Comfort Kitchen

Local Craft Bazaars in and around DC

2007-11-17T16:18:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to buy handmade for those gifts that I'm not making this year. My biggest challenge seems to be children's gifts. I'm looking for interesting toys and games, things that are not just another wooden truck or name puzzle. I was so bored at the Sugarloaf craft fair today at the Montgomery county fairgrounds. Sugarloaf was pretty surreal--it felt exactly like the craft fairs I used to attend with my mom when I was a kid--maybe its even the same vendors, who knows? I bought only two things of note: an amazing pair of mittens made from recycled sweaters--unfortunately, the artist does not have a web site, and a yard of fabric from a woman who designs natural indigo-dyed cotton.

Since I'm still on the lookout, I've done a little research to see where in the DC area there might be some fun holiday craftiness going on. If you know of any additions to this list, let me know and I'll add it here.

Nov. 24th: Saturday • November 24 • 10AM-5PM: Bazaart: Artful Holiday Shopping Extravaganza! at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore

Nov. 29: Patton Boggs Holiday Bazaar; Patton Boggs LLP, 2550
M Street NW, Washington DC; 11 a.m. -2 p.m.

Beginning December 7th, there's the DC Downtown Holiday Market

Dec 9th: Squidfire's Holiday Pop Mart at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House 12-7 p.m.

Dec 15th: Craft Mutiny Holiday Booty Market.

Kucinich at the latest debate

2007-11-17T15:25:00.001-08:00

Chickpea and Rice Soup

2007-10-03T09:38:00.001-07:00

Riffing on a recipe on the PPK blog (part of the upcoming Veganomicon), which I've already pre-ordered, I'm making the following Soup:

1 Onion
A splash of olive oil
1 cup of carrots
1 8 oz. pkg. of crimini mushrooms
1/2 t. celery seeds
1 t. thyme
a pinch of rosemary (crushed)
2 T. mirin
1/3 c. miso
4 c. veggie broth
2 c. or more, water
1 can of chickpeas
2 cups cooked rice (I had some leftover--you can see on Isa's blog, she uses soba noodles)
1 pkg. frozen spinach.

Saute onions, add carrots, mushrooms, herbs, cook until onions are translucent. Add mirin, miso, broth and water. Add chickpeas. Cook until carrots are fork-tender. 20 minutes before serving, add rice and spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Technorati Tags:
vegan, PPK, soup

Yummy Miso-Baked Tofu

2007-10-03T06:25:00.001-07:00

Made this last night--it was delicious! I would make it again, but I'd omit half of the soy sauce. Also, we didn't broil it, we baked it at 450 for twenty minutes. It was perfect. The ingredients are all things you probably have in your kitchen, and it was *very* quick to make. I served it with steamed delicata squash and rice.

Hamilton Eats Local

2007-09-25T09:11:00.001-07:00

I grew up right next to the Hamilton College campus in Clinton, NY where my parents still work. Today the college is participating in the Eat Local Challenge along with other colleges in the Northeast. They're holding a campus-wide picnic filled with local ingredients. My mom says they even found flour milled locally. She's headed over to the picnic right now. Hamilton College contracts with Bon Appétit, a national food service company who seems to have the most ecological, forward thinking approach to their work of any of the big mass market food providers. The head chef at Hamilton College, Ruben Haag says he regularly seeks works with about a dozen farmers from upstate New York. Pat Raynard, the general manager of Bon Appétit at Hamilton College was quoted in a press release saying, "I don't know of anyone else who is closing down campus and holding a huge picnic where the farmers will be on hand."

Technorati Tags:
farm, garden, local, organic, carbon, eat local challenge

Trader Joe's Organic Humus

2007-09-05T09:32:00.001-07:00

Has Trader Joe's changed the formula for it's organic humus? I bought some yesterday and I ate the whole container myself, almost in one sitting. It tastes like what my Syrian grandmother would have made if she liked humus. No, really, she didn't, I'm not sure why, she favored tabouleh. So, I learned to make humus from my mom, who I think got her recipe from a vegetarian cookbook. I'm very picky about humus--I don't like it chunky, and I don't like extra spices like cumin or anything like that.

But the Trader Joe's humus is perfect--it's thick, you can really taste the tahini, and the garlic, lemon and salt are all balanced beautifully. In fact, if I were to change it at all, I might just add a touch of olive oil, which you could do easily if you were going to serve it. I wish I had bought more, yum!

Back from Seattle

2007-07-29T12:01:00.001-07:00

Morel Mushrooms at the Market
Originally uploaded by plainsight

Selma and I recently went home to Seattle for a visit... It's amazing to be back on the Left coast where local food is really valued. The local neighborhood farmers market is 90% organic, all local, all food (no crafts, imports, etc.) and is so different from what we find here in Maryland (at least what I've found so far). There are also goodies like these morel mushrooms that are a particularly northwestern treat.

I'll be posting again soon about a great bakery and an amazing new Fair Trade chocolate sauce. Meanwhile, here's a photo round-up of our trip.

Ratatouille

2007-07-03T11:04:00.001-07:00

Ratatouille
Originally uploaded by plainsight

We went to see the new Disney movie over the weekend, and to use up what was left of the week's CSA box, I made this loose interpretation of ratatouille. "It doesn't look like the one in the movie, mom," Selma commented on the presentation of the dish in the movie, and added, "that one had a special sauce." Kids are so literal. She gobbled it up, regardless.

I omitted the tomatoes I usually put in my ratatouille, used only salt, olive oil, and basil for seasoning. Vegetables were yellow squash, onions, and zucchini, I added a can of white beans just before serving, and served over butterfly pasta.

Wikipedia says this about the origin of the word ratatouille:

The name of the dish appears to derive from the French touiller, "to stir", although the root of the first element "rata" is slang from the French Army meaning "chunky stew".

They also have a recipe in their Wikimedia Cookbook.

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beans, vegan, local, ratatouille, disney

Birthday Cupcakes

2007-07-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

Creamsicle Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by plainsight

Does it seam as if I only make one kind of cupcake? This one has been a favorite for a while now--and while I do have many vegan cupcake recipes I love, I haven't felt the need to make any other kind--these are just so moist, and yummy--orange and vanilla-y, chocolate buttercream--mmmm.... Maybe I should go have one. Blueberries from Blueberry Gardens, where we went picking this weekend.

Edible

2007-06-29T07:22:00.001-07:00

Butternut Squash and Leek Tart
Originally uploaded by plainsight

Don't you love food in edible containers? This past week, with bootie from our CSA box, I've made cabbage rolls--based on an old Syrian family recipe--using Gimme Lean in place of gound lamb--they really tasted like childhood to me... And on Wednesday night, this sort of calzone. The filling--butternut squash, leeks, greens, etc.--is based on one of my favorite recipes from a wonderful book In Nonna's Kitchen, a book of recipes and stories from Italy's grandmothers. Instead of the traditional savory pie crust, I used some Trader Joe's pizza dough that I had on hand. It was delicious, and my mom, who was visiting used up some old baguette by making a sort of roasted tomato bruschetta to compliment it. We also had salad from the CSA and a non-local bottle of shiraz.

Speaking of Edible, Have you heard of the Edible Communities newsletters? They're beautiful small magazines that highlight local food producers--they exist in many parts of the country, you can find out if there's one in your area on their web site. If there isn't, there's information on how to start your own. The current issue of Edible Chesapeake has a piece by local DC author Samuel Fromantz, who wrote Organic, Inc. The piece is reprinted on the web site, and talks frankly about what's better-- local or organic. I agree with him, that if you're making that decision, you're one of the 1-2% of the country that's an informed consumer and either will help the environment. The challenge is how to enlighten the remaining 98%.

