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
Balsamic Tempeh Wild Rice Bowl with Sauteed Kale and Radicchio July 19, 2008
Posted by a-k in grains and flours, recipe, tempeh, vegetables.8 comments
Balsamic Tempeh Wild Rice Bowl with Sauteed Kale and Radicchio
If you are in the mood for simple flavors and ingredients, you are in luck. This isn’t a terribly fancy dish, and marinating the tempeh and cooking the rice are the two longest steps. I think this is a good dish all year round, though like the previous couscous dish, the short cooking times and lightly sauteed greens make it a really lovely summer dish. I only had to pick up a small head of radicchio to complete the dish, as i harvested about a half paper grocery bag full of pretty, tender kale from our garden.
I choose tempeh more often because of it’s easier digestibility and nutty flavor, but you could easily sub some well-pressed tofu if you’re not keen on the texture or flavor of tempeh. Also, I used a rice cooker for both the wild rice and basmati–normally wild rice has a longer cooking time, but they worked really well together.
Real Minnesota wild rice is more expensive than its usually-corporate-California-grown (and not-usually-wild) cousin; living in Minnesota makes access to it easier and cheaper. The best wild rice is hand-harvested and should smell like a lake, which is where this plant (actually a grass) grows. If you get broken wild rice, it will also be cheaper than whole. At the co-op I buy Native Harvest wild rice (and maple syrup!), which supports indigenous farmers and the campaign against the genetic manipulation and patenting of this heirloom crop. (There is an ongoing battle between the biotech corporations and universities and the tribal entities of the Great Lakes region, sadly another manifestation of modern colonialism.) If you can’t get wild rice or don’t want to use a blend, use whatever kind(s) you prefer. Wild rice will retain a slight crunch after cooking which I really like, but might be strange if you’re used to soft grains.
Most of the flavors stem from the primary ingredients here, so if you are looking to cover up the slight bitterness of greens for example, you may want to increase the marinade amounts slightly so you have some extra sauce to work with. And remember to simmer the tempeh in water for a few minutes before marinating to tone down the bitter flavor if that’s how you roll!
Balsamic Tempeh Wild Rice Bowl with Sauteed Kale and Radicchio (serves 2 hungry people or more):
8 oz tempeh
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp white wine
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
cracked black pepper to taste
1 c rice (use half wild and half other – I used basmati)
2 c vegetable stock
1 small head radicchio
1 bunch kale
Cut the block of tempeh in half lengthwise, then slice each half into thin strips (like domino pieces). Place in a container with the olive oil, balsamic, wine, garlic, and pepper. Marinate for at least one hour.
Cook the rice in vegetable broth in a rice cooker, or in a small saucepan on the stove according to your rice directions. Meanwhile, remove the tough stems from the kale and tear into pieces. Cut the radicchio in half, remove the core, and slice thinly.
Heat a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the marinated tempeh. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to a serving bowl and return the skillet to the stove. Add more oil if you need to, and saute the radicchio and kale for a few minutes until softened but still colorful. Combine the tempeh, greens, and rice in the serving bowl and toss. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
more test recipes May 31, 2008
Posted by a-k in baking, bread, nuts, tempeh, vegetables, zine.11 comments
lemon zucchini bread (pictured on a bamboo plate purchased from twin cities green**)
after a bit of a break due to hectic-ness with work and life, i’ve promised myself i’d develop a few more recipes this weekend to test for the zine. today got me baking, sautéing, and giving one of the older recipes a new twist:
polenta-baked maple-mustard-chili *tempeh* over spicy kale with thai peanut dressing
for a change, i thought i’d try my recently amended marinade on some tempeh instead, coat it in some polenta, and bake it – instead of my usual naked tofu/grill route. it turned out delicious! a told me it looked like baked fish sticks (“but not in a gross way”). i served it over spicy sautéed kale with thai peanut dressing, inspired by a similar coconut-peanut-spinach curry i love to get at true thai (only, i imagine, quicker to make and less fattening).
i also baked some lemon zucchini bread, which has the perfect lemony hint and deliciously moist interior for a summer treat. i’m bringing it into work tomorrow morning, also, in hopes that they’ll start making it in the bakery (because sadly, our vegan mini bread selection is in quite a depressed state). here is an inside shot, fantastic alone, though also great with a little earth balance spread on top.
