Sunday, April 27, 2008

Auntie X's No-Knead Bread

Every weekend I make a batch of No-Knead Bread, sometimes I make extra dough and freeze it for later. I really love the flavor and texture that the long, slow rise gives the bread. My recipe is based on the NY Times recipe with a few changes.

ingredients:
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast (I just eyeball it in the palm of my hand)
1 to 2 teaspoons raw/turbinado sugar (eyeballed)
1 to 2 teaspoons salt (again, I just eyeball it)
1-5/8 cups warm tapwater

1. In a big bowl mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon until all the flour is wet, don't stress over having everything incorporated because the long rise will cover a multitude of sins.

2. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit on top of the fridge or in some other warm, draft-free place for 12 to 18 hours.

3. About a half hour before you're ready to bake the bread pre-heat the oven as hot as it will go: 500 F if yours will allow, mine tops out at 450 F. Liberally flour your countertop, much more heavily than you would for other breads or cookies... if you see any spots of countertop the dough will stick. Basically the dough is a very wet dough. Dump the dough out onto the floured surface and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Don't try to knead the dough, just fold it into thirds from both directions, flour the top, then cover with the plastic wrap off the bowl, and let rest for 30 minutes.

While your dough is resting, prep your loaf pan. First I take a large piece of aluminum foil, about twice as long as the loaf pan or longer:



Place the loaf pan in the middle of the piece of foil and first fold up the long edges against the outside of the loaf pan:



Then squeeze the ends together at each end of the loaf pan:



Then lift the short end of the foil up against the ends of the loaf pan and crimp to secure:




Now take the loaf pan out of the foil, and presto, you have a perfect mirror image that will keep the steam in, allowing the bread to rise to its maximum height before crusting.



I use Earth Balance or Soy Garden to lightly grease the loaf pan:



Once the dough has rested for 30 minutes, drop it into the loaf pan, it doesn't much matter how un-gracefully you do this, because it pretty much evens out in the oven.



Next, cover the loaf pan with the tinfoil tent and squeeze the edges tightly to the pan for as close a seal as possible:



Next pop the loaf into the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, use tongs to remove the aluminum foil and bake another 20 minutes to brown the crust.



The beauty of this recipe is that it is so forgiving.

Monday, April 21, 2008

FFtVSC: Lentil Soup with Kale Ribbons



This is a good solid work night dinner. It is a delicious, nutritious, and uncomplicated recipe. I give it a thumbs up.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Spring-Thyme Linguine for one



We've had a few really warm days, and the nights have stayed above freezing for most of them, so Paul and I decided to take full advantage of this beautiful sunny weather. Yesterday we took a picnic dinner out to the local state forest and hiked a bit. Today while Paul has been at work, I've been raking away the protective winter mulch and death to reveal the new buds of spring. The thyme in the herb garden is doing so well, you'd hardly think that winter had happened. Consequently, this lunch was born.

Ingredients:

1 generous serving of linguine, cooked but still damp with cooking liquid to prevent sticking
1 T olive oil
3 large porcini mushrooms, sliced
6 small spring onions, greens chopped into larger pieces, whites sliced finely
1 clove garlic, minced if you don't own a garlic press (though every garlic-lover should!)
1 small splash of white wine or rice wine vinegar
1-2 T fresh spring thyme, leaves slid off the stem
salt and pepper to taste

For this recipe I used my well-seasoned cast iron skillet.
Add the olive oil and mushrooms to the skillet and toss vigorously over high heat so that all of the liquid escaping the mushrooms evaporates. Stir-fry until the mushrooms have lost most of their water and started to brown, but haven't yet reached the crispy stage.
Reduce heat to med-low and add the green onions, toss until the whites of the onions have softened. Squeeze in garlic clove and continue stiffing for about a minute. Add linguine and white wine and toss. Turn off heat and add fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste.

Bon Appetite!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

FFtVSC: Wild Rice Pilaf with Peas, Lemon Zest, and Tarragon



This Wild Rice Pilaf from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker is unexpectedly one of the best recipes of this cookbook. I'm a relative novice when it comes to tarragon. I remember the first time I tried tarragon it seemed too licorice-y and sweet, and I generally prefer savory flavors. But I'm beginning to learn how it can be used in unexpected ways. I didn't want to run out to buy fresh tarragon, so I used a teaspoon of dried instead of the Tablespoon of fresh that the recipe calls for. I must admit that lemon and tarragon make a lovely pairing, and the two together helped balance out the natural swampiness of the wild rice without masking it's rich nuttiness. I also want to mention that cooking the wild rice in the slow cooker is pure genius. I used my rice cooker last time I made wild rice, and it's so tricky to get it beyond the crunchy stage and into delightful fluffiness. The slow cooker cooks the wild rice slowly enough that it doesn't burn, and the glass lid allows you to easily monitor the cooking progress without releasing all of the wonderful steam.

Monday, April 14, 2008

FFtVSC: South-African Slow-Cooked Bobotie



I had never heard of bobotie before I tried this recipe for the first time, and therefore I had no expectations. I think that this dish is one of the shining stars of Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. With the small caveat that the quality of the bread makes a huge difference. The bread that I like to use for this recipe is 9 grain bread from Baker's Inn because it's so chock full of whole grains and seeds. I also generally add more bread than the recipe calls for so that the bobotie ends up light and fluffy. The combination of the hearty bread cubes, sweet sauteed onion and apricot, and the mildly spicy curry powder makes me think of the holidays. It's like a delicious combination of Tourtiere, bread stuffing, and spicy pumpkin pie. Topped with crunchy sliced almonds, how can you go wrong?

