Brrrr.... 22 degrees outside and I need something hot-n-spicy for supper!
...
Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a weenie! Lots of you have much more severe winters than we see here in the Pacific Northwest, but I still like to whine just a little...

I've had some large-ish chunk-style TVP that's needed using up for ages, and since I was out of anything else that might resemble "Taco filling" I threw this together.
,,,

TVP and Corn Tacos with Roasted Tomato-Corn Salsa

1/2 cup large chunks of dry TVP
(Reconstitute with 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1/2 cup tomato sauce)

1/2 cup chopped onion, sauteed in a bit of oil until clear
1 cup cooked lentils (leftovers I had in the fridge)
1 cup cooked corn (white, yellow, frozen or canned, I don't think it matters)
1 cup mild, chunky salsa
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Shredded lettuce if desired
chopped tomatoes if desired
sliced olives if desired
shredded vegan cheese if desired

Fire-roasted Tomato and Corn Salsa (recipe follows)

corn tortillas

Soak TVP for 15 minutes. Mix TVP, onions, lentils, corn and salsa in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until hot. Brown corn tortillas in lightly oiled non-stick skillit.

Fill with taco filling, top with Salsa, lettuce, cheese, olives and/or tomatoes if desired.

Fire Roasted Tomato and Corn Salsa

1 28-oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 7-oz can green chiles, chopped (or 1/2 cup fresh roasted green chiles)
1 clove of garlic put thru garlic press
2 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup of very loosely packed fresh chopped cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup corn
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients and let set while you prepare the tacos, if you have the time.

Happy Weekend

Hahahaha... OK, I'm feeling rested and way too weird after 5 days off. What can I say? Thought you'd get a smile out of the cartoon. My sister sent it to me.

I don't have any amazing recipes or meals today, just a couple of nibbles from the weekend.
...
So, I was talking to someone the other day who had never tried
persimmons because she didn't know what to do with them.
Actually I don't "do" anything with them except EAT them. It seems a waste to hide the delicate taste of these fruits with other ingredients...
...
They are so wonderful!
If you haven't tried one, now is the perfect time, they're seasonal autumn/winter fruits, so should be available in most markets right now...
.
Here are a couple pictures of a beautiful Fuyu persimmon I had for breakfast this morning. Just don't confuse them with the larger Hachiya persimmons. (You MUST wait for the Hachiyas to get very soft and dark orange before eating,) while Fuyu persimmons are eaten when firm.
...
Just remove the leafy stem, slice and eat (I add a little lime juice). They're crisp and mellow-sweet.
.....

Also this weekend, we cleaned out some of the last pumpkins and toasted the seeds with sea salt and olive oil... DELICIOUS!

Two cookie-sheets full and they're almost gone, but I guess that's better than some of the Holiday desserts that are still hanging around!

Hope your weekend was wonderful, tasty and restful too!

Thanksgiving 2007

I won't do a long, warm and fuzzy speil about how thankful I am or how great it was to share the day with family. Because all those things are SO true, but they have been said so much more eloquently by many other bloggers out there today and I'm still in a bit of a non-turkey induced food coma of un-creativeness.

Dinner was a collaborative, and all vegetarian, potluck put together by my sisters and myself; We had almost 30 people celebrating with us. Family, significant others, in-laws and friends. (Oh, and the dogs!)

My family is lacto-ovo vegetarian and pescatarian, (I'm the rebel vegan) but at least 8 people there had never celebrated a Turkey-free Thanksgiving. Everyone remarked how wonderful dinner was, even the omnis in the crowd said it was the best Thanksgiving meal they'd had!

Here are random pictures of the day... a few of the people and some of the items we served. (I didn't get pictures of everything, it was set up buffet style on little tables all around the house, but here are a few highlights...)

The non-tofu vegan pumpkin pie and the stuffed mushroom recipes are posted elsewhere here on my blog, I believe, and the others? I'm too tired and too lazy to post recipes right now, but they're pretty simple and basic - probably the same as, or similar to many you'll find out in Google-land.

Not pictured were a multitude of other dishes - all of it lacto-ovo, all of it from scratch - no mixes, no cans, no instant anything... most of it vegan. Mashed potatoes with two types of gravy, cheese-laden-potato something, brussel sprouts, mashed squash, salads and salads, rolls, green-bean casserole, dressing/stuffing, wild rice, some sort of bean patties with gravy, and veggies and dip, cheesecakes, tart, jello and pies. Many pies.

