veganmofo: we hardly knew ye!

Oh my gosh - can you believe VeganMoFo is over? Can you believe 30 days have gone by? I have to admit, I'm a little sad to see this challenge end- I've never blogged this frequently! I've learned that the more frequently I post, the more I enjoy blogging. It's also been interesting to note that the times when I blog most frequently are the times when I'm most productive in other areas of my life- I've gotten so much done this past month! I have also discovered lots of new blogs as a result of it, which has been a great thing.

This month, on our blogs, we've seen the best of what vegan food can be: delicious, inventive, comforting, time-saving, frugal, healthy, as well as what vegan food is on an everyday basis. We've eaten alone or with crowds, with friends or family, with fellow vegans or omnis, at home and on the road, decadently or ascetically, experimentally or reliably. It's been wonderful- there is no shortage of information on the internet should anyone ever go looking for it. Recipes, tips, warnings, shortcuts, recommendations... oh my.

For the final VeganMoFo post, I decided to do something quick and simple: a recipe for an onion-dill-rye sourdough bread. Vivacious Vegan asked me if I was having any luck baking whole grain sourdoughs, and the answer is yes! So far, I've baked multi-grain rolls, rye breads, and spelt breads. The difference when using whole grain is that the bread can take a lot longer to rise, so budget extra time. Also, I've accepted that my sourdough breads can't be 100% whole grain, since the starter gets fed with white flour. Often, the proportion is about 60 - 70% whole grains, 30 - 40% white flour. This is just fine with me, because it's the best of both worlds- the texture, crumb, and body of white flour, off-set by the flavor, fiber, and nutrition of grains. (The more I bake, honestly, the more I respect white flour)

So here's the recipe: (adapted from the Yankee Grocery)

2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1 cup sourdough starter batter at room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
4 cups rye flour, unsifted
2 Tablespoons light molasses
2 teaspoons plain or iodized salt
1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
2 Tablespoons dried dill
2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon baking soda
Hot water as required (see step #4)

1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine water, starter batter and 4 cups of the flour. Cover with clear plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place (85 degrees F) for 8 to 12 hours.
   
   
2. Stir in the rye flour, molasses, salt, caraway seeds, dill, onion flakes and baking soda, to form a very stiff dough. Knead until smooth. (Add more flour if you need it) Cover and let rise in a warm place until the mixture is doubled in size, about (2 to 2 1/2 hours).
   
   
3. Punch down and divide in half. Knead gently until smooth. Shape each half into loaf or round, Cover loaves lightly; let rise again in a warm place until puffy and almost doubled in size, about (1 to 1-1/2 hours).
   
   
4. Carefully place a small pan on the shelf, below the oven baking rack, and fill it with hot water.
   
   
5. Place your sourdough rye bread loaves on the baking rack, close the oven door and bake in a preheated (400 degree F) oven for 10 minutes. Then brush your sourdough bread loaves with the baste mixture. (edit 12/3: the baste mixture is 1 teaspoon cornstarch brought to a boil with 1 cup water, then cooled to room temperature. Thanks, Mihl, for catching the omission!) Close the oven door and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes more until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
   
   
6. Remove the loaves from the oven and place on a cooling rack until cooled down to room temperature. Now for the hardest part of all in this baking recipe. Allow your loaf to cool completely (about 2 hours) before cutting into it. A loaf of sourdough bread is not fully flavored until it is fully cool. Also, bread is much easier to slice when cool.

Because our house has been so cold lately, I heat the oven for about 1-2 minutes, let it cool down a bit, and store my dough in there, covered with plastic wrap, for its first rise. I sometimes let this first sponge sit for up to 12 hours (overnight). I haven't gotten sick of sourdough yet- I hope to try more recipes soon!

To all my readers and fellow VeganMoFo-ers, thanks for this journey! I've fallen a bit behind on visiting all of your blogs, but I promise to catch up this weekend- I've missed you all!

apple-ation

With the end of November comes the end of apple picking season here in central New York. Although the season seemed to come very early this year, I was still sad to see it go. There is nothing like the taste a a freshly-picked apple, not to mention all the goodies that you can make with the bounty!

Right now, an entire produce drawer in our fridge is filled with locally grow apples. We're each eating a couple of apples a day, in addition to cooking and baking with them, so I thought I'd do one last apple post before the orchards are buried in snow the the apples are just a memory.

First of all, a little apple transgression. As Daiku and I were driving away from an orchard, whose name shall be kept secret, we noticed a cluster of trees with very interesting looking apples growing on them cordoned off near the exit. These trees were definitely not open for picking, and the apples looked like nothing we'd ever seen before- they were pretty large, with skin so dark, they almost looked black.

So, furtively, I ran out of the car as Daiku nervously kept the engine running. I ran to the forbidden trees and, quickly as I could, picked one of these black apples. I then ran back to the car, giddy and a little nervous. What if they follow us and punish us for touching their top-secret apples? What if the apples are radioactive, or some horrible genetic mutants? (Anyone remember "tomacco" from the Simpsons...?)

We tried the apple about a week after bringing it home. (We kept putting it off, because we wanted a "special" occasion to try this super "special" apple, and of course with our busy schedules, that special moment never came.) By the time we did get to eat the apple, we were afraid that it would be mealy from having sat in the fridge for so long. So, each of us bites into this apple and ZOMG! Possibly the most wonderful apple EVER! (And I've tasted plenty of really great apples). This apple had it all- sweet-tangy flavor, perfect crisp texture, perfume-like scent, it was indescribable. I wish I'd taken some more when I had the chance!

So now, I want to ask you, does anyone recognize this apple? Can anyone tell us what this is? Once you've tried something this good, the thought of living the rest of your life without it seems bleak!

Ok, enough about the magical black apple. Here is a muffin recipe to use up some of your own produce glut. I adapted this muffin from the apple zucchini muffins in the first edition of the "Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk" 'zine. Except, I made so many huge changes that I would feel bad saying this is that recipe, so I will give you my recipe for:

apple-apple muffins (makes 10 muffins)

• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 C unsweetened soymilk (edit 11/30: I meant to say "1/2 C", not "1/c C"!
  
• 1 C whole spelt flour
• 1 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• a few grates of nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp. pre-ground nutmeg)
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 C dark brown sugar, packed
• 1-2 TB agave nectar (can omit if you want a less sweet breakfast muffin)
• 1/4 C oil
• 2 apples, grated (can leave peels intact)
• optional mix-ins: nuts, raisins, dried fruit, coconut...
  

Basically I turned these into 100% whole grain muffins, decreased the sweetness, omitted the zucchini, and added some vinegar to make sure that they would have enough "puff" even without white flour.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

• pour the vinegar into a large measuring cup, pour the soymilk over it and let it sit while you complete the rest of the recipe
• grate your apples and keep them covered until ready to use
  
• whisk together all the dry ingredients
  
• add the sugar, agave nectar, and oil to the soymilk/vinegar mixture, mix until well-blended.
• add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix gently until just blended- do NOT overmix!
• add the apples (and any optional mix-ins) and fold gently until mixed through
• fill your muffin cups generously- until just under full
• bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until fully puffed and golden brown
• allow to cool for 1 - 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely before storing. (you can, of course, eat these while they're piping hot!)

These tasted incredible- and were healthy enough to eat for breakfast. They kept well for 3 days, and were very moist and tender. They re-heated well, and paired wonderfully with a dab of Earth Balance.

Enjoy!

pasta puttanesca

Tonight, we had a meal that we eat at least once a week around these parts... pasta puttanesca. If sugo de puttanesca is the sauce of whores, then we proudly raise our hands and admit to being big ol' pasta-loving hookers. (I'm sorry, who can resist? The jokes write themselves!) Unfortunately, it being dark and all, I couldn't capture a good photo- that's where this picture from back in the summer comes in.

This sauce is so robust and full of flavor, that absolutely nothing is lost by leaving out the traditional anchovies.

I won't give an exact recipe, because everyone has their own preferences, but to make pasta alla puttanesca, make sure not to leave out:

• capers
• oil-cured black olives
• garlic
• onions
• tomatoes - diced, crushed, fresh, canned, just make sure to use the tangiest, highest-quality tomatoes you can find!
  
• extra virgin olive oil
• red pepper flakes
  

Daiku adds these touches to his sauce:

• balsamic vinegar (just a tiny bit to deglaze the onions and garlic)
  
• pinch of basil, pinch of oregano
  

Basically,

• heat your oil, add your herbs
• add your onions and garlic, sauté for a while
• add chopped olives and capers
  
• deglaze with the balsamic vinegar
• add your tomatoes, stir to combine, and then let the sauce simmer on low heat until it's a bit thickened and has taken on a dark rich color
• toss with pasta, and serve.
• buon appetito!
  

2 tester recipes, 2 gifts

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Tonight's post is yet another opportunity to use VeganMoFo to catch up! And when I say catch up, I mean some of the food photos I'm about to show you are from September! But they are all fresh in my mind, and in fact I look forward to making these again.

I love testing recipes (which I'm currently doing for 3 wonderful vegans) - not only do you contribute to the creation of a book, but it makes meal planning so easy! Each week, I look at the available recipes, and pick at least one or two that I'm going to test. So far, this has worked out really well for us.

Without further ado, here are two test recipes:

Melody's green goddess dressing. You know those recipes where you think you can guess what the end result will taste like? Well this recipe turned out to be so much more than what I expected- it was simultaneously green, fresh, thick, and creamy. The many different herbs played off of each other really well. The first night, I served the dressing as Melody suggested- on a bed of greens (escarole), with some brown rice and lentils, topped with a few caramelized onions. Both Daiku and I loved this, and there was enough dressing for us to play with for the next few days.

Here's a tester for Joni's upcoming book, which will feature 101 (!!) vegan burger recipes, plus all the necessary buns, condiments, and toppings to go with them. She will have sections for gluten-free, soy-free, and high-protein burgers, in addition to regular recipes, and I look forward to testing many more. Here you see some sweet potato chipotle burgers, served on a whole wheat bun with some lettuce. I kept the toppings simple because this burger was packed with flavor! The chipotle heat was a bit intense for me, but that didn't stop me from going back for more!

And now, I want to share two vegan food gifts that I have received from fellow bloggers recently- definitely a huge perk, if you ask me!

