Pesto. No cheese. Just make it. So good and simple, saying anymore would spoil the beauty.
Ingredients:
3-4 C washed, loosely packed stemmed fresh herbs- basil, cilantro, parsley, mint
1 C shelled, roasted walnuts or pine nuts
6-7 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup good tasting extra virgin olive oil, as needed
Sea salt, to taste
Big pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions:Combine the fresh herbs, nuts, red pepper flakes and garlic in a food processor and process the mixture until it turns into a coarse meal.Slowly add extra virgin olive oil in a steady drizzle as you pulse the processor on and off. Process until it becomes a smooth, light paste. Add enough olive oil to keep it moist and spreadable.
Season with sea salt, to taste.
Immediately use over fresh pasta or on toast. I put the leftovers in ice cube trays top with a drizzle of olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. When they are frozen, pop them out and wrap them securely with plastic wrap by the one cube and then toss all the cubes into a plastic freezer bag and you have summer pesto in the winter months.
Fruit this summer was super duper expensive in Michigan due to premature 90-degree days in April followed by a super freeze that was experienced which sadly killed most of the premature fruit buds. Michigan produces 70-75% of US cherries and this year, crop was at a loss of more than 90%. This of course put a premium on fruit including blueberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, apples, well you get the idea, Michigan produces a ton of fruit.
While in Hart for a Girls Get-a-Way, I was lucky enough to grab a bag of Starfire peaches and nectarines which cost me a pretty penny, but the sweet treat was WELL worth the premium. I crammed most of them in my face over the first two days, then let the last of the fruit ripen over the course of the week. Today, I made a simple peach pie so no peach was left behind.
Last year at about this time I concocted a vegetarian version of zucchini fritters and zucchini pancakes that were pretty darn good. This year, I tried for a little less batter, a little more vegetable and no animal products. Adapted from Simply Recipes (zucchini fritters) and Smitten Kitchen (zucchini fritters) I give you, Vegan Zucchini Corn Pancakes.
1 pound (about 2 medium or approx 4 C) zucchini, shredded
Non-dairy milk to thin this concoction to your desired consistency (I used soy milk)
Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. Either way, be sure to squeeze out the excess moisture in a clean kitchen towel or paper towels until practically dry.
Add zucchini shreds to a large mixing bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from salt, then add a little, you should season as you go here. Stir in corn, flax egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.
In a large heavy skillet — cast iron would be great, but I settled for an electric griddle — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula.
Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes-this could take up to 6 minutes this first side, don’t let burn, but let it cook and rise completely. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet in a 200 degree oven if you prefer them warm. Leave them on a cooling rack if you don’t mind them at room temp-they dry out well if left out and keep their crunch. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter.
For the topping, if using, stir together ingredients for whichever topping you prefer. Dollop on each fritter before serving. To assemble as shown in the picture. I took a sandwich thin, halved it and then placed on each half 1 piece of lettuce, a slice of tomato, some leftover grilled onions, the fritters, a little of the salsa dressing (above) and a few pickled jalapenos.
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Do ahead: These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again.
Even Peter Piper couldn’t pickle a pepper faster than these babies turn out. I had a few jalapenos leftover from making jalapeno jelly, so I put them to work in a bath of pickling spices. I can’t wait to try these on a BBQ pizza, nachos or in chili.
1 + 1/4 C water
1 + 1/4 C distilled white vinegar
3 T white sugar
3 T kosher salt, this is NOT the same as iodized or table salt
Combine water, vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, garlic, epazote, cumin seeds, and oregano in a saucepan over high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stir in jalapeno and red peppers then remove from heat. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
Pack peppers into jars using tongs, cover with vinegar mixture, cover, and refrigerate until needed – should keep for up to 6 months.
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This recipe for me yielded 5 (12-oz) jelly jars full of peppers and pickling juice and 2 (12-oz) jars of extra juice that I dropped some baby carrots into for an experiment.
