Peaceful Table

Vegan Mochiko Butter Cookies

2012-01-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

I adapted this from a recipe Betty Shimabukuro put in her popular "By Request" column in the Honolulu Advertiser. I think these were also called Carly's Cornflake Dreams and were submitted by reader Carlynn Yoshina. The first time I made them, the taste of baking soda was overwhelming. I checked the measurements and this was definitely over-leavened, as many recipes are. By reducing the baking soda by half, we now have a great little cookie. It's buttery and has that shortbread essence that's so popular with Locals in Hawaii. The fine Corn Flakes coating becomes slightly toasted in the oven, and adds a pleasing flavor and crunch. I replaced the butter with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and the Kellogg's Corn Flakes with Erewhon Corn Flakes. Not only are Erewhon Corn Flakes organic, but they're also sugar free. On the long list of Kellogg's Corn Flakes ingredients are sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and they're made with animal products. They're not even vegetarian, nor are they organic. Erewhon Corn Flakes, on the other hand, have just two ingredients; organic milled corn, and sea salt, AND they are non-GMO! Since Erewhon Corn Flakes taste just like the bad Corn Flakes, why would we want to use anything else? You won't really taste the macadamia nuts, but they add a golden richness to this little cookie.
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Mochiko Butter Cookies

Makes 48-60 regular cookies. Jam thumbprints take up about twice the dough as a regular cookie.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound Earth Balance vegan butter (2 Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
3/4 Cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 Cup mochiko flour
1-2 Cups Erewhon Corn Flakes cereal, crushed fine (use a food processor or blender, not a rolling pin)
1 Cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional) (or you could use less). I think chopped pecans would also be good, for a butter-pecan flavor.

DIRECTIONS
Set vegan butter in large mixing bowl to soften.
(I lined my baking sheets with parchment paper, but it is possibly not necessary)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add sugar to butter, and mix with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and nuts, and beat again.
In a separate bowl, put flour, baking soda, salt and mochiko.
Dry whisk the dry ingredients to thoroughly blend.
Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture, and mix until well incorporated.
Chill dough for at least one hour.
Using a level teaspoon or a slightly-rounded teaspoon, measure out cookies, roll into balls, and then roll balls into crushed Corn Flakes.
Place cookie balls onto cookie sheet and bake approximately 15 minutes depending upon your oven. I have an electric oven and found that 15 minutes worked for me.

Variation: If you wish to make jam thumbprints, use 2 teaspoons of dough per cookies, roll in balls, roll in corn flakes and then make your thumbprint and fill scantily with jam of your flavor. I'll make a note here to try my favorites, either raspberry or guava jam.

Notes: Keep in mind that these cookies will harden as they continue to cool, and becomes pleasingly crisp. Do not over bake. PLEASE NOTE THAT KELLOG'S CORN FLAKES ARE NOT VEGAN.

Vegan Momofuku Pork Buns a la David Chang

2012-01-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a vegan version of what is arguably David Chang's most famous dish, from Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City. These Vegan Pork Buns are so good that we had them for dinner two nights in a row. Using vegan bao buns and vegan char siu might seem complicated and time consuming, but they are really neither. All the elements of this dish are easy. The only thing that can't be made ahead are the quick pickled cucumbers, and they take literally 2 minutes to make and are ready in 10 minutes. One tip is to make the bao buns ahead and put them immediately into the freezer. Then they're ready when you want to make the char siu and throw the whole thing together. Another thing to consider is that the scallions are absolutely essential to the taste of this dish, as is the hoisin sauce.
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Vegan Momofuku Pork Buns

Makes:

INGREDIENTS
vegan bao buns
vegan char siu
small jar of hoisin sauce
scallions, washed and trimmed, and cut into small circles
1-2 "meaty Kirby" cucumbers, peeled (I used regular cukes)
1 Tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (for cucumbers)

DIRECTIONS
Steam frozen bao buns for 2-3 minutes until soft and warmed through.
Slice cucumber into 1/8-inch-thick rounds.
Mix the one Tablespoon of sugar with the 1 teaspoon of salt.
Toss cucumber rounds with salt/sugar and wait 5 minutes.
Rinse cucumbers and set to drain in colander. They are ready.
Chill cucumbers in fridge if you are not using them immediately.
Open bao buns and slather with hoisin sauce.
Arrange cucumber pickles on one side of the bun and vegan char siu on the other side.
Scatter with scallions, and EAT.
Serve with sriracha sauce if you like (we did not).

Notes: The scallions and hoisin are essential parts of this dish. Supposedly, the pickled cucumbers will keep for up to 4 hours, but I found them too limp for my liking even one hour later, so I suggest not making them until the last minute.

Vegan Char Siu Seitan - Vegan Chinese BBQ Pork

2012-01-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

I found this easy and ingenious recipe on Cooking With Leyla.   Leyla has a great explanation of what Seitan is on her blog also. So, this is all Leyla. I used her easy Seitan recipe, which is versatile and can be used for lots of things, such as chiken pieces for a stir fry or pot pie, etc. I found the NOH Chinese Barbecue Char Siu Seasoning Mix packet in the Asian section of my local grocery store. The way Leyla makes her recipe, half of the seitan is used for Char Siu and the other half is cooked and set aside for other recipes. You will easily get several dishes out of this seitan. This easy char siu would be fantastic in my Local Hawaiian Fried Rice, or in Char Siu Bao, using the Bao Buns recipe also on this site. I used this char siu to make David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar "Pork" Buns. I used the chiken pieces half of Leyla's recipe for my Vegan Chicken Salad. I like the taste of homemade seitan better than store-bought, every time.
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Vegan Char Siu Seitan or Vegan Chinese BBQ Pork

Makes:

INGREDIENTS
2.25 Cups gluten flour (Vital Wheat Gluten) such as Bob's Red Mill brand
1 Cup water
1 vegetable bouillon (or 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon)
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Tamari sauce

COOKING BROTH
10 Cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes (or 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon)
2 Tablespoons Tamari sauce
3-4 slices of fresh ginger (at least 1" x 1" each)

and
NOH Chinese Barbecue Char Siu Seasoning Mix (1 or 2 packets)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the one cup of water,  add bouillon, and mix until dissolved.
Let water sit until it's room temperature.
Add Tamari to the water and stir.

Put gluten flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl, and dry whisk.
Add the one Cup of bouillon water and bring together.
You can use a spoon but you'll have to use your hands at the end.
I added a couple more Tablespoons of water, I think.
Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead about 30 times.
Put dough into a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

Cut dough into four sections.
Stretch each section into a long oblong.
Put 2 of the 4 sections aside to marinate whole for char siu.
Cut the other two stretched sections into half-inch pieces.

In a very large pot, bring 10 Cups of water to boil.
Add bouillon cubes or Better Than Bouillon, and Tamari and ginger.
Reduce heat to a simmer.
Add the smaller pieces of dough in 15-20 pieces at a time, because the seitan will swell in size as it cooks.
Let simmer 15-20 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, lift cooked seitan pieces from the pot,  and set aside to cool in a colander.**
Then cook the two large pieces of char-siu seitan, in the same way.

TO FINISH THE CHAR SIU
Once they are cooked, marinate the two large char siu seitan chunks in the NOH sauce mix for almost 24 hours. This will simply entail adding 1/2 Cup water to the dry seasoning packet mix to make the marinade. I used two packets for ease, but one is fine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a sided baking sheet with parchment paper and place a metal cooling rack on it.
Put the two marinated seitan chunks on the rack.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes; 15 minutes each side.
Remove from oven, and let stand about 3 minutes.
Slice (I sliced mine about 1/4 inch or 1/3 inch thick).
Use char siu in fried rice, or char siu bao.

**You can then freeze the smaller pieces of seitan in portions for future dishes.
To use frozen seitan, remove from freezer at least one hour before cooking.

Notes: Leyla suggests that you could alternate the flavour of the seitan in the dough stage. Add liquid smoke to make "bacon" or poultry spice to make "chicken," etc.

Vegan Buns for Char Siu Bao a la David Chang

2012-01-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here, I have veganized a recipe by David Chang of Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City. One of my favorite things to eat growing up was manapua, or Char Siu Bao. With these authentic bao buns, we can have vegan Char Siu Bao. First I will give this recipe for the buns themselves. I used these buns to replicate David Chang's steamed pork buns, vegan style. You can watch a video of him making these buns with Martha Stewart, but beware, there are dead animal parts in these two little videos. The buns are begun in the first video and then finished in the second. Also, be aware that the recipe online does not match the recipe in the Momofuku cookbook, and I adapted this from the cookbook, not the show. David Chang does not make his bao buns in the traditional shape, but rather folds them into little sandwich buns, so that's what I've done here too. I simply eliminated the needless milk powder he puts in his recipe, and used vegetable shortening instead of Lard. I can't let this recipe go without lamenting the fact that David Chang is a victim of old society, which wrongfully teaches us that we have the right to enslave and murder other beings, and that it's healthy to eat them. I pray that he wakes up one day and chooses to put his considerable talent and work ethic toward compassion.
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Steamed Bao Buns

Makes 40-50 buns

These buns are easy and keep in the freezer for months. You need to make at least this many buns or there won't be enough dough in the mixing bowl for the dough hook to pick up.

INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1.5 Cups water at room temperature
4.25 Cups bread flour
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon fine sea salt
Rounded 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 Cup vegan vegetable shortening, such as Spectrum brand, at room temperature.

DIRECTIONS
Add the yeast, shortening and water to the bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
Add flour mixture to the yeast water.
Mix on the lowest speed, just above a stir.
Note: if you are using a KitchenAid Mixer like mine, mix on Speed 2 only with dough hook (check your directions).
Mix this way for 8-10 minutes.
The dough should gather into a neat, not-too-sticky ball on the hook.
When it does, lightly oil a medium mixing bowl, put the dough in it and cover with a dry kitchen towel.
Put in a warmish place and let rise until dough doubles in bulk, about one hour and 15 minutes.

Punch dough down and turn it onto a clean surface.
Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough in half and then divide each half into 5 equal pieces.
Gently roll the pieces into logs, then cut each log into 5 pieces, making 50 pieces total.
The pieces should be about the size of a ping-pong ball and weigh about 25 grams, or a smidge under an ounce.
Roll each piece into a ball using your palm on the counter.
Cover the balls with a damp, lint-free towel, and allow them to rise for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut out fifty 4-inch squares of parchment paper.
Put some grapeseed oil or canola oil in a ramekin.
Coat a chopstick with the oil.
You'll also need a pastry brush.
Flatten one ball with the palm of your hand.
Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 4-inch-long oval.
Brush one half of the oval with some of the oil.
Lay the oiled chopstick across the middle of the oval, and fold the oval in half to form the bun.
Withdraw the chopstick, leaving the bun folded, and put the bun onto a square of parchment paper, and then stick it back under the kitchen towel, and form the rest of the buns.
Let the buns rest for 30-45 minutes; they will rise a little.

Set up a steamer on the stove (I just have a metal pot with steamer insert).
Working in batches so you don't crowd the steamer, steam the buns on the parchment squares for 10 minutes.
Remove parchment.
Use buns immediately, and if they get cold, you can re-steam them for a minute.
Or, let buns cool completely, and freeze them in plastic bags for up to a few months.

To reheat frozen buns, steam for 2-3 minutes per side until puffy, soft and warmed all the way through.

Notes: During both rises, I was interrupted and had to leave for a couple of hours at a time, and the dough still came out fine, but I don't recommend it. I used a metal pot with a steamer insert, and the buns did not stick to it because of the parchment squares. If you want slightly larger buns, try making 40 instead of 50.

Buckwheat Sprouts

2012-01-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

I received this post about buckwheat sprouts from the Food Matters site, and was amazed by the health benefits. First of all, I thought buckwheat was a grain, but it's not. I really don't care that it's gluten-and-wheat-free, but I do care that it's a complete source of protein, has all the B vitamins, is high in calcium, cleanses the colon, balances cholesterol, neutralizes toxins, and alkalizes the body. As the site says, it's also full of rutin, which is helpful for those with varicose veins or hardening of the arteries, because it actually strengthens capillary walls. Our brains are made up of 28% lecithin and buckwheat sprouts are rich in lecithin, making this also a powerful brain food. All in all, buckwheat sprouts are a superfood. Buckwheat groats are simply hulled buckwheat seeds. How easy is it to sprout buckwheat groats? SUPER easy. The hardest part was actually finding them, but I finally found some at Whole foods in Annapolis, although they were not organic. There are all kinds of contraptions you can sprout with, but I love that this method only takes a fine mesh colander. I'm going to buy a little plastic mesh colander for these because I'm guessing that over time, the metal colander will rust, not sure. p.s. I think this would be a fun project to do with kids of all ages.
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HOW TO MAKE BUCKWHEAT SPROUTS

Place 1.5 Cups of buckwheat groats into a bowl and cover it with 2 to 3 times as much room-temperature water.
Mix the seeds so that none are floating on top.
Allow seeds to soak for about an hour.
Rinse and drain the water in a colander and let them stand in the colander (with the colander resting over a bowl) on the counter.
Rinse 3 times per day with cool water, for two days.
When rinsing sprouts, use a little water pressure to make sure you are rinsing them well. I also shake the colander a bit to rotate the groats in the colander.
You may notice a gooey substance on the buckwheat, which is starch. Make sure that you wash this off thoroughly. I found no gooey substance.
Sprouts will form after only a day or two.
After a final rinse, dry the sprouts by laying them on a clean, lint-free towel.
Let sprouts dry on the counter for 8 hours or so.
Never refrigerate wet sprouts.
Sprouts are ready to use, or you can refrigerate them in a covered container for up to 2 weeks. Here's how to use your crop:

Pack sprouts into sandwiches.
Blend with fruits and vegetables for green drinks or smoothies.
Eat cold as a cereal (with nuts, dried fruit, plant milk, agave syrup or maple syrup, a sprinkle of cinnamon, etc.)
Sprinkle on top of other cereals.
Throw into salads just before eating.
Buckwheat sprouts are best eaten raw.

Notes: My buckwheat groats sprouted after only one day, and by the second day the little sprouts were pretty long (see photo below). Check out Sprout People for a LOT more info. on sprouting everything and anything. They are also a source for organic buckwheat groats (hulled seeds).

Here are the sprouts by day two, ready to dry.

Carrot Bread by Jim Lahey

2012-01-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

This accidentally-vegan bread recipe is all over the internet. You can even see a video of Jim Lahey baking this bread with Martha Stewart. It's delicious, with a subtle carrot flavor, the tiny sweetness of currants and the richness of walnuts (although you can't really taste the walnut flavor). In his wonderful book My Bread, Jim Lahey says there's a "whiff of chocolate" in this bread that is somehow produced by the combination of ingredients. I did not find this, but I didn't care either, because, hot from the oven with some Earth Balance vegan butter on it, this bread is so good. I also made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with it (really good).

