What's the Muck?

Back in black

2012-01-28T13:07:00.000-05:00

To get back to where we were, before being so rudely interrupted by political posts, this week begat a new nibble meal. For a year or so I've had this recipe for the Baja Fresh (BF) dark salsa clone from the Top Secret Recipes guy (I bought it from him, but it's also all over the internet if you do a search). Not being a particularly rabid salsa fan otherwise, the Salsa Baja at this chain is something I could swim in forever and never tire of. Others have declared the same thing. I stop at BF from time to time and order a veggie tostada just to eat the aforementioned salsa. It is rich, black, and smoky, and not at all sweet. So I finally set to trying to make it at home.

And it worked! My result was not nearly as black as the original (probably because I did not use a grill; time to get the George Foreman out of the storage unit), and it was also thicker, but it was so good I may like mine better. I think what everybody loves is the smokiness, as the ingredients are really just standard salsa fare.

The clone recipe calls for roasting whole, cold tomatoes on a grill, and adding a jalapeno pepper halfway through roasting, turning to blacken all the sides evenly. Per the suggestion of another commenter somewhere on the internet, I cut my tomatoes in half and roasted them in the toaster oven cut side down for about 40-45 minutes, and since the sides weren't getting any blacker after 40, that is probably enough time. I also forgot to get a jalapeno on the last grocery store trip so I used a bit of chipotle chili sauce from canned chilies at the end instead of the roasted jalapeno. NOW we got some smoky goin' on, citizens!

Other departures from the cloned recipe include a bit more tomatoes, lime juice, onions, and cilantro. This is what I do anyway when I get the fixins off the Baja Fresh salsa bar- one portion cup of the salsa baja, one of the salsa fresca, one of chopped cilantro, plus a wedge or two of sliced lime- mix and squeeze and apply lavishly. So if you want a less chunky result more like the original at BF, cut the veggie proportions in half and add more water to taste.

Serving suggestion for a super Super Bowl- line a shallow serving bowl or casserole with chips, add a sprinkling of chili beans (recipe to follow) or some Texas Caviar, then a drizzle of black salsa, a drizzle of nacho sauce, and a few dollops of sour cream (my preference is of course non-dairy), as well as some extra minced onion and jalapeno for the top. Serve with wedges of fresh lime for squeezing over the bowl.

Black Salsa

3 medium-large tomatoes, cut in half

½ tsp. chipotle chile sauce
1 medium clove garlic, peeled
½ tsp. salt

¾ cup water
1 Tbs. lime juice

1 small-medium tomato (such as a Roma), diced
2 Tbs. onion, diced
2 Tbs. cilantro, minced

Set oven to 450 degree F. Place the three medium-large cut tomatoes cut side down on a baking tray with sides on the upper rack of the oven (a toaster oven works fine and saves energy). Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the skins are very charred.

Allow tomatoes to cool a bit until you can comfortably handle. Add roasted tomatoes (with any liquid) through salt to a blender, and puree on high until thoroughly smooth. Add water and lime juice and blend again on high for 30 seconds.

Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the diced tomato, onion, and cilantro, fold in gently, and adjust seasonings to taste. Refrigerate a few hours to blend flavors.

Did you post your question yet?

2012-01-24T20:46:00.001-05:00

Sorry this blog has gotten political and partisan recently but I hope to remedy that soon. The SOTU (State of the Union address) is tonight, did you post your question? Whether Democrat, Republican, Independent, or Plaid, don't miss your opportunity.

Here's mine:

President Obama, thank you for this opportunity. As a Democrat and taxpayer, I support swifter action to reign in excess spending in a responsible manner. Please outline some of the programs/functions we can streamline to reduce duplicative function.
ceblakeney, Annapolis, MD

Challenges

2012-01-21T15:37:00.003-05:00

To celebrate the new year and the current presidential campaign ~~excesses~~ season, without driving ourselves off a cliff or to a monastery, let us pause and reflect on some of the challenges we are facing in the modern u. s. of a. One of them being the current, unending, debilitating, and execrable debate about health care. Or perhaps the more correct phrase would be sick care.

Used to be people went to the doctor when necessary, and did not need health insurance to be able to do so. When did it become impossible to afford a simple doctor visit? When we started expecting somebody else to fix the results of our lifestyles, that's when.

I do not advocate expecting somebody else to fix the results of our lifestyles. And I did not care for all of the components of the legislation the party opposing Barack Obama is trying to disembowel. The desirable components I do support are the ones that give access to all of us, no matter our station in life. The undesirable components are those that ensure insurance companies will continue to profit from our inability to manage our own lifestyles, through mandatory insurance requirements. Cha-ching!

However, this legislation certainly did get the opposing party's attention, didn't it?

Where was that attention when I, and many millions of others, were going to work every day, paying our mortgages and other debts, and contributing the best we were able, while not making enough to cover the insurance premiums, and therefore being locked out of the general sick care system? This situation has been going on for decades, so where was the attention? Seems like unless our success mirrored that of certain presidential candidates, we weren't invited. And in my 54 years, I have never taken a scrap of welfare outside of my tax deductions (OK, welfare by another name) which don't hold a candle to those of the average "successful" presidential candidate. So no, I wasn't living on the taxpayer's dime (but there was the occasional bail-out from my parents).

My own solution was to live my life as best I could in order to not require services from the sick care industry. I was young, and relatively bulletproof, and the adoption of a vegetarian diet no doubt helped (but I won't be surprised if there is blow-back from some in the non-veg contingent).

Eventually I scratched and crawled my way through the gauntlet of higher education to complete a couple of college degrees and land a position with an independent state agency (self-funded; a fee-for-service agency of the state of MD) where I can more effectively support myself, contribute to the well-being of my state, and where my employer picks up 80% of my sick care premiums. If I were an independent contractor in a similar position, with a similar salary, the total premium would be far higher than what it is now, and I would not be able to pay it.

Being older now, and not as bulletproof, there have been a lot of doctor visits over the past couple of years. Probably more than in the combined previous thirty+ years of my adult life. Maybe because I let a whole lot of health issues slide that should have been addressed years ago. Walking in the door of my sick care provider now costs at LEAST a hundred dollars, often more; my copay is only fifteen of that hundred due to being enrolled in an insurance plan.

Which several million people in this country still cannot access, and may never be able to, because they've never been considered important enough to be included in the system before now.

So to end the sermon, let's take a peek at this video and consider our own lifestyles, and perhaps take some steps to eliminate the need for the health care legislation we have apparently forced ourselves into, and which some oppose. Time to pay attention.

And a shout out to the Yellow Rose of Texas, Joanna, for the link. My sincerest thanks, and sorry it's preceded by such a downer post.

Chowdah

2012-01-15T17:17:00.000-05:00

There was a fleeting brush with reasonable weather last week that I thought was supposed to last more than a day or two, but as is usual in this area, if you count on anything related to the weather, you are a silly fool. Temps are hovering around freezing, not unusual for much of the country in January, but still not welcome here. Plus, given the weird sinus infection that popped up this past couple of weeks (it felt like my teeth were going to explode) and now has me on an antibiotic , I'm not drinking any wine so as not to mess up the effectiveness of the drug. So let me tell you buddy, this weather had REALLY bad timing.

Good excuse to make chowdah. This one is not the prettiest face in the crowd, sorry- it looks a little dingy. The finished product would have been much more attractive, I think, if the mushrooms were sauteed separately, and then added after the puree step, but the results would still be yum no matter how you smashed em'. Potatoes and corn and mushrooms and onions and carrots and garlic. How could you possibly go wrong?

I tried this initially without adding flour for thickening, thinking that the partial pureeing would thicken things up nicely, but it didn't work. I know you're supposed to mix thickening agents with cold water, but just removing some of the hot liquid from the soup and blending with the flour worked fine (wouldn't work with cornstarch though, if that is your thickener of choice- use cold liquids only).

I didn't use veggie sausage this time, but if you want an even more substantial bowl, brown up a little bit and add right before serving.

Potato, Mushroom, and Corn Chowder

2 Tbs. Earth Balance butter or oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups peeled, diced boiling potato such as Yukon Gold (~2 medium)
1½ cups corn kernels
4 cups vegan chicken-style broth
2 Tbs. vegan bacon-style bits (optional)
½ tsp. poultry seasoning

2 Tbs. flour

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tsp. salt, to taste
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional: 4 oz. sliced veggie sausage

Heat butter or oil in a large pot and cook onion through garlic until just tender.

Stir in potato through poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Scoop about a quarter cup of soup broth into a small bowl, add the flour, stir until it is very well blended, and return to the pot.

Add nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to taste. Remove a cup or so of chowder, puree in a blender, and return to the pot (or just run an immersion blender around the pot a bit). Stir well, cooking for a few minutes to thicken, and serve.

Variation: Brown 4 oz. sliced veggie sausage over medium heat, and stir into chowder right before serving.

I'm dreaming of a Crawlspace Christmas

2011-12-17T16:56:00.006-05:00

The front yard had been flooded for so long I had started to take it for granted. We had a boatload o' rain in November and guess I just thought the sump pump was still dealing with the residuals.

That's what I get for thinking.

On my way to work last Monday, I looked under the crawlspace again (during daylight hours this time) to see why the pump was running and hark! The pressure tank was spewing water to beat the band. Back inside, I turned off the breaker for the well pump, called work and let the supervisor know that Houston had a problem, then called the plumber to deliver the same message. They could get here the same day, yay, but not till after lunch.

By 3 pm, I was the proud owner of a brand new pressure tank and $650 worth of additional credit card debt. Note that I have been waiting for this tank to die for years, and when the plumber told me they are usually good for 20 years and the date of install was 1978, I consoled myself with the fact that ye ol' pressure tank was 13 years beyond its lifespan.

However. Holiday spending is now rather curtailed, not that it is ever over the top here anyway. There is a Poinsettia that was purchased before the pressure tank incident, which will now serve as the main decoration, along with some nandina berries (see preceding picture) scattered here and there. Perhaps the pressure tank could serve as the Christmas tree- I imagine it would be rather festive all strung up with lights 'n ornaments, however one would have to be in the crawlspace to appreciate it. So I have declared this year to be my Crawlspace Christmas.

One thing that is relatively cheap as far as holiday spending goes is food, if you do things right. Food may be the gift of choice this season. My middle brother and his family usually host Christmas dinner every year, and in the past I have often taken a baked pasta florentine (i.e., with spinach) as an alternative main to the turkey and/or ham they always serve. This year my sister in law requested the pasta dish specifically, and I am all aflutter because I will FINALLY have a wonderful non-dairy ricotta I am not afraid to use in my favorite baked pasta recipe, (read: I am not afraid that family members will say "Blechh, what the heck did you put in the pasta?") I have always broken down and used dairy ricotta in the past, which is not my preference. (The pasta florentine recipe will be posted at a later date).

Many, many non-dairy ricotta recipes were reviewed before I arrived at this one. It could be much simpler than this and would likely be just fine as a component of a recipe with other ingredients, but I was trying to recreate a ricotta that was relatively neutral, yet still had a "rounded" flavor. Those notes aside, if you want to eliminate the more esoteric ingredients (miso powder and maca powder, to be specific) I'm sure the recipe would still work. In keeping with the goal of a relatively neutral flavor, I did not add the typical Italian seasonings often suggested for non-dairy ricotta, as those will be added with other ingredients in the finished dish.

Maca powder is probably the most exotic, but it is available at many health food stores, and for most recipes I've seen is used in very small quantities (usually less than a tablespoon at a time). It is sometimes recommended for non-dairy cheese recipes.

Miso powder can likely be replaced with light miso paste, although I'm not sure of the conversion between dry and paste miso. Start with a teaspoon of paste miso, if that's what you have, and decide if it needs anything else.

Tofu Cashew Ricotta

Makes 2 cups, perfect for replacing a 15-16 oz. container of dairy ricotta

½ cup very finely ground raw cashews
(start with about a generous 1/3 cup cashew pieces, and use a spice grinder for finest grind)
1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. dried miso powder
1 tsp. maca powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. granulated garlic, optional (powder should work too)
¼ tsp. granulated onion, optional (powder should work too)
1 Tbs. neutral tasting oil, such as canola
1 Tbs. lemon juice, more to taste

14 - 16 oz. extra firm tofu, drained but not pressed

Combine cashews through lemon juice in a medium bowl and blend together.

Crumble half the tofu into the bowl and mix with the other ingredients, then crumble in the remaining tofu and continue mixing to thoroughly incorporate all ingredients.

Adjust seasonings, oil, and lemon juice to taste as desired, and refrigerate until use.

Leftover thanks, and everything

2011-12-01T20:51:00.004-05:00

All of the leftovers are long gone by now, not that I had that many to start out with. When Thanksgiving is at somebody else's house every year, you go home with the remains of what you brought (although sometimes I sneak a hunk 'o pie in to take back for breakfast the next day). This year I took cranberry sauce as usual, but simpled it up compared to what I usually bring.

For the past several years, I've done a cranberry chutney, which I of course love, but it seems only a few other people in the family do (don't think I've posted it before, so I will do so before Christmas for anyone who likes a little more adventure in their sauce). This year I did almost straight cranberry sauce as instructed on the Trader Joe's package, but added three peeled, cored, and diced Jazz apples, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Wowza! I am usually so tired of cranberry sauce after a few days that it ends up getting thrown, but this was so good it was gone in two days. And I am actually happy that there is an extra bag of cranberries in the fridge! More sauce!

I cooked it longer than you would a straight cranberry sauce to get the apples to soften, and frankly it could have cooked even more with no harm done. It was definitely a cross between cranberry sauce and a chunky applesauce, which means it was great on a toasted "everything" bagel with Tofutti cream cheese. No kidding, you have to try this. If I had any bagels left I would make some cran-apple sauce NOW just for this purpose.

This year I also had mashed potato duty. It's easy to make really good mashed potatoes if you return the potatoes to the pan after cooking to dry them out a bit, and then add the milk/butter/salt/pepper. But I didn't get the full mashed potato experience because my family does gravy from the bird so I passed on that, since I like my gravy bird-less. There was a small container of mashed potatoes that returned home with me, and alas, no gravy.

BUT. As luck would have it, Tofu Mom did a month of gravy posts during Vegan MoFo, and what did I find there but a recipe for cashew gravy that I swear has made gravy a food group at my house. Now I love gravy anyway, but it always seems more trouble than it's worth. Not so here, even with my substitutions it was basically blend the beejeepers out of the raw ingredients and then heat through to thicken up (although Tofu Mom's original recipe is not at all time consuming, I am pathologically incapable of doing anybody's recipe as written the first time around).

I ended up using vegetarian broth made with "Better Than Bouillon" Vegan Chicken Broth paste instead of water, upping the cashews to 1/2 cup instead of 1/3 cup, reducing the tamari to 1 Tbs., increasing the nutritional yeast to 2 Tbs., taking out the onion powder/garlic powder, and using a half tsp. of poultry seasoning instead of the sage. Better Than Bouillon is really good as an instant broth, but it is quite generous with the salt so I could have probably gotten away with no tamari, or only a teaspoon or so.

And the results were...

Gravy noodles! Please try not to faint from excitement...

OK, OK, plopping boiled noodles on a plate and dumping on the gravy is not exactly cuisine, but this is the kind of leftovers I'd want if Thanksgiving were at my house. So no worries, I had to make some of my own leftovers after the fact, but in addition to mashed 'taters or noodles, guess what else "leftover" gravy is good on?

Toasted "everything" bagels! No kidding again, this is just as legit as chipped beef gravy on a biscuit- there just ain't no cow chips in the gravy!

This is a rather late wish, but I hope everyone had a fab Thanksgiving, and lots of leftovers for which to give thanks. Bring on the rest of the holidays! (I think...)

America's oldest seed company needs YOU!

2011-11-25T10:28:00.004-05:00

With this coming Saturday designated as Small Business Saturday, the following plea is eerily appropriate.

Gardeners, cookers, and eaters of all stripes, lend me your ear. I am way late to this situation but maybe not too late to help at least a little. America's oldest seed company needs assistance to ride out this economy and remain as one of America's best, and oldest, small businesses. Use the button below to make a donation, or go to the website and buy a catalog for $5.40. They are one of my favorite seed suppliers, and I just found out about this, but it's not too late! I was just about to get my seed list together for the coming year, so this will kick the ol' butt into gear a little faster.

Vote for Blue Water Baltimore and transform parking lots into oases

2011-08-10T10:56:00.015-04:00

Vote for Blue Water Baltimore at www.50statesforgood.com!

Tom's of Maine's "50 States for Good" initiative supports community projects and needs your help! Vote today.

Vote for Blue Water Baltimore and help them win a grant to turn school parking lots into Bay-friendly recreational oases for students. You can vote once a day until September 13!

Check out Blue Water Baltimore at:
Blue Water Baltimore

In praise of nibbles

2011-07-31T14:55:00.030-04:00

It is so infrequent that I make an actual 'meal' at mealtime, I thought it appropriate to declare that henceforth, appetizers (aka nibbles) will be placed in the meal category here at WTM.

Look, often multi-course nonsense is just that. Ain't none of us out workin' the back forty anymore (well at least not most of us). Most of the time we should be eating smaller meals, to match our smaller calorie expenditures, and hopefully realizing smaller waistlines as a result.

Not that nibbling has made my waistline any smaller as of this post. But the trend towards at least giving lip service to small meals eaten more frequently is a good thing, and if I finally work the 'push-away-from-the-table' exercise into my daily routine maybe the inches will be pushed away too.

So especially in a summer when the temps in the Mid-A have been kissing 100°F on far too many occasions, I confess that meals have most frequently been nibbles of late. One bake, many takes. But they don't have to be limited to junky fat-salt-sugar bombs, although those have crept in too, mostly during on-the-road eating (need a twelve step program for french fries dipped in ketchup- halp!)

Plus this week somehow I came down with a sinus infection and have Exploding Head, so there is no desire to cook. How in the world do you get a sinus infection in July?

Here follows my take on Baba Ganoush, one of the most fabulous nibble type meals on the planet, and probably included in every food blog on the planet, as well. The recipe was adapted from one in Paula Wolfert's undeniable bible on The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean. My copy is unfortunately packed in my brother's garage at the moment, so I can't check the original ingredients against what I am currently using. However the original recipe is on ze interwebz (just do a search for "Paula Wolfert"+"Baba Ganoush") if the reader would like to check it out.

