Sara's Vegan Kitchen of Wonder and Discovery (and Parethetical Afterthoughts)

no-bake cookies

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:18:24 GMT

They're fast, they're easy, they're addictive as hell.

No-Bake Cookies
makes 13

Ingredients
1 C sucanat
2 T sunflower oil
1/4 C soy milk (or your favorite)
2 T cocoa powder

1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t rum flavoring (the secret ingredient! You could use almond,
hazelnut, mint, coffee, or chocolate flavoring instead)

1 1/2 C quick oats (no substitutions)
6 T chopped or crumbled walnuts

Directions
Combine the sucanat, oil, soy milk, and cocoa in a sauce pan.
Heat to boil
Boil 2 minutes

Remove the pan from the heat.
Add the vanilla and rum extracts, stir quickly to incorporate.
Add the oats and nuts.

Working quickly, mix it all to make a uniform texture.
Drop onto waxed paper and form into desired shape (mound, patty, log)

Clean up while they set. They set quickly.

Variations:
instead of walnuts, use cashew butter, or any nut butter you like.

Mac and cheeseless, the beat goes on

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:39:33 GMT

Mac and Cheeseless
the continuing adventures

Ingredients

1 # pasta

2 cloves garlic
one small onion, chopped into tiny bits
2 T margarine (Earth Balance)
1 1/4 C water; reserve 1/4 C to make a slurry with *
1 C + 2 T nutritional yeast
1 C soymilk
1 tsp miso or Braggs
1 T lemon juice
3 T cornstarch or potato starch*
1 T + 1-2 t tomato paste
2 t wet mustard
1 t dried basil
1/2 t dry mustard
2-3 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t paprika
1 t turmeric
2 pinch cayenne pepper
3 or 4 dashes liquid smoke

optional:
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 T tahini
1 t your favorite hot sauce

Directions
Get the pasta cooking.
Dice the onion and garlic. Melt the EB and fry the diced onion and
garlic at medium-low until onion is transparent.
Pour the liquids and nutritional yeast into the pot.
Add the rest of the ingredients, somewhat in the order listed above,
while mixing the contents at low heat.
Continue heating the sauce for a couple minutes, stirring every so often.
Add the slurry and bring to boil.
Strain the pasta.
Mix it all up.
optional: Bake at 375 for up to 10-15 minutes, as you like.

Serve with veggies or salad. I actually like the leftovers served ON
salad greens.

ginger bread

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:06:06 GMT

Ginger Bread

based on a recipe from How It All Vegan.

3 C flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t allspice
1/4 - 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 t cloves
1/8 t hot mustard powder (added for the 2nd version and very tasty)
2 eggs' worth of egg replacer of your choosing (NRG or flax goop*)
1/2 sunflower oil or some combination of oil and applesauce equal to 1/2 C
1/2 molasses or 1/4 C each maple and molasses
1 C soy milk
2 t cider vinegar
3-6 T fresh grated ginger
1/2 C crystallized ginger, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.
Oil a loaf pan.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients and stir until everything is just mixed
(everything is wet).
Pour into the loaf pan.
Bake 50-75 minutes, or until a tester toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool before serving.

* flax goop: 1 T ground flax seeds plus 3 T water per egg omitted

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:14:53 GMT

http://vegancupcakes.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/pumpkin-pie-brownie/

= awesome.

That is all.

potatoes, cabbage, and black bean sauce

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:20:40 GMT

Black bean garlic sauce rocks me. The smell, the texture. Oh, I have
to learn how to make this potent paste myself. Until then, I'll buy a
jar and slather some all over cabbage and potatoes.

This recipe is in my binder as "Cabbage Yum" I have no idea where that
name came from.

CABBAGE YUM

5 medium potatoes, diced
1 1/2 # cabbage (a medium-small head), cored and cut into 1" squares
1 T neutral oil (sunflower, canola)
2 T rice wine or non-red cooking wine of your choice
4-6 t black bean sauce
4 t toasted sesame oil
4 t rice vinegar
1 bunch scallions, chopped

heat oven to 500F
chop potatoes
toss with oil
roast 20 minutes
while the potatoes cook, chop the cabbage
mix together all sauce ingredients (everything left except the scallions)
after the potatoes have cooked 20 minutes, add everything except scallions
stir to coat everything with the sauce mixture
continue to cook at 500F for 15 minutes
toss, add chopped scallions
cook another 5 minutes or to desired done-ness.

cake results

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:47:43 GMT

No pictures, tough luck.