The zucchini from two CSA’s and and Doorganics has nearly won. I struck back today making a double batch of vegan zucchini bread. Nice try zucchini.
3 Tbs ground flax seed
1/2 C water
1/2 C canola oil
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs white distilled vinegar
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
2 C grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 C flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C chocolate chips (Ghirardelli’s semi-sweet chips are accidentally vegan)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease two 8x4x2″ loaf man, 4 mini loaf pans or 2 muffin tins. In a mixer, combine the flax meal and water and blend until thickened. This is your “egg” portion of most recipes. Add the oil, vinegar, and sugar, and combine. Stir in the zucchini and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add chocolate chips. Stir the entire bowl to make sure no dry areas are left. This is quite a bit of batter. Divide the batter evenly into the two loaf pans (or pans of choice) and bake for 60-70 minutes. (40-45 mins for mini loaves; 30-35 for muffins).
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I snuck in a picture of the cutest Bagel in the world, Walter too. He was sleepy after a vegan treat.
I love naan. I love it a little less now that I’ve investigated what it is that I am actually eating. It’s not exactly health food. I have been buying these delicious commercial naan bread that I typically see at my deli counter and now they are available at Costco, double whammy. After I made this sandwich, I started researching recipes online for a healthier, more importantly vegan naan and I came up with a few that I will be trying for my next foray into sandwich-making.
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Sometimes not eating meat poses problems in the sandwich area-going to a deli can be less than successful most times. Instead, you have to make up for it in your own kitchen. Pictured is a toss together sandwich made from Tin Foil Beets and various other items found in the fridge. These items would also make a great salad with a squeeze of lemon or orange juice for the dressing. Contents of the sandwich on naan bread are: smear of hummus, fresh baby spinach, avocado with lemon juice and roasted beets. I serve this in a pocket sometimes with sprouts, arugula and carrots. A Mr. Wonderful fave and perfect beach food as they travel well.
I typically make grains on the weekend to avoid the time it takes to prep them during the week. There is nothing worse than a 30 minute meal, that takes an hour and a half because you need to account for the brown rice to cook. I have gotten in the habit of planning out a week of meals at a time because as you have probably noticed about me by now, I hate the friggin’ grocery store. So I shop once a week, get my CSA’s two times a week and that generally allows me to be pretty prepared for all lunches and dinners for the week.
Now sometimes, those made-ahead grains get lost in the back of the fridge. When that happens there is no better time to use up the rest of your CSA, freezer stuff, and pre-made brown rice, than in fried rice.
Ingredients
3 C cooked brown rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)
3 T sesame oil
1/2 C shelled fresh or frozen peas
1/3 C frozen shelled edemame
1 C shredded carrot
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 eggs, slightly beaten (omit if vegan)
1/4 C Tamari (to keep it gluten free; okay to use soy or Bragg’s Aminos if you are not concerned about gluten)
On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas, carrots, edemame, onion, Quorn*, and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled*. Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated.
*To keep this recipe vegan, omit the egg and the Quorn of course.
This is a twist on a previous post: Curried Tofu & Wilted Arugula Scramble . I won’t bore you with the details, but this update is awesome when you add the garlic scapes and kohlrabi it turns slightly more sweet than the original. Proof that really you can toss anything into a tofu scramble and it will taste good. Flex your imagination, or simply look into your CSA bag for inspiration.
Ingredients:
1 tsp canola or olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 garlic scapes, minced
1 medium sized kohlrabi, peeled and diced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
1 large handful, pea pods
1 1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
2 tsp regular (sweet) curry powder
1 tsp hot curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
2-3 C baby arugula or spinach
2 T crushed roasted peanuts
Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and kohlrabi in oil for about 4-6 minutes covered, until translucent and tender. Add the garlic, scapes, and ginger, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add tofu and pea pods to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tofu has browned on some of the sides.
Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a few splashed of water if it’s too dry. Mix in the arugula. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the arugula is wilted (cover if you want this to go faster).
Taste for spices and add another teaspoon of curry powder if needed. Plate, add crushed peanuts on top and serve!
I’m already thinking of dishes to take to 4th of July festivities. So many salads have mayo (gag) in them and have a short potluck shelf life. This one can stay at room temp indefinitely.
I could eat this every single day of the summer, mixing and matching veggie add-ins. It’s really THAT good.
4-5 tbsp of fresh lime juice (juice from 2 small limes)
1/2 tsp Kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste (I used 1 tsp, I love cumin)
Directions:
1. Cook 1 cup Red Quinoa according to package directions.
2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the chopped vegetables and whisk together the dressing.
3. Allow quinoa to cool after cooking for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the beans and vegetables and toss well.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Bring salad to room temperature before serving. Keep fresh in a sealed container for 1-2 days. Makes about 5 cups.
Note: I defrosted and drained frozen corn before adding it to the salad, but the result was rubbery corn. I painstakingly picked out every, single, kernel after that eff up. I would suggest using fresh corn only, if the season applies, otherwise I wouldn’t bother with the frozen stuff.
Most of the recipes I come up with that are truly “my own” are straight out of my lack of want to go grocery shopping. I hate, no loathe, the grocery store. As a result of this…Roasted Turnip and Sweet Potato Pizza was born right from the contents of my pantry, fridge and deep freeze.
Ingredients:
store prepared or homemade hummus (I used Sabra, garlic flavor)
store prepared or homemade pizza dough (I used a ball of Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat dough from the freezer)
1 large sweet potato, cut into thin discs (skin on or off, your choice)
1 small red onion, sliced into rings
a handful of turnips, cut into thin discs (skin on or off, your choice)
goat cheese (unless you are vegan, then sub your fave non-diary cheese or go without)
extra virgin olive oil (about a glug’s worth from the bottle-we are very scientific here)
salt and pepper
flour for counter top to roll out your raw dough
Wash, cut up and roast veggies tossed with olive oil, either in a foil packet on the grill or in a 400 degree oven until they are tender. In the photos, I took them out of their foil packet and put them right on the heat for the last minute or so to get a char. They are high sugar content veggies, so do not leave them unattended [if you were to by chance do this…you just end up with potato chips, so win-win at least]. You could roast your veggies up to 3 days in advance and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use. I would do this if I were more organized…alas, I am not…so keep reading.
While your veggies roast away, roll out your dough blob to desired crust thickness and let rest until your veggies are off (I have a VERY small grill-large grill owners you can do both at the same time is space allows). Brush crust on one side with some olive oil and put directly onto grill grate. DO NOT MOVE the dough until you can see the grill lines developing on the underside, or you will tear your perfect crust-give it a peek after a minute or so to see where you are at. This grated side is going to be your topping side.
Flip dough after it is firm yet not burned. At this point you can apply your hummus to the first cooked side, scatter around your potatoes and onion then drop your goat cheese or cheese substitute on top, cover and allow for the cheese to melt. When your cheese hits the melty stage, remove entire pizza. Let cool a few minutes then slice it up.
I find hummus is an awesome base for pizza-I use it more than the traditional tomato-based sauces. You can put just about any combination of toppings on this, sub what you like or what you have on hand, add fresh herbs to increase the wow value…if it were up to Mr. Wonderful we would make grilled pizzas every day.
I haven’t posted in two weeks!!!!! Eek! I have so many backlogged I must remedy this situation immediately. I’ll start with one of my fave items from our first CSA jackpot from Blandford Nature Center. Bok choy.
There are about a thousand ways to spell this little veggie wonder. I’m going with ‘bok choy’ for purposes of this post. High in vitamin C, antioxidants, folic acid, and potassium yet low in cals and carbs makes bok choy an eat-until-you-are-stuffed candidate for low guilt and high yum.
