Veggie Num Nums

Stewed White Beans with Tomatoes and Rosemary

2009-11-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

This is a really delicious Martha Stewart recipe. I followed the instructions fairly closely, though I did add some cooked quartered red potatoes and extra carrots to the second half of the cooking for a larger veggie impact. This stew gets even thicker and tastier the next day. Serve it with some lovely crusty bread.

1 pound of dried white beans
1 onion, 1 half finely chopped
1 carrot, cut into a large dice
1 celery stalk, cut into a large dice
1 dried bay leaf
1 can (28 ounces) whole plum tomatoes , with juice
2 tablespoon good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 sprig rosemary
salt and pepper

Soak beans in water overnight. Drain, and transfer to a large pot. Cover beans with 4 inches of water. Add the intact half of the onion, the carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender but not bursting, about 1 hour. Drain, and remove onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf; discard.

Pulse tomatoes, with juice, in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Heat oil in a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, the garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until onion and garlic are tender but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and rosemary. Bring to a boil.

Add beans, and simmer stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm, drizzled with olive oil.

Pasta with Edamame and Cheese

2009-11-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

The original recipe for this is Creamy Bow Tie Casserole and I found it in a magazine ad. I didn't have all the exact ingredients, so I had to improvise using what I could dig up in the fridge. I used edamame instead of peas, and I left out the cherry tomatoes. It was really good since I love pretty much anything with edamame. It's very simple to make as well.

1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons pesto paste or 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon garlic paste or fresh garlic
15 ounces of ricotta
1 cup milk
8 ounces bow tie pasta, or other shape
salt
4 ounces mozzarella, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup grated Parmesan

In a large bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, the pesto, the garlic and the ricotta. Whisk in the milk. Cook the pasta until it is tender. Drain well. Toss the pasta with the ricotta mixture. Stir in the mozzarella, peas, tomatoes, and half of the Parmesan. Spread the pasta in a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

The Very Best Pecan Pie (in my humble opinion)

2009-11-14T23:21:00.001-08:00

I've always sort-of liked pecan pie--it's okay, and I love the actual pecans. I've just never really liked the gooey custardy part. I found this recipe in Baking by James Peterson. Here's a link to the book.

This pie has the absolute perfect ratio of filling to nuts, and it's not so sugary sweet that eating it makes my teeth ache. This recipe calls for almost 2 cups of pecans to only 1/2 cup corn syrup, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Neat, 'huh!

The pie is surprisingly easy to make. I've always thought that pecan pie must be complicated since the ingredients have seemed mysterious to me, but actually it's very simple. I am not including a crust recipe, so you can use your favorite, or even store bought.

I know that pecans are expensive, but Trader Joes and Costco have good prices. I've also seen a lot of nuts on sale lately just in time for holiday baking.

Pecan Pie

1 recipe pie crust

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1/3 cup butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the pie (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecan pieces

3/4 cup whole pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Use a 9 1/2 to 11-inch tart ring or fluted tart pan. Roll the dough into a round about two inches larger than the tart ring or pan and line the ring or pan with it. Pre-bake the tart shell and seal it. To seal the crust: mix together 1 tablespoon flour and 2 tablespoons water into a smooth paste. Brush the inside of the tart shell with the paste and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and corn syrup. When the sugar dissolves, beat in the 1/3 cup melted butter, the salt, and vanilla. Stir in the pecan pieces.

Pour the mixture into the pre-baked tart shell. Arrange the pecan halves on top. Brush with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the surface of the pie no longer moves when you gently move it back and forth. If the edges start to get to too brown , place a foil ring over the edges to stop further browning.

Enjoy!!

Swedish Butter Cookies (using potato starch)

2009-11-11T16:38:00.001-08:00

I saw the recipe for these cookies on the side of the potato starch box. They just couldn't be any easier. They are thin, delicate cookies that aren't overly sweet. I added a bit of colored sugar on top and that gave the cookies a bit more sweetness and a little crunch.

