies in chocolate, wait for the cookies to cool until they are hard, about 20 minutes

Optional: Chocolate Dipped Biscotti!
1. Chop about half a bar of dark (65% or more) chocolate or vegan chocolate chips (1/3 cup)
2. Grab a frying pan that’s large enough to lay the longest biscotti flat on the bottom
3. Over a very low flame, melt the chocolate in the pan while stirring constantly with a spatula- it doesn’t take much heat to melt chopped chocolate, and you don’t want it to bubble, scorch, or get grainy
4. Just as soon as you’ve got a smooth, shiny, silky pan of melted chocolate, turn off the heat and work fast:
5. Grab a biscotti, place one cut side down in the chocolate, pick it up again, and put it aside on a plate. Repeat with all of your biscotti. You shouldn’t need to turn the heat back on if you’re working quickly, but if it firms up and is hard to work with, turn a very low heat back on and stir constantly until it’s easy to work with again. Near the end, it might help to just use the spatula to spread chocolate on the biscotti, but dipping is the fastest way to get a nice thick layer
6. Leave them to sit for at least 30 minutes; the chocolate won’t get hard but it will firm up.
7. After they’ve become room temp (at least 30 min) pop the plate of biscotti in the fridge for 10 minutes (not more); this will harden the chocolate, but if you leave it in for too long, or if the chocolate’s hot when they go in, you’ll get gross discoloration/chalkiness.
8. Store at room temperature on a plate or in Tupperware. Serve at room temp; really good dipped in French hot chocolate

PUMPKIN CHAI

2011-10-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

MoFo recipe #30 is a nice sweet drink to go along with all the cozy soups and desserts I've posted this month.

I've never tried making Chai before because it sounded daunting, but it turns out to be the simplest thing ever. You throw a fistful of whole spices into a pot of water, boil, add some black tea bags for a couple of minutes, then add a bit of sugar if you'd like and maybe stir in other goodies, like coconut milk or pureed pumpkin.

My house hosted its annual pumpkin carving party this afternoon, and one of my housemates made a heap of beautiful pumpkin pies from scratch, with fresh pumpkin, no less! He wound up with a ton of leftover mashed pumpkin, so I made a big pot of chai for us to sip during the pumpkin festivities.

PUMPKIN CHAI

Ingredients
1 piece ginger, about the size of your thumb, peeled and thinly sliced
6-10 cardamon seeds
6-10 allspice pods
10-15 Whole black peppercorns
2 Cinnamon sticks
-
3-12 c. water (depending on how large a batch you want)
1 teabag of black tea for approximately every 3 cups water
-
¾ c. vegan sugar for approximately every 3 cups water
1 cup pumpkin puree for approximately every 3 cups water

Directions

1. Peel and thinly slice your ginger

2. Measure out all of your spices. Set aside.

3. In a large pot, set your water to boil
4. Optional: mash up your spices with a mortar and pestle or wooden spoon a bit to release some of the oils
5. Throw the spices into the pot, cover, and allow to come to a boil, then turn heat down to medium and allow to simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes, or until you get a nice golden color.

6. Add your tea bags and stir in. Allow to steep for about five minutes, then remove the tea bags.

7. If you want to strain the whole batch (recommended) rather than straining each cup you pour, strain the tea now to remove all of the spices. Return to the stove.
8. Stir in the sugar and the pumpkin puree, mix well until you have a smooth mixture, and allow to simmer over low heat until serving.

9. If straining each individual cup, or if you want to strain out most of the pumpkin fiber for a smoother, thinner chai, strain after adding the pumpkin and sugar.
10. If you have leftovers, you can refrigerate and either reheat or drink cold.

BAKED POTATO PIZZA!

2011-10-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

MoFo #29!

San Francisco doesn’t have nearly as many options for vegan pizza as Minneapolis does, but even when I lived in the Mini Apple, one thing really rankled me; Pizza Lucé, purveyors of amazing vegan pizzas, didn’t make a vegan version of their famous baked potato pizza. Now, this pizza is more than just a mashed potato pizza. Oh my, yes. It was all of the fixins you could possibly want on a baked potato, pile high on top of a pizza crust.
It taunted me with it’s non-veganness. I wanted that pizza so much.

So tonight, feeling homesick for Minnesota, I decided to strike back by making what Minnesota could never offer me: a vegan baked potato pizza. Now, you could take this basic recipe in lots of directions, like adding basocs bits (vegan!), or subbing out the leeks for broccoli. But this is what we had on hand tonight, and by George, it was tasty.

I did four segments on this pizza; plain, extra cheese (daiya), Extra cheese + sausage, and sausage, no extra cheese. They were all good, but the house vote was unanimous: the plain was the best.

I personally feel that the tofutti sour cream is non-optional; it’s what separates this pizza from a mashed potato pizza. Also, it helps cool down your bite of pizza so you can eat it before it’s ready without entirely burning your mouth (just a little bit)

It’s all about harm reduction, people.

BAKED POTATO PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

Pizza toppings
4 large or 8 small white potatoes
6 cloves garlic
2 tbs earth balance or other margarine or 1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs almond milk (optional)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp rosemary
-
1 leek; white/light green parts only, sliced thinly (cut off the dark green leafy part)
½ red onion, finely chopped
-
½ c daiya cheddar shreds (optional)
4 tbs vegan sausage or bacos bits (optional)
Extra toppings as desired
-
Tofutti Sour Cream (optional; to garnish)

Crust
2 c. flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp rosemary
1.5 tsp olive oil
¾ c. cold water
-
+ flour for dusting
+ olive oil for rolling/baking

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350˚
2. Set your potatoes to boil. Put a pot of water to boil on the stove. Meanwhile, scrub and cube your potatoes, then dump them in the water. Cut the ends off of your cloves of garlic, peel them, and add them to the boiling water. Cover and let simmer over medium heat until the potatoes break apart easily when pressed against the side of a pan with a spoon.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, prep your vegetables. Finely dice half a red onion and set aside. Thinly slice the white and light great stalk of a leek up until it separates into dark green leaves. Do not use the leaves for this; save them for vegetable stock or some other recipe. Rinse the sliced leeks very well to separate the rings and remove any remaining dirt or sand that might be hiding.
4. Once your leeks and onions are prepped and set aside, prepare your dough. In a large non-metallic mixing bowl, combine the dry dough ingredients. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Then, add the oil and water. Mix a bit with the spoon, then use your hands to finish mixing- it should only take 6-8 quick, gentle kneads to get everything smooth and even. Over-kneading will yield a tough, gross dough. You should have a slightly sticky ball of dough. Pat the outside with a smidge of flour so it’s not sticky.

5. Shape your crust! Rub olive oil generously over a pizza pan or baking sheet. Pat some flour over your hands, then grab your ball of dough. Plop it down onto the baking sheet and roll it out using a rolling pin or water glass, or just push it out with your hands until you have a large circle (or rectangle) that just about reaches the edges of your pan. Now for the fun part; carefully lift your rolled out dough and flip it over, so both sides get oiled and it won’t stick to the bottom of the pan. You may have to pinch together some holes in the dough after flipping, but that’s fine.

6. Pre-bake your crust! Sprinkle a little extra garlic powder over the top if you want, then pop the crust in the oven to pre-make until it gets a little puffy and very lightly golden, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
7. When your potatoes are soft, strain them and place back in the pot to mash. Add 2 tbs margarine or 1 tbs olive oil, almond milk if using, along with the herbs and salt, and mash using a potato masher or a fork. When it’s mostly mashed, add the daiya (if using) and stir in to the still-hot potatoes with a wooden spoon. Then add the diced red onions and sliced leeks. The potatoes will finish mashing while you’re stirring everything in; you want to be careful not to over mash or the mixture will become gluey. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Spread the potato mixture evenly over the whole crust, nearly to the edges. If using extra toppings, like black olives, sausage, extra daiya shreds, or bacos bits, add them now.

9. Bake at 350˚ until the potato mixture is golden and the crust edges are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

10. Serve hot with vegan sour cream!

POTATO-LEEK-PUMPKIN SOUP

2011-10-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

Vegan Month of Food recipe #28 is another cozy autumnal soup. This turned out just right for the evening, and it tasted better because sundry hijinks involving elementary school halloween parties and unreliable busses kept us from eating at a reasonable hour. The longer you wait, the better it tastes. Golden rule of delayed kitchen gratification.

POTATO-LEEK-PUMPKIN SOUP

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1 large or 2 small leeks, sliced thin all the way to the tips (separate the dark green leafy part and the white or light green onion-y stalk)
1 tbs fresh sage (about 6 fresh large leaves), chopped, or 1.5 tsp dried
1 large sprig fresh or 1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tsp dry thyme
½ tsp garlic powder
-
1 large carrot [optional]
4 c vegetable stock
2 c. (ok to us 1 14 oz. can) pumpkin puree
-
3 large white potatoes (or 6 small), skins on, chopped in ¼” cubes
1 tbs sea salt
2 tbs earth balance buttery sticks or other vegan margarine
1 tbs maple syrup
-
Chopped sage leaves to garnish [optional]
Toffutti better than sour cream to garnish [optional]

Directions
1. Prepare your stock or set premade stock to simmer
2. While stock is being prepared, set a pot of water to boil then prep the potatoes. Scrub them well and leave the skins on, then cut into ¼” cubes. Throw them into the boiling water, cover, turn the heat down to a medium flame, and leave the potatoes to cook while you prepare the other vegetables.
3. Prep your vegetables! Wash your leek/s and cut off both ends. Slice into thin rings, and separate the white/light green part from the dark green tops. Wash the sliced leek under running water thoroughly to remove any excess dirt and sand that might be hiding between the rings. Set aside. Scrub your carrot and slice into ¼” rings if thin, or half and slice if it’s fat. Set aside.
4. In a soup pot, heat 2 tbs olive oil until a piece of leek sizzles when added. Sauté the white and light green leek slices with the herbs until golden brown, then add the carrot pieces and stir well to coat with oil

5. Add the 4 c vegetable stock and pumpkin puree, and whisk or stir well until the pumpkin is blended with the vegetable stock and you have a nice smooth base. Cover and allow to simmer over medium heat while the carrots cook, until the potatoes are tender.

6. When the potatoes are tender, strain and add to the pot. Add the salt, maple syrup, and 2 tbs of margarine, cubed. Stir well until the margarine is melted, then cover and allow to simmer until the carrots are easily pierced with a fork but still firm. Test the soup base and adjust salt and pepper to taste. I didn’t use any black pepper in mine, but it couldn’t hurt.