Ingredients:
3 baby bok choy, cut in half length wise
1 T roasted sesame oil (garlic oil, chili oil, walnut oil, anything would be great here)
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
This is a no-brainer. Heat grill to let’s say, hot…I just turned it all the way to high and waited like 5 minutes. I know, scientific eh?
Drizzle bok choy halves with oil, sprinkle hot pepper flakes, salt and pepper on top. Toss on HOT grill until charred. Mr. Wonderful said, “if more people could experience charred greens, they would LOVE them.” I would have to agree.
I served this next to brown rice, mandarin orange chick’n and a few crushed up cashew bits I had lying around. Quick meal, as the rice was in the freezer just waiting for a chance to shine.
Thanks to all who took the time to brave the captcha nightmare and voted for me to be on the cover of West Michigan Woman Magazine’s debut issue (August). I’ll let you know the results as soon as I am able.
What is on your Meatless Monday menu this week? We’re gonna try a roasted sweet potato pizza.
Last week I was up to my ears in butternut squash. A few from my CSA, and a few from one of my work friends (these alone were over 9 pounds each and more than 2 feet long). I have a tendency to put these items out in the garage, and then forget about them until I can actually smell them…not good. So this time I got a leg up on the surplus. I roasted three baking pans of squash last night and then today made a few cups of it into butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage sauce, then froze the rest for soups and such.
Filling: Saute’ garlic over medium until lightly browned, add goat cheese, squash, nutmeg and combine until creamy. Remove from heat, let cool. When filling is cool, drop 1 1/2 tsp in the middle of a won ton wrapper, lightly brush edges with water. Seal by touching opposite sides together in whatever shape you like. I touched opposite corners together to form a triangle, then flipped it like a dumpling. Be sure to squeeze the air out of the ravioli before sealing and DO NOT overfill.
Sauce: Combine in a frying pan over medium high heat butter, shallots, fresh sage and nutmeg. Let this combo simmers until butter turns a nutty brown, shallots and sage crisp. Turn off the heat. Let hang out until your ravioli are ready to dress.
Ravioli: Bring a dutch oven 3/4 full of salted water to a boil. When it hits boiling, turn it down to medium heat, this is a little more gentle on your fragile raviolis. Immerse 6-8 ravioli in the hot water so the water temp doesn’t drop but also so they do not touch the bottom, sides or each other…this would be bad. Allow the ravioli to hang out in the hot water bath for 2-4 minutes until they float or become opaque in color, remove with a slotted spoon directly into a serving dish, top with brown butter sauce, fresh parsley, a bit of parm cheese and serve.
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Since it’s just the two of us to cook for, but this recipe makes around 45 raviolis, I made the remaining raviolis, put them on a cookie sheet and froze them for an hour. Then I tossed them into a freezer bag and tossed into the deep freeze. The Interwebs say that they should keep for 3 months and to make them straight from the freezer next time. I’ll let you know how that works out later.
I’ve had this bag of Bob’s Red Mill TVP (textured veg protein) in my freezer for about 4 months. Sometimes things seem like a good idea when you purchase them only to get a product home and be at a total loss for usage. I had this relationship with TVP until I stumbled upon a used cookbook that sparked my interest at Schuler’s Books: Vegetarian Sandwiches from Chronical Books. In it a recipe for Vegetarian Sloppy Joes. I basically bought the book because 1) it has really great pictures in it and 2) it has 3 recipes for TVP inside, also with pictures. Turns out, I had all of the other necessary ingredients at home in my pantry and from my most recent Doorganics delivery to make this magic happen. I was both shocked and delighted by the authenticity of the texture that this recipe recreated. It tastes very, very similar to sloppy joes with ground beef, but doesn’t have that super dense and filling aftermarket feeling. The recipe as it was written was a little too sweet for my sloppy joe needs so I spiced it up a little, the adjustments are worked into the recipe below. I’m so glad I made a double batch with the intent of taking some along to the next GVSU tailgate to share. I’m anxious to see meat-eaters try ’em.
