Sunday, July 31, 2011

"Delicious" (chewy chocolate chip caramel cookies, Fivesies!)

This is why I don't let Rod name my recipes.  But they are, indeed, delicious.  And fast. And relatively light as far as cookies go--until I drowned them in caramel topping... which is optional. But when it's there who makes an addition like that optional?  I don't have pictures because it was a test recipe and I wasn't sure if batch #1 would win. I only made four, much to Rod's incredible dismay, and they were consumed faster that I could say "mmmm".

So, I write down the recipe here, to keep a record of it, and next time I make them I'll take pictures to entice you to make your own!

DELICIOUS
or FIVESIES (chewy chocolate chip caramel cookies)
Makes 4 large cookies, approximately 115 calories per cookie without caramel ... I think....

CONTENTS
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
Scant sprinkle of salt
1 TBS agave
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 TBS apple sauce
2 TBS milk (I used almond milk)
2 TBS dark chocolate chips

Caramel sauce for drizzling or dunking, optional. It should be made in advance so it has time to harden in the fridge ... that's what she said... (recipe link from All-Hail-Isa:

FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the wet and mix, but don't over mix. Just until the moisture is evenly distributed. Fold in the chocolate chips.
2. Heat oven to 350F and break out a cookie sheet. Line with parchment paper!
3. Measure out four even plops of cookie dough, at least an inch apart. They shouldn't spread because of the applesauce holding them together, rather than margarine or oil.
4. Bake 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool about five.  Move to a plate and refrigerate at least 10 minutes. 
5. To serve, drizzle with caramel topping!
6. Be sad you didn't at least quadruple the recipe.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cheezy Rolls!


Oh, these little bundles of joy...  They totally expanded and grew into ridiculous shapes in the oven, but who cares!  How awesome... and how simple!

I can see how a certain nation/continent would suggest incorporating the cheese into the batter, and then smearing a super salty, tar-like goo all over one side prior to rolling... And maybe for someone's 30th I'll do that.  Maybe.  Maaaaaybe....

As much as I'd like to just eat all of them (which will probably happen anyway, let's be honest), I'm serving alongside a quick-ass stew that is comprised of frozen veggies, a can of diced tomatoes, an extra can full of water, some rosemary, thyme and basil, and a sprinkle of salt and cayenne.  Simple enough.  The main attraction are the cheezy rolls, no doubt.

Cheezy Rolls!
4 servings of 3 rolls each, 235 calories per serving of 3 rolls (80 per roll) WITHOUT CHEESE.  My guess is I used 1.5 cups... though a lot of it got promptly consumed before hitting the oven so.... but let's be generous with the count.  That would be 125 calories per roll, or 370 for three of them.

CONTENTS
2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar (or regular, all I have is brown)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cider vinegar
2/3 cup milk
shredded cheese, approx 1-1.5 cups (I used Daiya Cheddar)

FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (including sugar).  Add the milk and vinegar, mixing well.  It'll seem dry, but bear with it... Keep mixing.  When it seems like you can't mix anymore with whatever utensil you're using, drop it onto a clean surface that's lightly floured and knead.  It should mix more.  It'll still be a little dry, but it'll be ok.
2. Knead well, then roll out into a shape that resembles a rectangle, pretty thin since it will fluff up...  Cut 6 strips, and then cut those in half so you have twelve in total.
3. Heat the oven to 425F.  Lay some glorious parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Here comes the fun part!
4. Sprinkle some cheese into the first strip and roll up.  Doesn't matter if there are some shreds poking out, they'll melt and look festive.  Be sure to close them tightly... they'll try to unroll as they expand.
5. Lay even spaced, at least an inch between rolls because they will totally grow like a cheezy chia pet.  If a chia pet came rolled up like a sleeping bag...
6. Bake 10 minutes, til golden.  Turn off the oven and let them sit in the warmth until ready to serve.  YUM!

and below is the stew, in case you were wondering ;)


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Une Fete Du Pois Chiches!


Here you go, etymological lesson of your day: the origin of the word "chickpea" comes from the French word 'chiches', meaning chick, which comes from the Latin word 'cicer'.  Who knew? Total coincidence... I thought to my self, "Self, wouldn't it be obnoxious to title this recipe in French?" Lo and behold, I discover an interesting and most likely useless piece of information.  However, next time I find myself in France... or French Canada (I miss you Montreal!), I can ask if that hummus I'm eyeing is made from chickpeas.
Source: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=chick-pea
and yes, I also cross-referenced with Wikipedia ;-)

To break down the rest of the title, by the way, it translates to "A Feast of Chickpeas."  The word 'chiches' makes me think of 'chicha', which is a homemade wine of sorts in Chile... it'll grow hair on your chest!



So I literally grabbed a can of chickpeas and a can of corn, then I started to toss in a TBS of this, a tsp of that, chanelling a witch from Macbeth!  Then I just baked and baked and stirred and stirred until I got the right texture.  I didn't want hot or mushy chickpeas. I was going for more crunch (fail by the way, but a phoenix of success rose from 'crunchy' ashes)... I broke down and broiled for a few minutes after I had baked most of the moisture away.  Viola, success nonetheless!  (OK, for those of you who don't read my recipes all the way, scroll down past the directions and check out what I discovered!)

Ps, served over greens, this becomes a ssh-alad ;)  But it can easily be served over grains or pasta--in fact, I bet it would be awesome with spaghetti.  I went with greens because we ODed on potato chips and will be consuming copious amounts of ice cream later with cake and I made caramel topping since, well, not like I can easily find vegan caramel topping for our ice cream.  Not light by any means, but here's the recipe (All-Hail-Isa!): http://72.52.231.228/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=348

Une Fete Du Pois Chiches!
4 servings, 240 calories per serving with 2 cups of greens and 1 tsp agave.

