The Seitan Mafia

A Kind Year

2012-01-01T16:20:00.000-08:00

Confession: I've had Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Life for more than a year and half, and until last night, I had never actually cooked from it. In no mood to go out, and in the mood for something kind of comforting, I took a look through the recipes and found the one for Udon Noodles. I have a thing for Udon Noodles: an almost superstitious belief that they are somehow good luck, the kind of food that is both mostly good for you and that brings good things. I love ordering them at Vietnamese or Japanese restaurants, were they're typically served in broth, but it being a holiday and all, the slightly fried version in the book seemed just fine with me.
After a harried couple of hours deciding whether or not to take up an last minute offer to go out, I chose to stay in, made these noodles, and settled in. Taking the day to do some cleaning and long-avoided chores, and then following up on a book that I've loved to read but had never made anything from seemed like the appropriate transition between these years. It may not have been as energizing as a night out or as glamorous as a glitzy evening, but sometimes life is more about creating and cleaning out your home, appreciating the things you already have, and sending fun texts and emails out into the world to connect to the people you care about. There will be other opportunities for other indulgences, but for the time being it felt really good trying to get my act together as the world communally changed shifted into a new scene.

I'm Baaaaaaccckkk! Plum Crisp, Comin' At Ya!

2011-09-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

I know, can you believe it!!!!!??? I am coming back from the hole you all (hi Mom!) thought I crawled into and am blogging again!!!! (At least for a post...) So many new things (marital status, job, kitchen, dishwasher, iphone app...) in my life, but I am missing cooking and a creative outlet, now that I am not wedding planning and find myself a little too busy with my job I thought I'd blog again!

Today I am sharing some individual plum crisps I made. Plums looked good at the farmer's market this morning, and I have some ADORABLE tiny individual purple Le Creuset dutch ovens (thanks to my in-laws) and I had a hard morning (teacher test!) so obviously I thought it was individual desert night-- not that I don't like sharing, but sometimes you need your own dutch oven full of crisp.

I don't really have a specific recipe for these puppies, although I do have a pretty foolproof crisp/crumble method, which I don't know if I have shared with you before. Basically, I chop up about 2-3 cups of whatever fruit I want to use (apples, pear, plums, peaches, etc.) and add a little sweetener (usually agave, maple syrup or honey), some cinnamon, vanilla extract if you like and a tablespoon-ish of flour and throw this in the bottom of my baking dish (or dishes!). I then mix together equal parts flour, oats, nuts, and oil (canola or coconut is good, melted earth balance will do too) and add a dash of salt. I usually do a half cup of each, but you can totally adjust this depending on the size of crisp/crumble you want to make. Gently mix the topping ingredients together with a fork until the mixture looks "sandy" or "crumbly." Pour the topping on the fruit and throw the whole thing in a 375 degree oven for however long it takes for the top to brown and the fruit to get "bubbly."

I know, usually when you bake the formula should be exact but this method really does create yummy crisps and crumbles every time, and you can totally experiment with fruits, spices, nuts, etc. Even if the results aren't exactly how you wanted them to be, you really can't go wrong with hot fruit, crunchy bits of nuts and oats and a little melting vanilla soy or coconut ice cream on top.

So there you go everyone (or just Mom!), just in time for fall! Hopefully I'll get my act together and get on this thing more often...

My homemade vanilla extract-- vanilla beans + vodka + 1 month to sit = PERFECT! Thanks Ina Garten!

Blueberry Corn Muffins

2010-06-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in forever! Well, now that I am on summer vacation hopefully I"ll get it together more. We shall see... Anyhoo, I am up to my elbows in blueberries (and romaine lettuce) this week thanks to our CSA. I froze many of them on a cookie sheet for a few hours, then stored them in a ziploc bag to use over the next few weeks. The remaining berries made their way into these blueberry corn muffins.

The recipe is from Vegan With a Vengeance, and someone posted it on the web here. I have made these in the past, and knew it would be worth the effort to turn on the oven in this unbelievably gross heat to bake them this morning. Even if you don't try this recipe, I strongly urge you to experiment with the combination of blueberries and cornmeal, it's a delicious one. I made these extra large, so I ended up with 9 instead of 12. To me it's worth it, small muffins that don't rise past the tops of the muffin tin just aren't worth the trouble of baking, people. I will be shocked if any of these are left for breakfast on Monday...

Banana Nut Bread

2010-05-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

It's recipes like these that prove that the old baking rule that you need eggs to make a moist bread or cake is crap! This bread is soooooooo good, and healthier than many other versions out there that are loaded with butter, eggs and sugar. I swear, you won't even know they are missing!
This recipe is originally from How It All Vegan! but I have modified it so much the past few times I've made it that it's pretty much a new recipe now... EVERYONE loves banana bread, so you really have no excuse not to make this the next time you look over to your fruit bowl and spy some sad, brown bananas :-)
Banana Nut Bread

2 1/2 - 3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2-3/4 cup chopped pecans (depending on how nutty you want it!)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour + 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until very mushy, then add the vinegar, oil, sugar and stir together. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, flax seeds, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and mix together gently until "just mixed." Fold in pecans. Spoon into lightly greased loaf pan and sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 40-50 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

p.s. A handful of chocolate chips instead of or in addition to the pecans would turn this baby into the perfect desert to bring to a picnic- it wouldn't suck heated up with a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream on top either!

Risotto to help you win friends and influence people!

2010-05-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

OK, even if you aren't vegan- this post pertains to you. If you want to impress someone who is coming over to dinner (date, in laws, friends, bridge and majong players, what have you) I have the perfect dish for you- this risotto.

I have attempted to make risotto in the past and frankly found it not only challenging but annoying to stand over the stove stirring forever. This recipe from the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated it surprisingly low maintenance and easily yields perfect results. I feel like I can post it here because I have veganized it, but if you must use non vegan ingredients it's obvious what you would substitute. But make it vegan people. It's yummier and saves the chickens :)

p.s. A Dutch Oven for this recipe is a must. If you don't have one yet (Mom!) you should get one asap- besides this recipe there about a million uses for them, and there are some cheap but sturdy ones out there!

Almost Hands-Free Risotto with Herbs

6 1/2 cups fake chicken stock (I used 2 Edward & Son's Not Chick'n Boullion cubes), vegetable stock would work as well
4 tbs. Earth Balance
1 large onion, chopped fine
Salt
1 medium garlic clove, pressed
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs. chopped fresh chives
Ground black pepper

Bring broth to a boil in a large sauce-pan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and maintain a gentle simmer.
Heat 2 tbs. of Earth Balance in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. When the EB has melted, add onion and 3/4 tsp. salt; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened but not browned, 4-7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 mins.
Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups of hot broth into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 19 mins, stirring twice during cooking.
Add 3/4 cup of hot broth, and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 mins. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand 5 mins. Stir in remaining 2 tbs Earth Balance, lemon juice, parsley and chives; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Now that I have made this once successfully, I am wondering how I could jazz it up next time! I had some wonderful risotto in December at a French restaurant with butternut squash, pecans and cranberries that might be interesting to try make. I'm honestly not nuts about mushroom risotto, so that's out... Anyone have any other ideas about different kinds of risotto you could make using this recipe as a base? :-)

Alas, I did not get a picture of the risotto when we ate it last night- this is the sad small portion of leftovers... you get the idea though!

Greenpoint Food Market Today!

2010-04-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

Vanilla-coconut-lemon and chocolate-orange cupcakes with homemade candied citrus peel will be waiting for you.... Details here.

Vegan Dinner for Carnavores (aka Mom and Dad)

2010-04-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

I am at home once again visiting my Mom, Dad, and Sam. Last night they agreed to cook something from my Candle Cafe cook book... and eat it! We decided on cornmeal-crusted tempeh, a dish where the tempeh was marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger and garlic and baked for one hour, then coated in cornmeal and pan fried. The results were pretty tasty, and hearty (my Dad even had seconds and thirds!). We also made some collard greens and smashed and fried potatoes topped with a lemon parsley vinaigrette. The following photo makes it all look a little sad, because the plate is so big, but trust me, this is a meal that will satisfy skeptical meat eaters!

For desert, I made strawberry short cakes, following this recipe, which I chose because it only made 3 or 4 biscuits at a time (it can be dangerous to have leftovers!). Instead of vegan whipped cream, I heated up the biscuits and topped with some rice ice cream. I highly recommend this recipe, not only is it pretty fast and easy, but the biscuits were some of the best I'd ever had- a success!

Home Made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2010-03-27T08:06:00.001-07:00

If only this picture did it justice...

I can't wait until the weather is actually warm permanently- this will be my first summer with the ice cream maker, and I am going nuts thinking about the possibilities!

Sometimes things are easier than you think...

2010-03-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

pictured: baked-goods, back-on-track with the flax, and organic plant food for my bonsai tree stored in a glass jar (this stuff is amazing! have you tried it?!)

Sometimes you don't have time, and other times, you have to make the time. That's how I felt when I recently decided to put my foot down and get to it, already! I'd been imagining for eons how nice it would be to wake up and have freshly baked muffins to have for breakfast, and had a bag of frozen mixed berries (organic to boot) in the freezer for the purpose for what seemed like months. Come to think of it, it had been months! Enough, already, I thought and used to amazing recipe index at the vegetarian times' website to find this recipe. Thing is, once I got started, it was so easy I couldn't help but to think: what took me so long! I added some flax seeds for some extra oomph and nutritive value (an old trick in a new favorite). Up next: becoming a bona-fide morning person...yawn...

A Gooey German Chocolate Cake

2010-03-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

For a very special birthday!

This was the first German chocolate cake I had ever made, and I kinda didn't realize I couldn't frost the sides.. I think people usually use chocolate butter cream or something for that.... Whoops!

Anyhoo, it was delicious, I made one mini cake and four cupcakes. The recipe was from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, a book which has never let me down. The basic chocolate and vanilla cake recipes from this book are amazing, and thrill and amazing non-vegan people every time!

Dinner for Two

2010-03-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

A recent trip to Toronto allowed me to spend some quality time with one of my favorite people, who not only had me in her home, but also made me an increadable dinner that just happened to be vegan. Not only that, but get this: it is very similar to Lindsey's roasted coliflower with chickpeas! Marissa's version included cous-cous and some very yummy herbs. The best part of this recipe is perhaps her savyness in substituting the recipe's pine nuts with walnuts, which are much more economical and tasted amazing. By far one of the best meals I've had recently, made all the better by the company of a good friend. Thanks, Marissa! You are truly awesome...

Variations on a Theme

2010-03-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

I have a crush...on whole wheat spaghetti. It's just chewy enough, filling, and is a really nice complement to tofu's lighter consistency. Bake the tofu or brown it in a skillet, and then add some veggies and some pre-sliced almonds tossed in a little olive oil and salt and pepper for a really easy base that allows for a lot of variation. Here are two quick meals that easy to take on the go.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Olives

2010-03-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

When I was visiting home a couple of weeks ago, my Ma and I found this recipe from her latest issue of Cooking Light. It instantly appealing to me, as it contained two of my most favorite things to roast EVER, cauliflower and chickpeas- but I was hesitant that the olives would fit in to the mix. Anyways, olives won me over yet again and the dish was super good (except for a little overly cooked garlic) and I decided to make it again tonight.