Here, we have these delicious chocolate/strawberry pinwheels from Susie (Susie Tofu Monster for those on the PPK). She is a seriously talented chef! If you haven't checked out her new blog, Parsnip Parsimony, I recommend that you get over there, stat. Two words should suffice: vegan. challah. 'Nuff said.

And here we have some cookies from the always lovely Celine. Imagine my surprise on a cold day to look at my front door and see a box of cookies sitting there- the perfect reward after a punishing day of library research. Celine sent oreo cookie cookies and pistachio-rosewater cookies, which were so good, Daiku and I may have fought over them a little. Daiku ended up taking half to work with him, to be sure I didn't finish them all in one day! (I put the rose-colored crane next to the rosewater cookie, and the chocolate crane next to the oreo cookie one, for ease of identification!)

To all the bloggers out there who make life just a little more delicious by giving me new recipes to test, or by sending me sweet surprises in the mail, THANK YOU!
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3 of my favorite things

Another night, another VeganMoFo. Before I get started, I want to thank all of you so much for your thought-provoking and intelligent comments to last night's post. I can't respond to each of you individually, since your answers are so rich and multi-faceted, so I want to thank you collectively for carrying on the conversation. Questions of sustainability and social justice in relation to food are probably in the forefront of many of our minds, and it's always exciting to hear new perspectives on the matter.

Ok, on to tonight's post. I will show & tell three of my favorite things, food-wise.

1. Polish plum jam. My friend Dorota introduced this to me, and now I'm so addicted, I always have at least 2 or 3 jars stockpiled in the house. This is the only jam that I can eat with a spoon, straight out of the jar. The only ingredients are plums and sugar, so I don't know how they manage to get such a perfect flavor- tangy, sweet, rich, and awesome. If you have a Polish grocer near you, do yourself a favor and look for this brand of plum jam. It's perfect for toast, muffins, and hot cereal, yet complex enough to be used for sauces and savory recipes.

2. Porto Rico Importing Co. coffee sellers. They have two locations on New York City, or you can click over and order from them on-line. Porto Rico sells a wide variety of freshly roasted coffee (including many organic and fair-trade varieties), in addition to teas, flavoring syrups, and coffee and tea paraphernalia (like mugs, teapots, strainers, coffee makers, etc.) I can't even begin to tell you how delicious their coffees are. Any time either Daiku or I are in New York City, we buy a pound or two to bring back. For high quality coffee, their prices are beyond reasonable (often no more than $5-$6 a pound on sale). However, nothing beats the sale we stumbled upon when we were there a few weeks ago- an anniversary special blend for only $.85 !! Less than a dollar a pound for premium coffee! The only catch was that there was a limit of one pound per person. This problem was solved thanks to our lovely friends who agreed to help us out- and we walked away with 6 pounds of coffee- enough to last us through the year. Score!

3. Number three is a bit silly. You see, I'm hopelessly attached to this little rubber spatula. I bought it in 1995 on my first ever visit to Ikea (I believe it was the Burbank location). I picked up a 2-pack of these rubber spatulas, one large and this small one. It is the small one that I have become dependent upon- it is the perfect size, shape, width, and thickness, and the feel of the material is perfect. The sharp edge helps me to scrape the last bit of batter from a mixing bowl, the last bit of dressing from a jar, the last bit of food from a pot. When I'm blending something in my stand mixer, this helps me scrape the sides. When I'm making something in the magic bullet blender, this helps me to push the ingredients down. I use it at least once a day. I have bought a few similar spatulas, knowing that this one would eventually have to be retired, but none have been a perfect fit for me. I'm ruined for spatulas!

... which is too bad, because as you can see in the above photo, this poor little guy has to go! If any of you have a spatula you are particularly fond of (preferably silicone, which might last longer than the rubber), please let me know! Until then, I'll be clinging on to this perfect, humble, almost 13 year-old kitchen helper.

local food pot-luck

One of the biggest skills I have to develop as an art historian is the power to describe what I see. Countless teachers have instilled in me the importance of being able to 'draw a picture' for someone, to make them see what I'm seeing, and how I'm seeing it. Well, those skills are going to come in handy for tonight's blog entry, because I'm going to try to describe an awesome dinner that Daiku and I went to last night, without any photos! Yes, the dreaded photo-less blog post!

As I'm sure many of you would agree, meeting new and interesting people is one of the coolest fringe benefits of blogging. One fellow Syracuse food blogger that I have had the pleasure of running into a few times over the last couple of times is Jennifer of Cookin' in the 'Cuse. Long before I even started blogging, Daiku and I were familiar with her blog, which we found when trying to answer the question "can you eat locally and seasonally in Syracuse, even in the Winter?" (the answer is yes, by the way)

Last night, we attended our first "local pot-luck" - an monthly event that we finally got to go to for the first time. It was unbelievable to see how much local food can be had, even though we are approaching the dead of winter. We got to meet so many people in addition to Jennifer and her husband- members of the community, both newcomers and old-timers, farmers, bakers, teachers, people involved with the food co-op. And we got to have a long conversation, where I mostly just listened, learning new things and getting new perspectives along the way. As is usually the case when the conversation turns to issues of food and health, food and justice, local, sustainable, organic food, food and community, etc., there were a lot more questions than answers. So I figure I want to keep the conversation going on this blog, especially because so many of us have been thinking of food because of VeganMoFo. What do you, dear awesome readers, think of the following issues?

• how can we shed local, sustainable food (and the wider issues of environmentalism and social justice) of their "elitist" associations? Why do so many people think that this type of food is rarefied, and the sole occupation of wealthy, liberal people? ("NPR listener issues" in the words of one guest)
• along those lines, how do we bring this kind of food to a wider audience? Is it possible, for example, to re-train palates trained to love the artificial, salty/sweet/fatty tastes of fast food and junk food?
  
• how do we get people to try new ingredients? to connect with where their food comes from?
  
• how can we really address the issue of farm subsidies, when so much of our nation's economy is built on them, even if they represent a very skewed view and practice of farming? For example, if all farm subsidies were taken away tomorrow, how many people would be out of jobs? how many communities would suffer? where would our food supply come from?
• are major supermarkets (Wegmans for us upstate New Yorkers, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc. for other places) good, evil, or somewhere in-between? Is there anything to be gained by local foods (or organics, gourmet, specialty foods) becoming "trendy"?

Of course, as a vegan, and someone concerned with local and sustainable food, my takes on many of these questions are colored by my consideration of animal rights and the belief that veganism is a huge step in the right direction. But there are so many other aspects of food that need to be examined, what are your thoughts on any or all of these?

P.S. What local food did we take for the pot-luck? Why, an apple-raspberry crisp made with Jonagold, Empire, and Macintosh apples from Beak and Skiff orchards, and raspberries from Henkel's berry patch (picked in August and frozen).

The dish wass based on this Whole Foods Market recipe for apple-cherry crisp, we replaced the cherries with raspberries (in the past we've also made this with blueberries, with wonderful results) which colored the apples a gorgeous pink color. This recipe has never failed for us, so if you want to make a fruit crisp, using the best local ingredients at your fingertips, give it a try:

Apple-Cherry Crisp

Low-Sodium

Serves 6–8

Fruit

• 6 cups peeled, sliced tart apples such as Granny Smith (2 pounds total or about 5 to 6 apples) we used a variety of tart apples
  
• 2 cups pitted cherries (either fresh or 1 bag (10 ounce) frozen) we used frozen raspberries
  
• 1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed apple cider would also work wonderfully here
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, chopped we used 1/2 fresh orange zest, 1/2 dried
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger


Topping

• 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour we usually increase the whole wheat flour a bit and decrease the white flour a bit, with perfectly fine results
  
• 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/3–1/2 cup natural sugar such as maple sugar, Sucanat, or evaporated cane juice we used a mixture of local maple sugar and brown sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) organic butter, softened good old Earth Balace vegan non-hydrogenated margarine came to the rescue here!
  

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place apples and cherries in a 7x11-inch baking dish or other pretty dessert dish of similar size. In a small bowl, stir together apple juice concentrate, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon and ginger; pour over the fruit and toss gently to mix. Set aside.

To make topping and bake cobbler: Stir together the oats, pastry and white flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour and oat mixture until completely blended. Evenly spread the topping over the fruit, pressing down slightly with fingers.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until top is golden brown and the fruit is tender and bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes and serve warm.

fighting the sniffles: elderberries

We just got home from a very enjoyable local food potluck (more about that later!) but all I could think about was that I had to get home and VeganMoFo! Tonight, I want to blog about one of my favorite discoveries from the last few years- elderberries! When I first moved to Syracuse, there was a magazine article about the power of elderberries and elderberry extract to treat the flu and the common cold. Well, we bought some in bulk from our local health food store in the form of dried berries. We made a simple tea with them- and guess what? They totally work! If you drink elderberry tea within the first day or so of sensing a cold coming on - you know, scratchy or sore throat, heavy head, headache, etc. - it lessens the impact of the disease, or eliminates it all together! We gave it to my aunt one day when she was visiting our house and had a cold- she drank a cup in the evening, and by the next day was markedly less miserable. Our whole family witnessed this, and now can't get enough of the stuff!

In addition to making the tea from the dried berries, you can also find elderberry extract at health food stores (although it's substantially more expensive.) Daiku and I try to remind ourselves to drink a cup of the stuff as frequently as possible, to boost our immune system. It's natural, it's inexpensive, and it's more effective than any other cold remedy that I have ever come across, so I recommend it to everybody! How does the tea taste? To me, it has a kind of prune/raisin taste, although it is not sweet like those fruits. It just has a very mellow, dried fruit kind of flavor.

Here are two articles that go into more precise detail about the nutritional benefits of elderberries:

From Article #1: "The edible berries are rich in vitamin C and get their dark color form their high anthocyanin and bioflavonoid content. They are primarily used to treat flu symptoms and as an immunostimulant."

"Acting as an antioxidant, elder may protect the body against damage from free radicals. Flavonoids, including quercetin, are believed to account for the therapeutic actions of the elderberry flowers and berries. Anthocyanins are special class of bioflavonoids, which offer powerful antioxidant protection against cellular aging. Elderberry extract reduces the damaging effects of LDL, or bad cholesterol, and serves as an antioxidant for the body."


