maple cinnamon buckwheat crispies and vanilla carob sesame milk with strawberries and bananas

i made my own cereal! it was most exciting, and i can’t wait to try out different variations. texturally and physically, they resemble corn flakes, but the flavor of these maple cinnamon buckwheat crispies far surpasses any storebought cereal i’ve ever had. and hello! they’re made of buckwheat, which is way better for you than corn. i used the recipe from raw food real world, only i cut back on the sweeteners. all you do, really, is soak buckwheat for an hour, drain it, and pulse it in the food processor with maple syrup, cinnamon, and a little salt (i omitted the stevia, since i’m not a fan). then spread it on some dehydrator sheets and let the fans do their thing for about 12 hours, flipping towards the end. then you break them up into “flakes” and store them in an airtight container. (if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can also dry them in the sun. this will take more or less time depending on the humidity where you live.)

in addition the great taste, they stay crispy in milk for a long time! that is a big plus for me, as soggy cereal is one of the worst things i know. and speaking of milk, i’ve been experimenting beyond my usual almond milk, and most recently have been wanting to try out some nut-free milks. first i made pepita (raw pumpkin seed) milk, which was the faintest tint of green and probably would have tasted a lot better if i hadn’t oversalted it. not to be disheartened, i tried again, this time with sesame seeds. if you’re like me, you might be thinking what? sesame milk? and while it’s not as neutral as a nut milk or rice milk, the taste is quite a sophisticated base for other additions. i sampled it plain and nearly as thick as a creamer - it was drinking a subtle, thin tahini.

plain sesame “cream”

since i was planning to use it for breakfast-y, drink-y purposes, i decided to add some other things. i thinned it out with more water, sweetened it with agave nectar, added some raw carob powder, and scraped the seeds out of half a vanilla bean. i don’t buy vanilla beans very often; in fact, this is only the second time in my life i have (the first time was last fall). there is a huge difference between vanilla extract and a vanilla bean, beyond the fact that the extract contains alcohol or glycerin. there is something earthier and, for lack of a better term, sexier about that little dark wrinkled pod and its aroma. but my favorite part, really, is the tiny little black specks that color the neutral shade of a good homemade vegan milk (or ice cream!).

the only thing i would do differently with this milk next time is add more carob powder, for a richer color and a little more flavor. then again, i really love carob! i bet some cocoa powder would work just as well if you’re into that whole chocolate thing. and i apologize for the poor picture quality - i made this the day of a big dark storm:

vanilla carob sesame milk (makes about 1 quart):

1 c raw sesame seeds, plus soaking water
1 quart filtered water, divided
2-3 tbsp agave nectar (or to taste)
2 tbsp carob powder
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
pinch of salt

soak the sesame seeds in two or more cups water for 6 hours or overnight. drain and rinse. place the sesame seeds in a blender with two fresh cups of water and blend for a few minutes, until smooth. strain through a nutmilk bag (or several layers of cheesecloth) into a bowl and rinse out your blender. return strained milk to blender. if you want a really thick milk, you don’t need to add as much water, but i found the thinned version to still be quite creamy (and less intense on the tahini flavor). add the remaining water, carob, vanilla, and salt, and blend until thoroughly mix. store in the refrigerator, and shake before serving, as it will separate.

(alternatively, you could cheat and add a few tablespoons of tahini to a quart of water with the rest of the ingredients, and then blend those for a few minutes, if you’re short on time or don’t have access to bulk sesame seeds. i’ve done it with nut butters and found the taste to be a little different, but i can’t vouch for the tahini version by experience, although i know many people do make sesame milk this way.)

a tasty milk for a tasty cereal, topped off with strawberries and bananas. are there any flavor combinations you think would be a good idea for new batches of the cereal or the milk?

oatmeal pancakes with maple syrup, raspberries and peaches

a and i woke up and made oatmeal pancakes (recipe from how it all vegan) and coffee, and i popped down to the coop to get some raspberries and peaches to have with it. two pancakes apiece later, we were stuffed and ready for the day!

we rode our bikes to the may day parade on bloomington ave, a parade of progressive politics, puppetry, dancing, drumming, colorful costumes, stilts, bicycles, pagans and art (to name just a few). you can check out my may day parade photos on flickr. it’s fun to see so many people you know, and it also feels like a celebration of spring, when everyone emerges from the cold, dark winter in bursts of color and warmth.

