I’m making an attempt from now on to use capital letters and be a Proper Adult Blogger.  Well, that proper part is maybe a bit extreme outside of typing; I am really just afraid I’ll forget how to write by hand (although in that case I usually do the opposite of what I do here…I write in all capital letters likely as a remnant of my short-lived interior design schooling).

So, who’s hot?  I am.  I don’t mind the heat so much as the humidity, and living on the attic floor of an old house.  Usually I lose interest in cooking and subsist on water, smoothies, and going out to eat.  We hit about 88 on Sunday, the day of the first Twin Cities Vegan Potluck, which I think was at least partially responsible for the relatively poor attendance.  When I actually do cook, they are quick, stovetop items with at least a couple of fresh ingredients.

I’m quite certain that a plethora of vegan couscous and chickpea dishes exist; I’m sure many more than my rather unsuccessful Google search revealed.  This is my favorite way to make one, incorporating my current obsession with lemon zest.  I just can’t get enough lemon!  In my quest for healthier grains, I suggest whole wheat couscous if you can find it, but it would look awful pretty with the larger Israeli variety as well.  Adjust the crushed chili pepper to taste, and if you like it really hot, serve this with a crisp, fresh cucumber salad.  This is really lovely at any time of year (the spice will warm you on the colder days of fall and winter), but the short cooking time, simple ingredients, and fresh toppings make it a suitable summer dish, whether warm or chilled.

Zesty Lemon Couscous with Chickpeas and Tomato (serves 3-4):

1 c vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c couscous

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp crushed red chili pepper (or to taste)
1/4 tsp allspice
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
zest from one lemon (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c parsley, minced
1 scallion, sliced diagonally

Bring vegetable stock and olive oil to a boil.  Stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pan.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until softened.  Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili pepper, and allspice and cook another minute or two, stirring constantly, before doing the same with the chickpeas.  Add the diced tomatoes and cook until heated through, then grate in the lemon zest.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and combine with the chickpea mixture, then season to taste with salt and pepper (the sodium content of the vegetable stock will affect how much salt you want).  Serve garnished with fresh parsley and scallions.

I finally made it to the garden again this morning, and was greeted by an explosion of growth and color.  I’m hoping to harvest some gorgeous kale tomorrow along with a few beets.  The sky just turned a strange yellow color outside and it began to rain.  I hope it cooled off this little kitty:

seitan fajitas with red, yellow, and poblano peppers, red onions, and guacamole on homemade corn tortillas

this week i made a plank of seitan, and i mean a plank.  my experiences with making seitan have often resulted in firm interiors and spongier outsides.  so, inspired by tofu666’s recent seitan excursions and less recent photo essay, plus a conglomeration of recipes, i first failed at making seitan from regular wheat flour.  it disintegrated in the second batch of water, which makes me wonder whether i either didn’t knead the dough long enough at the beginning or my canister of “whole wheat flour” was actually something else.  so i went to the old standby of vital wheat gluten, and rolled the resulting dough into a giant pancake of sorts.  i put it into cold broth, simmered it for an hour, then let it cool all day in the pot while i was at work.  it worked deliciously!  so firm, pleasantly chewy, and it even makes a tasty nibble on its own.

today, however, it had a different calling:

i went off the real food daily recipe for seitan fajitas, though i made it for four mini servings, replaced some of the tamari with water, and added coriander and marmite.  while the seitan pieces marinated, i made a small batch of corn tortillas.  yum.  i don’t think i can ever buy storebought corn tortillas again, though i will definitely have to try making flour ones as well sometime.  this was only the second time i’ve made them, but really, they’re quite easy.  (while my girlfriend was on tour, her band was treated to a homemade mexican-themed vegan breakfast feast cooked by chloe from montreal-based aids wolf.  she made homemade everything, including tortillas!)  then i browned the seitan in the cast iron pan, threw in some onions and peppers and sauteed them a couple of minutes.  i poured the remaining marinade over everything and turned the heat off while they sizzled.  topped with some guacamole, they made for a very tasty lunch.

i haven’t done a ton of cooking yet, because it’s been pretty hot out, and we’ve been really busy looking for a new place to live.  i did, however, get a chance to try out the popular quinoa salad with black beans and sweet potatoes posted awhile back on the ppk.  i made it spicier and added avocado, and it was quick and easy!