Happy weekend to all of you, hope your day was wonderful.

Weird Winter Veggies and Green Chile Stew

This muddy looking bunch of vegetables just arrived from my Mom's root cellar.

Yes, people still have those sorts of things... root cellars. To store roots. Like these!

I realize these look like.. well, like dirt. But they are actually hiding some beautiful vegetable colors!

*Ahem!* Should you be wondering what in the world some of these nondescript, dirt-covered things are, pictured are: beets, yellow carrots (which are really sorta pale green), a small kabocha squash, Walla Walla sweet onion and an... um.. three-legged purple carrot.

Seriously though - Check out the purple carrots when cut up, the brilliant purple color goes about half-way through, it looks SO cool!

So tomorrow for Thanksgiving's non-turkey dinner I'm doing roasted root veggies. They looked so pretty all cut up in my roasting pan I just had to get a picture. Apples, squash, yams, three kinds of carrots, beets and onion. Tomorrow I'll drizzle with olive oil and a little cider and roast until tender. Yum!

The kitchen's still full of half-finished baking and cooking projects. I'll post more after the big day!

I'll close with this final picture and a super-easy recipe.

Not much to look at, but it's my most favorite soup in the world. New Mexico's own Fire-Roasted Green chile stew made with Hatch chiles.

Once you've had New Mexico's signature roasted chiles you won't be happy with anything else, I swear. I'm addicted to the peppers and to the area and am always counting the days until my next trip back to the blue skys and sunshine...
..
But I digress. OK, so I added little dumplings because my kids like those. Maybe not so traditional but still quick and easy, warm, spicy comfort food.

Green Chile Stew
..
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup roasted, peeled and chopped fresh, or frozen green chilies (I use the frozen tub of Bueno Foods Fire Roasted Green Chiles)
1 Tablespoon flour
3 cups vegetable or vegetarian-"chicken" stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 medium white potatoes, (I often leave these out - you can also use sweet potatoes here)
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup tvp - I use medium chunks - that has been rehydrated in 1 cup boiling water. OR you could use 1 can drained, rinsed pinto beans.
..
Boil potatoes until almost tender - if using them. I often don't, just because it's quicker to make this without, but they are nice in the soup too.
..
Sautee onion in Earth Balance until soft and translucent. Add garlic and allow to brown slightly. Stir in roasted chiles. Sprinkle flour over onion mixture, stir in and let brown slightly.
..
Stir in salt, stock, oregano and potatoes. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir in drained tvp or pinto beans. Pour stew into buttered casserole dish and top with small teaspoon-size dumplings made with biscuit mix or your favorite recipe.
..
Bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until dumplings are firm and exposed bits are golden brown. Serves 6 if you're lucky.
..
HAPPY AMERICAN THANKSGIVING to all my US friends. HAPPY REGULAR OLD THURSDAY to everyone else.

My Kitchen One Year Ago...

In all my food-y blogging, I don't think I mentioned that we did a little remodeling here this past year...

First and most significant, we gutted our tiny, crowded-but-useless one-car garage, and turned it into a bedroom, a pantry, AND a galley-style laundry area.

<--- This is the garage after we'd cleaned MOST of the "stuff" out... what a MESS!!

And since we were doing that, I decided my kitchen would get a much needed little face-lift too.

YAY! ... yes - I realized it was just one YEAR ago that we started on our adventure.

It's embarrassing, we had years and lifetimes of accumulated junk (and actually some important stuff) stored in the garage and kitchen cabinets... and all of it got moved/dumped in our tiny family room while the remodel took place.

(Yeah, pretty much the whole house it tiny).

We got pretty adept and winding through trails between the boxes, but what a mess THAT was over the Holidays!

I'll post pictures of the bedroom-laundry-pantry remodel process at another time (they're on my daughter's computer) but I wanted to share a couple of the kitchen here.

As far as the kitchen goes though - "before" pictures don't really show it, but the counter top in the kitchen was vintage 1974 faded gold poop color... and in BAD shape, cracked, burned, split, even sagging in one spot...

^^ "before" kitchen, complete with cat-in-the-sink, hee-hee!

So we ripped out all the old counter-top and repaired areas and replaced it with a textured grey, rust and green faux stone Formica that is just BEAUTIFUL!

