potato fritatta

4 medium red-skin potatoes
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley or basil
1 package of fresh poultry mix herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)
1 c. kale
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 12 oz package firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tbsp nutritional yeast

directions: Place potatoes in medium saucepan with enough water to cover by one inch. Bring to a boil, then gently boil potatoes, until tender when pierced with knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and let cool. Peel and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In large ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, 1 minute.

Blend tofu, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast in a food processor or blender until well mixed. Mixture will be somewhat thick. Add onions, garlic, and potatoes and pour into a greased pie pan. Mix in kale and herbs (you can sauté them, but i don't think i did).

Bake 45-50 minutes, until top is firm and cooked all the way through. The crispier the better in my opinion!

about the recipe: i based the recipe on the a more potato-heavy recipe and then switched to the tofu portion of this recipe to make a vegan fritatta! my roommate came home during the process with a bunch of free fresh herb packets so i threw in some of the poultry mix and then went to the garden to grab some kale and basil. it was a very satisfying fritatta, but i think next time i would do something different with the potatoes. they were too bland when put next to the delicious medley of tofu and herbs. it also crossed my mind of trying to make the entire fritatta with the potatoes next time instead of having a tofu-eggy base. who knows!

habanero peach jam

directions: i'm too lazy to copy/paste the directions; make sure to read the directions HERE thoroughly!

about the recipe: i've been dreaming about this since last fall when peaches were no longer in season. it was right after i made habanero peach cobbler with the last of my cull-bin peaches. and finally that day has arrived! i got three free pounds of peaches from work, but botched the first recipe. everything was going smoothly until i got sidetracked for one minute and came back to find the sugar had burned and the entire house smelled of burned marshmallows. somewhat appetizing, but mostly disgusting. the co-op gods must've been shining down on me because i came across even more peaches! and this time i followed the recipe to the motherfucking T. i tasted some of the leftover uncanned bits and it tastes so good! can't wait to enjoy this on toast during those cold winter months coming up shortly.

strawberry mint sorbet

2 pounds (or cartons) fresh strawberries, rinsed & hulled
1.5 cup sugar or to taste
1 teaspoon lime juice
a pinch of salt
4 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped fine

directions: slice/hull all strawberries and mix in sugar. stir well until the sugar starts to dissolve. cover and let stand in the refrigerator for upto an hour or over night. occasionally stir the strawberries and their liquid; at any point you can add the fresh mint. in a food processor add lime and the pinch of salt and puree until it's a thick liquid. move to a freezer safe container and once it's frozen it's ready to eat!

about the recipe: when life gives you strawberries and mint - make sorbet! my job often has perks and sometimes those perks are getting 2 free cartons of strawberries and 2 free bunches of fresh mint! i immediately knew what i had to do and on my break did a quick google search for strawberry mint sorbet. i came across this recipe and it didn't look to difficult. i quickly devoured this batch and made a much larger batch since - and now i'm all out of mint! perfect for all this blasted heat minnesota keeps shooting our way.

avocado raspberry cream cheeze

1/2 c. tofu, pressed
1/8 c. cashews
2 tablespoons water
(a little over) 1 tablespoon maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh raspberries

directions: add pressed tofu, cashews, water, maple syrup, a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper into a food processor. process until smooth and creamy. add more syrup or salt according to taste and cream-cheese likeness. then add the avacado and process some more! lastly add the raspberries and lemon juice and blend them in.

about the recipe: i've been on a food making kick recently! be on the lookout for a handful of new recipes sooner than later. i just moved in with a radical woman who used to work with at my co-op (in the deli kitchen) and she just got hired as a baker. so what does an ex-cook and current baker do when they get home? cook and bake. which in turn has inspired me to do more myself. rad! and this is something from my own noggin! it's start out sweet and creamy with an avocado pucker at the end, my other roommate described it as "earthy". what vegan wouldn't want an earthy vegan cream cheese spread for their bagels in the morning? i can think of a few, but they're no fun.

