When The Males Let You Down...

...no offense to any guys out there, of course I'm talking about male squash blossoms. :D

Anyone who has grown cucurbits has probably encountered this problem: male and female blossoms don't open at the same time. Well, at least not at first. It doesn't always happen in this order, but this year I've got lots of female blossoms while the males are lagging far behind! Come' on guys, get blooming! 

Male blossom (hubbard squash)                                       Female blossom (hubbard squash)

While we're waiting for the males to catch up, the squash on the female blossoms won't get pollinated and grow; they'll just fade on the vine. There's a yummy solution though--fried squash blossoms. 

There are more delicate and refined ways to prepare these little gems, but I really like them fried in batter...the blossoms are especially good (just check to make sure there's no little insects hiding in the buds before you get started).

I'm growing blue hubbard squash and zucchini this year, and we snacked on the unpollinated squash from both. The hubbards were a little bitter, but they were only a little bite each, so it scarcely mattered. The zucchini were quite nice, and the blossoms are toothier than you'd think they'd be. 

Tasty!

And to make up for being such a lazy blogger, here are some other eats we've had lately:

Portabella and green pepper fajitas with all the fixins'

Nachos

I like to make homemade chips by cutting fresh corn tortillas into triangles, brushing them with a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice, and nutritional yeast, and baking them. They're yummier than regular old corn chips and, I guess they're a little healthier too because there's less fat. 

And now, for any vegan cheezsters that might be reading, here's a little vegan cheese interlude. I bought some Vegan Gourmet on a couple occasions lately, and I've been pleasantly surprised. (I always like to tell myself that I'm going to make my own nut cheese, but somehow, I rarely get around to doing it.)

We've tried this brand in the past and didn't like it. But, maybe they've changed their formula, or maybe our tastes have changed. At any rate, it's been pretty good this time round. It doesn't have as much flavor as Daiya, but when it's melted, the texture is nicer. I've always found Daiya to be on the slimy side when melted. There's no weird plastic-y smell from it as it heats up either, which I remember from my previous experience with FYH.

This was a particularly yummy batch of lasagne with some of Vegan Gourmet on top, which melted nicely. 

The filling was the star though: firm tofu, thick cashew cream, pine nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast, white miso, ume plum vinegar, lemon juice, and black pepper blended in a food processor, with chopped fresh parsley and basil stirred in at the end. Next time I make it, I'll try to record the measurements, because it had a serious yum factor going on.

Lucky says, "Have a great weekend, everyone!"

Roseann Marie Laponte

Rosanne Tobin

Roseann Laponte

Karentika, Garentita

**Post Factum:** 

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 

Although Algeria boasts many wonderful sweet pastries and desserts, I just wasn't in the mood for more sweet stuff. So, the last taste of Algeria is a savory one. This is  called either Garentita or Karentika, depending on how it's pronounced.  According to what I read, this recipe is prevalent throughout Algeria.

It's sort of a soft cake/pastry made with chickpea flour and lightly flavored with cumin. According to the recipe I used, the basic formula does not vary too much, but everyone adds their own personal touch. Mine was a sprinkling of nigella seeds over the top before baking. It's common for this to be baked as one large cake, but the recipe I found baked it in individual-sized portions. I thought that was a good idea, so I followed suit.

Here's the basic recipe (you can find the original recipe here):

200g chickpea flour (I don't know how many cups because I'm crap at all the conversion stuff...it was probably about 1 generous cup worth)
600ml water/ 3 cups (that was easy because the conversions are right on my liquid measuring cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt (you could probably bring it up to 3/4 teaspoon if you wanted it a little saltier)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons olive oil
harissa to garnish

Ad Hoc Note: Looking over a few more recipes online, I see that many call for milk ...so if you do make this you might want to try subbing in all or part of the water with a non-dairy milk, it would probably turn out a little tastier.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put the chickpea flour in a large bowl and add half of the water (1.5 cups). Whisk very well, or blend with mixer until smooth. Add the salt, cumin, and add the rest of the water until you get the consistency of crepe batter. (I ended up using only 2.5 cups instead of 3.) Continue to mix until smooth. Finally, incorporate the oil and pour the batter into ramekins. Bake for ~ 30 minutes. A nice crust forms around the outside.