7. Serve hot with fresh bread and/or steamed green beans!

FARRO KALE STEW

2011-10-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

With three minutes to spare, here's MoFo#27, brought to you from Occupy Legal's hotline office, where I will be spending another sleepless night providing legal support to Occupy Oakland arrestees.

Well, at least I ate a good dinner first.

Serve with savory bread puddings or fresh baked bread!

FARRO KALE STEW

Ingredients
1.5 c farro [or barley]
3 c water
-
1 tbs olive oil
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
1 leek, white stalk finely sliced, green leaves chopped
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
-
6 c. vegetable stock
4 carrots
½ bunch (ap. 2 cups) chopped kale
3 tsp sea salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes [optional]
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
-
Salt and pepper to serve

Directions
1. Make your homemade stock or set your premade stock to simmer in a pot over medium-low flame so it will be ready in 30 minutes
2. Set your faro to cook in a rice cooker or in a covered pot over a medium flame on stovetop. Unlike rice, the faro will not absorb all of the liquid, but that’s ok- once it’s puffy and tender, you’ll dump the whole pot, leftover water and all, into the stew.

3. Prep your vegetables. Finely chop ½ a yellow onion and set aside. Thinly slice the white stalk of the leek until you get to the dark green leaves. Wash the white and light green rings very carefully and set aside with the onions. Slice the dark green leaves into ¼” strips and wash carefully. Wash and slice the carrots into ¼” rounds; half them if very fat. Wash your kale, then slice it halfway down with a large knife, cutting fat ½” ribbons. Set all vegetables aside.

4. When your stock is just about ready, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a soup pot, then add the chopped yellow onion and sliced leek (just the white and light green parts), along with the rosemary, garlic powder, and thyme. Sauté the leeks and onions until the onions are translucent and the leeks are lightly golden-brown.
5. Add the chopped carrots, stir well to coat them in oil, and then add the 6 cups vegetable stock and 2 cups of chopped kale. Add 3 tsp sea salt and 2 tsp red pepper flakes, if using. Stir well and cover, then set to simmer over a medium flame, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
6. When the farro is tender, pour the farro and remaining water for cooking into the soup pot and stir well, then add 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, stir again, and allow to simmer, covered, over medium-heat.
7. After the stew has simmered for at least fifteen minutes, taste-test and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot with extra salt & pepper to taste, alongside savory bread pudding or fresh baked bread

Even zombie schoolteachers agree: farro-kale stew is tastier than brains! (Click here to see the BrightWorks school make guillotines, tombstones, and zombies)

ROADTRIP FONDUE

2011-10-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

I woke up to a 3.6 earthquake this morning and can't quite get back to sleep. Nothing like starting your day wondering why you're dreaming about being on a carnival ride.

To celebrate the fact that I now live in earthquake country, here's the non-recipe that sustained us (along with bbq cornnuts, of course) during the five-day drive from Minneapolis to San Francisco in a giant rental truck

ROADTRIP FONDUE

Ingredients
-1 bar vegan chocolate; we used endangered species' blueberry dark chocolate
-1 small tupperware container
-Bananas and raw almonds, or whatever other fruit & nuts you've got
-hand towelettes
-bag for the banana peels and towelettes

Directions
1. Break your chocolate into pieces, seal the tupperware, and put it on the dash so it will get the full force of whatever sunlight you've got

2. When the chocolate melts, open it back up and dip your fruit and nuts in.

It's surprisingly tidy and obviously tasty. Plus, you know you're fancy when you're eating chocolate fondue in a Penske moving truck somewhere in Utah.

LENTILS, MUSHROOMS, & KALE

2011-10-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

MoFo #26; another prep-ahead lunch that's great hot for dinner. It's super simple, and turned out way tastier than I expected. The mushrooms add a nice texture next to the lentils.

LENTILS, MUSHROOMS, & KALE
Yield: serves 6
Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
2 c. lentils
8 c. water
1 tsp rosemary
2 tsp salt
-
1.5 c. long grain brown rice
3 c water
-
2 tbs olive oil
½ yellow onion
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 lb crimini mushrooms
2 carrots
2 c water
1 bunch kale
2 tsp tamari
1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Set the lentils to simmer. Rinse your two cups of lentils and pick out any rocks or imperfections. Pour the lentils and 8 cups of water into a large pot, add the salt and rosemary, and turn on a medium flame, cover, and allow to simmer. Stir every 10 minutes or so to prevent scorching. The lentils will absorb almost all of the water and become lightly aromatic and tender, about 30-45 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, check every 5 minutes until tender and almost all of the liquid has cooked off.

2. Set the rice to cook. Put 1.5 c. rice and 3 cups water in a rice cooker or covered pot to simmer over medium heat until rice is fluffy and tender.
3. Prep your veggies. Peel and finely chop half of a yellow onion. Clean and slice 1 lb crimini mushrooms into ¼” slices. Slice your carrots into ¼” rounds if thin, or halve and slice if the carrots are fat. Wash the kale and cut into course ribbons (or tear).

4. In a large pan or wok, heat 2 tbs olive oil and sauté the onions with the herbs until translucent, then add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned

5. Add the carrots, stir well to coat in oil and herbs, and add the water

6. After the carrots have had about 5 minutes to simmer, add the tamari, salt, and kale, and stir well. Allow everything to simmer, stirring every couple of minutes

7. When the water has mostly cooked off, pour the lentils in and stir well. Allow the whole mixture to simmer over medium heat until the water’s almost all gone

8. Salt to taste, then serve hot over brown rice.

FRENCH HOT CHOCOLATE

2011-10-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

According to the internet, it's not French hot chocolate at all. Whatever, internet, my favorite babysitter when I was nine made this for us and called it French hot chocolate, so hush it.

This is just almond milk and chopped up dark chocolate. You'll be tempted to use more chocolate than you really need- use too much and you'll get a tummy ache. I promise. It's too rich to drink a whole mug (coming from me, that's a serious warning), but half a mug with the proportions below won't lead you astray. Serve with a hunk of baguette or a biscotti for dipping to cut the richness a smidge. If you really want to do it right, use chocolate-dipped biscotti. Yes, please!

FRENCH HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients
1/4 c. chopped dark chocolate (65% or more)
2 c. vanilla or plain sweetened almond milk (or hazelnut milk!)

Directions
1. Measure out your almond milk and set aside so it can get closer to room temperature before you use it
2. Coarsely chop your chocolate so it will be easier to melt

3. In a saucepan over very (very) low heat, melt your chocolate while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula. If the heat is too high or you stop stirring, it will bubble or scorch and become grainy. Bad!

4. Once your chocolate is smooth and shiny and melted (about 10-20 seconds, seriously), add ½ c. of almond milk and whisk until you have a smooth, even, non-grainy mixture. Slowly add the rest of the milk in ½ cup increments, whisking constantly. The trick here is that if you add the milk too fast it will make the chocolate grainy. Bad! (Do as I say and not as I do; the photo below is of my slightly-grainy batch because I was impatient and added the milk too fast)

5. Once you’ve used up all the milk, you should have a lovely, smooth mixture because you stirred constantly through the whole process and added your milk at the right temperature, at the right time. Right? Right.
6. Pour right into mugs and serve straight away with bread or biscotti (or with a peppermint stick)

(CHOCOLATE-DIPPED) CRANBERRY-WALNUT BISCOTTI

2011-10-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

How are we at MoFo post # 24 already?

So, San Francisco thinks it's summer right now, but it's not. As Minnesota can tell you, it's autumn, and autumn calls for cozy treats like French hot chocolate and cranberry biscotti.

After a super fantastic housemate dinner of sauteed squash with ginger-grapefruit seitan, we had a three course dessert: chocolate dipped strawberries for the amuse bouche, hot chocolate for the soup course, and biscotti for the, um, biscotti course. We drank our hot chocolate while listening to a nice, cuddly bedtime story narrated by Samuel L Jackson (NSFW)

This was my first time making biscotti, and I was expecting it to be really difficult and finicky. It's not! It takes a long time and there are several steps, but they're easy ones. Just make sure you've got the time to pay attention as they're baking and especially during the slicing, and you'll do fine. You can omit or substitute the walnuts and cranberries however you like- the additions won't change the dough, so you could omit them altogether and not change the other measurements at all.

I made this recipe as I went along based on non-vegan recipes and what texture of dough felt right in my hands. I couldn't be happier with what came out- there's no egg replacer at all, I just took care to get the fats and liquids right. Keeping a blog has gotten me into the habit of actually measuring stuff so the results are replicable, and this recipe is one where the measurements seem to actually matter.

These biscotti aren't especially sweet and won't break your teeth. The thickness is just right; any thinner and they would crumble while cutting, any thicker and they'd be a chore to eat. These are absolutely perfect for dipping, and you can eat a bunch at once without getting a toothache. Not that I ate half the batch or anything.

CRANBERRY-WALNUT BISCOTTI

Yield: Makes about 12-14 biscotti, ½” thick
Time: about an hour and a half (10 minutes to prep, 35 minutes to bake for round 1, 10 minutes to cool, 10 minutes to cut, 20 minutes to bake round 2)

Ingredients
2 c all-purpose flour
¾ c vegan refined sugar
½ tsp bkg soda
1 tsp bkg pwdr
½ tsp salt
-
1/3 c. coconut oil
1/3 c. almond milk (plain, unsweetened, and vanilla are all fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
-
½ c dried cranberries or cherries
1 c walnuts
-
Optional: ½ bar dark chocolate for dipping

Directions
1. preheat oven to 300˚. Set aside a baking sheet and a sheet of parchment paper or a silpat if you have one, otherwise a plain, unoiled baking sheet will do
2. Measure out 1 cup of walnuts and coarsely chop them, then spread on the baking sheet and toast at 300˚ as the oven is preheating for about 5-8 minutes; walnuts will be lightly golden but not brown, and will have a lightly toasted flavor. Set the walnuts aside and let the baking sheet cool

3. While walnuts are toasting, measure out and coarsely chop ½ cup of dried cranberries or cherries, set aside

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the coconut oil, almond milk, and vanilla. Mix well with your hands to ensure that everything gets evenly mixed but not over-keaded. You will get a smooth, heavy dough

6. Add the walnuts and cranberries to the dough and mix in with your hands until they are evenly distributed and you have a nice ball of dough. Remember to only mix as much as you need to; over-kneading will change the consistency.

7. Plop your ball of dough onto the parchment paper or silpat on the baking sheet, and form a rectangular log that is slightly rounded on top

8. Pop the baking sheet into the preheated 300˚ oven for 35 minutes or until the log of dough is golden brown

9. Remove from the oven and allow the log, still on the pan, to cool on the counter for ten minutes. As soon as you remove it from the oven, turn the heat down to 275˚. Set the baking sheet on top of the oven and put a clean towel on top to help the loaf cool slowly; the internet tells me that this handy little trick will keep the top from cracking if the loaf cools too fast

10. Now for hard part: slice the cookies. You’re going to leave the towel on the loaf and just pull it back a little at a time to make your cuts. Get the biggest, sturdiest, sharpest knife you can find (not serrated!) and grab another clean towel to wipe off the blade after each cut.