4-6 large hamburger buns or rolls or 10-12 slider buns
Directions: To make the filling, stir the TVP and boiling water together in a medium bowl, let this stand for 5 or more minutes until the water is absorbed and the TVP is softened.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used a wok) over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic through until the bell pepper is tender (8-10 minutes).
Stir the remaining sandwich filling ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add this mix and the soft TVP to the skillet; stir until the mixture is bubbly. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring for about 5 additional minutes.
I’m a pickled veggie snob. I will spend $12.00 on a jar of pickles. I will eat one a week so as not to get rid of them too soon, savoring every bite, then I will keep the jar of juice and dump baby carrots into the remaining sea of spices until I drain the jar dry.
Today I noticed some very much neglected pickling cukes in the back of my crisper, not looking so much crisp as sad. Here is my science experiment and foray into quick pickles. I hope you like it spicy.
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Pickles:
6 baby cucumbers washed and cut into rings
1 habanero pepper cut into 4ths
2 jalapeno peppers cut in half
2 whole cloves garlic smashed
Handful kosher salt
Brine:
1 1/2 C white vinegar, cause I’m old school
1 C water
1 1/2 T garlic chopped
5 bay leaves, whole
2 T dried dill, or 4 T fresh dill
1 T black peppercorns
1 T agave nectar
1 T cumin seeds, whole
First, prep the cukes. Cut into rounds, place in colander, salt generously, let sit for 15-30 minutes. This should perk up your cukes if they were a little sad like mine. Place cukes, peppers, and garlic cloves in a couple of jars you have lids for, it could be a jam jar for all I care, just make sure it’s clean. Since we are not “canning” here, it doesn’t make a difference.
To make the brine, boil for 15 minutes the ingredients listed in brine list. Remove from heat, pour over veggies in the jars. Let cool on counter, then pop in the fridge.
Sometimes inspiration comes in the form of ‘payday isn’t for 2 more days, so use what you have in the fridge’. This recipe comes from precisely that situation. Thank goodness Trillium Haven Farm CSA and Doorganics day was yesterday, so at least there were fresh veggies from which to create goodness. The result is Vegan Zucchini Pancakes not to be confused with a prior post, Zucchini Fritters which are definitely NOT vegan (goat cheese).
Vegan Zucchini Pancakes
Cucumber Salad (topping)
1 lb tomatoes
2 small cucumbers
1T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp EVOO
Pancakes
1 1/2 zucchini or summer squash, shredded
1 medium, sweet yellow onion
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (to taste…err on the side of less)
2 T Parmesan cheese (if Vegetarian, do not include for Vegan)
Directions:
1. To create the cucumber salad chop the tomatoes and cucumbers coarsely and top with EVOO and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
2. Grate the zucchini and onion, roll up in paper towel or cheesecloth and squeeze until it is fairly dry.
3. Combine the pressed zucchini and ionion with garlic, salt, basil, nutmeg, fake eggs, flour, salt and pepper.
4. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Pour 1/4 C of the batter into the oiled pan. The batter will be lumpy. Let the pancake completely brown on one side then flip to brown the other side. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels.
5. When you are ready to serve, top the pancakes with the cucumber salad and enjoy.
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Thanks to a reader for writing in that the original recipe for these pancakes were too salty! I’ve changed the recipe to account for her feedback. If you are putting these on a bun or in a flatbread, you will need additional salt, but if just eating as a pancake, please follow the change in added salt. Thanks!
Short and sweet. This was a small batch I used to experiment with the ratio of sugar to Berries. I think I can still make it with less sugar. I’ll let you know what happens with a less sugary recipe later in the month.
If you have excess blueberries, save summer by making Blueberry Jam.