The cakes worked beautifully. I made each only two layers instead of
three. I would like to make them 4 sometime by doubling the recipes.
It will wait.

Highlights
--the cream cheeze frosting was primo. It was as fluffy as shaving
cream. Many thanks to the good folks at Tofutti.
--the petit four cake did not stand up to slicing well. Ideally, the
knife needs a dip in hot water between cuts. Still, it was delicious.
--I got some of the highest praise I can imagine from my uncle, my
baking role model. He said the banana was excellent, but the petit
four was something else entirely

Assembling the cakes proved easier than I expected. I bakes them 25F
lower than prescribed for a few extra minutes. That make them more
flat on top. Since there were only two layers, I layered them bottoms
facing (naughty!) and that kept everything more level. Rolling out the
marzipan was easy since I used wax paper under and over it. Letting
the cream cheeze and shortening get to room temperature was--of
course--is about the smartest baking thing I'll ever do.

Things I'd like to have for future baking but get by without just fine:

offset spatula

cake boards

cake spatula

piping bags

silpat/s

cake layer slicer, wire saw thing

There was no petit four cake left by the end of the night. There were
four slices of banana cake, which was taller by a bit. Birthday cake
for breakfast! Woot!

stuffed peppers

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:28:05 GMT

I remember stuffed peppers as drenched in tomato sauce and mushy. Feh.

We'd accumulated several peppers from our farm share. Mostly green
ones, so my usual sweet-n-sour or roasting uses weren't really going
to work. I used one in tofu scram. Yeah, one out of 7.

So I decided stuffed peppers would have to be the way to go.

But tomato sauce in that configuration is a sure-fire route to
heartburn for the hubby. So nix the tomato sauce. And I don't like my
vegetables cooked to mush (obvious exceptions include eggplant and
potatoes).

Stuffed Peppers
You might like this if you don't like stuffed peppers

5 or 6 bell peppers, big and cup-shaped
1/2 - 1C chopped onion
1 package Veggie Crumbles of your choosing
1/2 C bulgur
1 1/2 C water or mushroom broth
2 t thyme
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t garlic

preheat oven to 375

saute onion
add crumbles
add bulgur
de-glaze with water or broth
mix in spices
bring to boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes

fill peppers
stand in baking dish
cover with foil
bake 30-45 minutes

not mushy! no heartburn!

cake trial 1 results

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:36:39 GMT

The cakes came out tasty. The ganache worked. The combination went
over really well at the office potluck today. I cut a piece for Adam
before I left for work and it might be the only taste he gets of round
1.

Tweaks from round one include:

replaced the butter/EB with 50/50 sunflower oil and applesauce
(bonus: both local!)

5 flax egg replacements wasn't too many, I'm surprised to say.

I made less ganache that called for and it was still too much for
me. I love chocolate and it was a bit much.

I mixed all the wet ingredients and whipped them like mad, then
added them to the dry.

baked at 300F for longer for flatter layers

Tweaks for next time:

keep the oil/applesauce combo

combine wet first and add to dry

make a double batch, one then the other, and make them 2 cakes
each, for a total of four layers

make the same amount of ganache (7/8 # of chocolate with 1 C soy
milk) for those 4 layers

bake at lower temperature

thinner layers of chocolate between layers of cake.

need

better cake rack for cooling

cake boards (!!!)

cake trials, continue

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:00:31 GMT

The first cake trial run is out of the oven. It looks like the
pistachio cake worked.

For my next trick, I'll try to put a layer of ganache between three
9-inch cakes, then cover the outside of the layered cakes with more
ganache.

today I win at food prep. Also, a tip.

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:24:48 GMT

breakfast: steel cut oats with banana and raisins; toast* with heirloom tomato*
snack: 20-oz-apple* crisp with vanilla soy yogurt; a Brooks or Stanley plum*
lunch: tomato soup and Red Hen bread*; mixed greens* salad with
tempeh*, broccoli, and heirloom tomato*
bonus: homemade chai with almond milk

All between 7 and 8:15AM. I feel like a star.

