stuff/stuffing/stuffed

this post is a celebration of stuffing—noun and verb.



you know what's nice? stuffing something tasty into something else tasty. in this case, stuffing creamy, coconut-infused israeli couscous studded with cashews and cranberries into tender baked delicata squash.

i cooked 2 cups of israeli couscous in one can of coconut milk plus about half a cup of water, with a big pinch of salt and a spoonful of red curry paste stirred in. bring to a boil, stir, then simmer at low heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender—the usual. then i mixed in about 1/3 cup of toasted cashews and 1/3 cup of dried cranberries. the coconut milk makes this something truly luscious. while this was going on, i halved the squashes and baked them in a dish with an inch of water, to soften them up a bit. then stuffed A into B and baked for ten more minutes or so. oh, so good.



stuffing, as we all know and love it. at the mostly-vegan thanksgiving celebration i had the pleasure of attending, my stuffing, i daresay, stole hearts and minds. of course, this is the kind of stuffing that escapes actually being stuffed. the only actual stuffing going on is the of-your-face variety.

in case anyone hasn't discovered the magic of homemade stuffing yet: cube a loaf of day-old sourdough bread and toast the cubes on a cookie sheet in a 200 F oven for a few minutes, to get them crispy but not rock hard. sauté chopped celery and apple in olive oil until soft, sprinkle on a healthy dash of salt and sage and thyme, then add the bread cubes and gently toss to coat. drizzle on some extra olive oil and about a cup of tasty vegetable broth, so that the bread is moistened but not mushy. then turn it all into a baking dish and bake at 350 F for just long enough to give the top a bit of crunch, maybe 15 minutes. delicious.

finally, what does pie have to do with stuffing? it's damn good stuff? perhaps we eat it until we're stuffed? i don't know, i just feel that i'd be remiss not to post a picture of my pumpkin pie. pie and stuffing just have that kinship.



this pumpkin pie comes from bryanna clark grogan's holiday recipe page and it was KILLER. oh, man. extra spicy and rich with molasses. i made it the day before thanksgiving and used the basic pie crust from veganomicon. and i used trader joe's soy creamer for the non-dairy milk in the filling, for extra fatty goodness. it set beautifully, so creamy with a nice firm top. i did some freehand leaf cut-outs to put on top like i always wanted to. very cute. i'm reposting the recipe here because it's so flawless, but check out bryanna's page for tons of awesome holiday recipes!

Bryanna Clark Grogan's Pumpkin Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready, one 9” unbaked pastry crust.

Blend in blender until smooth:

2 c. solid-pack canned pumpkin (one 14-15 oz. can)
(NOTE: if you use home-cooked pumpkin, drain it for several hours hanging in a cloth bag, so it’s thick like canned pumpkin; measure after draining.)

1 c. non-dairy milk (soy creamer!)

3/4 c. brown sugar or Sucanat

3-4 T. cornstarch (depending on how firm you like it)

1 T. molasses or blackstrap molasses

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. EACH ground ginger, nutmeg and salt

1/4 tsp. ground allspice or cloves

Pour the filling into the pastry and bake 60 minutes, covering the edges with foil if they begin to brown too quickly. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate overnight before serving.

happy holidays!

my new favorite squash

it's not every day you get to discover your new favorite squash! but yesterday was one of those joyous days. intrigued by a post at vegan eats & treats, as well as a recent bar-room chat about the delights of infusing coconut milk with lemongrass, i picked up a few delicata squashes and a bunch of bristly lemongrass at the farmers market this week. i envisioned a sweet, slightly spicy red curry with my acquisition. this doesn't always happen, but this meal was a perfect manifestation of my vision.



i started with a lemongrass-coconut milk broth, following directions from apple pie, patis, & pâté, which has lovely photos to demonstrate the process. having never really worked with lemongrass before, this was very helpful. i took about half the bunch, chopped off the bristly leaf-end and the hard knobby root end of each, removed the outer few layers of leaves, and then bruised the stalks with a heavy object (aptly, a pestle). i then tied them into pretty knots, put them in the pot with a can of coconut milk and a little extra water, and let the whole thing simmer very gently for maybe an hour. when i removed the lemongrass stalks, the pot of broth was gorgeously redolent with lemony fragrance.

