I would like to start this post by stating that I ate ham last night. And shrimp. And heavy cream. And it was delicious.
But so was my Okra, Corn, and Tofu Gumbo (okay I modified that one and used shrimp and not tofu -- but that was for my boyfriend who gives me a funny look when I pour myself a glass of soy milk or even talk about putting tofu in anything), my Roasted Corn Soup with Fresh Basil, and Rice Porridge with Gingered Blueberries, all from my very favorite new cookbook, The Vegan Gourmet. I've modified these a little and present them to you in all their animal-free glory. (And just so I'm not looking at a copyright lawsuit, go buy this book. It rocks mightily.)
Okra, Corn, and Tofu Gumbo
1/4 cup white flour
1 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 pound fresh okra
1 can whole green chiles
1 tbp veggie oil
1 medium white/yellow onion, coarsly chopped
1 medium carrot, coarsley chopped
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 pound firm tofu, diced
1 cup fresh (or frozen or canned) corn kernels
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp file powder (I didn't have this, so just added more cayenne)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Place the flour in a dry, heavy-bottomed skillet over med heat and brown for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. You must keep the flour moving to prevent it from burning. (And don't burn it. Really. It's stinky.) If the flour begins to blacken (not brown), turn down the heat a little and begin again with fresh flour. When the flour is uniformly tan in color, remove it from the pan and set aside.
Cook rice. (Duh.)
While rice is cooking, trim your okra and slice into one inch pieces. Remove the steams and seeds of the chiles and slice them into long, thin strips. Heat the oil over med-high heat in a stockpot. Saute the onions, carrots, bell pepper, and celery for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until they begin to brown.
Add the tofu, corn, okra, chiles, chili powder, cayenne, and a dash of salt. Lower the heat to med. Stir and saute for 10 minutes, then distribute the browned flour evenly over the veggies and stir it in. And 2 1/2 cups hot water, file powder, and tomatoes. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot over rice.
(Note, your dinner serving is only 380 calories. Woo!)
Roasted Corn Soup
1 medium bulb of garlic
6 ears corn with husks intact
3 cups veggie stock
1 medium russet potato (peeled & cubed)
2/3 cup soy milk
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease pan and place unpeeled garlic bulb in center. Cook for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, soak the corn, husks and all, in cold water for 15 minutes. Remove from the water, pat dry, then place in roasting pan with garlic. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Remove the garlic and corn from pan and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shuck the corn, discardig the husks and silks. Cut the kernels from the cob, reserving cobs.
In a stockpot, combine the broth, potato, and cobs. Bring to a boil over high, reduce the heat to med, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and discard cobs.
Meanwhile, squeeze garlic from its skin into a food processor. Add corn kernels. With a slotted spoon, lift the potatoes from the broth and add them to the processor. Process, adding the cooking broth as needed to creat a smooth but quite thick puree. Return to the pan and stir in milk, basil, and salt & pepper to taste. Gently reheat.
Rice Porridge with Gingered Blueberries
(modified for two)
2 cups unseasoned cooked brown rice
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Combine the rice and 1 3/4 cups of water in a saucepan over med heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer rapidly 5-10 minutes, stirring freqnetly, until a thick porridge consistency is achieved. You may create a smooth-textured porridge, if you wish, by pureeing some or all of the hot rice.
Meanwhile rinse and drain blueberries and place them in a saucepan over med heat with the maple syrup and ginger. Cook about 5 minutes until the berries pop and the juice thickens a little.
Combine rice mixture and blueberry mixture and eat. Yum.
**
Other recipes I've made successfully in the last week --
Yankee Okra -- add a little lemon juice for kicks!
Fresh Tomato, Basil, and Garlic Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta -- Because we have fresh tomatoes and basil coming out our ears here! And add grilled shrimp! Why not?
Ricotta Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberries -- I didn't make the preserve sauce and just used honey as a topping. It was good, but not great. Though infinitely better for you than real cheesecake. Oh, and I didn't like that there wasn't a crust at all. I felt it need a bit of a crunch, though I don't know if that's possible.
Peach Cobbler -- Simple and really tasty.
Gnocchi -- I tossed it with leftover pesto that we had around (that we made with cashews because we didn't have pine nuts, and I must say, it worked fine), but I did make the butter thyme sauce later and put it over a simple angel hair primavera I made the next night. It rocked. The gnocchi are a little ugly, but yummy. Like mashed potato balls. From heaven.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Erin Tries Not To Go Vegan and Fails - Part One
I'm not really a vegetarian, let alone a vegan, but I'm inching my way closer and closer to the two. What's not to love about light and flavorful tofu? Fresh veggies? An excuse to over-spice everything? Sure there's no cheese, but there are greater things in life than old milk, right? Right? Okay, maybe not, but I've gone about as vegan as one can -- soy milk, tofu, lots of grains and dried fruit. It's a little too easy to do here in Austin -- granola capital of the South. So here are two of my favorite new recipes, made up completely from my brain. Like magic. Woah.
