Grandma Gilmore's Herbed Cheese with Pinot-Cranberry Sauteed Vegetables and Crisped Garlic Polenta

You may be thinking "Really, your last MoFo blog is kind of a repeat from last night?"  Listen, in this final post, I present you with Grandma Gilmore's Herbed Cheese (Adapted).  This is a whole different level of yum, and...waste not your delicious leftovers.








Yesterday, I simply used cream cheese and cream cheese with a bit of rosemary in my dishes.  Today, the hub's favorite family recipe elevated the vegetable flavors and the garlic hint of the polenta.  With the reduction of vermouth by 1 T. and additional time in the fridge, this cheese is also fantastic when simply served with crackers or veggies.  I would say that this isn't your grandmama's cheese dip, but it is ours ...and it ROCKS!

For the polenta, I used the recipe in Jae Steele's Get It Ripe. I included 2 minced cloves of garlic and needed an extra 2 c. of water for the polenta. Make this first as any polenta recipe that I have used requires time to set.

Then, make...

Grandma Gilmore's Herbed Cheese (Adapted)

1 8 oz. pkg of vegan cream cheese
3/4 t. garlic powder
2 T dry white vermouth
1/2 t. minced dried parsley
dash of salt and pepper
1/4 t. dried basil
scant 1/4 t. - 1/8 t. of each of the following: dried tarragon, thyme, sage
1 t. minced shallot, really any available sweeter onion (or 1/4 t. minced dried chives, as per the original)

Mix all, and return to refrigerator to harden for several hours (if serving as cheese with crackers) or for 20 min. or so for looser consistency perfect for topping/recipe integration.

This cheese is amazing.  Seriously, it is one of those recipes that is so easy and so quickly consumed, you will wonder why you spent 2 extra hours making fancy canapes when people chowed down on this.  The first time I had this cheese in my vegetarian days, I was seriously embarrassed because I think that I ate a whole batch myself.  I'm not kidding.  Good thing the hub tried to cover for me, and Grandma made a double batch.  I plan to try a nut variation of this dish...if anyone gets to it first, let me know how it turns out as a nut cheese.

Back to the meal: While cheese is firming...

Fry polenta rounds, and reheat veggies.  If doing veggie hash the same day, chop the veggies for the veggie hash first and start frying rounds when you start sauteeing veggies.  That way, everything should wrap at the same time.

This dish is decadent.  One serving as pictured is a fantastic starter dish or a fantastic main dish when accompanied by a salad.  Frankly, I just ate two and was happy. You can totally health this up by using spray to fry polenta, water sauteing veggie hash (still using wine), and being mindful of cheese topping portion.  Other than that, vegtastic it is!

Trust me, this is a crowd-pleaser.  The hub is probably the toughest possible critic of this cheese and cream cheese use in general, since they are two of his favorite things.  He loved this and actually looks forward to its repeat appearance in his lunch tomorrow.  Since he usually abstains from repeats and is still acclimating to a plethora of veggies, this excitement on his part says it all!

Although today, we bid farewell to the Vegan Month of Food, the blog will continue on!  To fellow MoFoers, thank you for all that you have offered and inspired thus far, and I look forward to finally getting to peruse all 700+ blogs.  To all of my blog readers, thank you for your support; I look forward to continuing to share much more with you in the entries to come.

And now, to the treatery...
K

Final MoFo Iron Chef-Inspired Challenge: Cranberries in Sweet and Savory Ways

As November comes to an end, so too does the Vegan MoFo -- a wonderful celebration of the vegan community and lifestyle through this amazing month of food. Although I missed MoFo Iron Chef 3 due to birthday festivities, there was no way that I was going to miss this final MoFo, hosted once again by Katie at http://donteatoffthesidewalk.com/?p=440. In keeping with the T-Day spirit, the secret ingredient for this challenge was Cranberries! How fortuitous that I still had some fresh cranberries leftover from my recent market trip!

