VeganMoFo 31: World's Best Spice = Smoked Paprika

Today's Spice is: Smoked Paprika!!

Smoky Paprika Love

I saved the best for last, my friends!

To feature my lovely friend Smoked Paprika, I made a batch of the Great Smoky Mountains Cheeze from Vegan Diner. I made this a long time back, and I had such fond memories... I was just looking for an excuse to make it again. Plus, I get to use my cute little rectangular Pyrex dish. Isn't that orangey color beautiful? That's all from the paprika, baby!

Romeo & Juliet Amey & Smoked Paprika, the next true love story.

I am not always a fan of "cheeze," but I really love both of the cheeze recipes in Vegan Diner (the other one is a dill cheeze). They are made with silken tofu, some nutritional yeast, agar, and other nice flavors & spices. The texture is absolutely great! As you can see, you can totally slice the cheeze, but you can also smoosh it with your knife and spread it all over if you like it better that way.

I put my Smoky Mountain Cheeze with some fresh tomatoes from the garden and made a delicious grilled cheese sandwich to go with my giant salad for dinner. Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats said he didn't want one, but then he took a bite of mine and said - sheepishly - "I wish I had ordered a sandwich". Ha! So, he ended up eating half of mine and I had to get up and make another one.

...or should I say "Smoky Dreams" ?

Happy Halloween, everyone!

...and Happy End of VeganMoFo - we made it!

(now to catch up on a month's worth of posts on 650 blogs...)

VeganMoFo 30: Rose Petal & Almond Tea

Today's "spice" is: Dried Rose Petals

Oh my, aren't they just beautiful? And they smell amazing too. I usually have some dried rose petals around, because they are used from time to time in Persian sweets. I remember hearing on NPR about some Iraqi caramels with rose petals on top... and someday I might try to recreate those. But for now, I wasn't in the mood for something sugary and naughty... just something rosy!

Fertile Crescent Aromatic Almond Tea

So, where else to turn, but the amazing book Silk Road Cooking! I usually focus on the entrees, but Silk Road also has a really amazing chapter on syrups, coffees, teas and drinks from the Silk Road. After snooping around, I settled on this lovely recipe - featuring thai basil, caraway, star anise, cinnamon, ground almonds, rose petals, nutmeg... Amazing! No actual tea in the whole thing... just an alluring mix of herbs and spices boiled and steeped together. Such a sweet and pleasant little concoction! Not at all overbearing, just light and delicate. Next time I will probably reduce the sugar a little bit, but otherwise I really loved this tasty "tea."

VeganMoFo 29: My Glorious Friend Saffron

Today's Spice is: Saffron!

Oh friends, I love saffron so much. I know, I know, it is pricey. But if you've never used saffron, let me encourage you to give it a go. And not the crappy powdered kind, please. The only reason it's so expensive is that each beautiful little red strand of saffron is a tiny piece of a crocus flower,* and they have to be carefully and delicately harvested by hand.

They are a glorious red color on their own, but when soaked in water they dye everything a deep golden yellow that is really beautiful. I mostly use saffron when I am cooking Persian food... where it is used in desserts, on rice, and generally all the time. Saffron has a subtle but distinct flavor - a little bitter, but also alluring. If you are interested, the wikipedia page on saffron is totally thorough.

*this also falls into the "who thinks of these things in the first place?" category!

To celebrate my love of saffron, I made dinner and dessert featuring this yellow beauty. For dinner I made the Saffron & Butternut Squash Risotto from the Millennium Cookbook. I even got to use a butternut squash from our own garden! The risotto also has fresh tomatoes and pureed corn in it - which made it super creamy. Just look at that gorgeous yellow color! The saffron is mostly here for color, though I'm sure its flavor is there in the overall experience. Pretty much saffron is always used in very small amounts, because a little bit goes a long way, and too much just becomes bitter & overpowering.

I liked this risotto, but I felt like it needed a bit more zing somehow... I wanted one flavor to come shining through a bit more clearly. It's generally tasty though, so I might tweak it around next time. My general rule of thumb with recipes is "follow the directions exactly the first time, then, do whatever you want the next time."

For dinner I tried the Saffron Rice Pudding from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. It was an easy recipe with rice, sugar, saffron, and rosewater... topped with toasted almonds, pistachios, and raisins. I loved the yellow color, and the mix-in toppings really sealed the deal. Plus, rosewater+saffron is pretty much a match made in heaven as far as I'm concerned. My favorite Persian New Year candies have that same combo. I think next time I make this I'll cut back the sugar a little bit... and I'll stay nearby the pot too, so that I don't burn the rice on the bottom. But it was an easy and delicious little dessert, and a great way to feature the golden glory of saffron one more time!