my stomach hasn’t been very happy with some of my food choices lately.  i think the raw really had cleaned me out even after just a week, and i have been feeling the effects of my poorer choices (like pizza luce and malaysian golden tofu).  so i’ve got to stop being lazy and put my foot down in this house about more fresh food!  there’s a good-looking recipe for a raw creamy carrot soup that’s been calling my name.  and more juice.  definitely more juice.

black bean, leek, and oregano polenta layered with tomato relish and garlic-almond nut cheese, served on “house”-dressed greens

i was really hoping to have two dishes to share photos of today. but alas, my attempt at a beautiful rendition of vegan world fusion cuisine’s vital ital green banana omelet resulted in an unattractive (though tasty) mush-pile. believe me, there was no way i was going to photograph that, even as an example of disaster. however, i did make a tasty dinner: black bean and herb polenta stacks.

the fillings, and accompanying salad, were rather off the cuff as far as a recipe. but i can share the polenta recipe. we make a few items at work using tubed polenta, but i’ve never really been into its texture and bland flavor… that may be, however, due to our minimal method of preparation (brushing it with olive oil and sprinkling it with salt and pepper, then baking it for 20 minutes before incorporating it into the recipes, both of which aren’t vegan). i’ve always heard (and now believe) that homemade polenta is the way to go.

i ran across several methods and opinions as to how long to cook the polenta. i was feeling a bit lazy, so i went with a shorter cooking time followed by broiling, though i added black beans and some other goodies to make the creamy polenta even tastier. i cut this into stackable sections and filled each polenta layer with tomato relish and nut cheese.

remember the almond milk i posted about last time? that time around i saved the ground nuts remaining in my nutmilk bag and used them as a base for a garlicky almond cheese. any kind of spreadable vegan cheese or cream cheese, jazzed up a bit with garlic and spices, though, would do. i made a simple tomato and red onion relish, though i think any salsa-type concoction would work. you could even switch up the kinds of beans and herbs, and make a more italian-inspired dish. or, add more veggies to the mix. the polenta gives you a base to experiment with - just keep in mind that the polenta as is is pretty subtle so you will want some stronger flavors in your spread/vegetable layers.

black bean and herb polenta (makes about 2 1/2 c polenta):

3 c vegetable stock (or water)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 c polenta (coarse cornmeal)
1/3 c chopped leeks or scallions
1 c cooked black beans
2 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
salt and pepper to taste

bring stock, oil, and salt to a boil. whisk in cornmeal and reduce heat to a simmer. simmer 10 minutes, whisking constantly. stir in leeks, black beans, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook a few minutes longer. pour into a lightly greased casserole or baking dish (about 9×12), and smooth with a spatula. let cool and set up.

at this point you can cut out your circles or squares, make the layers, and bake the whole stack; otherwise, broil the dish of polenta until it starts to brown (about 10 minutes). let cool and cut out circles of polenta with a thin-rimmed glass or cookie cutter, or square shapes with a knife. layer tomato relish on one piece, top with another piece of polenta, spread with vegan cheese, and top with a third layer of polenta. garnish with oregano and serve with a green salad.

also, this past weekend this was my kitchen:

i ended up with a pretty tasty chili one night, if you can believe it.  beer helps, too.  if you wanna see some pictures from our camping trip to the north shore, click here.

unglazed sweet potato and cranberry scones

i never had a chance to remake the sweet potato and cranberry scones with maple caramel glaze that i came up with last fall, and since i was already planning on a sweet potato burger concoction, i decided to cook all the potatoes at once.  this time i made it with spelt flour instead of all-purpose, which yielded a slightly earthier orange than before (thought the photos don’t entirely capture that).  i also used frozen cranberries instead of fresh.

the glaze didn’t firm up as much as it did last time; i think i may have not boiled the syrup long enough.  but it sure tasted good!  they are soft, just moist enough, and a good balance of sweetness and tartness.  to tell the truth, i had one for dessert and one for breakfast, too…

and then, i also made something i’m really pretty proud of.  i don’t know what it is about my recent gluten- and soy-free kick concerning savory food, but these burgers were a definite success on that front.