FFtVSC: Pesto-Infused White Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Stew



I'll admit, I didn't actually cook this one, Paul threw it together in the crockpot while I was at work. Unfortunately it didn't really turn out the way that I had thought it would. From the name of the dish I thought it would have the thick almost caramelized taste of the sun-dried tomatoes, the rich creaminess of the white beans and the sweet kick of the pesto. It didn't. I couldn't really taste the sun-dried tomatoes, nor the pesto, and the beans were lackluster. I'm hoping that this was a result of poor measurement, substandard ingredients, or a less-experienced cook. It's too bad because the concept of a sun-dried tomato and pesto stew was very enticing. I might need to rework it later when I have the time.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Veganomicon: Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls



I'm back!

These babies made an appearance as Sunday lunch. They were pretty good. I've never had sushi with mayo in it, though I've heard it's very popular here in the States. I added all the hot oil that I had which was much more than the recipe called for, and it still didn't qualify as spicy for me, so either my hot oil wasn't very hot, or the mayo took away too much of the hit. The tempeh filling was a bit like "tuna" salad, and the fillings squished out the sides as I was forming the rolls. I think I would like to see some red pepper strips in this next time for a touch of color and sweetness.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

M.I.A.

It's no secret that I haven't posted in a looooong time. Life happens.

My sister is more than halfway through her pregnancy now. We've gone shopping for baby furniture and shopping for maternity clothes, and just plain shopping. For some reason when she and I are together we end up "running a few errands" which ends up as a full day of shopping.

My brother's daughter Charlie had her hip surgery. It was a very long procedure that took a whole day and then a week at Boston Children's Hospital. She's doing well so far, though we had a little infection/pneumonia scare when she was recovering from the surgery. Luckily it wasn't insurmountable. She will be in a very elaborate cast for a while, which means that she can't fit in her car seat, so no visiting Auntie X.

And I got a full-time job for the first time in 2 years. Unfortunately, with 9 hours at work and 3 hours of commute each day, there isn't a lot of time left for cooking and blogging. I'm trying to be more proactive, planning ahead all meals and snacks for the entire week, doing all of my grocery shopping over the weekend, and using the crockpot as much as possible. Unfortunately even the best laid plans get brushed aside sometimes, especially this last week when I put in almost a full day's worth of overtime.

I don't want to give up this blog because I love to cook, but I think I'm going to have to get creative about how a do my blogging. I also have been really disappointed with the performance of my digital camera. The camera is a hand-me-down that I got from my mother-in-law. It was a reasonable camera for taking pictures of the renovation, but since the camera can't focus on anything closer than about 6 feet, it takes pretty unappealing food photos. But I also feel like photos are a very important part of food blogging. We eat first with our eyes, and it was always nicer to have a photograph to give you an idea about what the finished product will look like. Different cooks have different ideas about what "chop" or "thinly" means. Having a picture can give you and idea about what the author intended. So I've decided that one of the first purchases that I'll make with my new found income (once I've paid down some debt) is a new digital camera. I'd like to get the same one that Susan has over at Fat Free Vegan.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Wild Rice and Artichoke Salad



This is the recipe that originally made me realize that I didn't hate wild rice, artichokes, or capers like I thought I did. Wild rice always smelled swampy to me, and my few attempts at artichokes had left me un-enamored. This recipe seems to bring together these ingredients in such a way that lets them really shine. The original recipe was more involved and called for fresh artichokes, but generally that just seems too time consuming. By using canned artichoke hearts in this recipe, all of the ingredients except for the parsley and red onion are shelf stable, so this can be a quick and easy pantry meal.

ingredients:

3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

dressing:
1/4 c veg broth
2 T lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
several grinds of black pepper
3 T of your good olive oil
2 T capers, minced

finally:
1 generous bunch of fresh parsley, minced

Wash your wild rice by rubbing between your fingers in a bowl of water, strain and rinse in a fine mesh strainer. Cook the wild rice with the 2 bay leaves and 1/2 tsp salt in about 1-3/4 to 2 c water. If there is water leftover after almost all the grains have split and popped, then drain off the rest of the liquid and remove the bay leaves.

While the wild rice is cooking, chop the onion thinly, and quarter the artichoke hearts lengthwise. Once the wild rice is finished cooking put it in a large bowl to cool. I usually add the onion at this point, since the heat of the rice partially cooks them and takes the edge off their bite. If you really like raw onion, feel free to keep them aside until the wild rice is cooled.

Next mix up the dressing. I find the easiest way to do this is to measure the ingredients for the dressing into a small tightly sealing container and shake. Once the dressing is emulsified, you can combine everything. Don't forget to add lots of fresh parsley, as much as you can stand, it really brightens it. I think this salad is best at room temperature because the flavors are dulled too much by cold. It's okay to prep ahead and refrigerate though, just give it a chance to come up to room temperature before serving.

Easy Big Bread



I've been sick for almost a week now, but life carries on, and we were running out of baked goods, so I decided to try out this recipe for bread that's faster than the overnight rise needed for the No Knead Bread recipe. Since the rise time was low for this bread I decided to try to compensate by increasing the gluten. I replaced 3 tablespoons of the flour with vital wheat gluten. Unfortunately I don't think that the kneading time was sufficient to thoroughly activate the gluten. The result is a very light, soft bread with a delicate crumb. It's really best toasted. It's a bit like what our local grocery store bakery sells as peasant bread or portuguese bread. It was a nice change of pace from the No Knead Bread, but I'm not sure that it really qualifies as spectacular. I think the No Knead Bread has a lot of flavor from the slow rise that is easy to overlook, until it's not there as with this bread. This bread is perfectly good toasted around a simple sandwich, but it isn't really the sort of bread that I would sit down and eat a slice of plain, and sometimes that's just what I like to do.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Veganomicon: Chickpea Noodle Soup


*cough*, *cough*, *snif*, *snif*
I've been under the weather for the better part of the week. We've had pizza that I fully intended to blog, but then lost the will to photograph, and Chinese food from the local restaurant that was gloriously greasy, spicy, and comforting. Finally yesterday I decided it was time to nourish myself with something home-cooked.