Allow to cool and remove from ramkins. Garnish with harissa.

In an effort to get pictures taken before the daylight faded too much, I took them out of the ramekins while they were still warm, and they crumbled a bit. I don't think that would happen if you allowed them to cool completely first. Although, on second thought...the recipe says to eat them warm out of the oven, so the crumbling was mostly likely just me. 

What are they like on the inside? Well, let me try to find the words...they're sort of dense and soft. The flavor is mild and is very nicely complimented by the harissa. I thought they were ok, but to my surprise, my husband really liked them; he ate 3 all in one go.

I think if I made these again, I would mix them longer and with an electric mixer instead of a whisk,  in hopes of a slightly fluffier texture. And I would only fill the ramekins 1/2 full instead of 2/3 full. 

The cakes came out a bit darker than the pictures I saw, perhaps it was due to the fact that I used a combination of chickpea and fava flour...but I couldn't say for sure.

Do check out some these photos to get a much better idea of what you'd be aiming for, as opposed to what you see in this post.

Now for the next destination. 

It seems like I've been seeing so many wonderful MoFo'ers whipping up delicious Ethiopian meals lately...my mouth just waters when I see a selection of savory legumes and veggies spread out across a big piece of injera...so I was hoping to land in Ethiopia for this stop...

But no.

At first glance, it looks like Slovakia, but when I zoomed in, I saw that the pointer was in Hungary.

Next stop Hungary.

Day 1 in Algeria: Felfel & Bouzgene Berber Flat Bread

**Post Factum:** 

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 

I know a lot of people will have read the title quickly and are probably expecting to see "falafel" right about now. But, these are FelFel:  Hot Algerian Peppers Stuffed with Nuts.

A vegan dish from the get-go, the felfel (peppers) are stuffed with a combination of ground pine nuts and walnuts seasoned with some garlic, chives, and salt to taste. The stuffed peppers are then pan fried in olive oil and dressed with fresh lemon juice. Very simple, but exquisitely delicious. This dish can be served as part of a meze or as a side dish.

In searching for recipes, I stumbled upon an online collection by Algerian cookbook author and culinary instructor, Chef Farid Zadi. You can find the stuffed pepper recipe here. If you feel so inclined,  definitely peruse his site...there are a lot of veganizable recipes and information on Algerian cuisine.


The peppers are meant to be hot. In case, you can't find hot Algerian peppers in your grocery store (I couldn't...no surprise there)  Chef Zadi recommends jalapeños in their stead. I used a combination of sweet yellow peppers and jalapeños...that way, it's easy to pick and choose between a little spice or a milder version, according to tastes.

I used the handle of a teaspoon to scrape the seeds out of the peppers. If you press the filling in well with your fingers, the nuts bind and the filling won't fall out while cooking.

Ad Hoc Note: I meant to say this originally, but if anyone is interested in a lower-fat version, I think these would work fine baked in the oven instead of pan fried. I think it would get real tasty in the oven if you added veggie broth to the bottom of the baking dish too, with some nooch! :P

I also tried my hand at some Berber flat bread. This is a traditional bread made with semolina flour, and eaten with sauces or stews in the Northeastern region of the country/along the coast. Semolina wheat was brought to the region in antiquity by the Carthaginians (who came to occupy much of northern Africa). The indigenous Berbers also used this flour to create couscous, which I'm sure many know, is Algeria's national dish.

Making this flat bread is much like making pasta dough. You put the semolina in a bowl, add a tad of olive oil, a bit of salt and then take up the rest with water until it reaches a workable consistency. You then form balls, roll it out and pan fry it in a little olive oil. I followed this recipe and quartered it, which was plenty for two people with some leftover.

The dip/spread is roasted peppers and tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

I don't know about you, but after these tasty snacks, I'm ready for some exploring.

The capital city of Algiers holds much interest, but one place I'd want to visit if I were there is the Casbah, or the "old city ".  Filled with hundreds of narrow labyrinths and stairways, visitors can see Ottoman architecture and remnants of the old walled citadel, while experiencing the life and culture of this still densely populated district.

