Banana Waffles

After wanting one for about 3 years...I finally bought my own waffle maker. It's actually a waffle iron/panini press/grill in one with exchangeable plates. I got it on black friday for 10 bucks.

I took the new toy for a test drive with the banana walnut waffles from V'con, minus the walnuts.

These were waffley and delicious...although I did learn that my new waffle iron thinks it's done when the treat inside is still a bit gummy...I need to wait an extra minute or two beyond the green light...
Selah.

Penne a la Vodka

I got all my ingredients out on the counter tonight, and proceeded to make the penne a la vodka from V’con. Just as I’d begun simmering the sauce, my other half walked into the kitchen and saw the handle on the counter…six shots later, dinner was ready.

While this certainly wasn’t bad, it was missing the creamy component that bottled vodka sauce usually gets from cream. The recipe called for sliced almonds as a replacement, which were then pureed into the sauce, and meant to retain a bit of texture. In retrospect I have to say I simple don’t love a lot of texture in my tomato sauce…and almonds taste nothing like cream. I have had a lot of success with cashew creams in the past…I could see giving that a shot, but I’m more apt to go with soy creamer first,



The fresh basil was really key to this, and the whole wheat rigatoni pasta we used added some nutrition, so I could even call it a healthy meal…

Selah.

Pistachio Encrusted Tofu

Last week, we went out for our two year anniversary and had a delicious and expensive dinner at a restaurant/lounge in New Haven. When the waitress rattled off the specials of the evening, one was a pistachio encrusted tilapia, and that gave me an idea. Pistachio crusted tofu of course!
The only real issue with this meal was a serious case of over-salting…at least I thought so. I salted the tofu, salted the lemon-caper mayo I coated it with, and the pistachios that went over that were salted. The stock in which I cooked my saffron rice was full of sodium…and I sautéed the asparagus with salt, pepper, and cumin. I’m really not sure what I was thinking. Regardless, I’ll share the recipe minus some of the salt…because it was a great idea, and worked out as I’d hoped it would.

Ingredients

1 block extra firm tofu

1 cup rice

Approx. 15 stalks fresh asparagus

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup shelled pistachios, pulsed in food processor

1 tbsp. saffron powder

¼ cup nayo

2 tspns large capers, minced

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Salt and Cracked black Pepper

Cumin



Directions


Press tofu for approx. 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375. Slice the tofu into eight thin rectangles and lay out on a greased baking sheet or casserole dish. Rub each slice with pepper and cumin, and then bake for 30 mins on the first side, 15 on the second.

In the meantime, bring saffron and vegetable stock to a boil. Add 1 cup rice, cover and reduce to a simmer, so that it cooks.
Bring some water to a boil in a skillet, and add the asparagus. Blanch for two minutes, then drain the water, and finish with olive oil, salt, cumin, and pepper.

Mix together nayo, capers, lemon juice, and pepper to make a sauce. Once the tofu finishes baking and cools a bit, coat each slice in the sauce, then coat with the pistachios.

Serve! Altogether this was really good…and I’ve eliminated salt from a couple steps here, which should eliminate my one large issue with it…so enjoy!

Selah.

Jelly Cupcakes

These were the first cupcakes I've ever made...seriously, so I was pretty concerned about how they'd come out. I should never have feared.

I got the Jelly Cupcake recipe from V'con, and chose that one for a couple reasons...1. It looked quick and easy, 2. It reminds me of Chanukah time Jelly donuts, and with all the Christmas hype already, I needed some holiday cheer of my own. Go figure...I choose thanksgiving week when I'll be getting plenty of calories to try out baked goods...I'm horrible.

I thought the jelly in these (I used lyngonberry) would actually sink completely into the batter and create a fruity surprise in the cupcake...but no such luck. As you can see, it sunk in a bit, but remained very evident at the top of the cupcake.

Selah.

Asian Crustless Quiche

This meal was doomed. It tasted really good, and was a great way to use up some leftovers on shopping night, but it was definitely doomed.

I chopped up a bunch of leftover bok choy, along with a handful of mushrooms, and added to it milk, eggs, hot Asian chili paste, five spice powder, and salt and pepper. The concoction went into the oven for 45 minutes at 375F and was served topped with black bean paste.All good, except that when I tried to remove a slice with the wrong implement it fell apart...as evidenced by the picture.

