Friday’s Delicious, Tomorrow’s Chicago* June 13, 2009
Posted by a-k in cake, noodles and pasta, salad, vegetables.11 comments
*Not that Chicago isn’t also delicious…
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Lemon Basil Pesto
You really can’t convince me that pesto needs cheese in it… for me it’s all about the nuts and the basil and the little bit of garlic. Yum! I spiralized some zucchini noodles and tossed them with a few tablespoons of raw lemon basil pesto, then squeezed some fresh lemon on top. Rich and satisfying but light at the same time, which is what I’m aiming for these days.
Field greens with tomatoes, parsley, and Mexican Gems
I had some odds and ends in the fridge and a burning desire to grill the remaining okra I got from the farmer’s market, but it felt decadent to heat some coals just for little ol’ me; not to mention I wouldn’t have been able to finish all the food. So I had one of my coworkers and her husband over for an impromptu dinner tonight…the exchange went something like this: “Hey, M-, what you doing tonight?” “Nothing.” “Wanna come over and grill some stuff? You should bring your special manfriend.” “Hot (vegan) dog, A-K! Sounds great!” And then we made it happen. Part of my container garden this year includes some edible flowers called Mexican Gems. They’re distinctly floral and followed by a spicy kick! I don’t have too many blooming quite yet, but each of us got one with our locally grown field green salad.
Grilled Okra
Earlier this week I made my first vegan gumbo and included some okra. While good, I also wanted to enjoy okra on its own in a way that didn’t involve deep-frying. So I tossed some in a splash of olive oil and rubbed some salt and pepper in, skewered them, and grilled them over low coals for about 8 or 10 minutes. Wow! It’s kind of like eating corn, only you don’t get kernels stuck in your teeth. Soft, almost creamy, sweet centers surrounded by a slightly crisp, salty crust. I know there are a lot of people who hate okra because of the slime (I’ve only experienced the slime when slicing it raw), but I’d always been into okra the few times I tried it. I think I’m having a love affair with it now! This is the best way to make it so far.
The other day at work we were discussing our favorite smells. Most of mine are food-related, particularly spice-related. And one of them is saffron – the lovely, fragrant Spanish kind. There’s a lot of nostalgic attachment for me to Sweden and the St. Lucia bread made around Christmas time, which has saffron in it. One of my coworkers told me she thought saffron tasted like plastic, and I knew I had to convince her otherwise. I think the best way to do this is with cake. So while I was marinating tofu and slicing veggies for the grill fest, I whipped out this pretty little cake. I think I’m finding that wheat (and yeast) is doing bad things to me, but spelt seems alright so far, which is why this cake is a darker yellow than a traditional Swedish saffron cake would be. But let me tell you, this turned out moist and delicious! It’s a bit heavier than I’d like and took significantly longer to bake than the recipe I based it off of, so I won’t post a recipe yet, but once I get my hands on some more saffron, I’m all over making this again. Do you think she’ll like it?
Spelt Saffron Cake
Tomorrow I find out it it passes the “plastic test” (fingers crossed). And tomorrow I’m also dashing off to Chicago for 24 hours after work, so I’ll be gone most of the weekend. Hope yours is lovely!
More Test Recipes and Fun with Adzuki Beans April 28, 2009
Posted by a-k in beans and legumes, burgers and patties, cake, mexican food, recipe.21 comments
Herb Sprouts!
A lot of people have been posting their happy spring pictures, but things get started a little bit later up here in Minnesota. I noticed buds on the trees and new grass about a week ago, and above you see the start of some herbs for a container garden I’m planning to tend this year. I love fresh herbs, but hate having to buy those little plastic containers when you need far more or far less than they contain. This will be perfect for adding to salads or seasoning soups or garnishing dishes. Yum!
