Dandelion Vegan Blog

Homemade Taco Shells, Walnut Filling, and Shoes

2012-01-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

I've always been under the impression that soft tacos are more traditional than the hard shell variety, which I have a feeling came about in this country as some sort of fast-foody invention. I've never been to Mexico though, so I don't really know what I'm talking about. However, I do know there are those of you who won't countenance a hard shell when it comes to tacos, and though I think that shows taste and distinction, personally, I can go either way.

I've never fancied buying those hard shells in the stores though...there's too much packaging so they won't break and they seem stale and unwholesome somehow. So, I came up with a way of making them at home. The title says homemade taco shells, which is a little misleading. I don't make the tortillas; I buy the Food for Life Sprouted Corn Tortillas, then make the shells by using an upside down muffin tin and baking them in the oven:

For best results, I warm them up in a pan so they soften before folding them into the tin. I don't use oil or anything, I just throw them in a warm pan for a 30-40 seconds until they become soft and more pliable. Once they're in the tin, I bake them for about 8-10 minutes in a 375 F oven. If you check them periodically, you'll be able to tell when they've stiffened up enough. Sometimes, I brush them with a mixture of Bragg's Aminos and lime juice before hand, which makes them extra tasty.

Onto the filling, which is the best part. To be honest, I rarely (like never) made tacos before I found the recipe for this filling. I've posted about it before, but I'm posting about it again because it's just that good. (If you're interested, see this post for a better picture of the filling and a link to the original recipe.)

walnut taco filling; great for nachos too

The filling consists of raw walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes (I use dry ones reconstituted in some warm veggie broth until they're soft), a few black olives, ground cumin, nutritional yeast, a dash of hot sauce, black pepper, and a dash of sea salt. I used those old school kind of black olives...you know the ones you used to put on your finger tips at holiday parties...they're very mild tasting and not too salty. Any kind of olive you prefer would work great; if they're more salty, like say a kalamata, you'll want to taste the filling before adding more salt. Jalapeños would be nice addition too. EDIT not in original publication: I also add garlic granules! And just for clarification...you mix everything in a food processor and that's it, you're done. :) It's also really good on nachos!!!

As you might imagine, this filling is enormously versatile; you can add spices and other ingredients of your choice in order to tailor it to the desired flavor profile. I've used it for many different dishes from moussaka to lasagne, but it really makes tacos shine in my opinion.

In addition to the walnut filling, these particular tacos also had a layer of drunken black beans and garlic, and were topped off with the usual suspects: tomato, spring onion, avocado, black olives, shredded carrots and daikon, etc. I took the pics before piling on the salsa and hot sauce...truly, mouthfuls of deliciousness.

Now for shoes! People often think that being vegan must be difficult, but I know all you vegans out there will agree, that food-wise at least, it's not difficult at all. In fact, it's a true joy that non-vegans are really missing out on. But when it come to shoes...that has always been the hardest part of the vegan lifestyle for me. I can never find any shoes that I like!

Everyone's tastes are different of course, and some might find loads of vegan shoes that suit their tastes, but I rarely see any that catch my fancy. I often peruse the vegan shoe sites, and there's even a vegan shoe shop near my house, but I'm always disappointed in the selection. Buying shoes has become an infrequent activity for me, except in the case of running shoes and sandals, which I think are easier to find then other dress and casual shoes.

So, I was truly excited when recently, I scored a pair that I really like:

They look cute with trousers and skirts, and while they may not be everyone's cup of tea, if you're short like me, you'll probably understand the appeal of wedges; they give you a good few inches of height. The trick is finding ones that are actually comfortable too. If they're well made, a pair of wedges can be very comfortable indeed. These particular ones don't fair too badly on that count; I can be on my feet in them for about 7 hours before my feet start to complain.

I found them on a teeny-bopper site called ModCloth, where you'll find lots of funky teen glamour stuff, but I mainly look at the shoes. In the "More Details" section of the product description, they tell you what all the shoes are made from, and many of them are from all man made materials. Most of their stuff is imported of course (read outsourced), which I don't like, but finding anything made here a chore in itself. Here's hoping that there's enough impetus to make that change in the coming years.

Molly in a Cupboard

That's all I got for now. I do have several other meals that I feel like posting about, but I'm thinking of switching over to Wordpress, so not sure whether I'll post much more here or just post them on the new blog when I have it set up. It all depends on how lazy I end up being about doing the blog transition. It sounds like a heinous project--precisely the sort of thing that I personally loathe, but I find myself wanting to move away from Google services, so I'm looking into it with fairly serious intent.

Ciao for now! :D

Stuff I Never Posted

2011-12-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

Season's Greetings everyone! I haven't been too active here lately, so I thought I'd shake off my blog paralysis with some blasts from the recent past, some stuff I never posted. All the way from August, this was a white gazpacho: lemon cucumber, fennel, garlic, white onion, celery and blanched almonds. Seasoned with salt and white pepper and topped with smoked paprika and basil oil, it was very summery and refreshing, but I prefer tomato gazpacho.

From not quite so long ago, this was the main course I made for our Thanksgiving dinner. We were at my bro's house, and I brought these along for our vegan dinner. My niece, who's vegetarian ate them too. What are they you ask?

Why, they're cashew, leek, and mushroom stacks of course. These were inspired by a recipe from a vegetarian cafe I worked at back in 03/04. The base is sprouted bread crumbs and cashews sauteed with garlic, onion, and herbs. The filling is the part I tweaked. I don't remember exactly what went into the filling at the restaurant, but I made this one by blending tofu, white miso, ume vinegar, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and some mushroom powder. The powder I made by grinding up some dried forest mushrooms; it imparted a great umami flavor, but a little goes a long way. Then I stirred in some sauteed crimini and maitake mushrooms, shallots, and parsley to the tofu mix, and topped off the stacks with sherry-braised leeks and raw cranberries.

Once the cashew crust, tofu, and toppings were layered in these nifty open-bottom molds, they went into a 350 F oven for about 30 minutes. The cranberries cooked down, and once out of the oven, garnished with some ground hazelnuts or walnuts, these make a flavorful and festive little main course.

We also had some vegan stuffing: herbed walnut baguette, sourdough baquette, walnuts, apples, and wild rice along with the usual stuffing seasonings: onion, celery, thyme, parsley, veggie broth and Earth Balance. I served in a baked buttercup squash, which turned out kind of cute:

On to a quick mid-week lunch: one of MeloMeal's 3-ingredient bean burgers in an eggplant "bun" with sweet onion and ginger-tomato chutney.

The next item is truly a blast from the past: spaghetti squash casserole, based on the recipe from one of the first Moosewood cookbooks. One of my college roommates and I used to love this recipe and made it a lot. We were vegetarian back then, not vegan, but the recipe was easy to veganize by using olive oil instead of butter and cashew cream and tofu ricotta instead of the cheeses.

It totally looks like a piece of carrot cake, especially with the extra cashew cream and ground walnuts on top.

Finally, this was a fairly recent meal. I started of by sauteeing loads of sliced garlic, (like a full heads-worth) some red pepper flakes and oregano, then added collard greens, crushed tomatoes, and oven-fried tofu and let it simmer for about 40 minutes.

It was simple, but so tasty. Next time I make it, I'll use two bunches of collards instead of just one, just can't get enough of it!

Happy holiday season to all!

Hello, It's Molly

2011-11-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

This is just a random post, so feel free to ignore it. I felt like posting something, but I don't really have anything to post about except for the fact that we adopted Molly the cat. We've been fostering her from the animal shelter since September, and well, she just became part of the family.

At the shelter, it's jokingly referred to as a "foster failure" when a foster parent adopts one of their fosters...and I'm pretty much a foster failure. Last year, we fostered Lucky and ended up adopting him. But in our defense, we have fostered several other kitties that ended up getting adopted by others. It's not safe for me to foster too often though, lest I become a crazy cat lady...you know the type who lives in a little house at the end of the road with dozens and dozens of cats around the place.

Anyway, how could we not adopt her...look how sweet she looks sitting amongst the plants.

And check out this kitty snuggling:

Lucky (right) and Molly have become good friends. Molly follows him around like a big brother. And, Lucky's young and playful enough to enjoy playing chase and cat wrestling. Whereas, Cheeky our older cat is really not that interested.

In food news, though I cook everyday, I haven't been too blog-oriented on that front. But, here are a couple dark shots (apologies...these were taken in our bat cave of a kitchen) of a pretty good pizza we had recently:

lot's of herby sauce, green pepper, mushroom, onion, tomato, and black olives

Out of the oven with fresh basil and oregano on top:

It's going to be a short, but busy week. Have a good one! Talk to you soon.

Thai Curry-Coconut Squash (and other eats)

2011-11-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is such a simple and tasty dish. It's one of our favorites, and it makes a great side dish or a meal in itself along with a bit of brown rice and tofu or what have you...toss in some greens even. We like to eat it chunky, but you could also puree it into soup if you prefer.

Start with a kabocha squash...butternut would work too, but you want a nice sturdy squash that will hold its shape while gently braising. Cut the squash into big chunks (if it's organic, I leave the skin on; it really becomes quite soft and palatable with braising, but it's up to you). Whisk together 2 parts unsalted veggie broth, 1 part full-fat coconut milk, and some Thai curry paste to taste. Bring the broth mix to a simmer then add the squash and let it cook gently over low until the squash is nice and soft, but still holding its shape.

Just in passing, I like Chaokoh brand coconut milk; it's good stuff, sumptuously thick and creamy. The only way it could be better is if it were organic...but hey, it's not a perfect world. Of course it's up to you, but, if you're inclined to buy light coconut milk because of fat/calorie concerns, my advice is: don't. Just buy full-fat and dilute it; you get twice as much for your money. (It stores fine in the freezer too.)

Use whatever type of curry paste you prefer. Green curry would be good too, but I prefer a yellow or red curry paste. Heck, you could use more of an Indian style curry or whatever suits your fancy, so long as it's tasty.

These are rough estimates, but for ~2.5 lbs of chopped squash, I'll use 2 cups veggie broth, 1 cup thick coconut milk and 1 generous Tablespoon curry paste. (Adjust the paste to taste.) Saltiness of prepared curries differ, so I recommend using unsalted veggie broth and then adding salt to the coconut/broth/curry mix if need be.

Serve with generous amounts of fresh squeezed lime juice, and garnish with chili sauce if you want more heat. Lime rounds out the flavor nicely.

In other news, I don't blog about everyday eats very often, but here are some recent weeknight meals:

Big salad of lacinato kale, chard, and romaine along with shredded carrot, red cabbage, sweet onion, and cherry tomato, topped with some oven-roasted buffalo-style tofu. I made the buffalo sauce starting with tomato paste, vinegar, and coconut palm sugar, and garlic, then added water and a generous amount of Tapatio sauce. It was spicy!

After the pic, I dressed it with some vegan ranch dressing, (plain soy yogurt, cider vinegar, umeboshi vinegar, a pinch of kala namak salt and lots of garlic and herbs)...don't know whether ranch tastes like that dressing, but it was rich-tasting, garlicky and herby, and I thought it suited the spicy tofu well.

Another pile of greens, this time with roasted apple, brussel's sprouts, and Japanese sweet potato, green beans, pomegranite, hemp seeds, and tomato. Yam would have been nicer visually, but I can't resist Japanese sweet potato, they're so sweet and good. I think this was dressed with nut yeast, Bragg's aminos, and cider vinegar.

Very plain, but delicious nonetheless, lentils with Field Roast Italian-style Vegan sausage and kale. Saute base was celery/onion/ garlic and spiced with fennel seed, bay leaf, chili flakes and oregano.

And the true star of the bunch (in spite of being photographed in the drear of my kitchen) this sandwich was the farthest thing from dreary. It was one of the many sandwich creations sparked by Maud's enticing offering a while back. Seriously, versions of her sandwich did the rounds on the the blogs. My version ended up as balsamic-roasted eggplant, smoky white bean spread (basically hummus made with cannelini beans instead of garbanzos and a few drops of liquid smoke added), sun dried tomato pesto, baby greens, and sweet onion on a wheat/herb/walnut baguette.

I'm really looking forward to the holiday season this year...(unlike in past few years for various reasons). The time for cozy nights and delicious harvest meals is upon us! What are any US vegans planning for Thanksgiving? I always look forward to seeing the many ingenious, sumptuous creations that end up on the holiday tables and shine at mixed gatherings!

Talk to you soon!

Vegan "Clam" Chowder

2011-10-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's not the most photogenic thing in the world, but it sure is good. This vegan clam chowder is based on the recipe from the LA Times, and it's something I make on a regular basis. The base is cashew cream and kombu broth, which I think is genius. It adds a subtle sea flavor, which is great for seaweed wimps like me. (Of course, folks who like a stronger seaweed dimension could add some dulse or other seaweed to the broth and/or garnish with dulse flakes.)

The "clams" are smoked king oyster mushrooms; the recipe tells you to smoke them on a stove top smoker like this little set up of wood chips in a foil-covered heavy pan:

Place a bamboo steamer over the top of the chips and it works pretty well as a makeshift smoker.

The stove top smoker is not essential however. I've made this recipe many times just coating the mushrooms in a smoky spice mix (smoked salt, paprika, garlic granules, Old Bay), and then cooking them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. I actually prefer the taste from the smoked salt rub method better than the smoker method. You could also marinate them in a smoky marinade.

Once they're broiled or smoked, cut them into strips and they're ready for the chowder.

As I mentioned, I make this often and have come up with my own deviations from the original recipe:

Added: a generous Tablespoon of white miso and a good few drops of umeboshi vinegar to the cashew cream. I do this more often than not with any creamy base; it makes it richer and nuttier and salty. Do a taste test, but you usually don't need to add extra salt to the recipe.
Added: 2 cups of Seitenbacher veggie broth to the finished kombu broth. Seitenbacher broth is unsalted and has nutritional yeast in it; it adds some nice flavor.
I usually only use 2 cups of cashews instead of the 4 the recipe calls for, and I don't soak them overnight as it suggests in the recipe. That's total overkill in my opinion. Soaking them for 45 minutes to an hour is plenty if you ask me; they blend up just fine.
Added: a finely diced jalapeno to the celery/onion saute base.

To top it off, I cook up some smokey tempeh strips, chop them up and sprinkle them over each bowl of chowder. With a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some hot sauce (both essential), this is soo tasty! And, it's so much healthier than the non-vegan variety to boot!

In other family news, meet Molly. She's a foster kitty from the local animal shelter. I help out with cat fosters when the isolation room gets full. She's just about a year old, though she's already had a litter of kittens! She started early. :D Anyway, she's spayed now and is so cute and fun, still full of kittenish play.
These photos don't capture what fun she is...I really should post a video of her at play, because she gets up to the funniest and cutest things.

She loves the sun porch, where as in the photo above, she hangs out in the plant pots. And, my cat Cheeky, who is a hard sell for new cats in the house will even tolerate her enough to share the sun room with her.

Cheeky is still not 100% sold on the idea of Molly being around, but our other cat, Lucky has become a fast friend. They run around the house cat wrestling and playing together and then snuggle up on the bed. Again, I wish I had a vid of them at play, but we'll have to do with pics for now.