I would've taken a better picture when I had seconds, except for one small hitch, after we each had a single slice, there may have been a small accident in which someone kicked the remaining 3/4 of the quiche off the coffee table, and onto the floor...upside down. Apparently we need to start keeping food above "foot reach" Sigh, I saw so many great things to come for this, and its life was cut short much too soon...
Selah.

Cranberry Cabbage and Poached Eggplant with Korean Hot Sauce

I always want to cook exciting ethnic food that neither looks nor tastes like anything I’ve ever had before, the only problem, is that sometimes it doesn’t taste nearly as exciting as it sounds. None of the food tonight was bad, but it wasn’t earth shattering either. To be perfectly honest, it was a bit bland and unexciting, and since there was no protein, I felt full temporarily, but an hour later I was starving. I’ve been thinking I want some real classic American comfort food…too bad that tends to also mean “full of fat food”…I shall have to be creative. Come to think of it…some spaghetti and beanballs with homemade marinara sounds good right about now…with whole wheat spaghetti I could even call it healthy.

Back on topic, I tried out a couple new recipes tonight, from World Vegetarian since that’s been my cookbook of the week. The first was purple cabbage in cranberry juice. This starts out in a large pot, and then is moved to a covered casserole dish so it can hang out in the oven for an hour and a quarter and really cook down and sweeten up.



There was absolutely no way of making this photogenic, but I did what I could…it still looks a lot like purple worms. The fennel was the real standout of this recipe…it reminded me a lot of oven-roasted vegetables…but cabbage and kind of fruity. While it has the cooking time of an entrée, this really is just a side dish. It’s pretty mild over-all, and while one serving is good, you wouldn’t want a ton of it at a time. I feel like it would make a great addition to a tapas meal of humus, olives, and various picked vegetables and salads. I could totally see stuffing it in a pita with falafel…you just wouldn’t want a full plate of it.

I also made a dish the book called “Poached Eggplant with Korean Hot Sauce”. The eggplant wasn’t poached so much as it was boiled, and the Korean “hot sauce” wasn’t remotely hot, even after we nearly doubled the amount of cayenne called for. This actually reminded me a lot of hoisen sauce, although there was none in the recipe. I felt very much as though I was eating a blander version of moo shoo pancakes.



We wrapped this up in tortillas that were hanging out in the back of the fridge, and I think I may have the leftovers in a whole wheat pita tomorrow…with the addition of some of my home made zhug (Israeli hot sauce) so the kick it was SUPPOSED to have is actually present. Who knows…I may decide to be a rebel and stuff some of the leftover cabbage in there with it.

Selah.

Stuffed Mushrooms and Green Curry

For some reason I’ve had NO appetitive the last couple days. Throughout the day I have less than zero desire to eat, and when I force myself to do so, I can only choke down a few bites before feeling like I am about to explode. Considering I usually eat enough for two…this is VERY much out of the ordinary. That said, I still feel compelled to cook, and I fulfilled that need tonight with a couple more recipes from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian.


This is a bean curd stuffed portabella mushroom, which I decided to serve up over greens. Sadly it was pretty bland, even with the included sauce, although that could also be the lack of appetite talking. I felt this would’ve benefited quite a bit if the portabellas were marinated prior to stuffing and cooking…there’s just no equivalent to that kind of flavor.


The mushroom and pea curry on the other hand, was delicious. (Although I could still only get a couple bites down) To be honest, I don’t know what the original recipe would taste like…I made a number of changes. I didn’t have the green chili called for, and replaced it with a generous dosing of cayenne pepper. I didn’t have any cilantro either…so it was omitted. There were also a number of steps and orders to be followed…but I wanted a simple one pot meal, so I threw all of that out the window. I also replaced the cream called for with regular low fat soymilk, which I was a bit concerned about, although it turned out fine.



My complete disregard for the instructions didn’t seem to hurt this…it was still quite good, and I’m looking forward to the leftovers at lunch tomorrow…assuming my appetite is back.

Selah.

