Check out these wonderful artichokes from our very own front yard veggie patch! This year I have a lot more veggie patch than before, and so in the middle of winter, on a whim, I planted some artichokes. Unbeknownst to me, it looks like I planted two different varieties. See how some are more open and spikey, and the others are more rounded and purpley?
Meow! While I was doing my artichoke photo shoot, little Yummers Potatoes was wondering what I was up to. Yummers loves him some green veggies, so he was probably investigating and trying to decide if he also liked artichokes (answer: not too exciting).
I let a couple of them get really huge and picked the others at a more medium size. I think I still have about 5 little tiny ones out there on the plants, that I'll let grow a bit more. I've never actually been a huge artichoke fan, but this season I discovered about making artichoke hearts, and that has been awesome. Just like I learned from my cookbooks, I shuck off all the tough outer leaves, trim the dark green bits from the base, cut them in half and scoop out the choke... then boil in lemony water for 5-10 minutes. MmMmMm! All the prep takes a while, but as long as you've got some Antiques Roadshow or some French Open to watch, it's not a problem.
Here's what I did with all those artichoke hearts: "Warm Chickpea Salad with Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes" from "Voluptuous Vegan." Wow, what a delicious summery dinner. Chock full of flavor - aside from the obvious ingredients, the salad also had some sauteed garlic and onions and celery, plus a lemony-rosemary-olive oil dressing. It was filling but light, subtle but unusual and interesting flavors. I'll definitely make it again, when I'm in the mood to spend a while preparing artichoke hearts!
Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch Brunch for Dinner = Drunch!
Well, I got my grubby little paws on Isa's new book, "Vegan Brunch," and got right to work.
First up, I made the omlets, with roasted asparagus. Yumola! I got to put my fancy new black salt to use, and that stuff is really crazy. It's mined from the earth, not the sea, and is actually pinkish instead of black. And it really does smell like eggs. Weird! These omlets were easy and delicious and filling. Don't they look totally perfect?! Of course, I am a crazy freak for roasted asparagus, so I hardly even glanced at the other suggested fillings.
The next night we had the Raised Waffles with strawberries and raspberries in the batter. These were so unbelievably good. Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats declared them The Best Waffles He's Ever Had, and has been asking for a repeat performance every since. That should be easy to arrange. I used half whole wheat pastry flour, because I am that way, and they were totally delicious. I definitely recommend this recipe!
Because I am a grown up, I am allowed to make myself waffles for dinner whenever I please. However, also because I am a grown up, I feel compelled to make a veggie along with my waffles. So I whipped up a double batch of her Chorizo sausages and made a big bunch of garlickly spinach. A delicious combo! Only later did I see that there is actually a recipe in the book for Greens and Sausage, although Isa suggests using collards rather than spinach. It was a delicious dinner.
Next up, the Puttanesca Tofu Scramble... I'll keep you posted!
For the last few months, we've started a new tradition - Family Dinner. Once a week, usually Sunday nights, we all get together for a potluck dinner. We keep it low-stress, but last night was my turn to host and I was in the mood to cook. Also, my cousin and her husband are back in town for the summer, so to welcome them - I decided to base our dinner on the glorious Avocado, her favorite California treat.
This miso soup has become one of my favorite recipes. Its the Garlic Soup with Avocado & Tortillas from "Fresh Food Fast." It's super fast to put together, flavorful, warming, and delicious. I especially love the sliced up jalepenos in the soup! The only thing I do differently is that I use the tortilla strip recipe from "Real Food Daily" instead of the FFF chip recipe.
I made this Guacamole with Sprouted Quinoa from "The Artful Vegan," and it was a huge hit! The quinoa sprouts had to be started two days in advance, but were otherwise effortless. It was light and delicious. I'll definitely make it again. Also, I think this recipe is a good example of how that book can be used in a less intimidating way. The recipes often have many different elements, but you don't need to make them all! This guac is definitely a new family favorite.
My aunt brought along two good friends visiting from Seattle. Nima is a great cook and made us some amazing salsa (secret ingredient: ginger!! good!!) and a delicious potato salad.
