eat'n veg'n vegan food and recipes

Daring Cooks Challenge – Stacked Enchiladas

2010-05-14T18:07:00.009-05:00

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

The required part of this challenge was to make a green sauce for enchiladas using tomatillos and roasted chiles. Fortunately for me, I had some Hatch chiles I had roasted, chopped, and frozen last summer.

AND I have tomatillos year round at my neighborhood market. Some cooks were stumped by tomatillos, so if you are not familiar, tomatillos look like green tomatoes with a sticky paper over the skin. It’s hard to describe their flavor, but they taste rather green and definitely enhance Mexican style dishes.

I just boiled my tomatillos to soften them, then pureed them in my food processor. The finished sauce was beautiful.

These enchiladas were not served Cinco de Mayo, but were a gift to my mom on Mother’s Day; hence, the to-go container. This was also more of casserole than a stack. Here’s the first layer.

Since this dish was for my mom, I used real chicken and real cheese. I bought prepared chicken breasts because I don’t remember how to cook chicken, which I shredded. (I would have used mushrooms if I had made a vegan version.) Here’s the completed casserole.

I baked it for about 25 minutes.

Sorry I don’t have a picture of the enchiladas plated. My mom said the sauce was fantastic and enjoyed her casserole very much. Here’s the recipe for the wonderful sauce. It’s naturally vegan, using veggie broth instead of chicken broth.

Green Chile Sauce for Enchiladas

1½ pounds Fresh Anaheim chiles (about eight 6 to 8 inch chiles) 24 ounces 678 grams - roast, peel, remove seeds, chop coarsely. I used Hatch chiles, but poblanos would work well too.

7-8 ounces Tomatillos (about 4-5 medium) 212 grams - peel, remove stems

4 cups broth (32 ounces/920 grams)

1 clove Garlic, minced

½ tsp Kosher salt (add more to taste)

¼ tsp Black Pepper (add more to taste)

2 tablespoons Cornstarch (dissolve in 2 tablespoons water, for thickening)

Hot sauce, your favorite, optional

Directions:
Roasting Fresh Chiles
1. Coat each chile with a little vegetable oil. If you are doing only a couple chiles, using the gas stove works. For larger batches (as in this recipe), grilling or broiling is faster.

2. Lay the oiled chiles on the grill or baking sheet (line pan with foil for simpler clean-up). Place the grill or broil close to the element, turning the chiles so they char evenly. They should be black and blistered.

3. As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic, or close up in a paper bag. Let them rest until they are cool.

4. Pull on the stem and the seed core MAY pop out (it rarely does for me). Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it.

5. DO NOT RINSE!

Green Chile Sauce
1. Put a medium saucepan of water on to boil and remove the papery outer skin from the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. You can also grill the tomatillos until soft.

2. Drain and puree in a blender or food processor.

3. Return the tomatillos to the saucepan along with the chicken broth, chopped green chiles, minced onion, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.

4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 4-5 cups, another 10-15 minutes.

6. Adjust seasonings and add hot sauce if you want a little more heat.

2010-04-27T20:35:00.008-05:00

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

First things first - what is suet? It is the hard but flaky fat found on the inside of a cow or sheep around the kidneys and that area of the body.

Okay, suet is an ingredient that is just tooooo daring for me! I’m sorry, but how a person could seek out this ingredient, bake with it, and knowingly eat it is more than I can comprehend. Needless to say, Smart Balance was my healthy vegan substitute.

Another thing I don’t understand is why one would boil or steam a cake for hours when one could bake it in the oven in 20 minutes. But such was the challenge and I made a version of Spotted Dick, a boiled pudding, using chocolate chips instead of currants.

I made a single serving recipe, which may be the reason my batter was rather wet. But I was able to dust it with a little flour and roll it easily in parchment paper.

I didn’t have a traditional pudding cloth (why would I?) to wrap and boil the pudding in, so I wrapped it loosely in a double layer of foil.

I placed it in a pot of gently boiling water and let it cook for about an hour.

I unrolled it, let it cool, then cut it in two. The cake was firm with a moist crumb.

Yum, fresh strawberries to enjoy with my pudding.

Other than a slightly boiled flavor, it was a good dessert - 3 out of 5 stars.

Potluck in the Park

2010-04-18T17:26:00.017-05:00

Last weekend the Austin Food Bloggers got together for a potluck picnic. The food was all very veg-friendly, and perhaps these photos will give you some spring food inspiration.

I usually take salads to these events, but this time I made my favorite savory muffins. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.

Oatmeal Walnut Muffins from Vegan Soups for All Seasons.

Always a favorite of mine, plain ol’ raw fresh fruits and veggies.

Bruschetta

Shredded raw Brussels sprouts with fennel. My first raw Brussels and they were fantastic!

Mango, Grapefruit, and Mint Salad – a delicious flavor combo.

Artichoke Pesto Tartlets. Put a jar of artichoke hearts in the food pro, add your favorite pesto, and spoon into filo tarts. So simple and so fabulous.

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. I wish I had taken a picture of a plated single bar because it was the most amazing shade of purple.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad – yay!

Avocado and raw tuna?

Multicolored beet slices stacked with goat cheese and topped with nuts and microgreens. Stunning presentation.

Bread

Chocolate Chip Cookies – the big flat chewy kind.

Swiss Chard with onions and garlic. This was my favorite dish. Chard fresh from the farmers market and perfectly sautéed.

Austin Food Bloggers always rock!

I DO!!!

2010-04-04T20:06:00.009-05:00

I DO have pictures of Chase and Cat’s wedding. Last Saturday the weather was amazing, the ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was fabulous. Here’s a little recap of the perfect evening.

Yay!!!

Daring Cooks Challenge – Risotto

2010-03-14T22:27:00.010-05:00

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

It’s been awhile since I’ve made risotto, and even longer since I’ve made my own broth. I made the broth last weekend, using the Roasted Vegetable Broth from my giant Gourmet cookbook. I chose onions, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, and garlic to roast, and seasoned the veggies with sage and parsley.

When they were done, I added them to a pot with water, a can of tomatoes, and bay leaves.

After simmering 30 minutes or so, I was left with a rich tasting, delicious broth.

Instead of discarding the veggies, I ate them for dinner!

Today I made the risotto. I’m sure you know I wanted to make a mushroom risotto, but since I was taking it to share with my young nephews, I used only onions. I got the onions nice and golden.

Then added in the rice, and the broth, about a half cup at a time.

And done!

Creamy, oniony deliciousness for everyone to enjoy.

Curried Collards and Chickpeas

2010-03-11T18:27:00.002-06:00

I am trying to keep this blog alive while I prepare for Chase’s wedding. Please bear with me for a couple more weeks!

I have only one food pic and recipe for you today, and it was so delicious I’ve made it twice. It’s super easy to prepare and you can use any greens you have on hand. I know it’s just beans ‘n greens, but it’s really yummy.

Curried Collards and Chickpeas

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
¼ cup veggie broth
1 t. your favorite curry blend
½ t. turmeric
1 bunch greens, trimmed and chopped
1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1-15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
S&P to taste

Directions:
Cook the onion and garlic, then add in the broth and spices. Mix well. Add in the greens, tomatoes, and chickpeas and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

My sister from Alabama will be here for spring break week, and she will help me pick out my dress for the wedding. The invitations are out, and aside from some occasional drama, all the plans are in place and we should have a beautiful wedding.

I apologize again for neglecting blogland. I promise to catch up as soon as I can!

Daring Bakers Challenge - Tiramisu

2010-02-27T20:13:00.006-06:00

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

I have never eaten tiramisu. It must be because I’m not a fan of cheese, and tiramisu is all about the cream cheese. It’s also not the least bit healthy nor vegan friendly, and if you avoid soy as I do, it’s even more unfriendly. Nonetheless, I love these challenges and every month they are indeed a challenge!

Another major component of tiramisu is the ladyfinger cookies. Even though I didn’t use the vegan friendly recipe provided in my version of tiramisu, I did make these cookies. I used applesauce instead of margarine to keep them low fat, and although they were not the melt-in-your-mouth ladyfingers of my memory, they did make a tasty cookie.

My healthy tiramisu was quick and easy – half a banana cut in half, layered with almond cream, and topped with cacao nibs.

This is a delicious dessert I can enjoy and never feel guilty eating!

Here’s the recipe for ladyfingers if you’d like to try a vegan or dairyfree version.

EGGLESS LADYFINGERS

(Source: Adapted from Recipezaar.

This recipe makes about 4 long biscuits (3" long and 3/4" wide).

(I made a half batch and got 3 cookies.)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons/ 55gms sugar

1 teaspoon/ 5ml vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups/ 340gms unsalted butter (I used unsweetened applesauce)

2 cups/ 250gms all purpose flour

1/2 cup/ 40gms coarsely ground almonds

powdered sugar

Method:
Blend all the ingredients well and adding the coarsely ground nuts last. Scrape the batter into a piping bag with a ¾-inch plain tip and pipe into fingers about 3 inches long at 1-inch intervals onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake them in a 300 degree F (150 C) oven for 30 to 45 minutes till they start turning slightly brown at the edges.

Take them out of the oven and cool on tray for about 5 minutes and then move the biscuits to a cooling rack. When slightly cool, roll them in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container till required.

Assorted Eats and Snow Day!

2010-02-23T18:30:00.013-06:00

First things first – it snowed all day today! Of course it didn’t stick because it was 80 degrees on Sunday, but it was beautiful. Such a rare sight for Austin and a great pick-me-up after last week’s pilot suicide attack on one of our buildings.

I’m so proud of myself for remembering to take my camera to work. Scenes from outside my office right in the heart of downtown.

I’m still eating and taking pictures, but with the wedding a month away I find myself away from home a lot and when home, on the phone. One of the best things I made myself was a veggie burger pita. I was extra hungry (what’s new) and put two Chipotle Gardenburgers in one of my homemade pita breads with some iceberg lettuce and tomatoes and onions.

I also made a homemade tomato and spinach soup. It’s not very pretty and it wasn’t all that good now that I think about it.

Spaghetti squash with mushroom sauce.

Leftover casserole of broccoli, spaghetti squash, and soup – the soup was good in this!

Some greens from my farm box, lightly steamed with raw carrots and corn.

Marinated raw veggies – purple cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, daikon, red pepper, zucchini, and green onions – so yummy.

And a spicy homemade slaw with carrots and cilantro.

The wedding plans are all in place. Tomorrow Chase and I are going to pick up his suit and have dinner together. Chase and Cat are moving to their new place this weekend. I’m having so much fun.

And it’s still snowing!

Daring Cooks Challenge – Handmade Pita and Hummus

2010-02-14T21:19:00.007-06:00

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

I finally made pita bread, something I had wanted to try for a long time. I mixed the dough by hand and also kneaded for 10 minutes by hand. After the dough had risen, I rolled out eight flatbreads. I think I should have baked them a minute or two longer, but since this was my first attempt I stuck to the recipe instructions of three minutes.

I cut one in half to see if I had a pocket, and I did!

As I am so pressed for time these days, I made this recipe in two parts, making only the required elements of pita bread and hummus. I made the pita bread before I started another diet. (I have my eye on a tiny little dress for Chase and Cat’s wedding!) Since I’ve made hummus at least 20 times already, I decided to make a diet friendly, almost raw zucchini hummus. I followed the given recipe, but subbed in three zucchinis for the can of chickpeas and reduced the tahini to one tablespoon.

It’s not creamy like traditional hummus, but the flavor is good and it makes a fantastic salad topper.

Thanks for all of your congratulations on my son’s wedding. It’s such a fun and busy and happy time. And Happy Valentine’s Day!

Lots of Mushrooms and Joyous News!

2010-02-03T19:51:00.009-06:00

There’s excitement in the eat’n veg’n family, but first let’s see how mushroom crazy I’ve been lately.

Along with plenty of the fresh variety, I snagged a huge bunch of dried mushrooms from Costco in Alabama. I don’t love rehydrated mushrooms, but they’ll do in a pinch, especially when they’re rather exotic.

I’ve made all these yummy dishes:

Broccoli and Mushroom Stirfry

Snap Peas and Mushrooms

Purple Cabbage with Mushrooms and Pickled Ginger. Isn’t it colorful!!!

In addition to all the mushrooms, I’ve really been enjoying the seasonal produce.

Roasted Cauliflower with Tandoori Spices

I got this beautiful kale in my CSA box.

I steamed it with some green garlic, also from my box.

I’m eating clean these days, pretty much low fat high raw until at least March 27. What’s so special about March 27? That’s the day Chase gets married!!!!! I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!

Vegan Dinner Party!

2010-01-24T12:30:00.012-06:00

Hi, everyone! I’m back from my wonderful week of vacation at my sister’s home in Alabama. The highlight of the trip was hosting a vegan dinner party. We spent the whole day cooking and had a blast. Thanks to all of you who offered recipe suggestions. We decided on a Mexican theme because we love it, and frankly, good Mexican food is hard to come by in Alabama. Your hosts/chefs:

For our entrée, we chose the oh-so delicious Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado from Eat Drink & Be Vegan.

For our sides we made Messy Rice from Vcon and added in fresh cilantro for a Mexican flair, and a tossed green salad. We plated for our guests and the plates were beautiful.

Here’s our table. You can tell which is my seat by the bowl of broccoli.

Yes, those are margaritas next to some of the plates. The meal was fabulous and our guests loved their dinners.

They also loved the TWO desserts we made. I selected recipes from Vcon which I had made before and knew would be a hit. One was my favorite, Apple Peanut Caramel Bars.

The other was my sister’s favorite, Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding.

Needless to say, the desserts received rave reviews. After dinner the ladies asked for recipes, looked through the cookbooks I had brought with me, and asked me lots of questions about my diet. They said I inspired them to eat healthier, so I’m hopeful I truly did.

My sister had recently bought a Blendtec blender and received a set of All Clad cookware for Christmas. We cooked and ate a LOT and had so much fun together in the kitchen. And my little nephews are enjoying green smoothies every day! During the week I also made Hide the Lentils Spaghetti Sauce from ED&BV (forgot to take a picture) which everyone liked. And we made two soups. Boy, that Blendtec really makes some creamy soup. One was a butternut squash (not vegan because it was made with chicken broth).

The other was Potato Leek Soup from Urban Vegan. (Sorry for the steamy picture.)

Now I need to get off the sweets and back on my diet… again!

Daring Cooks Challenge - Satay

2010-01-14T16:52:00.009-06:00

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

I made this challenge the day after coming off my detox. The only requirement to this challenge was to marinade, so I took that quite literally. I chose to prepare Portobello mushrooms in the marinade recipe given (without the oil). I put my mushroom in a big plastic bag.