from there it was easy. with a pot of basmati rice on the back burner, i stirred a few tablespoons of red curry paste into the coconut broth. the delicata squash was seeded and chopped into cubes—no need to peel it! this is the best squash ever! i tossed the cubes into the simmering broth and was shocked and thrilled to find them perfectly tender and sweet after only about 10 minutes. hot damn! the peel really is edible, not in a "i guess i could chew this" kind of way, but like really delectably edible. a can of chickpeas rounded out the curry and all was right with the world.

persimmon spice pretzels

just about one year ago, i had the clever idea to pick about thirty pounds of hachiya persimmons off a tree at my boyfriend's parents' house. as the astringent fruits ripened one by one, i squeezed the pulp into giant ziploc bags and stored them in the freezer. now, it's november again, the leaves have fallen off the persimmon tree, the brilliantly orange fruits are emerging against the cloudy autumnal sky, and i need to hurry up and use the vast quantity of 2008 persimmon pulp in the freezer before it becomes redundant.

my solution lately is to use persimmon in any recipe calling for pumpkin puree. for a while, every time i baked with persimmon pulp, i'd always end up with a sticky gooey mess, until i figured out that my pulp was way too liquidy. i reduced whole pans of it at a time until it had the consistency of canned pumpkin—henceforth my persimmon baked goods were a grand success.

today was a glorious harvest-themed potluck at the house of the lovely ms. vegan eats & treats. as always, the ppk proved that vegans kick ass at potlucks. i didn't take any pictures at the event, but cozy, savory, comfort food was in abundance, alongside an array of truly stunning desserts.

i brought an altered version of kittee's soft pumpkin pretzels, which went over quite well and were a treat to make! thanks kittee! i love food that requires some dexterity, so rolling out ropes of dough and shaping them into pretty twists was my idea of a good time. the pretzels are boiled, then baked. that gives them a delightful chewiness and density just like bagels, the most perfect food item known to humankind.



kittee's original recipe is posted here. here's my version made with persimmon, and a few other changes:

Soft Persimmon Pretzels
1 1/4 cup warm water plus up to 1/4 more as needed
1 teaspoon unbleached granulated sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup persimmon puree, reduced to a thick consistency like canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ginger, allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1 teaspoon canola oil
kosher salt, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds for garnish

For Boiling:
8 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda

1. In a big bowl dissolve the sugar in 1 1/4 cups warm-to-the-touch water.
2. Add the yeast and let sit a few minutes until the yeast "blooms."
3. Stir in the persimmon.
   
4. Stir in the flours and salt and mix to form a dough. If the dough seems too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until it comes together--you should be OK without it.
   
5. Hand knead for ten minutes, or five minutes in a mixer with a dough hook.
6. Put the oil in a big bowl and turn the dough around in the oil until the sides of the bowl are oiled and the dough is covered in a light film.
7. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 50 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 450F.
9. In a pot with high sides (the water will foam up once the pretzels are added), bring 8 cups of water to a boil with the baking soda.
   
10. Divide the dough into six even pieces. One by one, carefully roll them into a coil that is 19" long and about 3/4-1" thick. Carefully twist each rope into a pretzel shape and pinch the ends of the rope to the body of the pretzel so they stay in place.
11. Boil three pretzels at a time for one minute, flip over with tongs and boil the second side for another minute.
12. Place on a Silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet and lightly blot off any foam with a towel.
13. Quickly sprinkle with seeds and salt so they stick to the moist dough.
    
14. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until deeply browned on top.

but beware of pretzel monsters.

vegan reubens vs das unheimliche

oh yeah! i have a blog!

so let's just call this vegan MoFo an epic fail and get back to regular blogging business. my life has been too crazy of late, populated with far too much theory and theory and more theory and totally weird stuff and cats and zombies for me to really consider blogging every day. i still cook every day, pretty much, because that's what grounds me in unsettling times. proof:



the sandwich. when done right, it's a perfect configuration. my year in portland got me hooked on vegan reubens, and now they are one of my favorite meals—oddly enough, a sandwich can serve as a special occasion meal for me.

the perfect vegan reuben requires:

• rye bread (this time we used was a delightfully tangy swirled rye)
• homemade thousand island dressing (from vegan with a vengeance: 1/3 cup Vegenaise, 2 Tbsp ketchup, juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp capers, a pinch of cayenne, all stirred together)
• marinated and baked tempeh (also from vwav: mix together 1/2 cup white wine, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp tamari, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 pressed cloves garlic. pour this over 1 package tempeh, cut into thin rectangles, and let marinate as long as possible. remove tempeh slices from marinade, place onto parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through)
  
• SAUERKRAUT and more SAUERKRAUT, preferably some unconventional, light and crispy locally made kraut from Farmhouse Culture

bonus: HOMEMADE FRICKING PICKLES, made by a couple of talented artisan vegans in a local kitchen (that's ms. vegan eats & treats and me, thanks). detailed lab report here. the audible "crunch" of biting into one of these pickles is incomparable.

the perfect sandwich is first assembled (bread, thousand island, tempeh, sauerkraut, bread), then sliced, THEN toasted (in a handy toaster oven). this ensures warmth and softness throughout the sandwich, with a nice crispy outside. every bite is bliss. this time we served our sandwiches with roasted potatoes and ketchup. comfort food like this will fortify you against Das unheimliche any day.

portland vegan one hundred

thanks to jess at get sconed. a blog i love reading, yet oh so wistfully. portland, i haven't forgotten you.

Here's how it works:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, facebook or website, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!
The PDX Vegan Hundred: 100 Great Foodz in Portland, OR


1. Fries with spicy tofu sauce at Dots
2. $1 Corndog from Hungry Tiger Too no hot dogs for me, even ersatz hot dogs
3. Chick-o-Stick doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts
4. Tiramisu from Portobello
5. Vegan Mulita from Gorditos or Gorditos II
6. Nanotear Ham and Cheeze sandwich from Tube fake ham repulses me
7. Milkshake from Sip
8. Gnocchi from Portobello
9. Caramel Nut Bar from Sweetpea Baking Co.
10. Soft serve from Blossoming Lotus
11. Local cherry tomatoes from a farmers market
12. Dong Po Tofu from Bay Leaf
13. Jerked chickun from Assase Ital
14. A Big Big Lunch Special from an Indian cart
15. Soy latte made with Stumptown espresso
16. A crappy tofu scramble they were always good at jam!
17. Cornmeal pizza from Dovi Vive.
18. Weeping Tiger sandwich from Bye & Bye
19. Bye & Bye or Floor Punch from Bye & Bye
20. A Bowl meal from a cart
21. vegan nutella from freddy's hazelnuts
22. soy curls in bulk from food fight or proper eats
23. buffalo wings from Vita
24. the weekday vegan pancakes from Laurelthirst so many times! my favorite pancakes in the world
25. Maple vegan sausage waffle from flavourspot
26. Drunken noodles with pepper steak from Thai Food Cafe
27. Macnocheeto from Homegrown Smoker
28. Veggie platter from an Ethiopian restaurant
29. Blackberries picked from a public place
30. Baba Ganouj from Ya Hala
31. Coconut Mashed Yams from Papa G’s
32. Butternut Squash Wontons from Hungry Tiger Too
33. Vegan slice from Bella Faccia
34. Apple pie from Whiffies
35. Chili dog from Zach’s Shack
36. Vegan poutine from Potato Champion
37. Missionary Chocolate Truffle
38. Apron Activists 4-Course Dinner
39. Hot Wok at New Seasons
40. Che Guevara Burrito from Laughing Planet
41. Bryan’s Bowl from Por Que No?
42. Pad Thai from Pad Thai Kitchen
43. Cupcake from a stand at Last Thursday
44. The Giant Pancake at Hungry Tiger Too
45. TLP from Red & Black Cafe
46. Cornmeal tempeh plate from Proper Eats
47. Tofu Po Boy at Palm State Gumbo
48. Maple Walnut Scone from Back to Eden
49. Vegan Mezza platter from a Lebanese restaurant
50. Crispy eggplant from Fujin
51. Lemongrass Tofu Sticks from Van Hanh
52. Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX
53. Cocktail made with local liquor
54. Biscuits and Gravy from Paradox
55. Smoky soy curls from Homegrown Smoker
56. Field Roast sausage
57. Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce
58. Toddbot's Triangles
59. Local microbrew um, yeah
60. Hot Lips soda
61. Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushroom Marsala from The Farm Cafe
62. had a picnic in Laurelhurst Park
63. burrito from Shelley's Honkin Huge Burritos
64. Eggplant tibs from Bete Lukas
65. Tator Tots before noon or after midnight
66. Lone Ranger from Chaos Cafe
67. Sunday brunch at Sweetpea!
68. Tofu at a BBQ place (for example Derby Mustard Sauce Tofu at Russel Street BBQ)
69. Mint Fava Falafel at Nightlight Lounge
70. An unexciting hummus plate at a bar.
71. Vegan meatball sub from Aalto Lounge
72. Koi Fusion spicy tofu tacos
73. Veggie dog from the Vegi dog stand
74. Sesame chicken from a vegetarian chinese restaurant
75. Bagel with Bacun Scallion cream cheese from Sweetpea no, i can't dig the fake bacon thing
76. Vegan savoury crepe
77. Veggie kibbeh
78. Club Vegan at Backspace
79. ice cream sundae from Back to Eden this haunts my dreams. someday
80. Raw fudge from Blossoming Lotus
81. Tempeh reuben hell yeah!!!
82. Pause vegan burger
83. vegan ribs
84. something baked with local marionberries
85. Veggie bento box
86. Dave's Killer Bread
87. Higher Taste Buzzitos
88. Thai food that the server swears is vegan, but you taste fish sauce. i've never tasted the fish sauce but i know i got fooled at least once
89. Elephant ear from the Saturday Market
90. Dovetail sticky bun
91. savoury pie from Nicholas restaurant
92. Salad rolls from the Just Thai cart
93. Vegan torta from Gorditos II
94. Nutritional yeast on your popcorn at a movie theater
95. Vegan grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Grill
96. Pasilla burrito from El Nutri
97. Something from the vegetarian menu at Andina
98. Vegan Steak and Cheese from D.C. Vegetarian
99. Dragon Noodles at Red & Black Cafe
100. Falafel from Wolf & Bears