Nima is from Nepal and this is his version of a traditional Nepalese potato salad. It's light and has truly gorgeous flavors. He super graciously wrote down his recipe so that I could share it with all of you (see the end of the post!).
Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats was really crazy about that Potato Salad!
Even dessert had avocado in it! I have wanted to make this recipe for SO long, and I'm so glad I finally did. It's the "Avocado Key Lime Pie with White Chocolate Mousse" from "The Artful Vegan." The crust is amazing - with pistachios and poppy seeds, and the filling is tart and creamy and a beautiful green color from the avocado. The whole dessert was just wonderful and we all loved it. I love the idea of garnishing with the little poppy seeds and spare pistachios... unexpectly wonderful flavor & texture pairings with the tart, creamy pie.
As promised, the White Chocolate Mousse was a tempermental recipe, but OH the flavor!! I was a true lover of white chocolate and I haven't tasted that flavor in about 8 or 9 years of veganism... so I was really in heaven. It took a little food science, a little agar and kudzu, but I got that mousse to set up beautifully, and now I've got a LOT of it left over... hmmm!
Here's the potato salad recipe, I hope you like it!
Nima Sherpa's Potato Salad (Aloo Dam)
Yellow or Red Potatoes - peeled and boiled until barely tender, then cut into cubes. 2 Cucumbers - peeled, seeded, cut into chunks (instead of cukes you could also use daikon radish, fresh green peas, or chickpeas) 1 tsp fenugreek seeds - heat 2 tsp olive oil, add the fenugreek, and cook until the seeds are dark brown or black. set aside.
Grind together in a mortar and pestal: 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine 1/4 c roasted sesame seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 4 cloves garlic chili pepper (to taste)
This weekend I drove up to San Francisco for a PPK picnic. Usually SF is a cold and foggy place, and I am never trusting the weather forecast, but it was a totally glorious day, and we gathered in Dolores Park for a great little meetup. I hadn't met anyone there before... so after wandering around like a lost soul for 30 minutes - carrying mini strawberry pies and fava bean salad - finally Jaymoh spotted my little pies and introduced herself! I was so relieved! It was super awesome to meet everyone. (and to eat their yummy food!)
We were gathering to celebrate a special visitor... Pandacookie! Pandacookie and I tried to be good photodocumenters... (that's Mr. Lemon and Baby Lemon in the background)
Pandacookie and Baby Lemon!
There were a couple of birthdays to be celebrated too!
But, what about the food???!! Oh, it was GOOOOOOOD. Suffice it to say, I totally gorged myself on the yumminess. This was only my first plate... after that I was too busy eating to keep taking pictures. Starting at the top: Jaymoh's super-scrumptious cannoli with lemony filling, one of my mini strawberry pies, Molotess's yummy hummus with cauliflower, balsamic sauce, Pandacookie's macaroni salad (mm!), Chris' totally delicious beer-battered seitan (YUM), and some of my fava bean and artichoke heart salad. There were also brownies and jo-jos... I had a very happy tummy!
I finally harvested the fava beans from my planter box, and BOY-o-BOY, did we grow a lot of fava beans! Luckily, I love favas.
First you start out with a huge pile of fava beans. The first step is to remove the husks.
Then you lightly cook them and remove the next layer of skins. Isn't that crazy? From that huge pile of bean pods to this modest, little bowl of ready-to-eat beans.
I put these favas to use in a wonderful salad with artichoke hearts, following a recipe from Madhur Jafrey's "World Vegetarian Cooking." I noticed her note that this was one of her favorite recipes in the whole book - and I also really loved it. It's simple, seasonal, and perfect just as it is.
Another night I made some delicious French Lentil Soup (from "Voluptuous Vegan"), favas on the side, and toasted homemade french bread. The lightness of the favas and toast were a perfect balance to the hearty soup. Yummmmmmy.
Here's the bread I made - following Mark Bittman's easier/faster no-knead bread. Totally delicious and amazing - I can't believe it only takes 4-5 hours to get the same rise and flavor. I love it and I will make it over and over and over again.
