Hey, It's Still Summer Chili Dog

I think I may have been cyber bullied into doing this post. (j/k Shen!). But, I know I wasn't the only one who was moved to make chili after seeing Shen's appetizing batch last weekend. (Just in case you don't already know, that's Shen of Shenandoah Vegan fame, aka SV)  Her chili looked so beany and thick and delicious, I had to make a batch the following day. I mentioned this to SV, and at her subsequent request, here are some pics.

We've been eating it since last Monday, so by today, I only had a bit left...just enough for a chili dog. I also thought this was a good time to try out the new Field Roast Frankfurters that have been in my freezer for about a month. I guess they sell them at the baseball park here, which I have to say is cool.

Here's one frying up in a pan:

As far as the frankfurers go, they seemed drier and grainier to me than other veggie dogs; the texture is similar to their veggie sausages. The flavor is distinct and savory; overall, I liked the taste and the texture. I don't buy veggie dogs too often, only when I get a hankering. I think I'd buy these again, but maybe not to the exclusion of the occasional Smart Dog.

On to the chili...Shen, per your request, this one's for you:

Shen's batch was far more delicious-looking than mine; hers was the quintessential bowl of chili. I didn't have Crystal's chili mix, but I did base mine off the what I could gather Shen put in.  It had onions, garlic, and pepper (anaheim, sweet banana, and poblano) sauteed with chili flakes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and ground coriander,  tons of par-cooked beans and a large can of tomatoes tossed in with salt and pepper, cooked for several hours. Chili always tastes better the next day, and the day after, and the day after that...

On a side note, I tried some spiralized oven potatoes. I used the largest blade on the sprializer and I was hoping they'd come out like curly fries, but no go. Even the largest blade is too thin; they were more like hash browns--not bad, just not like fries.

Summer is still in full swing around here, but this weekend will probably be the last blast of it. Both the chili and the chili dog really hit the spot: spicy, tasty food that goes great with beer. Thanks for the inspiration Shen!  

Speaking of beer, I love seeing signs like this:

Yes, please!!

Gone Spiral

summer squash, daikon and carrot noodles with cinnamon basil pesto

Holee molee, this post has been a long time getting off the ground; it's been sitting in my publish Q since last Sunday; better late than never, I guess. 

Last Saturday, when I received my latest kitchen acquisition, I couldn't wait to try it out:  

I'm a big believer in the saying that the best tool in the kitchen is your hands but, I'd be hard pressed to do this to such effect with my bare hands: 

spiralized veggies 

I've been wanting one of these for a while, and in looking around for which kind to buy I read several product reviews. Some spiralizers were said to produce a lot of waste, leaving a lot of the vegetable unspiralized after it was all over. Others worked on soft veggies like zucchini but didn't do so well with hard ones like carrots and beets. This one got good reviews on both those counts. 

It has a simple design, which is an attractive characteristic in a gadget if you ask me. It may seem a little pricey for what it is, but it works well, is easy to use, and easy to clean. I feel like it's worth the money, provided it's something you'll use with some frequency. It's funny, you read such wildly different reviews; some people hated this product, others loved it. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves. 

I know a lot of you have spiralizers: any tips or tricks or things you especially like to use them for? There's a picture in the instruction booklet of potato curls...(I'm thinking curly fries). 

For my first run, I decided keep it tame and make some veggie noodles to toss with pesto.

Speaking of kitchen gadgets, I don't know whether a pestle and mortar qualifies as one or not, but either way, I don't have one.  A shameful state of affairs really, so I usually make pesto by chopping it up really fine, tossing it into a bowl and stirring in a tablespoon or two of oil at the very end.  I used cinnamon basil for this batch--the leaves are less spongy than sweet basil and it has a subtle cinnamon scent and taste. It's great used in desserts and produces pretty purple flowers.

In other new products, I ran across these tofu-based dips:

We tried the curry flavor, which was tasty...it reminded me of tofu "egg" salad, but, I'm not sure I'll buy it again. They have a few other flavors, has anyone seen or tried any of them? 

We spent most of the weekend lazing around in the garden, which gave way to making pickled nasturtium seeds.  I have lots of them in the garden and it was easy to gather a little jar full of fresh green seeds. It's an interesting idea from one of my fav kitchen books called The Magic of Herbs; they're supposed to be a similar to capers when they're done, which makes sense. They won't be ready for another six weeks, and I'll post more about them then if they turn out well. 

green nasturtium seeds

And finally, please ignore my gnarly knuckle, but here's a cute little ring made from a blade of grass, a clover, and some teeny yellow flowers. It actually stayed on most of the day; I was quite chuffed about it:

Polenta Stacks

I don't have a lot to say about this, so I'll be brief.

