Where's the Revolution?

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 5: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

2009-11-20T17:36:00.006-05:00

Whew- we have come to the final chapter of our 5 cookbook reviews in 5 days. I'm ending the series with a little book called Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Remember a little book about vegan cupcakes that came out a few years ago? And now we can't imagine a world without cupcakes? Well, it's time for cookies to get the same treatment. From the simple and old-fashioned, to the innovative, this book has tons and tons of recipes. There's even a section for wholesome cookies! I mean, come ON.

These have been all the talk with the kids these days- Mexican chocolate snickerdoodles. You think they'll be good. Then they turn out even better than that.

Lazy samoas. The Girl Scout recipe, simplified, veganized, and awesomerized.

Agave trailblazers- chock full of nuts and other goodies, but not too sweet.

And finally, these Irish Creme Kisses, delicious cookies that get a kick from just a hint of Irish whiskey. When I lived in the U.K., I may or may not have developed a thing for Irish whiskey...

And it may or may not have gotten a little out of hand...

Anyway... you can go here to get some sample recipes from the book- including the Mexican Snickerdoodles!

And, check out the other 4 cookbook reviews from this past week:
11/16 - 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
11/17 - The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage
11/18 - Potluck Mania by Joanna Vaught
11/19 - The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek

Happy cooking and baking!

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 4: 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes

2009-11-19T22:50:00.005-05:00

We are on a roll! Tonight we have the 4th installment of this week's 5 cookbook reviews. When I heard that The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek of the nom! nom! nom! blog was coming out, I knew that I would have to get my hands on it. Why? Because Kris was the author of The Damn Tasty! Vegan Baking Guide. Those of you that were lucky enough to get your hands already know how good the recipes in that book were. That book is no longer in print, but fear not! Some of its best recipes are included in the new book.

If you've spent more than 5 minutes with me, you've heard me go on and on about THE banana bread recipe. It's the best one ever. I've tried a couple of other ones, only to come back to this- it makes a perfect, moist, flavorful banana bread and you won't believe how simple the ingredients are. It's also adaptable- I switch up the flours and add in crazy ingredients all the time, and it's never failed.

Here's another amazing recipe from the book- Boston Creme Pie! I never imagined I'd be able to make this fancy treat at home, but this recipe is awesome and it'll make you see that it is quite do-able.

This week I decided to make carrot cake. Don't laugh- my cake decorating skills are not that great!

But you can see from this inside shot that this cake is too good to care about my shoddy frosting job. A delicious spicy cake with carrots, raisins, nuts, and plenty of cream cheese frosting. It's so good. I'm not ashamed to admit that Daiku and I have been having slices of this for breakfast for the last couple of days...

Some helpful features of 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes:

very thorough ingredient and substitution guides
a huge range of recipes from sweet to savory, simple to fancy
a guide to let you know exactly how difficult each recipe is, in addition to tips on how to increase efficiency while baking

Don't miss out- this is a reference guide that you'll go back to again and again! Except for THE banana bread- you'll memorize that one pretty quickly...

Check out this week's previous cookbook reviews:

11/16 - 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
11/17 - The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage
11/18 - Potluck Mania by Joanna Vaught

And stay tuned for my final review tomorrow:

11/20- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 3: Potluck Mania

2009-11-18T22:05:00.006-05:00

Tonight's cookbook up for review is actually a zine, Potluck Mania: Issue #1 Baby, It's Cold Outside. But it's bigger than most zines, and comes with a load of recipes that have been thoroughly tested and vetted to be really good. So really what's going on is that you have the depth and quality of a full-blown cookbook, for the price of a zine. Win-win.

It comes to you courtesy of Joanna Vaught, who you may recognize from her first cookbook, Yellow Rose Recipes. Much like YRR, this zine is full of recipes that reflect Joanna's southern roots. However, these dishes all have a little twist that takes them from good to extraordinary. You will be impressed with the quality of these recipes- taste, texture, and balance, it's all here. Here are some of my favorite dishes from the zine:

corn muffins- these have the perfect texture, and a delicate topping that kicks them up a notch

ginger maple tempeh strips- perfect balance of sweet, smoky, and awesome.

coconut sweet potatoes- just when I thought my love of sweet potatoes couldn't go any farther

last, but not least, we have us a crazy little breakfast treat that some friends and I invented one day. Before I go any farther, let me just say that Joanna is NOT responsible for this monstrosity! Her recipe is for these excellent breakfast sausages. We just happened to take those innocent sausages and... cook and wrap them in pancakes and top with maple syrup and whipped cream. I'm in no way saying you are obligated to do these with these sweet breakfast sausages, just... putting it out there.

