My new friend, kale.

I have not forgotten my vow to make three things from a previously untapped cookbook each week, and am aware that I have one more day. I would have made this last night, but I ended up putting away a lot of beer and a pineapple upside down cake shot, and I could barely stand up, let alone deal with the stove.

Before I get into my latest excursion into Tofu 1-2-3, I want to share my kale story. I have never tried kale until tonight. I know, right? I should have my vegan card taken away. Anyway, I picked some up at the Wedge so I could see what all the fuss is about, and cooked some up tonight. I don't have to tell you, I was scared. I'm afraid of vegetables of the Brassica genus, but I am trying to be a little bit more varied with my diet, and I learned to get over my beet hate (sorry broccoli, you still suck), so maybe I should give things a try and not be such a child about eating my friggin' vegetables.

The verdict? I loved it. I gently sautéed it in a little olive oil and vegetable broth with some chopped garlic and sea salt. After I plated it, I splash a little cabernet vinegar on it. Awesome. Add kale to my list of favorites.

Back to the book. Tonight I made Cannellini Beans and Roasted Potatoes in Cashew Cream Sauce. The potatoes actually took 35 minutes to achieve "golden brown on the outside," instead of the 25 in the book. Also the "cashew cream" is actually noochy sauce. But, it hit the spot on a night when my sick, tired body wanted something warm and starchy. Mmmm, carbs.



What I changed/would change: I added rosemary to the potatoes before roasting, which was also an option in the book. I think this would be good in a glass dish with some bread crumbs and another 10 in a 425° oven. I also think some mushrooms would rule in here, but I like mushrooms in everything. Maybe some red bell pepper, too.

Rainy days and Sundays

This was the view from my window as I looked out from under my snuggly comforter.



So, what better activity is there to do on a rainy Sunday than watch football, do laundry, and make homemade vegetable stock?

When I make stock, I start by heating about three tablespoons of olive oil in a big stockpot, then adding a roughly chopped onion, celery, and carrots. Skins and all. Once they are giving off that delicious smell, I add a bunch of vegetable scraps I've kept in the freezer: garlic skins and pieces, onion skins, mushrooms, bell pepper guts, eggplant tops, tomato butts, chard, etc. Then a handful of chopped fresh parsley, bay leaves, and enough water to fill up the pot. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, and loosely cover.





About two hours later, I pour off some liquid in order to season, as well as save the pot from boiling over.















I take this liquid (about 4 cups), and add thyme, salt,rosemary,sage, and a handful of peppercorns.














Maybe an hour or so later (when the broth in the pot is a light golden brown), drain out the solids into another stockpot.









Smoosh it.









Add the seasoned broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat.










Skim broth periodically. Doesn't that stuff look like the foamy crap that collects around the rocks in the Mississippi? Retch.










Reduce broth to about 3/4, or when you smile when you taste it. Salt to taste. Strain it again, this time into your container.












Finally. One gallon of the yummiest homemade veggie stock. Coming up...what I'll do with it.

This, as they say in the biz, is blog filler.

I realized a bit ago that I haven't blogged today. Then I realized that I have nothing to eat in the house. Easily remedied by a trip to the Wedge, which is just down the street.

I spent about $54 on what seemed like not much (as is usually the case with the Wedge), but I was in no mood to take the bus out to Whole Foods. Also, I can never find nooch at WF. What's up with that?

Here's what I got, according to my receipt:
1.13 lb nutritional yeast
Veggie potstickers
Purely Decadent Snickerdoodle soy ice cream
Spectrum organic Mediterranean extra virgin olive oil (it was on sale)
Cannellini beans
2 Mori-Nu soft silken tofu packages
Bunch rainbow chard
Bunch green kale
ginger root
Italian parsley
3 russet potatoes
white miso
Westsoy extra firm tofu

So, I finally have food in the house. Here is my refrigerator, and I'd like to thank all of you and VeganMoFo for giving me an excuse to clean up the berry juice from the bottom shelf.

You can check out my Flickr page and look at the notes. Or, you can try to play without the answers.







Yep. This is my Saturday night.

Heading into the weekend...

Those of you who know me well, know that I recently had a Baba Ram Dass-type episode that resulted in throwing out about 85% of everything I own. I then moved into a gorgeous new apartment that had space, and cabinets, and counters, and lovely floors, and...no furniture. I've finally started replacing the old ugly trash with new bookshelves and storage units. Now I have places for the other 15% of my stuff to reside. Well, almost. My clothes are still in a suitcase.

