Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

My daughter has made these a few times now so I felt it was time to blog them on her behalf. They are so tasty and vegan to boot!

These are chocolaty cookies wrapped around a delicious peanut butter filling. What could be tastier? They are a teeny bit more time consuming then your average cookie but they are definitely worth it.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

For the Chocolate Dough:

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (my daughter used agave syrup)
• 3 tbs pure vanilla etract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa owder
• 2 tbs black unsweetened cocoa powder (my daughter skipped this)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the Filling:

• 1/4 cup natural salted peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tbs soy creamer or nondairy milk
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, comibie oil, sugar, maple syrup, nondairy milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa powder ,black cocoa powder if using, baking soda and salt. Mix to form a moist dough. 
2. Make the peanut butter filling: in another mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together peanut butter, powdered sugar, 2 tbs of the soy creamer, and vanilla to form a moist but firm dough. If peanut butter dough is dry and crumbly (natural peanut butters have varying moisture contents), stir in the remaining tablespoon of nondairy milk. If dough is too wet knead in a little exgtra powdered sugar.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Shape the Cookies:

Create the centers of the cookies by rolling the peanut butter dough unto twenty-four balls (try dividing tough in half then each part in half again,and roll each portion into six balls). Scoop a generous tablespoon of chocolate dough, flatten into a thin disc, and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Fold the sides of the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter center and roll into a smooth ball between your palms. Place on a sheet of waxed paper and repeat with remaining dough. If desired, gently flatten cookies slightly, but this is not necessary.

Place the dough balls on lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes .Remove the sheet from the oven and let the cookies stand for 4 minutes before moving them to wire racks to complete cooling. Store cookies in tightly covered container. If desired, warm cookies in a microwave for 12 seconds before serving. 

Easy Homemade Salsa with Black Beans and Corn

I like store-bought salsa fine but even when you have to use canned tomatoes, homemade is so much better and very easy. I ate 3 bowls of this before writing this blog. My husband has just gone back for his second bowl. 

Mixxie's Chunky Salsa with Black Beans and Corn

Makes a large bowlful. Scientific, eh? Seriously, I would guess it makes about 8 cups. I forgot to measure.

• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, slightly drained (I used regular dice and had to chop them some---I recommend petite diced)
• 1 14 oz can black beans, drained well under water til the water runs clear and free of blue color
• 1 jalapeno, seeded, membrane removed and minced (if you want it spicier leave the membrane and some, 
  or all of the seeds)
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red onion diced very fine
• 1 tps cumin (roasted is nice)
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 2 tbs agave nectar or 1 tbs sugar (or to taste depending on sweetness of tomatoes
• juice from two limes
• 1 tbs mild vinegar (I used white balsamic)
• salt to taste (start with a teaspoon depending on how salty your tomatoes are)
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped (or less if you are not as crazy about cilantro as I am)

In a glass, ceramic, or plastic bowl, mix the tomatoes, corn, beans, jalapeno, garlic, onion, cumin,
cayenne, lime juice, and vinegar. Taste and then add the sweetener and salt a little at a time until you
come to the taste you like. I save stirring in the cilantro until the very end for the freshest flavor.
Other things you can add: diced seedless cucumber, diced avocado, diced red and yellow bell pepper,
diced yellow squash or diced zucchini. 

My husband and I enjoyed the salsa with tortilla chips while watching Modern Family but this salsa would also be great as a topping for grilled fish, chicken, pork, or tofu. 

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER....

come from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. 

This is my daughter's go-to recipe when she wants to make cookies. They are hands down the favorite cookie in this house. Chocolate chip cookies aren't even my favorite but these are just so dang good.Here's the recipe as copied from Post Punk Kitchen.

Chocolate Chip Cookies 
makes 2 dozen 2" cookies or 16 3" cookies

•  1/2 brown sugar
• 1/4 white sugar

• 2/3 cup canola oil

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)

• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour (every time my daughter has made these she has used tapioca starch and it's been fine)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cups chocolate chips (If you want them to be vegan without the hassle, Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips are accidentally vegan)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two large light metal baking sheets.

Mix together sugars, oil, milk and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.

Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stuff so use your hands to really work them in.

For 3 inch cookies, roll the dough into about ping pong ball size balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes – no more than 9 – until they are just a little browned around the edges. I usually get 16 out of these so I do two rounds of eight cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

For 2 dozen two inch cookies roll dough into walnut sized balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches and bake for only six minutes.