4 C Blueberries, mashed
2 C sugar, white
1 lemon, zested and juiced
In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook mashed berries until they boil add sugar, boil while stirring until sugar dissolves, then turn heat down to low and simmer mixture for up to 60 minutes, stirring every few minutes until it reaches your desired jam thickness. Once you hit the thickness you desire, for me this was 40 minutes, add the juice of 1 lemon and its zest, turn up to medium, bring back to a boil and then shut off heat.
Remove from heat, pour into canning jars and either freeze or if you have done the boiling canning method, seal and keep at room temp.
I just finished watching the most disgusting video (I didn’t embed it it’s so violent) regarding the treatment of pigs and piglets on a large factory farm in Pennsylvania, seriously don’t watch it if you aren’t ready to make a lifestyle change. Suddenly I don’t miss bacon anymore. Which then made me again question why it is I’m NOT vegan. All I can come back to is cheese, which is lame because I can find a sub for that.
Today I decided it’s time to embrace faux cheese and gradually veganize my kitchen, and make a bigger attempt at exempting animal products one at a time. Recently I stopped in at Saffrons-A Gluten Free Marketplace which is a local (to West Michigan) place and to my surprise ended up speaking with the owner for a while. In addition to the ENTIRE store being Gluten Free, he has a delightful array of vegan food products. I bought some Daiya which I’ve had before and liked as far as faux cheese goes; I also got some coconut milk, coconut milk ice cream (which frankly tastes better than regular ice cream to me), quinoa pasta, “chicken less” vegan cubes of lower sodium bouillon for soups (it’s not soup season but it’s hard to find this stuff in the winter), an egg replacement (to see how it tastes) and Vegenaise. The owner and I had a conversation about the varying Vegenaise types (he carries the hard-to-find Soy Free variety ), I settled on the reduced fat variety. He mentioned how excited he was to attend a food show recently, and had the opportunity to sample a new Follow Your Heart product: block cheese. We talked fake cheese for a while and I mentioned he should carry Teese, from Chicago Soy Dairy our neighbors to the West, it’s amazing and used widely in even the most traditional deep dish pizza joints to help their vegan customers stay loyal. He noted the name brand and said he’d try to get some in soon. Talk about a delightful shopping experience. Not only did I get to meet the OWNER, but he is going to look into one of my suggestions for a product to carry in his store? Nice.
So what’s the point Adrienne? Oh, yes…the point is today, I veganized my pancake recipe using coconut milk, earth balance, and ground flax seeds in place of cow milk, butter and eggs, and here it is for your animal-cruelty free enjoyment.
Whisk together the dry ingredients, make a well for the wet ones, and then incorporate them all to make a batter. Pour by 1/4 C onto a griddle you have preheated to 350-365 degrees. Flip when the pancakes rise and bubble let cook for about a minute more and then serve.
If you want to add fruit to your pancakes like I have done in the photo. After you pour the batter onto the hot pan, wait until it rises slightly to put a handful of fresh but dry (not DRIED, just not wet) fruit onto the cake. I have found this helps them cook through better than adding right after you drop the batter. Keeps them looking like pancakes and less like sloppy pancakes.
…in my CSA bag for 3 weeks in a row. I admit, even though I’m a well-seasoned vegetarian, this odd vegetable stumped me for uses and it was necessary to run to Google and figure out finally, after 3 weeks, what in the hell to do with multiple kohlrabi (is that the plural? So confusing.).
While strange looking, sorta like a hot air balloon while it grows, kohlrabi possesses many attributes worth notice:
Low in calories, only 19 for a half cup raw, sliced
High in dietary fiber, 2.5 grams for one-half cup
Potassium content peaks at 245 grams for one-half cup
Vitamin content for that same one-half cup includes 25 I.U. vitamin A, 43.4 mg. vitamin C, 11.3 mcg folic acid, and 16.8 mg. calcium.