I decided it was time to try out the highly acclaimed Chickpea Noodle Soup. It was warm and rich and comforting. My first impression was that the noodles soaked up far more of the liquid than I thought they would, to the point where it was almost a very saucy pasta dish rather than a soup. It was very good and highly addictive though. My only quibble is that I couldn't finish the whole pot in one sitting (even my stomach has limitations) and the second day it just wasn't the same. Miso doesn't reheat well and the mushroom flavor seemed to take over the dish. I ended up adding enough seitan cooking broth to thin it out and frozen corn and peas to brighten the flavor. I think I might try this again, but without the mushrooms, and maybe adding something green...

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Seitan Pot Pie with Brussels Sprouts and Biscuits



Seitan Pot Pie is one of our favorites. It's usually the first menu suggestion out of Paul's mouth whenever we have seitan in the house. I've even blogged a recipe here before. Tonight's version included brussels sprouts and was made using the Simple Seitan from Veganomicon. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. The broth turned out very flavorful, even without any added salt.

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
2 med carrots, diced
2 med celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced (tonight I used red onion, it lent a nice sweet flavor)
approximately 1 lb seitan, either home-made or store bought
4 cups seitan broth or a light chicken-flavored broth (I like No-Chicken broth by Imagine Foods)
1/2 lb brussels sprouts quartered
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced finely
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
2-4 tsp corn starch and cold water (we like our potpie soupy, but if you like yours more of a gravy consistency, then add more cornstarch and/or use less broth)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil until softened. Add the seitan and brussels sprouts and stir to coat everything with oil, saute for another minute or two, it's ok if things start to stick to the bottom a bit because they'll release when you add the broth. Add the garlic, herbs, and broth. Raise the heat to high until the broth boils, add the cornstarch mixed with a small amount of cold water (just enough to dissolve it), and then simmer on low while you prepare your favorite biscuit dough and the oven finishes preheating.

For this, I made the biscuits from the Leek and Bean Cassoulet, making sure to stir and combine everything more thoroughly this time. I used regular all-purpose flour this time and the biscuit dough was much softer and stickier. Instead of working it with my hands I used 2 spoons to form drop biscuits on the top of the potpie.

Just before adding the biscuits, I added the frozen corn and peas to the pot and stirred to combine. Remove the 2 bay leaves. Taste the broth now and make any adjustments for seasoning before you top with the biscuits. Then the entire thing goes into the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through and slightly browned.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

FatFreeVegan: North African Chickpea and Kale Soup


I know I said last time that Paul doesn't like kale, but I had to use up the rest of the bunch that I had bought because it was starting to go wilty. I also had chickpeas and I always have carrots so this soup made a lot of sense. This recipe was our second win for kale!

Veganomicon: Braised Seitan with Brussels, Kale, and Sundried Tomatoes



We love seitan and brussels sprouts. Unfortunately Paul isn't so fond of kale, so I served it over linguini to sweeten the deal. The recipe called for 2 Tbs of oil with a note to add more if necessary and I was pretty much ready to cut way back on the oil because the only sundried tomatoes I could get were the kind packed in oil. But I went with the recipe for the sake of the whole staying-faithful-to-recipes-as-they-are-written experiment, and it didn't turn out oily in the least. The seitan soaked up a lot of the oil, but without seeming greasy. It also left a lot of fond on the bottom of the pan to be deglazed by the broth and wine. Everything was cooked just right, the flavor was spot on. The only problem was that I overcompensated for the saltiness of the seitan and stock based on the the last recipe and didn't add the salt called for in the recipe. I wanted to get this dish plated up before the kale went beyond done, but I should have taken the extra time to really taste and adjust the salt. The result was that the dish wasn't quite seasoned enough.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

101 Cookbooks: Split Pea Soup



Don't go by my photo. Go here and salivate.

This is by far and away the best split pea soup I've ever had. The ingredients are so simple that I was tempted to add a few things here and there, but I'm glad I didn't. The fruity olive oil (I used my best olive oil for the finishing touch) and lemon brighten up the dish, and the paprika adds the smokey flavor that you expect in a split pea soup. Yum! This soup wasn't on my original menu plan for the week but I had to work it in as soon as I saw Heidi's photograph.

Veganomicon: Suateed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach



I will be the first to admit that this is not the most appetizing photo... But this dish was sooo good. Paul and I both love seitan, and I usually buy the Chicken-Style seitan from White Wave. The first seitan I ever tasted was one that I made myself when I was just a teenager in my mother's kitchen. I think that I had come across a vague description of what seitan was calling it a protein source made from kneading wheat dough and rinsing away the starches in water. I used flour, probably bread flour, made a dough out of it and then proceeded to knead and rinse he dough in the kitchen sink under running water. I don't even think that I used broth to boil it in, just water. But what resulted was as close to the White Wave seitan as I've ever come. Most recipes for home-made seitan use lots of flavor ingredients and vital wheat gluten flour. The result is, shall we say, globular. I think that the process of kneading and then washing out the starches later produces longer chains of gluten which give the seitan a more definite grain pattern rather than the chaotic grain of seitan made with vital wheat gluten flour. Of course this is all just conjecture based on a singular incident when I was very young, and I haven't bothered to test this hypothesis.

