Cookbook Challenge 2 - Appetite for Reduction

Lately I've been craving the lightly prepared stong aromatic dishes native to Thailand. For my birthday, Matt and I ate at Rama Restaurant, a whole-in-the-wall  serving up some of the finest Thai food (as far as I know) in Baton Rouge. The slow service was easily overshadowed by the fragrant and spicy meals we ordered. Fried veggies - eggplant, yams, green peppers, green beans, potatoes, onions - with sweet and sour sauce (not exactly authentic, I know) stimulated our tastebuds and appetites for two tasty, albeit oily, Thai entrees.

cellphone porn!
left to right: veggie pad thai, panang tofu, fried veggies

Matt ordered the Veggie Pad Thai sans egg as usual. This fish-free variation was so light and fresh, we damn near inhaled the entire plate (by the way, the portion-to-prices ratio at Rama is amazing; two people could easily share one plate..unless you're either one of us)! Any extra room in our mouths and bellies was quickly filled with my entree, Panang Tofu. Green beans and mushrooms were the main contenders in this warm and spicy coconut curry dish, along with copious amounts of fried tofu! So...Thai food...isn't it amazing? Yeah, I know; I know.



Cookbook Challenge II - Appetite for Reduction



My greatest qualm with dining out, especially at Asian/Indian establishments, is the amount of oil used by the restaurant chefs. I can't consciously dine out often for this reason alone. It's a bittersweet scenario, actually. The openhanded oil applications force me to make my own renditions of these aromatic appetizers, and while they may not be authentic, they are certainly satisfying.

This is where Appetite for Reduction is plugged in. As I flipped through the already slightly tarnished pages (I'm a bit of a messy cook...) I noted several Thai-inspired recipes that I would have to make. The first thing to catch my eye was the Pad Thai salad with Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing. The dressing was a sweet, spicy and tangy combination of ground peanuts (for which I substituted crunchy peanut butter), sriracha, lime juice and a few other things I'll just call delicious. I added sauteed tempeh cooked with tamari (a great gluten-free alternative to soy sauce) and omitted the red onion because I didn't have one.



Pad Thai Salad and Crispy Tamari Tempeh with Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing

 

Did I mention that AFR has an entire chapter devoted to bowls (and sandwiches, but they deserve their own thrown)?! Using the remaining Peanut-Lime Dragon dressing, I made the Peanut-Lime Tempeh Bowl, which consisted of fluffy quinoa, steamed broccoli, more tamari tempeh and the dressing. I jazzes it up with sauteed bean sprouts and alfafa sprouts for an amazingly filling and insanely delicious dinner.

Peanut-Lime Tempeh Bowl

This next Thai-inspired dish was featured in my post about tofu, but who's going to argue with me? I think it deserves another fifteen minutes of fame. Ladies and gentlemen, Red Thai Tofu...

Red Thai Tofu and Green Beans with (not) Thai Basil

No, I didn't use Thai basil, and I thought of adding fennel or dried mint to give it the cool depth I notice in Thai basil, but I didn't want to stray too far from the actual recipe. Crispy tofu, spicy red Thai curry, sriracha, ginger and garlic all go great together. Add some sauteed green beans dusted with red pepper flakes and a squirt of lime and you're in business. I have no negative critique other than I wish I had more, and right now please.

In fact, I think I need to go pick up some tofu and lock myself in the kitchen. Until next time...

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Six

Day Six: Bagels! Bagels! Bagels!

bagels, all the time!

It's finally the weekend! Most of my day was spent between the kitchen and the computer, catching up on MoFo bloggers. I've been really busy with work and cooking that I've neglected a lot of spectacular blogs, even some in my own reel! What I have browsed thus far is amazing. Our Veggie Kitchen is cooking up White Bean Waffles, and photographing them well. Want a step-by-step guide to chow mein and fried rice? Check out Go Vegan Meow! One of my preferred bloggers, MoFo or otherwise, actually inspired this post! C'est La Vegan makes some of the tastiest foods I can imagine, from Marinated Cheeze to Tofu Benny's. She recently made the Garden Herb Spread from one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegan Brunch. Upon sight, I knew I would be making bagels this weekend!

