One last mofo post! October 30, 2009

I feel like it needs to be super-special. But, I have to leave work (rather, I get to leave work) in about 15-20 minutes, so this will just have to do! I’ve had fun reading everyone’s posts, and have challenged myself to finally make some recipes from cookbooks that were way overdue.

Last night in the crockpot, I threw in all of the ingredients for Veganomicon’s red lentil cauliflower curry. Well, I used a red onion instead of the white + shallot, and a small sweet potato for the parsnip. I also added more broth, because it looked like there should be more. I was probably wrong though– I awoke this morning to see more of a stew/soup than a curry, but it smells delicious and will be just fine for me. John probably won’t touch it, the cauliflower-hater that he is.

I don’t know when I’ll blog next…I was thinking of doing NaNoWriMo, but I just found a huge writing project in my lap– for fun, but I also get paid (woot!) So that’ll probably take over blogging time. Don’t cry for me, WordPress. I’ll be back.

As for tonight and tomorrow, I plan on OD’ing on chick-o-sticks and peanut chews.

Veganmofo Hump day! October 28, 2009

That’s right, Wednesday. Always a good reason to celebrate.

Today on the PPK, people were discussing their Halloween plans. Specifically, food plans. For once, I have no clue where I’ll be (or what I’ll be, though I’m leaning towards “Twitter” somehow), but that doesn’t mean I can’t be prepared.

If we have friends over at some point on the weekend, and even if we don’t, I was thinking of whipping up the following…

1. Black bean hummus– I have a standby favorite, based on a recipe from Eat Drink & Be Vegan, but I also have some cilantro and this Whole Foods version looks pretty tasty. I even have ume vinegar, and it doesn’t get enough love.

2. Pickled carrot sticks– sounds bland and boring, but these are seriously addictive. I mix up the spices I add, and this time will experiment with some mustard seed and coriander.

3. Roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash, perhaps. If I feel like being fancy, I *might* tackle the Veganomicon pumpkin and rice paper rolls. Except I have spring rolls, so I’d have to bake them, and I don’t know if it’ll work.

4. If I find cupcake liners in my cheapo grocery store, maybe some Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes, or vanilla spiked with orange extract and some sort of glaze or ganache. That’s if I’m motivated to do so, and have some people to help me eat them all. If not, oatmeal raisin cookies (dough in the freezer) will do.

 

A picture post October 28, 2009

Because I’m too lazy to go back into individual blog posts and upload corresponding pictures. This blogging stuff is hard work, man. Kudos to those who do it regularly, and have beautiful and innovative websites!

Tonight’s dinner was delicious. Leftover knoedel (2 small ones, and I froze some of the dough…hoping it defrosts okay!) got mixed with 2 cups of mexican millet, a cup and a half of black beans, some gravy, salsa, cilantro, chili powder and cumin and mustard…that combination sounds kind of gross. But it’s delicious, and being baked into veggie burgers (6 big ones) as we speak. Er, type. I wanted to make them in the toaster oven, so I froze maybe 2 more burgers’ worth of the leftover dough. After we finish the burgers, maybe I’ll make some nuggets or balls with that burger-dough.

Anyway, I have some Dexter to catch up on, so without further ado…

pears and sweet potaters! October 27, 2009

Yep, I’m typing between mouthfuls of sweet potato pear tzimmes (Veganomicon). Minus the pecans, and with ume plum vinegar instead of mirin. I need to buy mirin one of these days. I wouldn’t have thought to pair pears (har har) with sweet potatoes, but it’s a great combination of textures and flavors. I’d serve the full recipe at Thanksgiving, for sure. While nuking a sweet potato in the microwave is my usual lazy plan, I really do love them baked in the oven…covering the casserole dish for the first half hour (tinfoil) made a big difference in getting them succulent and almost creamy.

But enough about tzimmes! (However you pronounce that). I also made a sweet potato split pea soup, from the Whole Foods iPhone app. Some other bloggers were talking about the app, and it definitely comes in handy in the kitchen. There are plenty of vegan recipes and a good variety of cuisines. I improvised on this soup, adding some bacos, liquid smoke and cinnamon-ginger garam masala paste. It’s a pretty good soup, great for workday lunches this week.