Another thing I’ve been getting back into after the hubbub of zine activity and health recovery is testing for Terry’s upcoming Vegan Latina cookbook. This weekend I made Black Bean and Plantain Pupusas with Simple Latin Tomato Sauce:
Black Bean and Plantain Pupusas with Simple Latin Tomato Sauce
These were so fun to shape! It was very therapeutic. They’re lovely with a side of Pickled Red Onions or Salvadorian Slaw and some avocados. I also took a stab at tamales for the first time today. They’re definitely not quick to make, but they didn’t take as long as I was expecting… plus you make so many, you get to freeze the delicious leftovers for later! This is the Sweet Potato and Black Bean version, spiced up with some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce; I had mine with a big green salad.
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tamales
As a result of some mis-preparation for a weekend of testing recipes, we ended up with a potful of adzuki beans (in fact, you can see a couple above in the tamale that I had to use to make up for a bit of black bean lackage). I’ve been trying to come up with different ways to use these little fellas, since a lot of cookbooks don’t include recipes that make use of them. Or enough use, anyway. Red bean paste is a big hit when googling, but I didn’t feel like deep-frying sesame balls (although I have fond memories of them). I though, instead of making red bean paste and stuffing something, why not just add some beans to a cake batter? Crazy? Perhaps. I made a small batch in case it was horrible, but it was quite delicious to my surprise. The texture is definitely different, and I’m not sure how much the idea of beaned spice cake appeals to anyone, but I’m gonna tweak this a bit and post a recipe soon if it works a second time. I made an orange glaze and sprinkled the mini cakes with toasted sesame seeds, and we ate all of them except this one before I thought to snap a photo:
Spiced Adzuki Bean Cake
Another thing I ended up making is a burger of sorts. This isn’t the kind of firm burger you can hold in your hand and shake at people (not without pieces of it flying at them, anyway), but it’s super flavorful and a nice change from “meaty” or Mexican-style bean burgers. There’s kale and bell peppers for color, ginger, garlic, and tahini for flavor, and more sesame seeds for a little crunch – I went with a mix of white and black, just for fun. If you wanted something firmer you could probably add breadcrumbs or gluten, but I was trying to stay gluten-free and soy-free, and I thought it was just fine as a light lunch with some leaf lettuce. As an added bonus, it doesn’t have any added salt, either (the celery and kelp flakes take care of the sodium). A simple Asian style sauce would go well with it, but it’s pretty moist on its own. This isn’t the best picture, but it gives you a sense of what you’re in for should you take the plunge!
Spicy Sesame Adzuki Bean Burger
Spicy Sesame Adzuki Bean Burger (makes 6-7 patties)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 lb. yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 an onion)
3 stalks celery, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
3 c stemmed, chopped kale
2 2/3 c cooked and drained adzuki beans, divided
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp water, or as needed
1/2 tsp kelp granules
1/4 c or more sesame seeds (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 and lightly oil a baking sheet.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion, celery, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and beginning to brown (about 5 minutes). Stir in the bell pepper and kale and cook, covered, until kale has wilted (another 5 minutes or so). Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, puree 2 cups of the adzuki beans, tahini, and water in a food processor. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth, but make sure the ingredients are well incorporated. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the veggie mixture, kelp granules and remaining 2/3 c whole adzuki beans. Sprinkle sesame seeds on a large plate, if using. Using wet hands, scoop out about 1/2-3/4 c of the mixture and form into a ball. Flatten slightly and press into sesame seeds if using, then transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through, or until a slight crust has formed.
Get It Ripe by jae steele January 28, 2009
Posted by a-k in baking, beans and legumes, breakfast, cake, cookbooks, dessert, grains and flours, muffins, salad, soup, vegetables.23 comments
Adzuki-Squash Soup with Chipotle and Red Peppers and green salad with Molasses Cornbread
You know when you get a cookbook and you read it from cover to cover and cradle it in your arms and wanna marry it? Uh… me neither; isn’t that a weird idea?
Okay, so it’s really mostly true. I heard about Get It Ripe in the Post Punk Kitchen forums awhile back and have been waiting patiently for my co-op or one of the local bookstores or our little vegan boutique to carry it. But months went by and I couldn’t find it. I satisfied curiousities by visiting jae’s blog and have made her recipe for maple flax cookies several times (including a fruit-filled thumbprint version for the flaming cabbage soiree), and they were so good and her vision about food so in line with my own, I finally ordered a copy from Herbivore.