CONTENTS

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 TBS raw cashew pieces
2 tsp coconut oil (or other)
1 TBS dried parsley flakes
1 TBS garlic powder
1 TBS dried minced onion (flakes)
1 TBS nooch
2 TBS breadcrumbs
1 tsp each cumin, ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
A light sprinkle of cayenne, optional
1 tomato, cut into eighths
8 cups mixed greens (or more if you're like me and like your greens... and you should)
4 tsp agave or maple syrup, divided
additional red pepper flakes or cayenne, also optional

FASCIST DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350F.  In a 9x13, add chickpeas through salt and mix really well.  Sprinkle cayenne very lightly and evenly over the mixture.  Remember, a little goes a looooong way.
2. Bake 45 minutes, stirring about four times... after the first 15 minutes, then after 10 more... the next 10 and at the end.  They mixture should be browning and cooking through.
3. Flip a magic switch and change to broil (500F).  At about 6 inches or so from the heating apparatus set the pan and broil the chickpeas about 4 minutes.  Remove, stir, and return. Broil another 3 minutes, checking after 2 for burning.

4. Serve over mixed greens, top with tomatoes.  Drizzle 1 tsp agave per serving, sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes or cayenne for an awesome added kick.

Above: pre-matered... also, brighter picture... when I added the tomatoes the whole thing got dimmer, and I can't decide which is better so I'm posting both.


Above: with maters... so yummy!

Ha, so on a whim I just typed in 'une fete du pois chiches' into google and there's actually a website!  Laugh Out Loud, yo!  This is their "mascot":

Oh my, so cute!!  My French is reeeeEEEEeeeally rusty, but it seems to honor the legend of rebellious and savage chickpeas that cultivate themselves from within the gardens of a Nordic city... and now they sing and dance and paint and delve into joyous feasts and libations in exaltation of those fierce chickpeas?!  I'm not kidding...  Check out the 'Galerie Photos'.  The Norse Gods Are Smiling!  Nay!  They are partying down!

And by the way, this is the caramel sauce I made :-)

Every fiber of my being was fighting the urge to dip in a spoon a fifth time for a taste... Quality control!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Lemon-Dill Tater Puffs & Quick Lentil Stew




I don't know if they exist in 'Merica, but I used to love "Papas Duqesas" as a kid.  Translates to Duchess Potatoes.  They were these awesome little potato puff balls that you could fry or bake and they rocked.  They had a crispy exterior and a soft, potato-heaven interior.  I guess they're like tater-tots, but without that rough hash-brown like texture on the outside.  Now, I've never bothered to try and make some, nor have I looked for them since having left Chile, but today's recipe is inspired by those awesome puff-balls from my memories.  I could have gone plain potato flavored, but let's get funky in case I eff it up and they don't resemble the little fellas at all.  At least I created a new food-thing!  Lemon and dill together are a wonderful combination, they make an awesome hummus... they're great in a potato salad... they're just meant for each other!  So, viola, Lemon-Dill Tater Puffs!  I'm serving with a side of Lentil Stew prepared quite quickly for purposes of having something other than potato puffs for dinner...

Lemon-Dill Tater Puffs
4 svgs, 155 calories per serving

CONTENTS
2 lbs potatoes, diced (keep skin on for the vitamins)
1 TBS dried dill weed
1 TBS margarine
1/4 cup flour
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt

FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat, then lower heat to a rolling bowl (as opposed to the panicked boil at super high heat).
2. In the meantime (the in-between time), dice the potatoes roughly.  They'll be getting smashed, so just go for rough chunks.
3. Boil the potatoes 20 minutes, or til soft but not falling apart.  Drain when done.  (You can reuse this pot without OCD-ly cleaning it for the le
4. In a large bowl, smash the taters pretty well.  You don't want any large lumps. Add the margarine, mix well.  Set aside to cool about 15 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix really well.  Set aside to cool another 15 minutes in the fridge.  You want them to be cool.
See, meanwhile you can be preparing the lentil stew below... just sayin'...
5. When they are pretty cold, heat your oven to 400F.  Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Here comes the tricky part.  Spoon out in 1/2 TBS amounts, or 1 TBS and divide, and make spheres with the potato mixture.  Make an even layer of spheres and bake at 400F for 20 minutes.  They will flatten out some in the oven... so the spheres will be more like, um, flattened plops...
7. Remove from oven, lower temp to 350F, turn over the little fellas and return to oven.  Bake about 10 minutes, or until a nice, more even golden brown.
8. Enjoy!


QUICK MACADAMIA-GINGER LENTIL STEW
4 svgs, 340 calories per serving

CONTENTS
1 cup red lentils
2 cups water
2 cups frozen mixed veggies of choice (I have corn, carrots, lima beans, peas, green beans and some leftover edamame, about 1/4 cup of the latter)
1 cup frozen brussel sprouts (also freezer leftovers... if you don't have or don't desire the awesome little cabbage-cousins, then just add 3 cups of your favorite mixed frozen vegetables)
1 cup non-sweetened/flavored milk (I used Silk's Almond Milk)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 TBS dried, unsweetened coconut
1/4 c chopped, toasted macadamia nuts (cashews can be subbed, probably also  walnuts... I suggest one of these 'white' nuts that aren't too strong... but toasted makes them taste better.  To toast, chop them up and spread on a baking sheet/pan in a single layer and toast in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes)
1 TBS minced, fresh ginger
1 TBS agave nectar
1/2 salt or to taste
2 tsp dried ground ginger
1 tsp DOLE Portobello Mushroom Powder (optional, but see note below)


FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot (possibly the pot used above for taters), bring 2 cups of water to a nice, rolling boil.  Add the lentils and lower to a simmer.  Wait, stirring occassionally, about 15 minutes or til the water is absorbed.  In the meantime, measure out the frozen vegetables and leave them at room temp to thaw out some.  You can also toast the macadamias.
2. Add the semi-frozen veggies, milk, cider vinegar, coconut, agave and minced ginger.  Continue to simmer about 10 minutes, til veggies are warmed through and through.  Add the ground ginger, and mushroom powder if using, and taste for salt and ginger.  And adjust according to your palate.
3. Remove from heat, and let it sit about 5 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and top with 1/4 of the macadamia nuts per serving. Top with some coconut if you'd like ;)


Yeah, so what's with the Dole Mushroom Powder you ask?  Never heard of it before...  Well, that would be because it's new!  Here, check out the site... it's all about the D-Vitamins, baby! http://www.dole.com/NutritionInstituteLanding/NI_Articles/NI_DoleDiet/NI_DoleDiet_Detail/tabid/1058/Default.aspx?contentid=13131

Sunday, July 24, 2011

What a Jerk Seitan is... Peas-ful Bulgur-ity and Purdy Plaintains


"It's the biggest Jamaican platter I've ever seen. Jerk chicken, jerk beef, jerk pork. Is there any meat this man can't jerk?"


Hehehe...


I'm jerking seitan tonight.  If you pronounce that just right, it's pretty awesome.


But what, oh what, to have as a side?  Or two sides??  I thought about red beans and rice, pretty Caribbean.... but I could not find a single can of red beans that didn't come pre-HFCSed.  EW.  So I thought kidney beans, but I was not feeling the beans.  Sorry flatulence.  Oh, saw an episode of '1000 Ways to Die' in which a fart killed a man.  I'm not kidding.  Look it up.  So, I'm making bulgur and peas.  I don't want to wait 110 minutes to cook brown rice!  Mix in some cumin, some lime zest, some cayenne... mua! Yum!


But wait!  That's not all!  Why not get funky?  I bought a plantain.  A single plantain in case I effed it up.  Mind you I've eaten plantains in various forms (chips, deep fried, mashed--tostones, baked, boiled... they're really versatile and awesome!).  I'm experimenting here.  I don't want to fry them because, honestly, girl doesn't fry (sorry lover of the deep-fryer...), but I also don't want to a boring baked plantain.  With that in mind, I am trying to be innovative!


The jerk seasoning recipe comes straight outta All-Hail-Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance.  In Appetite for Reduction she has a great blurb that says something like 'I love how you think the mix of spices and flavors won't work and then you eat it and and it's wonderful and you feel like a jerk for ever doubting it'.  I paraphrase, but that's the gist of it and it's so true!  I've given up because everytime I read through the ingredients I think 'Really?'... then as I mix them I think again 'No, really??' but then something magical happens and my oh my it's awesome...  So yummy...  Anywho, without further ado, I bring you Jerk Seitan, Peas-ful Bulgur-ity and Purdy Plaintain!





I.  JERK SEITAN (from All-Hail-Isa's book, "Vegan with a Vengeance"
http://www.justbestrecipes.com/bread/jerk-seitan.html
Ok, I didn't want to type it all out, so I found a site that had already done it for me! Yes, for me... and you, oh faithful follower.  I used leftover seitan from my Second Supreme Seitanic Stir-Fry, so the marinade is actually twice as much as I needed... I'm just keeping the leftover jerk marinade and figure I'll use it on something in the next few days and let you know ;)




II  PEAS-FUL BULGUR-ITY
2 servings, easily multiplied for however many you are serving.  165 calories per serving
You can sub rice or any other grain for the bulgur if you wish, but you won't have such a spiffy title... or will you?!


CONTENTS
1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 chunk of ginger, chopped... I think it was about 2 teaspoons
zest from 1 lime
juice from half a lime, or just the whole thing
1/4 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt


FASCIST DIRECTIONS


1. Cook the bulgur with the water, about 15 or 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If it sticks at the end, as it always does for me, I scrape as much as I can and then add a few tablespoons of water while it's still hot, then scrape s'more.  It's kinda like deglazing I guess.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix!


BAM!




III.  PURDY PLANTAIN
2 servings, 175 calories per serving
And I had an afterthought whilst consuming these... while delicious, they were a bit dry and I could taste the flour a bit more than I'd like, but again, they were still very yummy.  I think the next time though I'll try swapping coconut/flour measurements... and perhaps bake less time too so they aren't so dry on the inside.  They were incredibly tasty though!


CONTENTS
1 large plaintain, yellow still but with some black spots (the more black spots, the more ripe, and thus the more sweet...)
2 TBS flour
1 TBS unsweetened coconut flakes
zest from 1 lime
1 tsp ground ginger
sprinkle cayenne pepper
juice from half a lime
1/2 tsp coconut oil


FASCIST DIRECTIONS


1. Hack off the ends of the plantain, then cut a slit through the skin (without slicing through the plantain!).  Remove the peel.  Slice the plantain into 1/2 inch rounds.
2. Mix the lime juice and oil in a small ramekin, or in a half-cup measurer as I did ;)
3. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour through cayenne.
4. Heat oven to 350F.  Prepare a baking dish with spray, oil, what pleases you.
5. Dunk a plantain round in the liquid, coating well.
6. Dreeeeeeedge in the flour mixture, coating evenly but also shaking some off.  Don't shake off too much Senora, you don't want it to be too thinly coated.  You want to be sure to have some coconut on there.
7. Lay in a single layer in the prepared pan.  Bake at 350F for 35 minutes, turning once halfway through.
Cool, huh?
I turned them over once more when "time" ran out and turned off the oven, then let them sit in the warm oven until ready to serve.


While I was at it, I used up the last of the mini breads--toasted in the oven--with some margarine and garlic powder (usually I rub a garlic clove over the toasted bread, then spread a little margarine, but I'm out of garlic!  Gasp!!  This is the best way to make garlic bread, I must say... raw garlic rubbed on toast, some margarine... freakin' yum).  