Fortunately (for my pocket-book) it wasn't an all-out remodel, and we only went without the kitchen for a couple days, though the garage/bedroom did take over two months. Ugh.

Finally, here's a couple shots of our kitchen today, a year later.

I'm still not sure what posessed us to undertake this task right before - and during - the Holidays.

It was worth it though, and looking back after a year, hardly seems like any time at all.

Maybe not a huge transformation, but the updated counter-top was a simple, inexpensive change and refreshing for us regardless.

Spiced Pecan Caramel Corn

Spiced Pecan Caramel Corn

1/2 cup un-popped popcorn kernels

1 Tbsp. stick margarine (Earth Balance or Nucoa)

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg (fresh grated is nice)

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. fine grain sea salt

1 cup pecan pieces from Froggy's Grandma's pecan tree (OK, regular pecans will work too)
Pop popcorn in an air popper or on stovetop (DO NOT use microwave popcorn here!) when done, pour popcorn out into a giant bowl.

Place a large sheet of parchment on a work surface (you will use this to cool the popcorn once it’s been covered in syrup).
In a large, heavy bottom pot, simmer the margarine, syrups, salt and spices over medium heat.

Using a wooden spoon, swirl the pot around and around until the syrup bubbles and begins to reduce (5 minutes). Add nuts. Let it bubble again.

Once it’s gently bubbling again, remove the pot from the heat and pour the popcorn in, mixing gently until all the popcorn is evenly coated. Then, spread the popcorn over the parchment in one even layer and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Store in large ziploc bags (if there's any left!)

Individual Sweet and Smoky Chipotle Corn Custards

No. I do not cook like this all the time! This is for the "Veggie Boards IronChef Competition". (Read all about it here).

Sweet And Smoky Chipotle Corn Custards

2 Tbsp. vegan margarine

3 Tbsp. silken tofu

1 Tbsp. En-R-G Egg replacer

1 whole canned chipotle pepper (1 pepper, not one whole can!! Less if you don't have a tolerance for spices.)

1/4 cup Soy Milk

1 can of creamed-style corn (yes, most are vegan)

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp organic sugar

1 sheet pie-crust dough (I used store bought, though homemade is fine!)

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Melt margarine and set aside.

Blend all other ingredients except corn in food processor. Stir in corn and 1/2 of margarine.

Cut pie pastry dough into square that will fit custard cups or ramekins (I used 1-cup size straight-sided bowls, you might want to go smaller).

Press into cup, trim top evenly (I used scissors) and brush with melted margarine. Fill almost full with custard. Tap cup on counter to help ingredients settle and top of filling smooth out.

Bake for 35 - 40 min. until custard is set and cup is browned. (Less if the cup is smaller).

If it starts to brown too much, cover them with foil. Bake until custard is set up and not "jiggly".

Remove from oven.

Let cool for 15 min or until you can handle them. Remove from pan and set on baking sheet.

Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or so to brown crust if needed (Or yours may brown OK, I had a non-stick pan so mine was pale and anaemic... I also tied a little bit of corn husk around as a decoration and because I was afraid it would collapse.

Let stand 5 min and serve.

Makes 2 (well, sorta 2 and a 1/2, I had a little filling left over).

<-- This is the canned chipotle I used.

YAY! Blog fixed!

I posted earlier that my blog was "broke" (my sidebar had migrated to the bottom of the page)... and many of you wonderful people offered suggestions, as did the people on the Google/Blogger forums. Thank You!!!

Well, the sidebar's back where it's supposed to be!

I finally figured it out with some tips from a random "Blogger-Fix" website!

And fixed it. BY MYSELF. Yes, I've been obsessing over this for almost a week, believe me, I tried everything. I am now incredibly well-versed in HTML and the inner workings of my stupid Blogger page.

The problem? Every post that had the "VeganMoFo" logo or link had to be deleted! I do not know why. I tried a bazillion other fixes first, but finally discovered this was causing the escaping sidebar... like I said, I do NOT know exactly why - at least well enough to explain here without a few hundred more knowledgable people swooping in and telling me my explanation is all wrong....

At any rate, it's fixed, the side-bar is back and I basically discovered how to fix it MYSELF. Did I mention that? I'm pretty psyched! I need to re-add my blogroll and a few things, but otherwise? All set. Back to the good stuff. The food. Yay.

Oh, here's a baby picture of yours truly. Again, I have no idea why, just felt like posting.

