it's all about the spacing

cold time, soupy time

A quick brothy, noodly, yummy soup I whipped up last night for my sick self.

8 tsp Better Than Bouillon Veggie Base
confetti of local veggies I had around (thanks New Beat Farm!), diced 'em up
carrots
rutabaga
onion
mushroom
cabbage
1/2 block local tofu, cubed
couple Tbs Maine seaweed
instant whole grain rice vermicelli
several Tbs of grated local ginger root (oh yes....local and delish)
sesame oil

Sauteed veggies (except mushrooms and cabbage) in large soup pot with coconut oil for several minutes. Add 16 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then add the veggie base. Amongst the boil and adding, get some separate water boiling in the kettle for the rice vermicelli. Soak it in a large bowl under boiling water for 4 minutes. Drop in the seaweed, mushrooms, cabbage. Let it all blend together for a couple minutes. Add the tofu, vermicelli, and ginger. Serve in a bowl with spoon and chopsticks. Add a drizzle of sesame oil for garnish. and enjoy!

Kale oh Kale....cracked out on KALE

It's that time of year. My internal clock must know that fresh local yummy produce's days are numbered. I cannot get enough of kale. Steamed kale, baked kale, kale casserole, kale stir fry, kale chips...yum! Last night, I was not too hungry. What did I want??? Steamed kale, little hint of salt and fresh squeezed lemon. Roasted some local sweet and blue potatoes on the side. Satisfying dish if i ever saw one!! (Miss Asha enjoyed the kale and potatoes too!) How do you like your kale crack?

I'll Wait for the Molasses Drip Any Day

Wanted something a little different for breakfast this morning...decided on Granola Pancakes. Original recipe comes from Joanne Stepaniak's "The Vegan Sourcebook" (Lowell House, 1998). I added Grandy Oats Maple Granola (local!), a little raisins, and a bit more soymilk to compensate for the dry fillings. Oh and look what's over there...a lonely bottle of molasses I got out the other day for some suecakes! (http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tinyman#!/pages/Suecakes/128471837259660). oh molasses. you are worth the wait...

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbs flaxseed
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup nondairy milk (more as needed, I used soy)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

molasses (maybe 1-2 Tbs)
granola
raisins

Grind flaxseeds either by pestle and mortar (if you're cool like me) or a dry blender. Mix with water until a gummy mixture is achieved, about 30 seconds. put off to side. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together. Add milk, molasses, and vanilla to the flaxseed slurp, and process til frothy, about 1-2 minutes. Pour into dry mixture and mix just until everything is evenly moistened. Heat skillet over medium heat. Melt around a teaspoon of coconut oil and pour batter according to size of pancakes desired. flip pancakes, etc, etc....if you're unsure about proper pancake making procedure, just ask my grnadfather...kidding. he's an excellent pancake maker. hit me up, if you have any questions.

I topped these filling cakes with complimentary applesauce. oh yeah.

Apparently Tahini is Out to Get Me!

I'm in the kitchen...making a little dinner: heating up some Tuscan Kale Soup with Barley I had made the night before accompanied by steamed Brussel Sprouts in Tahini Dressing. Minding my own business, listening to NPR, stirring the ever-separated tahini when it all of the sudden the quick-as-a-ninja tahini lunged out of the jar, flying at the speed of light into my eyeball...as well as my sleeve, shoulder, over my shoulder and onto the floor. Have you ever had tahini oil in your eye????

So to counteract, I passively tranformed the tahini into a dressing with a few minced garlic cloves, fresh parsley, salt/pepper, water (to thin), and lemon juice. Ate it up before it could seige war against any other bodily part.

I do have to say Tahini Dressing and Brussel Sprouts were a marvelous marriage. yum!

One of These Days I'll Be As Cool As Cauliflower!

What beautiful colors! What divinely awesome geometric shapes! How art thou, dear cauliflower!! You continue to amaze me.

This week....needing to utilize this gorgeous head of purple cauliflower. I tried out a Curried Cauliflower Soup....secret ingredient...well, no oil - that's cool, yet the secret ingredient is...apple! How i love me some apples!

2 Tbs water, for sauteing
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 medium tart apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1 Tbs curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lg head cauliflower, chopped into somewhat inform-sized pieces
4 cups vegetable stock
salt, to taste

Heat water in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5-7 minutes or until soft and translucent. Stir in apple, curry powder, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer or until the curry powder turns a deep yellow. Add a little more water as necessary to keep the contents from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add the cauliflower and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool a bit, then blend in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and serve.

I put various garnishes on this particular soup: fresh arugula, toasted pumpkin seeds, toasted cashews...pick your flavor. And enjoy!
Recipe came from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's "Color Me Vegan" Fair Winds Press, 2010.

freaky 13th....and it's not a Friday

Well...hello again.

I has been an ENTIRE year since a post. how lame of me. However, I'm much the wiser...moved, shattered my wrist, lost two cats, laughed, cried, danced. Yup...still truckin'.

I just needed to mention the diggity bomb meal a "kitchen sinker" and I prepared the other night, complete with Dark n' Stormies and a travel Scrabble game....and Ween. lots and lots of Ween.

We both have a everlasting love for Silly's of Portland, Maine's Vegan Thai Pie Pizza...peanut sauce, tofu, scallions, optional vegan mozzarella. simple, yet yum. I have made many attempts to order this delicious meal from the restaurant recently with as many failures for diverse reasons. So....I made Sue's version.

Home-made whole wheat parsley crust, peanut sauce (from scratch), tofu, broccoli, roasted red peppers, fennel, "hen of the woods" mushrooms, local ginger!, carmelized onions. I do have to say....wow! was amazing...though I've got a little project which is called improving my pizza crust recipe.

I love me some appetizers to munch on while I'm cooking. Therefore, we roasted up some delicata rings and whipped up a roasted garlic creamy olive, parsley dipping sauce. Equally yum!

I'll hit you up with recipes in a few.
Viva la kitchen sink!!

On another note....interested in holiday vegan baked goods??? Coming your way to mid-coast Maine soon! give me a shout!!