sweet potato and black bean burgers with millet and leeks

these aren’t “meaty” in the sense of being chewy, but they are hefty patties of deliciousness.  because they’re baked, and not fried, they’re fairly low in fat (well, “extra fat” anyway… there is a little almond butter in there).  slightly sweet, and with a little bit of chili kick, they’d be good with salsa and vegan cheddar, or like i had them, with a healthy dose of guacamole, spring greens, sliced tomatoes, and a serving of broiled asparagus:

so, where are the recipes? you might be wondering.  well, i’ve decided it’s time i got myself together and actually started working on a little cookzine, and i need to get some recipes tested.  so if you’re interested in either recipe, let me know, and i’ll email them to you.  if you make them, let me know how they turned out for you, or how you changed them.  hopefully, i’ll have some other recipes to offer up soon as well.

turkish chickpea balls with parsley, apricots, and toasted pine nuts; lemon-cilantro-mint soygurt; harvest grains couscous; spinach with moroccan-style beets

no, not that kind of turkey.  i’ve been wondering how to veganize a recipe at work that is probably the furthest from vegan we get: turkish lamb meatballs.  horrible, i know.  i was intrigued, however, but the combination of pine nuts and apricot jam, among other flavors.  and then, because i feel like all vegan/vegetarian “meats” are made from soy and/or wheat gluten, i wanted to add that challenge to my day off.  my partner is sick of the “vital wheat gluten taste” in the veganomicon-type meat substitutes i’ve been showing her how to make, and sometimes soy just seems so over-used and boring.

i researched and researched base recipes for vegan meatballs and neatballs and what have you, with very little luck.  if they didn’t contain tofu or tvp or seitan or gluten, they were made of nuts (which i thought might compete with the pine nuts).  then i remembered veggie-only falafel and koftas, and my quest could begin.  i also opted for dried apricots instead of jam, for texture and color.  just in case, i boiled some potatoes and scooped out some panko in case of some last minute binding issues, but there seemed to be just enough moisture and i needed neither.  add a flax egg for good measure, and i had some pretty tasty results for a first attempt at soy-free, gluten-free protein alternative.

these aren’t “meaty” in the sense of being chewy and toothsome.  they were a little dry and just faintly crispy on the outside, but stayed pretty moist in the middle.  the flavors were also nice, though i might try adding some lemon zest and another spice or two in order to punch it up a little.  i might also try tweaking a few ingredients to get a chewier texture, and see how they hold up in a sauce.  though they didn’t crumble, they weren’t terribly firm either and i feel they might have fallen apart in liquid.  i am not sure how pan-frying them would have changed the texture either; i was trying to watch the fat content a little with these and baked them instead.

despite my my list of issues, they were very okay with me, and also got a really positive response from my special ladyfriend, who was pleasantly surprised by their lack of those aforementioned ingredients.

turkish chickpea balls with apricots and toasted pine nuts (makes 16 balls): 

1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp flaxmeal + 3 tbsp water
1 small yellow onion, minced (about 1/2 c)
1/4 c finely chopped parsley
1/3 c toasted pine nuts
1/3 c dried apricots, diced
1 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil

preheat oven to 400F. 

place chickpeas in a food processor and pulse into small pieces, scraping down the sides as necessary.  you don’t want a paste, but you don’t want any half-chickpeas floating around either.  whisk together the flax meal and water in a small cup or bowl until it thickens.  transfer the chickpeas to a small mixing bowl and stir in the flax mixture until well distributed.  then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  it should look something like this:

using wet hands, firmly roll pieces of the mixture into walnut-sized balls and transfer them to a lightly greased baking sheet.  bake at 400F for 15 minutes, then turn over and bake an additional 10 minutes.  to reheat, pan-fry in a little olive oil.

formed balls before baking

to serve these, i made a yogurt-style sauce with lemon juice and zest, fresh mint, fresh cilantro, a little salt, and silken tofu (didn’t have any forethought to create a non-soy yogurt).  we also cooked some harvest grains couscous from trader joe’s, and i made moroccan-style beets (based on an ancient blog entry which seems terribly inaccurate and i intend on removing until i figure out what is going on) over baby spinach.  delicious!

the twin cities are fortunate to have a handful of nepalese restaurants. i’ve only been to two (everest on grand in st. paul, and namaste cafe in minneapolis), but have always been impressed with the food. it is quite like indian food as far as curries and spices and ingredients, only simpler and…i don’t know, fresher-tasting? i love my indian food, but nepalese food, though lesser known and with less variety (at least according to my humble research), is a nice change with a lighter taste.