Kitchen Incubator

2007-06-28T17:48:00.001-07:00

Check out La Cocina--a business incubator for food entrepreneurs in San Francisco.

Here's a direct link to their site.

Notice the lips...

2007-06-28T08:37:00.001-07:00

blueberry picking
Originally uploaded by plainsight

...are stained blue--I don't think he even has a basket. This is Jay, blueberry picking last summer at Blueberry Gardens, and organic orchard (and yoga/massage center !!!) in Ashton, MD. I've decided blueberry picking will be one of the things we do on my birthday, which is coming up on Sunday. Since this photo was taken three days after my birthday last year, I'm guessing that the time is right!

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organic, garden, farm, local

Mom's always right.

2007-06-27T07:10:00.001-07:00

WATERMELON EATER
Originally uploaded by foreversouls

When I was a kid, my mom always said, "A colorful plate makes for a healthy meal." Of course she's right about that, and yesterday, she was right about one more thing. I'd always thought of watermelon as a fun snack, but it turns out, it's a superfood--full of lycopene, vitamin C, and other great nutrients all with only 46 calories per cup!

Oh, in other food news, the July+Aug issue of VegNews just came out, and with it, my article about "Benevolent Businesses," green companies with great perks for employees.

Also, many of you are aware of the kurfluffle that erupted after a nutritionist and former vegan slammed veganism in an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times siting both faulty science and shady legal ideas. Well, the Public Editor--an ombudsman between the Times and its readers--has responded to the piece saying the Times was irresponsible--and that even though the article was opinion, they should not have allowed it to be printed without rebuff, knowing full well that the evidence sited was not up to snuff. (Thanks Hilary--for pointing this out!)

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watermelon, superfood, vegan, vegetarian, vitamins, mom New York Times, Veg News

Best Veg Restaurants in DC

2007-06-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Compassion over Killing is sponsoring a contest to vote for the best veg restaurants in the dc area. You don't have to register to vote, but if you do, you'll be entered in a drawing for some nice prizes.

Is someone at the FTC a Princeton grad?

2007-06-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

When I heard that Whole Foods was trying to buy smaller natural food chain Wild Oats, I was a little disappointed. When we lived in Princeton, NJ a couple of years ago, there was a small, local Wild Oats in walking distance from campus. But while I was there, a huge, new shiny Whole Foods opened a couple of miles away. They didn't compete much because Wild Oats catered to the walking/biking crowd around campus, and Whole Foods, the suburbanites with cars (I was both). I didn't want them to close Wild Oats but I thought, worst case scenario, if they close Wild Oats, it means the local Co-op, also walking distance from campus, will do even better. But some of the folks I know who are still in Princeton were quite upset about the prospect.

Now, the Federal Trade Commission is challenging the merger citing, believe it or not, Anti-trust concerns. In a world where Safeway and even Wal-Mart are selling their own brands of organic food, a merger of this scale is in no way an anti-trust violation. An opinion piece by Daniel Gross in Slate explains the issue in great detail. Gross Begins:

The U.S. attorney scandal has raised fears that the Bush administration is misusing the levers of government to punish political opponents. Now I think I've uncovered another sinister example of the administration using government lawyers to stick it to liberals. And this time, Bush is aiming for the belly!

Gross goes on to illustrate how the FTC allows huge mergers like that of AT&T and Cingular to occur, but somehow doesn't want to encourage growth in a more progressive industry.

Where does your bread come from?

2007-05-07T07:50:00.001-07:00

If you eat bread, even bread made at home, you're most likely consuming wheat gluten--the same ingredient causing problems in all the bad pet food (and now chicken feed) a few weeks back. The FDA has little control over what goes into your bread because, not surprisingly, many of the vital ingredients are imported from China. This morning on National Public Radio, there was a story saying that the newly appointed FDA "czar" has basically no power (not unlike most czars in history, US or otherwise), even though he was appointed in response to the pet food crisis.

A story this morning in the Kansas City Star says our wheat gluten was mostly produced domestically until 2000 when import quotas were lifted. Subsequently, most domestic producers went out of business. According to the star, [it is] "estimated that the U.S. consumes about 530 million pounds of wheat gluten annually. Government figures show that about 386 million pounds of that were imported."

Take Action
What does all this mean? To me, It means I want to know where my food comes from. The best way to do that is to buy your food as close to its source of manufacture as possible. Barring that, caveat emptor, be an informed consumer.

Ask Your Baker
Ask at your bakery where they get their gluten. More pointedly, ask if any of their ingredients are produced in China. If you buy bread at a grocery store, look at the packaging. Visit the web site listed and send them an e-mail. Call customer service numbers. If there aren't any on the packaging, Google the company, you'll most likely find something. It takes consumers telling companies they care where their ingredients come from for change to happen.

Let me know when you've found out, and I'll create a web-list of bread companies that use domestic gluten. I may also try and contact the two remaining domestic producers to see if they can provide a client list.

Talk to your Representatives
Stronger FDA oversight is needed to insure the safety of imported ingredients. This will take new legislation. Call or e-mail to let your representatives know you're concerned about where your food comes from.

Beyond Food Safety
The importation of ingredients like wheat and soy have effects beyond food safety. Domestic farmers and manufacturers are going out of business. Support your local growers and local bakeries, and small local manufacturers. Visit local farms and farmers' markets. Get to know your food producers. My friend and fellow blogger, Hannah and her family do a great job finding local sources for almost anything, and she writes periodically about it on her blog. I'm looking forward to reading the new book by Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, where she chronicles a year of eating food "from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

(x-posted on Hook and I)

A Favorite Comfort Food

2007-05-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

We actually had this dinner last night--but it's become a new family favorite, and since it's so easy, I thought it would make a good Friday night meal. When I was a kid, a favorite lunch for both my brother and me was grilled cheese with tomato soup. When I stopped eating heavily processed foods, it was a meal I missed. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Hillary told me about the Creamy Tomato Soup from Imagine foods. (And 'tho it's creamy, it's free of dairy and soy). It's not condensed and comes in a 32 oz. container, so one box feeds a family of four. We made grilled "cheese" with Vermont Organics Multigrain bread and Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese (a mix of their cheddar and montery jack varieties). I served the meal with sliced apples, just like my mom used to. It was quick, yummy, and everyone (including my omnivore husband) devoured it.

Oh, a process note--my mom taught me to make grilled cheese by buttering the outside of the bread--I find with the soft breads I use, that's not necessarily enough fat on the pan itself, so I've been putting the grease (Earth Balance Margarine, in my case) on the skillet itself.

(x-posted to Hook and I)

In my mailbox

2007-04-12T10:40:00.001-07:00

0412071331.jpg
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Look what came in the mail today!

This cute little tome is part of the new "hybrid" format herbivore magazine has taken. They're publishing this tiny book a few times a year, but publishing online monthly and they've added subscriber-only forums and lots of other cool stuff... Lookin' good guys!

Peanut Coconut Curry

2007-04-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

Peanut Coconut Curry
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

When we lived in Seattle, I would often cook with my friend Cynthia. Usually, we'd do it at her house, because she had a larger kitchen. The kids would run around and entertain each other, and we'd make dinner.

We usually did this on nights when James was away on his ship, or her husband was traveling for work, but sometimes the guys would show up in time to eat. This curry was a favorite of ours. We adapted the recipe from a cookbook of Cynthia's (I don't remember which), but we made it much, much richer by upping the coconut and peanut content, and we toned down the heat (i.e. cayenne) so the kids would maybe try it.

