Big Bowl Of Yum Part V: The Yum Strikes Back

Dinner 02/26

A Big Bowl Of Yum Part V

The fifth bowl in a continuing series of dinners inspired by the question "How can we make a dinner out of the things that need to be used in the refrigerator, like NOW?" ;)

Tonight's contestants include: barley, cauliflower (tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper, roasted at 450°F for 15 minutes), leftover boiled potatoes from breakfast, collard greens (shredded, pan-fried with olive oil, salt, pepper and smoked paprika) onions, carrots and garlic.

Previously: Bowl I, Bowl II, Bowl III, Bowl IV

Fig, Date, Walnut and Blue Sheese wrapped in Cucumber

Appetizer 02/16

Fig, Date, Walnut and Blue Sheese wrapped in Cucumber

I've had this idea kicking around in my green notebook (where I keep my food ideas) for more than a year now, but as our precious supply of Blue Sheese has reached the end (as it is not distributed in the US at the moment), it was time to act.

The basic idea was to make a fondue of sorts -- melt the microplaned blue cheese along with minced dates, figs and walnuts and pour it into a 2oz ramekin (lined with plastic wrap), let it chill in the fridge. Then unmold, and wrap with a piece of cucumber (cut on a the benriner) that had been brushed with a gin and black pepper mixture.

Of course, that alone would have been fine, but of course, I had to go a put it on a stick. ;)


In the end, it was extremely flavorful, but really benefited from having a martini (garnished with some of the leftover cucumber) to cut through the richness of the app...

Paella with Braised Fennel, Sherry-Glazed Mushrooms, Pecan-Smoked Tofu and Red Bell Peppers

Dinner 02/15

Paella with Braised Fennel, Sherry-Glazed Mushrooms, Pecan-Smoked Tofu and Red Bell Peppers

Our usual Paella recipe paired with Pecan-Smoked Tofu, Sherry-Glazed Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper and Braised Fennel.

Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies

Dessert 02/14

Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies

nomnomnomnom.

Hickory-Smoked Tofu with Mustard Cream Sauce and Wilted Spinach, Red Beans and Rice

Dinner 02/12

Hickory-Smoked Tofu with Mustard Cream Sauce and Wilted Spinach

Red Beans & Rice

We've made this recipe a bunch of times before and with good reason, it's delicious. This time around we skipped the corn cakes and make a quick red beans and rice as the base. Also we hickory-smoked the tofu.

Pot Pie

Dinner 02/11

Pot Pie

Liz used mini-cookie cutters for the cute crust decorations.


Here's all of the variations on the sheet pan before they went into the oven.




The recipe is more or less the same as the one from Candle Cafe cookbook adapted to whatever you have on hand at the time. Tonight hiding underneath the crust was smoked tofu, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms, green beans and potatoes along with a sauce of white wine, veg stock, tamari, cornstarch slurry, salt and pepper.

Ramen with Ho Fun Noodles and Maitake Mushrooms

Dinner 02/04

Ramen with Ho Fun Noodles and Maitake Mushrooms

We had some leftover Ho Fun Noodles from the other day, plus some Maitake mushrooms that needed to be used, so we decided to make ramen with our usual shiitake mushroom broth along with tea-smoked tofu.

The noodle thing has quickly become a house favorite.

Red Tofu with Ho Fun Noodles and Scallion Pancakes

Dinner 02/02

Red Tofu

Ho Fun Noodles

Scallion Pancakes

Hmmm... blocks of tofu in a pressure cooker? Sure, why not!

We caught an episode of Simply Ming where he was cooking with his parents and decided to adapt the recipe and technique and apply it to tofu.



The city of... Tofuville! </powerpuff girls>
Why yes, I do have dreams like Inception where the buildings are made of tofu.

We started by smoking the blocks of tofu with Oolong tea for 30 minutes.


Then we seared the tofu on all sides in the wok to give it a little color and splashed it with 1 tbs. of tamari at the end of cooking.


While that was going, we made a batch of Ho Fun noodles (just like this video recipe shows) using our bag of rice flour.


We started the pressure cooker out with 1 tsp. of canola oil, 1 bunch of scallions cut into 1" pieces, 3 cloves of minced garlic and 1 tbs. of minced ginger.


Next we loaded it up with the seared tofu, 1 bottle of wine, 5 oz. (wheat-free, reduced sodium) tamari, 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 star anise and 1 Thai bird chili and about 1 1/2 cups of our home made shiitake mushroom broth.

We brought the pressure cooker up to the second ring (15psi) and cooked all of it for 30 minutes.


We removed the tofu blocks, strained the liquid into a saute pan and thickened it by adding a slurry of 1 tbs. of cornstarch and 1 tbs. of cold water mixed together and whisked into the sauce.


We cut the chilled Ho Fun noodles into strips and added them to the wok along with about a cup of the sauce to heat through. The noodles were placed in the bottom of the bowl, topped with the tofu as well as a little additional sauce poured over both the tofu and scallion pancakes...


... which were made while the pressure cooker was going -- it was our usual recipe, cut into sixths for plating.

The flavor of the sauce was outstanding, and the smaller blocks of tofu worked better for flavor penetration -- but I can already see two or three ways to expand/refine the dish and that's always a good sign. ;)

Blueberry Muffins

Breakfast 01/18

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins
the scent wakes me up from sleep
magical kitchen

Potstickers

Dinner 01/08

Potstickers

Liz tried out a new dough recipe (which still needs some tweaks) furthering her life-long ambition to be able to hang out with women of all cultures making stuffed dough products. They were filled with diced trumpet mushrooms, carrots, bok choy, garlic, ginger and tamari and seared/steamed in a wok as shown below...


