Blackstrap Latte

So my latest bloodwork, while otherwise stellar (go go gadget vegan cholesterol!), shows me as anemic. Which is odd, because a) I donate blood regularly, and they'll turn you away if your iron's too low, and b) the last time I got bloodwork done, my iron was almost three times what it was in this most current batch. I'm thinking something's a little wonky, but hey. Whatever.

The doctor recommends I take two iron pills a day, but me and the iron pills don't get along so well. So while I'm taking one with my morning orange juice, I'm going to try two tablespoons of blackstrap molasses a day to make up the difference. It's a food, after all. And I always prefer to get my vitamins from food where I can. Problem is, I hate the taste blackstrap molasses. Seriously. It's nasty. It's so nasty, I've been referring to it as the Black Oil of Death.

But I got on the internets today, and I found that many people like it better when it's dissolved in vanilla soy milk. So tonight, before bed, I heated up a mugful of vanilla Silk and stirred in the blackstrap. Lo! It's actually tasty! Mild, creamy and kind of chocolatey. Score one for the internets!

Kale-a-kopita

1 tsp olive oil
10 oz kale (1 large bunch)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp dried dill
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

8 oz. (1/2 block) firm tofu
1 tsp grainy mustard
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/8 tsp salt
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp vegetable broth powder (optional)

1 sheet puff pastry


Set the puff pastry out to thaw. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mash the tofu. Add the mustard, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon juice and veggie broth powder and mix well. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the mushrooms. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and kale and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the dill, shake in some salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Spread the kale-mushroom mixture in the bottom of a greased baking dish. Spread the tofu mixture on top (or mix it in). Top with the puff pastry sheet, smear with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and puffed up.

The Day of Vegan Decadence

The boy and I are in Los Angeles for a few days, and since he is the greatest husband in the history of all mankind, he offered to spend the day taking me to vegan restaurants and seeing just how much vegan food we can possibly stuff ourselves with. I think we've done an admirable job, all things considered. We're both practically comatose. (Of course, some of that is due to the fact that it's midnight back home... but I think the food has a lot to do with it, really.)



Breakfast: Swingers
Swingers is attached to our hotel, but we've been known to make trips way out of our way to eat here in the past. So breakfast was a no-brainer. We both got hot tea (me: green, him: earl grey). I had the soyrizo scramble: tofu, soyrizo, black beans and fresh salsa with sourdough toast smeared with agave syrup. DH had the organic eggs with veggie bacon, potatoes and toast. I think the veggie bacon is directly responsible for his intense love of all things Swingers.

After breakfast, we hit Whole Foods to stock up on staples, wandered through the Farmers' Market and headed out to Golden Apple and Secret Headquarters, two of L.A.'s many fine comic book shops.





Lunch: Flore Vegan Cuisine
Two things sold me on this location: 1) it's located right across the street from Secret Headquarters, and 2) they have a tempeh reuben. Ever since Beggar's Banquet closed in DSM, I've been without the joys of a tempeh reuben. Flore did not disappoint. We got hot twig tea to drink, the crispy kale as an appetizer (never knew kale could be so tasty! And crispy!). I got the tempeh reuben, of course, which was delectable. DH got the tempeh bacon and mushroom pizza with vegan mozzarella, which he pronounced scrumptious. I can't be totally certain, but I'm pretty sure I saw Flea, the bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, at the table next to us.



Snack: Scoops
Two words for you: vegan gelato. Even though we were filled to bursting after lunch, we dashed in here quickly to share a scoop of the vegan orange-basil gelato. I would never have believed it didn't have dairy if I hadn't seen it clearly labeled 'vegan.' Freaking amazing.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, where I changed and ran back out to do an hour and a half of yoga at Liberation Yoga, on La Brea. (Have to burn off the gelato somehow!) Yoga left me exhausted and slightly sore, so it took some effort to decide where to go for dinner. Exhausted though we were, we decided to head out to Soul Vegetarian on Pico. Alas, their supposed location seemed to be occupied by a disco. Not to be deterred, we ventured forth.