I made the marinade.

And then I poured the marinade into the bag and let it do its thing in the fridge for a couple of hours.

I didn’t skewer the mushrooms, just pan seared them.

Before I got the mushrooms in the pan, I made myself a side dish of Swiss chard. First I cooked the stems with a bunch of onion.

Then I added in the whole bunch of greens.

Those brown mushrooms needed some color. The final product was beautiful and delicious!

I’m posting from my sister’s home in Alabama so if this format looks weird I apologize. I still want to hear your “must make” recipe ideas for our vegan dinner party!

Detox Success

2010-01-10T19:46:00.012-06:00

The 7-day detox went quite well. The goal was to shed a few pounds and get the sugar out of my system. The sugar cravings are gone, my appetite is down, and I lost 9 pounds. And I feel great! The first couple of days I was a little tired, but the rest of the time I had so much energy I could hardly sleep. The detox diet was strictly raw fruits and veggies. The hardest part was no salt. The next hardest part was no hot food during the coldest weather in 25 years. And I missed cooking. I really wasn’t ever hungry until the final day. Here’s what I ate in one form or another last week.

The seasoning is Bragg's salt free blend. I alway tossed very well before digging in!

These berries are defrosing and were delicious when ready. Some fresh fruits I ate were apples, pears, blueberries, and bananas.

Wednesday my mom and I leave for Alabama to visit my sister and her family for a week. I will be in charge of healthy vegan dinners. I will also be cooking for at least one, but possibly two dinner parties for omni guests interested in becoming vegan. I would really appreciate your recommended recipes – your own or from cookbooks – to wow my family and friends. I’m packing Vcon, Urban Vegan, and Dreena’s books to take with me.

PS: I’m still trying to catch up with all of your blogs. I’m doing the best I can while going to work and packing!

PSS: I just clicked on the new Go Vegan blog in the Foodbuzz box and it crashed my computer. Did this happen to anyone else?

Happy New Year! Time to Detox

2010-01-05T20:50:00.014-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays as much as I did. After finally finding some time to sit at my computer, I need to catch you up on my holiday eats, so here goes.

Christmas Eve Chili with beans, butternut squash, carrots, corn, peppers. So good we even served leftovers for Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner contributions – mashed potatoes

Shredded Brussels sprouts with cranberries and pecans (Alton Brown recipe)

Tuscan Braised Beans from Urban Vegan (completely awesome)

And treats – gingerbread men (from leftover house dough)

Cherry and Pecan loaf

Mint chip cookies (obviously not vegan)

Banana Oat Bundles (from Vive), half with dried cranberries, half with mini chocolate chips

And my New Year’s Day dinner – blackeyed peas with brown rice, bok choy for greens, and broccoli because I always eat broccoli for dinner.

I enjoyed way too many treats during the holidays and found myself in serious need of a sugar detox. So I signed on for a Seven Day Detox with The Raw Divas. I began Saturday and feel so much better – yay! I’m eating only raw fruits and veggies. It’s not difficult, but I do miss cooking. I moved my mixer off the counter and replaced it with the blender to make green smoothies. Oh, and salt. I do miss a sprinkling of flavored sea salt on my veggies. I mentioned on my last post that I got a new camera for Christmas. Now even my boring salads can look yummy.

Or a handful of almonds.

See you next time with lots of salads….

Daring Bakers Challenge – Gingerbread House

2009-12-27T15:10:00.009-06:00

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

All I can say about this challenge is I did it. I did it on a very small scale as I was short on time and as always, short on patience. I enjoyed making the dough and my tiny gingerbread house templates. I made a one-fourth recipe of dough as I was sure 9 cups of flour was more than I needed, and far more than my stand mixer could hold!

None of my house (bungalow) pieces were more than three inches.

Once cut, they baked for a few minutes.

The challenge was to build a house and get it to stand on its own. That much I accomplished. My frosting was quite stiff and gave me so much trouble as I was applying it to the walls. I did the best I could, summoning all my patience to hold the pieces until they became glued together. I bought a few different types of the typical gingerbread house decorations, and voila. Here you can see that my little house is smaller than a bottle of candy sprinkles.

Like I said, I didn’t create a masterpiece, but I did it.

You don’t have to leave a comment; I’m just posting cuz I gotta. I’m technically still on vacation a few more days, then I’ll be back with a vengeance showing off the new camera I got for Christmas!

Christmas Treats

2009-12-17T19:47:00.005-06:00

I’ve been doing lots of Christmas baking lately and want to share a couple of recipes. The first recipe is for some most excellent Ginger Cookies. The recipe I found was almost vegan, except for the eggs, so it was easily adaptable. The recipe includes a little cocoa powder, and the method is different from any other cookies I’ve made in the past. They are rolled in coarse sugar, so they turn it out crispy on the outside and remain chewy in the middle. They are spiced just right. I think they’re the best I’ve ever made.

Ginger Cookies
(adapted from Once Upon a Tart)

Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (I used EnerG egg replacer)
½ cup molasses
1-1/2 cups vegetable shortening, melted and cooled to room temperature
4 cups AP flour
1 T. cocoa powder
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. cloves
½ t. allspice
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
coarse sugar for rolling

Directions:
Heat oven to 350º and position rack in center of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together, using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer on high speed until light and well incorporated. Turn mixer to low, beat in the molasses, then the shortening.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, spices, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to wet ingredients using the paddle attachment of your mixer on low speed until no flour is visible. (My mixture needed about 3 T. of water at this point to get the dough to come together. If you make the nonvegan version with 2 eggs, this won’t be necessary.)

Pour a handful of coarse sugar onto a plate. Scoop up heaping teaspoons of dough and roll between your hands to form cookie balls (about 1-1/2 inches in diameter). Roll each cookie ball into the sugar, then place onto the baking sheet. (No need to flatten.) Bake for about 11 minutes or until almost set.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack briefly, then transfer off the baking sheet to cool completely.

The next recipe is Cherry Pecan Bread. It’s my favorite bread to bake for Christmas because it’s pink! It’s really a cake baked in a loaf pan. It’s soft and light and perfect for Christmas morning. I made mini loaves to give as gifts (and had one left over for me!).

Cherry Pecan Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
¼ cup margarine, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg replacer
1 t. vanilla
1-1/4 cup cherry juice + nondairy milk
1 8-ounce jar maraschino cherries, juice drained and reserved
½ cup chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Drain the cherry juice into a 2-cup measure, then add enough milk to make 1-1/4 cups. Coarsely chop the cherries.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the margarine, sugar, egg replacer, and vanilla until light and well incorporated. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with cherry juice mixture, stirring just until combined after each addition. Stir in cherries and pecans.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tester comes out clean. (Bake mini loaves for about 35 minutes.) Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Daring Cooks Challenge – Vegetable En Croute

2009-12-14T17:28:00.007-06:00

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

This month’s challenge was super easy – bake something in puff pastry. My en croute was filled with a seared Portobello mushroom, pureed white beans seasoned with garlic and balsamic vinegar, and sundried tomatoes.

I wrapped it up…

… and baked it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. It puffed up beautifully.

Here’s the inside shot. You’ll notice my upside down wrapping. The beans and tomatoes were on the bottom instead of the top!

It was a nice combination of flavors and a delicious dinner. My favorite en croute preparation is whole cauliflower, which I made for Thanksgiving dinner last year.

Puff pastry wrapped things are so festive and would be beautiful on any holiday table. It looks so fancy but couldn’t be easier. Roll out some dough and wrap something up!

More Greens!

2009-12-09T19:50:00.006-06:00

I’m sorry I’ve been such a lazy blogger. Guess I’ve also been a lazy cook. I’m just enjoying the greens that come in my CSA box. This past weekend I got a beautiful bunch of greens, including Romaine lettuce, mustard greens, Red Russian kale, Swiss chard, cilantro, and turnips with tops.

I also got this….

… which I think is a Black Spanish radish. It’s the biggest radish I’ve ever seen! I haven’t cut into yet. It’s still sitting in my kitchen waiting for me to decide when and how to use it.

This particular dinner of greens was cooked with fresh onions and tomatoes and seasoned with a mustard sauce. Alongside is some lentils and rice.

I’m sure you are all as busy as I am these days. I have a party and a cookie swap to bake for, and another Challenge coming up, so I will be posting some yummy treats soon!

Fresh Fall Food

2009-12-02T18:36:00.010-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been eating rather simply lately, just enjoying the plain fresh taste of the season’s harvest. My past 2 farm boxes were most excellent.

Two things I adore this time of year are all the greens, and romano beans. If you’re not familiar with romanos, they are giant, flat green beans. In my last CSA box I got a 2 pound bag! I simply steam the beans about 5 minutes, then eat them like french fries. Sometimes just with sea salt.

Sometimes with nooch.

And sometimes I dip them in marinara sauce.

With all the peppers and onions I’ve gotten, they make a tasty addition to whatever greens I cook. Plus they really add nice color.

My favorite way to eat greens is with onions and mushrooms. I’ve just been crazy for mushrooms lately!

I splurged on a spaghetti squash and must say it turned out to be a fantastic purchase. I don’t know if my oven karma was just right or if I’ve finally learned to pick out good winter squashes, but this was hands down the sweetest, best spaghetti squash ever. I could have eaten it straight out of the shell. But I made it into a meal topped with spaghetti sauce and sides of greens and broccoli. Heavenly!

I want to compliment all of you who prepared Thanksgiving dinners. No matter how elaborate or cozy, you all made some amazing meals - bravo!

PS – Try some romano beans!

Daring Bakers Challenge – Cannoli

2009-11-27T13:59:00.007-06:00

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

As you know cannoli are fried, tube-shaped pastry shells filled with sweetened ricotta cheese, pastry cream, mousse, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. Fortunately, we were given great latitude in this challenge. I have never eaten cannoli and have never wanted to. I don’t own cannoli forms, I don’t fry, and I don’t eat soy cheese or creams. But I do love these challenges! So you won’t see beautiful little pastries in this post. No, I went with a baked, savory, stacked variation with the clever name (and so fun to say) Cannolipolean.

The only required element of this challenge was the dough. I love to make dough and this dough was fun to make. It had wine in it! I loved the smell of the wine as I was rolling out the dough and as it was baking. I made a one-fourth portion of the recipe, yielding a tiny little dough ball.

It rested overnight, then I rolled out four 5-inch rounds.

I popped them into mini tart pans to bake – they just happened to be the perfect size.

A baked version is not as crispy as the fried, but these little discs browned nicely and were very crispy.

For my Cannolipolean filling, I chose two of my favorite ingredients – mushrooms and broccoli. I sauteed them with onions, garlic, wine and lots of herbs.

This turned out to be a very nice dinner. It was tasty and just the right size. And so I’ve still never eaten a traditional cannoli pastry, but that’s okay. I have a new favorite word, “Cannolipolean”!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T19:02:00.001-06:00

I won’t be cooking a feast this year. Chase is away and I will be dining out with my mom and brother.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday. Enjoy your family, food, and fellowship, and remember to take a moment to be thankful for the blessings you have received.

Look Closely

2009-11-18T20:18:00.003-06:00

I’ve been eating very simply lately, so this post is brought to you by my very talented and creative aunt. I believe she made these tricky treats for Halloween.

TV Dinner for Two?

These mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and fried chicken are really cupcakes! Aren’t they the cutest things ever?!! The mashed potato cupcakes are topped with yellow starburst candy and caramel, the peas and carrots are m&m’s and starburst, and the fried chicken breading is crushed cornflakes. I think they are quite impressive. Her inspiration came from this recipe.

Anyone motivated to make a cupcake Thanksgiving buffet?

Daring Cooks Challenge - Sushi!

2009-11-14T11:11:00.011-06:00

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

Hooray for a fun vegan challenge!

The challenge was in four parts:-

Part 1: Making proper sushi rice – wash, rinse, drain, soak, cook, dress, and cool short grain rice until each grain is sticky enough to hold toppings or bind ingredients. Then use the cooked rice to form three types of sushi.
Part 2: Dragon sushi roll – an avocado covered inside-out rice roll with a tasty surprise filling.
Part 3: Decorative sushi – a nori-coated rice roll which reveals a decorative pattern when cut.
Part 4: Nigiri sushi – hand-shaped rice rolls with toppings.

I’ve mentioned many times how poor my rice making skills are. Part 1 was obviously my biggest challenge. I prepared the rice exactly as per the instructions. After all the rinsing and soaking, I put the rice in a big pot along with a piece of kombu.

I am thrilled to report that my sushi rice turned out perfectly! Quite unlike my usual attempts at making a proper rice. Look at all those individual grains.

For the rest of the challenge I made a small batch of each type of roll. The inside out roll took me a couple of tries, but surprisingly I had a rather easy and fun time making all the sushi.

TexMex sushi is quite popular here, so that was the inspiration for Part 2. My Inside-Out Dragon Roll was filled with spicy sweet potatoes and black beans.

I topped him with avocado and then plated him with cilantro and sriracha legs, and a green onion tongue and head decoration. He was deeeeelicious!

Part 3, the Spiral Roll, was simply filled with colorful veggies – cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and red bell peppers.

Nothing fancy, but quite pretty and so fresh tasting.

Finally, Part 4, the super easy Nigiri Rolls. Simply topped with a smear of wasabi paste and shitake mushrooms.

Chase and I ate as much as we could for a fabulous late lunch. Thanks again to the hosts for providing such great instructions. Click here for recipes, including the perfect sushi rice.

Beer Food

2009-11-09T18:42:00.016-06:00

Not food you EAT with beer; food you MAKE with beer! Beer was the theme for our October Food Bloggers potluck. Now it may not seem like the season for cole slaw, but it’s still warm in Texas. I can even remember making a Christmas cole slaw one year with green cabbage and red peppers. Anyway, I brought Cole Slaw with Beer Dressing to our potluck and got plenty of compliments on it. I admit I know nothing about beer and I don’t even drink beer, but I do keep Budweiser in my fridge for guests, so that’s what I used in this recipe. I would think whatever you have in your fridge would work just fine.

Cole Slaw with Beer Dressing

This recipe serves 12. I also made a tester half batch using exactly half of all ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 pound red cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound green cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound carrots, shredded (I used a preshredded package)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup white sugar
1 t. celery seeds
1 – 12 ounce can beer
1/3 cup canola oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 t. prepared mustard
1 t. agave nectar
2 t. salt
½ t. black pepper
½ t. red pepper

Directions:
In a very large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, onion, and pepper. Sprinkle the sugar and celery seeds over the mixture and toss again.

Pour beer into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes. Whisk in the oil, vinegar, mustard, agave nectar, and spices. Remove from heat and pour over slaw. Stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, drain in a colander. Taste for seasoning, toss again, and put into a serving bowl.