I made two loaves of this bread in two days because I wanted a better result the second time. The first loaf was delicious, but the second loaf had a better crumb, rose a bit higher, etc. I made the first loaf by measuring out (not weighing) cups of flour and used the specified 1.5 Cup of carrot juice. The dough was a bit too dry and so then i had to handle the dough more than I should have, etc. Here are my notes for the 2nd loaf that had better results:

Of course, you can buy the carrot juice and save a lot of time. However, I had a LOT of organic carrots. So, I used my old Breville Compact Juice Fountain to extract my own juice and I ended up needing 1.5 pounds of carrots. This yielded 1-2/3 Cups of carrot juice and I needed it all in order to achieve a decently-wet dough.

Using a food scale, I weighed the flour and then the carrot juice, for better accuracy. It's interesting to compare the volume amount of juice with its weight.

I dry-whisked the currants and walnuts into the flour before adding the carrot juice to the dough, for a more-even incorporation of those ingredients.

I oiled a clean bowl and let the dough do the first rise in that bowl. When it was time to shape the dough for its second rise, the dough slid pretty easily out of the bowl, so I handled it less.

Once I removed the lid mid-bake, I only baked the bread for another 15 minutes in my accurate, electric, non-convection oven.

It's best not to let this dough sit beyond the 18 hours. You really want to catch this dough on its way up in the rise.

This first photo below is of the finished bread. I found an old pottery covered casserole at an antique shop a few years ago for $25 and that's what I use for the Lahey breads. The 2nd photo is of the properly-wet dough (after the first rise) sitting in a clean, oiled bowl.

Pomelo or Pummelo or Jabong

2012-01-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

When I was a teenager on Kauai, I had never heard the word pomelo, because we called this fruit "jabong." Tasting like a mild grapefruit, pomelo are a great breakfast food or snack. There are different cultivars of pomelo, and some are pink and some are white. Although they're the largest of the citrus fruits, one pomelo only yields enough fruit for two people and I can easily eat one all by myself. You see, the skin is so thick that by the time you peel and segment it, it doesn't give up as much fruit as you'd think. However, if you value quality over quantity, go for the jabong! I love it, and it's available in winter when we really need that extra shot of vitamin C. If I'm in a hurry, I supreme the fruit, as you would an orange. I usually try to find a pomelo that is leaning toward bright yellow, because then I know it's ripe. However, I've read online that a green pomelo is fine. I'm guessing that, like most citrus, this does not ripen once you pick it. See below for a photo of one I found recently at Whole Foods in Annapolis. There are many good videos on how to peel and even carve a pommelo on youtube, and here is one I found for you. And here is another video if you decide you want to supreme it. Yes, it actually takes a couple of minutes to peel a pomelo, but it's fun, and so worth it to get to the luscious flesh that tastes like a sweet grapefruit without any of the bitterness! The giant size of the sections is fun too. Even children who find grapefruit too acidic love pummelo! If you want it extra sweet for children or a dessert option, you can lightly drizzle the sections with a light agave syrup. This delectable fruit is at its peak and more available in winter. It's also said to bring good luck and prosperity at New Year's celebrations, so it's appropriate for this first post of 2012. Happy New Year!

Vegan Royal Icing

2011-12-28T06:41:00.000-08:00

Here's my first attempt at a Royal Icing without the egg whites or meringue powder. It works great and tastes just like it ought to. Simple to make and easy to work with, so I'm pretty happy. I did read some vegan recipes online that call for corn syrup, but I decided to try using Ener-G Egg Replacer instead. A box of this stuff is about $6 but it lasts for a couple of years, even if you bake a lot. I would say it's one of those basic pantry necessities. The classic Christmas Cookie is one of my favorite holiday traditions, and Royal Icing is an integral part of it. I always leave the iced cookies out overnight so the icing fully cures and hardens some. Also, i always put a bit of colored sugar or sprinkles or something on the wet icing, because this helps keep the cookies from sticking to each other when they're stacked in tins.
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Vegan Royal Icing

Makes 2 Cups or so

INGREDIENTS
1 Lb. confectioners (powdered) sugar
5 Tablespoons Ener-G Egg Replacer powder
scant 1/2 Cup water (you probably won't need all this water)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS
Put powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.
Add Ener-G Egg Replacer powder, and dry whisk to combine.
Add water, a little at a time, and stop when it is the right consistency. I usually do not add all the water, and you don't want it watery.
Add the almond extract.
Mix well with an electric hand-held mixer.
Divide icing and tint each portion your desired colors.
Chill icing for at least an hour or overnight.

Notes: For Christmas cookies, make sure cookies are fully cooled on racks before you ice them. I like to immediately sprinkle the iced cookies with edible glitter, colored sugar, sprinkles, etc., while the icing is still wet enough so that the decorations will stick. Once cookies are decorated, leave them out, uncovered overnight in a dry location, so the icing can cure and dry more. Another classic thing to do is to flavor Royal Icing with lemon or lime juice and the zest of same. I'm not crazy about the lemon, and I'm a lemon freak. If you decide to flavor your icing with fruit juice, make sure to reduce the water added by the same amount. I use a plain old table knife to apply the icing.

Chewy Almond Macaroons

2011-12-26T10:51:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite Christmas cookie this year, and these macaroons have neither eggs nor coconut. My friend Jan Baker is the best cook i know, and she brought these to my house on Christmas Eve. She is not vegan but she searched for a vegan cookie recipe and found this one from Saveur magazine. You might think I love this cookie just because it arrived at my doorstep in the hands of a thoughtful friend, but it's more than that. It's also unexpected, delicious, and oh so French. And in fact, this recipe was given to a Saveur contributor by a second-generation French boulanger (see story). It's softly-chewy, and has the taste of cherries that reminds me of Alsace in Spring. It has only five ingredients and the directions look pretty simple. Granted, you will have to seek out some almond paste (not marzipan) that is egg free, some Amaretto liqueur, and superfine sugar, but trust me, these cookies are worth it. I'm going to see if I can find some Amaretto minis at the liquor store today and try to make them myself. Ils sont delicieux!
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CHEWY ALMOND MACAROONS

Makes about 20 macaroons

INGREDIENTS
18 oz. almond paste (not marzipan; see note)
1/2 Cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
1 Cup powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine the almond paste, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Using your hands, gently knead together just until mixture is incorporated.
Add in liqueur and gently work it into the paste to form a smooth dough.

Sift the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.
Using a Tablespoon measure, scoop out individual portions of dough, roll into balls and place each in the bowl of powdered sugar.
Coat each ball completely with powdered sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a one-inch space between each macaroon.
Pinch together the sides of each macaroon with your fingers and thumb, leaving a finger-indented well in the center like a little volcano.
Let macaroons sit out for 20 minutes (or up to one hour) to dry.
Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Note: Be sure not to over-mix the dough or the macaroons' characteristic texture will be lost. These keep beautifully for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature. Almond paste is similar to marzipan but contains less sugar and no fillers. Some versions of almond paste do contain cream or eggs, so read your labels carefully. Marzipan will not work for this recipe. Comments on the Saveur site included letting the cookies sit out for one hour so that they would retain their volcano shape. Others didn't worry about it and said their cookies went flat but still tasted amazing. A couple of reviewers also recommended Solo brand almond paste and said it is vegan and also gluten free, and comes in 8-ounce cans.

Romesco Sauce Dip

2011-12-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

Romesco Sauce is a traditional Catalonian dish from Spain that can also be made with hazelnuts or pine nuts. This dip is simple to make, delicious, and gorgeous to look at. Great for the buffet table or to bring to a party. Slather on sandwiches and wraps, or canapes. Serve with crackers or crudites. And, I almost forgot, it's healthy! I made this in my Vitamix and it came out really smooth, but I've also made it in a food processor before with great results. You don't really taste the almonds, but they pack a big protein punch and add a creamy body to the otherwise-loose texture of the dip. I advise setting aside some of the almonds as a garnish, because this indicates there are nuts in the dish, in case anyone has allergies. Otherwise, you'd never know they were in there. Also, I like to make this one day ahead to give the small amount of raw garlic time to mellow out.
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Romesco Sauce Dip

Makes about 1.5 Cups

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup whole natural almonds (or slivered almonds), toasted
8 to 12 ounces roasted red peppers from jar, drained. I have used Vlasic brand and also Sun of Italy brand.
1 Tablespoon dry sherry (or sherry vinegar)
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Set aside a Tablespoon or two of the toasted almonds, coarsely chopped, to use as a garnish.
Very finely chop the rest of the almonds in food processor or Vitamix.
Add drained roasted peppers, sherry or sherry vinegar, and garlic.
Process to a coarse puree.
Add olive oil and salt, and process until puree thickens slightly.
Transfer to a small bowl.
Cover and chill.

NOTES: I like to make this one day ahead, to give the raw garlic time to mellow out. This can sit on the buffet table for hours and it gets better as it comes to room temperature. Great on sandwiches, canapes, crudites, etc.

Crazy Rumors Vegan Lip Balm

2011-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

I first heard about Crazy Rumors vegan lip balm on one of my favorite podcasts; Midwest Vegan Radio. I went to two health food stores but could not find them, and every single lip balm they did have contained beeswax. In the end, I found these at Whole Foods. And I really like them a lot! I apply lip balm over my lipstick all day long, and can say after a couple of months of using this product that it does not clump up. It's light and smooth and smells great too. Great for boys and girls, men and women, these are also going in the Stocking Stuffer category on this site. Fun flavor lines include Perk (coffee), Brew (tea), Fresh Squeezed (citrus), A La Mode (ice cream), and Soda Pop. They also have Hibiskiss feminine lip balms that are tinted, but I haven't tried these yet. The regular lip balms are $3.99 at Whole Foods in Annapolis, and $3.29 on the Vegan Essentials web site. Ingredients include jojoba oil, extra virgin olive oil, shea butter, soy wax, stevia, natural and organic flavors, etc.

p.s. I also bought Merry Hempsters brand Vegan Hemp Balm in Vanilla flavor, but it went rancid on me, yuck.

Apple-Pie Spiced Cider

2011-12-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

I made this delicious spiced cider recently as part of a holiday supper. It's a Martha Stewart recipe and has good reviews and a video you can watch. It's quick and easy, and you can spike it with apple brandy if you want, or not. My only change was to reduce the sugar a bit, because apple cider is about as sugary as it gets. This smells great as it's heating up, and is a perfect winter drink. I was wondering what the difference is between apple juice and apple cider, so I looked it up. Apple cider is less filtered and can sometimes appear to be cloudy, which is fine. Apple juice has a longer shelf life. I think either one would be fine here, but I like things that are less processed and the cider was available.
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APPLE-PIE SPICED CIDER

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
1.25 quarts apple cider (I used 1.6 quart or 1.5 liter)
2 Tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar (or regular brown sugar)
1 whole cinnamon stick, plus 6 sticks for garnish
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves (1/16th teaspoon)
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (1/16th teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup Calvados (French apple brandy) or other brandy (optional)

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, whisk together cider, sugar, spices and salt.
Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Remove from heat.
If desired, pour in brandy.
Strain into a pitcher, and discard solids.
Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks.

Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

2011-12-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

I catered a small vegan dinner party last night, as an item I had donated to a Silent Auction held by our local library here in St. Michaels, Maryland. For the bread course, I made Jim Lahey's Olive Bread using Kalamata olives. Kalamata olives make me think of sunny Greece and so does the herb Rosemary, which continues to flower in my garden despite the cold weather right now. This Rosemary Infused Olive Oil is so delicious when sprinkled with sea salt; the perfect thing to dip good bread into. I found some tiny white porcelain ramekins at Pier 1 for a dollar each and that's how I served it. Quick and easy to make, you can use other herbs such as basil, but rosemary is my favorite. If you don't have a perennial rosemary plant in your garden, you're missing out. One good old hardy variety is Arp but now there are others. Mine has lived through 2 or 3 blizzards already but I do have it in an extremely sunny spot, sheltered by a garage wall. Rosemary is great for that dry spot where the sun beats in the afternoon!
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Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup extra virgin organic olive oil (Trader Joe's has a good, affordable one that is cold pressed).
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or basil, etc.)

DIRECTIONS
Pick several younger sprigs of rosemary.
Wash rosemary sprigs and set to dry for a few minutes.
Take the prettiest sprig and set it aside.
Pull the leaves from the other sprigs, and chop them finely.
Warm the olive oil and herbs in a very small saucepan over low heat.
Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for one hour.
Strain through a very fine sieve, into a slender little bottle.
Shorten the pretty sprig to make sure it will stand under the oil in your bottle (be fully immersed).
Refrigerate and use within one week.
The pretty garnish sprig is beautiful and shows what the oil is flavored with.

Notes: Be sure to discard this oil after a week because it will not be safe to use after that.

Vegan Molasses Ginger Crisps

2011-11-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

This is a very popular Martha Stewart recipe that I veganized. They have three different types of ginger in them, and that might sound scary to some, but trust me, they're amazing. Even people who are not crazy about ginger like them. Christmas cookies are one of my favorite holiday traditions and this recipe makes plenty to give away too. This is a good time to explain why I never use Kosher salt; it tastes horribly chemical, whereas sea salt provides a beautiful, natural flavor. I also shun iodized salt in baking due to flavor issues. And now that it's baking season, think about the leavening in recipes. According to the author of BakeWise, there should only be 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per one cup of flour. And only 1 teaspoon baking powder per one cup of flour. For these cookies, Martha Stewart called for twice as much baking soda than needed. So, not being too brave, I've reduced the baking soda by only 1/4 teaspoon from the original recipe. I've been adjusting the leavening in commercial baking recipes for over a year now with good results. If you have too much leavening, what happens is the baked item can rise too high and then sort of pop and fall, like a bubble-gum bubble. Also, keep in mind when changing leavening that baking soda needs an acid to react to, such as the vinegar in a vegan buttermilk, the acidic molasses, etc. There's a lot more to this, and I'm no expert; it's just what I've been doing lately. Either way, Santa will come down the chimney for these Molasses Ginger Crisps.
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Vegan Molasses Ginger Crisps

Makes about 6 dozen

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 sticks (one cup) room temperature Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
1.5 Cups granulated sugar
Ener-G Egg Replacer to equal one egg (1.5 tsp Ener-G plus 2T water, frothed)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (peel before grating)
2 Tablespoons finely-chopped crystallized "candied" ginger
1/3 Cup unsulfured molasses (I like organic molasses)
1 Cup coarse sanding sugar (or regular sugar)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, ground ginger, baking soda and salt.
Beat butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until pale and fluffy.
Beat in molasses, and grated and crystallized gingers.
Beat in egg replacer.
Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in the flour in three additions.
Shape teaspoons of dough into balls and roll in sanding (or granulated) sugar.
Space dough balls 3 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake until cookies are flattened and dark golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
Let cool on sheets 5 minutes.
Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
My personal tip is to place the mixing bowl of dough in the refrigerator between each sheet that you bake. It keeps the dough cold and very easy to roll.
Cookies can be stored in airtight containers for up to 2 days or frozen for up to one month.