Anyone in the Seattle area who knows someone interested in making Molly part of their loving home and cherish her forever...you know where to find her. Here's her petfinder posting.

Healthy Clam Chowder Recipe

Rosanne Tobin

Roseann Laponte

Stuffed Mushrooms and Spicy Squash

2011-10-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

The seasons have changed since the last time I posted, so I figured it was high time to move on to something more in keeping with them: hearty mushrooms and winter squash just seem to say autumn.

Portobello steaks with vegan feta and savory stuffing, runner beans, and spicy caramelized squash

This meal was inspired by Michelle at Lovinlivinvegan, who has been posting about portobello steaks recently, and she pretty much convinced me it was high time to bring on some 'shrooms. She linked to Happy Herbivore's recipe, which includes a nice gravy. I followed the recipe faithfully, except that I upped the sherry and reduced the balsamic in the gravy, and thickened it with a little arrowroot powder.

After I simmered the mushroom steaks, I decided to go a step further and stuff them with some of Happy Herbivore's vegan feta combined with a savory bread stuffing.

Happy Herbivore's Fat-free Vegan Feta

I really liked the feta recipe and that she included white miso in it. I added a little umeboshi vinegar to the mix. I'll definitely make this again, but next time I'm going to try it with a little less red wine vinegar and more lemon juice.

For the stuffing, I sauteed some onion, garlic, and celery; tossed in some sprouted grain bread crumbs and herbs, salt and pepper and a bit of veggie broth. I should have added walnuts and parsley, but I forgot.

After they were stuffed, I baked them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 F, until the tops started to brown and turn golden.

Stuffed Portobellos pre-baking

Thanks to both Michelle and HH for the recipes and inspiration!

Now, on to the squash. I got three mini hubbards out of the garden this year...that's it! Three. Pitiful. There were lots of squash on the vine, and I hand pollinated them just to make sure, but the squash just kept fading as if they hadn't been pollinated. I've grown squash and the like many times and done the hand pollinating, so not sure what went wrong. Any ideas?

But, I'm moving off topic...I talk about the hubbards because that's what I used to make some spicy, garlicky, caramelized, oven-roasted squash.

I drizzled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the squash chunks and sprinkled it liberally with red pepper flakes and some coconut palm sugar (wanted to use maple syrup, but I was out). Then, I baked the squash at 375 F for about 20-30 minutes. The squash chunks kind of look like avocado, because they were slightly immature and still a little green under the skin.

About 10 minutes before I took them out of the oven, I poured a mixture of soy sauce and water blended with about 8 cloves of garlic over the top. The result was some spicy, garlicky, caramelized squash.

Last but not least, hats off to all you Vegan MoFoers out there! I participated in '09 and in 2010, but I'm sitting this one out. That's partly because I didn't think I'd have the energy or time to blog that much this year, but mostly because in years past, I was so busy doing my own posts that I didn't have anywhere near as much time as I would have liked to read and explore other blogs. So this year, I'm cheering from the sidelines and reading to my heart's content.

Talk to you soon, and Happy October everybody!
Rose Tobin
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Marie Tobin

Hey, It's Still Summer Chili Dog

2011-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I think I may have been cyber bullied into doing this post. (j/k Shen!). But, I know I wasn't the only one who was moved to make chili after seeing Shen's appetizing batch last weekend. (Just in case you don't already know, that's Shen of Shenandoah Vegan fame, aka SV) Her chili looked so beany and thick and delicious, I had to make a batch the following day. I mentioned this to SV, and at her subsequent request, here are some pics.

We've been eating it since last Monday, so by today, I only had a bit left...just enough for a chili dog. I also thought this was a good time to try out the new Field Roast Frankfurters that have been in my freezer for about a month. I guess they sell them at the baseball park here, which I have to say is cool.

Here's one frying up in a pan:

As far as the frankfurers go, they seemed drier and grainier to me than other veggie dogs; the texture is similar to their veggie sausages. The flavor is distinct and savory; overall, I liked the taste and the texture. I don't buy veggie dogs too often, only when I get a hankering. I think I'd buy these again, but maybe not to the exclusion of the occasional Smart Dog.

On to the chili...Shen, per your request, this one's for you:

Shen's batch was far more delicious-looking than mine; hers was the quintessential bowl of chili. I didn't have Crystal's chili mix, but I did base mine off the what I could gather Shen put in. It had onions, garlic, and pepper (anaheim, sweet banana, and poblano) sauteed with chili flakes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and ground coriander, tons of par-cooked beans and a large can of tomatoes tossed in with salt and pepper, cooked for several hours. Chili always tastes better the next day, and the day after, and the day after that...

On a side note, I tried some spiralized oven potatoes. I used the largest blade on the sprializer and I was hoping they'd come out like curly fries, but no go. Even the largest blade is too thin; they were more like hash browns--not bad, just not like fries.

Summer is still in full swing around here, but this weekend will probably be the last blast of it. Both the chili and the chili dog really hit the spot: spicy, tasty food that goes great with beer. Thanks for the inspiration Shen!

Speaking of beer, I love seeing signs like this:

Yes, please!!

Rose Tobin

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Marie Tobin

Gone Spiral

2011-09-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

summer squash, daikon and carrot noodles with cinnamon basil pesto

Holee molee, this post has been a long time getting off the ground; it's been sitting in my publish Q since last Sunday; better late than never, I guess.

Last Saturday, when I received my latest kitchen acquisition, I couldn't wait to try it out:

I'm a big believer in the saying that the best tool in the kitchen is your hands but, I'd be hard pressed to do this to such effect with my bare hands:

spiralized veggies

I've been wanting one of these for a while, and in looking around for which kind to buy I read several product reviews. Some spiralizers were said to produce a lot of waste, leaving a lot of the vegetable unspiralized after it was all over. Others worked on soft veggies like zucchini but didn't do so well with hard ones like carrots and beets. This one got good reviews on both those counts.

It has a simple design, which is an attractive characteristic in a gadget if you ask me. It may seem a little pricey for what it is, but it works well, is easy to use, and easy to clean. I feel like it's worth the money, provided it's something you'll use with some frequency. It's funny, you read such wildly different reviews; some people hated this product, others loved it. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves.

I know a lot of you have spiralizers: any tips or tricks or things you especially like to use them for? There's a picture in the instruction booklet of potato curls...(I'm thinking curly fries).

For my first run, I decided keep it tame and make some veggie noodles to toss with pesto.

Speaking of kitchen gadgets, I don't know whether a pestle and mortar qualifies as one or not, but either way, I don't have one. A shameful state of affairs really, so I usually make pesto by chopping it up really fine, tossing it into a bowl and stirring in a tablespoon or two of oil at the very end. I used cinnamon basil for this batch--the leaves are less spongy than sweet basil and it has a subtle cinnamon scent and taste. It's great used in desserts and produces pretty purple flowers.

In other new products, I ran across these tofu-based dips:

We tried the curry flavor, which was tasty...it reminded me of tofu "egg" salad, but, I'm not sure I'll buy it again. They have a few other flavors, has anyone seen or tried any of them?

We spent most of the weekend lazing around in the garden, which gave way to making pickled nasturtium seeds. I have lots of them in the garden and it was easy to gather a little jar full of fresh green seeds. It's an interesting idea from one of my fav kitchen books called The Magic of Herbs; they're supposed to be a similar to capers when they're done, which makes sense. They won't be ready for another six weeks, and I'll post more about them then if they turn out well.

green nasturtium seeds

And finally, please ignore my gnarly knuckle, but here's a cute little ring made from a blade of grass, a clover, and some teeny yellow flowers. It actually stayed on most of the day; I was quite chuffed about it:

Zine Dining à la Maud

2011-08-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

I found out about the world of 'zines' just recently (boy, was I out of touch). I had seen the term bandied about, but wasn't sure exactly what it meant. Well, that all changed about a month ago when Maud sent me two issues of her zine. Turns out that Maud's been creating her zine, Marmaläde Umläut, since 2007. A lot of you already know Maud and read her blog Food Feud, and, probably quite a few of you know about her zine. I'm writing to say that if you haven't yet checked it out, you should. This post is dedicated to Maud's zine along with a couple of recipes from the most recent issue.

After reading the two issues from front to finish, I had to order the latest one too. She's a talented writer and cartoonist: witty, humorous, insightful with a bit of whimsy tossed into the mix. Some of the regular features include: "Wot's in Your Fridge?," "Fat! So?--Food for Feminists," and "Food Memories."
Oh, but you'll find so much more too, the pages are illustrated with her collages, you'll find cartoons, word games, and even a "Where Should I Go for Lunch??" flowchart (Issue17).

(Did you know that in old days before the advent of modern ovens with temperature gauges, they judged whether an oven was hot enough for baking by sticking their arms in and if the arm hairs singed, it was ready?... That's not a direct quote, just something I learned from reading the zine--a tidbit of the things there are to ponder.)

Maud uses a conversational tone, and while reading, I often wish I could just start gabbing with her about what she's writing. (And, that has nothing to do with my lifelong habit of talking to myself.) The title says it all really: creative and engaging--on par with a satisfying natter with a good friend.

With Maud's permission, here are couple examples of what you'll find inside.

One of Maud's cartoons:

Maud provides some new words for food groupings:

(I can't decide which is my fav, A Dunklette of Cookies or a Thinking of Mushrooms!!)

But, I haven't even begun about the recipes. Of course, there's no shortage of those: cakes, salads, dinners are interspersed and woven into the theme along the way. In honor of summer, I chose a couple salad recipes from the latest issue. First up is Cabbage and Corn Salad.

The recipe calls for red cabbage; I used both red and green because I had both on hand to use up.

Again with Maud's permission, here's the recipe:

The sweetness of raw corn, the crunch of cabbage, and the richness of avocado make this a cooling, comforting, and refreshing slaw. This salad is as calming to the eye as it is cooling to the tongue.

Next up is Peach Salsa/Salad, which is flashy, sweet, and has a good kick of heat, like a summer fiesta in a bowl.

Thank you Maud, for the great recipes and the segues into them!:

The Peach Salsa complimented the cool crunch of the Corn and Cabbage Salad.

We enjoyed them with lettuce wraps (also inspired by Maud of course). Both salads are all raw and oil-free, super healthy and delicious. Thanks again Maud--keep the zines comin'!

Rose Tobin Seattle
Rosanne Tobin
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Marie Tobin
Rosanne LaPonte

Polenta Stacks

2011-08-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot to say about this, so I'll be brief.

Sunday night's dinner: roasted polenta, zucchini, eggplant, and tomato slices layered with homemade spaghetti sauce.

It's simple to put together once you have the sauce made and the veggies roasted. The only slightly tricky part is slicing the polenta. To do this, I cooked the polenta in veggie broth, added fresh herbs and nutritional yeast, then smoothed it into a square dish and let is set up in the fridge. When it was cold, I used a serrated knife to slice it into thin layers.

Note: I don't know whether it was strictly necessary, but I sprayed the square dish with oil before spreading the polenta into it, just to make sure it didn't stick. My inkling is that it wouldn't have stuck, but I didn't want to take the chance.

The polenta looked a bit pale after it set, so I toasted the slices under the grill for a few minutes until they turned golden. I was a little worried that the polenta would turn out hard from the grilling, but after letting it sit for several minutes layered with with spaghetti sauce, the polenta soaked up the sauce and turned out savory and soft with a light crunch on the outside.

We also had some broccoli salad with red pepper, sweet onion, pine nuts and a warm garlic vinaigrette.

It was good, and that's all I have to say about that.
Rose Tobin Seattle
Rosanne Tobin
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Marie Tobin
Rosanne LaPonte

Garlicky Favas and Roasted Tomatoes with Basil

2011-08-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

If you're in the mood for a summery dish to load up with garlic, this might be for you. I made this during the week, and it really satisfied our garlic tooth.

(This is a loose recipe, the measurements are just as a guide...anything goes!)

Garlicky Favas and Roasted Tomatoes with Fresh Basil
1/2-3/4 pound fresh fava beans, out of shell
1 pound cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup (scant) veggie stock or water
Garlic, plenty! (or to taste)-- some slivered, some diced (I used about 7-8 good-sized cloves total)
Olive oil
Fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper

For the tomatoes:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt/pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes. About 2-3 minutes before you're ready to take them out of the oven, sprinkle plenty of finely chopped garlic over them (I used ~ 3 large cloves finely chopped). When the tomatoes are starting to caramelize and collapse, take them out of the oven and set aside.

Note: I roasted the cherry tomatoes in the oven because I think they get a little sweeter and more caramelized that way (and I was roasting potatoes too), but you could also just saute them in the same pan with the favas if you don't want to heat up the oven...just toss them in a few minutes before the favas and let them saute until they start to 'pop'.

For the favas:
First, blanche and refresh the shelled favas: Bring a pot of well-salted water to boil. While that's coming to a boil, fill a bowl or large pot with cold water and add a tray of ice cubes; this is where you'll dunk the blanched favas so they cool off quickly and don't get overcooked. When the water is boiled, drop in the shelled fava beans and let them boil for about 45 seconds...no more than 1 minute. Drain off the hot water and submerge the favas in the ice water. When they're cool, pinch off the thick outer skins to find the bright green, fresh favas inside.

Heat some olive oil in a large pan, add in plenty of finely slivered garlic (I used ~ 4 large cloves) and saute over medium for a minute or so, add in the blanched favas and the veggie stock, bring to simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes. You want most of the liquid to cook off, but play it by ear; the favas should stay bright green and be just tender--not mushy or starting to fall apart. Toss in the roasted tomatoes and chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste.

I could eat this as a side dish or a main course. On this occasion, we had it as a side with mini crustless tofu quiche s from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and roasted potatoes. I've been wanting to try those mini quiche for some time, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. They're tasty and turn out well, and as Susan V says in her post, they are nice and light. They went well with the favas for some very digestible summer fare. I followed the recipe closely, but did add about 1 tsp of light miso and a few drops of ume plum vinegar for a little extra zing.

Other than that, no real news here. I'm trying to make the most of the summer days with swims in the lake and pottering in the garden...a pretty tame existence. Not without its disappoinments though; I've had some ups and downs in the garden, which I guess is par for the course. I've also found some new favorite recipes online and in 'zines', which I hope to post about eventually. In short, we're eating well, which is a blessing.

Happy August everyone!
Rose Tobin

Roseann Marie LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

Fresh Pea Soup and The Garden of Talking Flowers

2011-07-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

No, not really...I just like the sound of the talking flowers part; I thought it would reel you in. I wish my flowers could talk though.

Here's a summer soup from the garden. Peas were late this year...as are most things this season in our part of the world. Over the last week, I got my first harvest of peas and fava beans. (If you think it's crazy that I'm only now harvesting peas and favas...don't hold your breath for the tomatoes!)

Hmm, what to do with the first fresh peas of the season?...They're good just raw in salads, so sweet with a light crunch. This neon-hued fresh pea soup is nice too, brighter and lighter than the regular old split pea variety. Mint is often used in fresh pea soup, and I was thinking of going that route, then I pondered basil...and then tarragon. In the end, I kept it plain and garnished it with chives.