The reason I bring this up is to explain why I'm eating my standby, broke as hell, I-haven't-made-it-to-Whole-Foods-yet dinner. Stovetop goulash. Basically, it's cooked whole wheat pasta, some mixed frozen veggies, Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce, Morningstar Farms recipe crumbles, and paprika. Maybe I'll add sautéed onions and mushrooms if I'm feeling fancy. I would never serve it to a guest, but I'll sure as shit eat it and love it on a Friday night after putting a cheap Target bookshelf together. I don't feel like dicking around. Just throw it in a bowl and watch The Wire.


Mmmm...tasty.

So, don't worry. I'll be back tomorrow (after work, and a trip to the store) to cook up something that requires a measuring cup, and is definitely more pretty than it is comforting.

Potluck tomorrow, lazy tonight.

I signed up to make pita bread (my boss is bringing her delicious eggplant-chickpea salad), and cupcakes. No one seemed too jazzed about cupcakes (losers), so I figured I'd make cookies. Well, even though pita bread is pretty easy to make, it does take some time, what with the rising and rolling, and rising again. It's especially easy if you have a bread machine (which you know I love), because you don't have to do all that proofing and kneading nonsense. I only wish it could roll stuff out, even though I now have a gorgeous kitchen with COUNTERS and I can actually bust out my beautiful marble rolling pin and make stuff. I'll have to make a pie this month.


Anyway, here's the recipe:

Rosemary Whole Wheat Pita Bread
makes 12 loaves
1 1/4 cup water
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. bread flour
1 1/2 c. whole wheat bread flour
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp bread machine yeast or active dry yeast

Dough cycle. Tear up into 12 pieces, and roll into balls. Roll as flat as you can on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Place on baking sheets, cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 450° for 3 minutes, flip, then 4 minutes. Done.


So, now it's 11:00pm, and I am spent. I have to head into work at 8:30am, and I just don't have it in me to make anything else, so here's a picture of Mischka helping me pick out a cupcake recipe.

Happy MoFo!

I've been eagerly awaiting as well as dreading this month. Some things have recently come to light that may consume a lot of my time. BUT, I shall keep my promise and stick to it.

I am coming to you from my bedroom today, with an empty stomach and a freshly cleaned kitchen. I thought I would try something from a cookbook I haven't cracked open yet. Seeing as I built my cookbook collection while still working in the book biz, I have a lot. I could easily use a different cookbook every week, and make at least three things from each. I think that's a reasonable expectation.

My choice for the first week of MoFo is Tofu 1-2-3 by Maribeth Abrams.



I made the Pumpkin Pancakes, which is actually the first recipe in the book. I added walnuts and a little sugar to the batter, and they came out perfectly. I didn't have any maple syrup, so I made a weird Tofutti cream cheese-soygurt-powdered sugar-vanilla sauce,

and then topped the whole thing with berries. I have a ton of leftover batter, so I'll make up more cakes and freeze them. One thing I always forget about pancakes is that I am good for one, and then I am stuffed.

VeganMoFo

So, I must have signed up for this last year and dropped the ball, because I wound up with access to the super secret (not really) VeganMoFo forum. I need this, because my testing has fallen behind due to a pretty recent and intense move. I also just adopted a kitten, and she requires lots of attention or she meeeOOOWWWS.

Anyway, I will be blogging here every day in the month of October. Some ideas:

* Your first vegan/vegetarian restaurant memory
* Something you used to cook but don’t anymore
* Try to cook/bake something that intimidates you
* Write about your grandma’s holiday cooking
* your favorite dish to bring to a potluck
* your favorite meal to cook for people who are scared of vegan food
* your favorite meal to cook for your parents/in-laws
* use an grain you’ve never used before
* use a fruit or vegetable you’ve never used before
* veganize a recipe from your childhood
* cook dinner for a friend as a surprise and drop it off right after work
* cook an all-local ingredients meal
* Write about your favorite songs to cook to
* Keep a photo food journal for the entire day
* Veganize a recipe
* Tell the story of the first time you tried tofu
* Take a cookbook that you don’t use very often and make one new recipe out of it every day for a week
* Post pictures of yourself wearing nothing but Earth Balance and a smile

I think this is going to be hugely fun, expensive, and the motivation/inspiration I need. The perfect job for this blog. If you have any ideas for themes, post them in the comments!