There was an undeniable craving for roasted chicken that I just could not deny. Therefore, this ends what shall be known as "the vegetarian streak."
Monday, October 22, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Swedish Apple Pie
After the excitement of the first day of school died down, the thing I looked forward to most was apple picking. It was almost magical to me to go into the pristine rows of gnarled trees, Cortlands and Mackintoshes sparkling in the sun like rubies. We had free roam of the orchard, the musty fragrance of fallen leaves mixed with the crisp coolness of fall air, the softness of my favorite sweatshirt, the crunch of the oranges, reds, greens, and yellows of the foliage underfoot.
My mother's pies never really came out too well. The bottom crust was always doughy and I'd gingerly pick out the delicious filling, being careful not to get any of the crust mixed with my bite.
As I grew older, I baked the ubiquitous all-American apple pie. After a day or so, my bottom crust would get soggy, usually causing me to toss the leftover pie in the disposal. The solution? A pie without a bottom crust, is a cinch to put together, and tastes like you're eleven years old and sitting in the orchard. The top is crispy, delicate and tender at the same time. Take care to get it in the oven as soon as you finish spreading the batter on the apples.
Vegan Swedish Apple Pie
2 1/2 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples; I used a blend of Granny Smith and Cortland
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup margarine, melted (such as Earth's Best)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup soy yogurt*
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch glass pie plate with margarine. Toss apples with brown sugar and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, soy yogurt, and vanilla with the melted margarine. Whip with an electric mixer until the mixture is very aerated and nearly white. Stir together flour, soda and salt. Add all at once to margarine mixture and mix until just combined but with no lumps. Spread mixture over the apples. Bake in preheated oven for 65 minutes, or until golden brown.
My mother's pies never really came out too well. The bottom crust was always doughy and I'd gingerly pick out the delicious filling, being careful not to get any of the crust mixed with my bite.
As I grew older, I baked the ubiquitous all-American apple pie. After a day or so, my bottom crust would get soggy, usually causing me to toss the leftover pie in the disposal. The solution? A pie without a bottom crust, is a cinch to put together, and tastes like you're eleven years old and sitting in the orchard. The top is crispy, delicate and tender at the same time. Take care to get it in the oven as soon as you finish spreading the batter on the apples.
Vegan Swedish Apple Pie
2 1/2 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples; I used a blend of Granny Smith and Cortland
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup margarine, melted (such as Earth's Best)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup soy yogurt*
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch glass pie plate with margarine. Toss apples with brown sugar and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, soy yogurt, and vanilla with the melted margarine. Whip with an electric mixer until the mixture is very aerated and nearly white. Stir together flour, soda and salt. Add all at once to margarine mixture and mix until just combined but with no lumps. Spread mixture over the apples. Bake in preheated oven for 65 minutes, or until golden brown.
*(If you eat eggs and dairy products, you can omit the yogurt and the baking soda and substitute a beaten egg; and use butter in place of margarine for similar results.)
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Breakfast Bars (Autumn and Tropical versions)
By now, the entire planet is well aware that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The number one reason for not eating breakfast has something to do with morning time constraints, the snooze button, and the fact that you thought you could stay up all night watching the Gene Simmons Family Values marathon on A&E.
On a lovely Sunday, you could spend 10 minutes whipping these badboys up and you can eat them in the car on your way to work (or rehab, if that's your gig.) They pack a nutritional punch, they're healthy, and they're rather addictive. Though the ingredient list looks daunting, it tends to be of the sort of things that are usually lurking about in your pantry with nothing else better to do. You don't have soy flour? No big. Just leave it out. Don't like pumpkin? Use applesauce. Not a fan of pecans? Use whichever nut you'd like, or leave them out. Hate cranberries? Use raisins. Hate cranberries AND raisins? Use dried apples. I think you get the gist here. These are egg-free, diary-free, and they're full of oaty goodness, which will probably lower your cholesterol. You can thank me later.
