Cookbook Challenge II - Viva Vegan!

Viva Vegan!

Growing up in south Florida, I've always had a penchant for Latin American food. Whether it was a crispy pressed Cubano eaten in a friend's car on the way home from school, a warm pot of Arroz con Pollo or a steaming cup of café con leche to get my morning (or evening) started Latin American food permeated my childhood. When I went vegan (and left south Florida), I found it really difficult to find the same flavors, textures and tastes I had grown up loving, as Latin-American cuisine relies heavily on animal products, especially meat. Dinning out provided only slim pickings, as many obvious "vegetarian" dishes actually contained animal products - chicken stock in the rice, lard or pork in the beans, sour cream in the guacamole (now, that one is just an abomination!), etc. I sort of forgot about all the foods of my youth...that is, until Terry Hope Romero, co-author of Veganomicon & more, came out with Viva Vegan!



Curdito (Salvadorian Marinated Slaw), Yellow Rice with Garlic, Quick Red Posole with Beans


I'm a one-pot meal kind of gal, so the fact that I decided to make three separate dishes proves something about how exciting Viva Vegan! is. Earlier in the day I made Terry's Annatto-Infused Oil (aciete de achiote) which went into the Yellow Rice with Garlic. Like most cooking oils, the annatto oil will last forever, so don't worry about using it all right away. The Yellow Rice with Garlic brought back so many memories of the Vigo-brand bags of yellow rice my mom makes, and the oil lent such a bright and beautiful color! I topped the rice with a Quick Red Posole with Beans - which is actually a ritually significant and traditional stew in pre-Columbian Mexico. It mainly consists of stewed tomatoes, beans and hominy and was really comforting. I'm not crazy about tomato based things - soups, stews, sauces, etc. - but this was really nice over rice and with a few garnishments. To lighten things up, I made Curdito, a Salvadorian slaw. I loved this! It was super fresh, crisp and light. Dressed merely in vinegar (I used apple cider) and oregano, there is little to mask the sweetness of cabbage and carrots or heat from the jalapeno.

Empanadas!!


Empanadas are so wonderful! Who wouldn't love a warm, flaky hand pie full of savory goodies? These were ridiculously easy to make, as the dough was brought together using a food processor. After letting the dough rest for several hours, I made Terry's Creamy Corn-Filled Empanadas which were (unsurprisingly) awesome. My filling did appear to sink, or my dough rose too much while baking, hence the large gap in the photo below. When I make these again, I'll be sure to poke a few holes in the dough to allow all that steam an escape route.

Empanadas Humitas (Creamy Corn-Filled Empanadas)

Yellow Rice with Garlic, Caraotas (Venezuelan-style Black Beans), Latin Shredded Seitan

I think I made yellow rice about three times this week. Above it's topped with Caraotas (Venezuelan-style black beans) and Latin Shredded Seitan. The beans were wonderful with the addition of brown sugar - something I've never tried before, but will definitely add on a regular occasion. The Latin Shredded Seitan was made using Terry's Steamed Red Seitan recipe, red bell peppers and spices and completed the meal perfectly. Some of my seitan was a little undercooked to start, but it crisped up nicely in this recipe.

more Caraotas!



More Caraotas! Matt and I ate the leftover beans with two, yes TWO, green vegetables.

Swiss Chard with Raisins and Capers

Upfront we've got some Swiss Chard with Raisins and Capers. I wasn't sure whether I was going to love this dish, or hate it. I love raisins, capers and swiss chard, but would they all get along for my sake? They sure did! Sweet, tangy and earthy are a winning combination in my book. This recipe was also some of the prettiest greens I've eaten. In the background is a scoop of Brazilian Braised Collards (subbed in for kale). I liked the bitterness of the collards mixed with onion, garlic and a few splashed of liquid smoke, but next time I'll try this with kale.

We're coming to the end of the cookbook challenge! This was actually the last week of meals, as all that's left is a dessert cookbook - Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar! I'm  not sure if I'll  be thoroughly participating, but it's worth a shot!