The Veganomicon recipe for Simple Seitan produces a seitan that isn't pretty to look at, but the flavor is really quite good. I'm glad that the authors simplified the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance down to a more reasonable list of ingredients. The Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach was delightful. Paul and I both loved it. I served it with quinoa cooked in the rice cooker using the broth that the seitan was boiled in. Unfortunately I should have tasted the dish before adding the salt that the recipe calls for because the end result was too salty even for Paul who usually salts up anything I cook regardless of how much salt I add while cooking, I've stopped trying to compensate for his love of salt altogether. Having said all that, this dish was so good that we ate it all anyway.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Veganomicon: Spinach Linguine with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes



I love basil and I love cilantro, so loving this dish was destined to be. The pesto by itself is tasty. The artichokes accentuate the lemony tang of the recipe and lighten the dish considerably. I think the only thing I would do differently next time is to double the amount of linguine to a full pound since there was more than enough pesto for the half-pound of pasta that the recipe called for.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Brown and Wild Rice with Asparagus and Basic Broiled Tofu



This meal is the sort of meal that makes you feel energized, light and virtuous. I found the wild rice and asparagus recipe on the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog when I was searching for a way to combine two ingredients that I happened to have on hand. It is the perfect weekend lunch for this time of year when Winter lingers but the weather warms up just enough to make your soul yearn for Spring. The wild rice and almonds convey the warmth and comfort of Winter while the asparagus hints at the promise of Spring. I was almost tempted to add oil to this dish, either by adding a dab of Soy Garden at the end or by sauteing the asparagus in it instead, but Susan V has never led me astray, so I made the recipe as written, and I'm so glad I did. The result was a nutty and delicate pilaf without any sort of heaviness of greasiness. I'm all for fat when it serves a purpose, but sometimes it's just unnecessary.

The Basic Broiled Tofu from the Veganomicon was a wonderful protein accompaniment. The lemon juice provided the perfect link between the flavor palettes of the two recipes. I was a bit concerned that this recipe wouldn't work out since the tofu that I had was the 99 cent tofu from Trader Joe's rather than extra-firm like the recipe called for, and then when the tofu was broiling and the tofu released its water into the pan I thought for sure that the tofu would end up soggy and fall apart. But with only an additional 3 minutes under the broiler, the tofu firmed up and the liquid evaporated. Without any additional oil, the tofu managed to take on a wonderfully chewy texture on the top while maintaining a smooth creamy interior. WIth such a low fat content, and no sugary sauce, this is one of the healthiest tofu recipes that I've encountered.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Veganomicon: Chickpea Cutlet, Brussels Sprouts, and Broccoli Polenta



Tonight's dinner was Chickpea Cutlets from the Veganomicon with Miso Gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance, broccoli Polenta from Veganomicon, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. We love Brussels sprouts, they are a staple of our holiday meal planning. I also love broccoli, and the broccoli polenta is very good, and wicked simple. I have made the broccoli polenta twice so far, and I must say that the first time I made it using baby broccoli and the Imagine No-Chicken broth and I think it came out far superior than this time when I made it with mature broccoli and generic vegetable broth.

Tonight's dinner was also a little experiment. I made all 4 chickpea cutlets according to the recipe, except that I pan-fried 2 in Paul's grandmother's cast iron skillet, and I baked 2 in the oven, both methods are listed in the book and I wanted to see if it made a substantial difference. The pan-fried cutlets came out darker and crispier on the outside, while the inside of the cutlets remained quite moist and squishy. The baked cutlets were more uniformly brown, cooked through evenly though a bit tougher and required an actual knife to be cut rather than cutting easily with the edge of the fork tines. Overall I greatly preferred the oven baked cutlets over the pan-fried. I liked that they were more evenly cooked through, I liked their resistance to being bitten, and I liked that it was much more fool proof to set the oven to specific temperature, set the timer and do something else without having to keep an eye on them, which clearly the pan-fried cutlets required.

The chickpea cutlets themselves are a brilliant combination of chickpeas and wheat gluten, with all the benefits of the latter without the time commitment of making seitan from scratch. Not that making seitan isn't a worthwhile endeavor, but for a weeknight, this meal comes together quickly and easily. I think the one miss here was that the Miso Gravy was just far too overpowering for the chickpea cutlets. I think it was the wine that I used and perhaps a different white wine would make a more subtle gravy, though I haven't had any problems with using this wine in other recipes, so perhaps it isn't the wine but just a poor pairing of sauce and entree. This was a very Meat & Potatoes kind of meal, which I think Paul definitely enjoyed. I am more of a one-pot-wonder type of girl, but variety is the spice of life!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Rice Noodle Stirfry



I haven't posted much in the last week because I've been feeling rather nauseous. For you nosey gossips: no, I'm not pregnant, and yes, I'm sure. I think it must have been a stomach bug and all I've wanted to eat is starchy things. Tonight is the first night since V-Day that I've felt like cooking, and I wasn't really feeling terribly adventurous. I wanted comfort food. I mentioned before that I grew up on PBS cooking shows including Yan Can Cook! My first ever kitchen implement was a wok set and I made lots and lots of stirfries. I could live on stirfries alone if Paul were game for it. Luckily for him I've branched out a bit since then.

This is my standard stirfry with rice noodles. I don't claim it to be authentically ethnic in any way, in fact I'm pretty sure that it's authentic in absolutely no way. I like my stirfries to be on the dry side. I'm not a big fan of brothy sauces on stirfries, even sauces that are thickened with starch, so expect none of that.