TIP

Don't compost those broccoli stems. Trim the woody parts from the
bottom. Peel the stalks, chop them, and cook with the florets.

*local

this year's tomato soup recipe

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:43:30 GMT

...probably similar to last year's, but it smelled different. so there.

2 T olive oil
one bunch of green onions, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, pressed (probably 5 or six normal-sized ones)*
1 t salt
1 t dried rosemary
2 t dried basil
6 grinds of black pepper
2 28-oz cans of tomatoes, pureed
6 T dry sherry or a sweet rice wine
2 t agave
1 C soy milk

saute everything but the tomatoes, sherry, and agave until fragrant.
You don't need to brown anything, but the garlic should lose its
sharpness.

Add the pureed tomatoes, sherry, and agave. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.

Add the soymilk and stir. Cook until it starts to bubble again. Serve
with crusty bread. We had Red Hen Bakery's Crossett Hill Round. I got
a coworker's bread share this week.

The smell of this soup was surprisingly perfumey. It tasted fresh and
rich. A great start to soup season. It's gonna be even better
tomorrow.

*in the name of absolute accuracy, I used 2 large-ish cloves of garlic
and 2/3 t of garlic granules.

stuffed delicata squash, an easy and plentiful dinner

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:56:03 GMT

improvised dinner last night, kind of a last minute thing...

stuffed delicata squash

6 small delicata squash, cut in half lengthwise and freed of their seeds

1 C quinoa
2 C water
1/2 C applesauce
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C walnuts
1 tsp sage
fresh ground black pepper
salt
1 onion, or 1 t onion powder
two ribs celery (optional)

Steam the squash for 15 minutes, then set aside.

Rinse the quinoa.
Put everything except the squash into a pot large enough to allow the
quinoa to more than double in bulk.
Bring to a boil.
Stir a little.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Fill the halves of the squash with the quinoa mixture.

Voila!

birthday cake trials, part 1: The Recipe

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:54:53 GMT

Here's the veganized recipe (here's the original ). I'll try a smaller version of it
today, maybe a single layer.

Disclaimer: This recipe is copied and pasted almost word for word from the
smitten kitchen. I'm not going to take any credit for this unless it goes
really wrong. Then it's all on me. I needed a place to put this recipe while
I work on it. This is that place. I don't fool myself that this blog gets
much traffic, so I hope my putting my working version of this recipe here is
not a problem. If it is, I'll take it down immediately.

*Pistachio Petit Four Cake*
* *

*For the cake*
3/4 cup skinned pistachio nuts
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 cups AP flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces EB margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 fleggs

8 oz marzipan

*For the dark ganache glaze*
1 pound extra-bittersweet chocolate
1 1/4 cups Silk creamer

and
3/4 cup apricot preserves
* *

*Make the cake*
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 8-inch round cake pans.
Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and oil
the paper.

2. Spread out the pistachios in a baking pan and toast in the oven for 7 to
10 minutes, or until lightly colored. Transfer to a dish and let cool
completely. Finely chop. Set aside 1/4 cup for decoration.

3. Put the remaining 1/2 cup pistachios in a food processor. Add the sugar
and pulse just enough to grind them finely.

4. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Blend with the mixer on low for 30 seconds. Add the EB, milk, and vanilla
and, with the mixer on low, beat until completely incorporated.

5. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3
minutes. Add the fleggs in 2 or 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the
bowl well and mixing only long enough to blend after each addition. Divide
the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

6. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick
inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans
for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper
liners, and let cool completely.

**

*Make the dark ganache glaze*
1. Chop the chocolate coarsely and put it in a heatproof bowl. Bring the
creamer to a bare simmer. Pour the hot creamer over the chocolate and let
stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and use the glaze soon after making
so that it doesn’t set.

*Assemble the cake*
1. Roll out a third of the marzipan on a work surface dusted with a little
confectioners’ sugar to about 1/8-inch thickness.

2. Set one of the cake pans upside down on the marzipan and trim around it
with a small knife to make an 8-inch round. Repeat two more times with the
remaining marzipan. Save all your scraps to make roses for decoration, if
you like.