Cookbook Challenge 2 - American Vegan Kitchen

This years Cookbook Challenge has been just that - a challenge. I decided not to participate officially in the last 3 or so weeks due in equal parts to not owning the designated cookbooks (Eat, Drink & be Vegan, 500 Vegan Recipes, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World - I actually have this one, but didn't have much time or money to make several batches of cupcakes), having too many leftovers from weeks past, traveling and hosting travelers and just good ol' fashioned laziness. The following dishes were actually from the challenge that took place two weeks ago, and I barely participated then. Yikes!

Anyway, last week I cooked from American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes, founder of Vegan Appetite. I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone remotely interested in comfort food (I know what you're thinking -  there's food that isn't comforting?). Also interested in classic American foods of diners, delis, cafes or mom's kitchen? Then this is the cookbook for you! AVK is chock-full of rise-and-shine worthy breakfasts, hearty soups, filling salads, thick sandwiches, "meaty" blue plate specials and desserts right out of those classic glass cases seen in diners nationwide. It's a thoroughly enjoyable cookbook, full of nostalgia, colorful photos and promising recipes including donut bites, loaded potato skins, spinach dip, french onion soup, seitan po'boys, burgers, wheat-meat loaf, beer-battered onion rings, pies galore and SO SO SO much more - over 200 recipes! To be honest, I was a little intimated by this book. Everything looked absolutely amazing, and I had no idea where to start! I didn't make much (see aforementioned excuses), but what I did make was superb!

Salisbury-Style Seitan with Mushrooms and Mashed Potatoes with Homestyle Gravy

I started my week with a batch of Tami's Savory Seitan. It was one of the easiest seitan recipes I've ever attempted and the results couldn't have been better. There isn't anything unique about the recipe that I can pinpoint, but I don't think I've ever had such success with any cutlet-style seitan recipe. For anyone unfamiliar with seitan, it's basically a faux meat similar in taste and texture to chicken or thin steak (if you shape it accordingly) made  primarily of vital wheat gluten, broth and various seasonings. This recipe is of the boiled variety and is simmered in a bubbling bath of vegetable broth for about an hour. It was firm yet chewy and oh-so flavorful. I used the majority of the batch to make Tami's Salisbury-Style Seitan - a dish very close to home for me. I grew up eating a boxed frozen variety and loved it with mashed potatoes and corn. Here it is severed with a silky mushroom gravy full of diced onions, thyme and sage. Another winner and a gravy I'll make on a regular basis. I actually liked it better than the gravy that went with the mashed potatoes - yeah, I made two gravies that night. The Mashed Potatoes and Homestyle Gravy were super simple - it's pretty hard to mess up mashed potatoes - and the recipe wasn't anything spectacular. Mashed potatoes have always been one of those dishes for which I've never used a recipe. These were really creamy and the gravy was just OK.

All-American Incrediburgers with Cheezy Mayo

There was no way I was going to cook from AVK and not make one of Tami's burgers. This is the All-American Incrediburger and it was incre-delicious!! A simple mix of textured vegetable protein and vital wheat gluten, these burgers definitely captured that crumbliness of that typical type of burger made from ground-up cow flesh, but it doesn't contain any of the harm, death or guilt! I found it a little difficult to get all of the TVP to mix in with the seitan, but the majority of it stuck, resulting in a really hearty burger. After a quick steam, I opted to bake mine (Tami has instructions for baking, grilling and pan-frying) and dressed them with lettuce, tomato, red onion and Tami's Cheezy Mayo all between two whole wheat burger buns - store bought, but Tami does have a burger bun recipe! The Cheezy Mayo was really simple - vegenaise, mustard, nutritional yeast and a spoonful of white miso. When I'm craving burgers but don't want one ladden with chopped veggies or a slew of mashed beans, this will definitely be my go-to burger recipe.

