4.26.2013

This Week's Book: It's All Good

Second cookbook of spring is a bit more springy, and I think you'll agree just by checking out the cover. It's All Good, by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen. Admittedly, I've long had a thing for Gwyneth. I think it has been ever since she played in Great Expectations...so lovely, so desirable. She's not that "one person" on my freebie list or anything, though...instead, I think that part of me wants to be Gwyneth. It is so lame. So sick. The good news is, this is pretty much my only celebrity fascination. But still. Am I a teenager? No. But I might have liked GP even then...who knows.

Anyhow, in this book she approaches a limited diet with the same ease and loveliness that she seems to approach everything else she does in public. The book is beautifully designed, with photos and layout that are great for working in the kitchen. What does that mean? The pages are clean, clear and have lots of white space, never more than two recipes on a page, and the instructions are simple and to the point. They don't require rereading. 

The same could be said about the foods in this book. Everything is kept streamlined, which makes sense for an elimination and whole foods diet. While little of what is offered in this book is "new," it does put a somewhat sexy face on minimizing wheat and dairy, and eating more whole foods (and I don't mean GP's face). 

Some of the recipes I will likely never try. This is the first cookbook I've bought in 3 years that includes recipes for meat dishes, and there are 50 pages of those in this book. While there are days that I consider adding fish back into my diet, I'm definitely not there, and it's usually just a fleeting thought (one knows too much...). In any case, the bulk of the book is actually great for vegetarians and vegans. Since the diet supported here cuts out all dairy along with gluten and most eggs, the only thing to watch out for is the rogue egg in a breakfast muffin, but most of the eggs in this book are front and center (like in the "perfect fried egg" or the "egg white omelette"). 

So far I've found a couple things super delicious in this book. The Green Goddess dressing is great. While I usually do not use much fat in my dressings, I splurged on this one, which is Veganaise based (yes, the book uses veganaise). It's so good. I don't know if I can go back...so far, its my most consistently used recipe in this book. 

I also had good luck with the non-recipe that is Avocado on Toast. It has always been a favorite of mine, but this book suggests adding a swipe of Veganaise underneath the avocado. I do not object. I have had this 3 times in the last 2 days. Do not judge me. I could eat this for every meal for a month and still enjoy it. Ripe avocado, red pepper flakes, Ezekiel bread (don't judge me, Drew). Yes please.

A couple other recipes bear mentioning: The quinoa mixed with browned cremini mushrooms and arugula (another simple delight) was an excellent quick dinner. If you get in the habit of keeping cooked quinoa around, a habit necessitated by my kale salad adventures, it's even quicker, as in 10 minutes. This was an excellent meal that might have been fine on its own, but I added the Spicy Brussels Sprouts to the meal and it was so great. Two greens on a plate seems like excess for some, but for me...it can make up for a happy hour when my greens intake was overrun by a caramelized onion quiche. These were shredded sprouts tossed with sriracha, lemon, and a bit of fish sauce. Very tasty and a bit crispy, which is always good.  (I also posted about a quinoa based breakfast dish from this book here).

Another recipe I mentioned in a previous post, the sweet potato 5-spice muffins, is completely necessary for GF vegans. This was my first baking endeavor with a GF flour mix (I've cooked with a blend before, but not pre-mixed). It was so delicious. The sweet potato was still slightly chunky in the batter, which created these additional pockets of moisture/joy. I ate my first while still warm with a little earth balance (margarine), and couldn't help but go back for a second for an afternoon snack. Very simple, very easy, very tasty. 

One oddly confusing recipe was the shepherd's pie, included in the kids' food section. Perhaps in some far corner of London where GP lives there is a shepherd's pie that is SUPER tomatoey, but in my world shepherd's pie is a nice brown gravy with mushrooms, carrots and celery. Also in that section is a fine idea that I shared with friends to great acclaim, black beans and guacamole tacos. Granted, I stuck with my recipe for black beans, which adds a little cumin, shallot, and jalapeno to the book's version. I've been making these beans for myself for a couple years, and I couldn't see changing my staple. In any case, topping them with a simple guac and serving it up in a tortilla (or mini tortilla bowl!) is a great idea. 

I also plan to try the following recipes: 
  • Pasole
  • Salt Crusted Fish (for company)
  • Frankie's-esque Beet Salad
  • Grilled Corn, Korean Style
  • Millet Falafel with Avocado and Tomato Relish
  • Polenta with shitakes and leeks
  • Banana Date Muffins
Look for posts that feature them in the future! 