David Lebovitz posted his version a couple of years ago and likes it smoky. I haven't tried it his way, but I do a 'cheater' take here by adding smoked paprika. Smoky is good but I am probably not in the same league as the hard-core smoke aficionados, so this is likely quite a bit tamer than David's. He also advises that you can cheat by using a bit of smoked salt. I didn't try it in the current batch, but having recently acquired a supply of the alderwood variety here, I will add it to the next batch of Baba and do an update to this post if it is a keeper.

One other thing. I have no idea what the correct spelling in English is for Baba Ganoush. There are so many spellings I gave up, so here I use the simplest one I have come across.

Baba Ganoush

Ingredients:
1 medium-largish eggplant (about 1-1¼ pounds)
¼ cup tahini
1 medium-large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 lemon, juiced (about 3 Tbs.)
1 tsp. salt (use a bit of smoked salt if desired)
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. olive oil
½ tsp. smoked paprika (or half smoked and half sweet paprika, or all sweet if you don't like smoky)

Garnishes:
chopped parsley
ground paprika or Aleppo pepper
drizzle of olive oil (I leave this out, but a little tiny drizzle makes a nice presentation at parties)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pierce eggplant all over with a fork.

Place eggplant in a shallow baking pan and roast until collapsing, about 45-50 minutes. You may turn over halfway through roasting, but I didn't and it collapsed just fine.

Remove eggplant from oven and allow to cool until it is easy to handle. Remove peel, placing pulp in a colander. Rinse pulp lightly and press to remove any bitter juices.

Add eggplant pulp and remaining ingredients to a food processor and puree. Adjust seasonings to taste. If time allows, refrigerate for a couple of hours so flavors may blend.

Spread in a shallow dish and garnish as desired. Serve at room temperature with pita chips (toasted is best!), cucumber slices, carrot sticks, and other crudites.

Alternatively, serve as a sandwich in a split pita with accompaniments such as crisp torn lettuce, shredded carrot, diced tomato and cucumber, and slivered radish.

Food in jars

2011-07-11T23:54:00.006-04:00

No, not the kind that you might find at the wonderful blog of the same name. Here there be jars of a different stripe.

My recently purchased new kitchen essential was silent for a couple of weeks while other stuff was going on (and I am missing the smoothie love as a result). Tonight, however, it had to earn its keep because I needed a fast dinner. I think I'm in love. Tonight I had Alfredo sauce from a jar, except for it came from a blender jar. This was so easy and so good it should be illegal.

The BlendTec has a soup making setting (the VitaMix does too I think) where you pulverize everything and heat it up in the process. What other kind of cooking is this easy? That is the setting I ended up using while trying to get this recipe right. It gives a nice long blending period, which you need for smoothly blended mixtures that include nuts. Plus the sauce was already warmed up! No turning on another burner!

Semi-related side note: another monster thunder storm just blew through tonight, knocking over all the plants on the patio, but did it do a freakin bit of good blowing out the heat and humidity too? Not. A. Bit. So one fewer burner going in the kitchen is a good thing.

I ended up with a much bigger batch of sauce than I had intended, because I had to keep adding here and there to get the proportions right. The recipe could easily be cut in half or in thirds if you want, but I think since there is a quart of sauce left from tonight's activity, this would be splendid in a scalloped potato casserole tomorrow. Even though it's the middle of despicable summer and I'd much rather have scalloped potatoes in February.

This recipe was inspired by the "Cashew Cheez Sauce" in Jo Stepaniak's "The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook", as well as by several other non-dairy Alfredo sauce recipes that have been making the rounds on the internet the past couple of years.

If you don't have a high-powered blender, don't fret, just blend for several minutes in a regular blender and check from time to time to see if it's there yet.

Big Batch Blender Alfredo Sauce

3 cups soy milk, or other unsweetened non-dairy milk
1½ cups cashew pieces
3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
¾ cup nutritional yeast
1½ Tbs. light miso
1 Tbs. dijon mustard
1½ tsp. onion granules
1½ tsp. garlic granules
½ tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed until sauce is creamy and cashews are thoroughly blended. In a BlendTec, use the 'Sauce' setting. Adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to a saucepan to heat through before serving, if necessary.

Serve over pasta of choice (a tri-colored pasta like I used here is especially fun, if pasta can be fun), or use for a baked pasta or potato casserole. Top with paprika, freshly grated pepper, and/or an herb seasoning blend if you are feeling adventurous.

Smoothing into summer

2011-06-22T20:35:00.011-04:00

Happy summer solstice, all!

In honor of the one month anniversary of my last post, here is the latest from the WTM kitchen (well actually not the latest, but the only thing I currently have a picture for):

Smoothies and lemongrass!

Huh?

Recently acquired is a kick ass blender. This has been coveted for a couple of years and though I had no business shelling out over $350 for this gadget, I will defend said purchase to my dying breath. High powered blenders annihilate EVERYTHING. Which is great if you want to eat more in the way of whole fruits and veggies but don't like a lot of them in the raw state with their clothes on (the skins).

Enter your basic BlendTec or Vitamix. I chose a BlendTec because it can do dry or wet ingredients in the same jar, at least it claims to, and the Vitamix wants you to purchase a separate jar for dry blending. So far I have just been making smoothies to try to get more fruit into my overfed, undernourished self, and this I believe: smoothies rock!

My blender came with a boatload of recipes (and typos, by the way- can these companies not afford copy editors?) but many involve more than just fruit. My craving right now is for the raw ingredients, no ice, no milk, no flavorings, no nada (although I added soy milk a couple of times and it was fine, it's equally fine without).

Favorite smoothie blend follows. Oh, and the lemongrass? Next post I'm afraid- I don't have a picture yet of the little guys that were rooting during the smoothie shoot, and subsequently blossomed into plants. There were six in the bunch, purchased from the Asian grocer, and the root ends were cut off and placed in water- all rooted.

It makes a difference to try rooting tropical plants in warm weather instead of January. January doesn't work (been there- Fail). Even though you are trying to root them indoors, somehow they know.

Watermelon Smoothies

4 cups watermelon chunks, cut small (about 1")
6 strawberries, tops removed
1 banana, cut in 2" chunks
1 firm apple (such as Gala or Fuji), quartered, seeded, and cut in 1" chunks
1 cup soy or almond milk, if you insist

Place fruit in the blender in the order listed and process until smooth, or press "Smoothie" on a BlendTec and let 'er rip. This will just about fill a 32 oz. jar, and make 2 generous servings (or more, if you are reasonable about the serving size).

No fishies need apply

2011-05-22T23:00:00.016-04:00

As promised, this is the non-anchovy version of Worcestershire sauce I use when Wooster is required.

The commercial version I buy on occasion uses tamarind paste and shiitake mushrooms, and I will experiment with a recipe containing those ingredients in the near future, but the recipe following serves rather well in the meantime, and uses readily available ingredients.

Vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce

Inspired by a recipe in Joanne Stepaniak's original "Uncheese Cookbook"

¾ cups water
½ cup tamari soy sauce (use wheat/gluten-free if desired, or whatever soy sauce you have at hand)
6 Tbs. agave nectar (almost everybody carries this now)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. molasses
2 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. garlic granules
½ tsp. onion granules
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. New Mexico chile powder (just the chile itself, dried and ground) or cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. ground cloves

Place all the ingredients in a blender, puree until smooth, and refrigerate- a recycled 16 oz. bottle should be just the ticket for storing.

Checking in

2011-05-15T00:35:00.006-04:00

Another rather lengthy hiatus since putting pen to blog. Maybe someday I'll get all disciplined about this thing but no promises.

There's been some cooking, there's been some seed starting (I lied in my last post- I'm going to grow something this year dang it, even if I don't know when or where the next garden is going to be) and there continues to be a lot of chaos in getting the house ready to sell.

Actually I've decided chaos is the new normal- structure and order are for sissies!

But I digress- on to some recent kitchen kapers. One of my new favorite yummies is Mushroom Stroganoff. I don't think I ever had beef stroganoff, so I really can't say I know what a stroganoff should taste like, but I've loved this recipe every time I've made it. It started life as a recipe here but as usual didn't end up quite the same.

Mushroom Stroganoff

3 Tbs. butter
1 large onion, diced
12 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1½ cups vegetable broth, divided (1¼ cups + ¼ cup)
¼ cup dry red wine
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
½ cup vegan sour cream
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley or dill (optional)
½ tsp. salt, to taste
½ tsp. pepper, to taste

12 oz. noodles of choice, such as fettuccine or fusilli (depending on whether you like flats or shapes)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles, and cook until al dente. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until softened (if time allows, cook long enough for the onions to caramelize). Increase the heat to medium-high, and add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Remove to a bowl, and set aside.

In the saucepan, stir in 1¼ cups vegetable broth and wine through Worcestershire sauce, stirring up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Combine remaining broth with flour in a small bowl, whisk until smooth, and add to saucepan, stirring thoroughly. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and stir in the mushroom and onion mixture.

Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the sour cream, and cook over low heat, just until the sauce thickens. Stir in the parsley or dill if using, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked noodles.

The garden in my mind

2011-03-27T19:40:00.009-04:00

Just a quickie post with a link to my new favorite seed envelope template and some recent dabblings. There will most likely be no garden this year, however that doesn't stop me from pretending there is.

Maybe there will be an herb pot here or there, maybe a few, but there definitely won't be anything that puts actual food on the table until the move is complete. Which has become somewhat of a sore point, since every time I get something fixed two other broken things pop up to take its place.

I know we are on the wrong end of the season for gathering and storing seeds for next year, but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead for those of us who will have a garden!

Put in a 'mater plant for me, if you have a little extra room...

Update 4/9/11: Have added a few more envelope sets on the Scribd page, where the link below resides.

Garden Medley

Savoring success

2011-02-19T12:16:00.014-05:00

A beefy style seitan has finally been achieved! (The previous attempt is documented here). Well, if not exactly 'beefy', it is at least darker than my standby turkey seitan, and it has officially been added to the WTM recipe files.

The way it slices up is not much different from the turkey seitan, but it has a deeper flavor and will definitely be more suited to dishes that need that beefy edge.

Often I question the necessity of long ingredient lists in recipes, but I would say none of the ingredients are superfluous in the recipe below; they all contribute to the flavor and texture of the end product. Now if you absolutely can't find one of the seasoning ingredients, give it a go anyway, especially if you will be using the seitan in another dish, and not just all be itself. It will still be good!

I tried to use as many 'real' ingredients as I had on hand for this recipe- i.e., minced onion and garlic instead of dried/granulated, but I also tried soy protein powder, which is of course a highly refined product. It worked great, and I don't eat boatloads of soy protein powder by any stretch, so it's not a concern here. You can use another flour instead of the soy protein if you do have a concern; I typically use garbanzo bean flour for sausages or turkey seitan.

Vegan beef-style broth powder, Marmite, and Liquid Smoke are also refined and/or concentrated products, but the small amounts used in the recipe contribute greatly in the flavor department. OK, that finishes the justification of the non-whole food ingredients!

Vegan Worcestershire (Wooster) sauce is becoming more widely available, so don't skip it if you can find it. Google it to find a recipe for homemade if your store doesn't carry it. The link is for a Martha Stewart (of all people) vegan Wooster sauce- go figure... I will post my version at some point, but usually get the Wizard brand if in a pinch.

There is no table salt added, as there is plenty of salty going on in the Tamari and Marmite, at least for my taste. And the black pepper seemed to be just enough- I get a hint on the back of the tongue, nothing that screams "Pepper!" I think sometimes people over-season meat and dairy alternatives to try to 'make up' for them not being meat or dairy. It's just not always necessary. At any rate the seasonings may be adjusted to taste.

Using a combination of steaming and baking makes this tender, yet plenty firm enough for thin slicing. I think steaming/baking has become my method of choice for larger seitan roasts, but I will likely continue to use just steaming for smaller sausages that cook more quickly. They seem to firm up just fine with steam all by its lonesome.

Savory Seitan Roast
Makes ~ 3 lbs.

Dry ingredients (will be about 4 cups, not packed):
2½ cups vital wheat gluten (two 6.5 oz. boxes of Hodgson Mill)
½ cup soy protein powder
½ cup finely ground almonds
½ cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. vegan beef-style broth powder (or 2 vegan beef-style bouillon cubes, blended with the wet ingredients to dissolve)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Wet ingredients (will be about 28 oz.):
15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained, or about 1-2/3 cups home cooked (start with 4 oz. dry beans)
1½ cups water
½ cup minced onion (about half of a medium onion)
¼ cup Tamari or regular soy sauce
¼ cup neutral tasting oil (such as light olive oil or canola oil)
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 Tbs. minced garlic (about 2 medium-large cloves)
1 Tbs. vegan Worcestershire sauce (preferred), or steak sauce
2 tsp. Marmite (available in the 'international' section of the grocery store)
2 tsp. liquid smoke

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In a blender, puree the wet ingredients. Scrape the wet puree into the dry mix, blend well, and knead to form a smooth dough. Shape into a loaf about 4" in diameter. Now it's a roast!

Prepare a steamer with at least an inch of water in the bottom, and bring water to a boil.

While water is coming to a boil, cut about a 24" length of foil and place roast in the middle of the foil, long sides of roast parallel to long sides of foil. You can wrap the roast in parchment first if you prefer- some people don't like the foil contacting the seitan, but I don't think these conditions are going to leach aluminum into the food.

Wrap foil up snugly around the roast, place in the covered steamer, and steam with heat reduced to maintain a steady simmer for 30 minutes.

Turn roast over in the steamer, meanwhile preheating the oven to 350° F, and allow to steam covered for 15 more minutes.

When finished steaming, place roast in the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. I took this roast out after 30 minutes, and it turned out great, but will try 40 minutes next time to see if it gets even a little firmer without drying out.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before slicing. The roast will firm up even more after refrigeration.

Super [Something] Bowl Sunday

2011-02-06T16:00:00.016-05:00

Since I've never exactly been a football fan, today is not being spent prepping for the Super Bowl, but painting doors and occasionally checking in on the Toilet Bowl! The all day bath renovation blow-out extravaganza on the DIY (Do-it-Yourself) network!

I have picked two squares in the Super Bowl pool at work, however, and fully expect to NOT win any quarter, as in the past. But if by some miracle my numbers win (8-0 or 2-7, Steelers-Packers) that could mean two gallons of paint per quarter, woo-hoo! So I may have to switch from the TB to the SB to check the game from time to time, just to see how much paint I've won!

The brothers and Dad are gathering at his house to ~~consume mass quantities~~ watch the game, so yesterday I took over some supplies- Dad's weekly ration of Banana Bread, and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies, to make sure they get their sugar quota met. The bro's will take care of the salt, fat, and alcohol quota.

Oatmeal cookies are my absolute favorites and frankly I could skip the chocolate component, but once in a while some chips are OK. This batch started out with the original Nestle Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies recipe, and is dead-easy to make plant-based. Unfortunately the store I went to at the last minute didn't have non-dairy chips, so I did get the dairy kind for this batch, but next time I will plan ahead and stop at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods to get just plain ol' no milk chocolate chips.

For this batch I only made half a recipe (although the quantities below are for a full recipe), used Earth Balance and soy milk for the original butter and dairy milk, and egg replacer for the egg. Also I doubled the soy milk since the batter seemed a bit dry, and may add a tablespoon or so more next time, so they spread out a little better. Finally- no nuts! These cookies are chunky enough for my taste, but if you want, add a cup of chopped nuts with the chocolate chips, as per the original recipe.

These guys are scrumptious but very rich, so proceed with caution! I advise following cookie consumption with lengthy dog-walking, if you are not yelling yourself silly at a Super (or Toilet) Bowl party.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 5 dozen ~2½" cookies

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

1¼ cups packed brown sugar
1 cup Earth Balance
½ cup granulated sugar

2 prepared egg replacer servings
4 Tbs. soy or almond milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

2½ cups quick or old-fashioned oats
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour through salt in small bowl. Blend brown sugar through granulated sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Blend in egg replacer through vanilla.

Gradually blend in the flour mixture. Stir in oats and chocolate chips and mix well. Place rounded tablespoons on ungreased baking sheets. I got thirty 2½" cookies from a half recipe, so expect sixty of the same size for the full recipe.

Bake 9-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12-13 minutes for crispy cookies. My preference is crispy, and 13 minutes should be perfect, but I let them go for 15 minutes last time and some of the chips at the bottom of the cookies burned a bit.

Remove pans from the oven and cool for a couple of minutes in the pans, then remove cookies from the pans and place on wire racks to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.

Longing for a little magic

2011-01-22T12:39:00.011-05:00

It is 19 unspeakable degrees F outside and doesn't promise to get much warmer today. Or for the next several days (except for it MIGHT get above freezing on Tuesday, hoo boy!)

Must keep repeating to self, over and over: "it's OK, the days are getting longer, the days are getting longer..."

Not fast enough for me, but it sure feels good to complain. So what are the upsides, if any, to the deep freeze of 2010-2011?

The apple trees in the Mid-A will be happy as clams when spring arrives. They've had lots of chill hours.

Maybe some of the garden pests won't survive? Always worth a hope.

Hibernating critters will get to snooze longer.

We will be so gosh darn happy to see spring arrive that the real estate market will stage a miraculous comeback and my house will sell in no time flat.

(Raucous laughter from the internet).

So last month or thereabouts, while longing for the new grilling season, I found this recipe online. The author owns several traditional barbecue restaurants but hey, even they must serve something veggie here and there on occasion (something? anything?)! I've already used this to season seitan, and will try on oven fried potatoes next. It's essentially another all-purpose seasoning, such as one I posted about here (but with more kick, less salt), and has several ingredients in common.

I split out the garlic granules with onion granules just to soften the bite a bit (the original recipe did not call for onion granules) and cut the recipe quantity in half. This filled an 8 oz. jar, which will supply my grilling/roasting needs for a good long time. The reader may of course choose to keep the original recipe ingredients intact, depending on individual garlic tolerance. This was pretty kicky, so I will reduce the cayenne from a tablespoon to a teaspoon next time, or take it out altogether- there's still a healthy couple of tablespoons of chili powder in there and that's enough heat for me.

4 Tbs. sweet paprika
2 Tbs. chili powder (my favorite: New Mexico)
2 Tbs. ground cumin
2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. granulated garlic
1 Tbs. granulated onion
1 Tbs. mustard powder
1 Tbs. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Pulse everything in a food processor to combine and store in an airtight jar in the pantry. A recycled 8 oz. mayo jar was perfect for this quantity.