Notes: In my electric, non-convection oven, I baked the first sheet for 12 minutes but then reduced the time to 11 minutes and then to 10 minutes for the rest of the sheets. I buy my candied ginger at the health food store, but you could also make your own.

Vegan Con Queso Dip

2011-11-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is an old recipe from the 1970's that I've veganized. It's sort of like the vegan Rotel Dip but has more vegetables and spices in it, and it's really good. Served with Doritos, Tostitos or Frito's, it's perfect for nacho night or watching football at home. If you don't want to use the beer in it, I suppose you could use soda water, but I haven't tried that yet. If you really want to do it up right, you could also serve the Excellent Bean Dip from this site.
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Vegan Con Queso Dip

Serves 6 to 8, I'm guessing.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion, diced
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, drained (any kind, even fire roasted)
4 oz. can diced green chili peppers (we like mild or medium heat)
1 clove garlic, pressed, or crushed and minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
8 oz. bag of Daiya cheese
up to 1/2 Cup of beer

DIRECTIONS
Saute onion in oil on medium heat.
Add tomatoes, chili peppers and seasonings.
Simmer on low until blended and some of the liquid is gone.
Put in double boiler and add cheese.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, until cheese melts.
Add splashes of beer as you stir, maybe a Tablespoon or two at a time, to smooth out the mixture and keep it "open."
Serve with nacho chips or Fritos.

Notes: You could probably substitute soda water instead of beer. I haven't tried this yet, but I can't see why it wouldn't work.

Purple Mashed Potatoes

2011-11-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is not really a recipe, I just wanted to show these outrageously beautiful purple potatoes i found at Whole Foods a few days ago. i was debating what to do with them, but in the end, I wanted to make them look like the little lavender sea urchins I used to see when I snorkeled. So I whipped them and then piped them through a bag into a casserole dish. They were a vision in lavender on the table and delicious to boot. Dr. Seuss would be proud. These are just as pretty as my green cauliflower. Additional photo below:

Classic Cranberry Sauce

2011-11-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite cranberry sauce that I've been making for many years. It creates an instant atmosphere of the holidays as it pops audibly on the stove top, and scents the air with spice. This would also be a great little recipe to have older kids make, because it's so easy and quick. There are two other cranberry sauces on this site; Cranberry Sauce with Amontillado Sherry and Holiday Cranberry Sauce from the Veganomicon cookbook. That's how much I believe in making your own cranberry sauce.
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Classic Cranberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces organic cranberries
1/3 Cup agave syrup
3 Tablespoons brown sugar (or white sugar is OK too)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 Cup water
Optional: the zest of one orange

DIRECTIONS
In small saucepan, combine all ingredients.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes on medium-low heat.
You may wish to place a lid halfway onto the saucepan, because the cranberries will splatter a bit as they burst.
Cool and transfer to a bowl.
May be made two days in advance and refrigerated.

My Life as a Turkey - a PBS film

2011-11-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

The kitchen remodel here is moving along pretty well, so some days I haven't had water in the kitchen, and tomorrow I may not have electricity or heat sometimes (if the HVAC guys finally show up), so cooking posts have been a bit light lately. However, we are planning to feast on Thursday, regardless. I want to remind everyone that there's a special Thanksgiving category on this site, as well as categories for side dishes, appetizers, desserts, football food, etc. In the meantime, here's a link to a great little PBS film called My Life as a Turkey. There's also a Home Page for this film and story. Turkeys are intelligent and affectionate, and each is unique in their own way, just like people. There are some youtube videos of turkeys reaching out to communicate, understand and show love to us. They celebrate life and make an effort to live in harmony with others, as we all should do!

Vegan Nail Polish, and Nail Polish Remover

2011-11-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

It's time to start thinking about Stocking Stuffers! I've tried three different vegan nail polishes and Zoya is my favorite so far. I also like the No Miss brand. The Zoya colors I'm showing here are Caitlin (the smoky medium purple) and Grace (the shell pink). They are non-frost colors, which I prefer, and the company maintains that they are "vegan friendly." These colors are respectively chic and natural, but with 300 colors, they get as crazy as you wanna be. Regarding nail polish remover, I don't buy the Zoya nail polish remover because it does have formaldehyde in it. I do buy the Almost Natural Polish Remover by No Miss, the ingredients of which are listed as: Fruit acid solvent (Methyl-Pentan-2 One, multi-fruit acids), amber acid (derived from plant lichens), deionized water, vitamin A, natural vanilla fragrance.

p.s. I did write an email to the Zoya company last September and received this prompt reply: Good afternoon, Yes! In addition to being Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, and Camphor free the nail polish is also vegan friendly! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns that I can help with! Thank you, Danielle LaGrange, Elite Salon and Spa Coordinator, Art of Beauty, Inc.

Cranberry Pumpkin Cake a la Maida Heatter

2011-11-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

This dark, rich cake studded with walnuts and fresh cranberries just screams Thanksgiving. If you've never heard of her, Maida Heatter is a James-Beard-award-winning baker with nine cookbooks to her name. I adapted this recipe from Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever. I was looking for a serious, elegant dessert for Thanksgiving, and chose this Cranberry Pumpkin Cake. I was wondering if it would turn out, due to the four large eggs called for in the original recipe. The heavy spice amounts made me think twice, as did the fact that I did not have an 18-cup capacity tube pan. I do however, have the cheapest Bundt pan known to woman; a pale-green, 12-cup, paper-thin aluminum Nordic Ware pan that I seem to remember buying at a grocery store. I put the tube pan on top of a sheet pan, in case it overflowed (it didn't). This finished cake, sitting on the plate like a dark crown, only needs a dusting of confectioners sugar or a drizzle of icing glaze that you could flavor any way you want. This would consist of about two cups of confectioners sugar with a few tablespoons of fresh orange juice, and some zest. You could adorn it further with minced candied ginger, or sprinkle with dragees or edible glitter, etc. Maida promises that the nuts and berries don't sink in the batter, and they don't. This could also be brought out at breakfast the next morning and served with coffee or hot tea, with or without the icing drizzle. Notes at bottom will tell you how I simplified this recipe. More photos below.
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Vegan Cranberry Pumpkin Cake a la Maida Heatter

12 portions

INGREDIENTS
5 ounces walnuts, chopped fine
7 or 8 ounces of fresh cranberries
3 Cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (this is my addition)
1 15 oz. can of 100% pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 Cups granulated sugar
1-1/4 Cup vegetable oil (safflower or canola)
4 Tablespoons flax meal plus 3/4 Cup of water
(this is your eggs substitute)
Cooking Spray with flour (such as Pam brand)

DIRECTIONS
Adjust a rack one-third up from bottom of oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash and drain cranberries, and set them on a towel to dry.
Combine flax meal and water, whisk with a fork and set aside to gel.
Generously spray with flour-infused cooking oil, a one-piece 10x4.25 inch tube pan with an 18 cup capacity and no design. I used the store-brand cooking spray from Giant grocery store, but make sure it has the flour in it. I used a 12-Cup capacity tube pan and it was just barely big enough.
Put sprayed tube pan in refrigerator while you prepare ingredients.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and allspice, and set aside.
In a really large bowl, mix with an electric mixer the pumpkin, sugar, oil and vanilla.
Add the flax meal and water mixture, and mix again.
On low speed, gradually add the whisked dry ingredients, beating only until smooth.
Fold in the nuts and cranberries.
Turn batter into the prepared tube pan, and smooth the top.
Set the tube pan on a baking sheet if your tube pan is less than 18-cup capacity.
Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Insert a cake tester into the middle of the cake, all the way to the bottom, and make sure it comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes.
Cover the cake with a baking rack and invert the pan and rack upside down.
Wait for cake to gently fall down onto rack, and remove pan.
Leave cake to cool while it is right-side up.

Notes: I did not wish to toast the walnuts, or bake a chocolate cake so that I could coat the bundt pan with cake crumbs, both of which the original recipe calls for. The original recipe calls for up to 12 ounces of fresh cranberries and 6 ounces of chopped walnuts. I only had a 12-cup capacity Nordicware bundt pan, and the cake did not overflow in my accurate, electric, non-convection oven. See more photos below.

Vegan Banana Cake a la Pichet Ong

2011-11-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

Chef Pichet Ong says his recipe is the best banana cake ever. He makes it with "baby bananas" which I actually used to grow, but we called them "apple bananas" because of their flavor. I can attest that baby bananas are indeed more flavorful than your standard, full-size grocery-store banana, but I only had regular organic bananas. I switched out the honey for agave syrup, used cake flour (because I had it in the pantry), vegan sour cream, and cut the cinnamon in half. I wanted to taste the bananas foremost, and have the cinnamon take a back seat. And I used Florida Crystals brown sugar. After tasting it, Lars and I both agreed that any more cinnamon would be too much. Instead of chocolate chips, I added finely chopped walnuts and the resulting cake was rich but delicate with just a hint of spice. This is a keeper, even when made with regular bananas. I hope Pichet Ong will explore cooking more compassionately and realize he doesn't need eggs or dairy, especially since bananas are often used as an egg substitute in baking. We ate it hot with a little Earth Balance vegan butter on it, and it was so darn good.
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Vegan Banana Cake a la Pichet Ong

Makes one 8.5x4.5 inch cake, about 8-10 servings

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup Earth Balance organic vegan butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/2 cup Florida Crystals organic brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 bananas, mashed with a potato masher
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or real vanilla extract
Ener G egg replacer to equal one egg (1.5 tsp Ener-G plus 2T water, frothed)
1/2 cup Tofutti vegan sour cream at room temperature (non-hydrogenated)
1/3 Cup finely chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Lightly butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan and set aside. I put my loaf pan in the fridge until I was ready for it.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and set aside.

Put the vegan butter, agave syrup, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the bananas and beat on medium speed about 1 minute at most. The bananas should be smashed, with a few small chunks remaining.

Turn the speed to medium-low and beat in the egg substitute until incorporated.
Turn the speed to low and gradually add the sifted flour mixture, mixing just until no traces of flour remain, about 10 seconds.
Add the sour cream and mix until the batter has only a few remaining white streaks, about 10 seconds.
Gently fold in the finely chopped walnuts.

Transfer the batter to the greased pan. Bake in the center of the oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool completely on the rack.

Notes: Florida Crystals are the only organic sugar grown in the U.S., and they are non-GMO and carbon-free. My single loaf pan measures 8"x4" when I flip it over and measure the bottom of it.

You can see the cake has pulled away from the loaf pan a little.

I did test the cake to make sure it was done.

Vegan Pumpkin Gnocchi with Chanterelles and Sage

2011-11-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

I veganized this from an old Martha Stewart show. You can see the original recipe and watch the video here. The famous chef says this recipe is hundreds of years old. I had never made gnocchi before and this combination sounded so good. And, it is. There's a line in one of the Isabel Dalhousie novels where she says something like, "I think chanterelles just elevate a dish, don't you?" They sure do, and their golden color and flavor are so simpatico with the pumpkin and this time of year. It wasn't hard to veganize this. I lightened it up by substituting cheesy (and vitamin packed) Nutritional Yeast for the parmigiana, and then used rich soy creamer and vegetable stock. I also couldn't see using two Tablespoons of salt. One thing I ran into was that I needed a lot of bench flour, like more than an extra cup of it. The dough was so sticky. Watching the video helped, and I noticed that the chef used a lot of bench flour too. I had never cooked with sage leaves in this way before, and was surprised at how wonderful and mild the flavor was. With the golden chanterelles and the squash flavors, it was like a little Fall symphony! p.s. My gnocchi look a bit clumsy, but they taste great. There are also some good videos on youtube where they show the old method of rolling the gnocchi off a fork to get the sauce-catching ridges in them. Like this one. These gnocchi freeze very well too.
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Pumpkin Gnocchi with Mushrooms

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 small sugar pumpkin (1.5 to 2 lbs.), stem removed, halved lengthwise and seeded (or use my easier baked pumpkin method) (I bake two un-cut pumpkins since I've got my oven going)
2 Cups “00” (zero zero) flour, plus more for work surface (or all-purpose flour, which is what I used)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt in the flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt in the water
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for serving
1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast
2 Tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance Buttery Stick)
2 shallots, finely chopped
20 medium chanterelle mushrooms, well rinsed, and sliced or trimmed
6 fresh sage leaves
1 Cup vegetable stock (I like Better Than Bouillon stock base, some are vegan)
1 Cup soy creamer (I used Silk brand)
1 teaspoon dry sherry (totally optional)

DIRECTIONS
Use my easier baked pumpkin method, or do the following:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place pumpkin halves, cut side up, on baking sheet and fill each with one Tablespoon of water.
Cover with foil.
Transfer to oven and roast until soft, about 45 minutes. Let cool.
Scrape pumpkin flesh from skin, and discard skin.
I like to puree my pumpkin flesh now.
Reserve 1/4 Cup of pumpkin puree (for the sauce).
Mound flour in center of a large work surface; add 2 teaspoons salt and the nutmeg. Using a fork, mix until well combined.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
Add up to 2 cups pumpkin and the Nutritional Yeast to the well.
Slowly incorporate flour, beginning with inner rim of well.
Note; I used another whole cup of bench flour to get rid of extreme stickiness.
When flour is incorporated, gather dough together to form a rounded mass; knead mixture until smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter; cut into 1/2-inch-long pieces. My knife kept sticking to the dough, so I switched to a plastic pastry scraper and it worked great for cutting the gnocchi.
Transfer gnocchi to a baking sheet and cover with a clean, wet/damp towel.
Repeat process until all the dough has been used.

Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
Add last teaspoon of salt to water, and return to a boil.
Add gnocchi and cook until they rise to the top, about 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat and add butter and shallots.
Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until shallots are golden.
Add stock, mushrooms and sage; cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup pumpkin, vegan creamer, and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
If you want to, you can add an extra Tablespoon of Nutritional Yeast here.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet and toss to combine.
Serve immediately with freshly grated nutmeg.
Everyone can season with salt and pepper at table.