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings...de-constructed

I gave the steamed vegetable dumplings from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian a shot tonight, and remembered why I’m not huge on most dumplings. I love those thick white dim sum buns filled with sweet bean paste, but dumplings…not so much. I’ve always thought they were kind of bland and gummy, and these were no different.


The simple dipping sauce I made to accompany these (shoyu and rice vinegar) made them edible, but other than that, they were forgotten by the time I finished chewing, they were that boring. These were also a LOT of work considering the mediocrity of the result, and I don’t think I’d put the time in again.

Since there was so much filling leftover, I had to do SOMETHING with it. The mixture that went into the dumplings wasn’t spiced in any way (per the recipe) so I added some mirin (to deglaze), hoisen, hot chili sauce and five spice powder to the mixture. Peas went in as well…which were not in the dumplings.



I served up the mixture over soba noodles, and the flavoring was good for me, although my other half did add some Braggs…he’s a salt fiend though, so I wouldn’t judge anything by him unless you’re sodium obsessed too.

Selah.

Beer Brats and Garlic-Stuffed Potatoes

The recipe for the brats came from Yellow Rose Recipes, and the idea to top them with onions and peppers is from B36 Kitchen. The sausages were o.k....I’ve made and eaten better. To be honest these were rather bready and bland, things I should have thought of during the mixing process because I could have fixed them then. It probably didn’t help matters that we ate them on these rocking sprouted buns that were great...but almost un-distinguishable from the “sausage” in terms of texture and weight.


The peppers and onions on the other hand were a definite score. I cooked these up in olive oil, garlic salt, and thyme. (the crumbled herb version not the powder – we have both) and I could’ve eaten them alone…seriously…who needs the brat?



The potatoes were actually a recipe from a friend. We went to her place for dinner one evening, and when we arrived she had cut slits into potatoes and was stuffing them with sliced garlic, who would’ve thunk? After being stuffed with the garlic, the potatoes are drizzled with canola oil and receive generous grinds of salt and pepper. I’d never seen this done before, and I thought it was ingenious.



These are baked in the oven for an hour at 375F and are best served with some sort of dressing. If you’re using Yukon Golds or a similarly skinned potato, feel free to leave them unpeeled. The Maine baking potatoes I had on hand are a bit too thick-skinned for that. In our household we like “green dressing” which is an emulsion of herbs, oils and braggs…but the exact recipe is secret and not mine to divulge. I’d be willing to bet that a Ceaser or mustard vinaigrette would be delicious as well.



The beer brats could use some work, and since I’ve made better sausages in the past, I think I’ll stick with those. I will make onions and peppers to top sandwiches again...or maybe just to snack on as is. And the potatoes? Always a mainstay around these parts.

Selah.

BBQ stir fry

Frankly I don't remember what went into this. If you see it...it's there. The pale yellow stuff is chili oil packed bamboo and I know I served it over soba noodles.

I started things off with some preserved garlic and ginger in peanut oil, and added shoyu, mirin, and roasted red chili paste and honey barbecue sauce to the vegetables.
It was a weird combination (to my memory, it included mushrooms, corn, peas, garlic, ginger, bamboo, black olives, fake hot dog and green onions) and somehow it was REALLY good...I think I can blame that on the bbq sauce.
Selah.

Burekas and Shitake Consumme

I’ve wanted to try out home made burekas for a couple years now, since among other things, they aren’t available in the freezer section of my local market like in Israel. I’m pretty sure the standard bureka just has a layer of mashed potatoes between puffed pastry, but these were a bit more “unique”, and really VERY good. The potatoes were jazzed up with fresh parsley and turmeric. In following the recipe I added a couple eggs and butter, but I’m sure they would fair fine without.



The recipe came from Joan Nathan’s “Foods of Israel Today” a cookbook I’ve owned longer than I’ve been cooking, but have made very little from. I set these up with a really simple dipping sauce of sliced baby bellas, jarred tomato sauce and red chili flakes. They were an odd shape, but that’s because I followed the recipe directions. In the future I think I can make them into the more traditional triangles, and while this recipe is good, I’m thinking the more traditional flavor might also be nice from time to time. I need to limit myself though…puffed pastry is like eating pure butter…or so it tastes.