Our potluck was held at the 512 Brewery. Can you believe I had never been to a brewery before? 512 is a small business, more like a hobby for the proprietors. They had several beers available for sample and of course the head man was available to answer our questions.

As always, the bloggers brought some very creative dishes to share. Some food I could eat:

Beer Battered Fried Avocado

Beer Braised Brussels Sprouts

My slaw and my cousin’s beer braised black bean salad and homemade tortillas (My cousin makes what she calls *hybrid* tortillas, made with half white flour and half corn meal – corn flavored tortillas that don’t break!)

Some rice that went with a meaty stew!

Nonvegan foods that were a hit:

Beer Crust Pizza

Kabocha Squash Pumpkin Ale Cakes; Roasted Cauliflower and Rice

Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake

And the crowd favorites – Beer-a-misu and Beer Caramels.

Kind of a small crowd this month, but the weather was great and 512 was a great host. I look forward to the next event!

Favorite Pumpkin Stew

2009-11-04T18:31:00.005-06:00

I made this stew Halloween night. It’s so yummy, much a like a chili but sweet with pumpkin and corn. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Pumpkin, Corn, and Bean Stew
(Also known as Three Sisters Stew)
Adapted from 150 Vegan Favorites

Yield: 4 large servings

Ingredients:
1 T. vegetable or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
1 T. sweet paprika
1 T. dried Mexican oregano
1 t. ground cumin
½ t. salt
½ t. crushed red pepper
½ t. black pepper
3 T. fresh parsley (or 1 T. dried)
4 cups diced pumpkin or winter squash
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups frozen sweet corn kernels
1 15 oz. can red or pink beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:
Heat oil over medium heat in a 3 quart sauce pan. Add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and spices and cook a few more minutes. Add pumpkin and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender. Add in the corn and beans and heat through, about 10 more minutes. Thicken the stew by mashing some of the pumpkin. Enjoy as is or over a bed of grains.

There were so many outstanding MoFo posts this year! Congratulations to all of you who participated.

If you want to wish me a Happy Veganiversary, November 1 was Year 4!

Treats!

2009-10-31T16:28:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

I have two treats for you today, both recipes from Celine at Have Cake Will Travel.

Pumpkin Whole Wheat Bread – a yeast bread that is one of my family’s favorite sandwich breads.

Apple Pie in Pecan Crust

What I love about this pie, aside from its fantastic flavor, is that the crust is made with no oil, no margarine, just pecans ground into butter. How clever is that!

Absolutely fantastic served slightly warm.

If you’re celebrating tonight, be safe and have fun!

Daring Bakers Challenge - French Macarons

2009-10-27T18:22:00.010-05:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

This challenge was not a vegan friendly one. In fact, the hostess pretty much said, Vegans, I don’t know what to tell you. Unlike American macaroons, French macarons are basically meringue sandwich cookies. Now I did previously have success making egg replacer meringue, but that was folded into a cake batter. This time I would need to fold almond flour into the meringue and bake it. Instead of agonizing over forming a perfect replica in vegan form, I decided to just have fun with my vegan interpretation.

I made meringue and tinted it orange. These will be Halloween cookies.

It freaks me out to use too much food coloring, so my orange is rather pale.

Rather than grind a whole cup of expensive raw almonds into flour, I used 1/3 cup ground almonds, 1/3 cup ground peanuts, and 1/3 cup ground….

Banana chips!

I folded the flour mixture into the meringue and piped the batter onto baking sheets and baked as directed. I have never eaten macarons so I’m not sure these are the proper texture. I can tell you that I ended up calling them *pillows* because they were super fluffy and soft with a slightly crisp edge.

I made a chunky peanut butter filling. Before I show you my final product, this is what real macarons look like:

Photo from davidlebovitz.com

Knowing I could not create anything remotely equal to those gorgeous cookies, I grabbed a few chocolate chips and created these little monster treats.

They are gluten free, tasted good, and were fun to bake, and they're spooky, right? So I count this challenge as a success. Also, please see Hannah’s perfectly successful vegan macarons – amazing!

Tandoori Vegetable Bake, Collards, and Fried Squash

2009-10-22T20:54:00.007-05:00

An eclectic meal, but a very very delicious one. Of course I prepared all this in the hopes my son would join me for dinner, but I guess Sunday dinners aren’t just going to happen for us anymore.

The Tandoori Vegetable Bake was easy to put together. Combine chopped broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, red peppers, carrots, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions, and a can of chickpeas in a big bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix in cashew cream sauce (1/2 cup ground cashews and 1 cup nondairy milk) and a heaping tablespoon of tandoori spice mix. Put in a big casserole and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly (and your entire house smells divine).

This was a huge casserole! Thankfully Chase was able to come to dinner on Tuesday and eat leftovers with me. I served it with rice and then he took all the rest home with him. Yum.

For my Sunday dinner though, I found two recipes in Local Bounty I wanted to try. I had mentioned earlier that I wanted to make squash chips from my Flying Saucer squash, but I decided to fry them instead. I know! I never fry anything but this recipe was too intriguing. It’s used with several different veggies in the book and I will certainly find more veggies to fry this way again. The batter is so unique (it’s cooked!), and instead of flour the squash was coated in masa harina. Now I really sag at frying because I never do it, but this was the best fried anything I’ve ever eaten. Chase really missed out on these!

Also from Local Bounty was a simple recipe for collard greens. The *secret* was to cut the collards into thin ribbons.

Then they are just sautéed in oil and garlic. I don’t know that they tasted any better, but they did taste good and they do look very nice. And I ate them all. So here’s my lovely little Sunday dinner plate.

This Sunday is another Austin Food Bloggers potluck. The theme is beer and it should be lots of fun.

Mexican Roasted Vegetables

2009-10-18T19:19:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was a big football game day. The ‘Horns played at 11:00 a.m. in Dallas so I fixed up lunch to take to my mom’s and watch the game with her. There were no chips and dips, no burgers or dogs, not even any treats. I went the healthy route and took veggies. With only a few hours in the morning before kickoff, something quick and simple was the best option.

I prepped tons of veggies to roast – zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, radishes, red and yellow and purple peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes. Then I gave them a light coating of olive oil and a good coating of chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.

After 30 minutes, they were perfect – slightly browned and full of flavor. And a little steamy!

I also made some easy spiced black beans. Just a can of rinsed and drained beans mixed with some spices, a little salsa, and water, and then let them cook until thickened.

I brought along corn tortillas and lettuce so we had our choice of tacos or salad. My mom ate just veggies. She loved them and wanted all the leftovers. I made myself a salad, topped with the veggies and beans – yum.

How do you like my idea of game day food? I know, you’ll probably never invite me to watch football with you!

Soup and Snax

2009-10-13T18:15:00.009-05:00

I cooked for 6 hours on Sunday and I don’t have much to show for it. I made my weekly pot of beans, then I made a test recipe for the upcoming Austin Food Bloggers potluck which I don’t want to share yet (it's good!), and then I made some requested nonvegan birthday scones for a friend, which he loved.

It was a cold and rainy weekend, so a big pot of soup for dinner was in order. I made another recipe from Love Soup and took to my mom’s, hoping Chase would join us as well. Naturally he got called in to work, but in these hard times we are all thankful to have jobs and don’t complain. Anyway, I decided on White Bean, Garlic, and Greens Soup.

I used spinach for my greens. The soup was very good, nicely seasoned with sage (an herb I don't use often enough) and garlic, and perfect topped with some seasoned croutons.

Now for the snacks! I love really really crunchy snacks. First the store bought variety.

These Go Raw Snax are very tasty and are nice to have with my salads for lunch. I usually have rice cakes, but these, as you can imagine, have way more flavor.

Best raw crackers I’ve found so far.

I like to have a bedtime snack. I can’t seem to manage more than six hours of sleep a night, so I need quality sleep. I’ve always heard that carbs before bed help you sleep better. This would explain my lifelong habit of having a bowl of cereal about an hour before bedtime. I usually chop up a whole apple, sprinkle on tons of cinnamon, then top with a little cereal and vanilla almond milk. My new favorite cereal is Yogi Crisps.

I imagine this is similar to the new granola clusters cereals I’ve seen. Yogi Crisps are delicious, wheat free, low calorie, and have a way cooler shape than clusters.

I buy cinnamon raisin flavor. There are no raisins in the package and for a while I thought they forgot to add them in. Then I read the ingredient list and saw that the raisins are pureed and added to the crisps – nice! This is a great cereal, even eaten straight out of the bag.

I did make myself one homemade treat. It’s another yummy Dreena recipe - Easy Pleasin’ Oat Bars. Of course I added in chocolate chips and cacao nibs.

These bars are easy to mix up, spread in the pan, and bake in just about 15 minutes.

I’ve been loving all of your MoFo posts. It’s hard to keep up but I’m doing my best!

Vive le Vegan with Some Twists

2009-10-07T18:26:00.005-05:00

I love Dreena Burton’s recipes and all three of her cookbooks. I love them because they are healthy, low fat, low sugar, and many are gluten free – just my style when it comes to good food. Main dish recipes use ingredients I always have on hand and they are written flawlessly. Her treats are small in quantity and never sickeningly sweet or full of margarine. And her recipes ALWAYS turn out perfectly. I revisited Vive le Vegan! on Sunday to make some of my favorite recipes for dinner.

Let me preface by saying that I was hoping Chase would come over for dinner, but I ended up taking dinner to him, so the pictures are rather boring.

Dreena’s recipes are also easily adapted. Sunflower Lentil Pie is one of my favorites. Say you get distracted and burn your pot of the last of the lentils in your pantry (oops!). Luckily I had a fresh pot of homemade pinto beans, so I decided to make the pie with pintos instead of lentils. I gave it a Mexican twist by seasoning it with cumin, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. The Mexican twist was easily inspired by wanting the cool Avocado Sauce from Vive to accompany the pie, and just plain loving all foods Mexican.

Here’s my Mexican Sunflower Pinto Pie.

And here’s the Avocado Sauce. I added cilantro to it.

Please imagine a perfect slice of spicy pie drizzled with the creamy dreamy Avocado Sauce. Doesn’t that look good?!!!! Even though I didn’t cut the pie and have a piece when it was done, I can tell you that the “batter” was fabulous. And of course Chase will tell you he ate nearly half of it for dinner.

I also made some colorful veggies – sauteed purple cabbage, with many onions and colored peppers from the farm box. I kept seasoning it and trying to spice it just how I wanted but couldn’t get it quite to my liking. I finally decided to stir in some bottled Italian Dressing and then I was happy.

Chase was very impressed with his veggies and loved them just as much as the pie. So again, imagine a pretty purple mound of cabbage next to that slice of pie on a plate.

For treats I made my all time favorite easy Vive recipe that always hits the spot, and is not too sweet yet full of flavor – Banana Oat Bundles. My usual twist to this recipe is to add chocolate chips. This time I added chocolate chips AND cacao nibs and they were heavenly.

So ends my ode to Dreena. I know there are many fabulous new vegan cookbooks out now, which I look forward to purchasing and cooking from soon, but it’s nice to have the good ol’ standbys to fall back on anytime. Thank you, Dreena, for providing me with so many “go to” recipes!

Farm Fresh

2009-10-01T19:03:00.012-05:00

My most recent CSA box contained the same produce I’ve gotten all summer.

Bell peppers and onions, rather puny again

Banana peppers

Eggplant

And a nice surprise – 2 pounds of fresh shelled blackeyed peas.

I also got more okra but I’m so sick of okra. It goobers up my knife, the cutting board, and the pan I cook it in, and I still just don’t enjoy it.

I also had some potatoes from a previous box and some local calabaza squash, which is similar to zucchini but always much cheaper at the store. Normally I just chop everything up and sauté it.

For this version, I decided to add in a nice sauce. I used Gee Whiz sauce from The Saucy Vegetarian, which thankfully tasted nothing like Cheese Whiz! I hadn’t made a good, noochy sauce in a long time and I really enjoyed it. It’s a no-cook sauce I just whizzed up in the miniprep.

I added the sauce to the cooked veggies and let it heat through. The blackeyed peas were simmered in a broth. I love fresh peas because they cook in just 20 minutes. Along with a side of fresh steamed broccoli, I had myself a quite delicious and very fresh dinner.

I also got some more Flying Saucer squash.

My Stuffed Flying Saucer Squash post was featured on two weekly “Best Of” blogs, so I’ll have to come up with another tasty way to prepare these. I wonder if they would make good chips. They would make nice flower shapes.

I’m sad I can’t participate in VeganMoFo this year. Work is just too busy. I will post as often as I can though to join at least in spirit. I was a MoFo’er the past two years, and last year I posted EVERY DAY! But I will just enjoy this year’s festivities from the sidelines and look forward to meeting new bloggers and reading about lots of great, healthy, vegan food. Have fun, MoFo’ers!

Raw for Dessert

2009-09-29T18:07:00.005-05:00

I would say my diet is about 50 percent raw, and during the summer it was quite a bit higher than that. I thought maybe I was enjoying more raw foods because I was tired of cooking, but thankfully that’s not the case. Actually, raw food is just good food. Fresh, unprocessed, naturally delicious food.

I was delighted to be asked to review Jennifer Cornbleet’s newest cookbook, Raw for Dessert. As much as I would have loved to have made any of the delicious looking pies or ice creams, I was limited to desserts that didn’t require the use of a blender. (By the way, I appreciate all of your input regarding my broken blender. I finally decided to contact KitchenAid, and it turns out the part that needs replacing only costs $6. It just arrived in the mail today!)

While browsing through the Raw for Dessert recipes, I noticed that several of them used maple syrup and agave nectar as ingredients. We all know that both of these products are processed, and I think it’s generally thought that even agave nectar labeled as raw cannot truly be regarded as raw. Raw for Dessert addresses the use of maple syrup in the introduction, and I also asked the chef at my favorite raw food café, Beets, for her take on the use of these ingredients, as I remembered eating a delicious maple ice cream on my first visit to the cafe. I flat out asked the chef if she considered maple syrup and agave nectar as raw and she answered No. I asked her for her philosophy on using these ingredients and her answer delighted me: If you’re going to indulge in a decadent dessert, a bit of something not 100% raw is okay to be part of the indulgence. For those of you 100% raw, I would say most of the recipes in Raw for Dessert would satisfy you.

So… I made my very first raw cookies! I chose Lemon Cranberry Pistachio Cookies. The recipe was quick and easy to make in the food processor. I let the cookies set up in the fridge for a while.

The cookies are beautiful and so delicious.