after getting sufficiently sun-kissed, we stopped at the jasmine deli for a much needed snack of mock duck spring rolls, and then went home to make a potluck contribution for my friend’s birthday party. a lot of my friends are vegetarians, but not vegans. however, they always consider me and i don’t have to worry about only getting to eat what i brought. here is my plate of savory goodies (unfortunately sans the delicious piece of sea salt focaccia that peter baked… you can find a picture of me stuffing my face with it on his flickr account):

there’s another raw recipe (my potluck contribution) coming your way below. i decided to make a raw apple crisp, which i’ve had once, but never made before, so that was a bit nerve-wracking. but it worked out wonderfully and people really liked it. spiced, moist, crisp apples topped with a nut and seed topping, and served with a dollop of vanilla cashew cream. yum! fresh food tastes so good!

raw swedish apple crisp (serves 8-12):

(part of this is adapted from ani phyo’s recipe for all-american apple pie)

1 orange, peeled and deseeded
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 handful dates, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
water as needed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp (or more) ground ginger
1 tsp cardamom
6-7 crisp apples (use one or a variety, i used pink lady)

1/2 c raw almonds, dry
1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds, dry
1/2 c raw walnuts
5-6 dates
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
water as needed
1/2 c dried, shredded coconut
2 tbsp black sesame seeds

blend the orange in a blender or food processor, then add the lemon juice, dates and vanilla to make a syrup. if the mixture seems too thick or isn’t blending well, add some water. pour syrup in a medium mixing bowl and add cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. (cinnamon and cardamom can taste slightly bitter, so if the syrup seems so to you, you can add a little more ginger to tone the bitterness down.) wash and chop or slice the apples, adding them to the syrup as you go and tossing them to prevent browning. place apple-syrup mixture into a casserole dish or baking dish (mine is a bit small at about 7×10).

to make the crisp topping, place almonds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts in a food processor and pulse into a coarse meal (you don’t want to overprocess them, as they provide the bulk of the texture in the topping). add the dates, vanilla, and cinnamon, and process until well mixed (you can add water if there isn’t enough moisture holding it together. transfer to a bowl and stir in the coconut and black sesame seeds. press this mixture evenly on top of the apples. (at this point you could probably dehydrate it if you want a crispier topping, but i don’t have a dehydrator and i think it turned out just fine!)

vanilla cashew cream (makes a little over 1 c):

1 c raw cashews, soaked overnight
water as needed
2-3 tbsp agave nectar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8-1/4 tsp ground turmeric (optional)

drain the cashews and place in a food processor. blend into a fine meal, then add agave nectar and vanilla extract. process, adding enough water to make a thick, smooth cream. i added turmeric to make the cream slightly yellow, which stems from a personal, nostalgic desire to emulate the vanilla cream you get with swedish apple cakes and crisps, but not necessary. serve on top of your crisp (or a baked pie, in place of ice cream!).

besides the cashew soaking, this whole endeavor took about 45 minutes from start to finish. and it’s good for you (well, for a dessert anyway)! i had a lone leftover piece for breakfast this morning.

tempeh reuben on artisan pumpernickle bread with spring mix salad

we’re working on getting ready for a weeklong trip to texas early next week, so my internet existence has been intermittent and will cease to exist after tuesday (but only temporarily!).  and hence, no recipes and few presentable items.

my sweet vegan’s bananas foster cupcakes (pardon the lack of lighting and lack of familiarity with another camera)
i finally broke down and got my sweet vegan, though i hardly need to make any more sweets.  still, it makes for wonderful companion baking!  my friend amber and i whipped these up last weekend, making a single layer cake (not pictured) and twelve cupcakes… seriously, it makes that much cake!  they also convinced amber that vegan baking exists and is flavorful and delicious.  a slight rum flavor, creamy banana, and caramel frosting.

vegan swedish pancakes with strawberry-orange-date syrup 

one day i spent battling the vegan crepe/swedish pancake.  though i got a few good ones, and they tasted pretty good, i feel i need to work on them a little more.  unfortunately it seemed that the best ones were also the ones cooked in the most earth balance, so i feel pretty guilty about devouring crepes for breakfast, lunch and dinner (no, i’m so not kidding… i shudder to think about it).  once i feel enough time has passed to justify making these again, i’m going to hold or partake in a brunch party, and make a swedish pancake torte!!  it’s going to be amazing and full of berries.