When I made it with my Mom we decided the olives and garlic should be added after the chickpeas and cauliflower had a chance to get a head start roasting, which I did tonight. The results were perfect! Cooking Light suggests serving this as a side dish or with other small plates, but I think it's a perfectly fine and filling meal on its own- an added plus is it doesn't result in a lot of dirty dishes :)

Please excuse the blury photo- I don't know what is up with my bad photography lately!

Lime Cupcakes

2010-02-20T16:27:00.001-08:00

For Tom's birthday!!!

If you're turning 80, let me know, my baked goods seem to be in demand for that particular birthday!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

Two years in a row now- yay! Luckily my school called the snow day yesterday before I left, so I went to Whole Foods to stock up.

Apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast with brown sugar, raisins and pecans... Made from scratch of course, I don't do the whole instant oatmeal thing.

Black bean "quesadillas" (sans cheese, of course) with homemade refried black beans, avocado with lemon juice and toffuti sour cream for lunch...

Dinner... who knows?! I am busy concentrating on hoping we have another snow day tomorrow (highly doubtful)! :-)

Seitan Strikes Back

2010-02-08T18:48:00.001-08:00

vegan to-go

I'm still on my minimal ingredients kick, and still lovin' the seitan these days. There is something really comforting about a piping hot bowl of nutrition in the middle of the day, and this did just the trick. Cooking enough for lunch the next day is another favorite thing of mine these days, because it ensures that I'll have something really yummy to look forward to.
Also, this little number uses bok choy, which I've been meaning to incorporate into a dish for a while now. So easy, so good, and super quick.

Seitan with Bok Choy and Mushrooms

1 package of chicken-style seitan
1 bunch of bok choy, chopped
a handful of chopped white mushrooms
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 lemon
1 tbps agave nectar
1 tbps soy sauce
Whole-wheat grain, such as rice or pasta

Heat a large skillet, add garlic and brown. Add seitan, and cook until browned. Add bok choy, stir fry until nearly done, add mushrooms and cook until browned. Squeeze the lemon over the pan, add agave nectar and if desired, soy sauce. Soy sauce can also be used to garnish.
I made some whole wheat penne to serve along side, but the obvious side choice would be rice. Just depends what you're in the mood for...

C is for Cookie...

2010-02-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

...and that's a good enough reason for me to bake up two dozen every weekend.

Seriously, I seem to go through a vegan baking phase every winter. Two years ago it was vegan cupcakes. Last winter it was pies. This winter it's cookies. It's not a healthy habit, but life is short, and I do have help taking care of them from a certain cookie vacuum I live with!

These two cookie recipes are, sort of, healthy. The first one is agave sweetened peanut butter cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. So, they not sweetened with sugar, which is nice. However, the three generous handfuls of chocolate chunks I added to them had plenty of sugar, I'm sure. What are you gonna do? But these were gooood people. Like, shut. up. good.

My next attempt at "healthy" cookie making was the oatmeal, walnut and dried plum cookies from Alicia Silverstone's new book, The Kind Diet. I changed them quite a bit by using raisins and pumpkin seeds instead of plums and walnuts, and had to use 1/4 cup regular sugar instead of the maple sugar called for, but that's OK. They still were low(ish) on the sweeteners (they also called for maple syrup) and used only 3/4 cup flour. These flattened when they baked, which was disappointing, but they were chewy and actually pretty good! I would make them again for sure.

On that note, I highly recommend The Kind Diet. Although I have had the utmost respect for Alicia Silverstone for years for speaking out against cruelty towards animals and advocating a vegan/vegetarian diet, I was skeptical this book would be good (sorry Alicia!). I was wrong. It's awesome, and a great book for anyone wanting to try veganism, vegans who need a diet make over, and people who just want to know how to eat a little healthier. Although it's a "diet" book, Alicia makes a point to say if you are paying attention to what you eat and striving to eat lots of veggies and grains, that's the most important thing. She also stresses not beating yourself up if you eat crap every once in a while (I didn't just eat an Oreo brownie from Vegan Treats!), and to make sure you don't deprive yourself. Her view on exercise is very similar to mine as well, there is no point in forcing yourself to sweat on a treadmill at the gym if you hate it- you're much better off doing something you love, like yoga, or going for a long walk. She even says she likes to still go to beginner yoga classes just so she doesn't feel pressured and can move at her own pace- that's awesome!!!! OK, done gushing.

Chana Masala + Mac and Cheese

2010-02-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

OY blogging. I have made lots of food and taken photos of it lately, but actually uploading them and writing something snazzy takes a lot of mental energy that I just do not have this week. Soooo, here's the quick version.

I have found 2 recipes recently online (which is very bad of me, as I have dozens of sad cookbooks crying out for attention) that are simple, yummy and quick-ish to throw together. They are both definitely winter comfort food, and both would be great for newer vegans to take for a spin (I'm talking to you, Shashley Sunshine!)

The first recipe I would like to introduce you to is a very simple, yet tasty, chana masala from vegweb (my interweb is acting crazy so I can't get the link at the moment, just go to vegweb.com and search for it). A dish I have often enjoyed at Indian restaurants, this is super simple to make at home. After trying this twice and reading the hundreds of comments accompanying the recipe, I suggest adding more tomato paste and a half can or so of coconut milk. We also added peas, cauliflower and potatoes last time we made this, making it a complete meal, served on top of brown rice.

The next recipe I recommend giving a go is this mac and cheese. Please note, it will never taste like the mac and cheese you remember from your pre-vegan days, but it's creamy and comforting, and also has waaaaaaaay less fat than it's cheesy cousin, I'm sure. Also note I have done the legwork looking for a good vegan mac and cheese recipe, and this is the best one I have tried thus far. I added about a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and the juice of half a lemon to the sauce to bump up the flavor. I left off some sauce because I thought it looked like way too much before I put it in the oven, but in retrospect I could have used most of it. That would be some roasted Brussels sprouts featured on the side- let me tell you, you have not had Brussels sprouts until you have had them roasted. For reals.

A Spicy Saturday Feast

2010-01-24T16:41:00.000-08:00

Last night for dinner we made.....

Jamaican vegetable patties from Vegan Soul Kitchen. A lot of work, but very worth it. Not only do they taste yummers, the spices in the filling make your kitchen smell amazing while it is cooking.

I was missing one key ingredient, turmeric, for the dough, which would have given the patties a nice yellow glow. But through the magic of iphoto, I have added it here! We had a nice arugula salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette on the side- perfect combo. This cookbook has yet to let me down, and there are still so many recipes left I want to try! Fried green tomatoes, anyone?

For desert, we made Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I had a strange experience with these cookies- they didn't taste so tasty warm out of the oven... a cookie experience I don't think I'd ever had before. However, when they cooled they were chewy and delicious and had a nice spicy kick to them! Look out!

In With the New

2010-01-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

I am drawn to the complicated. Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will surely agree. Guess what? New year, new me. Newly veganized, for one, (and finally so, I'm sure Lindsey will say!), and secondly, I've had enough of complications. One of the biggest challenges of any lifestyle change is figuring out how to simplify it enough to incorporate it into your everyday routine. I am on a mission to find meals to make that require no more then five ingredients, and that can be prepared in almost as little time as the convinience food I rely on. (Luna bar, anyone?). It is a subtle shift, but making meals is an integral part of being well, so for me the shift is an important one. These fajitas were my dinner tonight, and my lunch tomorrow. They also feature seitan, our blog's favorite protein source. Enjoy!

Fajitas
-1 package of chicken-style seitan
-1 large green pepper, cut as you like
-salsa (I am partial to Newman's Own Mild)
-whole wheat fajita wraps

Heat a large skillet, and cook seitan until browned and thoroughly warmed. Add the green pepper when the seitan is almost done cooking (it is easy to tell, but a good rule of thumb is when nearly half the seitan is browned on the exterior), and stir-fry until browned.
If you would like, heat the fajita wraps in the oven, and then assemble as desired. Top with salsa.
There are many other fajita toppings that you can think of adding, so be as creative as you like! Or, keep things as simple as you want to. It might do you some good.

My Day Off

2010-01-18T15:56:00.001-08:00

Most (sane) people take the Monday of a three day weekend to sleep in, curl up with a good book, take a long nap, watch seven episodes of The Millionaire Matchmaker... While I love doing all of those things, I spent today in the kitchen, cooking like a mad woman.

I have to say, I seem to have cooked up a storm, on top of dealing with a glass shower door that completely shattered covering our bathroom in mountains of tiny pieces of glass (long story), vacuuming the living room, and doing all of the laundry!

I began the day chopping up sweet potatoes and some celery root I got at the farmer's market to make soup...

The soup was based on a recipe recently given to me by my friend and coworker, Liron, and featured sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and curry powder... I turned out, dare I say, velvety!

I had been meaning to cook some dried chickpeas I've had in the pantry- that's a piece of kombu seaweed in the pot- apparently this is a great way to get nutrients into the beans you are cooking (thanks for the tip, Prysm!!!)

I made some granola for the week ahead, using up odds and ends in the pantry... I made it extra coconutty by using coconut oil instead of canola or sesame oil...

Granola close up!!!!!!

Since the oven was on anyways from the granola, I decided to throw a whole head of farmer's market garlic in to roast. When it was done, I threw it in the food processor and made pesto!

The chickpeas looked so good I decided to roast some and toss them with white truffle oil. They are supposed to be for a salad, but I already ate most of them... Whoops!

Phew! I think I am ready for that nap I never took...

Trouble!

2010-01-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

I had been looking for a vegan brownie recipe that was reminiscent of how I remembered non-vegan brownies tasting for a long time now... however, most that I had found called for silken tofu, not really my thing when baking. I had made these brownies from The Vegan Scoop before, to put in ice cream, but had yet to make them to enjoy straight up by themselves. Saturday night I made them, using the author's suggestion to add some peanut butter, and cut them into hearts (a little experiment for some upcoming Valentine's baking).

I packed them in some tupperware and headed to dinner in Jersey City, where I think they were a hit, especially heated up with a scoop of coconut vanilla ice cream on top. The problem now is there are still some left over, and I'm in trouble, cuz I CAN NOT STOP EATING THEM!!!!

Over and Done With

2010-01-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

I can think of no better way to start a weekend off then with a vegan BLT made with tomatoes, spring greens, sprouted bread, vegenaise, and smart bacon. Top it off with some avocado for a complete meal and you'll be humming all day long.