I also made my very first raw Brownies. Oh… my… goodness. These are heavenly. Good for me for making a half batch because this chocolate fiend could eat a whole big bunch of these! The recipe called for dried cherries, but since my lemon cookies had dried cranberries, I left them out of the brownies. I used the optional cacao nibs to maximize the chocolate experience. My brownies were not too sweet and bursting with chocolate flavor – just like I like them. This was also a very quick and easy recipe to make in the food processor.

Both of these recipes use dates as the sweetener. The verdict - a big thumbs up so far for Raw for Dessert.

Stuffed Flying Saucer Squash

2009-09-20T16:23:00.005-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised with something other than eggplant and okra in my last CSA box – flying saucer squash. Flying saucers are basically giant patty pan squash, soft flesh with minimal seeds and edible skins. They are great raw or lightly steamed, but I thought I should do something other than chop them up. I decided to showcase their fun form by stuffing and baking them. This delicious recipe is adapted from one I found on Tofu Mom’s blog.

Stuffed Flying Saucer Squash

Cut the tops off six large squash. Scoop insides out leaving 1/4 inch shell. Reserve scooped out flesh.

Filling
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed
reserved scooped out squash, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped roasted green chiles
1/3 cup your favorite salsa
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
salt, pepper, and cumin to taste
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
vegan "cheese" as garnish

Saute onions and garlic in nonstick pan until onions are soft. Add squash, chilies, salsa, black beans, and seasonings. Simmer until squash is soft and most of the liquid has been released. Add rice and stir until heated through. Check seasonings and adjust if needed.

Season inside of squashes with salt and pepper. Pack filling into hollowed out squashes. Set squashes onto baking sheet. Top with vegan cheese if desired

Bake for 30 - 40 min. at 375 degrees or until squash is soft - put broiler on for a moment to melt cheese, if using.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro to garnish.

Dear blogger buddies, I need some advice. My blender broke. It was a nice KitchenAid blender, but not a great one. I used it to make my Green Smoothie Dressing every week, and of course for other smoothies, ice creams, etc. I dropped my entire last batch of dressing when I was taking it out of the fridge and I’m sort of having withdrawals.

Yeh, that was fun to clean up! I really really want a VitaMix, but it’s difficult to justify that expense when money is tight. I can buy a refurbished one for a good discount and pay for it in three installments, but it’s still a LOT of money. What would you do? VitaMix with a seven year warranty or cheapo with a 90 day warranty?

Daring Cooks Challenge - Indian Dosas

2009-09-14T20:57:00.013-05:00

This was my favorite challenge so far. Thank you Debyi from Healthy Vegan Kitchen for this vegan, gluten free, and low fat recipe from the refresh cookbook by Ruth Tal. It may not sound as though this was much of a challenge for me since it is exactly the way I normally cook, but it was my first attempt at dosas. I’ve made Indian food numerous times, so I decided to use the recipes Debyi provided for the entire dish, with the addition of potatoes to my filling since that is Chase’s favorite.

First I made the chickpea filling. It was easy to make and quite good. I found it a little salty on its own, but perfect when eaten with the dosas. I made a half recipe because, well it’s just me here!

Curried Garbanzo Filling

This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don't be afraid to make a full batch.

5 cloves garlic

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)

2 medium hot banana chilies, minced

2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground

1 TBSP (8gm) oregano

1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)

1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric

4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)

½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.

2. Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

I also made the coconut curry sauce. It too was quite easy to make and was a soothing complement to the spicy filling.

Coconut Curry Sauce

This makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic

½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground

¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)

3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder

3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)

3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth

2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk

3 large tomatoes, diced

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.

2. Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.

3. Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.

4. Let it simmer for half an hour.

I did not photo the sauce or the dosas alone. I guess they were too brown and boring to make me think to get a picture. So you’ll have to trust me that they both turned out fine. I had at least a dozen little six-inch dosa pancakes to fill and plate.

Dosa Pancakes

1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)

½ tsp (2½ gm) salt

½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder

½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder

½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)

¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water

cooking spray, if needed

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.

3. Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter.

Makes 8 pancakes.

To plate, a little sauce on the dosa, followed by filling, then roll into crepe or cone, or fold in half like omelette. More sauce on top. Serve with rice and side veggies.

For a side dish I made Rice with Cabbage, but I overcooked the rice and it was mush. I swear I will never be able to make a proper rice. The only way I can get it right is to bake it in the oven. You’ll probably tell me to get a rice cooker. I had one, but I lost it. I don’t know how you lose something like that. I just know I can’t find it anywhere in my house. Anyway, the rice and cabbage was pretty, but you can see it is more akin to mashed potatoes. You can’t discern one grain in this picture!

I also sliced some cucumbers and carrots for a side salad, and topped the dosas with plenty of cilantro.

Indian food is always a favorite here because it’s so flavorful and delicious - without meat, fat, or gluten!

End of Summer Food

2009-09-12T14:02:00.009-05:00

Finally the 100 degree weather has gone and we’ve actually gotten some much needed rain. Perhaps I’ll feel like doing some real cooking soon! Until then, here’s some of what I’ve been eating recently.

First the raw foods:

Raw spaghetti sauce made with sundried and fresh tomatoes over zucchini noodles and shredded romaine lettuce. I wasn’t crazy about the sauce, but I loved the lettuce mixed with the zoodles.

Raw broccoli salad, with mango, avocado, green onions, and dried cranberries – very yummy.

Marinated portobello salad from Whole Foods raw bar – fabulous!

A green salad with mango tomato dressing and sprouted legumes.

And a couple cooked dinners:

Yellow squash stirfry with mushrooms, tomatoes, and green peppers over zoodles.

And a Lentil Veggie Wrap (from one of Dreena’s books – can’t remember which!) wrapped in romaine instead of a tortilla. This was so delicious. I ate a ton of them!

Have a great weekend!

Love Soup

2009-09-07T19:01:00.003-05:00

I recently received a copy of Love Soup to review. Love Soup is a huge collection of soup recipes by Anna Thomas, author of The Vegetarian Epicure. The book is very nicely laid out by seasons, and broken out further into subchapters such as Green Soups, Hearty Summer Soups, Holiday Soups, Cold Soups, and also includes recipes for broths, breads, salads, sweets, spreads, and other accompaniments. There are 160 recipes provided, and the recipes are very creative and utilize fresh seasonal vegetables and herbs. While not all the soups are vegan (and this is acknowledged in the introduction), most could easily be made vegan by using nondairy creams, cheeses, and yogurts. I love to use coconut milk and coconut yogurts, and usually find most recipes don’t REALLY need cheese. Ms. Thomas offers variations and loads of helpful tips with each recipe.

As you know it hasn’t exactly been soup weather here in Texas, but I did find nice soup and salad recipes to try. For my soup I made Mung Bean Soup with Spinach and Tomatoes from the Hearty Summer Soups chapter. I have had a 2 pound bag of whole mung beans in my pantry forever. There is lots of information about split mung beans, but I’ve never been able to find proper cooking instructions for the whole mung beans. I learned from Love Soup that mung beans are easy to cook, have a delicate flavor, are high in protein, and burst open when they cook! This soup is perfectly Indian spiced and completely delicious. I did have to deviate slightly and use a large can of fire-roasted tomatoes, because our fresh tomato season only lasted a month. It’s nice to know canned tomatoes work, because I would definitely make this soup again anytime.

For my salad I chose Heirloom Tomato Salad. I had a giant heirloom in the fridge waiting to be dressed up, and finding this recipe was perfect for a hot Labor Day lunch. As you can see, it is simply tomato, onion, fresh basil, and seasonings. In my opinion, heirlooms don’t need much more than that.

If you LOVE SOUP, I would definitely recommend LOVE SOUP. Honestly, it contains wonderful background with each chapter and recipe, and the instructions are about the best I’ve ever come across. Also on my “must make” list are Kale Salad with Tomatoes and Corn; Brown Rice and Chinese Cabbage Salad; Cucumber, Rice, and Fresh Herb Salad; Eggplant and Roasted Garlic Pesto; Deconstructed Hummus Soup; and Butter Bean and Summer Vegetable Soup.

And now I get to have a delicious soup and salad dinner!

Marvelous Mutabbal

2009-09-01T20:12:00.010-05:00

Sunday the Austin Food Bloggers gathered for another potluck. This month’s theme was Hatch chile peppers. Our local markets have giant roasters and for the past two weeks have provided us with the most delicious peppers.

I really didn’t want to be the cliché vegan bringing hummus to the party, and I came awfully close by selecting Mutabbal for my dish. I got the idea from Bryanna Clark Grogan. Mutabbal is basically a spicy version of baba ganoush. Bryanna’s recipe didn’t actually use any peppers though, just chile powder, so I improvised my own tasty recipe. I thought my Mutabbal turned out fabulously, and it got raves at the potluck. One guest said it was her favorite dish at the party, which I take as quite a compliment coming from a group of accomplished and creative foodies. So if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some Hatch chiles, this would be a great way to use them. If not, a poblano or even a jalapeno would work as well.

Mutabbal

(This recipe serves 12, but can easily be halved.)

Ingredients:

3 large eggplants, totaling about 3-1/2 pounds
12 cloves garlic, cut into several long wedges
½ pound roasted Hatch chile peppers
6 T. tahini
4 T. EVOO
4 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley, plus more to garnish
¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts, to garnish
pomegranate seeds, to garnish

Directions:

Prepare your outdoor grill and set it to high. Wash the eggplants and trim the tops, but don’t cut off the tops. Make many slits on each eggplant and insert the garlic wedges into the slits. Place the eggplants on the grill and grill until the eggplants are very soft, about 20 minutes. Turn the eggplants every 5 minutes to char evenly. Remove to a plate to cool. They will look like this:

When the eggplants are cool, remove the charred skins and chop off the tops. Place the eggplants with the garlic into a food processor. Pulse a few times. Add the roasted peppers, tahini, EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Puree until almost smooth (a little chunky is nice). Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your tastes. Let chill for several hours or overnight; it keeps well for several days.

Spread the eggplant mixture onto a platter. Garnish with the parsley, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds. Serve with pita chips.

Not only does it look beautiful, but it tastes out of this world!

Here’s a few pictures from the potluck. Every dish was made with Hatch chiles, including brownies, cookies, breads, mac n’ cheese, Indian food, sandwiches, popcorn, gazpacho, and a fabulous vegan orzo pasta.

Rachel brought a delicious vegan peach cobbler with Hatch biscuits.

I think my favorite was the Hatch chile vodka served with habanero ice cubes – yum!

I hope you enjoy the Mutabbal recipe, and by the way, eat’n veg’n is now three years old!

Daring Bakers Challenge - Dobos Torte

2009-08-27T17:56:00.011-05:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

A Dobos Torte is a six-layer cake with a caramelized layer of cake for the topping. It is quite rich with chocolate buttercream between the thin layers of sponge cake. As you can see, it is beautiful. I had visions of beautiful finishing touches for my cake, but kept it simple on my smaller, six-inch version. The cake was quite time-consuming. I would say from prep to cleanup was a good six hours. I baked the cake layers one day, and finished the next.

The original recipe is heavy on eggs and butter, so for my vegan version I used Bryanna Clark Grogan’s sponge cake recipe, and VCTOTW chocolate buttercream. I normally loath and despise buttercream, but I actually liked my recipe using Smart Balance instead of EB, and my favorite Scharffen Berger cocoa. I also made it mocha flavored by using strong coffee instead of milk. The sponge cake was fun to make since I got to make vegan egg whites. It really worked!

This was the first time I made cake layers without a cake pan. I drew 7-inch circles on parchment paper and spread the batter onto baking sheets.

This is how my kitchen looked when I was making the cake layers.

As I said, I finished up the next day and the cake turned out just lovely.

I took it to my mom’s (I try not to keep such decadent desserts at my house!) and nervously plated a slice.

Rich and delicious. I’m always amazed when I complete a vegan version of these fabulous challenges.

You can read the full recipe here.

If you have several hours to spare, make yourself a vegan or nonvegan Dobos Torte and I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Flavor Tripping Contest Winners!

2009-08-25T20:24:00.004-05:00

I held an old fashioned drawing. I printed out the numbers, put them in a baggie, and took the baggie of numbers to my office.

I had a friend draw three numbers. She drew these:

I came home and checked the comments. So.... congratulations to Chocolate Covered Katie, Amey of Vegan Eats & Treats, and Ricki of Diet, Desserts & Dogs!

Please email me at atxvegn AT yahoo DOT com and let me know where to send your pair of mberry tablets. Happy Tripping!

Recent Good Eats

2009-08-23T19:04:00.014-05:00

Today was the 63rd time this year our temperature reached 100 degrees or more, and it was actually a record breaker at 105. 69 days is the alltime record and we should easily match or beat that by the end of the week as there is no relief in sight. Needless to say, I’m still doing more assembling rather than cooking of food.

Last week there was a food bloggers meetup and we got a free burger at Elevation Burger. Their vegan burger is decent.

They are a green company using organic and sustainable products and environmentally friendly equipment. More businesses should follow their approach.

Okay, everything else here is raw. I love yellow zucchini and there has been plenty at the farmers market lately. Here I’ve spiralized a couple of them, added in some carrots, and topped it with guacamole. Yum.

Here is raw broccoli marinated in lemon juice and garlic, and topped with a cheesy sauce made from my new ebook from Kristen. The sauce was super easy and very tasty.

When I get really into raw foods, maybe someday I can make food as beautiful and exquisite as the food my mom and I ate at Austin's new raw foods café, Beets. We ate there last night and I cannot wait to go back. I’m also pleased to say that every seat in their beautiful space was taken, which is pretty awesome for a place that opened a week ago. Every single menu item was so tantalizing, I literally agonized over my selections. The excellent waitress offered to serve us each half portions of our orders so we could share our food without stabbing at it across the table or switching plates. Here’s what we were presented.

Starting from the bottom going clockwise, Caesar salad with eggplant bacon, pizza, cabbage slaw, and an open face burger with lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes, and special sauce. We also had flax chips and guacamole for an appetizer, and my mom had some tangy goji berry lemonade.

It was so good! Dessert? Why, yes, thank you!

We shared Maple Pecan Ice Cream (almost forgot to get a picture!), and I had my own little chocolate truffle in chocolate sauce. The chocolate sauce was divine, and the waitress told me it was just created that day. Lucky me.

Today I made okra pickles (an Alton Brown recipe) and cooked some fresh field peas.

I also made a raw pie inspired by Shellyfish’s Coconut Cream Pie. I made her pie crust using raw pumpkin seeds instead of walnuts because I’m saving the walnuts for another recipe. It’s really delicious.

I really really wanted to make coconut pie, but I only had ¼ cup coconut in my pantry. I know it’s not a proper substitute, but I used 3 peaches instead. I put it in the freezer to be sure it set up.