For some reason I got crepes stuck in my mind, as I was mulling over what to make. Clearly, given their basis in eggs, these weren't going to happen. Then...dosa! This is pretty much my favorite thing to order from our local Indian restaurant with their fantastic lentils, so I thought I'd try to reinvent with cranberries. My dosas were inspired and loosely adapted from this recipe http://www.vegetarian-cooking-recipes-tips.com/dosa-recipe.html, but I used yellow lentils, brown rice, and dried minced lemon peel, and my timing was quite different as was the final product. I initially added cranberries to the batter itself -- not good due to different shapes of cranberry pieces, despite uniform width. A better (and more aesthetically pleasing) tactic was to arrange berries in desired pattern first on the skillet, drop batter onto berries, and gently smooth around, taking care not to mess with your design. As my cousin M once told me about pancakes, expect the first few to be relatively disastrous (at least your first time through), as you adjust your process, temperature, etc. By #3, dosas were increasingly easy to read and flip, as well as create.  I think this dosa really was the third, as it was my first attempt with the cranberry first and then mix.  Super festive -- don't you think?

In retrospect, I would have made all the fillings and sauces first, but I didn't, since I was truly playing as I went along.  However, I did make the other cranberry element while I was doing the dosas. I pretty much just dropped in the remaining sliced cranberries (about 1/3 c.), turned up the heat to medium, poured enough pinot to cover the cranberries, and lightly misted some sugar in there -- sugar to your taste (I didn't want a sweet cran. sauce -- I wanted a pinot infused cran reduction/chutney type deal).  When liquid was almost reduced, I added the zest of 1/2 of a clementine.   After a minute or so, I added a bit of liquid to a bowl with about 1 t. of cornstarch (just enough liquid to mix), mixed it, poured it back into the saucepan, and brought it up to a boil again and then removed it.

After making the dosas, I made two fillings.  As we were using up holiday cranberries, I investigated other fridge remains for repurposing into my intended sweet and savory dishes.

Sweet:
3 T. cream cheese
remaining zest from clementine
about 3 T. of powdered sugar

Mix together.  Careful with the sugar, as you do not want to lose the tang of the cream cheese; thus, I'd suggest that the measurements above are simply loose guidelines.

Savory:

1 c. sweet potato shreds (you are shocked to see this, I know)
3 cleaned and thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms
3 T. diced red onion
salt and pepper

Saute shreds first (in about 1 T of olive oil) and dash them with salt and pepper ; I used my same skillet that I had used for the dosas.  Then, add onions; continue to saute until beginning to tan.  Then, add mushrooms until caramelizing a bit.

Mix 1-2 T cream cheese with a 1/4 t. rosemary.

As noted, the fillings really only made enough for the dishes shown (I did have some leftover sweet filling and, of course, some dosas.)  Why?  Because frankly, I thought the deadline was 6 p.m., so I wanted to be sure I was finished before then.  Oops.

My favorite of the evening: Bellini Reinvented and Veganized

 Cranberry Dosa with Herbed Cream Cheese, Sauteed Sweet Potatoes, Mushrooms, and Onions 

with a Pinot-Infused Cranberry on Top

(If you are coming to my house for the holidays, count on seeing these again!)

Savory Crepe: Cranberry Dosa Stuffed with Herbed Cheese, Sweet potatoes, Mushrooms, and Onions and Topped with Pinot-Cranberry Reduction

(Next time: I might try blending all into a cheese filling.  

Definitely needed some more softening, yet tangy cheese in this larger size.)

Dessert Dosa: Clementine Zested Cream- Filled Cranberry Dosa 

and Topped with Cream and Pinot Cranberries 

Two ways of using cranberries -- makes me feel all Iron Chef-y inside!  I am going to miss this challenge.  Perhaps, I'll institute one day a week on the blog where you can post a secret ingredient for weekend creations. Then, the fun can continue!  Hope you'll try to explore some element of this MoFo Iron Chef Madness that I've included here.   Previously, I had not used fresh cranberries for anything except as companions to my popcorn, as I made strings of decorations for the Christmas tree.

Time to go pick up the hub...and make him something for dinner!
K

Notes on T-Day Eats

Well, now that we are all quite full (if you have fantastic holiday portion control, I commend you, but the rest of us...), I am going to talk about various goodies made.  Heehee!

As you know, I stuffed stuffing for my vegan main dish on T Day.  Our lovely hosts had a variety of vegetables as well, but stuffing is my favorite part, and quite frankly, I wanted to have a special main dish in addition to (not just comprised of) steamed sides.