Ingredients:

1 lb shelled fresh peas (save the pods for broth or stir fry etc. / See note)

1 large russet potato, peeled and diced

1 large leek, sliced

3-4 cups veggie broth

fresh herbs of choice, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Note: If the peas are fresh and tender (and preferably organic), you can also leave the peas in the shell and just chop up the pods; I'd take the stringy bit along the seam out first though.

Sweat off the leek and potato in a tablespoon of olive oil until they are tender. Add the veggie broth, bring to a simmer, then add the fresh peas and simmer gently for 5 minutes...just until they begin to become tender. Blend in food processor and serve garnished with finely chopped fresh herbs of choice.

Makes roughly 4 servings.

Here's some other fun flora from the garden at the moment:

Hens and chicks in bloom...sort of Seuss-y, they're just cute no matter what they do.

My sis-in-law gave us this Thompson's Flowering Maple at Easter, which is a bit more exotic and interesting than the usual suspects in my garden:

Its leaves look like maple leaves, but it's not related to Maple trees at all. Apparently, this little guy is cultivated from a Brazilian shrub. We're really enjoying the blooms; thanks Linda!

I really like this Picasso Petunia with its lime-green petal tips. I saw it for the first time last summer, so I knew I wanted some in the garden this year.

Some borage:

Marigolds are sort of a plain jane flower, but they add cheer. I love the rich orange and gold of these:

My favorite flowering pot at the moment:

I get most of my flowering annuals at the local garden center. Early in the season, I can usually buy them in sets of 6 starts for 1.50 each, so I go crazy. This pot is the result of one of those splurges.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. It's sunny and warm here today...I think I hear the lake calling my name!

Rose Tobin Seattle

Roseann Marie LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

Micro Greens Salad

2011-07-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

radish, chard, kale and mustard sprouts with red onion and blueberries

Or in less fancy talk, veggie sprouts.

I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that when I sow seeds, I inevitably over sow. This is partly because it's difficult not to (especially with smaller seeds), and partly because it's a pretty good strategy. You can always thin out a row, but it's inconvenient to fill in a sparsely sown row with supplement seeds. Over sowing also allows for some loss through critters, pathogens, or less robust seedlings etc., without necessarily loosing everything. And of course, there's always at least a few duds in a batch of seeds that aren't viable.

About 2 weeks ago, I planted my autumn greens and now they are coming up in crowed little rows:

the radish crowd

Some leafy crops don't need too much thinning, especially if you want to harvest them as baby greens. Mesclun, leaf lettuces, dandelion, or arugula for example don't seem to mind crowds and there's just more for you to harvest. Other things like root crops and fruiting crops (peas, squash, tomatoes, etc), really need the space to allow for the root and plant to grow unimpeded. And, while things like chard, kale and mustard are fine in crowds if you want to harvest them as young baby leaves, if you want to grow nice big individual plants, it's a good idea to thin them out as you go. Having said that, it always pains me to thin rows ; I feel sorry for the little guys. This regret fades a little, I find, if you eat them.

Hence, micro greens salad. They also make lovely garnishes to sprinkle over your food. Just rinse them gently, sprinkle and eat.

When The Males Let You Down...

2011-07-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

...no offense to any guys out there, of course I'm talking about male squash blossoms. :D

Anyone who has grown cucurbits has probably encountered this problem: male and female blossoms don't open at the same time. Well, at least not at first. It doesn't always happen in this order, but this year I've got lots of female blossoms while the males are lagging far behind! Come' on guys, get blooming!

Male blossom (hubbard squash) Female blossom (hubbard squash)

While we're waiting for the males to catch up, the squash on the female blossoms won't get pollinated and grow; they'll just fade on the vine. There's a yummy solution though--fried squash blossoms.

There are more delicate and refined ways to prepare these little gems, but I really like them fried in batter...the blossoms are especially good (just check to make sure there's no little insects hiding in the buds before you get started).

I'm growing blue hubbard squash and zucchini this year, and we snacked on the unpollinated squash from both. The hubbards were a little bitter, but they were only a little bite each, so it scarcely mattered. The zucchini were quite nice, and the blossoms are toothier than you'd think they'd be.

Tasty!

And to make up for being such a lazy blogger, here are some other eats we've had lately:

Portabella and green pepper fajitas with all the fixins'

Nachos

I like to make homemade chips by cutting fresh corn tortillas into triangles, brushing them with a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice, and nutritional yeast, and baking them. They're yummier than regular old corn chips and, I guess they're a little healthier too because there's less fat.

And now, for any vegan cheezsters that might be reading, here's a little vegan cheese interlude. I bought some Vegan Gourmet on a couple occasions lately, and I've been pleasantly surprised. (I always like to tell myself that I'm going to make my own nut cheese, but somehow, I rarely get around to doing it.)

We've tried this brand in the past and didn't like it. But, maybe they've changed their formula, or maybe our tastes have changed. At any rate, it's been pretty good this time round. It doesn't have as much flavor as Daiya, but when it's melted, the texture is nicer. I've always found Daiya to be on the slimy side when melted. There's no weird plastic-y smell from it as it heats up either, which I remember from my previous experience with FYH.

This was a particularly yummy batch of lasagne with some of Vegan Gourmet on top, which melted nicely.

The filling was the star though: firm tofu, thick cashew cream, pine nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast, white miso, ume plum vinegar, lemon juice, and black pepper blended in a food processor, with chopped fresh parsley and basil stirred in at the end. Next time I make it, I'll try to record the measurements, because it had a serious yum factor going on.

Lucky says, "Have a great weekend, everyone!"

Roseann Marie Laponte

Rosanne Tobin

Roseann Laponte

Solstice Picnic

2011-06-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hi out there! I hope everyone enjoyed the Solstice yesterday and (if you're in the northern hemisphere) are looking forward to the summer season. I know I am...among other things, I can't wait for local summer fruits and berries to start popping up in the markets.

Yesterday couldn't have been a more perfect day for the first day of summer around here: 78 degrees, sunny, blue sky and puffy clouds. Originally, split pea soup was on the menu for dinner last night, but as I was out for a ride on my bike, it struck me that spilt pea soup seemed incongruous with the summery nature of the day. Instead we decided to pack a picnic...and although the pics might lead you think that we ended up on a sail boat...alas no, we headed to a nearby park that overlooks the city...lovely just the same.

Sail boats, and boaters in general, were out in full force enjoying the evening breeze, lots and lots of other picnickers too.

I didn't have a lot of time to get the food together so I just made a quick salad of bulgur wheat with parsley, red onion, cucumber and tomato, dressed with lemon juice, black pepper and olive oil. I also tossed some cherry tomatoes with fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper, boiled some corn on the cob, and to round it all off, picked up some falafel at Whole Foods. With some olives, lemon-tahini sauce, and lemon wedges it was a perfect picnic affair. I also made some garlic crostini (not pictured) and of course we had a bottle of wine.

Oh, and we had a fruit salad, blueberries, Maui Gold pineapple, and a few strawberries from the garden:

Those Maui Golds are the best...if you run across some, I recommend giving them a try. I snap them up regularly when they're in the markets around here.

We stayed until sundown...

... and well past:

Happy Summer!

Silk Road Cooking...

2011-05-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post about some stuff I've been up to lately. First up are a couple of dishes from Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey, by Najmieh Batmanglij. I've had this cookbook for a couple years and have cooked from it only a few times. It's one cookbook that I really want to use more, so I spent some time with it this weekend.

Pages from Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey

The book is full of beautiful photos, historical narration, and intriguing recipes. It's vegetarian, not vegan, but many of the recipes are vegan, and the others are veganizable of course. Here's a link to some sample recipes to give an idea.

The Balkh Brown Lentil Soup (above) calls for fewer herbs and spices than I would usually add to lentil stews and soups, but it is so tasty in its simplicity. The recipe calls for toasting cumin seeds in oil, adding onions and garlic, then lentils and water to simmer. Towards the end you add some fresh orange and lime juice (it calls for Seville oranges, but if you don't have those, you can use a combination of orange and lime juice) and also angelica powder. According to the book, angelica powder is used as a souring agent in Persian cooking. I didn't have any, so I used a teaspoon of tamarind paste instead. From what I've gathered, angelica is nutritious and has many healthful properties; I really want to get my hands on some. Seasoned to taste, and topped with fried onions and parsley, the soup is more than the sum of its parts.

The next recipe I chose was a Bulger and Mung Bean Pilaf. It's another winner, seasoned with cumin seeds, shredded ginger, turmeric, and chili peppers, it's so yummy topped with fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs. The mung beans and bulger go well together and create a great texture. I ate two bowls of the leftovers for breakfast this morning.

The whole meal was a bit of a feast actually, we had the soup as a starter and then the pilaf with a spinach, mushroom, carrot salad and a tofu tart with roasted summer squash and tomato:

The tart turned out just "ok". The tofu filling was tasty enough, I added miso paste, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, almond milk, pine nuts, garlic, onion powder, kala namak salt, and some ume vinegar, but it didn't cook through how I wanted it...I'm still trying to get a feel for the calibration of my new oven.

For other news, the garden is thriving. I've been harvesting fresh greens galore.

So far, we've been munching on mustard-spinach ( a hybrid of the two and a less spicy than pure mustard greens), baby kale, spinach, and radishes. I'm waiting a little longer to harvest the dandelion greens and the lettuce. The chard and collard greens will be another few weeks before they grow into nice big plants. It's a bit overcrowded at the moment, but as we harvest, space will open up.

I keep the greens under a poly tunnel at night and on cloudy days, and it makes a phenomenal difference in how fast things grow. Here's the same bed about a month ago:

It's easy to make a poly tunnel. All you need is some rebar stakes, some pliable tubing that you can get in a hardware store, and some opaque painters' plastic. You can attach the plastic to the tubes with large binder clips. This works great in climates where the temps are cool in spring and fall.

Green juice from the garden: radish tops, parsley, mustard-spinach, celery (not from the garden) and sorrel:

Radishes are one of my favorite vegetables, and for any newbie gardeners out there, I highly recommend giving radishes a try. They grow quickly and easily...and, you get double for your efforts; harvest the roots for salads and what not (you can cook them too) and eat the greens in stir fries or juices. The greens are a bit stickery, but if you steam them or juice them it's not a problem. Radishes are just little turnips, so I wager that the greens are super nutritious like turnip greens. The radishes themselves are pretty nutritious too.

My tomato and pepper starts are some of the slowest growing little guys I've ever seen! Come on guys...get growing!

And finally, in some family news: my mom adopted a little dog from a K-9 death row rescue:

Her name is Lula, and she's super smart and sweet. She adores my mom, and we all love her. I've been visiting a lot to get in on the walking action. I hope to post a video of her soon doing one of her happy dances, which are really adorable.

Shirataki Noodle-Mushroom Broth...and Kitty Cohabitation!

2011-05-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

I swear I'm not a crazy noodle lady or anything like that, but here comes yet another post about noodles...I haven't posted in a while, but my last was about kelp noodles. This time, I branched out to try some shirataki noodles, and I can say unequivocally that I'm a fan.

I've seen people posting about them on various blogs for quite some time, and I bought a package that sat in my fridge for a couple of months...not sure why it took me so long to dive into them other than that through the package, they looked like they would be soft and mushy, which is not an appealing characteristic of noodles in my opinion. Looks can be deceiving though, because these cook up nice and firm.

They're made from the fiber of the Konjac plant, and like the kelp noodles, they're very low in carbs and calories. They smell bad when you take them out of the package, but once you rinse them and cook them the smell goes away.

I've made them a few times now. The first time I tried them in a stir fry with lots of veggies and a peanut-miso dressing...I wanted to post about that, but I accidentally deleted the photos. So, here's another dish I made with them; they're great in soup, just like ramen noodles.

This is a brothy, gingery, sweet and sour soup with Thai flavors. The measurements are approximate... I didn't measure everything precisely, but can serve as a guideline:

12-inches worth of lemon grass, with tough outer leaves removed and chopped into fine rounds
3 or 4 kaffir lime leaves ( I use dried ones)
4 or 5 good slices of fresh ginger
1 hot chili pepper sliced
About 1/2 - 3/4 of a pound of mushrooms: I used shitake and alba clamshell
~ 5 cups rich veggie broth or mushroom broth ( I used a combination of veggie broth and mushroom broth)
1 package of shirataki noodles

carrot and/or other veggies of choice, thinly chopped

1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (if you don't use seasoned vinegar, you'll need to add some agave syrup or brown sugar to balance out the acidity)

1 generous teaspoon tamarind paste, or to taste

cilantro

green onions

toasted sesame oil
fresh lime juice
daikon radish and sambal oelek to garnish

Put the lemon grass, ginger, chili, and lime leaves in a large sauce pan and let them simmer in a little broth for about 5 minutes.

When the herbs are beginning to soften and become aromatic, add the shitake mushrooms and the rest of the broth and let it simmer gently for about 30 - 40 minutes.

The broth becomes flavorful from the mushrooms and the herbs.

Next, add the tamari, seasoned vinegar and tamarind and stir through.

Bring a small pot of water to the boil and par-cook the shirataki noodles for about 2 minutes. Drain the noodles and toss them into the simmering broth along with the clamshell mushrooms and some thinly sliced carrot and let it cook for another 4 - 6 minutes.

Right before you serve it, stir in some cilantro (baby spinach would be good too) and the green onions. Drizzle a few drops of toasted sesame oil over the top (not too much, or it will overpower the other flavors), and finally add a couple generous splashes of fresh lime juice. It's nice served with shredded daikon and some sambal oelek.

Now, on to some really exciting news: our kitties are beginning to like each other! We adopted Lucky, the tabby cat, last September (I know that's a naff name, but it was his shelter name and it just stuck), and it has been a bumpy road in catville around here since then. Our longtime family member, Cheeky, didn't like the idea of having him around at all. If Lucky came into a room where Cheeky was, she would leave and hiss at him every time she passed by.

We did everything to ensure that they each had their own space and places to sleep and eat...but it seemed like the best we could hope for is that they would ignore each other. Well, over the weekend, I caught them napping together:

And more than once too...the sunroom is a favorite napping spot:

I'm delighted and hoping for the day when they actually snuggle together.

Kelp Noodle Salad and Other Important Things, Including Rhubarb "Mead"

2011-04-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

I was at the store recently, when some kelp noodles caught my eye. As something new and interesting to try, they were calling out to me, but I'll admit that I was a little hesitant as well. I like sea vegetables when they have a mild flavor. I'm down with some arame seaweed or a little wakame. I can even handle a little bit of dulse in small doses, but I'm not an all-out seaweed lover...If the flavor is too strong it literally makes me gag. So, the first thing that crossed my mind was "what if they turn out really seaweedy?...Gulp!" But, as I read through the package, the words "Neutral Flavor" won me over.

There are a few recipe ideas on the back of the package. One for a miso/peanut noodle salad sounded especially tempting, and I'll try that next time. But today, I wanted to go for something more low-cal, so decided on a soy-wasabi salad:

For the veggie base, I used green onions, sunburst squash, red pepper, carrot, celery and daikon.