**twin cities green is a local eco-friendly retailer and information center that sells recycled, reclaimed, sustainable, fair-trade, natural and organic furniture, home/kitchen goods, clothing, bath products, books, baby stuff, etc. even their labels and gift certificates are printed on the backside of used cereal boxes! they also hold workshops on several topics like diy, bike maintenance, and eco-friendly alternatives. if you live in the twin cities, i recommend checking them out.
three pizzas May 10, 2008
Posted by a-k in baking, bread, cookbooks, grains and flours, nut cheese, pizza, tempeh, the millenium cookbook.7 comments
crushed tomatoes, spicy tempeh sausage, fresh spinach, red onions, and basil chiffonade on a spelt-whole wheat crust; with bell’s two hearted ale and a trio of olives.
we tend to order a lot of pizza luce at our apartment (well, when we order pizza, maybe once or twice a month). and it’s great – we can do half vegan/half vegetarian, it’s garlicky, deliciously smothered in toppings, and local. but sometimes i want more choices (not to mention saving 18 dollars). i want to know what all goes into my crust and my toppings. so, i bought a pizza stone. it changed my life over two nights.
i searched high and low for a whole grain pizza crust online, but wasn’t left with many options for quick and easy. so my wait for pizza night lasted through an overnight delayed fermentation after finding a pared down version of peter reinhart’s recipe on 101 cookbooks (a gorgeous site with vegetarian, and several vegan, recipes). and was it worth it? oh yes.
i wouldn’t call myself a pizza snob in the sense that i’ve never lived in new york city (wow, have i encountered strong – though deserved – opinions there), nor do i have a very specific definition of what i think constitutes a good pizza. they come in all shapes, sizes, and tastes. but i’m certainly not one to settle for a cheeseless vegetarian chain pizza with too much (and a too chewy) crust. and i, for one, appreciate a crispy thin crust when i have the option, and would generally rather skip the faux cheese (though pizza luce’s rinotta is pretty damn tasty).
garlic-stuffed olives, marinated sicilian olives, and green lucques.
a is playing a few shows out of town this weekend, so i made a pizza for the eve of her departure. i wasn’t sure how the crust would turn out exactly, and only had some vague ideas of what to top it with to approximate the simplicity of a neopolitan-style pizza. a friend of mine likes to point out that a lot of poorer people in italy could not afford to put cheese (or meat for that matter) on their pizzas, making it fairly authentic to create a truly vegan pizza. with the first pizza, however, i opted for some protein on top by making a zestier version of the tempeh sausage crumbles from the millenium cookbook’s puttanesca pizza. it complemented the tangy crushed tomatoes i used as a sauce as well as the baby spinach and red onions; when i pulled the pizza out of the oven i sprinkled it with a chiffonade of basil:
…and served it with three kinds of olives and a cold bottle of bell’s two hearted ale apiece. mmm…
so about this crust: i used a combination of whole spelt flour and whole wheat bread flour to make a whole grain crust, which is hard to find (most have a mix of wheat and white flour). i mixed enough dough for 8 small crusts and froze most of them, reserving a few in the fridge for the upcoming occasions. i shaped the dough by hand (without a rolling pin), getting a dangerously thin crust in some areas, but the heat of that magic twelve-dollar stone assured that my crust came out not-soggy, and perfectly baked. my crust didn’t blister and blacken in spots as neopolitan pizzas tend to, but i have no complaints about the final product. it was thin and crispy without being either hard or cardboard-like, and had an amazing flavor.
spelt-whole wheat crust with olive oil, tomatoes, grilled zucchini, red onions, salt and pepper, before baking (and before basil).
i got to try out more pizza the following night, when two of my coworkers came over to watch “eyes without a face” (which i recommend if you’re in the mood for a creepy, beautiful french film from the late 50s). this time i made two kinds: one crust simply brushed with olive oil, then layered with tomatoes, grilled zucchini, red onions, and fresh basil, and the other with crushed tomatoes, tempeh sausage, sicilian olives, marinated mushrooms, red onions, cashew cheese, and fresh rosemary. this crust recipe is definitely a keeper! if you can hold off a day in finishing your pizza dough, i highly recommend it.
pre-trip food assortment March 27, 2008
Posted by a-k in breakfast, cookbooks, my sweet vegan, sammiches and wraps, tempeh.8 comments
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!
why my belly is full: day-off breakfast and lunch February 13, 2008
Posted by a-k in ani phyo, breakfast, cheese, cookbooks, dairy alternatives, drinks, milk, nuts, protein alternatives, raw, salad, sauces and spices, tempeh.6 comments
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.
roast tempeh, rice, and morning muffins January 28, 2008
Posted by a-k in ExtraVeganZa, muffins, tempeh.5 comments
roasted tempeh with leeks and carrots and extraveganza! lemon cardamom rice with green peas
tempeh marinated in tamari, dijon, garlic, thyme, and white pepper; tossed with sliced leeks and carrots and served with lemon cardamom rice with green peas. this was really good, but also a little bitter. i think i need to start boiling my tempeh before marinating it when i can’t marinate it for a few hours, for one. and the lemon cardamom rice, because of the cardamom and turmeric, i’m guessing, was also a bit bitter. even a bit of garlic or onions would have evened it out, i think.