Tonight’s dinner was another Veganomicon recipe, Mexican Millet. I served it in a bowl with red pepper strips, black beans and fresh cilantro (looooove cilantro, if you couldn’t tell). And pineapple salsa. It was tasty indeed, and I like my millet mushy so I added another cup of water while making it in my rice cooker last night. I only used a cup of millet, as called for, but it made a HUGE pot and I’m trying to think of ways to repurpose the leftovers. Some will go into corn torillas, wrapped up and baked for a bit in the toaster oven, and maybe some more will be turned into millet and black bean burgers (I’ll probably turn to happyveganface’s blog for that! She always has the best burgers).

Tomorrow we’ll be having Susan’s okara crab cakes, knoedels (German potato dumplings) and leftover chickpea gravy.  Another night, some spaghetti with marinara and leftover beanballs. There may or may not be one last jar of chili in the freezer, so I’ll pair that with some polenta or cornbread muffins. And for the weekend if we need some food for company, there’s injera in the freezer and I’ll make one of my favorites…tamarind lentils.

It’s a pretty low-key cooking week, but full of tasty and new dishes. A good way to wrap up the month, I think.

A side note. October 23, 2009

I don’t even like kids usually, but this blog is freaking adorable:

http://vegankid.blogspot.com/2009/10/vegan-mofo-iii-day-1.html

Blah-ish Friday… October 23, 2009

Man, it’s cloudy out. And may or may not be raining. I can’t tell from my cubicle island. I’m currently sipping on some Rooibos Wildkirsche tea (er, tee) from Germany and counting down those last 60 minutes.

Earlier today I suggested some eco-friendly holiday cards to my boss, but he chose the plain ol’ tree-killing kind. They’re going to get thrown out anyway. Oh, businesses.

But this blog isn’t about business, it’s about Vegan Mofo! (For now). Tonight’s dinner is just leftover enchiladas, so nothing to brag about there.

Lately I’ve been craving lots of German food. My salad today included some pickled beets that I brought over in my suitcase, and they hit the spot. I’ve also been making bread dumplings (knodel) from box mixes, and veggie tortellini (some without cheese, I think). I brought back lots of spreads that are vegan, and might crack open the “liverwurst” on some saltines soon. It sounds disgusting, but I do miss liverwurst.

Some others I’ve bookmarked:

Rouladen: usually slabs of beef, cubed animal fat, and a pickle relish when my (vegetarian) Oma makes it for the family. I want to attempt a veganization, with the help of VeganYumYum’s version.

Mmmm…sauerkraut and other German-ish goodies!

Rote grutze (thanks Mihl!) Now, where to find currants? Maybe cranberries would work?

Using tempeh bacon or bacos (they’re vegan), this German potato salad actually looks pretty simple! And I love it warm. But you’ve got to throw some pickle relish in there, too.

This looks like it takes a little more effort, but vegan whole wheat spaetzle sounds like a good pay-off (thanks Bryanna!)

More likely, I will take the lazy route and make some German bread. Yeah, bread sounds boring but the bread I’ve eaten there is truly superior in every way. I can’t really explain why, other than: grains and seeds galore, perfect moistness and crunch and crust.

And another one from Mihl at Seitan is My Motor. I’ve never had mohn nudeln but they look so good!

Trying to keep up the MoFo’ing… October 22, 2009

Only a few days left! I can do this.

I’ll start by saying that I’m usually overwhelmed by all the fantastic food bloggers and their creations. But VeganMofo is INFORMATION OVERLOAD…in the best possible way. I’ve learned a lot and made some tasty new dishes this month, lately with an emphasis more on using my cookbooks (don’t want that Veganomicon collecting dust now, do we?)

I’m doing a bit of a pantry challenge though, because some of the food items hanging out in there (yes, they hang out and socialize) are taunting me. That doesn’t mean I can’t try out some interesting recipes, though.

On the back burner:

Joanna Vaught’s nuggets (I think I have everything for them)

A really good split pea soup (I’ve had the one in Vegan with a Vengeance and it’s really good, but I sort of want to try something else…with liquid smoke and/or chipotle and/or…chickpeas? The thought just popped into my head and it sounds good.