So fresh and delicious.

You still have a little time to enter my Flavor Tripping Giveaway. Comments will close tonight and I will post the winner in the next day or two.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Pie

2009-08-17T18:36:00.009-05:00

Oh, this was good, good, good! Not perfect, but chocolaty deeelicious.

I have a cookbook titled Retro Pies. It doesn’t have a plentitude of recipes I would like to try to veganize, but this southern Chocolate Peanut Pie definitely got my attention. I will give you the recipe as I made, then tell you how I think it would have been perfect.

Chocolate Peanut Pie

The filling cooks up in layers – kind of gooey on the bottom and almost crispy on top, and the crunchy peanuts rise to the top.

Ingredients:

2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
¼ cup margarine
¼ cup brown or turbinado sugar
¾ cup white sugar
½ cup nondairy milk
2 T. maple syrup
2 T. light corn syrup (karo)
2 t. vanilla
3 EnerG eggs
1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Make 3 EnerG eggs and set aside.

Melt chocolate and margarine together in a small saucepan over very low heat. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Combine sugars, milk, syrups, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat with electric beaters or in your electric mixer. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in chocolate mixture until well combined. Stir in peanuts. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly before slicing.

I know it seems really sugary, but even for me it seems perfectly balanced by the salty peanuts. So, my suggestions for improvement:

Can you tell there is no crust on my pie? I made a chocolate cookie crust and it literally melted away! Lesson learned – cookie crusts are for pies that do not require baking. Use a sturdy, i.e., standard pie crust for this recipe.

Did you notice this is a flourless (gluten free) pie? I had to refrigerate my pie to get it to set up completely. I don’t normally attempt to veganize recipes that contain 3 eggs, and this is why. I think a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch or flour (AP or GF) would give this pie the stability it needs. But hey, its still crazy hot here and we did not mind eating a cold pie!

This Chocolate Peanut Pie was for my mom’s birthday party. It was actually for the vegans and all chocolate lovers. After I baked this pie, I made a pie especially for my lemon lovin’ mom. Her birthday pie was a simple but very lemony pie, made with lots of love. It was not vegan because my mom is not vegan, but it could have been by using vegan cream cheese and milk. It turned out perfectly creamy and beautiful and my mom loved it.

I would have posted this nonvegan pie anyway, but I am posting it specially tonight as a show of solidarity for my friend Veggie Girl. I will let her address her issues on her own, but I will take this opportunity now to remind my readers to be compassionate to all beings. Where is it written that vegans should be kinder to animals than they are to humans?

And finally, I have had THREE very nice happenstances recently! Some of my Facebook and Twitter pals know I’ve been sick for the past several days, so fun stuff while I’ve been sick has been really great. (I'm feeling much better this evening.) So, I won TWO blog giveaways!!! First I won a whole box of chocolate Weil bars from Pride & Vejudice, plus Nora threw in 2 extra flavors.

Thank you, Nora! I’ve been enjoying these bars almost every day.

AND I won Kristen’s complete set of Raw ebooks! Yep, all eleven books full of recipes and information I am reading as fast as I can. Thank you again, Kristen!

(Oh, I should remind you now to enter MY giveaway – drawing this Sunday the 23rd.)

The third and most rewarding thing was an email I got. It began, “Hi Diann, I have been an avid reader of your blog for over a year now. I am ready to take the plunge to become a vegan…”

And life is good.

Daring Cooks Challenge – Rice with Mushrooms, (Not) Cuttlefish, and Artichokes

2009-08-14T11:09:00.009-05:00

The August Challenge was hosted by Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes . She chose a delicious Spanish recipe, Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment.

The recommended nonfish version was to substitute potatoes. The only problem I had with using potatoes is that they starch-gooed my mushrooms. Lesson learned – don’t cook potatoes and mushrooms together! Otherwise, this is a fantastic, easy, vegan, gluten free recipe.

Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 Artichokes (you can use jarred or freezed if fresh are not available)
12 Mushrooms (button or Portobello)
1 or 2 Bay leaves (optional but highly recommended)
1 glass of white wine
2 Cuttlefish (per Olga’s recommendation, I used 1 pound red potatoes)
“Sofregit” (see recipe below)
300 gr (2 cups) Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – about 75 gr per person ( ½ cup per person) I could not find either of the Spanish rices, so I used Arborio.
Water or Fish Stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice) I used vegan veggie stock.
Saffron threads (if you can’t find it or afford to buy it, you can substitute it for turmeric or yellow coloring powder)
Allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce, similar to mayonnaise sauce)

Here is my mise en place.

Directions:
1. Cut the cuttlefish in little strips. I cubed my potatoes.
2. Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put the cuttlefish (potatoes) in the pan.
3. If you use fresh artichokes, clean them. Cut artichokes in eights. I presumed she meant the hearts only!
4. Clean the mushrooms and cut them in fourths.
5. Add a bay leaf to the cuttlefish (potatoes) and add also the artichokes and the mushrooms.
6. Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.
7. Put a touch of white wine so all the solids in the bottom of the get mixed, getting a more flavorful dish.
8. Add a couple or three tablespoons of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit. This sofregit is amazingly wonderful delicious and I added about 5 tablespoons!
9. Add all the liquid and bring it to boil.
10. Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in heavy heat.
11. Add some saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice and the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only 1/4 teaspoon.
12. Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”) Arborio takes about 17 minutes total.
13. Put the pan away from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes.

And after a few minutes I had a beautiful pan of what I called Vegan Paella.

Sofregit (a well cooked and fragrant sauce made of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and onions, and may at times different vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms)

You really and truly must make this sofregit. You could put it on pasta or baked potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, or use it for bruschetta. I made a half recipe and had plenty left over to serve on the side.

Cooking time: aprox. 1 hour
Ingredients:
· 2 tablespoons of olive oil
· 5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
· 2 small onions, chopped
· 1 green pepper, chopped (optional) I did use this.
· 4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
· 1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional) I did use these.
· 1 Bay leaf
· Salt
· Touch of ground cumin
· Touch of dried oregano
Directions:
1. Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
2. Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)

I threw it all in the pan.

And cooked it down to this – so yummy!

Allioli is served together with the rice and it gives a very nice taste.
Allioli (Traditional recipe)

Prep time: 20 min aprox.

Ingredients:
· 4 garlic cloves, peeled
· Pinch of salt
· Fresh lemon juice (some drops)
· Extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish preferred but not essential)
Directions:
1. Place the garlic in a mortar along with the salt.
2. Using a pestle, smash the garlic cloves to a smooth paste. (The salt stops the garlic from slipping at the bottom of the mortar as you pound it down.)
3. Add the lemon juice to the garlic.
4. Drop by drop; pour the olive oil into the mortar slowly as you continue to crush the paste with your pestle.
5. Keep turning your pestle in a slow, continuous circular motion in the mortar. The drip needs to be slow and steady. Make sure the paste soaks up the olive oil as you go.
6. Keep adding the oil, drop by drop, until you have the consistency of a very thick mayonnaise. If your allioli gets too dense, add water to thin it out. This takes time—around 20 minutes of slow motion around the mortar—to create a dense, rich sauce.

José's tips for traditional recipe: It's hard to think that, when you start crushing the garlic, it will ever turn into something as dense and smooth as allioli. But don't give up. It's worth the extra time and effort to see the oil and garlic come together before your eyes. Just make sure you're adding the olive oil slowly, drop by drop. Keep moving the pestle around the mortar in a circular motion and keep dreaming of the thick, creamy sauce at the end of it all.

Allioli must be consumed during the preparation day and preserved in the fridge before using it.

I’m sure you guys know I didn’t spend 20 minutes on a couple of tablespoons of sauce. I tried, and I enjoyed the workout for about 8 minutes. This is very very garlicky. I love garlic, but extra oily sauce is not really my thing.

I served the dish with sauces on the side, and some fresh green beans and a hearty roll. (and also some peppadews, but I forgot to plate them)

Another fun challenge that was easy to veganize and naturally gluten free!

Fresh Foods and a Good Burger

2009-08-12T18:48:00.008-05:00

We have some rain in the area and the temp has dropped 20 degrees! Although it hasn’t rained at my house yet, I did get to enjoy watching a nice shower from my office downtown. The heat and drought has taken its toll for sure. Here’s a portion of my last CSA box.

Two nice sized melons, and very puny onions, peppers, eggplant, and okra. Pretty slim pickin’s. You may remember that okra (eggplant too) has never been a favorite veggie of mine. I read recently about a cooking method that promised to take away the slime. I started with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, added some thinly sliced onions and okra, and basically cooked the crap out of it. It worked – there was not a bit of okra slime.

However, there was definitely oily slime and that didn’t appeal to me either. I’ve still got a bunch of okra and I’m going to try again with half the amount of oil and see if some broth will work just as well.

I’ve still been eating lots of fresh salads. One I’m particularly fond of is Tomato, Mango, and Avocado, and just a pinch of sea salt.

It’s heavenly, and something I almost always have on hand.

My usual salads are a combination of greens and beans.

There is still a bit of squash and zucchini at the farmers markets, but not near the usual squash overload typical of the summer season. I made the Salsa Verde Yellow Squash from VegTimes, and it was pretty good, with onions, garlic, black beans, and cilantro. It called for tomatillos, but I only had tomatoes.

Most of you know I’m not a fan of packaged foods, but I do buy them for Chase. I found the new Vegan Gardenburgers at Costco and bought him a big ol’ box. My mom even bought herself a box. The picture on the box looked really good.

I saved one for myself to try. I sautéed it and got all my toppings together, then wouldn’t you know I couldn’t find any bread in my house. Except some leftover gluten free cornbread I had frozen. I didn’t actually get to eat a burger, but I built myself quite a monster.

That’s about all the food porn I have for now. Are you watching Top Chef Masters? I’m looking forward to tonight’s episode and Rooting 4 Rick.

PS – Don’t forget to enter my Flavor Tripping Contest!

Flavor Tripping – a Giveaway!

2009-08-09T16:50:00.010-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Flavor Tripping Party hosted by The Berry Fairy. I had so much fun that I want to offer you the same experience.

Here’s the scoop (reposted from the Berry Fairy site).

What is a Flavor Tripping Party?

Flavor Tripping parties are the latest craze in NY and SF and offer willy wonka-esque taste-altering experiences for your tastebuds. Party-goers get a fresh miracle berry and then help themselves to a bacchanalian banquet of food and naughty beverages. The miracle berry affects everyone differently and the effects can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours. This is what some flavor-trippers are saying:

- citrus fruits like lemons and limes taste sweet
- oranges and grapefruits tasted dipped in sugar
- goat cheese tastes like frosting
- vinegar is smooth enough to drink
- cheap tequila tastes like top shelf
- bologna sandwiches taste like cheesecake
- stout beers taste like chocolate milkshakes

Miracle berries are only good for 2-3 days after they are picked and so they are very rare, expensive, and hard to obtain.

What is a Miracle Berry?

Miracle berries, also known as miracle fruit or Synsepalum dulcificum are fresh plants indigenous to West Africa. The fruit when consumed have an extraordinary affect on your tastebuds. Scientists say a protein in the fruit works by binding to taste buds and altering the tongue's so-called sweet receptors to activate when sour foods are eaten. The "miracle" is everything sour and bitter will taste sweet temporarily.

Lemons taste like lemonade, Guiness beer tastes like chocolate milk, rhubarb tastes like sugar cane!

Miracle Berry plants can only grow in parts of Africa, Asia, and Florida. They take four years from seed to bear fruit. The berries are also highly perishable and must be eaten within 2-3 days once picked. For diabetics, it could be turned into a sugar-free additive. For cancer patients, it could eliminate the post-chemotherapy metallic taste in their mouths and make food taste more palatable. All of these factors including recent press by the New York Times make this berry almost a "miracle" to obtain.

The party in Austin was very well attended and everyone had a blast, even though it was held outside and like a bazillion degrees.

So obviously I cannot provide you with a fresh Miracle Berry. However, at the Flavor Tripping Party there was a table set up selling mberry tablets. I bought a packet of 10.

What are mberries? (taken from the mberries site)

Our tablets contain ONLY freeze dried granules of Miracle Berry fruit and cornstarch (to maintain the tablet shape). In this form, the tablets can last over a year with little to no degradation (when not frozen or cooked!) and the price per miracle berry experience is much more affordable than with the fresh berries.

Who uses Miracle Berries?
· Dieters
· Diabetics
· Curious and Adventurous Eaters
· People at Parties!
Instructions:
First, gently rinse your mouth with water be sure you have a clean tongue.
Please Note: Smoking directly before or after, may negatively affect the sensitivity of your tongue.
The effect of Miracle fruit is made possible ONLY by contact with the tongue, not through digestion.
For this reason, tablets must be allowed to dissolve completely on the tongue.
The most pronounced effect can be achieved by coating the entire tongue in a paste of Miracle fruit for up to 30 seconds.

If you wish to end the experience early, simple drink some hot liquid (tea, etc.) and much of the miraculin should quickly wash off your tongue.

About my experience: While I was at the party, someone at my table said, Hey, what if they sweetened everything before we got here? She was really joking. We could tell the food had not been sugared and the taste was not really sugary. It’s difficult to describe, but I’ll try. Lemons and limes retain their flavor but you can actually take a big bite without puckering. Raw rhubarb, sundried tomatoes, and tomatillos were the most delicious flavor experience of the evening. Hot sauce, jalapenos, sriracha, and mustard were very flavorful and not the least bit hot. I heard later some folks overdid tasting the spicy stuff! And foods that are naturally sweet, and even the hummus I tried, well, their flavor is just enhanced. It really was a trip!
Here’s my plate of the vegan offerings provided.

Last night I finally tried the mberry tablet. With my mom! I needed a newbie to validate that the berry tablets really are miraculous. My mom will be 73 on Friday. She was a little nervous about flavor tripping, but what a cool mom, huh? I brought some samples and asked her to prep them for us.

We had not-so-ripe strawberries, lemons, key limes, tomatoes, and tomatillos. We tried lemons first – my mom loves lemons. Her eyes got big and she couldn’t believe what she was tasting – pure lemon flavor without the sour bite. I was so happy that my food at the party hadn’t been spiked with sugar and that the tablets I bought really work! All of our samples were so flavorful. And my mom had fun. I asked her how she was going to describe her flavor trip to her friends and she said she didn’t know if she could. Then we rinsed and ate our dinner. I realized after dinner that I forgot to test dark chocolate!