Ivy actually got distracted and messed up the recipe a little bit (she forgot to add the almond milk to the oil/sugar mixture and the salt to the flour mixture) and they still came out amazing, as you can see from the photo. She added the salt to the almond milk, per my advice, and added it to the dough mixture. 

Also, today she adopted a cat from our local SPCA shelter so here is a gratuitous cute cat photo. 

The kitty is unnamed as of yet. His name at the moment is "Bear" and he is 9 years old. He belonged to someone who died and left behind three kitties. Fortunately, they've all been adopted. Ivy doesn't really like "Bear" for a cat although seeing how big he is I understand the thought process. She just said, "Oh man, I could name him Totoro!" He has a very Totoro-esque roundness. But that's probably not going to happen. We'll see. 

UPDATE!!!  Kitty has now been named Lennie Briscoe. He's currently hiding out but we have confidence that he'll emerge soon. He was briefly introduced to two of our toy poodles and it didn't phase him a bit. 

Fun with Pressure Cooking

I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions but this year, I did resolve to get past my fear of the pressure cooker. My mom used hers all the time. In fact, I think mine was inherited from her but since I'm a big thrift store shopper, I can't actually recall. Sadly, I never got around to having her show me how to use it before she died. 

Last year, I resolved I would get over my fear of beans exploding all over my kitchen, dusted off the cooker, and contacted T-Fal who kindly emailed me the instruction manual. The PDF file was of a badly photocopied manual laid out every which way which meant I kept having to rotate the view so I could read it. Not that their was much to read. Most of the instructions were cartoon drawings with no explanation or even directional arrows to help clarify things. Oh well.

 Next, I discovered I needed a new ring gasket for the lid. I went online, spent 10 bucks and had one delivered within a few days. By then, my resolve had begun to wain. I put it all away and forgot about it except for the occasionally twinge of guilt when I'd glance down at it in the cabinet where it was stored. 

Recently, my daughter told me that we should start using it because her friends who live in a vegetarian collective have started pressure cooking their beans, whereas before than had been slow-cooking them. Ivy never cared for the beans at the Starship collective because they were always underdone and she prefers (as do I) more of a 'can' texture. I figured if these post-hippie anarchists could manage a pressure cooker, so could I.

Today, I present to you, two soups made with similar ingredients, over the course of an hour. 

The first is Lima beans and Cabbage with Pasture Raised Ham. 

• 2 tbs fat from the rind of a ham steak, minced (you could also use bacon or salt pork)
• 1 onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 lg carrots diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 quarter cabbage, sliced once horizontally then sliced vertically into strips about 2" long, 1/2" wide
• 1 large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes and their juice
• 2 cups soaked lima beans*
• 1 cup diced ham (I used a ham steak from pasture raised pigs from Dismas Family Farm)
• 1 tbs kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregeno
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tps dried thyme
• fresh ground pepper
• 3 tomato cans water 

1. Over medium high heat, render the fat until it is browned and crispy. I originally started with about 1/3 cup of minced fat and it gave off way more liquid then I wanted so I drained all but about 2 tbs, keeping the crispy bits. I reduced the amount in my recipe but you may still need to drain some of the rendered fat. What I was after is a flavorful base for sauteing my veg, not a greasy mess. 
2. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent and the veg are giving off a nice fragrance.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring to incorporate, and lock the pressure cooker cover in place. 
4. Bring to full pressure than reduce to the lowest setting on your range that will allow you to keep full pressure. Cook for 14 minutes and use the quick release method (aka, carefully bring the cooker to the sink and gently run cold water over the lid, being careful not to get water into the pressure valve thingee). 

Taste for seasoning and doneness. If it is not quite cooked to your satisfaction, finish it off on the range the regular way. A few more minutes cooking time should do it. I did not have to do anything or even adjust seasonings. 

The next soup I made was Dilly Lima Bean and Cabbage with Beets. It turned a lovely deep coral. It would have been perfect for Valentine's Day. 

• 2 cups Lima beans, soaked*
• 1 cup hulless or pearled barley (if you use hulled barley, be sure to pre-soak it for a few hours)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1 quarter wedge cabbage, sliced one horizontally, than sliced vertically to make strips about 1/2" wide and 2" long)
• 2 small or 1 large beet peeled (or scraped if they are small) and diced
• 1 golden delicious apple, peeled and diced
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 wedges lemon, seeded
• 2 tbs currents
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dill
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/4 tsp anise seeds
• 3 whole allspice berries
• 8 cups water

Place everything in at least a 5 qt pressure cooker, stir a bit to combine, then bring to full pressure over high heat. Once it's at full pressure, reduce the heat on your range to the lowest possible setting to maintain full pressure. Cook for 28 minutes. 