Holiday Madness

2010-01-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

Due to weather delays, Lindsey and I had to cancel our gingerbread face-off. Sadness. We had such a good time making them together two years back, which encouraged me to get a little too ambitious for my own good and purchase a book you may be familiar with called The Gingerbread Architect. Having a architect in the family (hi Chief!), the standards were a bit higher then usual, and to be clear if this is a tempting thought for you for next year...this is ADVANCED baking. Veganizing the basic recipes is straightforward enough, though, and even though the elegant brownstone I had envisioned ended up looking more like a yet-to-be renovated duplex in a soon-to-be gentrified neighborhood, it was a fun project to take on.
But that was then, and this is now, or rather it was two weeks ago to be exact, and with flight delays on the east coast and a major snow storm in mountain country, it became apparent that the houses were going to have to be put on hold at least until next year. None the less, I needed to do some kind of holiday baking, as Lindsey insisted, with or without my partner in crime.
Lindsey was kind in sending me the link to the vegan gingerbread recipe from VegNews, and I used the icing recipe for the cinnamon rolls for decoration. Keeping it simple, I simply added a few of multi-colored sprinkles and called it good. I even sent a few on a whim to my Grandma-gingerbread is her favorite!
I have to say, they were delicious! Usually by the end of the house-making I don't want to be close to anything even faintly smelling of ginger, cloves, molasses nor tasting anything as sweet as icing, so this time around keeping it simple and enjoying the cookies themselves was a nice touch to my time away from the grind. Vegan or not, I can't imagine anyone not liking these.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2009-12-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

I love it when a good cookie plan comes together!!! My mom used to make these cookies around Christmas time when I was a kid, and I have been dreaming of having one again ever since. My mom and I were inspired to try to veganize them them for Christmas Eve dinner, and dove into the process last night. I was pretty nervous about how they would turn out, as the original recipe calls for 4 eggs, but fortunately the results were chocolaty, chewy and tasted just as I remembered them.

Although I associate these cookies with Christmas/Hanukkah time, they would be delicious warm out of the oven on any cold winter night.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Egg replacer eggs, preferably Ener-G brand
4-6 tbs. soy milk
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-2/3 cup powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, combine canola oil, melted chocolate, vanilla and "eggs." Slowly add wet ingredients to dry using a hand held or stand mixer. Add soy milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough is nicely combined and pulls together (it should look slightly sticky). Cover the bowl containing the dough and chill in the fridge for 30 mins. to an hour.

Once dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a cookie sheet, and take dough out of fridge. Put powdered sugar in a shallow bowl, and begin to roll dough into 1 to 1.5 inch balls. Once balls are formed, roll them in powdered sugar to coat completely, then place on the cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 10-12 mins, until they are cracked at the top. Allow to cool for 5 mins. before transfering to a cooling rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

2009-12-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Dave of www.EatingInTranslation.com for this beautiful picture of my cookies at The Greenpoint Food Market... I think this picture does them much more justice than mine did!

Greenpoint Food Market- A Success!

2009-12-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

In case you've been sleeping off a mulled wine hangover (not that I have!) or have been in an oblivious haze the past two days, let me catch you up. It snowed on the East Coast. A lot. Or at least most people think it's a lot- being from Colorado I would only call it a medium/small-ish storm. Anyways, this ridiculous storm caused my flight home, which would have been this morning, to be canceled.

Needless to say I am pretty bummed, I want to get home and do Christmas stuff, like a gingerbread house throwdown, asap! But, the hard blow of the reality that I won't be home until Monday night was softened yesterday by the fact I sold out of everything but 7 chocolate rugelach cookies yesterday at the Greenpoint Food Market!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a lot of fun, partly because everyone was in a Christmasy cookie mood, and partly because I once again shared a table with my buddy Aja, aka Sandwich Friend, who is awesome and makes seriously yummy sandwiches.

The set up- not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

Chocolate chocolate-chip gingerbread cookies- these were a last minute addition but were the most popular- inspired by Martha Stewart, but veganized and spiced up with crystallized ginger on top. These sold out, and I have to admit I was kind of disappointed, I had hoped to at least save one to eat later! The lighting is crappy- you can't see how chocolaty these really are....
The chocolate and raspberry rugelach!!! It sparked many conversations- people told me how their grandmothers used to make it, or how they became addicted to it living in South Williamsburg. The raspberry was the first thing to sell out- much to Phil's disappointment.

Aja's sandwiches- she always has a vegan option that is off the hook. Yesterday it was a "Saucy Tempehtress," tempeh baked in bbq sauce with pickles, pickled red onions, swiss chard and some Vegenasie... I think the quality of my life would drastically improve if she could pack my lunch every day....

So yeah! It was a lot of work, but a lot of of fun, and satisfying to see people eat my cookies, and sometimes even come back for seconds, or a whole bag. This was The Lindzertort Bakery's second official time out, and I am learning so much... Even though I made a ton of cookies to sell, I think this is only the beginning of my holiday baking- stay tuned!

A Vegan Hanukkah Feast- Serious Latke Overdose

2009-12-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

I don't think there has ever been a year I have not been home for at least part of Hanukkah, but this year it falls early and I am still in NYC until next week, when Hanukkah ends. Luckily there will still be Christmas at home (yes, I am one of those lucky people who celebrated both growing up! twice the presents!), but I still wanted to light the menorah and eat some fried potatoes.

My brother had the same dilemma of not being home for Hanukkah, so he came over and we ate. Too much. But it was delicious!

Vegan latkes- with toffuti sour cream and applesauce...

Broccoli and chickpea casserole from Vegan With a Vengeance- just to throw some protein and real veggies into the mix...

And chocolate rugelah- because there can never be enough rugelach- even when I make nearly 100 next weekend...

Extreme Vegan Rugelah Closeup!

2009-12-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today I spent some time making rugelach dough. If all goes as planned, I will be selling this yummy cookie at the next Greenpoint Food Market in a couple of weeks.

While I was making enough dough for 80 cookies to freeze until I bake them the night before the market, I figured a couple of test batches of new flavors couldn't hurt...

The chocolate rugelah surprisingly reminded me of pain au chocolate- flaky and buttery with thick and gooey chocolate!

Phil's vote goes to the raspberry/pecan/raisin rugelah, tart, sweet, buttery, and "too rich to be vegan!"

There may be a second cookie in the works to sell, but it's not final yet... In the mean time, spread the word!

Leftover Sandwich

2009-11-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

Who knew Tofurky tastes even better the second day on some toasted pumpernickel bread with some stuffing and cranberry sauce? Being a vegan doesn't mean you have to be excluded from delicious Thanksgiving leftovers!

This sandwich was created and assembled by Phil, a caring boyfriend who wanted to make sure his vegan girlfriend would have something to eat. It was the perfect dinner to eat at a very entertaining hockey game!

Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream

2009-11-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

This is a horrible picture, and in no way, shape or form does justice to the amazing ice cream we made on Saturday night. In my opinion, the most heavenly flavor pairing possible is chocolate and peanut butter. This combination of cold creamy peanut butter and chewy chocolaty brownies was straight up ridiculous.

The recipes for the ice cream and the brownies were from my new vegan ice cream cook book, The Vegan Scoop. The ice cream was super simple, and I am happy to report I have finally found a vegan brownie recipe that reminds me of the chewy and fudgey brownies of my pre-vegan days. Although the new ice cream maker is dangerous to have around (we devoured this stuff in about thirty seconds flat) I am looking forward to more Vegan Scoop adventures! Next up: pumpkin ice cream, perhaps? :-)

p.s. Mom, I have no decent pics of the picatta- sorry!

My Big Debut- Next Saturday!

2009-11-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

Introducing... The Lindzertort Bakery!!!!

Making its debut next weekend at...

Selling...

Most of you are nowhere near by, but come say hi if you are!!!

My Dinner- Quick Chard Stew with Garlic Bread

2009-11-01T16:28:00.001-08:00

Will be making this again- quick and easy and perfect for a chilly fall evening. Highly Delicious!

My Lunch

2009-11-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

It figures the day after Vegan MoFo is over, I get it together to start posting again. Oh well. Sigh.

I have been trying to be better about using the contents of my fridge and pantry when I am hungry. I'm not so great at it- I usually get inspired to make something I don't have ingredients for, and run out and get them. Not super cost effective, and as the weather gets colder I'm not as motivated to bundle up and walk to the store. Anyhoo, today I threw together a nice sandwich for lunch, if I do say so myself. It consisted of:

Toasted whole wheat sprouted bread
Fresh baby spinach
Thin slices of pressed tofu sauteed in olive oil and drizzled with vegan Worcestershire sauce
4 sliced kalamata olives
Vegan aioli (a tablespoon of vegan mayonnaise mixed with half a clove of pressed garlic)

I'm not sure what I would call this sandwich, other than Yummers. The olives are a must, they give it just enough of a kick to make all of the flavors come together. With some red grapes, it was the perfect lazy Sunday lunch.

Vegan MoFo: Pasta with Chickpeas and Roasted Broccoli

2009-10-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

As per my mother's request, here is a peek at what I had for dinner tonight. I was really not in the mood to cook, and this was pretty easy to throw together.

I sauteed an onion, garlic and basil in some olive oil, the added a can of chickpeas. I boiled some pasta, roasted some broccoli in the oven, and threw the whole thing together and topped it with some fresh lemon juice. The only thing that would have made it better is whole wheat pasta, but this was a pretty easy meal with some quick protein I plan on making again.

Vegan MoFo: Perfect Pancakes

2009-10-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: Vegan Brunch

Author: Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Result: I messed with this recipe quite a bit, and by the time I was done I realized I had essentially made the pancake recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. Ah well.

I replaced the all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, replaced the maple syrup with agave nectar, and threw in some frozen blueberries and ground flax seeds for good measure. Why not.

They turned out pretty well, which is a small victory, considering I actually suck at making pancakes. For some reason they usually turn out gummy when I make them, and fall apart. Only the first two pancakes disintegrated today, and the texture was fine, so I will be using this recipe again for sure.

Vegan Mofo: Candle Cafe Pumpkin Pudding

2009-10-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: The Candle Cafe Cookbook: More Than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York's Renowned Vegan Restaurant
Author(s): Bart Potenza & Barbara Scott-Goodman

Result: I got this book for my birthday from my buddies at work, and there are so many fantastic recipes I had no idea where to start. The last night my Mom was here and we were cooking dinner, I decided to throw this together because I had most of the ingredients on hand, and if you have been reading this blog you know I can't resist anything involving pumpkins.

I replaced cornstarch for the arrowroot or powder or kuzu powder the recipe called for, so I am not sure if the taste was affected or not. All in all it was a fine desert, especially when topped with a little vanilla-coconut ice cream. It could have been a tad sweeter, so with a little more maple syrup added and maybe some straight up vanilla soy ice cream (minus the coconut which didn't pair so well) dusted with cinnamon I could see this being a lovely vegan holiday desert.

Vegan Mofo Day ?: Two Soups

2009-10-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am done with saying which MoFo day it is, I have clearly not been true to the whole MoFo project.

We are still enjoying the benefits of having my Mom here this past week- especially the two soups that she left in the freezer! The first was The Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Lentil Vegetable Soup, and the second was Robin's famous Yukon Gold Potato Soup.

Both are naturally vegan, although we added fake-chicken bullion cubes to both to try them out. I'm so glad soup season is officially here!

Vegan MoFo Day 12: Breakfast for Ma- Banana French Toast

2009-10-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

I know, I am cheating with the days... Whooops.