    

The recipe yielded a dozen medium sized bagels, just a bit smaller than most store-bought varieties. Several were scarfed down almost instantly by my roommates! I've only made the bagels from Vegan Brunch one other time, several years ago, and those did not come out too well. It's pleasant to know my baking experience and ability has grown since then, as these were almost perfect! A few oddly shaped bagels aren't ruining this batch.

 I had most of the ingredients required to make the Garden Herb Spread from Vegan Brunch, and that's what I did. I combined cashews, tofu, lemon juice, fresh basil, parsley and fennel, dried tarragon and dill, s&p and nutritional yeast in the food processor and voila!

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Three

Day Three: Fine Dining - Entree

From my own experiences in "high class" dining facilities, I've safely assumed that most mainstream chefs have little to no imagination when it comes to vegan entrees. Too frequently I have been presented with a plate of overcooked penne and out-of-the-jar marinara sauce or an under-seasoned slab of tofu accompanied by rice pilaf (which is really just white rice and a couple of peas). The worst meal I've received from a restaurant (with a fixed menu) was stuffed zucchini...stuffed with itself. The insides were scraped out, shredded and stuffed back into the zucchini for a 20 minute bake. I couldn't find a single teaspoon of seasoning, let alone a grain of salt or pepper. Such a dish has scared my interpretation of "stuffed" vegetables. Out of my frustrations came an unrelenting persistence. I would reclaim and recreate the forlorn stuffed vegetables of mainstream commercial kitchens! No longer will the zucchinis and eggplants and portobellos be forced onto a plate, embarrassed by their near nakedness! I'd stuff a mushroom, and I'd stuff it good.



Stuffed Portobellos with Sun dried Tomatoes and Basil
Plated on Homemade Tomato Sauce with Toasted Walnuts

The recipe I used can be found in Donne Klein's The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen.* The filling was simple, fresh, uncomplicated and absolutely delicious. Sun dried tomatoes lend a sweet and tangy essence to the earthy basil and parsley. Homemade vegetable broth prevents the filling from drying out, and the portobellos absorb any access liquid. My addition of homemade marinara and toasted walnuts finalize this satiating meal.

*Amazingly and unlike most cookbooks geared towards veg*nism, Klein completely disregards to use of soy products and meat/dairy/etc. analogues! This a great book for someone without access to well stocked grocers or health food stores. More to come on her cookbook - a Cookbook Challenge is on the agenda!

Vegan MoFo: Day Two

Day Two: Tomato-Fennel Soup with Gremolata and Cashew Cream Drizzle

It's day two of Vegan MoFo and things are going swimmingly! According to Vegan MoFo Headquarters International, there are 556 bloggers participating, and surely more to follow. The sign-up sheet closes at the end of the day, so anyone still interested in participating in MoFo 2010 should mowsey on that a-way. I've only browsed a handful of blogs, but I'm already inspired. Numerous high-fives and pats on the back to everything that I've seen thus far. Mo Betta Vegan is planning to tackle to Video blogging, and Scratch and Sniff is covering my favorite meal of the day: Lunch! I'll also be keeping a sharp eye on Amey from Vegan Eats & Treats - who wouldn't want to travel Around the World in 30 Days with another vegan?

As for me, the task of balancing work, cooking and blogging has been surprisingly smooth, and I am excited to share the rest of my creations. During the process of establishing this week's menu, I was very apprehensive. To be honest, Matt and I are not fancy people. We enjoy simplicity without loosing sight of what is important to us. Fine Dining? Me, and in our kitchen? Needless to say, I had my reservations. The courses that I planned to make this week were dissimilar from what I make on a regular basis. The choice to blog more elegant cuisine was fostered out of my desire to cook more thoughtfully while maintaining the simplicity that drives my life and is the inspiration for most of the food that I eat. I'm trying to use this week's menu as a means to expose the "overpriced and underportioned" meals so many people are reluctant to taste or cook. When really, fine dining is about simplicity. It's about the purity of the ingredients (and often their plating!). What a spiel! Let's get to the goods already.

Tomato-Fennel Soup with Gremolata and Cashew Cream Drizzle

On a whim I purchased a medium size fennel bulb from my local produce market, intending on finding a use for it (other than tickling my nostrils with the whispy leaves!). This soup is full of such complex flavor, and it will warm you to the core on the nights approaching winter. It's topped with a rich and tangy gremolata and a trill of cashew cream.