This is such a simple recipe and the cookies are really good.

Swedish Butter Cookies
1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup potato starch flour

1 cup flour

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour and potato starch flour; add to butter mixture and stir until combined. Chill dough for about an hour. Roll into small balls and place on ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheets. Press gently with palm of hand to flatten slightly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until edges are brown.

Veteran's Day / Free Meal at Applebees

2009-11-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to all the veterans out there and to all active military. Applebees restaurant is doing a REALLY neat thing and offering a free meal today to all military personnel. You do need certain kinds of ID and there is a fixed menu. You can see the details here:
http://www.applebees.com/vetsDay/default.aspx

There are 6 entrees to choose from and unfortunately none are vegetarian. But, there is a pasta dish and it sounds like it could be easily adapted to be veggie by leaving out the chicken. There is also a dinner sized salad and that could probably be made vegan. Dave is going there for dinner and he's planning to get the pasta without meat.

Dannon All Natural Yogurt -- Gelatin Free (finally!)

2009-11-10T15:20:00.001-08:00

I try to eat yogurt (regular or soy) every day. But, being a vegetarian I am limited in the brands I can buy since I need a yogurt that's gelatin free. I've always had to buy the not so mass produced brands like Trader Joes or Wallaby. Dannon has finally come out with a gelatin free yogurt. Yeah! And, it's delicious.

Even Pinto loves it!

Asparagus with Quinoa and White Beans

2009-11-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am not a huge asparagus lover--to me it tastes bitter and usually the stalks are so thick and chewy. But, when I find ultra thin, young asparagus, I'm swayed. Mt favorite way to serve such gorgeous asparagus is to steam it just until it's tender, and to dress it with hazelnut oil, lemon juice and sea salt. Here I served it with quinoa and white beans--super fast and easy.

Quinoa is a tiny little grain, and when cooked reminds me of rice more than anything else. It's very nutritious--here's the Wikipedia blurb.

In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthy choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.

Kamut Pasta / Pasta with Cauliflower

2009-11-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

I just discovered this Kamut pasta at the local grocery store. What a great find! Kamut is a type of ancient wheat, and it is higher in protein and has a higher mineral content than the standard wheat we get here. It also has a slightly sweet-nutty taste.

I really wanted to taste the pasta itself, so I just served it with a little butter, some olive oil, and grated Parmesan.

Pasta with roasted cauliflower is one of my very favorite dishes. The key is to cut the cauliflower up into small pieces and to roast it, (drizzled with salt and olive oil), for a long time at a low temperature. You really want lots of caramelization which equals lots of flavor. To serve, I just mix the cauliflower with the cooked pasta--it's so delicious you really don't need to add anything else.

I usually roast two heads of cauliflower for each pound of pasta.

I am counting this as an early Vegan Tuesday since I'll be out and about tomorrow night.

Super Simple Dessert Drama -- Pithiviers

2009-11-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

Pithiviers is a classic French dessert made out of puff pastry and an almond cream filling. It is delicious, and also dramatic--coming out of the oven like a beautifully puffed golden package

The secret about Pithiviers is that it is SO simple to make if you're using store bought puff pastry. All you do is roll out the pastry, fill it with almond custard, or any filling--even something savory, seal the two pieces of pastry together, and bake. If you're filling is already made you can have this on the table in about 40 minutes.

Pithiviers is usually round, but since my puff pastry was square I decided not to even bother cutting it. I used a lemon custard filling because when I started to make this I realized I didn't have enough almonds. Usually the filling is thicker than mine, but the custard I was using was not as thick as it could have been. To get the pattern on top, score the pastry with a knife just before baking.

If you want a super fast way to make this, use packaged pudding mix for the filling--just make it using the instructions for pie filling.