11. Now, make a diagonal cut, starting ½ inch from the first exposed corner. You’re going to make ½” thick diagonal slices the whole way down the loaf, only lifting the towel as far as you need to make the next cut. The trick here is to keep the loaf soft and moist enough to cut. You also have to get the speed right; cut too fast, and it’ll crumble. Cut too slowly, and it’ll crumble. The best trick I’ve found is to use the sharp tip of the knife to make a firm, decisive cut at the end, then bring your knife down firmly, and slowly, to make one clean, decisive cut with you body weight behind the knife. I’m making it sound hard; it’s not. Once you find the right speed/firmness, the rest will be easy. I’ve never done this before and mine turned out pretty clean.

12. Once you’ve got your whole loaf sliced, carefully lay the cookies on their sides so one cut side is down.

13. Bake again at 275˚ for about 10 minutes on the first side (or until golden brown); you will remove the end pieces after the first round of 10 minutes because they only have one cut side to bake. You’ll just pull the pan out of then oven after the first 10 minutes to remove the end pieces and flip the rest (gently!)

14. After you’ve flipped them, put them back in the oven for 8 minutes or until the bottoms look golden brown and feel dry to the touch.

15. Once both sides are golden brown and feel dry, remove from the oven and allow to cool with your friend the clean towel on top.
16. If you’re going to dip your cookies in chocolate, wait for the cookies to cool until they are hard, about 20 minutes

Optional: Chocolate Dipped Biscotti!
1. Chop about half a bar of dark (65% or more) chocolate or vegan chocolate chips (1/3 cup)

2. Grab a frying pan that’s large enough to lay the longest biscotti flat on the bottom

3. Over a very low flame, melt the chocolate in the pan while stirring constantly with a spatula- it doesn’t take much heat to melt chopped chocolate, and you don’t want it to bubble, scorch, or get grainy
4. Just as soon as you’ve got a smooth, shiny, silky pan of melted chocolate, turn off the heat and work fast:
5. Grab a biscotti, place one cut side down in the chocolate, pick it up again, and put it aside on a plate. Repeat with all of your biscotti. You shouldn’t need to turn the heat back on if you’re working quickly, but if it firms up and is hard to work with, turn a very low heat back on and stir constantly until it’s easy to work with again. Near the end, it might help to just use the spatula to spread chocolate on the biscotti, but dipping is the fastest way to get a nice thick layer

6. Leave them to sit for at least 30 minutes; the chocolate won’t get hard but it will firm up.

7. After they’ve become room temp (at least 30 min) pop the plate of biscotti in the fridge for 10 minutes (not more); this will harden the chocolate, but if you leave it in for too long, or if the chocolate’s hot when they go in, you’ll get gross discoloration/chalkiness.
8. Store at room temperature on a plate or in Tupperware. Serve at room temp; really good dipped in French hot chocolate

CHICKEN (MUSHROOM) NOODLE SOUP

2011-10-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

MoFo #23's a couple minutes late for actually getting posted on the 23rd; I blame Vegan Black Metal Chef for distracting me.
Here's the second of the two chicken-noodle soups. Half the housemates preferred this one, and I might've joined them if I'd used a gentler mushroom. Hen of the woods are a smidge pungent.

You can use whatever tiny, adorable pasta you want here; I used up all our star pasta in the tofu soup, so orzo was next up to bat. Stelline would be pretty great here, as would rings, alphabet, etc.

CHICKEN (MUSHROOM) NOODLE SOUP

Serves 6

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
½ onion
1 tsp thyme
1 ½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
-
1.5 c chopped mushrooms (use hen of the woods for a smoky flavor, chicken of the woods for a, well chicken flavor, and crimini, Portobello, or white button mushrooms for something more mild)
-
6 c stock
1 carrot, quartered and chopped into 1/8” hunks
1 c chopped broccoli (about a ¼ head of broc) or 6 stalks celery, sliced into ¼” bits
4 tsp salt
-
1 c orzo

Directions
1. Clean and chop all of your vegetables, including the mushrooms. Peel and finely chop the onion. Quarter two large carrots and then slice into 1/8” thick hunks. Chop the broccoli into small pieces, including the stalk. Chop the mushrooms into very small pieces. Set all vegetables aside.
2. In a soup pot, heat 2 tbs olive oil. Add the onions and herbs, and sauté the onions until translucent
3. Add the mushrooms to the onions and stir well to coat with oil, then cook over medium flame until the mushrooms are golden brown
4. Add the carrots and broccoli, stir well to coat in oil and herbs, then add the 12 c. of vegetable stock, the tofu cubes, and the salt.
5. Allow to simmer over medium heat until carrots are just tender, about 10-15 minutes, then remove the bay leaf and add the pasta.

6. Stir regularly while the pasta cooks to prevent any noodles from sticking to the bottom. Test the broth every so often and adjust garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve hot with bread and earth balance buttery sticks!

CHICKEN (TOFU) NOODLE SOUP

2011-10-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made two different kinds of chicken noodle soup; one with stelline pasta (little stars!) and tofu instead of chicken, and another with orzo and hen-of-the-woods (maitake) mushrooms instead of chicken.

They were very different from each other, and my household was divided- Kristin and Josh liked both but definitely favored the mushroom. John and I preferred the tofu, and I didn't like the mushroom much. Annabel loved both and refused to choose, so she's no help at all.

The tofu-noodle soup has chunks of pressed (not silken) tofu in it, which one might think would be yucky, since tofu is usually best when disguised or highly flavored, but here, the texture is great and the porous tofu just soaks up all the salt and flavor, and provides a nice contrast to the chunky vegetables. The omnivore housemates approved, to boot.

I will post the mushroom-noodle soup recipe tomorrow for MoFo#23, because it's a very tasty soup for what it is; I've just lost my affection for hen of the woods mushrooms- it's a very strong, very distinct, almost smoky taste. You'll love it or you won't, and I've fallen out of love with it. The mushroom soup would also be great with a less intense mushroom, like chopped up white button, portobella, or crimini mushrooms.

You can use whatever noodles you want for these soups; wide, flat noodles are traditional, as are tiny, cute-shaped ones. I bought stelline noodles for the first time ever just for this; they're little teeny star noodles, and I've never known what to do with them. They're really fun to eat; they're dwarfed by the tofu, so you get a bunch of tender little noodles in each bit that are a nice, smooth texture but don't really need to be chewed. They're just there to be adorable.

Surprisingly, this soup is really good served cold the next day; it refrigerates well and should keep for about five days.

CHICKEN (TOFU) NOODLE SOUP

This makes a giant batch, feel free to halve it, you’ll still have leftovers!

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1.5 tsp dry thyme
1.5 tsp garlic powder
-
2 carrots, quartered and sliced
12 c. stock (homemade is best)
1 block extra firm pressed (not silken) tofu, cut into ¼” cubes
6 tsp salt
-
1 bunch celery, sliced into ¼” rings
-
1 box (2 c.) stelline pasta (or other cute, small pasta shapes, like rings or alphabet)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. Chop all of your vegetables and cube your tofu. Peel and finely chop the onion. Quarter two large carrots and then slice into 1/8” thick hunks. Slice the celery into ¼” rings. Drain the liquid from the tofu block, but do not press it to remove extra water. Just slice it into ¼” cubes. Set all vegetables aside.

2. In a soup pot, heat 2 tbs olive oil. Add the onions and herbs, and sauté the onions until translucent

3. Add the carrots and stir well to coat in oil and herbs, then add the 12 c. of vegetable stock, the tofu cubes, celery, and the salt.

4. Allow to simmer over medium heat until carrots are just tender, about 10-15 minutes, then remove the bay leaf and add the pasta.

5. Stir regularly while the pasta cooks to prevent any noodles from sticking to the bottom. Test the broth every so often and adjust garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve hot with bread and earth balance buttery sticks!

VEGAN CHICKEN POT PIE!

2011-10-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

MoFo#21 is Chicken Pot Pie!
To celebrate, here are some chicken pot pie songs. Like this, and this. It's a known fact: songs about chicken pot pie will cure whatever ails you.

UPDATE: oh dear. I confused hen of the woods mushrooms with chicken of the woods mushrooms! I used hen of the woods in this, but I'm sure chicken of the woods would be even better. Do that instead!

To get a freaky-close approximation of chicken flavor/texture, I used hen of the woods mushrooms, thanks to Far West Fungi's booth in the Ferry Building.

VEGAN CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients
2 c. hen of the wood (maitake) mushrooms, finely chopped
6 stalks celery, sliced
½ head broccoli, chopped OR 1.5 c. frozen petite peas
3 large white potatoes, washed and cubed
2 carrots, chopped
-
1 tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
6 sprigs fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried
3 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
-
2 tbs earth balance
2 tbs flour
2 c vegetable stock (homemade is best!)
-
2 more c. stock
2 more tbs flour
-
2 or 4 sheets puff pastry [I use premade Pepperidge farm junk, but you can use any homemade puff pastry or
-

Makes 1 or 2 pot pies, depending on size of casserole dish. This is a huge batch of filling, will comfortably make 2 9” pies. We made a 4” deep pie and had leftovers

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425˚
2. Prep all veggies; slice celery into ¼” half-rings, peel, quarter, and slice the carrots into ¼” pieces, slice and break apart the broccoli stalks and break the florets into tiny chunks(or sub in 1.5 c. frozen peas), and scrub and cube the potatoes, skin-on, into ½” pieces. Chop the mushrooms into teeny pieces. Set all veggies aside.

3. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onions with the herbs.

4. When the onions are translucent, make your roux! Over medium heat, melt 2 tbs earth balance in among the cooked onions. When the earth balance is melted, whisk in 2 tbs flour until you have a nice, thick paste.
5. Add 2 c. vegetable stock and whisk until you have an even, smooth, creamy base.
6. Add the potatoes and allow to simmer for five minutes before you

7. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and the remaining 2 c. vegetable stock
8. Allow the carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms to simmer for five minutes

9. Then add the broccoli. Stir regularly and simmer over medium heat while you cook down the liquid and make a nice thick filling.

10. Roll out the dough and line the casserole or pie dishes, trimming the edges, then pop into the oven to prebake the inner shells. Allow to bake for about 6-10 minutes or until the dough is lightly golden and somewhat firm.