Last weekend was Musty's 40th birthday (woot!) He doesn't really like stuff, but he loves food, so I decided to make him a big batch of personalized fortune cookies. I did some searching around and found a recipe on about.com. I tweaked it a bit, veganized it, and began experimenting. Let me say that making fortune cookies is a bit of a challenge!
For this post, I present you with the recipe I used, a photo tutorial, and a *bonus* video tutorial!
First, get your fortunes ready. I used a combination of old standards ("You will attend a party where strange customs prevail") to personalized ones.
Now mix up the batter. It should be pretty thin, as you can see.
Pour the batter onto the cookie sheet. Use 1 Tbsp per cookie. Don't try to make more than 2 cookies at a time, or it will only end in heartbreak. I tried many different things here: tilting the cookie sheet every which way to spread the batter, using a spatula, using my fingers (what the heck, they were for my boyfriend!)... I finally settled on the spatula. Also, I tried using a heavily greased cookie sheet (no good), natural parchment paper (no good), and in the end found no big difference between using my silpat (silicone baking sheet), traditional parchment paper, or a lightly greased cookie sheet. (Hint: in the video tutorial, I put in a batch using one method and take out a batch using a different method! Incongruity error!)
Now cook 'em for about 14 minutes. They should be golden around the edges.
Quickly remove them from the oven and use a firm spatula to loosen them from the cookie sheet.
Flip it over in your hand, and lay a fortune down in the cookie.
Fold it in half like a taco!
Pinch the corners and bend it over the edge of a bowl or mug.
Then lay it in a muffin tin or mug so that it can harden without springing back open. Quick, do the other one!
Here you see them all resting in the muffin tin. I think I made about 20-25 in all. It was project, but lots of fun!
Here is a little video I made. Special shout out to my mom who did the masterful camera work!
Here's my version of the recipe:
Ingredients
3 tsp EnerG Egg Replacer + 1/4 c warm water, whisked together
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6-8 teaspoons water
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
First, get your fortunes ready - either type or write on pieces of paper about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 F. Get your baking sheet ready. Either lightly grease it, or use a silpat, or traditional parchment paper. If using parchment paper, you will need a fresh piece for each batch.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg replacer, vanilla extract, almond extract, vegetable oil until frothy. Add in the water.
Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should be on the runny side.
Pour 2 level tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.
Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes). Use a firm spatula and act fast. You may need to "scrape" them off a bit... just keep at it!
Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Do the other one.
If you are inspired to give it a try, please let me know if you develop any useful tricks or insights!
Check out these wonderful artichokes from our very own front yard veggie patch! This year I have a lot more veggie patch than before, and so in the middle of winter, on a whim, I planted some artichokes. Unbeknownst to me, it looks like I planted two different varieties. See how some are more open and spikey, and the others are more rounded and purpley?
Meow! While I was doing my artichoke photo shoot, little Yummers Potatoes was wondering what I was up to. Yummers loves him some green veggies, so he was probably investigating and trying to decide if he also liked artichokes (answer: not too exciting).
I let a couple of them get really huge and picked the others at a more medium size. I think I still have about 5 little tiny ones out there on the plants, that I'll let grow a bit more. I've never actually been a huge artichoke fan, but this season I discovered about making artichoke hearts, and that has been awesome. Just like I learned from my cookbooks, I shuck off all the tough outer leaves, trim the dark green bits from the base, cut them in half and scoop out the choke... then boil in lemony water for 5-10 minutes. MmMmMm! All the prep takes a while, but as long as you've got some Antiques Roadshow or some French Open to watch, it's not a problem.
Here's what I did with all those artichoke hearts: "Warm Chickpea Salad with Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes" from "Voluptuous Vegan." Wow, what a delicious summery dinner. Chock full of flavor - aside from the obvious ingredients, the salad also had some sauteed garlic and onions and celery, plus a lemony-rosemary-olive oil dressing. It was filling but light, subtle but unusual and interesting flavors. I'll definitely make it again, when I'm in the mood to spend a while preparing artichoke hearts!