In this recipe I fry the tofu. I know that I've talked about not needing all the oil in the Veganomicon recipes, so you might have gotten the idea that I take after the Fat Free Vegan herself. Well, that's just not the case. It's not that I have anything against using fat in cooking, I just like to make it count. Unless you're the sort of person who is always trying to gain weight (which I'm not) I think that fat should have a significant impact on the flavor or texture of whatever you're using it in, or else it's just meaningless calories, and I have no need for meaningless calories. I don't fry every day, in fact it's less than once a month, so I think it's reasonable to splurge.

ingredients:
enough oil for frying
1 lb firm/extra-firm tofu
4 servings of a pad thai style rice noodle
2 leeks (white parts only, or 1 leek if using both the white and green parts), sliced thinly
2 small carrots, sliced diagonally
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 package baby broccoli, sliced on the diagonal
1 tsp thai green curry paste
1 tsp pureed ginger
1-2 clove garlic, pressed, smashed, or minced
2 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar/sushi vinegar
Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce (to taste)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Drain the tofu and press it between two plates weighted with something heavy while you go prep everything else to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Once the veggies are chopped, come back to the tofu and drain off the extra liquid. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and pat them all as dry as possible.

Go put on your rattiest long sleeved shirt and fill your wok with about 2 inches of oil. Heat it until you get tiny bubbles when you insert a bamboo chopstick. Fry the tofu cubes in very small batches. I like to use a long-handled slotted spoon to gently stir the tofu cubes in the oil to get all 6 sides as evenly as possible until they are light golden brown and then drain on paper towels or a cooling rack.

Once all of the tofu cubes as toasty and golden, drain off all the used oil into a heat-safe container and wipe out any burnt-on bits.

While the wok cools off a bit from the frying, break the rice noodles up into a lidded, heat-safe bowl, and boil enough water to cover the noodles. I like to use my electric kettle for this because you are just steeping the noodles rather than boiling them like you would wheat noodles. This way they cook gently enough that they don't turn to mush in the pot or dry into clumps in the strainer while you're trying to get your veggies just right in the wok. Once the water boils, pour over the rice noodles, give them a quick stir, to make sure they're all submerged, cover and let sit while you stirfry in your wok.

Now, the rest of this goes together quickly (less tan 10 minutes), despite my lengthy description. In the wok, add back the tiniest bit of oil to stirfry the veggies, really if the wok is hot you only need a tsp or less. The wok should already be pretty hot from the frying, if not let it warm up on high/med-high heat. Into the hot wok, add the sliced leeks and toss until they are shiny and starting to go limp, then quickly add the sliced carrots. This should go fairly quickly, just adding the next vegetable once the previous veggie has made a couple laps in the wok and has started to go shiny from the oil. Next is the bell pepper, and then the baby broccoli.

Once all the veggies are in the wok, I like to give it a toss, turn the heat down to medium and cover with a lid for a brief steam. I check it after just a minute, give it a toss, the veggies should still be a bit undercooked so that they can finish when you add the noodles.

Next, move the veggies up the sides of the wok to leave a space in the bottom center to make the sauce. Add the curry paste, ginger, garlic, and rice vinegar and stir together vigorously until the curry is dissolved in the liquid before stirring the veggies back into the center and adding the fried tofu cubes. The liquid will evaporate very quickly if your wok is hot, so work fast.

Now it's time to drain the noodles and add them into the wok. Don't worry too much about excess liquid because it'll help keep the noodles from sticking to the wok. Now it's time to add the Bragg's / soysauce slowly while stirring the noodles, tofu, and veggies to make sure that everything is seasoned evenly. This is where it's important to taste. Once your stirfry is seasoned to your taste, stir in a splash of sesame oil to finish, and serve immediately before everything goes limp and the noodles start sticking.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Veganomicon: Lasagne Marinara with Spinach



You may have noticed that we eat a lot of pasta. I think it's one of those food-ruts that vegetarians, especially vegans fall into when they dine frequently with omnivores. It's easy, it's not so weird that other people feel the need to comment on and "judge" your food choices, and it's a very comforting and traditional meal for a lot of modern Euro-American families. We happen to love pasta, not only for those reasons just mentioned, but also because it's a romantic and sensuous food. Pasta cooked al-dente has a soft, yet resilient texture that brings to mind other carnal activities. It also happens that some of our first meals together as a couple revolved around pasta and red wine, which makes it a very evocative menu specifically for us as a couple. So it shouldn't come as too much of a shock that our Valentine's meal came from the pasta family.

I love lasagna, I often make my own version of this dish for us, and I really wanted to love this recipe... but I didn't.

I chose the pinenut cream White and Red Lasagne variation with the standard recipes for Marinara Sauce, Tofu Ricotta, and Almesan (almond-based parmesan substitute) from the book. Unfortunately I think that the combined effect of all of that lemon flavor was overpowering to the finished lasagna. I do love lemon, don't get me wrong, but there is such a thing as too much, especially in a tomato-based dish. Instead of lending a subtle "sparkle" as Christina Pirello would say, the compounded lemon flavor turned into a cloying distraction from what should have been the main cast of characters. If you choose to make this recipe, I suggest making a decision as to which cast member gets the sparkle, and omitting the lemon from the other players.

The second problem with this recipe is that it turned out exceptionally soupy. I don't usually have that much of a problem with excess liquid in my lasagna, and while I did drain and squeeze the spinach, the liquid levels of the dish were overwhelming. I suggest using no-cook noodles and skipping the extra water that the recipe calls for.