What are your favorite saffron recipes?

VeganMoFo 28: Za'atar Pizzas & Hummus

Today's spice (mix) is Za'atar

I've been reading about za'atar for a few years now, and really wanting to try it. I just knew that I would love it. I remember reading about it on a blog from the middle east a long while ago, and then Terry had a recipe in Veg News for Za'atar pizzas which I had torn out and never made - but also which I had never managed to forget about.

Thanks, Tami!

So, when one of my sweet yoga students came home from a trip to Portland with various spices for me, and za'atar was among them, I was so happy! She said they had lots of different za'atar mixes, but that this one was her favorite. It's got sesame seeds, sumac, and thyme... and maybe other things I'm not sure. Isn't it beautiful?

Sorry for the yellow picture, it was dark out.

The first order of business was finally making those Za'atar Pizzas from Terry's VegNews article. At last! How satisfying to finally make a recipe I've been thinking about for so long. Mr. Vegan Eats & Treast says this is the best pizza I have ever made. Folks, it was really, really good. The crust was perfect - chewy & crispy, the seasonings were perfect, the tomatoes were crazy yums. I think there was supposed to be cheeze on it, but I'm not really that into cheeze. The only two things I'll do differently next time are 1) more tomatoes = more fun, and 2) don't make a half batch. What was I thinking?

To go along with the pizzas, I also made some hummus with za'atar and veggies. This seems to be a super common use for za'atar - just sprinkling it on already yummy things to make them still yummier. Yes we ate it all. We are piggies. Hungry hungry hippo piggies. Plus, it was really good. I still have some za'atar left, and I pretty much plan on putting it on every hummus experience from here forward. It just adds a little extra zip of fun and flavor.

I couldn't decide which doodle to include, so I included them both!

do you remember this game?

VeganMoFo 27: Porcini Powder Power!

Today's spice is: Porcini Mushroom Powder

You probably already know how much I love Julie Hasson's book "Vegan Diner," because I talk about it all the time. It's beautiful and chock full of delicious recipes. Her seitan recipes are especially great, and in some of them she calls for Porcini Powder. I accomplished this by grinding up dried Porcini mushrooms in my spice grinder. This powdery goodness pretty much smells like straight up mushrooms. I had ground up a bunch for one of her seitan recipes a few months back, and I had some more sitting around in a spice jar...

... So I popped open Vegan Diner again and his time around I made the Smoky Seitan Roast, which I hadn't ever made before. I don't actually like mushrooms very much, but I know that they have a lot of depth and richness to offer in vegan cooking. Luckily for me, you can't taste the shroomy presence in this seitan at all, but you can taste the umami goodness of rich deep yum. This seitan came out wonderfully - tasty, sliceable, great texture, and super easy.

Here's the final product: Reuben Sandwiches! Including my new friend saeurkraut - who I am just learning to love, fresh rye bread, and some secret sauce from Vegan Diner. Mmmm. Obviously there was still a lot of the roast left over, so I've been cutting off thin slices and pan frying them as little snacks with my lunches, and soon I'll probably pop the rest away in the freezer for a day when I want a quick and delicious dinner option!

VeganMoFo 26: Sweet, Sweet Paprika

Today's spice is: Sweet Paprika

what a pretty package!

So, I have a lot of paprika. Four varieties to be precise: Sweet (Hungarian), Bittersweet (spanish), Hot (Hungarian), and Smoked (Spanish). Smoked Paprika has really stolen my heart lately, but Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats is a true fan of Sweet Paprika. So, today, I bring you TWO meals featuring sweet paprika - one for Mr. VE&T and one for me.

In particular, Mr. VE&T loves the flavors of Hungarian food, and often asks me to make "Hungarian food" for dinner. I have a pretty good selection of cookbooks that feature international recipes, but very few of them offer indexing by country. For instance, I wish I could just look up "Hungarian" in the index and find all the recipes that are from Hungary in the book. But no! Instead I have to slowly fish my way through, which isn't all that bad, as long as I'm in the mood. I found this Hungarian Mushroom Stew in Olive Trees and Honey, which is a great book by the way. This dish is simple and yummy (even if it does have mushrooms in it) - and the most dominant flavor is definitely paprika. This meal = Heaven On Earth, if you are Mr. VE&T: mushrooms, paprika, tomatoes, white rice. But for me, it's just pretty good.

Lentils in a Sauce*, Tomatoes with Tomato Sauce*

(both from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey)

*actual excellent recipe names! ha!