I found the soup needed a bit of thickening, perhaps because it is covered under pressure, very little of the liquid evaporates. I simply cooked it for a few more minutes, uncovered, and stirred in 1/4 cup flour mixed with a bit of cold water to prevent lumping. 

Both soups were delicious but the beet soup had a great depth of flavor that I kept going back for. The only change I would make is to add more barley as the individual grains got rather lost. 

*I soaked my beans using the quick soak method which is to cover the beans with 8 cups of hot water, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak for 1 1/2 half. I also added a tbs of baking soda once I turned the heat off. 

Crock-Pot Chicken Fail (Sort Of)

First, here is a gratuitous picture of one of my favorite simple lunches; a Trader Joe's sesame bagel schmeared with smoked wild salmon (also from Trader Joe's), cream cheese, and dill pickles. Yum. The awesome Donald Duck mug came from The Christmas Tree Shoppe.




So, I still have plenty of the amazing bacon I talked about in this entry. I've been doing a lot of Pinterest prowling in search of great comfort food recipes and, of course,that means lots of Crock-Pot entries. I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ. It looked delicious and simple and combined two things I love---fruit and pork. Bingo. Also, it looks delicious in Chef in Training's photo. The ingredients and prep are very simple:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 5 small apples, peeled and chopped
• 8 slices bacon

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and peeled/chopped apples.
2. Wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon and place in a greased slow cooker.
3. Pour BBQ-apple mixture over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done.

I only had 3 chicken breasts. I got a small bag of organic, locally raised chicken from Fertile Underground, a co-op in Providence. Three was plenty since I'm only feeding myself, my husband and my dad. I only used 2 apples, but they were very large ones I got from the older fruit section of Stop & Shop (a great tip if you are buying fruit for cooking---I also bought some barely old red peppers for super cheap which I took home and promptly roasted). I'm glad I did not use the amount of apples as instructed because the juice from just the two really made for a soupy final product.

It looks pretty in the Crock-Pot so far...

The instructions say to cook it on low for 6-8 hours. I was suspicious that the bacon would not get as crispy as it looks in Chef in Training's photo at that setting. I was also worried that the chicken breast would dry out. I wish I had listened to my instinct and experience. My results were far less visually appealing than Chef in Training's.




The bacon was soggy and unappetizing, the chicken was dry and there was way too much liquid. This was after cranking it to High for about 2 hours. All that really did was dry out the chicken and cook down some of the excess juice.

It smelled pretty terrific though. Here's how it looked plated up with some mashed potatoes and a veggie mix I concocted.





Would I cook this again? Maybe, but probably not in the Crock-Pot. I don't work so I can easily prepare a dish like this in a slow oven in my Dutch oven or other covered casserole. Where I may have gone 'wrong' was in making my own quickie BBQ sauce. Perhaps a bottled sauce, which contains corn syrup, would have thickened up more than my recipe which had a base of crushed tomato and about 1/2 cup brown sugar. I also forgot to add the lemon juice although that wouldn't effect the texture. If I were going to try this in the Crock-Pot again, I would cook down the apples for a few minutes on the stove top to release some of the juice. The juice can always be reserved and thickened with some flour or corn starch and added to the Crock-Pot during the last 30 minutes. Also, I would cook it on High for 2-3 hours rather than the 6-8 hours on Low called for in the recipe.


Was it tasty? Yes. In the end my husband proclaimed it "good grits" (a family saying he adopted when he married me, a girl with paternal roots in the South). It was sad that that beautiful bacon was mostly wasted in this. It did add nice flavor but I,personally,could not eat the soggy meat. My husband and dad probably did. It's not something I would serve to polite company.

I needed a nice veg to go with this but didn't feel like dealing with salad so I scoured the freezer for something I could cook up quick.


I chopped some garlic, tossed it in a large saute pan with olive oil and added some frozen cut green beans that had seen better days, some frozen corn (Trader Joe's---delish!), and some of those home made roasted peppers I mentioned earlier, diced up. A dash or two of Frank's Hot Sauce, some fine sea salt, and a grind of pepper and I had a nice vegetable side dish.

Stay tuned for an idea I have to adapt this recipe for a more successful outcome.









,

Baked Eggs With Avocado and Bacon

I still have quite a few avocados that need eating so tonight's meal was going to be this
from crafty blogger Betsy at  The View From In Here  but even though I scooped out quite a bit of the flesh I had trouble with the whites spilling out over the avocado. 

