Red Lentil + Chickpea Burgers

Another Myra Kornfeld creation. We made it with the peanut sauce (one that doesn't use soy sauce--included with the recipe). Fairly quick and easy to make, though we had mixed success with trying to speed up the cooling process by throwing them in the freezer for ten minutes instead of the fridge for thirty; they were on the verge of falling apart. Our suggestion would be more spice--triple the cumin, double the coriander, get some chili pepper flakes in on the game, whatever, but don't trust her recommendation.

For a full photoshoot, both making and plating, click here.

"Millet Bars"

A recipe inspired by a local bakery's version. While it's true that the millet adds a lot of flair to these bars, they could just as easily be called oatmeal cookie bars. Once you skim the recipe, you'll see what i mean.

For our first attempt we spread them onto a baking sheet, which could possibly work, but it's hard not to overcook them. The goal is to have a crunchy, stable exterior and a gooey, barely cooked middle portion. So the first batch came out hard, like a hard granola bar. Still good, but not perfect (maybe perfect to crumble into granola...). I think you get a sense of the thickness in these two pictures.

The second round was made in a deeper baking pan, and cooked hardly at all. Perfect! And they're vegan, for those people out there who a) are vegan or b) worry about ingesting undercooked eggs. If you have leftover mash (i don't want to say batter, but we all know that's what it is), it seems well suited to be a crumble topping or eaten with vanilla ice cream.

No, It's Not Valentine's Day

I just passed some gorgeous rose bushes on my walk home from work, and there just happened to be three, count 'em, three types of chocolate mousse in the fridge that love to wear pink. Maybe if you're really nice to her, Neeta will post the recipes.

For the full photoshoot, click here.

Tempeh Trial

The recipe is from Myra Kornfeld's The Healthy Hedonist. My first tempeh experience! I had no idea what tempeh was (it's *fermented* soy, thanks Sandorkraut). Colin's departure (and that of his cookware) has required some kitchen innovation on our part--check the awesome steamer:

OMG I Live with a Pastry Chef Pt. 2

Last Days, First Crust

Colin suffered the fate of those of us who have birthdays close to major holidays--we combo'd his b-day and going away quiches. And I did the crust! The process made me realize two things: how completely i'd been a spectator for previous quiche crust-making adventures and how damn good i am at making said crusts. Well, maybe...I had quite a lot of supervision. But look at how pretty!

Crust recipe here, custard here. The spinach was a new twist for us--we sauteed it briefly with the onions and garlic before baking it in. We also used pink peppercorns (in addition to black pepper). Our spiciest quiche yet!

OMG I Live with a Pastry Chef

A pate sucree shell, pastry cream, and gorgeous fruit combine to create this mignardise. Neeta calls it a "pop-it-in-your-mouth dessert", but it took me slighty longer to consume, since it inspired a photoshoot.

Risotto!

A barley based version from Myra Kornfield's The Healthy Hedonist. Turned out to be low stress (you bake it!) and just as creamy as rice ones we've had.

Jess Special

Not sure who dubbed it so, but it's true, i make this a lot. Probably because it's easy and tasty. We can argue about using canned beans and veggies, but i usually do, at least until later in the summer when the tomatoes are out.

Recipe here.

Smoothies really bring out the cynic in me

Combine in a blender/food processor the flesh of 2 fresh mangoes, 4 oz. frozen raspberries, and 1 cup of plain yogurt. Process until smooth. Delicious.

It's kind of sad though that it's a concoction whose existence is totally dependent on the infrastructure of an absurd produce industry. Mango (in Colorado) combined with out-of-season raspberries - are you kidding me? I hope all our recipes aren't reliant on such a fragile system.

Adventures in Kimchi Pt 2

The verdict: spicy sour/sweet goodness. Ate it with the leftover plain rice noodles, to take the edge off. A quick google and wikipedia search yielded these fun facts:

Kimchi didn't include chili peppers until the the 17th century, when the plant, native to the Americas, was introduced to the region.

Kimchi varieties are often categorized by region and/or season.

Health Magazine named it one of the world's top 5 healthiest foods. Never heard of Health Magazine, but i'll believe them this one time.

Plans for our kimchi include frying it into fried rice and using it as a topping on veggie burgers.

Brooklyn Pad Thai

From Vegan With A Vengeance.

This recipe turned out really well. One thing to watch out for is the amount of noodles. The recipe calls for 1 lb of rice noodles, so we got 2 8oz boxes, but that turned out to be a bit too much for the amount of sauce. Our first batch was a little light, both in color and flavor, so we withheld about 25% of the noodles on the second round and it was much tastier (and prettier--see comparison shot below).

I Love Hot Chocolate

Two points for the Laughing Goat coffee guy (i refuse to use the term "barista").

So Long, Max

It's true. Max has left us for rivers and rafting in California. Of course he needed a send-off quiche. A parting gift from us to him, although he ended up making the crust himself (from this recipe, using all milk and no cream. and soy margarine instead of butter). Insides: asparagus, brocolli, onions, and tomatoes. Outside: severe sadness over max's departure.

The rest of the brunch included breakfast potatoes, tofu scramble, and (you guessed it!) pancakes with a banana compote.