If you want a front label, just Google "Magic Dust" and grab one from the images. If you want a back label, print one up according to the ingredients you used (I printed mine 2.5" high and 2" wide to fit my jar). It's handy to have the ingredients listed on the back of the jar for quick refills (but I will need a new label for the next batch to reflect the reduced or eliminated cayenne- such a wimp!)

Give us this day

2011-01-18T22:40:00.005-05:00

Waking up to a lovely ice covered world this morning, I sighed and took the dog out while taking micro steps across the treacherous terrain that only yesterday was an innocent deck. This day was not starting out well I thought. Waiting until later in the morning to go to work proved to be a good idea though as the drive in was not fatal. OK so the day wasn't going to be a total loss after all.

Winter is once again proving to be a disgusting, worthless season in the Mid-A. Thank god the oven works and I didn't put both bread machines in the storage unit. A mess in the kitchen always makes me feel better, so here is another one of my not-quite-ready-for-artisan bread recipes using the bread machine for prep.

I include dried herbs and garlic here more just for scenting, to make the house smell terrific while the bread is baking, but they can certainly be increased (or replaced with fresh) for a more pronounced 'herb bread' effect. The recipe would also work using a food processor or just a couple of good strong hands for the first kneading/rise.

The potato flour helps keep the bread fresher longer, and the ascorbic acid and diastatic malt help with the rise. If you don't have these ingredients on hand, no worries, you should still get a very nice loaf. I also use the cold oven method to start the baking, as per this recipe, but if you want a more crackly crust you can preheat the oven first.

Daily Bread

1¼ - 1½ cups water (I used 1½ cups for the most recent loaf)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1¾ cups white whole wheat flour
1 ¾ cups bread flour
2 Tbs. vital wheat gluten
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. potato flour (not starch)
1½ tsp. salt
½ - 1 tsp. mixed herbs, such as fines herbes
¼ - ½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. diastatic malt powder
¼ tsp. ascorbic acid
1¾ tsp. SAF instant yeast, or 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast

Place water and oil in bread machine. Add dry ingredients next in the order listed, and mix together a bit. Set bread machine to dough setting and start (add a bit more water or flour as necessary, if required for dough to form a good ball).

When the first rise is complete, remove dough from machine, deflate, and knead briefly to shape into an oval for a country style loaf, or fit into a bread pan for a sandwich style loaf. Slash the top a couple of times, cover loosely, and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 - 1 ½ hours. I let mine rise in the unheated oven or the microwave with the door slightly ajar so that the light stays on, and provides a bit of warmth.

Place in a cold oven and set to 350°F. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden and done. Allow to cool before slicing.

When life hands you whatever

2010-12-18T14:14:00.004-05:00

The seitan recipe mentioned in this post is still being developed. I used tomato ketchup as per the recipe I was working from and it was too sweet for my taste, so next time it shall be tomato paste instead. Plus, I used too much oil and the results were too soft. BUT. There are other ways to slice a loaf.

I used some of the round one trial results for a breakfast burrito this morning. Cubed and seasoned with some veggie grill seasoning, and sauteed before adding the veggies, the cubes got nice and crispy and almost bacon-y and added further wonderfulness to breakfast. Too much oil turns out to be great for frying seitan. Last night I sauteed/seasoned julienned strips of seitan the same way, until crispy, and they went over pasta (to much, well at least my, acclaim).

You almost can't ruin seitan if you start out with the right ratio of dry/wet ingredients. There will always be something you can do with it even if you don't love it all by itself. If I had enough left over I was going to also try some paper thin slices (breakfast strip sized), marinated in a little liquid smoke and maybe some Worcestershire sauce, and then fried up, but alas, there are not many of the 'results' left so on to a new round of trials...

Breakfast of painters

2010-12-12T19:19:00.019-05:00

There are some rooms that are starting to look all Martha Stewart here, even if it's only walls and woodwork. Most of the house is still trashed due to various piles of painting and repair paraphernalia strewn about. So not much cooking, although there is a lot of reading about cooking!

Hey- should count for something.

On recent weekends lunch has often been bypassed so I've decided being a piglet at breakfast is OK. This weekend I was said piglet, with a soon to be legendary (in my own mind) breakfast quesadilla.

Now to do this properly all the innards should be sauteed briefly (as they were) and then sandwiched between two tortillas (as they were) and then grilled on both sides (as they were not) to get the full quesadilla experience. Sadly, I was in a hurry to start the endless painting and the toaster oven stood in for the grill (which is packed away in the Storage Unit That Just Raised Their Monthly Fee- Happy Holidays!) But it tasted like more anyway!

Notice that in order to ensure full quality control, the frontmost quarter was ~~chomped~~ carefully sampled before being photographed.

The painter's breakfast was assembled with green peppers, mushrooms, and onions sauteed in some Earth Balance, scrambled tofu (about 5 oz., but 4 oz. would have been plenty) seasoned with the indispensable scramble seasoning (which has undergone some tweaking), and sprinkled with a little bit o' non-dairy cheese shreds. Layered between two tortillas, the 'dilla was heated in the little oven at 350 F for just a few minutes to make everybody nice and toasty, and I was nomming one of the best breakfasts I've had in eons in no time. Probably made a bit too much filling as things were falling out on all sides but we are not being graded on neatness.

If this were paired with hash browns I think it would make a fabulous breakfast-for-dinner meal.

Saucy Saturday

2010-11-20T17:28:00.013-05:00

There is a 'Beefy Style' seitan roast finishing in the toaster oven as I type, one that was inspired by numerous previous posts on the magical internet, notably those at Thrifty Living, Vegan Dad, and I Eat Food, and if it works it shall beget a post.

In the meantime, here is my homemade version of one of its ingredients, the ubiquitous Kitchen Bouquet, which as far as I can tell is completely unnecessary in the taste department, but essential for coloring in many recipes, even if you are using animal meat (which we don't bother with at WTM) instead of plant meat.

Browning Bouquet Sauce

Makes about 1½ cups

5 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. blackstrap molasses
1¼ cups water
¼ cup Tamari or soy sauce, for more of a 'seasoning' (not just browning) sauce
vegetarian bouillon powder, paste, or cube, enough for 1½ cups broth

Put brown sugar in a pan on low-medium heat and allow to caramelize while stirring frequently.

When sugar darkens to your liking, add molasses, water, tamari/soy sauce, and bouillon, and stir well to break up any crystals.

Bring to a low simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently to completely dissolve sugar.

Transfer to a bottle that will hold at least 12 oz. Use judiciously (i.e. notta lotta) to color gravies, soups, stews, etc.

Wanna label for your bottle?

Getting back up to speed

2010-11-12T23:40:00.011-05:00

So summer came and went, fall came and has almost went, and no bloggin' from my noggin came OR went for nearly three months (with the exception of a steal video post). Not that WTM is overflowing with blog posts in the first place, but still. I really didn't want to have all this empty space in between posts.

Summer was supposed to have had at least a couple more recipes-for-which-you-don't-need-a-recipe, and here is number one.

Potato salad blog posts should probably be banned from ze internetz by now, as there cannot possibly be another new way to make potato salad, but here's the iteration I used anyway.

My philosophy about macaroni salad holds true for potatoes- don't make 'em slimy!

Potato Salad

3 lb. medium Yukon Gold or other boiling potatoes, quartered

1 cup mayo of choice
1-2 Tbs. pickle relish
2-3 tsp. prepared mustard
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. dried dill weed
½ tsp. sweet paprika

½ cup finely diced celery
½ cup finely diced bell pepper (multiple colors are good)
½ cup finely diced red onion (or a mix of diced onion and slivered green onion)
2 Tbs. minced parsley

Cover potatoes with salted water and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until just tender. Drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water to halt cooking.

For dressing: blend mayo through paprika in a large bowl and mix to thoroughly combine.

Peel and cube potatoes (in about ¾" pieces), and add diced vegetables and parsley, mixing to combine.

Add dressing and mix again.

Adjust seasonings to taste, and garnish with additional paprika before serving, if desired (or as Mom always called it, "red stuff").

Don't fear the turtle

2010-10-02T11:40:00.005-04:00

Just found this- it takes place at one of the projects I work on, but I'd never seen this video- pretty neat!

Yes, we have some bananas

2010-08-14T11:05:00.021-04:00

...and we never eat them up fast enough, so we do what the rest of the galaxy does and make banana bread. Course the rest of the galaxy has long ago posted all their recipes for b-bread- why do we need another one? Because this one's better, that's why!

Actually it's not that much different than bajillions of other recipes, but I decided most of them were too wet. This still turns out pretty moist but it doesn't fall apart at the slightest touch. I use a bit more flour and a little less fat than the versions which inspired mine (see those at Simply Recipes and Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads).

Nuts are not usually found in my banana bread (except for the nut milk used here). Nothing against them, they are a mainstay in the WTM kitchen, but I think they make b-bread too busy (who wants busy b-bread?) They may certainly be added if desired. I use a bit more salt, and almond milk, and also some cinnamon, which I don't think Mom ever used. Mom was a champion banana bread baker, and I can't find her recipe (!*@%!) but I know she would like this one. May try a bit of nutmeg, too, next time.

The secret for easy-peasy, always ready-to-bake banana bread is the freezer. When bananas start to go south here, I pop 'em into a heavy duty Ziploc bag and then into the freezer. When it's time to bake, out come three frozen (and black, by this time) bananas and into a large bowl they go while the other ingredients get rounded up and measured out. After about ten minutes or so of thawing, the skins can be pulled back easily and the bananas are now partially-frozen puree, which makes for almost effortless mashing.

In a pinch (meaning you don't have enough/any bananas), use pumpkin puree in place of banana puree, and pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon. Think outside the pan!

Banana Bread
(Approved by Dad, who doesn't like most of what I make, but surprises me on occasion)

3 ripe bananas
¼ cup melted Earth Balance margarine, or other butter equivalent
¼ cup almond milk, or other milk of choice

¾ cup sugar
2 egg equivalents, beaten (I use a homemade egg replacer)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional, but does add some nummy)

1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Mash bananas in a large bowl; whisk in melted margarine and milk.

Add sugar through cinnamon (if using); stir to combine.

Add baking soda through salt; stir to combine.

Add flour and fold in gently to combine.

Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick or small wooden skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for 10 minutes; then remove from the pan to finish cooling on the same rack.

Red white and blue boring

2010-07-15T20:31:00.044-04:00

Very little in the way of innovation has accompanied much of my recent kitchen pursuits in the middle of July in the middle Atlantic in the middle of moving. Frankly, I wants the comforts of my uneducated youth. Theoretically, nothing better fits the bill than good ol' red white and blue macaroni salad. From the deli. The really cheap deli at the local Giganormous grocery store.

Problem is, I am not that fond of most grocery store mac salads any more. They are too full of mayo and too sweet. I am not anti mayo or sugar by any means, but don't understand why everything from the deli counter has to be swimming in both. Guess it's the American way? We are trying to kill ourselves with sweet mayonnaise soup?

Well tighten up America, it's time for a new way! If I were Queen, here's how everyone would make their mac salads: elevate the flavor, don't forget the veggies, and for dog almighty's sake don't turn it into some kind of weird fatty liquid vat of slime.

Bonus- check out the recycled deli container used for the fancy food stylin'. Way to build up the eco-points, comrades...

See Joni's post at this site for the original inspiration (and snag her new book here).

Deli Macaroni Salad

Makes 12-16 small side servings, or 8 larger servings

1 pound elbow macaroni or other smallish pasta

½ cup diced bell pepper, your color choice (mix 'em!)
½ cup diced red onion (use half diced red onion/half thinly sliced spring onion for a milder flavor)
½ cup diced celery
½ cup shredded carrot
¼ cup minced fresh chives, or 2 Tbs. dried chives

¾ - 1 cup vegan mayo, or other mayo of choice
½ cup almond milk, or other milk of choice, more as necessary
2 Tbs. sweet pickle relish
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. prepared Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. fresh minced dill, or 1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. salt, to taste
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ tsp. whole caraway seed, or ¼ tsp. ground caraway seed, optional

Bring a large, 6 quart pot of water (with 1-2 Tbs. salt added, if desired) to a boil, and cook pasta until just al dente- follow manufacturer's directions but check early to achieve a firm al dente, not overcooked, result.

While water is heating and pasta is boiling, prep the vegetables and set aside in a bowl.

Make the dressing by blending mayo through caraway seed, if using, in a small bowl.

When pasta is cooked, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to halt further cooking. Place in a large serving bowl, add chopped vegetables and dressing, and mix gently but thoroughly to combine. Adjust condiments/seasonings to taste.

Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Blend in a little more milk if the salad seems too dry after refrigerating; the pasta will continue to absorb the dressing for a while as it sits.

Scrambling to catch up

2010-07-08T23:04:00.024-04:00

Painting is about to happen. I swear. Boxes are slowly leaving the building, space is opening up, items are being purged. But I am still WAY behind where I planned to be the first week of July. Dad seems to be getting along as well as can be expected without Mom around, so the urgency is not quite as pronounced as what was originally feared, and frankly I have just been dragging my feet. Moving sucks.

The garden starts are all but abandoned; I may try to save a few of the tomato and pepper plants and miraculously discover a sunny spot somewhere at Dad's (he doesn't have much more sun than I do), but in all probability they will end up in the compost. This will not be the case forever, just keep repeating to self...

I have packed up the pantry spices in little labeled cardboard boxes for the final move, but they are still here with me and on occasion an actual recipe does get developed and executed these past couple of months. Here's the evidence.

Susan over at Fat Free Vegan did a post on her method for a tofu scramble, which of course every other veggie blogger on the planet has done as well, but hers caught my eye because of the complexity of the seasonings. However, you might not want to attempt this when you are really hungry, and short on time, and trying to get the painting done, and just not in the mood. So I thought, why not do a bulk version of the seasoning mix, keep it in the infamous WTM 1 lb. recycled peanut butter jar, and have a scramble in no time flat when the mood strikes? Why not?

Susan is a genius. I poked and prodded the original recipe, as usual, to get it to conform to my own exacting tastes (yeah right), then scaled up for a bulk version, so away we go.

Scrambled Tofu Seasoning Mix

2-4 cups nutritional yeast (update 12/11/2010: I found I was adding more nutritional yeast to the scramble after I added the seasoning mix so I used four cups of nutritional yeast in my most recent batch of mix instead of two cups. This recipe would now technically require more than one 1 lb. jar if you also decide to use four cups.)
3 Tbs. onion powder
2 Tbs. sea salt
1 Tbs. black salt (for an eggier taste: find it at an Indian grocer, or online; this 5 lb. purchase set me back about $17.00, will probably last til the end of time, and shipping was free)
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. turmeric
1 Tbs. dried chives
1 Tbs. dried dill weed
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 Tbs. dried sage
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. ground celery seed
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Blend all ingredients well or pulse a few times in a food processor. Store in an airtight jar. Use up to ¼ cup per 16 oz. diced or crumbled tofu.

To make my favorite scramble, melt a tablespoon of Earth Balance margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 diced green onions or a diced shallot, and a few diced cremini or white mushrooms. Saute a bit to soften the veggies, then add about 4-5 oz. of crumbled or diced tofu and a tablespoon of seasoning, stirring to blend. I diced for this iteration, and 5 oz. is a very generous serving.

You probably don't need to press the tofu to remove excess water; it works better for me when I don't press. Keep stirring the scramble to evenly distribute the seasoning and heat through. Find your seasoning tolerance and adjust as necessary. I found that a tablespoon was about all I needed, and the scramble was remarkably egg-y. This is also great in a burrito!

Guarding the garden

2010-06-23T21:23:00.011-04:00

Magnolia discovered the interloper and proceeded to attempt a dispatch of him/her. Problem was, Magnolia does not really know how to do a proper dispatch as she was ripped from the teachings of her feral mother at 'round about ten weeks, whence she came to live at WTM with her sister Rosa.

Luckily for the interloper. Snakes are not at all unwelcome in my garden, as long as they do not dispatch the gardener, so I shooed Magnolia and managed to get a portrait of our visitor before the exit stage right.

I couldn't determine the length, which was substantial in comparison to the width, which was probably no more than 5/8" at the widest (looked like a standard American seam width, for those of us who have used commercial clothing patterns). We have us a young garter snake, perhaps (or a ribbon snake)? Garter snakes are reputedly eaters of slugs, and so are deserving of the guardian title.

I hope we have not scared away our young guardian for good, even though there will be new gardeners replacing me here eventually who may not be like minded.

A plan comes together

2010-05-31T12:04:00.007-04:00

Here is another experiment that has little guarantee of success, but we may always hope. This avocado seedling is in a pot that won't hold it for long, but it's temporary until the garden- AKA Stuff in Pots- gets moved to Dad's. Today I added a few cilantro seedlings, which will most likely start to bolt in the next few days since we're in the nineties this weekend. Just when they were almost big enough to be useful, so of course.

When the avocado plant gets moved to the next pot, I will make sure that it (the pot) is considerably bigger as I think this companion planting thing is going to be happening more and more, even after the garden is no longer just Stuff in Pots. Maybe when it gets bigger it will be able to shade the cilantro a little due to its large leaves? I don't know, but that's my plan and I'm sticking to it.

So although this avocado plant will never yield any fruit due to it living in the wrong climate, and the cilantro will not make many leaves (also due to living in the wrong climate), that's OK because it's an excuse to post my favorite guacamole recipe.

This was inspired by one Whole Foods used to sell (maybe they still do). Straight up guac is a marvelous thing, but I like it best fancied up with some extra veggies, and served with them too. So here's my contribution to the Memorial Day Fiesta.

Fiesta Guacamole

3 Haas avocados, peeled, seeded, and mashed
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup diced red, yellow, and/or green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced, drained tomato
2 Tbs. minced green onion
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
3 Tbs. minced cilantro
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. lime juice
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Garnish:
Cilantro, diced onion, diced tomato, lime wedges for squeezing, and/or hot pepper sauce

Accompaniments:
Tortilla chips, toasted pita chips, and/or crudités (cut up veggies) for serving

Mix ingredients gently, taste, and correct seasonings as necessary. Garnish as desired, and serve with chips and crudités.

Note: The jalapeno and liquid smoke can be replaced with a smoked jalapeno, if desired.

Somebody didn't get the memo

2010-05-22T14:31:00.014-04:00

Exhibit A is the herb known as Stevia rebaudiana, or 'Sweet Leaf', which describes its use as a natural, calorie free sweetener. This was a plant purchased in 2009, and although it can be grown from seed, the grower must expect a naturally low germination rate (been there/done that, but some seeds did germinate).