Autumn Breakfast Bars
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup oat flour (conveniently made from pulverizing old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/3 cup flaxseeds, toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant, and pulverized in a blender or food processor.
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 cup Craisins or raisins or chopped dried apples.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree; not the pumpkin pie mix (or natural applesauce)
1 medium Granny Smith or Gala apple, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped into small pieces (1/4 inch or so)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375*F. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, stirring to combine. In a separate bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients along with the apple, dried fruit, and nuts. Stir until the mixture is well combined and spread into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares while the bars are still warm, but do not remove them from the pan until they are completely cool (as they will fall apart if you take them out when still warm.)
Tropical Version: Reduce packed brown sugar to 2 Tbsp. Omit the maple syrup and water, the fresh apple, the pumpkin, the cinnamon, and the Craisins and pecans and substitute with the following:
1 cup canned pineapple tidbits (not crushed pineapple) well-drained and dried (reserve juice)
1 cup reserved pineapple juice from above; add enough water or apple juice to make one cup if you don't have enough.
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup packed sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup finely chopped dried mango and papaya
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or cashews
1/4 tsp allspice
On a lovely Sunday, you could spend 10 minutes whipping these badboys up and you can eat them in the car on your way to work (or rehab, if that's your gig.) They pack a nutritional punch, they're healthy, and they're rather addictive. Though the ingredient list looks daunting, it tends to be of the sort of things that are usually lurking about in your pantry with nothing else better to do. You don't have soy flour? No big. Just leave it out. Don't like pumpkin? Use applesauce. Not a fan of pecans? Use whichever nut you'd like, or leave them out. Hate cranberries? Use raisins. Hate cranberries AND raisins? Use dried apples. I think you get the gist here. These are egg-free, diary-free, and they're full of oaty goodness, which will probably lower your cholesterol. You can thank me later.
Autumn Breakfast Bars
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup oat flour (conveniently made from pulverizing old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/3 cup flaxseeds, toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant, and pulverized in a blender or food processor.
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 cup Craisins or raisins or chopped dried apples.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree; not the pumpkin pie mix (or natural applesauce)
1 medium Granny Smith or Gala apple, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped into small pieces (1/4 inch or so)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375*F. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, stirring to combine. In a separate bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients along with the apple, dried fruit, and nuts. Stir until the mixture is well combined and spread into a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares while the bars are still warm, but do not remove them from the pan until they are completely cool (as they will fall apart if you take them out when still warm.)
Tropical Version: Reduce packed brown sugar to 2 Tbsp. Omit the maple syrup and water, the fresh apple, the pumpkin, the cinnamon, and the Craisins and pecans and substitute with the following:
1 cup canned pineapple tidbits (not crushed pineapple) well-drained and dried (reserve juice)
1 cup reserved pineapple juice from above; add enough water or apple juice to make one cup if you don't have enough.
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup packed sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup finely chopped dried mango and papaya
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts or cashews
1/4 tsp allspice
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Chocolate Silk Pie
Oh, just yum. Glorious, creamy, happy yum. And easy. So pathetically easy you could sleep while making it, and it'd still come out perfectly. It is rich and decadent and chocolate all around. It's not my recipe, since every vegan seems to know how to make it. You can mess with it a bit and it still comes out muy delicioso. It's like discovering Blackbeard's treasure.
Chocolate Silk Pie
1 lb silken tofu, room temperature
12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao)
one ready-made pie crust; I used the Oreo sort.
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Melt the chocolate chips in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Put the tofu in a blender with the vanilla and puree it on high for about 30 seconds, until it is smooth; don't remove the tofu from the blender. Add the chocolate to the blender, and puree it on high with the tofu until the mixture doesn't have any more white streaks. You may have to scrape the sides of the blender down with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared pie crust and chill for at least 3 hours.