This is not a cookbook entry, but it is a recipe I have made before and posted on the blog. Here. Today I caramelized some bananas to top this French toast, which I made with a vegan "water" challah I smuggled from work... It was a great way to start a busy day.

(Robin's verdict: The breakfast was awesome!)

Vegan MoFo Day 11: Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux

2009-10-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

I am waaaaaay behind on the MoFo-ing, so I am posting a bunch of stuff in one day- hopefully it will make up for my absence. I have a good excuse, though, my Mom is in town!!!!

Cookbook: Vegan Soul Kitchen
Author: Bryant Terry

Result: I have made this recipe before and talked about it here. It's a lovely and tasty way to prepare oh-so-good for you collard greens quickly but with a lot of flavor. Tofu cubes tossed in vegan Worcestershire sauce and sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, and onions were put in the oven to roast to complete this yummy fall meal.

Mate Tea

2009-10-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

It's full-blown fall here in New England, but a hectic pace and huge transition has left me with too little time to make anything worth blogging about despite the abundance of farmers markets and local harvest produce. However, I did recently take a time out to at least see what fall looks like, and during my break I got myself this mate tea. For those who may not know, mate is the national drink of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and it has more antioxidants than green tea (196 active chemical compounds vs. 144). While it does have caffeine, it also has plenty of B5 vitamins, making it a good pick me up. The combination of mate and leave-color appreciation made me, well, pause to think about the changing of season and the abundance that is so obviously in the air...

Vegan MoFo Day 10: Lower Fat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Crystallized Ginger

2009-10-14T17:20:00.001-07:00

Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: I have been reading this book, and have really been enjoying it. It's a charming book of recipes and the stories of how they came about, written by the Molly Wizenberg, the person behind this lovely blog. Anyways, in the book, she describes in vivid and delicious detail a recipe for crystallized ginger and chocolate chip banana bread. I read this chapter on Monday, and have been obsessing about making this bread ever since. I had bananas, I had chocolate chips, I had crystallized ginger, it was only a matter of time.

So, tonight was the night. I couldn't really justify coming home and baking a loaf of old school banana bread loaded with sugar and fat, so I decided to give this recipe from Veganomicon a try. The resulting bread was not as moist as I had hoped for, but it did reveal that chocolate, banana and crystallized ginger are a surprisingly fabulous combination. I will be trying them together again, but probably in a different banana cake/bread recipe.

Vegan MoFo Day 9: Spanish Rice

2009-10-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: Betty Crocker's Cookbook
Author: Um.... Betty Crocker?

Result: Yeah, um, this took a really long time. I guess because I thought my handy dandy way of cooking rice in the oven would work for this recipe- not so much. After 25 minutes in the oven, we still had crunchy rice and a lotta liquid. I was able to pull the whole mess which included the rice, tomato sauce, water, spices, a green pepper and an onion out of the oven and put it back on the stove where it should have been in the first place and salvage the recipe.

So, in conclusion, making your own Spanish rice (instead of using a box mix) is a good idea. Just use the stove. Yay Taco Tuesday!

Vegan MoFo Day 9: Blackberry Ice Cream with Cyrstallized Ginger

2009-10-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: I think the relationship with my new ice cream maker could potentially be a dangerous one. To jump into the world of vegan ice cream making, I used the recipe for basic vanilla ice cream from Veganomicon, but used the option to add blackberries. This required letting the blackberries bubble away on the stove with a little water, cornstarch (it called for arrowroot powder but I didn't have any on hand), a pinch of ginger and agave (it called for sugar, I'm a rebel). The ice cream base was made of coconut milk, soy milk, silken tofu and vanilla extract.

The whole process was very messy but easier than I thought it would be. When the ice cream was done on the mixer, I put it in the freezer for a few hours.

After dinner, I scooped some out and topped it with some crystallized ginger to give it a little kick. I will be honest, it was a little on the too sweet side, and it wasn't quite as tart as I had hoped from the blackberries, but it was all in all FANTASTIC. I had feared it would taste tofu-ish, but it didn't, the result was some of the creamiest ice cream I have had since I went vegan four years ago. I will keep perfecting this and other recipes, but the ice cream making is off to a fabulous start, and a new obsession has begun.

Vegan MoFo Day 8: Birthday Goodness

2009-10-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

I know, again, not a recipe. Ashley's gonna kill me. Ugh. I need to get it together- and I will, tomorrow, when I make blackberry ginger ice cream with my new ice cream maker!!!!!!!!!!!! But today, the vegan food marathon weekend continues, with delicious vegan french toast at brunch, and some serious vegetarian dim sum in a few hours.

Besides the ice cream maker, which is gift enough in itself, my wonderful bf also got me a new camera!!! The blog is saved from horrible, orange tinted blurry pictures! Phil saves the day! I tested it out on some of the goodness we got at the farmer's market this morning. Mom, you will notice one of my new bowls is featured.

Yes, I bought myself a pumpkin. I probably won't even cook with it, it's so cute and perfect...

Vegan MoFo Day 7: What I am Having for Dinner- Candle 79 Seitan Piccata- Mofos!!!

2009-10-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

A mix of sheer exhaustion combined with the fact I know I am about to go out for lots of yummy vegan food this weekend for my birthday has made me a negligent Vegan MoFo-er. Anyways, technically I don't even own this cookbook, nor have I ever cooked this particular dish myself, but I have had it twice in my life at the restaurant, so I feel that I am an authority.

Cookbook: The Candle Cafe Cookbook: More Than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York's Renowned Vegan Restaurant
Author(s): Bart Potenza & Barbara Scott-Goodman

Result: Last time I was home my family and I went out to dinner at a fancy French restaurant. The question arose of what everyone would like to have for their last meal if they were about to be executed, and this was my choice. I have made other seitan piccatas for myself (the one from Veganomicon is pretty good), but this is honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. I only get to go to Candle 79 a couple times a year, but I always order this because it is rich, crunchy, tangy, olive-y, potato-y goodness.

If you don't live in NYC or aren't visiting anytime soon, make this for yourself. I also found the recipe online here, so I you don't even need to buy the cookbook. But seriously, if you are a vegan, you should at least once in your life make the pilgrimage to Candle 79 and have the piccata- it's pretty much criminal not to.

This picture is clearly from the cookbook. I don't have the confidence yet to bring my camera places and take pictures of what I eat like a real food blogger... I know, I am a wuss.

Vegan MoFo Day 6: Swiss Chard Frittata (with Kale instead!)

2009-10-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: Vegan Brunch
Author: Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Result: It's been a long day. I was fixin' to come home and just make a simple tofu scramble, but I came across this recipe in Vegan Brunch and had a thought- if I made this, it would mean less time spent standing over the stove! I had all of the ingredients on hand (except for the chard), so I decided to use the rest of the bunch of kale I got this past weekend from the farmer's market instead. The whole thing was indeed very easy to throw together, and all things considered it was a pretty healthy recipe with almost no fat (with the exception of the oil the garlic and kale were sauteed in).

The finished frittata crisped up nicely on the outside and had a pleasant and not too mushy texture on the inside- which is good because I loathe mushy tofu. The kale worked OK, especially on the top parts where it became reminiscent of kale chips. However, I would definitely be interested in trying chard next time, the kale did become a bit overly wilted and brown on the inside of the frittata. In the end the whole thing kind of fell apart when I took it out of the pan and resembled a tofu scramble anyways, which was just fine with me. I ate it with a toasted sprouted bagel topped with apple butter, and was a happy camper. I love breakfast food for dinner and am looking forward to trying more recipes from this book soon...

Vegan MoFo Day5: The Art of the Non-Soggy Sandwich

2009-10-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

OK, I am veering from my cookbook plan today... I am super tired. But, I did throw together a mock tuna fish sandwich for lunch tomorrow, using my own recipe I made up in my head. Basically I used what I had on hand- I mashed up half a can of chickpeas, threw in a tablespoon-ish of Vegenaise, teaspoon-ish of dijon mustard, a small spoonful of relish, and a few dashes of kelp powder.

But the point is not how I make a mock tuna fish sandwich. The point is how I pack it. Nothing gets me through a crazy morning at work more than knowing I have a yummy filling lunch waiting in my bag. Nothing is more disappointing than opening up my lunch and discovering the sandwich I lovingly packed has become a soggy mess. Ick.

Time and experience has taught me the best way to pack a sandwich for lunch that includes a filling like mock tuna or egg salad is to pack each part individually. Wrap the bread in foil (you can pre-toast it, or toast it at work if that is an option), and put everything else in a Tupperware container. Assemble at work. It may seem like a lot of tedious effort, but it's worth it!

Vegan MoFO Day 5: Lentils and Rice with Carmalized Onions and PIta Crisps

2009-10-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: This is another recipe I made a year or so ago with my Mom, and remembered fondly. Well, I remembered the flavors fondly, the mushy red lentils that dissolved during cooking, not so much. I decided to give it another go this evening, using some French green lentils I had in my pantry. These lentils held together much better, and there was no mush! The cloves, allspice and cinnamon added to the rice and lentils while they simmer makes the kitchen smell divine, as do the onions roasting in the oven. The whole meal takes over an hour to cook, and by that time after being stuck in my tasty smelling apartment, I was ready to eat!

The pita chips are perfect for scooping up the rice and lentils, and are so simple to make. If you have never made your own pita chips, do it now. Go to the store, buy some pita, cut it up, brush it with olive oil, shake your favorite spices on top, bake it, and enjoy. You won't be sorry. Trust me. We also threw some kale in the oven at the same time to make some kale chips, just for kicks.

I asked my taste tester for some concluding thoughts about this recipe. He deemed the meal "highly delicious," and commented, "I would eat it again." Works for me!

I've been giving the Veganomicon a lot of love. My other cookbooks might be getting jealous, but I can't help it, it truly is the Mother of all vegan cookbooks.

Vegan MoFo Day 4: Creamy Yellow Potato Soup with Rosemary Oil and Crispy Rosemary

2009-10-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

OK, this is kinda cheating- I made this soup on Monday. But we ate leftovers all day and are about to head out for some brick oven (vegan) pizza and olives... Will hopefully be back to cooking tomorrow after work!

Cookbook: Vegan Soul Kitchen
Author: Bryant Terry

Result: An easy, quick(ish) and comforting soup. I love that you make a fresh rosemary infused olive oil first, and then use it to saute your onion and garlic and finish your soup. Homemade veggie stock gave this extra flavor, and cumin gave it an interesting kick you won't find in traditional potato soup. The recipe says to put the soup in the blender in the end and then put it through a strainer or something, but I used my immersion blender and it turned out just fine. All in all the soup still isn't as great as the one my Mom makes (that's a pretty high standard though), but I will definitely be making it again.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to serve the soup with bread or a salad, so I made a salad pizza. Great combo!!!

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits; Apple Wrapper Pie

2009-10-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits
Cookbook: Veganomicon
Author(s): Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

Result: I had made this recipe about a year and a half ago when I was at home with help from my mom. I remembered it being delicious and very comforting. It was pretty good again this time, although it lacked a little bit in flavor, so I added some more salt. It was still a little bland, but over all a filling fall meal with a good dose of protein (I added the suggested seitan).