Inside shot - All American Incrediburgers with Cheezy Mayo

I wanted to make so much more - Deli Reubenettes, Sweet Garlicky Ribz, Sweet and Crunchy French Toast, soft Roasted Garlic Pretzels, for example - and I fully intend to! Just not consecutively. These recipes may be delicious but they are a little to heavy for me to eat on a daily basis and rely primarily of faux meats like seitan. Albeit easy and cheap to make, seitan sometimes gives me ridiculous gas, probably because I eat too much of it! Instead of several more savory dishes, I opted for a decadent dessert that I'm still enjoying a week later.

Oh, what's that you say? Only one of the greatest pies on earth! That right there is the Crispy Bottom Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Fudge Sauce. Want to see it again? Ok!

Remember those Hershey's Sundae pies that Burger King sold? This recipe reminded me a lot of that dessert (something else that popped up in my childhood pretty regularly), but was actually much healthier (albiet not very healthy in and of itself). Tami's peanut butter pie combines puffed rice cereal in a dark chocolate sauce which is then frozen in a pie pan. Meanwhile, peanut butter and vegan cream cheese are whipped together until thoroughly combined and spiced up with some agave nectar, fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract. It's essentially a less cheesy peanut butter cheesecake filling that is poured on a crispy chocolate crust. A chocolate fudge sauce ties everything together for one mouthwateringly scrumptious dessert that requires no baking - which makes it perfect for the upcoming summer months. Just stick it in the freezer for a few hours and you're ready to serve! I've stored mine in the icebox for over a week and it still tastes great.

Since we cooked traditional north American favorites last week, it only seems appropriate that we explore the vegan cuisine of our southern neighbors. Next week I'll be cooking from Viva Vegan! from best-selling author Terry Hope Romero. Anyone at all familiar with vegan cookbooks will recognize her name and adorable face from such works as Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (not to mention The PPK!). I can't wait for a week of empanadas, arepas, rice and beans and maybe even a successful vegan flan!

Cookbook Challenge 2 - Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Cookbook Challenge II - VEGANOMICON!!!

For the second week of CCII, one of the most widely known and well revered vegan cookbooks made its way into my kitchen. Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook is what I like to call the rebellious younger sister to Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking. Moskowitz and Romero of The Post Punk Kitchen have at it in this all-encompassing, over-achieving bookshelf staple. With nearly 50 pages devoted to kitchen gadgets, stocking the vegan pantry and vegetable/grain/bean cooking how-to's, this truly is the ultimate vegan cookbook. Oh, the 250+ vegan recipes might also have something to do with it.

Upon it's publication, I remember hanging out at the local bookstore while I waited for my then-boyfriend to get out of work. I'd pick up a copy of Veganomicon and read it, cover-to-cover, but never had enough money in my pocket to help me bring a copy home (bah, unemployment!). Eventually I saved up enough quarters and it was aaaallll mine. Since then, I've discovered some of my favorite meals and have made them repetitiously. Though to be honest, I've only made a handful of the recipes in this book because the first ones I tried were so amazing, and I never saw the need to try something new! Well, that changed this week. I selected three recipes I've never tried, but were well received within the vegan (and omnivorous) community!

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango Peaches

I'm a huge fan of grain & bean salads. They're more filling and add a lot of depth and flavor to the monotonous leafy green salad. When I saw the recipe for the Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango, I was hooked. I ended up subbing the mango with defrosted peaches (from this past summer - so sweet and juicy!) and unfortunately had to omit the fresh cilantro as a result of absent-minded grocery shopping. The salad had every sort of sensation your mouth could fathom without being overwhelming. Sweet and savory are a wonderful pairing; here they are harmoniously tied with rice vinegar, grapeseed oil (I used olive) and salt for a hearty combination of soft, crunchy, sweet, and salty.