From Article #2: " Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) has been used in folk medicine for centuries to treat influenza, colds, and sinusitis. Elderberry extracts have been found to have anti-viral activity in preliminary laboratory studies. A Norwegian double-blind, placebo controlled study found that elderberry syrup (15 milliliters four times a day for 5 days) was more effective than placebo at relieving symptoms and decreased the use of rescue medication."

**Warning- you should only buy commercially prepared elderberry products, since the berries, when unripe and/or raw, and much of the plant (leaves, etc.) can be poisonous.**

So go out and find some elderberries today! (Or elderberry jam, wine, syrup, candies, etc. Did you know that Sambuca is made with them...?)

And with that, yet another VeganMoFo post right under the wire- woo!

and now, some recipes

Thank you guys so much for your kind words about our Thanksgiving meal! As promised, here are some of the recipes that we used:

Daiku is known for his pecan pies. (Funny story: the first Thanksgiving he ever spent at my parents' house, he brought over two pecan pies. My mom, who had never had any before, fell in love with them, and spent the next week happily eating a slice with her afternoon coffee). So he was a bit leery of veganizing it, but we both agree that this pie kicked some major ass! It had all the flavor of a regular pecan pie, without that unpleasant "scrambled egg" aftertaste. And, it set up really well. If you miss this dessert, I encourage you to give this recipe a try. And after we made it, we noted how totally healthy it is- no processed sugar or flour, a reasonable amount of fat and sweetener, chock full of fresh nuts- it's a winner!

Vegan Pecan Pie (Recipe from: http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1781)

From Lorna Sass's Complete Vegetarian Kitchen

Oatmeal Pie Pastry
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon or allspice
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. canola oil
2 T. maple syrup (here is the only change we made to this recipe: Daiku used Steen's dark syrup instead of maple syrup, to give the pie an even more traditional southern flavor - you can take the boy out of Louisiana...)
2-3 T. apple juice or water

image courtesy of: http://shop.chefpaul.com/

Mix oatmeal, flour, spice, and salt together in a bowl.

In a measuring cup, whisk together the oil, syrup, and juice or water. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir.

With moist hands, press the dough into an oiled 9-inch pie plate or 10-inch tart tin, put in beans or pie weight, and bake for 15 min. in a preheated 375-degree F oven.

Pecan Pie
1 1/2 c. brown rice syrup
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. agar flakes
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 T. arrowroot or kuzu (we used arrowroot)
water to cover arrowroot or kuzu
2 c. toasted pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

In a heave saucepan, prepare the filling. Whisk together the rice syrup, water, agar flakes, cinnamon, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat until the agar dissolves completely, stirring occasionally, about 5 min.

In a small bowl (or coffee cup ), dissolve the arrowroot in water to barely cover and add to the agar-rice syrup mixture. While cooking the mixture at a low simmer, whisk it until the chalky color becomes clear.

Let the mixture cool for 15 min. Stir in the pecans and vanilla and pour into the prepared pie crust, distributing the pecans evenly.

Let the pie cool to room temperature and set, about 2 hours (or refrigerate for 1 hour).

Next up, we have the Sicilian Crostata recipe from the Silk Road Cooking book. We were both instantly attracted to this dish because it looked so good, and featured two of my favorite things, lima beans and dill. That is one fabulous flavor combination, if you ask me. The recipe for the crust was easy to veganize- we simply omitted the egg. The filling, however, was a bit more challenging, because it called for several eggs and parmesan cheese. We played with that a bit, and were really happy with the results- and it set really well, too, so take that, eggs.

Vegan Sicilian-style lima bean and dill crostata filling (to pour into a pre-baked crust and bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees)

1 1/4 C. unsweetened soymilk
1/4 C. vegan sour cream
1 - 2 TB nutritional yeast
1/2 C. fresh (refrigerated) silken tofu
1 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer (we put this in as security because we were replacing eggs, it may or may not be crucial!)

mix the above in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer at medium-high speed for at least 2-3 minutes, until well-incorporated.

Meanwhile, sauté the following with some oil in a wok, until onions are translucent and just beginning to caramelize:

1 small onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
a handful of fresh and 2 TB dried dill
1 lb. lima beans (we used frozen Fordhook lima beans- they were huge!)
salt and pepper to taste

Add the liquid mixture to the veggie mixture and heat through. Add a slurry made up of 1 TB cornstarch and water and stir through. (Again, we did this as egg replacement insurance- it may not be crucial!)

Pour the mixture into your prepared and pre-baked pie crust (we used a 7" X 10" rectangular dish, but I imagine a 9 or 10-inch pie dish would have been good too) and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until golden.

The results were awesome! It might have resembled a quiche more than a crostata, but I'm not complaining! We will be making this again.

Finally, we have the jerusalem artichoke soup. (Jenna, we loved them!) Never having tasted jerusalem artichokes (or sunchokes, as they're alternately known), I was surprised by the flavor- so light, so sweet, so creamy- a perfect ingredient for this type of soup. Daiku and I came up with funny ways to try to describe the flavor- my favorite was "a mixture of blond wood and ice cream" - somehow, this soup struck us as the Ikea furniture of the food world (don't ask!) - don't let the crazy description stop you, though, this is a definite must-try.

1 - 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots
1 small onion
2 TB sherry
1 pound jerusalem artichokes, sliced, peels intact
1 cube veggie bouillon (we used Rapunzel brand), dissolved in 3 1/2 C. warm water
1 C. unsweetened soymilk
1 TB vegan sour cream

Sauté the shallots and onion in the olive oil for 5-6 minutes, until they are beginning to turn a golden color. Pour the sherry into the mixture, to deglaze. Add the 'chokes and bouillon/water mixture and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a rapid simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.

Pour the soymilk and sour cream into a blender, then add the soup. (This is where I really wish I had an immersion blender!) Blend on high, for at least a few minutes. This is important to ensure that everything is uniform, the peels of the 'chokes disappear, and the soup achieves a frothy, ethereal texture.

Serve warm, topped with caramelized shallots and some truffle oil. (Note: after blending this soup, we kept it on low heat for almost an hour, and it held up just fine)

Looking back, our Thanksgiving meal turned out to have been a fairly healthy one. We didn't plan it that way, but most of the dishes are free of processed sugar, we only used white flour and margarine in a couple of them, and they were chock full of fruits and veggies, so I consider the meal a success. I hope you try some of these recipes- perfect cozy, Autumnal food for cold, brisk days.

a very vegan thanksgiving

Here I am again, posting just a few minutes before midnight... Like many people in the U.S. right now, I'm exhausted from a day of marathon cooking! I will post photos from tonight's Thanksgiving meal, which will correspond directly with the menu I posted last night. I hope everyone had a wonderful day, I know I did!

Before I let the pictures speak for themselves, I just want to take a moment to get all mushy and sentimental. I am thankful for my family, my friends, and all the wonderful people who make up our blogging community! It can't be said enough- being vegan would not be nearly as fun without all of you, so thank you! xoxoxo

I will try to recover enough to post some recipes tomorrow- good night!

Thanksgiving menu: an exercise in fancypantsery

As promised, I am going to post my Thanksgiving menu here tonight. I'm sorry that I didn't have a chance to blog about it any earlier, but Daiku and I are both procrastinators when it comes to menu planning, and we didn't want to make any final decisions until we saw what looked good at the market today, so this is the best I could do.

I have to admit, before I go any further, that much of this menu is a shameless rip-off an homage to Millenium restaurant. Daiku and I have always wanted to eat there, we've even walked right by, but we've never actually done it. However, when I saw their Thanksgiving menu for this year, I was inspired by it, and I'm sure you'll see the echoes between the two.

Another thing about this menu is that Daiku and I had a great deal of fun "fancypantsing" the menu. Fancypants is a game we play, where we mockingly try and see who can come up with the best "gourmet" version of a regular dish's name. We started playing this many years ago, when we noticed that things like "balsamic reduction" and "molten lava cake" suddenly started showing up everywhere. In this game, simple breakfast oatmeal can become multi-grain porridge with seasonal dried fruit and maple-date glaze. This is our reaction to snooty and played-out food descriptions, but it's also a really fun way to organize a menu- how fancypants can you make your humble food sound? So here, I've given you our Thanksgiving menu, both the normal and fancypants versions. See which ones you like better!

Vegan Thanksgiving Menu 2007

With help from:

Millenium Restaurant
Veganomicon
Silk-Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey
Papa Tofu 'zine
And countless blogs and websites, especially B36 Kitchen, because Jenna convinced me to finally try Jerusalem Artichokes, already!

Starter:

Sunchoke soup / Jerusalem Artichoke and Roasted Garlic Bisque with caramelized shallots, heavy cream, and an Amontillado Sherry reduction

Salad:

Veganomicon Caesar Salad, with a few substitutions, since there was no good romaine lettuce in the market today / Medley of Organic Baby Greens with an Almond-Caesar dressing

Entrée:

baked acorn squash stuffed with rice (from the Silk-Road Cooking book) / Roasted Golden Acorn Squash filled with a Middle-Eastern fruited wild rice pilaf

ETA 11/23: I can't believe I totally forgot to include one of my favorite parts of the menu- a Sicilian-style lima bean-dill crostata from the "Silk Road Cooking" book!

Sides:

cranberry sauce / spiced cranberry quince compote

Ethiopian Collard Greens, from Papa Tofu / Gomen with Nitter Kibbeh

Smashed potatoes, parsnips, and sweet potatoes / Seasonal root vegetable mash with black truffle oil

Sourdough bread / Artisanal Sourdough Batard

Dessert:

Pecan Pie / Toasted Pecan Caramel Tart with a whole wheat-oatmeal crust

Some fruit that we don't usually treat ourselves to, like pomegranates and persimmons, with Soyatoo / Assorted Seasonal Fruits with a light soy whipped cream

Drinks:

Water / still and sparking mineral waters
Vegan Red Wine / Organic Sulfite-free Red Wine
Wild Turkey / Oak Barrel Aged Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey (more for sprinkling on some of the food we'll be making than drinking!)

puttin' the Turkey back into Thanksgiving!
(image thanks to http://www.wildturkeybourbon.com/)

So that's what we hope to eat tomorrow. It seems like quite a bit of food for two people, but both Daiku and I will make sure that none of it goes to waste- we love leftovers! We don't feast like this very often, but that's the fun of the holiday, right? I hope you got a giggle or two out of the fancypants names for these dishes- I know we did!