Check out Monday's cookbook review, 500 Vegan Recipes
Check out Tuesday's cookbook review, The Urban Vegan

and stay tuned for review #4, tomorrow!

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 2: The Urban Vegan

2009-11-17T22:14:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the 2nd installment of this week's 5-part cookbook review series! As I mentioned last night, I will be reviewing a new vegan cookbook (and 1 zine!) every day of this week. Tonight, I have The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine, by Dynise Balcavage of the Urban Vegan blog.

True story: Urban Vegan was the 2nd vegan blog I discovered, way back in the summer of 2006, and it was one of my main inspirations to start this blog. As anyone who reads her work knew, it wasn't if, but when Dynise would come out with a cookbook. I love the way she distills the essence of urbanity into her recipes- diverse, edgy, cosmopolitan, unexpected, but ultimately, homey. If like me, you are an urban person at heart (whether or not you live in a metropolis like Philadelphia), you have to pick up this book. What I love is how the recipes are inspired by Dynise's travels to all corners of the world, but somehow fit together very nicely. Check out some of my favorite recipes:

alternative granola - Peruvian influence, a use I'd never imagined for quinoa!

spätzle- you don't need any special tools for this Central European comfort food

chickpea paprikash- daiku's favorite recipe from the book- the paprika taste is so deep and rich, it'll blow your mind

Havana beans and rice- a little taste of Cuba, right in your kitchen

punka pie- I never even liked pumpkin pie before this!

blue mosque ayran- a refreshing and minty drink from the Middle East, perfect for hot summer days

crème brûlée - yes, you heard me!

tiramisu- oh man, possibly my favorite recipe from this book. boozy and decadent and coffee-y- wow!

portobello burger- so simple, yet so good

Here's the tiramisu that Luciana and I made for our recent Halloween party. We called it "fetalmisu"- get it? Ok, even if fetus humor isn't your thing, you have got to get your hands on this book!

Stay tuned for installments 3, 4, and 5. In the meantime, check out my first cookbook review from last night, 500 Vegan Recipes.

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 1: 500 Vegan Recipes

2009-11-16T22:01:00.008-05:00

It's such an exciting time! Those of you who are cookbook addicts, and I dare say that's more than a few of you, might be aware that a ton of new vegan cookbooks have been published recently. This week, I've decided to give a few of these books some love- so I've decided to do a series called 5 cookbooks in 5 days, one each day until Friday.

The schedule will be as follows:
Mon (today!) - 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
Tue - The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage
Wed - Potluck Mania by Joanna Vaught
Thur - The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek
Fri- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Just a quick note to let you know that I know all of these authors, I have tested recipes for most of these books, and as a result have received free copies of some of them. I won't lie to you, I'm going to highlight what's good about these books! However, I think you'll agree that there just isn't much bad to say about any of them.

On to today's book!

500 Vegan Recipes is brought to you by the lovely and prolific bloggers Celine (of Have Cake Will Travel) and Joni (of Just the Food). Just as its name implies, this is a big book, and has an encyclopedic selection of recipes for every meal, mood, and occasion. The book gives lots of background on ingredients and techniques, enough to give beginners the knowledge to begin and more advanced cooks confidence to experiment. The recipes, however, are anything but basic- both Celine and Joni are creative enough to write truly enticing and unusual recipes. A broccoli salad with candied nuts? It's good! A muffin made from a cookie? It's possible!

Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Cannellini All'Italiana (hearty, stick-to-your-ribs, lip-smacking yet oh-so-simple to make)

Homemade bacon bits (much better than the overpriced chemical stuff at the store!)

Braised brussels sprouts and apples (so simple, but so good)

"That" broccoli salad (a perfect old-school blend of healthy and decadent, savory and sweet)

Agave bread (a wholesome bread with a light and delicate taste)

Mole bread (a wonderful complex bread with cocoa and spices)

Mexican hot mocha (a hot and comforting drink- with a kick)

in praise of gluten and other yummy things.

2009-11-06T13:15:00.011-05:00

I want to sound a battle cry today. This is something that's been rattling around in my brain for a long time, and I've been wanting to address it for a long time, but dietitian Virginia Messina has done it much more masterfully on her blog.

The issue? What vegan means, and what it doesn't mean. First, read her article, No Need for Vegans to Give up Fat, Gluten, Soy or Cooked Foods Obviously, Messina is speaking from a nutrition stand-point, making the point that unless you are allergic to gluten, there is nothing wrong with it, that fat is essential to our bodies, that soy is quite nutritious, and that certain nutrients are more, not less, bio-available through cooking.