The other half of this meal was a shitake “consumme” lifted from Vegetarian Planet. Apparently a consumme involves simmering a whole bunch of vegetables for a long period of time (in this case an hour…that’s long for me) and then discarding all the vegetables and adding a couple flavors to the broth that remains. I’m not into trashing a pot full of perfectly good produce though, so this strays a bit from that idea.



The recipe called for transparent bean thread noodles, which I may have been able to find…but I had no issues using Asian rice noodles that I already had on hand. Once the broth was done simmering, I strained out the liquid and seasoned it along with the noodles. Each bowl got a couple ladle-fulls of the broth-noodle mixture, and a scoop of the reserved vegetables on top. This wasn’t groundbreaking in any way, but it was definitely good with all the vegetables in the mix. I have no idea why you’d just want to throw it all out and eat plain broth…



Selah.

Jamaican Mix-Up Rice

If Jamaicans had their own version of fried rice…this would be it. And I don’t want to sway in my allegiance to greasy brown rice and undistinguishable veggies in a cardboard carton, but this was damn good. The recipe also made a TON, so I’m sure I’ll be eating it for the next three days.



The recipe came from Vegetarian Planet, and allowed for a bit of wiggle room. I decided to use carnival as the requested squash (the recipe called for pumpkin or butternut) and collards as the green. This also called for allspice, but since I only have whole allspice and I don’t have a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle for that matter) I decided to replace it with cloves and jerk seasoning. I’m not entirely sure why I picked up cloves from the spice rack, but I can tell you that I just figured jerk seasoning belonged in a Jamaican dish.

The jalapeno was optional in the recipe, but I’ve made my feelings on spice pretty clear….a whole pepper, seeds intact, joined the mix. I have to admit the best part of this was essentially the garnish. I fried up some sliced banana in oil and set that atop each serving. It added a sweet, uniquely textured element not otherwise present in the dish…I only wish I’d made more than two bananas worth, since I’ll have to make a new batch to adorn the leftovers.

I made more of the black bean burgers from V’con today too…as expected, they went great with the sundried tomato dip. They’ve had their photo ops though…so I didn’t bother.

Selah.

Pasta Fazool and Sundried Tomato Spread

I got these awesome looking Rosemary Spelt crackers, so of course I needed to make something just as exciting to slather them with. We scored a HUGE bag of sundried tomatoes last week, so the sundried tomato spread from V’con was looking pretty good. The only problem was that I didn’t have any almonds…I need to stock my pantry with nuts in general…the fats are really good for my complexion...or so I’m told.

That’s not just the lighting…this dip was very orange, and I couldn’t tell you why for the life of me.

I used “small white beans” whatever those are (I’m thinking they’re Great Northern in disguise) and ended up adding about half a cup of the liquid in which the tomatoes were re-hydrated. This is SO FRIGGIN GOOD. It’s a lot like a thicker, spreadable version of tomato sauce, which is cool with me. I feel like the almonds would add a smoky element this doesn’t have, but it’s more than edible without, and I could always add a bit of liquid smoke. I plan on spreading it on a roll nestled around one of V’con’s black bean burgers tomorrow…mmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it. As an added bonus, this stuff is practically fat free while tasting rich beyond all belief.

It was also time to try out the Pasta E Faglioli in V’con…which is apparently called Pasta Fazool in the real world…don’t ask me how they got to that. I didn’t realize just how simple this was until I finished making it, but I certainly can’t complain. While it was quite good, my other half said a green addition wouldn’t have hurt (some baby spinach perhaps?) and I was pining for a bit of spice…probably in the form of some dried chili flakes.

I used the same beans as were in the tomato spread, and I’d stick with my choice there. I’d definitely make this recipe again, but I’ll be jazzing it up a bit with some extra veggies and a spicy kick in the future.
Selah.

Tempeh and Onions

This was a simple dish made to round out a meal of leftovers. I also made a pretty sweet salad combining the spicy citrus vinaigrette from V'con with half a papaya that met its fate on the mandolin. Sadly the salad never got as far as pictures, but it looked pretty average anyway, nothing telling of the exotic flavor.