Buy Nothing Day!

I have always liked Thanksgiving, ever since I was a kid. When we first moved to the U.S. and I got a 4-day weekend for the holiday, I thought that was the best thing. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, on that Saturday night, "wow! I've been out of school for three days already and there is a whole other day off left- this holiday rules!" I have a lot of traditions that I maintain for Thanksgiving, some old, and some new. In this post, I want to share some of these traditions with you.

The first is Buy Nothing Day, brought to you by the fine folks at Adbusters. Basically, this event, now in its 15th year, is a way to give the tradition of "Black Friday" a big fat finger. I don't know about you, but the increasing media attention paid every year to throngs of people rushing to the shops the day after Thanksgiving gives me the serious creeps. When did we become lemmings, completely internalizing the idea that we have to wake up early and hit the shops on this day?

And when you think about it, one of the biggest aspects of veganism is a rejection of overconsumption. It's not good to eat without a thought to the impact of your food on the environment, just like it's not good to buy, without a thought to the impact of commercialization and just plain stuff on our mental and physical environment.

What if the corporations threw this pathetic party and nobody went? What if we all decided that the Friday after Thanksgiving was a day for relaxing? exercising? spending time with friends or loved ones? volunteering? doing schoolwork? meditating? participating in activism? making art? knitting? organizing? grooming our pets? making out? raking leaves? sleeping? fixing our bikes? winter-proofing our homes? backing up our files? mending our socks? planting bulbs? writing letters? calling old friends? giving someone a hand? cutting up credit cards?

Daiku and I have been participating in Buy Nothing Day for longer than I can remember- at least 6 or 7 years. I can honestly say that I haven't bought anything on the Friday after Thanksgiving - not a pack of gum, not a piece of fruit, not a used book on Amazon.com - nor have I gone window-shopping - physically or on-line - in all this time, and it rocks! When you don't participate in an event, you get a really good vantage point from which to observe it, and frankly see the insanity in the whole thing. So, check out the BND and Adbusters websites, see if there's an organized event taking place near you to celebrate this event. Find something fun to do this Friday, something that doesn't involve consumption - of anything except Thanksgiving leftovers.

Ahem. So allow me to climb onto my soapbox for just a moment... Brothers and sisters unite! You have nothing to lose but your tired feet from rushing mall-goers stepping on your toes, and your credit card debts! Are you with me?? Buy nothing this Friday!

Whisper as a baby (top left) and all grown-up at Farm Sanctuary in July 2007

The second tradition is the idea of adopting a turkey from Farm Sanctuary instead of eating one. As many of you know, we adopted Whisper last Thanksgiving (we got word the day before the holiday that the adoption had gone through!), and were lucky enough to get to visit her this past summer. She is gorgeous, and our dinner table on Thursday won't be complete without her photo. You can go to http://www.adoptaturkey.org/adopt.htm to find out more about adopting a turkey yourself - it only costs $20! It is such a life-affirming, satisfying thing to do, and much like Buy Nothing Day, it is a great way to just say no to an unappealing aspect of the holiday. (By the way, you can adopt animals all year along, costs vary from $10/month for chickens and $15/month for turkeys, all the way up to over $100/month for a larger animal like a sheep or a cow - look into it if you have been looking for a good charitable cause!)

The final tradition, one that we started seriously paying attention to last year, was the idea of a local Thanksgiving Feast. As some of you might remember, I participated in Treehugger.com's 100-mile Thanksgiving Contest - and won! How cool that a vegan meal placed first, right? But even better was learning how easy it is to discover wonderful sources of food right in my own backyard- I still get food from some of the same producers and farmers that I discovered in designing a 100-mile Thanksgiving meal last year. This year, as you plan your meal, pay close attention to where your ingredients are coming from, and try to be as local and seasonal as you can- your food will taste more delicious that way, anyway!

Here's our local Thanksgiving entry to Treehugger.com last year
Here's last year's Thanksgiving meal post
And here's our other Thanksgiving meal from last year
Here's the post about adopting Whisper
Here's last year's Buy Nothing Day post

I'll post our Thanksgiving Menu tomorrow. Wow- we're VeganMoFo-ing right along! I've never posted this many times in a month- and there's a way to go! I don't even know if anyone will be reading blogs on Thanksgiving, but I will post and we will see!

what do you do for a gorgeous vegan on her birthday?

You make cupcakes, of course! In this case, fluffy peanut butter cupcakes with a chocolate ganache topping...

...and a few butterscotch chips on top!

Today was Bridget's birthday, and luckily she works near me so I got to take some treats from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" over for her! Bridget's greyhound, Sally, has been having some medical difficulties lately, but fortunately today she seems to be feeling a tiny bit better. That's the best birthday gift, isn't it?

Today's VeganMoFo was brought to you by the letters B (birthdays), C (cupcakes), and D (doggies). Happy birthday, Bridge!
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...in which the New Yorker helps me write about Thanksgiving

November 19, 2007 issue of The New Yorker magazine

It's so fitting that VeganMoFo should fall in November, because Thanksgiving, as it's celebrated in North America, is such a significant holiday in the lives of most vegans. Love it or hate it, celebrate it alone, with friends, or family, embrace or boycott it, you are nevertheless reacting to it on some level. After the positive reaction to Nipplegate 2007™ , I bring you my meditations on Thanksgiving, helped out completely by the latest copy of the New Yorker. The entire issue was like one big pot of faux chicken soup for the vegan's soul- nourishing, thought-provoking, full of morsels to chew on. Shall we? (Click on photos to see bigger versions with clearer text)

This ad greets you on the inside of the front cover. I normally would have overlooked it, since I try to avoid all Thanksgiving ads, especially those featuring turkey, but something caught my eye. The "turkey" was unnaturally bright and shiny. Upon closer inspection, one learns that the hostess says "it was my first tofurkey and I wanted it to be just right."

Wait, wait. Let's just pause right there. Why is there this huge cultural misconception that vegans and vegetarians eat A HUGE BLOCK OF TOFU IN THE SHAPE OF A TURKEY for Thanksgiving?? Ok, ok, I'll admit, the name "tofurky" is a bit misleading. So as a public service, I want to show everyone not familiar with it what an actual Tofurky looks like:

photo courtesy of http://www.tofurky.com/

See, it's a roast-shaped thing. And while it does contain tofu, it also contains wheat gluten (seitan), beans, vegetables, and a host of other ingredients. And no, all vegans don't eat this for the big day- take me, for instance- I've never (gasp!) tried it!

Back to the ad- the weird turkey-like substance aside, it's a good sentiment, right?

Reading the copy on the next page, we note that it's a Citibank ad with the phrase "All the trimmings All in the family" intended to give you the warm fuzzies. The ad reads, "Well, my son Jack went and married a vegetarian. So I grabbed my Citi card and went to the store. I picked up the old favorites like cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, and turnips. (Bazu says: "yay!") As well as 15 pounds of 'turkey' tofu. (Bazu says: "sigh.") The dinner was a hit. Alice knows she's already more like a daughter than an in-law. And all aroud, our family was feeling a lot of love. (Bazu says "awwww. I don't care that you're a big bad corporation. I love the fantasy of an in-law that would serve 'turkey tofu' for Thanksgiving, whatever that imaginary thing is.)

But wait! It goes on!

"... My husband Steve especially loved that I made a small turkey for him to eat later." (Bazu says: "D'OH! Fooled by the corporate machine again!")

Later in the magazine, there is a review of the book "My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals" in which the author asked chefs to describe their fantasy meals. The article mentioned that truffles of all sorts figured prominently in the chefs' responses, as well as foie gras. (Bazu: :'-( ) So it was a little life affirming to read Tyler Florence's response, pictured above. "No frou-frou French. No snout-to-tail. No fucking foie gras." (Bazu: yayyyy! down with foie gras! I never thought I'd say anything positive about Tyler Florence!)

Thankfully, the article touches on the rather macabre underpinnings about such a question about a "final" meal- the implicit understanding that your final meal precedes your death. I think the connection between not just food and life, but food and death is something that is too often glossed over.

Which is why the above quote, by a scholar of the death penalty, is really thought-provoking. As you know, inmates on death row are allowed to order whatever food they want before they die. "The taking of a human life is too daunting a prospect to accept on its own, so we surround it with a lot of ritual." I am most decidedly against the death penalty, and arcane rituals like the last meal really horrify me, the way that the condemned is given a last hurrah before being brutally put to death. ...Which in my vegan mind is a short leap to the horrible rituals against the killing and eating of animals. We do all kinds of things to turn our faces collectively against the death that is contained in the consuming of flesh, just as we do our best to shroud the killing of humans behind closed doors and intricate rituals, bringing together food, law, religion, and the state in an awkward dance.

Which leads us to this cartoon, also in this latest issue of the New Yorker. (I told you the issue was a cornucopia of potential veganica, didn't I?)

Here we have a turkey with a sad and resigned look on her or his face, strapped down to a gurney. The farmer, a blank expression on his face, holds up a needle, and we are meant to infer that this turkey is about to receive a lethal injection, akin to how the vast majority of executions in this country are carried out. The cartoon most likely is meant to be a "lighthearted" play on the fact that millions of turkeys are on death row this month, awaiting execution. (Not for any crime they committed, it should be added.) But it is hard for a viewer to find the image of this turkey, splayed as if on a crucifix, all that funny. The fact that the syringe filled with poison could just as easily be the syringe with which so many will be "injecting flavor" into their sacrificial turkeys this coming Thursday underscores this uneasy connection between Thanksgiving and death. The death of the Native Americans that was precipitated by the coming of the Pilgrims to this continent. The death of millions of slaves on the backs of whom this country was founded. The death of the animals on whom we feed. The death of those who are put to death, but not before being offered one last fancy meal. You know, the fancy meals that don't mean anything because the person feeding you is about to kill you? Kind of like those meals that farm animals, especially those raised "humanely" get up to the moment they are led to the chopping block or the slaughterhouse.