Dinner: Rahel's Vegan Ethiopian Cuisine
At this point, I was seriously craving some curry, so I almost derailed us to Electric Karma (billed as 'the most romantic Indian restaurant in L.A.'). But neither of us had ever tasted Ethiopian food, so we stopped here instead. The place was small, dimly lit, interestingly decorated, and presumably authentic. I got a traditional drink made from barley, flax seed and sunflower seed, all blended up and mixed with agave. It tasted a little like a cereal milkshake. I ordered one of the combos, and DH got a single vegetable stew. When it came out, we were both boggled. Way too much food, especially considering our already-stuffed state. We made a good go of it, but there was only so much we could accomplish, being absolutely full and exhausted.



Which brings us to now, curled up in our delightfully decorated room in the Beverly Laurel Motor Hotel and trying not to fall into instant slumber.

Tomorrow we do it again!

Limoncella Amaretto Sour

My transition to an all-Iowa liquor cabinet is nearly complete (rubs hands together, cackling gleefully). I stopped by Ingersoll Wine & Spirits tonight to look for Cedar Ridge's spirits. No luck on the Clearheart Gin or Rum, but they do stock the Clearheart vodka, as well as the limoncella, apple brandy and grappa. Since I have the vodka already and I don't know what grappa is for, I picked up the apple brandy and the limoncella.

Which led to, naturally, a limoncella amaretto sour.

1/2 shot limoncella
1/2 shot amaretto
1/2 cup club soda
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Baked Mushrooms, Potatoes and Tempeh in Gravy

This is based on a recipe in Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast, but it eliminates the standing over the stove part.

2 cups baby portobella mushrooms, quartered
2 pounds small potatoes, halved
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz. package tempeh, cut into small dice
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder OR flour
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup water

Toss the tempeh with the arrowroot, garlic powder and yeast. Mix the mushrooms, potatoes, onion and garlic in a baking dish. Add the olive oil, soy sauce and water. Add the tempeh mixture and mix well to combine. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Best Ever Cinnamon King Cake

This got rave reviews from party guests and my coworkers. It's pretty darn perfect.

Make a batch of the dough for the Overnight Cinnamon Sticky Buns. Instead of slicing the rolled-up dough into rolls, however, touch the ends of the rolls to each other to form the roll into an oval shape. Let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes (or in the fridge overnight). Bake the cake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Mix together the following ingredients:
2 Tbsp melted margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanillla extract
4 Tbsp soy milk
2 tsp light corn syrup

Pour the glaze over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the cake with equal parts of yellow, green and purple sugar.

Once the cake has cooled, insert a dried bean, nut or plastic baby into the bottom of the cake.

Jambalaya/Dirty Rice

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 vegan Italian sausage, diced and/or crumbled
10-15 mild jalepenos, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp file powder
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 can braised wheat gluten, drained and chopped
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
2 cans finely diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp salsa
2 dashes each liquid smoke and Tobasco
1 cup cooked rice

Heat the olive oil. Add the onion, sausage and diced jalepenos. Cook on medium-high for 5 minutes, or until the onions start to get translucent. Add the garlic, file powder and Cajun seasoning and cook for another minute, or until fragrant. Add the wheat gluten, beans, tomatoes, salsa and liquid smoke and cook for another few minutes, or until most of the moisture has evaporated. Mix in the rice and serve hot.

Italian Veggeroni

2/3 cup firm tofu (I used Wildwood sprouted tofu)
4 Tbsp pesto
5-7 sundried tomatoes packed in oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Siracha (or other garlic chili sauce)
2 Tbsp red wine
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp tahini
1/4 tsp liquid smoke

1-1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl, blending with the stick blender until the tomatoes are pureed. Combine the dry ingredients in a larger bowl. Combine the wet with the dry and knead for a few minutes, or until the gluten starts to develop. Split the dough into two pieces, roll into log shopes approximately 8 inches long, and wrap tightly in foil, twisting at the ends. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes, turning once. Let cool completely before serving.