Oh, and of course, chocolate berry layer cake for dessert ;)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Omelette!

Behold!  Breakfast!

Tis an omelette served with blueberries, strawberries and granola.

YUM.

Easy too :)

I got it from a website that got it from a cookbook (Vegan Comfort Food) so I'm merely transcribing the recipe here for all of ye.  Not an original, but it gives me a good base to make something in the future!

CONTENTS:

2 cloves of garlic
1 package silken tofu, firm
2 Tbs nooch
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 flour
1 Tbs cornstarch

Fillings of choice... I went with mixed greens, sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes.  Next time, CHEDDAR! And MUSHROOMS!  Yum...

FASCIST DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender or processor, first chop up the garlic, then add everything else.
2. Scoop onto a hot prepared skillet (Large enough to flip! And prepared means sprayed or oiled.  Hot means medium).
3. Spread out the mixture using the back of a spoon, so it's even-ish and relatively thin (about 1/4-1/2 inch)
4. Cook each side about 3 minutes or so.  You'll know it's ready to flip first when the top side turns a matte yellowish and dried out.
5. After the second side is done, place on a plate and add filling.  Fold in half!  Viola!

I used a small saucepan to saute the onions and peppers while these fellas cooked.

And I'll say it again... YUM!

Pictures! Chocolate Berry Layer Cake and Granola

I hope these come through!!!!

The Fully Assembled Chocolate Berry Layer Cake

I ended up making three cakes with two layers each.  Three would have been fine, but we were already feeling fat from dinner :)

So, here's the process:

Cooking Strawberries


Ingredients for Coconut Cream

Hardened Coconut Cream, what's separated from the coconut water after having left the can at least an hour in the fridge.

Scooped out hardened topping... leaving coconut water behind

The water left at the bottom
 
After mixing it with the powdered sugar and vanilla...

The cooked strawberries, ready to go into the freezer to chill rapidly

The finished chocolate cake, sliced as you see in 6ths

Bam!  Layer One!

Attempted close-up of the assembled cake, with chocolate shavings...
oh my it was yummy!

And now, three shots of the granola by OhSheGlows... SO AWESOME!

Yum #1

Yum #2

Yum #3

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Chocolate Berry Layer Cake

Ah, anniversaries... time to indulge!  Rodney's making burgers, I'm hooking us up with "sweet tater-tots" (thanks Alexia http://www.alexiafoods.com/products/sweet-potatoes/sweet-potato-puffs ).  But, though it might seem that my contribution is simple, the title of this post indicates that nay, I bake tonight!

I thought of this last night... and woke up with the grand idea.  I thought about cherries, but I haven't really had a chance to experiment with the different types of cherries and I didn't want to use a bitter one when it was meant to be sweet (a la black forest... oh how I love thee!).  Strawberries it is!

This cake is a tad complex just because it involves, well, layers!  The first step is to put the can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge for at least an hour.  I keep a couple of cans in there all the time to make the 'cream' or 'frosting.'  It's really easy, and it keeps it's consistency both in and out of the fridge.  Nifty!  In addition to chilling the coconut milk, each layer needs to be chilled completely before assembly or you will have a funny runny cake... and no one likes that.  Some freezer time may be required to speed things up :)

I'm also taking pictures of this one... so I hope they come through!  Though I've discovered that I don't have the cable necessary to connect the camera to download the images, nor does the XD card fit into the SD slot.  Oh well, after I get what I need I'll send out an update with pictures.  Bummer!

PS... I also made granola... :)  http://ohsheglows.com/2011/07/18/lightened-up-summer-granola-2/  OH. YOUR. GOD.  This stuff is DELICIOUS!!! I felt like a god though, I must say... twice... when I tasted the "batter" (my knees melted) but then when it came out of the oven I was just blown away!  I can't believe how awesome this is!  I can't wait til breakfast now!!!! Plus, girl used raw millet.  Love her.  She's a great food blogger!

Chocolate Berry Layer Cake
Approximately 4 or 8 servings...  at 8 servings the calories come out to be:
200 for the chocolate cake (1600 total recipe)
90 for the coconut cream (728 total recipe)
30 for strawberry filling (220 total)
Total for 1/8 recipe = 320 calories
All in all, not too bad for a hedonistic dish!

Right on, and now to the how to!

CONTENTS:

Cake:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar (white variety)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
1 cup water

Coconut Cream:
1 can full coconut milk (refrigerated at least an hour... hopefully all day or night ;) )
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling:
2.5 cups strawberries, chopped into chunks (thick slices... doesn't have to be perfect)
2 TBS flaxseed meal, divided
2 tsp brown sugar

A chocolate bar for shaving bits on top, optional
A strawberry half for each serving on top, optional

FASCIST DIRECTIONS:

Make the cake first since it will have to cool.  You'll also want to prepare a 9x13 baking pan for this one.
1. Heat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mix the flour through baking soda.
2. Add the applesauce through water and mix well.
3. Pour into the 9x13 baking pan and bake about 15 minutes, til firm and an inserted knife comes out clean.
4. Remove from heat and cool compleeeeeetely.  I've gone ahead and sliced into 9 equal squares to make two cute layered cakes (I could make a huge stacked one too... but I think it'll be too hard to slice, hence forcing us to eat the whole jenga tower of cake...)

5. When you put the cake into the oven to bake, start the strawberry filling.  Wash and cut your berries if you haven't already.  Put them into a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the sugar and mix in well.  After the berries start to warm up and ooze some liquid, add 2 tsp of the flaxseed meal.  Simmer very softly for about 10 minutes.  It may boil up some, it's all good, just stir it down.
6. Remove from heat and add the rest of the flaxseed meal.  Let it sit for a bit, about 7 minutes or so, then pour into a freezer-friendly container.  Chill in the freezer for about a half hour-45 minutes.  Then keep it in the fridge until you're ready to assemble if it's not after than time.