Turns out, this little guy is also known as a German Turnip and is the bee’s knees in Kashmir where it is the most consumed vegetable (food must really suck in Kashmir). Everywhere I searched, the claim is that kohlrabi is delish both raw and cooked. Well, I’m here to tell you people, while there are several varieties of this alien veggie, I apparently got the two that suck raw. Both white and purple variety of kohlrabi, are dare I say it, horrible raw…so off to the interwebs I went in search of a way to browbeat this veg into submission. I found the perfect solution: empanadas! Pie crust can make ANYTHING taste better. I present to you: Kohlrabi and Sweet Potato Empanadas.
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp coriander, ground
2-3 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 large sweet potato, cooked and smashed
2 large scallions, both white and green parts, finely cut
1 radish, minced (optional)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
salt and pepper to taste
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 box of pre-made pie crust or one batch homemade*
1 egg
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In a medium skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger to brown. Add kohlrabi cubes, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Toss well and cook 3 or 4 minutes until kohlrabi are softening a bit. Add potato mash and continue to cook for 4 more minutes. Add scallions, radish, nutmeg, coriander and another pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for one minute before removing from heat. Set mixture to this side to cool. It should be a very, very dry, looking mixture. Moisture equals disaster for empanadas.
Roll out dough to be a little thinner than pie crust typically is. If you are using pre-made crust from the store, run your rolling pin over it once or twice. Using a cereal bowl or large circular cookie cutter, cut out 6 inch-ish circles from the dough. It should yield about 15, give or take depending on your cutter and dough thickness.
Pre-heat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Prepare egg wash by beating egg with a teaspoon of water and set to the side along with a small bowl of water.
To make the empanadas, spoon one teaspoon of kohlrabi mixture into the center of a circle of dough (it’s better to have less filling than too much or the empanadas won’t hold together. Feel out the right ratio that allows you to close off the dough without any filling popping out.). Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it around the outside edge of the dough. Fold dough over the filling to create a half circle. Press down edges. Carefully pick up the dough pocket and pinch edges or use a fork, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with the egg wash. The video below shows how to appropriately fill and thus seal an empanada. Caution: it only LOOKS easy. By the time you have made all of your precious empanadas your last one will look like this person’s first one; it is however, well worth the effort.
After you assemble the dough pockets, pop them into the preheated oven, cooking for 8 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on a rack so they don’t get soggy. I served mine warm with what else, Frank’s Red Hot.
**My next kohlrabi experiment is going to be this: Kohlrabi Curry.
Warning: I’m not a *real* chef, AND I got a C+ in organic chemistry, B+ in inorganic chemistry. Proceed with caution.
Excess zucchini means science experiment time! I have lots of vegan friends and recently a handful of gluten free friends, so I decided to see if I could please both of them with a summertime staple: zucchini bread.
First, the research for a gluten free bread recipe was pretty easy, but…wait Xanthan Gum? What is that? I had an idea of what that did in gluten free baking but no idea where it came from or where even to get such a thing, certainly I wasn’t going out for it. Thanks to Wikipedia I again know way more about an ingredient than I care to, thus, had to find a replacement which WAS NOT a chemical. It dawned on me that flax basically can be used as a sub for anything….so why not as a sub for xanthan gum. Turns out, lots of people think xanthan gum is icky like I do, and use flax as a sub, teaspoon for teaspoon. Now…in my vegan banana bread recipe, I also subbed flax and water for eggs, decided to try that in this one too. Science experiment complete. I crossed my fingers hoping it would taste okay and had SUPER results!
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This bread came to work with me to our staff meeting and noshers said it was super moist, and slightly spicy. I particularly appreciated the crispy exterior and the chewy interior. Bonus is that it didn’t need a spread of any kind, it stands on its own two feet.
This recipe makes one loaf.