In the coming week, I'll be posting about Thanksgiving. I don't celebrate the holiday's history of death and carnage, both historical and contemporary. But I do plan to celebrate Thanksgiving as a meditation on food, and how the simple acts of eating and breaking bread can have such deep political, historical, and social implications. More to come.

when it's cold outside...

our street

... there are two reactions you can have when it's cold outside, food-wise. You could embrace it and start making all kinds of season-appropriate, warming foods. Or you could get all disoriented and start looking longingly through your food photos from the summer. I've gone for the second option tonight. The photos of the snow are new. The food is a few months old.

our front porch, our impeach sign

Here, we have some saffron-infused whole wheat couscous, with a medley of fresh summer veggies (broccoli, tomatoes, onions, garlic) and black-eyed peas, finished off with cilantro and lime juice. This was a delicious and colorful meal.

the way we ate... in August

Don't worry, I'm not going totally crazy, I know how to embrace winter too! But for tonight, can you please leave me ... with my memories?

But wait, there's more! The wonderful Meesh blogged recently about the freakish disappearance of nipples from photographs of women's bodies. Well, I found an example of this during a recent trip to the bookstore that was so blatant, it would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. Eh, it's still laughable. Check it out:

for shame, People Magazine, for shame

Here are two versions of the same photo of Katie Holmes running the NYC marathon. Us Magazine, on the left, has kept the nipples. People Magazine, in an act of either prudishness or ass-kissery, has decided to genteelly Photoshop them out. What is wrong with this picture?

Friday VeganMoFo round-up

Well, it's Friday, so I decided tonight's VeganMoFo would be a blast from the past... a Friday Food Round-up! Do you guys remember these from last year? It's when I would inundate you with way too many photos of food from the previous week? Good times. I stopped doing that because, well, those posts were a bit much. But, since VeganMoFo is all about revisiting the past, I thought I'd do a (shorter verstion of) a round-up this week.

All through this post, I will give little thrifty tips. As you guys know, Daiku and I are eating out of the pantry until Thanksgiving, trying to keep supermarket shopping down to a bare minimum. There are many reasons for this: one, we are a bit broke this month, and trying to save some money for the holidays. Second, this is the time of year when it's good to clean out the pantry, eat all those things you've said you'll get around to, and make room for a new year's worth of stuff. Third, and my favorite reason, has to do with the upcoming holiday, centered all around food. I find the feast/famine dichotomy fascinating. Before gorging ourselves on the holiday, it's fun to meditate on what it means to be able to do so. The bounty of food that we have, the amount of choice we can exercise, and the meaningfulness of being able to feast whenever you want.

Ok, more about Thanksgiving later- for now, on to the round-up!

Ok, the first photo is definitely not something we ate! Here is a brand of margarine in the supermarket that caught my eye because of its impossibly cheesy 70's-style packaging. It is vegan, but possibly the most vile stuff you could ever see. Not only is the margarine artificial and extremely unappetizing, but the sticks have a whopping FIVE grams of trans-fats per serving! Definitely one for the "Frankenfoods" file... If you want vegan, or kosher, or parve margarine, why not give Earth Balance a try? It's not hydrogenated. It's not artificial. It's not scary. Yikes!

Here are banana-wheat bran muffins from Veganomicon. I replaced the wheat bran with oat bran, because that is what I had, and I mixed a handful of walnuts into the batter. Finally, I topped each muffin with walnut halves and maple sugar before baking.

They came out very well, and they are part whole-grain and not too sweet, making them perfect for breakfast.

As soon as Hannah posted about these vegan butterscotch chips on her blog, I knew I had to try them, just for fun. They are a bit too sweet and artificial-tasting to enjoy out of hand, but they are perfect for baking, especially because I haven't had butterscotch since going vegan!

When Celine posted this cookie recipe on her blog, I noticed that I had every single ingredient in the house- score! - so I immediately baked them. Trust me- you can't go wrong with a Celine recipe, especially one involving chocolate, butterscotch, whiskey, and extra chunky peanut butter! This recipe used rice flour, which made the cookies tender and crumbly and good. I want to bake with brown rice flour more often now!

You know how disorganized I am about getting around to trying recipes? Well, how about if I tell you that this is SusanV's peach upside down cake- that she posted in early AUGUST? I had saved and frozen some peaches from my big haul this summer, and after I baked cookies, I figured, hey the oven's on, I might as well bake some more. So, after months of drooling at the recipe, I finally got to make it.

And it was good! I used date sugar for the caramel part on the bottom of the cake, and it worked much better than I thought it would. I love the lemon flavor in the cake- this recipe is a winner. I'm glad I have tons more peaches saved in the freezer, because I want to have this again!

Here's a tip- if you ever make biscuits, save the little bits of dough that are left after cutting them, and freeze them in a baggie. Then, whenever you make soup, you have ready-to-go dumplings at the ready! Last night, we made this kitchen sink soup: potatoes, onions, garlic, red wine, cabbage, radish, cauliflower, celery, tomatoes, peas, everything we had in the fridge, plus some millet! Today, when re-heating the soup, we dropped some frozen biscuit dough in there and voilà- veggie dumpling soup! It was so good- warming, hearty, filling. I want to try this method to make some chicken-dumpling soup, too. Maybe with some thyme, dill, not-chicken broth? Some sage? What are the dominant flavors of chicken soup?

Finally, here's a deep-dish sourdough pizza. I feel so spoiled now that we have home-made pizza practically every week. I promise not to go off on a sourdough tangent here...! At first, it seemed as if we had nothing in the house that would be a pizza topping. But, a can of crushed tomatoes made the sauce. A cheezy sauce came together with some flour, oil, soymilk, nooch, and seasonings in about 2 minutes. A couple of pieces of tempeh were transformed into sausage (using this recipe - my favorite!). Some onions were caramelized. And before we knew it, we had a deep dish, awesome pizza for about $1.50. Making your own pizza and toppings is such a good feeling- and such a quick dinner!

Ok, that was my blast-from-the-past Friday Food Round-Up! I promised it wouldn't be too painful, right?

On a final note, we had our first snow in Syracuse today. Everything outside became very quiet and very pretty, very quick! Here's a shot of our backyard this morning. Good night, all!

cooking with wine

Tonight's VeganMoFo is about wine- cooking with wine, that is. (I'm totally sober, I swear!) It's a little thing that can make a huge difference in the quality and taste of your cooking - it can make the difference between the mundane and the gourmet.

Daiku and I always make sure to save a little bit of wine out of any bottle we open. Just 1/2 cup or so is enough for cooking. As a bonus, even though wine, once opened, only stays drinkable for up to a week, it stays perfectly good for cooking for several weeks. For this reason, you should never buy "cooking wine" - the stuff is usually overpriced, and full of salt and preservatives. The only test of whether a wine is good enough to cook with is if it was good enough for you to drink!

Every time I add even a few drops of wine to something I'm cooking, I'm amazed at the wonderful scent and depth of body that it adds. This is especially good now with the colder weather, when we want hearty, savory foods.

The best way to cook with wine (and make sure that most of the alcohol evaporates) is to use it to deglaze. Deglazing is just the term for using a liquid to lift up the flavorful bits of food that stick to the bottom of a pan in the process of sautéing. So, say you're cooking soup. You would probably start out sautéing some onions and maybe garlic, plus some herbs and spices. Well, before you add your cooking liquid, throw some wine into the mix, and use a wooden spatula to scrape the tasty, caramelized, stuck-on stuff. (Bonus- if you accidentally begin getting too much heat and your veggies start burning, deglazing is a great way to cut down the heat and save your food!)

Here is just a partial list of dishes that are improved with the addition of a little wine- if it's savory, it's probably a good candidate!

• beans and bean soups of any kind
• lentil soups, and really all soups (if you're making a light colored or creamy soup, make sure to use white wine to avoid discoloring it)
• chili
• tomato, pasta, and pizza sauces (a hearty read is especially good for these)
  
• braised and roasted vegetables
• sauces, condiments, and reductions
• cheezy sauces and fondues
  
• as a general rule, I've found that any recipe that calls for breadcrumbs, garlic, Earth Balance, and lemon juice benefits from the addition of some white wine - these 5 things just seem designed to go together!

artichoke dipping sauce made of bread crumbs, garlic, Earth Balance, lemon juice, and white wine

So next time you open a bottle of wine, save the leftovers! And next time you're cooking, throw some wine in there- you will be amazed at the results you get for such little cost and effort.

tofu scramble makes the world go 'round

I don't know what it is about VeganMoFo, but it makes you kinda confessional, doesn't it? I mean, it does me! So I confess to you, dear readers, I am blogging whilst drunk. That's right. Typing a single sentence is taking all I have (thank the heavens for spell check!). See, under normal circumstances, I would just do the right thing and go to bed. But it's VeganMoFo and sober or not, I'm going to attempt to write!

I've had this photo for a long time. Since August, in fact. Fellow bloggers probably know the feeling- you eat something good, you take a good photo of it, you totally have the best intentions to blog about it... but then life happens. Photos build up, events take place, and before you know it, you don't know if said photo is blog-worthy any more. I mean, tofu scramble? All my vegan friends already know about it! What can I possibly say?

This is where VeganMoFo comes in- this is a chance to revisit the basics. Tofu scramble is a thing of beauty, an object of affection, a basic building block of any balanced vegan diet. I remember when I first read about the concept of tofu scramble a few years ago. Tofu, with some veggies and spices, with a little turmeric to color it yellow as a substitute for eggs... it just makes so much sense, right? Eggs are protein, tofu is protein. Scrambled eggs are chunky and savory, tofu scramble has basically the same texture. Somehow, tofu makes vegan life just a little easier- and more delicious!

In the photo above, we have a simple tofu scramble with onions, garlic, and broccoli, given a southwestern flair with the addition of cilantro and a side of salsa, served with tortillas. If you've never had tofu scramble, this is the best time to give it a try. Everyone I've ever made it for, including hardcore omnivores, has loved it. Just start with any veggies you like- peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions? Add any herbs and spices- curry and turmeric are good because of their yellow color, but chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, the possibilities are endless. Crumble your firm or extra firm drained tofu in there and stir around until cooked through to allow the liquid to evaporate and the flavors to combine. It's always nice to finish off with some fresh herbs- cilantro, parsley, chives, or any combination you like. Served with some potatoes or bread, and you have yourself a perfect breakfast or brunch.

A propos of nothing... tofu scramble is also a great hangover cure. Just sayin'.

Good night!

veganmofo survey

Ok. I'm exhausted. I just came home from giving a talk about surrealism. Dinner was some garbanzo beans doused with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Trader Joe's "21 seasoning salute"... let's just say I'm not in a very bloggy place right now!