7. Now you're ready to make the coconut cream.  Check it out, so cool!
Without shaking the can of coconut milk, carefully remove it from the fridge and open it up.  Scoop out the top hardened cream, leaving the coconut water behind.  I don't know if it's useful for anything, I have yet to experiment with that thick liquid.
8. Mix with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  If you have an electric mixer, good for you.  If you're like me and don't, grab a fork and beat away, until fluffy and all mixed well.  Taste it, I dare you.

9.  When you're finally ready to assemble, layer as follows: 1 square of chocolate cake, a thin layer of coconut cream, some strawberry filling.  Chocolate cake, coconut cream, strawberries.  Rinse, lather, repeat until happy.  Be sure to leave some coconut cream for the tops!  I'm making two cakes, three chocolate layers each.  On the last layer, on top of the cake, spread some coconut cream, shave some chocolate on top, and add a strawberry half on top or some extra filling if there's any left (if you are able to drizzle it I bet that'd be pretty!)

Second Supreme Seitanic Stir Fry

A hodge-podge of what's in the pantry, fridge and freezer.  Sadly I have no more canned pineapple, so I will have to improvise. The previous stir fry fell into the sweet n' sour realm because of the duality of pineapple -- it's sweet AND sour by its very nature! And delicious... contrary to what some may think, pineapple is a rockstar ingredient.  When I heard that some Subways in Tasmania offer it as a topping I about dropped a brick! Reason #741...

Look at that, I digress.  This will be an improvisation that makes Jupiter weep.  Hehehe... watching a lot of Spartacus lately too... I could mention another attribute of Jupiter which is used quite liberally in the show, but I only wish to be moistened by his tears...

Second Seitanic Stir Fry
4 svgs, calories are hard to determine because I don't know what you'll use!


CONTENTS
1 recipe of all-hail-Isa's seitan (see seitanic stir fry recipe #1 for a link), sliced into fun strips. I would start with slicing half the recipe and seeing if you want the rest. It keeps for well in the fridge, in the juices it was boiled in.  I only used half, kept the rest for another dish.

1 Tbs soy sauce*
1 tsp yellow or white miso paste
1 Tbs broth
1 Tbs unsulphered molasses (just for you, Osito)
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 Tbs agave nectar or maple syrup
2 Tbs cornstarch (+ 1/4 cup h2o)
____
1/2 cup cashew pieces
1 Tbs unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
____
1 tsp coconut oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 Tbs fresh or 1-2 tsp dried Ginger
1 cup bell pepper strips
2 med-large carrots, sliced into sticks equal to the pepper
1 cup corn, frozen or canned or right off the cob
1 cup frozen peas
Ooooor, instead of the last three ingredients (keep the 1 cup of peppers!), use 2 cups of your favorite frozen vegetable mix. :-)
2 cups spinach

* I got my soy sauce in bulk so I didn't get the option of low sodium. 1 Tbs has 920 mg/38% of the daily value! Ouch, so I'm opting to have some soy but treat it as though it were concentrated. In order to keep flavor, other liquids are added--broth, vinegar and molasses...and miso, not a liquid but still Asian.

FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. In a small saucepan over med-low heat, mix the soy sauce through nectar/syrup.  Stir it up, little darling, about 2 minutes.
2. In a small bowl or ramekin, mix the cornstarch. With 1/4 cup water.
3. Add the cornstarch liquid to the saucepan and stir well.
4. Lower (or raise!) heat to a nice slow simmer, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the cashew pieces--yes, you read right, no oil has been added-- and stir 30 seconds or until they are starting to brown--CAREFUL NOT TO BURN.  You should also turn on the oven to about 175F and bust out a cookie sheet or pan with parchment paper.
6. Add the coconut flakes and stir, cooking about 1 minute, WATCH IT LIKE A HAWK.  The coconut will cook quickly.  Turn off the heat. Sprinkle in and mix 1 tsp ground ginger.
7. When toasty and fragrant, remove from heat and spread evenly on the parchment paper (that's what she said!).  Shove it in the oven to keep warm (she could have said that, too).  The trick here is to watch it periodically to make sure it isn't cooking further.  If it seems to be, turn off the heat and see if you can keep it in the oven to stay warm.
8. Got all that done?  Now, heat the coconut oil in the wok over medium heat.
9. Add the carrots (if using fresh) and seitan and cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
10. Add the garlic and fresh ginger, if using.  If you have powdered, then wait until the end.  Cook about 2 minutes, careful not to burn the garlic.
11.   Add the peppers and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Then add either the frozen veggies or the rest of the fresh/frozen/canned carrots/corn/peas and stir.  Cook about 5-7 minutes, until heated through.
12. When they reach that elusive crisp-tender stage, add the sauce we prepared earlier.  See how I include you now?
13. Stir until everything is evenly coated, and then cook some more, about 3 minutes.
14. Turn off the heat and add the spinach.  Stir through until wilted nicely.
15.  Sprinkle the cashews and coconut on top!

Serve over a whole number of things... grains, noodles, greens... What I'm trying is shredded carrots mixed with 'pasta slim', that awesome tofu-noodle concoction that's just 20/25 calories per serving!  It's stinky straight out of the package, but run some hot water over it (in a colander) for a bit and it helps.  Then it's totally fine when you mix it with chunky sauces.

You can add red pepper flakes at any point... in the sauce as it cooks, in the veggies, on top after the coconut/cashews... just a suggestion, if you like heat!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Carrots, Cranberries & Cashews, oh my! ... and Skillet Taters!

