Tofu & Potatoes (and other vegan foods)

Korean Vegetable Pancake

2011-07-17T18:13:00.002-04:00

You'll be pleased to know I'm still cooking (and eating). This is something I made recently.

Why Korean vegetable pancakes? Well... sometime in the spring I'd had a vegetable pancake for the first time. Later, I looked up the recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian - read all the steps, noted the ingredients and then did nothing with that knowledge. Then three weeks ago, I came across some garlic scapes at my favourite stall in the farmer's market and my brain was kind enough to make the connection.

2010-05-23T19:37:00.002-04:00

Okay, it's been awhile... I blame the intranet and my two week lack of cooking. The other couple of weeks were probably just laziness.

Anyways, in the spirit of not being lazy, I have compiled a few short lists:

Foods I'd like to make for the first time:

Fondant
Homemade tofu
Mini bagels
Cinnamon rolls
Crumpets
Lasagna

Ingredients I'd like to use for the first time:

Artichokes
Fresh coconut
Japanese eggplant
Israeli couscous
Gigantes beans

And just because I always have trouble remembering this list..

Five foods I do not like:

Peas*
Lima beans
Passionfruit*
Pickled ginger
Blue cheese

* These are tolerable.

I don't know why I don't like pickled ginger since I like it in every other form, but so it goes.

I Love... Baked Oatmeal

2010-04-13T19:29:00.005-04:00

Once upon a time (a few years ago) my housemates and I would host Sunday breakfast potlucks. So for a while I used to make my specialty - baked oatmeal - on a regular basis.

Then somehow I forgot all about it until one of the housemates e-mailed me a couple weeks ago to say that she was eating my baked oatmeal all the time. I didn't even have the recipe anymore. This appalled her, so she e-mailed it to me right away:

Baked Oatmeal

one banana, mashed

two eggs

three cups of oatmeal

1/2 tsp baking powder

one cup milk

brown sugar or maple syrup

spices

a chopped apple

in a bowl combine the banana, eggs and oatmeal. mix in the milk, spices and sweeteners desires. add chopped apple [if you like]. bake at 350 for about twenty five minutes.

best served on cold mornings in shallow bowls when made by a roommate.

So that's all there is to it! Meaghan says that she's modified the recipe a bit - she uses one egg instead of two, and two apples instead of one. She also uses rice milk, and throws in some psyllium fibre and millet for extra binding power.

When I made this again I omitted the eggs entirely and uses "chia eggs" instead. I would have used psyllium too, but I was having a senile moment. Anyways, it makes a fabulous breakfast or snack food.

Falafel Burger with Taratour Sauce

2010-04-11T11:38:00.002-04:00

In an attempt to make a burger that was both "fake and fancy" I settled on the falafel burgers from Rebar.

However, there were a number of setbacks:

I forgot to buy chickpeas when I went to the grocery store. Without chickpeas, these would be breadcrumbs, tahini, onions and spices. So I had to go back.
The recipe says to roast bulghur and then grind it into a powder in your spice grinder. Apparently me and my mortar and pestle are not as powerful as an electronic device(!).
I was lacking breadcrumbs so I crossed my fingers and used one cup instead of two.

In spite of these mishaps, the burgers turned out great. So did the taratour sauce. What I gathered from Wikipedia is that taratour is a Turkish word that means "has tahini in it" - which this sauce does - plus miso and chipotle and lemon juice, making it a great topping.

Mochi (aka Daifuku?)

2010-03-22T20:30:00.008-04:00

I don't even know where to start with mochi... how about I've had four today? Or that they are really easy to make (you use the microwave!) and that they can be filled with red bean paste (one of my favourite foods!).

They're a not-too-sweet dessert made from glutinous rice flour (which is actually still gluten free - glutinous here just means sticky) which is wrapped around whatever filling you want: berries, red or white bean paste, even ice cream, apparently.

I made my bean paste from scratch, but after that they take about 15 minutes to make. Get the recipe from vegan yum yum.

I Love... Kale Chips

2010-03-20T11:06:00.003-04:00

I've known about kale chips for a while now, but I've never made them. Then a blog post called A Tale of Kale reminded me again of what I might be missing out on.

In less than 15 minutes, I had a big bowlful of crispy kale, lightly flavoured with olive oil and French sea salt.