So are you feeling adventurous? Are you restricting your sugar intake and want a sweet treat without the sucrose? (Ricki?) Do you just want to have a flavor trippin’ good time? If so, leave me a comment. Maybe you could tell me what foods you would like to trip on. In two weeks, I will randomly select THREE commenters and you will win a PAIR of mberry tablets so you can share your flavor trip adventure. Good luck!

Soup Into Salad

2009-08-06T19:25:00.010-05:00

I saw a recipe on Johanna’s blog for Mexican Rice Soup and thought it looked so yummy. Without complaining again about the tortuous heat, there was no way I was going to make soup, so I decided to turn it into a salad! I just omitted the broth, and I took some shortcuts by using prepared salsa and frozen corn. The first night I ate it as is.

And the second night I put it atop some greens.

It was just perfect! I thought I was so clever and began looking through Vegan Soups by Nava Atlas for more ideas. Oh, the possibilities! You have your ingredients and spices all worked out for you, so even when it’s not soup weather you can still enjoy Johanna’s and plenty of Nava’s recipes in salad form. And if it IS soup weather where you are, be sure to check out Johanna’s recipe and remember to pull out your copy of Nava’s book of delicious soups.

I have a couple of other bloggers to mention. I made Vegetation’s Chickpea Tofu. I don’t tolerate soy, and I get so envious when I see all the wonderful tofu creations you all get to enjoy. Now chickpea tofu is not as firm as the soy variety, but it is really delicious and quelled my tofu envy both in taste and appearance. It just requires a quick mix, like making polenta. Then you let it set up.

Once set, give it a quick sear in your sauté pan and add it to your veggies.

A long long time ago, Amey sent me several packages of allergen free baking mixes. One morning before the thermometer reached 95 degrees (that would be 10 am, but, again, I’m not complaining) I decided to bake myself some treats and pulled out this mix.

I also decided to experiment again with replacing the margarine with beans. Kinda ironic the package says “bean free.” Anyway, I prefer fatfree, so I mixed up some drained and rinsed white beans and added enough applesauce to replace the ¾ cup oil.

I know some of you are still having a hard time believing bean brownies and cookies don’t taste like beans, but I swear you would never ever know! And see, they turned out perfectly.

Sometimes I don’t eat all my broccoli so I'll have room for cookies.

Ecotherapy

2009-08-02T09:31:00.032-05:00

I know I have griped about the heat and I’m sorry to report I still haven’t been cooking, but it is not unwarranted. July was officially the hottest month ever in Austin. EVER! June must have been the second hottest. We’re also in the midst of the worst drought in 50 years. It’s just ugly here. So in order to not completely ignore my blog, here’s the beach vacation post. I hope to have a food post soon.

After doing whatever possible to avoid the unbearable heat of the outdoors, it was like heaven to be able to spend my recent vacation doing EVERYTHING in the pleasantly warm sunshine, fresh air, and soothing water. I stayed in Orange Beach with my sister and her family. Orange Beach is in Alabama, but right on the Florida state line, aka Floribama.

After my sister picked me up from the airport, we stopped at a farmers market on the way home. I was so happy to see green grass and trees, and sure enough, the produce at the markets was amazing. We stopped here again later in the week. We got tons of tomatoes.

And the incredibly delicious Silver King corn. I miss it very much.

And some other stuff.

Plenty of fresh fruits, including the most beautiful aprium.

One afternoon I grabbed an ear of corn and began slicing the kernels off into my tomato salad. They were sweet and juicy and wonderful. My sister said, Raw? I told her I always eat corn raw. She started nibbling off the cob and said, OMG, I love it even more now that I know I don’t have to cook it!

My sister and her family are not vegan. My sister, however, thankfully loves food as much as I do. And she loves great healthy food. We ate mostly raw for three days straight. All manner of salads – green, bean, fruit, tomato, and guacamole. My sister’s 3 bean salad is so good. She made it for us twice.

After 3 days of just salads and fresh fruits, my sister noted that we had not cooked or eaten any chocolate. I was used to not cooking very much (due to the hot temps at home), but going without chocolate was quite unusual! We did eat dinner out a couple of times and we bought some snacks.

There was also an ABC Double Dark Chocolate Cookie, but we ate it before we got it home.

One night we ate out at the Shrimp Basket. My sis and I both got the only vegan option, the steamed veggie platter – cabbage, squash, potatoes, corn, and broccoli - yay!

We also got an order of fried pickles for the table – they were yum.

My nephews asked me if I was only going to take pictures of food while I was there. Translation: why aren’t you taking pictures of us? I jokingly told them if they ate vegan food, they would get a picture on my blog. One morning the oldest was eating a grapefruit and I said, You know that’s vegan food, right? He was ready for a picture.

The last couple of days we kitten-sat for a friend. Turns out Whiskers is vegan!

The corn was bigger than Whiskers!

I don’t think he really ate any avocado.

The rest of the pictures aren’t food, but I hope you enjoy them.

My sister’s condo is on the first floor, right in the middle. It is on the bay side, but the ocean is just a few minutes away.

Where we assembled food.

Relaxing in the living room.

The patio is right by the pool.

The boat is at the end of the dock.

It was awesome to hear someone say, Hey, let’s go on a boat ride to such n such, and then off we would go.

Boys being boys.

Poser.

The older nephew loves to fish. Aunt Diann supports all nephews’ activities. In a way, the boys seem to be learning respect for the water and its creatures. There is plenty of time ahead for them to become vegan. And honestly, it’s an accomplishment to get them to eat much of anything right now.

The younger one is obsessed with boats, and especially their motors. I thought he was kissing our motor, but he says he was smelling it. He’s also obsessed with smelling things.

He’s so darn cute and I just love him and all of his obsessions to pieces.

I love being Aunt Diann. And I love my baby sister. Sister, I hope I have thanked you sufficiently for such a fabulous vacation!

So, yeah, this is my ecotherapy, the place where I am happiest. I love ocean waves, sea breezes, sand under my bare feet, fresh air, and warm sunshine. I hope in my next life I am a beach bum. Or a dolphin.

Daring Bakers Challenge - Vegan Milanos

2009-07-27T18:57:00.006-05:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

How nice to have an option to make either or both of these cookies for this month’s challenge. The marshmallow cookies, sadly, were not an option for me, as I don’t have any vegan marshmallows. The Milanos, however, have already been veganized, thanks to Isa.

Isa’s recipe is more suited to my family’s tastes. She uses a bit of orange zest in the cookie batter and a pure chocolate filling. Gale Gand’s recipe has lemon zest in the cookie batter and orange zest in the chocolate. My family has a thing about fruity chocolate. I did use Gand’s method to spread on the chocolate filling rather than Isa’s method of dipping the cookies into the melted chocolate.

I knew the hardest part of the recipe would be making good looking cookies. I've steered clear of baking sandwich cookies because it's difficult (for me, anyway) to hand shape evenly sized cookies. I didn’t flour my hands to pat out the dough as per Isa’s method. I found the oily batter to be quite easy to work with as is. As usual, my only issue is the time it takes to shape 32 cookies. My attention span is about 10 minutes and these required much longer than that, probably about 30 minutes. I was reasonably happy with my shaping.

I baked the cookies for 14 minutes. After they cooled I melted the chocolate. I was doing other things in the kitchen, and my chocolate seized up. I saved it by adding 1 tablespoon of Smart Balance and 1 tablespoon of corn syrup, then I reheated it and got it back to a nice smooth consistency. I spread it on and made the little sandwiches. Voila!

Now I haven’t had a store bought milano in years, but I’m sure mine are too thick. I have to call them My Big Fat Milanos.

Since these are not gluten free cookies, I had only a taste of about half a cookie. Aside from being too fat, the cookies are wonderful. I am a huge chocoholic, but I would enjoy eating just these cookies without the chocolaty center. They are really crispy, and I enjoyed that for a change. Plus it's perfect with the creamy chocolate center. I know this recipe made the blog rounds about a year ago, so if you didn’t make them then, you should now. They are actually quite easy to bake and super delicious to eat!

Lunch Fun

2009-07-25T15:54:00.009-05:00

Well, hello there! My body is back from vacation, but mind is still on the beach. I’m having a hard time readjusting to real life. I made myself a silly salad lunch to lift my spirits.

As soon as I organize my thoughts and pictures, I’ll post about my beach trip. Until then, here’s a sneak peek of my week of bliss.

I look forward to catching up with all of you this weekend!

Fabulous

2009-07-14T16:15:00.020-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, there were two ladies in our family celebrating birthdays this past weekend.

Yours truly (in the back next to my mom) and Chase’s girlfriend, Cat (next to Chase). Actually my birthday was yesterday and Cat’s is today, but with the likelihood of me being in the office on Sunday and the certainty of me being in the office at 7:00 a.m. Monday, Saturday night was the perfect time to celebrate. We had a fabulous meal at Shoreline Grill at the Four Seasons. Here’s me with my mom and brother at the entrance.

Everyone had such busy schedules we arrived in 4 cars! I brought my mom, and my brother brought his girlfriend.

Cat brought her sister who was visiting from Colorado.

And Chase came after he got off work, kind of late. I took the liberty of ordering lots of vegan dishes for Chase and me to share. That method worked out great for Chase, because they brought the food as soon as he got to the table. My pictures didn’t turn out so great, but it was so beautifully presented and all so incredibly delicious, I have to show them anyway. Here’s what I ordered.

Roasted tofu with edamame and potatoes.

Microgreens salad with dried cranberries and hazelnuts. Chase thought it was hysterical they put craisins in their salad.

Veggie stirfry on soba noodles.

I’m so sad not a single one of the pictures I took of this dish turned out. It’s potato wrapped sushi rolls! Look again at this blurry closeup.

It’s filled with rice and asparagus and came with pickled ginger and excellent wasabi. Chase and I concur it was one of the best things we have ever eaten. How I wish I had asked the chef how he prepared it.

We went back to my mom’s for dessert, which I made. I really took a risk making an ice cream pie to take a 20 minute car ride to my mom’s house when it was 103 degrees, but it arrived okay. The pie was fantastic and perfect for a hot summer night. I made an Oreo Mint cookie crust. I love how black it is. It was a little hard to cut once frozen though. It may have been a little too thick.

I filled it with So Delicious coconut based chocolate ice cream and topped with a minty fudge sauce. The crust and sauce recipes were adapted from The Everyday Vegan and Vive.

Mmmm, it was so good!

I’ve thought a lot about this birthday, and whether or not I wanted to divulge my true age. You all know my son is 23, so you probably figured out I’m pretty old. Oh, I know you’re as young as you feel, blah blah blah, and in my head I’m 35. In reality, I’m now 50. Yep, The Big 5-0. Five decades. Half a century. If I’m honest I can’t check the box on surveys for 30-49 year olds anymore. I guess it’s now 50 and over? – ugh. Most people are kind enough to say I don’t look 50. I know it’s just a number, but it’s also reading glasses, aching joints, crazy hormones, sagging skin, love handles, and what used to be fine lines but are now definitely wrinkles. I weigh the same as I did in high school, but it sure doesn’t look the same. One thing that definitely keeps me feeling young is hanging out with all you fabulous bloggers, many of you the same age as my son. Your energy and creativity continually amaze and inspire me. Enjoy your youth! It seems weird to be 50, but on the other hand, being 50 brings a sense of empowerment and accomplishment. So okay, yeah, I’m 50, but I will be 50 and Fabulous, and next year I’ll be 51 and that will be all right too. Am I where I thought I would be at 50? No. Do I have any regrets? Maybe a few, but mostly no. The best thing about my entire life is my loving family, and my proudest accomplishment is raising my son on my own. Chase is a gorgeous man, hardworking, compassionate, smart, and considerate.

And now, after working like a crazy woman the past few weeks, I get to take a vacation. I’m meeting my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews on Thursday for a week at the Florida beach – woohoo! So I’ll be back next week, 50, fabulous, relaxed, and refreshed!

The Demy – a Fun New Kitchen Toy

2009-07-11T08:38:00.013-05:00

Awhile back I had the opportunity to test drive blogger friend Sophie’s great new gadget, the Demy. It’s a digital recipe reader that lets you sync up your personal recipe collection into a touch screen device that you set right on your kitchen counter. Here’s a few pictures I snapped showing some of its features.

When I had the Demy on, all the pictures I took gave it a brown frame, so here it is off. You can see it is shiny white. And by the way, it is kitchen safe and cleans up easily.

It is small.

It comes with many recipes already loaded into it, a few of mine included. After scrolling through the index, I pulled up my recipe for Peach Buckle.

Here are some screen shots showing my recipe. I remember this is super delicious, so if you have fresh peaches to use up, I can recommend this yummy treat!

This shot shows the features available, easily accessible at the bottom of the screen.

There’s a handy converter.

And a handy timer.

Be sure to check out all it can do at mydemy.com.

I’m sorry I don’t have a Sweet Freedom treat or any food pictures to show you. It’s been a long hard week at the office and record breaking heat every day and I’m whipped. I’ve done nothing but assemble salads and make frozen veggie stirfrys with Amy’s soup sauce, which is tasty and healthy enough, but certainly not blog worthy. I will, however, be making birthday party dessert today and will be back with party pics soon!

A Festive Fifth of July

2009-07-07T18:07:00.009-05:00

I’ve had a quick peek at all of your July 4th posts and you guys prepared some fantastic feasts! I didn’t get to make an All American meal on the 4th, but I did get to – finally - have a Sunday dinner on the 5th with Chase. It was just the two of us enjoying several hours of much needed quality time together. He told me he had been neglecting his intake of veggies and fruits lately, so I set about to remedy that!

I think it’s been a year since we last made this, but we made Indian spiced kabobs using the marinade from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian. It is completely fabulous. The recipe calls for pureeing and straining the marinade, but I left mine chunky. We had all farm fresh ingredients, except the tofu. We skewered the tofu along with purple and red peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, and one tiny pattypan squash.

I also had lots of red potatoes that I got from my CSA box, so I made the Potato Cole Slaw from Vegan Brunch. I only sorta liked the avocado cole slaw from VB, but I absolutely loved this one! What a fantastic concept. I used broccoli slaw instead of cabbage, and coconut yogurt instead of vegannaise (eww). The toasted cumin seeds in the slaw complemented the kabobs perfectly.

I also made yummy gluten free cornbread.

So here’s the table set for two hungry people.

And here’s my happy son’s veggielicious plate. I was lucky to get a shot just before he dove in.

I saved the Sweet Freedom strawberry and blueberry dessert for him, and he ate all of that too. I thought it was huge, but he thought it was just right. Someone asked if I put coconut on top – yes, I did!

I think I got 8 kinds of veggies in him plus two fruits – just what he needed.

Now I need some help from you. Actually, I need two recommendations.

First, I need a good protein/carb post workout drink. With this heat, I’m just too thirsty to eat within 30 minutes of my workouts. What product do you recommend that’s not pure sugar or too high in calories and vegan?