Corn and Edamame-Sesame Salad

In an effort to juxtapose my gluttonous eating of prior days, I opted for another wholesome salad. The Corn and Edamame-Sesame Salad was ridiculously easy to make and kept me full for hours. Edamame is loaded with protein and is ready to eat in under a minute - buy it shelled and frozen for those nights when you only have time to boil water! The dressing is a nutty and salty combination of sesame oil, rice vinegar and tamari (or soy sauce), all of which are relatively inexpensive (considering how little is used per serving in most recipes), especially at Asian markets. I added diced red onion and shared this with some new friends at a vegan potluck! It keeps well and is great served cold or at room temperature - perfect for traveling, picnics or workday lunches.

The final recipe that I selected is one of Veganomicon's most famous; Chickpea Cutlets have been popping up all over the vegan blogosphere since the book's release. I have no good excuse for not making them until now, so I won't even waste your time. They were as wonderful as I anticipated.

Chickpea Cutlets, mashed sweet potatoes, steamed green beans

Now that is my kind of meat-and-potatoes dinner. Not the traditional typical American meal, but so much more flavorful than any I've ever had. The chickpea cutlets were very "meaty" due to the vital wheat gluten - a natural protein found in wheat used to improve the texture and elasticity of bread, also the main ingredient in seitan - and packed with fiber AND flavor (who knew?!). I opted for the baked method instead of pan-frying to cut out some fat. These were wonderful and my only complaint is that I didn't triple the recipe. The firm yet moist cutlets were perfectly crispy and had a really robust flavor. They were mellow enough to be served in a myriad of ways - my next batch will be devoted to a vegan Po'boy and I'll season it appropriately (Matt said so). I served this batch with steamed green beans and Indian mashed sweet potatoes - made Indian by the leftover  dal saag (lentil/spinach dish) from a friend's birthday dinner.

Three more recipes down, and I've barely unearthed the magnificence that is the ultimate vegan cookbook - Veganomicon. Tune in next week for the third installment of CCII - The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes, From Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine.

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...

Cookbook Challenge 2 - Appetite for Reduction I

Cookbook Challenge II - Appetite for Reduction!

If you're not already part (or at least aware) of The Post Punk Kitchen, you are seriously missing out. What initially began as a public access vegan cooking show created by cookbook-author extraordinaire and baketivist Isa Chandra Moskowitz, has now fully blossomed into one of the most active vegan communities in the world. As a member of the PPK message boards, I can personally vouch for the massive amounts action on that forum. Alongside all the mindless banter and deep conversations revolved around bodily functions (I never said we were a mature bunch..), vegan food is the topic of most conversations. Whether it's an uplifting thread about all of the accidentally-vegan snack foods found in convenience stores - I nearly pooped my pants when I learned that one of the Doritos chips is vegan! - or reviews on the latest vegan cookbook to hit the shelves, food is not far from any of our minds.

The latter topic holds particular significance to this post. Over in The Kitchen - Food & Cooking forum, the second annual Cookbook Challenge is taking place! For the next 12 weeks, participants will be cooking at least 3 recipes from a randomly selected, albeit predetermined, cookbook and sharing their creations with fellow PPKers. As a participant, I'll be posting photos and reviews of my selected batch of recipes at the forums as well as the here blog. I'm particularly excited about participating because this week's cookbook has quickly become one of my favorites. Appetite for Reduction (AFR) is Isa's newest vegan cookbook, and it focuses on low-fat, whole-foods based cooking for folks with an appetite. I've read the book from cover-to-cover and there isn't a single recipe that I don't want to immediately shovel into my mouth. If the sound of this cookbook strikes your fancy, why not try one or all of the sample recipes at the PPK? I promise you won't be disappointed.

I'll talk about this book more throughout the rest of the week, but I think my first dish is past due. Talking about vegan foodz is nice and all, but I'd rather show you!