I haven't made it in a long time, but I did on Monday night. I called Cynthia to say "do we really use a whole can of coconut milk in this?" She reassured me, that my notes were accurate. And everyone but Jay devoured it (he is still a pretty picky two-year-old, but I don't complain because he likes most vegetables, he just likes his food straight up, no sauces). I served four adults and two kids, and there were enough leftovers for four people tonight, so it does make a big batch.

A side note--this recipe could easily be converted for the slow cooker. I would just sauté the onions with the oil and spices, then add everything but the greens to the cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours (until potatoes are soft), add the greens in the last 20 minutes of cooking.

The Recipe
(serve over brown rice -- I made 3 cups dry rice and that was plenty for this recipe, as I said it serves a crowd)

1 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 T. cumin
1 T. yellow mustard seeds
2 t. ground coriander
1 t. turmeric
1 t. paprika
1/4 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
3 in. piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 med. sweet potato, peeled and diced small
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can white beans (some times I use those heirloom speckled beans)
2 med-large yukon gold potatoes, diced (not peeled)
1 15 oz. can coconut milk (I use full fat, but low fat is also fine)
1/2 c. smooth (unsweetened) peanut butter
1 lb greens (I like collards or mustard greens--spinach works fine too), roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion in oil over med. heat, add spices, and cook until onion is translucent. Add garlic, ginger and sweet and white potatoes. Sauté for 10-15 minutes.

Add coconut milk, tomato, peanut butter and beans. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are soft (can take up to 40 minutes). This is a good time to make the rice.

Just before serving, add the greens and cook until wilted.

Serve over brown rice.

Creamy Lemon-Dill Noodles

2007-04-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday's usually crockpot day for me, but the lid broke last weekend, so I was at a bit of a loss for what to make. Even thought we're in the middle of a cold snap, It's Easter, and I wanted something that seemed like spring.

I ended up making a simple white sauce for some whole wheat angel hair. The sauce had a nice light flavor and everyone, including the kids, loved it. Served with peas, spinach, and my mom's version of a Waldorf salad. We took it over to some neighbors to share, so unfortunately, I have no pics, but it was tastier than it was pretty, anyway.

Creamy Lemon-Dill Sauce
(Makes enough for 1 lb. of pasta)

3 T earth balance margarine
1/3 c. unbleached flour
1 1/2 c. unsweetened soy milk (or more, as needed)
1/2 t. garlic, minced
1 t. dried dill (or 2 t. fresh)
1/3 c. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste.
1/4 c. chopped parsley

Melt margarine in a skillet, add flour, and cook for at least 5 minutes over medium heat. Flour need not brown but should be fully cooked to avoid a flour-y taste to the sauce. Add soy milk and whisk until smooth. The sauce will not thicken fully until it simmers, and at this point you may find you need to thin it a bit. Add the seasonings (except parsley), and then turn off the heat, adding more milk to thin if necessary. Taste and add more lemon juice and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Pour over just cooked and drained noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

------

Waldorf Salad

3 small apples, diced (not peeled)
1/2 c. diced celery
1/4 c. roasted/salted sunflower seeds
1/4 c. raisins
1/2 c. soy mayo
1/4 c. orange juice
salt and pepper

Combine chopped fruit, veggies, raisins and seeds. In a small bowl, whisk together soy mayo, orange juice, salt and pepper (you can use white pepper if you don't want black specks) Coat the fruit mixture with the dressing and serve. Chill salad if you're not going to serve it right away. This make s a great kids lunch salad because the juice and mayo keep the apples from browning.

Deconstructed Taco Salad

2007-04-06T06:32:00.001-07:00

Deconstructed Taco Salad
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Selma loves Vegan Lunch Box and when she saw her lunch today, the insisted it was photo-worthy. It's actually leftovers from our make your own taco night (tomatoes, refried beans, soy sour cream, mexican rice, oops! I should have added the avocado!), repurposed so she can make her own nachos at Spring Break Camp. Yea Leftovers!

Jamba Juice hides Dairy in their Smoothies

2007-04-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

Boing Boing says:

I recently noticed that the Jamba Juice ingredient book doesn't say what's in the non-dairy goo they add to their smoothies, claiming that the specific composition is a trade secret. They say that if there's something you're allergic to, you can ask them and they'll tell you if it's in there, like a culinary game of Go Fish. I wasn't sure if this was legal, so I mentioned it to Ben Popken from Consumerist and he did an excellent job of running the story down. Turns out that Jamba's non-dairy blend contains...milk!

Via my brother, boing boing and ultimately, The Consumerist.

Orange scones

2007-03-25T21:45:00.001-07:00

Orange scones
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Selma had a tea party for her birthday, and these scones were my favorite thing on the menu (which also included tea sandwiches--cucumber with earth balance; tofutti cream cheese and tomato, faux chicken salad; and mini cupcakes). I had intended to use a recipe I found online for current scones, but when it turned out to have some issues, I came up with this instead.

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour)
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. Earth Balance margarine
zest of one organic orange
1/2 c. soy milk

Preheat oven to 350

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Cut in margarine with pastry cutter. Add orange zest and stir to incorporate.

Add milk, and stir with a fork until milk is worked in, then mix with your hands. Dough should be soft--add more milk a teaspoon at a time, if needed. Form a ball and press dough into a circle 1/2" thick on a
floured cookie sheet.

With a floured knife, make 4 cuts most of the way through the dough creating 8 triangular pieces. Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm with margarine, jelly, soy whipped cream... enjoy!

Green Bean & Mushroom Stew

2007-03-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

I grew up eating a lamb and green bean stew--a Syrian recipe my mother and grandmother make called Lubee (which means green beans) or Roz n yuknee (which means rice and meat, the stew was served over rice pilaf).

I often make a vegetarian version with seitan. The combination of tomato and green beans is delicious and tastes like home to me. Of course the Syrian stew has cinnamon in it. When I first met James, he accused me of using cinnamon in everything because its such a common ingredient in Syrian cooking--he'd never had it in savory food before and had to grow accustomed to it. Even now, when I'm watching a pot of something he's cooking, he might say--"don't add any cinnamon!"

I saw a recipe in one of my most frequently used books lately: Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker: 200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals that Are Ready When You are. It's a recipe for a stew she calls "Slow and Easy Mushroom and Green Bean Stroganoff," It didn't sound much like stroganoff to me because the stroganoff I usually make has white wine or sherry and nutmeg as the prominent flavors--but it did have that nice combination I like of green beans and tomato, so I thought I'd riff on it a bit (changing not only ingredients, but method, to simplify and avoid using multiple pots and pans). Here's what I came up with.

3 T tomato paste
2 cups veg broth (low sodium)
1 T Tapioca powder or cornstarch
2 T dehydrated onion flakes (I love the organic ones from Frontier--I can get them in bulk at my coop).
1 T paprika
8 oz small crimini (or white button) mushrooms, sliced
12 oz (2/3 pkg frozen) cut green beans
2 c soy curls, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes (You could substitute tempeh, chicken-style seitan, or just leave out the protein and use more veggies)
1/2 c tofutti sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

1 pound farfalle noodles, cooked al dente

Pour broth into slow cooker, stir in tomato paste and tapioca powder with a whisk.
Add onion flakes and paprika.

Carefully add mushrooms, green beans and soy curls and stir to make sure everything is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When ready to serve, stir in sour cream, adjust seasonings.

Serve over hot noodles.