I found the remains of this specimen a couple of months ago while autopsy-ing the garden that was subjected to several feet of snow this past winter, and many weeks of below freezing temperatures, a number of which were in the single digits. Low and behold, there were not just remains. There were the bare beginnings of leaf buds apparent when I found it, so out of the ravaged garden it came and into a pot on the light stand it went.

S. rebaudiana is not supposed to survive winters in the Mid-A. Matter of fact, it is supposed to expire at the mere mention of a mild frost. This guy was apparently out of the loop. It took quite a while for the leaves to approach anything substantial this season, but by golly they are there now.

Not that this is any proof of a winter-hardy strain of Sweet Leaf yet, but it is proof that there are outliers in every crowd. May try some cuttings later in the season, and see how they react to another winter exposure.

Shameless theft of other web content, for a good cause

2010-05-17T20:17:00.010-04:00

There's been a whole lotta shakin' goin on here at WTM, but notta lotta postin'. That should resume in the near future.

In the meantime, please check out Maryland's Grow It Eat It website if you are able to share your harvest this year- the Grow It Give It offshoot is alive and well and looking for participants!

From the website:

What do I do with all my extra produce? Consider donating it to a local soup kitchen or food pantry!

If your surplus is good enough for you to eat, it's good enough to share with neighbors in need. Over 36 million Americans are hungry and rely on local food pantries to help sustain their families.

Now that the Grow It Eat It campaign has helped you Grow It, let's share the abundance and Give It!

You know who you are, fellow planters- rally 'round the vegetable plot, and start growing!

Pot luck and other muck

2010-04-19T21:28:00.016-04:00

In keeping with the recent theme of thrown together recipes for which you really don't need a recipe, and the fact that most of the food prep is tending towards pot luck dishes recently, here's my take on good old-fashioned boring coleslaw.

Mom always put marshmallows and pineapple in her coleslaw, and naturally we loved it as kids because it was like eating candy due to the sugar level. Not really requiring (or being able to stand) the same sugar intake now as I did in youth, the marshmallows are out ('specially since they have gelatin in them- blech), but I did do it with pineapple for this most recent iteration.

Raisins aren't bad either; I've used them in coleslaw from time to time- they work in carrot salad, so why not cabbage and carrot salad?

Coleslaw can be kind of fun if you don't mind thinking outside the usual confines of cabbage and Miracle Whip. This makes a ton o' slaw.

Cafe Moi Cole Slaw

Serves your entire neighborhood

Dressing:
¾ cup mayonnaise of choice
¾ cup almond milk or other milk of choice
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. freshly grated horseradish, or a bit more prepared horseradish
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. celery seed (or caraway seed if you're more adventurous)

Salad:
16 cups chopped or shredded cabbage (1 large head)
2 cups shredded carrot (4-6 carrots)
½ cup minced onion
Optional: 10 oz. canned or fresh pineapple, cut in small dice or crushed

Combine dressing ingredients in a large bowl and blend until smooth with a hand blender (to get those brown sugar lumps out) or whisk.

Add cabbage, carrot, onion, and pineapple if using, and mix well. Adjust dressing and seasoning ingredients to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight if you have time, to develop flavors. I drain the extra juice the next day as I don't like it soupy.

Turn and face the strange changes

2010-04-11T22:48:00.022-04:00

So. Moving plans are on again, and the garden here at WTM will be returned to "lawn", or something approximating it. There may be a garden at Mom and Dad's, where I will eventually be relocating to help Dad out due to Mom's passing, or there may only be Stuff in Pots (not sure what if anything will go in the ground). There are plenty of seedlings that got started before the strange changes, so I hope at least some of them find homes.

In the meantime, cooking is going to get interesting. The challenge is to come up with recipes that a meat-eater (Dad) will want to eat, as they are being prepared by a non-meat eater (me). So Two Cup Stew was born. A riff on Pasta and Bean Soup, I just ate this for dinner all by itself and I'm happy (actually I did add some Parmenon), but he can embellish it with some meatballs (bought him a two pound bag of frozen, prepared) and 'sprinkle cheese' (Mom's description of Kraft grated Parmesan). Will have to work on a veggie meatball recipe next as it was really weird to buy meat again (last time was 16 years ago). I think Mom would have liked this.

Two Cup Stew

Makes about six 2-cup servings

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups diced red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced potato
2 cups shredded cabbage, firmly packed
2 cups diced tomatoes (or ~1 lb. can)
2 cups tomato puree or crushed tomatoes (or ~1 lb. can)
4-6 cups broth of choice (I used vegetarian 'beef' style bouillon cubes to make broth)
2 cups ditalini, or other small pasta
2 cups (or ~1lb. can) cooked beans of choice (white or kidney beans are traditional, but I only had black beans on hand)

1-2 tsp. salt-free seasoning blend (I used Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salt Free Seasoning)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until beginning to soften, and then add the carrot, potato, seasoning blend, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for a minute or two to warm the spices, and add broth, tomatoes, and tomato puree. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and ditalini and simmer for another ten minutes until pasta is al dente. Add beans and heat through, correct seasonings, and serve.

For reheating, you may need to add a quarter cup of water or so, if desired, to restore some liquid consistency to the stew, as the pasta will absorb much of the broth as it sits.

With apologies to Thoreau, my own Faith in a Seed

2010-03-30T22:18:00.028-04:00

Rosanne Jaekels Blakeney (my Mom, Rosie) died on World Water Day, March 22, 2010. That might seem an odd piece of trivia to share when a cherished wife, mother, and all around exemplary human has gone on to her next life, or whatever it is that we go on to, but it is appropriate in this case. World Water Day sprang from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The goal was to implement access to clean water and safe sanitation for the poorest communities around the globe by the year 2015, and to help communities find sustainable ways to manage and pay for water.

Food cannot be grown without water, communities cannot be built without water, and sanitary living conditions cannot be achieved without water. The driving forces behind World Water Day recognized that pipes, cement, and infrastructure could not do the job without engaging individual people and communities.

Rosie had no ties to World Water Day, but she believed with her whole heart in the power of the individual, the power of one spirit to make a measurable, palpable difference in the lives and fortunes of others. She never abandoned her optimistic belief in the power of one, unlike so many of us who are jaded and hardened by the realities of the working week, or the idiocy of our political squabbles, or the seeming inconsequence of a simple kindness done for another, yet unseen by any other witness. Rosie believed in the power of that one seed.

She taught me about the magic contained in a seed. On her bookshelf is a volume titled "The Seed-Starter's Handbook". It is a first edition, and proves that Rosie was 'green' long before green was cool. I remember she grew tomato plants at our first house, and at the second house had Dad build a greenhouse so she could get a head start on the food that she would grow for her family for the next several years (I found the greenhouse fascinating, although I didn't contribute to any of its activities at the time). She bought seedlings on occasion, but I think she really enjoyed it the most when she witnessed the birth of a plant that would become part of a family meal.

I purchased a copy of the second edition of the same book several years after moving away from my parents' house, and it led to my own love of bringing forth life from a seed. It's funny, I don't remember ever seeing Mom's copy of that book when I lived at home, as I'm sure I was far too busy with my own important comings and goings, and much too involved with other, more pressing pursuits. Now my greatest dream is to put up my own greenhouse and tend to emerging life, and the life it may provide or enhance for others, for the rest of my own.

It is my intent to honor Rosie's Rebirth and World Water Day every year from now on. If we only had a few more Rosies in the world, we wouldn't have to conduct United Nations Conferences on Environment and Development to ensure that the least of our brethren had access to the most basic of needs. It's time to stand up and disperse more of Rosie's seeds, I think.

Rescue me

2010-03-07T18:18:00.028-05:00

Right around the holidaze, and well into the Winter That Would Not Stop, not even for a freakin minute, and after the December snowstorm had mostly melted, guess what I found pokin' its tiny little self up through the ravaged earth? The French tarragon I forgot to dig up and bring inside in November. So it was hastily dug up right then and there, lest the garden gods snatch back its second chance at life, and it has been growing happily on the light stand since. I don't think it was more than a couple millimeters tall when I found it, and has grown several inches since then (sorry 'bout mixing the measuring standards).

Then after the February blizzards mostly melted, I went searching for the herbs that were left in the ground intentionally, as under "normal" circumstances things such as oregano, thyme, and rosemary can handle the winters here.

Sure enough, there were a few survivors, so I brought in and potted up a representative of each just in case we get nailed for a FOURTH snowstorm/blizzard/whatever before old man winter is finished with us. The rescues included thyme, oregano, lavender, and lemon balm (which nuclear fallout couldn't even kill, so I don't know why I brought any of that in). They are all recuperating in ugly little black starter pots now, and today got to spend a little more time in the sunshine, as for some unexplained reason we have had reasonable temperatures this weekend. The lemon grass on the right was actually brought in well before any snow, so it's been creeping along inside all winter, despite the occasional nibble from the cats. The lavender in the middle is pretty spindly, but should survive. I'm afraid the rosemary succumbed, so new seeds have been started.

And the basil seedlings that got started in November (inside) are actually attaining some size now, after spending two months in an applesauce cup (yes, all four of them were started in the same cup. They were getting rather snug). They are all much happier in their new (old) pot.

I usually grow Basilico 'Monstruoso' as the normal summer basil, because it really does get geenormous. This one is 'Cameo', and was developed for pot culture. Despite being compact, it is supposed to put out respectably sized and flavored leaves. So far so good. The leaves are actually big enough to do a little cooking with. The plants are 3" tall or so, after being liberated from their cruel and unusual confinement, and I'm looking forward to some pesto here very shortly. Which reminds me, the herbs that will be put out in the spring need to get started- time to rustle up some more applesauce cups.

Update 3/19/10: the basil seedlings are doing much too well in one 8" pot, and will be upgraded to at least a 12" pot very shortly.

Survey says...

2010-03-06T11:44:00.014-05:00

We don't need no stinkin' tarp! REAL birds eat right outta the snow!

They ate off the tarp too (see the last post for backstory; the squirrels found it first), but it turned out to be completely unnecessary. And despite all the admonitions from the Wildlife spokespeeps that wildlife will hunker down in bad times, and the strong will survive, and we shouldn't skew the gene pool by feeding and supporting the 'weaker' individuals, I skewed the gene pool and bet a lot of other people did too. We skew the gene pool by feeding and supporting members of our own species during bad times, so I confess to being a very bad Darwinian.

Sorry.

Today it is above 50 degrees F for the first time this year, I think. Spent part of the morning scratching around in the muck that used to be the garden to find any survivors (meaning herbs). The next post will detail what got found. This afternoon will be for seed starting the veggies (late again, but at least I'm consistent).

The snow from last month's blizzards is almost gone, and if our sanity and souls didn't go with it, here's to new beginnings, all.

Crawling from the wreckage

2010-02-12T11:27:00.012-05:00

Today is the eighth day after the first blizzard began. And the fourth day after the second blizzard began (I think. It's gotten kind of fuzzy.) After shoveling the driveway four times, and the mailbox three, I see pavement now thawing in the sun.

Unfortunately there is no pavement thawing in the sun for the approximately two tenths of a mile stretch leading into my neighborhood, so all the money we have paid independently to have our own neighborhood plowed (special taxing district, so we maintain our roads) has been largely wasted for those of us without four wheel drive- meaning moi.

Just two tenths of a mile separating me from freedom. And going to work. Which is where I would really prefer to be now instead of nursing aching muscles at home. It has gotten very stale. Will check later today and see if the county finally remembered that they own that pesky two tenths of a mile...

But the power didn't go out. Yet. And the roof didn't collapse. Yet. And there's food aplenty, although the wine has run dangerously low. Many of the neighbors, however, meaning the furred and feathered ones, do NOT have food aplenty at this point. So the front iceberg has now become an all purpose feeding station.

This is an experiment, as I don't know if any of the critters will get freaked out by the big blue tarp. Could have just thrown all of the seeds and nuts on top of the snow, and a lot of it would likely get eaten, but I thought if I spread out the tarp, then sprinkled the seed over it, and anchored it with some potting trays which could also serve as feeders, less of it would get lost to the melting we'll be seeing over the next three days- until the NEXT snowfall on Monday or Tuesday, that is. The weather dudes are promising that we'll probably just shrug that one off, it'll be no big deal, but I'm not placing any bets.

So far there is one squirrel chowing down, but on the seeded snow, not the seeded tarp. I will do periodic checks to see if the blue tarp feeder is a bust. If it is, no problem, the seed can just get tossed on the snow.

Which is what I did in the back yard, over last year's garden- making it the bird garden now, I guess.
Didn't put the seed in any trays out in the back, just sprinkled it around. If the various other gardening trays were not under 3-4 feet of snow out by the shed I would have put them to work too, but at this point I'm done shoveling.

Now it's time to go see if that infamous two tenths of a mile has been rediscovered by AA County. And time for the rest of the Mid-A to go check on their furred and feathered friends- make sure the soup's on, peeps!

Update: the county has likely abandoned this stretch of road. It was white knuckle driving in and out of the entrance to the neighborhood late this afternoon. Now I know why private citizens own Bobcats. Unfortunately they do not reside in my neck of the woods.

Are we there yet?

2010-01-20T20:21:00.031-05:00

Dear dog almighty but I am done with this mess. Is it still winter? Can I opt out? No? Let me figure out how to spell aaaggghhh and I'll be right back...

We finally came out of the deep freeze (for the Mid-A, anyway) only to get some more rain and therefore soil so soggy I can't even walk in the HIGH side of the yard without sinking in halfway up my shoes (which may help the gentle reader understand the title of this blog).

That was the obligatory winter bitch for this month; I'm all done now. March 21 is right around the corner, isn't it? (Pleasepleaseplease).

The seed envelopes are beckoning, and I am about to dive in with merry abandon to plan the 2010 garden. Until then here is a little bit of snuggle for your tummy, as I believe that Soup Can Save the Human Race, and the next garden will have lots of soup ingredients. I hope.

The croutons here really add a nice carb note- sorry, Atkins devotees!

White Bean and Sausage Stew
8 servings

Stew ingredients
2 Tbs. oil
8 oz. veggie Italian sausage, sliced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3 cups or 2 cans (~15 oz. each) white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups or 2 cans (~15 oz. each) diced tomatoes
½ cup vegetable broth or water
½ tsp. salt, to taste
¼ tsp. pepper, to taste
½ tsp. dried thyme, to taste
½ tsp. dried rosemary, to taste

Crouton ingredients
2 cups small croutons, diced from coarse bread (2 - 3 slices)
2 Tbs. oil
1 clove garlic, minced and mashed
½ tsp. salt, to taste
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbs. minced dried parsley, chives, or other dried herbs of choice

Stew:
Heat oil in a 5-qt pot or deep saute pan over medium heat. Brown veggie sausage, turning frequently, until heated through and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate on paper towels and set aside.

In the same pot, sauté carrots, celery, onion and garlic until beginning to soften, adding more oil if necessary, about 5 minutes.

Add sausage and remaining stew ingredients to saucepan. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Croutons:
While stew is simmering, heat oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil a cookie sheet.

Place croutons in a large bowl. Blend oil, garlic, and seasonings together in a small bowl, drizzle over croutons, and toss thoroughly to combine. Spread on prepared baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, tossing once or twice, until toasted.

Remove to the bowl used previously, and toss croutons with herbs while still hot. Cool slightly to allow the croutons to crisp up, and serve over stew.

Adapted from a recipe at Woman's Day.

The waiting is the hardest part

2010-01-08T21:18:00.032-05:00

Actually it looks like the waiting may be over.

This is what 10 seeds of Murraya koenigii, or Curry Leaf Tree, looked like on December 11, 2009, about 45 minutes after receiving them in the mail from Horizon Herbs.

This is what they still look like on January 8, 2010, so I didn't take another picture.

Curry Leaf seeds are notoriously finicky about germination, from everything I've read, and despite heroic efforts to plant them immediately, keep them warm with a heat mat, placate them with song (not really), they are apparently dead (or do they really take this long to germinate?) They may have have been deceased when I received them, but they still looked a little moist, which is required for seed of this tropical species to be viable.

The ideal method of germination, I think, is to have them fall off the plant when ripe directly into a planting pot, and then hope for the best. If you live in Sri Lanka or India this is not a big deal, but the Mid-A ain't neither.

We have had one of the most disgusting winters I can remember. And it just got started. Got cold early. Has stayed below freezing at least part of the day for weeks. Dumped 21 freaking inches of snow on us in one day (and I HATED every flake). I want me some global warming!

Don't get all worked up, I didn't plant the seeds outside, they are inside on a light stand with a heat mat. I just needed an excuse to complain.

Update 1/9/10: See here for the culprit!

The whole game plan behind growing a Curry Leaf plant was that the leaf is a key ingredient in many Indian dishes, and I would like to start trying more of them at home. Curry Leaf tree, the real deal, has absolutely nothing to do with the curry powders we buy at Giant, Safeway, or even Whole Paycheck. Those reportedly started out as Brit bastardizations of the spices used in Indian cooking, and even though I really like curry powder, it just doesn't hold a candle to Curry Leaf.

Almost forgot, I'm also trying to root a small cutting from a curry leaf branch I bought at an area Asian market. Dipped the cutting in some rooting hormone, on two different occasions even, but the branch wasn't the freshest, so this could be pointless.

So the first seed starting of the season appears to be a dismal failure. Not to worry, I am laying plans for starting some other herb seeds as we post, just to make myself feel better, but I may just have to break down and order a Curry Leaf plant (aack- quitter!) from Logee's soon...

Ho Ho Ho! To all

2009-12-24T18:21:00.018-05:00

When the holidays have us up against the wall, those with less than stellar organization get motivated. Just came back from the holiday shopping trip (yes I did it all on Christmas Eve) and I'm not sure there will be any cooking tonight. Maybe, but no promises. However I'll post my new favorite main dish type "roast", a turkey-style seitan that others have been developing for several years and I just started trying this year.

Didn't do it for Thanksgiving, and probably won't do it tomorrow (nobody else in my family would be interested) but I've made it a couple of times in between and it is now a staple. This was so reminiscent of turkey I got a little freaked out.

VeganDad has done a few incarnations of turkey seitan, Felicity at Thrifty Living has done one too, and there are many others floating 'round on the web, but until the price of veggie lunchmeats started hitting the stratosphere, I hadn't tried my hand. Now I'm a convert.

This recipe is easy (although it takes a while to cook), slices really well, tastes really good, and can be used as a special occasion dish, as deli slices, and for stew or pot pie. I'm actually going to make the next batch to try in a recipe Elise recently posted on Simply Recipes for Curry Turkey Salad. Vegetarians need recipes that use up holiday leftovers too, you know! (Far as I'm concerned, people, let's cut straight to the pot pie or sandwich options- who needs a centerpiece.)