This pie is great. It has sinful mouthfeel but doesn't leave your mouth coated in fat (that would be a clean finish, methinks.) If you've never had tofu, or if tofu makes you all squeevish, give this a shot. Even my husband ate it and gave it high reviews.
Monday, September 17, 2007
I've come to discover...
Vegetarianism really isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. It's quite surprising, really.
In the past week, I've eaten more tofu than I've ever eaten before. It is quite good (when combined with spices and flavorful foods.) I tried it on its own and it's quite bland. Today, I made a stew, and it is amazing. Today is chilly and I've eaten 2 bowls of this hearty, filling stuff.
I can state that I didn't think I would feel as well as I do today. In fact, I didn't realize how badly I was feeling previously. Other than the non-consumption of meat, nothing really has changed. Physically, I feel like I could swim the English Channel. I do start shaking every now and again, but my blood sugar has been fine. I'm wondering what was actually in the food I was eating if I'm possibly going through withdrawal symptoms.
Burger King has veggie burgers. I found this out because I was hungry and thirsty, and I was about to settle on drinking a Coke and not eating a darn thing, until I saw "BK Veggie Burger" on the menu. It comes with mayo on it, so if you're vegan, ask for it without. It is GOOD. I think it actually tastes better than the other menu options. Give one a shot. It doesn't taste like a hockey puck like some veggie burgers did back in the day when they first came out.
I purchased more produce than I think I can possibly get through in a week. Call it farmer's market gluttony. This is what happens when one's market bag is bigger than one's stomach. I'm going to roast a mess of veggies and do a few things with it. I did so on Saturday, and suffice it to say, I ate the whole thing. I even ate it for breakfast on Sunday. Yes, it was indeed that good.
I just ordered two cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, one of them called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is quite possibly the best title for a book to date. She has a blog as well, and has recently posted a recipe for Vegan Milano cookies; a spinoff on the Pepperidge Farm cookie of the same name, minus the vegan. I don't know about you, but vegan or not, making these cookies at home would kick butt. You can Google Vegan Milano cookies and her site will show up.
Butternut Squash Stew (loosely based on the Southwestern Stew from Vegetarian Times magazine.)
1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes (or so, doesn't have to be perfect)
2 large sweet onions, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, minced (the whole thing if you want more of a kick)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 dried bay leaf
1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, cubed, and squeezed dry with paper towels.
3 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
In a stock pot, heat 1 Tbsp of the oil until it is very hot, but not smoking. Add the onions, cooking over medium heat until the onions are browned, stirring often. Increase heat to high. Add the tofu to the pot with the spices, bay leaf, and sugar, stirring to coat the tofu/onions. Allow tofu to brown a bit, about 5 minutes. Add squash and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until the squash is cooked through and tender, about 25-30 minutes. Mix the remaining oil and the flour together in a small bowl. Add to the stew, stirring constantly. The liquid should thicken. Turn off heat and allow the stew to sit for about 20-30 minutes, reheat if necessary. Remove bay leaf. Serve stew with crusty bread. Yields about 6 servings.
In the past week, I've eaten more tofu than I've ever eaten before. It is quite good (when combined with spices and flavorful foods.) I tried it on its own and it's quite bland. Today, I made a stew, and it is amazing. Today is chilly and I've eaten 2 bowls of this hearty, filling stuff.
I can state that I didn't think I would feel as well as I do today. In fact, I didn't realize how badly I was feeling previously. Other than the non-consumption of meat, nothing really has changed. Physically, I feel like I could swim the English Channel. I do start shaking every now and again, but my blood sugar has been fine. I'm wondering what was actually in the food I was eating if I'm possibly going through withdrawal symptoms.
Burger King has veggie burgers. I found this out because I was hungry and thirsty, and I was about to settle on drinking a Coke and not eating a darn thing, until I saw "BK Veggie Burger" on the menu. It comes with mayo on it, so if you're vegan, ask for it without. It is GOOD. I think it actually tastes better than the other menu options. Give one a shot. It doesn't taste like a hockey puck like some veggie burgers did back in the day when they first came out.