Squash Patties

My mom used to make these when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure they're directly responsible for me liking squash. They're sweet and earthy. The texture is different depending on whether you bake or fry them -- I actually liked the baked ones a little better after they'd been in the fridge overnight.

1-1/2 cups cooked squash
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp plain soy yogurt
4 Tbsp honey, maple syrup or sugar

Mix all ingredients together to form a slightly stiff dough. Either bake at 450 degrees (in liberally oiled cast-iron muffin cups) or drop by teasponfuls into hot canola oil and fry.

Ingredient Notes: You can use canned, frozen or freshly cooked squash here. I used a mixture of delicata, acorn & sweet dumpling that I had previously roasted and frozen. I also used spelt flour, because that's what I have in the house.

Chickpea Fingers

These are based on the famous Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon, but they take a few shortcuts to make the whole process quicker. They satisfy my occasional cravings for chicken fingers. I frequently double this recipe and freeze the rest for easy weekday meals.

2/3 cup hummus
2-3 shakes liquid smoke
1 Tbsp peanut butter (optional)
1 tsp soy sauce (optional)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3-1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (aka wheat gluten flour)
olive oil for pan-frying / spraying

Mix the hummus, liquid smoke, peanut butter and soy sauce together until it forms a smooth paste. Stir in the bread crumbs.

Using a strong spoon (or just clean hands), add a quarter cup of wheat gluten and stir/knead until incorporated. Keep adding wheat gluten and kneading until the dough starts to feel springy. Knead for a few more minutes. When it's ready, the dough should spring back when you squeeze it.

Take a small fistful of dough and smoosh it with your hand for a minute or so. Then roll/stretch it into a tube and flatten it into a chicken-finger-esque shape. The patties should be very thin.

You can either pan-fry the fingers in a thin layer of olive oil for 5 minutes per side (until golden brown with darker spots) or spray them with oil and bake them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on each side. The texture will be slightly chewier if you bake them, more tender if you pan-fry them.

Serve with a green vegetable of some sort and barbecue or honey mustard sauce for dipping.

Vegan Kringla

This dairy-and-egg free take on a traditional Scandinavian recipe is considerably lighter than the original, which called for eggs, butter, buttermilk and sour cream. Lars (who may very well be buttering me up) gives them his thumbs up.

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance OR other non-hydrogenated margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup soy creamer OR plain soy/rice milk
1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp plain soy yogurt
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Add the vinegar to the soy milk and let sit for a few minutes. Cream the sugar and the margarine in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract, soured soy milk and soy yogurt. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, one cup at a time, until everything is well combined. You should have a sticky dough. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Once the dough is thoroughly chilled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Flour a surface well. With clean hands, grab a handful of dough and roll it out to form a rope. Split the rope into three pieces and roll each piece until it forms a rope 1/2-inch thick and about 18 inches long.

Twist the two ends over each other, then bring the loop up on top of the twined ends to form a pretzel-like shape. (The cookies will puff up as they bake, so leave some space inside the loops.)

Transfer the pretzel shapes to an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the undersides are golden brown. Keep the remaining dough and any unbaked shaped cookies cold in the fridge so they don't spread.

The traditional way to eat these is spread with margarine (or butter) along with a strong cup of coffee. They'll keep for a few days at room temperature or in the fridge, or you may freeze them for up to 3 months.

Rich Potato-Kale Coconut Curry

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
8 oz. frozen kale OR spinach
2-3 cups tiny potatoes (or larger potatoes cut into chunks)
1 can braised wheat gluten, rinsed and drained
1 5 oz. can Singapore curry gravy
1/3 package Shan Korma Chicken seasoning (note: contains no actual chicken)
1 14 oz. coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 can butternut squash puree
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute onions until they are starting to get translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Dump that into a crock pot. Add everything else. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Ingredient notes: I picked up my curry seasoning at Double Dragon and Namaste, respectively. This was a little too spicy for me (and I have a higher tolerance than your average Iowan). I ended up dumping roughly 6 oz. of pureed silken tofu into the mix to make it palatable. So you can certainly feel free to use any (milder or hotter) curry seasoning that you desire.