ginger-maple baked tofu

1 packaged firm tofu
2 tablespoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 c. sesame oil
1/8 c. maple syrup
1/8 c. agave nectar
2 tablespoons gingersauce (optional)

directions: cut and press tofu. mix spices. combine sesame oil, maple syrup and agave nectar. if you have any gingersauce laying around throw that in there too. slowly stir in spice mixture with the liquid mixture until you get a nice paste. marinade pressed tofu in the mixture and bake at 425 until crispy brown. the tofu will caramelize as it's baking.

about the recipe: i found some version of this recipe online somewhere and then haphazardly threw it together. after i had used up all my ginger powder on this recipe i realized that i had gingersauce sitting in my fridge and decided to throw that in as well. when i made this i orginally had 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper which made this overpoweringly spicy. the recipe still needs a little tweaking, but we're off to a good start. served with a free produce stirfry over rice, but i think would taste better as a standalone.

a simple sandwich

2 slices bread
capers
tomato, diced
greens (chard or kale) sauteed
onion
hummus

directions: In a pan sautee the greens and chopped onion. Dice tomato and toast 2 slices of bread. Once the toast is cooled spread hummus on each slice and add capers. Layer onions, tomato, and top with preferred green.

about the recipe: a little something i whipped up a couple months ago when i was broke and had nothing in the fridge but hummus & kale. anytime i can throw capers on something i'm a happy ca(m)per.

purple potato gnocchi

2 purple potatoes (or 1/2lb)

1 cup bread flour

directions: 

Bake the potatoes. As soon as the potatoes come out of the oven, remove the foil and then peel them. Put the hot potatoes through a ricer as soon as you can. The hotter the potatoes are during this step, the better the gnocchi will be. Rice them over a wide, flat surface to maximize contact with the air to help them dry out better. You can also grate them or shred them with a fork.

Let the potatoes cool/dry for 10-15 minutes. During this time, make sure you have everything in place you’ll need for shaping, cooking, dressing, and plating the gnocchi.

Gather your cooled potatoes into a flat disc and sprinkle 1/2 of the flour over it. Work the dough with your hands, adding more flour if needed. You probably won’t need the whole cup of flour. I had about three tablespoons leftover. If in doubt, use less as opposed to more.
Work your dough until just combined. Do not overwork it! It should be soft, not sticky or crumbly. You’re not even going to really knead it, just mix it together. You must shape the dough immediately.

Roll some of the dough out into a long snake, about as thick as your tumb. Cut the snake into little “pillows” and dust them with flour. To shape, simply roll one of the pillows down a ridged gnocchi board (or the tines of a fork!).

Gently place the gnocchi in to salted, boiling water. After a minute or two, the gnocchi will float to the surface. About 30 seconds after they begin floating, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, draining them well.

paraphrased from vegan yum yum

about the recipe: the gnocchi looks so good right? i mean i followed the directions to the best of my ability and they looked scrumptious! unfortunately when i put them in the pot the same thing happened to me that had previously happened to my roommate... they turned to mush. pretty much liquified in the pan of water! not appetizing to say the least. i had baked the potatoes à la lazy microwave style, maybe that had something to do with it. had i conventionally baked them in the oven they would've been dryer... maybe? 

i did manage to salvage some of them. my other roommate suggested that i bake the rest and then i covered them in my favorite mushroom gravy. next time i get some free potatoes from work i'm going to conquer this recipe!

have you ever made your gnocchi?

how did it go? any helpful suggestions?

if you try this recipe out, let me know how it goes!

chowder diamond head

Ginger, Pineapple, and Coconut 

make this an enchanting South Seas soup.