11. While the pie shells are in the oven, add 2 tbs flour to the vegetables and mix very well to evenly distribute and thicken the stock. Turn up the heat to help the liquid reduce a bit more, and add more salt and pepper to taste.
12. When your pie crusts are perfect, pull them out of the oven and give them a few minutes to cool.

13. When the stovetop mixture has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the celery. The celery will cook in the oven; you just don’t want it to get mushy.
14. Roll out the top layer of dough. Make slits for air holes and let it rest while you fill the shells
15. Scoop the filling into the baked shells and then add the top dough and seal the edges (or just drape the puff pastry so you get extra pillowy bits)

16. Bake until golden-brown, about 15 minutes at 425˚

17. Serve piping hot!

Variations:
1. Omit the mushrooms entirely; the vegetables alone are pretty amazing
2. Replace the mushrooms with 1 block of exra firm tofu, cubed into very small pieces

EASY CHEESY ORZO WITH CHILI PEPPER, ARUGULA AND BASIL

2011-10-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Vegan Month of Food post #20!

Apologies for all the orzo posts! Don’t worry, vegan chicken pot pie and homemade puff pastry are coming up soon!

This started out as a super simple basil-arugula orzo for lunch (a staple in this house), but I threw in a handful of Daiya to see what would happen and, unsurprisingly, it was awfully tasty.

I don’t particularly like eating daiya cold, so if you add daiya, you may want to eat this hot. If you leave the daiya out, it’s good for a pre-made lunch that you can eat cold the next day.

We have a paper bag full of dried peppers in our kitchen that I ever know what to do with, so I'm now trying to add them to everything I make. They don't crumble well in a mortar and pestle beating, but it works well to just chop them with a sharp knife.

EASY CHEESY ORZO WITH CHILI PEPPER, ARUGULA AND BASIL

Takes about 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 c orzo
2 c water
-
1 tsp garlic powder
1 dried red chilli pepper, chopped, including seeds, or 1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
-
1/2 tbs olive oil
½ c fresh basil leaves, ripped
½ c. fresh arugula, ripped
-
¼ c. Daiya cheddar shreds
-
fresh parsely, arugula, or basil to garnish

Directions
1. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pan or wok
2. Throw in the orzo to toast for a minute while you stir to coat them with oil
3. When the first orzo bits get a little golden from toasting, add 3 c. water and all of the spices
4. Cook the orzo over medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent scorching. Wash and tear up the arugula and basil leaves while the pasta is cooking
5. When most of the water has been absorbed by the orzo, throw in another ½ tbs olive oil and the basil and arugula. Stir well while the rest of the water gets absorbed and the greens wilt.
6. When all the water is absorbed, add the daiya shreds and stir well, cooking over medium-high heat while the Daiya melts and gets a little crispy on the edges. Stir very well so that the Daiya shreds get evenly distributed so they can melt and get gooey in the creamy orzo.

7. Turn off the heat once the daiya is stretchy, well melted, and a little crispy on the edges. Salt and pepper to taste, serve hot.

(LOVE YOUR) HOT(BODY)DISH

2011-10-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

Vegan MoFo #19!

In honor of NOW’s Love Your Body Day campaign, Housemate Margaret named this vegan noodle-broccoli-cheese hotdish. For you non-Minnesotans, this here is a proper hotdish, in the sense that it’s just a pile of stuff we needed to use up, smothered in cheese sauce, and baked in a casserole dish. It has all the requirements: a starch(noodles), vegetables(broccoli and onions), something meaty (mushrooms), something crispy on top(breadcrumbs) and a creamy sauce.

If you don’t have daiya handy but have some creamy soup, like potato-leek or mushroom, just use 3 cups of that instead.

Because we love our bodies in this house. And carbs. And vegan cheese sauce. A lot.

(LOVE YOUR) HOT(BODY)DISH

About 45-60 minutes total
Serves 6 for dinner

Ingredients
2 c. cute, tiny pasta (like radiatori), dry
4 c. water
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp red pepper flakes
-
1 slice of bread, toasted (pumpernickel or sourdough are extra good here) or 6 crackers, smashed into crumbs
-
1 tbs olive oil
½ lb crimini or white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into thick cuts (about 4 slices per mushroom)
-
1 tbs olive oil
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp thyme
2 tsp sea salt
-
½ head of broccoli, stem included, sliced or chopped
-
2 tbs earth balance margarine
2 tbs flour
2.5 c. almond (or soy) milk
1 c. Daiya cheddar shreds
1 tsp salt
tons of fresh ground pepper, to taste (ap. 1 tsp)

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 425˚
2. Set your pot of water to boil. Once it roiling, throw the pasta in and stir occasionally until pasta is tender. Strain, rinse with cold water to remove excess starch, and stir with ½ tsp each of garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
3. Toast 1 slice of bread, or grab 6 crackers, and then pulverize them into breadcrumbs using your hands, a jar, or a mortar and pestle. Set aside.

4. While the noodles are cooking, prep your vegetables! Clean and slice your mushrooms (about four slices per mushroom) and wash your broccoli carefully. Slice the them into ¼ inch wide rounds and break into pieces if they’re too big. Break the florets into little pieces. Finely chop half a yellow onion.

5. In a large pan or wok, heat 1 tbs olive oil and fry up your mushrooms until they’re nice and golden.

6. Add another 1tbs olive oil to the mushrooms, then dump in the onions and sauté with 1tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp red pepper flakes, ½ tsp rosemary, ½ tsp thyme, and 2 tsp sea salt

7. Stir well and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the broccoli and stir over medium heat for a couple of minutes- you’re just giving the broccoli a quick turn in the heat to break down a tiny bit and get coated in oil and herbs. It will do most of its cooking in the oven.

8. Once your noodles and vegetables are done, toss them together in a big casserole dish, stir well to combine, and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Set aside while you
9. Make your cheese sauce! In a saucepan (or wok), melt 2 tbs earth balance buttery sticks, then whisk in 2 tbs flour.

When you have a smooth roux (pasty consistency), add ½ c. almond or soy milk and whisk well.

When it’s smooth and thick, add another ¼ c. of milk and ¼ c. of Daiya shreds.

Whisk over medium heat until the Daiya is melted and you have a smooth, thick sauce with no leftover shreds holding their shape.

10. Continue building the sauce by adding ¼ c. milk and ¼ c. Daiya at a time, making sure that the Daiya has completely melted and your sauce is smooth and even before adding the next set. As soon as you have a smooth, even sauce and have used up your ingredients, stir in 1 tsp salt and crack a ton of fresh ground pepper in it, along with extra red pepper flakes if you want

11. Smother the hot dish! Pour ¾ of the sauce into your assembled casserole dish and, working very quickly (you don’t want the cheese sauce to set), stir well to evenly coat everything. Add extra garlic powder, red pepper flakes, sea salt, or black pepper now if you want.

12. Evenly distribute the bread crumbs over the top

13. Pour the remaining ¼ of the cheesy sauce over the bread crumbs, then smooth the sauce over the top

14. Pop into the oven and bake at 425˚ until it’s a little bubbly and golden on top, about 20 minutes.

15. Serve piping hot with fresh parsley and lots of fresh ground pepper!

A NOTE: VEGANISM AND ANIMAL TESTING IN MEDICINE

2011-10-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

Forgive this non-recipe post!

Something big in my personal life has spurred conversation among my friends and family, and it seemed appropriate to post here. I have disabled comments because I'm not interested in pushback; this post explains my decision to participate a medical vaccine trial developed using animal testing, and why this is the right decision for me.

Yesterday, I received my first injection of an HIV trial vaccine. I am one of a (fairly small) group of (healthy, HIV negative) people across the U.S. participating in this particular phase of human testing of an HIV vaccine. More information about the San Francisco part of the study can be found here.

A friend asked me today why I would participate in this study, since the vaccine was first tested on animals. This is something I get asked a lot; as a vegan, is it ethical to use medical interventions developed using animal testing?

This vaccine went through animal trials, which of course are not aligned with my vegan values. However, my choices around veganism are made using a framework of harm reduction.

This vaccine has really obviously, and very recently been tested on animals, so I'm a couple steps closer to the animal testing than perhaps I am to the ibuprofen tabs I take for headaches, but the fact remains that nearly all (regulated) medical and health products have been tested on animals; even animal-safe products benefit from knowing what already works so animal tests aren't necessary; therefore those (regulated) products couldn't have made it to market without the animal tests that went before on similar products.

Here, the choice to participate in the vaccine study is a pragmatic one; I benefit every day from medical developments that were perfected using practices I disagree with. I keep the scope of my vegan activities limited to choices that I believe will have a positive impact, rather than just symbolic meaning.

For example, not buying meat keeps my money away from an industry I disapprove of. Buying vegan products supports an industry that I would like to see grow. Buying local, organic produce supports sustainable agricultural practices, and buying from farms and markets I know and love supports labor practices I can stand behind.

Refusing to participate in this trial won't undo the animal tests, but participating may have several positive impacts, like:
(1) I approve of informed consent human testing, and this is a chance to support it in a substantive way
(2) I'm a candidate for this study, whereas a lot of folks are not; I consider this a duty to my community
(3) this research could change the world as we know it and save hundreds of millions of lives through prevention. If eating a stack of bacon had equal potential to save so many lives, I would do it. I know other vegans who wouldn't.

There are plenty more reasons, of course, but those three are big ones for me.

I've been vegan for eleven years, and vegetarian for twenty-one (I'm twenty-eight; I was a very stubborn seven year old). I find that pragmatism and harm reduction are the two frameworks that work best for me; the reasons why I support veganism have changed and grown over the years, but not wanting to harm animals, people, and the environment has always topped the list. Sometimes, the world we live in and industrial norms pit these interests against each other. We live in a messy world. Veganism, and compassionate living in general, are rarely as simple as we'd like them to be.

For me, being a vegan is about finding a sustainable way to eat, shop, and participate fully in my community while reducing the harms caused by using animals. I do the best I can and leave it at that.

I feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to participate in a human vaccine trial that is ethically run, using spectacular informed consent models and a public health framework that I really respect. I am taking this vaccine trial for my friends and neighbors, and all the people I'll never meet. I hope that this research eventually yields a viable vaccine, and that the vaccine is accessible and effective. I hope for a lot of things, but in the meantime, the best thing I can do is get a shot in the arm every month, explain my decision to the people who care about me, and support the research in all the ways I can.

SPICY BROCCOLI ORZO

2011-10-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

For MoFo #18, here's another quick lunch pasta that's great cold. You can increase the batch to have some hot for dinner and have leftovers the next day.