To get an idea of some of the sights and the atmosphere of the Algiers Casbah district, check out Carine Iriarte's gallery of photos taken there. Here are a few samples of what you'll see:

Source: http://www.pbase.com/carine_iriarte/image/101654891

 

Source: http://www.pbase.com/carine_iriarte/image/102342797 

Kechaoua Mosque

Source: http://www.pbase.com/carine_iriarte/image/101693009

You can read more about the Casbah of Algiers here: http://www.algeria.com/sights/algiers-casbah/

To begin a read on the much-needed restoration of this district, maybe start here.

Back soon with more North African delights from Algeria.

Curried Winter Squash, Pan Seared Hearts of Palm, Brussel's Sprouts, Smokey Tofu, Carrot Pickle

I fashioned this after a fancy restaurant dish, and I have to admit that it came together pretty well. There's a  lot of  prep involved, but once that's done, it plates up quickly. :P And, I thought the flavors went well together, especially the curried squash, smokey tofu, and pickled carrot. The hearts of palm have sort of a rich flavor, and make a good trompe l'oeil for  an unmentionable...if you're in to that sort of thing. I think it's kind of fun. Alternately, you could use tofu cut into circles or trumpet mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms.

The small portion is according the fancy-schmancy restaurant paradigm of "small". If you're eating several courses, something like this fits in nicely...for a hearty mid-week quick fix...obviously not so much.

How does this relate to food from Florida? It's based on a menu item in a fancy Miami restaurant.

                                                                                    *******

Curried  Winter Squash, Pan Seared Hearts of Palm, Smokey Tofu w/ Sprouts and Carrot Pickles 

Recipe and Method

This gets kind of long, so I apologize in advance for that.

There are 3 marinades that  you'll need to put together a few hours (I'd say at least 3 hours) before putting it together.

Smokey Tofu Marinade

The idea here is a tofu bacon with a hint of maple.

Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu, pressed to reduce the water, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari, Bragg's Aminos, etc...whatever you prefer)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
A few drops of liquid smoke...you'll have to judge yourself, but go sparingly. You can always add more if it's not smokey enough

Press the tofu to release extra liquid: I usually put the tofu in a colander, place a plate on top of the tofu and then put a heavy jar/can on top of the plate. Place the colander somewhere it can drain...like on another plate or in the sink.

Mix together the maple syrup, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Taste for smokiness and adjust to your taste if necessary.

When the tofu has been pressed for 20 or 30 minutes, slice into 1/4-inch slices and put in a dish with the marinade. Allow to marinate  3 - 4 hours.

marinating tofu slices

Pickled Carrot Marinade

Ingredients:

1 large carrot, shredded with a vegetable peeler or similar

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar (the seasoned vinegar is important, otherwise they will be very sour}

1/2 teaspoon sugar or agave (or 1 teaspoon for a sweeter pickle)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Shred the carrot with a veggie peeler, put shredded carrot in a bowl and toss with the vinegar/sugar/salt. Allow to marinate for 3 - 4 hours.

carrot pickles

                                                                          

Hearts of Palm Marinade

Ingredients

1 can Hearts of Palm, if whole, cut into 1-inch pieces (they have a tendency to break apart, use a serrated knife and cut slowly and gently)

1/2 cup white wine

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Sprinkle of garlic powder

Put hearts of palm pieces in a dish and pour marinade ingredients over. Allow to marinate 3-4 hours.

If you like it, you could also add some dulse flakes...I didn't use any.

Here's what they look like whole out of the can

hearts of palm in marinade

About an hour before getting everything on the plate, start putting the curried squash together.

Curried Squash with Ginger and Maple

~ 1 lb chopped winter squash...any kind you like 

2 carrots, 1 chopped fine, the other left in large chunks

1/2 leek, chopped into thin rounds (~ 1 cup, chopped)

1 shallot, minced fine

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (I used a scant 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon curry powder 

pinch of red chili flakes

1/4 cup white wine or veggie broth

2 tablespoons maple syrup

salt to taste

Boil the chopped squash and the large-chunk carrot until tender. In the meantime, saute the remaining carrot, leek, and shallot in a pan over medium heat, adding the chili flakes, fresh ginger, and curry powder. When the squash is tender, drain it, and add it to the pan with the leek/carrot/shallots, and toss through. Add the wine and allow to simmer for another 2 -3 minutes. Add salt to taste. 

