I have so much cabbage. It is overwhelming. So I started small.
This is very simple. I feel like I should add something fancy to it. Or some color. But I'm not. It is soy sauce and rice, with some vegetables and some spice.
1 block tofu
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 habanero
1 red onion
4 cups shredded cabbage
2 cloves garlic
4 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
Drain tofu, douse with 1/2 the soy sauce, fry in oil, add onion, then garlic and pepper, then cabbage, then remaining soy sauce and oil.
You can make fried rice with any vegetables. It is salty and delicious.
11/29/12
11/28/12
Notes on Pumpkin Soup and Brown Rice
I basically made the 101 cookbooks pumpkin soup, after reading on that same site that pumpkins are not the best squash to make pumpkin pie. I generally follwed that recipe, only I added a lot of lemongrass that I found at my local market. I just got two butternut squashes in my final fall extended farm share, so my plans to make a vegan pumpkin pie with tofu have not been foiled! Just slightly postponed. Upon smashing the pumpkin for pie, I'd have to agree that it doesn't really have the best texture for pie (despite having a delicious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving made with a real pumpkin). Soup's delicious though.
Thoughts on brown rice:
I turned on the oven to bake the pumpkin around the time I put water on to boil for making brown rice. I learned a years ago about brown rice - if you know, in the morning, that you want brown for dinner, measure out the rice and pour boiling water over it. I believe this is supposed to "loosen" it so that when you go to cook it in the evening, it only takes a few minutes, rather than 45. However, every time I do this, I end up with pretty perfectly cooked brown rice. Yesterday was no exception - I poured about six cups of boiling water over 2 cups of rice, put the lid on, and an hour or so later when I was thinking about draining it and taking a few cups out to cook to be real rice, I tasted it and it was done. How delightfully easy. This is also the only way I know how not to burn brown rice. For serious. The 2 cups, of course, made 8... so... well... I'll be making fried rice when I get home tonight. (Probably with cabbage - I have TONS of cabbage.) Unfortunately I
Thoughts on brown rice:
I turned on the oven to bake the pumpkin around the time I put water on to boil for making brown rice. I learned a years ago about brown rice - if you know, in the morning, that you want brown for dinner, measure out the rice and pour boiling water over it. I believe this is supposed to "loosen" it so that when you go to cook it in the evening, it only takes a few minutes, rather than 45. However, every time I do this, I end up with pretty perfectly cooked brown rice. Yesterday was no exception - I poured about six cups of boiling water over 2 cups of rice, put the lid on, and an hour or so later when I was thinking about draining it and taking a few cups out to cook to be real rice, I tasted it and it was done. How delightfully easy. This is also the only way I know how not to burn brown rice. For serious. The 2 cups, of course, made 8... so... well... I'll be making fried rice when I get home tonight. (Probably with cabbage - I have TONS of cabbage.) Unfortunately I
Baked Oatmeal with fruit
.JPG) |
| Frozen peaches, ready to be baked into oatmeal |
I may have mentioned this before... I really dislike oatmeal. I don't like the texture. But I had a craving today, which could be explained in any number of ways: cookie withdrawal after a full weekend of sweets, an odd hollow in my stomach where my Vacation Breakfast had been sitting (I skipped breakfast yesterday, for the first time in awhile), or an e-mail from my old roommate whose baked oatmeal rendered a compliment from me once, which is saying a lot. Because I really dislike oatmeal.
Also, it helped that the grocery store had frozen mixed berries, peaches, and blackberries on sale.
The consistency of baked oatmeal is much more pleasing to me than regular cooked oats. The top is a little browned and crispy, and more like a baked good than a porridge. There is baking soda and powder, and salt, which gives it a bit of a cookie-like taste. Underneath that is a gooey porridge-like layer, but it is much less like snot than traditional oatmeal. I also like that I sliced this into six pieces and brought them to work, where I can pull out each serving with my hand, plop it on a plate, heat it up in the microwave, and eat breakfast at my desk. (Or I can eat it cold, like a bar.) Also, my oven pretty much heats my entire apartment, so baking is my new favorite thing. For the next six months. And then I won't turn the oven on once, all summer.