i knew i definitely wanted to make some momos - adorable and delicious dumplings filled with vegetables and steamed. everest and namaste have different approaches to the vegetarian momo fillings. the former uses cabbage and onions, the latter vegetables and mock meat. i decided to keep it vegetable-laden, using potatoes, carrots, cabbage, peas and onions, flavored with garlic, fresh ginger, chilies, and spices.

like many people, i’ve been trying to cut back on white flour, so i used spelt flour for a portion of the dough.  the recipe i used was not very accurate, unfortunately, so i kept having to add more flour in order to make a workable dough, which then sat covered with a damp dish towel for half an hour before being rolled out very thin and cut into squares.  i’d go even thinner next time!  the squares are filled, folded, and pinched into rather pretty dumplings (there are several variations; i chose this one):

i’ve had momos served with a tomato relish called achar, or a green sesame sauce.  i flipped through lord krishna’s cuisine and decided to make a coconut mint chutney (since i knew the momo filling was spicy), but there was far too much coconut.  next time, i will stick with momo achar.

i really can’t help myself when i’m cooking for other people, and end up making too much food.  in addition to a curry, i made chole - a dish of chickpeas and tomatoes with cilantro and spices.  it definitely didn’t come close to the chole i’ve tasted before, but i think it was a pretty good start.  

the tofu-vegetable curry i made was based on a couple recipes and ideas pieced together, and involved two parts.  i marinated the tofu in a paprika-chili paste overnight, and then made a tomato-coconut curry sauce the next day, which i then poured over the tofu, peas, and bamboo shoots.  i baked it in the oven to finish it, though i only managed to snap a pre-baked shot of the curry:

a tasty, though not perfect, attempt at nepalese cuisine.  i’d say the momos and curry were the strong points and i’d make those again.  let me know if you’re interested in the recipe, and i will post it (my sick energy is fading fast for tonight).

this chili has absolutely nothing to do with the 1970s, or a cookbook, or a 1970s cookbook.  i just can’t get any decent lighting in this apartment at night in the winter, and this photo fondly reminds me of those flat, earth-toned pictures from thrift-store casserole cookbooks.  we had another chilly chilly weekend, and after work and a painfully windy walk home from cinema revolution, i spent the entirety of sunday inside.  for dinner, i concocted this smoky, spicy, warming chili which, for lack of a recipe, turned out pretty well (though it would have been even nicer with some chopped cilantro thrown in).  here’s the lowdown:

chipotle sweet potato and black bean chili (serves 4-6):

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2-1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, chopped
3 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp ancho chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers)
1 28-oz can fire roasted tomato sauce
1 1/2 c vegetable stock
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c frozen corn kernels
1-2 tbsp lime juice
shredded vegan cheddar, for garnish (optional)
salsa, for garnish (optional)

heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent.  stir in sweet potato, reduce heat slightly, and cover.  allow the potatoes to “sweat” for about 5 minutes.  stir in spices and adobo sauce and cook an additional minute or two, then add the vegetable stock, tomato sauce and black beans.  simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, then add corn and lime juice.  replace the cover and let the corn heat through.  serve with cornbread or over your grain of choice (that’s buckwheat in the photo), topped with shredded vegan cheddar and salsa if desired.

this was a pretty good start for a chili, but i think i would change a couple things.  adding some cilantro, definitely.  a thought it was lacking a “meaty” texture, though i think that might be because she’s used to fantastic foods boxed chili, which uses tvp.  i could also definitely see some other vegetables in here for variety and color, like zucchini or (gasp!) green peppers.  i wonder also what roasting a head or so of garlic beforehand might do for the dish…

i’ve got some exciting food plans coming up this week, including a “meat and potatoes” lunch, and a super special friday night nepali dinner party(my first foray into preparing nepalese food).

today i decided to try out a raw syrup for my flax cake.  i didn’t directly use one of the syrup recipes in the book, but it was definitely based on that process, and using my latest produce fun-find: pixie tangerines.  they are teeny, juicy, and seedless.  this turned out so so good!  i would use it on any pancake, raw or cooked.  way tastier than plain ol’ maple syrup (but don’t worry, mp, i haven’t abandoned you)!

pixie tangerine and strawberry syrup (makes 2 servings):

juice from 1 tangerine
and
1 tangerine, peeled and segmented
2 medjool dates, pitted
3-4 strawberries, thawed if frozen
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. 