However, she has inspired me to make a list of my own.

Vegan DOES mean:

a diet and lifestyle free of animal products, or as free as humanly possible
~~a life of compassion and respect for all living beings~~
...THAT'S IT!

Vegan DOES NOT mean:

gluten- or wheat-free
soy-free
raw
organic
low- or no-fat
sugar-free
alcohol-free
health food
certain brands or companies
free from refined foods
free from junk food
caffeine-free
salt-free
whole foods or whole grains
a diet in the sense of a weight-loss strategy
activism, at least activism of any particular sort
environmentalism (being vegan is the best thing you can do for the environment, but not all vegans have to be environmentalists or even care about it)
religiousness, or lack of religiousness
limiting foods for the sake of limiting foods
food snobbery
orthorexia
disordered eating
a fast or "detox" of any kind

It's bad enough that people think that because I'm vegan that either I or my diet are rigid, limited, closed, or unexciting. It doesn't help that so many vegans themselves seem to conflate these issues. Again, if you have Celiac disease or have a true allergy or need to lose weight, etc. I completely understand. You can be vegan AND gluten-free, but not because one automatically means the other. I myself have been known to integrate my veganism with an effort to eat healthy, eat for the health of the planet, or for the health of my community.

However, I think it's about time that we clarify, to ourselves and to society at large, that veganism is not a blanket term for "diet" or "healthy" or "activist" - it's just an effort to reduce animal suffering through judiciously removing animal products and exploitation from our food and lifestyle choices.

Now, I'm off to make dinner: pizza. Delicious chewy sourdough crust (gluten! white flour! cooked!), vegan cheese (soy! processed food! salt! fat!), lots of olive oil (fat!), tempeh sausage (soy!) tomato sauce made with wine (alcohol!) ... still badass, still vegan.

Whew! What say you?

I like... I don't like... November edition

2009-11-03T10:50:00.008-05:00

A lot of bloggers have been posting these stream-of-consciousness lists lately, and I love reading them, so I thought I'd post one of my own, organized by the season in which we (in the Northern Hemisphere) find ourselves... If you post a list of your own, let me know, I'd love to read yours!

In November I like...

a good sparkly sunny day
baked squashes and root veggies of all kinds
turning on the oven for any reason, and then leaving the door open when it's done, for the extra heat!
the smell of fires burning in the fireplace, and the fires themselves for that matter
mulled wine, mulled cider, hot toddies
scented candles
my Philosophy cinnamon bun scented body wash
using the space heater in the bathroom so a shower becomes a sauna experience
apples!
looking forward to the holidays- songs, cookies, travel
tea, tea, tea! and teapots, mugs, accessories, cozies, etc.
lots of throw blankets and fuzzy socks and slippers and heat packs
cozy Thanksgiving at home, and planning for it
cranberries and canned pumpkin- on sale!
seeing lights and decorations in public places and peoples' houses

In November I don't like...

when daylight savings time ends and it's dark around 4 p.m...
and knowing that in a couple of weeks it'll be dark at 8 a.m. too
cold!
knowing I won't eat another fresh tomato for about 8 months
food photography is difficult because natural light is gone, and it's dark by the time dinner's ready (or sometimes lunch, for that matter)
putting clothes on when they are cold- it's physical torture for me!
looking forward to the holidays- consumerism, commercialization, figuring out what to do with the kitties
dry, pale skin
raking leaves- over and over again
cold numb toes
fearing the first snow
wearing layers of clothing- makes me feel fat, itchy, and claustrophobic
the endless search for a pretty! warm! functional! affordable! vegan! winter coat
sports- I just don't care!
3 words: seasonal. affective. disorder.
the farmers market becomes a sea of potatoes and turnips... (nothing against potatoes and turnips, which I love, but I miss the color and variety of a summer market)

the UK 100

2009-10-29T12:29:00.006-04:00

There have been a lot of local versions of the Vegan 100 list floating around- for example, the NYC 100 and the Portland 100. I've wanted to play along, but there is no Syracuse 100! So instead, I decided to take this UK 100 list posted by Liz and try my hand at it- after all, I did live in England for a few months! I'm curious to see how I do. If you've lived in the UK, or have visited, or are just an Anglophile (Britophile?), why not play along?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

All items on the list refer to the vegan version. Please don’t contact me to tell me that butter isn’t vegan, for example. I mean a vegan version of it!

