Summer Food

Crazy-big haul.

I love the dog days of summer, where there is so much abundance at the farmer's market.  My fruit and veg haul was crazy huge this past week, so we have been having super-summer dinners all week. So so good.  These are the things I savor (literally!) and love about summer.  Nik and I helped distribute the shares for our CSA this past saturday, and it was a fun people/dog-watching morning in the park.  There was a little pup amputee with two rear wheels instead of legs that basically broke my heart.  So many Great Danes live in my neighborhood, and I just cannot fathom what kind of apartments these owners have that hold such gigunda dogs...

I froze a lot of stuff, corn and zuchini and pesto, in preparation for the dead-zone of winter where I will be craving some fresh veggies that don't have a root attached to it.   I love pulling out fresh corn off the cob on Thanksgiving day! 

A peek at the CSA pickup

I was the fruit lady, handing out peaches and melons.

Eggplant wings (basically just breaded eggplant smothered in a hot bbq sauce), watermelon, and a salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and avocados (red wine vinegar/olive oil/salt/pepper dressing)

Sauteed tofu and onions in spices, corn on the cob, and green beans

Spring-a-ling

Rain, rain, go away. 

Happy Spring!  I'm going to totally ignore that snow that we got here in New York yesterday, and just go on thinking about blooming flowers and anticipating some green things at the farmer's markets finally.  I've been keeping busy, working on lots of new illustrations and projects, and lots of pie-baking.   I've been contemplating printing some tote bags with some of my illustrations on them...trying to think of more products that would work with my stuff. Any ideas? Things you would like to see?

Some yumminess I have had lately:

Tofu Scramble-cious with some homemade tofu

Raspberry Lattice Pie!  Tester recipe for Isa and Terri's upcoming pie book.

Homemade Almond-Oat Milk and Tofu

Ooo-la-la!

I've been all about hot cocoa and tofu scrambles lately.  I recently purchased a soymilk maker and tofu box, so there has been an abundance of different nut and bean milks and tofu in my fridge.  My favorite milk I have made so far has been an almond-oat mix. So creamy and yummy! I don't like any flavoring in my milks, so I don't add anything into it except the almonds and whole wheat oats.   And um, making hot cocoa with this is amaaaaazing.  I like to throw some cashews, almond milk, a chunk of this awesome 100% cocoa chocolate I got in Peru,  a couple teaspoons of sugar, and maybe a swirl of agave into the blender and then heat it up on the stovetop for some yummy homemade cocoa. Forget the powder stuff!  The cashews give the cocoa a really nice creaminess.  Now if only I had some Sweet and Sara's to go with...

Tofu scramble wrap, with tofu, mushrooms, red peppers, nooch, salt, pepper, garlic, and some Daiya mozzarella mixed in.

And the homemade tofu, omg!  I have kept it straight, using just soy beans so far, but plan to experiment with some other beans or maybe some seasoning right from the start of the tofu-making process.  It's really easy to make and comes out nice and firm and tasty.  It's quite the experience to eat the tofu while still warm, right after it has been pressed.  I haven't bought the packaged tofu in years, but have usually bought the little squares of tofu from the cooler in my local Asian market.  It had started to taste a little funny recently, like chemicals or cleaning products or something, so that prompted me to start making my own.  

So glad I invested! No more packaging and it will pay for itself eventually because nuts and beans are so much cheaper in bulk.   It does take some planning ahead to make the milk and tofu, as you need to soak the beans or nuts overnight.  And it takes a couple batches of soymilk to make a decent amount of tofu, although it is mostly waiting-time, not active prep.  I've gotten into a rhythm though, and have it down so it doesn't take up so much time to make it a couple times a week.   So far, I love the machine I got.  It takes about 20 minutes for a batch of the milk to finish and it makes approx. 2-2.5 cups at a time.  I'll usually make a few batches at a time.  I can't wait to make some seasonal or special drinks, like pumpkin spice, chocolate, and chai with them!  

Tamale time!

When my little sister was visiting me last weekend, I decided that we should have a cooking night in (brrr, it's cold out there!)  I wanted to make something time-consuming and different and something we don't eat often, so tamale time it was!  Tamales have been on the "things to make" list for awhile now, and it was the perfect night for them.  We made an improvised filling of black beans, rice, sauteed mushrooms, onions, and some sriracha and cumin seasoning, and used the recipe from Viva Vegan! to do the rest. Holy yum!   Added bonus: this makes a TON of leftovers, so into the freezer they go for later enjoyment!