Well, I am grateful that Mary, over at Pickled Treats Last Longer posted this survey on her blog this past week, because it gives me a built-in blog post, so I can keep up with VeganMoFo even though I'm barely conscious. Yay!

Those of you who have the "great privilege" {sarcastic} of knowing me on Myspace probably know that I'm a hopeless sucker for these types of surveys. I don't only love answering them, but I love reading friends' answers as well- so feel free to do this survey on your blog! Let me know, because I'd love to come and read what you write. Consider yourself tagged.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk? Soymilk- nothing has the body and texture of soymilk. You can cook with it, bake with it, and foam it up all fancy. Silk chocolate milk is a latter day miracle.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook? I want to try Village Vegan's chocolate bread, Veganomicon chickpea cutlets, and Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan Moroccan Phyllo rolls

3. Topping of choice for popcorn? We call it hippie popcorn: nutritional yeast, Bragg's, maybe a bit of garlic powder. Funnily, I think Bragg's Liquid Aminos is totally overrated, and I pretty much only use it for popcorn!

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure? I tried some frikkeh (smoked bulgur) - and gagged. It tastes like pantaloons! I still have the box and as much as I hate wasting food, I can't bring myself to try it again.

frikkeh- icky!

5. Favorite pickled item? How could I pick one!?! (This is Mary's answer and I totally agree) I will have anything as long as it's pickled. I guess a really super duper sour dill pickle or sauerkraut or homemade pickled beets... or cabbage? It's hard to choose!

6. How do you organize your recipes? I don't! Currently, there are about a thousand recipes I want to try. Sometimes I write them down, sometimes I bookmark the recipes, but clearly, I need a better system!

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal? We have trash. I'd love to move onto composting very soon, though. As it is, we generate very little trash compared to what I see in other households- we only use our weekly trash pickup service every other or every third week.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)? Medium grain brown rice, pomegranates, fresh cherries.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood? Grandma's cooking. Smelling herbs as she chopped them- to this day, a whiff of freshly chopped cilantro makes me swoon.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream? There's no one brand- I like Purely Decadent pecan praline, Temptation cookie dough, Tofutti Cutie ice cream sandwiches. Purely Decadent has a chocolate/banana flavor that I would love to try. And of course there's Wheeler's Black Label... please let them branch out to central NY!

11. Most loved kitchen appliance? This is a toughie. It's a toss-up between pressure cooker, Magic Bullet, little frother... but then would I be taking my oven and stove and stand mixer and refrigerator for granted?

12. Spice/herb you would die without? Bazu: fresh basil and tarragon Daiku: chili powder and cumin

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time? This is a very sad question for me, because Daiku and I lost a large box of cookbooks during a move from Florida a few years ago. These included antiques (a very old edition of Escoffier!) gifts (including my first vegan cookbook that my friend had given me when I first went vegan 10 years ago! It was "Vegan Cooking" by Eva Batts.) Funny story: when Daiku and I first started dating, I noticed he had the same Eva Batts book- it was fate! So most of our cookbooks are fairly new. I do collect cheesy vintage cookbooks though, but those deserve their own post!

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly? Apricot for those yellow/orange days, sour cherry for those red/purple days.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend? cupcakes! edited 11/15: vegan pancakes are pretty stunning, too.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh? tempeh - I like tofu and I'm ok with seitan, but tempeh is in a class all its own

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)? brunch, by far! followed closely by breakfast. I'm also partial to "second breakfast," that meal you eat an hour or so after your virtuous, healthy breakfast failed to satisfy you.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator? Nothing- there's no room, since there's a cabinet right above it.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking. phyllo dough, bits of leftover biscuit dough to use for dumplings, lima beans.

20. What's on your grocery list? Right now, a thanksgiving menu is beginning to take shape. But that's a surprise.

21. Favorite grocery store? Greenstar Co-op in Ithaca. I feel like I'm cheating on the Syracuse Co-op by saying this, but Greenstar is like my mothership!

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet. not really a recipe, but my #1 missed food: cottage cheese

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3? This is way too hard to narrow down to 1 or 3! If I leave comments on your blog, it means I love you!

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate? sour patch kids.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately? last month in Ithaca, I bought little bits of maple sugar and date sugar. They were $8.99/lb. and $6.99/lb. respectively, so I've barely used them!

26. Veganaise or Nayonaise? Veganaise! No question there!

27. What is one recipe or ingredient or cooking technique that you've become familiar with in the last year that you can't imagine you ever lived without?
Sourdough starter!! (Could you tell this was Bazu's contribution to the survey?)

28. Make up your own question to put here (and answer it!)

cats take on VeganMoFo

excuse us?

Marble and Bijou feel like they are being left out of VeganMoFo. They say that if I'm talking about food all month long, then I won't have any reason to include gratuitous kitty photos on the blog, and they're not happy about it! Well, after discussing the matter at some length, we have agreed on a compromise: they'll be guest posters on the blog! I asked them if they'd be willing to talk about habanero peppers and they said they'd be glad to.

hmmm... these smell strong

Bijou just wants to point out that habaneros are very strong- the strongest peppers out there! Be careful when working with them, especially if you have sensitive skin (wear gloves!) or if you're working in an enclosed space (open a window and turn on your vent!)

For some fun chili pepper trivia, check out this link about the Scoville Scale to measure heat! Notice that the good ol' peperoncini that you find, say, on a Greek salad measures a measly 100-500 on this scale, while the habanero measures 80,000 - 300,000 + ! And the hottest pepper recorded, at a mind-boggling, brain-scorching 577,000 was a... you guessed it, a habanero! We are glad we're kitties and never have to worry about tasting anything that hot!

Remember when cooking with chili peppers that the seeds and the inner white pith contain most of the heat, so you are getting rid of a lot just by de-seeding and de-pithing. And the longer you cook them, the less hot they'll be.

Ok, so having said all that, what do your companion persons do if they find themselves with a ginormous peck of priced-right peppers from the market? No matter how much they like spice (and they love spice!), two people just can't go through that many peppers alone. So they dried a bunch of them in the food dehydrator to save for future soups, stews, and chilis. (Us kitties stayed away from the kitchen during the 2 or 3 days these took to dehydrate- the air was pungent in there!)

The rest, Daiku cooked into a tasty habanero sauce. He followed a recipe very similar to this one, using carrots, onions, garlic, and lime juice. The result is delicious (and not overly hot, promise!), it allowed them to preserve their peppers for future use, and it's been very fun for them to use to perk up the flavor in random dishes!

is it just me or is there a definite Richard Nixon resemblance going on here...?

VeganMoFo has survived another day. The cats seem to be appeased. Bijou's already pondering her next guest blogging topic... perhaps eggplants?...

Thaitalian: the risotto of necessity

So last week, I made a fusion risotto. If you're thinking that by fusion I mean some high-concept gourmet feat, forget it! This was the risotto of necessity, created in response to the fact that we had basically nothing in the house. We're finding ourselves a bit broke this month, and so are trying to eat out of the pantry instead of making frequent trips to the grocery store. This means being flexible about possibly strange-sounding mixtures of ingredients and flavors, but so far we've been having pretty good results!

The taste was somewhere between Italian and Thai, but ultimately it was creamy and carby and simple and comforty - everything risotto should be. The squash gave it a nice seasonality, and combined with the saffron to give the dish a brilliant yellow hue. I'll give a recipe, but it won't be exact, because I was dealing with a little of this and a little of that, whatever I could find. As usual with my recipes, feel free to mix things up and play around to create something to your taste.

Thaitalian Risotto (serves 4-6)

• 1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 keffir lime leaves
• 1-2 cups of diced cooked butternut squash (about 1/2 of 1 squash) - roasted squash works really well
• 1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice (I combined the last of our carnaroli and sushi rice to make 1 cup!)
• broth made up of at least 4 cups of water, 1-2 drops of chili oil, and a pinch of saffron
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup coconut milk or coconut cream
• salt and white pepper to taste

Heat the broth so that it's hot, but not boiling. Keep it hot, on a back burner, as you make the rest of the risotto.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sautée for a few minutes, until translucent. Add the bay leaves and keffir lime leaves, and heat through. Add the butternut squash.

Add the rice and stir around with the onions and oil, taking care to coat every grain of rice with oil, and to allowing it to become toasted and fragrant. Add a pinch of salt and pepper at this time.

Using 1/2 cup of broth at a time (most ladles are about 1/2 cup, so just use ladlefuls), add broth into the rice mixture. Stir around continuously, adding the next ladle of broth only after all the previous batch has been completely absorbed by the rice. Keep adding broth in this manner, until your rice is done. Depending on your rice and your pan, this could take different amounts of liquid.

Your risotto is done when the rice is soft and creamy, but still has the faintest al dente texture. Once you've reached this stage, turn off the heat. Finish off your risotto with coconut milk or cream, stirring to combine well. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Enjoy! You know what they say, necessity is the mother of... fusion.

birthday brunch

Hello, and welcome to another installment of VeganMoFo! This month, I have been thinking a lot about food, vegan food in particular, and what makes a great meal. Veganism has come a long way. Not only do we have access to millions of recipes both on-line and through increasingly sophisticated cookbooks, but many of us are fortunate enough to live in places where veganism's presence is increasing, with restaurants rising up alongside it. Therefore, we have the luxury of sitting back and pondering just what it is that makes a great meal, without having to worry about getting our hands on food that we can eat!

As you might know, I live a very long-distance life. Most of my friends and family live 100's, if not 1000's of miles apart. Daiku and I are lucky if we see our parents more than once a year, let alone loved ones who live in, say, San Jose, Stockholm, Melbourne, Tehran, or St. Louis. Increasingly, I have come to the conclusion that a meal is vastly improved when you have good company to share it with. The most humble food, the most mundane situation, can be memorable if there is someone there experiencing it with you.

That being said, we were very lucky that, through sheer chance, our friend Sharon was going to be in town for her birthday. It was a very special birthday. I can't reveal her age, but let's just say that it is a very significant and round number and leave it at that! Sharon is a vegetarian pondering veganism, so our group decided to go to Counter, a fabulous haute veggie restaurant in the East Village for a celebratory brunch.

Here is what we had:

Sangria, made with organic vegan red wine. But I don't have to qualify it- it was just some good sangria!

