SUMMER UPDATE!!

OK... so I have not updated in a very long time. Sorry!
What with graduating and summer and some very big deadlines at work, there has just not been a lot of extra time for food blogging. Plus, I have been lazy.

I am not going to update with any super new recipes at the the moment, but I WILL post a bit of food porn from the last few months, followed by some brief descriptions.

YUM!



I went to the farmers' market and picked up some oyster mushrooms, sunburst tomatoes and... BLACK TRUFFLE SEA SALT!! FYI: Sunburst tomatoes are these tiny little orange guys, and are probably the most flavourful, lovely tomatoes that I have ever eaten in my life.
For this breakfast, I cooked up the oyster mushrooms and spinach with a bit of Earth Balance. I boiled some potatoes, and topped them with a white bean dip. Then, I sliced up some tofu and poached it (using white wine vinegar) for a few minutes. I topped the tofu off with a bit of my new truffle salt. OM NOM NOM!



This one might not look too special, but it was pretty great. Did you know that cauliflower and potatoes take about the same amount of time to boil?? And furthermore, that cauliflower and potatoes mashed together and then baked are absolutely DIVINE? I didn't! Then I tried a cauliflower bake at a vegan restaurant, and had to make it myself. Here, I think that I mashed a bunch of Earth Balance, veggie bouillon powder (I know, sounds strange, but is a good mashed potato seasoning) and nutritional yeast into the potatoes and cauliflower.



YUM!! I remember this brunch!! The best part of all was the sauce... oh, the sauce!! It was a blend of avocado, a bit of coconut milk, some tomato paste, hickory liquid smoke, and chipotles in adobo sauce (plus a few other things... not sure what though... probably at least some lime juice). It was AMAZING! It was served with some fresh baking powder biscuits, brussel sprouts that had been chopped very finely and pan fried with sliced almonds and salt and pepper, mashed potatoes and yams, and tofu that had been marinated in some sort of agave nectar and lime juice mixture and then baked. By far one of my favourite brunches in life, ever.


OK! That's my quick update! I will try to stay more on top of things in the months to come, if only to post some food porn here and there.

Happy eating!

brunch! hashbrowns, and vegan bennies.

I have started to cook brunch for friends on a pretty regular basis, and this is the first one that I made!

Brunch this weekend consisted of hashbrowns, and some broiled tofu with spinach and mushrooms, on english muffins, topped with dill-tahini sauce.
YUM!!!!



The tofu, and sauce were both taken from the Veganomicon, and were completely delicious.
The spinach was simply wilted on low heat, and the mushrooms were fried in a pan with a bit of tamari.

HASHBROWNS!!!

Potatoes take a bagillion years to cook in the over, so I like to speed the prcoess up a bit.
Cut potatoes into bite-sized bits, and boil until they seem like they are not quite done. You know... you can stick a fork in them, and they are kind of soft, but you wouldn't want to eat them.

Then!!
I pre-heated the over to 350F
I threw the potatoes onto a pan, and coated them in olive oil.
I hate to say it... but i don't know the measurements for the rest...

Stuff that I put on the potatoes:
- Nutritional Yeast (lots!)
-a pinch of: cayenne and paprika
-several splashes of tamari
-salt & pepper
oh shoot... i think some other things, but i forget right now, because i didn't write them down while i was making the potatoes.
the potatoes were put under the broiler for probs another 15 minutes.
they were so delicious.
OM NOM NOM!!!

I like to accompany food that is kind of rich with some sort of fresh veggie, so I grated some carrots and beets on the side. HURRAY, BRUNCH!!

noodles and peanut sauce!!

HURRAY!!
It's the end of the night, and I have already posted several peanut sauce recipes... so I am not going to post another one here tonight. To my regular peanut sauce recipe, I added about a teaspoon of thai red curry paste.

I slathered this deliciousness onto some soba noodles (with a touch of sesame oil), with steamed mushrooms, tofu, and bean sprouts, and some wilted spinach.

I find that with something as rich as peanut sauce (especially if you use A LOT of it), plain noodles and steamed vegetables are a good pairing, because you don't need to add anything more complicated or rich to your meal.

IT WAS SO GOOD!!
OM NOM NOM!!

veggie burgers! brussel sprouts with almonds and tofu!

yum yum yum!
who doesn't love a good veggie burger??
these were inspired by the black bean burger recipe in the veganomicon... but are distinctly different. This recipe is pretty huge... and, as the last... not all that accurate. SORRY!!

YUM!


ALTAIRA'S BLACK BEAN BURGERS

-two large cans of black beans
-half a small tin of tomato paste
-1/2 a cup of walnut pieces
-1/2 a cup of wheat gluten flour
~3/4 of a cup of bread crumbs
-several dashes of chilli powder
-several splashes of tamari (or soy sauce)
-a teaspoon of chilli paste
-2 tablespoons of maple syrup
-GARLIC! CHOPPED! LOTS!

I think that this was all of the ingredients...

Start by draining and rinsing the black beans.
Mash them up a bit, but not too much, as you still want some whole beans in the mix.
There is no real order to adding the other ingredients...
BUT!! NB... As far as the tamari and bread crumbs go, there are approximations, because the bread crumbs will make things drier and the tamari will make things more moist. you can also add water for moisture, if your mix is a bit too dry. You want the burger mix to be malleable and moist... but not like, wet.
If you prefer a chewier burger, add more gluten flour, but maybe add more water to compensate.