Green Goodness

2007-03-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Are you a member of the Vegan CrockPot Cooking yahoo group? I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of it, but actually, there are over 700 members. One of the nice things about the group is there are very few e-mails and they're almost always yummy recipes.

I just threw some stuff into the crock pot that's inspired by a recipe from member, Sue, of New Jersey.

Very Green Soup

There are some days where I love recipes like this, that aren't really "cooking," merely moving things from pantry to pot and just letting the heat do all the work.

1 quart vegetable stock
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 T. dried thyme
1 T. dried chives
1/3 c. nutritional yeast
1 lb bag frozen broccoli
1 lb frozen green beans
1 lb frozen collard greens
Tamari, to taste

Add stock, lemon juice, garlic powder, thyme, chives and yeast to crock pot, and stir to blend. Add vegetables, and cook on high for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, (or until veggies are soft).

Blend with stick-blender or transfer to food processor/blender to puree (ick, I hate moving hot liquids--I love my Bamix!) If you're serving kids, puree until very smooth--if you like the chunks, leave some in. Taste, and add tamari if necessary (some veg stocks are saltier than others, so you might not need it).

You can swap out vegetables for what you like or have on hand--Sue's original recipe called for spinach and asparagus--If we like this, I may add a little chopped tomato next time too.

I'm thinking of serving this over rice. I'll let you know how it tastes, but if I waited to blog this recipe, I'm sure I'd get busy and forget!

UPDATE: You can see some changes I made to this soup (that I've been eating for lunch all week, yum!) and how the rest of the family liked it here.

x-posted to The Hook and I.

COK Investigation at a North Carolina Turkey Hatchery

2007-02-22T17:32:00.001-08:00

I received Compassion over Killing's newsletter in the mail this week, and even the still pictures from this video were heart-wrenching. My six-year old daughter saw them and said, "I want to change it." I didn't let her see the video. I hope there's a way to stop animal factories like this. I fear that most people are under the delusion that their turkeys grow up happily on farms.

New Favorite

2007-02-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Jennifer had a post about peanut butter roll-ups today (these with black beans--not a favorite in our house). I love peanut butter roll-ups and usually make them with banana and honey--but sometimes with avocado. I prefer sprouted-grain tortillas.

I've got a new favorite peanut butter that I described to Jennifer in the comments of her post:

Once Again Nut Butter Organic American Classic Creamy Peanut Butter--it's made with palm oil to keep it all together and has a little sugar and salt to remind us of our skippy-eating youth. It's about half as salty as conventional peanut butter--James and I miss the salt, but the kids don't and that's what counts.

There's something about a very clean kitchen...

2006-11-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

...that makes me want to get my hands dirty. I thought I was being so clever this morning. Before the housecleaners arrived, I made a soup in the crock pot. "I won't have to cook tonight," I mused happily, "and mess up the nice, clean kitchen." Why, then, the moment they left, did I get the overwhelming urge to make Banana bread. It's in the oven now, a recipe that's a conglomeration from various vegan cookbooks like Sweet and Natural, and Sinfully Vegan. Most vegan sweet recipes use liquid sweeteners like maple syrup (and lots of it), I guess because vegan granulated sugar used to be hard to come by, and maybe because they see maple syrup as healthier... Anyway, I prefer granulated organic sugar, partly because of the flavor, and partly because maple syrup is so expensive. So I adapted the recipe to accomodate that. I usually substitute chocolate chips for nuts, but this time, I left the bread unadulterated. I'll try and snap a picture later.

Speaking of my slow cooker, I used it for the first time last week after having it for almost a year! I made an amazing pea soup from Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker. Today, I'm making a white bean and rice soup, my own creation: We'll see how it goes. Robin has lots of tempeh recipes in her book that I'm looking forward to trying. I've been feeling like tempeh should be in our diets more, but haven't really done much with it.

Do you have favorite slow cooker recipes?

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vegetarian, vegan, slow cooker, crock pot, tempeh

The Spinach Thang

2006-10-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

This is a great article about the e-coli outbreak.

Spinach-Tofu Quiche

2006-08-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

Spinach-tofu Quiche
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Seasoned with cider vinegar, mustard and nutritional yeast--I loved the flavor, but didn't think to take good notes, 'cause I was cooking so much that day. I'll have to make it again soon, so I can remember what I did. I made this on Sunday, the same day as the Pot Pie--I was trying to cook ahead because I get so busy during the week. So on Tuesday, when we ate it, it was so nice to have dinner already done! I reheated it in the oven, and the crust was still nice and flakey.

Bowled Over By Basil

2006-08-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hannah went out of town and left me her share of her family's CSA this week (in exchange for a crochet lesson--did I get a good deal, or what?) Anyway, I picked it up tonight on the way home from my knitting group and was assaulted in the car by the bag of fresh basil... Now my house smells like the stuff. I'm getting hungry just writing about it... Good thing calzone was on the menu already for tomorrow. Along with the basil, there's zucchini and all other manner of squash, huge bags of apples, peaches, nectarines, giant heirloom tomatoes... Must. get. cooking.

Beegee Boogoo Pot Pie

2006-08-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Biscuit-topped pot pie
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

This was a last-minute meal on Sunday--I used a prepared crust,(Wholly Healthy Whole Wheat) frozen veggies, chicken-style seitan, Road's End gravy (yum!) and mixed up some baking powder biscuit dough (from scratch) instead of a second crust for the top. I'd bet this would freeze very well, if you wanted to make something ahead. I should have doubled the biscuit dough, because we all like to eat them on their own with Earth Balance and Agave syrup. When my brother was little he loved biscuits but couldn't say Baking Powder, so he called them Beegee Boogoo Biscuits. We still call them that...

Online Farmers Market

2006-08-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Takoma Park, where I live, has a lovely little farmers market that runs year-round. It's a big community event, very social and fun. Unfortunately, most of the produce is not organic. When I talk to the growers about this, they claim that it's just too hard, or that they were organic, but that the certification is too expensive to maintain. Coming from Seattle, where organic is more the norm than the exception, I was disappointed.

But today, I found out about Star Hollow Farm. They are a local organic grower who sells at a DC farmers market. In order to help their business sell year-round, they instituted a web site where they take orders for produce which they deliver to a few areas around DC (including Takoma!) on Saturday mornings. Unlike a CSA there is no commitment. Also unlike a CSA, you're not getting a share in one farm only. Star Hollow Farms also sells produce from other local growers and the cooperative they belong to in order to increase the breadth of their offerings. (Of course, this makes the more like a grocery-store, but still they have personal connections to all the growers they buy from.)

I'm eager to try it. They have a low minimum (just $12.50), and the prices seem to be similar to what I'd get at our co-op grocery store. And it seems that they do bring you at least one step closer to your food...

Technorati Tags:
organic, local, vegetables

Vegetable Divan

2006-08-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

IMG_1985
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Inspired by Bryanna's Impromtu Dinner I wanted to try my hand at a divan--my mom made turkey divan tons when I was little... My mom used sherry and dijon mustard in hers, so I made a sauce with the sherry, mustard and soy sour cream. I rehydrated the soy curls (love these!) in vegetable broth and used a little broth in the sauce too. I didn't make a bechemel, but I don't think it needed it. I didn't layer, just stirred everything together, and I also omitted the cheese, and just crumbled sprouted grain on top. I really loved it, and so did the fam--I'll be making it again soon, only change, perhaps, is that I'll use more rice next time. Thanks Bryanna!

Fudgey Vegan Brownies

2006-08-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Fudgey Vegan Brownies
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

These brownies were inspired by a recipe at VegWeb--"Rachels Amazing Brownies" but altered significantly to render them less healthy,(more fat & sugar, more everything really) but very, very yummy.