Cool things I learned:

1) Fig Balsamic is FANTASTIC!  After my simple salad posting, I kept thinking about different ways to use this item in savory dishes.  I thought about sauteing items in the balsamic, but then I thought that the beautiful flavor and sweet zing that it adds to a dish would be mellowed.  Given the already subtle flavor of many ingredients in this dish, I wanted that zing to be there.

2) Silicone mini-loaf pans are great for making/holding space in a bigger loaf pan full of stuffing.  Although ultimately I know it all goes to the same place, I wanted to be able to see all of the various components of my dish...and not just have them blend together.  I think that I could have been more successful in that, but I was trying to use what I had (and alas...no ring molds at the homestead).

3) Rosemary foccacia makes a fantastic stuffing base.  Given my fling and splash approach to the stuffing creation, I was so happy that it held up so well with the stock addition and then crisped up so nicely in the loaf pan.

Here was my recipe (very approximately):

Need a  9x5.5 (top)/8x5 (bottom) loaf pan and a mini-loaf pan

4c. cubed rosemary foccacia ( foccacia was homemade from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone -- I made the sandwich loaf recipe and used about 1/3 of it for the stuffing)
2 shallots -- peeled and diced
2 celery stalks -- finely diced
3 homemade seitan sausages -- diced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Put cubed foccacia in a large bowl.  Preheat oven to 350, and oil the large loaf pan (oil inside) and mini-loaf pan (oil outside)  In a large pan, saute shallots, celery, and sausages for approx.5-7 min. until shallots and celery have softened. (I started with about 1 T. of oil to saute.) Then, toward the end of cooking time, add enough stock to cover veg. and bottom of pan (definitely eye ball this as you want veg. mix to be a thicker soup type consistency).  Post-stock addition, let simmer for a minute or two.  Then, dump veg. mix into bread bowl and mix; add salt and pepper to taste.  All bread should be lightly moistened but not soggy with liquid.  There was no liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Then, cover bottom of the loaf pan with bread mix.  Set mini-loaf pan in the middle on top of breaded bottom layer and surround with remaining bread mix.  Bake for 30 min.

While bread stuffing is baking, prep and make filling. If you do all prep and cleaning when you do this part of the recipe, your timing should be such that filling is done at about the same time that the bread stuffing comes out of the oven.  If you do it a different way, just keep filling warm as it does directly into the stuffing and then (hopefully) to table.

12 brussels sprouts -- peeled, bottom cut off, thinly sliced

1/4 c. thinly sliced fresh cranberries

8 white mushrooms -- cleaned, cored, thinly sliced

scant 1/4 c. pinot noir

2 c. roasted sweet potatoes, cut into smaller dice (which Hub made as side dish to bring to dinner)

1/4 c. finely chopped dried cranberries

Heat 1 T. of oil and saute brussels sprouts and fresh cranberries.  After about 5 min., add mushrooms; saute for 2-3 min. and deglaze with pinot (or sooner if pan is getting dry).  Then, add sweet potatoes.  Stir gently to blend and warm through.

Remove stuffing from oven and mini-loaf pan from center.  Fill rectangular indent with filling and top with chopped dried cranberries -- sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve with drizzle of fig balsamic. (Hub didn't have the drizzle and still loved it!)

We also made the roasted sweet potatoes mentioned above, apple crisp, and homemade vanilla almond ice cream.  Love the ice cream maker!

The next day, I of course wanted to have this stuffing again, but I mostly only had the bread stuffing left and not the filling.  So, I sauteed 2 diced shallots, 8 florets thinly sliced of broccoli, one additional sausage diced, and leftover butternut squash (about 1.5 c.).  I also loved the sweet potato element, so I attempted some sweet potato wraps.  This picture is not great, but I loved the possibilities with this, so I think I just need to play with wrapper thickness in the future.  I used the peeler this time, and it was a bit thin, so some of the other wrappers deflated a bit and the stuffing spilled out.  They were still yummy though! Baked them at 300 degrees for about 15-20 min. with stuffing in them, and then I topped them with sauteed veg. when they came out.  YUM!