Hampshire watercress
Haggis
Montezumas chocolate
Melting mozarella Cheezly
Tartex

Granose Mock Duck
Sosmix
Churros at Terre a Terre
Yorkshire pudding
Beans on toast
Crumpets
Mushy peas
Aldi croissants
Bourbon biscuits
Holland and Barrett fruit flapjacks
Linda McCartney sausages and chips
Marmite on toast
Kent black cherries
Marmite breadsticks (If Marmite crackers count...)
Beanfeast
Sunday roast at The George (hey! what about the Elvis Burger at the George??) Anything at Birmingham’s curry mile
Rhubarb crumble with Swedish Glace
Paskin’s full breakfast
Jersey Royal potatoes swimming in butter
Evesham asparagus
Potato farls
Bubble and Squeak
Sticky toffee pudding
Irn Bru
Bacon buttie with tomato sauce
Marigold bouillon powder
Booja Booja truffles
Scones and jam
Bird’s custard (I still have a huge container of it here at home!)
Anything at Dandelion and Burdock
White chocolate
A bought pizza with cheese in the UK
Hot cross buns
Staffordshire oatcakes
Bread and butter pudding
Summer pudding
Pickled onions
Potato from the Baked Potato Shop in Edinburgh
Weatherspoons curry
Irish stew with dumplings
Mashed carrot and swede (mmm... somehow, roast root veggies taste better in the UK!)
Pease pudding
Christmas pudding
Cranachan
Blue Sheese
Faggots
English muffins
Pringles
Scotch broth
Walker’s prawn cocktail crisps (I miss these!)
Mildred’s mushroom and ale pie
Masala dosa
Realeat fishcakes

Worcestershire sauce
Mushroom ketchup
Pickled walnuts (I have a jar of these at home, but haven't opened them yet)
Ribena
Anything at Vbites Co-op donuts
Picalilli (and brought some jars back- yum!)
Ryvita
Anything at Saf
Chip shop curry sauce and chips
Parmezano
Warehouse Café bangers and mash
Innocent Smoothie
Vimto Eccles cake
Semolina pudding with jam
Linda McCartney country pie Scallop (potato fritter)
Elderflower cordial
Spotted dick
Victoria plum

Marigold braised tofu
Clive’s pie
Wagamama Yasai Chilli Men
Sarsaparilla (this is British???)
Spring cabbage
Holland and Barrett Porkless Pie
Henderson’s relish
Scottish raspberries
Scouse
Colcannon
Fry’s Peppermint Cream
Hobnobs
Roast parsnips
Booja Booja ice cream (could not afford this!)
Champ
Pimms (mmmmm)
Rice pudding
Nuttolene
Beef and Tomato Pot Noodle
Sesame Snaps

37... not bad, eh? This just proves that I need to come back to the UK soon! Anyone wanna buy me tickets???

sour grapes

2009-10-29T09:07:00.006-04:00

Just a little kitchen tip for those of you who want to get into Iranian cooking. As you know, sour is a huge component of the cuisine- we get our sour from many sources- lemons and limes, fresh and dried, pomegranate in various forms, and... sour grapes! If you go to an Iranian market, you can actually find sour grape powder sold in the spice aisle. However, you can capture that flavor yourself, as long as you have access to some grape vines! What you should do is pick some unripe grapes- if you taste them they should be edible, but seriously pucker-inducing- and then preserve them. You can dry them and grind them to make powder, or juice them and freeze the juice in small segments (maybe an ice cube tray?), or just freeze them whole and throw them into recipes where a little sour somethin-somethin is called for.

The response to my Grandma recipe was so positive (thank you!) that I'm working on another of her recipes to post soon. Stay tuned!

pizza crust- yet another v. v. important debate

2009-10-28T11:12:00.006-04:00

yet another DEBATE OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE!! this one is a debate that goes on in my very own house, in my very own marriage, on a regular basis: thin crust or deep-dish pizza?

chewy, doughy, deep-dish baked in a cast iron pan?

Or a crispy thin crust baked on a pizza stone?

A crust that is a meal in and of itself?

Or crust as amuse-bouche-style delivery system for toppings?

What say you, dear readers, WHAT SAY YOU?

what was I eating this time last year...?

2009-10-27T22:04:00.007-04:00

Just a flashback post from the archives tonight... If you remember, Daiku and I were living in England last Fall, and by the end of October, we'd established a pretty good food routine and were trying to eat like the locals.

Breakfast might be some delicious scones with margarine and jam.

Dinner might be sampling a vegan entrée from Sainsburys supermarket, such as the steak above, with some mashed potatoes with greens, and some local Kent apples on the side.