1 cup sliced celery
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter (earth balance) or coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cans coconut milk
1.5 cups mock chicken broth
1.5 cups milk
1 can mock duck, diced
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
shredded coconut milk

directions:
1. Sauté celery and onion in butter or coconut oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven.  add ginger, blending thoroughly.
2. Stir in soup, water, and milk. Add mock duck and pineapple. heat, stirring frequently, until bubbly-hot.
3. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with coconut. Serve with hot buttered rolls, if you wish.

about the recipe: a vintage recipe, huzzah! and my fourth post in february, hotdamn! this coconut-chowder is downright delicious, and super easy to make. i used freshginger instead of powdered and halfed the recipe. it's very sweet, but also savory. i did add a little bit of salt and pepper, but it was fine without. i used this recipe as a test for photographing the ingredients which made sure i wasn't scrambling for ingredients per usual. hopefully this will help me in the baking realm hahaha. anyways, i can't wait to eat this all weekend!

 



from the book:
Family Circle Favorite Recipes
6th Edition, 1979

gingercandies

fresh ginger
sugar and spice

directions: Peel and cut ginger into candy sized pieces. Add ginger to a large pot and fill with water until covered. Bring to a boil and let cook for 10 minutes. Add sugar and let cook until the water becomes a syrup. Drain ginger syrup into a jar for future use. Roll each bit of ginger in sugar and place to dry. Don't be scared to mix-it-up! my roommate and i have rolled the candies in sugar, sugar + cayenne, and cinnamon to name a few combinations.

about the recipe: seriously the most ridiculously easy and most delicious thing to make! i use the ginger syrup with everything. ginger syrup + two shots of espresso + a little bit of coconut milk is one of my favorite coffeedrinks. none of the measurements are exact because it's very make-up-as-you-go-along. you just got to feel it out, ya'know? Note of Caution: post-sugar rolling make sure to place the ginger on something to let it dry, my house usually uses a silkscreen and frame as a drying rack because this stuff is incredibly sticky.

gra-nola-ola-ola

3c. rolled oats
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3c. sweetener (molasses or agave or honey)
1/4c. canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
+ extras (almonds, coconut flakes, etc)

directions: Pre-heat oven to 300 degreees. First mix your dry goods: oats, brown sugar, salt & cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix your wet goods: sweetener, canola oil, and vanilla. Combine thoroughly, use your hands if necessary. Make sure the oats are evenly covered. Then spread the granola mix thinly on a baking sheet and place on the center rack. Bake, stirring everything 15 minutes, until the granola is golden brown. Anywhere from 20-30 minutes. cool the granola, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick. then add your extras!


about the recipe: this is the second time i've used this recipe to make granola. the first time i made it, i used agave nectar and this time i used molasses. i added almonds and coconut flakes to the mixture about halfway through baking so that they'd be toasted. i also used a tablespoon of vanilla because i wanted very vanilla flavored granola. i think next time i'll try maple syrup instead of molasses.

chocolate-coconut squares

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter (earth balance)
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 cup. package flaked coconut
1 (12 ounce) package chocolate (or carob) chips
2 tablespoons peanut butter
chopped peanuts (to garnish)

directions: Preheat oven to 350. Prepare an ungreased 13x9" baking pan. Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, flour and melted 'butter' and then press into ungreased baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Combine coconut flakes and coconut milk, mix, and spread over baked crust. Bake for another 10-12 minutes. Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook, over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Spread over coconut layer and garnish with chopped peanuts. Let cool and cut into bars.

about the recipe: the original recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk, and i thought, "hey! i bet you i could just replace that with equal amounts coconut milk!" i was half right, while it tastes amazing, it didn't solidify making the bars a hard-coated chocolate coconut goo-mess, but they are goddamn delicious if i say so myself, and my roommates agree.

potato coconut corn chowder

potato coconut corn chowder

1 T olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 small potatoes, cubed
1 t cumin (heaping)
1 vegetable bullion cube
3 c water (or enough to cover vegetables)
1 tiny (5.6 oz) can of coconut milk
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 c frozen corn
5 leaves fresh basil
freshly ground pepper & salt to taste
oystermushrooms

directions: In a medium sized pot, heat oil and add in diced onion, red pepper, celery and garlic. Saute until soft and stir in the cumin. Add in potatoes, bullion cube and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Add in coconut milk and rosemary and use a potato masher to mash down the potatoes and vegetables. Add in corn and fresh basil and grind in some pepper and add salt to taste (if necessary). Serve in 2 large bowls.