On the other hand, this is my kind of paprika scene. Truth be told, I've already used paprika quite a few times this MoFo, as a background spice here or there. These lentils had 1 1/2 tsp of sweet paprika, yet the end result was a lovely lentil experience without paprika taking over the whole dinner. By the way, this recipe for lentils is really great and crazy easy. You just dump everything in the pot and then a little while later you have delicious lentils. Awesome! What a great dinner. :)

VeganMoFo 25: Anardana powder: Dried Pomegrantate Fairy Dust

Today's Spice is: Anardana Powder

(powdered dry pomegranate seeds)

I've had this jar of Anardana Powder for a while now. It was either a total impulse purchase or a gift, but either way I didn't know what to do with it, and never used it. Good move, Amey! Even looking around on the internet, I didn't find too many recipes that called for it. Luckily though, all you need is one recipe, and I found a good one: Sweet Potato Kofta in Curry Sauce.

First up, I made the delicious dumplings, or kofta. I changed the recipe a bit - I used mashed up white beans instead of cheese, and I used half pumpkin - half sweet potato. Most of all, I baked my dumplings instead of deep frying them. (375 F 15 min, flip, cook 15-20 min more). Of course they were totally delicious even without frying them. I especially loved the gentle little hit of jalapeno in the dumplings.

Listen folks, I know that is not an attractive photo. But, please, believe me when I tell you that it was crazy, crazy good. The curry sauce was made with pureed fresh tomatoes, pureed cashews, pureed-onion-ginger-garlic, loads of spices, and almond milk and it was such a glorious combination. Rich, but not overwhelmingly so, and full of flavor. Between the pomegranate powder in the dumplings and the pomegranate concentrate in the curry (which I halved), the sweet-sour-astringency of the pomegranate had a definite presence. It's really a great flavor amplifier, because there was very little salt in this dish, but the meal was very vibrant. We had it over rice with a side of roasted beets and steamed beet greens. What this dish lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in the taste department!

(*also the Chana Masala recipe that Hobby & More posted has Anardana as an optional ingredient, so I'm going to try that next!)

VeganMoFo 24: Cajun Red Beans with Red Rice

Today's spice (mix) is: Tony Chachere's Famous Creole Seasoning (salt free)

I got my jar of Tony's when I was testing NOLA recipes for Miss Kittee, and the first time I ever heard of it was when I first met Kittee in New Orleans. So, I can't even look at my Tony's without thinking of my sweet friend Kittee. Hi Kittee!

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the SF Veg Fest, and while there we got to hear Colleen Patrick-Goudreau speak. She is such a dynamic, engaging and inspirational speaker for compassionate veganism. If you've never heard her speak, check out her podcast, which is also great. I took this chance to finally pick up a copy of her book "Color Me Vegan," which I've had my eye on for a while. I love the idea of "eat the rainbow" - and having as many colors on your plate as possible.

Each chapter of the book is arranged by color, which is really fun and beautiful. So, for example, there is nutritional information about what red foods have to offer, and then a slew of recipes featuring healthy red foods. While flipping through my latest cookbook acquisition, I happened to spot a recipe featuring one of my underused spices: Creole Seasoning. Perfect! So, from the Red Chapter, I present you with Cajun Red Beans & Rice.

I mixed the recipe around a little - I only used two Tofurky sausages instead of 4 (which I think was perfect), plus I further red-ified the recipe by using red bell pepper (green bell pepper = not my fave) and red rice. Served with a bunch of tomatoes from our garden and a mountain of collard greens for a hint of semi-authenticity. Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats and I both really loved this meal. It's quite filling and very full of flavor. The Creole seasonings are the dominant spice/flavor here - and they are amazing. I can't even tell you what all is in Mr. Chachere's famous seasoning, but I can tell you that it's got some serious heat, it's super good and very distinct.

VeganMoFo 23: Dried Kaffir Lime Leaves in Malaysian Curry

Today's spice is: Dried Kaffir Lime Leaves

Last year my friend Jane got me a surprise subscription to Saveur Magazine, and even though it's a very meaty affair, I still enjoy it. I like that there is so much emphasis on international foods and that it's very much about the culture of "authentic" cooking - whether it's Thai street food or Down South cookin'. So, when I spotted a set of recipes from Malaysia, I started looking for things I could veganize.