Sunday night's dinner: roasted polenta, zucchini, eggplant, and tomato slices layered with homemade spaghetti sauce.

It's simple to put together once you have the sauce made and the veggies roasted. The only slightly tricky part is slicing the polenta. To do this, I cooked the polenta in veggie broth, added fresh herbs and nutritional yeast, then smoothed it into a square dish and let is set up in the fridge. When it was cold, I used a serrated knife to slice it into thin layers.

Note: I don't know whether it was strictly necessary, but I sprayed the square dish with oil before spreading the polenta into it, just to make sure it didn't stick. My inkling is that it wouldn't have stuck, but  I didn't want to take the chance. 

The polenta looked a bit pale after it set, so I toasted the slices under the grill for a few minutes until they turned golden. I was a little worried that the polenta would turn out hard from the grilling, but after letting it sit for several minutes layered with with spaghetti sauce, the polenta soaked up the sauce and turned out savory and soft with a light crunch on the outside.

We also had  some broccoli salad with red pepper, sweet onion, pine nuts and a warm garlic vinaigrette.

It was good, and that's all I have to say about that.
Rose Tobin Seattle
Rosanne Tobin
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Marie Tobin
Rosanne LaPonte

Garlicky Favas and Roasted Tomatoes with Basil

If you're in the mood for a summery dish to load up with garlic, this might be for you. I made this during the week, and it really satisfied our garlic tooth.

(This is a loose recipe, the measurements are just as a guide...anything goes!)

Garlicky Favas and Roasted Tomatoes with Fresh Basil
1/2-3/4 pound fresh fava beans, out of shell
1 pound cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup (scant) veggie stock or water
Garlic, plenty! (or to taste)-- some slivered, some diced (I used about 7-8 good-sized cloves total)
Olive oil
Fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper

For the tomatoes:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt/pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes. About 2-3 minutes before you're ready to take them out of the oven, sprinkle plenty of finely chopped garlic over them (I used ~ 3 large cloves finely chopped). When the tomatoes are starting to caramelize and collapse, take them out of the oven and set aside.

Note: I roasted the cherry tomatoes in the oven because I think they get a little sweeter and more caramelized that way (and I was roasting potatoes too), but you could also just saute them in the same pan with the favas if you don't want to heat up the oven...just toss them in a few minutes before the favas and let them saute until they start to 'pop'. 


For the favas:
First, blanche and refresh the shelled favas: Bring a pot of well-salted water to boil. While that's coming to a boil, fill a bowl or large pot with cold water and add a tray of ice cubes; this is where you'll dunk the blanched favas so they cool off quickly and don't get overcooked. When the water is boiled, drop in the shelled fava beans and let them boil for about 45 seconds...no more than 1 minute. Drain off the hot water and submerge the favas in the ice water. When they're cool, pinch off the thick outer skins to find the bright green, fresh favas inside.

Heat some olive oil in a large pan, add in plenty of finely slivered garlic (I used ~ 4 large cloves) and saute over medium for a minute or so, add in the blanched favas and the veggie stock, bring to simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes. You want most of the liquid to cook off, but play it by ear; the favas should stay bright green and be just tender--not mushy or starting to fall apart. Toss in the roasted tomatoes and chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste.

I could eat this as a side dish or a main course. On this occasion, we had it as a side with mini crustless tofu quiches from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and roasted potatoes. I've been wanting to try those mini quiche for some time, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. They're tasty and turn out well, and as Susan V says in her post, they are nice and light. They went well with the favas for some very digestible summer fare.  I followed the recipe closely, but did add about 1 tsp of light miso and a few drops of ume plum vinegar for a little extra zing.

Other than that, no real news here. I'm trying to make the most of the summer days with swims in the lake and pottering in the garden...a pretty tame existence. Not without its disappoinments though; I've had some ups and downs in the garden, which I guess is par for the course. I've also found some new favorite recipes online and in 'zines', which I hope to post about eventually. In short, we're eating well, which is a blessing.

Happy August everyone!
Rose Tobin

Roseann Marie LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

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

Solstice Picnic

Hi out there! I hope everyone enjoyed the Solstice yesterday and (if you're in the northern hemisphere) are looking forward to the summer season. I know I am...among other things, I can't wait for local summer fruits and berries to start popping up in the markets.

Yesterday couldn't have been a more perfect day for the first day of summer around here: 78 degrees, sunny, blue sky and puffy clouds. Originally, split pea soup was on the menu for dinner last night, but as I was out for a ride on my bike,  it struck me that spilt pea soup seemed incongruous with the summery nature of the day. Instead we decided to pack a picnic...and although the pics might lead you think that we ended up on a sail boat...alas no, we headed to a nearby park that overlooks the city...lovely just the same.