The package just gives the ingredient list for the dressing, not the measurements, so here's what I ended up throwing together: 2 Tablespoons Bragg's Aminos, 1 Tablespoon raw agave, 1 Tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar, a good splash of cider vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste. I went light on the wasabi...a little bit more would have been good though.

You don't have to cook these noodles; they're ready to eat right out of the bag. Here's what they look like:

According to the package, these little noodlers have a lot going for them: fat-free, gluten-free, low cal and low carb, and they are a source of many trace minerals including iodine.

My verdict? The texture is great, a little bit rubbery and toothsome...maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it. The flavor is indeed neutral; the noodles add texture and serve as a vehicle for the dressing, while the core of the salad's flavor comes from the veggies you choose. All in all, I'm glad I gave these a try. They'll be fun to add to salads and switch things up a bit.

Part of the reason I wanted to eat light today was because yesterday (Easter) was quite a feast. We didn't plan on it being quite so sumptuous...it just sort of happened that way. For the vegan main course, I made some fettuccine in cashew-basil cream. It was a winner; everyone enjoyed it.

I didn't measure the sauce when I was making it, but here's roughly what I put in:

Cashew Basil Cream Sauce:
1 generous cup raw cashews, soaked in water for an hour or so
2 generous Tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8-1/4 cup nutritional yeast (to taste, I usually go for 1/4 cup)
6-8 drops ume plum vinegar (because it's quite salty and tangy, I just drizzle a bit in...you'll have to adjust to your tastes)
1 generous/heaping Tablespoon white miso
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice ( I usually go for more like 3)
1.5 cups water
Generous 2 cups chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Drain the cashews and blend in food processor with the rest of the ingredients, except the basil. Add the water gradually until you get the smoothness and consistency you want, I went for a thick consistency that was still "pourable". For a nice smooth consistency, blend it for several minutes. When you've achieved the consistency you want, toss in the chopped basil leaves and pulse a few times to blend through.

Toss the cashew/basil cream with some drained noodles that are just on the verge of al dente and gently heat through. Serve right away with lightly steamed green beans, and some pine nuts and basil shreds to garnish. Pretty yummy stuff!

In addition to the pasta we had broccoli, pineapple, sweet potatoes, salad, and some rye bread. My mom also made some awesome fresh tomato salsa for hors d'oeuvres:

We had strawberry pie and coconut milk ice cream for dessert...sorry no pics. See, what I mean about the feasting?

Now, for a rhubarb "mead" update for anyone who might be interested. Over the weekend, we broke open the rhubarb mead I posted about here. It's a lovely color, lightly effervescent and has a mild flavor, not terribly rhubarby though. (rhubarby...that sounds funny! :D)

Alessandra suggested that it might be more aptly named rhubarb beer...kind of like ginger beer, and I'm inclined to agree. There is only a trace amount of alcohol in it, which can be either good or bad depending on your perspective. Personally, I was hoping for something wee bit stronger. But, it is refreshing mixed with some sparkling water or other sparkling juice, and we'll certainly enjoy sipping it from time to time as the weather warms up.

And last but certainly not least, I want to give a big Thank You to Rebecca of Enjoying the Journey blog, who was my seed swap partner. Cassie of Vegan Fox fame hosted a seed swap this month, which I thought was a fun idea.

Rebecca sent me some kale, lavender, and lemon cucumber seeds, all of which I love. She also included a handy seed-starting guide and some fun animal rights stickers. Thanks Rebecca! I'll plant the kale and lavender now, and the cucumbers I'll start in early June.

Lilies, Rhubarb Mead, and a New Cooker

2011-04-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Spring is here in the Pacific Northwest as the showers will attest--we've had a wet Spring so far, which is par for the course around here. Prompted into bloom by the rain, these Checkered Lilies are delicate beauties that I always forget about until they bloom out.

Another spring treat, local rhubarb, has arrived in the markets. I always feel like I want to do something different with rhubarb. With that in mind, I tried my hand at some rhubarb mead.

The Stripey Cat directed me to this recipe (scroll down to the third recipe on the page). It calls for rhubarb (I threw in some strawberries too), sugar, yeast and water. Here's what it looks like after fermenting for 24 hours:

Then strained and put into bottles:

It's supposed to sit in a cool place for another three days...I'll let you know how it turns out.

Always a source of interesting recipes, The Stripey Cat also posted a recipe for rhubarb tzatziki that I think will be my next foray into rhubarb this season. She also directed to me to a link for rhubarb pickles, which I want to try, but I can't post the link because I've lost it. I'll need to do some backtracking and find it.

In other news, we got a new cooker. We've been in the same rental house for the last four years, and the stove was a gem from the 70's. When was the last time you saw a "digital" display like that?

To be fair, it worked great until about six months ago when two of the top burners went out...basically the electrical wires were disintegrating. I cooked on two wonky burners for a few months, but then when the oven went, I finally called the landlord, and he brought us a shiny new cooker.

On the food front, we've been eating lots of beans and salads...nothing too spectacular, but healthy and satisfying.

I also bought some kelp noodles that I want to try and hopefully blog about soon. Until then, happy April everyone.

Birdhouse Mania and Into the Garden

2011-03-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

I must have a secret love of birdhouses that even I didn't know about, because while rummaging through the gardening tools recently, I came across three birdhouses..."Where did these come from?" was what crossed my mind.

Most likely, they came from impulse purchases at the garden center, which I put away upon getting home and promptly forgot about. Anyway, a stash like that shouldn't go to waste, so I hung them out.

The northwest corner of my garden seemed like a good place; the houses are facing south/southeast, so they'll get the first rays of light in the morning, and when the leaves come on the trees, that corner of the garden is shady throughout the afternoon.

You can just barely make them out; it'll be fun to see whether there'll be any takers:

I think I'm probably a little late for this nesting season though. Some chickadees already have their nest well underway in the neighbor's nest box.

As for the rest of the garden, I had a nice surprise when I removed the row cover from the main bed. The greens I planted last autumn overwintered pretty well and have started growing again over the last few weeks:

There are some turnip greens, some parsley, a few kale plants, a few collards and a little bit of chard and mustard, as well as a few rows of beets...

and some raddichio.

They've been under 2 layers of row cover and a poly tunnel all winter, and along with the fact that we didn't get a lot of really cold weather, they faired pretty well. I got a pretty good harvest, and should get a couple more before I start spring planting in another 10 days or so.

The garlic is doing its thing. This is a hard neck variety, and I'm looking forward to garlic scapes, come June:

If you're wondering what all the drinking straws are about, most of them have fallen over, but I stuck them in the soil upright when I planted the garlic to deter the cats from digging there. They seem to love smooth, freshly worked soil, but once there's an obstacle course of straws or sticks, they lose interest. As the plants grow, they become their own obstacle course...if that makes any sense.

As I mentioned, I'm waiting another 10 - 14 days to plant the bulk of my spring crops, but I've put in peas, favas, and potatoes already.

I haven't had much success with potatoes in the past.

Two years ago, I built a potato cage, which was fun and rather spectacular, I had high, high hopes, but I got a small harvest.

Last year I switched to these "grow bags", which are containers made out of a thick black cloth that allows some air and moisture circulation. I got a very small harvest.

But, I'm trying again...who knows maybe third time's a charm. Anyone have any potato-growing tips?

The good thing about the grow bags it that they save on real estate in the garden beds.

Hanging bird houses and planting spuds is hungry work. This was a a yummy lunch of curried tofu salad (tofu, curry powder, lemon juice, celery, red onion, green olives, Bragg's aminos, nutritional yeast, 1/2 an avocado and some hot sauce):

Panko Crusted Seitan, Country Bob and More...

2011-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

A good week or so ago, Michelle of Lovinlivinvegan blog hosted a giveaway for some Country Bob's All Purpose sauce, an item that makes regular appearances on her blog...and I got lucky and won! Thanks Michelle!

This post was a long time in coming; I received the sauce a week ago, but I wanted to use it a few times before I posted about it. So, this is the official Country (-ountry, -ountry, -ountry) Bob's (-ob's, -ob's, -ob's) Mega (-ega, -ega, -ega) Post (-ost, -ost, -ost). (BlessedMama: I couldn't resist :D

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce:

Country Bob:

The sauce is made from tomato paste, molasses, and tamarind pulp and a blend of onion, garlic and other spices. It makes a sweet, deep, slightly tangy condiment for savory dishes.

The first thing we tried it with was some panko-breaded seitan and shredded cabbage:

A a squeeze of fresh lemon, some Country Bob's, and some daikon radish on the side, made this really tasty, crispy, and satisfying.

Here's the seitan recipe I made:

Panko-Breaded Seitan

1.5 cups Vital Wheat Gluten + 2 Tbs chickpea flour

1/4 tsp Garlic Granules (or to taste)

1/4 tsp Onion Powder (or to taste)

2 sprigs fresh thyme, removed from woody stem

1 cup Seitenbacher veggie broth (or 1 cup no-salt veggie broth + 1/4 cup nutritional yeast)

1 cup cooked white beans, like cannelini

1 Tbs Soy Sauce or Bragg's Aminos

1 Tbs Vegan Worchestershire Sauce

Combine the wheat gluten, onion powder, garlic powder and thyme in a large bowl. Pulse the beans in a food processor so they're finely chopped, or coursely mash them with a fork or potato masher, and add to the mixture. Pour in veggie broth/nut yeast, soy sauce, and worchestershire sauce and mix to combine.

Shape the seitan into a large roll, wrap tightly in tin foil and steam for 1 - 1.5 hours, turning occasionally until it feels firm to the touch.

Allow the seitan roll to cool and cut into 1/2-inch cutlets. I cut mine length-wise, and I got 4, 6-inch peices.

For the Panko Breading

Combine 1 Tbs egg replacer ( I used Ener-G brand) and 1/3 cup non-dairy milk and whisk until smooth and frothy. (You may have to add a little more liquid to adjust the consistency; it should be loose enough to dip in, but thick enough to stick to the seitan.) Add a pinch of cayenne pepper and garlic powder to taste and whisk. You'll need about 1 - 2 cups of panko bread crumbs, depending on how many cutlets you have.

Dip the seitan in the egg replacer mixture and then dredge in the panko crumbs unitl coated, then repeat the process, so the cutlets are dipped and coated twice.

Heat about 3/4-inch of high-heat oil in a pan over medium-high until some crumbs dropped in sizzle upon hitting the surface and fry the seitan until golden brown, ~ 1 minute on each side.

This seitan also went well with some steamed cabbage, mashed potato with spring onion, and cooked apple. I made this last week, but come to think of it, this would be a fab St. Paddy's Day meal...we may just have this again tomorrow:

The third time we broke out the Country Bob's with was some of Melody of MeloMeals blog 3-ingredient veggie burgers on rosemary focaccia with two-bean chili and homemade oven fries (the chili is underneath the burger):

I can't say enough good things about these burgers. The three ingredients are rolled oats, hot cooked beans, and onion soup mix. The beans have to be hot, so the oatmeal plumps up as the beans are mashed in and the mixture binds. I didn't have any onion soup mix, so I made up my own spice profile with garlic powder, onion powder, some oregano, etc. The possibilities are endless with these I think; you could add in any spice combo for different flavors: curry, southwestern flavors etc. I could also see adding in finely chopped veggies, sun dried tomatoes, or other additional goodies.

So, if you're on the lookout for a good veggie burger, head over to Melody's blog, because I highly recommend these. In fact, all her recipes are wonderful in my opinion.

Speaking of which, here's another one of Melody's recipes: Lentil Loaf, (of course adorned with CB's sauce):

I had some leftover brown rice pilaf and braised lentils and decided a lentil loaf would be good way to use them up. This loaf is super tasty. I added a little horseradish to the loaf mix too, which was good. Melody's recipe calls for a cranberry glaze, but I didn't have any cranberries on hand, so used some Spicy Garlic Apple Jam for the glaze.

These Country Bob meals have been the dinner highlights of the past 7 days or so. Outside of that, we've been eating mostly beans and salad, which is good, but not necessarily that exciting to blog about.

Thanks again to Michelle for hosting the giveaway and for the yummy sauce!

And, Happy Paddy's Day to everyone!

Bookmark Swap Fabulousness!

2011-03-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

Last month, Cassie of Vegan Fox in the Snow hosted a vegan bookmark swap and I jumped in to participate. It is such a good idea: swappers exchanged homemade bookmarks with a vegan or animal theme.

I received my bookmark yesterday, from Michelle and Lilly of DirtyDuck blog. And it's extra-special because Lilly generously contributed some of her errant feathers...anyone who reads Michelle's blog is smitten with Lilly and the rest of the household over at Michelle's place, and so I'm sure can understand how special and fun this is. The feathers are attached with beautiful white ribbon and pretty beads:

This is a deluxe bookmark; the three ribbons allow you to mark your place in the book on three separate pages, and you can even adjust the lengths by pulling on the beads at the top:

And, it's attached to a special dealy-bob so you can use it as a bookmark or a hair pin! It's fabulous! Thanks Michelle and Lilly, you're a clever and creative pair.

I forgot to take a picture of the bookmark I sent, but you can see it over at Molly's blog as well as her fab bookmark creation too.

Thanks again to Cassie for hosting this fun swap!

VegNews Vegan Alfredo

2011-02-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

If you have the March-April edition of VegNews, you might have seen the recipe for fettuccine alfredo. If you haven't yet, you've got to try it.

I tried to find the recipe published online, but I couldn't find it, which is a shame. I think they send out the edition to subscribers before it hits the shelves in the stores, so I'll keep looking for it. Maybe when they update their website with the March-April edition, the recipe will be available online.

The sauce is your average cashew cream variety with some pine nuts thrown in, then thinned with water, lemon juice, and some garlic, nutmeg, and black pepper. (I left out the nutmeg for a fussy eater.)

The recipe didn't call for it, but I added a tablespoon of white miso, a few drops of ume plum vinegar and extra garlic...for garlic lovers, this is a great vehicle for some intense garlic action. Oh yeah, and I tossed in a handful of mozzarella-style Daiya, since I had some in the fridge I needed to use up. It all came together for a tasty sauce.

Then, I sauteed some yellow pepper, slivered garlic, (in keeping with the intense garlic theme) and broccolini to toss with the pasta and the alfredo sauce. Garnished with green onion slices and fresh oregano, it was a flavor bomb. Oh, and don't forget plenty of fresh ground black pepper.

It hit the spot with some spinach and roasted eggplant rollups: thinly sliced eggplant brushed with garlic-infused olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, then roasted until brown and garnished with a squeeze of fresh lemon. They're tasty little treats; we ate most of them before they made it onto the plate!

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

Heart Beets

2011-02-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

St. Valentine's greetings!

