Funky Sunflower Foods

My brother Kyle took this photo of me at a flea market in St. Petersburg, Florida, while we were visiting Mom last month. And before you ask, no, I was not drunk at the flea market. Just high on life… and the noble apron’s remarkable comeback! No, really I just take awful pictures. I always look stoned or slightly insane, even though I’m neither, I promise. Need more proof? Here’s me with Shannon’s mom’s chocolate mousse cake at Christmas.

See? What did I tell you? Okay, so maybe I was mugging for the camera a bit, but I still prefer to think of myself like Ani DiFranco: “It took me too long to realize that I don’t take good pictures ’cause I have the kind of beauty that moves.”

There’s something about brownies that no other dessert quite duplicates. Gooeier (is that a word?) than chocolate cake, squarer than cookies, denser and chewier than cupcakes, brownies are singular in their yumminess. Until last weekend, I’d never made brownies from scratch. I always relied on The Box. Add a little oil, a little water, and BAM! Brownies! But I’m feeling kind of spunky these days, maybe even a little drunk with my cooking skills? So I paged through my plethora of cookbooks in search of a brownie recipe, and while I found plenty of recipes, most of them were more… sophisticated than I was after. Some had bits of dried fruit in them (too healthy), some had cream cheese frosting (too messy), some had sour cream in them (not in the fridge), some had nuts in them (WHY ARE PEOPLE ALWAYS MUCKING UP MY BROWNIES WITH NUTS?!). Where oh where can a girl find a simple brownie recipe? Turns out, this girl found one in The Vegan Scoop. Chocolate Fudge Brownies, to be exact. And they are wonderful, especially when topped with Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent Mint Chip Ice Cream!

Chocolate Fudge Brownie w. Turtle Mountain's Purely Decadent Coconut Ice Cream

As I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t much of an adventurous eater before becoming a vegetarian. I stuck to pretty standard Midwestern fare and never really wondered what else was out there. Oh sure, occasionally I ate cashew chicken at Hunan Express, but even that wasn’t, technically, exotic. I’m not even sure it was, technically, Chinese. “Mexican” was Old El Paso until long after I went away to college. So it probably isn’t surprising that I went 30 years without eating gumbo until I visited Mike and Shannon in Colorado last August. My future sister-in-law (congrats, guys!) put together a delicious gumbo that was smoky and hearty and YUM! She confided that she’d picked up a few tips on the roux from a chef she was working with, and while I can’t claim that sort of support, I’m pleased with the way my own gumbo experiment turned out. I used Vegan Fire & Spice’s recipe for Spicy Vegetable Gumbo but had a little butternut squash in the fridge, so I added that to the mix with the first batch of veggies. I also learned that washing okra in cold water and rubbing off the “fuzz” keeps it from getting slimy when it cooks. Good to know, right? (Can’t find the website that shared that helpful tidbit. Sorry.) I had a little trouble getting my roux to turn light brown, as the recipe instructed, but I think that was due to the extra moisture in the squash. Regardless of the state of my roux, the gumbo was flavorful but not so spicy that Chris couldn’t enjoy it, although as the flavors developed over the next couple of days, a little heat did show up. For future gumbo outings, I want to play around with liquid smoke and a darker roux.

And yes, those are the PPK’s Sunny Corn Muffins in the background! The perfect compliment to any meal that requires cleaning your bowl!

Once in a while, I come across a recipe that I wish I’d never found. Usually, it’s for something simple, something I’m used to buying instead of making from scratch, but then I stumble on a way to make it myself, and… Oh my gosh! How can I ever go back to paying money for something that isn’t as good as what I can make at home?! Vegan Brunch’s bagels are like that. I’m still a little timid about breadstuffs. I don’t know why. I’ve had good luck with bread recipes (except trying to veganize Grandma’s banana bread), and I’ve even conquered my fear of working with yeast, but still… There’s the kneading and the rising and the… Oh geez, it just seems to take so much time. But the idea of making my own bagels, doughy little halos of golden brown goodness (you know how I feel about my carbs), was just more than I could resist. So on a Sunday afternoon in January, I set out to take the bagel world by storm! I followed the recipe pretty closely, with the exception of adding a tablespoon of flax seeds I’d put through the coffee grinder that I use to grind… well… everything but coffee, actually. I mixed them with the other ingredients. Then came the 10 minutes of kneading. My forearms were sore for the rest of the day. I really need to get back to the gym. Anyway, they were a little bit of work, but the bagels were delicious!