4.24.2013

Breakfast of Champions (who don't have to work today!)


So I made breakfast this week from a new book which I'll write about next week. I usually opt for smoothies or fruit for breakfast, but I was trying to really celebrate the few days off that I get before the new term begins, so a more sumptuous breakfast was be appropriate. It was so simple it didn't need a recipe, but...I always like to try new versions of great breakfast. 

Sauté some shredded kale, 2-3 leaves, with a clove of garlic and evoo. You can remove the stems, but I was using a pre-chopped bag from TJ's, so I kept them on. Once cooked, season and toss with a bit of left over quinoa (1/2 c or so) and stir fry until it's all hot. Top with an olive oil fried egg, some chopped scallions, and fresh cracked black pepper. So delicious. Utterly satisfying. Utterly simple. 

There is something truly warming about a hot, egg-y breakfast...something I've missed over the last (nearly) three years. I've had a total of about 5 eggs (on purpose) in the last month, and I've mostly really enjoyed them. I had two perfectly poached eggs at Local Kitchen for Easter brunch, a couple truffled deviled eggs after a trip to Chicago inspired me to try this dish, and then the egg for breakfast this morning. It's been fun to reintroduce eggs into my diet. When I first went vegan, I thought this would be my undoing, giving up eggs. It wasn't, incidentally. I didn't miss them at all. I have, however, enjoyed fulfilling my protein quotient with this delicious food on occasion this month, and provided I can continue to find organic and bird-friendly sources of eggs, I'll probably stick with this new plan. Try this recipe. You'll love it! 



4.19.2013

This week's book: Chloe's Kitchen

So my first cookbook pick for spring was not terribly springy, but after spending 30 minutes looking through the book in the store, I found I couldn't leave without it. Chloe's Kitchen, by Chloe Coscarelli, has a lot of recipes that look promising, and while I never trust a cook who is thin as a toothpick, that doesn't mean that there's not potential here. Paul made the comment that Chloe is like the Giada of vegan food...he has a point. She's quite pretty and has tiny hands.

My first two forays into cooking with Chloe were the spinach artichoke dip and the Bastilla, a Moroccan pastry dish. One was super simple, the other somewhat more involved. The dip turned out pretty well. I'm not usually a fan of tofu based dips, so it's not a surprise to me that I felt a little middle-of-the-road about this one. It tasted good, but it was not a terribly "convincing" alternative for my meaty/cheesy in-laws. The bastilla, however, was excellent. Full of Moroccan spices like cinnamon, ginger and turmeric, this flaky pastry dish was a satisfying easter dinner entree for the vegetable inclined.

I'm always a bit hesitant to work with filo dough because it is so delicate and I am so not...but this was no problem. Chloe's instructions were spot on, easy to follow, and the final product was actually pretty, looking something like this one. The filling's base was crumbled tofu mixed with onion, mushroom and spices. This was alternated in layers with an almond/sugar blend that offered a complimentary sweetness to the dish. I got the sense as I was making Chloe's version (spelled bistilla?) that I could swap out just about any filling and this would turn out to be beautiful and delicious.

A couple other recipes I plan to try from this book are as follows:
  • Tomato-Basil Bisque with Pumpernickel Croutons
  • Orange Crispy Tofu
  • Mongolian BBQ Seitan
  • Pineapple Not-so-fried Rice
  • Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers with Whipped Maple Butter 
  • Minted Couscous with Arugula, Butternut Squash and Currants



4.17.2013

My Kale Salad

I have read so many blogs and books in the last few years as I've been teaching myself to cook and eat vegan and get all the nutrition I need. While everyone has their own idea of what you should eat more and less of, what you should NEVER eat, and what you should always eat, it seems to me that there are a couple consistent pieces of advice for vegans out there:

  • vegan junk food is still junk food (Oreos, anyone?)
  • eat beans every day
  • eat dark, leafy greens every day

With these things in mind, I've really been trying to stick to eating a big salad at lunch. Sometimes this is a pretty normal looking salad (for me, that is...) with a couple types of greens, some seeds, nuts and maybe a little dried fruit. Other days, however, I'm jonesing for a KALE salad. The first time I got my kale on was experimenting with some of the many recipes provided by Gena on her site/blog Choosing Raw. One of these was a miso peanut dressing massaged into kale with some chopped up red pepper. This was pretty good, but I kept on searching for the right mix, eating my way through kale chips and kale smoothies along the way.