I settled on Rendang Ayam - Spiced Chicken Soy Curl Rendang, a curry rich with spices and coconut milk. The main reason I picked it out was because it called for Kaffir Life Leaves, and I've had this one little baggie of dried kaffir lime leaves sitting around in my freezer for a while now. The baggie is open, so evidently I've used them before, but I don't remember when. This dish turned out quite well. Given that I was using Soy Curls, on a weeknight, I skipped the step where you cook the curry for 2 1/2 hours. Instead, it was a pretty easy weeknight dinner for me. I liked this dinner and its complex flavors, but Mr. Vegan Eats and Treats was right when he said it should have veggies in it. (of course, we had veggies on the side, but it's not always the same). He was coming up with all sorts of suggestions: peas! cauliflower! green beans! Even though he never cooks, he has a really good palette for things like that.

Just look at all the beautiful whole spices that went into this dinner!!

Dried Kaffir lime leaves, whole cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom pods.

VeganMoFo 22: Chinese 5-Spice for Dinner & Dessert

Today's Spice is: Chinese 5-Spice!

Most of the dishes I've made for MoFo this year have been new discoveries, but there's pretty much one reason why I bought this big jar of Chinese 5-Spice, and it's such a favorite recipe that I just decided to make it again...

Anise-glazed Tempeh with Peppers

from Vegetarian Suppers, by Deborah Madison

I love this dish so much, and I've made it quite a few times over the years. There's tempeh, bell peppers, red cabbage, mirin, tamari sauce, and just a hint of Chinese 5-Spice. It's a great one pot meal - veggies, colors, salty, a touch of sweet, spicey flavors! Chinese 5-Spice has a really strong (and lovely) flavor, so a little bit goes a long way. You can most definitely taste it in the dinner, even though there's only a 1/4 tsp in the whole recipe. According to Wikipedia the five spices in Chinese 5-spice are: star anise, cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan pepper, and fennel. What a combo!

While I was on my C5S roll, I decided to make some cookies with it for a friend. This recipe for "Chinese 5-Spice Cookies with Almonds" comes from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, by Dreena Burton. I've made them before, a long time ago, and they are really nice. Here the C5S is not at all overpowering, but a great compliment to a grown-up cookie.

Bonus Cookies

(MoFoDisclaimo: no C5S here)

I also made a batch of these Chocolate Mint Melties, -- also from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan -- for my friend. These are one of my favorite cookies of all time, and this batch turned out perfectly - beautiful, chunky, and super yum (yes, I tested one... just to be sure!).

VeganMoFo 21: Fresh Tamarind is my BFF

Today's Spice is: Tamarind!

I brought home this beautiful organic tamarind from India, and it's so wonderful. I am in love with it and I am going to marry it. Before buying this bag, I had only ever used tamarind paste from a jar - but the flavor I got from using fresh tamarind has made me an eternal convert. It's really easy: the recipe might call for a "lemon-sized" ball of tamarind. First you soak it in some warm water, and then pour off the water and press the pulp through a sieve - to keep out the fibrous material and seeds. Mmm, tamarind is amazing! Sweet and sour and earthy and tangy all at once.

islands in the stream, that is what we are

With my magical tamarind goo, I made Sweet-and-Sour Tempeh with Peanuts, from World Vegetarian. Oh My Freaking Freakster! This was so good. I skipped deep frying the tempeh bits and instead just dry-fried them. Then they are cooked in a puree of shallots, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, hot peppers, and of course tamarind. The end result is extremely rich, dense with exciting flavors, and crazy delicious. Alongside a batch of Cabbage with Garlic & Shallots (also from World Vegetarian), and a big batch of rice, this was truly an exceptional dinner. One for the history books!

Grapes for dessert, which was perfect.

VeganMoFo 20: Ajwain Seed Flat Breads

Today's spice is : Ajwain Seeds!

I've got two nice little jars of ajwain seeds in my spice collection - one that I bought on a whim (what's new?) and one that someone gave me (yay!). And yet, I've never opened either of them until now. Ajwain seeds have some serious kick to them - spicy, but not really in a hot way - just a strong intensity. Sort of like the way mint clears your sinuses - it's strong, but not hot. They are similar to a super jacked-up cumin seed, and are (apparently) used pretty often in Indian cuisine. In a lot of Indian dishes, there are so many spices added that each flavor blends into the next. I wanted to really taste the Ajwain seeds in my maiden voyage... so I finally settled on a flat bread where they are one of the main spices.

I made these Stuffed Lentil Flat Breads (Ajwain Dal Paratha). Verdict? YUM FEST! Whenever I've been to India, I usually end up eating a lot of roti and paratha because they are very often vegan. And this recipe tasted so much like "the real thing" - they definitely fell into the "I can't believe *I* made this!" category. For me, the recipe made 8 breads with a whole lot extra filling, so I froze that and will probably make another batch soon. They make a really yummy and healthy little snack during the day.