Sail boats, and boaters in general, were out in full force enjoying the evening breeze, lots and lots of other picnickers too.

I didn't have a lot of time to get the food together so I just made a quick salad of bulgur wheat with parsley, red onion, cucumber and tomato, dressed with lemon juice, black pepper and olive oil. I also tossed some cherry tomatoes with fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper, boiled some corn on the cob, and to round it all off, picked up some falafel at Whole Foods. With some olives, lemon-tahini sauce, and lemon wedges it was a perfect picnic affair. I also made some garlic crostini (not pictured) and of course we had a bottle of wine.

Oh, and we had a fruit salad, blueberries, Maui Gold pineapple, and a few strawberries from the garden:

Those Maui Golds are the best...if you run across some, I recommend giving them a try. I snap them up regularly when they're in the markets around here.

We stayed until sundown...

... and well past:

Happy Summer!

Silk Road Cooking...

This is just  a quick post about some stuff I've been up to lately. First up are a couple of dishes from Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey, by Najmieh Batmanglij. I've had this cookbook for a couple years and have cooked from it only a few times. It's one cookbook that I really want to use more, so I spent some time with it this weekend.

Pages from Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey

The book is full of beautiful photos, historical narration, and intriguing recipes. It's vegetarian, not vegan, but many of the recipes are vegan, and the others are veganizable of course. Here's a link to some sample recipes to give an idea.

The Balkh Brown Lentil Soup (above) calls for fewer herbs and spices than I would usually add to lentil stews and soups, but it is so tasty in its simplicity. The recipe calls for toasting cumin seeds in oil, adding onions and garlic, then lentils and water to simmer. Towards the end you add some fresh orange and lime juice (it calls for Seville oranges, but if you don't have those, you can use a combination of orange and lime juice) and also angelica powder. According to the book, angelica powder is used as a souring agent in Persian cooking. I didn't have any, so I used a teaspoon of tamarind paste instead. From what I've gathered, angelica is nutritious and has many healthful properties; I really want to get my hands on some. Seasoned to taste, and topped with fried onions and parsley, the soup is more than the sum of its parts. 

The next recipe I chose was a Bulger and Mung Bean Pilaf.  It's another winner, seasoned with cumin seeds, shredded ginger, turmeric, and chili peppers, it's so yummy topped with fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs. The mung beans and bulger go well together and create a great texture. I ate two bowls of the leftovers for breakfast this morning. 

The whole meal was a bit of a feast actually, we had the soup as a starter and then the pilaf with a spinach, mushroom, carrot salad and a tofu tart with roasted summer squash and tomato:

The tart turned out just "ok". The tofu filling was tasty enough, I added miso paste, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, almond milk, pine nuts, garlic, onion powder, kala namak salt,  and some ume vinegar, but it didn't cook through how I wanted it...I'm still trying to get a feel for the calibration of my new oven. 

For other news, the garden is thriving. I've been harvesting fresh greens galore.

So far, we've been munching on mustard-spinach ( a hybrid of the two and a less spicy than pure mustard greens), baby kale, spinach, and radishes. I'm waiting a little longer to harvest the dandelion greens and the lettuce. The chard and collard greens will be another few weeks before they grow into nice big plants. It's a bit overcrowded at the moment, but as we harvest, space will open up.

I keep the greens under a poly tunnel at night and on cloudy days, and it makes a phenomenal difference in how fast things grow. Here's the same bed about a month ago:

It's easy to make a poly tunnel. All you need is some rebar stakes, some pliable tubing that you can get in a hardware store, and some opaque painters' plastic. You can attach the plastic to the tubes with large binder clips. This works great in climates where the temps are cool in spring and fall.

Green juice from the garden: radish tops, parsley, mustard-spinach, celery (not from the garden) and sorrel:

Radishes are one of my favorite vegetables, and for any newbie gardeners out there, I highly recommend giving radishes a try. They grow quickly and easily...and, you get double for your efforts; harvest the roots for salads and what not (you can cook them too) and eat the greens in stir fries or juices. The greens are a bit stickery, but if you steam them or juice them it's not a problem. Radishes are just little turnips, so I wager that the greens are super nutritious like turnip greens. The radishes themselves are pretty nutritious too.

My tomato and pepper starts are some of the slowest growing little guys I've ever seen! Come on guys...get growing!