This is one of my favorite desserts and people are always amazed when they find out it's homemade. I'm amazed at just how easy it is to make! Here's the recipe:

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/entertaining/article/0,2498,FINE_22197_5835272,00.html

Walnut Bread / Daring Kitchen Article

2009-11-08T01:10:00.000-08:00

For our anniversary, Dave bought me this Cuisinart brick oven. I've wanted one for ages, ever since I started getting in to baking bread. It's a brick oven and a convection oven all in one. It's nice and small which is perfect since my kitchen in teeny-tiny.

The first thing I made with the new oven was walnut bread. I made three loaves, using my regular oven and the new Cuisinart. All three turned out well, but the new oven cooks things really quickly. The general recipe I used is here:
http://www.applepiepatispate.com/bread/five-grain-walnut/, though I sort of made my own mix of different flours, and I added wheat germ, flax seed, and some millet.

I also wanted to let you know that I have a new article up on the Daring Kitchen site. It's about whole grains, and if you're interested you can read it here: http://thedaringkitchen.com/food-talk/whole-grains-all

I hope you're having a great weekend! Go Packers!!

Rosettes -- a once in a great while treat

2009-11-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

Rosettes are paper-thin cookies that are made with a very thin batter using a special iron and then deep fried. They are usually served around the holidays. I rarely make them, but every once in awhile dave puts in a special request for "those puffy-crispy-airy cookies". They are actually really easy to make though deep-frying is involved.

Here's the recipe from Christmas-Cookies.com. http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe18.rosettes.html

Yikes! Christmas cookies already...

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Vegetables -- Vegan

2009-11-05T23:53:00.000-08:00

For our anniversary, my brother, sister-in-law, and niece sent us this basket of gorgeous baby veggies. I used the beets, turnips, carrots, and small potatoes to make a couscous dish. If you're not familiar with it, couscous it not a grain as many people think, but a type of pasta. It's sort of like little pasta beads, that can be flavored an infinite number of ways.

Here is the basic recipe I used, though I roasted my veggies in the oven as I have broiler-phobia. I also used veg stock--of course, and left out the basil.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Broiled-Vegetables-with-Toasted-Israeli-Couscous-105036

Cuties!

2009-11-05T23:50:00.000-08:00

Smudge, Pez, Mango and Pinto.

Random-ness

2009-11-04T01:04:00.000-08:00

I am sorting through some recent photos, and I thought I'd share. The first photos are from my trip to visit my family in Illinois.

My niece, Marisa, helping me clean the pumpkin seeds. The green ones were delicious roasted.

Carved pumpkins in front of my brother's house.

My brother's birthday cake--a pumpkin roll.

I tried to make a Halloween gingerbread house with my 4-year old niece, but I made the icing much too runny, so we ended up with gigantic gingerbread cookies.

The dogs, Sadie and Daisy.

My new mini-laptop--perfect for traveling and when my back is out and I have to lie flat.

Awesome gingerbread caramels from amazon.com.

The new little fridge I was forced to buy since our regular fridge was taken over by my flours and grains.

Daring Bakers - Macarons (posted late!)

2009-11-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I have a confession--I don't really like macarons very much even though I've had some from the supposed best bakers in places like Paris, New York, and San Francisco. I think it's the egg whites since I don't really care for any meringue-y sweets. Still, I was excited to try to make macarons since they seem to be the current holy grail of the food blogging world.

My macarons were flavored with vanilla and orange, and filled with apricot jam. They came out fairly well, but didn't puff up as much as they should have. Right after I put the macarons in the oven, I saw that there were two loose dogs running down the middle of our street. One of the dogs was a little tiny Yorkie, and I was worried that he would get hit by a car. I ended up turning my oven to the lowest possible setting and trying to catch the dogs. It took me about an hour to finally get the dogs in their yard, and I think my macarons suffered from the super low oven temperature.

Still, I think they are a respectable first try, especially since I was rescuing dogs. Check-out the Daring Kitchen for some amazing macaron creations from bakers much more enamoured with them than I am. http://thedaringkitchen.com/

Back! Homemade Crackers Three Ways / and Fry Bread

2009-11-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

My buddy Jill, from Jill's Blog (http://jillbert.wordpress.com/) mentioned that she wanted to make her own crackers. Crackers? I love eating them, but I'd never even considered making my own. So, of course I was game to try baking along with her.