I even started making proper puddings! The one above was made with some stewed and spiced sour cherries, topped with Bird's custard (made with soya milk), and some crumbled ginger biscuits on top. I was proud of myself!

And tea. Lots of tea. Always tea. Long live tea.

the great tofu scramble debate

2009-10-26T08:44:00.004-04:00

It's that time again, ladies and gentlemen, when this blog brings you very controversial topics of great importance. Today's issue- that great vegan staple, tofu scramble. I've sang the praises of this dish before- how delicious, how versatile, how healthy, and how plain awesome it is. It's one of my all-time faves.

But then I became aware of a schism in the tofu scramble universe. It appears that SOME PEOPLE *cough*Portlanders*cough* cube their tofu instead of mash it. Am I insane, or is that just a stir-fry with tofu and not really a scramble? What say you, wise and lovely readers? WHAT SAY YOU???

cappuccino cuppers win at life

2009-10-25T00:50:00.005-04:00

If you've ever made cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, you know that they are all good. But most of you probably have a favorite from there. Or at least a top-3 list. Or... top-5? Well, the cappuccino cupcakes are definitely on my top-3 list from that book. If you like coffee you have to make these RIGHT NOW. They have an almost shocking pop of flavor, and such a moist and lovely texture. The recipe comes with an espresso filling that is really good, but these cuppers have so much flavor that you really don't even need a filling.

They're good with just s sprinkle of powdered sugar on top.

Or, you can go fancy-pants and make a little cream cheese icing...

... maybe a few cacao nibs on top?

NOM!

vegan cakelove

2009-10-22T22:51:00.005-04:00

sometimes love can best be expressed in the form of... vegan cake! like when my cousin brought me this vegan cupcake- she found a store in the mall (in Northern Virginia) that sells vegan cupcakes and thought of me! awwww.

I also know how to return cakelove. My aunt's boss is very interested in healthy living and vegan eating, and the people at the office sometimes poke fun at him for that. Well, I decided to show them- I made him this Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting (from Vegan with a Vengeance). He loved it- and grudgingly shared it with the rest of the office. Somehow, they don't make SO much fun of vegan food any more... make this cake! share vegan cakelove!

trying to decide what candy to give out on Halloween?

2009-10-21T22:57:00.004-04:00

how about 2 oldie but goodie vegan options? Chick-O-Sticks (taste kind of like the inside of a Butterfinger Bar, but with a coconut twist) and Peanut Chews (caramel-y chocolate-y peanuts). There are also Mary Janes, old-fashioned peanut butter toffees. Or how about something newer? Did you know that Skittles are no longer made with gelatin? Yay for tasting the rainbow!

grandma's recipe- fesenjan

2009-10-20T10:45:00.005-04:00

For today's mofo, I'm going to write about my grandma and give you one of my favorite recipes of hers. This article was originally written for Herbivore magazine.

Give It Up For Grandma!

My grandmother’s name is Houra, and she is a wonderful human being and nurturer. In my whole life, she is the one person who has never raised her voice at me or spoken in anger. Even more importantly, she is the foundation of the vast majority of my memories about food and cooking. To this day, getting a whiff of fresh dill or cilantro conjures up the warm feeling of nestling my face in her apron and standing at her feet as she cooked.

Houra was born in northern Iran in the 1920’s. She recounts happy early childhood tales of playing with her siblings and cousins, but also the sadness of being taken out of school while still a young teenager. Grandma tells stories of wistfully watching other kids going off to school, and these stories have ensured that all of her children and grandchildren have placed great value on education. Grandma has also instilled a love of traveling in our entire family, setting an example by visiting far-away lands starting in her 50s and 60s. She has been to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage, to Sweden, to Dubai, to England, to Romania, to the former Yugoslavia. She was with me when I visited Turkey for the first time as a young girl.

I became vegan over five years ago, and my grandma has always been the most supportive member of my family. Due to health concerns, she herself is not a big consumer of meat or dairy. She comes from a culinary background that places great emphasis on fresh, seasonal produce, and her table is always full of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and herbs. It is only now, as I learn more and more about food that I see how rich her food world really is. For her, sun-dried tomatoes are not a gourmet ingredient on a high-priced restaurant menu, but what you make in late summer to make sure you have tomatoes in the winter. Fruit leathers are not a silly childrens snack, but a way to capture the bounty of whatever fruit you happen to have in abundance. Herbs are not merely decorations on a finished dish, but an integral flavor and nutritional component of that dish, meant to be savored rather than discarded. I credit grandma with the fact that I have such a taste for fruits and vegetables today, without which being a vegan would be pretty damn difficult!