Notes: You can make the pumpkin a day ahead, as I did. Note that once you begin to add the mushrooms, sage, etc., the sauce should be done in a couple of minutes. If you overcook it at that point, it sort of turns into a loose pumpkin puree, instead of a creamy sauce. I was surprised at how pleasant and mild the sage leaves were. The second time I made it, I put the mushrooms in a couple of minutes earlier, and added 1 teaspoon of dry sherry, and we really liked it. Be sure to rinse the chanterelles really well as they can have teensy bits of grit in them. You could use cheaper mushrooms, but now that we've tasted the chanterelles in this dish, I wouldn't even make it without them. Their golden meaty flavor is just perfect here. These gnocchi freeze very well.

Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

2011-10-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Since going vegan, I had not found a really good peanut butter cookie. I tried the recipe from TJOVB, and didn't love it. I bought the individual vegan peanut butter cookies at the store, and wasn't crazy about them. Recently, i bought some Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes, and on the back of the box was a little recipe for Crispy Quinoa Cookies. I never thought this would also turn out to be a really good Peanut Butter cookie. I took a bite, expecting more of a Middle Eastern or quinoa flavor, but no, it just tastes like a great little peanut butter cookie! This non-vegan recipe was not clear about what kind of rice flour to use, so I did use two different kinds that I had in my pantry, but I'm guessing whatever kind you have would be fine. I also switched out the honey and got lucky on the results. These would be great to pack into lunch boxes, take on hikes and bikes, and are good enough to give as gifts. Gluten Free and loaded with protein, but you'd never know. Next time I'll make them as peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies.
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Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

Makes: about 36 to 40 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/4 Cup agave syrup
1/4 Cup real maple syrup
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup vegan butter (one stick of Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/2 Cup peanut butter (I like Maranatha No-Stir)
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste)
1/2 Cup brown rice flour
1/2 Cup Mochiko (white rice flour from sweet rice)
3/4 Cup Quinoa Flakes (Ancient Harvest brand)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 Cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, beat agave and maple syrups, brown sugar, vegan butter, peanut butter and vanilla, until creamy.
In a medium bowl, combine rice flours, quinoa flakes, baking soda and salt, and dry whisk.
Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix until well blended.
Add nuts and mix just until incorporated.
Drop by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper).
Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown (I found 13 minutes just right for my electric, non-convection oven).
Cool one minute before transferring cookies to rack.

Notes: Cookies will firm up slightly once cooled. I'm guessing you could substitute brown rice syrup for either the agave or maple syrup, not sure. Also, you could probably just use all brown rice flour instead of half Mochiko, not sure. The original recipe calls for 1/2 Cup of nuts.

Falafel Burgers

2011-10-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

I never thought I liked falafel, until I made them at home and realized how light, tender and flavorful they could be. Maybe you have a good falafel restaurant near you, but if you don't, this recipe is easy and well worth the effort. I adapted this from an epicurious recipe that had good reviews, and decided to make falafel burgers instead of falafel balls because this takes some of the time and work out of it, and because the falafel balls tend to fall out of the bun (we have a hard time finding any decent pita bread here too). Serve with vegan Tzatziki sauce.
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Falafel Burgers

Makes six burgers

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dried chickpeas (or 1 can chick peas)

¼ C bulgur (optional, but I like it)

juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons flour
1 onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, stems removed (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (I used 4 Trader Joe's frozen cilantro cubes)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (not kosher salt)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like it hot, double it)

1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon ground cumin

3 more Tablespoons of flour
peanut oil, or other oil for frying
Chopped tomato for garnish (only if in season)
Tahina sauce, or hummus, or vegan Tzatziki sauce
Burger buns, or pita pockets

DIRECTIONS

Put dried chickpeas in a glass bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, and then drain. Or use 1 can chickpeas, drained. This time, I used canned garbanzo beans, and they still came out great, but the dried chick peas are wonderful too, so try them if you can. I'm guessing dried are cheaper too, not sure.

Set bulgur into small bowl with lemon juice, and let rest for 45 minutes.

Mix baking powder into 4 Tablespoons of the flour.
Place all but 1/3 Cup of the drained, uncooked chickpeas in the food processor and chop until coarsely ground.
Remove processed chick peas and put them into a large bowl.

Put rest of chick peas and onions in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Also to the food processor, add the parsley, cilantro, salt, cayenne, garlic, cumin and flour-and-baking-powder mixture.
Process until blended but not pureed.

Add the onion mixture and the hydrated bulgur to the ground chick peas in the bowl, and blend with a wooden spoon.
Add last three Tablespoons of flour and mix again with wooden spoon.
Turn this mixture into a container and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.

In a large, non-stick skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of oil on low heat (peanut oil, canola, safflower, etc.)

Make burger patties, using a half-cup measure, making sure to use level cups, so you will get six burgers.

Place burgers in skillet and turn heat to medium-low.
Let the burgers sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. You will know if the burgers are ready to flip when you give the skillet a little shake and the burgers move. If the burgers do not move, don't flip them yet or they will fall apart.

Drain on paper towels only if necessary.
Dress your burgers with sliced garden tomatoes, grated cucumber, etc.
Drizzle with tahina thinned with water, hummus, or my favorite cool and creamy vegan Tzatziki sauce.

Notes; I'm guessing you could freeze these after you fry them, but they don't last that long in my house.

Vegan Tzatziki Sauce

2011-10-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

I adapted this from a recipe on VegWeb, an amazing resource. Being October, I had no fresh dill in the garden, so I used dried dill weed, and it still tastes great. The sprig in the photo is actually fennel, just to make it pretty. This quick and easy recipe uses vegan sour cream, for a rich texture, and it came out better than my try with soy yogurt a while back. I'm not crazy about garlic in delicate cream sauces, so I omitted it. For me, it's brighter and fresher without it, and the cool, crisp cucumber and the dill can come through cleanly. Besides, I already put plenty of garlic in my falafels. I also added fresh lemon juice to this vegan tzatziki sauce. p.s. I made this recipe specifically to go on my Falafel Burgers.
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Vegan Tzatziki

INGREDIENTS
1 good sized cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
12 ounces Tofutti sour cream
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped fine (or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
Take vegan sour cream out of the fridge and let it warm up some.
Grate cucumber, put it in a small bowl and set it aside while you work, to let the cucumber juice accumulate in the bottom of the bowl.
With the back of a spoon, press the cucumber and drain the juice out of the bowl.
Drink the cucumber juice, don't waste it!
Mix all the ingredients together and stir well.
Chill in the fridge.

Notes: If I had fresh dill on hand, I would have added more of it, and fresh dill is preferable over dried. The original author of this recipe said she couldn't get soy yogurt where she lives, and that the Mediterranean restaurants around her use sour cream for their tzatziki, so that's what she did. A happy accident, because it's better than the one I made previously with soy yogurt, and has a richer texture too. If you have to have the garlic, she calls for 3-4 cloves, minced.

Harvest Pumpkin Cake

2011-10-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the link for this recipe. I bought this cookbook called Vegan Baking Classics by Kelly Rudnicki, and this recipe is in there, along with her recipe for the Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting. It seems that Kelly Rudnicki is not an ethical vegan, but cooks vegan due to having a child with allergies. I'm not sure about this, but that's what I'm getting from her web site and her cookbook bio. Either way, this cake is absolutely scrumptious. I would not hesitate to make it for an Autumnal birthday, or even for Thanksgiving. Last year, I learned how to bake sugar pie pumpkins, and that's what I used for this cake. I just weighed out 15 ounces of pumpkin puree that I had run through the Vitamix. FYI, I found organic "sugar pie pumpkins" at Whole Foods recently, the first time I've ever found them organic. This is a very moist cake with a wonderful mild flavor. The tofu is the egg replacer and gives it some extra protein. Pumpkin is full of fiber, beta carotene and iron. It also has protein, Vitamin C, Magnesium and Potassium. I did cut the margarine in half; I just couldn't wrap my brain around using all that fat. So, I did have to chill my frosting in order to do a crumb layer of icing. Use as little icing as possible for your crumb layer because this recipe makes a somewhat scant amount, and you will need every bit of it for the finish coat. I actually made a little extra frosting, and used it.
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HARVEST PUMPKIN CAKE

Yield: One 9-inch layer cake

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup dairy-free shortening, such as Spectrum brand

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup silken tofu

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling) (I used my own pumpkin puree from sugar pie pumpkins)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup soy or rice milk

1 recipe Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine shortening, sugars, silken tofu, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract on low speed until creamy. In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda with a wire whisk.

Preheat oven to 350ºF, and spray two 9-inch round cake pans with dairy-free baking spray. Add flour mixture alternatively with soy milk to the shortening mixture. Beat well. Pour into prepared pans, and bake 25 to 35 minutes. Cool completely, and frost with Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting. Note: I let the cakes cool completely in the pans, and then ran a butter knife around the edges and then inverted them onto racks until they fell.

-------------------

Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup dairy-free margarine (I used 1/4 Cup)

3/4 cup dairy-free cream cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

21/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the margarine, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, and mix on low for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium, and beat 4 to 6 minutes, until light and fluffy. Chill before using.

I baked the cakes for only 25 minutes in my electric, non-convection oven, until they pulled away from the sides of my pale-colored cake pans. i did use use a tester to make sure it came out clean and that the cakes were done inside.

Vegan Baked Kibbeh

2011-10-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Kibbeh is eaten in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and the Arabian Peninsula. I adapted this recipe from one I found on epicurious, and then I read a recipe in another cookbook to make sure that kibbeh really is sometimes baked, and that the spices were right. There's a good Wikipedia entry on kibbeh too. Kibbeh has two textures; the looser, "meatier" interior, and the finer, bulgur-laced shell. It can be made in individual deep-fried balls, or baked in a pan, which is quicker and less fatty. In order to achieve these two textures, I used two different analog meats; Boca Crumbles and Yves Meatless Ground, and it's amazing how well they worked together to make authentic Kibbeh textures. I was originally inspired to create a Middle Eastern section on this blog because I read an article about Conflict Kitchen. It's sad that a good concept blows it by promoting the violent killing of innocent beings, but I embrace the peaceful part of the intentions behind Conflict Kitchen. So, I'm creating our very own, truly peaceful Vegan Conflict Kitchen, right here, for all of us. I've already posted Persian Rice, and Spicy Lebanese Potatoes, and they're both excellent. Before I went vegan, I tried kibbeh at restaurants; those little fried footballs that were pretty bland and unhealthy. So, this Vegan Baked Kibbeh was a pleasant surprise, because it's light, delicately flavored and versatile. We had flatbread sandwiches out of it, and I even made Kibbeh Pasties (see photo below), or Kibbeh Empanadas, if you will. And, they were both superb. As a side note, I once again missed out on the sign-up for Vegan Mofo (Vegan Month of Food), but am going to dedicate all recipes for the rest of October to Vegan Mofo. Man, I just can't get no love from Isa and Terry. p.s. There are more photos of this dish done in different ways, below. And, this recipe looks long and involved, but active time is really less than an hour, and it makes a lot.
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Vegan Baked Kibbeh

Active time: 40 minutes (2 hours including cooking time)

Makes approximately 8 servings (or ten?)

For filling
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. Boca Crumbles
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts plus 2 tablespoons for garnish, toasted

For bulgur mixture:
1 cup bulgur (I used Arrowhead Mills Organic regular bulgur)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 package Yves Meatless Ground
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Special equipment: a 9-inch-square baking dish, or a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.

Make filling:
Cook onion in oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes.
Add Boca Crumbles, allspice, salt, cinnamon and pepper, and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup pine nuts.

Make bulgur mixture:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a bowl, cover bulgur with cold water.
When dust and chaff rise to surface, pour off water and then repeat this rinsing two more times.
Cover rinsed bulgur with cold water and let stand 10 minutes.
Drain in a very-fine mesh sieve, and quickly press and shake gently to remove excess liquid. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse onion until finely chopped.
Add Yves Meatless Ground, allspice, salt, cinnamon and pepper.
Pulse until mixture is finely mixed and somewhat smooth.
Add bulgur to food processor and process to blend all.

Assemble and bake kibbeh:
Lightly grease pan or skillet with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (I just used cooking oil spray).
Press half of bulgur mixture evenly onto bottom of pan.
Spoon filling evenly over bulgur mixture.
Spoon remaining bulgur mixture over filling and spread to cover, smoothing top.
Brush top with remaining olive oil, or melted Earth Balance, or spray oil, and score in a crosshatch pattern with a knife.
Bake kibbeh in middle of oven until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.
Preheat broiler.
Broil kibbeh 5 to 7 inches from heat until top is golden brown and crusty, 3 to 5 minutes.
Garnish with reserved 2 Tablespoons of toasted pine nuts.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with sumac spice, vegan yogurt sauce, etc.
Can be made into flatbread sandwiches, stuffed into pita pockets with shredded lettuce, made into hand pies, etc.

Note: I served mine with my Turkish Yogurt Coriander Sauce, and it was killer good. You could also serve it with plain vegan yogurt.

This photo shows the baked kibbeh in a pan. Apparently some Middle Eastern moms will baste the top with butter, and you could do that with some melted Earth Balance, but I just sprayed mine with canola oil to give the top a bit of crunch. This slices nicely due to the scoring, and you can easily lift pieces out with a dinner fork. Keep going, there's one more photo below.

OK, this last photo shows a Kibbeh Pasty. Or it could be a kibbeh empanada, or kibbeh hand pie, whatever you want to call it. I made them with my buttery, flaky, vegan French Pate Brise, and man, it was absolutely delicious! I drizzled them with the Turkish Yogurt Almond Sauce and sprinkled them with toasted almonds, and they were gorgeous.

Turkish Yogurt Coriander Sauce

2011-10-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

There are many variations of this Turkish Yogurt Coriander Sauce, but I've never seen a vegan one. These sauces are used on roasted Middle Eastern foods, so would be great with veggie kebabs, Iranian vegan Kubideh sandwiches, etc. I created this from a traditional recipe to go with some vegan Kibbeh that I made today, and I have to say the whole meal rocked. This quick, easy, creamy sauce was so refreshing on the "meaty" kibbeh. It would be great with any Middle Eastern dish (Persian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Syrian) calling for a cool, creamy sauce. I'm even thinking of falafels. Or anything Indian or Pakistani that would call for raita, or anything Greek calling for tzatziki. I love the Trader Joe's frozen cilantro cubes because they save me from buying a bag of cilantro (coriander leaves) when I know I'm only going to use a little bit of it, and the rest will go bad. In closing, this sauce is easy, quick, cool and delicious. A keeper.
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Vegan Turkish Yogurt Coriander Sauce

Keeps for 2 days in fridge.

Makes: 1.5 cups approx.