3. Place one cake layer on a cake board, flat side up. Spread 1/4 cup of the
preserves evenly over the top, leaving a 1/4-inch margin all around. Place
one marzipan round on top of the preserves and spread 1/3 cup of the Dark
Ganache Glaze over the marzipan so that it completely covers the surface.
Repeat with the second cake layer, adding more preserves, another round of
marzipan, and more ganache glaze. Top the cake with the third layer. Spread
the last of the apricot preserves over the top of the cake and cover it with
the last round of marzipan.

4. Place the cake on a wire cooling rack that is nesting in a baking pan.
Pour the remaining ganache glaze over the cake, in several additions,
spreading to coat the top and sides. Allow the ganache to set. Garnish the
cake with the reserved chopped toasted pistachio nuts and a single marzipan
rose or several smaller roses.

*Note: To make marzipan roses*
1. First, tint the marzipan, if desired, by kneading in a tiny amount of
paste food coloring, dabbing just a small bit onto the marzipan with the tip
of a toothpick. Flatten the tinted marzipan into a disk and roll out on a
work surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar or between 2 sheets of waxed
paper to a sheet 1/8 inch thick.

2. With a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 8 or 9 circles. Cover all
the marzipan you are not using immediately with plastic wrap so it doesn’t
dry out.

3. Roll one piece of marzipan into a ball the size of a marble and pinch
with your fingers to shape into a cone about 1 to 1 1/4 inches high,
tapering to a fine point at the top.

4. Take another round of marzipan and wrap it like a petal around the cone,
pinching it at the bottom to adhere and at the top to thin and ruffle
slightly like a flower. Repeat with the remaining “petals”, overlapping
slightly as you work your way around. If necessary, use a little water to
help glue the marzipan in place.

plum crumble

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:48:55 GMT

I've not made this yet, but it looks really good and I got some GREAT
plums from the farmers' market yesterday.

Plum Crumble

yoinked from http://orangette.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

then veganized by me. No promises because I've not made it yet.

For the plums:
2 Tbsp. lightly packed brown sugar
1 ½ Tbsp. all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger
12 to 14 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted

For the topping:
Scant ¾ cup granulated sugar (about 4 to 4 ½ ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 flegg, whipped after setting for 10 minutes
4 Tbsp. sunflower oil

Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the seasoning for the plums: the
brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, and crystallized ginger. Add the
plums, and gently stir to coat. Arrange the plums skin side up in an
ungreased deep 9-inch pie plate.

In another medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the topping:
the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Whisk
to blend well. Add the flegg. Using your hands, mix thoroughly,
squeezing and tossing and pinching handfuls of the mixture, to produce
moist little particles. Sprinkle evenly over the plums.

Spoon the oil evenly over the topping, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes,
until the top is browned and the plums yield easily when pricked with
toothpick. Cool.

Serve crumble warm or at room temperature, with thick yogurt, or
unsweetened whipped soy cream.

Yield: about 6 servings

cake, chai

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:42:04 GMT

I've found the cake I'll be veganizing for my birthday.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/06/pistachio-petit-four-cake/
(found via an article on autumnal birthday cakes at The Kitchn.

I sat here slack-jawed while I read the description. Stay tuned.

segue
Probably not doing vegan mofo this year. Just gonna try to post a little
more regularly (at all).

segue
I made chai and it was AWESOME.

Based on the recipe at http://lucylou.livejournal.com/575537.html

My variation is:

3 T black tea (for decaf use Celestial Seasonings Herbal Iced Tea, no joke,
it nails the tea flavor with absolutely zero caffeine)
1 vanilla bean
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger powder
a pinch of clove powder
1 bay leaf
3-5 grinds of black pepper (my grinder is small)
some red pepper if you feel adventurous and like spicy chai
1/8 to 1/4 t cardamom
3 T crystalline fructose

Things that aren't in the recipe that I did

scrape the vanilla bean guts into the pot and put the pod in for good
measure. store the pod with the chai when you're done. I did this instead of
using vanilla extract, which I would halve from the recommended 3 T, even
though I really like vanilla.
I used cardamom. The recipe says it's pricey, but check out the spice
section of your local hippie food store with a bulk department. If you've
not checked it out before, brace yourself for some disillusionment about how
much spices are suppose to cost.
the black pepper makes a difference
the red pepper is a vital part of my cold treatment/prevention regiment.
I took a pseudoephedrine last night and dumped some cayenne into a great big
mug of hot decaf chai. Today all signs of congestion are gone gone gone. I
also had ginger-y garlic-y broth and noodles with sriracha, wasabi, and
seaweed. I was determined to not get sick.