Italian Chickpea Pasta

6 cups water
pinch of salt
3 cups pasta of your choice

Bring the water to a boil. Drop in the salt and pasta. Stir once or twice to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to itself. Boil under tender.

1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large handful sundried tomatoes (the slightly soft kind that come in zip-top bags)
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup artichoke hearts, mooshed
1 cup frozen choped kale
2 Tbsp capers
2 healthy splashes white/red wine
1 splash Tobasco sauce

Heat the oil in a largish skillet. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or so, or until fragrant. Add everything else and simmer until most of the wine has evaporated.

Drain the pasta. Return to the pot with a drizzle each of olive oil and lemon juice. Add the topping mixture and stir. Serve immediately!

Lady Cassandra Cookies

1. Make a batch of sugar cookie dough and put it in the fridge to chill for an hour or two. I used this recipe (modified from the back of my flour bag):
   
   1 cup Earth Balance margarine (half a tub)
   1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
   1 tsp vanilla extract
   1/2 tsp almond extract
   1/2 tsp baking soda
   2 Tbsp Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
   3 cups unbleached flour
   
   Cream the Earth Balance and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla & almond extracts and the cream cheese. Add the flour, forming a slightly sticky dough. Form into a ball or log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or two.
2. Get a screen cap of Cassandra. I used the one here:
   http://shillpages.com/dw/story/d9/02/dw200502-047.jpg
3. Open it in Illustrator. Trace around the picture using the pen tool. You should end up with sort of a spiky rectangle. Put a 2px black stroke on it. Size it to roughly 3 inches by 4 inches and print it out.
4. Tape the piece of paper to a flattened cereal box. Cut out a cardboard version of the rectangle with scissors.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your cookie sheets. Unwrap the cookie dough and place it on a large sheet of waxed paper. Cover with another sheet of waxed paper and roll it out to 1/4 inch thick. If it's gotten too warm, you might want to put it back in the fridge for a few minutes. Cold dough will be easier to work with.
6. Lightly flour the cardboard cutout and place it on top of the dough. Trace around the dough with a sharp knife, then lift up the cut out and place it on the cookie sheet. Leave a few inches between the cookies... they'll spread a little in the oven. Pop into the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until getting light golden brown. Re-roll the remaining dough and stick it back in the fridge while the first batch bakes.
7. Mix together your frosting base:
   
   1 drop red food coloring
   1 drop yellow food coloring
   1 Tbsp maple syrup
   1/2 tsp almond extract
   2 Tbsp vanilla soy milk
   2 cups powdered sugar
   
   Keep adding powdered sugar and soy milk until you get a light peach color and a thick but drippy consistency.
8. Keep rolling, cutting, chilling and baking until your dough is all finished. Once your cookies are cool, dip the tops into the frosting and let the excess drip off. Place them on a sheet of waxed paper.
9. Shake out some chocolate sprinkles. Choosing smaller sprinkles, place the eyes close together a little higher than the halfway mark. Let the cookies dry several hours or overnight.
10. When the cookies are dry, take a red food-safe decorating marker and draw the mouth on below the eyes. Let the mouths dry before transporting.

Your Cassandras are now ready to be moisturized!

Chocolate Dalek (Reprise)

For those of you who came to my Crafty TARDIS panel at Chicago TARDIS this weekend, here's the link to the Chocolate Dalek Cake recipe and photos. I'll have the Cassandra cookies recipe up later today.