i stopped in at work and got an apple-lemon-kale juice.  delicious!  and greens to boot.  after fiddling around at home a bit, i then made the heirloom tomato gazpacho from ani’s raw food kitchen.

some changes i made: i reduced the amount of olive oil based on my miso soup experience (good idea), and also added some fresh basil to the soup base.  based on the lack of vegetables (only tomatoes and cucumbers featured) and the inclusion of some brazil nuts (which made the soup creamy), i’d say this was more along the lines of a raw cream of tomato soup + cucumbers.  not that it wasn’t good - quite the contrary - i just found it a little misleading.

for dessert i made myself a strawberry-banana-almond shake.  i wish i’d processed the almonds a little more for smoothness, but the taste was really good (sweetened with barhi dates):

as much as i wanted to make more raw food for dinner, i didn’t think that was going to fly with my lady all too well (she’s into my vegan cooking, even though she misses cheese, but is very afraid lately that i’m going to go raw.  which i’m not, but i like to eat raw once a week or so).  i have been sorely neglecting my copy of yellow rose recipes since i made the sweet potato and black bean flautas in december, and buried somewhere in my brain i remembered something called “green-wa.”  it’s been snowy and gloomy all day, so some green deliciousness and a steamy bowl of dal seemed in good order.

(the gloominess is also responsible for the lack of clarity in my photographs it would seem.)  the green-wa is delicious, though i admit to one change: i didn’t add the curry powder since i was making dal to have with it.  and really, i didn’t miss it.  a didn’t witness the preparation so when i handed her her dinner she said “why is it green like that?”  i explained the onion-spinach-cilantro sauce, to which she replied “ohhhh! it’s so beautiful!”  this certainly will be a much-used way of preparing quinoa in the future, and went great with the spicy and spiced red lentil dal (i made that up as i went along).

i’ll admit i got full rather quickly, and i think my raw meals earlier in the day were a big big part of that.  not to mention some other things i’ve been noticing, bodily, about myself, that i won’t be repeating here…

i lived a majority of my life never having had indian food. my concept of it barely existed, probably amounting only to seeing a curry chicken salad at a steakhouse (back in the day), and the bastardization that that was. i don’t even remember the first time i had indian food, but all of a sudden i knew about it and ate it and wanted more. my feeble attempts to make it at home have never amounted to much. there is always so much flavor and depth that i can only imagine comes from hours of cooking and intense knowledge and understanding of indian cuisine.

in the left picture: ginger, serrano chilies, brown mustard seeds, and cumin seeds

in the right picture: bay leaf, asafoetida, turmeric, and coriander

i recently got a copy of lord krishna’s cuisine: the art of indian vegetarian cooking, and picked out a recipe involving mung beans and cabbage. there were no onions or garlic in the recipe, i noticed later, and i did have to pick up cumin seeds and asafoetida for my experiment. asafoetida is a really strange and overpowering spice. part of its latin name (”foetida”) refers to its sulfurous odor, and has been called various vulgar forms of “devil’s poop” in many languages. i got a bit in the bulk section yesterday and had to put the baggie inside another baggie inside some tupperware because the smell kept leaking out! i only used about 1/8 tsp to make this dish, and this has definitely been one of those times where the difference between a pinch and no pinch mattered greatly. cooked, it mellows out a lot, but it is definitely there as an indescribable flavor amongst the other spices. i bought a relatively large amount, so i will have to seek out some more recipes using asafoetida.

the dish itself: interesting, but kind of strange to me. i definitely should have made a half batch, and wouldn’t rule it out in the future, but only as a side dish. i was craving an onion-y, tomato-y curry and some rice to go with it… but since i spent over two hours on this, i had to make do with a chili tortilla from trader joes:

i think next time i try indian food, i am going to stick with a curry, before trying out other things. though i might try to make some naan or parathas! one tip i do know, however, is that you aren’t ever to buy curry powder from the store. make and toast your own curry spices! you will be so thankful for your existence.

the upside to the food part of my night was getting invited to dan’s to make cupcakes with him and michael. at first we were only going to make gingerbread cupcakes, but while those were baking we decided on some double duty and made chocolate cupcakes as well, with the most amazing and salty-sweet peanut butter frosting i could imagine. cupcakes save the day once again!