The seitan I usually make never included tofu, but after looking at ThriftyLiving's recipe, I gave it a go, and it does make for a more tender result. I changed ingredients and quantities somewhat (less tofu, more gluten, also added chickpea flour) to keep it a little more on the firm side, and used poultry seasoning instead of individual dried seasonings. It seems to strike a nice balance between firm and tender, meaning it should hold up in a more liquidy recipe.

I went VeganDad's route, steaming and then baking, but per some advice he gave for one of his roasts, baked only for 30 minutes to avoid a too-dry result. Also I made this rather slender (about 3") to ensure even cooking throughout, but the traditional method is to make it more of a small roast-sized diameter, about 4" or so.

(Update 1/10/10- just made it again today in a 4" roast size, and it cooked through fine in the same amount of time.)

So whatever is on your plate tomorrow, I wish everyone a glad heart, a warm house, and a full tummy!

Turkey Style Seitan

Makes a 26 oz. loaf

¼ cup finely ground almonds (I use a spice grinder for the finest grind)
8 oz. soft or silken tofu, crumbled (if you use extra-firm you will need more water)
3 tsp. broth powder (or amount required for 2 cups broth)
1 Tbs. soy sauce
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup onion, minced, or 2 tsp. onion granules
1 large clove garlic, minced, or 1 tsp. garlic granules
¼ cup chickpea flour
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1½ tsp. dried poultry seasoning
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1¼ cups vital wheat gluten (I use a 6.5 oz. box of Hodgson Mill)

Place ground almonds and crumbled tofu in a blender. Place the broth powder in a measuring cup, adding the soy sauce and enough water to make ½ cup. Stir well and place in the blender.

Add remaining ingredients to blender except gluten. Blend until smooth. Empty the mixture into a large mixing bowl, and blend in gluten until well combined.

Knead the dough briefly to make sure the ingredients are well incorporated, and form into a loaf about 3" to 4" thick. Allow it to rest while setting up and bringing water to boil in a steamer.

Wrap the loaf in a double thickness of aluminum foil, to prevent it from bursting out during steaming and baking. Twist the ends like tootsie rolls.

Steam 50 minutes over simmering water, turning over after 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F at the same time.

Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool a bit before unwrapping.

Maybe you're not from Texas

2009-12-17T22:53:00.030-05:00

But you can pretend you are with Texas Caviar at your next soirée.

Wow. Why did I not know about this before? This has to be one of the all-time greatest nibble foods that has ever appeared on this planet, and it's completely veggie, and I'd never heard of it.

Just proves that WTM needs to get out more.

After a version of this recipe appeared at one of the multitude of baby showers we had this year at work (thanks Stephanie!) I got the recipe (now fondly known as "the bean thing"), then did some web surfing, and adjusted to taste for submission at Thanksgiving.

My 80+ year old father, who is not enamored of anything "weird" (i.e., his mother never made it), was kneeling in front of the coffee table, madly scooping this onto chips before the Thanksgiving feast commenced. What you see here is the last of the bowl, very well drained just to get a picture before I ate the last few scoops- a fresh batch will be juicier and much more photogenic.

Can't wait to try this next year with home grown ingredients (actually, the jalapeno was- and there WILL be cilantro in 2010).

Texas Caviar

Salad
15 oz. can shoepeg or yellow corn, drained and well rinsed
15 oz. can black eyed peas, drained and well rinsed
15 oz. can black beans, drained and well rinsed
15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, well drained
1 small-medium bell pepper, finely diced
1 small-medium red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, minced (seeded if desired)
1 large clove garlic, minced
¼ cup cilantro leaves, minced

Dressing
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Mix dressing ingredients thoroughly until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour dressing over ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour, stirring occasionally to distribute dressing.

Serve with tortilla chips or as an appetizer over crisp torn greens.

Let us now praise famous squash

2009-12-12T13:51:00.021-05:00

Or, winter begins. The famed Galeaux d'Eysines from this post made it to the soup pot after all. Said pot will undoubtedly be busy this season.

As soup is about my favorite making-while-drinking-wine meal, an inordinate amount of soup recipes pass through the WTM kitchen. And although lots of people can chop, season, simmer, and serve their way to 30 minute soup, in my case it tends to become more of an off-Broadway production in 3 acts. Which is why dinner frequently ends up being at 11 p.m.

I've got the little white bowl routine down (mise-en-place anyone?) but it still takes far longer than any of the cookbooks or websites will 'fess up to. Guess that's what I get for not having a staff. (Repeat after me: Martha has a staff. They fill the little white bowls. That is why it only takes her 30 minutes to make soup.)

The recipe originated from a few places, as usual (see Sara Moulton's recipe for a jumping off point, and also Robin Robertson's). Coconut milk adds the richness that might otherwise be supplied by heavy (dairy) cream, and I adore it.

Winter Squash Soup

1 or 2 large winter squash, to yield about 3½ cups cooked and drained puree
Vegetable oil for coating pan
1 large onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. curry powder
2 Tbs. Earth Balance or other non-hydrogenated margarine
3 cups light broth
14 oz. can of coconut milk
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 Tbs. sugar or maple syrup
1 tsp. salt, to taste
½ tsp. pepper, to taste

Cut squash in half (or in quarters, if large), and remove seeds. Arrange squash cut side down in an oiled roasting pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until very tender.

Allow to cool. Scoop the flesh into a colander to drain a bit. Reserve about 3½ cups of the cooked, drained puree, and refrigerate any remaining puree for another use (like pancakes!)

Meanwhile, as the squash is baking, heat the margarine in a saucepan over medium low heat, and cook the onion through curry powder for 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

Add the broth, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add 3½ cups drained squash pulp to the saucepan and blend well. Puree the mixture in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth, or use a hand blender directly in the saucepan, for a more rustic (i.e. chunkier) result.

Blend in coconut milk, cider vinegar or lemon juice, and sugar or maple syrup. Add salt and pepper to taste, and adjust other seasonings as desired.

Return the soup to the pan and simmer over moderate heat, adding more broth if necessary to achieve the desired consistency, and heat through.

And now for something completely different

2009-11-30T13:44:00.024-05:00

...a project I actually completed! (Well, 95%, but who's counting.)

In the last post, I listed some of my to-do list for the garden cold season, and by crikey here's one that came to fruition. It is about the sloppiest example of wood cutting anyone could ever hope to perpetrate, but what the muck, we have decided that this is just the prototype for greater things to come.

I ripped the majority of the pieces with a jigsaw blade as dull as dirt, late at night, and with no clamps to hold the stock, so we have a rather free form example of the original hod (thanks RunnerDuck!) I set out to replicate. Still, I think it will be very functional and if I don't carry bricks around in it, may last for a few years.

The original design has handle supports attached to the outside of the hod ends, but due to some airheaded measuring, I cut the dowel handle too short. Not a problem; did some 'redesign' and attached the handle supports to the inside of the hod ends. (See this photo for a much cooler example of another handle option.)

Guess what- I like the 'booboo' design even better! Truth be told, I did consider attaching the handles on the inside before I goofed on the measurements. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.) The inside attachment doesn't reduce the interior space very much, but does reduce the outside dimensions if you have storage considerations (as I do).

My final measurements are a little larger than RunnerDuck's, due to going with a 1 x 8 instead of a 1 x 6- 7 3/8 " high x 9 7/8 " wide x 17" long (basket dimensions, not including handle height- that is about 13"). I'm very happy with the extra 2" depth. This is still relatively lightweight since it's made from pine.

That's right, cheapo pine was used here, not the cedar recommended by RunnerDuck (mainly because Homey Deepo did not have any cedar), so I applied a tung oil finish for some water repellance. Right before I took the pic here, the hod was out on the deck and it started to rain. The water beaded up just fine, so I think if it is not left to fend for itself day and night in the cold cruel (outside) world, and is given reasonable care, the little basket will hopefully be around for many seasons.

Another modification was to use 1/4" wire mesh instead of 1/2". My reasoning was that herbs (as well as smaller vegetables, like little hot peppers) could be gathered more easily in a smaller meshed hod, with no 'slipping through the cracks'. The only caveat is that the wire gauge of the 1/4" is also a little thinner. If you want the sturdiest construction, go with the 1/2" mesh. You could always line the basket with a cloth to keep the little stuff from falling out.

One last mod, which has not been applied yet, will be to add 'feet' under each end, creating a little air space underneath the mesh, and theoretically protecting it from getting cut up. The plan is to rip two pieces, 7/8" square x 6" long, and attach them to the bottom of each end piece.

As for the savings over a ready-made garden hod, if you don't count the ~$38.00 I spent on tools- spade bit, jigsaw blades, carpenter's glue, and clamps- the wood and mesh ran about $15.00, and there is just barely enough wood to make one more hod. So much for pinchin' the pennies.

There may still be an opportunity to grab an artistic photo of the new garden basket brimming over with 'plenty'- never mind the fact that it will probably consist of nothing but swiss chard and jalapenos- hey, doesn't everybody still have jalapenos growing at the end of November?

That's a wrap

2009-11-15T00:06:00.013-05:00

What do you do when you know there is no longer any hope of squeezing another cracked tomato, or minuscule eggplant, or puny pepper out of the utterly failed garden? Gather up everything that you did squeeze out and pile it in a bowl so you can pretend you actually had a harvest. There. Denial fixes everything, and I feel much better now.

Due to Hurricane what's her name, anything in my garden that was still clinging to life by a thread has been drowned, ripped off the vine, or otherwise molested. There is currently a large branch from the stupid silver maple impaled in the middle of the beds and the leaves have created a wet mat of slug heaven (why don't hurricanes do the slugs in? Not fair.)

Sunday looks like it's going to be a great day for being outside and taking care of some of the destruction; problem is I volunteered my little self to help out with a booth at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, for the entire day. (I am an idiot). The first two days of the festival were pretty much a loss due to the storm remnants that ripped through the Mid-A this week, so I guess they deserve to have one good day since it is something that's planned all year. Just wish I hadn't opened my big mouth and volunteered!

The fall cleanup is going to end up getting done in January if I don't start scheduling things a little better. I have been doing some inside stuff, but there's plenty still left on the inside to-do list. Which is why it's always good to keep a list of inside tasks for when the weather outside is frightful; you feel like you're not a complete layabout. Some suggestions:

- Bagging up the seeds you've been drying, if you are prone to collecting way more than you will ever possibly be able to grow, like me. I had umpty billion little dishes of this and that seeds waiting patiently to be put to bed, and many of them are now snugged away in their little envelopes. Not all, but some (hey, I'm a great starter, but a very poor completer, what can I say. Short attention span.)

- Recycling all of the garden catalogs from the past year. I know they're pretty, but they have to go. Go open up your recycling bin right now, gentle reader, and cast them. The 2010's have started to arrive.

- Also recycling all of the oddball containers you've been hoarding that you thought might be good for growing stuff (hey! This is a good size tray/cup/box, I should save this...) No one on the planet needs hundreds of yogurt containers; don't know why I thought I did. But I'm not giving up my mushroom trays, no-sir-ree.

- Doing inventory on the garden equipment. What's broken? Can it be fixed? If yes, start on that, if no, then throw. What do you have too many of? Get rid of the multiples. You do not need six trowels, I'm sorry but you just don't. What might you be hankerin' for next year, that maybe you could make yourself? In this economy, the $40 or $50 garden hod is but a sweet dream, so I have decided to build my own, and the whole project can be made in my back room. I'm thinking there might be a few more do-it-yourself projects waiting in the wings as the winter looms.

- Doing inventory on the garden seeds. I actually already did this a few months ago, but it's a good one for anyone who hasn't already. Those twelve year old melon seeds are not going to germinate, buckaroo, so toss 'em. Pull all of the seed packs out and go through them ruthlessly, figure out what's still good and get rid of the rest. That way you know what you need when ordering season starts, and you don't order way too much and end up with duplicates like I always do (how'd I get four packs of Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach? Not doing inventory, that's how).

- Planning next year's beds. If you are a strict rotator, figure out where everybody can go so as not to invite pesties to multiply. I have never actually been one to pay all that much attention to whether the tomatoes are growing in the same spot as last year, but then the garden was sort of non-existent for a couple of years so don't take me as a good example. Right now my planning is looking like the front yard will be getting ripped up and the back yard left to the damn silver maple and its branches of death.

Wrapping up the garden year is sort of mournful in a way, but then I remember there will be seeds needing to be started in just eight weeks (I'm going to have broccoli and cabbage next year, dammit, if it kills me.) That's when my season starts. In the meantime, there's garden hods to build, and broken stuff to get rid of, and vegetable beds to plan...

Oh, what a tangled Web

2009-11-05T18:26:00.032-05:00

Well hey, kids- your humble blogger was recently done the honor of having a chat with Susan Harris, a local garden guru, who also has a gig over at the Homestead Gardens blog, as well as being the producer of the world famous Garden Rant blog, and it was a pleasure. They (i.e., the Homestead Gardens blog) are looking for local gardener/cook/bloggers- that means you! I was their first local featured blogger, and hopefully there will be many more to come.

A new venture, the Homestead Gardens blog is sponsored by the venerable local garden business that has been operating in Maryland for over 35 years. In addition to being a pretty mind-boggling place to buy plants/seeds/tools/other garden chotchkies, if you haven't been there during the holidays (yikes! are they almost here?), well I'm sorry, but you just haven't been.

So about the blog. I actually stumbled upon them because Rita Calvert (also at the Homestead Garden blog) stumbled upon me, asking in an email if I'd been to Green Drinks Annapolis, a project under the umbrella of AnnapolisGreen. I had not, but will be checking out some of their events shortly, always on the lookout for forward thinking ventures.

One of the reasons I went squash hunting last weekend (see previous post) was because I'd seen a curry recipe Rita posted that I thought might be interesting in a veggie incarnation- just hadn't decided yet if I wanted to do seitan or tofu as the protein component instead of goat, so who knows, the squash might still end up in a soup (if I can ever stop looking at it; it's so pretty I don't have the heart to break into it yet. Must grow this next year.)

But anyway, one thing leads to another, and before you know it, SNAP! their web has you in it's craw, but it's OK because now you have a mess o' new friends with similar interests, and great new places to go eat and drink until you just can't stand it anymore.

Talk about other people's gardens. Everyone else's this year looked better than mine. But that's normal. Since the weekend is almost here, you must go check out some of your local garden resources before the snow starts flying, and let's all start scheming on next year's garden.

OPG (Other People's Gardens)

2009-11-01T18:46:00.022-05:00

As it turned out, the nine year old was the man with the information I needed. "And which variety is this?" I asked the more 'mature' gentleman behind the table at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. "Here's who can tell you" he said, as he pulled his (I think it was) grandson over to address the customer's question.

"Gal LOW dee ay see NAY" he told me, very carefully enunciating. "Oh, it's Italian?" I asked. "No, French." Must have asked him at least twice more what the name was, but eventually the old brain stored it, and I promised to look it up when I got back home. Three dollars went to the nine year old, and one of the most beautiful winter squashes I've ever seen went home with me.

It was the runt of the litter, so to speak, as it's remaining brethren were much larger and had much more impressive bumps ("those are the sugar caps!" my young instructor corrected, when I referred to them as 'peanuts'). That morning's quest had been to obtain a butternut-type to use either in a curry or soup (hadn't decided yet) so I didn't need a giant, and Grandad assured me this was suitable for my needs. And asked for a report the next time I came back. So I innocently went to the Farmer's Market and come back with homework, which means I can't just stick it on the counter and admire it for the next several months.

Once everything was unpacked at home I set to finding out what this new-to-me critter was. Remembering the bit about the French origins, I started googling Gallo plus Acine plus French plus heirloom plus squash, in various combinations, and bingo! after some twists and turns there she was- 'Galeux d'Eysines'. And of course everybody else in the know in the Heirloom Vegetable Community has grown and loved this variety for years, and numerous catalogs devoted to heirloom varieties carry it. Respect to you, dudes, as well as to my producer.

Galeux d'Eysines hails from Eysines, a city in the southwest of France. Seed Saver's Exchange says it is "The most popular squash that we offer". Most descriptions I've read put it in the 10-20 pound range, but mine is more like 6 pounds. Which is fine with me, and that works out to $.50 per pound for my score this weekend. Most sites also concur with my producer that it is great for soups as well as roasting.

So will it be soup, or will it be curry, or will it be...

Sorry, the homework assignment is ongoing. In the meantime, here are a few sources I found if you're interested in including this in next year's garden. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I currently have to depend on Other People's Gardens (i.e., the Farmer's Market), not my own, if I want to have Really Cool Veggies such as this.

Next year, though, there's always next year.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Gourmet Seed
J.L. Hudson Seeds
Seed Saver's Exchange
Territorial Seed

Is it soup yet?

2009-10-26T22:10:00.024-04:00

There hasn't been a lot of elaborate cooking going on here recently (not that it's EVER elaborate), it's been more like boil the pasta and throw some Parmenon on top. After slathering on the Earth Balance. But with the waning days of autumn (if I may indulge in a little poetic waxing) the kitchen has become far more attractive than it was during the last despicable part of the Mid-Atlantic summer. Which means it's time for soup!

So here is not a soup recipe (maybe later) but the latest version of homemade veggie broth mix to get said soup started. There have been a few times in the past when I actually did a veg stock from scratch, but let's face it, that is not a common pursuit in my kitchen. First of all I can't stand the idea of boiling vegetables to death and then throwing them away (which most broth/stock recipes tell you to do). I think I really prefer to start out with something more of a seasoning base and then make sure the main ingredients carry the show.

I've mentioned before that there is a standard go-to recipe I use for an instant chicken-style soup base (from Joanne Stepaniak), but recently (well, today) there's been some tweaking and influence on that standard after looking at Bryanna Clark Grogan's Vegan Chicken Style Broth Powder.

I'd never included soy in my concoction, it was pretty much the nutri yeast base with salt and dried herbs. But I riffed on Bryanna's version by using soy milk powder instead of soy protein powder, and the soy milk definitely adds a 'roundness' to the broth. It was good just for sippin'! (Note that the soy milk powder can be left out completely and you will still have a good broth mix.)

Bryanna also uses sugar in her mix, which I'd never done before, and frankly I was suspicious. I didn't want a sweet result, but after making up a bit of broth with this hybrid recipe, I can say there was not a noticeable sweetness, again probably just a rounding out of the flavors.