And finally, in some family news: my mom adopted a little dog from a K-9 death row rescue:

Her name is Lula, and she's super smart and sweet.  She adores my mom, and we all love her. I've been visiting a lot to get in on the walking action. I hope to post a video of her soon doing one of her happy dances, which are really adorable.

Kelp Noodle Salad and Other Important Things, Including Rhubarb "Mead"

I was at the store recently, when some kelp noodles caught my eye. As something new and interesting to try, they were calling out to me, but I'll admit that I was a little hesitant as well. I like sea vegetables when they have a mild flavor. I'm down with some arame seaweed or a little wakame. I can even handle a little bit of dulse in small doses, but I'm not an all-out seaweed lover...If the flavor is too strong it literally makes  me gag. So, the first thing that crossed my mind was "what if they turn out really seaweedy?...Gulp!" But, as I read through the package, the words "Neutral Flavor" won me over.

There are  a few recipe ideas on the back of the package. One for a miso/peanut noodle salad sounded especially tempting, and I'll try that next time. But today, I wanted to go for something more low-cal, so decided on a soy-wasabi salad:

For the veggie base, I used green onions, sunburst squash, red pepper, carrot, celery and daikon.

The package just gives the ingredient list for the dressing, not the measurements, so here's what I ended up throwing together: 2 Tablespoons Bragg's Aminos, 1 Tablespoon raw agave, 1 Tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar, a good splash of cider vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste. I went light on the wasabi...a little bit more would have been good though.

You don't have to cook these noodles;  they're ready to eat right out of the bag. Here's what they look like: 

According to the package, these little noodlers have a lot going for them: fat-free, gluten-free, low cal and low carb, and they are a source of many trace minerals including iodine.  

My verdict? The texture is great, a little bit rubbery and toothsome...maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it. The flavor is indeed neutral; the noodles add texture and serve as a vehicle for the dressing, while the core of the salad's flavor comes from the veggies you choose. All in all, I'm glad I gave these a try. They'll be fun to add to salads and switch things up a bit.

Part of the reason I wanted to eat light today was because yesterday (Easter) was quite a feast. We didn't plan on it being quite so sumptuous...it just sort of happened that way. For the vegan main course, I made some fettuccine in cashew-basil cream. It was a winner; everyone enjoyed it. 

I didn't measure the sauce when I was making it, but here's roughly what I put in:

Cashew Basil Cream Sauce:
1 generous cup raw cashews, soaked in water for an hour or so
2 generous Tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8-1/4 cup nutritional yeast (to taste, I usually go for 1/4 cup)
6-8 drops ume plum vinegar (because it's quite salty and tangy, I just drizzle a bit in...you'll have to adjust to your tastes)
1 generous/heaping Tablespoon white miso
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice ( I usually go for more like 3)
1.5 cups water
Generous 2 cups chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Drain the cashews and blend in food processor with the rest of the ingredients, except the basil. Add the water gradually until you get the smoothness and consistency you want, I went for a thick consistency that was still "pourable".  For a nice smooth consistency, blend it for several minutes. When you've achieved the consistency you want, toss in the chopped basil leaves and pulse a few times to blend through.

Toss the cashew/basil cream with some drained noodles that are just on the verge of al dente and gently heat through. Serve right away with lightly steamed green beans, and some pine nuts and basil shreds to garnish. Pretty yummy stuff!

In addition to the pasta we had broccoli, pineapple, sweet potatoes, salad, and some rye bread. My mom also made some awesome fresh tomato salsa for hors d'oeuvres:

We had strawberry pie and coconut milk ice cream for dessert...sorry no pics. See, what I mean about the feasting?

Now, for a rhubarb "mead" update for anyone who might be interested. Over the weekend, we broke open the rhubarb mead I posted about here. It's a lovely color, lightly effervescent and has a mild flavor, not terribly rhubarby though. (rhubarby...that sounds funny! :D)

Alessandra suggested that it might be more aptly named rhubarb beer...kind of like ginger beer, and I'm inclined to agree. There is only a trace amount of alcohol in it, which can be either good or bad depending on your perspective. Personally, I was hoping for something wee bit stronger. But, it is refreshing mixed with some sparkling water or other sparkling juice, and we'll certainly enjoy sipping it from time to time as the weather warms up. 

And last but certainly not least, I want to give a big Thank You to Rebecca of Enjoying the Journey blog, who was my seed swap partner. Cassie of Vegan Fox fame hosted a seed swap this month, which I thought was a fun idea. 

Rebecca sent me some kale, lavender, and lemon cucumber seeds, all of which I love. She also included a handy seed-starting guide and some fun animal rights stickers. Thanks Rebecca! I'll plant the kale and lavender now, and the cucumbers I'll start in early June.