SPICY BROCCOLI ORZO

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
.5 c. dry orzo
3 c. water
-
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
-
1/2 head of broccoli
1 large tomato, diced
-
1/2 fresh lemon or 1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. chop your vegetables. Slice the broccoli stalks thinly on the diagonal and break apart the broccoli florets. Chop the tomato into large chunks, about 1/2 inch

2. In a large pan or wok, heat 1 tbs olive oil
3. Throw the orzo in the hot oil and give it a few seconds to toast

4. Add the salt, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder, stir well, and add three cups of water

5. Stir well and let the orzo simmer over medium heat for a couple of minutes to let the herbs get absorbed. Once the water has reduced a bit (about 3 minutes),
6. Add the broccoli and tomato chunks. Continue to stir and simmer until almost all of the water is absorbed and the orzo is tender.

7. When you have a nice, soft, creamy mixture, squeeze the half lemon on top and add your red pepper flakes. Stir well, turn off the heat, and serve warm with lots of fresh cracked pepper or refrigerate and eat cold for lunches. Keeps in the fridge for about five days.

BARLEY BRULEE!

2011-10-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

MoFo #17!

Whenever I’m in a pinch and need to figure out something for dessert, rice and stale bread are my best friends. If you’ve got stale bread, you can add whatever you’ve got on hand (juice, booze, coconut milk, spices) and make bread pudding. If you’ve got rice and a little refined sugar, you can make an easy brulée, even without a kitchen torch (just broil it!). If you have ramekins and cupboard dregs, you will never have to go without dessert again.

This recipe came about from not having either of those things. I mistook barley for brown rice (which would certainly work in the recipe), but the fluffier texture of the barley was great for this. We happened to have Benedictine laying around the house, and it provided a nice herbal-y flavor; very distinct, but it’s optional here- you could also sub it out for another liquor.

I was prepared for this to be awful but was pleasantly surprised- it’s really nice, kind of elegant, and not too sweet. A grownup brulée, and so easy to make!

BARLEY BRULEE!

Ingredients
1 c. dry barley or brown rice
2 c. water
-
1/2 c. red wine
1/2 c. golden raisins
-
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs vegan refined sugar
2 tbs benedictine (optional)
-
Refined sugar for the crusts

Directions
1. Throw the barley or rice and water into your rice cooker and let it cook (or prep on stovetop)
2. Toss the golden raisins into a bowl and cover with the red wine. Leave to soak while the rice cooks

3. When the rice is done, you’re ready to make your pudding. Preheat the broiler
4. Throw the barley or rice into a large pan, then add the cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, Benedictine, red wine, and raisins. Stir and simmer over low-medium heat until the red wine has reduced by about half and you have a nice purple-y mixture. Taste test and add a little extra cinnamon, sugar, or Benedictine to preference.

5. When you have a nice, piping hot rice pudding, about 10 minutes, divide it evenly among the ramekins
6. Working quickly, spoon about 2 tbs evenly over the top of one ramekin at a time, smoothing it out so you have an even, opaque layer of sugar completely covering the pudding. You want the layer to be exactly as thick as it needs to be to become opaque and fully conceal the pudding, but not a bit thicker.
7. Pop the ramekins under the broiler after each one is assembled. You don’t want to let them sit before putting them in the oven; the sugar will just get absorbed into the pudding and won’t turn into a crust.
8. Broil the ramekins in a group, turning once halfway through, until the tops are bubbly and golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. If you have a kitchen blowtorch, that will of course work here. Just torch them until you get a nice golden crust (by holding the torch right up close to the sugar and moving the flame around constantly over a small area until it hardens and turns dark)
9. Remove from the broiler as each ramekin looks finished; the crust won’t be evenly colored, but it should be all golden/brown and bubbly; you’re making sure that the whole layer of sugar has cooked through and hardened, leaving no grain of sugar unmelted.
10. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes so the sugar crust can firm up
11. Serve warm with spoons to crack the crust!

CLASSIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

2011-10-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

A quickie, photo-less post for MoFo #16, brought to you courtesy of the Philly airport's free WiFi.

CLASSIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
makes about 30
This is a gentle variation of the fantastic recipe on “Hell Yeah, It's Vegan!” Original recipe can be found here
I just simplified it a little (I hate making/using egg substitutes, whether it's flax or ener-G)
This is a perfect peanut butter cookie!

1 stick (½ c) Earth Balance buttery sticks, cubed
1¼ c. vegan granulated sugar (or sucanat)
-
¾ c extra crunchy peanut butter (you could use smooth, but I love extra crunchy cookies. Regular store bought salted peanut butter is just fine)
tiny splash vanilla extract (ap. 1 tsp)
fat splash almond milk (or soymilk, or cold water), ap 2 tbs, with extra to add as needed
-
1¾ c. flour, sifted or spooned (I use all white purpose baking flour or pastry flour, or a 50/50 mix)
1 tsp sea salt (table salt is fine)
1 tsp baking soda (I just squeeze the box over the bowl and get a big puff)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350
1.Using an electric mixer or a whisk and a lot of elbow grease, beat the margarine and sugar until fluffy and blended.
2.Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and almond milk, blend again.
3.Lick the beaters- you're all done with them, and there's no raw egg!
4.Using a wooden spoon or your hand, add the salt, baking soda, and flour and cobine until just mixed and evenly distributed
5.Form the cookies by taking a spoonful of dough and rolling it into a ball, then dropping the balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart from each other (they spread like crazy). Using a fork, press the tines down lengthwise and widthwise so you're flattening the balls a little bit with nice hash marks.
6.Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until golden and slightly firm when you poke with a spatula. Allow them to sit on the sheet for several minutes before lifting off the pan, or they will break. They'll firm up quite a bit as they cool (I like a crunchy, crisp cookie. If you prefer softer cookies, bake for about 8-10 minutes or until cookies have spread but are still pretty light colored. Allow to sit 10 minutes on baking sheet before lifting off with a spatula)

TOFU ARUGULA BASIL TOMATO BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

2011-10-15T02:56:00.001-07:00

For MoFo #15, here's a nice little breakfast sandwich. This is just one variation on a basic that can't possibly lead you astray; english muffin or fried toast with fried tofu wilted greens, and lots of mustard. Kraut and goddess dressing are also good additions. For these, I used slices of fresh made rosemary wheat no-knead bread and a bunch of goodies from our Eatwell Farm CSA. They've been spoiling us with giant, gorgeous basil and adorable heirloom cherry tomatoes all season.

TOFU ARUGULA BASIL TOMATO BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 block extra firm pressed tofu, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick strips
-
4 paperthin slices of red onion or 1 shallot
1 tbs olive oil
8-10 heirloom cherry tomatoes
1/2 c basil leaves
1/2 c arugula
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp salt
2 tbs water
-
2 vegan english muffins or 4 slices bread
-
Whole seed mustard or goddess dressing
Sauerkraut (optional)

Directions
1. Slice your tofu in 1/4 inch slabs, set aside. Cut 4 slices bread for toasting or open up two english muffins

2. Slice a red onion into paperthin slices- you only need about 4 cuts worth.

3. Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in halves

4. Wash and rip or coarsely chop the arugula and basil
5. Heat 2 tbs olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry the strips of tofu, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown, about 5 minutes total. Set the tofu on a plate to drain of some of the oil while you prep everything else

6. Without adding more oil, fry the four pieces of bread or English muffins over medium heat so they get just a bit toasty on each side, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

7. Heat 1 tbs olive oil and fry up the onion. When they’re nice and brown, add the cherry tomatoes, greens, balsamic, salt, and water.

8. Stir everything over medium heat while the cherry tomatoes cook and soften and the greens wilt in the balsamic-water mix. When the liquid has cooked off, the tomatoes are soft, and the greens are nicely wilted, turn of the heat
9. Slather mustard or goddess dressing on all slices of bread, then divide the greens and tofu among two sandwhiches. If using goddess dressing, drizzle a bit over the tofu. Throw a little kraut in the middle if you want. Serve warm!

WHOLE WHEAT ROSEMARY NO KNEAD BREAD

2011-10-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Again, with the bread. I’m posting this one because making the usual no-knead recipe with whole wheat flour instead of white flour yields a very different texture and density. The whole wheat loaf is much more dense, and makes a great toast or sandwich bread. It’s also much, much easier to slice than the white flour loaf.

WHOLE WHEAT ROSEMARY NO KNEAD BREAD

Ingredients
6 c. whole wheat flour
½ tsp yeast
2 tsp sea salt
3 c warm water

Flour or cornmeal for shaping the next day
-
Lots of earth balance buttery sticks margarine for eating piping hot

Directions
1. In a very large mixing bowl, stir together your flour, salt, yeast, and rosemary.
2. Add the warm tap water and mix well until everything is evenly combined
3. Cover with plastic wrap; I just slice open a plastic produce bag and tape it down
4. Put the bowl on top of your fridge(warm!) or on a countertop (pref somewhere kind of warm, like near the stove) for 12-18 hours
5. When the 12-18 hours are up, the bowl will be full of bubbly, frothy magic that’s expanded to cling to the sides
6. On a clean surface like a cutting board or clean table, dust with cornmeal or flour. Dip your hands, too.
7. Dump out the dough and rip into two halves. Start patting with flour until you get a sort-of round shaped thing and can be touched without sticking. This dough is super sticky; you’re just giving it a little dusting.
8. Dust two clean dishtowels with cornmeal or flour.
9. Plop one loaf each into the towels, wrap them up like you’re swaddling a baby, and place them into bowls or little saucepots to take a two hour nap and rise some more.
10. After an hour and a half, turn on the oven to 450˚ and put your baking vessels, lids on, in the oven to preheat as well
11. 30 minutes later, pull the baking vessels, whatever they may be, out of the oven. Carefully unfold your napping dough loaves and dump them into the baking pots. The dough will wobble and some might stay on the towel. That’s fine. The dough will settle in the oven- don’t bother shaping it. Everything will come out rustic and gorgeous.
12. Bake with the lids on for 30 minutes, then take of the lids and bake for 20 more minutes.
13. Pull out of the oven and tip onto a cooling rack. The bread needs at least five good minutes to rest or it will be too gooey inside to cut, but after that, tear it apart like a wildebeest. Until the bread is completely cooled, it can be difficult to slice, so we just like to rip it apart with our hands and eat it piping hot with Earth balance buttery sticks margarine.

WARM RADISH, APPLE, AND GREENS SALAD

2011-10-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

MoFo #14!

Radishes are amazing. Did you know? Radishes and granny smith apples are in love, and the whole world benefits.