Vegan Elvis Bread
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 vegan margarine, at room temp
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place bananas (in their skins) on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Spray a 8x4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.
Remove bananas from their skins and mash well.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, peanut butter, soy milk and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.
Erin's Sweet & Spicy Stir-Fry
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow squash, chunked
1/2 red onion, chunked
1 medium tomato, chunked
1/2 cup tofu, chunked
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked bulgar wheat
Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add squash, onion, and tomato. Saute for five minutes. Add tofu. Continue to cook. Add pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and red pepper. Stir and saute together for five minutes. Salt and pepper and serve over cooked bulgar. (Or rice. Or whatever.)
(Of course with all stir-fries, these things are interchangable. I made this one solely because it was what was in the house. But I recommend regardless.)
Vegan Elvis Bread
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 vegan margarine, at room temp
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place bananas (in their skins) on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Spray a 8x4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.
Remove bananas from their skins and mash well.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, peanut butter, soy milk and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.
Erin's Sweet & Spicy Stir-Fry
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow squash, chunked
1/2 red onion, chunked
1 medium tomato, chunked
1/2 cup tofu, chunked
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked bulgar wheat
Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add squash, onion, and tomato. Saute for five minutes. Add tofu. Continue to cook. Add pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and red pepper. Stir and saute together for five minutes. Salt and pepper and serve over cooked bulgar. (Or rice. Or whatever.)
(Of course with all stir-fries, these things are interchangable. I made this one solely because it was what was in the house. But I recommend regardless.)
Friday, June 09, 2006
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Eater
Apart from the other half of my brain, I have felt a halved person, a woman incomplete despite the tranquil (albiet suffocating) heat of south Texas and the lazy mornings or coffee and carrot muffins (which included my 2 cent wheat germ -- I love buying in bulk!). This was most evident last night when I made what would have been the ultimate in Alias dinners -- but no Christine! No Christy! And no wigs or weird daddy issues within sight!
Instead what would have been an Alias dinner in my previous life as single-girl-on-the-town, because pre-concert date dinner, which is actually what it probably should be. It's sweet and spicy and really all levels of amazing. So go home. And make it tonight.
(Modified for two from recipes from Early Girl Eatery & Spirits on the River, Asheville, NC)
Sauteed Rainbow Trout with Green Tomato and Blackberry Sauce
1 large green tomato, cored
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons all purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for coating
1/2 pint fresh blackberries
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 rainbow trout fillets
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Put the tomato and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and puree it. Transfer the tomato puree to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, bringing it to a low boil. Add the celery, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thick, like a marinara sauce. (Add flour to thicken.) Remove from the heat and gently mix in the blackberries. Add salt, to taste.
Lightly flour both sides of the trout and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to sear the trout. When the oil is hot, add the trout and sear on both sides just until brown. Place the skillet in the oven and continue cooking until the fish is flaky, about 10 minutes. Top with the sauce and serve immediately.
Quinoa and Veggies
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil or peanut oil
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/3 cup diced chives
1 orange bell pepper (diced)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper
In a large skillet, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring occasionally, until it expands out of its shell, about 10 minutes; be careful not to overcook it.
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally until done, about 20 minutes. (Add more water if necessary.)
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, chives, bell pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cook, while stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and rice and stir until hot. Serve immediately.
(Leftover update! Toss your leftover quinoa and veggies with some tofu, tomato, and fresh basil and heat through on a skillet. You've got yourself a nice little lunch.)
**
In other news, I made my own veggie burgers and froze a bunch with the intention of eating them for lunch. Quite tasty. I'd alternate the recipe next time to be something like this though:
Veggie Burgers
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup corn kernels
6 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
4 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 small potato, grated
2 egg whites
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Stir in corn, mushrooms, scallions, and bell pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in spinach and cilantro. Add carrot and potato and stir to combine. Add egg whites and season with salt and pepper. Stir in enough bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together. Shape mixture into 6 disks and place on a plate. Chill for 1 hour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in non-stick skillet and cook veggie burgers until golden on each side.
Instead what would have been an Alias dinner in my previous life as single-girl-on-the-town, because pre-concert date dinner, which is actually what it probably should be. It's sweet and spicy and really all levels of amazing. So go home. And make it tonight.
(Modified for two from recipes from Early Girl Eatery & Spirits on the River, Asheville, NC)
Sauteed Rainbow Trout with Green Tomato and Blackberry Sauce
1 large green tomato, cored
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons all purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for coating
1/2 pint fresh blackberries
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 rainbow trout fillets
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Put the tomato and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and puree it. Transfer the tomato puree to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, bringing it to a low boil. Add the celery, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thick, like a marinara sauce. (Add flour to thicken.) Remove from the heat and gently mix in the blackberries. Add salt, to taste.
Lightly flour both sides of the trout and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to sear the trout. When the oil is hot, add the trout and sear on both sides just until brown. Place the skillet in the oven and continue cooking until the fish is flaky, about 10 minutes. Top with the sauce and serve immediately.