I changed tactics before I had a total fail on my hands and carefully poured the eggs out of the avocado into a holding dish and instead, scooped out all the avocado flesh into a square baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. I didn't try to be particularly neat except to chunk the flesh up with the spoon a bit.

I made little wells for the eggs (well, I did after the first couple of eggs spilled into each other) and placed the eggs over the avocado. I had bacon ready that I had chopped and browned in a skillet. I didn't cook the bacon perfectly crispy because I figured it would brown a bit more in the oven. I topped the avocado with the bacon and added some chopped cilantro and halved grape tomatoes. I drizzled the top with 1/4 cup of half-and-half, a little salt and pepper, and popped it in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I would have liked to add some shredded Colby cheese but my husband loves his bacon and eggs but cheese, not so much. 

 I served the eggs (it cut like a crustless quiche) with a simple salad of Romain hearts and baby Romain, grated beets, and a dressing made from Trader Joe's blueberry preserves. 

I'm pretty proud of my method for making the dressing. The jar of preserves was nearly empty. I could maybe have scraped a scant tablespoon with a lot of effort. So I figured the jar would make a great shaker and just added the other ingredients;a bit of walnut oil, a bit of canola oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt; and shook it up. So simple. 

And on another note...last night's dinner was pretty great!

Simple Farmhouse Supper of Eggs, Roasted Bacon, and Baked Potatoes

My daughter has a friend who is the manager of Dismas Family Farm In Worcester, Ma. The following is their mission statement.

The mission of Dismas is to reconcile former prisoners to society, and society to former prisoners, through the development of a supportive community.

Supportive community is characterized by: students and former prisoners living together in a family setting, active involvement of volunteers from the broader community, and a spirit of open and participative decision-making by all in the community, with emphasis on the common good.

I've gotten beautiful fresh eggs from the farm in the past. A couple of weeks ago, Jen posted that they were offering a pork sampler for $50. The package includes: 

• 4 pork loin chops (and these chops are at least 1" thick!)
•  1 package of smoked bacon
• 2 smoked ham steaks
• 1 package of ground pork

It was a no-brainer for my husband and me. My husband and I love pork but I don't love factory-farmed meat. Also, the money supports a fantastic organization. Also, Jen is a fantastic person.

Last night's dinner was very simple. This isn't a recipe so much as a shared meal and one new technique if you've never roasted bacon before.

I started with the baked potatoes. Most people know how to bake a potato but here's my method:

Wash and pat dry a nice Russet potato. Poke all over with a fork or knife. Rub or brush with olive oil (or bacon fat if that's how you roll). Sprinkle the top with a little salt and place directly on the center rack of a 375 degree oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Once the potatoes are done, raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Place your bacon on a rack in a cookie sheet. For easier clean-up, line the cookie sheet with foil.  I had a last-minute inspiration and sprinkled fresh rosemary over the bacon. YUM!
Roast for approximately 15-17 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. I've read that this method works best with thick-cut bacon (for thinner slices you can broil the bacon for less time, keeping a close eye on it).

The finished bacon is perfectly crispy, with very little grease. Still, you should remove the bacon to a paper towel to absorb any remaining grease.

I cooked the eggs over easy which is my husband's favorite. My method is to cook over fairly low heat to insure a well-cooked white while preserving the runny yoke my husband and I love.

 If you've never had an egg straight from a farm, do yourself a favor and find a source. There is no comparison to those you find in the grocery store. Even the expensive 'cage-free' eggs do not come close. As for the bacon? Oh.my.gawd.

I'm one of those folks that finds the smell of bacon is so good that I'm left disappointed by the taste. This bacon was smoky without overwhelming the taste of the meat. The pungeant woodiness of the rosemary was a perfect compliment to the smoke. Heavenly.

My husband immediately transferred one of his eggs to his potato. It's not pretty but it's pretty delicious.

Fancy Lunch! Avocado and Tuna Salad

I had a bunch of avocados that need eating so I did a Pinterest search and came up with some great sounding recipes. This one was one I could make for lunch today. I adapted the idea to my own taste and what I had on hand.

I used:

• 1 (very) ripe avocado
• 1 can chunk light tuna in water
• 2 tbs chopped roasted peppers
• 2 dashes Frank's Hot Sauce
• 1 tbs mayonnaise
• squeeze from 1 lime wedge

Scoop out the avocado meat and save the shells. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, mashing to combine the tuna and avocado and scoop into the avocado shells (or into fancy cups or delicious bread). Alternatively, you could dice the avocado and added it to the prepared tuna salad, stirring carefully so as to preserve the chunks. This makes 2 servings for small appetites.  I ate one half and my dad had the other. 