VeganMofo 2010: Nachooo Love!

Soo full of nachos!  Holy delicious.  I decided to make a monster-sized plate tonight for Nik and I (cooked in the oven because I'm anti-microwave.)  We have homemade refried beans, chips, that new Wayfare 'We Can't Say it's Cheese' mexi-cheddar dip, Daiya cheddar, salsa, avocados, some seitan, and hot sauce.  

That new 'We Can't Say it's Cheese' stuff is pretty tasty. I found it in the store near my apartment yesterday and did a little happy-dance in the middle of the aisle.  They only had the cheddar and mexi-cheddar varieties, but I hope to try the hickory smoked kind soon.  Has anyone else tried it? This was the first thing I thought of to make with it. Other ideas?  

Veganmofo 2010: Ohh Homemade English Muffins

My big project over the weekend was making homemade English Muffins, from the cookbook Urban Vegan. And by "big project," I mean that I had to make the starter friday night, and let it sit overnight so that the yeast could work its magic.  I have made other english muffin recipes before, but let me tell you what. The secret is letting the yeast sit out overnight. Seriously, these were soooo gooooooood.  Nik and I couldn't get enough of them, and were all sad-faced when they were gone (which only took a day).  Totally worth the effort; Get on it!  

Nooks and Crannies!!

They turned out super-fluffy.

I celebrated these muffins all dang day, having them with Earth Balance spread for Breakfast, and then making these mega-yummy sandwiches for dinner. Yay breakfast for dinner!  I marinated some tofu 

(in olive oil, shoyu, pepper, salt, apple cider vinegar, thyme, liquid smoke) and then grilled it on my grill pan, and topped with Follow Your Heart Cheese.  Hash Browns on the side! Swoon!

Om nom nom nom.

VeganMofo 2010: Loafing Around

So I wanted a loaf. A veggie loaf, to be exact. It's cold out and has now become the season where all I want for dinner is comfort food.  TV dinner, Mom-style, with lots of mashed potatoes.   I was looking to make a veggie loaf where everything held together and I could smother with ketchup.  This worked well! It held together beautifully! For the veggies, I used celery, a tomato, a jalapeno, a few radishes, and a red onion. Whatever you have in the fridge basically. And make sure you dice them real, real small, so everything holds together well. And then make sure you are liberal with the ketchup and mashed potatoes. Yum, yum, and yum. 

Veggie Loaf

(makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils

1 cup TVP

1 cup SUPER-diced veggies, your choice

2 TBS Olive Oil

3 TBS Tomato Sauce

1 tsp. liquid smoke

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten

1 tsp. Thyme

1 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: (Preheat oven to 350F)

1.  Steam Lentils until cooked.

2. Rehydrate TVP ( I usually add water, a dash of shoyu, and a dash of liquid smoke to it and let it all absorb).

3. Mash Lentils to a paste

4. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with hands until everything holds together and is incorporated. 

5. Oil loaf pan and add loaf.

6. Bake loaf for 1 hour, until golden brown.

7. enjoy!

Peach Pie: A photo story of yum

Soooo goooooooood.  

The Veggie Burger is Smiling at Me

'Sup!  How is life?? Life is good here, and I'm a busy-bee prepping for all sorts of fun fall/holiday things relating to my shop and planning craft fairs and what-not.  Nik and I are also planning a trip to Portland, Maine in a few weeks, which I am PSYCHED about. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to do/see while I'm there??  I really want to take a day-trip to Acadia National Park, but we are short on time, so we'll see.  What should I do! And more importantly, where should we eat?!  

Speaking of eating, I made this yummy veggie burger last night and tried to draw a ketchup smiley face on it (yes, I am five). Instead, it kinda of looks a little demented.  The veggie burger was a bit of a concoction of marinated tempeh, roasted yellow and green peppers, onions, radishes, garlic, arugula, and some flour, vital wheat gluten, panko bread crumbs, and peanut butter to hold it all together. Sorry for lack of recipe, but I just kinda mix things together until it holds. Totally delicious! And I am eating as much corn on the cob as I can, before it is gone for the season. In fact, I have been buying extra to freeze so I can enjoy it when it is miserable and snowy outside. There I am, using the old noggin'.

Another recent dinner (I love sammiches, if you couldn't tell that already), of tempeh with a little wakame, veganaise, onion, and salt/pepper to taste.  Coleslaw on the side! 

My little sis and her boyfriend came to visit me recently. I took them to Economy Candy and they luurved it (I did too).  I bought lots of Chick-o-sticks and I'm pretty sure something of the butterfinger-like persuasion must be made from them soon. 

And I'll end this post with Mister Miles.  I love it when he crosses his legs like that, looking all proper-like. :)

Toasted tomato sammich! (and pasta salads)

So, toasted tomato sandwiches might be my favorite summertime meal, at least breaking the top 5 (corn on the cob, breaded and fried zucchini, salted cucumbers, and fresh berries, peaches, and cantaloupe are prolly the others!)  I used to eat these all the time as a kid in the summertime, although these days it is a slightly more grown-up version. I got some amazingly awesome heirloom tomatoes in my CSA last weekend, so of course this is where they end up (note, I could prolly eat heirloom tomatoes like apples, so so so so yummy!)  Sliced tomatoes, a little smear of veganaise, all on lightly toasted whole wheat sourdough bread (also from farmer's market), and I'm a happy girl.

I have also had some fun pasta salads lately, because it's too hot to cook (blahblah) and my CSA finally took it easy with all the lettuce, so I can eat something else.  Check out these hypnosis-like radishes I got!   Also, fresh-cut peaches are amaaaaazing in pasta salad! Seriously! 

Daring Cooks-July Challenge-Make your own Nut butters

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Woo, I was excited about this past month's challenge, since I have actually NEVER made my own nut butter before! And it's so simple and DELICIOUS! I chose to make cashew butter, since that is usually the only nut I have on stock, and whirled them around in the vitamix with a touch of olive oil and a dash of sea salt. Holy yum! We were supposed to make one of the recipes given, but I just picked one to be inspired by (and none of the choices given were vegan anyways). Since I have a gazillion veggies in my fridge, I chose to make a raw, asian-inspired salad. The original called for noodles, and I decided to make raw zucchini noodles instead. Now, I have done this before, but made the mistake of not letting the zucchini sweat out some of the water it contains, and I was left with a watery salad. This time, I was prepared! I sliced them into skinny strips and set them in the colander with a bit of sea salt sprinkled on them for about an hour. It was amazing how much the texture had changed after an hour. I rinsed the salt off and dried the "noodles" with a towel and they were good to go! Cut up any veggies you have laying around and mix in the dressing. This dressing was really simple, but bold in its nut butter awesomeness.

Cashew dressing
2 TBS Raw Cashew butter
1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
1 TBS Shoyu
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together briskly with a fork and you're good to go!

I got ambitious and made a second dish, basically taking the salad and putting them into spring rolls and searing them. I love spring rolls!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of july USA-ers! I'm having a lazy stay-in kind of 4th of july. I guess I celebrated last night anyways, at a friend's BBQ (TOTALLY jealous of her backyard.) Also, the stars are aligned I guess, because I got so many blueberries and cherries in my CSA yesterday that I HAD to make some red, white, and blue food. :)

I made an army of mini cupcakes to bring to the BBQ last night, vanilla with raspberry jam, a dab of icing, and a blueberry to top. Yummers! This morning, you KNOW I was busting out the blueberry pancakes right??

Happy long-weekend friends!

Summer of green things

So, the overload of veggies has begun with my local CSA. I'm up to my ears in lettuce! Not that I'm complaining; I just think back to six months ago when I was SO SICK of potatoes from my winter CSA. Haha, when it rains, it pours. But this does mean that I have had salad every single day, lunch AND dinner for the past week. I'm good at mixing things up though. I will usually do some sort of baked/sauteed/marinated/fried/etc. tofu or tempeh, with different seasonings, as the main protein in the salad. Fresh fruit is amazing, especially when it mixes with a vinaigrette dressing (this week, it's cherries, last week was strawberries.) Nut and seeds and whatever other veggies my CSA gives out also join in. I usually will rotate dressings (I usually make my own), with a ranch, oil/vinegar, salsa-ranch (!), or some sort of peanuty-asian-style (Nik isn't as fond of this, so not that often *sadface*). The above salad has a marinated tempeh (Shoyu, liquid smoke, a little peanut oil, pepper, and enough water to cover in pan-cooked until all liquid is gone and slightly crisp) on it and a simple ranch dressing (veganaise, a little soy milk to get the right consistancy, pepper, and a few shakes of basil, oregano, parsley, garlic and onion powder.) Yum!

Also, I only discovered this last summer, but I TOTALLY love fried green tomatoes. A little nooch, a little flour, a little cayenne and salt, YUM!!!