 stack of vegan crepes, all sizes and textures…

tempeh reuben crepe… weird, but not as weird as you might think.  it’s no reuben, but makes good use of leftovers if you can survive without the toasty rye bread.

savory portobella and caramelized onion crepe torte, sans cream gravy 

savory portobella and caramelized onion with thyme cream sauce… i can’t believe i ate half of this at the end of the day.  i should be dead, shouldn’t i?  maybe not, but i can tell you the salad i had with this was a really welcome contrast.  nom nom.

so i’m not sure if i’ll have another post before i leave (i hope to), but hopefully i will have some pleasantly-surprising documentation about vegan eating in south texas, which sounds scary and unrealistic right now.  but you never know!

unless it’s my day off, i’m not a big breakfast eater. this is bad. but when you have to be at work at 630am, those precious last minutes in bed are hard to let go of. in general (though with a few exceptions), i don’t think i’ve been eating particularly well lately, hence my relative lack of posts. i’m working to change this.  which brings me to breakfast scrambles.

first up we have the classic vwav tofu scramble… only here we added broccoli, green peppers, and snow peas to the cremini mushrooms, omitting the carrots. and topped it with salsa! and served it with toast. delicious sunday brunch.

and next up, ani phyo’s garden scramble with save-the-chicks pate. the only thing i changed was adding some nutritional yeast and chopped parsley, because that’s how i roll when i’ve got parsley to use up. i’ve never had a raw scramble before. this was filling, fresh, and pretty damn good. i’m interested to play around with the seasonings and vegetables some more in the future.

as a bonus, here is my first veganized swedish cookbook creation (since i recently decided to start veganizing some scandinavian cookbooks i have lying around). in swedish, mjölkstuvade makaroner, in english, milk-stewed macaroni. this is super typical swedish white food: macaroni cooked in milk and butter instead of water, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. i tried to make it a little bit healthier by using quinoa pasta and putting some chopped parsley on top, but who am i kidding? this is comfort food through and through. it was that kind of night.

vegan milk-stewed macaroni (serves 1-2):

1 3/4 c unsweetened, creamy, non-dairy milk (I used oat)
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp vegan margarine
1/2 c macaroni
ground black pepper, to taste
dash nutmeg (optional)
chopped parsley, to garnish (optional)

heat “milk,” salt, and margarine in a medium saucepan until the margarine has melted. add the macaroni and let them cook over very low heat, uncovered, for 10-25 minutes (depending on the kind of macaroni you are using), or until they have become soft. stir occasionally to prevent them sticking to the bottom, adding more milk if necessary. add the pepper and nutmeg, and top with or stir in chopped parsley. serve warm.

i definitely promise that the next creation will be healthier, prettier, and maybe even a little bit fancy!

coconut-almond flax breakfast cake with strawberry-blood orange syrup

well, i’ve done it. i’ve made this breakfast so rich, nutty, fruity, and fresh that i can really only eat one a day. i ground almonds to add to the flax “batter,” and i made a new fruity syrup combination to pour on top of it. i can’t even describe the flavor and mouthfeel…it reminds me of something, but i’m not too sure what. decadence.

you’re probably sick of seeing these things, aren’t you? well i’m sorry, i just can’t get sick of making them. another breakfast cake, this time with a raspberry-tangerine syrup a la the strawberry-tangerine recipe. and served with a big mug of vanilla almond mylk from ani’s book.

that tasty lunch i was promising…

clockwise from top right: spinach salad with raw parm, rosemary potatoes with onions and jalapenos, grilled marinated tempeh with cashew-shallot-dill gravy, and grilled zucchini.

i hurriedly signed up to be a tester for mattye lee’s frugal raw cookbook… a cookbook idea very appealing to me. she comes up with really amazing raw meals (raw indian?!?) and i am excited to try out more soon. i used her raw parm recipe for topping my salad:

grilled zucchini: simple, straightforward. just olive oil, zucchini, and finished with salt and pepper.