Lastly, the amount of oil called for in the various parts of the recipe seemed excessive and really didn't add anything to the flavor or texture of the final product. Go ahead and skip most of the oil in this recipe and give your fat cells a break. Feel free to use a good canned or jarred sauce to save yourself the extra work of preparing the sauce, go ahead and use a frozen spinach instead of fresh, and feel free to use dried garlic instead of fresh here too. I don't think that any of those things would make a significant impact on the recipe, and there's no point in additional work if it doesn't result in exceptional flavor.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Veganomicon: Pasta della California



OK, so I'll admit that this isn't my first time with the Pasta della California, but it is my first time blogging it. I made it once before when my sister and her husband were over for a game night, but I was too carried away in the moment to stop to take pictures. I just want to say that this is a fabulous dish if you take the time to get the right ingredients. The first time I made this I went the 30 miles to a Whole Foods market to get arugula because none of our local stores carried it, and everything was fresh and it was wonderful. This time I used baby arugula from the local store and used a lemon because my limes were beyond sad. Tonight's dinner is a pale imitation of the delicious dinner we had on game night. The lesson here: go get full-grown arugula, it makes a huge difference. In my heart of hearts I knew this would be the case, but sometimes you just don't want to drive 30 miles to get $1.99 worth of produce. I think the other splurge in this dish is to use a nice light broth like Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth rather than a boullion or a darker broth. Otherwise, if you love avocado, garlic, lime and pasta, then this is definitely the dish for you.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Veganomicon: White Bean Aoli




I had canellini beans and I wanted a hummus-like "schmear" for our freshly baked bagels. This aoili is smoother and runnier than hummus and would probably be a wonderfully rich sandwich spread, a perfect veggie or chip dip, or even an impromptu white sauce for pasta. I don't think it's quite thick enough for a bagel spread, but the flavor is wonderful.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Veganomicon: Tempeh Shepherdess Pie



I can count on one hand the number of tempeh dishes that I really love, and now this is among them. I get nervous using tempeh. When I was still a young vegetarian living at home with my parents I tried to cook with tempeh. I knew nothing. I thought that tempeh would be like tofu and that I could cook it any old way I liked. Needless to say it wasn't and my first tempeh creation was completely inedible. It wasn't until a few years ago that I tried tempeh again using a Carolina-style BBQ recipe from Veggie Life Magazine. And then more recently, the other tempeh recipe I've tried from Veganomicon was great. The texture of the filling was perfect. The taste was fabulous, though I'll probably boost the thyme next time. The one little problem I had with the recipe was that the potatoes came out a bit crumbly and dry when I first mashed them, so I added a bit more soymilk to them. But with that one exception the dish was a huge success. I might just have fallen in love with tempeh after all!

More Bagels: Onion and Sesame Seed



My original plan for this weekend was to invite my sister over for a bagel bake-a-thon, but unfortunately her husband was sick and she felt like she might be coming down with it, so I figured it was best for all parties concerned for us not to spread the germs. So instead I baked bagels by myself until I ran out of yeast.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Veganomicon: Green Pea and Lemon Risotto with Roasted Red Peppers



I love risotto. This risotto is a lovely combination of the sweet peas and roasted red peppers and the rich, herby, and creamy rice in harmony with the sparkle of the lemon. I think this would be a dreamy dish for a Valentine's dinner with the one you love.

Bagels from Baking Bites Blog


Ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to bake bagels, but my mother convinced me that it was too complicated. I'm happy to report that is not the case. It was actually really fun and I even made an audible squee of delight while they were baking.

I used the recipe over here on the blog Baking Bites, and you should too. It's laid out so nicely and the photos are gorgeous. I did make a couple substitutions though, because I just can't help myself. I don't have bread flour in the house, so I used all purpose flour plus a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. I also used a cornstarch wash instead of an egg wash. I whisked 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water then whisked that mixture into a cup of boiling water. I brushed the bagels before they went into the oven and then again afterward. I can't wait to try this recipe out again with flavors and toppings.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Veganomicon: Pasta E Fagioli


The authors tell us this is pronounced Pasta Fazool. It's an utterly simple dish of pasta, beans, tomato, garlic and herbs. I used some tricolor radiatorre for an extra color boost. I think that this is a recipe that would be beautiful for those full summer, fresh from the garden or farmer's market tomatoes. In the winter, I think canned tomatoes would be much nicer in this dish than the pale pink things I got in the produce section... Lesson learned. Instead of using canned beans I used dried beans cooked in the slow cooker. Unfortunately I was less than attentive and overcooked the little buggers, so they were mushy. And yet, despite all of that, the end product was warm, tasty, comforting, and completely satisfying. This is stick to your ribs cooking. So go ahead and make this in February, but I suggest using canned tomatoes, it'll save you chopping time as well.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Veganomicon: Asparagus Quiche With Tomatoes and Tarragon


I'll start by saying that I approached this recipe with great skepticism. Before I became vegan, years ago, I had perfected a spinach and onion quiche, and none have ever measured up. I'm not fond of tarragon as a general rule, and I once had a bean based quiche cooked by an acquaintance that wasn't very good. So I'm sure that you can imagine how pleasant was my surprise that this quiche turned out beautifully.

The crust is wonderfully flakey and crisp, I was afraid that it would burn during the long 45 minute cooking time, but it was just browned, perhaps a bit overly crisp, but not the slightest bit burned. I think the crispness is mainly due to the delicate nature of vegan shortening. I used Earth Balance margarine which softens at room temperature. It's no match for a traditional crust, but it's one of the best vegan crusts I've had.

The bean filling is smooth and creamy, the tomatoes are the perfect juicy-tart counterpoint to the rich creaminess. This is one of the first recipes where I feel that every drop of the oil called for is necessary. The breadcrumbs on top add a wonderful layer of texture.