Bagel with Veganomicon's Hummus, Tomato & Baby Spinach

It’s true that they weren’t as pretty as professional bagels, but I felt pretty spiffy after pulling off this recipe, so I decided to whip up a batch of veggie cream cheese to accompany them. I diced one carrot, one stalk of celery, one scallion, and a quarter of a red pepper and mixed the bits into an 8-ounce tub of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. The result was unexpectedly pretty, like confetti for your bagel! The concoction didn’t last long; I think we scarfed it down in three days. The scallion added just the right amount of zing. I’ve mixed up a couple of batches since then, and each time I’m tempted to add a little minced garlic, but each time I decide that I like it just the way it is.

Bagel with Confetti Cream Cheese

As you can see, the tops didn’t turn out smooth, but I’m convinced that it’s just a matter of practice standing between me and total bagel success, especially since I’ve now been spoiled for store-bought bagels. *sigh* So much for short cuts. Anyway, I made a second attempt this past weekend, and I think you’ll agree I’m already making great strides in the smooth-top department.

Ed Bagel, Jr.

Now I’m off to have a bagel slathered in confetti cream cheese and daydream about owning my own bakery…

I have to confess that I haven’t done much cooking for the last couple of months. In fact, thanks to the miracle of modern medicine (heh), I haven’t done much of anything. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say that I’m still not feeling 100%. However, I have quite a bit of catching up to do, so let the games begin!

My friend Julie is a great lover of cupcakes (who isn’t?), so for her birthday I made her strawberry cupcakes. I used the basic vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, tweaking it slightly by substituting (imitation, blech!) strawberry extract for vanilla and adding a little red food coloring to make it suitably pink. I used the basic buttercream recipe and topped them with strawberry halves.

Julie loved the cupackes, but I was a little disappointed. Maybe it was just that the imitation strawberry was so obviously imitation. I thought they tasted like Fruity Pebbles… and not in a good way. Plus, I finished them in a hurry, so the strawberries weren’t quite dry enough, and over the course of a couple of hours, they sort of… slid. Oh well. It was a learning experience. And it looks cute, doesn’t it?

Care to see another “learning experience”? For my coworker Jennifer’s birthday, I decided to tackle something a bit more challenging. I’d been dreaming of chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, and since I’ve had a lot of success with Vegan Cupcakes, I decided to adopt recipes to make my dream cake. I doubled the basic chocolate recipe and baked it in two batches in a 9″ spring form pan (thanks, Aunt Sherry!), spread the peanut butter frosting between the layers, and topped it with the basic chocolate ganache. Sounds delicious and elegant, yes? Well, it looked something like a giant chocolate cookie sandwich.

The photos are pretty awful, I know, but I had to take it under the fluorescents at work, and really, are they flattering for anyone? Or any food? Jennifer was happy with it, and it tasted great, so that’s all that matters, I guess. It just didn’t live up to my wildest expectations.

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the most daunting parts of learning to cook has been getting comfortable with new herbs and spices. I used to kind of loiter in the spice aisle at the grocery store, simultaneously intimidated and fascinated by the dozens and dozens of tiny glass bottles full of seeds and leaves and powders. Ever since Sara Shipley and I learned how to make giant messes with her chemistry set when we were kids, I’ve loved the idea of adding a little of this, a little of that, swirling it together, and getting something new and fun, and those little glass spice bottles always remind me of that chemistry set. So when I started amassing cookbooks and working on some grown-up experiments (most of which don’t turn blue and fizzy and dribble out all over the carpet), I also began buying new and untried herbs and spices by the handful, and while I get a lot of use out of them, they take up a lot of room in my pantry. I scoured the Interwebz for a wall-mounted spice rack to help alleviate the overcrowding but couldn’t find anything that suited me. Everything looked chintzy, had incredibly small bottles, or only accommodated 12 spices. Fortunately, Grandpa Jack is a master craftsman, so I took my dilemma to him, and look what he made for me!

I know I’m a total dork, but I’m so excited about my new spice rack! It even has room for my sprinkles, extracts, and food coloring! And room for more spices! Thanks, Grandpa! I love my spice rack!

Oh, and here’s a picture to show how much shelf space I now have available.

And yes, my spices are alphabetized. Is there any other way?

flickr.com/photos/9825646@N08, woodburnphoto.co.za

During my cyber-wanderings, I came across “Plant Powered,” a Yoga Journal article by Rachel Seligman, and wanted to share. The piece discusses how athletes can thrive on a vegan diet and profiles an ultramarathoner, a professional cyclist, and septuagenarian triathlete! (One note: While I don’t necessarily disagree with the author’s suggestion to visit a registered dietitian to ensure you’re getting proper nutrition, I find it interesting that the same suggestion is rarely offered in articles geared toward omnivorous athletes…)

Have a great day and Namaste to all you yogis and yoginis out there!