I have always had a serious stuffing problem, as in, my T Day plate was always divided evenly between stuffing and broccoli casserole (which I am going to veganize for Christmas -- EEE!) with anything else as an aside  The addition of rosemary foccacia takes my stuffing issue to a whole new level.  Good thing it is all gone now.

The kitchen is finally and thoroughly clean...seems like a good time to cook something else!
K

Birthday-Belated Post 3: Pepper Club, Follow the Monk, and Mini-Inferno Freezing with Triple D

Other fantasticness in Portlandia...

1. The primary reason we drove up to Portland for my birthday were these two individuals -- the newly enfianced.  The four of us have an amazing time together, and frankly, it had been way too long since we had been together.  Thankfully their visit to family provided us with the opportunity to see them as well.  I must say though, that E and I do make a pair -- I'm vegan and she is a pescetarian who can't have gluten or soy.  Thus, we must give a salute to the Pepper Club in Portland <http://www.pepperclubrestaurant.com/menu.html>.  The restaurant is vegan-friendly (not entirely vegan), and the staff was understanding and accommodating about our food needs.  Believe me, such accommodation is often extremely rare.  We were probably a bit difficult as a table, especially for a brand new waiter, but they were graceful and, ultimately, we had a very good meal at that location.

2.  Follow the Monk!  The people in Portland were simply lovely.  From the hotel staff to restaurant/bar staff to people on the street who we stopped in order to pet their animals, everyone was just very kind.  Frankly, it kind of reminded me of my home growing up -- I miss that friendly atmosphere.  Anyway, in addition to the Pepper Club, we also went to an incredible beer garden called Novare Res <http://novareresbiercafe.com> recommended to us by our very friendly hotel valet.  Everyone knew that as soon as he said, walk to x street and look for the monk that this was our kind of place. If you are a beer person, this place is for you.  There was a binder beer list -- a binder!  Our bartender was incredibly knowledgeable about the diverse array of beers available.  Although many speciality places like this can be intimidating for (or downright snotty to)  those with a more basic familiarity with the product, once again, everyone was kind, and the atmosphere was welcoming.  In addition to getting to try some specialty brew from a local brewery and one of my favorite breweries (Abita), there were darts.  Let me just say -- that the ladies surprised the men with some rockin' dart throwing.  Frankly, I surprised myself too.  Three bullseyes -- yay me!

3.  Did you feel it Pilgrim as you and Virgil were strolling through the Inferno on Tuesday afternoon?  If you felt that brisk, if momentary, cooling, it was the moment in which I agreed with Guy Fieri.  To be clear, I have no personal issues etc. with said individual or his show -- clearly as I do not know him and have only a vague knowledge of the show.  I just did not think that there would ever be a time in which I would agree with any place that he enjoyed.  After all, he is carnivorous maximus, and I clearly am not.  My father loves his show, and I know others who do as well, but I just thought it would be the proverbial "cold day" before he and I would agree on something.  Well yesterday, that cold day happened.

A recent episode of Guy Fieri's show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" filmed at a diner in Portland called Becky's Diner <http://www.beckysdiner.com/>.  As I recall from what was recounted to me by our friends, the focus of the show and "big deal" at the diner is its perpetual serving of a complete turkey dinner.  Right...so you see, that I had good reason for my skepticism.  Still, Monday and Tuesday in Portland have somewhat restricted options, especially for breakfast, and my friends were very excited about this place, so we decided to go.  I am so happy that we did.

From the minute we walked in, I knew that we had made the right decision.  Having looked at the menu, I didn't think that they would have soy milk, so I had gotten a coffee elsewhere.  I know that bringing a beverage into another establishment is not appropriate, so I asked one of the waitresses if this was ok given my dietary constraints, and she said it was just fine.  It turned out that this young woman was our waitress for the meal, and we explained to her our various needs.  She was extremely accommodating.  From checking on the gluten-free bread (which they actually had!) for my friend (which alas contained soy) to creating a wonderful vegan homefry dish for me, this place filled our tummies and surrounded us with courtesy and understanding.  The broccoli, mushrooms, and spinach in my homefries were incredibly fresh and crisply steamed, the portion (as you can see) was filling, and the price was extremely reasonable.  Although you would certainly have to create your own dish (as I did), I have to give props when a staff is willing to make that dish happen.