Funky little salad! Much like dip vs hummus, I didn't tell Rod this was a salad... in fact I didn't tell him I was making it. I just served it.... and he loved it. You say salad and his testosterone is audibly threatened. So in addition to the last of the brie with more Publix baguette rounds (RIP), I made skillet potatoes and this carrot concoction. Both were winners and extremely easy to make.

Recipe #1: SKILLET TATERS
Servings depend on how many potatoes you cut up. One medium potato per person is good... so approximately 150-175 calories per serving.

CONTENTS
1-4 mediumish-large potatoes, depending on how many you are feeding.
Dried herbs, my choice: Rosemary, thyme
1/8 tsp salt per tater, optional of course.

FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. As opposed to a frantic boil.
2. Slice the taters into 1/4 inch thick rounds.
3. Chuck carefully into the hot water, and boil about 15 minutes til softened but not mushy.
4. Heat a skillet with spray, oil, etc. over medium heat.
5. Drain potatoes and work in small batches, cooking them evenly in the skillet, tossing around every so often.
6. Near the end, toss in about 1/2-1 tsp of herbs of choice and stir it up, little darling.
7. Remove onto plate and continue with the next batch.
8. VIOLA!

Recipe #2: CARROTS, CRANBERRIES & CASHEWS, OH MY!
2 svgs, 150 calories per serving.

CONTENTS
Shh-alad (shhh... salad)
2 large carrots
2 tbs dried, sweetened cranberries
1 tbs dried, unsweetened coconut

Dressing
1 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs white grain vinegar
1 tbs chopped raw cashews
Scant pinch of salt, optional

FASCIST DIRECTIONS
1. In the best kitchen appliance, chop the carrots til it's between chunky and fine... it's a delicate balance.
2. Divide onto two plates in two cute orange piles. Add 1 tbs cranberries per pile and a half a tbs of coconut per pile.
3. Without cleaning the processor, add the dressing ingredients and whiz til cashews are finely chopped. It will be runny, don't worry. (Hehehe... Rod pointed out I said whiz and then runny in the same direction)
4. Divide dressing evenly over the two piles and enjoy!

You could probably put everything in the processor at once if you wanted (except the cranberries ... I don't think those would cooperate). It's very simple and very delicious.  You could also sub maple syrup for the agave if that is your liquid sweetener of choice.

Roasted Eggplant & Garlic Hummus

Oh. My. This was delicious!!!!  Rod and I wanted a tapas-style meal after a long weekend--fun, totally fun, just a couple of long drives and
sitting on your butt for hours is actually exhausting.

Well, let me be accurate, I wanted to prepare tapas and Rod was happy with food.

In addition to these, I made "pigs in a blanket" but I'll post a recipe when I make the dough. Last night I just used some old phyllo dough that's been left unloved for many moons. I also made brie! Yes!!  And it ROCKED!!! It came from the book "The complete guide to vegan substitutions" and I have a link to the recipe they posted when the book was still a work in progress.  There are a lot of other good ones here, just scroll down to find the brie.

http://justthefood.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Complete%20Guide%20to%20Vegan%20Food%20Substitutions

The hummus is soooo tasty. We had a variety of options to dip: multigrain crackers by "Food Should Taste Good", 9-grain baguette slices from Publix, celery sticks and carrots.  Winner? The carrots!!!!  All of them were delicious, but there was something about the sweetness of the carrots that went so well with the dip.  The bread went best with the brie, in case you were wondering!

Next time, which will be soon, I will also be roasting the garlic :-)  This is so easy to put together! Courtesy of the best kitchen appliance, my food processor. All glory to the processor!

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic hummus
2svgs, 125 cal. each

CONTENTS

1 medium eggplant
3-5 garlic cloves (depends on how garlicky you want the dip)
1 TBS tahin
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt

FASCIST DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350F, prepare a baking sheet with spray, oil, etc.
2. Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds. Keep the skin on if you like. I like. It's where all the vitamins are, doncha-know
3. Roast eggplant rounds for 20 minutes, then flip and continue roasting another 10 or so, until they are browning. Meanwhile, peel the garlic. Chuck it in the processor, chop it up.
4. Remove eggplant and add it to the processor. Process til smooth.
5. Add tahini and salt. Process.
6. Add lemon juice and give it a good process til smooth.
7. Enjoy!!!!!

The raw garlic gave it a spicy kick, which I love, so next time I will put in a ton of garlic-- 2 raw cloves and about 5 roasted ones.  Yum.

PS, notice there's not a single chickpea involved? That was my way to get Rod to accept this dish. Say roasted eggplant dip and he's half enthused. Toss in the word hummus and he's salivating in anticipation!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Sweet n' Sour Seitanic Stir Fry

The name is a bit of wishful thinking right now as I was too lazy to make seitan, which is REALLY lazy of me considering it's a) ridiculously easy and b) I have to wait forever for the brown rice to cook in the third-best-kitchen-appliance.  Eh... oh well... Next time I'll make seitan.  I've had a long day--again!  And I was hungry... and had some receipts to log... and now to blog... so time hasn't been wasted!  There's a great recipe for seitan in all-hail-Isa's book 'Appetite for Reduction'.  She's had great recipes in 'Vegan with Vengeance' and in 'The Veganomicon' but the one in AfR has been perfected towards simplicity and far less sodium than the other two end up with.  Next time I make this (which shall happen soon) I'll make the seitan recipe from all-hail-Isa... (maybe you can see the recipe here: http://books.google.com/books?id=2bB_cc54DQYC&pg=PT259&dq=appetite+for+reduction+seitan&hl=en&ei=0dscTryUH8Tz0gGi7cCuBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false ) She's not joking, store-bought seitan is a stupid purchase when you can make it at home for pennies on the pound. OK, don't know if that's accurate, but it IS much cheaper and it was fun to say/type.