Crispy Fried Tofu over dandelion greens
jae is a holistic nutritionist and has spent a lot of time on farms and in communities/co-ops. So what you get is not only a ton of tasty recipes, but a wealth of information on healthy foods, digestion, cleansing/detoxing, organic and local farming, food preparation and baking techniques. This is the kind of cookbook I’ve been looking for for a long time! These are just a few pictures of the gajillion things I’ve made from it in less than a week!
Adzuki-Squash Soup with Chipotle and Red Peppers
So smoky and warm and simple and yummy!
Molasses Cornbread and mixed greens
We had this on the side of the soup, which was sophisticatedly sweetened and the best cornbread I’ve ever had (or made).
Pesto White Bean Bowl
This was quick to make, full of flavor, and full of greens! (My favorite part of the cookbook)
Appleyest Spice Cake drizzled with barley malt syrup
There’s some “naughty” stuff in there too (meaning dessert), but it’s full of non-wheat and non-white sugar recipes, which really makes me happy. This cake was so light and fluffy and without a lot of fat or sugar (Sucanat, in this case).
Slice of Appleyest Spice Cake
Behold the tender crumb!
A Birthday Dinner November 6, 2008
Posted by a-k in baking, beans and legumes, cake, chocolate, cookbooks, dessert, parties and happenings, ppk, protein alternatives, salad, sauces and spices, tempeh, the millenium cookbook, vegetables.16 comments
Rum Raisin Bundt Cakes, Coconut-Vanilla-Cashew Cheesecake, and German Chocolate Cake
So, remember how in my last post I said I was reducing my sugar intake except for holidays and special occasions? This was a very special occasion: my ladyfriend’s 28th birthday! We had our good friends Michael and Dan over and it was a gay ol’ party (I mean that in both senses)!
While I kept most of the dinner a secret until the evening of, I tried really hard to think about what Angela would want and like. I mean, she likes just about everything I make her, but after last year’s scuffle with the vegan cake I made her (she hadn’t yet been convinced that vegan baking was delicious), I tried to be very considerate in not making anything too out there. I may have gone a bit too far with the raw cheesecake I made, but it was my least favorite (though certainly not inedible) of the desserts, too.
Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas from ED&BV
All the preparation started on Monday, when I baked the layers and filling for the German Chocolate Cake from the Artful Vegan (the Millenium restaurant’s second cookbook), made a gallon of vegetable stock, marinated and baked three packages of tempeh, made the raw cheesecake, and prepared a batch of Cranberry-Ginger Dressing (from the first Millenium cookbook). Tuesday I actually ended up taking a break from all of it because I was so tired and totally stressed out about the election (even though I am not particularly into mainstream politics), but on Wednesday I made the Rum Raisin cupcakes from VCTOTW in bundt form AND assembled the other two desserts before going to work. Once home from work it was chopping vegetables and stirring risotto and cooking a mushroom sauce for the tempeh while a big batch of Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas baked in the oven as a pre-dinner snack, and sauteeing kale and grilling the tempeh and finally assembling the plates. Whew! I’m tired just remembering it all.
Mixed greens with Cranberry-Ginger Dressing
Grilled tempeh with rosemary-dijon-mushroom sauce, butternut squash and sage risotto, and balsamic-sauteed kale.
It was a delicious success! We started with the chickpeas and a mixed baby green salad tossed in the Cranberry-Ginger Dressing and topped with fresh pears. I do think I’m a bit used to fatty dressings (this one had no oil or other fat) so I though it was a bit acidic, but no one left any behind. Dinner included of butternut squash and sage risotto which I based on the PPK recipe; I also added some black truffle oil for extra-specialness. I sauteed kale in olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a side, but the most delicious part in my mind was the tempeh. I used the recipe from the Millenium cookbook for baked marinated tempeh, which I then grilled and topped with a rosemary-dijon-mushroom sauce (this was an on-the-spot invention). Everything was rich and warm and flavorful, and I kind of wish I’d made more! But we wouldn’t have had any room for it, because dessert was CRAZY.