Methinks this is the new standard. Plus it is another seasoning-type recipe that fits nicely in a 1 lb. recycled peanut butter jar. Hoo boy.

Light Instant Broth Mix

1½ cups nutritional yeast flakes
4 Tbs. powdered soy milk (optional; leave out for a clear broth)
3 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. onion granules
1 Tbs. garlic granules
1 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. dried dill or cilantro, or a combination
½ tsp. dried sage
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. freshly ground white pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until finely powdered, and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

To make broth, use 1½ tsp. per cup of water, or more to taste.

Option: for a mushroom-style broth, add a tablespoon or two of dry mushroom powder to the other ingredients in the bulk recipe before blending.

Breaking the rules

2009-10-24T16:44:00.039-04:00

This lonely little pepper pod came from a plant which came from a seed which came from a plant ('Black Pearl' ornamental pepper) I paid way too much money for last year. Although I got several seedlings this year that looked like the parent plant from last year, the one this pod came from had normal green leaves instead of the almost black leaves characteristic of the variety. It did have a completely black fruit though, which as seen in the photo is halfway to red at this point. Hopefully I left it on the plant long enough for the seeds to be viable.

The usual pod shape on 'Black Pearl' is pretty much round, but this one had a little bit of narrowing at the end so I thought what the muck, let's see what it makes next year. 'Black Pearl' is supposed to be stable, since it has PVP (Plant Variety Protection) status, but the flower from last year's plant that provided the seed for the current year's plant probably had relations with another pepper plant, as the current plant has 'normal' leaves.

Even though the conventional rule is don't save seeds from hybrids cause you don't know what you're gonna get, sometimes that's the whole point. I'd like to see if maybe an individual in the next generation gets some variegation in the leaves, while still producing the inky black fruit. Typically I'll germinate the rule-breakers and see how they grow out for a while. If they are not interesting they can always join the compost pile.

For a really striking ornamental 'black' pepper plant which does have variegated leaves, I prefer a variety called 'Royal Black African'. I got the seed from Amishland Seeds, grew it out for the first time last year, and it was stunning, just as showy as the 'Black Pearl' but with green, violet, and white streaking in some of the leaves, and more pointed fruit (which I like better than round). Even with a late start from seed it caught up with the 'Black Pearl' (which was at least 18" tall at time of purchase) in a few months. The plant in the photo below is still fairly small so there aren't as many dark leaves yet; don't take it as representative of a mature plant. When the plant is mature, the dark leaves dominate and it is much more noteworthy.

The seedlings this year were from my own saved seed, and I think there is even more streaking this year, but since the little darlings are pretty much growing in the shade they are probably not normal specimens. Still pretty though.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange carries a variety called 'Royal Black', and from the website description of the variety I think it's the same as 'Royal Black African', or very, very close to it (the leaves in the website photo appear to be green, however, not dark and streaked, per the accompanying description).

So the season is winding down, the garden was subject to a humiliating lack of sun, and the roller coaster weather helped not one little bit.

Can't wait 'til next year!

Inventory time, and lessons learned

2009-10-10T11:07:00.026-04:00

Besides the obvious answer to the question, "What vegetables can you grow in the shade?" (not many), this season brought a few surprises/ successes, and had the gardener been a little more attentive, the success rate would probably have been a smidge bit better.

Insufficient sun is not going to net you big honkin veggies. However, more modestly sized varieties, such as the Pizza My Heart pepper, as well as many hot peppers, may struggle along and produce an acceptable yield. The Pizza My Hearts shown here are probably destined for a veggie sausage-and-peppers combo, as they are sweet but can occasionally zing you with a little spiciness.

I had scads of Jalapeños and Cascabellas (well scads for me anyway). Basil, parsley, and the other herbs did OK. The African marigolds went nuts, and the French Dwarfs got nice and bushy with a little time. The Swiss Chard is even growing moderately well, and the lettuce would have done better if it hadn't gotten eaten by the Trombetta di Albenga squash vines, which only made one damn decent squash, but I didn't find it until after ripping up the vines in disgust. The Trombetta had gorgeous, enormous leaves by the way, and made gillions of flowers (which I didn't use- idiot!), and was certainly not the one at fault for being so stingy with the fruit. Trying to grow it with only an hour or so of direct sun a day is cruel and unusual punishment, so it gave me leaves and flowers instead of fruit.

Which brings me to lesson number 1. You can grow leaves in the shade. Most leaves don't care. It's fruit that cares, and will snub you unmercifully by not showing up to your party. Herbs and greens are the mainstay of the kitchen shade garden.

Then lesson number 2. Forget mammoth tomatoes and put your bets on golf ball sized fruits, if you insist on trying to grow tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and the like in shade. I got a few smallish cucumbers and eggplants this season, so next year, if I am unfortunately still here, the plan is to grow only midget varieties.

Lesson number 3. Once the funds are available again (with salary freezes things are pretty tight, like everybody on the planet didn't know that already), hire an arborist and limb up/down whatever I can get away with on the trees on the property.

Lesson number 4. A fall garden may be the best bet for a shaded yard, as the canopy is decreasing and the light increasing, even though the sun is at at a lower angle.

Lesson number 5. Tear up the front yard and put the garden there. It gets a whole THREE hours of sun a day.

Chores

2009-10-04T13:33:00.019-04:00

Before the seeds get into the envelopes below, they have to get out of the seed production units, whatever they may be. Herbs seeds can often be uncooperative due to tiny size, and their tendency to hole up in equally tiny seed capsules/cavities.

Enter another use for one of my (way-too-many) kitchen gadgets. Trying to get Thai basil seeds out of their jackets was really yanking on my carpal tunnel. This mortar with ribbed sides was perfect for rubbing the little suckers out of their hiding places.

The top of the bowl is about 5.5", tapering to a bottom of about 2", so my fingers fit easily inside to roll the seed heads around the sides of the mortar, freeing most of the seeds to drop to the bottom.

I love justifying gadget purchases.

Growing pains

2009-10-04T01:01:00.020-04:00

The garden was almost a complete flop this year (well, the marigolds did OK). The shade in the back yard is now so complete the harvest wouldn't feed a family of mice. Sigh.

Still, there are some things going to seed, so what do we do? Waste valuable time making seed envelopes! Instead of working on the house and selling it and moving somewhere that has sun!

The latest incarnation is not exactly a step by step, it's more of a spec sheet for what I currently do to contain the seeds of a meager harvest.

There have been some changes to the original envelope template, most notably cutting a curve into the top of the back section ever so slightly, to make it easier to fold down the top flap, and angling the edges on the side and bottom flaps, also to make for easier folding. The template and specs are provided in Word this time so customizing should be easy peasy.

Black pearls

2009-09-09T19:05:00.025-04:00

So they aren't anywhere near being black, and there aren't many yet, thanks mostly to a minuscule amount of sun but also a late start, but if I had enough to make a bowlful it would be the most beautiful bunch of 'maters I've ever grown. These are Chocolate Cherries, and finally getting the dusky, velvety, black-brown-red wash I bought the seeds for.

They are rich, sweet, winey, and all the other adjectives that get used for 'black' tomatoes. Just about an inch across, so the perfect cherry size. I was planning on doing a photo while they were still on the vine, but forgot the plan, so here they are hanging on a fence stake instead.

Also growing in the same shaded plot are Japanese Black Trifeles, which get to about 8 oz. or so, a nice medium size. Note: I don't understand why people grow geenormous tomatoes- I can't eat a whole one at one sitting and I hate them after they've been refrigerated. None of the Trifeles, however, were at the right stage of color to include in the photo. I've actually gotten several off the vine already, but most had (as I commented at another site) Sent From Hell cracks. Hey, even the backmost tomato in this pic had a huge crack- that's why it's in the back!

The normally wacky Mid-Atlantic weather stayed true to form this summer- cool later than normal, then instant tropicalness and a drought, then frequent violent death rain for several weeks (ergo Sent From Hell cracks), then no rain for several weeks and much cooler temps. Admittedly, it has been nice to turn off the AC for a while.

So at any rate. Currently I have some cuttings from the shade grown Chocolate Cherry plants growing roots in a pot, to be transplanted in the front yard shortly where there is at least a modicum of sun. I figure we've got better than two months of frost free weather to go, and will try for a last blast of velvety brown lusciousness- or at least enough seeds for next year, when, if I move, I might have a garden in the sun. Yay!

Now it's off to track down a good tomato chutney recipe on ze interwebs...

That's amoré

2009-08-30T16:00:00.056-04:00

There is not a drop of Italian in me but pasta has always been a major food group at my house. One of the other major food groups is Stuff That Goes on Top. And Parmigiano Reggiano from real live cows was at the top of that group for most of my adult life, and as far as I'm concerned is still one of the seven wonders of the world.

When I decided that cows really don't exist just for my pleasure (even though I'm not dairy-free yet), a great sorrow came over my heart. Or something like that. Because I adore Parmigiano Reggianno. And because cows can produce a basic raw ingredient that becomes a wonder of the world, and we can't (Mt. Rushmore and the Sphinx wish they could compete). When considering dairy cheese, and especially the crown jewel of dairy cheese, we may manipulate the main ingredient, yes, but face it, the cow is the star player.

So we flail away, flying in the face of all reason and attempting the impossible even though we know it's absurd. Meat alternatives are not nearly as much of a problem, and other non-dairy cheeses are getting close, but vegan parm remains an elusive holy grail.

But cheer up! Maybe we'll never reach the level of accomplishment of cows, cheese-wise, but we can still crank out a darn good sprinkle now and again. I've been making a simple nuts-and-nutri-yeast combo as a Parmesan stand-in for a couple of years, and frankly, have been pretty happy with it. Tweaking being in the blood though, every batch is preceded by much web-surfing.

The latest tweak included just a bit of citric acid (find it with the canning supplies at your grocer), which I hadn't used before, and I think it's now going to be a standard ingredient. Another site I looked at recommends powdered lemon juice instead of citric acid, but since I don't keep that around I haven't tried it. Dried lemon peel, finely ground, I do keep around, and would probably work as well, so that might replace the citric acid, if that's all you have.

Sesame seeds also went in with the nuts (cashews and pine nuts) in this last batch. The sesame component I'm not so sure about. It was equal parts cashews, pine nuts, and sesame seeds, and I think it was a little too bitter due to the sesame. It was OK, and I'll eat up every bit, but it was not my fave. It's possible the seeds are starting to go south- they've been refrigerated the whole time, but I can't remember when I bought them. However I think it's mostly got to do with the nature of sesame seeds.

Sweetness, such as what you get with cashews and almonds, should be a forward flavor in parm, not bitterness (although you do want an 'edge'). So the latest batch looks like the following recipe. I've added a little miso powder for some tang and 'fermentedness'. I bought mine online but see the next link in this post for a method of drying readily available miso paste to a powder; this is what I will do when my current stock runs out.

Bryanna Clark Grogan includes miso in this recipe, which also uses okara from making soy milk. The Galaxy brand has a soy base for its parm, so Bryanna's okara base should be similar. It's also not as yellow-y as the more nutri-yeast-based toppings, either, so may appeal more to the unwashed masses (i.e., the vegan-fearful).

So, in the spirit of the myriad cutely named commercial parmesan alternatives on the market, I have dubbed mine "Parmenon". Cheesy, huh?

Grated Parmenon Topping
(a.k.a. That's Amoré Sprinkle)

1½ cups nutritional yeast flakes
¾ cup finely ground almonds, cashews, or walnuts, or a combination
2 tsp. salt, to taste
1½ tsp. miso powder, or to taste (optional, try it at least once)
1 tsp. onion granules, or to taste
½ tsp. garlic granules, or to taste
¼ tsp. citric acid

Process or pulse all ingredients in a blender or food processor until thoroughly combined. Adjust seasonings to taste. I tend to be conservative with miso; others may like it a little more assertive. This really adds a rich note to lean or hearty pasta dishes, but I also love it sprinkled on steamed veggies and/or baked potatoes.

Note: this quantity fits snugly in a 1 lb. recycled glass peanut butter jar.

Bounty

2009-08-09T20:31:00.013-04:00

Even without any sun (well almost no sun) there is a little magic starting to happen in the garden. Late, yes, and skimpy, but it's happening.

These are Matina tomatoes, which are supposed to be early, as long as you start them at the right time. The bowl is the same one from the curried carrot soup post, about 5" across, so we are barely out of cherry tomato territory here, as one can see.

In an ideal world (where I am not the gardener) they should probably be 4-6 ounces each. The green ones still on the vine look like will they be closer to the expected size.

The weather has finally turned to the godawful high humidity famous in the Mid-A and will likely hit 100 F tomorrow. Aack.

From the land of pleasant living

2009-08-04T20:46:00.049-04:00

The harvest is underway fast and furious in most parts around the Mid-A, just not here in my garden. I have loads of blossoms that keep dropping off the vines, but no squash/zucchini as of this post. Not to panic!

Zukes are not taking over my particular corner of the planet yet, but are available, so here is my favorite way to prepare the little monsters (which are currently from the farmer's market, until my vines start producing, if that ever happens).

They go great with a Natty Boh or other local brewski, and some local corn (roast it for the best results), which is beginning to take over the planet. Add a classic cucumber salad, and you are pleasantly set.

Chesapeake Bay Zuke Cakes
(Mock Crab Cakes)
Makes 8

Wet ingredients:
2 cups coarsely grated, thoroughly squeezed dry zucchini, unpeeled (about 2 medium; you must squeeze them until they beg for mercy)
1 small onion, finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. parsley, minced, more to taste
2 egg replacer servings, reconstituted with water (1 Tbs. of dry powder from recipe below, or use a commercial mix)
2 Tbs. vegan mayonnaise
1 Tbs. vegan Worcestershire sauce

Dry ingredients:

2 cups coarse dry bread crumbs
1 Tbs. Old Bay seasoning, more/less to taste (I tend to be generous)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kelp powder, or more to taste, optional, for a "taste o' the sea"

oil, for frying

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and mix well; do the same with the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Add wet and dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and fold together gently but thoroughly. Form mixture into 8 patties.

Heat 2 Tbs. of oil (or enough to coat the pan) in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry in batches until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Add more oil to skillet if necessary during frying.

Drain on paper towels before serving.

Homemade Egg Replacer

1 cup potato starch
¾ cup tapioca flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Blend all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar.

To make one reconstituted egg substitute/serving:
Mix 1 ½ tsp. egg replacer with 2 Tbs. water and blend well.

Hurry, curry

2009-07-14T21:23:00.018-04:00

OK so it's not curry, it's curried carrot soup. Curried carrot and potato soup to be exact, and I ate every drop.

Even though it was a pinch too hot on the first go round (leave out the cayenne pepper if you're only a moderate/medium heat lover, like me), this was really good. Summer soups don't have to be cold, but they've got to be fast.

This is great with naan, my new favorite carb (see previous post).

Curried Carrot and Potato Soup

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. Earth Balance margarine
1 medium onion, chopped (use a sweet one if you've got it)
2 cloves garlic, minced (more as desired)
1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 lb.), such as Yukon Gold
6 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbs. Madras curry powder, or other favorite curry
¾ tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper (optional)
¼ cup cilantro leaves, minced, plus whole leaves for garnish (optional)

Preheat at least a 4 quart pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil through potatoes and saute 5 or 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth and seasonings to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Using a hand blender, blend until soup is smooth and carrots are fully pureed. Or place in a blender in batches and puree until smooth (this method will yield a silkier result). Return to the pan. Correct seasonings to taste, and stir in cilantro leaves, if using. Garnish individual servings as desired.

Tomato topics

2009-07-05T16:16:00.013-04:00

Another in what will probably be a long line of pizza posts (pizza being my favorite vegetable). Flatbreads are becoming more popular for pizza bases 'round here as the summer rolls along, and the new favorite for topping is naan, or as it is described on the package from a local Asian grocery, Tandori Nan.

It's not all that far removed from being a pita, which has always been my go-to for a quickie lunch, but it is a bit thicker and sturdier (Hand Stretched for Fluffiness! cries the package) and less likely to become a cracker. Plus it's kind of shaped like a slipper which is more fun than round. Don't ask me why.

I used a 14 oz. can of tomatoes with diced chilies, as tomatoes have not hit their stride here yet, a can of tomato paste, a tablespoon of olive oil, and the usual suspects for seasonings (Italian, minced garlic, minced onion, sugar, and salt). The chilies gave it a proper kick, but if there were rugrats clamoring to be fed I think I would have stuck with plain ol' diced tomatoes, as the chilies might have been too zingy. Topped it with a generous handful of Teese vegan mozzarella, which didn't really melt a lot here, but that could be because the top element in the toaster oven is burned out.

Melted or not, it was down the hatch long before I got the jpeg open for editing. I think Tandoori Nan is about to become a staple- sorry my little pita friends. Now to dig up that recipe I saved a while back for homemade...

Speaking of tomatoes. There are lots of flowers but I don't think any fruits yet. Largely due to someone having a rather nonchalant schedule about planting. But oh well no worries cause most of them are indeterminate so they will be producing for a long time. As much as tomato plants can produce when they are only getting a couple hours of sun a day, anyway.

Update 7/12/09: Yes there were fruits! Just really tiny at the time. They are little green marbles now, and I believe we will have redness by the end of the month.

A wee harvest

2009-06-21T08:17:00.008-04:00

It's not much yet. Everything went in late, per the usual non-plan. The radishes and greens were picked last week, the beans this week (look hard! They're in there!)

Waiting in the wings are the tomato plants, which are finally starting to take off, and now need stakes, a couple of tiny little eggplants and jalapenos plumping up, and squash blossoms scheming to take over the world. The Tiger's Eye shelling beans can't decide if they are pole or bush types, and I thought they were bush, so they are a little disheveled after recent storms- but the pods are filling out.

The parsley and basil finally look lovely, but we are far away from self sufficiency just yet. Sure is fun to harvest your own stuff though. Even if it's only a wee bit (bet this salad tips the scales at four ounces!!!)

BaBaCoo, I Wuv U

2009-06-13T16:15:00.031-04:00

In a previous life (when I ate meat), I was never a barbecue fan. Perhaps the generous amounts of dripping grease that came with most BBQ food had something to do with that. But I love grilling, and so decided to try doing a veggie 'chicken' barbecue sandwich after seeing a chik patty over at Vegan Dad's that looked interesting (they have a new baby! Go over there right now and wish congrats).

Turned out very nummy, especially for a first try. Instead of keeping it whole, I sliced it fairly thinly, dunked it in some cheap BBQ sauce, and grilled just a couple minutes on a stovetop grill.