Three things worth noting

thing 1: This recipe makes some dang strong chai, just like the
recipe says. It does not taste right straight, not even just to taste. Maybe
it's the tannins. If you taste it plain and it's overwhelmingly bitter or
somehow seems WRONG, dilute it 1:1 with you favorite milk beverage. If it
still tastes off, try 2 parts milk to 1 part chai syrup. You might
need to go even further if it still tastes too bitter or tannic.

thing 2: It is syrup-y. I blame the cinnamon. It gets all slick and
looks like something you would normally throw away for being slimy. It's OK.
It's (actually and truly) all good. Trust the chai.

thing 3: Don't knock yourself out breaking up the clumps of cinnamon
when you first add it. They will break up as it simmers.

improvised and tasty so-called pasta

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:38:57 GMT

half-package of rice shells

one red onion

4 yellow summer squash

two handfuls cherry tomatoes (courtesy of the lovely Moxie, who probably
won't give you any because I take them all)

water as needed (have it nearby)

garlic, either 1 T powder, or a few cloves fresh, pressed

fat pinch of salt

basil, 5 leaves chopped if fresh, 2 tsp if dried

canola oil

olive oil

get water boiling for the pasta
in a separate pan, heat canola oil for the onions
chop and saute onions, add water to de-glaze and prevent burning.
cook pasta
while pasta is cooking, cut the squash into nickel-thick semicircular
slices
add squash to onions with enough water to steam, cover
sprinkle with salt and add garlic
pasta's probably ready, so strain it.
return the pasta to its pot, drizzle lightly with olive oil and stir
with basil to coat
add the cherry tomoatoes to the squash and onions, stir. Add water if
things look dry.
cover for a minute to let every thing steam some more.
poke each tomato with a knife to split it, then mash them into the rest
of the onions and squash
cook to desired done-ness, seasoning to taste
mix it all together.

Dinner!

getting things done, getting back into the kitchen

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:54:15 GMT

What's got me thinking about cooking more? Is it the end of summer's only
heat wave? Is it that Adam's been on vacation all week? Is it the monthly
PMS uptick in hormones making me feel productive? Is it the chill in the air
at night that promises autumn is on its way? OK, let's be honest about that
last one. It's Winter clearing her throat in preparation to announce the
annual ass-whupping. Love it anyway.

I don't know why I want to cook more. It's not the farm share. We've been
keeping up with that without doing much heavy cooking. Nothing fancy,
nothing elaborate. Just using up ingredients as they come into the house.
This summer has not been an exciting cooking time. Few recipes. Lots of
improvising, but mostly just functional meals. I did come up with this the
other day:

Black Bean Salad

2 C cooked black beans
kernels from 2 ears corn
2 T hot salsa
1/4 C yogurt
roasted zucchini, optional
diced red peppers, optional

Mix it all up and serve it over salad greens, or rice. You can serve it with
chips, or eat it with a spoon.

I put a lot of things over salad greens this summer, including leftover
fusilli with tomato sauce. Any dinner that would otherwise be served over
grains can go over greens. That's my hypothesis.

Tonight I'm making yogurt. I'm also celebrating the AWESOME pink on white
Bennington Potters batterbowl I got (DIane, stop reading for a minute) for
$5 at a yard sale. swoon.

Three things to love about this bowl

It received boiling soy milk
without flinching
the candy thermometer clip fit perfectly and securely
over the lip
the spout allowed for pouring without a drip into the small
yogurt containers in the yogurt maker.

suh-woon!

Now I want all Bennington Potters stuff, more than ever. Sigh.

Tonight's batch of yogurt is for eating as-is. Tomorrow I'll make another
batch to turn into yogurt cheese for on toast with tomatoes.

another simple dinner and way to eat copious zucchini

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:53:39 GMT

Dinner has been mostly slapdash lately, an answer to the same few
questions:

What do we have in the house?
What can we make
quickly?