Back in February, I stepped out to Social Kitchen in Birmingham with my friend Anna, where we shared a kale salad that was absolutely amazing. The kale was fresh and light. It was mixed with a simple vinaigrette, pickled red onions, pine nuts, a little shaved parm and quinoa. I think there may have been some rehydrated golden raisins in there too. It was superb. Truly. Anna doesn't even like kale and she gobbled up her half of the salad like a champ. Full disclosure: we also had the fresh made (hot!) donuts to finish off our meal. Which is to say, it wasn't all as healthy as the kale. Ahem.

The quest for kale salad apparently is not an exclusive pursuit anymore. Even so, dining on kale at a restaurant made me realize that I really needed to get my own kale salad going at home more regularly. Here's the recipe I've been working with. It is a conglomeration of recipes, so cross-pollinated that I'm pretty comfortable calling it my own.

6 large stems of kale, stems removed, shredded or thinly sliced
1/4-1/2 t salt (to taste- I use sea salt for this recipe)
1/2-1 T olive oil

1/2 apple cut into matchsticks
1/2 c cooked quinoa
1 T. hemp seeds

2 T crunchy sesame sticks
1-2 T dried cherries

After chopping the kale, place in a medium sized bowl, sprinkle with some of the salt, and massage the salt into the leaves until all the leaves are bright green and starting to soften (2 minutes?). Add more salt as needed, but taste to be sure it's not too salty...if it is, add more kale and massage further. Once the kale is soft and green, mix in your quinoa and olive oil. Toss to coat kale and distribute the quinoa. Finally, add hemp seeds, sesame sticks, and dried cherries, tossing it all one final time.

For me, this recipe is the perfect blend of nutrition (kale, thank you), salt, sweet, and crunch. It's a great lunch, and if you don't hoover the whole bowl, the leftovers are great the next day (though the sticks will be softened a bit).

4.12.2013

So gone so long...

It's been awhile...but thought I'd share something that I cooked up last week. It was pretty damn good. A Toronto-based restaurant chain Fresh published a couple cookbooks that I love-- Fresh and Refresh. I know-- such creative titles! But do not be dissuaded- they make great food. In any case, the restaurant showcases primarily simple foods like rice and noodle bowls, fresh juice tonics and salads. The cookbooks offer all of the best recipes from the restaurant. This is great for someone like me who, not living in Canadia, never gets to this delicious food outside of the rogue trip to Toronto.

Anyhow, some of their popular menu items include this wicked "crispy tofu." It's cubed tofu with a crunchy coating...it's the texture that tofu lovers (and haters, incidentally) long for. I noticed another little recipe in the book last week for tofu "steaks," which is to say triangles rather than cubes. Fancy, I know. So, I decided to give it a shot. There are two keys to Fresh's take on crispy tofu: 1. Marinate. 2. Nooch. The marinade for the steaks has freshly ground coriander, garlic, Tamari and water. The coating is a combo of nooch (nutritional yeast), wheat germ (wha??) salt, pepper, garlic powder (I think). The method is frying in a bit of oil. I usually minimize the oil for my conscience's sake, and I find they come out just right by frying in just a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Super crispy and flavorful tofu. It is possible! The texture of the steaks is even better, because they are sliced somewhat thin (1/4 in.), and they almost firm up after marinating and frying. It's bizarre and delicious.

This week I made a red pepper sauce for dipping and served the steaks with a side salad and risotto cakes. It was a great meal, full of flavor.

Speaking of which, did you know that you can make risotto in the oven? I used this recipe by Ina Garten last Sunday, threw in some mushrooms, asparagus, peas and tarragon, and it was super easy. I don't know that I'll ever make risotto the old fashioned way again. Seriously. So good and only 15 minutes of work.

Did you also know that you can use leftover risotto for fun little risotto cakes the next day? Because of the viscosity of the risotto, you don't even need to add anything to it to form little patties when it is cooled. I quickly press mine in some fine whole wheat bread crumbs just to have a nice brown crust, but that is optional. Pan fry for a few minutes on each side (they will be delicate once they get hot, so be careful), or spray each with a little olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through, until browned and hot. They're a nice treat, especially served over a big green salad.