I used flax where most recipes call for eggs, because I've eaten way more eggs and dairy than usual lately and I wanted a change. But I kept the yogurt - in fact, I was specifically looking for yogurt. I don't know why, as I usually am not a huge yogurt fan, but I've been eating a ton of it lately. Also, I've experimented a lot with the amount of syrup - one, two, or three tablespoons. I really don't think it needs more than one. Unless you want a super sweet breakfast, which I do not. (My sister calls this "Oatmeal Cake", and I see her point. With a proper glaze, it might be accepted as a cake.)
And finally, a confession: The dough is delicious. And perfectly edible as a breakfast in itself - raw oats with soy milk, yogurt, flax, spices, and a bit of maple? It's so delicious. The baking soda and powder remind me just a bit of cookie dough. I'm at the point where I don't put all the dough in the pan so I can eat the leftovers.
dry:
2 cups oatmeal (I've used quick and old fashioned, old fashioned is better. Not sure yet about steel cut.)
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1/4 t fresh nutmeg (please, buy whole nutmeg and use a microplane grater - fresh nutmeg is so much more delicious.)
wet:
2 T ground flax meal
1/4 c water
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 T maple syrup
bottom:
1 1/2 c sliced frozen peaches (or half a bag of any frozen fruit)
Mix dry ingredients.
Whisk together flax seed and water. Measure 1 cup of soy milk into a 2 cup measuring cup, add yogurt until you get to 2 cups, add flax mixture and maple syrup and stir until smooth.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Layer frozen peaches at the bottom of your pan. (You can stir them into the batter, but then your pan will be much dirtier and the baked oatmeal squares won't come out as easily.)
Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes at 350, than remove foil and back 20 more minutes, or until brown and juices are bubbly. (I generally over-bake, because then it is less like oatmeal and more like cake.)
Makes 6 servings.
11/9/12
Baked Potatoes with Gravy
I recently moved to Virginia for 5 1/2 weeks to turn it blue, during which time I had a microwave and two electric burners to prepare my meals. I am happy to have an oven again, and although I have become used to having a microwave, I don't miss it.
The day I left, I made the largest pot of vegetable broth conceivable. I regularly throw vegetable scraps, including squash peelings and seeds, onion peelings and ends, potato skins, thick broccoli stems - everything - into the freezer until Broth Day, when it all goes into my stock pot and boils. This - the most delicious vegetable broth - has been waiting for me in my freezer, and less than 24 hours from my return I wanted to feature it in my dinner. And the best way to feature naked vegetable broth is to make it into gravy. Of course, I added way too much salt and pepper, which overwhelmed the delicious broth flavor, but it was still delicious. And, when it comes to potatoes, I usually have a hard time laying off the salt. So in the end, the gravy I almost ruined was still edible, only because it's sole destination was on top of plain baked potatoes.
Baking potatoes. It is really an old staple. To go with your steak, right? You throw potatoes in the oven - what could be simpler? But with the invention of the microwave, which will steam a potato in a matter of minutes, the baking method has quite been relegated to special occasions. Baking is a better method. The skins get a little crisp, the insides are firmer - baked potatoes are better than any other potato. And I would like to pretend that I baked my potatoes because I am a super-snob who would only use the best potato cooking method. But the REAL truth is that it is in the 50s in Chicago, and may have even dropped down to the 40s last night, and I still haven't turned on my heat. And I don't want to. So, I just turned on the oven when I got home, which warmed my bedroom and the kitchen right up to a livable temperature, and after dinner I crawled under my down comforter and was toasty as a marshmallow.
In any case, here's a recipe:
Potatoes: Turn oven to 400, pierce multiple times with fork, bake until soft (about an hour).
Gravy: Melt 2 T butter in a pan. Add 2 T flour. Brown. Add tons of black pepper (at least, I did, and it was delicious.) Very slowly add 2 cups of vegetable broth, a little bit at a time, until all incorporated. If it starts to look too thin, stop adding broth and cook it for awhile and it should thicken up. If it is too thick, add more broth. It will thicken as it cools, so let it be a bit runny.