We decided on three different recipes--Hi Tech Crackers which are basically just a very plain whole wheat cracker, 4-Seed Crackers which have ground seeds as well as whole seeds, and lavash.

I think my favorite cracker was the 4-Seed since I love the hearty texture and the mixture of seeds. In making those I used a combination of rye flour, whole wheat flour, and white flour. They sort of remind me of a hearty version of Wheat Thins, but with more flavor.

The Hi-Tech crackers were good, but lacked flavor. The next time I make them I will use rye flour as well as whole wheat, and add some onion powder, extra salt, and some ground seeds. These crackers are especially good with dips.

We made Alton Brown's version of lavash--a crispy Middle Eastern bread-cracker. I like lavash and this was an easy recipe to follow. I think lavash is really good served with things like soups or stews, or even salads. It doesn't have much flavor on its own, so it compliments heavily spiced foods very well.

I am including Navajo Fry Bread in this post since it's also a bread. I made it awhile ago and never wrote it up. Fry Bread is a traditional Native American recipe and is very versatile as it can be served savory or sweet. It sort of reminds me of a puffy, fried tortilla. I love to use it for tacos, but many people eat it sweet--dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with honey. Since it's deep fried it's a once in awhile special treat, and not something I make very often. Still, if you want to really make wow-tacos, try using fry bread instead of regular tortillas.

Here are the links to the recipes:

4-Seed Crackers
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-crackerrec28b-2008may28,0,2515763.story

Hi-Tech Crackers--Jill has the recipe on her post http://jillbert.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/crackers-three-ways/

Lavash http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lavash-recipe/index.html

Navajo Fry Bread
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/NavajoFryBread.htm

Chocolate!

2009-10-24T00:57:00.000-07:00

I'm just getting ready for my quick trip, but I wanted to share some treats I made to keep Dave occupied over the weekend. He's happy--chocolate and football!

Aaron Sanchez's Mexican Brownies
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-sanchezs-mexican-brownies-recipe/index.html

Coconut White Chocolate Truffles with Dark Chocolate
http://www.famousfrenchdesserts.com/chocolate-truffle-recipe.html

Mexican Chocolate (just in case he eats everything else).

Chocolate Banana Cake (without frosting)
http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateBananaCake.html

Have a great weekend!

Molasses Gingerbread Cookies

2009-10-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on the Whole Foods web site and it was getting really good reviews. Even if I'm just going on a short trip, I have to stock up the fridge so that Dave has lots of food that's not potato chips or ice cream.

These cookies are wonderful--they have a lot of spice and smell just like the holidays in mid-December. I love the cloves and the ginger together. I didn't have any brown sugar, so I substituted white sugar.

Here's the recipe:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=782

Vegan Egg Rolls

2009-10-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

Jaden, the wildly popular blogger and driving force behind Steamy Kitchen, just released her first cookbook. There are some lovely recipes, including her mother's famous egg rolls. This is my take on her recipe. I followed her instructions pretty much step-by-step, but I made a vegan filling as hers has pork. I also used the thicker wrappers since that's all I could find at the grocery store when I was doing late-night shopping.

For the filling I used a bag of coleslaw mix, 8 ounces of mushrooms, a bag of frozen edamame, and a small bag of bean sprouts. The filling was so delicious, and even with the thick wrappers, the egg rolls were awesome--much better than I get from our local Chinese restaurant.

You can find Jaden's incredibly thorough recipe and instructions here:
http://steamykitchen.com/65-my-mothers-famous-chinese-egg-rolls.html

Martha Stewart's Almond Shortbread Cookies

2009-10-22T01:54:00.001-07:00

One of my foodie goals was to make decorated cookies. I used Martha's Pecan Shortbread recipe, and made a simple icing from powdered sugar. These have to be some of my favorite cookies ever! They are crisp and nutty, and only mildly sweet, and very buttery. Yum.