Apple Wrapper Pie
Cookbook: Betty Crocker's Cookbook
Author: Um.... Betty Crocker?

Result: I love having people over for dinner because it always gives me an excuse to make a pie. I turn to my handy-dandy Betty Crocker cookbook whenever I need a really basic recipe, and it always comes through for pies. I wasn't in the mood to make a double crust pie today, but had a request for pie made from some apples scored at the Farmer's Market this morning.

The "Wrapper" pie is an easy and perfect solution when you want pie but don't want to put in a whole lot of effort, and don't want the fat that comes with two pie crusts. I sub Earth Balance soy butter for the shortening the recipe calls for, but the result is still a flaky and delicious crust, and I highly doubt most people can tell the difference... We enjoyed this puppy with some vanilla coconut ice cream.

Vegan MoFo Day 2: Pumpkin Spice Muffins

2009-10-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Cookbook: Babycakes
Author: Erin McKenna

Result: It probably does not pay to be a cheapskate. I opted to leave out the xanthan gum in this recipe because it was $10 at Whole Foods, and I was not in the mood to pay that much. I used some ground flax seeds mixed with water to replace it (as a binder), and that worked OK, but the batter was kinda runny and lumpy. Not sure if that was because of the xanthan/flax switch up, or the recipe itself.

I chose this recipe because I was craving some pumpkin muffins, as it is now October, and I find very few things more adorable or perfect than pumpkins. I looked through a few of my cookbooks, but every recipe I found called for a lot of sugar. This one only called for 2/3 cup of agave nectar, and 1/2 cup of coconut oil. The muffins were a little less sweet than your traditional pumpkin muffin, and I would probably throw some raisins or chocolate chips in next time. But, all in all they turned out moist and pumpkin-y, and made 16 muffins! Pumpkin muffins for breakfast for all, all week!

Vegan MoFo: A Cookbook A Day!!!!!!!

2009-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

I know it's already the 2nd day of Vegan MoFo, but I have an idea finally!!!!! Yay! I hope someone notices!!!

So, I have a lot of cookbooks. Most of them are vegan, a few of them are not but still have a lot of great recipes. I have so many, and buy them so often, and I don't think they all get enough love and attention. So, copying "Julie and Julia" a little bit, I will try to attempt to cook one recipe a day from one of my cookbooks. I have a pretty busy month ahead of me, so hopefully I can stick to the plan...

As a side note, my camera is really starting to crap out on me and taking blurry and out of focus pictures... My bday is next week, so here's hoping I get a new one...

DIY Veggie Stock

2009-10-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

I am sure a lot of people have much more exciting things to do on a day off then sit in their apartment making homemade vegetable stock, but I am not one of them.

Whether you are a vegan or not, chances are you use vegetable stock in your cooking from time to time. Sure, it's convenient to grab some prefab stock at the store, but read the label on one of those sometime- ick!

If you really want to make your food taste extra yum, you have to make your own stock. Luckily, it's pretty easy. There are lots of great resources out there on how to make your own, I particularly enjoy this post at vegan yum yum.

In my neighborhood, I can grab a huge thing of "soup greens" for about a buck fifty at the corner deli. Sadly they are not organic, but I can get a bunch of carrots, celery, onions, leeks, turnips and parsley for cheap. Does this type of thing exist outside of Brooklyn? I find it magical.

Anyhoo, basically I just chop up the aforementioned soup greens and throw them in a some heated olive oil in a large soup pot as I go. I then add eight or so whole peeled cloves of garlic, any fresh herbs I have on hand (this week it was rosemary), a few tablespoons of tomato paste and a few tablespoons of tamari. And salt and pepper, of course.

Finally I add about ten or so cups of water, bring the whole thing to a boil and then down to simmer for an hour or two. When the veggies look very brown, pale and sad I strain the broth a few times, let it cool, then freeze it or put it in the fridge for a couple of days.

It sounds complicated, but it's pretty easy peasy, and strangely therapeutic to make your own stock. And it really does make a world of difference in soups, sauces, etc.

Vegan MoFo - My Vegan Soap Box

2009-09-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

To begin this Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo), I thought I would share some of my musings about veganism. To the fam, I do talk about my reasons for being a vegan and animals, but I think you should read it. It's my blog, darn it!

I stopped eating meat when I was about eight or nine years old. My family likes to blame it on "the family down the street who went vegetarian," and they are partially correct. The family down the street did indeed influence my decision, simply by explaining that they went vegetarian because meat came from animals who were killed, usually in a very inhumane way. I guess it was the first time I actually thought about what was on my plate, and realized I had the choice to eat it, or not. As a serious animal lover and advocate, the decision to become a vegetarian was a no brainer. My family was not pleased about my choice, but after realizing I was serious and would starve if they did not allow me to become a vegetarian, they became supportive.

I have to point out that having parents who supported their nine year old daughter, even reluctantly, in her decision to stop eating meat is pretty rare. My mother is the person who taught me how to cook tofu, and my dad made many a pbj sandwich for my school lunch. Even though my parents still pull the "I don't know what I am supposed to cook you for dinner with your strange diet" card, they continue to make sure I have a tofurky at holiday meals. My extended family has been very accommodating as well. If all families were this supportive of their young teenager who wanted to stop eating meet, I guarantee you would see a lot more vegetarians.

When I was 23, I started to feel like I was relying way too much on dairy for protein. I always said I would never become vegan unless I had a personal chef, but a friend encouraged me to try for a few weeks, at least to detox my body from dairy. After a few weeks I felt great, and decided to keep going with the whole vegan thing. I will admit there were times throughout the next two years I would try to eat some cheese or cream, but every time I did I would my stomach would attack me, and it wasn't pretty. After a while I decided to give in and admit it, I was a vegan.

There have still been times I have cheated a bit, eating a muffin with egg or butter in it, but for the most part I have been hard core about it. Especially the past three months, when I have really cracked down on not eating any traces of animal byproducts. Along my vegan journey, I began googling for recipes and buying vegan cookbooks, and for the first time in my life I became really excited about cooking and baking. There is a world of resources out there, and a huge online community of people making awesome vegan food. Every year it seems the world around me becomes a bit more vegan friendly, and when a deli opened up across the street from my apartment this past spring serving vegan sandwiches, baked goods and soy milk for coffee I could not believe my luck.

So, to my point (finally). I don't think it's my job to turn the world vegan. Or even the world around me vegan. At this point I am vegan just as much, if not more so, for the ethical reasons, the health benefits are an added bonus. Most of my friends, family, and my significant other eat meat and dairy. I try pretty hard not to lecture everyone on how many animals they could save from the slaughter house every year, how meat and dairy production is contributing to destroying our planet and how animal products pollute our bodies. I don't force everyone to sit down and watch just one video on PETA's website about meat and dairy production, which I truly believe would turn most people vegan immediately. While I strongly support groups like PETA, I have found my best ammunition to fight the fight is food. Particularly baked goods.

The more we vegans can make delicious food for those around us, the more we can convince others we are not strange hippies who eat gross hippie food. Even making one vegan meal for friends could save a chicken or two, or a pig or cow. Bringing a vegan cake or pie to a dinner can save some poor hen in a battery cage with no beak from laying a few eggs. It may seem like a small effort, but it adds up. And it helps me sleep a little easier at night. The thing about this vegan food I am making for others is it has to be kick ass. I have worked hard to perfect my cake, cookie and pie baking skills, and now when my family gathers to celebrate a birthday or have a special dinner they ask for Lindsey to "bring one of her cakes." That, to me, is a sweet sugary victory.

So, here we go with the Vegan MoFo. I will do my best to post every day (yikes!) about scrumptious vegan food that I eat or make. Don't be afraid, dear readers, try to make something, or go to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant for dinner one night. Or at least have me over to make you some cookies or come to Brooklyn and I will feed you pie. I make a mean blueberry pie.

Rosemary Chickpea Tomato Soup

2009-09-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

This soup appealed to me today on many levels. I forget what the inspiration was exactly to look for a recipe for chickpea tomato soup, but I found one that was simple enough and decided to give it a go. I intended to cook the chickpeas from scratch (I have a bunch in the pantry) but then realized the whole process would take about 24 hours. Wanting instant gratification, I opted for organic canned chickpeas instead.

I kind of halved the recipe, and probably could have used a little less rosemary, but on the whole it was a very filling and satisfying soup. I encourage you all (vegan or not!) to try it on a dreary rainy day. Get the recipe here.

Calling a truce with Setian- Sort of.

2009-09-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I finally made a dinner that was super tasty- it's been a few weeks, I have either had no time to cook, or cooked things that were just kinda blah. Why I have not tried the Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon until yesterday, I will never know. Mashed chickpeas are combined with vital wheat gluten (my former enemy) veggie broth, bread crumbs, and a few other things and then baked until crispy perfection. They needed just a little umph, so I made a quick white wine/shallot/picada like sauce for the cutlets- PERFECT. YUM!!!!! I made herb scalloped potatoes (also from Veganomicon) and Phil's new favorite thing, kale chips, as well. I only wish I had the energy to make the same meal tonight- I'm hungry!

Vegan MoFo!!! What the heck?!!!

2009-09-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

OK, I don't know what I have gotten myself into, but I signed our humble little blog here up to participate in Vegan MoFo, meaning Vegan Month of Food, meaning during October hundreds of vegan blogs have pledged to write about awesome vegan food every day... or something like that.

Read all about it here and here.

So, like I said, it looks like hundreds of blogs have signed up already, so there is some pretty stiff competition, and I'm not sure if anyone will make it over here anyways, but it should be an interesting challenge. Maybe not the smartest challenge to take on considering I just started work again (first day of school is tomorrow!), but you only live once.

So, stayed tuned (hi Mom and Omi!!!) for a lot of posts on October. Hopefully....

I've got my game face on...

Oh, and happy new year! Go eat some apples and honey (er, agave nectar).

Martha!!!!!

2009-09-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

This list is pretty heavy on the meat options (ick!), but has some good ideas for yummy vegan lunches to pack as well. She's done it again!!!

Martha's Ideas for Brown Bag Lunches

Back to School Granola

2009-09-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Because something has to get me out of bed at 6 a.m. tomorrow.... HOLY cow. Inspired by my lovely friend, Prysm.

* Granola*

4 1/2 cups organic rolled oats
1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup flax meal
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unrefined sesame oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 dashes of cinnamon
1 generous cup chopped dates
1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven until 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, pecans, walnuts, salt and flax meal. In a smaller bowl, whisk together sesame oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract and cinnamon until well combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and mix with a rubber spatula until all of the oat/nut mixture is completely coated, this will take awhile but it will happen, I promise.

Once everything is well combined, pour onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, spreading the granola into an even layer, about an inch thick. Bake in the oven, checking granola every 6-8 minutes and moving it around on the cookie sheet with a spatula. After about 25 mins or so the oats should be golden brown, which means its time to take the granola out of the oven.

After the granola has cooled a bit, mix it together with the dates and raisins. Store in an airtight container.