Tony's root beer float. This isn't some wussy root-beer, it is a sasparilla-infused tonic that will seriously kick your ass. (Flashback time- I remember going on a field trip to an "old West" town back in the 5th grade, where they messed with my 10 year-old brain by telling us that sasparilla is a mixture of Coke and root beer. Now, almost 20 years later, I know that sasparilla is a root that gives real root beer its distinctive taste. However, I can't help it, I still mix Coke and root beer every chance I get - this horrifies some people, but I think it's a delicious drink!)

North African tofu scrambled platter: rice and peas, merguez sausage on skewers, spicy scrambled tofu, greens and toast.

Country breakfast platter: scrambled tofu, merguez sausage, mesclun mix, toast, and home fried potatoes.

Italian farmhouse panini- possibly my favorite dish at Counter: it is a flavorful mixture of walnut pâté, rosemary-infused aioli and tomato on a crusty ciabatta roll. I'm sorry that this dark and blurry photo does this wondrous dish no justice!

My French toast with bananas flambe, which I ordered as soon as I saw that it was the day's special. When I was served, I was a little shocked at the presentation- it was so monochromatic and... gloppy looking! When I tasted it, I was relieved- it tasted truly good. Still, since this is VeganMoFo, I'll get on my little soapbox... there is no excuse for bad presentation! Food has to look good! A lot of people might be thinking about veganism, on the fence about whether or not to take what for many is a culinary plunge. Well, I guarantee you, this French toast is not what is going to push anyone over to the vegan side. A lot of times, I am reminded that we vegans are not only cooking for vegans- we are cooking as a testament for the whole world, and our food better look appetizing! Especially if we are an expensive restaurant. (Wouldn't you be more likely to give vegan French toast a try if it looked like this? Or this?)

Finally, our waiter was nice enough to give us this basket of fresh-baked muffins (poppy seed, blueberry, and banana-walnut) instead of the biscotti that some of our platters came with. The muffins were great, but the best part of this was the trio of spreads that came with it: raspberry butter, sangria jelly, and hand-made nutella- YUM! The sangria jelly was a revelation, the nutella was, it goes without saying, awesome. Well, you can't go wrong, ever, with the chocolate/hazelnut combination, right?

Sharon, the birthday girl.

Here's a previous review I posted about Counter in February (includes a better panini photo!)

Restaurant Info:

Counter
105 First Ave (b/t 6th and 7th)
New York, NY 10003
212.982.5870

sweet & quick

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VeganMoFo demands daily posts, but I'm a little tired tonight, so I will bring you something quick, yet sweet. Here is one of the many (perhaps too many) vegan cakes I ate last weekend, this one at the café in the East West bookstore. (5th avenue, off of 14th street).

The prettiest,

...yet thinnest slice of red velvet cake. Mmmm. Flamboyantly colored dessert, how I love thee.
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food blogging critical mass?

catnip in pumpkin containers at the Union Square green market

This episode of VeganMoFo is brought to you by the letters "B" & "C". Let me start at the beginning. As any regular readers of my blog know, I'm a devoted fan of produce, and a hopeless farmers market addict. I can't pass by a market without taking a peek, and the Union Square green market is no exception. It's one of the first markets I remember going to when I moved to New York City after graduation, got a job, and had to start cooking for myself.

I'd only ever seen tatsoi as individual leaves in a salad- how beautiful is it intact?

I used to work on 17th street, and so every morning I would come out of the Union Square subway station. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, this meant I would get to walk through the market on my way to work. I loved doing this. Depending on the season, I'd catch a whiff of hot apple cider or fresh berry pies, pine wreaths or herbs, delicious bread or heirloom tomatoes. I'd sample little tastes of this or that, and then spend all day at work plotting what I would buy on the way home from work. When I'd get out of work, much of the produce would be discounted as the market began to close down, and this is when I'd score $1 bags of apples, peppers, onions, or potatoes. This market is what allowed me to first try my hand at growing herbs at home (remember that summer when "infused teas" were all the rage? I bought lemong verbana with the sole aim of making infused tea with it). This is where I first (inadvertantly!) bought an $8 loaf of bread one Thanksgiving.

not parsnips, but yellow carrots

So this past weekend, during my trip to the city, it was only natural that I would go to the market, like a pilgrim drawn to the holy grail. And, as usual, I had my trusty little camera in my pocket, ready to grab as photographic inspiration struck.

macro detail of local concord grapes

But I noticed something odd, and more than a little discomfiting. Why had I never noticed this before? EVERYone at the market had cameras. We were all leaning in at uncomfortable angles, taking macro shots of the produce. The sellers looked at us wearily. We were fetishizing their produce and turning it into food porn instead of actually... buying and eating it!*

squash

Seriously, when did this happen? When did the whole world become food bloggers? When did we all start whipping out our cameras at farmers markets, supermarkets, picnics, restaurants, the dinner table? Is something horribly wrong?

and more squash. more varieties than one could take in

Do those other people have cooler blogs than me? Oh my gosh, do I read their blogs? Do they... read mine? Is food blogging so over? Is food porn the new laserdisc?

Dorota & brussels sprouts tree

Are my friends and family laughing at me behind my back?

Sharon and Bazu's inner 12-year-olds laugh at strange gourds

But... the produce is so beautiful and compelling, darnit. I'm just not ready to stop photographing it yet. And, neither are all those other fellow travelers, crowding the market, ducking furtively here and there, trying to capture the perfect shot, that perfect balance of food as sustenance and food as art.

the fattest, purplest carrots in the world

*I did buy some things:

will this garlic take over the world?

I mean, it's arguably the best in the world? Who could resist? (I will report on the veracity of this claim once I try the garlic out)

best juice EVER

And, the BEST thing ever. This "Tart Cherry Stomp" from Red Jacket Orchards. It's ironic that they are located in Geneva, NY, a town very close to me, but I had to go all the way to NYC to try their awesome juices. This tart cherry / apple blend maintains the pucker-inducing integrity of sour cherries, combined with the delicious flavor of apple cider. If you are anywhere near Union Square, you HAVE to find this juice and try it. My friend Tony described it, very accurately, as tasting like a mixture of apple cider and pomegranate juice- with a unique twist. Seriously. Try this stuff. You will not regret it.

So, this episode of VeganMoFo was brought to you by the letters "B"logger and "C"liché. Has this ever happened to any of you guys? Do you ever get food blogging/food porn angst? What do you think? Has food blogging reached critical mass? Is that a good thing?

PPK Caravan

On Friday night, Daiku and I hit vegan pay dirt- we got to have dinner with 20 fellow PPK-ers in New York! Since this is VeganMoFo, I will bring you mostly food photos in this post, but to get to see some of the gorgeous people we got to meet, you can see more photos here.

For dinner, we went to Caravan of Dreams, located in the East Village. I had never heard of the place, but Terry assured me that it had been around forever. The menu is full of intriguing dishes, including tons of raw food options. I'll give you some of the dishes we managed to photograph, along with grades.

Spinach-potato soup. B.

Indonesian salad. Not so Indonesian. Seriously, macadamia nuts? C-.

Tempeh Reuben. Sandwich: B+ . Pickles: F. Seriously. As a pickle lover, it saddens me to report that pickles this bad even exist.

Organic vegan beers in huge never-ending bottles? A+ !

Desserts were solid. But they were all decorated the same! And had a bit of a "health-food" flavor. B.

Getting a coffee that repeatedly formed an "orb of doom" after we'd spent the whole night talking about Japanese horror movies? Priceless.

Afterward, those of us who hadn't ordered dessert at Caravan of Dreams walked over to Atlas for some vegan soft serve and other assorted goodies.

Everything in the display case (brownies, cakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes) was vegan!

Chocolate-hazelnut cake with a gooey fudge-y middle layer. B+

The soft serve was vanilla, but you could play around with your flavor by choosing various mix-ins. I chose coconut. A-

The best part of the evening was meeting such wonderful and cool on-line friends, including Isa and Terry, vegan authors extraordinaire and all around cool persons. Here's the best part of VeganMoFo: vegan food, the good, the bad, and the weird, tastes better when you have awesome company to share it with. Other than blogging, the Post-Punk Kitchen forums are what have allowed me to keep my veganism -and my sanity- intact!

Check out the blogs of some of the people at the dinner:

Isa & Terry (The PPK blog)
Suzie (One Chubby Vegan)
Melisser (The Urban Housewife)
Jason and Laura (Supervegan)
Gwenlet (Eating Well and Eating Well)
(anyone I missed?)

Restaurant Info:

Caravan of Dreams (100% vegan, raw and gluten-free selections)
405 East 6th Street
(212) 254-1613

Atlas Café (vegan soft serve, crepes, and baked goods from Vegan Treats)
73 2nd Avenue
New York NY 10003
(212) 539-0966

More NYC food, still to come...

classic NYC vegan grub

I love VeganMoFo! I don't think I have ever posted every day this many days in a row - this is a blogging lesson for me: shorter, concise posts rule!

So this is another vegan food flashback post. Long before New York City was the vegan mecca that it is today, long before seemingly every store and restaurant offered vegan fare, there was this humble little jem of a breakfast: a bagel (nice and crusty and chewy, the way it's supposed to be) with a smear of Tofutti cream cheese and a cup of "that" coffee. You know, the coffee that you can get from a deli, a streetcart, or a bagel shop, and nowhere else? The coffee that has a unique yet undefinable taste? The coffee that only costs $.75? Yeah, that coffee.

I remember walking around the city with my friends oh my god, was it really 10 or 11 years ago and getting bagels with Tofutti. I wasn't yet a vegan, and neither were most of my friends, but somehow, Tofutti was the cool thing to get. Back then, it was one of the few vegan convenience foods you could find. Now, even though there is an embarrassment of riches, with restaurants, cafes, and markets offering bigger and better selections of vegan goodness, this is the only breakfast I wanted on my first morning in Brooklyn. I ate it, like every good commuter, on the subway.

More NYC food to come...

Maxine's Mexican casserole

A few weeks ago, I heard about Maxine, a cow that escaped slaughter in Queens, New York, and made news because she was found running through the streets of the city. Fortunately, this cow's story had a happy ending- she was captured by animal control, and sent to live out her days in Farm Sanctuary. Like the other animals there, many of whom have similarly escaped slaughter, she reminds us that animals are sentient creatures and have a strong will to live. They don't want to die, period.