Rum Raisin mini bundt cakes
There were a few different kinds of cakes Angela had mentioned over the past few months, and that gave me the idea to make a bunch of miniature cakes in different flavors rather than one single large dessert. This was a bit of insurance as well, since she was sure to like at least one of them! All the desserts were made using 4″ diameter cake pans and halving most of the recipes I was using (though that ended up being not quite small enough in most instances and I had to eat up some extras), which included: mini German Chocolate Cake from the Artful Vegan, mini Rum Raisin bundt cakes from the VCTOTW cookbook, and a raw cheesecake based on this slightly cult-ish internet video I found (the actual recipe directions were fine, but the surrounding contents were pretty … uh … creepy quotes and footage from some channel called “Supreme Master TV”).
Leaning tower of German Chocolate Cake from the Artful Vegan
Portions for everyone were devoured while watching VHS tapes of Bollywood montages which were AMAZING. I’ve still got mountains of dishes to do today (and I really don’t want to do them!), but they were worth it for a tasty evening and a happy girlfriend. Hooray birthdays!
***Thank you to everyone for your supportive comments about my last post! Once I’m back in business I hope my attempts to be healthier will be reflected… I’ve got a load of ideas waiting to get tested out. Including my first attempt at a lentil bolognese, seen here over spaghetti squash:
Lentil Bolognese with Spaghetti Squash
carrots: smoothie and CAKE!! February 8, 2008
Posted by a-k in ani phyo, cake, cookbooks, dessert, drinks, fruit, nuts, raw, smoothie.add a comment
the first time i was showing a how to use the juicer, she looked at all the pulp being pushed out and asked me, “can you eat that?” a test taste quickly proved that it was generally a more bitter version of whatever was being pushed down the chute, and i thought then that only thing you could do was compost it. but we live in a city apartment with no outdoor space, and my attempts at hoarding food ends in a sealable plastic bucket to be taken to my garden last summer never really worked out. due to laziness, and the nauseating prospect of having to open that tub after it had been cooking in a humid apartment.
then i stumbled across a cake recipe in ani phyo’s book (i seem a little obsessed with this book lately, don’t i?) for raw carrot cake, which used leftover pulp from juicing carrots. and what do we have in our vegetable drawer but six pounds of carrots (due to a little miscommunication over two separate grocery trips)? and a pint of dates? and shredded coconut in the freezer?
so first i set about making up for abusing my stomach this morning when i drank a cold press shake at work (ouch, tummy). i juiced a few handfuls of carrots, and threw it in the blender with a cup of blueberries and a banana:
it doesn’t look super appetizing in this photo, but it does taste good, and is really good for you (antioxidants, beta carotene, potassium, to name a few). and then i took that prized carrot pulp and mixed a few things together, and ended up with this:
with my slice cut out:
and a magical top view (see how it glows!):
i was hesitant but hopeful, considering how much i love the breakfast cakes. this isn’t terribly similar ingredients-wise, but the idea of the carrot cake seemed close to it. it is sweetened with dates, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and covered in a cashew “kream cheeze” frosting. and, it is really deliciously good and cake-like. obviously, there is a bit more crunch to the texture than a flour cake, but it holds together like a cake, has a good flavor, and is neither too sweet nor too bland. which, if you know me, is how i like my desserts. one thing i would probably change if i made it again would be to add lemon zest in addition to juice to the frosting, for a little more tartness to counteract the “cake” part. i made a half batch, and i am really glad, because this made a cake too big for one person certainly, and almost too big for two. i ate a quarter of it and am stuffed! but happy, knowing i can’t really feel too much fear/guilt about having treating myself to cake. (i don’t often associate guilt with food, actually, which i think is pretty healthy. however, my body has been feeling a little tired from the onslaught of a daily cookie and bread snacking i had been doing the past couple of months.) this really makes the possibility of once-a-week raw (or more) seem very, very appealing.
birthday cake January 15, 2008
Posted by a-k in baking, cake, dessert.6 comments
it might seem odd to make myself a birthday cake. but it was kind of like a present to myself. especially since i made one of the most unhealthy cakes imaginable, and i’ve got to cut down on sweets and eat some real food. i didn’t follow a recipe per se, except for making a 1.5x batch of kittee’s non-chocolate cake recipe (my cake pans were slightly larger than what was called for) with some cardamom and lite coconut milk as the liquid. i overestimated a little bit, so i also got to make some cupcakes.