Second, we have another family birthday this weekend. I’m looking for a pure chocolate cake, preferably wheat and soy free, and not the wacky cake I just made two weeks ago. Has anyone made the Double Chocolate Crumb Cake from Babycakes? Or Dreena’s Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake she posted on her site? Please recommend your own or your favorite recipes. It doesn’t have to look like a birthday cake, but it does have to be chocolaty delicious!

Thanks for your help!

A Red, White & Blue Sweet Freedom Saturday

2009-07-04T15:09:00.007-05:00

How fitting for Sweet Freedom Saturday to coincide with Independence Day. I had many options for red and blue berry type treats to choose from Ricki’s book, but as it continues to be insanely hot here, a no-bake dessert was in order. I blended up some delicious Vanilla Pastry Crème to layer with fresh local berries. Yes, it's a simple offering, but beautiful fruit, just slightly enhanced, is a wonderful thing.

If I had had a pie crust in the freezer, I might have made a festive pie like the one pictured on the cover of Sweet Freedom.

Or a patriotic tart like I made last year.

I am thankful to live in America. There are many things to be proud of and to love about our country. But after seeing Food, Inc. last night, there is much that needs improving, much much more than I realized. Without commenting on big government, the food industry, and the general ill health of our citizens, let me urge you to do whatever you can to support local growers. Become a part of your community and patronize the farmers markets in your area. It really does matter that you eat locally, seasonally, organically, and naturally. And go see the movie!

Happy Independence Day!

Cool Food for Hot Days

2009-06-30T22:00:00.012-05:00

The past 16 days have brought record heat to Austin with temperatures between 100 and 107 degrees every day. It couldn’t even cool off at night. Several people I know had their a/c go out, including my mom. Our office a/c went out too. Thankfully, today we caught a bit of a cool front and even got some rain. It’s been rather pleasant. I’ve been eating tons of cold food, and even when I would cook dinner, I wouldn’t eat it until it was room temp.

My last CSA box included much of the same, squash, oriental cukes, carrots, onions, and chard. Not pictured are cherry tomatoes, radishes, garlic, beets, and red potatoes. My prize was finding this gorgeous heirloom included!

I haven’t eaten an heirloom tomato in ages. I simply sliced it and ate it with just a bit of salt.

I had forgotten how completely delicious they are. It was like eating the tomatoey-est tomato juice you can imagine. Simply fabulous.

I’ve also made a great big cucumber, onion, and tomato salad, which I seasoned with basil and salt.

There’s been many many batches of Green Smoothie Dressing to go on everything, from green salads I take to work to leftover steamed broccoli.

Of course there was more raw beets to eat. I had been hesitant to put them in my spiralizer, but I finally relented and ended up with a lovely bowl of red and gold beets and a few radishes. Jessy, can we call these *boodles*?

I got a near-empty jar of Dijon mustard, thinned it with water, and poured it over the beets for my dressing.

I mentioned in my last post that it was my brother’s birthday. I was thrilled that he (not vegan) asked me to bake him the Moosewood Deep Chocolate Vegan Cake. I made it for my own birthday last year and it was beautiful.

Sadly, I knew a layer cake would never last being transported in my car to my mom’s house with an air conditioner that had only been working a few hours. So it looked like this. (My brother is much older than the number of candles on the cake!)

Quality trumps beauty! I made it using my best Scharffenberger cocoa and 99% chocolate. Bro loved it, once again proclaiming it the most delicious, moist, richest, and best cake ever. I think it has a lot to do with the fantastically yummy peanut butter frosting. I just had to take this picture.

A funny restaurant story – when we were eating out for our birthday dinner, there were no vegan entrées, so I ordered sides of asparagus, sugar snap peas, and mushrooms, then handed the waiter my menu. He said, Ma’am, you forgot to order your entrée!

Before I end, I want to ask you all to go visit my blogger friend Judy. I’ve been following her for several years and have admired her cooking and baking skills, even when the food wasn’t vegan. Well, now she has publicly declared her decision to go completely vegan! Please let her know how delighted you are and go give her some love.

Daring Bakers Challenge – Bakewell Tart

2009-06-27T16:22:00.006-05:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Well, this Texas lady has never seen or tasted a Bakewell Tart, and I admit I had no idea what I was supposed to be baking. I was not confident enough to do anything but follow the recipe as written, making vegan substitutions of course. The dessert was easy enough to make. It didn’t take a lot of time and was pretty easy to veganize.

If you are like me and unfamiliar with this dessert, it is a sweet almond pie crust, a layer of jam, and frangipane. Frangi-huh? This was the part that really threw me. As far as I know, I’ve never eaten a dessert with frangipane. Heck, I don’t even know how to pronounce it. The recipe called for three eggs, and I’m not sure I made a proper vegan equivalent.

What I did make was a delightfully soft tart dough, which baked up quite nicely. I wish I had had time to make homemade jam, but I relied on seedless Strawberry Allfruit, which I think is wonderful. And I confess I used a lot of jam, probably too much. It’s just that the crust and the frangipane are mostly butter and the jam was the only relatively healthy aspect of this dessert. I figured based on 8 servings, your slice of tart would net you about 800 calories.

So here’s how it looked out of the oven.

And here’s a slice.

As you can see, I didn’t achieve the layering aspect that a correctly prepared Bakewell Tart should have. I think the copious amount of strawberry jam commingled with the frangipane. A Bakewell Tart, or whatever I created here, would never be my dessert of choice, but I did end up with an excellent, very delicious Strawberry Almond Tart, which I was more than happy to serve to my family.

On a side note guys, I feel bad when I post and don’t have time to come around and leave comments on your blogs. I have been extremely busy with life and work and I have just not been able to sit down at the computer for any stretch of time. I think I will have a quiet day tomorrow and be able to catch up with you all - after I clean my house. It's such a wreck. Gotta run again. It's time to celebrate my baby brother’s birthday. Oh, and I'll try to get back to a Sweet Freedom Saturday next week.

Dreamy, Refreshing Soup

2009-06-23T18:11:00.006-05:00

It may not look like it from my picture, but this cold soup is the lightest, smoothest, and most refreshing thing I’ve eaten in all of the past two weeks of 102 degree heat. I got the recipe from GOOP.com. Gwyneth says it will be in an upcoming book called “Clean.” I made a double recipe, and what I couldn’t eat I used as salad dressing. It’s so delicious and you can make it in less than five minutes.

Cucumber and Avocado Soup
as posted in GOOP.com

Zest of ½ a lime
Juice of one whole lime
½ teaspoon salt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
½ an avocado, peeled and chopped

Blend everything together until totally creamy and smooth.

I’ve not been around lately due to the College World Series, but there’s a two hour rain delay now so I’ll take this time to come see what you all have been up to!

Lemon Berry Scones – Sweet Freedom Saturday

2009-06-20T12:54:00.006-05:00

You got a peek of this week’s Sweet Freedom treat covered in strawberries on my last post. Ricki’s Lemon Berry Scones are so light and absolutely bursting with fresh lemon flavor. The recipe bakes up six huge scones.

I really really wanted to bake these for my lemon lovin’ mom, even though I had apparently eaten all my fresh blueberries and I let my strawberries get moldy. Thankfully I have a big sack of dried mixed berries and they were an excellent replacement for the fresh ones. As I said, the scones are quite big, so mom and I split one, and mom provided fresh, non-moldy strawberries for the top.

I know I keep making changes to these Sweet Freedom recipes, but they’ve all been honest mistakes. I don’t think Ricki’s recipes need any alterations. I just consider my changes a testament to her perfect recipe writing, which allows for adaptation and screwups!

By the way, I fixed the Carrot Ribbon Salad recipe in my previous post into a more readable format. I made the recipe Mexican style, but the original recipe was Asian style with sesame oil and sesame seeds – yum! Lots of you commented on it. Please let me know if you try either version.

Finally, thank you to everyone who alerted me that my posts (and others) are being uploaded onto another site claiming them as their own. You might want to check this site to see if any of your posts are there as well.

My content isn’t copyrighted, so I guess that’s a risk I take. I don’t understand starting a blog to steal other bloggers’ posts. I do, however, get a kick out of seeing my posts translated on one site that seems to pull them up in French, then retranslated them into English. There I’m known as Vegan Nutriment & Recipes - I love it!

Mexican Food for Game Night

2009-06-17T20:41:00.007-05:00

This is the dinner I took to my mom’s for an evening of watching baseball. It wasn’t a particularly spectacular or memorable meal. Oh, it was yummy, all right. And it was quick and easy to make each dish, and it definitely hit the spot on a 100 degree day. The beauty of this meal was the recipes I put together. It had perfect mix ‘n match-ableness. Here’s what I made.

Corn Soup
from Vegan Fire & Spice

Soup when it’s 100 degrees? Yes! This soup is made with fresh corn and potatoes and served at room temperature. My mom loves corn soup and she loved this recipe. It was very good.

Carrot Ribbon Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Dr. Ben Kim

Makes 6 small servings

Ingredients:
6 medium carrots, washed and peeled

Large handful of fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of one orange

1 T. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 avocado, peeled and diced

Directions:
1. Slice carrots into thin strips using a mandolin or vegetable peeler.
2. Combine carrot strips and cilantro leaves in a salad bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine the orange juice and lime juice. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and whisk again.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Gently stir in the avocado.

This simple salad was really really delicious. Of course I love cilantro, and Dr. Kim says:
Cilantro is particularly good when combined with carrots and citrus juice - we were introduced to this recipe by an old family friend, who learned it from celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver.

Wild Rice Salad with Mango, Onion, and Red Pepper

This was simply a box of wild rice, cooked and cooled. Then I added chopped mango, onion, and red bell pepper. I served it at room temp too. It was a wonderful way to use that box of rice I’ve had in my pantry forever.

Tipsy Soft Tacos

From Lisa of Show Me Vegan

I bought burrito sized spinach wraps and just made the bean part of Lisa’s recipe, so I will call these Beer Bean Wraps. These beer braised beans were terrific! I think they may have tasted even better the next day. Is it just me or does everything taste better when you add alcohol to it? Oh, I made the toasted pepitas too. Fabulous idea, Lisa!

Like I said, the mix ‘n match aspect of this dinner was the best part. The rice salad and the carrot salad could remain a side dish, or they could go in the wraps or garnish the soup. The toasted pepitas got sprinkled over everything.

For dessert, fresh strawberries on top of a Sweet Freedom treat which I will reveal on Sweet Freedom Saturday.

A refreshing and delicious meal to go with a victory for the Longhorns!

Daring Bakers Challenge – Chinese Dumplings

2009-06-14T12:40:00.011-05:00

I was nervous about this month’s dumpling challenge as I have never been successful at making filled pockets of dough. I just can’t seem to crimp properly and always end up losing most of filling. But the recipe provided by our hostess, Jen from use real butter, was a winner!

The dough recipe is naturally vegan, and a vegan filling was easy to come up with. Mine was all veggie, mostly Napa cabbage, with onions, peppers, and water chestnuts.

I am sorry there are not more pictures of my dumpling-making but I was by myself and my hands were doughy and I needed to work quickly. The hardest part for me was rolling the dough into actual circles. I have terrible trouble with pie crusts too. Surprisingly, I found the pleating to be quite easy. I had every intention of becoming bored after making only a dozen, but it was so much fun that I amazed myself and quickly made the whole batch. I got 25 adorable dumplings.

I put them all in the freezer even though it was for just a few hours. It just seemed like the right thing to do. It’s already 100 degrees here and I figured the dough would be happier all nice and cold.

I only took out six of them to steam because I wasn’t expecting Chase to show up for dinner. Well, at first I was expecting him, then I wasn’t – and you know how that’s been going. I’m starting to think that if I plan on him NOT showing up, he WILL show up, and that’s the way to get my Sunday dinners back! Chase did come for dinner, so the six dumplings went into the steamer basket lined with cabbage leaves.

After about 7 minutes, they were perfect! I served them with a simple dipping sauce.

Such delicious little treats!

Along with the dumplings, we also had cilantro rice.

And Asian baked tofu.

And a bean sprout and very veggie stirfry.

I no longer fear the dumpling. This successful challenge has inspired me to give hand pies and empanadas another try. I truly enjoy these Daring Kitchen challenges. Even though I’ve been cooking and baking well over 20 years, there is always something new and fun to try. You are always welcome to join us!

Banana Oat Bars – Sweet Freedom Saturday

2009-06-13T09:09:00.003-05:00

This week’s edition of Sweet Freedom Saturday features the most excellent gluten free, soy free Banana Oat Bars. Ricki describes them as a cross between a cookie and a granola bar.

As you can see, I added chocolate to this recipe. I just can’t help myself.

I didn’t eat all of them myself this time, but I do have another confession to make. I completely forgot to include the sugar in the batter! Of course I didn’t realize my mistake until the batter was all spread in the pan and I was just about to pop them in the oven. I decided to sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sucanat on top. Thankfully, the batter recipe is very forgiving because the bars were a perfect granola cookie, and the caramelized sugary topping turned out to be all the sweetness we needed. I love that bananas can be your sugar.

I will try very hard to prepare next week’s recipe correctly, but I can’t promise I won’t eat them all. Sweet Freedom recipes are the best!

Heads Up!

2009-06-12T18:42:00.002-05:00

Last night after I wrote my post, I got a bite to eat and did a few household chores, then sat back down at the computer to make the blog rounds. I was just about to leave a comment on River’s awesome post when a storm blew in and my power went out for the night. Not only was it a scary storm, but it was hot and so very boring. We are supposed to get another storm again tonight. My candles are out and ready.

ANYWAY…. I was going to update my post to include the link to River’s sweet giveaway of Healthy Chef, an amazing 4-in-1 kitchen appliance that acts as a food dehydrator, rice cooker, steamer, and yogurt maker all in one. Head on over to WingItVegan and enter for a chance to win!

Local Eats

2009-06-11T19:46:00.007-05:00

My most recent CSA box had a mix of red and gold beets, and the usual onions, garlic, chard, and squash, plus the first of the tomatoes and some red potatoes. The beets were pretty small, so I didn’t get very many greens. I found Mark Bittman’s Raw Beet Salad recipe and have been enjoying it all this week. It’s very easy to make, and quite a delicious. I didn’t grate my veggies as per the recipe. I just diced cuz I like to get out a big knife and whack veggies at the end of a long stressful workday.

Raw Beet Salad

Yield 4 servings

Time 10 minutes

by Mark Bittman

Uncooked beets are less sweet and earthy than they are when boiled or roasted. If you just can't resist cooking them, once they're shredded, they can be quickly sautéed in butter or oil.