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1/2 finely chopped pecans

Beat together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour, then the nuts. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a circle between 2 pieces of floured plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325F and line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board until 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes. Set 1 to 2 inches apart on baking sheets; leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake in top third of the oven for 20 minutes--just until the edges are golden--then cool on racks.

For the icing I mixed powdered sugar with a little milk and a very small amount of meringue powder.

Vegan Tuesday -- Pigeon Pea and Cabbage Burritos / Vegan Apple Tart

2009-10-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a few days, and it's not because I haven't been baking or cooking; on the contrary, I've been baking like a mad woman. But during baking breaks instead of blogging, working on flickr, and reading blogs, I guiltily admit to being obsessed with online Agatha Christie Mystery Games. I've never played any online games until I spotted a little blurb for a Yahoo Agatha Christie game last week. As a teenager, I read every single Agatha Christie mystery--several times. I've seen all the Hercule Poirot/Miss Marple BBC shows on DVD. And now, from the moment I downloaded the first game, I'm hooked. I had to drag myself away from Murder on the Orient Express to do my Vegan Tuesdays post. In going forward I think I need to find a better balance between blogging and Agatha Christie!

This weekend, assuming I can avoid an emergency room visit for my back, I am going to see my family in Chicago and celebrate my brother's birthday. I've been attempting to take this trip for months, but kept getting delayed with medical things.

I bought some pigeon peas from Phipp's Country Store, and having no clue how to officially use them, I cooked them in boiling salted water and then made burritos. They are lovely and very tasty little beans and make delicious burritos.

Since Dave eats SO many burritos in one sitting, I have a fast way to make the filling. I put the cooked beans seasoned with salt, hot sauce, chili powder, and a little cumin in a casserole. I add a bit of water and top the beans with tomatoes, and olives and sometimes onions. (If you're not doing vegan you can add some grated cheese.) Bake the casserole until the beans are piping hot and bubbly. Along with the burrito filling I like to have grated carrots and cabbage. You can also add sour cream, avocados, and salsa.

The apple tart is Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (vegan), sliced apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Super simple and so delicious. Bake the tart at 375F until the pastry is golden brown.

I'm off to get caught up on blog reading...

Football Snacks

2009-10-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Dave LOVES the Chicago Bears. All winter long it's the Bears this, and the Bears that. I've been a Green Bay Packers fan since I was a kid (though I have to admit to being a bit conflicted as the sporty love-of-my-life, Brett Favre, is now in Minnesota). We have a big football rivalry in our house, and during the season we watch the games online, which means snacks, snacks, snacks. If Dave was left to his own devices he'd buy (and eat) the Costco sized bag of Doritos and a gallon of ice cream. I try to make alternative snacks which while maybe not being health food, have at least some redeeming nutritional value.

I made three puff pastry snacks: Olive Straws, Parmesan Pinwheels, and a sort of Zucchini Pizza. I also made Panelle (Chickpea Fritters).

For the pinwheels, Roll out some puff pastry and brush a small amount of melted butter over it. Sprinkle on some finely grated parmesan. Roll up into a log and slice into 1/4-inch slices. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

The pizza is just a piece of puff pastry topped with grated parmesan, thinly sliced zucchini, and red pepper flakes. Bake until just browned.

The olive straws are from Pastry by Michel Roux.

13 ounces of puff pastry

15 large green olives, stuffed with pimentos

eggwash, 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water

On a lightly floured counter, roll the puff pastry out to a 12 1/2 x 6-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a chef's knife, cut the rectangle into 2 pieces, one 5 1/2 x 6 inches, and one 7 x 6 inches. Place on a baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes.