Caesar Chavez Salad with Eggplant Bacon


Ahh, the Caesar Chavez Salad with Eggplant Bacon. Let me start by introducing the salad dressing. One thing I've truly missed since becoming a vegetarian is the creamy tang of caesar dressing. If you weren't already aware, most commercially produced bottles contain anchovies and eggs in addition to a boat load of cream and calories, and are unsuitable for veg*ns. Annie's Goddess Dressing is a suitable store-bought replacement and has always satiated my appetite, but at $5-$6 a bottle, I only buy it sporadically. After making the Caesar Chavez Dressing in AFR, I will never buy another bottled salad dressing, of any variety. Isa has done it again! This dressing is perfectly remniscent of caesar dressing - uber creamy, briny and cool. I've been making it in bulk batches and drizzling it on anything I can think of - salad, pasta, pizza, quinoa, my tongue, etc. Seriously, you NEED to make this dressing. For utter ease and generosity, the recipe can be found online in Amazon's trusty Look Inside feature. Just click the book's image (log in if you have an Amazon account; you'll be able to see more recipes that way) where it says Look Inside and you'll be able to see the first half of the book for free (then, of course, you should buy it and support that awesome lady).

As for the Eggplant Bacon, that deserves equal praise. Drenched in a bath of soy sauce (tamari for those with a gluten intolerance) and liquid smoke, eggplant is the perfect medium for such an application. The recipe calls for thin slices of eggplant, to recreate the look of bacon strips, baked at a high temperature for utlimate crispiness. I did find myself baking the eggplant for more time than the recipe called for because my toaster oven sucks. I thought the strips of eggplant were aesthetically awesome, but found myself shoving whole slices into my mouth at a time. Next time I'm going to chop it into very tiny cubes in the hopes that it'll get even crunchier and I'll fool myself into thinking I have more on my plate (eggplant gluttony?!).

Caesar Chavez Salad with Eggplant Bacon

All things considered, this recipe gets my highly regarded stamp of approval. It's cheap to make and comes together in less than 30 minutes. With less than 160 calories per serving (recipe serves 4) and a ton of vitamin A, you'll be doing yourself a favor by consuming my new favorite, the Caesar Chavez Salad with Eggplant Bacon from Appetite for Reduction.

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Thirteen

This day has been tolerably uneventful, with only a few moments worth noting. I slept in and wasn't hungry in the least, so cooking a weekend-worthy breakfast was not on the agenda. Last night, Matt and I went to Chelsea's Cafe for what has swiftly become our Friday night ritual. They offer excellent drink specials until 7:00 PM, which is just enough time to order a pitcher of beer and snag a table on their back patio. Dinner ensued as usual: two veggie burgers - hold the mayo! - and a side of french fries. Chelsea's offer several other vegan options, including a plate of grilled veggies over cousous or focaccia. The latter does come with cheese, but a request for the server can easily remedy that. The also serve a creamy hummus dip with toasted pita, chunky tomato slices and a few kalamata olives. The staff is great, as is the atmosphere. I've never been greeted with anything less than a smile and a couple of laughs. The interior is dressed with several large paintings by local artists, and blues  and jazz can be heard in the afterhours by local musicians. I can't vouch for the bands that play there (10PM is too late for me to be out on a Friday; I'd be falling asleep in my chair!), but they definitely draw a crowd. I recommend arriving a little early, ensuring you're able to find a table!

I ended up polishing off an entire burger and plate of fries (on top of a tall whiskey and coke), so breakfast was out of the question. Instead I made a green smoothie to prevent any late-morning hunger pains from sneaking up on me. Featured below is a green flax-berry smoothie made up of micronutrient-rich flax seed, banana, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries (originally fresh, but frozen during the peak of summer for the upcoming colder months), in addition a handful of kale and spinach. Vegetables in smoothies? Of course! The taste of the fruit is so much more powerful than vegetables, but the latter provide a wealth of hidden nutritional value. I blended this with almond milk to thin it out and drizzled a small amount of maple syrup for sweetness. A+.

Even puppies love green smoothies!