Ingredients
1 pound beets
1 large shallot
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or other good strong vinegar
Minced parsley, dill, chervil, rosemary or tarragon

Method
Peel the beets and the shallot. Combine them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and pulse carefully until the beets are shredded; do not puree. (Or grate the beets by hand and mince the shallots; combine.) Scrape into a bowl.

Toss with the salt, pepper, mustard, oil and vinegar. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Toss in the herbs, and serve.

Remember the cute little flying saucer squash?

They were so good just steamed whole for 3 minutes. If I get any more, I may get fancy and stuff them with something.

Most of the zucchini and yellow squash have been made into stirfries, such as this one with mushrooms, onions, and daikon.

Here’s a fun recipe I haven’t made, but it’s on my long list of recipes to make.

Kids Watermelon Pizza Supreme
From the National Watermelon Promotion Board

Ingredients
1 (8-to-10 inch round and 1-inch thick) watermelon slice, drained to remove excess moisture

1 cup strawberry preserves

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions
Place the watermelon slice on a serving platter and cut into 6 wedges leaving them in the shape of a pizza. Spread the preserves over the watermelon and sprinkle the toppings over the top.

Serves 6.

That’s all I have for now!

Vegan Brunch

2009-06-08T19:32:00.008-05:00

I have just a quick post of a couple more recipes I’ve tried from Vegan Brunch. My ‘Horns are playing and if they win they go to the College World Series!

I made the Curry Cauliflower Frittata for Chase, using some beautiful orange cauliflower from the farmers market that I roasted.

It smelled wonderful as it baked. Here it is out of the oven.

I don’t have a picture of a slice, because it didn’t hold together. Chase didn’t care. He said he would just call it a scramble and enjoy it that way. I’ve noticed several other posts where these frittatas haven’t held together. When I made it, I thought it seemed dry and there was no liquid or binder at all in any of the frittata recipes. Maybe my tofu was squeezed too dry. Have you run into this problem? Or are you adding some liquid to your mixture? I would love to make another one for Chase, but I want it to turn out right.

The other brunch item I made was the Potato Spinach Squares. I added some onion and sundried tomatoes to my batch. This baked up beautifully.

These squares got RAVE reviews and I thought they were super delicious.

Isn’t it pretty?

I’ll be around to visit after the game! Hook’em ‘Horns!

Maple Walnut Cookies – Sweet Freedom Saturday

2009-06-06T13:37:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday I mentioned I was undecided on which of Ricki’s Sweet Freedom cookies to bake. I was looking for a cookie to complement my Peach Strawberry Ice Cream and finally decided on Maple Walnut Cookies. Ricki describes them as chewy with a crisp exterior. These delicious cookies were the perfect choice.

I’m glad the recipe only makes a dozen cookies, because although I tried to save some for Chase, I ate them all myself!

A Whole Lotta Green!

2009-06-03T19:19:00.016-05:00

I’ve been eating lots of fresh greens, salads, and zucchini lately, so this post will be pictures of how I’ve been enjoying them.

My CSA box and trip to the farmers market 2 weeks ago was quite nice. Hooray for fresh, local foods!

Radishes, dill, cucumbers, flying saucer squash (very delicious), broccoli, romano beans (my fave), tomatoes.

Orange cauliflower, carrots, red and gold beets (yay for more beet greens!), swiss chard.

Zucchini, squash, and peaches.

Salads I’ve had:

Beet greens and sunflower sprouts

Mixed greens, radish sprouts, beets, and Green Smoothie Dressing (and a side of orange cauliflower)

Spiralized zucchini and radish sprouts with Green Smoothie Dressing (I just can’t eat store-bought dressing anymore!)

I ate quite a few raw spiralized zucchini salads. Then I decided that just because I spiralized them didn’t mean I had to eat them raw. So one evening I made a big pile of ribbons and then just gave them a quick sear. This was delicious with lots of saltfree seasoning on top.

I also cooked a big pile of squash and zucchini noodles. These I put in my wok with some onion, let the water release, then they just sort of steamed themselves and turned bright green and yellow. Wow, this was the most delicious simply prepared squash ever!

Another night I added some of the leftover noodles to a veggie curry.

I made another curry with the chard. (See end of post for explanation of curry cravings.) I put on a pot of red lentils for my sauce, and while they softened I prepped my chard. I had the loveliest striped stems!

This dish turned out quite nice, topped with some cold chopped tomatoes to balance out the heat.

Then I had to clean the stove where the lentils boiled over.

Gee, it’s weird what I take pictures of sometimes….

Spring is over here and now it’s just downright hot. I’ll be anxious to see what veggies survive the heat and arrive in my CSA box this weekend. I hope there will be lots of tomatoes, peppers, and chilies. That means I can make fresh salsa, and fresh salsa is great on everything!

So, do you know why spicy foods are craved and appropriate to eat in the summertime? Because they make you sweat and your sweat cools your body! And I don’t know about you, but I always crave ice cream after a spicy meal this time of year. Another appropriate way to cool the body down. I think I just figured out why I love summer.

Burgers and Ice Cream

2009-06-01T19:55:00.008-05:00

I have a huge backlog of food pics, but I think tonight I’ll take the easy route and give you my favorite bean burgers and ice cream recipes from last night’s dinner.

But let me start with my side dish. I made the Creamy Avocado Potato Salad from Vegan Brunch.

I am still undecided about whether I like this recipe. I think it’s because I had in my mind that I was adding potatoes to guacamole, and that thought just didn’t appeal to me. I added in lots of fresh dill (even though my hand kept reaching for cilantro). The potato salad tastes good and it’s really creamy and I love that it doesn’t have vegannaise or tofu in it. I’m reminded of a time, a long time ago, my dad shaped hamburger meat into weiner shapes and served them on hotdog buns – he liked to play with food too. My tastebuds were confused by my eyes and it was hard to eat. I’m sure this is just a weird quirk of mine and the rest of the vegan world will love this potato salad.

Now for the burgers! I made black bean burgers following my all time favorite recipe from tahinitoo. Your burgers will always turn out using this recipe. (The Blackeyed Pea Soul Burgers on her original post are amazing!) You can use any beans, any veggies, any flour, and any spices, and I promise you will always get a burger that holds together and isn’t mushy. I like to bake my patties ahead of time, then throw them on the grill to heat them and add yummy barbecue flavor. Here’s my fantastic burger.

I’m not going to boohoo, but I set this table…

… and nobody came to eat with me.

Not only did my invitees miss out on a great burger plate like mine…

… but they also missed the best ice cream ever! The best ice cream ever is the one Amey posted last year. I’m sure you could use any fresh fruit you have on hand, but I followed this simple recipe exactly.

Peach-Strawberry Cashew Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews
2 cups diced fresh peaches
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Place cashews in blender and grind to powder. Add remaining ingredients and blend well, at least one minute. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Like Amey said, SO freaking good!

Figaros – Sweet Freedom Saturday

2009-05-30T16:09:00.004-05:00

Awhile back I had the delicious privilege of being one of Ricki’s testers for her cookbook full of treats, Sweet Freedom. So when shellyfish began her Sweet Freedom Saturdays, it was easy to decide to join in.

One of the things I love most about Ricki’s recipes is that they are so easy. Most of the ones I’ve made don’t even require an electric mixer – just bowls and spoons. Since I had tested lots of yummy treats already, I picked out a cookie I hadn’t made before. I chose Figaros, your healthified Fig Newton.

No figs on hand? No problem! I didn’t have any figs either so I used prunes, I mean dried plums. And you know what? They still tasted exactly like the Fig Newtons I remember, only better because they didn’t have sugar and chemical preservatives.

I need to say that I got a copy of Babycakes and after reading the book twice, there is still not a single recipe I want to run into the kitchen and bake. On the other hand, there are 3 Sweet Freedom cookie recipes I have bookmarked now that I can’t decide between to bake for tomorrow. But I’m leaning toward oatmeal.

Daring Bakers Apple Strudel Challenge

2009-05-27T18:03:00.010-05:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I had never made Apple Strudel before. It’s just so easy to throw your apples into a pie crust. The challenge in making a strudel is to roll out and stretch the dough until it is paper thin. I didn’t find this challenge too difficult, perhaps because I made a half recipe and my smaller portion of dough was more manageable. I didn’t get creative either, just followed the given recipe, substituting vegan Smart Balance for the butter.

First I made the dough so it could rest for an hour or so.

In the meantime I peeled, cored, and sliced 2 large Gala apples and sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar.

There were also Craisins soaking in brandy to add to the mix, and toasted buttered fresh bread crumbs prepared.

When it was time to roll out the dough, I cleared off the dining room table and got to work. The dough was absolutely beautiful and I found it very easy to roll and stretch with the backs of my hands. We were told holes were okay, an indication of a good stretch.

Next the dough was buttered and sprinkled with bread crumbs. Then walnuts were placed at one end, and then the apple mixture spread over the walnuts. The first dough coverage is done by hand, then the rest of the strudel is rolled using the cloth under the dough. Kinda scary, but lots ‘o fun!

Rats, there’s a wrinkle! But I can’t fix it. I tucked the ends under and it was done. It was easy to transfer to the baking sheet. 30 minutes later…

After it cooled I wrapped it in foil and hoped the dough would stay relatively crispy until I could take it to my mom the next day. I cut it right in half for my mom and Chase to share.

Yay, it still looks nice and flaky! I only ate a pinch of pastry to make sure I had done it right. And now, relying on an old Veggie Girl method, here is my mom’s (completely unbiased) review:

The apple strudel was the best I have ever had! Little old German ladies baking strudel for the County Fair could not have baked strudel this good!!! I loved it! Chase's portion is not going to be long for this world. I cut off half of my piece to eat, then went back for the rest. I put fresh sliced peaches on top - heavenly!

So there you have it. Next time you’re in the mood to bake a pie, bake a strudel instead!

You can find the recipe here. Don’t let the lengthy directions put you off. It only took me 2 hours start to finish. A couple of tips: Increase the amount of cinnamon. Don’t skip the homemade bread crumbs. I only used 3 slices of bread, crusts removed, and cut into big 1/4-inch pieces. They soak up some good buttery flavor and help the layers of dough separate. And I’ll bet a fresh peach strudel would taste amazing.

Beans for Breakfast Cake

2009-05-25T10:00:00.008-05:00

I made the Beans for Breakfast Cake and again it turned out so good. Since Chase wasn’t around to take it from me, I discovered that it’s even tastier the next day. I’m going to keep playing with this recipe. I think I can make hearty cookies out of it, and Chase wants me to make some for him using protein powder so he can have a super protein treat. My method is a little unconventional, but it doesn’t really matter since it has no gluten!

Beans for Breakfast Cake (gluten free)

Makes one loaf

Ingredients:
1 T. flax or chia seeds
2 T. water
½ cup gluten free oats, ground
½ cup gluten free oats, whole flakes
½ cup gluten free flour mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill, but you could use any flour on hand)
1 t. baking powder
½ t. xantham gum (omit if you don’t have any)
pinch of salt
3 – 4 T. brown sugar (depending on the ripeness of the banana)
¾ cup white beans, pureed (I’ve used chickpeas and Great Northern)
½ of a medium very ripe banana
2 t. vanilla extract
½ cup nondairy milk (I used So Delicious coconut)
1 T. canola or vegetable oil
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup walnuts

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flax seeds and water and set aside.

Mix the oats, flour, baking powder, xantham gum, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir well to combine.

Place the beans in a food processor (I used a mini prep) and puree. Add in the banana and the flax seeds and process until smooth and incorporated. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl. Stir in the vanilla, milk, and oil and mix well. Stir in the chips, raisins, and nuts.

Spread the mixture into an oiled 8 x 4 inch loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until it begins to pull away from the sides and the top is golden brown, dry, and puffed. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Earlier this week we had Pizza Night. We had a vegan pizza delivered from Hoboken Pie and I had my first taste of Teese. The pizza was a delicious 18-inch monster of a pie.

Thin crust, perfectly topped.

I’m always telling you how much Chase eats, so I’ll tell you I had one slice of this pizza and he ate all the rest at dinner – amazing. He and his girlfriend got bad colds this weekend, but they are still awfully cute!

I’ve been eating lots of salads with fresh foods from the farmers markets and my CSA box. I’ve also made a couple of recipes from Vegan Brunch – my copy finally arrived – one success and one failure. As soon as I organize myself I’ll post all the pictures I’ve taken.

I don’t think we’ll be grilling today since the kids have to work AND they’re sick, but I’ll probably cook something to take them this evening. I took them and my mom to the IMAX yesterday to see the new Night at the Museum movie. It was fun.

It sure is nice to have a Monday holiday!

Tater Hot Picnic Salad

2009-05-21T20:38:00.015-05:00

As if you need another potato salad recipe…. but I found this super delish accidentally vegan version that would be great for any Memorial Day parties you may be asked to bring food to this weekend. I took this salad to an Austin Food Bloggers Potluck last weekend and didn’t have any leftovers to bring home. (Pictures from the potluck are at the end of the post.) It’s a beautiful salad and just a little spicy.

Tater Hot Picnic Salad
From Sabroso! magazine

Serves 12

Ingredients:
Salad:
2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered (bite-size pieces)
1 t. olive oil
2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
¾ cup chopped celery
¾ cup finely chopped purple onion
¾ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 big jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh or good quality bottled lime juice (I used a mix of both)
2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
2 chipotle peppers, finely chopped

Directions:

Put a steamer basket in a Dutch oven with 1 inch of water. Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and steam for 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain, then put into a large bowl and cool to room temperature.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add corn and sauté about 5 minutes or until corn is lightly browned. Add the corn and the remaining salad ingredients to the potatoes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Stir in chipotles. Drizzle over salad, using only as much as you like. Cover and chill at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Here’s a few pictures from the Potluck.

(This picture from Boots in the Oven. Please visit her blog for gorgeous photography and writing.) On the blanket are Cookie Madness and Vegan Vanguard; in the background is me (in the chair) with the Casserole Queens, who took on Bobby Flay in a Throwdown!

The man on the stairs is our host, The Soup Peddler. He is an incredible success story and if you have time, you should visit his website. Incidentally, he told me he thinks the soup recipes in VCon are incredible.

The Casa de Luz group, Fun With Your Food, her roomie I Don't Believe In Diets, and Vegan Vanguard.

On the right, our organizer, Relish Austin, and Thai Fresh.

The last of the food. This dish with the blue spoon was my potato salad.

Some cute little cuppers!

Behind the cute cuppers are Vegan Vanguard’s most delicious Chocolate PB Cupcakes. I need to ask her for her cake recipe. It was the softest cake I’ve ever had!

Have a super terrific Memorial Day weekend!