my Mexican friend

Alright, that's not true (but I'm sure I have a Mexican friend somewhere out here)... this post was requested by a personal favorite of mine who casually mentioned her husband being Mexican (which is also not true). Vague references to personal jokes... got to love them.

So, this is the truth. I was feeling like some sort of casserole when I was invited to a Mexican potluck (I know - casserole and Mexican?!?). However, I found this recipe in Crescent Dragonwagon's "Passionate Vegetarian" ginormous cookbook and tweeked it for my tastes. Everyone was pleasantly satisfied with the dish... and amazed that it was vegan (sorry no pics - I baked it at my friend's, cause that's how I roll, and was too embarrassed for a photo shoot). Enjoy, Sly and Kevin.

Calabacitas Cobbler with Cornmeal Biscuit Crust

Calabacitas:
2 tsp veg oil
1 onion, diced
1 finely minced serrano or jalapeno pepper, may include membrane and seeds (but watch out!)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbs water or veg stock
1/2 to 1 sm butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-in cubes
3-6 sm zucchini, stems removed, cut into 1/4-in cubes
1/4 tsp salt

Heat oil in skillet over med heat. Add the onion and saute until onion starts to give aroma (2 min). Add the pepper and cumin seeds, and saute until onion begins to soften (2-4 min). Add the squash and water/stock. Cover and steam until the squash starts to soften (4-8 min). Uncover, raise the heat slightly, and add the zucchini. Saute, stirring often, until the zucchini is crisp-tender (5 min). Season with salt.

Salsa Verde y Blanca with Tofu:
1 10 1/2-oz box soft silken tofu
2 serrano chiles, stems removed, seeds included, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, quartered
1/2 cup nondairy milk

Combine all ingredients except the milk in a food processor and work your magic to make a chunky puree. Add the milk and buzz a few more times.

Cormeal Biscuit Topping:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbs veg margarine, veg shortening, or applesauce (if you're conscience of fat)
1 tbs veg oil (see line above)
3/4 - 1 cup sourmilk (1 tbs vinegar + 3/4 c nondairy milk)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Add the shortening item and oil and cut the fats into the flour mix. Add the sourmilk and stir until mixture forms a ball (more milk may be needed if too crumbly). Knead 4-5 times... just a lil firming (so don't over knead).

So now to make a union...
Preheat oven to 425oF. Combine the calabacitas and salsa in a nonstick pan over low to med heat and cook slowly, stirring often. Spray 8 1-cup ramekins or an 8-in square glass baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the heated calabacitas mix into the ramekins or dish. Top with the biscuit mix and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the topping is brown and the calabacitas mix is fragrant and bubbling.

Onions and Spinach

I have had many a complements on this recipe for French Onion Soup, which comes from Joanne Stepaniak's "The Vegan Sourcebook" (my first ever Vegan book). Easy and quick... and oh so satisfying. I waited on making this soup til I could pick up some of the delicious bread (and produce) at Chase's Daily in town. Unfortunately, they ran out of their classic French Baguette before I arrived so I settled for Rye Caraway.



French Onion Soup

1 tbs olive oil

3 med. onions, sliced

1 large garlic, minced

1/4 c. whole-wheat pastry flour

4 cups water

1/4 c, tamari

French Bread, for serving

Heat the oil over med-high and add the garlic and onion. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, mixing well. Then stir in the water and tamari and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the onions are tender (about 20 minutes). To serve, place a slice of bread in a bowl and ladle soup on top.

Flipping through the recipe section, I gazed upon a Sour Cream and Onion Dip recipe. Honestly, I sometime get excited when I stumble upon these kinds of foods... maybe because they relate to the "other" world (Meaning: before I even gave up dairy, I didn't even LIKE sour cream. So why would I even attempt to make a "sour cream" dip??? Sounds like something those ordinary folk eat... :) ). Now that I offended most of my family and friends... I ended up adding some chopped, steamed spinach to the mix BEFORE blending (but in hind sight, next time (ehhh), I may add the spinach after).



Sour Cream, Onion and Spinach Dip

1 c. silken tofu (firm)

2 tbs canola oil

1 tbs dried onion flakes

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp tamari

1 tsp date sugar or other dry sweetner

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until well combined. Transfer to a covered container and cool several hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.

sunday brunch = pumpkin pie pancakes and sauteed kale

Had some leftover roasted pumpkin. I also went to a restaurant recently that served Pumpkin Pie Pancakes - not vegan, of course. So I made my version.... umm, so good. Nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice - topped with sliced almonds and maple syrup.