Veganomicon red lentil cauliflower curry (it’s gotten many raves)

Sweet potato pear tzimmes (I have sweet potatoes and pears right now…must make it happen!)

Black bean burgers (made ‘em at least twice, but it’s good to have a bean burger in the freezer)

Broccoli polenta?

Something else with black beans. I just cooked up a 1 lb. bag. Any suggestions?

Tonight’s dinner is lasagna roll-ups. I’m usually too lazy to make lasagna the proper way, so I do this (very simplified):

1. Boil pasta noodles until al-dente.

2. Meanwhile, make tofu ricotta and open that jar of marinara sauce you have lying around…or make some with crushed tomatoes, pinches of basil and oregano, a dash of nutmeg and salt&pepper.

3. Preheat oven to 375.  Pour some sauce in the bottom of a pan…since I only had 4 noodles left, I used a loaf pan.

4. After noodles are cooked and drained (and cool enough to handle), spread on a thin layer of tofu ricotta from top to bottom. Top with a little sauce, and veggies if desired (mushrooms and/or spinach would be good– I left ‘em plain for John). Roll up, place seam-side down into pan.

5. Repeat with remaining noodles, bunching them together as much as possible so they hold their “rolled” shape. Cover with a little more sauce and vegan parm or mozzarella.

6. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 more minutes. Ta-da!

Grains, glorious grains October 21, 2009

That’s okay. There was really nothing blog-worthy yesterday. I had a sweet potato for dinner on a salad in a bowl…thrilling, I know. The spices were good (cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg I think) but I overbaked it in the microwave and it was kind of dry and shriveled. Luckily, Veganomicon’s maple mustard dressing came to the rescue. The stuff has gotten high praises (well, from me and John, but hey! That’s two praises!). I use half the oil, the full amount of mustard but not all dijon (and it’s still spicy as hell), and added some garlic and onion powder and lime juice. I haven’t bought salad dressing in a while now– who needs to when you can make your own? I bought a huge bunch of green leaf lettuce that looks like lighter-colored kale on Monday. It’s pretty good, but I hope I don’t get sick of salads soon. Especially when I want warm stuff.

To wrap up, I’m going to repost an e-mail  that I sent to John’s mom. I bookmarked a few grain recipes, and because I have no organizational skills…well, most of these are from my FFV bookmark folder. But I truly love Susan V’s blog, and have no shame in spreading the word. I haven’t tried all of these, but want to very soon. What are some of your favorite grain concoctions?

Brown rice: I use a rice cooker for most of my grains…a cheap $15 one and it takes all the effort out of cooking up a pot of grains! I usually make 2 cups (dried) and freeze leftovers, then just de-thaw as needed.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/11/mushroom-lentil-and-wild-rice-timbales.html
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-pantry/five-ways-to-eat-brown-rice-098908
http://www.recipezaar.com/Creamy-Chickpea-and-Tahini-Casserole-56818 (I’ve been dying to make this!)

Bulgur:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/09/basil-and-bulgar-salad-aka-pesto.html

Barley: I love pearled barley, but haven’t tried the longer-cooking version.
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/crockpot/ww.shtml
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/the-new-recipe-smell/
http://havecakewilltravel.com/2007/05/27/creamy-barley-sotto/
http://bulletsoflove.blogspot.com/2007/11/butternut-mushroom-barley-soup.html

Quinoa is a complete protein (all essential amino acids) so it’s a great grain to use! Goes well in wraps (grilled veggies, cook a pot of quinoa and freeze leftover quinoa), soup, stir-fries, with beans…
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/01/quinoa-vegetable-paella.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/02/pink-bean-quinoa-and-spinach-soup-from.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/03/tunisian-vegetable-ragout-with-quinoa.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/08/random-act-of-quinoa-salad.html
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/06/grilled-zucchini-with-quinoa-stuffing-recipe.html

Eat to Live program– uses lots of whole grains, low fat, veggies etc. I don’t follow this but some of the recipes look good and very healthy! Here is a database of some recipes:
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/etl/index.shtml

Lentils: cook up fast, no pre-soaking required.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/05/ridiculously-easy-lentil-soup.html
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/greek/lemony.html
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/pierce-street-vegetarian-chili-recipe.html (This chili is soooo good. I made a half recipe and it was still a ton, but it freezes well. It uses a lot of grains, but is great for when you want to use up the last bit of lentils lying around or something. I add a little cocoa and cinnamon to my chili, and a chipotle pepper in adobo).