Some other suggestions for add-ins:

• cilantro
• chopped water chestnuts
• sun-dried tomatoes
•  pickles (sweet or dill)
• a tablespoon of salsa (the kind with corn would be appropriate)

January 24, 2013

Modifying a  Pinterest Junk-Food Casserole

Yes, it's been awhile since I've blogged a recipe. I won't go into reasons why. I'm back and it's a good thing.
I've been following Pinterest again lately-- mostly indulging in food porn. Frequently I come across a recipe that looks really horrible from a food aesthetic but appeals to the junky in me in when it comes to fat, salt, and overall cheese content.
I decided last week I would have a "Junk Food Friday". My daughter cam up with the day based on when her boyfriend comes to visit for the weekend. He, with his youthful, boyish metabolism and his willingness to try nearly everything with the exception of broccoli, would contribute a large part toward the consumption of whatever messy, cheesy, processed mess I might come up with, thereby saving my husband and me from caloric overload. 

Tonight was the first Junk Food Friday and I went to the grocery store armed with a list of ingredients for this recipe ; a popular Doritos chicken casserole. I've since discovered variations but this was the one I came across first. The ingredients are:
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped 
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups salsa or 1 can Rotel
1 can of corn, drained
2 cups Mexican cheese, shredded
1 bag of nacho cheese Doritos

I took this cook's prompting and used a rotisserie ingredient (I'm an on-and-off vegetarian but I absolutely love rotisserie chickens for the convenience even if I sacrifice sustainable quality for it--I feel guilty but I do it any way). 

When I got to the canned soup section and actually got a look at the ingredients in a can of cream of mushroom soup, even in the low-sodium variety, I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. It's just way to easy to make a tasty bechamel sauce and that is really the only reason to use a cream of crap soup in a recipe. It is the easiest thing in the world to make a bechamel sauce and you can make it as low-fat or as fattening as you like depending on your choice of liquid and your method for making the roux.

For this recipe I chose to make a low-ish fat bechamel sauce and pre-mixed my milk and flour and seasonings, rather than melt a lump of butter in the sauce pan and stir in the flour.

I used 1/4 cup of flour, 2 cups of whole milk ***I considered using almond milk for about 2 seconds and then figured, "Who am I kidding?" and went with the whole milk that we keep in the 'fridge for my dad's cereal. 
To the flour and milk mixture in the saucepan I added:
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground mustard 
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme 

I whisked the mixture until smooth and then turned the heat to high, just long enough to bring to a boil, then turned it down to low, cooking and stirring occasionally until the sauce was thick enough to coat a spoon.

In the meantime, I removed most of the breast meat and the thigh meat from the chicken and shredded it with my hands. I put about 2 cups of Cool Ranch Doritos in a gallon sized zip-lock bag and crushed them until coarse. I sprayed a 9"x 13" baking dish with canola oil spray and spread the crushed chips in an even layer.
I added 1 cup of frozen corn to the bechamel, tested for salt (I added teeny bit more) and added the shredded chicken. I added about 2/3 cup of grated colby cheese and spread the mixture over the Doritoes.
I grated another 1/2 cup of cheese over the top, added sliced cherry tomatoes and diced jalapenos, sprinkled the top with smoked paprika and baked in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. 

My husband pronounced it to be 'Crack' and my daughter's boyfriend had two servings. I feel like I could have added about 1/2 cup of sour cream to the bechamel* with the cheese and perhaps a bit of salsa on the side or an avocado garnish. Otherwise, it was very good, Nicely creamy, not overly salty as it would have been with the two cans of cream of crap soup, and the Doritos provided a nice crunch. 

*In reading over the ingredients, I see that I neglected to add the sour cream to my shopping list. It definitely would have added something. I'd probably have gone for low-fat sour cream for this recipe.

Mixxie’s Vegan Mac and Cheese

 

There are lots of vegan mac and cheese recipes online. This is my version and I think it is very good and hits the spot when you have the craving. I added frozen peas to give it that "boxed macaroni and cheese with peas” taste that is what I crave. You can omit them, or add broccoli, spinach, shredded carrots or whatever else suits your fancy.