Fast! And it will be even better when I get off my lazy a and make some REAL barbecue sauce (Father's Day is coming up you know...)

Here are my adaptations from the original VeganDad burger recipe. Since I increased the beans, I also increased the flour and oil amounts. If you want kid-sized portions, make 10 or 12 smaller patties instead of 8.

- 1½ cups cooked light beans such as canary (Mayocoba, my new favorite) or white beans
- 1 cup water or veggie broth, more if necessary
- 2-4 Tbs. olive oil (I used 2 Tbs. but may use 4 next time)
- 1 Tbs. soy sauce
- 2 Tbs. chicken-style broth powder (I use the 'All-Season Blend' broth recipe from Jo Stepaniak's "Uncheese Cookbook")
- 2 Tbs. nutritional yeast
- 1¼ cup vital wheat gluten (a 6.5 oz. box of Hodgson’s Mill)
- ½ cup chickpea flour, more if necessary
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. sweet paprika
- ½ tsp. hot paprika
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper, more to taste

Prepare a steamer (if it is at least 12" in diameter, these should all fit in one layer). Place beans through soy sauce in a blender and pulse several times for a rough blend. Place the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl, stir in the bean mixture, and knead into a smooth dough.

Shape the dough into 8 burgers (or more if you want smaller burgers).

Place the burgers over a rack in your steamer and steam, covered, for 30 minutes. I use a cheap splatter screen from the dollar store, sans the handle, and place that on top of an open steamer basket in a 12" wide casserole type pan, with about an inch or so of water simmering in the bottom. Nothing sticks to the screen. If you don't want to place the burgers directly on your rack, wrap each one in foil, place on the rack, and then steam. Serve on buns with your favorite fixins. Or slice and brush with BBQ sauce first, and grill for a few minutes on each side before serving.

Having a (re)purpose in life

2009-05-31T11:21:00.016-04:00

The garden is still pretty bare. It is amazing how many ways one can put off the grunt work of actual planting.

Here is one of my favorites: stop paying cash money for plant markers and start making your own. This is not new or innovative at all, but I'll waste space on it anyway.

Small yogurt cups (6-8 oz. each) work great for tags for seed starting flats, and you can get at least 8 out of one cup with a fair amount of room for writing (more than those 1/2" wide purchased ones anyway). A 1-lb. margarine tub (such as from Earth Balance, even though it's only 15 oz.), will get you 12 tags. Cut from the top to the bottom of the cup, then cut around the bottom edge to remove the bottom circle. To cut out the desired number of strips (whether it's 8 or 12) after the initial cutting, I usually cut the whole thing in half top to bottom, then in half again, then cut two or three strips from each of the four sections.

I used a larger yogurt container here (from a 24-oz. Whole Soy container) and got 12 tags about 1" wide by 4 1/4" long. A nice size for in the ground. Plus you can use the bottom circle that remains after cutting 12 strips as a shrub tag- just use a hole punch on the edge to put a tie through. If you have quart size containers lying around, you'll get longer tags still.

I never used to point the bottoms but decided to do it on these; they should go into a garden bed a little more easily. If you want no waste at all (see the 'chads' in the glass bowl), don't give them points, they will still work.

Root around in the recycling bin and devise your own way to procrastinate on garden chores!

Got seeds?

2009-05-23T10:40:00.024-04:00

Then you need seed envelopes. Admittedly it's too early to really be collecting any seeds yet, but one can always prepare.

Here's a tip of the hat to the hapless chard seedlings that never made it into the ground last year. (Their brethren this year are doing much better, thank you).

Download a PDF (4 envelopes per page) here, or open a new document in your word processor, set to landscape, and the margins to one tenth of an inch (0.1"), and copy the JPEG to the right four times onto the page. If you center everything, including the page layout, the margins will be even all around.

These end up to be about 3" high x 2.25" wide after folding and gluing- fold the side and bottom tabs in first, apply stick glue, and fold the back flap over them to seal. Small, but I've found this to be an almost perfect size for most of my seed collecting. Plus you get four to a page.

I swiped the envelope shape off the web a couple of years ago, then ravaged it in Paint Shop until it suited my needs, and have since tried about a baskillion different labels on the front. Beats paying real money for premades!

Cooking the books

2009-05-14T20:46:00.029-04:00

Amazon told me my order for Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen and Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch shipped yesterday- yay!

Since the garden is going to have lots of greens, roots, and fruits this season (if I ever get the freakin plants in) and brunch dishes are great for baby showers (of which I have at least two coming up) I am all aflutter.

Please God help me to stop buying cookbooks. Think I need a 12 step program.

Update 5/16/09- arrival! and I promise I am going to actually cook something from these and not just read them in bed.

The best laid plans

2009-05-12T23:06:00.011-04:00

Now we have to figure out what goes (grows) in the squares.

Each full square is a square foot (like you didn't know that). Each half square on the top and bottom end beds will host herbs or garlic or marigolds or some such little bittle crops. Still working out the details.

The final dimensions ended up to be 18' across by 19' deep. This is not a huge garden by any stretch, but it is the biggest one I've ever attempted. Here's to you, garden gods!

It takes a neighbor

2009-05-10T20:14:00.029-04:00

OK so it's probably way late to be digging a (sort of) new garden but that's the way it goes here. The little baby tiller crapped out yesterday, probably due to the five year old gas in it's little tank, so my next door neighbor was kind enough to drag out his tiller and BAM in ten minutes, I now have 342 square feet of bare ground I have to do something with.

Actually only 234 square feet will be planted, as the walkways are a little more than 100 square feet, but the last actual productive garden (a couple of years back) was less than what the current walkways are. No further tilling should be necessary as long as I keep traffic on the walkways.

Guess I should have had the garden plan figured out ahead of time. However the plan developed after the fact: one 30" bed along the neighbor's fence, a 2 foot walkway, a 4 foot bed, 2 foot walkway, one more 4 foot bed and 2 foot walkway, and a 30" bed at the opposite end. Turned out perfectly, as I'm going to fence the whole thing to keep critters domestic and wild out. The 30" beds at each end should be OK for reaching in from only one side. The ancient patio is going to come up little by little too, so the pavers can be put to use in the walkways.

There will be peas, beans, greens of all stripes, maybe beets, potatoes (!), tomatoes, peppers, eggplants (although the seedlings are not doing too well), and whatever else can get shoved into this sort of bastardized square foot garden setup.

A week or so ago I also found out why many of the seedlings don't always make it.

Hot fun in the (not quite) summertime

2009-04-05T17:32:00.017-04:00

The parents' anniversary was this week (53 years?!!) so we had a cookout instead of taking them to the no-reservations belly-up-to-the-trough steakhouse (just fine with me). It was a beautiful day if you ignored the gale force winds, so we did the grill stuff outside and the eating stuff inside.

Since I don't eat meat (and everyfreakinbody else in the family does), for family events my contribution is usually a baked pasta in the winter and a salad pasta in the warmer months.

Pasta salads are much maligned in the 'proper' culinary circles, I gather, but tough noogies. I love me some pasta salad almost any time of year. You really don't need a formal recipe for pasta salads, as they are the dish of choice to accommodate almost anything you might have on hand, but this is my latest favorite combo for a hot climate, Mediterranean type bowl o' noodles. And my new favorite noodle for salads is cellentani. Very sturdy and a fun shape to boot.

I (gasp!!!) ran out of extra virgin olive oil while making the salad so I used a mayo-olive oil combo for the dressing. Straight EVOO would work too, and would be more traditional.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Dressing:
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic granules or 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. of pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. milk, broth, or water, or as needed to thin dressing

Salad:
1 lb. cellentani, rotini, or other robust pasta shape, cooked just barely al dente, and drained
1 cup diced bell pepper (mixed colors if available)
1 cup seeded, diced, and well drained tomatoes; or cherry tomatoes, cut in half; or ½ cup reconstituted, chopped, sun dried tomatoes
½ cup sliced black olives (mild, canned olives, well rinsed and drained, are fine)
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup toasted pine nuts or minced/crushed walnuts
½ cup shredded Parmesan style cheese, vegan or dairy (optional)

¼ cup slivered basil leaves, to serve

Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl, correcting consistency with milk, broth, or water if necessary.
Combine cooked pasta through toasted pine nuts in a large bowl, fold in dressing, and blend all ingredients thoroughly.
Mix well, taste, and correct seasonings.
Chill to blend flavors.
Toss with slivered basil leaves just before serving.

Next day dish

2009-03-21T20:55:00.041-04:00

Sometimes the second day is better for a recipe, not because the flavors need to marry, but because you decide you need to do something else with it. Exactly the case here. I saw a recipe at Whole Foods last month that looked like it would work with the Trader Joe's Veggie Chorizo I stocked up on, and the rest of the kale from the Portuguese Kale Soup, so after slicing and dicing the original recipe as usual, out came a pretty good casserole. But it was a tiny bit on the dry side, maybe because of the extra baking at the end. (Next time I will cover the casserole for the end baking step and that should fix the dryness.)

Then the next day I was pondering what to do for lunch and thought hmmm, wonder if this would work in burritos.

Perfect!

You don't want a soupy filling in a burrito cause it'll turn to slop; this made a filling with just the right amount of moisture. So if at first you don't succeed, wait until you're really hungry and don't feel like cooking anything else and create a leftover masterpiece (or at least a really quick lunch) with what you've got on hand.

Red Rice with Chorizo and Greens

Serves 6-8

12 oz. vegetarian chorizo sausage (such as Trader Joe’s or Field Roast, or homemade if you've got a good recipe)
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups long grain rice
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth or water
6 cups stemmed and chopped kale
1½ cups whole kernel corn (if canned, rinse and drain well)
Shredded cheese, for topping (optional; Teese makes a good vegan mozzarella if you want non-dairy)

Heat a large chef’s pan over medium-high heat, and remove sausage from casing into pan, crumbling as you go. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until chorizo begins to get crispy and onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in garlic through cumin. Cook and stir to brown the rice a little bit, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in broth and cover pan. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until rice is just tender.

Meanwhile, cook kale in a 4-quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 10-12 minutes, and drain in a colander.

Remove rice mixture from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, covered.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover the rice, add kale and corn, and mix well. Spread in a 9”x13” casserole and bake at 350°F. for 20 minutes to heat through. Cover the casserole with foil if you want to retain more moisture, or leave uncovered if you will be using the rice as a filling and want it a little drier.

Top with shredded cheese if desired before serving.

For a burrito, place about a half cup of rice on a medium tortilla, sprinkle with taco or picante sauce and shredded cheese, and roll 'er up.

Thinking outside the bag

2009-03-14T21:31:00.035-04:00

Non-dairy queso has been a project for a few months now. Starting with a recipe at Vegan Explosion, I looked into others on the net.

Initial requirements: spicy but not incendiary, salt present but not overwhelmingly so, cheesy but it doesn't have to be EXACTLY THE SAME as a dairy queso. We want a rich, satisfying scoop, not a moo clone. Since I'm not yet vegan, I could just go out and get stupid Velveeta for that.

This is the latest version. I like it so much it's been dinner for the past two nights. But tonight I was chipped out (put the tortilla chip bag back in the pantry), and a little fake french bread roll from the local discount grocery became the dipper of choice. I was lazy, too; it's not even toasted (do toast it for maximum satisfaction) but it reinforces my belief that cheesy stuff on bread is one of God's gifts.

Try this with toasted pita chips too, they are way big contenders for the chip du jour.

Vegan Queso

Dry ingredients:
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
¼ - ½ cup chickpea or other flour (start out with the lower amount, as this really does thicken on standing)
¼ cup finely ground cashews or other nuts- use a spice grinder for a fine grind
1 Tbs. powdered miso (optional; make your own by placing teaspoonfuls of miso paste on a greased cookie sheet and drying in a very low oven until crumbly, or drying in a dehydrator)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder- New Mexico chili powder is good
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. onion granules
½ tsp. garlic granules

Wet ingredients:
2 cups water or non-dairy milk; I've used both and can't tell much difference
2 Tbs. vegan margarine, melted
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes and chilies, with liquid
1 Tbs. prepared mustard- I used Dijon cause that’s what I had, although plain ol' yellow is more traditional

paprika or chili powder, for garnish

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium (at least 2½ quart) saucepan and break up any lumps. Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and slowly add to the dry ingredients, whisking as you go. Place over medium heat, and cook, stirring until the queso is thick and smooth. Adjust the seasonings to taste, and garnish with a little more paprika or chili powder if you like.

Serving suggestions: with tortilla chips, toasted french bread 'croutons', or toasted pita triangles; or on burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, etc.

Option: add a 4 oz. can of diced chilies, or a diced jalapeno, for a little more zing, but this is pretty snappy as is. You could also use a can of diced tomatoes without chilies if you want a tamer result.

March my foot

2009-03-02T18:39:00.012-05:00

So much for three weeks til spring. This is the usual slap upside the head we get right before winter ends and spring begins. And it's not even good snow.

Started out as a wet Slurpee last night, continued through most of the night as temps fell, and petered out this afternoon; the remains will freeze into a treacherous, bumpy layer overnight just in time for rush hour tomorrow.

Hooray for the Mid-A!

Dirt

2009-02-28T19:12:00.016-05:00

The plan was to get many of the seeds started three weeks ago (such as eggplant, that prima donna that requires such a long growing season) but of course it didn't happen. This weekend will have to do.

Everything will have a start date of March 1. I know that many people start on that date or after, but since we are reputed to have such a long growing season in the Mid-A, I always feel like it's REQUIRED to start by the end of January.

Since this winter has been one of the coldest I can remember for a long time, tough beans. Looks like I'm not going to be moving this year so might as well get a garden going again.

Which is OK cause I love dirt.

March 1: the dirt hits the fan. Here we are crushing Black Pearl ornamental pepper pods for seed extraction. Did some Royal Black African ornamentals also. Now on to eggplant and tomatoes.

March 21: uh, still planting seeds. Got pepper, tomato, and eggplant sprouts already but the greens are just going in the dirt today. What the muck, maybe they'll be up by July.

The pseudo staff of life

2009-02-16T11:24:00.020-05:00

I had forgotten how much I love rye bread. This isn’t going to be about serious, New York Deli Jewish Rye Bread; think of it more as Really Easy Pseudo Rye.

Flashback: never having been a serious baker ever in my life, many years ago I purchased a bread machine, a Breadman TR-500. This was their first model and didn’t have the advanced features most machines have today, but was marketed as being great for whole grain loaves. It became my sole source of bread for a few years, and then slowly faded back into the pantry as I returned to buying bread from the supermarket. School and career changing probably had a bit to do with it.

Last year I dug out the bread machine, after some serious dust collecting for 4 or 5 years, and started experimenting again with making bread.

Perhaps not as many people cast a disdainful eye on bread machine baking now as in the past, but I still think there’s this stigma attached. My take is that anything that gets people to cook for themselves, no matter how much the process is automated, should be applauded. Food processors and fancy dancy mixers don’t seem to suffer the same bad rep as bread machines. I have both by the way- there is equal opportunity afforded to all gadgets in my kitchen. The bread machine can accept all the ingredients at once, then sit on the floor, under the counter and unattended (or in another tucked away area) while it does its work. You can’t do that with an open machine like a mixer.

The method I generally use now is to have the machine mix, knead, and complete the first rise, then remove the dough and do the second rise in a bread pan, finishing in the oven. If you are home for the process it just really doesn’t take that much longer than letting the machine do all the work. I’ve even done the refrigerator rise trick- do the second rise in the fridge overnight or all day, then bake in the morning before work or evening after work (per “The Arrowhead Mills Cookbook” bread baking instructions). After the final rise the dough is placed in a cold oven and then the cooking temp is set (also per Arrowhead Mills). Some additional rise occurs as the oven heats up, before the yeast is deactivated.

The recipe ingredients were adapted from “The Breadman’s Healthy Bread Book”, which was published to accompany my first bread machine (had to buy the book separately, but it's still a great reference). The original recipe wanted dried minced onion; I only had onion granules so that’s what is specified here. Worked fine. Fresh, finely minced onion would probably be even better, if you’ve got some handy.

The recipe could also be done completely by hand or mixed in a food processor, dealer’s choice.

Aside: I bought a more recent model of the Breadman a year or so ago, the Ultimate Plus, as it had more programmable features and the “advantage” of being able to make a horizontal loaf. It sucked. The old one wasn’t broke, so I shouldn’t have tried to fix it. The new one is OK for doing a first rise- usually, when the pan doesn’t get knocked off its supports- but machine baking a horizontal loaf is stupid. To really do it properly you have to have 2 paddles, which this does not have, and then you have 2 giant holes in the bottom of your loaf, instead of one. The first machine, which made a vertical loaf, was far superior to this version, but oh well. (Still have the first one- like I really need two bread machines.)

Anyway, boy do I love rye bread. Now I can try making the vegan Reubens from VeganDad...

Rye Bread with Bread Machine Prep

1-1/8 cups water
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour- I used half white whole wheat and half regular whole wheat
1 cup rye flour
1½ Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. caraway seeds, more to taste
1 Tbs. vital wheat gluten
1½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. onion granules, more to taste
2 tsp. instant bread yeast, or 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the bread machine and process on the dough cycle. (Alternatively, bake in the machine, choosing the whole wheat cycle as this recipe uses more whole grain flour than bread flour. Remove from the pan to cool so the loaf doesn’t get soggy).

When the dough cycle is complete, remove the dough and place on a floured board. Punch down and knead briefly to shape into a loaf. Place in a bread pan (or a couche if desired), cover with a towel, and set in a warm area to rise again until doubled. Or use the cool rise method, see above.

When the loaf has risen, place in a cold oven (either in the pan or removed from the couche and set on a baking stone), set oven to 375°F., and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. My (electric) oven usually finishes in 40-45.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. If you used a loaf pan, wait a few minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan so it doesn’t get soggy. The loaf in the picture was done in a pan but next time I think I’m going to bake this free form so the sides don’t look so funky.

Dip redux

2009-02-08T23:24:00.013-05:00

Well who'd a thunk. Forget the dip incarnation, the last recipe post became a simmer sauce for sauteed tofu, onions, and mushrooms, served over basmati rice, and it was fab!

I decided it was just too sweet as a dip, but with a little more curry powder sprinkled on the sauteed veggies, and the sauce poured over to heat through, it became the creamy, rich Indian type dish I love but feel guilty about because of the lavish use of dairy. Not a cow in sight for this dinner.