in between the cake layers i put a thin sheet of marzipan and some vanilla pudding. i microwaved the hunk of marzipan i had left for about 5 seconds to soften it, then rolled it out with a rolling pin as thin as i could:
it took me ages to figure out what kind of frosting i wanted. because i really didn’t want “frosting.” the one big drawback to vegan cakes is i haven’t come across, or had access to, a whipped cream substitute. after a lot of searching, i discovered you could chill full-fat coconut milk and your beaters, add or not add some other ingredients, and whip it up like dairy cream. so then i whipped some coconut cream:
it was maybe a little less structurally strong than dairy cream, but it peaked and everything! i ended up sticking the cake in the freezer after i frosted it, for about an hour, to make sure the cream stayed intact, and that worked out really well.
since baking the cakes, i ate FOUR of the cupcakes plain. i couldn’t justify more sugar in my body by eating a piece of cake later at night so i made a mini version with just the coconut cream and my toppings of choice – toasted almonds and coconut:
i had to take a bite!
here is the final cake:
and again:
no slice shots because it was the dark recesses of the 19 and i was busy getting drunk on cheap whiskey. but there wasn’t a piece left to bring home!
big ol’ catch-up post December 29, 2007
Posted by a-k in ExtraVeganZa, cake, papa tofu, ppk, soup, tofu, vctotw, yellow rose recipes.5 comments
with xmas, and a’s pre-xmas illness, i didn’t get to cook and bake as much as i’d wanted to, and documentation of what little was done was even more sparse. so this is a bit of a backlog of some things i haven’t had the chance to post.
my love affair with extraveganza! was in high gear the other week. i made two new recipes:
tofu baked in almond mint cilantro sauce (served over brown rice):
this was really tasty, creamy, and simple to make. there was both plain and smoked tofu, green peas, and a mint and cilantro almond butter sauce. so good! i will make it again for sure.
ginger fried rice:
with leftover almond mint cilantro tofu:
though not reflected in my usage above, what i really like about this recipe was that there isn’t any tofu in it. i love tofu fried rice, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes a big load of vegetables and some spice is all i want. i think i ended up adding a few extra vegetables because i had some in the fridge, but the recipe has a tasty variety already.
with my usual habit of not eating breakfast, and especially now that i have to work so early in the morning three days a week, me making anything beyond toast is a pretty big deal. inspired by oatmeal discussions on the ppk, i bough a can of mccann’s irish oatmeal and made enough for a couple of meals. irish oatmeal, cooked up in apricot nectar, with bananas, walnuts, and cinnamon:
the first recipe i tried from yellow rose recipes, per josh’s recommendation, was the sweet potato and black bean flautas. delightful! i also made the tangy sour cream (yum!). i had cilantro to use up so i also served it with chimichurri sauce, and some free avocados i got from work:
another cookbook/zine i am super excited about but hadn’t gotten a chance to use is kittee’s. i remedied that last night by making a cake, using the non-chocolate cake recipe from papa tofu, and adding some chopped rhubarb, cinnamon, and cardamom. i’m not much of a cake decorator, but here is the whole thing:
inside shot:
must say it smelled so good while baking that i almost didn’t decorate it! but i resisted, whipped up some maple frosting from vctotw, and ate a piece as soon as i was done with the photos. next time i will add more rhubarb (i wasn’t sure how tart it would be), and maybe even some raspberries or strawberries. yay kittee!