• 1 pkg vacuum-packed silken tofu. I used Mori-Nu Silken Soft which I bought at a nearby Asian market.
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1 tbs prepared Dijon or brown mustard (or 1 tsp dry mustard)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Frank’s)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tbs vegan margarine (I’ve done taste tests and Earth Balance is my favorite)
• 1 lb small pasta shape of your choice
• 1 cup frozen peas

Place ingredients in food processor bowl or blender and process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a medium sized sauce pan and heat gently over medium heat, stirring constantly. You just want to get it hot. If it starts to thicken too much you can add a bit of non-dairy milk of your choice. Set aside until pasta is cooked.

In the meantime, boil enough water for the small macaroni of your choice. When I make mac and cheese with frozen peas, I have the peas waiting in the colander for when I drain the macaroni. This thaws them sufficiently to be blended with the sauce.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, stir well to combine and taste for seasoning. You may need to add a bit of salt at this point. You can also pour into a casserole dish, cover with buttered bread crumbs and bake for about 25 minutes in a medium-hot oven (375-400).

*Note---the second time I made this I used Hodgson Mill whole wheat pasta shells. If you are feeling virtuous, by all means use whole wheat (or other whole grain pasta) but if you are craving the comfort food mac and cheese experience I suggest going with traditional elbow macaroni or shells. I found the Hodgson Mill product to have a bit too much tooth to be satisfying as mac and cheese.

BBQ Tempeh and Root Vegetable Hash w/Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

This was a totally off-the-cuff recipe. I had to do something because my friend was giving me not-so-subtle hints to get off my butt and write another blog entry. This recipe utilized a very lovely convenience package of butternut squash from Trader Joe’s. It was a 2 lb bag of very nicely diced squash for $4.99. I have already made about 4 dishes with this bag of squash and I still have a little left. I also used the microwave to fast bake a sweet potato (pretty much the best use of a microwave I have come across). So, take one small red onion and dice—add to that one half of green or red bell pepper diced, and a couple of large cloves of garlic roughly chopped. Sautee in 2 tbs olive oil ‘till translucent and add 1 baked sweet potato peeled and diced, and 1 cup of cubed, steamed butternut squash. Let rest for a couple of minutes to brown and then move around with a flat spatula to get the other sides of the potatoes and squash brown.
.
My secret is this very inexpensive wok pan I bought at Stop and Shop on clearance. This thing fries things with very little oil, to a very nice golden color. I don’t even use a spatula to flip, rather, I just give the pan a few tosses. This is my and my daughter’s favorite new cooking tool.
While your veg are getting golden, take a package of tempeh, cut in half, and poach for 6 minutes. Then, cut into large dice. Add this to the veg mixture and toss or stir to brown the tempeh. Toss in about 2 tablespoons shelled pumpkin seeds (aka 'pepitas') and stir continuously 'till seeds start to pop (alternatively, you can toast the pumpkin seeds in a separate skillet and then add to the hash at the end).  Next, add a tablespoon of smoked paprika, two teaspoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of molasses, and 1/2 cup of water and toss or stir, cooking until sauce is thickened.
Serve with tofu scramble or eggs, any style.

Bonus Recipe of the Day! Hard Boiled Quail Eggs with 2 Dipping Sauces

I was looking through my recent activity on my Flickr account and noticed that someone had favorited this photo. These days I’m trying to stick to a vegan diet but that is no reason not to share this yummy snack with you. If you can get a hold of quail eggs this is a very simple, yet elegant hors d’oeuvre. For me, it was a late-night snack. I purchased a dozen quail eggs from one of the many Asian markets in the Providence area. They cost 3 dollars for a dozen. Sadly, the last few times I was there they did not have them.
Boil the eggs the way you would chicken eggs. That is, place the eggs in a pan large enough to accommodate them without crowding, cover with an inch or so of water, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and allow to sit, covered tightly, for 20 minutes.
To make the dipping sauces:
Dipping Sauce 1

• 1 cup Asian Sweet Chile Sauce
• 1/4 minced cilantro
• 1/4 cup minced Thai or regular basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fish sauce (omit for vegetarian)
• Squeeze of juice from a wedge of lime

Stir to combine and let sit a few minutes for the flavors to meld.
Dipping Sauce 2
Add 1 tbs of peanut butter to the above mixture.
If you want a bit of heat, add a dash or two of sriracha sauce
The eggs are very easy to peel so feel free to serve them unpeeled to show off the pretty shells. The yolks of quail eggs are much creamier and more delicate tasting then chicken eggs. Of course, if you cannot find quail eggs feel free to substitute chicken eggs. In that case, serve them in wedges or halves, dolloped with one of the sauces.