* Chocolate Dalek recipe & instructions
* Flickr photoset of the Dalek cake

Here are some of the other web sites we discussed during the panel:

* Doctor Who Scarf
* Scarf patterns from UNIT
* Crafty TARDIS LJ community
* Who Knits LJ community
* Dalek Builder's Guild
* K-9 Builders' Guild
* TARDIS Builders' Guild

Vegan Thanksgiving

Even though we're heading out to Chicago later this afternoon, I got a powerful yearning to make a semi-traditional Thanksgiving lunch:

- mashed potatoes
- kale (from our garden) with garlic & (tempeh) bacon
- wild mushroom strudel
- jellied cranberry sauce
- pumpkin pie

I made the cranberry sauce and the pie last night, but everything else came together relatively quickly late this morning.

Totally delicious, all made from scratch in less than half the time it'd take to roast a turkey, and no tryptophan coma to boot!

***

Mashed Potatoes

4-5 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
1 cup veggie broth + enough water to cover potatoes
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine

Cover the potatoes with veggie broth and water plus a pinch or so of salt. Boil until very tender. Reserve 1 cup of the liquid, then drain potatoes over a colander. Return to the pot with Earth Balance, salt, pepper and a little liquid. Mash until creamy, tasting for seasoning and liquid.

(P.S. The mashed potatoes were especially good when mixed with the kale/bacon mixture. Mmmm....)

Sweet Potato Brownies

I'm not sure what possessed me to make these. The idea just sounded tasty. They're not quite as decadent and crackly as my usual brownies, but they're still moist and delicious.

1 cup all purpose, whole wheat pastry or spelt flour
1 cup Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup vanilla soy milk
2-3 handfuls dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a baking dish.

Whisk together the flour, hot cocoa, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine the sweet potato puree, canola oil and soy milk. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just until mixed (don't overbeat, especially if you're using a whole flour). Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the oiled dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Mexican Shepherd's Pie

Easy and delish.

1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
dash of salt (to taste)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 smallish heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh
2/3 cup pureed pumpkin (optional)
1 handful fresh cilantro, snipped into bits (optional)

1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp 'instant' polenta
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups water

Preheat the oven to 'broil.'

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, or until they're starting to get translucent. Add the spices, salt, beans, corn and half the tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a separate medium-sized pan. Mix together the chili powder, polenta and salt. When the water's boiling, dump in the polenta mixture and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until the polenta is thick and a little difficult to stir.

Stir the rest of the tomatoes, the pumpkin and the cilantro into the bean mixture. Scoop out the polenta mixture and spread it on top of the bean mixture. Spray the top of the polenta with olive oil, then bake for 5-10 minutes in the preheated oven.

Ingredient notes: I've purchased the boxed polenta both from the IngerDahl's and River Bend Trading Company. It's way cheaper to cook your own polenta, but you can also get a tube of pre-cooked polenta and lay the slices on top of the beans. The tubes are available at IngerDahl's, New City Market, Gateway Market and Campbell's.

Baked Winter Squash with Curried Apple Compote

This is based on a Vegetarian Times recipe.

2-3 smallish acorn, delicata or sweet dumpling squash
3-4 apples, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup applesauce or apple butter
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp olive oil
1 largish handfuls currants or raisins
salt & pepper to taste
1 bottle ginger ale (I like Reed's)

You can make this recipe in one of two ways. The first is arguably tastier, but it takes more time. The second doesn't quite have the depth of flavor, but it's on the dinner table faster.
Both are delicious.

The first way: Cut the squash into rings. Make the filling. Heap the filling in the center of the rings, pour the ginger ale into the bottom of the pan and bake.

The second way: Split the squash in half. Bake the squash halves in the ginger ale while you're making the filling, the combine and serve immediately.

Prepare your squash.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the apples and onions for 5 minutes, or until the onions are starting to get translucent. Add the curry powder and raisins (and a little water, if necessary) and simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir in the apple sauce or apple butter.

Serve squash with the filling either heaped in the center of the rings, or mounded in the hollow of the halves.