Last week I was convinced that coconut can replace bacon. Now this week, I'm surprised to admit that kale chips could replace potato chips. They have the same satisfying crunch and salty taste, I swear!

Aux Vivres, Montreal

2010-03-15T22:16:00.010-04:00

After reading a blog article titled Montreal Vegan Throwndown: Aux Vivres vs. Crudessence, I was excited to try both vegan restaurants. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that there are two different locations for 105 Rachel St.: the West side and the East side. I ended up on the wrong side, of course, staring confusedly at a plain blue door that didn't seem to lead anywhere, particularly not to delicious vegan food.

However, with a bit of backtracking, I was close enough to Aux Vivres. Once I arrived, I discovered that dining in wasn't an option - even the take-out area was crammed. I waited patiently for my chapati wrap though - the BLT.

It's obviously a misnomer. There's no bacon, of course. If they wanted to be accurate, they would call it a NCLT, or le noix de coco, laitue et tomate (aka coconut, lettuce and tomato).

Coconut? Yeah, that's what I thought... and that's why I ordered it. Thankfully it works and actually tastes pretty authentic (although I'm sure bacon fanatics would laugh at the thought).

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

2010-03-07T19:45:00.005-05:00

I feel like I'm cheating because I took this photo on June 3rd last year. But I haven't cooked anything of note the past few days and I still felt like posting.

This baked sweet potato falafel recipe was posted on 101 Cookbooks but is originally from the Leon's cookbook (which I ordered from the library, probably on June 3rd last year, and it still isn't here yet.. sigh). I'm actually perturbed that I haven't made these falafels again. They were really tasty, plus simple to make.

I think I paired it with kale and the tahini sauce from Vegan with a Vengeance. And the apricot wheat beer from St. Ambroise is definitely identifiable. Mmm!

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

2010-03-02T18:39:00.004-05:00

You say potato, I say lemon.

I had an instant craving for lemony Greek potatoes after seeing a bag of fingerlings at the grocery store. And who am I to resist?

(Yes, that's my window sill but it's the only source of natural light in my apartment and I was excited to see natural light at 5:30 p.m.).

Lost and Found

2010-02-24T22:12:00.006-05:00

So I lost my memory card and card reader for about three months. I wasn't concerned until I made a rare and serious effort to clean my apartment and they didn't reappear.

This made me start to worry that I might have to go into Future Shop. That was sufficiently motivating to make me remember that I'd done a photo shoot for work. Turns out that they were in one of my purses that I haven't used since December. Oops!

Anyways, I'm back now.

No food pictures today, but here's a picture of something I just bought:

Turns out one of my favourite food bloggers, KamutflakeGirl, has just created a zine. They are available through Etsy.

Maple-Mustard-Chili Tofu and Braised Chard

2009-12-09T17:36:00.007-05:00

Not the greatest photo but I was out taking photos of an exhibit beforehand. Clearly I'd had enough of fiddling around for the best shot.

The tofu tempted me into eating 7 cubes right after it came of the oven. That means it's delicious.

I cooked the chard, stems and all, and added a splash of umeboshi vinegar at the end.

I Love My Magnetic Spice Jars

2009-11-23T18:47:00.010-05:00

When I was apartment hunting, I knew I wanted a place with charm and character, great architectural details and wooden floors. But equally important was a close proximity to the health food store. What would I do if I couldn't easily buy spices in bulk?

For the longest time I stored my spices in a wicker basket, in the same plastic bags that I scooped them into. I tried to be organized - I sorted them according to whether they were herbs or spices, hot or savoury. I made lists of my collection. I even updated the lists sometimes.

But all organizational tactics would eventually fail. Bags were tossed on the table in an attempt to find marjoram or mustard seeds.

My solution? Magnetic spice jars.

I'd been looking for a while but Ikea was expensive (3 for $10?!) and I'd heard mixed reviews of DIY methods. I finally came across some at Bulk Barn and they were reasonable - about $1.45 each.

It's honestly improved my cooking experience. I'm just so pleased when I can grab the spices I need, no tossing about required.

Green Rice

2009-11-22T21:18:00.005-05:00

Green rice: it's not just what happens if you forget about the rice in the fridge.

This recipe is from Rebar: The Modern Food Cookbook. Everything I've made from this cookbook has tasted incredible and most recipes are enjoyably complex. The green rice is very simple though.