I had been craving some scrumptious kale... steamed, then sauteed with a little olive oil, garlic, and salt. Squirted with fresh lemon juice. (A little nutrition side note: besides being incredibly tasty, lemons are rich with vitamin C which help absorb the abundance of iron found in kale. yum.)

A very simple, satisfying meal.

dinner for two

The long awaited dinner with my culinary-like-minded friend, meaning that she would (and does) spend all day in the kitchen if she could. She's also the one that always inquires about potluck themes, which is something I do as well, when my other friends either just look a me weird or think I'm anal.

Now that time is slowing down to the winter months, there seems to be more opportunities for dinner arrangements. We set our "theme" around root vegetables, which are most abundant at the moment (meaning she has MOUNDS stored away for the coming months). What better to go with roasted root vegetables than polenta! I'm forever intimidated by the idea of polenta for some reason, but every now-and-then, feel obliged to try to ignore that feeling. I found a recipe for "soft polenta" that is a mixture of cornmeal and quinoa (for a protein punch and additional nutty flavor... oh yeah, and finely chopped leeks) topped with a made-from-scratch spicy tomato sauce. I ended up having time to set the polenta, which is my preferred way to serve it. The sauce was very tasty with portobello mushroom, cooking sherry, and onions.

My friend took care of the root veggies and also wanted to try out a spicy carrot soup recipe she had. Soup was great... really it was (though ask her about the red lentils I brought for her!). Let's just say sometimes, especially when you're cooking with a headlamp, sometimes just call it quits.

So I'm fully aware that pictures are needed... also recommended to me by my sister. They are coming.
In the meantime, up next... Butternut Squash and Wild Mushroom Lasagna, anyone?

strike that, reverse it

So over this past week, I transitioned from thinking about this whole blog idea into creating it... with help along the way, of course. Most recently, friends of mine have dove into the food industry arena, not thinking twice. I love it! and am most envious of their fearless spirits. I too have thought many a times into making something I enjoy doing ALL THE TIME into career reality. And maybe, I suppose, this is my first baby step.

I do have to give a little warning that I am in no way a writer or poet... me likey food talkey.

Moving on...

I feel I want to do some catching up on the dishes I had made recently that put me over the blogphobia edge. First, was the kicking-into-the-season Ladies Night Potluck dish I prepared. I love my ladies night - for the company, of course, and the almost-fact that most of our nights revolve around food. I brought Beer Stew featuring the amazing Deep Purple Rauchbier from Marshall Wharf Brewery (Belfast, ME, USA; http://marshallwharf.com/). A very simple dish but simply delicious. I chose this recipe for the mere fact that I had some tasty beer gone flat and could not part with it any other way than to cook with it. The stew was accompanied by homemade Pumpkin Biscuits. Both dishes were a hit - I'm not sure if the stew was loved for the tasty goodness or the beer. The biscuits did not rise as much as I was anticipating, so maybe I rolled them out a bit too much, but they were tasty nonetheless.

Birthday Surprise...

I was busy towards the end of the week, even though I had been looking forward to my friend's birthday potluck gathering for a month now. When it came to it, I was scrambling to put together something decent. I had made another soup earlier in the week - Tuscan White Bean Soup. Thinking back, most everything in the soup was local... which I am most passionate about. The soup was excellent - slow cooked with fennel and carrots, but after enjoying it a couple times, needed a little revamping. I concocted the idea of converting the soup into a vegetable pot pie, which I had never attempted before. Primarily, I knew that the stock would need to be thicken... I made a whole wheat crust for bottom and top, ladled the soup into the casserole dish, added some chopped Swiss chard (for some greens I thought would be missing), poured the stock on top, and finished with the crust. The pot pie turned out very well and loved by all.

I had this bright idea to bring the main dish, dessert, and appetizer (once I get going, I can't stop!). I found a simple pumpkin peanut butter ball recipe which called for dipping these molded forms into chocolate. Rushing around like I was, I only found carob chips quickly, and so some odd reason, the chips were not melting in the double boiler. In the meantime, I worked on the apps... I had leftover pumpkin seeds I wanted to use up, so I found a recipe that had a maple syrup-based seasoning. In a frantic raid of the kitchen, I did not bother to check the amount of seeds/nuts the recipe called for... they turned out way to sticky to present to a birthday girl. Most frustrated I thought I might call it quits for the night. But just then, I had the notion to marry the two flop dishes into one. I do say that I was a bit apprehensive about this since the pumpkin seeds were a little spicy (cayenne pepper) but I thought I'd give it a shot. And boy, were those balls loved most appreciated!! (and on a side note, I think they might have turned out better than the original recipe... as far as I am concerned. I'm not that big of a fan of chocolate... I know it's a sin.)

Tonight, I'm thinking some vegan cheesy veggie casserole....