Breakfast Potatoes

A Rose special, prepared by the breakfast king, Max. So tasty! So easy!

Cut and boil the potatoes until medium soft. Then fry up with any combination of: brocolli, asparagus, kale, spinach, onions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, thyme, rosemary, pepper, salt, cayenne, cumin, or anything else you can think of.

If adding cheese, put it on near the end (but allow enough time for it to melt).

Samosas

The meal that took two days. But only due to our laziness and scheduling issues--it really isn't hard at all.

The samosa recipe is from Moosewood (yes, we have that out from the library these days). As a blatant photo vehicle, we're posting a photo diary style recipe here. We also made four chutneys to go with it, two from Moosewood, two from the Ayruvedic Cookbook: Apple, Tomato, Mango, and Mint.

Mango Lassi also pictured. Luckily, we had Winter on hand to show us the world' greatest (or possibly just "the correct") way to cut mangos.

More Pancakes

On their way to becoming vegan...

in the absence of eggs we substitute soy yogurt. but in the absence of soy yogurt, we used actual yogurt.

1/4 cup yog = 1 egg

this substitution made the batter really thick, so i ended up adding at least an extra 3/4 cup of rice milk. these held together well, much better than when we tried substituting a banana for the eggs. but the test kitchen hasn't given up hope on the perfect vegan banana pancake, oh no, it's coming.

PS. These were made with other people at a decent breakfast hour--i swear! They came about when jess jokingly asked max "what's for breakfast?" and he replied with certainty "pancakes". Pancakes, indeed.

So Granola

First, an apology for the misleading ode to Daikon radishes in the previous post. Seems that the vegetable that stole all of our hearts is actually a regular run o' the mill radish. Read more here. Apparently, radishes were the staple food for Fraggles.

Granola class! Taught by the queen of her college co-op's granola production, Rose! I'd been wanting to make granola for such a long time and this first batch has only fed the flame. So easy! So good!

Rose's Guide to Granola:

1) Heat veggie/canola oil, some honey, and maple syrup in a pot. How much? Enough to coat the amount of oats you want to use, when mixed together in a big bowl. You can always throw in more oil if the oats are looking dry after mixing, but it's nice to let all the sweeteners blend a bit. Molasses is a definite possibility here, but it's distinct flavor will shine through, so make sure you factor that in.


2) Pour over oats in a big bowl. Spice it up. We used some cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of dried ginger, too.

3) Spread evenly onto a baking sheet. Cook at 250 degrees for, mmm, a while. Sometimes when you take the granola out, it will get crispier as it cools, so go by color (it should be browned), not texture. Stir oats around halfway through the baking (or as much as you'd like), to ensure even browning.


Also, the more oil you use, the crispier your granola will be. But of course, too much oil is gross.




4) Adding stuff! We didn't bake any of the added ingredients with the granola. This is an option. It's recommended (third person sounds so official!) that you add these ingredients toward the end of the oat baking, to avoid them getting burnt or gooey. If you're putting raisins or other dried fruit in your granola, and you want to bake them in, soak them first, so they'll stay moist.



Our granola was blessed with crushed walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries, and a special batch got chocolate chips.

Pictured below: the granola making an appearance at our Easter/Farewell Rose brunch.

Adventures in Kimchi (Part 1)

How beautiful are Daikon radishes?

We were introduced because our Kimchi recipe called for radishes, and the co-op didn't have "regular" radishes.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

We do.




We adapted Sandorkraut's Kimchi recipe from Wild Fermentation.

1. Make 1 quart of brine by mixing 4 T into 4 cups of water.
2. Chop 1 lb of bok choy or napa cabbage, 1 daikon radish, and 1 carrot into bite-sized funness.
3. In a 2 quart mason jar (or something it will fit in), layer all veggies, pour brine over, and tamp down with something heavy (we used a smaller jar filled with water). Cover jar with a cloth. Let sit until soft (a few hours).
4. Make the paste!

-1 onion, diced
-6 cloves of garlic
-3 T freshly grated ginger (we ended up using a little dry to make up the difference)
-4 cayenne chilles

here's the creative part! we added a healthy dash of sesame oil, a splash of tamari, and some sriracha hot chili sauce. The original recipe said to make it a paste, but since the Shopacalypse is at hand, and we might not always have access to a food processor, we decided to go with a more old-fashioned amalgam.

5. When veggies are soft, pour off brine and set aside. Mix paste in with veggies. Tamp down with smaller jar. If there is not enough liquid at this point to cover the veggies, add just enough of the original brine to cover.
6. Let sit for a week. Tamp whenever you remember to.

Easy Lunch+Hummus Recipe

Hi Mom, Hi!

Brocolli sauteed in tamari, house sauerkraut, colin's hummus, and some matzah (i'm sick of spelling it matzoh).

Colin's *Amazing* Hummus Recipe:

juice of two lemons
almost 2 lbs (2 15oz cans) of cooked chickpeas
~1/2 cup tahini
7 cloves of garlic
dash of olive oil
paprika, salt, cayenne to taste

throw in a food processor or mash til your brachioradialis is sore.