Dessert! I’ve tried a lot of these recipes and love them. I have a major sweet tooth so getting in some nutrition while I have my cake makes me feel better about it.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/07/pineapple-coffee-cake.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/05/banana-coffee-cake.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/06/blueberry-banana-bread.html
http://www.myvegancookbook.com/recipes/recipe.php?id=2

Another Monday… October 19, 2009

I’m at work. The bake sale is going well, with most of my cookies already gone! They’re in plastic bags so I have no clue if people like them, but hey, despite their falling-apartness they’re getting sold. I bought a little blueberry muffin and had a few cake crumbs. Pretty tasty.

I was going to have some soup with my pizza lunch, but can’t get the lid off. Ha. I’m thinking it might just need to defrost for another day in the fridge. So, better luck tomorrow!

Since I did the bulk of my weekly cooking yesterday, I’m not sure what to blog about this week. I forgot to mention that I also made some soymilk (I have a soymilk machine that I bought used off Amazon– only around 90 bucks, and well worth it so far!) This batch came out particularly well. It’s about 4 cups of water (filtered this time, sometimes I forget or am lazy), 1/3 cup of soybeans (soaked overnight in cold water, in the fridge), 2 tiny scoops of stevia, 1/4 teaspoon salt and I added a dash of almond extract. Usually I do vanilla or omit it, but almond was perfect. I’m getting closer to achieving that “creamy” store-bought soymilk consistency!

This weekend we’re going to Lancaster to visit John’s parents. His mom had cancer recently and just finished up her chemo, and she’s trying to eat better. She recently asked him about more ways to use whole grains, and he told her to ask me. So, I’m trying to compile a decent list and maybe some links to great recipes. Any ideas? I’ll probably type up a chickpea quinoa pilaf recipe for her, maybe 101 cookbooks’ Pierce Street chili recipe (yeah, I know I mention this too much but it makes a boatload AND has a bunch of grains in it, so why not?) and either snobby joes or a dhal that I really like (or both). Nothing too exotic, since you’d need to find your ingredients at the average Weis supermarket.

I’ll end it here with another call for suggestions, and thanks in advance!

Sunday is cooking day October 19, 2009

I’m trying to watch Mad Men, so I’ll keep this short! Priorities and all…

I knew I wouldn’t really feel like cooking during the week, and all of a sudden got a bunch of good ideas. Leftover mashed potatoes morphed into Veganomicon potato and kale (minus the kale) enchiladas. The big can of tomatoes that I needed for the enchilada sauce also became a basic marinara sauce…for tofu ricotta lasagna roll-ups (using 4 leftover noodles that have been in the fridge for a year!) which are now in the freezer. My new favorite thing to do is to add a pinch of nutmeg to tomato sauce.

Because John was in the mood for pizza, I decided to make this pizza dough. I usually go with the one in Vegan with a Vengeance, which is great and my bread machine does the kneading for me, but the concept of a no-knead pizza dough (with agave nonetheless) intrigued me. I still don’t know what makes it work, but it was great! I used whole wheat flour.

Some of the pizza was decked out with tofu ricotta and marinara, then there was an okara crab cake and leftover chickpea gravy pizza, and a spinach, pea and pepper flake one. And a poblano-cheddar one for John. I don’t have a pizza stone (yet) but just cranked up the oven to 550 and par-baked the crust for 5 minutes. Then topped, and 10 more minutes. Set off the smoke alarm a few times…ugh. But the crust was perfectly crisp and tasty!

I also made Dreena’s homestyle chocolate chip cookies for a bake sale tomorrow. I still love the recipe on the PPK blog, but am glad I branched out because these cookies are amazing. And somewhat healthy. I used whole wheat pastry flour and a nougat german chocolate bar (not vegan).

Pictures later perhaps. This veganmofo thing is going pretty well! I’ve read about lots of new ideas and hey, did a lot of mostly-vegan cookin’ today. Looking forward to those enchiladas…