Wild Mushroom Strudel

This is supposed to be a fancy dish, and it certainly tastes like it. But when I pulled it out of the oven, God help me if it didn't look exactly like an enormous Hot Pocket. That aside, I think this would make an excellent holiday entree for vegans. It's savory and satisfying in a traditional main dish kind of way, and plus, it's stuffed. Omnivores will drool over the tantalizing aromas that waft up from your plate.

4 oz. shiitake mushrooms
1 fist-sized oyster mushroom
1 8 oz. package sliced crimini or button mushrooms
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized leek, just the white and light green parts, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine
salt/pepper to taste
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp all purpose/spelt flour
1 tsp veggie bouillon powder
1/4 tsp dried sage
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 can braised wheat gluten drained, rinsed and sliced into thin ribbons (optional)
1 package puff pastry
olive oil spray

Set out the puff pastry to thaw. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the leeks, mince the garlic, and chop the mushrooms and gluten into little bits. Combine the flour, nutritional yeast and bouillon powder.

Heat the olive oil in a largish skillet. Add the leeks, garlic, mushrooms and sage and saute for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have reduced and are releasing fragrant juices. Add the nutritional yeast mixture and gluten and cook for another minute or so. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Mix in the thyme and remove from heat.

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface until you have two large rectangles. Spray two baking dishes with olive oil and drape a rectangle pastry over the bottom of each one. Spoon half the mushroom mixture in a line down the center of the pastry. Fold over the top and bottom ends of the pastry, then the right and left ends, until you have a little mushroom packet/burrito. Spray the top with olive oil and slide into the oven.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until the packets are puffed up and golden. Slice and consume!

Ingredient Notes: The Gateway Market has loose shiitake and oyster mushrooms available at much lower prices than the packaged kind. We get our canned gluten/abalone at Double Dragon Market for 89 cents a can. You could use another kind of seitan, if you prefer. The canned sort is nice and juicy.

Pumpkin-Eggplant Polenta Lasagna

Yet another variation on Susan's Eggplant Parmesan at Fat Free Vegan. One of our eggplants turned out to be past its prime, so I threw in some pumpkin puree and swiss chard from our garden to make up the difference. The result was incredible: creamy, savory and decadent. I have to say that this recipe is incredibly forgiving and amazingly tasty.

1 smallish eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup marinara sauce

2 cups pureed roasted pumpkin (or 1 can pumpkin puree)
1-2 pinches nutmeg

1 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed and torn into pieces

1/2 block polenta, sliced paper thin
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp each fresh basil and oregano, torn into bits

Cheeze sauce:
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1/2 cup soy creamer
1/2 cup veggie broth
1/2 tsp veggie bouillon powder (optional)
1 tsp onion powder
1-1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch
1-2 dashes Tobasco

Preheat the broiler. Lay your eggplant slices on a cookie sheet, salt them lightly and spray them with olive oil. When the oven is hot enough, stick them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until they're starting to brown.

Blend up the ingredients for the cheeze sauce.

Mix the pumpkin puree with 2-3 Tbsp of the cheeze sauce and the nutmeg.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the garlic and swiss chard and cook for a minute or two, until the chard is wilty. Mix in half of the basil and oregano.

Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees. Layer the ingredients in a baking dish in the following order:
* polenta slices
* marinara
* eggplant slices
* cheeze sauce
* swiss chard mixture
* pumpkin mixture
* salt/pepper
* cheeze sauce
* polenta slices
* marinara sauce
* drizzle of cheeze sauce

Bake for 20-30 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the remaining basil and oregano and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Crispy Tempeh Fries

I served these with chipotle dipping sauce (the cheeze sauce from the eggplant parmesan, plus a chipotle pepper in adobo) alongside butternut squash soup.

1 package tempeh, sliced lengthwise and then cut into 'fingers'
1 Tbsp veggie boullion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
canola oil
salt

Toss the tempeh fingers with the bouillon and garlic powder. If desired, let sit in the fridge for 20 minutes or so for the coating to bond to the tempeh.