about this recipe: holy shit! i thought i would never be able to find a good vegan chowder. most always call for an absurd amount of heavy cream to get it chowdah'd. so when i found this recipe online a few months ago, i was a little hesitant. i put it in the archives to wait for a cold fall day to try it out. fast forward to today and a coconut craving that cannot be suppressed and i thought, "hey why not give this a shot". glad i did! the only downside to this recipe was that it doesn't leave much for leftovers so i'll have to double, if not triple, this recipe in the future! the original recipe does not call for mushrooms, but i added these in anyway, and if you do the same you won't be disappointed!

recipe & image courtesy of everybodylikessandwiches.com

in other exciting news!

my kitchen is getting a new counter space this weekend. this in turn means more dabbling in the baking arena... i'm thinking mini-apple pies (ha!), possibly pear as well, along with a new take on the vegan donut! 

habanero peach cobbler

Two healthful basics - fruit and bread - are provided in each serving of this desert.

1/2c. sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a dash of cayenne
4 cups (6 medium) sliced peaches
2-3 diced habaneros
1 teaspoon lemon juice



3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soymilk

* if using self-rising flour, omit baking powder & salt

 
directions: Heat oven to 400 degrees. mix 1/2c. sugar, cornstarch, cayenne and cinnamon into a 2-quart saucepan. stir in peaches, habaneros, and lemon juice. cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. boil and stir 1 minute. pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole; keep peach mixture hot in oven.

cut shortening into flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. stir in milk. drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot peach mixture.

bake until topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. serve warm.

about the recipe: when i picked up a bucket of habaneros at the farmer's market for $5, i had no idea what i was going to do with them all. i looked up salsas and jams and all sorts of fun projects. then it hit me one night at work - peach cobbler. the dash of cayenne in with the cinnamon was my own addition. i believe i added a touch of cinnamon to bread mixture as well. i was worried that adding diced habaneros into the mixture would make the desert peachy until i got a bite of habanero, but i was wrong! the peaches absorbed in the heat of the habanero in a surprisingly pleasant way. my favorite part baking this was taking advice from my friend carlos and listening to It's Clobbering Time & the rest of Blood, Sweat, and No Tears. I mean seriously, who would want that in a clobbler?

from the book:
Betty Crocker's Cookbook
7th Printing, 1982
isbn 0-307-09800-1

what's more american than donuts?

directions: here!

about the recipe: when i saw this recipe on the Dainty Squid blog, i knew that i had to try baking once more! and what better time than as a celebration of our great nation. the most exciting part for me was that i used natural means for the food coloring! i used red cabbage for the blue & beets for the red, isn't that fun?

unfortunately, as you can tell... the beet-coloring was the only one to stick. the middle was supposed to be the blue (from cabbage).

directions for the food coloring: i used a bunch of beets (beet bunch) for coloring, but you can also use a can of beets. i cut up the stems, removing the leafy green, and cut up a few of the beets. i filled the pot with water until the beets were covered. then boiled them and waited for the water to become very red. after about a half hour i strained the juice into a cup and composted the remainder. i then added a tablespoon of vinegar as it's supposed to help the color set. oh that reminds me! ha: when making the donuts, i didn't add any vinegar as i was mixing the beet coloring in and didn't want extra vinegar in the recipe. they turned out great!

overall great. would bake again! next time i'm going to try to make a coconut glaze. oh the donuted possiblities!

chocochipcookiesss.

(makes two dozen two inch cookies.)

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
1/4 c. nondairy milk
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose flower
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teapsoon salt
3/4 c. chocolate chips (i used carob chips)

directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two large light metal baking sheets.

Mix together sugars, oil, milk and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.
Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.