Unfortunately, although the tomato slices make for a stunning presentation, they make it very difficult to cut the finished quiche. If I make this one again I will dice the tomato and scatter the pieces across the top. The only room for improvement I see with this dish is that I wish the filling were firmer like a traditional quiche. That didn't stop us from devouring the entire thing by ourselves.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Veganomicon: Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits




This is an excellent potpie recipe. The biscuits cook up just past doughy but not yet dry or crumbly, the broth is thick, and the vegetables are tender. My one concession to health and nutrition was using white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, but the difference wasn't terribly noticeable. Paul and I both enjoyed it, and agreed that it reminds us a bit of my seitan pot pie. I have to admit that using beans instead of seitan makes this a much less labor-intensive dish, though seitan provides a nice chewy counterpoint to the tender vegetables. I probably will make this again, but I think that I will use more leeks for a stronger flavor since they get mellowed quite a bit in the cooking and I will use less cornstarch, maybe as little as 1 Tbs, so that the broth is a bit more fluid. I'll probably also add a bay leaf and more herbs to boost the flavor a bit. And to those of you undertaking this recipe, make sure that you stir the vinegar/soymilk mixture quite well before adding it to the dry ingredients because I failed to remix them and evidently the two had separated and we ended up with a couple very tart biscuits, but that was certainly my fault and not the recipe authors'.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Veganomicon: Pumpkin Saag and Saffron-Garlic Rice



The Pumpkin Saag reminded me of a red lentil, quinoa, spinach salad recipe that was in Veggie Life in the grains issue. Unfortunately I didn't read the recipe carefully before shopping for ingredients and planned on using the pureed pumpkin left-over from my pumpkin bread recipe. The difference only seemed to affect the texture and not the flavor. I think this is one dish that I would make spicier, since I tend to expect it in a curry.

The Saffron-Garlic Rice had a wonderful flavor, but just a bit too much oil for my taste. I think if I make this one again I will cut back the oil to less tan a tablespoon. I also changed the slivered almonds to frozen peas added right at the end and lightly steamed on the hot rice (with the lid on). I think that almonds would be just as wonderful, I just felt like bright green peas would make a nice light alternative in such a weighty dish.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Veganomicon: Penne Vodka



Last night's dinner was Penne Vodka from the Veganomicon. The recipe was simple enough to put together. Essentially all that was required was to saute the garlic, red pepper flakes, and then add the herbs, canned tomato, vodka and simmer. The creamy component to the sauce was achieved by using almonds. I used almond meal instead of the slivered almonds that the recipe called for because it was what I had and it seemed easer to use the pre-ground almonds than to break down slivered almonds with the stick blender.

This recipe was very interesting. I've never had vodka sauce before, so I'm really not sure how it compares to any sort of standard. The almond meal makes the sauce very creamy and almost a mac & cheese type consistency. I think that we will definitely make this recipe again, though I think I will be reducing the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. It's not that I don't love a spicy sauce, but this one turned out spicier than I expected and it seemed like it detracted from the overall creaminess. I think the level of heat was something more like a strong pomodoro than a mild marinara which was more along the lines of what I was expecting. I don't mind so much for myself, but Paul's system has a harder time handling the heat.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Veganomicon: Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa



Cashews are Paul's favorite nut, his grandmother recently gave us a bag of them, and quinoa is my favorite grain, so choosing this recipe wasn't a difficult decision. The recipe calls for cooking the quinoa and cooling it for at least an hour or overnight, so I started the recipe last night while I was cooking yesterday's dinner.



Tonight, I assembled the rest of the ingredients:



And then got cooking:



I respected the times given in the recipe except for toasting the nuts, it took about twice the time the recipe called for and the nuts never really got much color. I was nervous about adding the garlic so early since it has a tendency to burn, but it actually worked out pretty well. I think the only change I would make to the recipe is to add the peas later on with the pineapple and quinoa since they're so delicate, however I think that edamame could handle the longer cooking time.

Overall this was a tasty meal, though I think the sweet, spicy, tangy balance was a bit overly sour. I think that if I were making this again I would want to add something substantial like slightly smokey-sweet baked tofu cubes and reduce the amount of pineapple chunks. I think for me I would also increase the amount of chile-heat, but I'm a chile-head so I wouldn't recommend it for the faint-of-tongue. I also think that the amount of oil could be reduced by 1-2 TBS without drastically effecting the final dish.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Veganomicon: Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe with Rotelle



This dish is unctuous -- in a good way. Paul described it as tasting like sundried tomato, but the fennel and red pepper flakes give it a taste reminiscent of sausage. The tempeh is triple cooked: simmered, steamed, and fried leaving the texture both firm and yielding with a very pleasant tooth. I used baby broccoli since I don't have ready access to broccoli rabe at my local stores, but I think that's a minor concession that many people outside of urban America might need to make.

This dish was so tasty that Paul went back for seconds and that rarely ever happens. I will definitely be making this again, though hopefully I can figure out a way to reduce the oil from 1/4 cup to something a little healthier without compromising the flavor or texture. Also worth noting, I think the recipe may have been the victim of some improper editing as the ingredients list the red wine vinegar twice but the instructions only call for it once. I simply added it once at the end where it was called for in the instructions.

The Resolution...

Recently I've acquired as gifts two new cookbooks: Veganomicon: the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero as well as How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman. Both are tomes among cookbooks. I fell in love with the Veganomicon while visiting friends in New York; so many fabulous-sounding recipes! The Bittman book was a gift from Paul's grandmother who learned about it in a Fresh Air interview with Mark Bittman.