...in other news, how cute is that sealing job?

Stir-Fry with Tofu Three Ways

Dinner 01/04

Stir-Fry with Tofu Three Ways

Two posts into the new year and we've already resorted to a stir-fry picture ;)

The tofu cubes were tea-smoked and stir-fried, the tofu cutlets were marinated in a Korean-styled BBQ sauce for six hours, then grilled (hence the grill marks) and finally the yuba sheets (upper right) were marinated in sesame oil and tamari, then slow-cooked in the wok and shredded.

Pomegranate Cake

Dessert 01/01

Pomegranate Cake

Happy New Year!

(it's a pumpkin layer cake with a vanilla and pomegranate liqueur frosting and topped with pomegranate seeds, the original recipe can be found in "The Boozy Baker" by Lucy Baker -- we used the usual vegan substitutes and flax eggs.

what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway? 2012 edition

A look back at all of the dishes from 2012 from the blog in one convenient 10 minute video.



(Music: "991202" & "010104" by me)

Socca

Appetizer 12/25

Socca

Call it zeitgeist, synchronicity or something in the air -- but Socca has been one of those things for us in the last couple of weeks. We've been playing around with Terry Hope Romero's version in "Vegan Eats World," and Saveur's recipe as well.

Our version is somewhat thicker than both (less crepe-y and more cake-y) and infused with roasted garlic & olive oil, but has become our favorite app to nosh on while cooking dinner (and happens to pair brilliantly with champagne).

We've also tried a few different brands of chickpea flour (some from India, some domestic & organic) which have impacted the flavor. Once we have a solid version, we'll post it here.

In the meantime, go get Terry's excellent book and start there!

Pierogi, Green Beans, Knotted Dinner Rolls, Cookies

Dinner 12/24

Pierogi (Cabbage / Potato)

Green Beans

Knotted Dinner Rolls

Dessert

Linzer Cookies

White Russian Cookies

Nog Cookies

Remember folks, it's not officially the holiday season until AAA is called to get your sister-in-law's car out of a snow drift.

Fast forward two hours, and we had dinner...


Dinner came courtesy of September and Liz's Herculean effort making 200+ cabbage and potato filled pierogi (recipe).

Ah, yes... the cookies!


The Linzer cookies are from Liz's family recipe.


The White Russian Cookies are from "The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur" by Kelly Peloza.


The Nog cookies are adapted from "The Good Cookie" by Tish Boyle.

Hickory-Smoked Eggplant Po' Boy, Tater Tots

Dinner 12/22

Hickory-Smoked Eggplant Po' Boy

Tater Tots

After the holiday party (a.k.a. three days of cooking, 10 minutes of eating), meals are decidedly more low-key. Hence tonight's offering of Po' Boys (recipe here) -- trying it with hickory instead of cherry wood (both are excellent choices).

Seeing as we were deep-frying already, the tater tots (recipe here) worked out surprisingly well.

Holiday Party XVI

Holiday Party XVI 12/15

As always, thanks to the 30+ people who made the made the trek to our house for the 16th annual holiday party!

Here's some shots before the hungry crowd descended upon the table and devoured every scrap of food. ;)


Paella with Fennel, Green Beans and Red Bell Pepper

BBQ Tofu Lollipops

Mini-Burgers

Orzo Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

Tapenade, Mushroom Pate, Hummus, Stuffed Mushrooms

Close-up of the Stuffed Mushrooms

Artichoke Dip

Crudite Platter with Onion Dip

Pumpkin Mini-Cupcakes

Center of the table including Tofu Salad Sandwiches (on the tier)

not shown, but also devoured:

White Bean Cassoulet
Three Lentil Stew
Polenta with Peach Salsa
Phyllo Cups w/ Curried Tofu and Currants
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Popcorn (Smoked Paprika / BBQ Flavored)
Blondies
Cinnamon & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

Dessert 12/09

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

Happy Birthday son! As always, good call on the cake!

Boursin (from Artisan Vegan Cheese)

Appetizer 12/07

Boursin
(from Artisan Vegan Cheese)

We made another batch of cashew cheese from Miyoko Schinner's book "Artisan Vegan Cheese" including this lovely Boursin style. Just behind it is another batch of cheddar and just behind that (out of the frame) is a wheel of Blue (which uses umeboshi plum). All three were great with crackers as a nibble while drinking champagne.

Hey, it's a long holiday, and we want to be prepared! ;)

Bierocks (from "Vegan Sandwiches Save The Day"), Cauliflower and Paprika Soup

Dinner 12/04

Bierocks
(from "Vegan Sandwiches Save The Day")

Cauliflower and Paprika Soup

What? You don't already have "Vegan Sandwiches Save The Day"?

Hie thee to ye olde bookstore/library/internets and procure this epic tome forthwith!

(Bierocks are cabbage, tempeh and sauerkraut-filled rolls that are served with mustard. They are also amazing. You will see more from this book soon...)


We've made the cauliflower and paprika soup before (recipe via Saveur minus the dumplings).

Mac and Cheese, Grilled Portobello Mushroom

Dinner 11/29

Mac and Cheese

Grilled Portobello Mushroom

Mac and Cheese (recipe) + Grilled Portobello Mushrooms is my new favorite thing!

We've been using the Tinkyada GF pasta for most of the year and we love it...

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Dessert 11/28

Pumpkin Cupcakes

From "Chloe's Kitchen" by Chloe Coscarelli.

As you know, we still had some pumpkin left over after the holiday, so these wonderful cupcakes fit the bill.

In other news, we still have two giant pumpkins sitting here.

It's going to be a long winter. ;)