Many granola recipes have you toast the oats before mixing them with the other ingredients and baking everything together. I found that it was fine without pre-toasting, and it makes the whole process quicker.

Vegan Zwetschgenkuchen- Take 2

2009-09-07T14:20:00.001-07:00

Soul-ish Food

2009-09-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

It's SUCH a good time to go to the farmer's market! I am trying to live it up, I know soon there will only be apples and potatoes for months... I built tonight's dinner around some collard greens I scored at the market this morning, and they were yummmmmmy.

I made some black eyed peas from scratch and added some onion, green pepper, and soy chorizo.

The cornbread recipe is here (I subbed agave nectar for the sugar).

The citrus collards with raisin redux recipe is here. I checked cookbook this is from, Vegan Soul Kitchen, out from the library a few months ago, I think I need to purchase it.

Roasted and Toasted Pesto

2009-09-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

I make pesto pretty frequently. It's easy to throw together, pretty cheap, and makes whatever you put it on taste better. I do, however, get a little bored with the same old formula from time to time. Today I decided to try to "turn up the volume," as our friend Ina Garten would say (I know! Yet another Barefoot Contessa reference... sorry!!!) on my basic pesto. Adding roasted cloves of garlic and toasting the pine nuts really upped the flavor, and was worth the extra effort.

Here's the recipe for the new and improved pesto:

1 head of roasted garlic
3 cups fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3-5 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)

First, roast the garlic. Turn your oven up to 350 degrees. Peel the paper off the whole head of garlic as much as you can. Cut of the top part of the garlic, so a little bit of each clove is exposed. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, wrap in foil, and roast in the oven for about an hour, or until the head feels squishy when squeezed with an oven mitt. Remove from the oven and let cool for 25 minutes or so before proceeding with the pesto.

Preheat a dry frying pan on your stove for a few minutes. Throw the pine nuts in the pan and move them around every 30 seconds or so until they are nicely toasted. Watch them closely, they can go from perfect to burned in seconds! While you let the pine nuts cool, carefully squeeze out each clove from the head of garlic. You can use a fork to help the process along, being careful to remove all bits of the papery skin. Put cloves in the food processor with basil leaves, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Process until it becomes a thick paste. Add pine nuts and process again.

Once everything is combined, keep the processor going while you drizzle in the olive oil, one tsp. or so at a time until it is the thickness you desire. Taste and re-season as needed with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Enjoy on your favorite whole wheat pasta, as a base for pizza, on a sandwich, etc...

Salad Nicoise

2009-08-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

For months now, I've had nicoise salad on my mind. Perhaps it is because of the new movie about Julia Child, perhaps it is because I long to visit France again, or perhaps it is because it i delicious. Traditionally it contains many non-vegan ingredients, but I have found many vegan-friendly recipes that all go above and beyond in their own ways. I'm not a stickler to the traditional ingredients, but by all means be loyal to them as you would like, keeping in mind that improvisation can go miles with this one.

I've made this using both tempeh and tofu. In the end I liked the tofu one better, as it tended to be a little more delicate in flavor and let the vegetables stand out more.

Salad:

-mixed greens, or a small head of your favorite lettuce

-a generous handful each of green and wax

-about 3/4 pound small new potatoes

-1 large tomato or 1 red pepper

-1 block tofu, pressed and cut into wedges

-1 quarter of a red onion, sliced thinly

-1/2 cup black olives*

Vinaigrette

-2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

-1 tsp balsamic vinegar

-splash of lemon juice

-1 large shallot, minced

-1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Assembly:

Wash the potatoes and place in a saucepan. Add cold water until submerged in an excess of water (about an inch over the potatoes). Add sea salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for approximately 22-30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. In the mean time, baked tofu in an over preheated to 375 on a baking sheet sprayed with oil olive cooking spray. Drizzle tofu with olive oil and add sea salt and ground black pepper. After 15 minutes or when brown, turn tofu wedges over, drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to other side, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until browned.

Wash and trim all other vegetables while tofu and potatoes are cooking. Arrange mixed greens and top with green and wax beans and tomatoes or red pepper. Add black olives as desired. To make vinaigrette, whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.

When potatoes are done cooking, strain and rinse under cold water. Cut into halves or quarters, and place on greens. Add baked tofu, and drizzle with vinaigrette.

*There are no olives in the one in the picture, as I forgot to get them at the store! No worries, though, I will make this dish again and update the picture, most likely sooner rather than later!

"Butter" Cream Roses- not nearly as easy as you would think...

2009-08-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

I made a few smaller "practice" cakes to work on my icing technique- I am trying to teach myself how to make butter cream roses (of course mine are vegan...). They are soooo hard! I am determined to master the rose by the time I go back to school in a few weeks, we shall see if that happens. Here's hoping these photos serve as "before" pictures soon... I now understand why people charge hundreds of dollars for cakes!

Birthday Cake!

2009-08-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the cake I made for my Grandpa Ted's 80th bday! I used the skills I learned in my cake decorating class last month. It didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped (there was a pastry bag mishap), but it was fun to make!

The cake was a basic yellow cake with mocha butter cream frosting, as per Grandpa Ted's request. I wish I could say we had leftovers today, but we don't, it was quickly devoured! One more victory on my quest to convince the world vegan deserts are every bit as yummy as "regular" ones!

I also made a backup pineapple upside down cake, because I was afraid the bday cake wouldn't feed everyone. Luckily there was enough for everyone, so there wasn't a need for the mushy pineapple cake. Next time I think I will make individual pineapple upside down cakes, they would probably bake more evenly...

Tell your friends! I need to start selling these puppies for money. Just kidding! Kind of...

Vegan Party Cupcakes- Ready for their Close-Up!

2009-08-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

48 mini chocolate/chocolate and vanilla-lemon cupcakes, ready for our shin-dig tonight. I tried to be fancy with my new pastry bag skills, but the surface of these little guys was too tiny to do much... I hope I made enough!

Extra batter? No problem!

2009-08-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know about you, but I often don't know what to do with extra cake/muffin batter. Either you wait until your first round of cupcakes/muffins are out of the oven and then clean the tin and fill only a few holes and bake again, or you throw it away. Either option is depressing and annoying.

So, this past winter my mother (hi mom!) gave me individual silicone muffin cups. I admit I had not used them until today, when I had some extra cupcake batter to make exactly two extra cupcakes. I filled the individual silicon cups and put them on a baking sheet along with the rest of the cupcakes. Perfect solution!

Blueberry Coffee Cake Bars

2009-07-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

This week for Craig's Kitchen, I baked coffee cake from my newest cookbook purchase, Vegan Brunch. Since I needed to include fruit from the local CSA, I added blueberries, which were delicious addition. I cut the cake up into bars, and walked them over this afternoon (in the rain!) to the church. I hope everyone enjoyed them!

Of course, I doubled the recipe, so I will be motivated to get up in the morning for the rest of the week knowing I have blueberry coffee cake waiting for me. Although, as you can see, most of it has already been devoured... Is wasn't all me, I swear!

CousCous, Take II

2009-07-25T21:42:00.001-07:00

I had previously made Tabbouleh, a middle-eastern couscous dish, and was thrilled to discover that couscous was such a good alternative to rice, requiring much less time and effort. This dish was adapted from a recipe in the Mayo Clinic Cookbook, and is a great late-summer meal that takes advantage of the squashes in season. I made it with my mum, Bev, while preparing to watch the season premiere of Entourage. Good times. Except that Entourage is a little less family friendly then I had realized...Maybe better to watch an alternate premium cable show, such as Big Love or Nurse Jackie.

While I don't exactly have the recipe on hand as I have since moved (again, I know...), it was more or less some variation of the following ingredients:

1 box Couscous

2 small yellow squashes

1 zucchini

1 large tomato

fresh herbs (I think we just used parsley, but anything would really work)

1 fresh lemon, juiced

Parmesan cheese

Cracked black pepper and a pinch of sea salt

2 garlic cloves minced

Olive oil (the Spanish kind, see note below)

After the minced garlic is done cooking in the olive oil, add the squash and zucchini, and stir-fry for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Add about a 1/4 cup or a bit more of water, turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Most of the water should be evaporated, but still a little saucy. Add tomatoes, lemon juice, couscous and cheese and salt and pepper and cook all together to incorporate all the elements and warm thoroughly. We served with grilled fish done on the bbq with lemon and dill, as I do eat fish occasionally. It all went together brilliantly.

Note: It is very important to use Spanish olive oil. The primary reason is so that you can make "Spanish CousCous" and talk about how it's Spanish because you used Spanish olive oil. While this makes no sense, and lends no credibility to the authenticity of this dish being considered Spanish, it makes for fun while cooking.

Savory (or Sweet!) Zucchini Biscuits

2009-07-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

With a zucchini about past its prime in the fridge, I was all set to make zucchini bread this evening. But, I had a request for zucchini biscuits. Such a biscuit is not too common, but I welcomed the challenge and combined a bunch of biscuit recipes together. The results were so delish and moist, I highly recommend trying these next time you want to pretend to make a healthy biscuit! They are savory, but for those who just can't go without a little sweet in their biscuit, there is an option to add a tiny bit of sweetness before they go into the oven!

Zucchini Biscuits
makes 10-12 biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 or 2 dashes of cinnamon
3 tsp. sugar
5 tbs. cold butter of choice (I used earth balance)
1 cup (or a little less) soy milk
1 cup grated zucchini
coconut oil + flaked sea salt for top (if savory)
agave nectar + sugar for top (if sweet)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flours, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar together. Cut butter into 1 inch cubes and then cut into dry mixture, using a fork or pasty blender. Add soy milk and stir until it just comes together. Gently fold in zucchini.

On a well floured surface, roll out dough to about a 1/2 inch thickness and cut our circles about 3 inches in diameter. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Either brush tops with coconut oil and sprinkle salt on top, or brush with agave and sprinkle sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating halfway through, if you have a slanted oven like mine!

Individual Peach Upside-Down Cakes

2009-07-20T18:05:00.001-07:00

I have just started baking for Craig's Kitchen, a soup kitchen in my neighborhood that asks people to volunteer every week to make a desert for their Wednesday night dinner. Not only do I think what they are doing is awesome, but I have been having a lot of fun baking for others who could use a yummy desert. In the summer if you are baking you can swing by the church where the kitchen is housed and pick up fruit donated by a local CSA to bake with. Last week I made individual blueberry pies, and this week I made individual upside-down peach cakes. There were two extras so we are going to try them after dinner, just to make sure they are good (as Ina Garten would say)! ;-)

A Refreshing Summer Treat

2009-07-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

Giada's basil-infused Italian Lemonade. Perfect for picnics, parties, or lazy afternoons spent with good books!

I'm Excited!

2009-07-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Cake Decorating

2009-07-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday I took a cake decorating class at The Brooklyn Kitchen. It was a lot of fun, although I was probably the worst (and messiest by far) person in the class. I learned a lot though! I need to practice my new skills, so I am going to have to create some cake projects for myself... Maybe I can just quit my job and make vegan wedding cakes? Or not. Anyhoo, here are pics of my final creation from the class.