I tested out a Martha trick of lining the brownie pan with an oversized piece of parchment paper--the paper acts as a "sling" and lets you just lift the brownies out of the pan--it worked fabulously.

Tempeh and Wild Rice Salad

2006-07-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

IMG_1766.JPG
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

I came up with this salad when I was working for a healthfood store in North Carolina. The store's owner had a recipe for chicken salad that she had gotten off of a container of dried apricots, and she asked me to "veganize" it. It's been a family hit ever since--it has tempeh, mayo, wild rice, dried apricots, parsley and some yummy seasoning.

I made it this year on the Fourth of July, not realizing that I had also made it last Forth of July... not sure why it came to me as an "Independence Day" dish, but perhaps it will be a tradition.

New Picnic Table

2006-07-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

New Picnic Table
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

I've been wanting a picnic table for a long time--growing up, my family had a big side porch and we often ate outside. I missed that--but I really wanted a table with separate, not attached benches. These are almost impossible to find. Finally, this summer we found a kit at Target for a table and benches, where they provide the legs, and you add the 2x4s to make the table any size you want. It's hard to see the scale here, but for my birthday, James built me a very. big. table. It's actually eight feet long. He stained it a curry color, which is really beautiful. now we're out there all the time, and we can fit tons of food and lots of people around it.

Veg News August Issue

2006-07-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

A bit of shameless self-promotion... My current issue of VegNews just arrived and contains an article by yours truly. It's a profile about The Gentle Barn--an animal sanctuary in southern california. I loved writing this article because Ellie, who runs The Gentle Barn has such a great story.

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gentle barn, article, VegNews, vegetarian, vegan, animals, animal rescue

Jennifer's Magical Loaf Studio

2006-06-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

Somehow I've missed this up 'till now, but it sure looks like fun...

The Magical Loaf Studio: Create Your Own Adventist-Style Vegan Dinner Loaf!: "
Design Your Own Adventist-Style Vegan Dinner Loaf!

Here's the recipe it created for me:

Amy's Loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews
2 TB margarine
One large carrot, peeled and grated
One cup mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, partly mashed
1 cup cooked amaranth
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed
1/2 cup uncooked Cream of Wheat
2 TB nutritional yeast flakes
Several dashes vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan
with nonstick spray and set aside (an 8x8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the cashews into a coarse meal using a food processor or
spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté any vegetables you've chosen in the margarine until soft.
Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining
ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much
liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds
together and is not runny (you may not need to add any
liquid if the grains and protein are very moist).
Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes
to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then
turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes,
vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired.

Cold leftover slices of Amy's Loaf make a great
sandwich filling.

Jennifer's Disclaimer: I have not personally tried every
possible combination of ingredients and therefore
cannot vouch for the tastiness or efficacy of every
Dinner Loaf creation. Happy eating!

-------

I haven't made this yet, but I'm looking forward to it!

Not yo' mama's green beans and Lentil Pecan Burgers

2006-06-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Not yo' mama's green beans
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

We went to a potluck at James' boss's house last weekend. I brought this recipe for marinated green beans... I call it "Not Yo' Mama's Green Beans." I used to make it when I was cooking for the health-food store in North Carolina, but I don't remember the genesis of the recipe--I remember adapting it from something else, but I don't remember what.

Anyway--The green beans are marinated with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, shallots and toasted, ground almonds. It's pretty yummy, and makes great picnic food.

We also brought lentil pecan burgers--I love these, they used to be one of Selma's favorites when she was a toddler, and for some reason I haven't maed them in a long time--made with lentils, oats, brown rice and pecans--I make the patties and freeze them so they hold together on the grill. Of course all the non-veg folks wanted to eat them too, I find this always happens. I doubled the recipe so we'd have lots of leftovers, and my cousin Johanna and I ate burgers for lunch all week long--yum! I like to have the burgers with godess dressing, but they're good with the usual (I'm sorry we don't have a picture, but I think we'll be making them again soon.)

Selma's Surprise Breakfast

2006-06-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Selma's Surprise Breakfast
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Whole foods had organic raspberries on sale and I discovered this new product--organic soy whipped cream in a can--it tastes great and doesn't have very much sugar... 2 T. is less than 2 g. Very yummy!

Seitan with Cashews

2006-06-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

My cousin Johanna is spending the summer at my house and we've resolved to help each other eat more healthfully--it's great having someone else to give you will power... We're avoiding refined sugar and white flour, but other than that, we're just trying to eat healthy, fresh, whole foods.

We were in a hurry tonight, and had to eat out of the pantry/fridge. I love the frozen organic brown rice from Trader Joe's. Since I'm often coming up with dinner ideas at the last minute--I sometimes don't have time to cook brown rice from scratch--I can heat this up in a couple of minutes, and it tastes great. Of course, when I think ahead, I still love to get out the rice cooker.

So I diced up some chicken-style seitan, and sautéed it with frozen snow-peas and broccoli. I made a sauce with corn-starch, water, tamari, a tiny bit of agave syrup and gomaiso (a seaweed and sesame-seed seasoning).

We served it over the rice--it was a big hit with all but baby Jay, who's a bit of a picky eater--he liked the rice, but he still prefers his food unseasoned--i.e. raw tofu, plain vegetables. He will it pasta with tomato sauce, so maybe there's hope! I've read that children need to be exposed to new food sometimes dozens of times before they develop a taste for it.

Tofu Primavera

2006-05-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Last night, my air conditioning was on the fritz and the temp outside was a balmy 96 degrees. My friend Ally invited us over for dinner--she was making a shrimp pasta dish, so I said I'd whip up a tofu sauce... I cubed tofu, and sautéed in olive oil, until it started to brown, then I added mushrooms and some herbs to season. I tossed in a handful of flower, and let the flour brown a little, and then de-glazed with soy milk to make a béchamel sauce. I added frozen peas, cracked pepper, a little salt and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. It was a great topping for the pasta--we served steamed asparagus on the side. I don't have a picture because I was at the neighbors, but even though I thought I had made a lot, it was devoured by the omnivores in the house.

Robot Boulanger

2006-05-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

That's what my bread machine is called in French--I know this because the instruction manual is bi-lingual. I much prefer to call it Robot Boulanger (or Robot B-pronounced "RowBow Bay", for short. I really like the idea of a robot making my bread.

At any rate, in the middle of a thunderstorm last night, James and Selma decided we needed more bread. (This is the main drawback of homemade bread--you eat more of it. Lots. More.) So they loaded up the machine--I lobbied and won for an experiment making vegan buttermilk wheat--we substituted soy milk mixed with lemon-juice for the buttermilk. But I didn't have high hopes--I personally would never bake in a thunderstorm--barametric pressure definitely effects the way things rise. But Robot B. defies convention--he produced a beautiful loaf that is now almost gone. (less than twelve hours after it was made.)

OK, I didn't take a picture, because really, this loaf looks just like the last one--but it really does taste like a buttermlk loaf as I remember it--the crust is awesome, almost baguette-like, and inside the bread is nice and chewy and a little bit denser than a regular white or wheat loaf with smaller holes. This would make great sandwich bread if we'd stop eating it right off the loaf.