Transfer the squash/leek/shallots mixture to a food processor, add the maple syrup and blend well (2 -3) minutes. Keep warm over low heat until serving.

Steam the Brussel's Sprouts

Peel the outer leaves off of ~ 1/2 lb Brussel's sprouts and steam until just beginning to tender. Remove from heat and drain. Refresh with cold water and  and cut each sprout into 4 wedges. If you want, you can scrape the heart of the steam off  each wedge...some find it bitter. To warm them up again before serving, pour some boiling water over them, allow them to sit for 30 seconds or so and then drain.

Bake the Tofu

After the tofu slices have marinated for a few hours, remove it from the marinade. Heat the oven to 400 (F), lightly grease a baking tray, and bake the tofu slices for ~ 15 minutes, turning them halfway through. Keep an eye on them, to make sure they don't burn. 

Allow the baked tofu to cool and then chop it  into 1/2-inch slices. 

smokey maple tofu out of the oven

Pan Sear the Hearts of Palm

The last step before you put everything together is searing the hearts of palm.  

Remove the hearts of palm from the marinade, brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with some paprika or chili powder (I used a combination of both).

Heat a seasoned pan over medium-high (preferably a cast iron one with ridges) and sear off the hearts of palm. Let them cook for about 2 minutes on each side. The pan should be hot enough so they sizzle when you put them in.  If you're using a ridged pan, press down on them gently a few times while they cook to produce score marks. 

Now you're ready to put it all together. Plate it up any way you like.

Don't forget about the carrot pickles...drain them from the marinade and squeeze out the excess liquid before adding them to the plate. To make the little nests, wrap some shreds around a fork--like with spaghetti--and then gently slide them onto the plate.

You'll probably have some squash puree leftover. Add veggie broth to it and make soup...a quick meal for another day.

Ciao for now. :)
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Tobin

Road Trip Day 2: Tempeh Salteñas (& some salad)

**Post Factum:** 

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 
Before I do anything else, I must apologize to the nation of Bolivia and salteña purists everywhere, as I'm afraid mine really don't cut the mustard. They're supposed to be juicy for a start, but I'll talk more about that later. All I can say is, be gentle; this was my first go at them and they do taste good, just a bit dry.

Salteñas are the Bolivian take on empanadas, versions of which are prevalent throughout Central and South America.  I know when I think of South American foods, empanadas are one of the first things that spring to mind. Empanadas as a recipe were brought to the Americas by way of the Spanish conquistadores, hence their ubiquitous nature throughout Central and South America.  In Spain, they are generally known as empanadillas.

Even within Bolivia these pastries vary from region to region. Some of the most acclaimed varieties being from Cochabama,  Potosi, La Paz, and Sucre. From what I can gather, the versions from La Paz and Sucre are very similar...if anyone knows for sure, please correct me if I'm wrong. The ones I've made here are the La Paz/Sucre version. They are spicy and subtly sweet at the same time, usually baked instead of fried.

The filling (typically meat) is meant to be very juicy, with raisins, olives, and boiled egg layered over the top. I used tempeh to replace the unmentionable, and that's where the lack of juiciness comes in. Typical recipes call for adding quite a lot of broth and gelatin to the mixture, allowing it to chill overnight before filling the pastry. When the pastry is filled, the filling has set up from the gelatin, and as they bake, the filling returns to it's juicy state. This is why they are meant to be eaten hot, right out of the oven before the gelatin as a chance to set up again.

For those of you following along at home, here is a list of the ingredients from the original recipe. (Please find the full recipe here.)

Salteñas Pacenas filling from Alura Gonzales: 

1 1/2 lbs. top round steak cut in 1/2 inch cubes (Sub with tempeh or similar)
1 lb. potatoes cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup peas
2 cups finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon aji (hot ground red pepper)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (I used much more...like a tablespoon)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire Sauce (optional)
4 cups veggie consomme (hot) 

1 cup cooking liquid from chickpeas; it gells up when it cools.