As you can see, it was a delicious and amazing birthday getaway.  What about the cake you ask?  Don't worry -- I ate a piece Monday before we left and yesterday...when we finally got back.

If you haven't been, I encourage you to check out Portland, Maine.  Although not the hub of vegan food like Portland, OR is, the people are wonderful, the restaurants are accommodating, and the experience is memorable.  The hub and I look forward to going up again in the summer months.

Ok, hope I've made up appropriately for my posting lapse.  And now...I must consider what to make for the upcoming holiday.
K

Miss me? Birthday-Belated Post 1: Birthday Carrot Cake with Carrotfetti and Toasted Carrot Rosebuds

Well, I missed my first posts.  I know, I know -- most people are only trying to blog during the week, but I liked the idea of blogging every day during this month.  However, I think and hope you'll agree that I missed my posts for a good cause -- namely, an impromptu birthday getaway to Portland, Maine!  WOOHOO!

Before I get into the delights of Portland, I want to go back to my Sunday teaser.  Although my one, lone commenter (thank you!), did correctly guess that part of the special nature of the flowers was in fact their connection to my birthday, here is the other special part -- they were made out of CARROTS!  Yes, you read correctly -- flowers out of carrots!

And with this post, we return to tradition again.  All cakes are not created equal.  You may have noticed that I like chocolate and peanut butter.  I think I've commented elsewhere or should do so now that a good yellow cake with chocolate frosting (preferably eaten out of a pan) can solve many of one's life problems.  However, there is only one cake that I have ever wanted on my birthday -- my mom's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Although there have been a few years where I have not gotten to have this deliciousness (either from not being with said madre on my birthday or my previous reluctance about baking (I know, can you believe it?)), this is the first time that I was veganizing the recipe and adding my own touches.  Yes, I did make my own birthday cake, but other people sang to me so not to worry!

For the topping, I was inspired by the Fur Family Truffle topping that I made the other day.  In continuing my inquiry into products that I have previously consumed, I've learned that the additives in many decorative toppings are not vegan, and, as we know in general, the fewer additives and unprocessed foods the better in terms of our health  I also have been thinking a lot about how incorporating produce in a fun way is another way to engage people into playing with and thus learning more about produce.  Carrots were a natural selection here, given the nature of the cake, and I was curious if I could make kind of a streamer-esque centerpiece decoration.  So, I peeled (and gave fur helpers) the top peel layer and then peeled down to the core (2 carrots).  Then, I toasted the peels in the oven for about an hour at 250 degrees.  This temp was a bit higher than the one I used last time so as to reduce oven time.  After the hour, some of the peels were crispy and darker brown and some of them still had a bit of the fleshy element to them, but I liked the mix, especially because when I roughly minced them into "Carrotfetti," there was a nice variation of color that looked gorgeous sprinkled on the cake.

As for the rosebuds, about halfway through the cooking time, I simply shaped about 5-7 of the larger peels into buds.  Next time, I will try to make some larger multiple peel buds, but I was really happy with how these turned out for a first try.  As a person who loves to make treats beautiful but thinks that frosting overdose is the quickest way to ruin a fantastic cake, I love the idea of playing with produce to make the decoration as opposed to plopping on another glob of icing.  And frankly, this icing is sweet enough that it doesn't need any help in the sugar arena.  I think next year, I will further reduce the sugar altogether in both the cake and the icing, by either subbing with some agave or maple syrup in the cake and adding more cream cheese and reducing the sugar in the frosting.  Side note:  I made the cake with flax egg and applesauce instead of oil -- oh yeah!  For the full carrot cake recipe, check out http://therevisioniststreatery.blogspot.com or click the link to the right in the Blog Roll!

Mmmm....cake.
K

Sunday Teaser

Tomorrow is an exciting day -- filled with events, hope, and family.  For today, I leave you with some flowers.  Have a guess as to what is so special about these flowers?  Tomorrow, we'll celebrate together with the big reveal. 

Brrrr...

K 

Pretzels: 5 Ways

Listen, there are some breads in life that make everything happier: one of those breads is pretzel bread.  Pretzel rolls -- elevate the sandwich.  Pretzels with dip -- make the dip better.  Soft pretzels + salt = joy in its simplest form.  Let's roll it up to create even more delights.