Like many, I enjoy taking this opportunity to make heart-shaped food, and beets seem especially conducive to this type of thing. Heart-shaped dining commenced early, with a heart beet salad and some pizza with heart-shaped beetaroni :

Beetaroni pizza with mushrooms, red onions, and Daiya vegan cheese

Beetaroni? Yes, it's so cool. I'm sure many of you already know about it, but if you don't, you'll have to check out Ricki Heller's original post about this ingenious idea. It's basically thinly sliced beets slow baked in a smokey, spicy, garlic-y marinade. The end result really does go well on pizza: lightly smokey, spicy and tender..adds a nice color too. I never ate or liked pepperoni before going vegetarian (seemed suspect to me), but beetaroni...now, that's another story.

I didn't have a cookie cutter, so I made a little stencil to guide the heart-shaped cuts...cutting the raw beets was much easier than cutting the cooked ones in my experience. (I'll use the cut-out scraps in salads throughout the week.)

Here are the beets in the marinade, pre-baking:

And then out of the oven. The marinade bakes into the beets and as the liquid evaporates, the little beets curl up a bit:

Sorry, no heart-shaped dessert, but we did enjoy some raspberry beer: Lindemans Framboise Lambic. It's like raspberry soda, but with a little punch. The apple flavored one is good too. According to barnivore.com, Lindemans' beers are vegan friendly.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Roseann Laponte Tobin

It's February! (?)

2011-02-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

How did it get to be almost the ides of February and me without one blog post? I'll tell you how: I've been thoroughly enjoying 'comment mode'...sitting back, relaxing, having a beer and letting you guys do all the work, heh-heh.

But seriously, I think I've been in a time warp; I've been telling myself for the last week or so "it's only the beginning of February, plenty of time for everything"...only to find that it's almost the middle of the month and I've not done anything useful in blogland.

First, I'm going to be useful and mention a fun swap that Cassie at Vegan Fox in the Snow has organized. Basically, she's pairing people off to exchange homemade vegan bookmarks...that's this month's theme anyway. It's sounds like fun, as well as easy on the pocket book. I'm already trying to think up a bookmark design. Check it out.

I'm also fostering 3 rat girls from the animal shelter. They were found in the apartment of a deceased person, where they were in a sorry state and half starved. They all needed medical attention. They've been at my house for the last week, and they're getting plenty of love and good food and doing great! Two of them are hairless. They love to sleep piled up together:

Kat (the little one in front) had to wear a rat-sized version of those cone collars they put on animals so they won't bite at their stitches etc. It was awful. She was such a miserable little trooper through all that; it broke my heart to watch her. Rats use their front paws to eat and clean their noses, and they groom themselves meticulously...she couldn't reach her face with her paws and she was so frustrated trying to eat and not being able to groom. I cleaned her nose for her, but she would have much rather been doing that herself! I'm so relieved her operation was successful and her stitches are healed, and she is so happy to be rid of that collar!

As far as food goes, I snapped a few pics of recent dinners...when I take photos after dark, they turn out dark and yellowy, but whatever.

Spicy Sichuan Eggplant from Authentic Chinese Cuisine by Bryanna Clark-Grogan. I added tofu, peppers, and green onion to the recipe. Plenty of sambal oelek to garnish. I've made several recipes from this cookbook and they have all been delicious.

Homemade taco bowls with tostones. I used the homestyle refried beans recipe from Viva Vegan, but left them whole instead of mashing them. Don't worry; it got all messy and delicious as more salsa and hot sauce was liberally applied and munching commenced.

To make the tortilla bowls I followed this ingenious method, devised by talented Debbie over at Heath Seekers Kitchen. Actually, the whole dinner was inspired by her post: Thanks Debbie!

Unlike Debbie, I used store bought spinach tortillas instead of making them from scratch. The store bought kind are less elastic than raw dough, so I used some unwaxed dental floss to tie the tortillas around the dishes and make them bake without popping out at the sides. Works a treat...but, if you use ready-made tortillas, you have to watch them closely so they won't burn.

More of Vic's seitan steaks, this time in an oregano-scented tomato sauce with capers and sauteed artichoke hearts, onion, and mushrooms. The pic does not do justice to the deliciousness of this.

Some tofu phad thai, again with loads of sambal oelek.

A salad I took to work:

I flippin' love nutritional yeast on salad! Actually, I should say I love nutritional yeast blended with walnuts and a pinch of sea salt, which is what I use with some soy sauce or Bragg's aminos and cider vinegar...super yum!

Here's my boring desk at work...if you look closely, you'll see that I'm ~~diligently working on the slides for the afternoon meeting~~ gazing at Shen's blog.

Have a good weekend!

Broccoli Corn Muffins

2011-01-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

Is it bizarre to put broccoli in corn muffins? Mr D thinks so...his exact words were: "that's beyond bizarre".

...he might be right, but I think you could add almost any veggie and it would be innocuous at worst. Actually, the broccoli didn't add a lot of flavor, but it was fun. I used about 1/2 cup corn kernels and 1/2 cup chopped broccoli, but if I were to make them again, I'd add in about 1 cup of each...they disappeared into the batter somehow.

Needs more corn and broccoli!

Corn Muffins (makes 6)

1 cup sweetcorn kernels (this is upped from 1/2 c. I used above)

1 cup other veggies of choice, (blanched if desired), chopped small (upped from 1/2 cup used above)

egg replacer for 2 eggs (3 teaspoons egg replacer + 4 tbs water if using EnerG brand)

1 cup non-dairy milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice (vegan buttermilk)

1/3 cup oil or melted Earth Balance or other vegan margarine

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

3/4 cup yellow corn meal

1/4 vegan sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease and flour your muffin tin.

Whisk together the egg replacer and water until well combined, add the vegan buttermilk mixture, oil, and whisk. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Toss in the veggies to coat. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and fold in gently until the moist mix is just incorporated. The dough will be thick and lumpy.

Fill muffin tins...I filled mine to nearly full because I wanted a large cap...(didn't work). Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden stick comes out clean.

Bizarre as they may be, they're pretty tasty with a little red pepper jelly.

As I was taking the muffin photos, this guy came running along the sun roof:

View above the corn muffins

(Please ignore the dirt...that's on the outside of the glass and I don't have a ladder tall enough to get up there and clean it, plus I'm afraid I might fall through or something.)

Cheeky watches from below:

Wonderful Millet Balls, Bandanas, and Other Eats

2011-01-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

Millet ball stir fry? Why of course. The millet balls are a recipe from Vegan Delights cookbook, which I was lucky to win through a New Year's Eve giveaway over at Mehitable Days blog. It arrived with a group of donkeys:

The millet balls where the first recipe that caught my eye--officially called Wonderful Millet Balls in the book-- and they turned out tasty, if a bit on the delicate side. They're basically 2 cups cooked millet, 1/2 cup ground almonds (I threw in some ground flax too), and 1 Tbsp flour or arrowroot powder mixed with a variety of sauteed vegetables, tamari, veggie broth and seasonings to taste and to achieve a workable consistency.

I used finely chopped onion, shallot, garlic, celery, shitake mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots...for a total volume of about 2.5 cups of finely chopped veggies. The seasonings can be altered according to what flavor you want to give them...since I was planning a stir fry, I added some brown mustard seeds, ginger, and a little turmeric. Baked in the oven @ 400 F for about 25 minutes, they come out delicate, but sturdy up somewhat as they cool.

Before baking:

Out of the oven:

The stir fry was green onions, celery, and shitake mushrooms in a sort of teriyaki-style sauce (1/4 cup tamari, 1/4 cup mirin, 1 tbsp turbinado sugar, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, and about 1/8 cup water---thickened with arrowroot. Because the millet balls are on the delicate side, I added them in at the very end.

Speaking of giveaways, I also won this fun pink bandana from Molly over at VeganFlower. She sent some cool stickers and some of her business cards, which are really well done.

Thanks Molly!! I love it!

Not as wonderful as giveaway winnings or millet balls, but in other food recently...

...seitan sausages with sun dried tomato, kalamata olives, garlic, fennel, and oregano. I wrapped them in tin foil, steamed them, then uwrapped and browned them in the oven:

....with pasta:

Actually I take back what I said just now, the following is as wonderful as giveaways and millet balls...

Vic's BBQ Seitan Steaks from The Life blog:

You can't really see the seitan with the onions and mushrooms on top, but trust me: it's good.

Also an apple cake that looked nice, but came out rubbery:

Not sure why so rubbery...it was made from 1 pound of chopped apples tossed with 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning, and a pinch of salt, then mixed with a puree of 2 ripe bananas, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup raw cane sugar, 1 cup oat milk and 1 tsp of vanilla, then topped with apple slices and a drizzle of maple syrup. It might be better with whole wheat flour instead.

Inspired by Shen of Shenandoah Vegan fame, who often tops desserts with a little agave syrup...

...makes it all better.

Wild Rice Casserole (or how I saw an ad and it worked)

2011-01-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe on the back page of the Jan/Feb edition of VegNews magazine. It was in an advert for a wild rice blend. I'm not sure what it was about the ad....maybe the photo, or maybe the mood I was in, but it was one of those recipes that I had to make asap.

The casserole is a blend of wild rice, sweet brown rice, black rice, and a couple others baked with granny smith apples, butternut squash, some veggie broth, and seasoned with thyme and walnuts.

Any whole grain rice mix of your own... long grain brown rice and wild rice for example, would work fine. But, I went out and bought the rice blend to make the recipe... what can I say? Their ad totally worked on me. (The blend is pretty yummy though.)

I followed the recipe for the most part except that I added celery in with the onions while saute-ing, and used oregano instead of thyme in the saute. I added fresh thyme, walnuts and pecans after baking instead of before.

(Note that the recipe calls for the rice to be cooked beforehand.)

Great texture, lovely sweetness from the baked apple and the squash, and with the thyme and celery, it tastes sort of like stuffing. Yum. I ate it for lunch with some steamed greens and fresh apple (cuz they showed fresh apple in the ad...I'm a sucker.). For a hardy meal, I think beans would be a great addition, which I'll probably do with the leftovers...I'm thinking chickpeas.

Anyway, that's all. If it sounds good, definitely check it out.

Have a nice weekend.

Garlic Soup, Obsessed with Salad, and More Soup and Garlic

2011-01-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

This soup makes a bigger sensation on the taste buds than it does on the eyes, but if you like garlic and are in the mood for a brothy, aromatic soup that clears the sinuses, this soup hits the spot. I like it this time of year as a warming cup or bowl after a long walk in the cold temperatures--warming and satisfying, but not too filling.

The recipe makes about 4 servings, and I used 8 good-sized garlic cloves, because that's the amount Mr D is generally comfortable with...I think I could go a few more cloves if I were making it just for myself. The sherry is optional, but it really does add a rich dimension to the soup, which I love. Also, the saffron is not strictly necessary...but very nice in this if you have it on hand.

Garlic Soup with Sherry and Saffron
8 good-sized garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil (or veggie broth for fat free)
6 cups veggie broth
salt to taste
pinch of saffron
2-3 tablespoons dry sherry (Manzanilla)
pinch of Spanish paprika to garnish (optional)
1 cup small pasta like orzo, stars, or alphabets, cooked

Put the garlic cloves and oil in a food processor and process until the garlic is finely minced. Alternately, you could put the garlic through a press or plane grater if you want the garlic to be more pureed with no bits. ( I like the bits.)

In a large pot, heat the garlic and olive oil mixture very gently (medium-low) for 2 minutes...just enough heat so it becomes aromatic and warm, not sauteed. Keep an eye on it, because if the garlic gets over heated here it will turn bitter.

Add the veggie broth to the aromatized garlic and bring it up to a simmer. Add the pinch of saffron and salt to taste. Allow the soup to simmer for another half hour or so.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a separate pot, according to package instructions. Drain and rinse until cool.

When ready to serve, add the sherry to the soup and stir through. Scoop some of the cooked pasta into each serving bowl and ladle hot soup over it. Garnish with a pinch of Spanish paprika.

***********

On to my latest food obsession: spinach and arugula salad. My mom made some with Christmas dinner, and I've been eating copious amounts of it ever since. The spicy arugula goes so well with the milder, but spongey/leafy spinach. My favorite combo these days is making it with julienned carrot, red onion, and sunflower seeds. Sometimes I toss in some grapes, walnuts, and radish if the mood strikes. I seem to be craving raw onion these days.

I know, I know, big deal: it's just a flippin' salad. But sooo good, and well, it really is a large portion of what we've been eating lately chez Dandelion. I've been dressing it with a mixture of Bragg's Aminos, sherry vinegar, whole grain mustard and nutritional yeast (v. yum)...a combo I read about on DirtyDuck's blog...here, where you can read about how it came to dress a somewhat unmanageably large salad. :D Thanks for the awesome dressing idea DirtyDuck!!

Another recent dinner was some leek-potato soup with bread rolls, roasted elephant garlic, manzanilla olives, and spicy brown mustard. Maybe, a slightly odd combo, but tasty. (The garlic is in the dish that has the knife sitting on it.)

So, I guess it goes without saying that with all the garlic and raw onions, it's just as well that I'm typing this rather than telling you in person. :0

For dinner tonight, I'm making some of baked onion rings that Sara at Busy Vegan Mama posted about today...I think they're gonna be good!

Ciao!!!

Thoughts of Love for All Animals

2011-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

Dr. Tuttle guides a lovely meditation on our connectedness with the earth and all the animals:

Happy New Year to all. May it bring Peace, Love, and Happiness to all of us, our beloved animal friends, and our beautiful and living planet.

We have a giveaway winner....

2010-12-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

The time has come to announce the winner of the Gilding Lilies 2011 Calendar giveaway.

Eleven people entered (in chronological order):

1. Alessandra (I left your name in because the rules say it's open to all the planet)
2. Michelle (LovinLivinVegan)
3. Melody
4. Laloofah
5. Michelle (DirtyDuck)
6. VegSpinz
7. Carissa
8. BlessedMama (in whose dreams I wash dishes very slowly...lol)
9. Lizzie Bordello
10. Jenny
11. Thiên Ân

( I couldn't assign numbers to the comments because I commented in between etc...)

Part 1, the set up:

Courtesy of atmospheric noise and Random.org:

Lucky number 7! Congrats to Carissa!

Email me with your address, and I'll get the calendar on its way in time for 2011!

Merry Christmas and Happy Stephen's Day to everyone! (We're still celebrating!)

I really feel fortunate to be part of such a wonderful blogging community.

I'll leave you with a little holiday interlude brought to you by Mr Dandelion:

'Tis the Season for a Giveaway

2010-12-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, it's a celebration giveaway!

To celebrate the season, and in looking forward to the New Year, I'm excited to give away a beautiful 2011 Calender from Gilding Lilies. If you aren't familiar with Jennifer of Gilding Lilies' art, you're in for a treat. I've been reading her blog for a while now, and have been admiring her work ever since. She couples fine art photography with stunning graphical effects that end up as greeting cards, prints, jewelry and other items. Definitely, check it out!

I originally ordered this calendar as a gift...but then I ran out of people to give it to! So, I figured offering it through a giveaway would be a way to show my appreciation of all you interesting, fun, talented, and wonderful people out there in blog land.