The farmshare has been keeping us in zucchini (though not as much as in
years past), corn, salad mix (mesclun), melons, carrots, potatoes, cabbage
and many other seasonal goodies. Maybe I'm just better at using zucchini?
Maybe it's not as plentiful this year? Whatever, we've been getting 4-6 each
week.

Tonight we had 4 zucchini in the house. I made fusilli pasta with
store-bought tomato sauce and served it with roasted zucchini.

</b>Roasting zucchini</b>

preheat the oven to 425F

Slice 4 small to medium zucchini in semicircular pieces, once down the
length, then across to make thick slices, half the width of a single die.

lightly oil a baking sheet.

spread the slices in a single layer on the sheet.

flip them over so there's a little oil on both sides.

sprinkle with salt and garlic powder

bake 20 minutes

flip

bake 10 minutes

The slices should be browned on both sides. Serve over your favorite pasta
or as a side dish.

Now that I think about it, lately the answer to dinner has been: cut it in
chunks, toss it with seasonings, and bake it until browned. Cabbage and
potatoes do well this way, together or apart, as do zucchini and tofu.
Onions are always a good addition.

the greenest green (no pictures)

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:43:51 GMT

Last night Adam and I made fava bean Veganomicon cutlets with collard
greens. A few more notes on cutlets:

fava beans are gooood, but
stinky.
bean juice can be substituted for broth, but is even better
if you use it with broth powder
a double batch is practically
necessary.

The greens came from our farm share. When I was cutting the spines out
I got hit with the strongest green smell I've encountered this side of
wheatgrass juice. Adam could smell it across the kitchen. I got the
wheatgrass/tequila shivers just smelling these greens as I
chopped them. I've saved the spines and plan to juice them with
carrots, and maybe beets and celery.

big breakfast for my rock star

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:27:12 GMT

WARNING: I did not proof read this entry. I'm loopy from allergy medicine, but also tired of not posting. Here you go, as-is.

Yesterday we drove to wedding 3 hours away and back. I rode, really. We carpooled a lot of the way, but Adam did all of our driving. The car started making "I've lost my muffler" noises before we headed for home, so it was a stressful and loud, late, drive in the dark after a long, though delightful, day. Adam's had a few intense weeks and is in for at least one more. No full days off to do his own thing for a while.

This morning, when he asked for a big breakfast I felt more than a little sympathetic. Also, Vegan Brunch is burning a hole in my bookshelf, I saw this as an opportunity. My goal: veggie sausage, pancakes, and OJ or the rock star in my life.

Though I drifted in and out of wakefulness dreaming of hte recipes for home-made sausage substitutes, I did not feel sharp enough to make veggie sausage from scratch this morning. Instead I took a quick ride on my bike and bought a tube of Gimme Lean at the co-op (and some Pennsylvania peaches, discount bananas, and a small fragrant melon too good to ignore). I did the sausage in 1/4" rounds in the oven (425F, 10 minutes per side, two batches) and I think I'll do it that way again. However, next time I'll make the slabs thinner and cook them all at once. I hope to think ahead and make sausage from scratch, however, so we'll see.

I made the Perfect Pancakes from Vegan Brunch. I realized after I got back from the food store that we were out of soy milk (and realized a few hours later that we in fact were NOT out of soy milk), so I used soy yogurt diluted 50/50 with water. Maybe that sounds gross, but it worked beautifully.

Pancakes were fluffy and tasty and just right. I used the optional cinnamon.

My big chef's pan continues to disappoint me with how cool is stays. It needs the heat under it at least an extra step higher than prescribed not matter what. I might bite the bullet and get an enamelled Le Creuset. I'm sort of over the non-stick thing.

To summarize: Vegan Brunch's Perfect Pancakes are. Gimme Lean in the oven works just fine. You don't need to thaw OJ concentrate to make juice if you use a wide-mouthed jar for juice (or puree it in a blender with the first can of water first).

cashew creme and pud'n

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:53:29 GMT

Have I posted this before? Anyway...