See what I mean about all that broth and the gelatin? Now, I suppose I should have gone all out and used some vegan substitute for gelatin, but I'll leave that as a challenge for another day. In this instance, I followed the recipe as-is, substituted all the unmentionable stuff with some poached tempeh and called it a day. Which, to make a long story short,  is why they came out dry. But in my defense, they were still  tasty.

The dough also has a story. Part of the reason I chose this particular recipe was because the dough did not call for eggs, while many other versions did. I have to say, it was a bit of an odd pastry dough--more like a roll out cookie dough than anything else. And as such, came out quite crispy...and dry. But again, subtly sweet, rich, and tasty.

 filling, raisins, and olives all ready for their salteña home 

(you're supposed to use black olives, but I wanted green ones instead)

pastry rounds ready for folding

(3 raisins and 1 olive per pastry)

folded pastry (they remind me of those cute dinosaurs)

After all the heavy food lately, I felt it was time for a salad. I found this nice salad idea on a Bolivian recipe website. It's meant to be dressed with mayonaise and oil, but I thought a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some black pepper sufficed.

raw shredded beet and carrot, diced red pepper, red onions, and tomato

Here is some further info if anyone is interested:

I read that vegetarian versions of salteñas are not too difficult to find in cities, but I  could not find any further descriptions of what was typically in them. Here is a link to veggie friendly places in Bolivia and some other Central and South American countries: http://esperanzadelibertad.org/veggiefood.htm

Food Customs of Bolivia: http://www.boliviabella.com/bolivian-food-customs.html

Tomorrow, last day in Bolivia.

Ciao!

Jalapeño Burgers and Avocado Fries

If I eat fried stuff, it's almost always onion rings. But last night, we gave fried avocado wedges a try. They will never take over the position of onion rings in my book, but they're fun because you dip them in salsa instead of ketchup.  I'm thinking anyone who had a penchant for fried mozzarella in another life would enjoy these.  If I make them again, I'll add a slice of onion to make an avocado/onion ring hybrid.

I used the recipe from American Vegan Kitchen. If you don't have the book but are interested, you can find a similar recipe on Tami's blog here. They are coated in a batter that is basically equal parts flour and beer, with a little lime juice; they fry up quite nicely.

I couldn't get a good shot of the inside, but here's a blurry one:

The burgers were sort of an experiment that turned out reasonably well. I baked a loaf of seitan, ground it up into mince, then sauteed it with some finely chopped mushrooms, onion, garlic, jalapeño peppers, oregano, a splash of vegan worcestershire and salt/pepper.  I tossed the mushroom/seitan mixture into a bowl and added a cup or so of  vital wheat gluten and a bit of water to get a patty-making consistency. Then, I browned them on the stove before baking them in the oven for about a half an hour.

They were soft, but held together well...if I made them again, I would add walnuts. They were fairly tasty and paired well with some vegan sour cream.

Baked seitan works especially well for making mince, I find.

seitan loaf

chunks o' seitan

seitan mince

mushroom/jalapeño/seitan patties

Now I'm off to carve these pumpkins:

See y'all Monday for  Vegan MoFo. 

Happy Halloween! 

Ratatouille-Stuffed Aubergines

Ok, I admit it's a little pretentious of me to be calling eggplants by their otherwise French/British English name, seeing as how I'm blogging from the US. But, what can I say? I love that word! And since 'ratatouille' already had me on the turf of the ancient Gauls...why not?

I thought I might as well use the three wee eggplants that graced my garden this year; late-bloomers that they were, they weren't going to get any bigger from here on in. So, I whipped up some hummus, topped it with a bit of harissa, and served it with some ratatouille-filled mini eggplants. It got a bit messy, but it was a colorful feast of the eyes.

The harissa was a treat that my neighbor presented me for watering her houseplants while she was away.  I had never had it before, and while it's bit on the salty side (this particular jar is anyway) we enjoyed the deep, peppery tang of it.

Also, if you haven't already, don't forget to sign up for VeganMofo IV. It really is a lot of fun and a great way to discover cool blogs from all over the globe. 

Speaking of vegan coolness (or should I say "ghoulness"), if you haven't yet, I have to recommend you check out Manifest Vegan's seasonal take on chips and guacamole, cuz it is really is way too cute. 

Happy Thanksgiving weekend Canada!