For these reasons, eating vegan at grandma’s house has always been easy. Most of her recipes are easily veganized, and she takes great joy into observing me replace the eggs or meat in her dishes, just as I took great joy watching her cook for all the years of my life. Here, I have veganized fesenjan, a delicious, nutritious, and iconic Iranian khoresh, or stew. The recipe is very flexible, and you should approach it in terms of flavor instead of exact measurements. You will be surprised at the lip-smacking flavor that such a seemingly unexpected combination of ingredients yields. The rich taste of fesenjan and its deep brown color make it perfect for the fall and winter.

Fesenjan

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh raw walnuts
1 medium white onion, grated
¼ cup pomegranate paste*
3 TB tomato paste
2 – 3 cups water
1 tsp turmeric
½ - 1 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of your favorite vegan chicken (I used baked tofu, but seitan, tempeh, packaged faux chicken, or even legumes such as lima beans also work well)

Directions:

Using a food processor, grind the walnuts until they form a paste with a smooth nut-butter consistency
Crumble the walnut paste, along with the grated onion, the pomegranate and tomato pastes, and spices into a stock pot over medium-high heat, and stir in enough water until smooth. You want a thin consistency, like tomato juice, this will thicken up substantially. Make sure to get rid of any lumps in the sauce.
Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. As the mixture thickens, the color will darken to a deep brown.

Add your baked tofu (or whatever chicken substitute you are using) at this point, and allow it to simmer for another 30 minutes. Towards the end, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of ice water to the mixture once or twice, to get the beautiful reddish walnut oil to rise to the top for presentation purposes. This step is totally optional.
Serve warm over rice. White basmati rice is traditional (click here for the recipe for Iranian-style steamed rice pilaf -scroll down), but I also love fesenjan with my favorite brown rice.
Enjoy!

Optional: eggplants also taste good in this dish. You can drop chopped eggplants, raw or cooked, into the stew for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, in addition to or as a replacement for the chicken.

* Pomegranate paste is a thick, intensely sour paste that gives many Iranian dishes a distinctive flavor. You can find pomegranate paste at Iranian supermarkets, or hit up your closest Iranian friend! If you can’t, however, you can replace it in this recipe with pomegranate molasses or juice, changing the amount of water accordingly. The juice and the molasses are not as tangy as the paste, however, and you should probably add some lemon or lime juice to make up for this fact.

some favorite simple treats, courtesy of daiku

2009-10-18T18:54:00.006-04:00

these are some of my favorite things to eat, simple vegan foods that bring comfort and happiness. some of that happiness can be attributed to the fact that I associate them with my life with daiku- we've been together for a long time, and share so many food adventures and memories. without him, I would not be the unabashed fan I am of cumin, chipotle, or...

...pretzels with plenty of mustard and some beer to wash it all down with,

...delicious focaccia with tons and tons of fresh rosemary,

...beans and greens in all forms,

...german chocolate cake (here in mini-birthday-cupcake form).

what are some of your favorite foods that you sampled thanks to the influence of others?

apples apples apples!

2009-10-17T21:30:00.003-04:00

Daiku and I have guests over at our house quite often. And Autumn is a very fun time to have guests, because we live smack dab in the middle of apple country! So on a nice Sunday recently, we took our friend and guest Julian out to pick some apples.

She had fun!

We had fun!

and, for under $15, we came home with enough apples to make into 2 jars of apple butter, 2 full-sized and 4 hand-sized pies, and juice, with enough left over for some serious snacking.

What are some other mofo-ers doing with apples this month? Head over to my apple round-up over on VeganMoFo Headquarters for a sampling.

blog action day: climate change

2009-10-15T19:31:00.005-04:00

decided to keep it short and sweet this year- even though the U of C study is a few years old, it bears repeating:

Researchers at the University of Chicago have calculated the relative carbon intensity of a standard vegan diet in comparison to a US-style carnivorous diet, all the way through from production to processing to distribution to cooking and consumption. An average burger man (that is, not the outsize variety) emits the equivalent of 1.5 tonnes more CO2 every year than the standard vegan. By comparison, were you to trade in your conventional gas-guzzler for a state of the art Prius hybrid, your CO2 savings would amount to little more than one tonne per year.

quote taken from this Guardian article, 2006

(also, don't let people side-track you by talking about large-scale production of crops such as soy and corn that feed vegans- those are the same crops, but on a much larger scale, that meat animals are fed as well! Whether you are vegan or not, you are eating soybeans. It's up to you how.)

pizzzzza

2009-10-14T15:35:00.004-04:00

making pizza at home is really nice. but sometimes, it's just as nice to be able to go out for pizza. when you are vegan, that is not always possible, but recently, it's becoming more and more doable all across the country. restaurants, delivery places, and chains are now offering not just the "veggies, no cheese" option that we know and love so well, but all kinds of pizzas made with vegan cheeses such as Teese, Daiya, Cheezly, etc.

here in Syracuse, we have a few vegan pizza options (including The Italian Chef, Dorian's, and Papa John's). one place with a huge and varied menu of vegan pizzas is Strong Hearts Cafe. check out the menu!