Corn and Green Chile Pakoras with Tamarind Chutney

Pakoras are basically spiced Indian batter-fried vegetables. My kids will eat ANY vegetable dipped in Pakora batter!

Pakora batter is so-o-o simple, just besan, or chickpea (gabanzo) flour and spices.

But because I can't leave well-enough alone, to that basic recipe I added a Southwest sort of twist; a little cornmeal for added crunch, and then used the batter to coat corn kernels and smoky-hot fire-roasted green chiles.

I kept the Indian spices though, I think they go pretty well with the chiles and corn... Yum!

Since you can't exactly dip individual pieces of corn into the batter like you would larger vegetables for traditional pakoras, these end up rather like spicy, crunchy corn fritters.... only better.

I included traditional Tamarind Chutney for dipping because I already knew how to make that, but salsa or green chile sauce would work well here too.

Sweet Corn and Fire-Roasted Green Chile Pakoras

1 cup chickpea/garbanzo flour (besan)
2 Tbsp. fine ground cornmeal
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin powder
½ teaspoon ground fenugreek
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1¼ cup water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup chopped, well-drained, fire-roasted green chiles
1 ¼ cup drained, canned corn

oil for frying

Heat 1 inch oil in small frypan.
Mix all other ingredients. Add more chickpea flour as needed to make a stiff pancake-like batter.
Drop by spoonfulls into hot oil. Fry until brown, turn with tongs. Fry other side. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with Tamarind Chutney or whatever you like for dipping.

Tamarind Chutney

4 oz piece tamarind (use the softer Thai kind with no seeds)
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Indian Black Salt
2 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger

Gently mash tamarind with water in a small bowl until pulp is soft and squishy.
Push pulp through a sieve into a medium pan. Press on it with the back of a spoon and tossing out the thick fibers.

Add sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, just until sugar is dissolved.
Toast spices (except ginger) in a small skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 1 - 2 minutes. Cool completely. Stir spices into tamarind mixture along with chile powder, ginger and salt.

Blend with food processor or immersion blender until smooth, serve with Indian pakoras.

Maple-Roasted Corn and Pecan Salad with Cornbread Croutons and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Well, the title's a mouthful, but I promise the actual salad is better.

Insanely good actually.

I know we just did the whole maple-roasted thing a few days ago, but evidently those flavors are a hit with my family...

My daughter thought up this combination, to tell the truth. She baked cornbread the other night, and then was stumped with what to do with the (slightly bland) leftovers...

"Mom, what would happen if...." and this beautiful salad was born.

Corn kernels, cornbread cubes and pecans roasted with a little maple syrup and Earth Balance until crunchy.

All of this on a salad of baby greens and pomegranate seeds. And dressed with a Pomegranate Dressing. The corn gets crunchy with an incredible caramelized flavor and the 'bland' cornbread really perks up!

If I sound like a restaurant advertisement, it's because I really AM trying to convince you how WONDERFUL these flavors are!!

I am SOOO making this again next week for Thanksgiving!!

Maple-Roasted Corn and Pecan Salad with

Cornbread Croutons and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/2 cup frozen white sweet corn kernels (not thawed)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or pecan halves look prettier - I used pecans hand-picked from my friend Froggy's Grandma's tree which of course make them even MORE wonderful!)

1/2 cup very dry cubed cornbread that has sat out overnight or been slightly dried in a warm oven (or regular bread would work too)

1 Tbsp. real maple syrup

1 tsp. melted Earth Balance or other vegan margerine (not the "light" style)

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1 or 2 bags baby salad greens (depending on how much toppings-to-salad greens ratio you like)

Dressing (see below)

Place corn, pecans and croutons in a bowl.

Mix maple syrup with Earth Balance and drizzle over, tossing lightly (I used my hands) and coating everything evenly.

The croutons should not be soaked, just evenly coated. You may not need all the maple syrup mixture.

Pour corn mixture into a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet and spread in a single layer.

Place in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, stir, then check every two or three minutes until things start to brown but not burn! Not everything will brown evenly or at the same rate, that's OK!

Remove from oven and spread on a plate to cool.

Make dressing.

Put baby greens in a bowl or platter.

Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and top with maple roasted corn, pecans and croutons.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette:

3 Tbsp pomegranate juice

2 Tbsp champagne or rice-wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

2 Tbsp. very finely chopped sweet onion

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp pomagranate seeds

Wisk all ingredients, except pomagranate seeds, together. Add seeds and pour over salad.