WARM RADISH, APPLE, AND GREENS SALAD

Yield: Serves 4-6 for salad course
Time: About 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs water
1 tsp salt
1 granny smith apple, chopped into ¼ inch cubes
1/4 red onion, finally chopped
1 bunch radishes, with green tops
1 c chopped kale
1 c. chopped arugula
¼ c. chopped walnuts

Directions
1. Chop your veggies! Chop the granny smith apple into ¼ inch cubes. Finely dice ¼ red onion into tiny little bits. Cut the ends off the radishes, then slice them into super thin rounds on the diagonal (about 1/8th of an inch thick)

2. Prep your greens! Chop or tear up the arugula, kale, and radish greens, then rinse well and pat dry with a clean towel

3. Finely chop ¼ c. walnuts, set aside
4. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pan or wok
5. Throw in the red onions and sauté until translucent and a little golden

6. Add the radishes, balsamic, 2 tbs water, and 1 tsp salt
7. When the radishes start to absorb the liquid and become slightly translucent,
8. Add the greens, walnuts and apples, stir well, and allow the greens to wilt over low-medium heat, stirring regularly, until the apples are a bit tender but not mushy

9. Serve warm with salt & pepper to taste

VEGANS + LONG PLANE RIDES

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Best flight snack mix ever!

1 granny smith apple, halved and thinly sliced
6 radishes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds on the diagonal
2 carrots, cut into sticks

Toss everything together in a plastic bag and go.

The radish slices are amazing with granny smith apples- the tartness cuts through the spice and it's sort of magic. Carrot sticks are just carrot sticks. They're good for you and stuff.

CANDIED FRIED BANANAS

2011-10-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

MoFo Post #13

I'm heartbroken! My mom's favorite Chinese restaurant has always been the Princess Garden in Saint Paul. The owner, Maria, was pregnant at the same time as my mom, and they would commiserate whenever my mom popped in (often) during my incubation. My mom's pregnancy cravings heavily featured the Princess Garden menu, and once I had teeth and could chew stuff, it was my favorite, too. Maria was this unbelievable force; chef, business owner, hostess, mother, and all around incredibly nice person, all simultaneously.

I haven't been back to the Princess Garden in years and years, thinking that my favorites wouldn't be vegan, and having found a pretty spectacular taiwanese restaurant, Evergreen, 4 blocks form my Minneapolis apartment that specifically caters to vegans. Still, nothing could ever replace the Princess Garden.

I've been super homesick for Minnesota lately (always), so tonight I decided to try veganizing Maria's specialty; deep fried, caramelized bananas. It wasn't always on the menu, but she always made it for me so long as they had bananas around. She would bring out the platter of sizzling, candy coated bananas and drop them in ice water right at the table so I could watch them harden into a crispy candy shell right there. Maria's showmanship was never lacking.

I googled the princess garden tonight to see if they had a web presence (or at least a loyal Yelp following), and found that the Princess Garden is under new (bad) ownership. A tragedy!
I'm feeling more than a little heartbroken that Maria has sold and moved on, and it's an extra sting that her legacy has been abandoned and the food is now terrible.
It's the end of an era. I feel old.

DEEP FRIED CANDIED BANANAS

Yield: dessert for six
Time: about 10-15 minutes total

Ingredients
-3 ripe or slightly under-ripe bananas, cut into 12 inch rounds on the diagonal
-
¾ c. white flour (sifted)
2 tbs vegan sugar
1 c. tepid water
-
1 c. canola or sesame oil
-
1.5 c. vegan refined white sugar
.5 c. water
1 tbs canola or sesame oil
-
Optional: 3 tbs white sesame seeds
-
Optional: Coconut milk ice cream to serve

Directions
1. Peel and slice your bananas on a diagonal into ½ inch thick rounds.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and 2 tbs sugar. Add the water and whisk quickly until you have a smooth batter
3. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 1 c. canola or sesame oil until sizzling
4. Working quickly, dip your banana slices one by one into the batter to coat, then drop them into the pan of oil with your hands or a slotted spoon. Flip each banana piece tog et them golden brown on both sides. As the pieces brown up, spoon them out of the oil and place on a cooling rack or paper towel so some of the oil drains off. Repeat this until all of the bananas are done.

5. Prepare a large bowl of ice water (about 6 cups cold water and at least 1 tray of ice cubes)
6. Make the candy coating! In a small saucepan, whisk together 1.5 c. sugar, .5 c. water, and 1 tbs canola or sesame oil. Stir well to evenly mix, then simmer, stirring occasionally, on high heat. You are cooking this simple syrup down into a candy shell. You’ll know it’s ready when a bit of syrup dripped into the ice water becomes hard and brittle. After about 3 minutes of stirring and simmering the syrup on high heat, start doing the cold water test every 30 seconds or so. First it will get gooey (like a hot tamale)- keep going. The second ou reach the “hard crack” stage and a drop of syrup becomes hard candy in the ice water, turn off the heat and quickly move into the next step
7. If using sesame seeds, stir them in now (fast!)
8. Using a fork, spear the banana pieces one at a time, dip in the sugar syrup to fully coat, and drop them in the ice bath. It helps to have 2 or 3 people doing this stage together; 1 or 2 folks to dip the bananas, and another person to fish the candied bananas out of the ice bath. The ice bath hardens the candy shell.

9. Pull the candied bananas out of the ice bath and set on a wire rack or plate to drain as you bring them to the table. Serve immediately! Great served over coconut milk ice cream!

POTATO LEEK SOUP!

2011-10-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

MoFo Post #12 is coming an hour late, but it still counts because I haven't gone to bed yet. Right? Right.

Tonight's din was:
Fresh baked rosemary-wheat no-knead bread
Warm kale-arugula-radish greens-radish & apple salad
Potato leek soup
&
Candied fried bananas for dessert.

Today was CSA day, and everything in the warm salad except for the walnuts and seasonings were from the farmshare box. We also got the first (gorgeous) leeks of the season, so potato-leek soup was the obvious choice.

Everything was beautiful, and all the recipes will go up for MoFo, but first up is the soup. The two secrets to this soup are:
1) puree roasted garlic into your broth to add depth
2) puree half of the finished soup to make it creamy while keeping the chunky amazingness of fried leeks and boiled potatoes.

You could, of course, puree all of it, or none of it, and it would be just as tasty. If you wanted to puree all of it, it would make an excellent base to thicken other soups.

VEGAN POTATO LEEK SOUP!

Ingredients
6 cloves garlic, caramelized
1 tsp olive oil
-
1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
-
5 c. veggie stock
2 lbs (about 3-4 large, 6-8 small) yellow or red skinned potatoes, skins on
2 tsp sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
-
2 tbs earth balance margarine

Yield: Soup course for 6-8
Time: approximately 45 minutes, plus 2 hours if making your own stock.
Special equipment: food processor or blender

Directions
1. If you’re making stock from scratch, start about 2 hours before you want to start your soup. Otherwise, just start heating your 5 cups of premade our bullion stock when you put the garlic in.
2. Caramelize your garlic. Preheat the oven to 375˚ and peel 6 cloves of garlic. Toss with 1 tsp in a small baking dish and pop in the oven until they’re golden brown and very fragrant, about 12-15 minutes
3. While the garlic’s cooking, chop your onions very finely and slice the leeks as thinly as possible. Slice your leeks almost all the way up through the green leaves; stop when they get too dry/gross. The leeks will probably be sandy; separate your chopped leeks into the white and yellow stalk slices and the dark yellow/green leaf pieces. Rinse both sets very well to remove all dirt and sand after slicing
4. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pan and throw in the onions and the white/yellow parts of the leeks, along with the thyme and rosemary. Fry until lightly golden, then add 4 cups of the stock.
5. Working quickly, scrub and cube your potatoes (skin on) into ¼ inch cubes. Rinse the potatoes to remove excess starch, then add the potatoes and the green bits from the leeks to the pot of stock and fried onions.
6. Once your garlic is golden and amazing, remove from the oven, tip them into our blender or food processor, add the remaining 1 cup of stock, and puree until smooth. Add this mixture to the simmering pot
7. Add the 2 tsp of salt and 2 tbs of earth balance margarine, stir well, and allow to simmer, lid on, stirring every few minutes for about 20 minutes over a low flame, until the potatoes break apart easily when pressed with a spoon
8. When the potatoes are soft, ladle about 3 cups of the soup into the food processor and puree until smooth. Pour back into the soup pot, salt and pepper to taste, and allow to simmer over a low flame for at least another 10 minutes or until ready to serve.
9. Serve warm with fresh baked bread!

Variation: Potato-dill soup
Omit the leeks, keep everything else the same, and add 2 tbs fresh dill and 1 tbs spicy brown mustard (or dijon) when you add the potatoes, plus extra dill to garnish.

QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND KALE

2011-10-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

I'm taking it easy for MoFo #11, so here's another super simple, perfectly healthy lunch that you can make ahead in large batches, and makes a good room temp lunch to bring to work.

QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND KALE

Yield: serves 4 for lunch
Time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients
1 c. dry quinoa
2 c. water
-
1 tbs olive oil
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 bunch kale, chopped or torn
2 c (or 1 can) prepared chickpeas
¼ c. water
½ lemon
2 tsp tamari OR balsamic vinegar
Optional: 2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions
1. Set the quinoa and 2 cups of water to cook in your rice cooker or on the stove
2. While the quinoa’s cooking, heat 1 tbs olive oil and fry the onions until they’re nice and golden.
3. Toss in the chopped kale, ¼ cup of water, and the garbanzo beans. Stir over medium heat until the kale stems are tender

4. Add the cooked quinoa and mix well. Squeeze the lemon juice in and add the tamari, add the red pepper flakes if using; stir well to evenly coat everything. Add salt to taste, serve warm or eat cold. Stores well in the fridge for up to a week

VEGAN BEER CHEESE SOUP

2011-10-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Vegan Month of Food Post #10!

Mary asked for a vegan beer-cheese soup for Vegan MoFo. I agreed because (1) Mary is awesome, (2) I am super homesick for the Midwest, (3) beer-cheese soup tastes like if Minnesota and Wisconsin had a barfight and everybody won, and (4) I was pretty sure the creamy cheese sauces I've been making with Daiya would be a perfect base for a super cheesy, authentic-tasting soup.

I know I've been posting about Daiya an awful lot lately, but Daiya Cheddar Shreds and I are in love, and we want the whole world to know about it. That's what people in love do: make and eat giant potfuls of cheesesauce at every opportunity.

The soup turned out even better than I expected! You can probably use whatever creamy soup base you want, but I used the sneaky creamy soup base recipe found here to add some extra protein and nutrition, but reduced the roasted garlic to ½ a bulb. I’m positive that using Imagine Foods brand creamy potato leek soup as a creamy base would work exceptionally well, too. If you’re in a pinch, you can always just puree flavorful stock with firm tofu to make a creamy base. You won’t taste the soup base- it just needs to be creamy, thick, and a little bit rich.