I purchased more produce than I think I can possibly get through in a week. Call it farmer's market gluttony. This is what happens when one's market bag is bigger than one's stomach. I'm going to roast a mess of veggies and do a few things with it. I did so on Saturday, and suffice it to say, I ate the whole thing. I even ate it for breakfast on Sunday. Yes, it was indeed that good.
I just ordered two cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, one of them called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is quite possibly the best title for a book to date. She has a blog as well, and has recently posted a recipe for Vegan Milano cookies; a spinoff on the Pepperidge Farm cookie of the same name, minus the vegan. I don't know about you, but vegan or not, making these cookies at home would kick butt. You can Google Vegan Milano cookies and her site will show up.
Butternut Squash Stew (loosely based on the Southwestern Stew from Vegetarian Times magazine.)
1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes (or so, doesn't have to be perfect)
2 large sweet onions, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, minced (the whole thing if you want more of a kick)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 dried bay leaf
1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, cubed, and squeezed dry with paper towels.
3 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
In a stock pot, heat 1 Tbsp of the oil until it is very hot, but not smoking. Add the onions, cooking over medium heat until the onions are browned, stirring often. Increase heat to high. Add the tofu to the pot with the spices, bay leaf, and sugar, stirring to coat the tofu/onions. Allow tofu to brown a bit, about 5 minutes. Add squash and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until the squash is cooked through and tender, about 25-30 minutes. Mix the remaining oil and the flour together in a small bowl. Add to the stew, stirring constantly. The liquid should thicken. Turn off heat and allow the stew to sit for about 20-30 minutes, reheat if necessary. Remove bay leaf. Serve stew with crusty bread. Yields about 6 servings.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Thirty-seven
For my birthday, I've decided that I'm going vegetarian. That's right; no more eating animals and contributing to the pocketbook of factory farming.
I hope those of you reading the blog will stay and discover the versatility of a meat-free diet. If not, that's fine too, of course. To each his own, as they say.
My wonderful husband got me a subscription to Vegetarian Times magazine and new sneakers (which I desperately wanted) and an MP3 player so that my walks will now be skip-free.
It is a good day.
I hope those of you reading the blog will stay and discover the versatility of a meat-free diet. If not, that's fine too, of course. To each his own, as they say.
My wonderful husband got me a subscription to Vegetarian Times magazine and new sneakers (which I desperately wanted) and an MP3 player so that my walks will now be skip-free.
It is a good day.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Helen of Troy
I'm quite certain that if David Lebovitz's Cheesecake Ice Cream were a woman in ancient Greece, she would be the ice cream to launch a thousand cones. Everyone as a whole would have been much happier and there wouldn't have been any of that whole murderous mess going on. After all, no one can be angry whilst holding an ice cream cone.
Many would argue that ice cream wasn't brought about until the Victorian era or so (rather, that is when it really increased in popularity,) but this is my blog, and my fantasy, and you should just leave all reason out of it. Reason indeed has absolutely no place in your thoughts if you're eating cheesecake ice cream. I followed the recipe unflinchingly, and whizzed the whole mess up in the blender. It took all of 5 minutes. After the lovely concoction was done churning, I stirred in crumbled bits of graham cracker pie crust. It was rich, creamy, subtly tangy from the sour cream, with a nice hit citrus from the zest. It is the frozen essence of cheesecake. It will make you smile. A lot. You may even find yourself calling your little tub of ice cream, "my precioussssssss," defending your stash while wielding your almighty spoon. Tricksy indeed.
If you haven't purchased an ice cream maker, I have no idea what you are waiting for. You know that box of fluffy cold stuff that you pick up at the grocery store? It's about 80% air. And it is disgusting to boot. Carageenan? I like to pronounce my ingredients, thank you very much. Even the wee million-dollar pints that those two guys make (I'll admit, they do make some mean ice cream) cannot compare to the lusciousness of all that is contained in The Perfect Scoop.
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