Here's the calendar packaged up all lovely upon arrival:

I didn't want to open the package and get my grubby mitts all over the pages, so here's a sample of the inside taken from Gilding Lilies Etsy shop:

Image Source: Gilding Lilies Etsy Shop

...and of course, there are 8 more months worth.

To enter, leave a comment about your favorite ways to celebrate a holiday. It can, but doesn't have to be a December holiday, tell us about any celebratory traditions you especially like. Or, you can talk about anything else you want instead.

One of my favorite things to do at any holiday/family celebration is play games...charades, or balderdash, or even the limbo. Sometimes it's difficult to round people up, which is where nieces and nephews generally come in handy :)

I'll announce the (randomly picked) winner on St. Stephen's Day...Boxing Day if you prefer, or I guess here in the US, it's just plain old December 26th.

Official Rules and Regulations:

Giveaway is open to everyone on planet earth. Interplanetary restrictions apply---giveaway prize will be awarded to earthlings only. Oranges and nuts not included.

Treats! Treats!

2010-12-13T14:01:00.000-08:00

...Cheezy Baco Treats!

Here's Scamp (aka Daffodil). She's a little on the rotund side...ahem... see how she fills up her play tube so nicely? But as you can also see, she's dutifully eating her carrot sticks--she's on a little weight loss plan at the moment. Notice her good-natured, sweet demeanor in spite of it all.

Diet or no, everyone deserves a treat sometimes, especially when they are healthy, delicious treats like these from Molly at It's a Vegan Dog's Life. The recipe was for muffins, but she also gives conversion instructions, so you can make them into cookies, bagels, etc. (Very handy)

I'm sure a lot of you already know about Molly's recipes and her recipe book of vegan dog treats, but if not, definitely check it out! The treats are rat approved too! :D

Cheezy Baco Biscuits

Look at those cute little toes and fingers...or is it just me?

Here's Scamp as she finds the cheezy baco treats and tries to get two big pieces in her mouth at once:

Treats in mouth, she runs up to her nest to hoard them...that's what she does with prize booty:

I tried to get a sweet picture of her happily munching away on one of the biscuits, but her sweet demeanor seemed to vanish...

"Back off, These are my treats!"

Vegan Pot Roast

2010-12-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

I finally came out of a post MoFo-induced stupor and got these pics uploaded. It's a vegan pot roast.

Also, a mizuna salad with roasted squash and pomegranate.

I got the idea for the salad from Cadry's Kitchen blog. If you go to her site, you'll see that she has some fun cooking videos in the sidebar, and one of them talks about roasting winter squash, and some suggestions on how to use it. One of her suggestions was to put it in a salad, which I thought was a great idea. I found Cadry's site through MoFo, when she did a delightful series of posts around Deserted Island Packing Lists...(highly recommend), and thanks to Cadry for the salad idea! The dressing was just a little olive oil, whole grain mustard, and sherry vinegar.

The pot roast is based on Jo Stepaniak's recipe in the Vegan Vittles cookbook. I've made it several times, and by now have tweaked the recipe into my own variation by adding in a few bells and whistles, and omitting a few other things.

I like to eat it with sweet and sour red cabbage and/or lots of spicy mustard. Mr. Dandelion likes it ok as a pot roast, but prefers the leftovers broiled up with BBQ sauce.

Pot Roast Seitan, adapted from Vegan Vittles, by Jo Stepaniak

generous 1.5 cups vital wheat gluten....I usually end up using about 1 and 3/4 cups
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
generous pinch of celery seed
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients, add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until it's all incorporated, then stop. Don't continue stiring or kneading, this will make the seitan come out rubbery. (I mean, it's a little rubbery anyway, but not to make it more so. )

Put the seitan on a work surface and shape into a rectangle. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high, add a touch of olive oil and brown off the seitan rectangle on each side. Be sure to put it on a well-heated skillet, or it will end up sticking. It may stick slightly anyway, but just keep sliding a spatula under the seitan as it browns to prevent it from sticking too much.

Setian Braising Liquid

1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium shallot, sliced
2 ribs celery, or 1 celery heart, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 carrots, chopped into large chunks
pinch of oregano, or other herb/s of choice
1 bay leaf
3 cups rich veggie broth ( I used 1 cup no-beef broth, and two cups low-sodium veggie broth)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Saute the onion and shallot over medium-low until the onion begins to caramelize ~ 15 minutes, add in the bay leaf, oregano, garlic, celery, and carrot, and saute for another 5 minutes. Add in veggie broth and vinegar and increase heat to bring the broth to a simmer. When the broth is simmering, drop in the browned seitan, cover partially, turn down heat just enough so it's not boiling, but continues to simmer gently. Allow the seitan to simmer for ~ 60 to 90 minutes, turning the seitan about halfway through.

About 30-40 minutes before serving, drizzle a selection of veggies with a little olive oil (or omit for fat free) and ladle some of the simmering broth over them, then roast them in the oven.

After you remove the seitan from the pot, you can puree the simmered broth with the simmered veggies to make a gravy (you may want to remove the bay leaf first) :

Pot roast on the table. It takes about 2 hours from stove to table, but most of it is down time.

Green Banana Curry, Shukta Vegetables and Panch Phoron

2010-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme.

The road trip has fizzled out a bit over the last week or so, but I wanted to put up one last post in honor of wrapping up VeganMoFo. The last locale for the road trip turned out to be Bangladesh, so here's my shot at a couple of recipes I found on this Bangladeshi cooking site.

The first recipe that caught my eye was a green banana curry. As with the green mango recipes, I can't say whether the plaintains I used are the same variety of hard, cooking banana that would be traditional, but at least these plaintains were truly green, and I think, probably similar in texture starch content to ones used in that part of the world.

Kanchkolar Dom or Green Banana Curry from Bengali Cooking Recipes

(Serves 6)

4 green/unripe plantains, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

2 green chilis, chopped (I used green serrano chilis)

2 potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 small or 1 large onion, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

1-2 tablespoons cooking oil as needed/or desired

1/4 teasoon ground cardamon

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoon sugar or other sweetner of choice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

salt to taste

In a sauce pan add two cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, and the plantain slices, bring to a boil and allow to cook for ~5+ minutes. (I boiled mine for ~ 7-8 minutes). Drain the plantains and pan fry in ~ 1 tablespoon oil/or use a non-stick pan w/o oil, unitil the plantain slices are browned on both sides.

While the plantain slices are browning, parboil the potatoes in salted water until somewhat tender, but not cooked all the way ~ 6-8 minutes. (Alternately, you could process the potatoes along with the plantain, but keep in mind that depending on how big your potato slices are, the plantain will probably take a little longer to cook.)

When the plantains are brown, remove from pan and set aside. In same pan with remaining oil, or a touch more if there's none left, add cumin seeds, onion, green chilis, cinnamon, and cardamon and allow them to saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes and saute for another few minutes. Finally, add the plantain back in with the lemon juice, sweetener, and 1/2 cup of water, bring to a simmer, cover, and allow to cook for another ~ 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

The starch from the potatoes and the plantain should help thicken the broth. (Use more water for more broth if desired.)

An easy way to peel the tough skin from the unripe plantain is to cut the ends off, slice through the skin lengthwise and then pry the skin off slowly by running your fingers underneath the skin. (I hope that doesn't sound x-rated or anything.)

I was tempted to add coconut milk to this, but didn't in order to keep with the original recipe. The dish is quite pretty because the turmeric turns the plantains a lovely yellow hue. It is nicely spiced, and I especially like the lemon juice added at the end.

The second dish I made is called Shukta Vegetable with Lentil. The recipe calls for a lauo (or lau), which is bottle gourd. Bottle gourd is a squash/or melon (whatever you want to call it)...a curcubit at any rate that is described as having a light green skin with white flesh inside. Harvested young, it is used as a vegetable. Harvested when mature and dried, they can be used as bowls or bottles. (Very cool, I totally want some gourd bowls now.)

Well, it probably won't come as a surprise, but I did not use bottle gourd. It's not generally available in my local grocery, and I will admit that I'm a bit lazy when it comes to sourcing ingredients. Instead, I used another member of the curcubit family: chayote, which is like bottle gourd in so far as it has a green skin and white flesh inside...outside of that, I do not have a clue as to how they might compare.

I had never tried chayote before, and didn't actually buy it specifically for this recipe. But rather, I bought a couple a few weeks ago after being inspired by Zoa's cool post on this squash earlier this month. With no bottle gourd around, I figured what the hey, let's give the chayote a try.

Shukta Vegetable with Lentil from Bengali Cooking Recipes

(serves 6)

1 lb lauo/bottle gourd (I used 2 chayote squash (unpeeled)), cut into 1/2-inch peices

1/2 cup dry mung beans

1 cup green peas, (not dried)

1 teaspoon sugar or other sweetener of choice

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

handful of coriander/cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

salt to taste

In a sauce pan over medium-low, dry roast the mung beans slightly (~1 minute). Now add the ginger and turmeric, salt and 2 cups of water, cover and cook over medium-high until mung beans are tender. About halfway through cooking, add in the chayote pieces. When the mung beans and squash are tender, toss in the peas, the sweetener, and cilantro and cook for another minute or so.

When you are ready to serve, heat the oil in a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and stir quickly. Remove from heat and pour cooked vegetables/mung beans in the oil and stir through.

(Note: the original recipe says to add the bottle gourd in at the beginning and cook it with the mung beans the whole time, but I wasn't sure whether the gourd might be a little harder than the chayote, so I added it in later, probably ~10 minutes before the mung beans were done.)

Both dishes were tasty, especially with a little Frank's Red Hot sprinkled over the top.

And finally, this is more of an aside, but I wanted to quickly mention Panch Phoron, or Bengali 5-spice (panch=five, phoron=flavor). I thought I would use it for this destination, but as it turned out, none of the recipes I ended up making called for it. It consists of fenugreek, anise, nigella, mustard (some sources call for yellow mustard, some for brown), and cumin. It can be used to aromatize oil, or stewed into dals and other dishes. The overall flavor is a little bittersweet, a little licorice-y, and I think it looks pretty.

So there you have it. This random road trip has come to its end. I had a great time and learned a lot from trying new (to me) recipes from other countries and veganizing them. Although, I didn't get to many destinations, I think Algeria and Hungary were my favorites.

I didn't get to read nearly as many blogs as I would have liked either, but I intend to keep perusing the blog roll at over at Vegan MoFo HQ throughout the year to come. There are so many great blogs out there, in MoFo land and beyond!

Bye, bye Vegan MoFo, until next year! Thanks for all the great blogging and good luck to all MoFoers everywhere! And to all vegan bloggers in general (MoFo or not): you guys rock my world! --Love Central--

Finally, *thank you most sincerely* to everyone who came along on the road trip...I really appreciated your company, humor, wisdom, and fun comments!

So long, farewell, and adieu to yieu, and yieu, and yeiu in the languages from the road trip along the way:

Adios
Catch ya later
Ma’a salama
Viszlát
Aabar dekha hobe

Holiday Eats & Mushroom-Pecan Pâté

2010-11-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

The road trip theme is once again eclipsed by more local events. I hope to get one or two more road trip posts up, but today I'm talking family feasting.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my mom's place and shared dinner with her and one of my brothers. Mom and bro ate some unmentionables, but we brought our own main course, our own gravy, and the pies. My mom is such a sweetie, she made all the side dishes vegan.

The salad above was really lovely, mom made a raw cranberry salsa and stuffed some anjou pear halves with them, a nice dish. The sweet, soft pears went nicely with the crunchier, more tart cranberry salsa.

Our main course was based on the Portabella Wellington recipe from the Cafe Flora cookbook, which is a mushroom-pecan pâté, layered with braised leek and portabella mushrooms, then wrapped in puff pastry.

In my version, I used crimini mushrooms for the pâté, and instead of the portabellas, I used a layer of maple-cranberry sauce (find Laurie's delicious recipe here!) and maple-roasted kabocha squash. Ground flax and nutritional yeast stood in for the eggs and cheese in the original recipe. The leeks are braised in white wine, and add a very nice mild allium dimension:

My brother said they looked like pop tarts, lol, and that's exactly what I thought of too as I put them together. These were about 6-inch pastries, and one of them is plenty for a meal. They are nice because everyone can eat one, or half of one, as an extra side dish. I have to say, these were delicious, and were also very popular with the non-vegans at the table.

Here's the mushroom-pecan pâté after baking:

Not exactly eye candy, but it's rich and super tasty. And, as the cookbook guides, leftovers that don't go into the Wellingtons are excellent in sandwiches. The pâté can be made a day or two in advance.

Pecan-Mushroom Pâté, based on Portabella Wellington recipe from Cafe Flora Cookbook, by Catherine Geier and Carol Brown

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely diced,

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 tbsp chopped, fresh thyme / or use herbes de Provence (I used both, probably 1 tbsp fresh thyme and 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1.5 cups lightly toasted pecans, chopped into small bits

3 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Grease a bread loaf pan and line with parchment/baking paper. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor, until finely chopped...maybe 4 or 5 pulses.

Saute the onion over medium heat until translucent, add the garlic and chopped mushrooms and saute for another ~8 - 10 minutes. Add the sherry and the herbs to deglaze the pan. Continue cooking until most of the sherry has evaporated, add salt and pepper to taste and fold in the chopped pecans, ground flax/water mixture, and the nutritional yeast.

Put pâté into the lined loaf pan and bake for ~45 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting pâté into slices.

For the braised leek, just clean and chop one large leek and saute in olive oil until the leek begins to caramelize, then add 1/4 cup white wine and allow to cook for another ~ 10 minutes, or until most of the wine is evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the squash, brush 1/2-inch slices of kabocha, or other winter squash of choice with maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste and roast in 350F oven until tender.

Here's another delicious side my mom put together, roasted yams with apples and pecans:

And mom's yummy rolls:

We did imbibe quite liberally, and I think I must have had a little too much wine, because all the photos of the plated dinner came out somewhat blurry:

Blurry or not, it was quite satisfactory. The gravy is a rich red wine gravy, but any kind of gravy that suits your fancy would be good with the Wellingtons in my opinion.

Road trip resumes soon, (hopefully).

Happy Weekend!

Vegan SnoFo

2010-11-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

Yaay, for snow days! I spent last weekend getting my garden winterized for the snow... and it's here. I haven't had to go into work, and that is good. We've been out playing and wanted to make a snow creature, but the snow is too dry and it won't pack, so we wrote messages instead.

Here's a little hummingbird at the feeder, which looks empty, but it's not.

Stay warm little hummingbird!

Here's a kitty paw:

Here's a kitty:

The hoop house, housing what are surely frozen veggies by now:

We walked down to the lake and saw that someone else was one his way down there too:

Some pretty flowers along the way:

The lake is lovely in the snow, especially on a sunny afternoon:

Bottoms up:

Two bottoms up:

I guess it was rude of me to take pics of their hineys...they swam off in a huff...who can blame them?

A pretty tree, who likes to grow sideways into the lake:

These guys are Canada geese. If you look closely in the background, you'll see the Seattle Space Needle.

Icicles:

If you're in the US, happy holiday weekend, if you're not, then just happy happy.