my score: 39%. i have so much yet to accomplish!

don't let this fading summer pass you by

today i did a sort of double take before realizing that it is truly october; that we are unmistakably in the grip of fall; that my 26th birthday is less than 2 months away; and other rather anxious truths about seasons and ephemerality and all that.

of course santa cruz is a bit more difficult to pin down, seasonally, and we're still relishing the basil and the summer tomatoes and the perpetual sunshine. but the mornings and evenings are so cold, and i'm already looking forward to hot soups and roasted vegetables and endless baking projects and other wintertime pleasures. but i will mourn the nectarines till next spring. sigh.

before summer is wholly departed i want to reflect on a summertime meal max and i became quite fond of this year. the humble grain salad is nothing to write home about, but as a quick, easy, versatile meal, for a potluck or a lazy evening at home, it's pretty stupendous. cooked grain + any kind of veggie (or fruit) prepared any way (raw, roasted, sautéed, etc.) + raw or toasted nuts + maybe some cooked beans or baked tofu or tempeh + olive oil and vinegar and/or lemon juice, maybe some chopped herbs, maybe avocado, maybe raisins, maybe whatever = bam, it's tasty and virtuously good for you and you've just used anything you have in the house without having to go out shopping.



and though i think of this as a summer meal, this particular rendition rings autumnal: short grain brown rice, roasted beets, toasted walnuts, chopped basil, a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a scattering of coarse grey sea salt. there is a lovely earthiness shared by the beets, the walnuts and the balsamic, they make a very good match.



i adore these chiogga beets! so pretty with the pink and white rings. they say that the colors blend when the beets are cooked, but these retained an echo of their crisp zebra pattern even when roasted.