Heat a thin layer of canola oil in a skillet. Add the tempeh and fry over medium heat for a few minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove to a plate lined with brown paper and salt immediately.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

This is my version of Susan's Eggplant Parmesan at Fat Free Vegan, except I wanted to make it wheat-free. I also used jarred marinara sauce, because I'm lazy.

1 eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 handfuls Tings, crushed
1/2 jar marinara sauce
1/2 block polenta, sliced paper thing

Cheeze sauce:
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup plain rice milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp veggie bouillon powder
1 tsp onion powder
1-1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch

Preheat the broiler. Lay your eggplant slices on a cookie sheet, salt them lightly and spray them with olive oil. When the oven is hot enough, stick them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until they're starting to brown. Blend up the ingredients for the cheeze sauce.

Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees. Put half the eggplant slices in the bottom of a casserole dish. Cover with half the polenta slices, followed by half the marinara, then half the cheeze sauce. Sprinkle with a handful of crushed Tings. Repeat, reserving the bulk of the crushed Tings for the top. Sprinkle the top with crushed Tings and grind a little more fresh pepper on top of the whole thing.

Bake for 20-40 minutes, or until browned. Eat!

Bacon-y Potato-Swiss Chard Quiche

This recipe is from have cake, will travel. I adapted it to what I had on hand, and goddamn, was it tasty. It didn't set up very well, but I had proprotionately less tofu than veggies and probably didn't press out as much cooking liquid as I could have.

Crust:
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp margarine (cold)
1/4 cup water (cold)

Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
1 largish potato, cut into thin half-moons
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 bunch swiss chard, well rinsed and torn
3 garlic cloves, minced
6-10 tempeh bacon slices

Sauce:
1 package extra-firm silken tofu
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 chipotle in adobo
3 Tbsp miso
2 cloves garlic
1/3 c plain soy or rice milk

Prepare the crust. Whisk together the flour, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Use your hands to squish in the margine bits until crumbly. Add the water a little bit at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate/freeze for 10-20 minutes, to chill the dough.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Chop the potato, onion and garlic and rinse/tear the swiss chard. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the potato and onion and 1/4 tsp salt and saute for a few minutes. Add the water, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, put the swiss chard in a large pot with an inch or so of water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the swiss chard is all wilty. Drain the potatoes, onions and swiss chard in a colander (you may need to press out extra liquid).

Rinse/dry your skillet and return it to medium heat. Add the tempeh bacon slices and cook for 5 minutes, or until crispy. Chop/crumble into little bits.

Dump all the sauce ingredients in a large jar and blend until smooth.

Spray a pie dish with olive oil. Remove the dough from the fridge/freezer and roll it out between two sheets of wax paper until thin. Peel off the top sheet of wax paper and flip the dough circle into the pie plate. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.

Mix the potatoes, onions, garlic, swiss chard and bacon with the sauce. Ladle the mixture into the prebaked crust and return to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then serve!

Cajun Black-Eyed Pea Tempeh Stir-Fry

Here's my thought process regarding dinner last night:

* Black eyed pea patties with chipotle remoulade sound tasty.
* Hm. Out of tofu. I could have them with salsa instead!
* Black eyed pea and tempeh patties sound even tastier.
* Damn. I'm really hungry. Patties are too much work. Let's throw it all in a pot instead.
* And add... tomatoes? And diced green chiles.
* Hm. No diced green chiles. Jalepenos!
* You know what would be tasty? Kale!

My boy declared this scrumptious. Funny how the tastiest recipes are borne out of desperation.

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 block tempeh, thawed and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp bouillon powder
1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
5-6 tamed jalepeno rings, diced (optional)
3-4 shakes Tobasco
3 kale leaves, washed and torn into bits (stems discarded, optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, tempeh and salt and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the tempeh is starting to brown. Add the bouillon powder, Cajun seasoning and garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes and juice and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the black eyed peas, jalepenos and Tobasco and stir well. Add the torn kale leaves on top, cover and cook for 7-10 more minutes, or until the greens are dark and wilted. Stir in the greens and serve!