Truth time: this tastes like cheese. This kind of recipe is exactly where Daiya shines best; this tastes like conventional beer-cheese soup; no weird texture, no aftertaste. Just gooey orange velveeta-y cheese-ness.

This soup is heavy, so serve with warm fresh bread (or in a bread bowl), and maybe some fresh popped (unsalted) popcorn on top like croutons.

Whatever you do, don’t use a bitter/hoppy beer. Even if you love hops, you will not like them in this soup. Stick with a nice calm lager or a nice, dark, chewy beer that isn’t bitter.

VEGAN BEER CHEESE SOUP

Yield: Soup course for 8
Time: About 15-20 minutes if you have a prepared soup base. The creamy soup base takes about 1 hour (plus 2 hours to soak fava beans)

Ingredients
3 c. http://micahludeke.blogspot.com/2011/10/creamy-roast-garlic-soup-base.html(reduce garlic to ½ bulb)
OR
3 c. Imagin Foods brand creamy potato-leek soup
OR
2 c. rich vegetable stock pureed with ½ block firm tofu
-
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion (red or yellow), finely chopped
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tsp dry thyme
3 tbs flour
3 tbs earth balance buttery sticks margarine
2 c. almond milk (unsweetened) or soy milk
1 c. Daiya cheddar shreds
-
2 c. beer (Important! Do NOT use a hoppy beer! Vegan lagers, like black label or red stripe will do nicely, but ideally, use Sam Smith oatmeal stout or nut brown ale.)
2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (I use Annie’s brand)
1 tbs brown mustard
Optional: 1 tsp hot sauce (like Sriracha)
1 bunch celery, sliced into ¼ inch rings
Lots of salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 tbs earth balance buttery sticks margarine
-
-Fresh warm bread to serve; this is a very heavy soup, and it needs bread or popcorn to add texture and lighten in up a smidge
-Optional: unsalted popcorn to garnish (this is a Wisconsin thing; you throw a handful of fresh popcorn in like croutons in French onion soup)

Directions
1. Prepare (or pour & heat) your creamy soup base, simmer on low heat while you move on to the other steps

2. Sauté your onions with the rosemary and thyme. Heat 2 tbs olive oil in a large soup pot and add the finely chopped onions and dried herbs to the hot oil (onions should sizzle when they hit the pan). Sauté until translucent, then
3. Make your roux for the cheese base. Melt 3 tbs margarine in the pot amid the onions. Add 3 tbs sifted flour to the melted margarine and whisk until you have a thick, smooth roux of the flour, margarine, and sautéed onions.
4. Pour in ½ c. of the almond (or soy) milk and whisk. Add a handful of the daiya shreds (about ¼ c.) and whisk until the Daiya melts and you have a smooth sauce. Once it’s melted and smooth, add another ½ c. almond milk, whisk, and add another ¼ c. Daiya. Continue adding milk and daiya as each previous round melts and becomes smooth. You have to whisk or stir constantly to make sure the Daiya melts properly, and you have to add the Daiya in small quantities or it won’t completely melt. Daiya can be a bit finicky, but if you’re patient and whisk carefully, it will be perfect.

5. Once you have a nice, smooth, evenly melted cheese sauce, add the beer! It will be frothy; just whisk it in and allow to simmer for at least five minutes before you can
6. whisk in your mustard and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Add sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste; I like a TON of fresh black pepper in mine. The Worcestershire sauce will make it pretty salty, so you may only need 2 tsp of salt or so. If you’re using hot sauce, add it now.
7. Once you’re really happy with the flavorings in your cheese sauce, add whatever you’re using for your creamy base. Stir well, then add the sliced celery and 2 tbs margarine, stir again, and allow to simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes before giving it a taste. Adjust the salt, pepper, and hot sauce if needed, then
8. Serve warm with fresh warm bread and, if you’re a Sconnie, fresh popped popcorn (plain, no salt)

CHICKPEA-WALNUT BURGERS

2011-10-09T01:41:00.000-07:00

MoFo #9!
Once upon a time, my housemates ate some tasty walnut-chickpea burgers at some restaurant, and they asked me to try and recreate them for MoFo. I found a tasty looking vegetarian version online here and adapted it liberally, drawing a lot on my recipe for quinoa burgers/croquettes, which uses cornmeal and a mashed garnet yam to hold things together.

These came out really nicely; slightly dry, but in a good way, and very tasty with whatever burger condiments you usually use. I’m a mustard fanatic, and this is a very mustard-friendly burger. It would also be really good with sweet relish and probably kraut as well. I’d recommend making brioche buns to serve with them, but I didn’t have time tonight so we just made avant garde deconstructed burgers with homemade rosemary no-knead bread and the usual burger fixins.

The burgers were really nice alongside vegan beer-cheese soup, which will get posted for MoFo #10. That’s right- I’m cooking so much I’ve gotta hold back on the posting schedule. This is what life post-law school looks like: kitchen time all the time.

CHICKPEA-WALNUT BURGERS
Yield: 10-12 patties
Time: ap. 35-40 minutes if using canned chickpeas. Add 3-4 hours for soaking and simmering if using dry chickpeas

Ingredients
4 cups cooked or canned chickpeas (ap 1 cup raw chickpeas)
-
1 tbs olive oil
½ red onion, finely diced
2 c. walnuts
4 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves pulled off the stem (or 1 tsp dried)
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves pulled off the stem (or 1 tsp dried)
-
1 garnet yam, peeled, boiled, and mashed
-
2 tsp sea salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
salt and pepper to taste
¼ c. cornmeal

Directions
1. If you’re using canned chickpeas, skip to step 2. If cooking dry chickpeas, start about 4 hours before you want to make your burgers. Put 2 cups of water and 1 cup of dry chickpeas in a pot, cover, and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Turn of the heat and let the chickpeas soak in the now hot water for 2 hours. After they’ve soaked for a good long while, turn the heat back on, and simmer the chickpeas, covered, over a medium flame, stirring every so often. When the water starts to cook off, add 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves or the leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary. Add 2 tsp salt, and stir well. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until all of the water has cooked off and the chickpeas are tender. Set aside.
2. Peel and cube your garnet yam. Throw the chunks into a pot and cover with water, then set to simmer over medium heat until the yams break apart easily when pressed with a spoon, about 10 minutes. Strain the water out, then mash the yams with a fork until they are fairly smooth and even, and set aside.

3. While the yams are cooking, finely dice ½ a red onion and chop 2 cups of walnuts

4. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Over medium heat, sauté the red onions with the rosemary and thyme until they are slightly golden. Add the walnuts and stir well, allowing the nuts to toast in the hot pan and absorb some of the oils from the onion, about 5 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 375˚
6. In a large bowl, mash your 4 cups of cooked or canned chickpeas with a potato masher or fork. You just want to break them up into chunks- you are not trying to get a smooth consistency. Just attack them with a masher for a couple of minutes to break everything up and make them crumbly.

7. Add the mashed yam and sautéed onions and walnuts into the bowl. Add 2 tsp sea salt and ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper. Mix very well, using your hand or a big wooden spoon. When you have an even mixture, add the ¼ cup of cornmeal, and mix well with your hands.

8. Rub some olive oil onto a baking sheet
9. With clean, dry hands, scoop about 1/3 cup of the mixture up and form into a small patty. It will be about ½ inch thick, and maybe three inches wide. Gently pat the sides and top to make it densely packed and cohesive. The mixture is a little crumbly and delicate, but if you are gentle and careful while making the patties, they’ll hold together well during baking.

10. Once you’ve used up all of the mixture and have 8-10 even, round, and cohesive patties arranged on your oiled baking sheet, pop into the preheated 375˚ oven to bake until the are golden brown, about 12 minutes.

11. Gently lift from the pan with your fingers or a spatula. Serve on burger buns or plain. I like to cover mine with mustard and then wrap in a giant, fresh lettuce leaf, but that’s just me.

ROSEMARY NO-KNEAD BREAD

2011-10-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

This doesn’t count toward my Vegan Month of Food posts because it’s just a slight modification of an already perfect recipe. I had to share it, though, because the New York Times’ now famous “no knead” bread recipe is naturally vegan, with no added fat, and makes ridiculously perfect loaves. It’s also a perfect recipe to use as a base and just dump extra ingredients, like herbs, nuts, roasted garlic, etc. into.

I tried it last week using cooked, sliced fennel stalks and fresh rosemary. Five minutes after my housemates and I tore it apart like a band of baby dinosaurs, I started a double batch and made two loaves of fresh rosemary bread.

The original NY Times recipe is here, and a really adorable, picture-laden step-by-step version (featuring a brawny, tattooed four year old to demonstrate) can be found here.

ROSEMARY NO-KNEAD BREAD

Details
Yield: two loaves (I recommend a double batch because it’s so time-intensive and you’ll tear through it fast. Halve for a single loaf)

Total time until serving: 21 hours
Mixing time: about 2 minutes
First rising period: 18 hours (I’ve heard you can do as little as 12 hours)
Loaf shaping: about 8 minutes
Resting/rising time: 2 hours (30 min of which is preheating your oven and your baking vessels)
Baking time: 50 minutes (30 min covered, 20 min uncovered)

Equipment:
-large mixing bowl for mixing and rising
-saran wrap (or a torn up plastic bag) for rising
-2 bowls or pots (medium saucepots are great) for resting
-2 clean towels for resting
-2 high-heat tolerant vessels with lids. Dutch ovens are great, but we don’t have any, so I used ceramic and pyrex dishes with ceramic and pyrex dishes as lids.

Ingredients
-6 cups all purpose or bread flour
-1/2 tsp yeast
-2 tsp sea salt
-4 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves (about 2 tbs fresh rosemary)
-
-3 cups warm tap water
-
Flour or cornmeal for shaping the next day
-
Lots of earth balance buttery sticks margarine for eating piping hot

Directions
1. In a very large mixing bowl, stir together your flour, salt, yeast, and rosemary.
2. Add the warm tap water and mix well until everything is evenly combined
3. Cover with plastic wrap; I just slice open a plastic produce bag and tape it down
4. Put the bowl on top of your fridge(warm!) or on a countertop (pref somewhere kind of warm, like near the stove) for 12-18 hours
5. When the 12-18 hours are up, the bowl will be full of bubbly, frothy magic that’s expanded to cling to the sides

6. On a clean surface like a cutting board or clean table, dust with cornmeal or flour. Dip your hands, too.
7. Dump out the dough and rip into two halves. Start patting with flour until you get a sort-of round shaped thing and can be touched without sticking. This dough is super sticky; you’re just giving it a little dusting.