Take the smaller piece of pastry, and starting 5/8 inch from the edge, lay 5 olives end to end in a line along the 5 1/2 inches side of the rectangle. Leave a 3/4 inch space, and make another line of 5 olives. Repeat to make 3 lines of olives. Brush all the exposed dough between the olives with eggwash. Cover with the large piece of dough and press the whole surface of the dough between the olives firmly with your fingertips. Chill for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. With a very sharp knife, trim and neaten the edges of the dough, then cut it crosswise into straws 1/4 inch wide. Lay the straws flat side down on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 6 minutes. As soon as you remove them from the oven, cool on a wire rack. Serve while still warm.

Panelle is a popular snack in Italy. It is cooked chickpea flour, cooled until firm and then cut into pieces which are deep fried. I love it in a sandwich best. Here's the link to the recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chickpea-Fritters-231982

I hope everyone has a great football weekend!

Root Vegetable Curry

2009-10-15T00:17:00.001-07:00

I had a big bunch of root veggies hanging out in the vegetable bin, so I made a very simple curry. This is not super spicy unless you choose to make it that way. So if you think you don't like curries because they are too highly seasoned, you may find that you do like this curry.

You can use a pre-mixed type curry powder, or make your own version with individual spices. I am rather a novice with Indian cooking, so in this case I used a store bought curry powder.

This is another dish that Dave believes he doesn't like. Whenever we get Indian food he refuses to order anything called "curry" because he thinks he'll hate it. So when I made this I told him it was "stew" and he loved it--just like I knew he would.

**adapted from Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3-inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 red fresh chilies, seeds removed, finely diced
A couple tablespoons of curry powder (or to suit your taste)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound total combination of potatoes, turnips, and carrots, boiled, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup of frozen corn

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili for 2--3 minutes over medium heat. In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sauté the curry powder for 2--3 minutes over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and cook a few minutes more. Add the potatoes, turnips, carrots, salt, and water. Mix in the sautéed onion-and-garlic mixture and the corn. Cook for 2--3 minutes and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot with rice.

Daring Cooks -- Vegan Pho

2009-10-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

I like Pho, but this is the first time I've made it at home. I made a vegan version which is basically the fragrant broth and some noodles, topped with red onion, bean sprouts and lime--no cilantro since I loathe the taste of it and am quite convinced that it's the work of the devil.

I used a long-cooking homemade stock as the base for this recipe. When I make stock I usually make a large quantity and freeze individual portions. For the stock: Clean and roughly chop 1 big bunch of carrots, 1 bunch of celery, 2 or 3 onions, a little garlic, and usually about 8 ounces of mushrooms--fresh and dried. Put the veggies in a big pot and cover with a few inches of water. Add a bay leaf, a big pinch of salt, and some whole black pepper. Sometimes, if I want a dark, strongly flavored stock I'll add a few splashes of Braggs. I'm not exactly sure what Braggs is, but it has a soy sauce-ish taste and seems to be a flavor enhancer. You can find it at health food stores. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer for at least an hour--longer is better. You really want to get all the possible flavor out of the vegetables. Let the stock cool a little and then strain.

Please visit Jaden's awesome blog, and check-out all the wonderful Pho versions at The Daring Kitchen.

http://steamykitchen.com/

http://thedaringkitchen.com/

Baked Bean Burgers for Vegan Tuesday

2009-10-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

This is my new burger invention--burgers made from canned vegetarian/vegan baked beans. I was really in the mood for burgers for dinner, but I didn't feel like waiting to cook some dried beans from scratch. So, I opened a can of baked beans, added some salt and pepper, a small handful of oatmeal, and a small handful of sunflower seeds. I mixed that up, and added just enough flour to bind. I put the mix in the fridge for about 20 minutes to make forming the patties easier. This much mix will make 4 very large patties, or 6-8 smaller patties. Form the burgers and bake them in a preheated 325F oven until firm and lightly browned--for me it was about 25 minutes. Top with vegan cheese, or leave plain. To serve the burgers I channeled Bobby Flay and topped them with lettuce, hot mustard, tomatoes, red onion, and a big stack of potato chips.

These are really yummy, and since they taste very baked bean-y, I think even non-vegans would enjoy them.