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vegan, vegetarian, cooking, bread

Cracked Wheat Bread Recipe

2006-05-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

We had a request for James' veganized version of the Cracked Wheat Bread, so here goes:

1 1/2 C. water
2 T. Fearn Powdered Soya (or other powdered soy milk--we use this one because it's simple--no added sugar or other ingredients, and it's cheaper--it's not, however, organic.)
2 T. Spectrum Organic Shortening
2 T. Agave Syrup
1 1/2 t. salt
1 c. stone ground whole wheat flour
2 1/4 c. unbleached flour
3/4 c. fine bulgar (cracked wheat)
1 1/4 t. yeast
a small amount of vegetable oil

If you're making this by hand, dissolve the yeast in the water warmed to a tepid temperature, and mixed with the agave syrup. Allow the yeast to proof (form bubbles on top.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and bulgar. Add the water/yeast mixture and the shortening and combine, then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and place in a warm spot to double.

When the dough has doubled, punch it down and form into a round or shape into a loaf, lightly oil the dough, and place onto a baking sheet or in a greased loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes or until crust is firm and golden brown.

If you're using a bread machine, follow the general instructions for your bread machine--ours has us load the ingredients in the order listed above, set the machine to the whole grain setting and begin. (James says, "If you're using a delayed setting, make a small well in the flour and put the yeast in the well to protect the yeast from touching the water and activating before the baking process starts.")

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vegan, vegetarian, recipe, bread

Homemade Bread

2006-05-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks John Markos for your guest post! We've been doing some baking in our house too.

Selma and James have gotten out the bread machine--it's been idle for a few years now. We used to make bread almost every day when we first got it. It's an older model--the kind that makes the tall loaves--but the recipes that came with it are very good (especiallly if James prepares them, for some reason, I don't have as good luck with baking in a machine, I like to get my hands in the dough.)

At any rate, tonight they made a cracked wheat loaf. It finished after everyone else went to bed and I just had to steal a little taste while it was still warm... So good--very crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.

They make a few adaptations to the recipe to veganize it--Fearn Soya powder instead of dry milk, spectrum organic shortening instead of crisco (of course crisco's vegan but not very healthy.)

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vegan, vegetarian, cooking, bread

Careful with that Replegg!

2006-05-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm John Markos O'Neill, Amy's brother and a guest poster.

For my wife's first Mother's Day (we have an 11 month old), Amy (my sister) and my mother encouraged me to make a vegan version of the simple coffee cake from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. This version replaces the milk with soy milk and the egg with egg replacer. I told Amy that I think "egg replacer" is a pretty sad name for an egg substitute. They should use something snappier, like Replegg!

Sara (my wife) and John Haley (my son) went out for an afternoon hike on Saturday. This gave me the chance to make the cake.

So anyway, we had pretty much everything in the recipe in our cupboard except for pecans. I guess we already ate the pecans that Grandma Jean gave us for Christmas. I went down to Good Life, the local grocery, about six blocks away from our house. They had little bags of pecans for over ten dollars and at first I thought there was no alternative. Then I realized they had pecans in the tiny bulk section -- it's a small grocery. These were much less expensive, I think four dollars in total, for enough to make two cakes.

If you're using egg replacer, you should make sure that you use the correct ratio of Replegg to water. When I was making the cake, I mistakenly used tablespoons of Replegg instead of the teaspoons indicated by the egg replacer box. This made the cake's consistency a little funny. I didn't realize that I had goofed until after the cake had been baking for a while. Also, the recipe called for crushed pecans. However, I didn't do a very good job of distributing them evenly over the cake.

I called my mother and sister and asked them for help. At first I couldn't get my mother on the phone so I talked to my Dad instead. He convinced me to go for another try. Amy and I agreed that I had used the wrong ratio of Replegg to water. Also, my mother implied that I shouldn't just crush the pecans but rather that I should chop them as well. I quizzed her a little more on this. "So when you make this cake, you usually chop the pecans?" She said that yes, she did.

I had everything I needed except for brown sugar, which I bought at Chiotras grocery next door. This time I did everything correctly and the coffee cake came out nicely. Whereas the first (bad) cake was a little too doughy and flat and had a slight baking soda aftertaste, the second (good) cake was fluffy and springy and tasted like a coffee cake should.

Lesson: always remember that baking is a very precise activity, really a form of domestic chemistry. If you don't follow the directions to the letter, peril will ensue.

Anyway, Sara and John Haley got home a little earlier than I expected them to so they saw both versions of the cake. As it turns out, Sara really liked both of them! Amy told me later, "I forgot to tell you -- Sara really likes this cake." John Haley tasted a bit of it too -- I think it is the sweetest thing he's ever had. We took the "good" cake to a picnic on Sunday and it was a big hit with our friends.

coffee cake, Mother's Day, vegan, vegetarian

More Old Favorites

2006-05-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted tofu for dinner, but didn't want to stand over the stove frying it, so I unearthed a recipe Selma used to love as a toddler (and I always loved it too!) It's sesame baked tofu from The Lucky Palate a meal delivery service I used to work with. My friend and former owner and chef, Devra Gartenstein has a cookbook, The Accidental Vegan that spells out this simple, but yummy and "grounding" as Dev says, recipe. I always adapt it a bit using more tahini, less soy sauce, a little water--I baked almost 2 pounds of tofu, so I'll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The great thing about it is, it's low-mess--you can mix the sauce in the baking pan, and then just put the tofu in make sure it's coated and put it in the oven.

I served it with basmati rice and haricots verts (which Selma steamed herself, she was very proud).

Anyone else have baked tofu recipes they love?

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book, vegan, vegetarian, recipe, dinner, cooking, tofu

Pasta and Lentils and Artichokes, Oh My!

2006-05-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had an old standby tonight that I hadn't made in a long time. "Pasta with Lentils and Artichoke Hearts" from The Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Cookbook One of my favorite all-time collections. I had a fiber arts class to teach in the afternoon--and I never want to cook after I get back from class, so I decided to do a bit of prep earlier in the afternoon. I chopped my onions, cooked the pasta, cooked the lentils, so it was just a matter of heating and assembly when i got back... Yummy! The flavors are cumin, coriander and lemon juice mixed with the red lentils, tomatoes and artichokes. I left out the red pepper flakes that give it a nice bite because of the kids, but I put them on the table so folks could add them if they wanted--kids and adults all cleared their plates and I have lots of leftovers--yeah!

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vegan, vegetarian, dinner, cooking, pasta, moosewood

Here's the

2006-05-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

IMG_1353.JPG
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Fried tofu and macaroni salad I wrote about the other day when I was having network issues... We've switched from DSL back to cable and things are much better...

Pinto-dillas

2006-05-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

IMG_1360.JPG
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

This used to be a frequent quick meal in our house, but I hadn't made them in a while... Tortillas, refried beans, nutritional yeast... Grilled and topped with salsa, avocado and lime. We had them on Friday night, with great success...

I took a picture but...

2006-05-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

I spent far too much time repairing my DSL connection, and I now don't have the energy to upload, etc. Anyway, tonight we had fried tofu--coated with nutritional yeast and sprinkled only with salt. So yummy. I may have said this before, but I think the secret to making good fried tofu is patience. In fact, I used to think it needed to be breaded, but it doesn't really need anything at all... just some oil and enough time to form a crust.

We also had a macaroni salad--simple, easy--macaroni, frozen mixed veggies (which I didn't steam, I just let the hot pasta thaw them), mayo (any variety--I sometimes make my own with silken tofu, but this time used a jar), chopped black olives, yellow mustard, black pepper. It was very yummy too-but I found the peas and corn in the mixed veggies to be a little sweet--so next time I might counteract with some more spices, or use different veggies.

Now that the weather's nice, Selma's been asking for potato salad too--so I think I'll add that to the menu for this week. Maybe with some baked beans... mmmm...