Cashew Creme, adapted from RAW, by Juliano

1 1/2 C cashews and enough water to cover
1/2 C apple cider or orange juice
2 T maple sugar or dates or maple syrup
vanilla to taste

Soak the cashews at least 2 . I prefer overnight.
Drain cashews
Puree with the rest of the ingredients to achieve desired consistency.
This should be almost too thick for most blenders.

It goes well with Pud'n parfait style.

12 oz silken tofu
2/3 C dry sweetener of your choosing
1/3 C cocoa powder, sifted (more to taste)
2 t vanilla
a pinch of salt

Puree.
Serve chilled with strawberries, cherries, bananas, gummy bears, whatever.
Use the good cocoa for this. It takes responsibility for most of the
flavor, so use good stuff.
If you use pre-chilled tofu, this is ready to eat right away. I
recommend keeping a box of MoriNu in the fridge for quick desserts.

cardamom-rose cocktail

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:34:08 GMT

I have a voyeuristic relationship with alcoholic drinks. My
appreciation for a well-turned phrase makes me a sucker for any
well-described beverage. Additionally, I'm fascinated by the seemingly
endless combinations of flavors, textures, and colors. I love thinking
about these drinks, reading about them, and even browsing ingredients.
The sad part is that I'm a totla lightweight when it comes to alcohol.
One margarita (anejo, rocks) is enough to leave me fluish the next
day, and maybe three days after that. It's for the best, everything
considered. I come across as a teetotaler. The truth is that I'm
simply a complete wuss drinker.

I want to have a well-appointed and well-stocked bar. I want to be an
adventurous mixer of drinks. Tain't gwyne happen.

This is all preface to a link: the fabulous-sounding cardamom-rose cocktail.

Pardon me while I swoon.

super-shreddy salad

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:17:56 GMT

It's salad season. Anyone with a farm share knows it. Oof, the salad
mix. Oh, the lettuce. Last night we had black bean salad wrapped in
lettuce leaves. In winter, we would undoubtedly had it with tortilla
chips.

I've had a salad for lunch every day at work. Nothing fancy, but a
great big salad all the same. Today's is will of shredded rooty
goodness.

The Shredcake* Salad

Two handfuls of mesclun (not mescaline, that's a different
concoction), roughly chopped.
one carrot
one beet
one jerusalem artichoke

Mix it all up and toss it with a tablespoon or so of your favorite
dressing. Voila, shreddy salad.

*"shredcake" because I shredded all of this stuff into the little
container that attaches to the bottom of the shredder. It was packed
in so tightly that it came out as a layered cake of shredded veggies.
Very pretty.

pitting cherries with a chopstick

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:52:51 GMT

Recently I read in passing that it's possible to pit a cherry with a
chopstick. It's a comical notion at first blush.

I've regretted not reading more because now I want to know how!

When I found myself with some cherries and some time, I tried it. We
always have extra chopsticks around since we use our own, but the
Chinese food place insists on sending some with our order. It took
about 10 cherries and a near miss with a skewer (NO. NO-NO-NO-NO-NO.
Nooooooooooo skewers. Use a chopstick, for the love of your fingers),
but I figured it out.

Remove the stem from the cherry.
Gently hold the cherry stem-end down in/resting on the fingertips of
your non-dominant hand.
With the other hand, press a chopstick into the dot at the bottom of
the cherry.
If you press straight, the pit should come out the stem hole.

I was surprised by how well this worked.

Of course: This is another example of
Why-not-just-check-the-internet-you-silly-person, like baked tofu.

another quinoa recipe, probably a repeat

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:21:02 GMT

Quinoa with Summer Garden Bits

1 C quinoa, rinsed
4 basil tops, chopped fine
3 garlic scapes, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 medium tomato, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 - 2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
juice of one lemon (optional)

Cook the quinoa. 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water or broth. bring to a
boil. cover. simmer 20-25 minutes.
Toss the cooked quinoa with the chopped basil, scapes, and scallions. set aside.
*Saute zucchini in olive oil to desired doneness. (5 minutes per side?)
Add zucchini to quinoa mix.
Toss with lemon juice, if you go in for that kind of thing.
Season to taste.
Serve topped with tomatoes.
Tasty topped with nutritional yeast.

Good warm.
Good cold.

*You could bake the zucchini while the quinoa cooks, instead. Toss it
with oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 375F for 10-20 minutes, turning
once.