Here is the Mediterranean, with Teeze mozarella, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, spinach, garlic, and a zesty tomato sauce. For a lover of thick, bready crusts such as myself, this is pizza heaven. With so many options, you're sure to find the pizza of your dreams- just make sure it's Friday, the only night that Strong Hearts currently does pizza!

Strong Hearts Cafe
719 E Genesee Street
Syracuse, NY 13210

joe-joe cuppos

2009-10-13T14:42:00.005-04:00

If you are lucky enough to live by a Trader Joe's, you might be familiar with this seasonal treat: peppermint candy cane Joe Joes. These are rich chocolate cookies with a creamy minty filling that is chock full of crushed candy canes. An awesome winter treat. Like some other vegans I know, I stockpile these limited-time treats every year. Then, in the summer, I can make the cupcakes you see above- chocolate mint cuppers, mint buttercream frosting, and a piece of cookie on top! I loved this spin on the cookies 'n cream cupcakes, and so did my friend for whose birthday I baked them. Mmmm.

the vegan 100

2009-10-13T10:14:00.004-04:00

I'm home from Europe! Surprise, surprise, I didn't blog from the road... but I'm back with a vengeance- I'm going to shoot for 2 blog posts most days, to make up for my 10-day absence, as well as posting many updates to VeganMoFo Headquarters. Stay tuned for posts about Helsinki, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest, as well as more oldie-but-goodie posts from the photo archives. Here, as a way of easing back in to blogging, is the newest iteration of the Vegan 100 list. If you are also doing this list, I'd love to see yours- let me know!

1) Copy this list into your blog or social networking site profile, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out or italicize any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment on this post linking to your results.

The Vegan Hundred:

1. Molasses
2. Cactus/Nopales
3. Scrambled Tofu
4. Grilled Portobella Caps
5. Fresh Ground Horseradish
6. Sweet Potato Biscuits
7. Arepa
8. Vegan Coleslaw
9. Ginger Carrot Soup
10. Fiddlehead Ferns
11. Roasted Elephant Garlic
12. Umeboshi
13. Almond Butter Toast
14. Aloe Vera
15. H and H Bagel NYC
16. Slow Roasted Butternut Squash
17. White truffle (in oil form- does that count?)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Freshly ground wasabi
20. Coconut Milk Ice Cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Orchard-fresh pressed apple cider
23. Organic California Mango (in season Sept-Oct only)
24. Quinoa
25. Papaya Smoothie
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet or Habañero pepper (does salsa/sauce count?)
27. Goji Berry Tea
28. Fennel
29. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
30. Radishes and Vegan Buttery Spread (not yet, but have always wanted to- with a bit of salt)
31. Starfruit
32. Oven fresh Sourdough bread
33. Sangria made with premium fruit and juices <-- how snooty does this sound?
34. Sauerkraut
35. Acai Smoothie
36. Blue Foot Mushrooms
37. Vegan Cupcake from Babycakes nyc
38. Sweet Potatoes and Tempeh combo
39. Falafel
40. Spelt Crust Pizza
41. Salt and Pepper Oyster Mushrooms <-- what?
42. Jicama Slaw
43. Pumpkin Edamame Ginger Dumplings <-- huh?
44. Hemp Milk
45. Rose Champagne
46. Fuyu (YES- persimmons are among my favorite fruits)
47. Raw Avocado-Coconut Soup
48. Tofu Pesto Sandwich
49. Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cayenne fresh-pressed juice...with Extra Ginger (I've had this, save for the cayenne)