Everything's Coming up Green Mangoes

2010-11-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

Aamer Ombol and Aam Porar Sharbat: green mango refreshers

**Post Factum:**
This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme.

This post couldn't be less appropriate to the local weather here at the moment. Both of the recipes are cooling summer treats, while here in the Pacific Northwest, we're having our first snow of the season.

Yet, the roadtrip happened upon Bangladesh and while searching for recipe ideas, these two caught my eye. I'm not trying to imply that the weather in Bangladesh is terribly warm at the moment. From what I can gather, April tends to be the hottest month there, while January is the coolest month with temperatures averaging in the mid-70's F. According to an online weather site, it's 84F and clear in Dhaka today. But, I digress.

I was a bit befuddled over the weekend, trying to figure out what to make for this destination...I quickly came to find that there are many regions, so many dishes: some sort of familiar, others completely new to me...Where to begin? What to do? How to begin on the path of the unititiated?

After all that, I decided to try a beverage and a cold soup, both made with green (unripe) mango. I have a confession about these recipes: I believe they are common in West Bengal, but I do not know for sure whether they are also common in Bangladesh. I'm hoping that they are...as I say, befuddled.

I'll begin with the chilled soup: Aamer Ombol – Chilled Green Mango Soup

This was my favorite of the two items. A thin, cooling soup, usually eaten as part of a meal during hot summer months, it consists of green mango, dusted with turmeric and then simmered with chili, mustard seeds, and some sugar. If you're interested, I highly recommend reading the engaging post (with full recipe).

Note: In the recipe link above, I think she leaves out the turmeric on the ingredient list, but mentions it in the directions. I just sprinkled the fruit with a light dusting of turmeric before adding it to the pot to simmer.

Not surprisingly, it tastes like stewed fruit, pleasantly settling on the tastebuds somewhere between sweet and slightly savory. The chili in my batch (I used 1 small chili) was not too strong; I think I would have preferred it a little hotter. The turmeric and the mustard seeds add a mellow dimension and it turns into a mild soup with sort of a deep undertone (if that makes sense). It's easy to imagine this being very suitable and welcome in hot weather. As it was, I was happy to eat it for breakfast, amidst the snow.

The next item is called Aam Panna, or Aam Porar Sharbat (in West Bengal)

I forgot to save some mint for a garnish, (darn it), but this is a beverage made with roasted unripe mangoes, mint, cumin, black salt, and green chilis. (In case you haven't guessed, aam = mango.) It's a cool beverage, meant to be the consistentcy of orange juice rather than a thicker shake-like drink. Again, I encourage you to read through the delightful post where I found the full recipe.

After you roast the mangoes, you remove the skins, collect the pulp and blend it with the mint and other spices, along with enough water to acheive the correct consistency. It was a fun process, and the drink is wonderfully minty. I have to say, the cumin was a bit strong for my tastes, and making this again, would reduce the amount by half. According to the recipe, using the kala namak, or black salt, is essential to the flavor.

Post scriptum: I used the wrong kind of salt! The salt I used is indeed black, but it was black lava salt, the Hawaiian kind. Oh well, next time I'll try it with real kala namak! Thanks to Laurie for pointing me in the right direction.

...Looking in on the colorful world of aam from the snow:

Pörkölt

2010-11-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

Pörkölt is a stew that (according to my very erudite source of information: Wikipedia (j/k)), differs from goulash in that it is braised in the oven (pörkölt means 'roasted'), instead of being simmered on the stove. The recipe I followed is flavored with marjoram and paprika, then braised in red wine. Along with goulash and paprikas, pörkölt is considered a national dish in Hungary.

It's not the traditional main ingredient for this dish (traditionally made with unmentionables), but I thought eggplant (aka aubergine) sounded good for this. The slow cooking allows it to really soak up the flavors of the wine and spices.

The cookbook recommends a Kadarka wine to go with this, which according to this site, is a "light coloured red, normally low in tannins but has vibrant acidity, rustic and raspberry aromas, and a spicy aftertaste that makes it an ideal easy drinking wine." I used a Pinot Noir from Oregon.

Eggplant Pörkölt based on a recipe from Hungarian Cuisine: A Gourmet's Guide
(Serves 4)

1 large (or 2 medium) eggplant, chopped into large chunks
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
2 medium-size sweet peppers
1 large tomato
4 small potatoes, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup red wine
1 cup veggie broth
1 tsp. paprika (I used sweet paprika)
4 sprigs fresh marjoram, more to garnish
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 300F (150C)

In a large stove- and oven-safe pot, saute the onions and garlic. When the onions start to look translucent, toss in the eggplant and the peppers allow it to brown a little. Add the paprika and toss through. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, marjoram, wine and broth, bring to a simmer, then transfer to the oven to braise uncovered for ~45 minutes. Add salt an pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped marjoram.

Ad Hoc Note: I should say that the wikipedia article states adamantly that pörkölt should not have potato...but hey, I'm a rebel...that, and the recipe I used called for them.

This smelled really lovely in the oven. The taste is rich and naturally smokey from the paprika. The eggplant is soft and flavorful as are the potatoes. It is really yummy; I'll make this again. It would also be nice garnished with a little tofu sour cream, pine nut cream, or what have you.

And in honor of it being Friday, time to slap it up and have some fun with some Hungarian folkdancing:

Oh, and one more thing, here's the next stop:

Bangladesh sounds interesting.

Tailor's Collar Soup or Szabógallér-leves

2010-11-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

Szabógallér-leves is a traditional Hungarian soup: "leves" = soup, and Szabógallér = tailors' collar, which refers to the triangular ravioli-esque dumplings that are in it. This is a rich broth with veggies, dumplings, and in this veganized version, baked tofu.

For this, I made two varieties of ravioli/dumpling fillings (traditionally meat) which were potato-chive-parsley, and walnut-sun dried tomato-paprika. I was torn as to which sounded better, so I made some of each. The dough is just a basic pasta dough...I always use Vegan Dad's recipe, which I highly recommend because it's easy to make and just as easy to work with.

To get started, make the dumplings:

Vegan Szabógallér-leves Dumplings (Soup recipe follows)

(Of course, these fillings are just my suggestions...whatever mixture that sounds good to you would work.)

1 batch Vegan Dad's pasta dough

Walnut-Sun Dried Tomato-Paprika Filling:
1 cup raw walnuts
6 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped into small peices (if using dry packed ones, reconstitute them in some warm water or broth for about 30 minutes first)
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika (use sweet or hot...whatever suits your fancy)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until you get a mince-like texture.

Potato-Chive-Parsley Filling:

1 large potato
1 small handfull chives, chopped fine
1 small handfull parsley chopped fine
pinch of salt
Earth Balance or olive oil to taste

Boil the potato, then make a mash with the remaining ingredients.

Once you have your fillings and your dough made, roll out the dough to about 1/16 inch thickness. Cut out circles (~ 4-6 inches in diameter...the bigger the circle, the easier they are to make).

Cut each circle in half and place about 1 teaspoon (or more if it will fit) of filling on one side of the half circles. Make a "glue" by mixing 1 tsp flour with a little water to make a paste. Brush the pastry "glue" around the edges of each half circle. Fold the dough over lengthwise, and press the edges firmly, but gently with your fingers or a fork to seal the dumplings.

Now for the soup:

Vegan Szabógallér-leves/Talior's Collar Soup
(serves 4)
6 cups rich veggie broth ( I used 1 cup no-beef broth, 2 cups low-sodium veggie broth, and 3 cups water)
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
2 carrots, diced large
1 (smallish) celeriac bulb, diced large
8 oz soy-baked tofu, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (I just marinated a few thick slices in soy sauce and baked them in the oven for ~ 10 minutes)
1 teaspoon whole pepper corns
Pinch of paprika (sweet or hot) to taste
Pre-made dumplings (see recipe above)
Salt if needed: depending on how salty the veggie broth is, you may not need to add any salt...taste and add salt if desired at the end

Saute the onion slowly over medium-low, allowing it to caramelize a little. Add in the garlic and saute for another ~ 2-3 minutes. Add in the peppercorns and veggie broth and bring up to a simmer. When the broth is simmering, add the carrots and the celeriac and continue to simmer gently. About 8 minutes before serving, gently drop in the dumplings and the tofu and continue to simmer until the dumplings float to the top. Taste for salt, add to taste if needed, and sprinkle with paprika to finish if desired.

dumplings and veggies simmering in broth
(The corner where my stove is has to be one of the darkest corners known to man.)

Note: The original recipe called for parsley root, which I didn't have. So, you may also want to add some parsley root along with the celeriac and carrot if you can find it.

This is a hearty and tasty soup; perfect for using autumn vegetables.

In doing some image searches, I see that the Hungarian capital is a beautiful city indeed:

Source: http://www.budapest-transfers.net/

Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the River Danube between Buda and Pest

and the Royal Palace Buda

Source: http://www.destinationguidebudapest.com

Matthias Church (Mátyás Templom)

Source: http://www.destinationguidebudapest.com

Matthias Church (Mátyás Templom) by night

Source: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/

Budapest's Széchenyi Baths

Back in a day or two with another dish from Hungary. (All Hungarian, All the Time)
Rose Tobin Seattle

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

Carrot-Mushroom-Potato Salad (Bakonyi Saláta)

2010-11-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

The road trip arrives in Hungary today, specifically, to the mountainous Bakonyi region, where I assume this salad...or something similar, hails from. My mom visited Hungary about 15 years ago; she fell in love with Budapest, and while she was there, picked up a Hungarian cookbook:

Obviously geared towards a tourist audience, this book is written in English and has many attractive photos of what I assume are traditional Hungarian dishes. At first, I was going to make a plain Hungarian potato salad, which looks like this in the book:

The presentation looks so attractive to me.

But, I rethought the decision when I saw another salad recipe calling for potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms. It may sound like a slightly odd combo, but the dressing is oil and vinegar (my favorite for any kind of salad), and I imagined it would turn out like marinated mushrooms and veggies. And it did. If you like marinated mushrooms and onions, and you like potatoes and dill, you'd probably like this salad.

The recipe calls for boletus mushrooms, which are probably common in that part of the world. I used some large crimini mushrooms instead.

Bakonyi Saláta, from Hungarian Cuisine, A Gourmet Guide

Makes 8 servings:

1 pound mushrooms (button, crimini, whatever sounds good), sliced
1 large onion (I used a combo of red and yellow), sliced fine
2 large (or 4 medium) potatoes (whatever kind you like)
2 carrots, sliced
1 bunch fresh dill fronds (~ cup chopped)

Dressing:
4 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice ( I like it on the vinegary side)
1 tsp sugar (or other sweetener of choice/or use some seasoned rice vinegar)
salt and pepper taste

(For fat-free version, maybe replace the oil with water and some mustard...use agave or similar for the sweetener, so it "clings" a little to the veggies.)

Boil the potatoes with the skins on until they are soft, but not overcooked (you want them to stay together in the salad.) I usually take them off the heat before they are soft and let them steep for ~10 minutes in the cooking water. About 2 minutes before you take the potatoes off the heat, toss in the carrot slices; this way they blanche a little but keep most of their crispness.

Drain the potatoes and carrots, peel the potatoes if you want or leave the skins on if you like. Cut the potatoes into peices and toss in a large bowl with carrots, mushrooms, onions, dill. Mix the salad dressing ingredients together and toss with the potatoes and vegetables. Allow to marinate for at least 2 - 3 hours; overnight is better in my opinion.

Technically, the recipe says to chop the vegetables into small peices, but I left mine in big chunks. It's up to you. Also, the recipe didn't call for the paprika over the top, but I (perhaps a bit heavy-handedly) went for it anyway.

Back tomorrow with some soup.

Pit Stop

2010-11-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

The road trip will resume tomorrow, but I just wanted to take a quick pit stop to post Sunday's dinner. It was kind of yummy and I think I'll make again in future. This was a layered potato casserole with lentils, mushrooms, and walnuts...potato-lentil lasagne? If I make it again, I'll make some sort of sauce (maybe a red wine sauce) to go with it, but on Sunday, we just drizzled balsamic vinegar over it.

On the side, we had some roasted kabocha squash, steamed kale with garlic and golden raisins and a mesclun salad.

It started with a rich lentil stew: I sauteed onion, carrot, and celery, a bay leaf or two, and a pinch of red chili flakes, then tossed in some Puy lentils and a few cups of veggie broth, and let it cook until tender. I added some parsley, some whole-grain Dijon mustard, and plenty of red wine about halfway through cooking. Then added salt and pepper to taste.

Here's a murky picture of the lentils cooking:

While the lentils simmered, I sauteed some chanterelle and crimini mushrooms, tossing in walnuts and parsley at the end.

Next, I layered the lentils and the mushroom/walnut mixture in a baking dish with thinly sliced potatoes. I spiked about 2 cups of veggie broth with some horseradish and nutritional yeast, poured it over the top of the casserole, covered it in foil and baked it in a 350 F oven for about 1 hour. About 5 minutes before taking it out of the oven, I removed the foil and sprinkled some ground walnuts over the top.

All tolled, it took about 2.5 (relaxed) hours from stove to table, but was fine for popping in and out of the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon.

Back tomorrow, when the road trip arrives in Hungary.

Karentika, Garentita

2010-11-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

Although Algeria boasts many wonderful sweet pastries and desserts, I just wasn't in the mood for more sweet stuff. So, the last taste of Algeria is a savory one. This is called either Garentita or Karentika, depending on how it's pronounced. According to what I read, this recipe is prevalent throughout Algeria.

It's sort of a soft cake/pastry made with chickpea flour and lightly flavored with cumin. According to the recipe I used, the basic formula does not vary too much, but everyone adds their own personal touch. Mine was a sprinkling of nigella seeds over the top before baking. It's common for this to be baked as one large cake, but the recipe I found baked it in individual-sized portions. I thought that was a good idea, so I followed suit.

Here's the basic recipe (you can find the original recipe here):

200g chickpea flour (I don't know how many cups because I'm crap at all the conversion stuff...it was probably about 1 generous cup worth)
600ml water/ 3 cups (that was easy because the conversions are right on my liquid measuring cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt (you could probably bring it up to 3/4 teaspoon if you wanted it a little saltier)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons olive oil
harissa to garnish

Ad Hoc Note: Looking over a few more recipes online, I see that many call for milk ...so if you do make this you might want to try subbing in all or part of the water with a non-dairy milk, it would probably turn out a little tastier.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put the chickpea flour in a large bowl and add half of the water (1.5 cups). Whisk very well, or blend with mixer until smooth. Add the salt, cumin, and add the rest of the water until you get the consistency of crepe batter. (I ended up using only 2.5 cups instead of 3.) Continue to mix until smooth. Finally, incorporate the oil and pour the batter into ramekins. Bake for ~ 30 minutes. A nice crust forms around the outside.

Allow to cool and remove from ramkins. Garnish with harissa.

In an effort to get pictures taken before the daylight faded too much, I took them out of the ramekins while they were still warm, and they crumbled a bit. I don't think that would happen if you allowed them to cool completely first. Although, on second thought...the recipe says to eat them warm out of the oven, so the crumbling was mostly likely just me.