Quinoa and Veggies
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil or peanut oil
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/3 cup diced chives
1 orange bell pepper (diced)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper
In a large skillet, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring occasionally, until it expands out of its shell, about 10 minutes; be careful not to overcook it.
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally until done, about 20 minutes. (Add more water if necessary.)
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, chives, bell pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cook, while stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and rice and stir until hot. Serve immediately.
(Leftover update! Toss your leftover quinoa and veggies with some tofu, tomato, and fresh basil and heat through on a skillet. You've got yourself a nice little lunch.)
**
In other news, I made my own veggie burgers and froze a bunch with the intention of eating them for lunch. Quite tasty. I'd alternate the recipe next time to be something like this though:
Veggie Burgers
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup corn kernels
6 shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
4 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 small potato, grated
2 egg whites
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Stir in corn, mushrooms, scallions, and bell pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in spinach and cilantro. Add carrot and potato and stir to combine. Add egg whites and season with salt and pepper. Stir in enough bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together. Shape mixture into 6 disks and place on a plate. Chill for 1 hour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in non-stick skillet and cook veggie burgers until golden on each side.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Cheesecake, heal thyself!
Who doesn't love cheesecake? Why wouldn't you? It's not even cake. It's custard/cheese one-crust pie. It's incredible. It could kill you. And to make it right, many changes to the oven must be made.
I've been on a quest for the perfect cheesecake, and I think, as far as plain ones go, this is the perfect one. It's at least the most sentient, self-healing cheesecake ever. Example: while baking this cheesecake, the outer edges began to rise and crack faster than the gooey center. Normal, and sad, cracks in cheesecake. But! While cooling in the fridge, it HEALED ITSELF. It is now a crack-free cheesecake. Flabbergasted.
The following recipe has been adapted from http://www.thatsmyhome.com/cheesecake/blue-ribbon-cheesecake.htm
Perfect Cheesecake
Preheat oven to 450, and set out springform pan, jelly roll pan, and small baking dish (brownie pan?), and some water.
Crust:
1-1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (cinnamon grams were tasty)
1/2 c. butter, melted (1 stick)
Combine in medium bowl with fork; press into bottom and sides of a springform pan (9"). Try using spoons and heavy drinking glasses to moosh the crumbs down evenly.
Filling:
24 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (set out for an hour or two)
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 t. vanilla extract
finely grated zest of one orange
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix. Add one egg at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla and zest, mix, and finally add butter, mixing again.
Pour filling into crust-lined springform pan, which maybe you butter before hand, maybe not. Maybe you even used parchment paper to line it. I never do either.
Place springform pan inside jelly roll pan to prevent leaks; put into middle of oven, leaving one rack below.
Place small baking dish on lowest rack under cheesecake. Pour water into baking dish and step back; avoid steam burns!
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then 300 for 30 minutes, adding water after 30 minutes of baking. If the middle jiggles after this baking time, but no more than a jiggling circle a few inches in diameter, it's done.
Take out of oven and place on cooling rack. Cover the cheesecake with cardboard, not plastic wrap or foil, so it can breathe without forming condensation. Place into fridge and let the self-healing begin.
I've been on a quest for the perfect cheesecake, and I think, as far as plain ones go, this is the perfect one. It's at least the most sentient, self-healing cheesecake ever. Example: while baking this cheesecake, the outer edges began to rise and crack faster than the gooey center. Normal, and sad, cracks in cheesecake. But! While cooling in the fridge, it HEALED ITSELF. It is now a crack-free cheesecake. Flabbergasted.
The following recipe has been adapted from http://www.thatsmyhome.com/cheesecake/blue-ribbon-cheesecake.htm
Perfect Cheesecake
Preheat oven to 450, and set out springform pan, jelly roll pan, and small baking dish (brownie pan?), and some water.
Crust:
1-1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (cinnamon grams were tasty)
1/2 c. butter, melted (1 stick)
Combine in medium bowl with fork; press into bottom and sides of a springform pan (9"). Try using spoons and heavy drinking glasses to moosh the crumbs down evenly.
Filling:
24 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (set out for an hour or two)
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 t. vanilla extract
finely grated zest of one orange
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix. Add one egg at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla and zest, mix, and finally add butter, mixing again.
Pour filling into crust-lined springform pan, which maybe you butter before hand, maybe not. Maybe you even used parchment paper to line it. I never do either.
Place springform pan inside jelly roll pan to prevent leaks; put into middle of oven, leaving one rack below.
Place small baking dish on lowest rack under cheesecake. Pour water into baking dish and step back; avoid steam burns!
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then 300 for 30 minutes, adding water after 30 minutes of baking. If the middle jiggles after this baking time, but no more than a jiggling circle a few inches in diameter, it's done.
Take out of oven and place on cooling rack. Cover the cheesecake with cardboard, not plastic wrap or foil, so it can breathe without forming condensation. Place into fridge and let the self-healing begin.
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