My Blog is broken - Ack!

This is not a food post.

I don't know how to fix my blog!

I changed the template, because my sidebar was messed up. I thought that might help. But it didn't do any good.

Scroll down and you'll see some of the pictures are cut in half.
And everythings all "crowded"...

Obviously Blogger has no technical support, so... any ideas how to fix that?


Any Blogger experts out there?

Tamales

*I had to delete and re-post this blog due to some Blogger issues, so if you're thinking you've read this somewhere before, well, you have...

So, anyway. This weekend we made tamales.

And ate tamales.

Now as you may know, tamales are a fair bit of work.

We made these Pineapple Tamales (from my New Mexico trip last year, the link includes lengthy instructions, not to fear, they're not that difficult, really) and also we made some basic ones filled with vegetarian burger and red chile sauce (VERY loosely following - and veganizing - a recipe we found on the web.) There are tons of great "how-to" tamale sites if you do a "Google" search, most have great pictures and step-by-step instructions, we just sub coconut oil for the lard - works perfectly!!

Honestly though, since my whole family LOVES tamales (rare event that everyone likes the same thing) I actually make these fairly often.

Once you get the get the assembly process down smoothly, it isn't as much work as it seems.

But this time I got the wise idea to enlist the help of my kids.

Hmmmm... Definitely was an adventure and they learned a lot about how much work goes into some of the foods they love.

Whether it was any quicker or easier for me... I don't know.

I had planned to save some of the tamales for dinner later this week but the tamale-inhaling creatures that inhabit my house had other plans and finished them off in record time.

Why am I not surprised.

Oh well, at least I got a few pictures. Pffffft. No big deal. We'll make more after Thanksgiving. .. Which is good, I guess tamales are traditionally a Christmas thing in many homes anyway.

And speaking of lard {shudder} which we leave OUT of our vegan tamales, I'll leave you with this last picture...

Vegan Pizza again. Yum again.

Omni Question #448484756 that I'm SO TIRED of answering...

"But how can you stand it? I could NEVER go vegan. I'd miss PIZZA way too much."

Yay! Vegan pizza. The stuff rocks! And we're a pizza-loving family, I have to tell you.

OK, so I usually make crust with my sourdough starter, but when I don't have an entire Sunday to devote to pizza-crust baking... I admit, I cheat.

Well, it's not "cheating" so much as a GREAT short-cut!
This crust is from my locally-owned "take and bake" joint. They'll sell me a plain, untopped one of their (vegan) "take-and-bake" crusts, unbaked of course, for just over a buck.

Way cheaper and much faster than I can make myself. And it's right on the way home, so I grab a "real" pizza for the cheese-heads (my kids) and plain crust for myself. Then while their pizza bakes, I'll concoct my own amazing vegan gourmet pizza - "plain" crust it is no longer!

Tonight I layered sundried tomatoes, fresh spinach, fresh sliced tomatoes. Then sprinkled on some of the amazing and quite realistic "Tofu Feta" that I tested for Melody over at MELOMEALS.

After that, some pumpkin seeds in keeping with fall, harvest and because I thought they sounded tasty. Last I topped it all with "cheese" sauce and baked it about 12 minutes.

Who says vegan food has to take a long time?
Who says you have to give up GOOD pizza?

I'm continually perfecting the "ultimate" vegan chees-y sauce. This combination was very quick and easy, AND quite good, set up nice and creamy on the pizza yet didn't dry out or get weird.
But I realize not everyone has umeboshi vinegar or jarred pimentos in their cupboard so it may not be as "quick and easy" for you....

Another Yummy Vegan Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 ounces pimientos (half of a 4 oz. jar)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 teaspoons Umeboshi plum vinegar
1/2-1 teaspoon salt

Rinse cashews with hot water while combining the remaining ingredients (except chiles) in a blender.
Add cashews to blender and process on high for 1-2 minutes.
Cook in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Drizzle over pizza and bake, or keep in fridge for when you need something "cheesy".

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I'll close with a picture of late-night visitors to our back porch (with the embarrassingly filthy window as you can tell...).

These (there's usually three!) guys are always hoping the cats have left a few crumbs of catfood, but the cats know better!
So off they go to try and pry open the raccoon-proof garbage can lids...