All you do is liquify three bunches of greens: spinach, cilantro and italian parsley. Then cook one small onion and mince a couple of cloves of garlic. Combine everything with jasmine rice and cook the rice with the normal amount of water, minus the amount you used to liquify the greens.

It's great with Mexican food (this week I ate it with ancho lime tofu and roasted sweet potatoes with barbeque sauce) but it's also just a tasty way to incorporate more greens into your diet.

What the Heck... is Roggebrood?

2009-11-10T18:21:00.008-05:00

Roggebrood is een voedzaam product bereid uit gebakken deeg. Het deeg bestaat uit rogge, water, zout en enzymen.

Translated from Dutch: Rye bread is a nutritious product made from baked dough. The dough consists of rye, water, salt and enzymes.

Apparently in Holland, this bread is mainly eaten in three provinces: Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. I've visited many places in Holland but have never been to those three. Fortunately, there's a Dutch grocery store just 30 minutes away.

Wikipedia tells me that there are significant biochemical differences between wheat and rye and that this affects the broodbakproces. The bread is baked from coarsely ground rye without yeast. Apparently the bread gets it dark colour and sweet taste through a long baking process which converts starch into sugar.

I think it has a good smaak (taste).

Amchur Chana (Chickpeas with Mango Powder)

2009-11-04T17:42:00.005-05:00

This is the macaroni and cheese of Indian cuisine.

I mean that in a very positive way. This is comfort food to me and although Raghavan Iyer has compiled 660 curries into his book (aptly named 660 Curries), I return to this one again and again.

I'm sure it has something to do with the amchur powder. Amchur is a compound word: Aam, meaning unripe mango and chur, ground powder.

Iyer says, "Mango powder is a souring, cooling spice, used heavily in northern India - as are chickpeas, so it is natural that the two come together very often there."

It's fantastic stuff and I plan on experimenting with it sometime - amchur pudding, perhaps?

What the Heck... ?

2009-11-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Trick question: is this a giant lemon... or a very small orange?

Armenian Apricot Soup

2009-11-02T18:27:00.000-05:00

I found this apricot and lentil soup recipe at 101 Cookbooks but it originates from a book called The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups. The slowness and difficulty refers to the fact that the soup peddler delivers all his homemade soups by bike - not the complexity of the recipes.

I enjoyed the soup because it's a departure from other lentils soups that I've tried. Many lentil soups combine the earthy flavour of lentils with other earthy flavours. The sweet and fruity tastes of apricots is different and works well.

You should try Armenian Apricot soup too.

Sweet Potato-Cranberry Scones

2009-11-01T18:27:00.004-05:00

So this arrived in the mail last week (swell vegan's zine, not the swan measuring cup) and then I had to decide what to make first. It was difficult because there are a lot of great fall recipes - Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers with Millet and Leeks, Mole-Roasted Cauliflower, etc. - but I went with the Sweet-Potato Cranberry Scones.

I figured the scones would be easy, but I should have read more into these two lines: "The dough should be fairly stiff. Fold in the cranberries."

In my case, the instructions should have read like this: "The dough should be fairly stiff. Don't bother trying to fold the cranberries in. Punch the cranberries with all your might into the dough. Do not be discouraged if this takes several minutes, or if the cranberries try to escape. It will all be worth it in the end."*

* I think I would have had an easier time had my cranberries not be frozen.

Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Carmelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping

2009-10-06T19:06:00.005-04:00

Behold pumpkin ziti, roasted acorn squash, and my mug, which is actually empty, but co-ordinates nicely with my dinner plate.

The best part of this casserole is the cashew ricotta. It's even better than the dairy stuff. I believe it would be great on bagels.

My one concern with this meal is the fat content: there's 1/2 cup cashews in the ricotta and 1/3 cup of walnuts in the breadcrumb topping. That's - dare I say? - kind of nuts!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-05T19:52:00.007-04:00

Mark Bittman proved to be a valuable resource once again. Apparently for seeds it's best to toast, not roast.

Add a glug* of oil, a dash of salt, a pinch of seasoning and slowly toast in a cast iron pan. According to Bittman, you'll know they're done when they're browned and/or start to pop.**

* Unfortunately, my glug was more of a chug. Oops. But to directly quote Bittman: "Naturally, oil roasting adds fat and calories, but it also adds great flavor."