I think that it was the overwhelming urge to cook everything in the Veganomicon that drove me to reflect on my previous relationships with cookbooks. I owe my love of cooking to growing up watching PBS. Actually, being an avid PBS-watcher as a small child accounts for a lot of my hobbies: woodworking, gardening, home-improvement to name a few. My first excursions into the world of cooking were heavily influenced by my favorite shows: The Frugal Gourmet with Jeff Smith, The French Chef with Julia Child, and Yan Can Cook with Martin Yan. The most important thing that I learned from these shows was to be fearless with food. By the age of eleven I started cooking for myself and occasionally for my family as well. I made the choice to become a vegetarian and I didn't want to sacrifice my love of food. I started heavily modifying recipes to make them fit my new food choices. I became an adventurous cook. Having very little actual cooking experience, I relied on my visual experience watching those shows on PBS. My choices in cookbooks were heavily influenced by those visual experiences. I chose cookbooks with large color photography that in today's blogiverse we call "food porn". But the recipes hardly ever lived up to the fantasy and I started using cookbooks with pretty pictures as inspiration only and making up my own dishes that matched the flavors that my imagination tasted in the pictures.

It wasn't until recently that I started following other people's recipes faithfully. A few years ago I met a vegan housewife who actually managed to make menu plans and shopping lists, and she introduced me to Veggie Life Magazine. My mother, like most other women I knew did her shopping based on a rough estimate of what her family needed for the week and whatever else "looked good". Sometimes that meant that things didn't get used in time and wilted or spoiled, sometimes it meant that we didn't have all of the ingredients we needed for a particular dish and had to run out to the store again during the week. I inherited this pattern of shopping behavior, until I made friends with this vegan housewife who made shopping lists. I subscribed to VeggieLife Magazine and started building menu plans and shopping lists around each new issue. This renewed my faith in other people's recipes and my faith in new ingredients.

Two years ago Paul and I embarked on a major home renovation, choosing to do as much of the work ourselves as possible. For the better part of the past two years I have survived on a limited budget and without a kitchen. The crockpot and toaster oven have been my friends. Now I have a working kitchen with brand-spanking-new appliances. I have more time to cook, and the Veganomicon has renewed my interest in following other people's recipes. I want to be an artist with food, and one of the principles of The Artist's Way is the need to continually replenish the well from which we draw our inspiration. It is my resolution this year to work my way through as many recipes in my cookbook collection as possible starting with the Veganomicon. I'm not going to use a recipe for every meal, and I'm not goig to refrain from improvising or cooking old favorites, but each week I will chose a handful or recipes from one of my cookbooks and blog about them.

VwaV: Scrambled Tofu and Herb-Roasted Potatoes



Today is Paul's day off, and the start to our weekend, so to start things off right I wanted to cook a hearty breakfast that's a little fancier and more savory than pumpkin bread. After skimming through some cookbooks I settled on the scrambled tofu and herb-roasted potatoes from vegan with a vengeance. Both are dishes that I make frequently, but instead of winging it as I usually do, I decided to follow the recipes from VwaV so that I could write a review here on my food blog.

The potatoes are divine, and easy to boot. These are definitely worth making for a nice brunch or even dinner. The scrambled tofu was definitely good, but more complicated than the version that I usually make. I was concerned that the paprika might be too strong a flavor for the mildness of the mushrooms, and the amount of cumin seemed like a lot, but it turned out that both were spot on. The lemon was unusual and I think I might use less next time because I think it was a bit overpowering, but that might just be because I was using a particularly juicy lemon. Overall it was still quite good and although I would have liked to see some spinach or other leafy greens, Paul thought it was excellent.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Bryanna's Burger Buns



Every week or so I make a vague outline of the meals that I want to make and then a shopping list for the items not currently in our pantry, then, as the day unfolds I poll Paul to find out which meal he's feeling like that day. Tonight Paul had a date to be online playing WoW with his brother and friends and his response was something that could be eaten with his hands while on the computer. OK, sandwich.

Oops, no bread, and a loaf of bread takes the better part of a day to bake... far too long for the couple hours I have to figure out dinner. Pitas? Tortillas? ... Instead I remembered a blog entry I'd seen not too long ago.

I followed her instructions for Bryanna's Jiffy Burger Buns (3rd recipe down the blog post) except that I didn't have potato flakes, nor sesame seeds. I substituted corn starch for the potato flakes and left the buns bare.

These were so good that Paul declared them the best burger buns he's ever had. This has definitely inspired me to try her other bun recipes when BBQ season hits, and even going to the trouble of planning ahead to make sure I have all the recommended ingredients.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Perfect Pumpkin Bread


Recently I baked and pureed a large pumpkin leftover from Halloween. I searched the interwebs for the perfect pumpkin bread recipe. Far too many called for too much sugar, oil or eggs. I've made some revisions to this basic vegan recipe. The original had far too little spice for my taste, so I've increased the cinnamon and added fresh ginger. I would expect that dried ginger or even crystalized ginger would make a lovely addition. I've also added chopped almonds for a pleasing crunch. Almonds are my favorite nut, and I think they add a cleaner, fresher taste than walnuts or pecans could. The dried cranberries add a juicy tang, though if you have only traditional raisins, I think some orange or lemon zest would give it that zing. I baked the pumpkin halves cut-side down on a sheet pan for 90 minutes, pureed the pulp in the food processor, and drained over night in a cloth lined sieve to reduce the water content.

dry ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/3 tsp ground cloves
a generous pinch of salt

wet ingredients:
2 cups cooked pumpkin puree
1/2 cup agave syrup
2 T oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fresh ginger puree
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a standard size loaf pan.

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Fold wet ingredients into the dry until thoroughly incorporated. The batter should be fairly stiff. Smooth batter into the greased loaf pan and bake immediately for 55 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a rack before cutting.