Our afternoon was spent having a mediocre lunch at Truly Free Bakery. I've written on this establishment before, and my opinion hasn't changed much. Some of their vegan menu items, like the Grilled Eggplant and Avocado Panini or one of their many burgers, are delicious and well prepared, while others appear to forgo any forethought or execution. Today I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and try again one of their wraps. Instead of getting a panini, I ordered a cabbage wrap to be filled with tempeh, eggplant, artichoke hearts, red onion, greens and hummus. Not only was there no hummus, but the eggplant and tempeh were not cooked. At all. Neither was even marinaded and everything was just...bland. I've also tried their vegan Rueben wrapped in nori (my first vegan Rueben!), and was pretty disappointed. Oh well, so they can't make wraps! There panini's are grand, Matt loves their garden burgers, they have a vegan thousand island dressing, and a plenthora of gluten-free baked goods that are fairly priced and pretty tasty. Did I mention that everything is gluten-free?! Because it is! Truly Free also makes their bread in house! Sorry, no pictures of lunch because it just wasn't good enough. Maybe next weekend!

Matt and I have decided to brew some beer over the next few weeks. We  picked up almost everything we'll need at Red Stick Home Brewing Supplies, and we'll begin sanitizing everything in the morning. The brown ale is our brew of choice for this run, and I can't wait to document the process. More on this to come!

One hour left for Saturday's MoFo...*submit!*

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Twelve

Day Twelve: Free Rein Friday

Following last week's precedent, I'm breaking this week's theme to celebrate the end of the work week. It's Friday!!! Those of you with nine-to-five weekday jobs understand my glee. While I may be spending nearly all of Friday's sunshine in a poorly lit office and infront of a blinding computer screen, my mind and actions revolve around what is to be. Once the computer is put to sleep, the weekend cometh.

What better way is there to kick start the weekend than with a good ol' sammy?! Easily my favorite type of food, sandwiches are a definite staple in my diet. From the moment I discovered my very first Sticky-Crunch as a kid, (toasted bread, peanut butter and potato chips smashed together by pounding fists - handmade panini!?), I knew I'd be a sarnie-lover for life. What I admire about the sandwich is it's inherent freedom, spontaneity and portability. There are virtually no restrictions when construction a one. All you really need is an exterior that will hold it's shape throughout consumption and an interior of harmonious flavor! I'm so overwhelmed by the thought of sandwiches right now. Ah!



Jamaican Jerk TLT(S)



Last night I had the aforementioned craving. I needed to eat a sandwich. My cupboard was bare, but I had just enough to satiate my appetite. Half a block of tempeh, baby romaine, tomato, sprouts and two slices of gluten-free bread was all I would need, and all I thought I had. Lo and behold, a jar of Jamaican jerk marinade mailed from my grandmother in south Florida! The tempeh was put to the marinade, and I whipped up a spicy stone-ground mustard and vegenaise spread, seasoned with some jamaican curry powder (also sent by grandma). What resulted was a sweet and spicy sammy known, from this moment on, as the Jamaican Jerk TLT (plus sprouts!). Inspired by the classic BLT, this sandwich awakens the palate with a sweet heat from the pimento (allspice) and scotch bonnet peppers in the marinade. It's crunchy and moist all at once! I'll post a complete recipe over the weekend.

Happy Friday!

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Nine

Day Nine: Broccoli & Pumpkin Cheese Soup (GF)

Just a quick personal plug: Vegan MoFo Headquarters International featured my post from yesterday on their daily roundup! Here is the link: Vegan MoFo Roundup 8: Finger Food. So exciting!!!! Now, back to the blogging...

As a youngin', my favorite cold-weather treat was a hearty, creamy bowl of soup and a slice of toast. Campbell's Broccoli Cheese Condensed soup was one of my favorites, and I could easily eat the entire can! Nowadays, I skip the nonperishables and opt for soup that I make from scratch. It's a great way to warm your home and your belly. Residual heat and steam from the stovetop is guaranteed to bring everyone into the kitchen, especially if you're offering samples! Here is my recipe for an updated version of many people's childhood favorites: Broccoli and Pumpkin Cheese Soup. The addition of pumpkin lends a sweetly savory note and is the perfect addition for the season. It's also free of gluten!