i don’t have a closeup of the rosemary potatoes because they weren’t as pretty as i wanted them to be… i’ve got a recipe idea brewing but it needs some tweaking (as well as me not using store-bought rosemary oven potatoes). i keep wanting to recapture the glory that was my hangover tempeh “steak” but somehow i haven’t been able to do that. this was pretty good, however. i marinated tempeh in red wine, bragg’s, garlic, thyme, vegetable stock, white pepper, dijon, and nutritional yeast (my staple marinade). then i grilled it alongside the zucchini while i made a gravy out of shallots sauteed in earth balance, thyme, fresh dill, salt, pepper, vegetable stock, cashew butter, hazelnut milk, and a splash of vegan worcestershire. creamy and delicious! there is definitely no need for dairy in gravy, and i’m saying that as a former dairy addict (with a very unhappy tummy). believe the hype.

after a spicy garbanzo and tomato couscous dinner (sadly not documented), i made myself some spiced coffee with almond mylk. it reminds me of the ethiopian-style coffee i get at the blue nile sometimes, but as i just threw a couple spices in (and have no idea if they’re harar-style or not), i don’t think i can really say that this is ethiopian-style coffee. but it is good. simmer equal parts mylk and coffee (or whatever ratio you desire) with a couple shakes of cardamom and cinnamon and a pinch of cloves. serve warm. the owl mug brings happiness, though not necessarily more tastiness.

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’m really digging the ani phyo book. i was intrigued by the thought of making a main dish that didn’t involve a mandoline slicer (and potential injury), and pretty simple ingredients. i even started the day out with a coconut breakfast cake, topped with strawberry puree (and some tasty, though not raw, coconut cream leftover from my cake decorating):

this time i ground my flaxseeds up in my spice-dedicated coffee grinder. so magical! the “batter” really came together nicely.

at work i had a big glass of (free) freshly-squeezed orange juice.

the recipe i picked out was the mushroom risotto with truffle-infused olive oil. a full batch is not something i, or most people, could afford to make too often because of the truffle oil, but to be honest, i don’t think the recipe truly needs it in order to taste great (though it is a yummy flavor!). a few weeks ago i’d splurged on a teeny tiny bottle of truffle oil and even halving this recipe to make two servings, i only let a couple drops out of that gorgeous bottle of delicious nectar. the “rice” was made from acorn squash pulsed in the food processor. i was nervous about that, because i’ve never had raw squash before and had somehow got it into my head that it was unsafe or otherwise just not done. but raw food isn’t done very often either, so i guess that’s something to think about. i marinated cremini mushrooms in some bragg’s, made a “kream” out of some leftover macadamias (i was, surprisingly, out of almonds), and tossed it all together with some halved grape tomatoes (not in the original recipe). it was served with scallions and drizzled with truffle oil:

oddly enough this picture sort of looks like tofu scramble, but it was far from tasting like it. i couldn’t believe i was eating squash - RAW - and that the mushrooms hadn’t been cooked. it was really really amazing actually. the sauce was so creamy and beyond a lack of wine flavor and obvious temperature difference, it really was pretty risotto-y. one thing about raw dishes, though, is that you eat raw garlic. and raw garlic gives you intense garlic mouth. i’m really glad i own mouthwash.

when a got home from volunteering, we made fresh juice from grapefruit, carrots, and clementine too, so it was like a raw day all around. i feel pretty healthy, i must say.

bonus! this was my lovely birthday gift from mdf and dan:

i could sit around smelling almond extract all day. i love getting to use it on my baking shifts, even though it’s almost always for something highly un-vegan. and the vanilla extract is double-strength, so i only need to use half the amount, meaning it will last me a long long time! (i hope so anyway, since i’m really going to scale back on sweets) one day, i might invest in ordering a pound of vanilla beans at work. i don’t know what i’d do with a pound of vanilla beans, but i hear it’s only about forty bucks. when you compare that to 3.30 a piece, it sounds like a pretty good deal to me. well, a girl can dream… of vanilla-scented rutabaga. vanilla bean ice kream. slathering myself in fresh vanilla beans. okay, not that last one so much. unsanitary!