Sweet n' Sour [Seitanic] Stir Fry
4 servings, 135 calories per serving with no seitan.  Add 150 calories for 1/4 of all-hail-Isa's seitan recipe from the link above).  It makes a lot of seitan, so you could use an 1/8 of the recipe per serving and refrigerate the rest for other delicious concoctions.

NOTE: If using seitan, make that ahead, it takes an hour in total.  Again, considering the rice takes over an hour to cook I TOTALLY could have made it.  Lazy-arse am I...

CONTENTS

  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 4 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbs. cornstarch
  • 1 Tbs. coconut oil
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 2 medium-large carrots, sliced in 1/4 in rounds
  • 1 cup canned pineapple chunks (that's all I had, use more if you want! I would have if I could have!)
  • 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into long, thin strips
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger or 1 tsp ginger powder (I used powder)

FASCIST DIRECTIONS

1. Combine pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch, and mix well. Heat in small saucepan until slightly thick, and set aside.  Stir it frequently at first, then you can leave it alone.  It will continue thickening some after the heat's off, but it will also coagulate in areas.  Don't be grossed out, just stir it up.


2. Heat oil in large wok over medium and, when hot, add cashews, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside. Add carrot rounds and stir fry about 5 minutes, stirring often but not OCD-like.  They won't soften, but they'll cook up.  Next, add the pineapple cubes and snow peas, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add red bell pepper, garlic and ginger if using fresh (if powder, wait til after adding sauce), and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add sweet-and-sour sauce, stirring to mix well, and stir-fry for 2 minutes more.  Add ginger powder now if using that instead of fresh.


2.5 Add prepared seitan--slice it or cube it, whatever you want.  I recommend sliced...


3. Remove from heat, garnish with cashews, if using-ha! USE!, and serve alone or over rice or noodles.  I'm going with brown basmati rice.  Yum.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Barley PB Sweetums

Sorry for all the re-posts of this one... I keep noticing little errors and I don't know how to stop the email blast  .  I'll try to have things right the first time from now on the avoid all this chaos!

12 cookies, 90 calories per cookie (not bad! Coconut can be optional, but I say it stays!)

This is my first post from Floyd... we'll see how it goes. Our internet is being wonky at home...
It's been a chaotic day, a day that calls for junk food. And peanut butter. I started looking up recipes and after the first I thought to myself, "Self, stop effin' around and toss something together". And I did. And the dough is INCREDIBLE.  I can't decide if I should bake or leave them at a "no-bake cookie" stage. Rod votes bake. I know they will succeed as no-bakers, so let's see what happens after 20 minutes at 350F...


CONTENTS

1 cup barley flakes (yes, you can sub old fashioned rolled oats... can you guess what I'm out of?)
1/4 flour of choice
1/4 cup "white" sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbs margarine
1/4 chunky peanut butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup dried, shredded, unsweetened  coconut
1/4 tsp salt


FASCIST DIRECTIONS

1. Mix everything in a large bowl.
2. Plop onto parchment paper, measuring 12 plops, evenly spaced.
3. Decide if you are going to refrigerate it for 15-30 minutes or bake for 20 mins at 350F.
I'll update after baking....  :-)

UPDATE: yes, delicious baked yummies... depends on your taste then really. Your call!!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Brekkie PB Corn Cakes

Yay, Sunday!  I can try to get creative with breakfast!  And I did!  Yaaaaay!

I wake up mad-hungry on most mornings, and today was no exception.  I wanted something fast, filling, and I wanted peanut butter.  I was thinking of making some sort of peanut-butter french toast, but I didn't really have the crusty bread that would make it really yummy... and I didn't want to use up Rod's mini bagels for the cause... so later this week I'll command the second-best kitchen appliance to make bread overnight and my dream will come true!  Oh wait, I go out of town for a wedding... ok, the following weekend will be met with peanut butter freedom toast... Yum... I'm drooling at the thought of it already!

But today I had to compromise.  I forgot to get flour at the store last time I was there, so I had to use what I had... it was either bread flour or corn flour.  I'm not sure how bread flour would react to not being baked.  Probably no weird things would happen, but why risk it?  I went with corn flour and found a neat texture came out of having used it.  Here's what I put together in a pinch:

Brekkie PB Corn Cakes for two
2 servings, approximately 360 calories per serving.
Suggested toppings: 1 extra tablespoon of peanut butter and three chopped up strawberries with 1/4 tsp sugar sprinkled on top. (add 120 calories)  Rod loved the strawberries and I second the recommendation--nay, demand that you top your brekkie cakes with strawberries

CONTENTS


1 cup corn flour (honestly, any flour would do)
1/4 cup milk (almond is what we got!)
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
1 TBS sugar
2 TBS chunky peanut butter

FASCIST DIRECTIONS


1. Mix flour, sugar and milk.  Start heating up a frying pan over medium to med-low heat.  Get your cooking spray ready.
2. Then add 2 TBS water, 2 tsp vanilla and mix up.  See if you need the other 2 TBS of water.
3. Add the peanut butter and mix well.  Maybe add those last two TBS of water, maybe not... depends on your preference.  Spray your pan with cooking spray.
4. I glopped out about 3 TBS worth of batter onto the frying pan, flattened it out with a fork and timed it for 3-4 minutes on each side.  The edges got this awesome crispy texture while the centers had a great sandy texture that wasn't like chewing rubber at all.
5. While the first batch's first side is cooking away, chop up your strawberries and sprinkle with the sugar so the juices start to come out.  It really helps bring out the flavor of strawberries and the longer you leave the sugar on, the more the juices seep.  I learned this trick making a FANTASTIC strawberry shortcake recipe I hybridized from about 3 different sources (one was a tiramisu, totally ROCKED!).  I'll be sure to post it some day!
6. When removed from pan, add 1/2 TBS peanut butter to the hot cake and let it sit for a few seconds while you get the next (and final probably) batch going.  This lets the peanut butter "melt" a bit so it's more easily spreadable.  Spreeeeeead it all over the brekkie cake.
7. Place the second brekkie cake on top when ready, add PB and wait... spread it all over, then top with those sugar-coated strawberries.
8. Prepare to be surprised.

