Zucchini Patties w/ Tomato-Corn Relish (Redux)

Last night, I used up two zucchini, a handful of baby onions and a crapload of tomatoes with the Zucchini Patties w/ Tomato-Corn Relish. I ended up adding an egg white (from the lovely free-range chickens at Blue Gate Farm) to the patties to help them stay together. Delish.

Veganized Chocolate Eclair 'Cake'

This is a mostly veganized version of a recipe a friend made at a party this weekend. The only non-vegan elements remaining are honey in the graham crackers and milkfat in the standard chocolate chips I bought at Hy-Vee. If you hunted a little harder for vegan versions of these two ingredients (according to Accidentally Vegan, Nabisco original graham crackers are vegan, and you could chop up vegan dark chocolate bars to sub for the chocolate chips), it'd be totally sinless.

1 package graham crackers

2 packages vanilla Jell-O Instant Pudding Mix
2 cups cold vanilla soy/rice milk
1 tub ricemellow creme (or vegan whipped topping)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped sweetened dark chocolate)
2 Tbsp margarine
1/4 cup soy/rice milk

Place a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Whisk the pudding mix and milk together and let sit for 5 minutes to set. Fold in the ricemellow creme.

Spread one half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Top with more graham crackers, followed by the rest of the pudding. Top this with graham crackers, too.

Meanwhile, melt your chocolate chips, either in the microwave (30-second bursts, stirring after each one) or in a double boiler (I use a stainless mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water). Add the margarine and soy milk and stir until very smooth. Pour the chocolatey goodness over the graham crackers and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Spicy Black Bean Chorizo Stew

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 Spicy Pinto Bean Sausages, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each chili powder, cumin & unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 cans black beans, undrained
1 can diced tomatoes w/ chilis, undrained
1 chipotle pepper in adobo
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Using clean hands, crumble the sausage with your hands until it resembles ground beef. Mix with the diced onion, spices and salt. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot and add the onion-sausage mixture. Saute for 5-10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.



Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the liquid from the tomatoes and stir to scrape up any spices that have stuck to the bottom. Transfer the whole shebang into a crock pot. Add the black beans, tomatoes, chipotle pepper and liquid smoke. Cook on low for eight hours.

Farmer's Market Spanakopita

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 bunches swiss chard or kale: de-stemmed
1 medium leek: chopped finely
3 garlic cloves: minced
2 handfuls fresh herbs: chopped (dill, basil, oregano, tarragon, thyme)
1 container lemon basil Northern Prairie Chevre
2/3 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Saute the greens and leek for 5 minutes, until dark green and wilted. Chop the cooked greens finely. Spread in the bottom of a baking dish. Add garlic, herbs and chevre and mix well. Top with the puff pastry, smearing the top with olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes.

Note: You can use the rest of the puff pastry for a quick dessert. Simply smear the remaining third with jam and/or chocolate, roll it up and bake for 15 minutes or so. (I used dark chocolate spread and black raspberry jam.)

Mustardy Roasted Green Beans & Potatoes

Easy, tasty and made almost entirely from in-season veggies at the Des Moines farmer's market. Green beans and mushrooms are both sources of protein, so I've been eating this as a main dish for days now.

1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into thin half-moons
4-5 baby onions, quartered
4 oz. oyster mushrooms, torn into bite-sized pieces
3 Tbsp whole grain or dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the green beans, potato slices, onions & mushrooms in a 9x13 baking dish. Whisk the mustard, olive oil and soy sauce together until smooth. Pour over the vegetables and toss to coat. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

A Solution for Subsidized Corn - Compostable Plastic Cups

photo by Majiscup

I stopped by the new location of The Village Bean in the East Village yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised to see them using compostable plastic cups for their cold to-go beverages. Which made me think... we've got a huge surplus of corn, which is why there's so much high fructose corn syrup and corn-based ethanol. So why not divert it into corn-based plastic?

I'd be thrilled to be able to throw my chai cups into my compost heap.

Gingery Mint Iced Tea

I came up with this recipe when my boy started begging me to find a way to get rid of the mint that's taking over his office. I'm normally not a fan of mint in tea, but this is refreshing and a little sweet, with just a bit of bite from the ginger.

3 black or green tea bags
1.5 quarts boiling water
3-5 longish sprigs of fresh mint
1 ginger tea packet OR 2 Tbsp candied ginger

Put the tea bags, fresh mint (I think it's easier to leave the mint leaves on the stalk) and contents of ginger packet in the bottom of a pitcher or large jar. Pour the boiling water into the vessel and let cool. Serve iced or refrigerated.

Ingredient Notes: You can get instant sweet ginger tea packets at just about any Asian market. You could leave it out, but I really like the bite of the ginger combined with the mint.

Kale-Mushroom-Sundried Tomato-Sausage Quiche

1 can biscuit dough (Hy-Vee's Texas biscuits are vegan)
4 eggs (or 1 batch Vegan Brunch omelette mix)
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup kale, destemmed and chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. oyster mushrooms
2 handfuls sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 Morningstar Farms sausage patties, chopped
1 handful fresh basil & oregano (or other fresh herbs)
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a pie plate. Press the biscuit dough into the pie plate until the bottom and sides are covered in a thin layer of dough.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic, kale and mushrooms for 5-10 minutes, or until the kale is dark green and tender. Mix in the tomatoes, fresh herbs and sausage chunks and spread evenly over the biscuit dough.

Whisk the eggs together until yolks and whites are incorporated. Season with a dash each of salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the egg mixture is set.

Artichoke-Kale-White Bean Dip With Roasted Garlic

Based on this recipe from Grow. Cook. Eat.

1 8-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup kale
1/2 cup fresh herbs (I used basil, oregano and tarragon)
1 cup navy beans, pureed
1 head roasted garlic, mashed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
1 tsp white miso (optional)

Sautee the kale in a little olive oil until wilted (about 5 minutes). Chop the artichoke hearts, cooked kale and fresh herbs very finely and mix together. Mash/puree the beans and roasted garlic and add to the artichoke mixture along with the olive oil, lemon juice and miso. Use a stick blender to smooth the texture out, if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste. It's ready to eat now, but if you want, you can warm it in the oven or the microwave before serving.

Serve with chips, toasted bread or raw veggies for dipping.