INGREDIENTS
½ of a small garlic clove, pressed, or crushed and minced
3 Tablespoons of onion, very finely chopped (sweet onion is sometimes preferred, but it’s not critical)
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (or distilled white vinegar)
1 Cup almonds, chopped or sliced
a pinch of sea salt
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fine black pepper
1 Cup plain vegan yogurt (I used a 6 oz. So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt, Plain flavor)
1-2 Tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped fine (I used instead 3 teaspoons of Trader Joe’s frozen cilantro cubes, thawed)

DIRECTIONS
Put chopped or sliced almonds in a small skillet and toast lightly with a pinch of fine sea salt, and stir.
In a serving bowl, combine garlic, onion and vinegar, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Beat in the olive oil, until the sauce is creamy. I use my café latte frother.
Add salt, pepper, coriander/cilantro, and yogurt, and then whisk or froth to blend well.
Add almonds just before serving, to keep them crunchy.

Desert Essence Organics Lotions and Creams

2011-10-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the first post for this new category of Vegan Beauty and Personal Care. I heard about these vegan lotions on a wonderful podcast I stumbled upon in itunes. It's called Midwest Vegan Radio, and I think they have 15 episodes so far. They were really talking about the Perfect Pistachio Foot Repair Cream but then when i went to Whole Foods, i also saw a variety of Desert Essence Organics hand and body lotion flavors. I ended up choosing Sweet Almond flavor and I love it. it smells better than Jergens and doesn't have all the toxic stuff in it. I mean, the first three ingredients are aloe juice, sweet almond extract and shea butter. Do I want to see radish root, jojoba, vitamin E and honeysuckle in my hand and body lotion? You bet I do! The 8 oz. tube of Hand and Body Lotion was $8.99, but it was also $8.99 for the 3.5 oz. tube of Foot Cream, so beware the price difference. This product line is 100% vegan, and wheat-and-gluten free. And importantly, no petroleum products! Their manufacturing supports wind power. Desert Essence Organics has all kinds of other products (such as sun screen, face cream, lip balm, etc.) and I'll be trying more of them. There are no parabens, no sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, no phthalates, no artificial fragrances or colors, no silicones, etc. The skin is the largest organ in our body and it absorbs whatever we put onto it, into our bloodstream. That's why medicine and nicotine patches are so effective. p.s. The pistachio foot cream really does smell delicious too.

Crispy Onion Rings

2011-09-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from the Food Wishes web site, and what makes it special is that the onion rings stay crispy longer than others. I already have a good onion ring recipe on this site; Panko Coated Onion Rings, and if I recall correctly, they stay crispy for a pretty long time too. This Food Wishes recipe also uses Panko. I read about the FW recipe somewhere recently, and since we were having veggie burgers, decided to try it last night. I should have taken a photo of the ones that cooked longer, so make sure yours are golden brown. My conclusion is that these are really good, and they did stay crispy for a long time. A winner. On the Food Wishes web site, you can also watch the video if you want to.
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Crispy Onion Rings

Approx. 6 Servings?

INGREDIENTS
Vegetable oil for frying (I like peanut, or safflower or canola oil)
1-2 medium-size (not large) yellow onions
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup corn starch
2 Tablespoons instant mashed potatoes
a pinch of cayenne
1 Cup cold club soda
2-3 Cups Panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
fine sea salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Set oil to heat.
Put Panko in a shallow dish or pan.
In a bowl, put flour, corn starch, instant mashed potatoes, cayenne, and dry whisk to combine.
Add club soda to flour mixture and whisk again to combine.
This batter should now sit and thicken for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, peel and slice onions into 1/4-inch rings.
When oil is hot, dip rings one at a time, with a fork, into batter
and then with a separate fork, into Panko, until coated.
Fry several onion rings at a time, but do not crowd the pot.
Flip onion rings halfway through, until golden brown.
Place finished onion rings onto a baking rack set onto a baking sheet.
You can keep these warm in a 200 degree oven, if necessary.

Notes: Use one fork for the batter dipping, and a separate fork for the panko dipping. The amounts in the video are for a smaller batch. The amounts above will yield a larger batch, possibly 6 servings. I found a little 3.5 oz. box of Edward & Sons Organic Mashed Potatoes at my health food store, which saved me from wasting a big box of Potato Buds.

Remodeling

2011-09-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

I know posts have been a little less frequent lately but there are reasons, one of them being the upcoming remodeling of our little kitchen and dining room, which are sort of across from each other. This top photo is of my current dining room, before I began dismantling it the other day. This room will get bumped out two feet toward the front yard (out the windows), and it will actually become the new kitchen. The old kitchen is circa 1958, still has the original turquoise Formica counter tops, only a few lineal feet of counter space, and a funky smell from 50 years of God Knows What before we bought it. The old kitchen will become the the new dining room, but that will be after the new kitchen is built. So, I will be posting recipes as often as I can, but if I get down to one a week or something, this is why. This second photo shows the notebooks where I keep vegan recipes that I come across, and want to try someday. You can see the laminate floor that will get removed. Also, the old pine paneling (that we painted white 9 years ago) will get removed. It's a gut job, Folks. I've spent parts of the last few days packing up a LOT of glassware. My Mom was an antique dealer and so I've been collecting vintage and antique glassware since I was a teenager, and also have a few boxes of it up in the attic still. I've been taking a lot of other stuff from bins in the attic to local thrift shops and then filling those bins with stuff I want to keep from the dining room. I've been getting rid of extra possessions in the last two months and it feels great. I don't think I could ever get to be a true minimalist but I'm moving in that direction where I want to keep only what I truly enjoy. This remodel will be done in many stages that began last year and will continue well into 2012. Now we are ready to build the new bump-out on the outside, beginning on October 3. Then Lars will come in and start demolishing inside this old dining room. This doesn't even begin to entail what is going to have to happen in the old kitchen at some point, which will involve the removal of an old chimney, etc. I've waited 9 years for a new kitchen, so I'm looking forward to it but also sort of hoping it goes quickly, because chaos does not suit me. I was a military kid, and I had moved 11 times by the time I graduated high school, and just the sight of moving boxes gives me a bit of that old stress. Also, I'll be traveling up to NH soon, because my Mom had a heart attack last week, and just got out of hospital today. So, please bear with me, and know that I will continue blogging delicious, vegan, compassionate food, right through the hullabaloo of remodeling. One last note is that I am literally unable to "Reply" to comments on this blog, for some reason. I see from the Help section on blogspot that others also have this problem. I know I need to cut and paste some code but haven't had time to figure it out. I really want Minimalist Mommi and Mom of 2 Gremlins (Yo Europe!) and the rest of you who email me to know that I enjoy the comments! I started this blog as a way to process going vegan and to figure out what in the world we were going to eat, but I'm continuing it because I want to help create the world I want to see! Love, Amanda :)

Vegan Fried Rice - Local Style

2011-09-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a good, quick Fried Rice. In Hawaii, there's always someplace to get good local-style Fried Rice, but not here on the Mainland. So, you can make this at home with whatever you have on hand. This time, I used one of our favorite combinations of grated carrot, caramelized onion and fresh corn kernels. Some considerations with Fried Rice, which is in essence a Stir Fry, are the order in which you add things to the pan, how finely ingredients are chopped, and most importantly, the seasonings. I've tried using more shoyu to get more oomph, but it backfires every time. The key is subtlety, have some balance, keep it simple, not too much oil, and of course, use REAL rice! If you've ever lived in Hawaii, you know that a common joke is to accuse someone of using "Uncle Ben's" rice. Yes, the rice must be actually cooked, by you. Get over it. Or, you could do like I did about 10 years ago, and get a Zojirushi Rice Cooker. My Neuro Fuzzy Zojirushi is adorable, has Fuzzy Logic and it plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when the rice is done cooking, and I am not kidding. As an added bonus, you can make the rice early and the Zojirushi will keep it warm for many hours, and when you finally go to eat it, it will taste like you just made it! You can also set it to start cooking when you want, by inputting the time you want to eat. I grew up having white "sticky rice" at every meal, but now I like brown rice, and for Fried Rice, I use short-grain brown rice, and it's delicious. This photo is not garnished because I didn't have any green onions on hand, but they are important in this dish. The protein i used this time was the General Tso's Vegan Chicken from Whole Foods, cut into quarters, and sauteed with the rice toward the end. But you could press and cube tofu and saute it beforehand, use nuts, steamed soy beans, etc. I plan to make vegan char siu soon, and will blog it here, stay tuned.
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Vegan Fried Rice - Local Style

Make rice one day ahead. Rice must be cold. Freshly cooked rice will just make a sticky mess.

Serves 3 to 4 people

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided

½ t fine sea salt, or Hawaiian salt, divided

3 to 4 Cups cold cooked rice (real rice only)

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 carrot, grated

½ C fresh vegetables, chopped fine

A protein, such as diced seitan or pressed-and-cubed tofu or shelled steamed soy beans, or nuts, etc.

2 Tablespoons Tamari sauce
1 Tablespoon Black Bean Sauce (my personal secret ingredient)

Black pepper

For garnish: green onions, sesame seeds, etc.

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together the Tamari and Black Bean sauces, and set aside.

In a large, non-stick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.

If using tofu, fry it until firm or slightly browned, and set aside.

Heat the remaining sesame oil.

Add onions, carrot, half the salt, and sauté until onions are a bit caramelized.
Add other vegetables now, if you have not added them with the onions.
Add the other 1/4 teaspoon of salt or Hawaiian salt now.

Break up lumps of cold, cooked rice (with your hands) and add to pan.

Stir until rice is heated and grains are separated.
Stir until thoroughly heated and mixed.

Sprinkle Tamari sauces mixture over rice and mix evenly through.

Sprinkle with black pepper if desired.

Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, etc.

Note: If using heavy, raw vegetables, chop them finer and add them earlier; when you add the onions, so they have time to really cook. They key with this dish is to chop things somewhat uniformly. We like our vegetables to be chopped pretty fine so it’s a more married dish. When the fresh, local corn is ripe, we like it in this dish.

Vegan Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies

2011-09-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is a very popular cookie in New York City, from the Momofuku Milk Bar restaurant and bakery. Momofuku is not vegan, so I veganized the recipe, and the cookies came out sinfully delicious. Christina Tosi is famous for using "guilty pleasure" snack foods in her bakery, including many wacky childhood favorites. The main thing is to replace the egg and butter, and then it's only a matter of following the recipe regarding the mixing of the dough (during one part, the mixer runs for a full ten minutes), and chilling the dough really well. I did not have light brown sugar in the house and so I used dark brown sugar, and to my surprise, at the end of the long mix, the dough still became almost white (photo below), as it's supposed to be. Tosi's recipe calls for immediately scooping and then chilling entire sheet pans of dough balls in the refrigerator. But, I do not have room for large baking sheets in my fridge, so I just chilled the entire batch of dough in an airtight bowl in my fridge, and this worked really well. In fact, the dough, after that long mix, was too warm to scoop neatly anyway. Also, Tosi's recipe calls for using a 6 oz. scoop (3 Tablespoons). I simply used one Tablespoon (2 oz.) for a scoop and got 26 perfectly-sized cookies, instead of 15 giant cookies. The recipe below is one half batch, so feel free to double it. You can find links to the actual recipe in several places online. For my "snack foods," I chose Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch, my own granola, vegan chocolate chips, and crushed Lays potato chips. I also used the accidentally-vegan butterscotch chips from Food Lion supermarket (Food Lion brand). My verdict is that the chocolate chips are better than the butterscotch, though. The key with this cookie is to make sure you have at least one salty ingredient, such as pretzels. I've heard of people using Fritos and Doritos, peanut butter pretzels, crackers, etc.
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Vegan Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie Recipe

Makes approx. 26 cookies (using a one-tablespoon scoop)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar (I only had dark)
1/2 Tablespoon Corn Syrup (I used 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Ener-G Egg Replacer, to equal one egg (frothed or whisked)
3/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (or fine sea salt)
3/4 cups of favorite baking ingredients (choc. chips, raisins, etc.)
3/4 cups your favorite snack foods (go wild)

DIRECTIONS
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
On a lower speed, add egg replacer and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.
When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough.
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough.
Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed for a few seconds, until they are just incorporated.
Refrigerate dough for at least several hours, overnight, or up to one week.
DO NOT bake your cookies from room temperature, or they will not hold their shape.
Preheat a conventional oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (350F in a convection oven).
When oven is fully pre-heated, using a 1-Tablespoon measure as a scoop, portion chilled dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, keeping cookies 4" apart in any direction.
Keep dough in refrigerator between batches!
Bake approximately 9 minutes. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.
At 9 minutes, the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for an additional minute if these colors don’t match up and your cookies still seem pale and doughy on the surface.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. I cooled mine for 10 minutes and then transferred them to cooling racks.
At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh one month.

Notes: I have an electric, non-convection oven. Some gas ovens may run hotter. This recipe is easily doubled. Momfuku Milk Bar Restaurant uses a 6 oz. scoop (3 Tablespoons), and bakes cookies 8-11 minutes, for fewer, larger cookies. I will try reducing the baking soda by 1/4 teaspoon next time. Author of BakeWise says over-leavening can cause eventual collapse of baked goods and actually impede a high rise. Per one cup flour, she advises either 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder or 1/4 teaspoon of Baking Soda. Also, if you want thicker cookies, you could use one full cup of flour in this recipe, as advised by several home bakers.

Is Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch cereal vegan?

2011-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

One of the debates among young vegans online is whether or not Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal is vegan or not. I noticed this because I've been wanting to veganize the famous Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies, and I thought Cap'n Crunch cereal would be good in them. So, I emailed the Quaker Oats company and here's their response below. I found it fascinating that there's a Kosher symbol code that indicates whether a product has meat or dairy in it. Since I'm not Jewish, I was unaware of this. I checked the box of Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal, and sure enough, there's a "U" enclosed in a circle, indicating there's no meat or dairy in this product. I'm not debating the nutrition (or lack thereof) of this cereal, because we all know it's junk food, but I am interested in food labeling. It's pretty crazy that many things like Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Bisquick are NOT vegan. And why do they have to put animal products in Gummy Bears and Marshmallows and Candy Corn, all of which have hair and skin and bones in them? I'd like to see food commercials show intermittent flashes of the horrific, needless suffering that other living beings go through, sometimes for years on end, to create these products. I have never seen it, but a friend once told me about an old PETA commercial that shows a model wearing a luxurious fur on a runway, and as she gets to the end, and pivots for the audience, the folds of the fur coat flare out and spatter the audience with the blood of the animals that died for this vanity. I appreciate the "V" symbol that Trader Joe's uses to indicate vegan foods, and have noted the use of more "Dairy Free" and "Vegan" phrasing on labels in the last year. In short, Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal is supposedly vegan.
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Ms. Erickson:

Thanks for your interest in our Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch cereal, as well as our other Quaker brand cereals. I'll be happy to help.