I started with this pretzel recipe, as posted earlier: http://www.lapuremama.com/2010/09/vegan-soft-pretzels.html  -- La Pure Mama's adaptation of Alton Brown's recipe.

Here are some of my reinventions -- left to right:

1. Smoky Seitan-Stuffed Pretzel with Maple Bourbon Mustard
2. Maple-Roasted Roots (yeah...from last night)-Stuffed Pretzel
3. Cheezy Mustard 'n Garlic Pretzel
4. Salted Soft Pretzel
5. Pretzel Pain Au Chocolat

Straight up -- this is a full course dinner and a platter of fulfillment.

Woot.
K

K's Thursday Thoughts and...Epazote!

In the first week of the MoFo, I answered one of Keri's "Your Thoughts Thursday" questionnaires from the blog "I Eat Trees", so I thought it would be fun to do another at the mid-point, and then (if she posts one) at the end.  I've narrowed down the list, so that I can respond more thoroughly to some of the many.

For those who weren’t daily food bloggers, has blogging about food every day been overwhelming?
99% of the time -- the blogging is one of the best parts of my day.  I love the opportunity to share what's happening in my kitchen and how I'm thinking about my lifestyle choice on any particular day.  On the few days like today, I feel slightly guilty.  Yes, I included a brief note about food, but I don't feel that I am pushing myself as much as other days with my cooking or inspiring my readers to try new things, and I hope to do both.

Have you been making your meals fancier or more put-together than usual simply because of Vegan MoFo?
I think that I take more care with presentation, but it is through doing the blogging, thinking about the pictures, and having my beauty and breakfast moment the other week that I was reminded to provide myself and my fellow diners with visual, as well as taste, appeal in their meals.

What new favorite blogs have you found through Vegan MoFo?
I wish that I was up to date on the thousands of posts that are available through Google Reader every day;  alas, I am not.  However, I have enjoyed finding a number of new blogs through contests and the MoFo daily round up.  I don't think I have a favorite yet, but I have many that I look forward to perusing more thoroughly over the coming months.

If you blog, what’s your favorite MoFo post from your own blog?
I think my favorite dish thus far is the Leek-and-Chard Filled Sweet Potatoes with Mushroom-Pinot Sauce.  I think I will make those for future holiday events, as well as the Brussels Breakfast Sandwich. 

Do you know anyone who has been inspired to go vegan this month?  Have you inspired anyone to make the change?  
I don't know that I have inspired anyone to go vegan for the entire month or change his/her lifestyle entirely, but I have been encouraged to hear how many people have increased plant-based meals and have plans to try some of the offerings on the blog.    I think many people transition slowly, I know I did.  I hope that with future blogging about recipes, research, etc., plant-based eating and vegan exploration and commitment will continue to evolve.


How much do you love Vegan Month of Food?!
I suspect that this question was rhetorical, but I had to include it and express my mega-love.  Vegan Month of Food -- WOOOOOOOT!  


Dinner...and stuff
Today, I had lunch with two dear friends.  Our much beloved hostess so kindly and thoughtfully prepared  a vegan lunch for us from Veganomicon.  This person has always been invested in healthy eating, but I think (and she can correct me if I am wrong) that our discussions about vegan eating have encouraged additional investigation about this lifestyle.  Consequently, out of her immense kindness and sense of inquiry, she put together an amazing vegan pasta bake with homemade sauce and tofu ricotta, despite a self-proclaimed preference for baking and hesitancy about cooking.  It was so nice to sit back and relax a bit in the kitchen with my only real tasks being to chat, taste, and eat.  Hurrah, and thank you again!


Once I got home, I was a bit distracted by my new library loan (EEEE!) and catching up on my blog reading, so I got behind with dinner planning.  Then, suddenly, it was time to pick up  the hub from the train.  He very kindly and enthusiastically was all set to take me to my fave veg. place, but my little cutey puppy gets so excited to go on the ride to the station that I was incapable of turning her down.  Then, we literally flipped a coin (best out of 3) to do take out or cook at home...and the homestead won.  Thus, a quick pantry dinner with a NEW spice -- Epazote!