I also wanted to mention, that I haven't been able to comment recently on others' blogs because my DSL connection had ground to a virtual halt--I could read posts in my aggregator, but pages would time out when I tried to click over to comment--I'm sorry everyone. I hope this gets fixed soon!

Cool Kool-aid

2006-04-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't been doing much actual cooking, I thought I'd cross-post this quasi-culinary entry from my Fiber blog... Enjoy!

Cool Kool-aid: "Selma, her friend Elise and I did an experiment today with Kool-aid dyeing. Using some Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool and red (Fruit Punch) yellow (pineapple and mango) and blue (blue raspberry lemonade). We wanted to compare dyeing in the microwave to the 'sun tea' method.

Following the general guidlines of Kristi's Knitty article, we used ziploc bags for the 'sun tea' dyes and glass dishes for"

(Via The Hook and I.)

No food news...

2006-04-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

Still trying to eat out of the pantry--we had veggie dogs for dinner, but I thought you might enjoy this quasi-culinary link (well, there's an egg mentioned...)

The Store at Home

2006-04-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

James is out of town, the babysitter is on vacation... Basic household tasks are more of an adventure with kids in tow, so I've avoided grocery shopping in favor of reducing bulging cupboard stores.

Tonight, whole wheat spaghetti with sauce from a jar--doctored with herbs, marinated artichoke hearts, and chick peas. Served with steamed broccoli. I didn't figure it warranted a picture, but the kids liked it, and for once, I have plenty of leftovers. Yeah!!

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vegan, vegetarian, dinner, cooking, italian, pasta

I should have taken a picture

2006-04-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

I'm staying with my friend Cynthia in Seattle--last night she made homemade avocado sushi, it was delicious! (And beautifully presented) Her sushi rice is just great--she uses rice vinegar and a little sugar. To go with the sushi, we had edamame, vegan spring rolls and pot stickers.

On my first night here, I was staying with my friends Hans and Steph, and we got take out from one of the best Thai restaurants I've ever eaten at which just happens to be right here in hip, happenin' West Seattle. I ordered Rama Tofu and Phad See Ew (minus the egg, extra tofu). It was just as I remembered. Yum.

They have the best potatoes here in Washington State. I miss having great vegetables year-round now that I'm in Maryland. I was picking some things up from Hans and Steph's house last night, and they were just finishing dinner. Hans wanted me to taste the fingerlings that he had cooked in olive oil and rosemary--they just melt in your mouth. They're tiny and good. I don't think he even par-boiled them.

Tonight Cynthia and I are making our very favorite peanut curry, so stay tuned!

Seattle Bound

2006-04-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are headed to Seattle tomorrow for Spring Break--so I probably won't be doing much cooking--tho' Stef, who I'm staying with for part of the trip has just taken a Pad Thai class and wants to fill me in on some secrets she learned, so there may be a little bit. I do expect we'll be eating some great food, so I'll try and post once or twice. Have a great week, everyone!

Polenta Lasagne

2006-04-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a veganized version of the Polenta Lasagna with Creamy Mushroom Sauce from the current issue of Vegetarian Times. It was creamy and good. I don't make recipes from magazines very often, but Selma loves polenta, and I had been searching for some new ways to serve it. I used to make recipes all the time from Natural Health magazine--back when they were vegan.

Technorati Tags:
vegetarian, recipe, dinner, cooking, italian

Not Posting, But Still Eating...

2006-04-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

I've haven't had much computer time the last few days--no babysitter and lots of knitting to do. On Monday night, I was looking through The Garden of Vegan for some inspiration and I came across a peanut butter noodle recipe. I didn't want noodles, but the sauce sounded good... I fried some tofu with sesame seeds, made my own version of the peanut sauce which included peanut butter, soy sauce, vegan worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and some hot water. The sauce coated 1 lb of tofu and 1 lb. of broccoli nicely. I also made my Rice Balls but didn't have time to make the simmered sauce, so I just mixed soy sauce and agave for a sort of teriyaki sauce.

It was delicious--but for the three of us, we had less than 1/2 cup of the broccoli and tofu left--there were a few rice balls left over which were great cold the next day.

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vegan, vegetarian, recipe, dinner, cooking, tofu

A Nice Surprise!

2006-03-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

After an afternoon with a dozen crazy 6-8 year-old crocheters, I came home and was surprised to see James was already here... He'd picked up the baby from my neighbor's and they were wrestling on the bed. I threw myself down, exhausted... "I don't want to make dinner!"

"Do you want me to make it?" He asked... Awesome. James (who's not vegetarian but happily eats that way at home) made Emfudeky (phonetic spelling), It's a Syrian family recipe, which is basically a clean out the fridge stir-fry. We eat it with toast. Yum.

I rarely, if ever, post off-topic, but I got this e-mail from my brother today, and I just had to share:

I created this ad for the 2007 Chevy Tahoe. Enjoy.

http://www.chevyapprentice.com/view.php?country=us&uniqueid=5e09558a-119c-1029-98eb-0013724ff5a7

More on this campaign and its subversion.

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004255.html

I'm looking forward to seeing more of these ads. Do you think Chevy had no idea this would happen? I guess some ads have already been censored. I wonder how long John's will stay....

A Food Meme?

2006-03-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ruthie mentioned TVP corn dogs the other day, and Katie took the idea and ran with it making mini-stuffed corn muffins. I couldn't get the idea out of my head so tonight I tried it--a few changes: I used regular sized muffin tins, I also used Gimme Lean sausage instead of TVP (not pre-cooked) and I added a heaping teaspoon of Salsa on top of the sausage.

The Verdict? The cornbread is a little too sweet--we all agreed these will be better tomorrow for breakfast. If I do it again, I might reduce the sugar and add some green chilis and Follow Your Heart cheese to the batter... They were easy to make, though--to go along with them we had steamed spinich tossed with Earth Balance and Vegan Parm. Selma ate tons of it!

Off the wagon already!!

2006-03-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

I was teaching tonight, and was out driving the mom wagon until 5:30, so cooking was sort of out of the question... I should have planned ahead earlier in the day, but lacked inspiration--I gotta be reading these great vegan blogs you all have more! We had frozen pesto pizza with tomatoes and broccoli (yum) and the new Muir Glen canned organic split pea soup--too salty, but pretty nice flavor--not so great texture. It made me want to make my own pea soup!

Dinner Diary

2006-03-27T20:42:00.000-08:00

After a winter of trying to avoid cooking as much as possible, I've resolved to cook more and eat better. So tonight I pulled out the recipe books. From The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Joann Stepniak, I made Cheesy Broccoli Rice--it was quick and easy takes just one pan and got rave reviews from James and Selma. I contemplated adding some tofu to the casserole to have a one-dish meal, but decided against it. Instead, I made Amazing Oregano and Olive Fried Tofu from VegWeb--it was really yummy and disappeared completely--so much for leftovers! I used to cook everything in huge quantities, and now I'm just as likely to make "just enough." I need to think bigger. Not sure what I'm making tomorrow, any ideas?

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Selma Turns Six!