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 ½ cups freshly shredded zucchini
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (or to Veganize it: 1T flax seed ground with 3 T hot water)
2 teaspoons vanilla (check this, some have gluten in them-gross)
1 ½ cups GF Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill chickpea and fava bean)
1 teaspoon flax sprinkles for each cup of flour
up to 13 teaspoons hot water (I know this sounds random, but it depends on the type of gluten free flour you use how much water you will need)
Shred the zucchini, allow it to rest on paper towel to reduce moisture and chop the walnuts in a food processor or by smashing them in a plastic bag and set them aside.
Use a mixer to beat the flax/water mixture and add the sugar, oil and vanilla. Add the baking soda, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Slowly pour in the flour and flax sprinkles (dry) until well mixed. Now if you have made bread before, you will know that the end consistency is not thick like cookie dough, but rather, thicker than cake batter, so to get from cookie dough to almost cake batter, slowly add hot water 1 teaspoon at a time until you have a workable quick bread viscosity. For me, that took 13 teaspoons.
Last, by hand, mix in the zucchini and walnuts. Pour in greased & floured loaf pan and bake at 350F degrees for 55-75 minutes. Let cool.
Kids’ Food Basket (KFB), a nonprofit in Grand Rapids, Michigan that ATTACKS Childhood Hunger, is trying to secure a truck through Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Campaign. Their assigned voting day is TODAY ONLY. Voting for KFB lasts just until Midnight.
Tired of reading about raspberries? Well, we’ve been eating them for a solid week, how do you think we feel? The last of ’em went into pancakes a final breakfast. Using the pancake base from the Milk Chocolate Banacakes post last year, just add raspberries in place of the chocolate and/or bananas and you have breakfast. Goodbye raspberries!
It’s a rare opportunity when you can shake the hand of the person who not only planted, but harvested and DELIVERED your fruit and/or veggies to, your, door. I don’t want to ruin the fantasy I have playing in my head about him digging up my little french radishes, putting them in a cooled green bin and driving them over to me personally just to say hi…but he basically did just that.
I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Doorganics delivered today, thus, these tacos were created from my bin. Go online, hook up with Doorganics and be pleasantly surprised. I was.
I give you Doorganics Tacos.
1 tablespoon, vegetable oil
2 cups fresh white or yellow corn kernels
1 cup chopped white onion
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 bell pepper, diced ( I used purple)
4 french radishes, finely diced
4 green onions, green parts diced only
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 warm corn tortillas
1/4 cup salsa
goat cheese or Daiya to taste
PREPARATION
Heat half of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Toast corn 5 minutes, stirring; season with salt. Remove corn; set aside. Heat remaining oil in skillet. Cook onion, stirring, until it caramelizes, 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, both peppers and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until warm-I like ’em crunchy still. Add zucchini; cook until tender but not mush, 6-10 minutes; season with salt. Add corn, beans, oregano and pepper. Cook 3 minutes. Split filling among tortillas; top each with 1 1/2 tsp salsa, a few bits of radish, green onion and 1 tsp cheese. This makes a TON more than 8 tacos worth. I’m taking it to lunch tomorrow sans shells.
If you like berries but don’t want to be overwhelmed with a sweet dessert-like cake, this recipe is for you. Tastes great with coffee, or fatten it up with some ice cream. Be careful not to overbake or it will be dry, if anything, underbake it slightly so it retains its tender texture.
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Berry Buckle
2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ C shortening
2 C berries (mixed, raspberries, or blueberries)
¾ C sugar
1 egg
½ C milk
Topping:
½ tsp cinnamon
½ C sugar
¼ C Earth Balance, or butter
1/3 C all purpose flour
Beat shortening and gradually add sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients. Stir in berries gently. Spread into 9 x 13 pan. Cut butter into flour, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
and process the mixture until it turns into a coarse meal.Slowly add extra virgin olive oil in a steady drizzle as you pulse the processor on and off. Process until it becomes a smooth, light paste. Add enough olive oil to keep it moist and spreadable.
Veg Bon Vivant 