Busy Bee...

2009-07-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy lady lately, even though technically I am on summer vacation... I have been cooking a lot, baking for a soup kitchen in my neighborhood once a week, and took a cake decorating class (more on that in a bit). AND I dropped my computer and it died, so I had to buy a new one, which I should have soon... I hope. I know. I'm a genius.

Last night, my fabulous friend Tommy came over for dinner. I made my trademark pizza...

And a flour-less chocolate tart, from my newest cookbook, The Vegan Table.

Pizza was yum, as always, and the chocolate tart was yum but very rich. So rich I didn't even have a second piece, which is unheard of for me! I had so much fun with Tommy, and he brought me beautiful flowers- what a doll! I felt just like Ina Garten with Jeffery out of town!!!

Last Sunday, we made Mushroom Risotto, also from The Vegan Table. I've only attempted to make risotto twice, and both times I have given up and Phil has taken over and stood over the pot stirring constantly for a looong time. It was pretty yummy and filling, and would probably be even more delish on a cold winter day (instead of a miserable muggy summer one!).

The Best Pizza Dough Ever!!!

2009-07-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have been on the look out for a great pizza dough recipe, and I think I have found one! Not only is this dough super easy to make, it tastes as good as the crust you would find in any respectable NYC pizza parlor. The pictures featured are of a "salad pizza" I made last night via the Delicious TV's Totally Vegetarian podcast. Thanks so much to Phil's wonderful mom, Anita, for this recipe!

Pizza Dough (for the food processor or mixer)

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 tsp. sugar
2 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tbs. olive oil (plus more to oil the bowl)

Mix yeast with warm water and sugar in a 2 cup measure. Let stand in a warm place for up to 10 mins. With metal blade in place in food processor (or dough hook in mixer), mix flour salt and oil together. With the food processor or mixer running, pour yeast mixture in a steady stream, but only as fast as the flour absorbs it. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Let processor or mixer run for 40-50 seconds until dough is kneaded, smooth and elastic. It will be sticky!

Transfer dough to a well oiled bowl. Rotate so entire surface is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm place (80-85 degrees) until doubled in bulk, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Roll out dough on a floured board. Place on greased pan and top as desired. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until bottom of crust is browned.

A Happy (belated) Birthday to this Beautiful Beast!!!

2009-07-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Sammy, how I miss and love you!!!!!!

Ashley, I simply don't know what my family will do without you to watch after this little trouble maker when they travel... Screw grad school, Sam needs a nanny!

Tempeh Kabobs

2009-07-02T05:20:00.000-07:00

Since this summer I'm staying in a house that does has a BBQ, and I do have access to it (yay!) I thought I would do a variation on the idea of grilled tempeh. Tempeh is one of those secrets of being a vegetarian that for some reason is kept from non-vegeterians. This is frustrating for those who have embraced alternative protein sources, and I have found myself on more then one occasion defending it, and trying to convince meat-eaters that they would really like it. It's less of an acquired taste then tofu, and while I'm personally only in the mood for it ever so often, it's so very good grilled, as Lindsey previously demonstrated.

These kabobs are simple, straightforward, and full of summer. I used zucchini, red and yellow peppers, and one block of tempeh to make about three kabobs. Don't forget to soak the skewers first! (Mine still burned on the grill...not soaked for long enough? Any thoughts?) I brushed on a made-up sauce:

-lemon juice of half a lemon

-1/2 tpbs of Seseme Tahini

-1/2 tpbs Dijon mustard

-splash of tamari

Wisk together. Mostly I made this because when using a BBQ, it feels unnatural not to brush something on whatever you are grilling first. I'm thinking that pretty much anything you wanted to brush on would work...

Chief (my dad) gave me a lesson in being a grill-master, and also let me use his Weber. Thanks C!

O-M-G

2009-06-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Like the rest of the world, it seems, I've been on some sort of health kick lately. During a recent trip to Whole Foods where healthy food isn't only sold, it's showcased and marked up to enhance your health kick experience, I caved and bought a Vosges chocolate bar, which are now available nation-wide. Once upon a time, LPS told me about the Vosges experience, and to be honest with you I kind of blew it off. I like my chocolate straight-up, no fanciness needed thank you. I have to say though, even the packaging had me at hello. Complete with the words Ouija breath and an emphasis on the smell and tactility of chocolate, I have to admit that I was very excited to embark. I purchased the Barcelona Bar, and I don't know much about this Katrina, but I can tell you that the salt and the chocolate and the smokiness of the nuts has me hooked, leading me to think that she is some kind of genius. I can only hope that my health kick is soon transferred to exercising more...Here is the link to the madness: Vosges Chocolate, it's more then a girl could ever ask for.

Bunny Salad

2009-06-22T17:02:00.001-07:00

Inspired by a recipe in this month's Veg News, and a salad I ate at Whole Foods a few weeks ago... Silly name, I know...

Bunny Salad

*1 cup water
*1/4 cup + 1 tbs. orange juice
*1 cup whole wheat couscous
*1/3 cup raisins
*1/2 cup diced carrots
*1 tbs. olive oil
*2 tbs. chopped parsley
*salt
*pepper
*1/4 cup toasted almonds (optional)

Boil water and 1/4 orange juice together. Once at a boil, add couscous and remove from heat, cover and let steam for 5 mins. Then lift lid and add carefully mix in raisins, fluffing couscous with a fork. The heat will make the raisins plump up, so let the pot sit uncovered for about 10 mins. Then carefully add carrots.

Whisk remaining tbs. orange juice, olive oil, parsley and a pinch salt and pepper together and then drizzle over couscous and carefully mix in with a fork. Top with toasted almonds, if desired. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Farmer's Market Skillet

2009-06-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

When in doubt, throw it all in one pan and hope for the best...

So, I have caught on to this whole CSA thing a little late, and was not able to join the one down the street from me for this year. I've been kinda bummed about it, so I have been trying to be diligent about going to our neighborhood Farmer's market every week and stocking up.

This week I scored some apples, maple syrup, rainbow chard, a parsley plant, fingerling potatoes, and garlic scapes. The scapes were free because I told the nice man at the potato stand I was curious about them and he gave me a few to try.

I had planned to cook all these veggies this weekend, but things got kind of crazy and we ended up going out for every meal. The chard was looking a little sad today, so after trying to think of different ways to use each veggie, I decided to cook them all together.

I chopped the scapes and sauted them with some olive oil, then tossed the fingerlings in and cooked them for about 20 mins until they were crispy and tender. I then turned off the heat, threw in the chard and put the lid on the pan so it would wilt. With some salt and pepper, it wasn't half bad!

I've been thinking a lot about how much food we waste, even when we are trying not to. I am going to try to start throwing any veggies that are about to go bad and odds and ends from cooking into the freezer to use at some point for broth, hopefully it will yield yummy results...

Simplicity

2009-06-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have been unusually nostalgic these days, and as a result have been finding great comfort in simple pleasures, like long walks and these great pastels I picked up at Anthropologie for 10$.

In an effort to stay in the present, I added a homemade label to this hummus based on the Whole Foods Market recipe to jazz it up and add a little color to these strangely sepia tinted days. By the time I'm done eating it along-side some spelt crackers (yum. seriously.) and veggies, I'm hoping this bit of creativity and color will translate into my daily routine.

Thanks for visiting, Mom and Dad!!!!

2009-06-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Now that both your children are in Brooklyn, here's to many more impromptu dinner parties to come! :-)

Here's Robin's handiwork arranging some appetizers, love those Fairway olives!!!

Humidity + Pie Crust = Frustration
Not my vegan best blueberry pie ever, but it was edible...

A blurry shot of the fam. Love you!!!

Update

2009-06-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

No blogging.

I'm working on it.

Babycakes Biscuits

2009-05-31T12:45:00.001-07:00

I have been overjoyed that my favorite bakery, Babycakes, has finally put out a cookbook!!! Babycakes is awesome, everything I have ever had from there has been wonderfully tasty, and dairy, sugar, and (mostly) wheat free. Not a bad choice for someone with a slight addiction to baked goods... not that I know anyone like that.

So, a couple of weeks ago I made raspberry scones from the cookbook, which provided me with a reason to get up the following morning. In preparation for the week ahead, I made cinnamon sugar (yes, I cheated and used a teaspoon of sugar, sue me) biscuits this afternoon. I only allowed myself to try half of one, but the results were not disappointing, even though I used whole grain spelt flour instead of white spelt flour which was called for. Whoops!

Anyhoo, I can't wait to bake my way through the rest of this book! Most of the ingredients are kinda pricy and require a hike to find, but so far it's all been worth it.

Indoor Grillin'

2009-05-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

Just because I don't have access to my backyard (and yes, our building does have one, ugh!) does not mean I have to be denied the privilege of a nice meal of grilled tempeh and veggies! I marinaded the tempeh in tamari, garlic, salt and pepper for a few hours, then we threw it on the grill with some zuchini, onions and red pepper. We served the whole shabang over couscous, and it was healthy and yummy. If only I had the energy to wash that indoor grill every night of the week, imagine the possibilities!

Vegan Breakfast Bread Pudding

2009-05-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I think about devoting a blog entirely to veganizing recipes from The Food Network, especially Ina Garten's recipes. I think I have seen every episode of The Barefoot Contessa, and many of her recipes lend themselves easily to veganizing, and they almost always turn out great. This morning I decided to take a crack at her breakfast bread pudding.

I was a little nervous about how this vegan version would work out, considering the original recipe is made with a custard of eggs and heavy cream. But, the results were so yummy I ate half of the whole thing in about ten minutes. I guess I can feel a little less guilty about it knowing the vegan version has way less fat and calories than the original one.

Below is the recipe with a bunch of modifications. To the top I added earth balance for some rich buttery goodness, and cinnamon sugar to give it some nice caramelized crunchiness.

Vegan Breakfast Bread Pudding

*I loaf (vegan) challah, sliced into 1 inch thick pieces
*2 cups soymilk (I used vanilla)
*2 tbs. whole wheat pastry flour
*3 tbs. corn starch
*1/3 cup agave nectar
*1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
*Generous pinch salt
*Handful of raisins
*1 tbs. earth balance (or soy butter of your choice)
*Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together soymilk, flour, corn starch, agave nectar, vanilla and salt.

Line the bottom of an 8x8 inch glass baking dish with half the challah slices. Sprinkle raisins in an even layer on top of the challah. Layer the rest of the challah on top of the raisins, and press the whole thing down as far as you can into the dish with your hands.

Pour liquid soymilk mixture over the everything until it just barely covers the top of the challah slices. Dot the top with small pieces of earth balance (just as you would when baking a pie), and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the liquid has formed a custard-like consistency. Serve with real maple syrup. Try to not to eat the whole thing in one sitting, although I won't judge you if you do ;-)

If you're sick, eat this.

2009-05-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

I don't have swine flu, but I have been at home under the weather for the past two days. In the past I would have been jealous of those who can enjoy a nice bowl of Jewish Penicillin when they are sick, but Amy's No Chicken Noodle soup has come to my rescue. Thank you, Amy's.