anniversary crepes

more from the "my boyfriend is awesome" department:



max made these crepes from vegan brunch on the morning of our anniversary. four years of living in sin? i'd say that calls for some decadence! we had heirloom-tomato-basil-sea salt stuffed crepes, followed by some strawberry-nectarine-chocolate stuffed crepes for breakfast-dessert. the crepes were delicious, light and delicate and crispy around the edges. the batter came together really quickly—max was worried by the strong chickpea-smell (from chickpea flour) but that totally vanishes in the finished product. and they were so fun to make, swirling the batter around in the pan! quite delightful and a wonderful special-occasion meal.

there's nothing like breakfast with the one you love!

muffin love

i spent the better part of this weekend writing a paper (on this guy) and as friday night passed into the wee hours of saturday morning, all i could think of was my future self, breakfasting on these muffins. i could not sleep, just kept tapping away at the keyboard, listening to the sea lions barking louder and louder (surely from the ocean, a mile away, but i could have sworn they were getting closer and closer—i looked out the window half-expecting to see a sea lion army invading the streets of santa cruz).

i think you'll agree that i really deserved these muffins.



luckily i had my love muffin, max, kindly offer to bake me some love muffins. they're coffee chip muffins from vegan brunch. lacking coffee extract, max substituted brewed coffee for half of the almond milk and half of the canola oil called for in the recipe. he also artfully arranged an equal number of chocolate chips on top of each muffin. they were just what i wanted. usually i prefer dense, spicy muffins filled with fruit and bran and healthful things, but these are light and simple, a hint of waffle-y taste and texture, the coffee flavor subtle but definite, the chocolate chips serving their proper role as the naughty treat sneaking into my morning under the guise of breakfast. trust me, i know the difference between a cupcake and a muffin, and this is a muffin. with chocolate. delightful.

operation: pantry raid

vegan mofo resolution: to plan and execute meals around those odd items in the pantry that i don't precisely know what to do with or don't use often enough.

1. kasha
2. blue cornmeal
3. teff flour
4. tvp chunks
5. black cardamom pods (i'm scared of this one...)
6. dried corn kernels
7. mung beans
8. adzuki beans
9. bulgur wheat
10. rice noodles
11. sushi nori gathering dust
12. pomegranate concentrate
13. jarred chestnuts
14. marzipan



tonight's dinner: a riff on veganomicon kasha phyllo pie. i roasted some golden beets with a touch of peanut oil, salt and pepper at 400 F for about 45 minutes. then i tossed some of the chopped beet greens into the pan and roasted another 10 minutes—this made the greens nice and crispy. i made the kasha filling from the veganomicon recipe—it was delicious! i left out the mushrooms. the dough came from trader joe's. i hesitated a long moment or two before buying it...but it was a great time-saver, it tastes good and at $1.29 for a pound, it's possibly cheaper than making your own dough.

into each circle of dough i tucked a few spoonfuls of kasha and topped it with some beets, folded it over, pinched the edges and dotted the top lightly with earth balance. they baked at 350 F for about 15 minutes and were so tasty. and i have lots of kasha filling left over for breakfast.

oh...is it october?

okay! so maybe trying to participate in vegan mofo concurrent with my first quarter of grad school is a silly idea. today is indeed the second day of october and not the first, so i've already sabotaged any effort to post every day. but, i am going to forge ahead, because i want to make sure i don't stop eating delicious food just because i'm a grad student and busy as hell.

vegan mofo = vegan month of food. official blog here, bloglines feed here, flickr group here.

the only thing i can offer to atone for my less-than-illustrious vegan mofo commencement is cupcakes.



coconut lime cupcakes from vegan cupcakes take over the world. totally brilliant. coconut milk and coconut oil make for a cake that is delicate yet rich, with an excellent crumb and a gorgeously buttery flavor. i almost never say this, but i liked these cupcakes just fine without frosting! shocking!

speaking of frosting, yesterday i thought i had lost my icing spatula and i was overcome with sadness. its rediscovery brought me great joy. i would like to take this moment to pay homage to my dear spatula, my very favorite kitchen implement:




image borrowed from the sur la table website. thanks, spatula! you're the best.