this morning after an early shopping trip, i made a half batch of the lemon lavender blueberry muffins, also from extraveganza!. i was a little worried about lavender in cooking/baking, which is something i don’t have much experience with. when i worked at cafe latte we had a lemon lavendar cake that by some accounts tasted like floor cleaner…eek! luckily not the case here, although i may have mismeasured the baking soda/powder in halving the recipe because it had a little bit of a baking soda aftertaste. still, they were ultra moist and flavorful, and the best part (besides using half whole spelt flour and half ww pastry flour)? just look inside!
the comfort food post January 18, 2008
Posted by a-k in ExtraVeganZa, seitan, tempeh.3 comments
somehow my post-birthday, cheap-whiskey hangover dinner slipped through the cracks.
i marinated tempeh in red wine, dijon, bragg’s, garlic, and thyme and then browned it. the color is really dark and meatlike, but not in a creepy way… in a vegan delicious way! with broccoli buttercream mashed potatoes (my favorite kind of potato!), and citrus beets from extraveganza! beets are a good cleanser, and if you are a fan of beets, you know what i mean when i say you know you’ve eaten beets.
after a weird day at work yesterday i was in the mood for more comfort food. something rich, succulent, delicious. i copied down a recipe from work and veganized it into seitan bourguignon. i was a bit lazy and used smartlife bacon, but i did make my own seitan from the everyday dish website (although not exactly following the spices called for because i needed something a little more…french). served over whole wheat penne (oh what some rotini could have done for me!):
sometimes you just need something warm, and rich, and salty, and tummy-filling. both of these did the job beautifully.
testing… testing 1&2 January 3, 2008
Posted by a-k in tempeh, zine.4 comments
up next are two dishes i’m trying to work out for a little cookzine project i’m working on with my friend dan. yes, zine. i don’t want to blow it up too much right now because it’s only in planning stages, and there will probably only be 100 copies made. it’s going to be part recipes, part art project, handmade (ie- screenprinted), and hopefully delightful!
so i’m trying to come up with about 10-12 recipes to include, and these are two ideas i’ve come up with but haven’t ironed out, and i’ll discuss how.
teriyaki tempeh rice bowl
so issue number one (for both of these actually), don’t take pictures of food you’re trying to glorify without using natural daylight. washed out, bland-looking, sadness. second, this dish needs more flavor and more color. though it wasn’t bad (rave reviews from my lady, actually), it had too much ginger, not enough tamari, and needs some different vegetables. maybe kale, maybe radishes. i need to figure out how to crisp up my tempeh in the oven better too. i’ll have to pay more attention at work next time (creepy how that is my solution, when they certainly aren’t the ones to look for concerning protein alternative preparation).
coconut-curried red bean (almost) wraps
this one is closer to the mark. i have to work out a better chapati/flatbread recipe that’s a little bit bigger and more pliable (so far i’ve only experimented with cookbook recipes) so that i can actually wrap these. then the curry needs more spices in it methinks, even though it’s meant to be a bit more of a west indies/carribean-style curry. and, some more lime flavor or something. but, tasty regardless.
so once i nail down some more presentable and formatted recipes, i’ll be seeking out some testers. not because this is going to be a blowout zine project, but because i care that the recipes work out for anybody who might buy the zine for the recipes part (though i think the art is going to kick ass too!).
some forgotten foods November 19, 2007
Posted by a-k in ExtraVeganZa, cookies, tempeh.5 comments
in all the hubbub of pie and things, i forgot to post some pictures of some recent deliciousness.
for breakfast one morning, tempeh bacon from vwav and rosemary potatoes…maple syrup drizzled over the tempeh, and blasphemous ketchup on the potatoes (sorry, it’s just so good!):
pistachio coconut cardamom cookies from extraveganza!. i’m glad i picked this book up again. there is so much in it that i want to make and devour. this were very popular, light and crispy, too.
i made the chickpeas romescu from v*con, but didn’t have any white rice for also making saffron garlic rice, so i just made brown rice to go with it. isa and terry have made me LOVE fire roasted tomatoes. they make such a difference in recipes, and coupled here with the roasted red peppers: just perfect. definitely going to make this dish again, as i’ve been kind of tofu’d, tempeh’d, and seitan’d out lately. i also got on a grilled asparagus kick, marinating them in olive oil, balsamic, and lemon zest, then sprinkling some salt and pepper on top. in reality i also had FOUR half-pieces of toast, but i thought it might look a bit overcrowded for this picture:
