Library Love! And Happy V-day

These cute little silicone teacup forms came from my library, which has recently added a bakeware selection to the lending offerings.  Cool!  I made a basic cake batter and cooked the cupcakes right in the forms. Then I topped with a coconut cream-chocolate chip icing.  (As an aside, it's yummy and vegan.)  

 The fabulous fabric is from Angela.  It's sweet and cheerful, just like her.

And Happy Valentine's Day!  I confess, I love this day.  I look forward to sending Valentines to my friends and family, and I love the sweetness.  I know that it's cool to dismiss this day as fabricated fluffery, but nonetheless I love it.  I think of Valentine's Day as an appreciation of friends day as much as anything else.  

So enjoy this day, even if it's simply to give yourself a little love.

Meatless Monday: Sorrel-Hazelnut Pesto (Vegan)

 Sorrel pesto

This pesto is so good, I promise you, you won't miss the Parmesan cheese! And if you don't have a source of sorrel, don't worry.  Sorrel adds a vibrant lemony flavor to this dish, but the recipe works well with other greens.  This pesto would make a delicious filling for a tea sandwich.

This recipe originally came from Portland Magazine.  

Sorrel-Hazelnut Pesto (Vegan)

1 cup sorrel, loosely packed

1 cup parsley, firmly packed (OK to keep stems)

3 green onions, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup hazelnuts (we use raw hazelnuts; OK to leave skins on; they get chopped up)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 lemon, juiced (1.5 Tbsp)

• Pulse first 6 ingredients in a food processor  until finely minced.
• Add oil in a steady stream, scraping down sides as needed.  (I can't add oil while my processor is running so I add a bit, whirl, stop and scrape, add a bit more, whirl, etc.)
• Add salt and lemon juice; whirl to combine.

Keeps in fridge for a week.  Freezes well, too!

Meatless Monday: Salad Bar and Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

My version of a salad bar

I invited some friends over for lunch recently and we had a "salad bar."  It was fun, colorful and delicious.  I provided the green salad and toppings and my friends brought other side dishes.  The greens (red leaf lettuce; collard greens; brocolli leaves, a special kind for the greenery and sprouts; parsley), chives and radishes all came from the DH's garden.

Chive blossoms

We finished up with rhubarb upside down cake, also courtesy of the DH.  Oh, yummy!  By the way, everything shown here is vegan.

Rhubarb upside down cake

Robin's Egg Blue: Japanese Tea Sweet

I've been having so much fun playing with Japanese tea sweets!  This is one of my favorites.  It's made from a center of red bean paste, surrounded by white bean paste for the nest.  The little blue eggs are white bean paste that I colored.  (The bean pastes are sweetened.)

The naming of sweets is an important part of the process, as the guests may want to know the story of the sweet.  I'm learning what makes a good sweets name.  Generally, it should be something suggestive of the season, and poetic.  Do you have ideas for a name for this sweet?     

Sprouts Under the Snow (Japanese Sweet)

Sprouts Under the Snow

Recently, we had snowy weather in Oregon!  I was also playing around with my first batch of shiro an, a sweet bean paste made from white beans.  I'll write more about the process of making the bean paste soon.  But for now...the sweet.

This type of sweet is served with matcha, powdered green tea, during the Japanese Tea Ceremony.  It's customary to provide a poetic name to things...to utensils, the tea bowl and to sweets.  So in that spirit and given the weather, I named this sweet "sprouts under the snow".  This sweet is nothing more than bean paste and sugar (with a dot of food coloring).  It's naturally vegan and gluten/soy/dairy-free, so a great sweet for anyone with food allergies.  It's also DELICIOUS!  I know that sweetened bean paste sounds a little funny to most of us Americans, but it really is yummy! 

Daffodil sprouts under the snow

Meatless Monday: Green Papaya Salad

Green Papaya Salad

Sometimes things just come together...
On Friday, I visited Pok Pok.  I'm ashamed to say it was my first time.  Ashamed because anyone who claims the Portland area as home speaks highly of our famous Thai "street foods" restaurant, now open in New York as well.  And I see why!  It's super delicious!  I had a green papaya salad, among other things.

And then on Saturday, I was at my local market (New Seasons) and they had green papaya in the produce section.  One came home.

On Sunday I made a vegan version of green papaya salad.  It's fantastic!  As good as what I had at Pok Pok, in my humble opinion.  What makes this vegan is the lack of shrimp and fish sauce.  Love it!  And the good news is that one fruit makes a lot of shredded papaya, enough for 2 or 3 batches.  That's great because we've already polished off the first one.

Here's my recipe, based on looking at several and interpreting what I had at Pok Pok.

Vegan Green Papaya Salad

The salad
* 2 cups shredded green papaya (I think you can find this pre-shredded in some Asian markets)
* 1/4 cup (or more) green beans, chopped into bite-sized pieces
* 1/4 cup (or more) shredded green cabbage
* 1/4 cup (or more) of shredded carrots
* A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved (I did not use these)
* 1-2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
* 1 handful cilantro, chopped
* 1 Tbsp of dry roast peanuts, plus some for garnish
Toss together in a large bowl

The paste
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 jalepeno pepper, seeds and pith removed, chopped fine
* 1 Tbsp of dry roast peanusts
 Crush in a mortar and pestle (or a bowl with wooden spoon) until you have a rough paste

The dressing

* 2 Tbsp of low sodium soy auce (or gluten-free tamari)

* The juice of 1 lime (3-4 teaspoons)

* 1/2 - 1 tsp of agave nectar, depending on your preference (you can use raw sugar, too)

Add the paste and toss into the salad

Enjoy!

Cake for Breakfast

Stone Fruit Skillet Cake

We went for an early walk to pick flowers today and came back home with nowhere to be and nothing to do.  So rare, too rare, precious.  In honor of this, I decided to make cake for breakfast.  A friend had given me a big bag of plums from her garden and I remembered this recipe for a cast iron cake with fruit.  Mmmm!  Slow mornings.  I love them, and cake for breakfast too.

I ate mine in a nearly-civilized way, with a 2nd flush Darjeeling and the paper.  But notice I couldn't wait for the cake to cool, allowing me to slice it nicely.  Nope, straight from the oven immediately to plate and mouth.  Only slightly more civilized than the DH who ate his with his fingers while standing over the cast iron skillet.  

 

Here's the recipe.  I may play with it some more and see if I can get it to work on the the grill, covered.   Gotta love the flexibility of cast iron!  My recipe, below, has been changed extensively from the original - adding whole wheat, reducing the sugar and veganizing.  It works great in vegan form!  If you'd like to see the non-vegan, white flour original, go and visit with Martha.

Stone Fruit Cast Iron Cake for Breakfast

(I've enjoyed this with plums and nectarines and I think any stone fruit would do well)

Ingredients:

*4 Tbsp vegan "butter" plus enough to grease the pan

*An 8-9" cast iron skillet

* 1 cup whole wheat flour

*1/2 tsp baking powder

*1/4 tsp baking soda

* A dash of salt

* 1/2 cup sugar (down from 3/4 originally) plus 2 Tbsp for the top

* Egg replacement for 1 egg - I used 3 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp flax seed meal, let sit 5 min

* 1/2 cup non-dairy milk + 2 tsp lemon juice, let sit for 5 min

* 2 - 4 ripe (but not mushy) stone fruit, stones removed and sliced thinly

Ready for the oven
The next time, I'll use more fruit and fill much of the top

Make the cake:

* Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

* Grease and flour the cast iron skillet

* Make the egg replacement and add the lemon juice to the non-dairy milk; set aside

* Whisk together the dry ingredients

* Beat vegan "butter" and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy; stir in egg replacement

* Add 1/3 of the flour and 1/3 of milk - mix gently and repeat until you have a batter; do not over mix

* Pour into cast iron skillet and smooth with a knife

* Add stone fruit in a pattern of your liking; I try to make mine skin-side-up so the color shines through after baking

* Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of sugar over the top; don't skip this, it makes a nice crunchy topping

* Bake for 30-35 min, until a toothpick comes out clean

* Technically, you should let it cool for a few min before cutting into the thing; I never do that

An After-Work Tea Party

A friend and I enjoyed a tea party last evening after work. We've both got full schedules and wanted some dedicated time to catch up. Tea is the best way for that, I think!

We kept things streamlined and I think it turned out beautifully.  Notice the clean, unfussy display.  I love it!
We started with two finger sandwiches:  Mushrooms on toast and chow chow with cream cheese (recipes).  We enjoyed a delicious Summer 2012 “Mi Xiang” oolong tea from Global Tea Hut, sent by a generous friend in Taiwan. 

Next we enjoyed pumpkin scones with mock Devonshire cream and the DH's homemade red plum jam.  We drank a Yunnan Gold tea, courtesy of a sample provided by Jing Tea.  We experimented with the best way to brew this and agreed that it needs a light steeping (don't overdo it!).

The finishing touch was a fuyu persimmon heart.  I made this recipe up and was quite pleased with the result.  Lightly sweet with a pretty orange center.

And by the way, all recipes were vegan with the exception of the pastry crust.  And they were soooo yummy, even though I was the cook.  ;-)

Meatless Monday 14: Chai Oatmeal

I'm returning to this series after a summer break.  The rains have begun again here in the Pacific Northwest and I return to warm spices for comfort.  I experimented with adding chai spices to oatmeal, and it's a winner!  The way I made this was to simply use a cheesecloth bag of my favorite chai spices in the pot as the oatmeal cooked.  Yummy results, but I can make it even better!  Next time, I will first steep the chai spices in the milk (or non-dairy milk or water) for awhile before adding the oatmeal. The longer cooking time will coax out even more of the chai spice flavor. 

What I liked about this oatmeal is that the chai spices added so much interest and depth, I didn't even think about adding a sweetener.  In addition, it's a great way to add flavor to the oatmeal while using only water, for any of you looking to lessen your dairy.

How do you dress up your oatmeal?

Raw Oregon Berry Pie

I tried this recipe recently and was pleased!  It's raw, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and free of processed-sugar (sweetened with dates).  It's full of really good healthy stuff and lots of flavor.

Raw Oregon Berry Pie (New Seasons recipe to which I've clarified and added my notes)

• 2 cups raw nuts, your choice (I used pecans and walnuts)
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups pitted dates (dried)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 6 cups of fresh berries, your choice (I used blueberries and cherries for the filling and blueberries, cherries and raspberries for the top)

Cover 1 cup of dates with water and set aside.  In a blender or food processor, pulse the 2 cups of nuts and sea salt until you have medium crumbs.  Add the remaining cup of dates and pulse until there are no more large chunks of dates.  Pour this into a 9-inch pie pan and press evenly to create a crust.  (I used a spring form pan.)  Put in freezer for at least 15 minutes while you finish the rest of the pie.

Drain the dates.  Place 2 cups of fresh berries, lemon juice and drained dates into the blender/food processor.  Process until smooth.  If desired, slice any large berries into pieces.  Mix the sliced fruit into the wet filling and pour into cold pie crust.  Spread out evenly.  (I did not mix mine.  I spread the filling, then placed the berries on top.)  Ready to eat or be put in the fridge! 

After chilling a bit, I was able to slice into wedges.  The flavor is wonderful and the crust is amazing!  Next time, I think I will just do fresh fruit on top and skip the filling . It was tasty, but I prefer my fruit whole.  I've never been a smoothie fan.  If you are, then go for the filling.  It's good.

Daifukumochi

Daifukumochi

Sweet red bean paste centers, covered with rice-flour dough (mochi)

In the Japanese Tea Ceremony, guests enjoy a sweet before consuming the matcha (both thin and thick versions).  The sweet provides contrast and complement to the intense matcha tea.  Over the past six months, I've discovered that I love Japanese sweets!  They are unlike American sweets: no creams, fats or heavy sugars.  In fact, they are often comprised of sweetened bean paste or simple pressed sugars.  But they are poetic, textural, beautiful and to my liking.

My teacher, Margie-sensei, has shared a recipe for making a daifukummochi.  You can find the original recipe here.  It's surprisingly simple, though not necessarily easy.  The pictures show my first attempt.  I will be making this again!

Recipe courtesy of Margie, of the Issoan Tea School.  To begin, you must find the right ingredients.  You'll need sweet rice flour.  (This is made from sticky rice and be sure that it says "sweet" rice flour.  Bob's Red Mill carries it locally at New Seasons markets.)  You'll also need red bean paste, most easily found at an Asian grocer.  (It freezes well.) You'll also need sugar, light Karo syrup and corn starch.

Balls of sweetened red bean paste

Make little balls of red bean paste.  I found that cooling these in the fridge works well because when warm, they get a little squishy and hard to handle. 

Stir together the flour, sugar and water in a 1:1:1 ratio.  Press through a sieve to remove lumps.  The results should go into a microwave-safe bowl.  Add food coloring and 1 Tbsp of Karo syrup (assuming you are using 1 cup of each main ingredient).  Give it all a stir.

Mochi mixture

Into the microwave with it, and cook on high for one minute.  Stir and repeat in one-minute increments until the mixture becomes stretchy and translucent.  Dump the sticky mochi mass (not so easy) onto a plate that has been well-dusted with corn starch.  Let the mochi cool enough to handle, but not so cool that it becomes tough.  Playing hot potato, pinch off small amounts (enough to cover a bean paste ball) and flatten in your palms.  Pinch around the red bean paste balls, dusting with corn starch as you go for easier handling. 

These are best served within 24 hours.  I keep mine in the fridge.  They really are delicious!

Meatless Monday 11: Popcorn and Fruit

The DH came into our marriage a fan of Helen and Scott Nearing and their philosophies of The Good Life.  I've become a fan, too.  I mean, what's not to love about Helen, who did almost all of the stonemason work on their slipstone cottage herself? 

The Nearings were known to enjoy a simple meal of popcorn and fruit.  We also enjoyed this delicious meal Saturday night.  We didn't feel like cooking, and neither did we feel like going out.

I highly recommend air-popped popcorn.  Eaten naked, it's sweet and satisfying.  It's fun and tasty to doctor up, too.  One of our favorite combos is to spray on a little olive oil and add nutritional yeast and chili powder.  Sprinkle on ground up lapsang souchong, and you have a treat that's steller!  (Thanks to Jasmine Pearl for that idea.)  Oh, yumm!  We also like the popcorn with olive oil, lemon pepper (and if you desire, a bit of grated parmasean). 

Are there any other air-popped popcorn fans out there?

Meatless Monday 8: More Onions and Dirty Blonde Brownies

Egyptian Walking Onions

We could sell at a Farmer's Market. That's how many onions we've got this year.  My favorite way to eat them is grilled, but we've also had them in:  soup, quesadillas, green salads, garbanzo salad, salad dressing, stir-fried rice, fried potatoes, quiche, spanikopita, and scrambled eggs.  We've talked about pickling and freezing.  We've also given lots away.  I post this list to help those of you who will get CSA veggie baskets this summer.  Fun, Fun - yet it can be tough (and a little stressful) to eat up all of the goodies, especially when one produce item peaks.  Get creative - it's amazing how many different ways a vegetable can be used! 

Now onto dessert.  Dirty Blonde Brownies (because they're made with whole wheat, get it?).    I'm thinking this photo will make your mouth water.  I know that dessert doesn't (usually) include meat, but I include the recipe below because it's delicious and is made with olive oil and whole wheat.  It could easily be made vegan.   

Dirty Blonde Brownie

The original Blonde Brownie recipe came to us from a friend of the DH's long ago.  Thank you, MG!  We've changed it up to use whole wheat, olive oil, and less sugar. 

Dirty Blonde Brownies (with vegan options)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups packed brown sugar (we often use only 1 cup; adjust based on your preference and the sweetness of the chocolate)

2/3 cup olive oil

2 eggs, beaten (or vegan egg substitute)

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips (or vegan chocolate)

1/3 cup nuts

Mix nuts and chocolate chips together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In a third bowl, beat eggs (or prepare vegan replacement).  Add oil, then sugar, then vanilla.  Slowly add about 1/3 of dry ingredients into wet, and then 1/3 of the chocolate/nuts.  Repeat twice.

Spread in a 13x9 inch pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for ~30 minutes.  Cool in pan for about 30 minutes and serve warm.  Try not to make yourself ill by eating half the pan.

Meatless Monday 7: Grilled Onions and Asparagus

This Meatless Monday supper was a simple one, and aren't those the best?  We made use of local and fresh foods, preparing them as straighforwardly as possible. The flavors of the food - not the salt/butter/sugar trappings - but the real food shines through!

We (er, the DH), grilled spring onions (from our garden, Egyptian walking onions) and asparagus (from the farmer's market).  The only addition was a bit of olive oil to prevent from sticking.  What's not to love about asparagus?  And oh my - the grilled onions were so sweet, like dessert.

With this, we had a blend of rice/wild rice/quinoa and a plate of raw carrots, celery and beets (from the garden). 

My favorite type of dining - simple and unadulterated!

Meatless Monday 6: Vegan Spanakopita

What do you do with a garden full, Full, FULL of delicious spring onions (but you need the space)?  Isn't it obvious?  Make onion spanakopita!  :-)  I suggested a puff-pastry onion tart, and this is where the DH took that idea.  This dish is vegan. 

Here's how he made it - layers of the following:

• Phyllo dough
• Sauteed onions
• Phyllo
• Sauteed mushrooms
• Phyllo
• Sauteed chard

No cheese included, but I didn't miss it.  Wow, this was good!

Vegan Tea Party Foods

A couple of my tea party guests follow a vegan diet . Vegan is not a scary word. Actually, it was easier than I expected to incorporate yummy vegan options into the menu. The entire menu is shown above (V = vegan; R = raw). I'll focus here on the vegan options. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the food. I was too busy serving and having fun!

Mushrooms on Toast
I served this to everyone...it was deliciously vegan and very, very, very yummy! I made the filling a few days ahead and froze it. The night before, I pulled it out of the freezer to thaw. When I was ready to make the sandwiches, I just topped the bread slices with the filling and let bake in the oven until the filling was warm and the bread was toasty. So good!
Filling: Chop up a bunch of mushrooms and onion. Saute with garlic and olive oil. The mushrooms will release their juices. Once the mushrooms are soft and the onions translucent, turn the heat off but keep in the pan to let them reabsorb the juices. I added salt and pepper. Then refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve. Note: Chop up more than you think you'll need. The mushrooms shrink a lot.
Bread: Look for a sturdy bread with no milk, eggs, whey, honey or other animal product in the ingredients list. Many breads are vegan, so this won't be hard to find.
Cucumber-Rosemary SandwichesAlso an easy adjustment from my traditional sandwich.

• Make the rosemary "butter" the day before. Blend together vegan margarine (softened) and chopped rosemary (fresh or dried). I find the easiest way to handle the rosemary is to chop it in my hand nut chopper. Let the blend sit in the fridge for a day, so the flavors meld. Soften before preparing sandwiches.
• Slice cucumbers very thinly (I use a mandolin) and pat dry.
• Slather the insides of two pieces of vegan bread with margarine/rosemary filling. Top one slice with cucumber and put the lid on. Cut of crusts and cut into desired shapes. Repeat until you've made enough sandwiches. Cover with a lightly-moistened towel in an air-tight container until serving. (Refrigerate if it's a long time, and let stand at room temp ~30 minutes - but still well covered - before serving.)

Maple-Blueberry SconesI made two versions of these scones. I used maple syrup as the sweetener in both. In the vegan version, I used Earth Balance margarine and flax seed meal-water as an egg replacement. I tasted the two versions side-by-side and was hard pressed to notice a difference.
Note: The recipe I used below was very yummy, but I think it was too wet. The scones spread out a lot during cooking. I think you'll need to adjust with more flour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Dry ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (and I added a pinch of ground ginger and allspice, for fun)

Mix dry ingredients and blend in, with knives or a pastry blender, 6 tablespoons vegan margarine (like Earth Balance).
Wet ingredients:

• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 equivalent egg replacement OR 1 Tbsp Flax seed meal with 3 Tbsp water, whisked until it gets well combined (I used flax seed meal)
• 1/2 cup water

Add wet ingredients to dry/margarine blend. Judge the texture for yourself. You may need to add extra flour if it's too wet. I'm going to work on perfecting these, and I'll update the instructions when I do. Gently fold in approximately 3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a circle, approximately 1 inch thick. Cut into circles with a biscuit cutter (or wedges) and bake for ~16- 18 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden. When they come out of the oven, rub margarine over the tops to make them even more golden. Try not to eat them all in one siting.
Vegan "Clotted Cream"Oh, this was definitely a highlight. I thought it tasted really good! I made this recipe up. It's quick and easy to make! Definitely a keeper in the recipe files.
Equal parts Earth Balance margarine (softened) with vegan cream cheese. (I used 2 Tbsp of both.) Smoosh both together until well blended. Drizzle with agave nectar until it reaches the desired sweetness. Enjoy!!!
Choc-Dipped ApricotsThis was another item I served to everyone. You can buy vegan chocolate chips. I found mine at the local coop, but Whole Foods or any place like that would carry these. I could not tell a difference - at all - from regular choc chips. So I dipped apricots and nuts into the melted chocolate, and served to everyone.