While we don't currently label any of our products specifically for vegan concerns, I'd like to let you know that we do Kosher-certify all applicable Quaker products, which we know is helpful for many consumers who are concerned with animal-derived ingredients. Kosher Law precludes the use of meat and dairy products in the same meal, therefore, you can trust that they will be labeled appropriately if they contain any animal-derived products so that you may avoid them.

Below is a guide to the symbols you can watch for on Quaker brand products to find vegan-friendly products which do not contain any animal or animal by-products:

* The letter "U" enclosed in a circle on the front of a product (the symbol of the Orthodox Union of
Jewish Congregations) indicates that the product is Kosher. If it appears by itself, the product
contains neither meat nor dairy.

* If a letter "D" is beside or underneath the circled U, it means that some part of the product
contains dairy, but not meat.

* If a letter "M" is beside or underneath the circled U, it means that some part of the product
contains meat (not currently used for any cereal products).

Note: Fish and Eggs are not considered meat under Kosher law; however, we do label for their presence below the ingredient listing since they are common allergens. If either of these products were present in the formulation, or exposed to the product during manufacturing, we will label "Contains" or "May Contain" in bold print right beneath the list of ingredients.

With that said, I'm happy to let you know that our Peanut Butter Crunch flavor is free of any meat or dairy ingredients. Our other flavors (including original Cap'n Crunch, Crunchberries, and Oops! All Berries) are Kosher-Dairy, indicating that they include or may have been exposed to dairy ingredients at some point during manufacturing.

I hope that this information is helpful for you, Ms. Erickson, in choosing products. We appreciate your interest in Quaker.

Jessica
Quaker Consumer Relations
A Division of PepsiCo
Ref# 027574729A

Peanut Butter Carrot Puppy Biscuits

2011-09-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

This recipe for vegan dog cookies is a recipe from VegWeb, and I only changed one ingredient; I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. I also took a tip from one of the readers who said they ground the oats into flour. Since I would be using the food processor for the carrots anyway, I did pulse the oats into a sort of coarse flour first. I took a little bit of one of the baked biscuits, and they don't taste like much to me, but my baby Ipo loved them. This might be a good time to mention that certain ingredients sometimes used in dog biscuits are actually toxic to canines, and here I'm talking mainly about garlic. For decades well-meaning people have thought that garlic was a natural flea repellent for dogs. This interactive chart from National Geographic on Canine Taboos actually shows various toxins and how they work. Garlic, for example, can cause anemia and liver failure. The recipe as I've written it below is halved. Double it if you want to. The two different textures in the photo are because I forgot to knead the dough, and so the bone-shaped one is prior to working the dough. The little triangles are a better size for dogs, and these came from the last batch in the oven, and you can see the dough gets finer as you keep working it. p.s. Assume everything is organic.
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Peanut Butter Carrot Puppy Biscuits

Makes approximately 50 cookies, depending upon size.

INGREDIENTS
2.5 Cups whole wheat flour
1.5 Cups rolled oats
1 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons of water
3 small-to-medium carrots
1/3 Cup peanut butter
1/4 Cup apple sauce

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place rolling pin in freezer.
Pulse oats in food processor, until a coarse flour forms.
Place oats into a large mixing bowl.
Add flour to oats and dry whisk to incorporate.
Pulse carrots in food processor to a very fine consistency.
To the flour and oats, add the carrots, water, peanut butter and applesauce, and mix well.
Knead dough to make it finer.
Sprinkle a flat surface with bench flour and roll out the dough.
Cut dough into shapes or use cookie cutter, and bake 20 to 25 minutes. I needed to bake these at least 25 minutes in my electric non-convection oven. Note that these cookies do not harden as they cool.

Notes: As you re-work the dough for rolling and cutting, you'll note that the texture of the dough becomes finer and finer. The bench flour will prevent sticking as you go. To also help reduce sticking, keep dough in refrigerator between batches.

Because these biscuits do not have preservatives in them, the bulk of them should be kept frozen and brought out as needed.

I like to buy those little 4-packs of individual organic applesauce cups, so they're always ready to use in baking as egg replacer or oil replacer, or whatever. Trader Joe's has them too.

White Beans with Rosemary and Garlic

2011-09-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

This is an Alice Waters recipe. It's sad that she promotes the killing and eating of other beings, but she does know how to cook vegetables and legumes. Since going vegan, I've come to appreciate beans much more than I ever did before. Now that my system is used to real fiber, they don't bother my tummy at all, and are one of the best proteins for humans. OK, my photo does not show white beans for a reason. I've made this dish twice now, but I've actually cooked four pots of beans in order to do so. What happened was I couldn't find a bag of organic beans, so I resorted to the bulk section of my health food store. I'm a bit suspicious of bulk foods sometimes, in regards to the lack of expiration dates. After trying to cook those bulk white beans two different times, I concluded that they were old or something. They just came out mushy and shaggy and tasteless. So, I had some heirloom Vallarta beans and made those, and then I also made some Yellow Indian Woman beans, and both of those came out great. Making this perfectly-flavored bean dish was like a master class in cooking beans, for me. Maybe you are used to cooking beans and if so, you'll still appreciate the beautiful simplicity of the flavors in this easy dish. I soaked the beans overnight and threw them on the stove as soon as I walked into the kitchen in the morning. By the time I fed Ipo, put on makeup, had tea, read the paper and juiced, the beans were set to cool. This way, they were ready for a quick saute with garlic and rosemary before supper. The final sprinkle of fine sea salt is a must, in my opinion. I also like RealSalt which I can now find in the grocery store. In conclusion, yes, this dish would be prettier with white beans, to show off the flecks of green rosemary, but either way, they taste great. Oddly enough, the combination of the rosemary, garlic and sea salt give these beans a meaty flavor that's hard to explain. And my experience with trying to find bagged (dated) organic beans has taught me that I should plan to grow them in the garden next year.
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White Beans with Rosemary and Garlic

This recipe is from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

Makes 3 Cups beans

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup dried white beans (cannellini, navy, great northern, white runner, etc.)
fine sea salt, to taste (I think I used less than ½ teaspoon)
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed, or crushed and chopped fine
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

DIRECTIONS
Soak the beans overnight in four cups water, this is essential.
Drain beans and transfer to a pot with a heavy bottom. Choose a wider pot if you have a choice, but a heavy bottom on the pot is the first priority. Alice says the wider pot keeps the layer of beans from being too deep, and that otherwise, the beans are hard to stir and the ones on the bottom get crushed. Add fresh water to cover by three inches.
Do NOT add salt at this time, or the beans will be tough!
Bring to boil.
Lower heat and skim off any foam.
Simmer gently for 1 to 2 hours, until beans are tender. Start testing after one hour.
Add more water if necessary during the cooking. The water level should always be an inch or two above the beans. If the water level gets too low, the beans become crowded and will tend to fall apart when stirred. Or they might burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
Start testing after one hour.
To test for doneness, beans should be tender, but not falling apart, although it is better to overcook them than to undercook them. You don’t want them to be the least bit al dente, or crunchy. The best way to test them is to bite one.
When they are fully cooked, let the beans cool in their liquid before you drain them. If they’re drained right away, the skins will crack and they’ll look shaggy.
Once beans are cool, drain them.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or skillet (I like cast iron for this), warm the olive oil.
Add the garlic and rosemary leaves to the oil, and cook just until the garlic is soft, less than 5 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat and add the beans to the skillet.
Sprinkle beans with the fine sea salt and stir gently to coat beans.
Taste for salt and adjust if necessary.
Let this dish sit for a few minutes before serving to allow the flavors to marry.
Serve warm or at room temperature for best flavor.

Notes: Alice suggests that the leaves of either sage, or winter or summer savory are delicious substitutes for the rosemary, but after tasting the rosemary, I’ll be loath to try anything else. If you do not have a rosemary plant growing near your kitchen, I would urge you to plant one. They will grow in harsh conditions and are so rewarding, becoming venerable with the years. I know there are many cultivars of rosemary, at least over 50, and some are very hardy and will withstand very cold winters. Some are upright and some are prostrate. Do a little looking online and you will find one that's right for your area.

Tovolo Popsicle Molds

2011-09-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

I tried these popsicle molds for the first time this past week and am very satisfied with them. After reading a bunch of reviews on amazon.com, I chose this Tovolo Star Ice Pop Mold. You get six popsicle molds on a stand. The green star on each mold acts as a drip catcher, which is kind of smart. One thing I looked for was individual pop molds, so I could release one pop at a time. So, if I need to run it under warm water for a few seconds, I'm only loosening one pop, and not the whole lot of them. With all the bad stuff in popsicles now, these molds are very popular with people of all ages. Online, I've seen uber-healthy pops made from things like acai juice, and homemade vegan fudgesicles, etc. I think these would be great for teens too, or even to give as a gift, along with a cool popsicle recipe book such as Paletas by Fany Gerson. These molds are also BPA free. One tip I have is not to fill them too full, because you want to leave your little drip cup empty. Also, I filled mine too full, and Lars ended up eating the last bit of popsicle out of the drip cup with a fork. So far, we've released two popsicles and, with a bit of warm water running on the mold for a few seconds, they both came out easily. I had two peaches sitting on the counter, so I made Peaches and Cream Pops in my Vitamix. 2 peaches (peeled) (or 2 Cups frozen peaches thawed), 1 Cup vanilla soy milk and 1/3 Cup agave nectar. p.s. If buying for a baby, I was intrigued by the Annabel Karmel Fill and Freeze Puree Pops molds, also on amazon.com. I think they'd be great for sore little gums and they have an ingenious handle design. Additional photo below.

Candle Cafe Tofu Spinach Ravioli (frozen dinner)

2011-09-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

I found this at Whole Foods very recently, and took a chance on it. I was home alone at lunch today and decided to try it. And . . . it's delicious. I used to eat those little frozen ravioli meals sometimes, before i went vegan. I'd dress them up with chopped olives or whatever, for a quick lunch that wasn't too fattening. This Candle Cafe Vegan Tofu Spinach Ravioli in Classic Tomato Sauce tastes so much better than those big brand frozen meals ever did. What surprised me most was the creamy cheesy-ness of it. I want to go to the famous Candle Cafe and Candle 79 restaurants in NYC someday, and I've tried some of their recipes with success, but I was still surprised at how good this was, being that it is a frozen entree. Next time I go to Whole foods, I'll get this one again, and maybe also the Seitan Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce, or the Ginger Miso Stir Fry. I've got the Macaroni & Vegan Cheese in the freezer, and can't wait to try that one of these days. This ravioli dish has 11 grams of protein, and lots of organic ingredients. I'm sold. Now if we could just our Whole Foods in Annapolis to carry the Candle Cafe dessert products too.

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

2011-08-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

This quick, easy and delicious dish is supposedly an Ina Garten recipe, and you can see it all over the net. Wow, it's good. The onions make it, so don't be shy with them. They sort of caramelize while the potatoes crisp, and add depth. Don't worry, the mustard is not strong, it's just right or could even be a bit stronger if you like. The only thing I changed was the process, in order to achieve a more-uniform flavoring over the potatoes. Whereas the original recipe calls for drizzling oil over the pan, I whisk the oil in with the mustard and spices before tossing and baking. These are also my spice measurements because some of the net recipes were vague or had too much pepper. Hurricane Irene is coming our way, so I didn't bother with the parsley tonight. Here we go:
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Mustard Roasted Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
1.5 to 2 lbs. of small red potatoes, washed and dried
2 yellow onions
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 Cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (if you have it)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut potatoes into quarters, or even a bit smaller if the potatoes are not really small to begin with.
Slice onions into thick half rounds.
In a very large bowl, whisk oil, mustard, salt and pepper.
Add potatoes and onions to mustard mixture and toss well to coat.
Bake for one hour.
If the potatoes don't look nice and crispy, bake another 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley.

Notes: Supposedly, you can make these ahead and then warm them in the oven for 15 minutes.

Here are the raw potatoes and onions, prior to baking.

Trader Joe's Brown Rice Pasta

2011-08-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne Pasta is just one of those simple products that's a good thing. Wheat Free, Cholesterol Free, Sodium Free, AND Organic! I'm not gluten free, but also think we could use a bit less wheat in our diet when there's a good alternative. The ingredients are organic brown rice and water. I've tried some whole-wheat pastas and we weren't crazy about them. Some were tough or became tough once they sat a few minutes. One cup of this pasta (cooked) provides 4 grams of protein and some iron. This one-pound bag provides 8 servings and costs $1.99. We just hope Trader Joe's in Annapolis will also supply the fusilli, and not just the penne. And we hope Trader Joe's will also make small elbow macaroni for vegan macaroni and cheese!

Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup

2011-08-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's Tomato Time in the garden. I have always eschewed cardboard supermarket tomatoes and the sickly sliced tomatoes in restaurants. Commercial tomatoes are picked green, sprayed with ethylene, and bred to withstand grueling shipping. No wonder they're mealy and tasteless. We won't even get into the horrible working conditions and slavery that goes on with tomato workers. If you want to know more about that, here's an NPR link. But now the heirloom garden tomatoes are here! I've already made Fried Green Tomatoes, and Bruschetta, and our favorite BLTs with fried Smart Bacon. I adapted this vegan Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup from a recipe in an old Gourmet magazine, years ago. It's a soup that takes little effort to make, and it's superlative in taste. If you don't have a Vitamix, you'll want to strain this soup through a fine sieve to take out any bits of tomato skins and seeds. This was always the only time-consuming part of this recipe. But with the Vitamix, the need for any straining is eliminated, because the healthy tomato skins and seeds just get whirled into oblivion. All parts of the tomato are healthy. For example, tomato peels increase absorption of carotenoids. And yes, even the gel and seeds are very nutritious (the seeds increase blood flow without the complications of daily aspirin). So, this is where the Vitamix is a brilliant tool in the kitchen, but I made this soup for years with only a regular blender. If you've got extra home-grown tomatoes, this soup is the ticket. I usually make at least 6 pints to freeze, and then we enjoy them in the depths of winter.
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Vegan Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup

Serves about 8 (freezes well)

Active time: 20 min. Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. garden-fresh tomatoes, halved lengthwise (any varieties)
6 garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil, or Earth Balance vegan butter
3 cups vegetable stock or vegetable broth (I used vegan Better Than Bouillon)
1/2 cup vegan creamer, such as Silk Soy Creamer, or So Delicious coconut creamer

DIRECTIONS
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°Fahrenheit.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in one layer on baking sheet.
Add unpeeled garlic cloves to baking sheet.
Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper.
Roast tomatoes and garlic 1 hour, then cool in pan.
Peel garlic.
In a large heavy pot, over medium-low heat, cook onion, oregano, and sugar in butter or oil, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, garlic and stock, and simmer (do not boil), covered, 15 minutes.

Let soup cool.