lastly, my dinner tonight… a creamy potato-leek soup with red chard. i was craving something like this all day at work, and also thought back to the christmas eve dinner soup that a’s brother in law made (though it involved lentils and ginger and fennel and coconut milk). i added a little bit of anise to the soup as a nod to the rye bread i didn’t have a chance to bake today (tomorrow it will have to be!), and i really liked it that way. i want to tweak the recipe a little bit, but this really hit the spot. the rich creaminess of a potato soup with the tender crunch and beautiful colors of swiss chard (not to mention nutrition), with a hint of anise and white pepper:
jackie party and saturday night dinner December 11, 2007
Posted by a-k in baking, cake, dessert, dips and spreads, nuts, parties and happenings, sammiches and wraps.2 comments
jackie, a most lovely person i used to work with flew in from seattle (where she now lives) and we had a gathering of former coworkers at my place. her husband brought freshly made vegan donuts from mighty-o’s, where he works! maria brought vegan mint chocolate chip cupcakes. i got all domestic and made fun-time appetizers. i also wore my scandinavian chairman mao outfit.
here are some pretty vintage cocktail forks that anne gave me. there weren’t really any appetizers we could use them with, but i put them in a bowl on the table anyway:
i bought some chestnuts and roasted them. never had them before! they were pretty tasty. clothed and naked:
then i pureed them with agave, chardonnay (because i didn’t have sherry), and soymilk. chestnut pudding!
i made risotto with cremini mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and basil the night before:
then i mixed leftover risotto with fresh parsley and made butter lettuce cups!
i recently discovered that pepperidge farm makes vegan puff pastry. here is some wrapped around olive oil-, garlic-, salt- and pepper-marinated asparagus, before going into the oven:
and a baked closeup (they were delicious!):
i was going to make lussekatter/swedish saffron rolls, but i tried to cheat the baking gods and they punished me. so i made a saffron cake instead, and dusted it with some powdered sugar. sweet saffron delights!
the gathering was a great success! hardly a bit of food left.
the next night i made this out of some random things in the fridge… hummus wraps with tomato, avocado, spinach and roasted red peppers inside a chili tortilla; sesame grilled tofu; and more asparagus!
next up… glögg mastery! (hopefully)
italian-marinated tofu and oatmeal bundt cake October 18, 2007
Posted by a-k in cake, salad, tofu.3 comments
after a long week of fridge terrors and joys (fridge death, new fridge, power outage, then joy), i finally got to cook food again. a has been on me to bring her tasty tofu sandwiches from work but i always forget to. so i made some homemade ones to snack on before we went to a movie last night.
first, the italian marinated tofu from vwav. it took two hours to make with all the pressing and marinating, but damn worth it. i grilled it, then used the grill-pan to toast the sandwich made from whole wheat bread, basil-walnut pesto, dirty girl tomatoes, spinach, grilled onions, and tofu. i was in a hurry to catch the bus so i forgot to take a picture, but they were well received (even though a normally gets them with provolone and loves the cheese). later on, though, i made a salad for our scrabble match, with a lot of the same ingredients:
then today, i finally got around to veganizing my great aunt betty’s oatmeal bundt cake. the only thing i had to switch out was 4 eggs, which i did using applesauce.
i will post the recipe later, as it was dense, moist, and tasty! here is a slice that i ate:
sockerkaka (swedish lemon cake) with vanilla custard and blueberry mousse August 14, 2007
Posted by a-k in cake.2 comments
i don’t really bake cakes very often, which i think is why i’m not particularly pleased with this one. let me clarify that, though. the cake is delicious! but the frosting is a little weird for me. i used the vctotw not-too-sweet blueberry mousse recipe because i wanted something not too sweet, but i don’t think i’m big on tofu-frostings… it is too tofu-y for me. the vanilla custard i made up sort of, but it worked out well and tasted yummy.
i tried to ask my swedish-coworker-baker-friend what the equivalent of sockerkaka is in english, but we just decided it was “weird swedish pastry.” anyway, my grandma used to make this kind of cake as a base and fill it with vanilla sauce and strawberries and smother the whole thing in whipped cream and top it with more strawberries and sometimes kiwi. it’s sweet, and almost a little grainy and crispy on the outside. lemon zest makes it taste fresh and tangy. so i didn’t want something to compete with those flavors too much, but still add some moisture. i think i need to work on some sort of cashew cream, because frosting would be way way way too sweet. we’ll see. anyway, here is a closeup of a slice:
mmm, golden and fluffy! maybe i should just convert these into cupcakes and work it out from there.