What are they like on the inside? Well, let me try to find the words...they're sort of dense and soft. The flavor is mild and is very nicely complimented by the harissa. I thought they were ok, but to my surprise, my husband really liked them; he ate 3 all in one go.

I think if I made these again, I would mix them longer and with an electric mixer instead of a whisk, in hopes of a slightly fluffier texture. And I would only fill the ramekins 1/2 full instead of 2/3 full.

The cakes came out a bit darker than the pictures I saw, perhaps it was due to the fact that I used a combination of chickpea and fava flour...but I couldn't say for sure.

Do check out some these photos to get a much better idea of what you'd be aiming for, as opposed to what you see in this post.

Now for the next destination.

It seems like I've been seeing so many wonderful MoFo'ers whipping up delicious Ethiopian meals lately...my mouth just waters when I see a selection of savory legumes and veggies spread out across a big piece of injera...so I was hoping to land in Ethiopia for this stop...

But no.

At first glance, it looks like Slovakia, but when I zoomed in, I saw that the pointer was in Hungary.

Next stop Hungary.

Noodles and Chickpeas in Cinnamon Scented Broth, Or Vegan Rechta

2010-11-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

This dish is called Rechta (rish-ta), a traditional Algerian dish often served on special occasions such as weddings. The dish is described as noodles with *unmentionable* in a white sauce, but it’s not the same kind of white sauce that may come to mind (like one made with a roux and some sort of non-dairy milk). This is more like a broth than a sauce in my mind, hence I took liberties with my version of the title.

“Rechta” are the noodles, which are traditionally homemade using a combination of semolina and regular flour. Ready-made Rechta noodles exist, but they’re probably not the easiest item to find in my neck of the woods…I didn’t even try.

This dish is cooked, like couscous, in a couscoussière (kiskas in Arabic) where the noodles are put in a steamer placed on top of a large pot. The broth cooks underneath and the pasta steams/cooks and becomes scented with the aromas of the cooking broth/sauce.

Source: http://maher.oldamascus.com/?p=8

couscous steamer pot (couscoussière)

I don’t have a couscous steamer pot (though I'm sure an ingenious person could rig something up) nor did I make my own noodles. So needless to say, this is a bit off the mark for authenticity…I’m sure homemade noodles add a lot to the dish.

Someday, when I have lots of free time (one can always dream) and a couscous pot (I dream big), I'll try making the noodles and steaming them in the traditional manner. But in this instance, I cooked a pack of linguine and called it good.

The broth is a simple one created by simmering onions, chickpeas and spices (cinnamon, pepper, and salt). If you're in the mood for a spicy, flamboyant dish, this is not a good candidate. Think of this dish as a mild, aromatic broth, very comforting, with a gentle hint of cinnamon.

I kept wanting to add more spices to it, but I restrained myself to keep it as close to the original recipes as possible. Although not traditional in this particular recipe, I think a little cumin and orange zest would be nice additions to this too.

I read several different recipes: most called for turnip only, while some called for both turnip and courgette (zucchini). Some called for garlic, most didn’t. And clarified butter was generally used to saute the onion for the broth and to coat the noodles. White pepper is preferred, but I used regular black pepper.

Some recipes included a single tomato, which then was billed as “red sauce” instead of a “white sauce”…but the ones with tomato didn’t look very red or tomato-y to me, so I didn’t bother.

I cooked the chickpeas ahead of time in a slow cooker with the veggie broth and nutritional yeast…you could do that way to save time, or cook them while making the recipe. Also, I used parsnip instead of turnip.

I based the following recipe on this one and this one.

Easy Non-traditional Vegan Rechta
(easy because no homemade noodles/non-traditional because pasta was not cooked in a couscous steamer pot (and it's vegan))

1.5 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
2 cups water
2 cups no-chicken broth/ or rich veggie broth
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

*OR
pre-cook 1.5 cup chickpeas in a slow cooker with the 4 cups broth/water and nutritional yeast, and then add them to the pot with the simmering onion, garlic and cinnamon*

1, 4-inch stick cinnamon (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large (or 2 medium) parsnip (or turnip), chopped in large chunks
1 large zucchini (or 2 medium), chopped in large chunks
6 - 8 pieces of chick'n-style seitan or tofu or similar
1 tablespoon olive oil ( or EB if you want/or other sauteeing medium of preference)
salt and pepper to taste

linguine or fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente

In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, and cinnamon in the olive oil. When the onions become translucent, add the soaked chickpeas, nutritional yeast and the veggie broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 - 3 hours until the chickpeas are tender. Add the parsnip and zucchini chunks, salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

About 10 minutes before serving, brown the seitan under the broiler or however you prefer, and add it to the pot.

Ladle the broth, chickpeas, seitan and veggies over warm pasta (tossed with olive oil if desired). Transfer remaining broth to a serving bowl and allow diners to ladle more of the broth onto their plates as desired.

Bon Appétit

***************

Now for a little more exploring: Tassili N'Ajjer National Park

Located in the southeastern part of Algeria, deep in the Sahara Desert, this park is a conservation area for Tassili n'Ajjer mountain range. Impressive ancient rock formations and thousands of rock paintings dating back to 5000-6000 BC, indicate that this now desert region was once a fertile savanah, teaming with life. Tassili n'Ajjer National Park is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

For some views of the Tassili rock formations and rock paintings, you can have a look at this video:

Video: El MistaTour

Here are a few more rock paintings that I thought were interesting:

Source: Purdue University Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture

Women gathering grain 5000-6000 BC, Tassili N'Ajjer, Algeria.

Source: http://www.heritage-images.com

Painting of a woman planting with a pickaxe, c3500 BC

Day 1 in Algeria: Felfel & Bouzgene Berber Flat Bread

2010-11-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

I know a lot of people will have read the title quickly and are probably expecting to see "falafel" right about now. But, these are FelFel: Hot Algerian Peppers Stuffed with Nuts.

A vegan dish from the get-go, the felfel (peppers) are stuffed with a combination of ground pine nuts and walnuts seasoned with some garlic, chives, and salt to taste. The stuffed peppers are then pan fried in olive oil and dressed with fresh lemon juice. Very simple, but exquisitely delicious. This dish can be served as part of a meze or as a side dish.

In searching for recipes, I stumbled upon an online collection by Algerian cookbook author and culinary instructor, Chef Farid Zadi. You can find the stuffed pepper recipe here. If you feel so inclined, definitely peruse his site...there are a lot of veganizable recipes and information on Algerian cuisine.

The peppers are meant to be hot. In case, you can't find hot Algerian peppers in your grocery store (I couldn't...no surprise there) Chef Zadi recommends jalapeños in their stead. I used a combination of sweet yellow peppers and jalapeños...that way, it's easy to pick and choose between a little spice or a milder version, according to tastes.

I used the handle of a teaspoon to scrape the seeds out of the peppers. If you press the filling in well with your fingers, the nuts bind and the filling won't fall out while cooking.

Ad Hoc Note: I meant to say this originally, but if anyone is interested in a lower-fat version, I think these would work fine baked in the oven instead of pan fried. I think it would get real tasty in the oven if you added veggie broth to the bottom of the baking dish too, with some nooch! :P

I also tried my hand at some Berber flat bread. This is a traditional bread made with semolina flour, and eaten with sauces or stews in the Northeastern region of the country/along the coast. Semolina wheat was brought to the region in antiquity by the Carthaginians (who came to occupy much of northern Africa). The indigenous Berbers also used this flour to create couscous, which I'm sure many know, is Algeria's national dish.

Making this flat bread is much like making pasta dough. You put the semolina in a bowl, add a tad of olive oil, a bit of salt and then take up the rest with water until it reaches a workable consistency. You then form balls, roll it out and pan fry it in a little olive oil. I followed this recipe and quartered it, which was plenty for two people with some leftover.

The dip/spread is roasted peppers and tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

I don't know about you, but after these tasty snacks, I'm ready for some exploring.

The capital city of Algiers holds much interest, but one place I'd want to visit if I were there is the Casbah, or the "old city ". Filled with hundreds of narrow labyrinths and stairways, visitors can see Ottoman architecture and remnants of the old walled citadel, while experiencing the life and culture of this still densely populated district.

To get an idea of some of the sights and the atmosphere of the Algiers Casbah district, check out Carine Iriarte's gallery of photos taken there. Here are a few samples of what you'll see:

Source: http://www.pbase.com/carine_iriarte/image/101654891

Source: http://www.pbase.com/carine_iriarte/image/102342797

Kechaoua Mosque

Source: http://www.pbase.com/carine_iriarte/image/101693009

You can read more about the Casbah of Algiers here: http://www.algeria.com/sights/algiers-casbah/

To begin a read on the much-needed restoration of this district, maybe start here.

Back soon with more North African delights from Algeria.

Raw Key Lime Pie

2010-11-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

**Post Factum:**

No visit to Florida would be complete without a visit to the Keys, and I've been wanting to try a raw dessert for a while now, so this presented a good opportunity. This is the second dessert dish I've made in the period of a week. I can't even remember the last time I ate two desserts in the same week...I always say that I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but now I'm thinking that I've had one all along and just didn't know it...this is super yummy.

The crust is made with dates, cashews, shredded coconut and a little salt. I thought it would be too sweet, but it's so good, I could eat it on its own. Dried fruit and nuts just go together. The filling is avocado, lime juice, and agave nectar. It is smooth and cool with a nice lime flavor, but again not too sweet. It's really delicious with banana slices too. I used my 7-inch springform pan, and only made half a recipe.The full recipe is here.

Raw desserts are fun, (and clever) and so much quicker than the baked/cooked versions.

Anyway, time to move on...the next destination is:

Algeria. YUM!

Back in a day or two with an appropriate comestible.

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

Curried Winter Squash, Pan Seared Hearts of Palm, Brussel's Sprouts, Smokey Tofu, Carrot Pickle

2010-11-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

I fashioned this after a fancy restaurant dish, and I have to admit that it came together pretty well. There's a lot of prep involved, but once that's done, it plates up quickly. :P And, I thought the flavors went well together, especially the curried squash, smokey tofu, and pickled carrot. The hearts of palm have sort of a rich flavor, and make a good trompe l'oeil for an unmentionable...if you're in to that sort of thing. I think it's kind of fun. Alternately, you could use tofu cut into circles or trumpet mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms.

The small portion is according the fancy-schmancy restaurant paradigm of "small". If you're eating several courses, something like this fits in nicely...for a hearty mid-week quick fix...obviously not so much.

How does this relate to food from Florida? It's based on a menu item in a fancy Miami restaurant.

*******

Curried Winter Squash, Pan Seared Hearts of Palm, Smokey Tofu w/ Sprouts and Carrot Pickles

Recipe and Method

This gets kind of long, so I apologize in advance for that.

There are 3 marinades that you'll need to put together a few hours (I'd say at least 3 hours) before putting it together.

Smokey Tofu Marinade

The idea here is a tofu bacon with a hint of maple.

Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu, pressed to reduce the water, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari, Bragg's Aminos, etc...whatever you prefer)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
A few drops of liquid smoke...you'll have to judge yourself, but go sparingly. You can always add more if it's not smokey enough

Press the tofu to release extra liquid: I usually put the tofu in a colander, place a plate on top of the tofu and then put a heavy jar/can on top of the plate. Place the colander somewhere it can drain...like on another plate or in the sink.

Mix together the maple syrup, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Taste for smokiness and adjust to your taste if necessary.

When the tofu has been pressed for 20 or 30 minutes, slice into 1/4-inch slices and put in a dish with the marinade. Allow to marinate 3 - 4 hours.

marinating tofu slices

Pickled Carrot Marinade

Ingredients:

1 large carrot, shredded with a vegetable peeler or similar

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar (the seasoned vinegar is important, otherwise they will be very sour}

1/2 teaspoon sugar or agave (or 1 teaspoon for a sweeter pickle)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Shred the carrot with a veggie peeler, put shredded carrot in a bowl and toss with the vinegar/sugar/salt. Allow to marinate for 3 - 4 hours.

carrot pickles

Hearts of Palm Marinade

Ingredients

1 can Hearts of Palm, if whole, cut into 1-inch pieces (they have a tendency to break apart, use a serrated knife and cut slowly and gently)

1/2 cup white wine

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Sprinkle of garlic powder

Put hearts of palm pieces in a dish and pour marinade ingredients over. Allow to marinate 3-4 hours.

If you like it, you could also add some dulse flakes...I didn't use any.

Here's what they look like whole out of the can

hearts of palm in marinade

About an hour before getting everything on the plate, start putting the curried squash together.

Curried Squash with Ginger and Maple

~ 1 lb chopped winter squash...any kind you like

2 carrots, 1 chopped fine, the other left in large chunks

1/2 leek, chopped into thin rounds (~ 1 cup, chopped)

1 shallot, minced fine

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (I used a scant 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon curry powder

pinch of red chili flakes

1/4 cup white wine or veggie broth

2 tablespoons maple syrup

salt to taste

Boil the chopped squash and the large-chunk carrot until tender. In the meantime, saute the remaining carrot, leek, and shallot in a pan over medium heat, adding the chili flakes, fresh ginger, and curry powder. When the squash is tender, drain it, and add it to the pan with the leek/carrot/shallots, and toss through. Add the wine and allow to simmer for another 2 -3 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Transfer the squash/leek/shallots mixture to a food processor, add the maple syrup and blend well (2 -3) minutes. Keep warm over low heat until serving.

Steam the Brussel's Sprouts

Peel the outer leaves off of ~ 1/2 lb Brussel's sprouts and steam until just beginning to tender. Remove from heat and drain. Refresh with cold water and and cut each sprout into 4 wedges. If you want, you can scrape the heart of the steam off each wedge...some find it bitter. To warm them up again before serving, pour some boiling water over them, allow them to sit for 30 seconds or so and then drain.

Bake the Tofu

After the tofu slices have marinated for a few hours, remove it from the marinade. Heat the oven to 400 (F), lightly grease a baking tray, and bake the tofu slices for ~ 15 minutes, turning them halfway through. Keep an eye on them, to make sure they don't burn.

Allow the baked tofu to cool and then chop it into 1/2-inch slices.

smokey maple tofu out of the oven

Pan Sear the Hearts of Palm

The last step before you put everything together is searing the hearts of palm.

Remove the hearts of palm from the marinade, brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with some paprika or chili powder (I used a combination of both).

Heat a seasoned pan over medium-high (preferably a cast iron one with ridges) and sear off the hearts of palm. Let them cook for about 2 minutes on each side. The pan should be hot enough so they sizzle when you put them in. If you're using a ridged pan, press down on them gently a few times while they cook to produce score marks.

Now you're ready to put it all together. Plate it up any way you like.

Don't forget about the carrot pickles...drain them from the marinade and squeeze out the excess liquid before adding them to the plate. To make the little nests, wrap some shreds around a fork--like with spaghetti--and then gently slide them onto the plate.

You'll probably have some squash puree leftover. Add veggie broth to it and make soup...a quick meal for another day.

Ciao for now. :)
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Tobin