I bought a block of "garden veggie" tempeh tonight, and although I could see tiny specks of vegetable in it, it tasted exactly the same as every other tempeh I've ever had. I coated a large skillet with olive oil, and added about two cloves minced garlic, along with the block of tempeh, cut into small cubes. Once the tempeh had cooked and was starting to brown on all sides, I added a whole onion; sliced, and decent servings of Spike (seasoning), white pepper, and Bac-Uns. Once the onion became translucent, about 5 baby bella mushrooms; sliced, joined the party. This took about ten more minutes for all the flavors to meld together, and was then served up.

I've really been surprised by how much tempeh is growing on me lately. I'm still a little hesitant of recipes calling for large pieces, like tempeh "ribs", since it's easier to cook out (or hide) the bitterness when it's chopped, crumbled, or mashed (as in the spicy tempeh rolls from V'con). This particular method is really good, simple, and filling, not to mention fast. I'm glad I have such a simple tempeh mainstay in my repertoire, the stuff really is great for you...

Selah.

Fondue Lo Mein

The basic idea for this dish was: “dump everything left in the fridge into the fondue pot and see what happens”, and that was what I did. The one glaring mistake I made was in not re-hydrating the oyster mushrooms and dried lily buds ahead of time. I figured since they normally re-hydrate in boiling water, throwing them right in the pot would work out great…and it would’ve. The oyster mushrooms were fine, although a bit chewier than I like…the lily buds had a lightly bitter after taste, which I think I could have avoided by re-hydrating and draining them ahead of time.

Because there were so many ingredients in the pot, this ended up being closer to a lo mein in terms of consistency, which was fine with me, I’m always up for an Asian noodle dish.

Ingredients

1 pkg. Chinese style lo mein noodles

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp. fresh minced ginger

1 tbsp. minced garlic

Dash five spice powder

1 crown broccoli, roughly sliced

1 onion, sliced

3 scallions; sliced

½ cup bamboo shoots in chili oil (my favorite food)

½ cup dried oyster mushrooms

½ cup dried lily buds.

¼ cup mirin

2 tbsp peanut oil



Directions

1. While this could just as easily be made in a saucepan, I used a fondue pot, and kept it at “6” throughout the cooking process.
2. While I didn’t do it, I’d definitely suggest boiling water and re-hydrating the oyster mushrooms and lily buds separately. The lily in particular can be quite bitter otherwise.
3. Heat the peanut oil in the fondue (or stock) pot, add ginger, garlic, and onion, cook until onions are translucent.
4. Add broth and mirin, once it comes to a boil, all the other ingredients can go in. Cook for 5-10 minutes and serve.

Overall this was a really good dish with spot on flavors…and in the future I’ll know to prepare the lily in particular separately. Who knows? It could say that on the bag…I just need to learn Chinese. Simple….



Selah.

Veggies and Stuffing

We’re coming up on Thanksgiving, and even though thanks to my work schedule I’ll be spending the holiday alone, I’ve been feeling the need to make thanksgiving food anyway. Today’s dinner really consisted of a couple sides…some simple veggies, and a vegan stuffing.



The veggie side started off with some quickly blanched green beans. The beans were then drained, and quickly sautéed with olive oil, minced garlic, baby bella mushrooms, frozen peas and corn. They got generous grinds of salt and pepper before finishing.


This was (very) simple and good. Add red bell pepper, onions, perhaps a zucchini, and you’ll have a much heartier medley.



The stuffing was even easier, since I’ve made big fancy stuffings before, which were good…but I wasn’t feeling that motivated today.


This started with 6 cups of vegetable stock. The stock was put on the boil, and in the meantime I added 6 baby carrots; minced, half an onion, minced, a couple stalks of minced celery, a bay leaf, oregano, sage, cumin, salt, and pepper.

While the liquid was coming to a boil, I cubed a loaf of Italian bread. The bread went into a large casserole dish, and once the stock came to a boil, it was poured on top and the bay leaf was removed. I made sure all the bread was coated, and then baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 375F. This was very moist and loose when it came out of the oven, but I’m hoping with some fridge time it’ll firm up a bit. Even if it doesn’t, it still tastes REALLY good.