Sunday Night Setian

2009-05-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Here's last Sunday night's country-fried-seitan dinner. Full disclosure: the setian was store bought, I still haven't found a solution for the icky tasting vital wheat gluten I was using. A shout out to Phil for the delish mushroom gravy and snazzy plating skills.

Vegan Zwetschgenkuchen

2009-04-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Say what!!???

Zwetschgenkuchen (pronounced svet-ch-ken-koo-gan, I guess) is a German plum tart. The word on the street is no one makes it like my great-grandmother, who served it with whipped cream.

I changed her original recipe (converted from metric and German by my mother and grandmother) to veganize it. The result probably didn't taste exactly like the traditional kind (which I have not had in a long time) but was yummy and gobbled up quickly.

ZWETSCHGENKUCHEN

Apparently this is tradionally made with Italian plums, which are not in season until August. Use whatever is ripe and looks good at the grocery store.

3-4 plums
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 Ener-G egg replacer "egg"
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 stick "butter" of your choice
1/4-1/2 cup water
cinamon sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, "egg", sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Crumble butter in using your hands. Add a little bit of water at a time until the dough comes together. Form a ball and put into the fridge or freezer.

While the dough is chilling, carefully cut plums into small slivers.

Remove dough from fridge/freezer after about 30 mins. Roll out on a floured surface until about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. If the dough is not holding together well, knead it up into a ball again a few times, your hands will melt the butter a little bit and the dough will become more elastic.

Place the crust in a greased pie tin and fold sides down on the insde so the crust only comes up about an inch. Now arrange the plums in a circle starting at the outside and working in. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins until crust is browned and plums look cooked.

Serve with vanilla soy or coconut ice cream.

Ukrainian Poppyseed Cake

2009-04-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

The weather in Colorado has been absurd these past few weeks. We had almost no snow this winter, and then once spring came we have been hit by a series of major storms. I should be used to this by now, as this is a state well-known for its sporadic, unpredictable weather patterns. I was recently snowed in chez Lindsey, where I sometimes have the very fun responsibility of watching their personality-packed dog. Such was the case a few weekends ago, and Lindsey encouraged me to take the opportunity to do some baking.

I am part Ukrainian in heritage. People often mistake me for a large number of nationalities, but few rarely get it quite right without looking at my family name. This baking project allowed me to connect to some of my roots, and to make one of my mum's favorite treats, loaf.

The recipe is from the original Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook-go check it out! According to my paternal Grandma, this is one of the twelve traditional dishes served during Ukrainian Christmas, each one representative of an apostle.

Saucy Seitan

2009-04-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the great fun of cooking with Lindsey, as she came home to visit her family in Colorado. We took on seitan again, despite Lindsey's protestations that the brand of wheat gluten we had used in the past made it taste like elephant or horse. (She has not eaten meat since her early childhood, which makes this comparison even the more troubling...). She found a recipe for piccata sauce, which was an easy way to dress it up. It tasted great, particularly when the seitan was cut in thin enough pieces to really take on the sauce.

We were also Robin's sous-chefs for her chicken piccata.

Sam, Lindsey's family's adorable black lab, liked them both. For desert I brought over some brownies that I had veganized, which despite their questionable texture tasted just fine with some dairy-free ice cream.

Vegan Pizza Party

2009-04-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love vegan pizza?! I have only made it twice now, both times it was very tasty. The first time, we purchased the dough already made from Whole Foods. This time, I made it from scratch from this recipe. I used half whole wheat and half all purpose flour, and although it was tasted OK, did not rise as much as I would have liked. I am willing to give it another try though. This recipe makes enough dough to make two medium sized pizzas, in case you are cooking with a non-vegan friend (ah hem, Mom, Phil!) who wants to add a little cheese to their pizza.

So, I made the dough, then got to work on some pesto to use instead of regular tomato sauce.

Here's my pesto recipe:

First, combine the following in the food processor
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Large pinch salt
Small pinch pepper

Then add
Two heaping cups of fresh basil leaves

Keep the food processor running, and pour olive oil in through the feed tube until it is the consistency you want.

We brushed the pesto on to the pizzas, leaving room for a crust. To mine I then added some tofu-ricotta, basically pressed and crumbled tofu mixed with garlic, basil, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. I also thew some olives on top, and sun dried tomatoes in the last five minutes of cooking (they burn otherwise, I found out the first time).

The final product was quite a tasty pizza, that had a good amount of protein but not the fat of the usual cheese-laden kind. In the words of Oprah, "love that!"

Happy Passover!

2009-04-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

THANKS MOM for making me this delish Vegan Matzoh Ball Soup!!!!

I think I am going to go have the leftovers for lunch now...

Back on the Chain Gang

2009-04-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

This week I conquered two of my fears: soba noodles, and kale. I've been meaning to try out soba noodles for ages, but never knew what to do with them...After reading this posting about soba noodles, I felt inspired, but wanted to cook something that also used portabello mushrooms and kale while watching the movie Ghost on television, possibly the strangest movie I've ever seen. Here's what I came up with based on that idea:

Portabello Mushroom and Kale Soba Noodles

two generous servings

two portabello mushrooms

1 bunch of kale

half of a tomato (except for Lindsey because she doesn't like them)

1 can of butter beans

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbps balsamic vinegar

1 tbps tamari

juice of half a lemon

splash of tabasco sauce

2 bundles of soba noodles

*how fun is it to have bundled noodles? seriously...I took a picture.

Ok so here's the drill: while you're boiling the water for the noodles, cook the sliced mushrooms, and then add the beans. After a few minutes, add the kale, and stir-fry together, and begin to cook the noodles.

Mix together remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and then add to the pan. Drain the noodles, toss in a little olive oil, mix together and presto:

Bonus: soba noodles are so good for you! They are made from buckwheat flour, and have nine (9!) grams of protein per serving. Add the protein from the beans and you're in serious business.

Salad... Ick?

2009-03-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

I have always thought I hated salad. I would eat it sometimes when I was out to dinner, but I never made it at home. However, I recently tried making my own vinaigrette, and now I am throwing together a salad with dinner a couple times a week.

You could make this using a whisk, but using one of my favorite pieces of equipment, an immersion blender (thanks again, Mom!), makes the vinaigrette frothy and creamy.

Here's what you need, this is just a guess of the measurements, it's really a judgment and preference call. It's pretty tangy-tasting, so if that is not your thing use less lemon and garlic.

1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, pressed
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper

Put everything together in a bowl or the handy-dandy cup that comes with your immersion blender. Blend until creamy. Toss together with some mixed baby greens. Perfection!

Lazy Cupcakes

2009-03-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Clearly, I am in desperate need of a better camera.

Anyhoo, this recipe for vegan banana cake is a favorite in my family, and has become my go-to cake when I want to bake something quick for desert on a weeknight. I always keep a couple of bananas in the freezer to make this cake, and I am beginning to think my obsession with it is preventing me from exploring other cake options. Oh well.

So, on Friday night after a long work week I decided to make cupcakes, but did not want a big production. So, I made the banana cake into cupcakes, filling each muffin cup almost to the top. I then baked them for about 25 minutes.

For the top, I melted some semi-sweet chocolate together with some soy creamer to make a ganache. The result looked like a delicious bowl of chocolate soup I could have eaten right then, but I proceeded with my plan and dipped and swirled each cupcake in the ganache.

The whole process took a couple of hours (cupcakes must cool completely before topping) but I only had two dirty bowls to wash! I have no dishwasher, so when I am tired and just want a cupcake, that is the best news ever.

Holy Hamantashen!

2009-03-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today was one of my most favorite kind of days, a SNOW DAY! Apparently people who work in offices don't get to take snow days, so I had the apartment all to myself. I needed a project. After giving it some thought, I decided to attempt to make hamantashen, delicious three cornered cookies eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Why hamantashen you may ask? First off, I have never made them before. Second, I know I will be tempted with many a non-vegan hamantashen cookie at school in the week ahead, and I thought it might be a good idea to be armed with my own vegan version. Unfortunately, my beautiful baby-pink Kitchenaid mixer in currently in-transit from Colorado to Brooklyn, so this project proved to be a little more difficult than I had intended.

The dough recipe is hodge-podged from a few different places, but mostly inspired by a Barefoot Contessa recipe for rugelach I have veganized and used in the past which is so good it's addictive, with a few modifications (mostly because I was running low on some ingredients).

Hodge-Podge Vegan Hamantashen
(makes a dozen cookies)

The Dough
3/4 cups Tofutti Cream Cheese (at room temp)
1/2 cup Earth Balance or any vegan margarine (at room temp)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5-6 tsp. vanilla soy milk

Cream together tofutti, earth balance and sugar in a mixer (I had to do this in the food processor, which was a bit more tedious but worked). Mix in flour, salt, and vanilla until combined. The dough will be crumbly, so just as you would when making a pie crust, add soy milk one tsp. at a time until it just comes together. Dump onto a floured surface, knead until it sticks together in a large ball, and throw in the fridge or freezer for an hour or so. While it is chilling, you can make the poppy seed filling.

Poppy Seed Filling
1/2 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp. corn starch
2 1/2 tbs. agave nectar
1 tbs. earth balance
zest of 1/2 lemon

Simmer soy milk and poppy seeds together in a small sauce pot for about 10 minutes. Add cornstarch and earth balance, whisking to prevent as many clumps as possible. Simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off heat and add the lemon zest, and let cool.

Other (and easier) fillings include jellies and jams. In addition to the poppy seed filling, I used some raspberry jam I picked up at the farmer's market last week.

Take dough out of the fridge, and roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut circles a couple of inches wide out. Put a teaspoon of whatever filling you are using in the middle of the circle, and fold three sides up to form a triangle. Pinch the corners closed very tightly (especially if you are using jam) and put on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-50 minutes until just brown.

Conclusion: if you are looking for a project to take up half of your day, make hamantashen filled with jam (which I found to be the tastiest anyways). If you are looking for a project to take up all day and drive you slightly crazy, make hamantashen with poppy seed filling.

Lunch for tomorrow- DONE.

2009-03-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

It's another lazy, chilly, grey, blegh Sunday day in Brooklyn. I didn't really get around to thinking about lunch until about 2:45ish. Whoops.
When I did get hungry enough to get up and do something about it, I made this. It was simple, easy and delish, and I have enough to bring for lunch tomorrow. Nothing makes me happier than having tomorrow's lunch packed early, I feel accomplished, people (or person I know that actually reads this blog, HI OMI!).

This recipe from Smitten Kitchen (not a vegan blog, but lovely all the same) is inspired by one at 'wichcraft, which I had in September and have been hoping to have again. Making it at home was a lot cheaper, and dare I say tastier?

And I used "Lindsay" olives. How many times do I have to tell you people, it's Ey!

It makes me happy to add a new sandwich to my repertoire, I usually stick to pbj, tofutti and avocado, or tofu "egg" salad. I enjoyed this smashed chickpea salad on toasted sprouted whole grain bread (a new favorite, and it packs 5 grams of protein per slice, holla) and it would probably be perfect alongside some of Ashley's tabouli.