This recipe involves cooking up some chana dal, seasoning it, and then cooking it down to an almost-crumbly mix. That tasty stuff goes in the middle of a whole wheat dough (rolled out about the size of a corn tortilla)...

then you pinch it shut...

Into a little dumpling! Next you take out your rolling pin and roll it flat! It totally worked and was not hard at all. I was stoked.

The final product is cooked on a griddle until speckled with brown on both sides. And is very delicious.

VeganMoFo 19: Armenian Brioche Stuffed with Dates & Ground-up Cherry Pits

Today's Spice is Mahlab!

Recently, my friend Alana gave me some super cool spices as a gift, including this jar of Mahlab. Clearly, she knows the way to my heart. Mahlab (or is it mahlabs?) are the seed kernels from inside the cherry pits of one certain variety of cherry tree! Honestly, who thinks of this stuff? Apparently it has been used in Greek and Middle Eastern baked desserts and sweet breads for centuries. To use it in baking, you have to grind it up very fine - which I did with my spice grinder. I tasted it, and mostly it just seemed really, really bitter. But I had faith in centuries of bakers before me and went fearlessly ahead.

I did a lot of searching around and found this really cool and helpful article from Serious Eats. And that kind article directed me to a delicious recipe for Armemian Brioche Stuffed With Dates and Agave. This recipe was painless to veganize - agave in place of honey, EnerG egg replacer mix instead of two eggs, and it came out perfectly. For glazing the buns, I used a little soy yogurt.

Just look at how beautiful they are! I was really stoked on how pretty and delicious these came out. The stuffing inside is made of dates, walnuts and agave - and that provides pretty much all the sweetness here. They are mildly sweet, and very pleasant to eat. The dough itself is really light and yummy... and I'm not sure if I exactly taste the ground Mahlab - there's definitely no bitterness - but the dough does have a very pleasant and distinct flavor. Maybe that's from the mahlab? Either way, I really loved these sophisticated and elegant treats and I'll probably make them again - especially since they are currently my only mahlab-containing recipe! :)

VeganMoFo 18: Moroccan Tagine with Ras-el-Hanout

Today's Spice (mix) is Ras el-Hanout

First of all, how fun is the name "Ras el-Hanout"?? Very fun.

This would be a good name for your next dog.

This picture is sort of dark, but maybe you can make out the beautiful dried rose petals in there?

I got this spice mix from a PPK swap, maybe it was GPope who sent it to me? I actually have another package of Ras el-Hanout from Whole Foods in my cupboards, but after reading the ingredients list on each package, I could see that this one was The Real Deal. It was full of spices we don't use often in the west - like galangal and rose petals - so I was intrigued. Ras el-Hanout is a spice blend from Morocco and is used in many traditional dishes.

After copious time surfing the net for R e-H recipes, I decided to make a Moroccan tagine dish with my special Ras el-Hanout. I looked at many recipes and found some different ideas... and ended up with this.

It was hearty and delicious. I loved the big chunks of veggies, especially since they are cooked until quite soft - they can be large without being difficult to eat. The spicing was just wonderful... warm, but not spicy hot. Also, sometimes with spice mixes, you just end up with an all-purpose "spices" flavor, but this mix really had a distinctive (and yummy) flavor that I loved. I could make this again and again. Plus, the whole thing was ready in under and hour, which is always nice!

Here's a loose recipe for you:

Vegan Moroccan Tagine with Ras el-Hanout

A little oil (I used about 1 1/2 tsp)

1 1/2 cups of dry Soy Curls, reconstituted in warm veg broth for 10 min, then drained

3 medium carrots in big chunks

1 large yellow onion in big chunks

1 potato in big chunks

1 Tbsp fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 can chickpeas, drained

handful of raisins (I left this out, because Mr. VE&T doesn't like raisins, but raisins are very common in tagines!)

juice of one orange

2 cups veg broth

salt & pepper to choice

1 Tbsp ras el-hanout

1 cup couscous + 1 1/2 c water

Cut up your veggies and such. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add a little bit of oil. Add in the soy curls and saute until lightly browned (+/- 10 minutes). Remove them and set them aside. Now, add the carrots, onion, potatoes, garlic and ginger with a little more oil back into that same big pot and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions have softened a bit. Next add in the Soy Curls again, along with the chickpeas, optional raisins, orange juice, veg broth, S&P, and ras el-hanout. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes (or longer if you have the time).

While your tagine is simmering, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil in a smallish pot. Once boiling, pour in the couscous, stir well, turn off the heat, and cover. When your tagine is ready, take a fork and fluff up your couscous. Then serve with a mound of couscous on the bottom and a generous dollop of the tagine stew on top.