50. Grilled Seitan
51. Prickly pear
52. Fresh Pressed Almond Milk
53. Concord Grapes off the vine
54. Ramps
55. Coconut Water fresh from a young coconut
56. Organic Arugula
57. Vidalia Onion
58. Sampler of organic produce from Diamond Organics
59. Honeycrisp Apple
60. Poi
61. Vegan Campfire-toasted Smores
62. Grape seed Oil
63. Farm fresh-picked Peach
64. Freshly-made pita bread with freshly-made hummus
65. Chestnut Snack Packs
66. Fresh Guava
67. Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
68. Raw Mallomar from One Lucky Duck, NYC <-- ha, funny, considering my recent post about One Lucky Duck
69. Fried plantains
70. Mache
71. Golden Beets
72. Barrel-Fresh Pickles
73. Liquid Smoke
74. Meyer Lemon
75. Veggie Paella
76. Vegan Lasagna
77. Kombucha
78. Homemade Soy Milk
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Lychee Bellini remember (scroll down the post)??
81. Tempeh Bacon
82. Sprouted Grain Bread
83. Lemon Pepper Tempeh
84. Vanilla Bean
85. Watercress
86. Carrot you pulled out of the ground yourself
87. Vegan In-Season Fruit Pie
88. Flowers
89. Corn Chowder
90. High Quality Vegan Raw Chocolate (like cocoa? or nibs? or a packaged bar? not clear here)
91. Yellow fuzz-free Kiwi
92. White Flesh Grapefruit
93. Harissa
94. Coconut Oil
95. Jackfruit
96. Homemade Risotto
97. Spirulina
98. Seedless 'Pixie' Tangerine
99. Gourmet Sorbet, not store bought
100. Fresh Plucked English Peas

80 out of 100, cool! Warning- do not attempt this list before breakfast- extreme hunger might ensue!

one lucky duck- good, but insanely expensive

2009-10-03T07:03:00.000-04:00

just a short and sweet mofo post/restaurant review today. while you're reading this, I'm heading to JFK airport and getting ready to leave the country!

While I was in New York City last April, my friend D. and I were walking around. It was a chilly day, so we decided to duck (no pun!) into a cozy little place to warm up. D. mentioned that she had seen a raw vegan place that she thought I might be interested in, One Lucky Duck. Well, I'd heard of them (Pure Food and Wine's little outpost), and I was intrigued.

So we ordered a pot of tea to share, and a piece of tiramisu to share. The bill came to over $23. That is stupid expensive! Good thing the tiramisu was good because... I'm never going back here again until a)I win the lottery b)I get a sugar daddy or c)I decide to quit paying my mortgage!

The next day I went back there and said I'd really liked their raw tiramisu, and I don't live near the restaurant, so would they be willing to share the recipe with me? The answer was "no, but you can buy our upcoming cookbook." PFFFFFT.

carrot jam?

2009-10-02T06:01:00.003-04:00

yes, carrot jam! remember my uncle who lives in Sweden? We visited him last October? Well, I was really thrilled to have him visit us here in Syracuse last April. Daii is a really good cook. While staying with him, I'd enjoyed a unique jam that he had made- made up of carrots (and also apples, lemon, cardamom and vanilla.) The flavor is so good, the jam is so fragrant and bright and vibrant, you have to try some yourself! I photographed while he was making the jam, and will now give you a photo-essay:

zest and juice some lemons.

peel and grate some carrots and tart apples.

add some sugar and pectin- or, sugar with pectin already included, like what daii brought!

add some cardamom (crushed pods, or ground, if pods, you'll have to fish them out once the jam is done) and vanilla.

cook and cook and cook and cook

and cook some more! skim the foam and other debris (cardamom bits?) periodically.

let cool completely, then pour into sterilized jars. I didn't can these (I haven't canned anything yet!), because we were going to give a lot of them away and I was sure they'd be gobbled up quickly. In addition, since they weren't heat-treated, the jam retained a fresh, crisp character. Store them in the refrigerator. We are working on our last jar right now, so this jam has stayed good for at least 6 months! Try it today- I know you'll like it!

my little veganmofo tradition

2009-10-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Happy October, everyone- VeganMoFo III is upon us! It's so thrilling to be part of such a large group of bloggers participating in this yearly event. For the last 2 years, I have had a tradition of kicking off MoFo with a post dedicated to my favorite hot and comforting beverage- well, mine and a few billion others' ... tea! (Click here to see the 2007 and 2008 posts.)

I love any kind of tea (actually, I don't love that many herbal teas, but give me black, green, white, red...) any time of day. But I have to admit, a hot cuppa kicks some seriously special ass on a cold, wet day.

Which is where I found myself late last October, in the town of Bath, England...

clouds and rain? check. umbrella? check. wellies? check. all that was missing was... you guessed it...
Daiku and I ducked into a coffee shop, where I was pleasantly surprised that they had soy milk. Yay for random vegan finds in random cafés in random cities! So without further ado...