Tomato-Fennel Soup with Gremolata and Cashew Cream Swirl

serves 4

2 T olive oil

1 medium fennel bulb, whispy ends removed, cored and finely chopped

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes

1/2 vegetable broth

1/4 cup gremolata (recipe below)

1/4 cup cashew cream (recipe below)

Heat a large stockpot and add oil. Add chopped fennel, shallots and carrot and saute until softened but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juice along with vegetable broth and raise the heat to High. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered. Allow to simmer approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and ladle soup to blender or food processor (in batches if necessary). Blend until smooth. Laddle soup into individual serving vessels and top with one tablespoon of gremolata. Using a spoon, drizzle cashew cream onto of soup.

Gremolata

1/4 cup parsley

2 garlic gloves

1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Using a vegetable peeler, carefully remove the skin from the lemon and chop finely. Mince the garlic and the parsley. Combine in a small bowl and add the olive oil. Stir with a fork and refrigerate until needed.

Cashew Cream

1 cup cashews

1/2 cup almond milk or water

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons salt, or to taste

1 tablespoon fresh ground black peper, or to taste

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional

Add cashews to food processor or high speed blender. Pulse into fine uniform crumbs. With the food processor or blender running, slowly add the almond milk or water until a thick paste begins to form. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. Add more liquid to reach desired consistency. It should be thick, but viscious enough to drizzle on soup. Taste for salt and pepper. Adjust to preferences. Set aside until needed. 

Vegan MoFo: Day One

Day One: A Fine Dining Appetizer

 

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food and welcome to the Five-Course Vegan! Over the next four weeks, I will be your host, server and chef for what I wish to be a memorable dining experience. At the beginning of each week, a meticulously planned menu will be organized and presented for your viewing (and salivating) pleasure. The aforementioned menus will, of course, contain an assemblage of harmonious courses particular to an announced theme. While differing slightly from the standard sequence of most Western-world multi course meals,  I will serve an appetizer, soup and/or salad, a main course, dessert and cocktails of the alcoholic and nonalcoholic variety. Below you will find this week's menu, an ode to Fine Dining.

The Five-Course Vegan: Fine Dining Menu

Classic Bruschetta with Roma Tomatoes and Shallots

Tomato-Fennel Soup with Gremolata and Cashew Cream Drizzle

Portobello Caps Stuffed with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Cinnamon Infused Apples Poached in White Wine

The Vegan Glass of Wine: A Minor Treatise

For your first course, may I present a Classic Bruschetta with Roma Tomatoes and Shallots. It has been prepared with the finest and ripest tomatoes available. Paired with mildly sweet shallots, this classic Italian appetizer has been bathed in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and seasoned with the last of my garden's Genovese basil. It is a hearty appetizer reining from central Italy, served with home-baked artisanal baguette slices.

Classic Bruschetta with Roma Tomatoes and Shallots
Homebaked Artisanal Baguette Wedges

If you would care to return tomorrow, you are in for a treat. I'll be serving Tomato and Fennel Soup with Gremolata and a Cashew Cream Drizzle. It'll be the perfect accompaniment to more home-baked baguette slices, as well as the cooler weather many of have been experiencing. Happy MoFoing :)

Too much of nothing exciting, and a sandwich.

My favorite spot in Tallahassee - St. Michael's Pub on Gaines St.

A great friend from Tallahassee, FL called me last night. We spoke briefly, but I was tickled pink!  She's desperate for a change in scenery, and is contemplating moving to San Francisco, or Chicago. How hard would it be to resist the urge to join her? Spontaneity is a character trait that I admire, and her readiness is inspiring. I've felt rather unsettled in Baton Rouge of late; moreover, I greatly miss my life in Tallahassee: the lights, the sounds, the smells. The people are incomparable. I know I'm glorifying the city's mediocrity, but the lonely idealize everything and reminisce about nothing. I'm beyond ready to pay that old town a visit. The last five months have felt like years with little resolve; there is too much of nothing exciting. My return is tardy. Tallahassee, I'll see you yet.