** I consider the sentence "pumpkin seeds will puff up slightly, and may pop a bit" to be insufficient warning for what actually ensued.

Cauliflower and Mushroom Potpie with Black Olive Crust

2009-09-15T20:44:00.006-04:00

So delicious! And easy!

I'd never made a crust before (am not much of a fancy baker) so this was a good baby step. The black olive biscuit crust is supposed to be made in little individual sections. I used a triangle shaped cookie cutter to make uniform shapes and then added some hearts in the centre.

The sauce for the potpie has a lot of tarragon in it which is my favourite underused herb. Now I'm craving foccacia bread though.

Banana-Date Scones

2009-09-08T20:25:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to bake every week now so that I have mid-morning snacks for work. I usually make muffins but the Banana-Date Scones from Veganomicon promised to be healthy and full of natural sugars so I went for it.

I made two substitutions, one which was unintentional. Now it could just be that I am terrible at finding things, but I couldn't locate brown rice syrup at my local health food store! So agave came to the rescue.

The recipe also instructed that I should make a flax seed egg, but given my large quantity of chia seeds I decided to make a chia egg instead and it turned out very well. I only soaked the soy milk and chia mixture for about 15 minutes but it turned into gel and blended perfectly into the scones.

It should be noted that although these are called scones, flaky pastries they are not. They are like a heartier, wholesome cousin.

Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes

2009-09-04T19:50:00.003-04:00

First potato post!

These were easier to make than samosas (and would have been ever easier had I not been rushing and scooping out potato insides that were still hot). I can see myself making these a lot since the main ingredients are potatoes, carrots, onions and frozen peas, which are staples around here.

What the Heck... are Ground Cherries?

2009-09-01T20:42:00.004-04:00

Or Groud Cherries, as the package says. Oops! But it's très charmant.

When I first saw them at a distance I thought they were gooseberries, to the extent that once I actually read the label I wondered if ground cherry was an alternate name. But no, they are their own unique phenomenon.

These one are actually naked - they grow with little coats on (see illustration) like tomatillos. I've seen them before on cakes in fancy bakeries but never actually tried one.

The result? Well, the word cherries is misleading. They smell a bit like cotton candy, but bite in and there's a burst of intense sweetness, followed by a taste that's like a combination of tomato, pineapple and vanilla. The ground cherry straddles the line between fruit and vegetable, sweet and savory.

Not bad.

Raspberry & Ginger Spelt Muffins

2009-08-30T19:47:00.005-04:00

The blueberry ginger spelt muffins from Vegan Brunch are perfect for late August, combining fresh summer berries with a gingery hint of fall to come. Except the blueberries at the store looked crummy so I used raspberries instead. So good! The recipe also calls for crystalized ginger, which is brilliant in muffins.

Ch-Ch-Ch Chia Pudding!

2009-08-29T20:57:00.008-04:00

I was astonished the first time I learned that people were eating chia seeds. This is probably because I hadn't thought about chia since the 80's and that was in a different incarnation.

But the same chia seeds that can make you a chia pet are actually full of fibre, healthy omega fats and have magical liquid absorbing powers. Add enough liquid to chia seeds and you get chia gel. A seemingly popular use for this has been chia pudding.

To make mine, I added a cup of vanilla almond milk to a quarter of a cup of chia seeds and left it in the fridge overnight. When I pulled it out for breakfast the next morning all the liquid was completely absorbed. I added a dash of cinnamon and dug in.

The chia gel is neutrally flavoured so I was mainly tasting the almond milk and cinnamon. Clearly, seasoning is paramount when eating chia gel straight up. A bit of honey stirred in improved the taste a bit, but it was still an odd textural experience. I don't think I'll be jumping on the chia pudding bandwagon but I do hope to use it as an egg substitute, like in these amazing chocolate chip yum cookies.

Kiwi Cabbage Kale Salad with Tahini-Garlic Dressing

2009-08-24T12:35:00.006-04:00

For my seminal post it might be excepted that I would blog about tofu and potatoes. A reasonable expectation, but this salad contains neither.

This is a slightly adapted version of swell vegan's salad. Threw in some more kale because I'm in the I-like-raw-kale camp. Also subbed lime for lemon and decreased the raisin quantity to about half. Aside from being a bit acidic, this is a pretty delicious and virtuous salad.