I was so impressed with how this turned out I just had to post it with pride.

I had meant to try the baking soda-vinegar combo in this too, but I forgot and it didn't need it.  Maybe next time I'll try that... It might be necessary if using whole wheat flour... hmmm... next time...

Popeye's Pesto

I wanted to roast some large portobellos and wasn't sure what to put on them.  As much as they are delicious alone when roasted really well, in a 425F oven for 20-30 minutes, I wanted something a bit more exciting.  Daiya mixed with breadcrumbs and rosemary is a guaranteed winner, always.  Not too creative though, so I went with a pesto idea.  So simple, and so easy.  Since pine nuts are ridiculously expensive, and I didn't want to buy all the basil required, I thought I'd make something up.  I had (and have still) a boatload of spinach.  I've made pesto in the past using kale and pecans from our CSA, so why not sub spinach and for the "nuts" I got some roasted and salted pumpkin seeds!  Genius!  Next time, I think I'll toss in a couple of tablespoons of nooch but it's not necessary.

Popeye's Pesto
4 servings, approximately 50 calories per serving


CONTENTS


4 cups spinach
1/4 cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
up to 1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt (optional...)

FASCIST DIRECTIONS

1. Add one to two cups of spinach to your processor.  Process away til totally shredded and a pastey green sludge.
2. Add the pumpkin seeds, process...
3. Add the rest of the spinach and, you guessed it, chop and grind until it's looking good.  You may need to add water, I suggest 1 TBS at a time.  If it's getting too liquidy, maybe add some nooch, or more seeds.  If it's too thick, add water.  At some point you can add in some salt if you like.

Serve in oven-roasted portobellos (or grilled if you prefer).  Totally delicious, a very unique flavor combination!

Garlic Cheezy Mash-Up

I apologize for the delay, oh voracious followers.  I have only had time to make dinner once this week at home, and it rocked.  But it's taken me 4 days to find a moment to post what I made.  Without further ado, I bring you:

Garlic Cheezy Mash-Up
4 svgs, approx. 300 calories per serving

CONTENTS
1 pot of boiling water
24 oz potatoes (about 4 medium sized ones), quartered or eighthed...
3 large carrots, cut into 2-3" chunks
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup daiya cheese of choice (I went with mozarella)
2 Tbs earth balance margarine
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

FASCIST DIRECTIONS


1. Get the water boiling, chop your veggies
2. When ready, add the potatoes and carrots to the water
3. Wait about 20 minutes til they are nice and soft.
4. Drain water from pot, leaving the veggies inside.
5. Using a potato masher (victory, I finally bought one!), mash them up as good as you can.  Add the earth balance, mash more... Add the milk, mash more... Add the garlic, salt and Daiya, mix well.
6. Carefully portion out into 4 servings, or you will eat the whole batch.

The carrots make it so colorful!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Foursies (Coconut-Chocolate Chip Cookies)

Foursies... as in 4-Cs.... as in Coconut-Chocolate Chip Cookies... it wrote itself!

While these are baking I'm going to go ahead and assume they will be delicious... The dough was fantastic and somehow I ended up with about 6 missing cookie-amounts... hmm...

I wanted to use coconut flour, which I don't have.  I thought 'Shirley, it must be as easy to make coconut flour as it is to make oat flour, right?'  Wrong.  While Oat Flour is as simple as chucking oats into a processor and viola, coconut flour requires hours of advanced prep, tons of waiting, and then a ton more work.  Oh heck no... but if you're interested, here's the site I found that explained how to do it: http://www.ehow.com/how_5497666_make-coconut-flour.html 

I trust eHow fully... but just for twigs and giggles I cross referenced here: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2011/03/video-how-to-make-coconut-flour/
(which required watching a video on making coconut milk...)

Which turns out I found on ANOTHER website, message board stylee... that you can do by mixing shredded coconut and boiling water... You take 2 cups of unsweetened dry coconut and add 1.5 cups of boiling water. Blend and let steep, then squeeze out the liquid. Voila! Fresh coconut milk.  This person then suggested taking that pressed pulp, dry it out and grind it... I guess that would work... SOOOOOO.... Point being, it sounds like fun as the latter message board comment's version suggests, but I don't have time right now, I want cookies.  NOW.)


I'm a bit sugar-drunk right now from all that batter... so I apologize if this post doesn't make much sense!

Foursies
should be 1.5 dozen cookies... or however many you like to measure.  Normally I make mini cookies, but today I'm feeling decadent and want to make bigger cookies.  At the moment this shall remain with no calories... It's too hard to say, I ate too much dough to be exact here ;-)  Next time I will control myself.

CONTENTS
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 margarine (or applesauce... surprisingly I had no applesauce, so I went with good ol' earth balance)
(1/3 cup milk if using margarine, not if using applesauce)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour-- any kind should work, I used garbanzo because it's what I had and for who cares makes it gluten free.  AP-whole wheat would work, oat would be awesome and if using whole wheat I vote whole wheat pastry.
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup chocolate chips


FASCIST DIRECTIONS


1. Mix sugar and margarine + milk or just applesauce in a large bowl.  Add vanilla and mix well.
2. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. Mix really well.
3. Add coconut, mix well.  Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Heat oven to 375F.  Plop 1-1.5 TBS amounts onto a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Flatten each one slightly
6. Bake about 13 minutes, maybe a couple minutes more, maybe less.  They will be golden brown on the bottom and soft on top.
7. Cool thoroughly before consuming all of them.