Puree soup in batches in a Vitamix or regular blender.

Force puree through a sieve into cleaned pot, discarding solids. If you used a Vitamix, this soup should not need straining.

Stir in cream.

If you want to, add a little salt and pepper to taste (I do not).

Simmer 2 minutes.

Garnish bowls of soup with a tiny oregano sprig, and/or a crouton.

Notes: Soup can be made one day ahead. Freezes well.

I used Better Than Bouillon, Vegetable Flavor, to make my broth.

Reheat just before serving.

Spicy Lebanese Potatoes - Batata Harra

2011-08-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on the DedeMed cooking videos site. DedeMed is not vegan, but there are some recipes on her site that are accidentally vegan, and this is one of them. According to Wikipedia, Batata Harra can also be a Syrian dish if made with red peppers, coriander and chili. There is an Indian version as well, but here we have a Lebanese dish. For this particular recipe, Dede's written measurements do not match her video, and the oven temperatures also differ. Here's what I did, and we enjoyed this dish. Lars is not crazy about cilantro yet, so I used the Trader Joe's frozen spice cubes, exactly 5 teaspoons worth. I've found that the Trader Joe's frozen spices are milder than fresh spices, so I can get away with the cilantro sometimes. And he liked the potatoes . . . and I didn't mention the cilantro. Also, I guess once you start sauteeing the cilantro with garlic, it becomes milder or something. I'm sure the fresh cilantro is superior though! I really cut the cayenne down too, so some people will want to see the amounts on Dede's written recipe on the link above. These potatoes are not only delicious, but have a lovely pale green color.
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Batata Harra - Lebanese Spicy Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
6-8 medium-to-large red potatoes, or fingerling potatoes to equal
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Cup washed, chopped fresh cilantro, with stems removed
(or 5 cubes/teaspoons Trader Joe's frozen cilantro)
5 cloves garlic, pressed, or crushed and minced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Do not peel potatoes.
Chop potatoes into small cubes, maybe 1/2 inch dice.
In a large bowl, toss potatoes with 2 Tablespoons of the oil.
Spread potatoes onto lined baking sheet.
Bake potatoes for 20 minutes, stirring them halfway through.
In a frying pan or wok, saute cilantro, garlic and remaining Tablespoon olive oil for 2 minutes.
Add potatoes and stir and saute for another minute or two.
Season with salt, cayenne and freshly ground pepper, and stir in pan before serving.

Notes: Dede says that some people deep-fry the potatoes, which of course, would taste awesome, but be more fattening. If you are using potatoes with thicker skins, such as russets, you could peel them.

Excellent Bean Dip

2011-08-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

This recipe was given to my friend Dave when he was working at Hilo Hospital, back in the 1990's. We laugh because it's uber healthy, but then we go and eat it with Doritos, Fritos and the like. At least you're getting some major nutrition and fiber with your junk food! It's good, and it would be perfect for the big game, so I'm also putting it under the vegan football food category on this site. It makes a ton and it freezes beautifully. See second photo below, dated in October 2011, and I like this chunky texture better, it's all about how much you puree, and pulse which ingredients.
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EXCELLENT BEAN DIP

INGREDIENTS

2 cans 15 oz kidney beans (drained)

1 cans 15 oz black beans (drained)

1 cans 15 oz garbanzo beans (drained)

2 cans 2.25 oz. ripe (black) olives (drained). Chop one can, and put other in blender.

1 can 14.5 oz can flavored tomatoes. I used Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes, but any flavor would do.

Juice of one whole lemon (fresh)

1 large purple onion, diced fine (I use the Pickled Red Onions on this site)

1 to 2 green bell peppers, diced

4 oz. Catalina dressing
Optional: several Tablespoons of black olive tapenade (I like Trader Joe's brand for it's great price and good taste)

DIRECTIONS

Drain all beans and rinse well in colander.

Then put beans in bowl with cold water to cover, for one hour.

Drain beans in colander.
Take a tablespoon or two of your chopped vegetables and put them aside, to use as a garnish for your final presentation.

Have your Catalina dressing ready and waiting on the side. You will need to put a little of this dressing into each blender batch, so add it accordingly, a little at a time. This dressing is the liquid that will keep your blender moving.

Puree about half of all ingredients in batches, pulsing and stirring. You want half of this dip to be fully pureed, and half of it to be chunkier.

Put this puree into a very large bowl and set aside.
Now put the other half of all ingredients into the blender and pulse so that it's finely chopped, but not pureed.
Add this finely chopped half to the pureed half in the large bowl and mix.

Let chill in refrigerator for an hour or so.

Serve with Fritos, or Tostitos, or, if you have to, something healthier.

This makes a LOT so you can serve a crowd, or freeze in small containers to take out when you like.

Notes: You will need to finesse the blender or Vitamix because of the sheer volume. This means putting it into your blender in small batches, with some of the liquid and pulsing, and stirring sometimes. Get out your biggest bowl. This would also be great to take to work functions, or put out for teens, etc. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of black olive tapenade (I like Trader Joe's brand for the cheap price).

Ambrosial Vegan Granola

2011-08-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

This is a decadent granola; sweet and fragrant, and rich with fruits and nuts. Store-bought granola pales in comparison. I have two other granola recipes, but this one has usurped their places in my heart. I would make this for company, and I would give it for gifts. In fact, this recipe fills two one-quart Ball jars, so you could give one away and keep one. I ate a whole serving of this as I was making it, and finally had to stop myself. I'm throwing this in my suitcase the next time I travel. p.s. We like to raid the dried fruits and nuts section at Trader Joe's when we are near one. As an aside, this granola can also be used to make these wonderful granola bars.

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Ambrosial Vegan Granola

Makes about 8 cups, or 16 servings

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup brown rice syrup
1/3 Cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 Cups rolled oats
1/2 Cup bran
1/4 Cup raw wheat germ
1/2 Cup chopped raw pecans (Trader Joe's is great for raw nuts)
1/2 Cup sliced raw almonds

1/3 Cup dried blueberries (Trader Joe's is great for dried fruit)
1/3 Cup dried cherries
1/3 Cup golden raisins
1/3 Cup shredded unsweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
Measure out and set fruits aside, you will NOT be cooking them.
Into a large bowl, put oats, bran, wheat germ & nuts, and set aside.
In a stock pot, melt vegan butter over low heat.
Add sugar, rice syrup, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.
Stir until well mixed and sugar is melted. Do not overheat.
Add oats, bran, wheat germ and nuts, and stir until well mixed.
Spread granola mixture onto rimmed baking sheet.
Bake one hour, stirring after 30 minutes and again after 60. It will harden more as it cools, don't worry.
Let cool on baking sheet. It will harden up as it cools.
Transfer to a very large bowl, and add all fruits and stir well.
Granola can be store in airtight containers for about 3 weeks.

Catalina Salad Dressing

2011-07-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

I needed some Catalina salad dressing for an upcoming recipe, so I made enough for salads too. Oddly enough, even something as simple as a Catalina salad dressing by both Kraft and Wish-Bone companies are NOT vegan, nor are they even vegetarian. This one takes 5 minutes to make, tastes better than store-bought and is cruelty-free! I don't know the history of Catalina salad dressing, I just know Americans love it and it's got a sweet and tangy edge to it.
**************************
Vegan Catalina Salad Dressing

Makes about one Cup (notes for doubling recipe at bottom)

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons sugar (I'll try agave syrup next time)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (ground mustard seed)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 Cup vinegar (use white wine vinegar or white balsamic)
1/3 Cup ketchup
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (you could get away one Tablespoon)
grated onion or shallot, to taste (maybe 1 or 2 Tablespoons)

DIRECTIONS
Place all ingredients into blender and mix, or into a jar and use a caffe latte frother.
Store in refrigerator.
Shake before using.

Should keep at least a week.

Note: If you want to double this, do so. But, do not double the sugar and oil. If doubling, I would try using 1/4 Cup sugar and 2 to 3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil. And I would try 1/3 Cup of vinegar and taste it to see if it needed more. I used my Bonjour cafe latte frother to blend the dressing and it was still emulsified the next day. Using a light-colored vinegar gives it a brighter color, which is desirable. I like Alessi brand for an inexpensive white balsamic from the grocery store, but white wine vinegar would probably work well and give an even brighter color.

Hand Pollination of Passion Flowers

2011-07-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Some friends here in Maryland gave us this little potted passion vine last year. We transplanted it this spring, so it's had a slow start. The mother vine had been hanging on their house for many years and it was massive. Despite its size, she told me it rarely bore fruit. The yellow passion fruit sometimes has a hard time becoming pollinated. And I'm assuming it's a yellow passion fruit, of the Passiflora family. If it turns out to be purple, it'll be a surprise. I don't even know what I'll do with it if I get enough to cook with, but I'll think of something. When I was a young girl, living on the island of Kauai, there was a restaurant called Green Garden, and they were famous for their Lilikoi chiffon pie, so I know they taste amazing in sweet desserts. I could make a curd and use it in between layers of yellow cake, or on top of vegan cheesecake. But I'm getting ahead of myself because they're only flowers right now. So, if you look at the above photo, you'll notice the little flat, striped paddle-shaped things--these are the anthers. As the blossom opens, the anthers ingeniously flip upside down and the undersides of them are loaded with bright yellow pollen. This particular pollen is heavy and sticky, so wind pollination does not occur often either. That little dark-purple bullseye at the center of the blossom is the nectary. So when the bees go to drink nectar, the pollen gets rubbed onto the fuzzy backs of the bees. Supposedly, the yellow passion flower is self-incompatible and needs a different cultivar to pollinate it, which I do not have, so this experiment may be a long shot. But seeing these blossoms brings back fond memories and so I'm going for it. And the fact that my friend Nancy did get some fruit once in a while gives me hope. If I can find some other pollen in the garden (from a different plant altogether), I'll try using that pollen too, and mark the blossom accordingly. Part of the problem is that the anthers are located beneath the stigma. The mottled three-legged thing on top, is what needs to get pollinated. The legs are styles and the round knobs are the stigma that are to be pollinated. With other cultivars, you can take pollen from one blossom and then pollinate a different blossom. In doing so, you could cut one blossom and carry it around to others still hanging on the vine. Or if you only have one blossom that day, you can supposedly pollinate a blossom from its own pollen. I only had two blossoms yesterday, so I left them on the vine and cross pollinated them with each other's pollen. If I have a choice, I'll use the pollen from a different blossom, of course. Although we call them Lilikoi in Hawaii, here in the South, they're called Maypops. Cute! I'm starting late, because it could take 60 days or more to get ripe fruit, but it's worth a try. So, here we go:
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Take a child's paintbrush and brush the pollen from underneath the anthers, onto the paintbrush bristles. FYI, the frilly lavender and white filaments are the corona. In the legend of the passion flower, this corona represents the crown of thorns or something (don't quote me).

Take the pollen you've gathered, and gently brush it all over the three round stigma at the top of the styles. You are now
pollinating! One more photo below.

Lastly, mark your pollinated blossom somehow. I chose a contrasting colored piece of scrap yarn. This way you won't be pollinating the same flower twice, and also, you'll know not to trim off that old blossom, because it's a possible fruit. You could get really detailed and put a tag that has the date, and whether you pollinated it with its own pollen, or pollen from a different blossom, etc. But I want to keep it at about one minute per blossom here.

Vegan French Red Potato Salad

2011-07-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend Chris and her husband had us over to dinner a few years ago. It was summer and she served this potato salad; an old recipe of her Mom's. It was rich and creamy but had a slight piquant edge to it. I've never been a fan of potato salad but this won me over. It was such a different recipe too; where it called for making a separate red French dressing. The resulting salad is a pleasing peachy color, and I've flecked mine with capers and my own pickled red onions which really enhance it. I've been playing with this recipe for a couple of years now, and this summer I finally got it right. Chris was kind enough to give me permission to share my version of it here. So, I'm saying a big thank you to Pat (Chris' Mom) for my religious conversion to potato salad. If you can serve it just after you've mixed the dressing with the hot potatoes, it's extra good, but it's really delicious cold too. To save time, I wash the potatoes and make the dressing the day before. I've always got the pickled onions on hand. So then it's pretty quick to throw it together.
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French Red Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS

2 to 3 lbs. potatoes (I like red potatoes, or fingerlings with thin skins, but you could also use Yukon Golds)

2-3 stalks celery, chopped fine

Small red onion, chopped fine (or I use my pickled onions)

3-4 Tablespoons sweet relish from a jar

1 to 2 Tablespoons chopped capers

¼ Cup Vegenaise mayonnaise (with the green cap)

DIRECTIONS
Make your pickled onions the day before if you can, if using.
Make your French Dressing (see recipe below).

Cut well-scrubbed potatoes into bite-sized pieces, do not peel.
Place potatoes in cold water, add a teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, and then continue at a low boil for about 8 minutes more. Do not cook fully. You should be able to pierce them with a fork but they shouldn’t fall apart.

Into a large bowl, put the celery, onions, chopped capers, sweet relish and Vegenaise, and mix.
Add French dressing to relish mixture and stir to combine.

Put hot potatoes into the dressing mixture and gently fold in with a wooden spoon until well mixed.
Serve immediately or chill and serve later.

Red French Dressing

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire (I like Wizard’s brand)

4-5 drops Tabasco

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon sweet basil

2 Tablespoons ketchup

2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (I like Alessi brand from the supermarket, and it's not expensive, and has different flavors)

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed or minced

DIRECTIONS FOR FRENCH DRESSING
Mix all dressing ingredients and shake well or use a cafe latte frother to emulsify dressing. Chill until ready.

Notes: Chris’ Mom also used radishes, which would make it even prettier. This makes a lot, so it’s good to take somewhere.

Jim Lahey's Irish Brown Bread - No Knead

2011-07-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is another no-knead bread recipe from the cookbook "My Bread" by Jim Lahey. I had to veganize this one because it calls for buttermilk. I just added one Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the 3/4 Cup of unsweetened soy milk, and voila, nice thick buttermilk. I do have something to say about this recipe, however. The dough is dry, so add more of the Guinness stout beer if your dough is also dry. The recipe calls for 3/4 Cup of beer, so next time, I'd make it an even cup. His dough is usually so wet that this took me by surprise. I did the slow rise on this one, just to be sure. Also, after removing the lid during the baking, I baked the bread only a final 20 minutes, not 30, and it was done perfectly in my non-convection, electric oven. Jim Lahey describes "Jim's Irish Brown Bread" as "pungent with a hint of barley and the tartness of the buttermilk." I did not find this bread pungent or tart. I didn't taste barley. It tasted very close to Lahey's basic white bread, so am wondering if he was talking about the raw dough. Not sure. In texture, this bread is very dense, and actually harder to cut than Lahey's basic white bread, even with a proper bread knife. Know that this bread did not rise quite as high as the white bread, probably due to the whole wheat content (I don't know). But, it's excellent, like 10 times better tasting than store-bought bread, of course. And easy as pie. Lahey suggests adding currants or raisins and I think that would be great, will try that next time, maybe on St. Patrick's Day. Second photo below. You can find lots of postings on the bread online.