I know, I know. I haven’t posted in almost a month, not even Thanksgiving news, and here I come, crawling back with this measly little entry. I am a lazy and slovenly keeper of the veganness. I apologize and promise to update you on all sorts of tasty goodness in the near future. In the meantime, I hold out this olive branch to you: “They’re Made out of Meat” by Terry Bisson. If you’ve ever contemplated side-swiping a parked car because it had a bumper sticker that read, “If God didn’t want us to eat them, how come He made them out of meat?,” this will make you feel better.

So, it’s been a while since I have posted. I was sick for a few weeks, and for much of that time I couldn’t taste or smell much (with the exception of Isa’s Red Pepper Gumbo from The Veganomicon, which I can’t go without for more than two weeks – more on that in a future post). And, of course, when you’re sick you are somewhat lazy. Again, with the exception of gumbo, I didn’t make anything too crazy for awhile.

I was feeling better towards the middle of last week, just in time for Thanksgiving.  I didn’t end up having to work for four days, so I got to heal myself with rest and food.  After almost a month of feeling like crap and working a bunch, I wanted to cook a feast and pig out. Fortunately, vegan households aren’t expected to make turkey (or Tofurkey), mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, some form of cranberry and a pumpkin pie.  I have nothing against any of these foods, and I do have fond memories of years’ worth of eating these foods with my family.  However, I must admit that I have gotten pretty sick of traditional American food over the years.  I do love the fake spicy chicken patties and fries, of course, but when I really want to cook, I don’t want to make a fake meat dish with a side or two of veggies in fake butter.  I want to see how I can use fresh herbs and spices, local and seasonal produce, great flavors and a vegan pantry to make something beautiful and delicious out of plants . . . and this desire often leads to curry.

Chana Masala with Fried Papadam and Steamed Jasmine Rice

It had to be curry.  I was just sitting there thinking about what I should make with (1) all the time in the world and (2) an appetite that was finally healthy again.  I had to make an Indian feast.  I decided to make Potato and Edamame Samosas (VWAV) and Samosa Rolls for the first course and then follow with a spicy, traditional Chana Masala dish served with Fried Papadam and Steamed Jasmine Rice.  And it was all phenomenal.

The entire main course took about a third of the time as the appetizers did, yet . . . it was absolutely worth the time.

From previous experience, I had the wisdom to make Isa’s Samosas from Vegan With A Vengeance, and they were just as awesome as the last time (see my post in the September 2009 archive).  They take forever, but you get so much out of everything you put into these samosas.  And now, after an entire season of Top Chef via my beloved Netflix, I got a little artsy and decided to use the last of the dough and filling to make “samosa rolls.”  I started by rolling the dough out super flat, spreading the filling on top and rolling it into one big roll.  Then I baked it and sliced it into bite-sized pieces (or “amuse bouches”).  They may not be Season Finale material, but they turned out pretty cute (see the yummy, toasted mustard seeds).  Both the rolls and the regular samosas were so incredibly delicious and satisfying; thank Shiva I had decided against dessert!  Samosas are the best appetizers in the world.  For this I give Thanks.

Potato Edamame Samosas with Raspberry Chutney

Amuse Bouche: Spicy Samosa Rolls with Young Peas and Curried Potatoes

Last night, I made Pasta Puttanesca from Robin Robertson’s Vegan Fire & Spice. This is actually the third recipe I’ve test-driven from this book, but the others weren’t really anything to write about. The Pasta Puttanesca, on the other hand, is very, very good… which is a relief because the recipe calls for a pound of pasta (I used angel hair instead of spaghetti), so I have a week’s worth of leftovers! The “sauce” is simple but very flavorful. (Note: I used half the amount of olives the recipe called for, but that was plenty for me.) I usually prefer a bit more sauce to my pasta, but this dish was a really nice change from my usual marinara-drenched carbs. Sometimes you just want some carbs with your carbs, which is why I served the pasta with garlic artisan bread smeared with Garlic & Herb Creamy Sheese.

Oh, and to every server who’s ever given me an odd look when I ordered a salad with no cheese, no dressing, and no croutons and then wondered why I wasn’t satisfied with a sad little saucer of wilted iceberg lettuce, a pathetic wedge of unripened tomato, and three limp little shreds of carrot, please see the photo above. That, my friend, is a salad!