Selah.

Lobster Mushroom Bisque and Morell Mushroom Ravioli

Tonight's dinner looked really fancy...and it tasted ok.

I started things off with the lobster mushroom bisque made by What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway a couple weeks ago. I replaced the cognac with white wine simply because I didn't have it, and last time I bought cognac for a dish, the remaining half bottle sat in my fridge door for a YEAR. Perhaps that was the element that truly pushed this dish over the edge, I don't know. I thought it was ok...nothing to write home about.

For the meal entree, I decided to make some fresh ravioli using the dried morel mushrooms I'd picked up a couple weeks ago. Once reconstituted, I chopped the mushrooms, and mixed them into the tofu ricotta from V'con with some cracked pepper and salt added. I made the pasta dough from the recipe on the back of the semolina flour bag.

These might have been ok, except that I made them WAY too thick. This dough would've been thick for perrogies, never mind ravioli. I'm still getting the hang of making fresh pasta, and I'm currently at the "thicker it is, less likely it will break stage", which while safe in terms of form, is apparently also very detrimental to the enjoyment of ravioli. The filling in these was ok, although it was nothing special either, again, I think I would have enjoyed it more if not encased in all that dough.

Selah.

Leek-Bean Cassoulet

OH. MY. COMFORT FOOD. This was SOOOO good. I’ve been wanting to make this dish since I got Veganomicon, but didn’t have vegetable shortening (or any other kind) until now, so I had to hold off. I finally got the shortening last week, and made the dish last night.


The only change I made to the recipe was adding a dash of Hungarian paprika to the stew, other than that I kept everything according to recipe. I made this a true one pot meal, using the pot in which the potatoes were boiled for all the ingredients, simply adding them to the drained potatoes. The stew component was rich and creamy, and the biscuits were soft and flaky, all of which adds up to a great, belly-warming, winter months dish. While the stew tasted really rich, there is absolutely no fat in it, it’s just the shortening in the biscuits you need to look out for…but what’s a biscuit from time to time…I could do worse damage….and I went for a run yesterday, so it’s fair.

Selah.

Garlic Bread and Stuffed Shells

My freshman year of college, I was very into the “dinners” you could order from every run of the mill pizza place. For about 8 bucks, you could score a huge serving of pasta (at the time baked ziti was my poison of choice), a side salad, and a chunk of garlic bread. Tonight we did the same sort of thing, but classed up because…uh…I cooked it.

There was a day old baguette on the bread cart when we went shopping today, and it was just begging to be made into garlic bread, so it met its fate just like that.


To make: Mix together some soft EB, minced garlic, and oregano. Coat the sliced bread in the EB mixture, and then sprinkle dried basil on top. Bake for ten minutes at 375F or whatever you have the oven set at for the rest of the meal.

For the pasta component, I went with stuffed shells, since I bought the pasta awhile ago, and I’ve been meaning to stuff them FOREVER. I made the cashew ricotta from V’con for the filling, and jazzed it up a bit with some julienned fresh basil.


The red sauce was made up of stewed tomatoes, sherry, dried basil, oregano, garlic salt, and dried chili flakes. YUM. The sauce coated the bottom of a casserole dish, the shells went down over that, and another layer of sauce went on top. This baked at 375F for twenty minutes, sharing the last ten of those (minutes) with the garlic bread. It was almost creepy how much like real ricotta this tasted…or maybe I’m just getting used to it, now that I’ve made it a couple times and haven’t had actual ricotta in awhile.

The salad didn’t get a picture, but it was pretty standard as salads go…I’m sure you can imagine it.

Selah.

Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Pork

Why on earth would I buy something called "Sweet and Sour Vegetarian Pork" that comes in a can? Well, why not...try everything once. This sat in the pantry for a couple weeks, since frankly, I was scared of it. No need...it wasn't bad.

Will I buy sweet and sour pork in a can again? Probably not. But it was totally edible combined in a skillet with a broccoli crown, a whole onion sliced, and a heaping tablespoon of Thai Kitchen Roasted red chili paste. We served this up over whole wheat pasta and hit the top with some Gomasio seasoning.
Selah.