Double-Chocolate Spelt Muffins

These fluffy, tender, decadent chocolate gems are, amazingly, wheat, egg and dairy-free. These are based off Isa's delightful recipe at the PPK.

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons soy yogurt (I used Wildwood's raspberry flavor)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 handfuls chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin cups with oil. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soy milk, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract.

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir just until combined. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin cups until nearly full. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Potato-Butternut Curry w/ Edamame

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
a few pinches saffron
4-5 potatoes of various sorts, diced
1/2 cup water
1 cup frozen peas or edamame
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp salt

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add mustard seeds, stir, and cover so that the popping mustard seeds don't escape. Let pop for 30 seconds or so, then add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, or until starting to turn translucent. Add garlic, curry, garam masala and saffron and cook for another minute or so. Add the potatoes, and if uncooked, the squash. Add the water, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or so.

Once the potatoes are tender, add the peas and, if cooked, the squash. Add salt to taste and cook, uncovered, until all the water has evaporated. Serve with rice, dosas or flatbread and tamarind sauce.

Preserving 101: For Those of Us Too Scared to Can

One of these days, I'll get around to canning. But the Polk County Master Gardeners have managed to put the fear of God into me, and I don't have a pot large enough to submerge jars in anyway. So for now, if I'm going to preserve any of all this farmers' market bounty, it's going to have to be frozen.

Note: One side benefit is that this forces us not to clutter our freezer with processed crap that we basically never eat.

We did a little of this last year, freezing corn kernels and a few strawberries. This year, we've already frozen twenty quarts of strawberries and a few plastic tubs worth of corn and green beans.

Fortunately, the process is pretty simple. You briefly cook whatever you're going to freeze, then you either pack it into tubs or spread in a layer on a cookie sheet to freeze. (We usually don't bother to cook corn or strawberries.)

Last night, I froze five pounds worth of roma tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water for a minute or two, then plunging them in cold water. Once chilled, the skins slipped right off. I packed the skinless tomatoes into a plastic tub as tightly as possible (oxygen is not your friend in the freezer), then sealed it.

Tonight, we're roasting a whole crisper drawer's worth of beets. After they're cooked, we'll peel, slice and pack those into tubs as well.

Next up: kale!

Hopping John, Fried Okra & Corn on the Cob

Hoppin' John
===================

1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 smallish tomato, chopped (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot until shimmering. Add the quinoa and stir for a minute or two, or until the quinoa starts to pop. Add the water, salsa and Cajun seasoning and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is translucent. Add the black-eyed peas and tomato and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.


Oven-Fried Okra
===================

15-20 okra, rinsed
2 tsp soy milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning
dash each salt and pepper
olive oil spray

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Cut the okra into bite-size chunks. Toss with cornmeal. Stir in the soy milk until sticky and toss with more cornmeal. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and spray generously with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.


Easy Corn on the Cob
===================

2 ears of corn, shucked
water

Clean the silk off the ears and break eahc one in half. Place in a large soup pot along with a few inches of water (enough to come up halfway up the corn cobs). Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the corn has darkened to a golden color and steam is pouring out from under the lid. Remove corn from water and set on a plate to drain.

Easy Enchilada Bake

2-3 handfuls corn tortilla chips
1/2 jar enchilada sauce (or salsa)
5-10 jalepeno slices, torn into bits (optional)
1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (optional)
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 onion, diced (about 2/3 cup diced)
1 can sliced black olives (optional)
cheese for sprinkling or cheez sauce

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the chips in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce, making sure all chips get covered. Top that with jalepno bits. Top that with black beans, followed by corn. Top that with black olives and onion. Finally, spread on a bunch of cheese (or cheez sauce, ala Bryanna Clark Grogan). Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is melty.

Top with chopped tomatoes, avocadoes, lettuce and/or sour cream.