Broccoli and Pumpkin Cheese Soup

Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

2 teaspoons "italian seasoning" (I used a combination of basil, oregano, thyme and parsley)

1 teaspoon tarragon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

3 cups vegetable broth, or water (I used 1 cup of broth and two cups of water)

1/2 cup pumpkin* (fresh and roasted until soft, or puree from a can)

1/2 cup of coconut milk, or your favorite nondairy milk

1 teaspoon mustard

1 cup nutritional yeast, divided

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 tablespoon of miso (I used red, but I think any variety will do)

1 tablespoon vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)

2 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets

* I used leftover roasted pumpkin

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and saute until very soft, about 7 minutes. Add the italian seasoning, tarragon and cayenne, and saute for one more minute. Add broth/water, pumpkin puree, coconut milk, mustard, 1/2 cup of the nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt and stir/whisk until combined. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, for about ten minutes. It should thicken only slightly.

Ladle most of soup mixture into a blender. If all of it doesn't fit, don't worry. Just make sure to try and get most of the vegetables in the blender so the soup is smooth. Add the miso to the blender and blend until smooth, several minutes (If your soup is still hot, remember to allow the steam to escape. If your blender has a portal on its lid, tilt it up. If not, create a gap between the blender and the lid; start the blending process on the lowest setting and gradually increase the speed).

Return the blended soup back to your saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium high. Whisk in remaining nutritional yeast (1/2 cup) and vegan margarine until fully incorporated. Add the broccolie florets and simmer, uncovered for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup should be relatively thick by now, but still viscous enough to be called soup. Taste for salt and add a few cracks of fresh black pepper. You're ready to eat!

Vegan MoFo 2010: Day Eight

Day Eight: "Bugs" on a Log

Onward we march, armed only with our santoku kitchen knives and wooden chopping blocks, bracing ourselves for the violently scrumptious storm that is Week Two of Vegan MoFo 2010! Many warriors bloggers braved through week one of MoFo with inventive edibles, considerable amounts of confections, and goodies galore! Even The PPK had been subjected to a profusion of food porn and other MoFo excitment. Today marks our entrance into the depths of MoFo territory. Week two will be grand, and the internet will rumple with an abundance of vegan grub!

This week I'll be working from a menu that is geared towards children! Several childhood favorites and kid-friendly recipes (or atleast what I think kids will like) will make an appearance on the blog. In addition to the menu below, Matt will be lending his snacking expertise and offer several tips, tricks and recipes for deliciously easy and convenient snacks. Don't be fooled, this menu will be creative enough for children AND satiating enough for adults (and adults that think they are still kids, like me!).

The Five Course Vegan

Kooking for Kids, or A Way to Revive the Child in You!

A Bunch of "Bugs" on Logs

Broccoli and Pumpkin Cheese Soup

Peanut Butter, Banana and Mixed-Berry Salad

Spaghetti and Bean Balls

Banana Split Cupcakes

Milkshakes!!

Exciting, right!? I love incorporating "kid" foods into my diet because they are usually easy and fast to make while still packing a lot of nutrition; plus, kids always pack the best snacks in town! When I was young, my mom used to make us open-faced Ritz cracker sandwiches. She would mix and match peanut butter, jelly (usually grape), butter and American cheese to create a bunch of different combinations - peanut butter and cheese, butter and jelly, jelly and cheese, etc. The combinations were infinite, at least in my undeveloped brain. Another favorite snack of mine was ants on a log. Peanut butter was my favorite "food" for most of my childhood (and still ranks high on my list!), so I naturally enjoyed the sweet and salty snacks. In the spirit of my juvenility, I've recreated this childhood staple into a few different "bugs" on logs.*

Bugs on Logs


Ok, here is the breakdown:

1. Ants on a Log - peanut butter and raisins

2. Beetles Stuck in Mud - almond butter and chopped Medjool dates

3. Spiders on a Snowy Branch - Garlicky Cilantro hummus and chopped Kalamata olives

4. Fire Ants in the Sand - Pumpkin-Cashew Cheese dip and dried cranberries

The pumpkin-cashew cheese was inspired by Kathy over at Healthy. Happy. Life. I didn't reserve enough time to follow her instructions for her Pumpkin Spice Cashew Cheese Dip, but I've definitely saved the recipe for future use. For this cheeze, I roasted fresh pumpkin (olive oil, salt and pepper @ 400 degrees for about 30 minutes) until very soft. I still had some leftover cashew cream from the Tomato-Fennel soup, so I mixed the two together with more nutritional yeast and salt. Voila!

Upfront: Pumpkin Cashew Cheese with Dried Cranberries. Festive!

*These bugs are definitely vegan!

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.

classic broccoli quiche.

 Classic Broccoli Quiche

I'm often presented with exploratory questions regarding the veganizability (it is a real word..) of many "traditional" dishes and desserts. One such food that often raises the eyebrows of my family, friends and coworkers is the quiche. While vegetable quiches and similarly styled dinner pies are common fare amongst meat eaters, many inquiries revolve around the the creamy custard encasing a particular filling. Traditionally prepared with a blend of eggs and milk or cream, an edible veganized version may onset suspicious stares and doubtful scoffs. Disbelievers, cast your skepticism aside, for a vegan quiche is entirely possible, and entirely delicious!

Classic Broccoli Quiche
Spinach, Cucumber and Olive Salad

The recipe I used made its debut tucked inside the publication of possibly one of the greatest vegan cookbooks to date. Vegan Brunch is a regular go-to cookbook in my kitchen, and offers an array of brunch meals with enough variety to please any palate during any meal of the day (because everyone knows that breakfast is best when eaten for dinner). This was the first time I've ever made a quiche, vegan or not, and it was pretty satisfying. The texture is what I remember of dairy-laden quiches. The flavor was good, but next time I will increase the seasonings, as the quiche itself was a little bland.

a summer lunch.

Prospect Park Potato Salad

Saturday was a designated "clean house" day. After not being able to locate the key for the shed, I gave up on mowing the lawn, which ultimately means I gave up on cleaning anything (thought I did wipe the kitchen counters and have Matt do the dishes!). There's always Sunday, right? Instead of cleaning Matt and I sporadically watched crappy television - SyFy's Spring Break Shark Attack, Lake Placid 2 - and made food. Once we came to our senses, we put on the last few episodes of 30 rock season 4 and chuckled along with the immortal Kenneth and sexy and scrupulous Jack Donaghy (yeah, I said it) while eating a filling and effortless lunch.

Prospect Park Potato Salad

I haven't been to the grocery store in a while. In fact, the last time I went I got very few groceries due to a lack of funds. So when our stomach's began a-rumblin', our eyes began a-searchin' for the right lunch fixin's. Needless to say our prospects looked grim. What we discovered after a little brainstorming and cookbook-index-referencing was a light and satisfactory meal of pantry staples. We improvised Veganomicon's Prospect Park Potato Salad, using lemon juice instead of vinegar and adding half of a diced sweet onion. This recipe is simple enough to throw together at anytime, and requires little effort. Most the time spent on this recipe is idle - boiling potatoes, waiting for them to cool, and chilling the salad. I also usually have all of the ingredients on hand, except for veganaise, which I sporadically buy (but this could easily become a vinaigrette-styled potato salad by omitting the veganaise and using more oil and lemon juice/vinegar).

Cheezy Chick'n and Avocado Wrap Prospect Park Potato Salad

Matt and I paired the salad with a sandwich and wrap, respectively. Both consisted of Cluckphrey-brand chicken patties, avocado, tomato and a sprinkle of Daiya Mozzarella cheese. I try not to include many frozen meat substitutes in my cooking, as they are often fried and relatively expensive. The great thing about these patties is that they are baked and contain no GMO's. I recommend baking rather than microwaving, as they get a little mushy.