For 3 inch cookies, roll the dough into about ping pong ball size balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 13 minutes until they are just a little browned around the edges. I usually get 16 out of these so I do two rounds of eight cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

NOM THOSE FUCKERS.


fun fact: i'm horrible at baking. so when i found this recipe on tumblr my first thought was "hey i'm a horrible conventional baker, maybe i'll be a great vegan baker." turns out that this is only half true. i'm an alright vegan baker. the cookies were good, but a little greasy (i think next time i'll add more flour / less oil) and flat as pancakes. i don't blame the last part on the recipe, but on my absolute failure as a baker. this might be coming from cookie jealousy as my grandma makes the best most beautiful deliciously plump cookies on the planet. i was hoping that her skills would have skipped a generation, as my mom is no good at baking too, but alas i've seemed to have inherited my mothers bad baking genes instead. i think the next time i try these i'll either a) use an egg replacer combo vs. canola oil or b) change the oil/flour ratio and use self rising flour or my final option is to c) marry a baker.


p.s. anyone out there know a good cookie recipe? i'm open for suggestions.

soft soya cheese

2 1/2 c. soy flour
3 3/4 c. water
juice of 2 lemons

cheese cloth

directions: blend together flour & water and bring to a boil. cook gently for several minutes and stir in the lemon juice. leave to cook. pour into a muslin cheesebag and hang above a bowl. next day remove the cloth and season the cheese with salt, pepper, garlic & herbs, or sweeten with pineapple cubes.

about the recipe: i only made a half batch of this and look how much it made! it's very soft and crumbly much like a parmesan cheese. the process overall was fairly simple and little effort which is nice. i ended up using salt/pepper, garlic & onion powder and some oregano in my spices. plus i added some roasted garlic in there to stink things up! i think this would work well in a vegan lasagna with tons of vegetables... looks like i'm making a lasagna sometime soon... and here are some fun "process" picture for making the cheeze.

from the book:
Bean Cuisine by Janet Horsley
2nd edition, published 1993
isbn 1-85327-072-5

garbanzo tofu pâté

1/2 c. chickpeas, soaked & drained
2.5 c. water

4 tbs tofu
4 tbs soy yogurt
1 tbs lemon
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

+ spices

 
directions: cook beans until soft. drain & mash well. combine all ingredients and adjust the seasoning to taste. add a little extra soygurt if the mixture is too stiff. place in a dish and garnish. serve with toast fingers and a light salad or as a sandwich spread.

about the recipe: my first vintage recipe! i bought this book at a used bookstore back in my hometown a month or two ago. it has a lot of amazing recipes in it that i'm excited to try (at least two more by the end of the week)... moving on, this pâté makes an excellent sandwich spread. i doubled the recipe to make the amount below because i had 1 cup of chickpeas that needed to be used up. the recipe calls for a little too much lemon juice - which is predominantly what i taste when i eat it. however, it goes really well with the tomato-basil bread my roommate picked up the other day. i used fresh basil instead of bulk for an extra kick and added some Berbere and Chipotle as my seasonings. i let it sit overnight and then ran it through the food processor which helped make it look more consistent.

from the book:
Bean Cuisine by Janet Horsley
2nd edition, published 1993
isbn 1-85327-072-5

manipesto destiny!

1/2 c. pasta
1/2 can garbanzo beans
1/2 c. premade passive aggressive pesto from the ppk.
some red pepper & red onion

directions: Cook pasta and beans accordingly.  i ended up cooking the pasta and then adding in the beans halfway through. dice red pepper and red onion. once the pasta and beans are done, drain them. add them to the pesto mix in chunks to make sure they blend well. then i added the peppers and onions.

about the recipe: this isn't from any recipebook, but i wanted to try a vegan pesto and threw this together based on what i had in the kitchen. next time i'll probably not add the onion, but instead some black olives. i was going to add avacado, but mine aren't ripe yet.

clusterfcuk chili

my very own, one of a kind, homemade vegan chili recipe!