If the hub had it his way, he would probably just open the can of Amy's veg. refried beans and eat them from the can.  I'm not kidding.  When I added the corn and a bit of rice, he got nervous  that I might mess with the refried perfection.  And THEN..., then I came out of the pantry with the unknown spice -- epazote.  (I love spice samplers -- so fun to try new things!)  


Epazote, according to the Penzey's label, is a standard spice  in South American and Mexican cooking and is usually found in larger chunks than the nicely small dried, flakes in my container; there was also a note that it was frequently used in hot and cold  bean dishes.  Yay -- bean dishes, perfect!  So I added a teaspoon or so to the bean mix;  I think next time I will try two, because it brought a bit of pepperiness to the beans (not in the hot chili way, but more of the lime zing way).  Even though its essence was the merest hint this time around, it was a nice change from relying solely on salsa to add a little flare to a dish, especially when one is having a lazy chef night.


Although not pictured here, I also decided to play with some leftover butternut soup  (from previous posting) and added it to my burritos (as my favorite GG quesadilla has butternut squash in it).  It was lovely and added that same sweetness that I love about the restaurant dish and a nice creaminess that I was lacking, alas, as I was without avocado.  What a fun way to use up some leftovers!


In advance, HAPPY FRIDAY, and I challenge you to try a new spice this weekend too!
K

Tech Time: Just in Time for "Thanking" and Other Holidays

I think I overdid it in the kitchen yesterday.  Thus, leftovers for lunch, and now, Sunshine burger and carrots.  Still, there is something to be said for prioritizing a cleansing and centering hour of hot yoga, organizing the homestead (a bit), picking up the latest Evanovich after being notified of its arrival via library loan, and enjoying the positive power of snuggly puppies; all have worked their magic today.

TECH TIME!

With the holidays approaching, you may find yourself with vegan diners (which you may or may not be used to) or in search of some vegan variety and shopping assistance.  I present to you -- my current Top 5 (Mostly FREE) Vegan-Friendly Apps:

1. "Animal-Free" (FREE): This app provides a list of ingredients and designates them as "always [animal-derived]" "sometimes [animal-derived]," and "V [plant-derived]."  As as new vegan, I've found this app very helpful for sorting through labels.  A great rule that was reiterated in my eCornell program is "never trust a label!"  There are many ways in which label information can be and is misleading.  Thus, this app. can help you to have a better understanding of at least the ingredient portion of the label.

2. "BNB" (Be nice to Bunnies) ($1.99): This app provides a list of various home, health, and personal care companies and their involvement with animal products and testing.  The app. delineates between companies that "do" test on animals and companies that "don't" test on animals, as well as those that have only "vegan" ingredients.  There is also the opportunity to create a favorite list, so one doesn't constantly have to scan through the longer lists. Some commenters have noted that this resource does not provide analysis on ALL relevant companies, but I feel that the database is sizable enough to give options, and the app has immediate access, as opposed to transferring the searcher to the web (which other apps do).  

3. "Is Your Beer/Wine/Liquor Vegan?" (FREE):  Whether you're selecting a gift or an accompaniment to serve at your own holiday festivities, these sources can help you make a thoughtful choice.  In the app, items are categorized by "Name, Veganocity, Style, and Country,"and regardless of viewing section, "veganocity" is very clearly indicated. As needed, you can opt to go to the barnivore website for additional clarification.

4. "Whole Foods Recipes" (FREE):  This app allows you to search recipes by "course, category, and special diets" and enter key words.  Although it does make some assumptions about your knowledge of ingredients (ex.  that vegan organic sugar must be selected, because regular sugar isn't necessarily vegan depending on processing technique used), it provides a diverse offering of dishes to help with menu planning.  Bonus: "Epicurious" has a similar app and recipe database that I like as well.  It also allows you to enter dietary restrictions, but it is slightly more complex than the WF app.  Either one is a helpful choice.

5. "21-Day Kickstart" (FREE):  I have to include this app., because it was through this challenge that I became fully engaged in plant-based eating.  Compiled through the PCRM (Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine), this app provides 21 days of daily menus and recipes.  It is a fantastic way to facilitate diversity in your introduction to a plant-based diet and reap the health benefits.  It works!  I lost ten pounds when I did it (and not perfectly at that) in March of this past year.