i might be reconsidering some of the raw food stuff now that i don’t have such an elitist and complicated un-cookbook. i bought ani phyo’s ani’s raw food kitchen while i was picking up a salad the other day at ecopolitan, and most of the recipes only require a knife, a food processor, and/or a blender. not that i want to go raw or no longer think there are classist issues at hand in raw foodism, but it’s given me some good ideas, and most of the meals don’t take, say 24 hours. more like 5 minutes.  i also really like that there are ideas and reasons for living less wastefully and more resourcefully, which i’m really trying to be better about.

first i tried the coconut breakfast cakes. i only have refined coconut oil at home, so they probably weren’t as coconutty as they should have been, but they were still really tasty! i topped them with raspberry puree and sliced bananas:

i wanted to share the tastiness with my lady this morning, but i didn’t pre-grind the whole flax seeds i got after work last night, thinking they’d just get pulverized with the other ingredients. not so much. i also added some medjool dates and walnuts, and what do you know, i ended up with a flax cake that turned into “oat”meal (with sunburst tangerines):

it was really quite good! but filling in that kind of when-will-this-banana-be-over kind of way. i’m sure i’ll be pretty omega 3′d and regular though, which is nice. the crunchiness of the flax was a nice touch. i think i’m into the idea of eating raw breakfasts on my non-630am workdays.

for dinner last night i wanted something tasty but different. a has a recipe for a really delicious corn bean and rice salad, and then with buckwheat on my mind from reading about the buckwheat crispies in ani’s book, i decided to cook some up in the rice cooker. so fresh-tasting, and the earthy flavor of the buckwheat was a nice change from rice. i omitted the garlic and changed up some of the spices too.

buckwheat with avocado, tomatoes, scallions, serrano chili, corn, black beans, cumin, epazote, paprika, and lime juice:

the reason for the lime juice above was because i brought home four limes from work in hopes of creating a vegan key lime pie to bring in for sampling to work. i based it off of, surprisingly considering my rant about it, the raw food real world recipe for lime mousse tart, but i switched some ingredients up knowing i couldn’t really bring that particular recipe into work (i think my manager would have a heart attack at using agave nectar as an ingredient). i also baked the graham cracker crust instead of making some kind of nut crust. AND i also made them into some cuppies (like cupcake only pie) instead of a big pie.

the flavor is kind of amazing. now, my disclaimer is that i don’t think i ever really had a key lime pie before going vegan, and the closest i’ve ever gotten to it is a key lime tofutti cutie. but this is so rich and tart and sweet in just the right way! i don’t know how it will go over at work, but i guess we’ll find out soon enough. also, i was worried from reading the recipe that the filling would discolor but so far it still looks fresh and green. perhaps i picked the avocados at just the right ripeness (and by pick i mean at the store, not from my avocado grove in the front yard). photo evidence:

i’ve moved my blog here! i think it’s a little prettier.

today i woke up at 9am and walked down the street to work and picked up some tempeh bac’un, some frozen blueberries, and some spiruteen. combining these with other ingredients already at home produced this:

bac’un, zucchini corn pancakes, and a homemade “blue velvet” smoothie! i adapted the lemon corn waffles with blueberry sauce from ppk, and made pancakes instead.

zucchini corn pancakes (makes 8-10 pancakes):

1 1/4 cups +2 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup corn oil (veg or canola oil will do)
2 cups “milk”
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 3 tbsp water (or 1 “egg”)
1/4 cup sugar
nutmeg and cinnamon, to taste
1 small zucchini, grated

in a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornmeal, and salt. in another bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except zucchini, and whisk well. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients in, slowly combining with a fork until most of the lumps disappear. then stir in zucchini until combined.

heat a small non-stick skillet over medium-hi heat. add 1/2 cup batter and tilt to cover the bottom of the pan. heat until edges are firm and bubbles appear in the center. flip with spatula and cook another 2-3 minutes or until browned. repeat with remaining batter.

blue velvet smoothie (makes 2 16 oz. servings):

2 cups “milk”

2 bananas

1 cup frozen blueberries

2 “scoops” spiruteen

place all ingredients in blender. process until smooth.

so filling! next time i will halve the recipe, because there were only two of us, and i didn’t cook half the batter in the end. so i hope leftover pancake batter lasts… i had it with maple syrup, but i’m wondering what some kind of fruit (sauce) would taste like. maybe strawberries.

well, we’ve got to show this apartment in 1 1/2 hours. time to tidy.