Add salt. Don't think that your 1 t measuring spoon is a half teaspoon, and add 2 full teaspoons of salt, though, because you might regret it.
The day I left, I made the largest pot of vegetable broth conceivable. I regularly throw vegetable scraps, including squash peelings and seeds, onion peelings and ends, potato skins, thick broccoli stems - everything - into the freezer until Broth Day, when it all goes into my stock pot and boils. This - the most delicious vegetable broth - has been waiting for me in my freezer, and less than 24 hours from my return I wanted to feature it in my dinner. And the best way to feature naked vegetable broth is to make it into gravy. Of course, I added way too much salt and pepper, which overwhelmed the delicious broth flavor, but it was still delicious. And, when it comes to potatoes, I usually have a hard time laying off the salt. So in the end, the gravy I almost ruined was still edible, only because it's sole destination was on top of plain baked potatoes.
Baking potatoes. It is really an old staple. To go with your steak, right? You throw potatoes in the oven - what could be simpler? But with the invention of the microwave, which will steam a potato in a matter of minutes, the baking method has quite been relegated to special occasions. Baking is a better method. The skins get a little crisp, the insides are firmer - baked potatoes are better than any other potato. And I would like to pretend that I baked my potatoes because I am a super-snob who would only use the best potato cooking method. But the REAL truth is that it is in the 50s in Chicago, and may have even dropped down to the 40s last night, and I still haven't turned on my heat. And I don't want to. So, I just turned on the oven when I got home, which warmed my bedroom and the kitchen right up to a livable temperature, and after dinner I crawled under my down comforter and was toasty as a marshmallow.
In any case, here's a recipe:
Potatoes: Turn oven to 400, pierce multiple times with fork, bake until soft (about an hour).
Gravy: Melt 2 T butter in a pan. Add 2 T flour. Brown. Add tons of black pepper (at least, I did, and it was delicious.) Very slowly add 2 cups of vegetable broth, a little bit at a time, until all incorporated. If it starts to look too thin, stop adding broth and cook it for awhile and it should thicken up. If it is too thick, add more broth. It will thicken as it cools, so let it be a bit runny.
Add salt. Don't think that your 1 t measuring spoon is a half teaspoon, and add 2 full teaspoons of salt, though, because you might regret it.
Chickpea Butternut Squash Salad
I have previously blogged this recipe, with link to the original Smitten Kitchen Recipe.
I didn't look at either version last night, just going with my memory and my gut. I didn't actually taste it until this morning, either, but that doesn't seem to matter too much.
Chickpeas:
I threw 1/3 c of dry chickpeas (unsoaked), 1 cup of water, and probably over a tablespoon of Chinese Five Spice into my slow cooker on high. I like to cook legumes in the slow cooker, because I never worry that the heat is too high, and I just check them every once in awhile. It is relatively easy. It probably takes awhile, but I don't really notice. Oh, I also accidentally put way too much salt in the chickpeas, but when I drained them, they tasted fine. Delicious, really.
One thing I like about using dried chickpeas is that the resulting legume is smaller than what I usually get in cans. I don't know why this is - when I soak them they may be a little larger - but I highly prefer the smaller size. Chickpeas tend to be a bit crunchier than other legumes, and the larger canned chickpeas are just a bit too much for me. (Especially in soups, but we will get to that the next time I make a chickpea soup.)
Butternut Squash:
I had a small (less than a pound) butternut squash, which I peeled seeded and diced to about the size of a small chickpea. I tossed it with 1 t of olive oil and baked at 400 until it was a bit carmelized. Towards the end of the cooking time, I put one very large clove of garlic through a garlic press and stirred that in to bake as well.
Dressing:
I bought this sesame paste from my new local market. I live in/near both Hispanic and Chinese neighborhoods, which is awesome - I can get almost every ethnic food I desire. (So far, at least.) The sesame paste I used has the ingredients sesame seed and sesame oil, and it is less solid and more oily than the tahini I'm used to. I used two teaspoons.
I used lime instead of lemon, because limes are 15 for $1 at the local store, and lemons were 4 for $1. Still cheap, but not ridiculously so.
I thought about using cilantro instead of parsley, because I was using lime. I am glad I went with parsley (and I used a LOT - probably over 1/2 cup) because parsley has a much milder, less over-powering flavor, and the flavors in this salad are terrific.
I think the moral of the story is that I in fact have gotten to a point in my cooking life to the ideal place:
I have mastered the techniques I have aspired to master.
I know the ingredients I like well enough to know what to do with them.
The flavor profile I seek is attainable: I know the flavors and combinations I want to use.
So with that knowledge I continue. Also, it should be noted that I really want to share a photo, but I dropped my phone in dishwater this morning and it's currently in a bag of rice, so I'm unable to, and the salad will be gone by the time I am able to. Sorry!
I didn't look at either version last night, just going with my memory and my gut. I didn't actually taste it until this morning, either, but that doesn't seem to matter too much.
Chickpeas:
I threw 1/3 c of dry chickpeas (unsoaked), 1 cup of water, and probably over a tablespoon of Chinese Five Spice into my slow cooker on high. I like to cook legumes in the slow cooker, because I never worry that the heat is too high, and I just check them every once in awhile. It is relatively easy. It probably takes awhile, but I don't really notice. Oh, I also accidentally put way too much salt in the chickpeas, but when I drained them, they tasted fine. Delicious, really.
One thing I like about using dried chickpeas is that the resulting legume is smaller than what I usually get in cans. I don't know why this is - when I soak them they may be a little larger - but I highly prefer the smaller size. Chickpeas tend to be a bit crunchier than other legumes, and the larger canned chickpeas are just a bit too much for me. (Especially in soups, but we will get to that the next time I make a chickpea soup.)
Butternut Squash:
I had a small (less than a pound) butternut squash, which I peeled seeded and diced to about the size of a small chickpea. I tossed it with 1 t of olive oil and baked at 400 until it was a bit carmelized. Towards the end of the cooking time, I put one very large clove of garlic through a garlic press and stirred that in to bake as well.
Dressing:
I bought this sesame paste from my new local market. I live in/near both Hispanic and Chinese neighborhoods, which is awesome - I can get almost every ethnic food I desire. (So far, at least.) The sesame paste I used has the ingredients sesame seed and sesame oil, and it is less solid and more oily than the tahini I'm used to. I used two teaspoons.
I used lime instead of lemon, because limes are 15 for $1 at the local store, and lemons were 4 for $1. Still cheap, but not ridiculously so.
I thought about using cilantro instead of parsley, because I was using lime. I am glad I went with parsley (and I used a LOT - probably over 1/2 cup) because parsley has a much milder, less over-powering flavor, and the flavors in this salad are terrific.
I think the moral of the story is that I in fact have gotten to a point in my cooking life to the ideal place:
I have mastered the techniques I have aspired to master.
I know the ingredients I like well enough to know what to do with them.
The flavor profile I seek is attainable: I know the flavors and combinations I want to use.
So with that knowledge I continue. Also, it should be noted that I really want to share a photo, but I dropped my phone in dishwater this morning and it's currently in a bag of rice, so I'm unable to, and the salad will be gone by the time I am able to. Sorry!
9/5/12
Perfect Potato Salad
As far as I know, I have always loved potato salad and hated
mayonnaise. This is usually a
contradiction, since most potato salad recipes I’ve seen (and eaten) contain
mayonnaise. And I’ve had delicious vegan
potato salad before, for sure. It’s just
that when I made it at home, it was never tasty. Luckily I’ve finally figured out how to make
the perfect mayonnaise-free potato salad, and, since I seem incapable of
sharing the finished product with anyone (yum yum yum - and it’s gone), I will
share the recipe.
Step One: Boil Whole
Potatoes.
I’ve gotten this part wrong in the past - you want your
potatoes to be soft enough to mash - I’ve always thought you wanted to stop
before that point, but I was wrong. Also, by
boiling them whole, you ensure that there are varying textures of potatoes,
which I think makes a more pleasing salad.
I used 1.5 lbs (which, as far as I'm concerned, makes about 2 servings).
Step Two: Make Vinaigrette.
I made mayonnaise from scratch, recently, to see what it was
all about. It was gross. All mayonnaise is gross. But I discovered mayonnaise is about 50 parts
oil to one part egg, which led me to realize that in my attempts, I have been making dry potato salad... because it didn’t have enough fat. I guess fat
makes potato salad delicious. (When I
eat vegetable salads, I generally don’t use any olive oil, just balsamic
vinegar. I like to think that makes up
for this.)
Now, your vinaigrette should be to your liking. Mine is about 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 T balsamic
vinegar, a heaping teaspoon or maybe a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, some
horseradish, some garlic if I feel like it, and maybe a 2nd kind of
mustard. I like mustard. (It has everything mayonnaise does not:
flavor.) Whisk to emulsify. Taste.
Adjust. Salt, pepper, more oil,
more vinegar, maybe a third kind of mustard - whatever you’d like.
Step Three: Add More
Stuff
Just potatoes and dressing isn’t enough - I like my potato
salad to have a bit of crunch, and so I chop up about 1/3 c raw red onion. This gives it crunch and flavor. If I ever had celery, I would definitely use
it. An herb is almost required - parsley
is classic. The opportunities are endless. Olives, capers, hard-boiled eggs, Prepare everything before
removing potatoes from their boiling water.
Step Four: Mixing together.
I usually throw the vegetables in the bottom of a big bowl,
and then I start on the potatoes. I take
them off the stove and set them in cold water, so that I can touch them, but
when I cut into them they are steaming.
I have heard that hot potatoes soak up the dressing better, which makes
sense to me, I guess. Cut into
bite-sized chunks, and throw into the bowl.
Pour on the dressing and stir it up between each potato, to distribute
as much as possible. Taste, season, and
then cover and put it in the fridge quickly so you don’t eat it all while it’s still
warm
8/22/12
Tomato Goat Cheese Pie with Potato Crust
My logic on the potato crust: I have potatoes, and I have flour. I am currently packing and moving. The weight of the raw potatoes that would go into this crust far surpasses the weight of the flour that would go into a crust. Hence, I must make a potato crust.
Also, starch is amazing. I just threw some shredded potatoes in a greased pan and by baking, they all stuck together. Amazing. I don't think I will ever make a traditionally crusted quiche in my life again.
Shred 2 cups worth of potatoes, add 1 t of salt and drain for ten minutes (I totally forgot to drain, and I was a bit worried, but it was fine.) Mix with one egg, 1/4 c finely chopped onion, and spread into a well-oiled pie plate. Bake 20 minutes at 400, then spray the top with oil and bake another 20 minutes.
In the meantime cut up lots of tomatoes and drain them. Set your goat cheese on the oven where it's a little warm so it softens a bit. Maybe mix a couple of tablespoons with an egg Right before the pie gets done, stir some goat cheese and thyme (I used tarragon because I was in a hurry and couldn't find the thyme) into the drained tomatoes. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake until browned.
Also, starch is amazing. I just threw some shredded potatoes in a greased pan and by baking, they all stuck together. Amazing. I don't think I will ever make a traditionally crusted quiche in my life again.
Shred 2 cups worth of potatoes, add 1 t of salt and drain for ten minutes (I totally forgot to drain, and I was a bit worried, but it was fine.) Mix with one egg, 1/4 c finely chopped onion, and spread into a well-oiled pie plate. Bake 20 minutes at 400, then spray the top with oil and bake another 20 minutes.
In the meantime cut up lots of tomatoes and drain them. Set your goat cheese on the oven where it's a little warm so it softens a bit. Maybe mix a couple of tablespoons with an egg Right before the pie gets done, stir some goat cheese and thyme (I used tarragon because I was in a hurry and couldn't find the thyme) into the drained tomatoes. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake until browned.
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