Once you are done mashing all of these ingredients together, and you have achieved the desired texture, it's burger time!!!
I like to just pan fry or grill these until... well, until they are warm and they look done. heh.

You can keep the mix covered in the fridge for several days, and make burgers as needed... or you can preform patties, and put them in the freezer.

Either way.... It's pretty delicious.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH ALMONDS AND TOFU

Adapted from a recipe in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen (BEST COOKBOOK EV-AR!!!!)

-brussel sprouts, a bunch, it really depends on how much you want to eat
-sliced almonds, also a bunch... about a handful?? half a cup will do for several portions of brussel sprouts
-firm tofu, cut into roughly one inch cubes (half a package is probs enough)
-3 tablespoons of maple syrup
-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

Mix together maple syrup and lemon juice.
Cut up the tofu, and stick into the maple syrup and lemon juice to marinate for as long as you can let it.
In the meantime, grab your brussel sprouts!!!
The key to this recipe is in the prep... Cut off the tough bottoms of the brussel sprouts, then slice them in half... next... cut the halves into thin slices, which will give the brussel sprouts a shredded texture.
I wash them by tossing the cut up brussel sprouts into a colander and rinsing.
VOILA!
Pre-heat a pan, on medium heat... once it's hot... toss in the almonds!!!
Once they have toasted for a bit, add the shredded brussels... next add the tofu...
I usually cover everything for a few minutes, to allow the brussel sprouts to retain moisture, which avoids the necessity to use any oil. Cook... until they look ready ??? Don't let them get mushy. It'll probably take about 10 minutes.
Season with salt.

I PROMISE that brussel sprouts prepared in this manner are like nothing that you have ever tried. they are not bitter or mushy or any of that.
They are simply divine.
The addition of maple syrup covered tofu adds a bit of a sweet kick, without overpowering the veggies.
One of my favourite sides EVER!!! Thanks for the prep tips, PETER BERLEY!!

The mushrooms were simply sliced, and cooked until tender with a few splashes of tamari.

mashed potatoes and a sammich!!

Ok... so I don't actually remember what was in this sammich... but isn't it beautiful, none the less?!?
YUM!!!



Regardless... I DO (mostly) remember what was in the mashed potatoes. They were simple and completely delicious.
I like to mix it up with my mashes potatoes...
I usually try putting different things in them... like veggie stock, coconut milk, taragon or grainy mustard... or a combination of these things.

For these ones, the recipe goes SOMETHING like this:
POTATOES!!! lots of them. I usually use white or yellow potatoes. (I don't know. an average medium pot almost full of potatoes)
2-3 teaspoons of veggie bouillon (not the cubes... i forget the brand that i use right now... I will update this later)
2 teaspoons of grainy mustard
several tablespoons of olive oil (this depends on how rich you want your potatoes... i'm not that concerned about fat... so i put quite a bit of olive oil in)
a tablespoon or two of LIGHT miso paste
salt
pepper
unsweetened soy or almond milk, or water. (amount varies based on desired consistency)

Cut the potatoes into medium sized chunks (i don't know how else to say this... about two bite sized)
Put the potatoes into a pot, and cover them with water with water. Keep adding water until there is about an inch more water than potatoes.
Bring to a boil, and then turn the stove down a bit, letting the water bubble gently without going crazy.
Cooking should take about... 20 minutes (??) Just check the potatoes with a fork regularly, once they slide off the fork when you stick them with it... they are done.

TIME TO START MASHING!!
I start by adding the olive oil... then MASH MASH MASH.
you don't need any fancy gadgets... you can just use s fork.
there is not given order in which to add the other ingredients... just add them one at a time, and mix thoroughly before adding the next.

Add liquid last. This is just to keep the potatoes from feeling too dry.
If you are not using soy or almond milk... don't go TOO crazy with water, or your potatoes will end up... well... watery.

I'm sorry that this recipe is not more precise... I am just trying to get back in the habit of updating right now... so recipes will be more useful as time passes. I promise!!

One last shot of the potatoes.
YUM!

it's been months...

life got busy and hectic... then my old computer died... and i haven't really picked up the slack ever since.
time to start posting again!!

sometime in the next few weeks (once i have recovered everything from my old hard-drive) i will play catch up on some posts from the fall.

until then... new updates later today...
and new CATS right now!!


rosemary biscuit northe



wesley thomas northe


(note: if you're looking back at earlier posts, and see a cat and think, "hey! that's a different cat!"... it's true. poor little hunter sweatpants got very sick last summer, and had to be put to sleep :( rest in peace, little rabbit.)

More simple dinners... Tofu and rice.

This dinner was a quick and simple one.
I marinated some tofu for a about an hour in half and half white wine vinegar and tamari, with the addition of lots of dill, a bit of tarragon, and a teaspoon of agave nectar.

I cooked up some rice, and then added to it some peas and corn, and a few teaspoons of cumin seeds. (i love cumin seeds like crazy, they are good on just about anything.)

Grilled the tofu.

Grated some carrot on top.

DONE!