8. Dust two clean dishtowels with cornmeal or flour.

9. Plop one loaf each into the towels, wrap them up like you’re swaddling a baby, and place them into bowls or little saucepots to take a two hour nap and rise some more.

10. After an hour and a half, turn on the oven to 450˚ and put your baking vessels, lids on, in the oven to preheat as well

11. 30 minutes later, pull the baking vessels, whatever they may be, out of the oven. Carefully unfold your napping dough loaves and dump them into the baking pots. The dough will wobble and some might stay on the towel. That’s fine. The dough will settle in the oven- don’t bother shaping it. Everything will come out rustic and gorgeous.

12. Bake with the lids on for 30 minutes, then take of the lids and bake for 20 more minutes.
13. Pull out of the oven and tip onto a cooling rack. The bread needs at least five good minutes to rest or it will be too gooey inside to cut, but after that, tear it apart like a wildebeest. Until the bread is completely cooled, it can be difficult to slice, so we just like to rip it apart with our hands and eat it piping hot with Earth balance buttery sticks margarine.

CREAMY ROAST GARLIC SOUP BASE

2011-10-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

Mofo #8!
One of the beautiful things about participating in Vegan MoFo is that I'll actually post some of the things that have been hanging around for awhile, like this soup base recipe.

I used to just keep a big box of Imagin Foods brand creamy potato-leek soup in the cupboard to use as a thickener for creamy soups, but this soup base packs a lot of protein (just serve the soup with bread for a complete protein) and is a great way to use up eggplant- you don't taste the eggplant at all!

I made this up while trying to use up stuff from our CSA and make a creamy base for corn chowder, but I suspect that this would make a good base or thickener for a wide range of soups.

This base uses three ingredients: eggplant (gross, and we needed to use it up), a ton of garlic (delicious, and we needed to use it up), and fava beans (to add protein). You could easily make this base with just eggplant or just fava beans.

This version is a roast garlic creamy soup base, but I suppose you could even leave out the garlic if you just want a pretty neutral, creamy base that will let whatever other flavors shine through.

SNEAKY CREAMY ROAST GARLIC SOUP BASE

Ingredients
-2 cups dry fava beans
-Room temperature water to soak the beans
-4 bulbs garlic (ap. 50 cloves)
-1 medium Italian eggplant
-2 tbs olive oil (1 tbs each for the roasted garlic and eggplant)
-5 cups vegetable stock total (2 cups stock for the eggplant, 3 cups stock to cook the fava beans)
-Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. You can make this stock in advance and refrigerate to freeze for up to two weeks. If you’re making it the same day as your soup, then three hours before you plan to begin making your soup (4 hours before you want it to be ready), pour two cups of dry fava beans into a bowl and cover with room temperature water. Allow to soak for three hours.
2. Peel the cloves of garlic and remove the hard bottoms
3. Throw the cloves of garlic in a glass baking dish, pour in 1 tbs olive oil and stir to coat, then place in a 375 oven to roast until golden brown, about 20 minutes

4. After the garlic is in the oven, peel the eggplant and cut into ½ inch cubes, removing seeds as you go.
5. Toss the eggplant cubes into a glass baking dish, coat in 1 tbs olive oil, and add to the oven to roast alongside the garlic. The eggplant should be golden brown by the time the garlic cloves are golden brown and caramelized. Stir both once or twice during the roasting period.
6. After about 20 minutes of roasting, the garlic should be golden brown and caramelized and the eggplant (which had a little less time) should be lightly golden. Remove from the oven.
7. Simmer 2 cups of veggie stock in a pot on the stove, and add the garlic cloves and eggplant cubes after they’ve cooled in their pans for about five minutes

8. Simmer the garlic and eggplant in the stock for about ten minutes, then pour into a food processor, add 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp fresh ground pepper, and puree for about thirty seconds or until you get a smooth, even, creamy soup. Salt and pepper to taste- you want a nice, rich creamy soup. This will be the base for your soup. Once smooth and salt&peppered to tasted, pour into a container and set aside
9. Strain your fava beans, which should have by now soaked for at least three hours. Place them in pot and cover with three cups of vegetable broth. Simmer, covered, for twenty minutes or until tender.

10. After about 20 minutes, the fava beans will have cooked and fallen apart; you’ll have a thick, gloopy mess. This is fantastic!
11. Transfer the fava bean gloop into the food processor, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and puree until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste- just enough to get a more robust flavor but not enough that it tastes especially salty
12. In a large soup pot, combine the eggplant-garlic puree and fava bean puree. Stir and simmer, simmer and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. After everything has had at least 20 minutes to simmer together, and you have a creamy, smooth mixture, it’s ready to either be a base for your soup or go into the fridge or freezer to be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

WALNUT-ARUGULA CROSTINI

2011-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time (last night), I made dinner for some friends who got stuck late at work. Dinner was made and a loaf of fennel-rosemary bread had just come out of the oven. The risotto stores easily, but fresh bread is. . . fresh bread. So my housemates and I fell on it like jackals and destroyed it in less than three minutes.

Once my friends made it to dinner after a busy day saving the world, instead of fresh bread, hot from the oven, I made these little toasts. Arugula saves the day again!

WALNUT-ARUGULA CROSTINI

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
12 slices of baguette
-
2 tsp olive oil
½ c. coarsely chopped walnuts
½ c. coarsely chopped arugula
½ c. coarsely chopped chard (or spinach)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp sea salt
1-2 tbs water, if needed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350˚
2. Drizzle 1 tbs olive oil on a baking sheet, then dip the slices of baguette in the oil, lightly coating both sides, before arranging them on the baking sheet. Pop in the oven and toast until golden, about 6-8 minutes
3. While the bread is toasting, chop your walnuts and coarsely chop or tear your arugula and chard
4. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan over a low-medium flame. Once the oil is hot, throw in the walnuts and allow to toast, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the greens, balsamic vinegar, and the sea salt. Stir occasionally and allow to wilt. If the greens seem like they might scorch in the pan, add 1 tbs of water, and another if that cooks off and it’s still too dry. If you’re using a heavy bottomed pan, this is less of a risk. You don’t want any liquid left over- it’s just to prevent scorching.
6. When the greens have wilted nicely, after about 3 minutes, Pull off the heat
7. Scoop a little spoonful of the walnut-greens mixture onto each toast and serve warm with an extra sprinkle of sea salt.

PUMPKIN RISOTTO!

2011-10-07T00:51:00.000-07:00

I have pumpkin fever! San Francisco never got the memo that Autumn is supposed to be, you know, autumnal. Instead, it just rains and rains and rains and then gets hot sometimes. This is usually the time of year when I go to Emma Krumbee's U-Pick apple orchard in Minnesota and get a giant haul of apples and pumpkins.

Now that I'm in California, with no red leaves and no Emma Krumbee's, I'm scrapping around for anything that tastes like Fall. Enter this pumpkin risotto, which turned out better than I could've hoped. The celery turned out to be the surprise lynchpin- it adds a little bit of crunch that unites everything.

We have a (neverending, inexhaustible) pile of zucchini, so I shredded two and stuck them in the risotto base- they disappeared into the dish and you couldn't pick out a zucchini texture or flavor even if you tried. It's a good way to hide zucchini to both use it up and pack in some extra nutrients.

I can't believe it's day 6 of Vegan MoFo already! I have maybe probably for sure hatched a plan to make bagels from scratch (for the vegan lox) this weekend. Food grade lye, check. neuroscientist with access to hardcore lab gloves to protect our dainty hands from the food grade lye penciled in to keep me company while I burn my face off with said food grade lye, check and check. It is ON. Bagels are going to happen. To my face. If I have a face left after making bagels.

PUMPKIN RISOTTO!
Time: ap. 30-45 minutes
Serves 4-6 for dinner

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
2 small zucchini, shredded (ap. 1.5/2 cups) (this is optional- only do this if you have zucchini to use up. I promise you won’t taste it at all)
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
-
1 additional tbs olive oil
1 c. arbrorio rice (risotto) (no need to rinse. Just take a quick look over to remove imperfections)
ap. 6-7 c. homemade veggie stock (storebought or bullion is fine, but homemade really makes a difference)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
-
1 c. pumpkin puree (ie. half a can of canned pumpkin)
2 tsp sea salt
-
5 celery stalks, sliced in ¼ inch half-rings
1 c. coarsely chopped arugula

Directions
1. Finely chop your yellow onion. I like to peel and halve my onions, then slice into very thin rings and chop these very finely. It makes it go more quickly and gets a more uniform size. Shred your zucchini and squeeze the shreds in a clean cloth to remove excess moisture.

2. In a large pan or wok, heat 1 tbs olive oil. You’ll know the oil is ready when a little piece of onion thrown in sizzles. Dump in all of the onions, and sauté over medium flame until the onions are translucent and a little golden on the edges.
3. When your onions are perfect, throw in the zucchini and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. The zucchini won’t change much, but this will dry it out a little more. The point of shredding and then drying out the zuc is so you won’t taste it at all and the texture will be unnoticeable amid the other stuff. Zucchini is horrible and must be disguised.
4. Once the zucchini has had about 3-4 minutes to cook, throw in the cup of arbrorio rice, the rosemary and thyme, and the remaining tbs olive oil. Stir well to get the rice coated in oil and well mixed with the onions. Let the rice hang out in the oil over medium flame for about a minute, stirring often.

5. Pour in 2 cups of vegetable stock, stir well, and simmer over the medium heat until the stock is mostly absorbed. Stir frequently to prevent scorching

6. Once the first 2 cups of stock are mostly absorbed, add another ½ cup of stock and the 1 cup of pumpkin puree. Stir well to get the pumpkin well mixed with everything.

7. Add stock ½ cup at a time, stirring the risotto regularly and adding more liquid as it gets absorbed. By the time you’ve gone through about five cups of stock (with two cups remaining), the risotto should be slightly tender when you take a test bite.
8. When the risotto is slightly tender, add the celery stalks and another ½ cup of broth. Add the salt now, and continue to cook. When you’re ready to add the next 12 cup of broth, throw in the arugula and keep cooking to allow it to wilt. Remember to stir regularly to prevent scorching.
9. Start testing the risotto ever minute or so; you want to take it off the heat the moment the risotto is tender and easily bitten, a little creamy, and has absorbed most of the liquid. You have to be careful to avoid overcooking it in too much liquid.
10. As son as you get the right texture and tenderness, and there isn’t much extra liquid (the texture should be very creamy, but not soupy), remove from heat and serve warm.
11. Garnish with toasted walnuts or fresh chopped arugula, if you like