And another dip

2009-02-01T17:53:00.018-05:00

Really, my whole diet is not just dips, I swear. It does seem odd to have two dip posts so close together, especially considering this blog does not runneth over with posts so far (working on that.) I saw this recipe originally at the Whole Foods website, and had a box of silken tofu to use up, so there you go.

The original recipe wanted 8 oz. of tofu, and there is no way I'm going to use a partial box of anything if there's a way around it (see the post for Portuguese Kale soup). So I dumped a 12 oz. box into the bowl and started in on the other ingredients.

I think I only used about a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice, instead of 2, and it seemed lemony enough to me. But the original also wanted a tablespoon of honey. I used agave nectar, which I thought should be milder, and it seemed too sweet. So I'll cut back to a teaspoon and work from there next time.

To manage the sweetness, I increased the curry powder and garnished with some smoked paprika. Nice for finishing even if you don't use much. I think next time a little paprika should go into the dip itself.

Still managed to plow through a bunch of curry dip so far, even with the complaints. Plus I found a use for my poor little broken handled spoon rest. It was too pretty to chuck after I broke it, so now it has purpose in life!

Curry Dip with Chives and Paprika

1 12 oz. package silken tofu
1½ Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 tsp. agave nectar or other sweetener of choice
1½ Tbs. tamari

2 Tbs. chopped chives (dried, as I had no fresh)
Smoked, hot, or sweet paprika, to garnish

Place tofu through tamari in a bowl and blend until smooth (an immersion blender works great). Stir in chives. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill an hour or so to firm the dip up. Garnish with paprika if desired, and serve.

Beautiful soup

2009-01-29T18:43:00.013-05:00

Kale is not a pretty vegetable when it's cooked. I tried to dress it up for the photo but it's pointless. It's dark and sloppy and not at all photogenic. But we are not trying to win beauty contests here. We are trying to eat!

When I saw a big ol' two pound bag of cleaned, stemmed, chopped kale on sale for three dollars, I said hoo boy, it's time to put leafy greens on the menu. Plus there were potatoes to use up. I saw a recipe here that had been converted to vegetarian (and I had soy chorizo from Trader Joe's- yay!); it had originally come from a recipe by Rachel Ray here. So I poked around for the other ingredients, and naturally came up short on a few items.

No turnips. OK, we'll ratchet up the carrot and onion. Not enough kidney beans in the freezer. We'll supplement with the last of the pintos. A can of diced tomatoes with the juice for the chopped fresh tomatoes. Dried herbs for the fresh (it ain't summer here in the Mid-A!) And basically doubled the whole shebang cause I didn't want to split a 12 oz. package of veggie chorizo when I had nothing to do with the other half (but later I found a recipe for a rice dish with sun-dried tomatoes and chorizo- will try a veggie version of that soon).

When I opened the chorizo it basically disintegrated back to it's soy crumble origins. But it was really flavorful and spicy, and this soup kicks. Just don't expect to be able to slice or dice it into chunks if you get this brand, it's more like veggie ground. OK by me, and I've got soup for a week!

I have seen some recipes for veggie chorizo floating around the 'net and have put that project on the to-do list.

Portuguese Kale Soup
(aka Caldo Verde)

2 Tbs. olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup diced onion
2 cups chopped carrot
1 lb. kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
12 oz. soy chorizo (such as Trader Joe’s), chopped or crumbled
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
8 cups vegetable stock
3 - 4 cups cooked kidney beans (or other beans of choice)
15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
4 medium to large potatoes, diced

In a large stock pot (you're going to be stuffing in a lot of kale), heat the olive oil on medium-high. Add the garlic through carrots and cook for 5 - 10 minutes to soften a bit. Add the kale through herbs and mix well. Add the stock through tomatoes. Stir it to get the kale immersed in the broth so it will start cooking down. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the diced potatoes. Cook until just tender, about 10 - 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup. Remove the bay leaves.

If there's anything lacking nutritionally in this, I can't think of it. Plus it is delish. It just looks homely.

Eat your veggies

2009-01-25T20:09:00.017-05:00

Hooray for January, the holidays are behind us.

Hooray for us, we elected the smart guy this time.

And hooray for dill dip, cause it makes me eat my veggies! (If you use a vegan dip base, you get a double hooray!)

Silken tofu could also be used in place of the vegan sour cream/mayo combo.

Dill Dip

1/2 cup vegan or light mayo
1 1/2 cups vegan or light sour cream
1/4 tsp. dried lemon zest (or a teaspoon of lemon juice, if you have fresh)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic granules
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1 tsp. onion granules
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried chives
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients well, adjust seasonings to taste, and refrigerate for two hours to blend flavors. Serve with cut up vegetables and pita chips or crackers.

Variations:

Use all sour cream, or a combination of sour cream, soy yogurt, Tofutti cream cheese, and/or mayo (to equal 2 cups total for the dip base.)

If using fresh herbs, double or triple the amount used for dried herbs.

It's beginning to look a lot like mayhem

2008-12-09T22:13:00.011-05:00

How the heck did this happen? Once again Christmas is at our throats (not original, I stole this from a client a few years ago.) Wasn't it July just a day or so ago?

The HOLIDAYS!!! are demanding our attention, family is coming in January, the house is a dump, and I need to develop motivation YESTERDAY to get this monkey in motion.

Dear God, if you please just get me through this, I promise to become organized, efficient, and productive in 2009.

Swear to you.

Virtuous sauce

2008-12-06T20:35:00.029-05:00

This sauce was born due to a lack of tomato paste in the pantry. Tonight I got a hankerin' for pizza, and while perusing sauce recipes on the net, I discovered they all required tomato paste. It no doubt lends richness to the sauce, but the crushed tomatoes I decided to use here are contenders too.

If available, fresh herbs and real garlic and onion will of course be superior to the dried versions, but this was pretty darn good (and simple) for lickety-split sauce-making.

I used a whole wheat/white wheat combo for the dough, which is a little trickier to press out than a straight white dough, but hey! it makes me feel more virtuous!

Would've turned out great except for cooking it too long; it was more like a large pizza cracker (note to self: 8 minutes at 450 degrees, not 18 minutes at 450 degrees...)

Pizza Sauce

1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used Furmano’s)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1½ tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic granules
½ tsp. onion granules
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan, heat to a low boil, and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste, allow sauce to cool, and spread on prepared dough.

Note: if time allows, use a couple of tablespoons of diced onion and a minced garlic clove (or more to taste) instead of the granules.

Chilly nights, warm tums

2008-11-12T19:55:00.020-05:00

Once again summer turned to winter on a dime in the Mid-A.

Atkins and South Beach be gone, pasta is King in these here parts until further notice.

Linguine With Sausage Marinara
for 4 generous servings

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, to taste

8 oz. veggie sausage, cut up or crumbled (purchased, or try VeganDad's recipe here or Julie Hasson's recipe here)

1 lb. whole wheat or white linguine

Over medium heat, saute onion and green pepper in olive oil for 5-10 minutes, to soften. Add minced garlic for another minute or so to infuse the vegetables. Add the tomatoes, paste, spices, and veggie sausage, mixing thoroughly, and simmer for 30 minutes, or however much time you have before dinner.

Meanwhile, cook pasta to al dente, drain, and set aside. Toss with a little more olive oil to keep from sticking, if desired.

Toss pasta with sausage marinara and serve with a good green salad, country bread, and nice red wine. Life is good.

Roll your own

2008-10-26T13:13:00.028-04:00

Recipe updated 12/21/2009

Veggie sausage is all over the internet these days. Since trying it for the first time a couple of months ago, I am hooked. There is no need to ever buy it again, unless I'm in a hurry- it does take some time, but the active part is mostly just forming links, and the steaming is pretty much unattended.

My first sausages were kind of a combo of VeganDad's and Julie Hasson's and they worked great. I think I used the higher amount of gluten flour in Julie's recipe, and 1+1/2 cups of pintos, but per VeganDad's advice, I upped the spices (and might up a little more next time.)

This time out I tried the breakfast sausages from VeganDad. Again I used a higher amount of beans (1+1/2 cups, since I like the sausages to be more than just wheat), but they turned out a little too wet as a result, so I finished them by baking at 350F for about a half hour.

As you can see from the photo, my wrapping technique needs refining. The sausages were rather non-uniform, and some of them squished out of the ends of the foil, so I topped and tailed all of them to make them a little more evenly shaped (not a problem, I got to eat the trimmings). Now they look like Lincoln Logs of various sizes, but what the muck, I'm still learning how to 'roll my own'! The foil pieces should have been a little bigger to contain the expanding sausages.

Now I use less beans and add some more flour. And more spices, as these were fairly gently seasoned (since I don't have kids, there's no one to complain about the heat!)

So here are the tweaks for my current fave b-fast sausage recipe:

Veggie Breakfast Sausages

Wet ingredients:
1 cup cooked pinto beans (or other beans of choice)
1 cup water or broth
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. maple syrup

Dry ingredients:
1-1/4 cups vital wheat gluten (a 6.5 oz. box of Hodgson Mill's)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1-1/2 tsp. onion granules or powder
1 tsp. garlic granules or powder
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. porcini mushroom powder, optional, but a great flavor addition
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground fennel seed
1 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground rosemary
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed chili flakes or 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne

8"x8" (or larger) foil pieces for rolling

Blend the wet ingredients in a blender. Blend the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet with dry in the bowl, knead a bit to incorporate ingredients, and allow to rest for 30 minutes if you have the time.

Prepare a steamer with a couple of inches of water in the bottom, and bring to a boil.

Form mixture into 24 links, wrap in foil squares, and steam for 25 minutes.

A little sprinkle

2008-09-20T17:21:00.022-04:00

The empty bottle of Simply Organic All-Seasons Salt has been sitting on the counter for a week so today was the day to fix the emptiness. Buying pre-made spice mixes is probably not going to take anybody broke, but hey, why not make your own if it's a simple process. And it is for the most part.

After calculating the approximate proportion of salt in the original version (compare sodium content in one serving of season salt to sodium content in one serving of table salt) and estimating the other seasonings according to their place in the ingredient list, you get a pretty good blend. I maybe leaned a little heavier on the "red stuff" because I really like paprika (my Mom always called it "red stuff"- to this day we have to have lots of "red stuff" sprinkled on Mom's potato salad or it's just not complete).

Famous Brand All Seasons Salt Imposter Recipe

Ingredients for about 4.75 ounces, which will fit in the original 4.73 ounce jar:

6 Tbs. sea salt
4 Tbs. paprika (for a little kick, use 1 Tbs. hot, 3 Tbs. sweet, or even half and half)
2 tsp. sugar
1.5 tsp. garlic granules or powder
1.5 tsp. onion granules or powder
1 tsp. ground celery seed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. turmeric powder (I might try a little dry mustard instead next time, since turmeric really doesn't do much but add color)

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor or blender to thoroughly combine. Store in a tightly sealed jar in a cool, dry place.

The original commercial formula uses silicon dioxide as an anti-caking agent. The FDA requires anti-caking agents to be less than 2% by weight of the product, so about 2 grams would be 1.5% for this recipe.

I'm just keeping a 500 mg calcium carbonate tablet in the jar to see if that helps prevent clumps.

Update 1/25/09: so far so good, no serious clumps. I think this trick is a keeper.

Update 3/21/09: Still no clumps! The original bottle contents turned into a brick before being used up and needed frequent breaking up. I guess the summer humidity will be the true test...

Update 9/5/09: Test results final- the calcium tablet works great. Pulled out the jar, saw the contents were a little stuck together, and gave it two or three shakes. Free flowing once again!

Apple season begins

2008-08-30T16:09:00.019-04:00

The local garden store had Summer Rambo apples this past week. Summer Rambo is a good apple variety for Maryland (not a keeper though, like all summer apples). It is a large apple, and meant for pies, sauce, and apple butter. Good for eating if you allow to fully ripen. I adore apple butter and that may be the destination for a couple of these guys, if they don't all make it into cobbler first. They are big!

Update 9/20/08: Actually, after sitting around for too long, they had to become applesauce. But it was wunderbar; I will use Rambos again.

Crockpot Applesauce

7 large Rambos, peeled, cored and sliced
4 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. apple pie spice
maybe a pinch of salt

Place all in a crockpot on high for about three hours, and mash to the desired consistency. I like mine a little on the chunky side.

Late start

2008-07-12T17:35:00.014-04:00

The early seeds didn't fare too well; most of them have not gone into the ground. Some are in pots, some may go into the ground if I clear out a bed, but it may be curtains for most of them.

So what do we do? Start more seeds in the middle of July, when they're sure to be fried. Did some herbs, some annuals, some veggies, and next will start on the perennials. Which should be started now anyway, so they can get some roots going before winter. And of course if I decide I'm really going to sell the house and move somewhere with enough sun for a greenhouse, everything is probably going to get sacrificed in the move.

But it's still fun to watch the little monkeys sprout. The Pot of Gold chard in particular will be a nice color accent this fall, even if I'm not here to admire it.

Update 9/21/08: Still here, and probably will not move until next year, but the Pot of Gold chard just started making true leaves.

Moral: do not start chard in the blistering heat of summer, it will rebel.

Little criminals

2008-07-06T13:57:00.022-04:00

Viola labradorica is one of my favorite violets. I think the color is better in the shade, new growth is a deep dusky purplish. The leaves here only get a twinge of purple, since they get blasting sun in the afternoon. So I have been trying to save the seeds, and they're hard to snag, due to the species being one of those bursting capsule types that flings open as soon as you've turned your back.

Well I managed to capture a few, and had them on the counter in a dish to let them dry out before storage, but they kept disappearing. Blamed it on the cats, figured they were playing swat the bug with the seed capsules. Got a few again, put them on the stove top (which is full of cuttings trying to root, so pretty crowded for cats), and this morning I caught the thieves!

Antz stealed my seedz! Actually they were trying to steal, but kept dropping them all over the stove, so I rescued most (of the seeds, that is).

The ant invasion was pretty late this year; they usually show up in the kitchen by April, but it wasn't til June before I saw the first of them. They are slowly petering out now- guess the water table has dropped to tolerable, ant-wise.

I also guess it never occurred to me that they might fancy tiny little seeds (good thing I'm not an ant.)

Summer salads rule

2008-07-05T18:21:00.016-04:00

Cucumbers beat potatoes, coleslaw, and all the rest hands down when it comes to the essence of summer in a bowl.

Matter of fact, maybe it's not too late to start some seeds now for the end of summer crop...

Cucumber Salad

4 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced very thinly
1/4 cup diced red onion
3 Tbs. white wine vinegar
4 tsp. sugar
1 Tbs. fresh minced or 1 tsp. dried dill weed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (or white, if you don't like the specks)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate long enough to chill. Adjust seasonings to taste.

I tend to go light on the vinegar and sugar, but if you need more zing, by all means, splash it on.

If you have really good tomatoes, cucumber-tomato salad may not be far behind. Dice a large tomato, drain if too juicy (or keep the wonderful juiciness in), and mix in with the other ingredients.

Starting the starter. Again.

2008-07-05T16:33:00.010-04:00

Atticus ate the first starter on day two, and it was really kickin' A (so I almost started kickin' A as a result.) Today I mixed up the second batch, this time from Peter Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads" (page 61.) He uses pineapple juice, whole wheat flour, and malt powder to give it an extra nudge.

The pineapple juice is supposed to thwart leuconostoc bacteria, which can make all kinds of nastiness in your sourdough. So we'll see what's up with this little half cup of breeding ground tomorrow.

Update 9/21/08: the first starter was great, and developing fast, with no pineapple juice (but Atticus ate it); the second try turned into a microbial mess. What the muck? I will re-read Peter's chapter about starting the starter, as I must have introduced some nastiness myself (it was freakin' hot in July, probably made lots of bacterial critters real happy.) Maybe the cooler temps of late will be more conducive to slow, steady sourdough development.

'08, full speed ahead

2008-01-01T17:25:00.018-05:00

Resolutions (approved by Atticus):

~Will finally learn to use the freakin camera and all the recently purchased but largely unused gear.

~Will start cooking again and take lunches to work and stop wasting food and purge the unused cookbooks.

~Will start seeds according to the PROPER SCHEDULE and not according to when I feel like it.

~Will put up the greenhouse so it can actually be used before the season starts.

~Will not buy any more books until I read the ones I have. Snicker.

~Will sweep the house of all unnecessary junk and get back to making said house a home.

~Will not get too angry with myself when I utterly fail at any of these resolutions.

Pop Pup (micro camper)

2007-04-07T17:48:00.009-04:00

Speaking of Pop Pup, here we are in action on a previous trip.

Probably would not have been suited to the snow and sub freezing temps this weekend.

Abandoned ship for the first camping trip

2007-04-07T16:21:00.007-04:00

This weekend was to be the first camping trip since school ended, and since temps were predicted in the 20s at night, along with snow, I bailed. Pop Pup (micro camper) is not equipped with kick butt heat.

Looked up a pic from May of '06, taken at Tuckahoe State Park. The blossoms wouldn't be this far along, but jeeze, we didn't expect buds covered in snow!

Tricia just called to tell me it was snowing. The rest of the group is there and trapped in their Gucci campers.

We shall try again in a month or so; maybe the new camera lens will be here. I'm tired of smushy photos, can't wait to try a faster lens. The new one is a Nikon 50mm 1.8, good for portraits but will try it out on landscape stuff too.

Grad school over, no need to jump

2006-12-24T11:26:00.010-05:00

Grad school is over, go me! Survived Contaminants class with a B, Wetlands was an A-.

Maybe the blood pressure will get below 170.

Maybe the cats won't run anymore when they see me.

Maybe I'll finally clean the house.

Next week.

Shrooms

2006-11-29T19:25:00.007-05:00

It is freaking wet. Swamp city even. The mushrooms love it.

So in addition to school, there's another excuse to not do yard work. Gotta wait til it's dry.

Leaf attack

2006-11-25T11:55:00.007-05:00

Love the leaves but they need to stay outside where they belong. There are more in the house than in the yard.

Yardwork is going to have to wait though- school is such a great excuse!

Au Bon Blog!

2006-11-24T17:35:00.027-05:00

Three more weeks 'til no more graduate school- Ohboyohboyohboy...

The last two classes include the best one I've ever had in my whole entire life!!! and the worst. Will we survive? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanksgiving has come and gone- still conscious. Wish I would've known these people (at school, that is, not at Thanksgiving) would try to kill me.

This photo was from the last field trip for the Wetlands class (the good class). We delineated Chincoteague's wetlands (hear the cries of relief from an anxious public!) and the weather was actually pretty good.

Notice the obligatory Big Gulp cup. Sigh.