Coconut Curry Quinoa Stew

2011-07-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

I got this easy recipe from a little brochure that came with my bag of Ancient Harvest quinoa. My only changes were to slightly reduce the salt and cumin, and slightly increase the coconut milk and quinoa. This stew by itself is good, but we felt it could use a little something more, so I put out chutney and shelled some salted pistachios, and once we garnished our bowls with those, it was more along the lines of very good. This is a great one-pot meal, really, but if you serve it with some greens and a good bread, it's a healthy feast. I thought of putting out brown rice, but you don't need it with the quinoa in there. Lots of protein, lots of flavor, warm and comforting, super healthy. You could also put out some sriracha sauce for those who want it hot. This would be great for a family meal or even for company, with all the trimmings put in little serving bowls so everyone could dress their own dish. You can use whatever veggies you have in the house too, which is convenient. I think some cornbread or a fruity quick bread would be a great accompaniment, or could serve as dessert. Maybe even something like mango or pineapple bread. I served it with steamed kale on the side, too.
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Coconut Curry Quinoa Stew

Serves 6 to 8 (recipe said it serves 4 but it makes a lot)

INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 small zucchini or summer squash, chopped
2 celery stalks chopped small
1 yellow bell pepper diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ Cup uncooked quinoa
2 Cups water
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 Cup cooked kidney beans
2/3 Cup light coconut milk
If fresh corn is available, kernels from 2 to 3 ears, added in at last minute
Fresh parsley and/or cilantro for garnish
Chutney for topping (stir it up so it's a little soupy for drizzling)
salted pistachio nuts, shelled, for topping

DIRECTIONS
Chop vegetables.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottom soup pot or Dutch oven, on medium heat.
Add all vegetables and stir occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add ground spices to vegetables and mix in.
Add quinoa to the pot and stir.
Add water, salt, cinnamon stick, beans and coconut milk.
Simmer until quinoa drinks up the liquid and vegetables are soft, 15-20 minutes.
Remove cinnamon stick.
Put out chopped cilantro, chopped parsley, shelled pistachios and a sweet chutney for drizzling, and let everyone garnish their own dish however they like. It’s good to remember that cilantro is an acquired taste for some.

Note: I like Patak’s Chutney and there are different flavors, such as sweet mango or hot mango. If you don't have a cinnamon stick handy, I’m guessing you could substitute ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Next time, I'll try using the entire can of coconut milk and reducing the water by the same amount.

Trader Joe's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

2011-07-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

I made a hot fudge sauce with this Baker Josef's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate which comes in an 8 oz. bag. The only ingredients is "cocoa mass" so it's totally vegan. My bag has an expiration date of more than one year, and the chocolate comes in small, flat discs so it does indeed melt very easily. Furthermore, 6 discs equal approximately one ounce, so you can count out the amount you want. I did weigh 12 discs and it did come to just a hair over 2 ounces, so pretty accurate. Of course, this would be great for any recipe calling for baking chocolate; cakes, brownies, sauces, etc.

Spiced and Roasted Chick Peas

2011-07-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

I first saw this recipe being made by Toni Fiore on itunes, back in 2010. Toni's short videos on itunes are totally worth watching, and are listed under Delicious TV VegEZ. Oh, she's also got youtube videos and phone apps. I did check, and this particular video is no longer on itunes, but there's a new one, also for roasted chick peas, using garlic and sage. I'll have to try that sometime, but I doubt it could be better than this flavor profile of exotic spices. I could not find this recipe online either, but a year ago or so, I did type it into a Word document. I'm not sure if I amended the recipe, but I probably did. Either way, it's close enough and so good. The cinnamon and brown sugar somehow work with the savory spices. Again, there is a little kick to these, and Lars complains about it, but then he keeps eating them, ha ha. Cayenne is powerfully healthy; increasing blood flow to all parts of the body, and restoring circulation health and balance. So, if you're a wussy when it comes to hot peppers, try to build up your tolerance. I crave hot-pepper-spiced foods in the depths of winter, or if I have a cold. Upon eating it, you breathe easier, have more energy and feel warmer. This is why our nose runs and we perspire after eating cayenne. Just because it's summer, don't let that stop you from making this dish, because hot spices also cool the body in hot weather, but that's another story. Toni (yes, I'm pretending I'm on a first-name basis with Ms. Fiore) says she likes to serve these with cocktails, but I think they're good any time. This recipe is quick and simple and something different.
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Spiced and Roasted Chick Peas

Serves approximately 6, as an appetizer

INGREDIENTS
2 15-oz. cans of chick peas (garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon curry
1/8 teaspoon garam masala (I just bought some, did not mix my own)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, not until just before serving.

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
Line glass baking dish with parchment paper.
Toss chick peas with oil and spices (but not salt), in a bowl.
Bake approx. 40 minutes, stirring once.
Bake until chick peas turn brown, and a few of the beans will puff up, and a very few of them will wrinkle and turn almost black. Most will be crispy.
Remove from oven and toss in a glass bowl with the sea salt.
Serve hot or warm from the oven.
Store any leftovers in fridge.

Note: If you add the salt earlier, the beans will not crisp up, as they should. In my electric oven, I think I baked mine approximately 45 minutes. I tend to use a small baking dish, so that the chick peas are not in a single layer, because I think it helps the flavors meld and bubble, instead of simply soaking into the parchment paper. Once you make this, you can tell if you want to increase any spice quantities to your liking next time. One time I mixed up the spices and oil and then realized I only had one can of chick peas. I made the dish anyway with what I had mixed up, and it still came out great.

Corn Tomato Salad with Herbs and Fresh Lime Juice

2011-07-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe down on Tilghman Island at an outdoor party some years ago. I took one bite and began asking around the crowd of strangers, "Who made the corn salad?" Luckily, the kind woman did remember to mail me the recipe and I now have it to share with you. I make this every summer. It's simple and healthy, and tastes amazing. The lime juice is essential, and this is a great salad for company or a BBQ or buffet table because it just tastes better as it sits out. You can also double it easily for a crowd. This salad does justice to fresh corn in high season, and it's also a great time to use those little cherry tomatoes and herbs from the garden. Sauteeing the garlic and thyme mellows them out and the lime juice gives it a hint of acidity, it's just balanced.
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Corn Tomato Salad with Herbs and Fresh Lime Juice

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6 ears of corn, husks and silks removed
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance vegan butter
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus another set aside
1 garlic clove, pressed or crushed and minced
1 tsp. coarsely chopped fresh thyme
1 bunch green onions, green portion only, thinly
sliced on the diagonal
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS
In a medium glass bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon of the oil, the lime juice, salt, pepper, sliced tomatoes, and chopped basil. Set aside at room temperature.

Holding each ear of corn by its pointed end and steadying its stalk end in a large bowl, cut down along the ear with a sharp knife to strip off the kernels, turning the ear with each cut.

In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, heat the vegan butter and 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil until hot.
Add the garlic and saute, stirring constantly, 20 to 30 seconds.
Add corn and saute, stirring occasionally, just until tender, about 2 minutes. Do not overcook the corn!
Add the thyme and green onions and saute for about 1 minute more. Transfer to a large metal or wooden (non-reactive) bowl.
Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
Add tomato mixture, and stir to combine.
Serve immediately or at room temperature.

You can double this if you need to. Serve at room temperature. Good the next day too, but let it sit out a bit to warm up before serving, or zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds if you're in a hurry.

Vegan Rice Krispy Treats - Take Two

2011-07-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is my second attempt at vegan Rice Crispy Treats. In my first attempt, I had to use puffed brown rice, because I found out that Rice Krispies are NOT vegan. How lame is that? Anyway, I found vegan Rice Crispy cereal at Giant grocery store, of all places. The brand is called Erewhon (pronounced air-wahn). If you did not see the box, you would swear you were eating Rice Krispies--they taste just like them, without the needless killing, and they're healthier! I mean, not only are they organic, they're also non-GMO. Then, at Acme grocery store, I stumbled upon Suzanne's Ricemellow Cream, I couldn't believe it. So, here's the recipe, and they taste much more authentic than my previous puffed-rice version, due to the new cereal. I'm guessing that Dandies or Sweet and Sara marshmallows paired with this Erewhon cereal would create an exact taste match to the Rice Krispy Treats of our youth. But these are delicious too. It should also be noted that Ricemellow Creme is much cheaper than vegan marshmallows. I will also add that the Ricemellow Creme melted quickly and completely, whereas the Sweet and Sara did not melt quite all the way. On the other hand, this is fine because the little residual lumps of marshmallow are very good in the Treats. And of course, you can roast those Sweet and Saras and the Dandies over a good old campfire, from what I hear.
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Vegan Rice Krispy Treats - Vegan Rice Crispy Treats

INGREDIENTS
10 ounce container of Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Cups Erewhon Organic Crispy Brown Rice cereal

DIRECTIONS
Heat vegan butter in large saucepan on low-to-medium heat.
Add vanilla extract and Ricemellow Creme and stir until smooth.
Be careful not to overheat the Ricemellow cream, because it can burn and have an offputting flavor.
Add cereal to hottish Ricemellow Creme and mix gently.
Press into a 8-inch or 9-inch square pan.
With a dull knife, cut into squares but do not remove from pan.
Store in refrigerator.

Vegan Macaroni Salad

2011-07-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is a good, creamy Macaroni Salad that I adapted from this recipe on VegWeb. The reviews were positive, so I went for it. This would be great for a picnic, or BBQ. It's easy and doesn't take too long to make. I only made a few additions, decreased some of the sugar, and substituted sea salt instead of table salt. Even though I used the same measurement of salt, I actually used less salt than the recipe calls for, and here's why. I read recently that table salt weighs almost twice as much as sea salt or kosher salt. I'm trying to use a bit less salt in our home cooking, simply for health reasons, and I pretty much use sea salt for everything. Of course, my additions of red bell pepper, red onion, sweet relish and nutritional yeast are optional. I've also come to think of Nutritional Yeast as a healthy MSG, ha ha. You can put any spin on this recipe that you like. Also note that I have cut the amounts of the original recipe in half here below, because there's only two of us. p.s. I think I grated my carrot a little too finely, because it's not showing up well in this photo.
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Vegan Macaroni Salad

Serves: at least 8, am not really sure yet

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups uncooked macaroni noodles (I used Field Day organic small elbow macaroni)
1/2 Cup vegan mayonnaise (I like Vegenaise with the green lid)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar (yes, it does make a difference)
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard (I used OrganicVille Stone Ground)
2 Tablespoons sweet relish
1 level teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast (not brewer's yeast)
1 stalk celery, very finely diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, very finely diced
1/2 of a small red onion, very finely diced (I used my pickled onion)
1/2 of a medium to large carrot, very finely grated
Optional additions could include a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of Old Bay Seasoning or celery salt, and a finish dusting of paprika.

DIRECTIONS
Bring the pasta water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the macaroni and cook according to package directions, for about 7 minutes or until al dente. Rinse in cold water, drain, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the vegan mayo, sugar, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, sweet relish and any other spices. Add celery, carrot, red bell pepper and onion to the bowl, and mix.

Add the drained macaroni and combine gently but fully. This is best chilled in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Can be made the day before!

Note: If you want this to taste like Amish macaroni salad, double the sugar. Lars loves the Amish mac salad, so I might have to do this next time. Double this recipe to serve "a large crowd."

Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

2011-07-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July, I made this Summer Berry Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Whipped Creme by Chloe Coscarelli. The cobbler was good and easy, but really, it's the Vanilla Bean Whipped Creme that is AMAZING. It's easy and quick, could be used on a multitude of desserts, and oh yes, it's absolutely delicious. Rich but light, it has the faintest hint of lush coconut essence in with the natural vanilla bean. Chef Chloe was the first vegan to win a Cupcake Wars on the Food Network and her visibility is growing (Kim Garr of Sticky Fingers Bakery in D.C. also won a different episode). Anyway, I actually love the cobbler/crisp posted previously on this site, but Chloe's cobbler is also good in a different way. Hers has an almost shortbread quality to it, and of course, any seasonal fruits can be mixed and/or substituted. But again, the Vanilla Bean Coconut Whipped Cream is totally haute!
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Vegan Vanilla Bean Whipped Creme

INGREDIENTS
14 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk, chilled. Thai Kitchen or Whole Foods 365 are brands recommended by Chef Chloe.
Seeds from one vanilla bean (slit and scrape the bean)
3/4 Cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)

DIRECTIONS
Chill the coconut milk in the fridge for an hour or more. You can also give it a head start by putting it in the freezer for 20 minutes, like I did.
Chill bowl and whisk of stand mixer in the freezer for 30 minutes. I just used a medium-sized mixing bowl and the beaters from my little hand mixer.
Scrape the cream from the top of the coconut milk can, and discard the remaining liquid. Or save it for a curry or something.
Add all ingredients to the chilled bowl and mix with chilled beaters a minute or two until fluffy.
Store in refrigerator.

Grilled Seitan Bulgogi

2011-06-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

This vegan seitan bulgogi (Korean barbecue) tastes authentic; very good. I've seen a version of this recipe in several places, so it's hard to know who started it. The oldest posting I found is from a now-defunct vegan blog, but the new "hot" recipe is from a blog called Get Sconed!, and it's a tribute to one of her favorite TV shows, Lost. I'm thinking I'll make this for my Dad the next time he comes to visit. Lars and I really liked this and I'll be using it again on the grill this summer. I served it over short-grain brown rice flavored with coconut milk and dried (unsweetened coconut). I used seitan sausage I made myself, sliced on a slant.
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Vegan Grilled Seitan Bulgogi

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
1/4 Cup vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons Tamari or soy sauce (no Bragg's, please)
2 Tablespoons sherry
2 Tablespoons dark agave nectar (light colored agave works fine too)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic crushed or minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions chopped (1/4 cup)
2 lbs. plain seitan, sliced on the bias

DIRECTIONS
Whisk together broth, Tamari (or soy sauce), sherry, agave nectar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a shallow dish.
Stir in green onions.
Add seitan, marinate two hours.
Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat (or cook it in a cast-iron skillet on the stovetop, as I did).
Drain seitan, and grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until browned and firm.

Note: If using a cast-iron skillet, you must watch it so it doesn’t stick, maybe scoop it with a spatula and add a touch of oil. A non-stick pan might be useful here, not sure. I only had time to marinate mine for an hour but it still tasted wonderful.