Hearty Soup of Roasted Butternut Squash, Apples, and Caramelized Onions (w.optional tasty extras)

First let me give you a brief account of the squash I used for this soup. It is what we call 'accidental squash'. Two large butternut squash were the sole produce from our garden this summer and we didn't even intentionally plant it. The seeds sprouted from squash seeds that wound up in the compost which Stu did not wait to ripen (or whatever you call it). I had started several flats of various seeds in March but somehow they never got put out and eventually they died. So sad. We did have cherry tomatoes from plants that self-sowed but the gate keeping our dogs out of the garden broke and my Aussie kept helping herself to ripe tomatoes before we ever got a chance. So if it wasn't for our accidental squash we would have had no home grown food this summer.

On to the soup. I hate peeling and chopping butternut squash so my laziness is partly what inspired this soup. Also, my love for roasted vegetables.

I wanted as little fuss with the peel as possible so I roasted the squash by cutting it in half vertically, and then cut those halves in half horizontally. I did the second cut because my squash was particularly big. It is generally not necessary. Salt and pepper the squash and lay them, flesh-side down, on an oiled baking sheet. It is wise to first place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment down for easy clean-up. I was not wise and had a sticky burnt mess.

I wanted some roasted garlic but I did not want to deal with squeezing sticky roasted garlic out of its skin so I peeled and smashed a few cloves and placed them in the cavities of the squash before inverting them onto the sheet. This roasted the garlic nicely while creating a protective layer against burning. I like to think it added extra flavor to the squash as well.

We went apple picking on Sunday so we have a bountiful supply. I decided roasted apples would be a delicious addition to a soup. I quartered the apples and cut out the core and seeds and placed them face-up on the sheet. I was afraid too much sugar would be released and they would become very messy if I placed them face down. This was good thinking but I should have gone the added mile of using foil.

As an afterthought, I cut deep crosshatched slices in the skin side of the solid pieces of squash for faster cooking. Once again, I wouldn't do this for the average sized squash. I placed the baking sheet in a 425 degree oven and set the time for 20 minutes. This was the time I estimated for the apples.

The apples were definitely done at 20 minutes. Some pieces roasted to the point of falling out of the peel. I set them aside in a bowl, tested the squash, and set the timer for another 20 minutes.

While the squash and apples were roasting, I made a quick stock by placing large chunks of carrot, celery, and onion in a sauce pan with water and letting it simmer. If I had fresh herbs of any kind (parsley, rosemary, thyme) I would have added some but I wasn't too concerned as I was expecting plenty of flavor from the roasted squash, apples, and garlic. If you have about a quart of store-bought stock in the pantry, or keep a supply of your own handy, you can skip this step and move onto the caramelized onions.

 To prepare the onions, cut a large onion in half, and then cut into thin slices. With the heat set to medium, add about 2-3 tbs of olive oil to the pot in which you intend to cook the soup. When the oil is hot, add the onions. You want the heat high enough to eventually brown the onions but no so high that they burn. They should slowly give up their juices (sweating) and then begin to brown. This takes about 10-15 minutes. You should only stir them once or twice.

  If you are wise, you will have planned ahead to allow time for the squash to cool before scraping the flesh into a bowl. I had a hungry husband to feed and had gotten a late start, so I burnt my fingers. At any rate, this is the next step; scrape the squash from the peel into a bowl and add the apples (peels and all), and garlic. If a teeny bit of skin from the squash gets into the bowl, don't worry too much as it will be pureed into the soup.

Turn the heat off on the onions and add the squash, the apples, and the garlic to the pot. Add the stock (drained if you are making it from scratch). Add 1 tsp of cinnamon, a generous grating of nutmeg (or about 1/4 tsp), 1/2 tsp of ginger, and  1 1/2 tsp dried sage. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until creamy and smooth and no chunks or peels remain. If you must do this in a food processor or blender, it would be safest to puree the squash and apples with only part of the stock and add the rest of the stock to the pureed mixture in the pot and stir well. Once the soup is pureed, taste for salt. I added 3 tsp without tasting and found this to be a bit too much.

Turn the heat back on and gently bring the soup just to the point of a boil. It is not necessary to actually cook it further. You just want to bring the ingredients to an even heat. You can thin the soup with more stock, water, or do what I did and add about 1 cup of almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk). I also crumbled in a bit of leftover over Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo I had in the 'fridge.

For garnish and delicious crunch, I toasted some pumpkin seeds (aka 'pepitas) right before serving.