BONUS:  I would also suggest Pandora (FREE) (after all, fantastic music mixes facilitate additional kitchen fun) and the increasing plethora of solely vegan recipe apps.

Note:  Apps and information contained therein are constantly in flux, as is the pricing of said apps (pricing current as of today, 11/17); my list is based on my experience, but it is always good to do your own research too.  Just in case you are wondering, I don't have any sponsorship or anything like that.  I just like to share information!

And now...enough with the tech, time for Evanovich.

K

Fur Family PB Truffle Snacks and Soup in a Bread Bowl

Peanut Butter Truffles with Dried Carrot and Apple Sprinkles

My horoscope has really been speaking to me lately...or maybe I just want to feel that is speaking to me. Either way, it was spot on today, and I really should have just called it a day and snuggled in with a book. But gosh darn it -- I had planned on experimenting and applying various odds and ends from the refrigerator. I did, and ten hours later, I am writing this post.

I was having a rough time getting started, so I made some brown rice for tomorrow (this was oddly calming, kind of like having a cup of tea or knitting, if that's how you roll).  Then, I had some investigators in the kitchen, so I decided to start with our goody first.  Here's a great homemade treat for the puppies that can use apple peel/carrot scrapings that you have as scraps or the cleaned apple/carrot choppings if you are sharing with them.

Fur Family PB Truffle Snacks  

(Pet-only version since using the peels)


Servings: 12-16 small truffles

For middle:
4 med. carrot peels, finely minced
1/3 large apple, finely minced.
1/4 c. peanut butter (smooth is best)

For topping:
1 c.  mix of carrots and apples

Preheat oven to 200. Dry for 2-3 hours (or put in oven while you are baking something else...just not sure if they will burn at higher heat.)  Line baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix all middle ingredients together in a bowl. (may heat PB to loosen it before you mix).  Roll into 1/2"-1" balls.  Put in fridge.

Spread topping mix over parchment paper.  Once toppings are dried to your liking (slightly crispy so as not to brown form air),  put into a bowl and roll balls to coat.  Then, serve; check out the audience reception.

Oooh.  That looks AWESOME!  Let's share!

                      

I will now sit closer than you -- all the better to get the treat quicker!  If only I could catch them...

Nestle (back): Delicious.  Just checking to make sure I didn't miss any crumbs.

     Boomer (front):  She's slow, but I'm ready.  I now give you the treat stare down.

Doggies make life happy; share your treats with them!  If your pets love pb and produce, these are a great alternative to straight carrots (our house fave) or conventional treats (that often have substantial grain filler and potentially problematic by-products).

And now...Dinner: A Mixed Review

1) Sunflower sprouts are awesome!  A nice, colorful alternative to carrots when you just want an easy veggie.  Look for a lovely variety at your local Farmers Market.

2) BREAD BOWL!  I really just wanted to see if I could make one, and I just wanted to make this beer bread.  Bowl factor -- yay!  Beer bread --I used this recipe  http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/breads-yeast/beer-bread.  I wouldn't use a winter lager next time.   Otherwise, texture was fantastic and PERFECT consistency for the bread bowl eating.

3) I really wanted Broccoli soup (a la days of yore when that used to be my meal of choice at a certain P chain), but I had no broccoli -- thus butternut squash.  I wanted to change it up a bit so I subbed half of the broth for beer (in keeping with the theme) and then added some different spices.  I don't know if it was the combination or the addition of tarragon, but it wasn't as yummy as usual.  Ah well -- can't improve without risk!

My activities didn't stop here.  Check out The Revisionist's Treatery (see link to the right) for odds-'n-ends applications and some new items:  Popcorn Balls -- Updated!; Cinnamon-Infused Chocolate Cake with Almond Ganache and Caramelized Almond Popcorn; and Mom's Trifle -- Revised!

Zzzzzz....
K

P.S. I didn't have any cake flour (as needed for the bread) and found this substitution suggestion online http://www.food.com/recipe/cake-flour-substitute-87689 -- totally worked!  Just thought I'd spread the info, as we all have those inopportune missing ingredient moments!