Some, but not all, of Tallahassee's finest.

Naturally, I've attached myself to a small array of potentially time consuming activities. Foremost and without exception, I'm working close to 10 hours a day. Weeknights are primarily devoted to spending time with our dog, Merlin. He's trapped inside while Matt and I are working and is psyched upon our homecoming. My greatest consolation is spending time in the kitchen. I'll spend a fair amount of the evening hovering over the stove while Merlin anticipates my clumsiness and laps up all of what I spill. Last night was no exception. My aforementioned nostalgia bred fierce sandwich cravings (pun certainly intended), like I would have back in Tallahassee. From cheap falafel and grilled vegetable pita's to house-made veggie burgers and creamy tempeh wraps, Tallahassee understands sandwiches and helped nourish my unhealthy obsession with bread and what lays in between. I understand sandwiches, even the simple ones.

Avocado, spinach and tomato with garlicky cilantro hummus and home-baked bread

A good sandwich starts off with great bread. For anyone interested in baking their own bread, but lacks the time and patience needed for traditional leavened loaves, I recommend purchasing Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. With their method, there is no kneading, starter or proofing involved. Just mix your ingredients, allow two or more hours for rising, and you're ready to bake!

Sourdough buns pre- and post baking

For the sandwiches, I made sourdough buns with sesame seeds and dried thyme. They puffed up nicely! I split the loaves open to spread on Garlicky Cilantro Hummus (recipe included at the bottom of the post) and topped them with my always on-hand fixin's: spinach, tomato and avocado.

Garlicky Cilantro hummus, spinach leaves, sliced tomato and avocado with a sprinkle of black pepper

If you like cilantro, you'll love it in hummus.*

Garlicky Cilantro Hummus
2 cups of cooked chickpeas, or 1 (15oz) can
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice from half a large lemon
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
water for thinning (unless you like a chunkier hummus)
1 cup (loosely packed) fresh cilantro

Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt to a food processor or blender. Blend until well combined. Add water by the tablespoon until desired consistency is reached. Toss in the cilantro and pulse until it's chopped and you can see little green specks throughout.

For a spicier dip, add 2 teaspoons diced jalapeno with the cilantro and pulse until evenly distributed.

*Don't like cilantro? Reduce the garlic to 1 clove, add 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary and 1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes for a sweeter and mellow hummus.

Eggplant and Zucchini Rollatini

Genovese and Sweet Basil in the bowl, Lemon Basil on the board.
Fresh herbs from my garden. Such a bounty!

I'll never come to terms with an office job, the 9-5 (6-5 in my case), pushing paper, literally. I've settled for this routine that has developed over the last month, but it's not making me happy. I'm trying to utilize my free time for activities that are all my own. For one, I'm entering the beginning stages of writing a vegan cookzine, but an unconscious fear of incompletion or ill-favored reviews is holding me back from getting it started. I've gathered a modest amount of recipes, compiled mostly from commonly cooked dishes stored in the back of my brain. I'll be requesting the help of my most creative friends to collaborate on the design and layout, and I'll need some recipe testers when the time comes. This idea spawned (at work) out of this realization that I need to be doing more. Something more needs to come out of me, something positive, tangible, and beneficial to others. Something I can take credit for and be happy with.

That being said, work has left me drained. I'm working 5 days a week, leaving the house at 6AM and returning home around 5PM. Needless to say I'm exhausted and have been alternating between mildly dressed up frozen burritos, salads, and pasta. Not this weekend, I told myself. Matt and I have been on an eggplant binge for the last few weeks - they are plump and deliciously cheap at the farmer's market - and I've had my heart set on eggplant rollatini all week.

Eggplant and Zucchini Rollatini with Cashew Ricotta and Lemon Basil

I breaded and baked the eggplant slices, and decided to throw in some sliced zucchini. It's filled with the cashew-ricotta from veganomicon and some lemon basil from my garden. Everything turned out wonderfully...better than I anticipated. Time-consuming and ingredient-heavy meals have a tendency to be altered significantly during my cooking process. I'll usually eat 1/3 of the meal during the time spent in the kitchen, tasting this and that until I'm too full to ever sample the final and complete dish. Not this time around. The effort and time spent on this meal was worth the reward.