This is  a soup that could be seasoned in a few ways. Try curry or chili powder. Add a squeeze of lime juice and a generous handful of chopped cilantro. Enrichen it with a tablespoon or two of peanut butter or other nut butter. Toss in a can of chick peas or kidney beans. You get the picture.

Got a can of pumpkin but don’t want to bake a pie?

 

I suggest you try this savory casserole instead. It’s the first recipe I’ve tried from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I prepared this as a treat for my eldest who was home from school for the weekend and cramming as much New England autumnal activity in as possible. We went apple picking, we browsed an antique store, and we watched a ton of horror movies.

I got started during Theater of Blood starring the never-disappointing Vincent Price so I missed most of the gross-out scenes but they sounded gruesome. It is highly recommended Halloween viewing.

This recipe has three major prep steps but none are at all complicated and then you just mix everything together at the end and stick it in the oven.

Pumpkin Baked Ziti With Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping

Serves 6-8

Time: About an hour

• 3/4 pound uncooked ziti or penne pasta
• 2 onions, sliced very thinly
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 recipe Cashew Ricotta (to follow)
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• white pepper and cayenne (I didn’t have white pepper so I just used black---white pepper is really more about aesthetics in a dish like this)
• 2 cups pureed pumpkin, or 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin puree (don’t use pie mix)
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth

Sage Bread Crumbs:

• 2 1/2 c bread crumbs, preferable fresh and homemade (I used Panko the 2nd time and didn’t taste a major difference)
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces, chopped in a food processor (if you don’t have a food processor, place the nuts in a plastic bag and run a rolling pin or a heavy can over them until they are coarsely crumbled)
• 1/4 non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
• 2 tsp dried, rubbed sage
• 1 tsp dried oregano (I didn’t have this but I probably would have omitted it anyway)
• 1/2 tsp ground paprika
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREHEAT THE oven to 375. Lightly grease a 9x11-inch lasagna-type baking pan with olive oil (cooking spray is fine)

If you are going to make bread crumbs and walnuts  in your food processor, prepare them before preparing the Cashew Ricotta. It is a lot easier to clean the bowl of bread crumbs then the messy ‘ricotta’ mixture.

PREPARE THE CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Slow cooking over low heat is the trick to caramelizing the onions rather than burning them. I use my 8” cast-iron pan for this. It looks crowded at first but the onions will sweat out and reduce quite a bit as you can see from the photos. I sprinkle a bit of kosher salt over them to facilitate the sweat. This is what you’ll be doing with the 3 tbs olive oil, btw. It takes about 15 minutes for the onions to get to the third stage.

While your onions are browning, make the ‘ricotta’ mixture.

Cashew Ricotta

Makes 2 cups

1/2 c raw cashews pieces

1/4 c fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)

2 tbs olive oil (my current olive oil is a bit stronger in flavor than I like so I used walnut oil instead since there are walnuts in the dish)

2 cloves fresh or roasted garlic (the first time I used roasted, the second I used raw---I didn’t detect a difference)

1 lb. firm tofu, drained and crumbled

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp salt

In a food processor, blend together the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic until a thick and creamy paste forms. Add the crumbled tofu to the food processor, working in two or more bathes if necessary, until the mixture is thick and well blended. Blend in the basil and salt. The results are delicious, very similar to the taste and texture of ricotta, and you will be immediately thinking of all the wonderful ways you can use it in the future.

At this point you may as well transfer this mixture to a large bowl and fold in the pumpkin, brown sugar, nutmeg, pepper and cayenne, and vegetable broth and mix well. It will turn a lovely pale orange color that my camera didn’t quite capture. Instead, here is a picture from before I stirred it and you can use your imagination and knowledge of color theory to figure it out.

By now, the onions are probably ready so mix them in to the pumpkin mixture. At this point, you also should have a pot of water coming to the boil for your pasta. Cook that according to the directions on the box and drain. If you are going to cook your pasta in advance, rinse it under cold water to prevent carry-over cooking.

PREPARE SAGE CRUMB TOPPING

In a large, heavy bottom skillet (I like my cast-iron for this) melt the margarine over medium heat and add the bread crumbs, walnuts, herbs, and paprika stirring to combine and keep the mixture from burning. You just want them lightly browned. Nuts can burn quickly so this is not the time to check on anything else. You can actually turn the heat off before full browning occurs and there will be enough heat left to finish the job,

When the pasta is done, mix it well with the pumpkin mixture and spread into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle on the crumb topping and place in the pre-heated oven to bake for about 28-30 minutes.

This is a dish that you can easily bring to a ‘mixed’ pot-luck and no one will know or care that it is vegan.