Since VeganMoFo in a lot of ways is about getting back to basics, I want to make sure I visit the "why vegan" issue. Veganism is great for health, great for the budget, great for the environment, great for learning to cook, hell, it's even done wonders for my skin. But the real reason that I went vegan is because of animals like Maxine. One look in any animal's eye, one day spent with any animal, is enough proof that they don't want to be your dinner. They don't care if they're grass-fed, open-pasture, super duper happy humanely raised animals. They still don't want to be your dinner.

Today I saw this video about Maxine on the Luminous Vegans blog. It literally made me cry. This is the reason for going veg. This is the reason for VeganMoFo.



Of course because it's VeganMoFo, I will tie this back to food. Here's a dish that could easily have beef in it. But it can just as easily have no beef (or dairy, or any other animal products) in it. The taste is there, the texture, the nutrition, the looks. Why eat beef when you just plain don't have to?

Maxine's Mexican Casserole

serves 4 (I am not going to give a recipe with exact measurements, because this is flexible and actually a great way to use up what you have or what you prefer, so just mix it up as you see fit)

Take:

• a bunch of corn tortillas (even better if they're stale, because smothering and baking them makes them delicious)
• some leftover tomato sauce or enchilada sauce or any red sauce. or green sauce. just sauce, ok? (we used leftover pasta sauce, the flavor was just fine)
  
• a bunch of black beans, or whatever beans you have in your kitchen
• a bunch of tofu, tofu feta, tofu ricotta, or whatever seasoned tofu crumbles you have
• some lightly steamed kale (or any greens, perhaps leftovers from last night's dinner?)
• some chopped onions or scallions
• other assorted goodies- we used pickled jalapenos, but you can use olives, corn, whatever sounds good for some added crunch and flavor
  
• some hot sauce and/or chili paste
• some seasonings- we used cumin, coriander, oregano, black pepper, chili powder, and dried jalapeno pieces

Then get to work layering them in a small, deep casserole dish while your oven pre-heats to 375 degrees. (Our dish was about 6 or 7 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep)
Start with the tortillas, then layer in beans, sauce, and greens to your liking. We made about 4 generous layers. Top your final layer with remaining tortillas, a bit of sauce, and some chunks of your tofu cheese.
Bake for about 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Take the foil off for the last 5-10 minutes to the the top nice and crunchy.
Serve topped with tofu sour cream or whatever you like.
Eat, and raise your glass in honor of Maxine and all of her brothers and sisters who weren't as lucky.

P.S. I'm working on downloading and sorting NYC photos - I'll post about my trip soon, I promise!

veg on veg

Well, if it wasn't for VeganMoFo, I probably wouldn't be blogging at 10:30 at night, right after getting back from a long drive and a weekend away from home. But this is the month of vegan food, darn it, and I'm nothing if not dedicated!

Tonight, I want to talk about "veg on veg" - one of my favorite types of meals. Veg on veg is a meal that simply involves vegetables, vegetables, and more vegetables. Anyone who knows me knows that I love grains, beans, and tofu. They know that tempeh holds a special place in my heart and that I love experimenting with seitan. They know that I love baking, whether a big loaf of bread or a decadent dessert.

But sometimes, you don't want any of that. Sometimes, your vegan heart just wants to sing about the love for produce. Pure, unadulterated, produce. So you end up with a meal like what you see above.

This was a meal that Daiku and I shared last week, consisting only of produce. The main course was a dish of roasted vegetables: butternut squash, potatoes, carrots, and onions. I love throwing onions into roasting winter veggies, because they caramelize and lend a great sweet flavor to everything. The veggies were very simply seasoned with olive and chili oils, salt, pepper, a dash of cinnamon, and a touch of sage.

To go with them, we had a simple green salad dressed with a robust dijon vinaigrette. The slight heaviness of the dijon mustard and white balsamic vinegar paired well with the heartiness of our roasted veggies.

As a final accent, we had a dish of fresh cranberry sauce that I whipped up while the veggies were roasting. I cooked some cranberries with orange zest and frozen apple juice concentrate until the berries had burst and the sauce had thickened up slightly. (Cranberry thickens up even more as it cools and sets.)

So there you go: veggies, veggies, (fruit), and more veggies. Veg on veg, one of my personal favorite aspects of veganmofo.

VeganMoFo and Lattes...

Greetings from Brooklyn! I didn't think I'd be blogging from here, but I just had to jump in and join VeganMoFo after I heard about it. (Check out the huge and growing list of participants on Isa's blog here) Basically, it's the Vegan Month of Food - a blogging event where we all agree to blog about vegan food every day for the month of November. Since I've already blogged for the first two days, I figured it's not too late to jump in on the third day (or night).

I like this idea, because it will keep me on my toes- perhaps by blogging every day, I can finally get to put down all those ideas that float around my brain all the time. All the aspects of vegan food- fun, friends, family, memory, comfort, invention, taste, health are fair game. What was my first vegan cookbook, my first vegan recipe, my first vegan restaurant? My first taste of tofu? (Can I even remember?) This month will be one of exploration centered on this topic.

I haven't had a chance to download any of my current NYC photos yet, so instead, I thought I'd use my first VeganMoFo post to talk about...

...this here big ol' foamy soy chai latte. It's such an elegant and comforting drink, but so easy to make at home. It's one of those concoctions where convenience items (store-bought soymilk, hand-held frothers, microwaves) come together to form a creation worth singing about. Sometimes, vegan food (well, drink) is just this easy:

• Step 1: Brew some chai tea, either from scratch or a teabag, to desired strength
• Step 2: Sweeten to taste, I like agave nectar
• Step 4: In a separate glass, pour some full-fat soymilk. (I find homemade or unsweetened soymilk does not work well, neither does rice milk or any nut milk that I have tried.) Microwave for 30 - 45 seconds, until hot but not boiling.
• Step 5: Using a hand-held frother (such as this), foam hot soymilk to desired consistency
• Step 6: Pour the foamed milk into sweetened brewed tea.

Enjoy! And join VeganMoFo!

Go to Katie's blog for more ideas
And join the MoFo Flickr pool and post your photos

headin' to NYC...

After a busy couple of weeks, Daiku and I are heading to New York City, partly for fun (a friend's birthday! a PPK get-together!) and partly for work (a symposium! galleries!). We'll be back on Monday with a full report.
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in honor of world vegan day...

I bring you PRODUCE!

There is a lot of good to being vegan, and real gains for everyone involved, but one of the funnest aspects of it is all the close encounters of the produce kind that we get to experience. The more I get to know about fruits and veggies, the more fascinated I become with the intricacies and infinite variety that they represent. So without further ado, I bring you just some of the produce that I have played with in the last month or so. I know my posts tend to be picture-heavy- I can't help it, it's the art history teacher in me! To get the full effect, turn down the lights, grab a cup of something warm and soothing, and enjoy the show!

While visiting my mom in Virginia last month, we went to an Asian supermarket that I love because I always see tons of out-of-the-ordinary produce there. Here's some bitter melon. I'm ashamed to say that I don't know much about these- does anyone have a recipe for me?

Here's some tindora. What is tindora? They look kind of like little cucumber-shaped melons, but I have no idea what they would taste like. Anyone? Ferris? Ferris?

Here's a cutie little Thai green eggplant- beautiful pattern, isn't it?

Later, back home, Daiku returned from the farmers market one day with a huge bag of these tiny baby eggplants. After oohing and aahing over them for a couple of days, we put them to good use in stir-fries, sandwiches, and stews.

Another impressive bit of produce from Daiku's trip to the market, this huge bunch of habañero peppers. Considering these are the hottest peppers known to human-kind, and that we usually use, say, 1/2 of 1 for a whole batch of chili, what would we do with these...? Daiku has been busy making and preserving habañero sauces and relishes, but we still have quite a few to go through!

Even at a normal old supermarket, it is fun to come across beautiful produce. Case in point, this multi-colored bunch of organic radishes- white, pink, purple and red. I loved their sweet taste, and made sure to eat up every last bit, including the radish greens, which make a wonderful, slightly spicy addition to sandwiches and salads.

Pretty, eh?

The first day of November means our summer garden is definitively done. This funny little orb-shaped cucumber was the last one produced.

We brought this little bundle of greenness in a couple of nights ago, since there was a frost warning. Peppers, a few different types of tomatoes, and a garlic bulb. Last year, we had tons of fun with green tomatoes, and we probably will this year as well.

Does it seem to you that there are always new varieties of squash to discover? My love of yellow and orange veggies knows no bounds, and so I love collecting as many squash as possible. Look at this flamboyant little guy. It was called a Turban Squash...

... you can kind of see why in this shot! I have had it around for 2 weeks, and I just don't know how I'm going to bring myself to cut into this beautiful vegetable and cook it. So for now, it sits proudly on our table, adding a fall glow to our living room. Sigh.

I saw these huge pink tubers sitting at last Friday's market. When I asked the woman selling them what they were, she said "winter radish," promising that they were sweet and you could cook and mash them like potatoes. She even gave me a sheet full of recipes for them! Well, of course, I couldn't resist, since I love radish in all its forms.

Including its gnarly forms. When I cut into it raw, it was tremendously hot and spicy, almost hard to eat. So, as advised, we steamed a part of it...

...and made these maki that you might remember from our Halloween party. Next time you make maki, try steaming some radish or turnip, and dying it pink using the juice from your jar of beet/horseradish, for that beautiful pink color. (You do have a jar of Polish beet/horseradish in your fridge at all times, right? I don't want to hear about it if you don't!) The radish/beet/horseradish combo is surprisingly appropriate for sushi, and the appearance and texture remind me very much of tuna.

Finally, we have this pod-like creature. The owner of a Middle-Eastern grocery store gave us this piece of carob to try last time we visited his store! I'd never seen carob other than wannabe chocolate chips and cocoa powder, so seeing it in its natural form is very intriguing for me. We haven't done much with it- it's only one pod, after all, but sucking on it is really fun, because it's sweet! I want to come up with ways to eat and cook with carob that have nothing to do with chocolate, rescue it from its fate as a poseur, as it were. Anyone have any recipes to share? Something savory, perhaps?

So, that's my little tour of the wild and wacky world of produce. I will bring you recipes for all these, and more soon. Meanwhile, have you hugged a vegan today?