2006-03-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

IMG_1177.JPG
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Selma chose a Scooby-Doo theme for her sixth birthday... The cake is a double layer version of my Creamsicle Cupcakes which I hadn't made since last summer. For frosting I made a vegan buttercream loosly based on a recipe from VegWeb. (I added more chocolate, some orange juice and changed the proportions.)The cake vanished, so we don't even have any leftovers for tonight! I'll be making a batch of cupcakes tonight to bring to Selma's school tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: vegan recipe vegetarian food

Drink your Chocolate

2005-11-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

It's not new news that hot chocolate is healthy, but since the weather is getting colder, I thought we could use a reminder... I like to eat a few pieces of chocolate as a pick-me-up when I'm lagging in the afternoon, but today, I was chilled and thought it would be much nicer to drink my chocolate bar. Here's what I did:

Put 2 ounces of your favorite chocolate in a mug.
(I used 73% organic dark from Trader Joe's but I think I'd prefer a slightly more sweet one next time.)
Add 8 ounces of soy milk
(I use Silk Unsweetened)

Microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes.

Stir well.
Don't burn your mouth!
Enjoy.

The result is a thicker richer hot chocolate than you get from cocoa (which has little or no fat) -- it reminds me of the hot chocolate you can get in Italy and Spain which I think is thickened with corn starch.

Camp Cooking

2005-08-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

We're staying at my family's cottage in the north woods of Wisconsin, and since it's our first night here, we had to make dinner using only what we had brought along or what we could find in the cupboards.

My mom decided to make salmon patties with a can of wild alaskan salmon she found. We had eggs some leftover corn and salad ingredients. I had brought up a box of shelf-stable silken tofu, so I decided to make tofu patties--we'd use most of the same ingredients. Mom made a corn relish (corn, onion, green pepper, cumin, coriander) as a side dish, and I put some of it in the with the tofu--we also used dehydrated onion, some chopped celery and I added turmeric a 1/4 t. of baking powder to mine. We didn't have any flour we crushed some crackers and added them to the "dough."

It was delicious, quick and easy (especially since Mom did most of the chopping!)

Food for Vegetarians

2005-07-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

IMG_1724.JPG
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

I love this sign--it's a huge billboard atop a building in the industrial district of Seattle. It sits across the street from Starbucks headquarters. I've only eaten at the place once. The food was good, fast, chinese food--nothing fancy, lots of vegan choices, and they were very friendly to Selma who was about two at the time.

Although Seattle is a pretty enlightened city, there are lots of restaurants where it's hard for a vegan to find something to eat. In Takoma Park, where we've just moved, the local pizza joint has a vegan cheese option, and most restaurants label their menu choices "Vegetarian" and "Non-Vegetarian" in a veg-centric sort of way which I like.

Dinner Diary

2005-07-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was planning to make falafel, but Selma said she'd prefer pasta, so we had whole wheat spiral noodles mixed with Whole Foods organic sauce, Light Life Smart Ground and topped with soyco vegan parm. We chose frozen broccoli as our vegetable. So much for cooking from scratch! Tomorrow it's falafel for sure...

What's for Dinner? Fried Rice Recipe

2005-07-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

So I've been having a bit of dinner inertia lately. I wonder, if I make a point to post a small entry about each night's meal, perhaps I'll put more thought into it or be more inspired.

I tend to do a lot of shortcut cooking these days--like using dehydrated onions or meals made with prefab veggie meats, but if my daugther Selma is getting healthy balanced meals, I don't worry too much about it. It does cost quite a bit more when you don't do things from scratch, and after a second week in a row of $100+ bills at Whole Foods, I'm thinking I should find ways to economize.

Tonight we had veggie fried rice. I make 1 1/2 cups of brown rice in the rice cooker early in the day. (It's also a great way to use up leftover rice) Then right before dinner I saute some frozen veggies ( 1 c. peas, 1/2 c. carrots, 1/2 c. green beans) and some dehydrated onion in canola oil. I add the rice and 1/2 lb. crumbled soft tofu or 4 beaten eggs for a non-vegan version.

Season with nama shoyu (soy sauce) and gomaiso (a sesame-seed seaweed mixture), and a dash of toasted sesame oil to taste.

If the rice is pre-cooked the whole meal takes about 15 minutes to make.

Yum!

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Barbecue Memories and Onigiri (Rice Balls)

2005-07-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

We spent the last year in Princeton, NJ living in tiny Butler graduate school housing. The row-houses were small and old, and the kitchens were tiny, but we shared a lot of food with our neighbors. When the weather was warm, you'd find Aaron firing up his grill and everyone would bring their family favorites to share. One neighbor, Junko, would bring Japanese rice balls which she'd grill over the fire, basting with a tamari-based sauce. They were delicious!

I've since learned that these rice balls are called onigiri and they are a traditional picinic food in Japan. While there are many recipes online the ones I read seemed more complicated than the simple treasures Junko made.

Last night I tried my hand at recreating them. I cooked two cups of sushi rice in 3 cups of water. Then I used what I had around the house to make a teriyaki-ish sauce:

2/3 cup Nama Shoyu (an unpasturized, raw, cultured soy sauce)
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 Tablespoons organic sugar
1 ounce rice wine vinegar

I simmered this mixture until it had reduced by about half.

When the rice was done, I donned latex gloves, because the little I have read about rice balls said they had to be worked while hot. I scooped about 1/3 cup of rice onto a plate and placed 1/4 t. of brown rice miso in the center. Then I started forming the balls with my hands.

The rice seems to like a lot of "hand-holding." As you squish it together, the grains loose their individuality and "become" the ball. The traditional shape for rice balls is a triangle, so I shaped it with my thumbs and index fingers, and placed it on a plate, covering with plastic-wrap to keep it from drying out. The mixture made 1 dozen.

I made the balls in the afternoon, and kept them covered on the counter until we were ready to grill several hours later.

When the grill was hot, I placed the balls on the grill and basted the top side with the sauce. After about 10 minutes (or when the grill lines were clear on the first side) I turned them over with a spatula, and basted the already grilled side. 10 more minutes or so, and they were done.

It worked beautifully. It's an easy treat that would go great with grilled vegetables, teriyaki tofu or an edamame salad.

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Creamsicle Cupcakes

2005-07-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

I have made these cupcakes 3 times in the last few days in various forms for various summer parties. They're so easy! A dairy and egg-free cupcake is great even for non-vegans because so many kids these days have food allergies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with papers before you start so you can put the batter in the oven quickly.

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 cup sugar or other dry sweetener
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup orange juice
scant 1/3 cup canola oil
1 T. vanilla

Leavening magic: 1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. Mix with a whisk. In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients and whisk. (If you're planning for a party and want to do some prep the day before, you can mix the wets and drys in their separate bowls but wait to combine until just before you bake.)

Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry mixture and stir well to combine. Add the vinegar to the batter and stir lightly just until the vinegar is incorporated. Pour batter into cupcake tins filling each well 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cupcakes are firm and golden brown.

Remove from pan to cool, and frost or glaze as you'd like (a chocolate ganache or soy butter cream works great--but a powdered sugar and orange juice qlaze would also be good)

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Currant Affair...

2005-07-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the bad pun... I was making a great red rice salad today from the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. The recipe called for currants, but my local grocery store didn't carry them, and since it was Independence Day, I couldn't go roaming around Maryland looking for dried tiny little grapes.

Instead, I just chopped the organic raisins I had into tiny little pieces. It worked great, and it's a less expensive ingredient.

Currants are actually a type of raisin made from the zante or champagne grape, so flavor-wise, the recipe shouldn't change too much.

Sticky Tip

2005-07-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

If you need to chop something sticky (like raisins or vegan marshmallows) try spraying your knife with nonstick cooking spray.

Sticky Tip #2

2005-07-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

If you need to measure molassas or honey, in a recipe that also calls for oil, measure the oil first, and then the sticky liquid will slide right off the measuring spoon. Not using oil in your recipe? You can oil your measuring spoon with non-stick cooking spray.